Chicago-Maroon-10-03-02

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FRIDAY

IN VOICES

IN SPORTS

Romero redux

Maroons lose title

» Page 6

» Page 12

The Crazies gets tangled up in horror clichés.

Women’s basketball loses to Wash U, misses out on share of UAA title.

MARCH 2, 2010

CHICAGO

AROON

VOLUME 121 ISSUE 31

CHICAGOMAROON.COM

The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892

ACADEMICS

Putting on Ayers

China Center gets director as U of C plans for India By Asher Klein News Editor

B

ill Ayers promotes his book, Race Course Against White Supremacy, after delivering a speech at University Church Sunday.

LLOYD LEE/MAROON

CRIME

Admins to discuss A-level arrest today By Michael Lipkin News Editor Days after a student was arrested on the A-level with what witnesses say was unnecessary force, administrators will hear student concerns tonight at a campus forum. The meeting in the McCormick Tr i b u n e L o u n g e w i l l i n c l u d e UCPD Chief Marlon Lynch and Library Director Judith Nadler. Fourth-year Mauriece Dawson was arrested and charged with

criminal trespass and resisting arrest after a Regenstein clerk called the UC P D to report a group of students causing a disturbance. Witnesses s aid that Dawson, who was laughing loudly with friends on the A-Level, was later asked by a UCPD officer to leave. After Dawson repeatedly asked why he had to leave, the officer placed him in a choke hold, pinned him to the floor, and placed him under arrest. UCPD officials later said Dawson was arrested because he

Obama honors history prof McNeill for University experience

Some take walk less traveled, graduate early, and pocket savings

Exhaustion from years of exams, problem sets and the prospect of significant savings, is causing some U of C students to graduate early or take parts of their fourth years off. Third-year Savithry Namboodiripad did not plan to graduate in three years, but decided it was the best financial option when she realized she could. “During my first year ,my mom died all of a sudden and they never changed our financial aid, so it became more expensive for me to go here,” said Namboodiripad, who is also graduating with a masters. “It will be a lot cheaper for me to not take another year.” Some fourth-years only made

ARREST continued on page 3

FACULTY

STUDENT LIFE

By Nathalie Gorman Senior News Staff

did not present his ID card when asked, but no witnesses heard the officer ask for identification. Vice President for Campus Life Kim Goff-Crews said the meeting will address students’ questions about library protocol and police procedures. “The whole community can have a conversation around not just what happened, but...about the kind of relationship we want to have between students and the police, library personnel, etc., to make sure this

Director of East Asian Studies Dali Yang will serve as faculty director for the University of Chicago’s Beijing Center, planned to open in September. The Beijing Center will serve as a jumping-off point for deeper interaction between institutions in China at a time when few universities have the resources to expand internationally, President Robert Zimmer said in an interview. A committee is looking into creating a similar center in India. “The center will have office space for faculty and seminar rooms in the Haidian district of Beijing, home to 20 leading Chinese universities, to encourage dialogue between the institutions,” Yang said in an interview last fall. Yang, a professor of political science, chaired the 2008 faculty committee that recommended the center be created. “It is a great experience for me to work with faculty from multiple disciplines and the university administration to create a center that will spearhead the University of Chicago’s international engagement and place the U of C at the forefront of U.S.China educational exchanges,” Yang said in an e-mail interview. Zimmer said the East Asian civilization program will relocate to the center, which will gradually develop “a capacity for ongoing interaction” between American and Chinese faculty after it opens September 14. “I’m very optimistic that this is really going to be a full, Universitywide engagement,” Zimmer said. He

noted that further plans are already underway for the center, including a global health conference scheduled to occur soon after the center’s opening. In addition to language and civilization courses, Yang said the center would help students find work in the country. “We expect to steadily grow the number of course offerings for undergraduates in Beijing,” Yang said. “We anticipate that the center staff will help U of C students find internship opportunities.” Zimmer said the University is hoping to benefit from interaction with Chinese scholars, and is forming partnerships with schools in China to that end. “[We expect] to have a lot of flow and interaction with Chinese students and faculty,” he said. The center in India, which may be built in New Delhi, will build off of the successes observed in China, Zimmer said. “One of the proposals for the India center is being much more purposeful about bringing Indian scholars into the center in a way that we would support, and then bring them to Chicago for a time,” he said. Beijing’s will be the second major center in a foreign city; one was created in Paris in 2004. Professor Robert Morrissey, who was on the committee that recommended the foundation of the Paris Center, sat on the recent committee that recommended the new center, Yang said. “We have benefited much from his knowledge of the Paris Center’s operations,” Yang said.

By Berkman Frank Associate News Editor

the decision to stop taking classes early this year. “I’m done with all my requirements and my mom said, ‘That’s $13,000,’” said fourth-year Kate Dreis who, like all fourth-years interviewed, will take spring quarter off and walk in June. “If there was a last class I was dying to take, she’d let me ,[but] this seems like the most unselfish thing to do.” Fourth-year Liz Scoggin will be using money that would have been spent on spring quarter. “All the money I saved goes to law school, which I’m paying for,” she said. Other students cited a desire to work as their motivation for g r a d u a t i n g e a r l y. “ I w o r k f o r [Governor Pat Quinn’s campaign] and they asked me to start full-

SENIORS continued on page 2

President Barack Obama presented William H. McNeill, an emeritus history professor at the University, with a 2009 National Humanities Medal in a ceremony at the White House Thursday. McNeill has written numerous books on global history, served as president of the American Historical Association, and helped design the Western Civilization Core sequence, a press release said. At the presentation, Obama cited McNeill’s “pedagogy at the University of Chicago and as an author of more than 20 books, including The Rise of the West, which traces civilizations through 5,000 years of recorded history.” McNeill won the National Book Award for The Rise of the West in 1964. McNeill explained his love for education in an interview with Humanities magazine, the release said. “Teaching

President Obama presents the National Humanities Medal to William McNeill (left), the Robert A. Millikan Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in History, February 25 at the White House. COURTESY OF THE WHITE HOUSE

is the most wonderful way to learn things,” he said. “You have to get up before a class at 10 o’clock the next morning and have something to say.” Seventeen University affiliates have

received the medal, according to the University website, including historian Studs Terkel (Ph.D. ’32, J.D. ’34) in 1997 and classicist Allan Bloom (A.B. ’49, A.M. ’53, Ph.D. ’55) in 1992.

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CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | March 2, 2010

STUDENT LIFE

Dining exemptions policy too strict, petition says By Gergana Genkova News Contributor Dormitory residents with dietary restrictions who are forced to stay on the unlimited meal plan are petitioning the Housing Office to b e more lenient in granting exemptions. The Housing Office allows students with medical and religious dietary needs to request exemption from the mandatory unlimited meal plan, but the petition organizers say that the system is too harsh, preventing some students from leaving a costly plan they rarely use. Petition writer and second-year Talia Penslar said the petition’s goal is not to pressure the University to change their menu. “They are going to need to relax their [exemption] policy for students with allergies,� said Penslar, who cannot eat wheat. “What they have done so far isn’t sufficient.� The petition has about 200 signatures so far, but most of those who signed don’t have allergies. Penslar said only six people on campus have celiac disease, which requires a lifelong gluten-free diet. “We are not talking about a big financial blow to the food-serving providers, but a little bit of a cushion to the students with severe problems,� said Penslar, who does not suffer from celiac disease. The Housing Office has no clear-cut criteria for granting exemptions, which are granted on a case-by-case basis, Director of Undergraduate Housing Katie CallowWright said. “We try to determine whether we can provide food [in a] still safe and healthy environment,� Callow-Wright said. “We do have cases where we have released students from the meal plan.� Dining officials said they work with the Medical Center to develop celiac-friendly diets, and provide rice noodles, white rice, and gluten-free bread and cereal on request for students who contact them. In addition, dining staff are trained to change gloves when handling gluten-free substances to avoid contamination. Exemptions are a

last resort because Housing Office officials consider eating at dining halls a part of the housing experience. Due to confidentiality issues, officials did not comment on Penslar’s case. Penslar eats at Bartlett two to seven times a week and can eat about 20 percent of the food offered. Because of cross contamination, however, she fears consuming anything other than raw fruits and vegetables. “No restaurant-style or dining hall–style can ever guarantee a hypoallergenic environment,� Penslar said. “The buffet style increases the chance of cross contamination.� Penslar said that dining hall food is not always prepared exactly by the recipe, and dining hall employees make mistakes: Croutons can fall in the lettuce or a worker may forget to change his gloves before beginning a new task, which might cause an allergic reaction. Second-year Ariana Melendez, who is allergic to dairy, eggs, wheat, tomatoes, fish, and shellfish, but has not been released from the meal plan, acknowledged the University’s efforts to accommodate her diet, but said her options are still severely limited. “I know that the housing and dining services are trying because I have met with them multiple times,� she said in an e-mail interview. “But that is no excuse for me to have to eat the same rice noodles, veggies without sauce, and Lucky Charms for all of my meals for three days straight.� Housing Office representatives said they have not heard of the alleged discontent from any of the committees that report on the student body’s opinions. “We have seen a lot of satisfaction with the changes. [They] offer greater flexibility, better value,� Callow-Wright said. “We feel like it was a good move.� She said the Housing Office welcomes feedback to “open the lines of communication� with the petitioning students. “We are going to want to understand what is going on with the students who are driving the process,� Callow-Wright said.

“Why waste $30,000 when I can be done?� asks December grad SENIORS continued from front page time as soon as I could,� said fourth-year Kate Berner. “I was planning to be a parttime student [Spring quarter] and just take interesting and fun classes, but then the job came up.� Berner said saved tuition money gave her extra incentive to take the time off. Hila Mehr (A.B. ‘09) graduated because she didn’t come up with a thesis that caught her interest. “Last year I asked myself, do I really want to write a BA? I didn’t have enough credits to graduate last June, but I had [enough] for this December. There were no professorss I wanted to work on a BA with. Why waste $30,000 when I can be done?� Mehr recently began an internship with Representative Rick Perry’s office. Students regretted missing out on some classes, though many were more relieved at being finished with homework and

moving on to their careers. “If someone wrote me a check for $50,000 and said, ‘Stick around for another year,’ I would by all means take them up on that offer,� said third-year Mark Redmond, who will graduate this year to join the Phoenix, AZ Teach for America corps, where he hopes to teach high school biology. “Sometimes I do think about, ‘Well it would have been nice if I could afford to stay here for longer,� said Namboodiripad, who will be working in a research lab where she volunteered during College. “[But] doing research is nice—it will be nice to be doing that instead of doing homework.� Dries and Scoggin both said they might sit in on classes during the spring, though both hope to find a job or an internship. “If I’m here, I might as well take advantage of it. It could be my last chance,� Dries said.

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www.mph.illinois.edu CRIME REPORT BY JORDAN HOLLIDAY

Âť February 24, 9:37 p.m. A 47-year-old woman walking on 55th Street beneath the Metra tracks was approached from behind by two men. One placed her in a choke hold and held her against the wall while the other displayed a knife and demanded her money. After hitting her twice and taking her wallet, the offenders ran north on Lake Park. The suspects were described as black and in their early 20s. One was described as approximately 6 foot 1 and thin; the other 5 foot 7 and 200 pounds.

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Tuition Hikes Why does tuition keep rising?

3

CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | March 2, 2010

ALUMNI

U of C continues decade of top Peace Corps enrollment By Alicia Sanchez-Ramirez News Contributor The University is one of the top producers of Peace Corps volunteers for the tenth consecutive year, the group announced last month. Thirty alumni currently serve in the Peace Corps. In 2008 and 2009, the University ranked first for number of volunteers among small colleges and universities. Since its undergraduate student body has exceeded 5,000, it is now classified as a medium-sized college; it is ranked eighth in this new division. The University has been one of the top schools in its category since the ranking system began ten years ago. Since the founding

of the Peace Corps in 1967, 694 alumni have volunteered. “Chicago graduates are so well prepared that they can hit the ground running,� said Dillan Siegler, director of the Chicago Careers in Public and Social Service program. Christine Torres, public affairs specialist for the Peace Corps’s Chicago regional office, said students usually acquire volunteer, language, and international experience during their undergraduate years, making them “both more competitive applicants for the Peace Corps and productive volunteers.� David Pi (A.B. ’06) currently serves in the Peace Corps, teaching English in Romania since May 2008. He agreed that the University’s environment fosters a commit-

ment to social service. “Students at Chicago are less concerned with careerism and material success than they are with enriching their lives through experience. The academics at Chicago nurture this inclination,� Pi said. Many University graduates meet the requirements for education and English teaching assignments, Torres said, calling it “one of the greatest program needs across the developing world.� The 2009 dean’s survey of entering and returning students showed 30 percent of students in the College were interested in careers in the public and service sectors. “Students at the University of Chicago have repeatedly proven themselves to be as committed to service as they are committed to academic excellence,� Torres said.

doesn’t happen again,� Goff-Crews said. Dawson said he would attend the meeting, but declined to comment further. According to Goff-Crews, the Library Department and UC P D are conducting internal reviews of the incident, and a complaint has been filed with the UCPD over the arrest. Goff-Crews has already met with some of the students who witnessed the event, including third-year De’Azia Baldwin, who was sitting with Dawson before he was arrested. “There’s still confusion about what exactly happened, and what caused it to escalate as much as it did, and hopefully we’ll get some answers,� Baldwin said. Students have reacted strongly to the

arrest, sending dozens of e-mails to various administrators and listhosts to spread awareness. Fourth-year Nate Wilmers heard about the arrest Saturday and e -mailed his parents to call President Ro b e r t Z i m m e r a n d a s k w h e t h e r t h e University would reprimand the UCPD. “I am absolutely disgusted by the clear police brutality,� Wilmers wrote to his parents, who left messages with Zimmer and Dean of Students Susan Art. “I feel even less safe with the campus police than I already did.� Wilmers forwarded a request to 20 of his friends to ask their parents to do the same, and the letter was soon shared with hundreds on campus. Wilmers and others, including witnesses,

Âť The February 26 Voice column “Stuff To Doâ€? incorrectly indentified SĂŁo Paolo as the location of the 2016 Summer Olympics. They will be held in Rio de Janeiro. Âť The February 22 article “Carlson Earns Second Trip To NCAAsâ€? incorrectly identified the location of this year’s D-III wrestling championship. The championship will be held in Cedar Rapids, IA, this Friday and Saturday. 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.

Students call on parents to express “disgust� over alleged UCPD brutality ARREST continued from front page

CORRECTIONS

have questioned whether the incident was racially motivated—Dawson is black—and plan to question administrators about police action tomorrow. Baldwin, Dawson’s friend, said students have come to her with their own stories of alleged racial discrimination by the UCPD, but she told them they should air their grievances at today’s meeting. “When something unjust happens, you feel strongly that you should stand up, no matter how much time passes. This is one of those instances,� she said. “Most of the parties feel just as strongly as we did Wednesday evening, and will continue to feel strongly.�

NEED MORE NEWS? Check out the News Blog at: WWW.CHICAGOMAROON. COM/NEWS-BLOG

—Additional reporting by Asher Klein

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CHICAGO MAROON

| VIEWPOINTS | March 2, 2010

VIEWPOINTS

EDITORIAL & OP-ED MARCH 2, 2010

EDITORIAL

Bad timing CHICAGO MAROON

The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892

SUPRIYA SINHABABU, Editor-in-Chief TOM TIAN, Managing Editor JORDAN HOLLIDAY, Editor-in-Chief–Elect JAKE GRUBMAN, Managing Editor–Elect MICHAEL LIPKIN, News Editor ASHER KLEIN, News Editor EVAN COREN, Viewpoints Editor HAYLEY LAMBERSON, Voices Editor BEN SIGRIST, Voices Editor WILL FALLON, Sports Editor A. G. GOODMAN, Sports Editor BEN ROSSI, Editorial Board Member EMILY KAISER, Editorial Board Member ANDREW THORNTON, Ed. Board Member VICTORIA KRAFT, Head Copy Editor MONIKA LAGAARD, Head Copy Editor HOLLY LAWSON, 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 LIAT SPIRO, Associate Viewpoints Editor BLAIR THORNBURGH, Assoc. Voices Editor RYAN TRYZBIAK, Associate Sports Editor JUDY MARCINIAK, Business Manager JAY BROOKS, Business Director JACK DiMASSIMO, Designer ANDREW GREEN, Designer IVY PEREZ, Designer CHRISTINA SCHWARTZ, Designer JESSICA SHEFT-ASON, Designer NAKUL SINGH, Designer MATT TYNDALE, Designer ANNA AKERS-PECHT, Copy Editor HUNTER BUCKWORTH, Copy Editor MARCELLO DELGADO, Copy Editor JORDAN FRANKLIN, Copy Editor DANIELLE GLAZER, Copy Editor LAUREN LARSON, Copy Editor MIRANDA LI, Copy Editor LAUREN MAKHOLM, Copy Editor SAALIKA ABBAS MELA, Copy Editor ALEX WARBURTON, Copy Editor LILY YE, Copy Editor WENJIA DOREEN ZHAO, Copy Editor

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

The Registrar should work with departments to reduce scheduling conflicts With the release of time schedules during seventh week, students have begun to make their last set of course selections for the year. All too frequently, however, students find they have to choose between equally desirable classes b e c a u s e o f s i m p l e s ch e d u l i n g conflicts. The University Registrar should work with departments to avert common conflicts between and within departments to permit students greater freedom and success in their course selection. While Core classes are scheduled to balance Hum and Sosc opposite math and science, upperclassmen often struggle with scheduling conflicts when their classes are focused within a single topic. For

example, “Comparative Politics of 20th Century Latin America,” “Latin America: Economics of Developing Countries,” “Intensive Study: Haiti,” and “Liberation Theology in Latin America” are all scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 to 11:50. The majority of social science classes begin at 10:30 or 1:30, thus preventing students from taking electives outside their department in similar disciplines. Likewise, math and science departments’ highly structured course tracks severely limit inter-department elective opportunities and complicate double-majoring. Class scheduling decisions are made by the professors who

teach them and the individual departments, generally without the consideration of classes in other departments. This creates the potential for classes in similar subjects, but different departments, to clash unnecessarily, making it harder to put together a schedule that adequately meets students’ interests. Thus, professors should make a regular effort to prevent conflicts in cross-listed departments and common fields for double-majors. It would be impossible to address every scheduling conflict—there are a lot of classes offered and only so many available hours in the week or in a busy professor’s schedule.

©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

— The M AROON Editorial Board consists of the Editorin-Chief, Editor-in-Chief– Elect, Viewpoints Editors, and three Editorial Board members.

OP-ED

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Police academy

Editorial underestimates student liaisons’ role on Board of Trustees

A-Level arrest requires clarification of student– UCPD relations

Marshall Knudson Columnist

The recent arrest of a student in Regenstein library has set off a blaze of controversy. Though the incident is still fresh and its details only preliminary, the narrative of events reported in Friday’s Maroon leaves many of us deeply troubled. Quite naturally, students have plenty of questions that need to be answered. The event is disconcerting, but

it doesn’t stand on its own. Any such occasion elicits speculation about how best to interpret it in light of broader circumstances. It is an opportunity for speculation on ongoing trends, and it opens up a space to address issues that normally wouldn’t see the light of day. That said, it is also a moment in which members of the University community must act with equanimity. We must be careful not to overanalyze or under-scrutinize. The Administration must show tact and good will, demonstrating full commitment to dialogue and information-sharing. The student

Why, in the midst of so many other humanitarian tragedies around the world, does the IsraelPalestine issue dominate the discourse in the way it does? There are two weak answers to this question that, I believe, provide minimal insight. The first is that the IsraelPalestine issue gets the attention that it does because of a longstanding anti-Semitism, which has resulted in a disproportionate level of criticism toward Israel. To be sure, this certainly contributes to the discussion in a very negative way. One can find articles in anti-Semitic journals—

As undergraduate liaison to the board of trustees, I would like to weigh in on some of the topics explored by the recent Maroon editorial (2/23/10: “Proxy error”). I believe the most important issue surrounding student representation at Board of Trustees meetings of the is how to work to increase influence with trustee members and university administrators. Increasing student influence is a necessary first step to earn a voting position for the student liaisons, to increase student access to Board committees, and to have a greater role in setting the meeting agenda. I have followed in the path of my student liaison predecessors in advocating for an increased role at Board meetings. Earning additional access and student influence at Board of Trustee meetings will take time and a prudent strategy. In my liaison role, I have examined and discussed the role of students at our peer institutions’ trustee meetings, have begun developing deeper relationships with various trustee members, and have presented possible opportunities to involve student liaisons with other trustee committees, particularly when relevant issues are being discussed. I’ve had the opportunity to meet on multiple occasions with Vice President Kimberly GoffCrews and Associate Dean of Students Karen Warren Coleman to draft the trustee meeting agenda. In trustee committee sessions there are opportunities to interject and raise new issues or shift the conversation to express student views. Though student liaisons don’t sit on the other 11 committees, issues relevant to students are relayed to the Student and

ISRAEL-PALESTINE continued on page 4

LETTERS continued on page 4

body, for its part, must ensure that the Administration fulfills these duties, and refrain from stoking the flames of contention to no good end. What we face on this campus is the same sticky dilemma that has bogged down other universities in recent years. What is the role of university police departments (U P Ds) and what is the relationship of their personnel with the student body? U P Ds have kicked up trouble on all sides, catching f lak b oth for underresponsiveness (the Virginia Tech shootings) and heavy-handedness

UCPD continued on page 4

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

However, there should be at minimum a practice of notifying departments when there are multiple classes related to environmental policy offered at the same time or when scheduling conflicts occur in fields such as math and physics that have many doublemajors. This extra consideration will go a long way to increase registration in related classes and to help students achieve a truly interdisciplinary education.

OP-ED

A problem of (pre)occupation While important, IsraelPalestine conflict should not monopolize discourse

By Chase Mechanick Viewpoints Contributor There is an argument one typically encounters among apologists of the Israeli occupation in Palestine: Why focus so much on this one issue when there are so many other, more tragic conflicts going on in the world? Advocates of Palestinian rights are told that by discussing this one conflict, they are distracting our attention from the (perhaps more pressing) conflicts in Sudan, Sri Lanka, Chechnya, Georgia, Tibet, Somalia, Congo, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq…indeed, the list of candidates is endless. Why

decry every Israeli wrongdoing, they ask, when Russia, China, and even the U.S. are committing blatant crimes before the world’s very eyes with almost total impunity? To be clear, I consider this argument absurd on its face—there is no limit to the number of issues we can think critically about at any one time. But given the spate of Israel-Palestine events in recent weeks—I am talking about v i s i t s b y Cy n t h i a M c K i n n e y , Moshe Halbertal, Hussein Ibish, Joel Kovel, Ghaith al-Omari, and David Makovsky—it appears to me that other issues are not being given the relative attention that they merit. So it is worth asking:

CHICAGO MAROON

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Letters to the editor, continued LETTERS continued from page 3 Campus Life Committee. As an example, at the fall trustee meeting we discussed security, health care, undergraduate recruiting, and the university budget. These are issues that fall under the purview of other committees but are brought to Student and Campus Life in order to solicit the feedback of the student liaisons. Though student liaisons don’t hold a voting position, they still wield influence through their contributions at committee meetings and in agenda planning. The student liaisons may have limited formal roles but the most important part of the position is outside the job description. The liaisons are members of the SG executive cabinet where university administrators debrief us and we relay student feedback. We additionally have the opportunity to manage projects, connect students to resources, and field constituent questions. We have much to lose and little to gain from clashing with trustee members and administrators over the creation of a voting position for students. Such a fight will invariably become a distraction from our central task of improving student life on campus. It will take time, but we must earn the influence we hope to wield at trustee meetings. Greg Nance SG Undergrad Liaison to the Board of Trustees

Op-ed misrepresents Tea Party policy proposals In the most recent edition of the Maroon, Viewpoints columnist Andrew Thornton takes a stab at the Tea Party Patriot Contract from America. “In none of these proposals do we see the interests of ordinary Americans

favored over the interests of right-wing ideologues,” writes Thornton. Thornton’s narrow-minded dismissal of the majority of these proposals as “utterly insane,” however, is misleading and overlooks the potential value of several of the suggested reforms. At least nine of the 21 listed proposals have significant bipartisan backing, support of the general public, and/or represent changes that are fundamentally aligned with the interests of America’s middle class. Consider proposals three and 21, which call on all legislation to be available online for public viewing and broadcasting non-emergency meetings on C-SPAN, respectively. President Obama himself promised to air the health care negotiations during his campaign. Likewise, legislation requiring that all bills be available online before consideration by the House has already been introduced by a Democratic lawmaker from Washington. Proposal 16 calls for a temporary moratorium on earmarks. In 2006, Democrats in Congress did just that. Proposal four would require every bill to include a constitutional justification; the House of Representatives adopted a very similar reform during the 105th Congress. Proposal 14 seeks to restrict the use of eminent domain on the basis of “economic development.” I am sure citizens from New London, CT, plaintiffs in the famous Kelo Supreme Court case, would agree that this is just an extremist right-wing pet project. Finally, the idea of creating a commission to identify duplication, waste, and ineffectiveness in the government sounds oddly similar to Obama’s promise to create a White House performance chief officer to study ways of eliminating waste and efficiency. In short, nobody is perfect, especially the Tea Parties, but let’s give credit where it’s due and avoid unwarranted generalizations. Lukas Pleva Class of 2013

Just like four million Palestinians, 25 million Kurds remain without a national homeland ISRAEL-PALESTINE continued from page 3 the Holocaust-denying Journal of Historical Review, for instance—that focus on Israeli politics and sound like they could have easily come from a “leftist” source like CounterPunch or AlterNet. But while I think some of the anti-Israel discourse is motivated by anti-Semitism, I do not believe that the excessive focus on Israel-Palestine is primarily the work of a hidden anti-Semitic agenda. Reasonable observers need not resort to anti-Semitic criteria to conclude that that the occupation is guilty of many of the things it is accused of. The second is that the Israel-Palestine conflict, by virtue of its political reality and the sheer scale of human suffering it has produced, deserves the priority it gets on university campuses, among academics and activists. I agree that the immediate problems facing Palestinians—illegal settlement expansion, humiliating checkpoints, segregated bypass roads, the economic blockade of the Gaza Strip, the legal statelessness of millions of refugees, and the scores of people who have been killed—are monumental and constitute a humanitarian crisis that must be addressed forthwith. But the same is also true for the situation facing 300,000 internally displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka, 100,000 of whom remain trapped by the Sinhalese-dominated government in squalid internment camps, in the aftermath of the country’s 26-year civil war. It is also true of the two million Pakistanis displaced by the army’s counter-Taliban military operations, or the millions of Congolese who continue to suffer from the aftereffects of the Second Congo War, the deadliest conflict since WWI I. Yes, the frustrated

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aspirations of four million Palestinians to achieve statehood is a historical tragedy. Yet the same is also true of the 25 million Kurds: the largest ethnic group on earth without a national homeland. One could perhaps get into those very muddy debates about whose conflict is “worse,” or who deserves more attention. I view these kinds of discussions as unproductive, and I would repeat what I said in my opening paragraph: There is no limit to the number of issues we can think critically about at any one time. My point is that Palestinians do not have anything even close to a monopoly on victimhood, and therefore do not deserve anything even close to a monopoly over the discourse. However, there is still good reason to pay special attention to this one conflict without allowing it to overtake other issues. Perhaps the conflict is significant for being significant. That is to say, it has managed to dredge up some of the worst forms of ethnic jingoism and authoritarian ThirdWorldism and has served as a locus of bad politics for many years, from American neoconservatism to Islamic nationalism. The fact that it is already a priority means that, for those of us who are interested in combating the many ailments that plague political discourse, the Israel-Palestine issue must be a front line of defense. But we should not delude ourselves by enveloping the issue in a world-historical aura while giving comparatively violent conflicts only passing notice. — Chase Mechanick is a second-year in the College.

Demographic differences between University and larger community make racial profiling a constant concern UCPD continued from page 3 (“Don’t tase me, bro!” at the University of Florida). It’s a tight rope to walk, enforcing the law on campus and also attending to the safety and security issues present in such a diverse environment. With large numbers of young people squeezed into small spaces, throttled with alcohol and the myopic glow of early adulthood, issues of vulnerability and excitability top the list of special concerns. And while public universities work to protect neighborhood residents from rowdy students, private universities like our own also try to protect students from neighborhood residents. It’s hard to say whether we should be more relieved or startled when we learn our university helms the largest private police force in the country, a force funded on the corporate dime but charged with public power. It often feels like we’ve got a gang of Pinkertons at our disposal, and many students perceive accordingly that UCPD is here to protect us, rather than arrest us. Officers seem disinclined to the aggressive tactics used by city cops, so students brand them as pushovers indisposed to the enforcement of repressive laws against us. It’s no secret that we covet our privileged status as students, members of the corporate body, which seems to insulate us against the wage-earning, badge-carriers of the UCPD. On the other hand, many students are uncomfortable about UCPD’s activities on the South Side, and some routinely scrutinize its operations as pieces of the bigger puzzle of managing community relations, or most recently “community engagement,” a puzzle the University of Chicago has never really solved. These complex feelings towards the UCPD tend to merge uncomfortably when University members get trapped in the UCPD dragnet. Because of the ethnic and socioeconomic disparity between Hyde Park and the surrounding communities, the issue of racial profiling, targeting “people of color” for undue harassment, has lingered for decades. When a University community member who is also a person of color

is stopped or detained by the police, this revives attention to the underlying issue, and opens a new chapter in a protracted real-life drama. The issue isn’t new, and it’s not going away any time soon. But the question of profiling is not the only one that should be on our minds. Clearly, the relationship between University police officers and students is quite murky, due in part, it seems, to the curious way in which they regard each other. Officers are challenged to promote the kind of safe environment into which parents will be comfortable sending their kids, and investors their money. These private interests tend to brush against the public force of law and the norms of urban policing, or at least it’s easy to perceive that they do so. And as beneficiaries of this special police protection, students sometimes have trouble sifting between their feelings for ‘at-home’ familiarity with campus and the obstinate fact that the law applies here as much as anywhere. To put it simply, students may be more vigilant about their rights than many other Americans most of the time, but when we’re hanging about our own stompingground, we’re especially defensive. Police encounters are traumatic. And as a student, there’s nothing more unimaginable than being forcibly removed from the premises of one’s own library. But the problem likely boils down to a complex admixture of confusion and misinterpretation. At base, it’s the objectionable product of a very ambiguous relationship. In the following days, as we examine what transpired in Regenstein last week, we should also confront the role of the UC P D on campus and its relationship to the student body. We may open up a can of worms, but the good to be gained is for students to have better understanding of campus policing and the rights and responsibilities with which we are all endowed. — Marshall Knudson is a fourthyear in the College majoring in anthropology.

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CHICAGO CHICAGO MAROON MAROON | VOICES | VOICES | November | March 2,20, 2010 2009

VOICES MUSIC

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT MARCH 2, 2010

THEATER

Newsom plays conductor to Steppenwolf nearly makes Have One on Me's A Separate Peace a theatrical masterpiece multiple movements By Asher Klein Voices Hipster Harper

By Blair Thornburgh Voices Storybook Weaver

Although it clocks in at nearly two hours, the problem with Joanna Newsom’s third album, Have One on Me, isn’t its length. In fact, it’s to the album’s credit that it doesn’t get boring at a running time almost three times the norm. The problem is, this album could be a lot of things, and throughout the ambling experience, the listener can never be quite sure what it is—Newsom’s always toeing the line between scenes, between genres, and between feelings. The album is unquestionably a fine piece of art, and Newsom is always in control of the shifting tides of the album. The question is: Does Have One on Me work as a cohesive whole? When it comes down to definitions, Joanna Newsom is a harpist who plays folk music. Her genre-bending isn’t surprising with her mix of a high-aristocratic form and a low, populist affect. The best passages of the album are the complex, ornately-structured runs she takes on the harp that sound nothing like classical music.

HAVE ONE ON ME Joanna Newsom Drag City

Finny (Damir Konjicija, left) and Gene (Jake Cohen, right) give the audience a two-for-one special at the gun show. COURTESY OF PETER COOMBS

By Matt Barnum Voices Rushmore The album feels like an operatic series of vignettes, maybe of a midnight walk through the countryside. Newsom dances forward, just a couple of steps ahead of the listener, but her odd, ever-changing, beautiful voice always keeps bursting onto the front before it ultimately fades into the landscape of sound. It’s almost as if the audience is on a revolving stage, having its attention directed to different landscapes: Renaissance fair, country festival, midnight garden, ballet. Newsom is not ready to give you one look, and when you finally feel like you’ve connected to the lyrics, the tempo speeds up and the next scene begins. After an hour of this, it’s easy to forget about the musician who’s supposed to be at the forefront of this wild orchestration. Have One on Me never settles. Individual songs change tempo, key, tone, and ensemble a number of times. Take the title track: It begins as a slow, intimate harp-and-voice number, yet at 1:42, she brings that movement to a close. During the subsequent countrified section, her voice evokes the twang of the accompanying banjo. By 4:00, however, the predominant instruments are trumpet and bass drum, and it feels almost like a processional march. The song, which at 11:02 is the longest of 18 tracks distributed over three discs, is exemplary of the whole. It switches gears every two minutes, adding instruments until it comes to a climax, then dropping out, coming to another one, and cutting everything off except harp and voice again. The only thing that ties the songs together, in fact, is Newsom’s virtuosic voice. Newsom is fond of letting her voice feel its way through the lyrics, not necessarily staying on beat but never letting it stray too far. She goes from trilling on one word, only to catch up to the harp on the next one, or the one after that. At times, it feels like a flowing brook; at others, it adopts the long drawl of an Appalachian accent, or even sneers. Her voice ranges in tone from legends like Stevie

NEWSOM continued on page 8

One of my former English professors used to say something along the lines of “A masterpiece is perfect because it’s a masterpiece.” I would always roll my eyes at this tautology. But while watching the Steppenwolf Theatre’s adaptation of John Knowles’ classic novel A Separate Peace, I came to understand this saying’s meaning for the first time.

A SEPARATE PEACE Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre Through March 14

A Separate Peace is one of my favorite books, so in my view the production’s source material can’t be improved on—it is a masterpiece, and thus, perfect. Steppenwolf gamely tries to emulate the novel’s successes, and, to a large extent, the theater succeeds. The story centers on the relationship between Gene and Finny, two roommates and best friends at The Devon School, a boy’s boarding school based on the elite, East Coast institution of Phillips Exeter Academy. The two are polar opposites: Gene is reticent, intelligent, and insecure, while Finny is athletic, confident, and easygoing. Soon enough, Gene begins to resent Finny for his talents, leading to tragic consequences. Damir Konjicija (Finny) steals every scene

he’s in, perfectly capturing the purity and guilelessness of Finny’s enthusiasm. And, in general, Nancy Gilsenan, who adapted the novel for the stage, has a keen eye for pulling out some of the book’s best lines and including them in the play verbatim—a particularly smart choice when it comes to the last several lines of the book. Occasionally, the play lapses in portraying the subtleties that are key to the narrative. Such is the case with one of the most important scenes, where Gene “jounces” a tree limb, causing Finny to fall and break his leg. In the play, the jounce is aggressive, an unquestionable act of attack that removes an important ambiguity from the narrative. Moreover, in the book, Gene follows

PEACE continued on page 7

FILM

Romero remake sticks too close to horror tradition By Hayley Lamberson Voices Patient Zero If you hear a noise upstairs, don’t go investigate. And if you and your friends are running from a crazed killer, never split up. Also, don’t ever expect the telephone to work. The horror genre is notorious for its gimmicky, nonsensical conventions. The Crazies, a remake of George A. Romero’s 1973 film by the same name, seems to take them as prerequisites. What could have been a tense, creative thriller is demoted to something predictable and mediocre simply because it compels itself to adhere to predictable genre conventions. Ogden Marsh, Iowa, is the quintessential

CRAZIES continued on page 7

David (Timothy Olyphant, center) and Judy (Radha Mitchell) knew they shouldn't have let Bill (Brett Rickaby, left), their pyromaniac third cousin, twice removed, play with fireworks. COURTESY OF OVERTURE FILMS

THE CRAZIES Directed by Breck Eisner Wide Release

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CHICAGO MAROON | VOICES | March 2, 2010

Spoken aloud, Finny's interior monologues sound stilted PEACE continued from page 6 Finny’s fall with a jump of his own that had “unthinking sureness…every trace of [his] fear forgotten”; in the play, Gene simply climbs down from the tree, effectively halting the scene’s effectiveness. Similarly, the story’s peripheral characters are warped into caricatures. Leper, another student at the school, is the classic nerd— glasses, tucked-in shirt, the works—who is occasionally exploited for some cheap laughs from the audience. The other supporting characters are likewise two-dimensional. The play’s brevity is to blame for part of this. A brisk hour and five minutes, the play could have made good use of an additional 15 minutes or so to expand on its themes. A deeper exploration of Finny

Spoiler alert! Military bio-weapon goes awry and Gene’s relationship, as well as more consideration of the rest of the ensemble, would have made the extended running time well worth it. The play’s dialogue has to do a significant amount of work to emulate the novel’s exposition and inner monologue. However, the intended effect of the prose gets lost in translation. An important part of the story is how Gene keeps his resentment bottled up inside; in the play, however, Gene explains every feeling to Finny, which just isn’t the same. Here, the director could have made better use of the retrospective voiceover from a much older Gene that’s used as a frame device at the beginning and end of the play. The dialogue is also used to pose questions that are best left unasked. At one

point, wondering what his best friend sees in him, Gene asks Finny, “Why’d you choose me?” This is one of the central questions in the story, a question that the viewer asks throughout—but voicing it explicitly comes off as obvious and forced, without getting any closer to an actual answer. In the end, however, this adaptation captures the dynamic between Finny and Gene well, and it’s this loyalty to the heart of the story that carries the play. Despite a few false steps in the dramatic interpretation, the source material is strong enough (one could even say perfect) that seeing it enacted on the stage is a reminder, indeed, of what makes A Separate Peace the masterpiece that it is.

CRAZIES continued from page 6 rural American town. Everyone is on a firstname basis with each other, and baseball is the town’s favorite pastime. After an airplane carrying a top-secret biological weapon—a virus code-named Trixie—crashes into the town's water source, the townsfolk start acting, well, crazy. As they become infected, the townsfolk begin killing any and everyone in sight. Then, as the disease spreads and the military comes to intervene, the town disintegrates into chaos. David (Timothy Olyphant), the town sheriff, and his pregnant wife Judy (Radha Mitchell) discover they are immune to the virus and try to flee the town, now filled with their homicidal neighbors and cruel military men. The plot isn’t anything new, but the “crazies” are a very unique kind of monster. The virus slowly hemorrhages the brain, causing the infected to bleed from all orifices and driving them into a murderous rage. Yet the crazies, unlike zombies or other monsters, never completely lose their humanity. Even at the height of infection, they can still talk and think. The only thing they lose is their sanity. Between killing sprees, they’ll babble to themselves or stand still for hours on end. And they never show any signs of remorse, sometimes not even acknowledging that they have killed anyone. The last vestiges of humanity that remains in the infected makes them both terrifying and interesting. They’re as realistic as monsters can get, especially as their murderous instincts mimic newspaper headlines. The crazies don’t eat brains; they seek revenge or walk into a high school baseball game wielding a shotgun. But the film insists on making the military the true villain. They’re the bad guys who created the virus in the first place, and they go to laughably extreme lengths to rid the town of the disease (and its residents). Whereas the crazies are nuanced, original characters, all of the soldiers wear gas masks to eliminate any trace of individuality. They're The Man in big, capital letters. It doesn’t help that the army is mostly absent for the rest of the film. Besides instituting a very short-lived quarantine, the soldiers and the crazies don’t interact. Having the military get involved just seems like an easy way to give the virus an original story and make David and Judy’s escape that much more complicated. The couple is inconvenienced to the point of absurdity. At one point, for example, a military helicopter launches a rocket at their car. Seems like a lot of work for two people who don’t even have the disease. The incorporation of trite, nonsensical clichés like this is what brings the film down. Most of the film’s scares rely on loud noises and people popping out of dark corners— tactics that are far too predictable to be effective. Yet, there are also moments of brilliantly constructed tension. The opening scene has David confronting the first of the infected after he wanders onto a baseball field midgame wielding a shotgun. There are no gimmicks—no screeching violins or dark corners. It’s just David asking the man to leave peacefully, which becomes less and less of a possibility as the scene plays out. The Crazies is a frustrating film to watch. It’s clear that director Breck Eisner could have made a brilliant film, but he couldn’t resist the temptation of goofy horror clichés like big, scary military men and easy scare tactics. Admittedly, the fault may lie with the film’s strict adherence to its source material. Romero’s original follows the exact same plot, and it’s one of his least popular films. But remakes are just that—an opportunity to reimagine the narrative presented in the previous film. Simply having a town full of homicidal nutjobs should have been more than enough.

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CHICAGO MAROON | VOICES | March 2, 2010

Out of Many, One album emerges NEWSOM continued from page 6

What do you do if a friend’s boyfriend hits on you? Chris: If your friend’s boyfriend is hitting on you, then the boy needs a wake-up call. He may be someone who is naturally inclined to flirt with any two-legged being. If his intentions aren’t that innocent, don’t be afraid to let him know that you are uncomfortable with his advances. Before you even do that though, you should definitely give your friend a heads-up about the situation. If he’s only turning on the charm when the girlfriend is out of the picture, then he’s probably not nearly as innocent as he pretends to be. Just remember that you should tell it like it is. Don’t blow the facts out of proportion. Otherwise, you may be getting yourself into a very sticky situation. Anna: It’s a really tough situation when a friend’s man hits on you. You don’t want to encourage this kind of behavior, and, on top of that, it’s hard to know whether you should say anything to your friend. There are some questions to ask yourself in response to a situation like this one. What was his intention? Was he really trying to hook up

with you, was he trying to get attention, or was he just joking around? If it was the former, you have an obligation to your friend to let her know. If it was either of the latter two reasons, then you need to talk to the boyfriend. You should discuss how his actions made you uncomfortable, and maybe, if you two are close enough, try to work through why he needs that kind of attention. If his poor behavior continues, talk to your friend about these indiscretions. When is the best time during the quarter to break up with someone? Anna: Breaking up with someone is terrible no matter what time of the quarter it is. I would say that it depends on the kind of person your future ex is. If he or she is the kind of person who gets really selfdestructive, I wouldn’t break up with them early in the quarter, because they would have a lot of free time to get themselves into bad situations. If your soon-to-be ex is the kind of person who drops all their work when something bad happens to them, wait until after finals (because the end of midterms really doesn’t exist at this school). Are you two the kind of couple

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that does homework together? If so, you need to wait until either the end of the quarter or until the beginning of the next one to break it off. It would be both mean and rude, which is probably not your aim, to do so in the middle of the quarter. Now, if you were trying to be malicious, I would suggest that you break up with them the night before a major midterm. However, be aware that malicious breakups usually come back to bite you in the ass. Chris: Anna is right when she says that there are a lot of different best-case scenarios for breaking up with your boyfriend/girlfriend. In general, I think there are only two questions you really need to think about to make the best decision. One: Did your boy/girlfriend do something really skeezy that made you want to break up with him/her? Two: While you are breaking up with your beau, do you still wish them the best? If your answer to number one is yes, than break up with them at your leisure. Who cares how it affects their life, academic or otherwise? If your answer to number two is yes, then you should think about being considerate. However, if you really need to end things, then you should just do it. You should only be concerned about what is best for your peace of mind: no more, no less.

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This exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Anders Zorn, An Irish Girl (detail), 1894, Etching. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection.

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THE DARKER SIDE OF LIGHT ARTS OF PRIVACY, – Open Mic: The Dark Mirror | Thursday, March 4, 7-9 pm Thursday, March 4, 7-9 pm smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/darkersideof light

SMART MUSEUM OF ART UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 5550 South Greenwood Avenue | Chicago, Illinois 60637 | http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu

Nicks or Joni Mitchell to contemporaries like Regina Spektor. But Newsom is capable of some startlingly touching passages, like the unsheltered “Baby Birch,â€? the last track on the first CD. For the first six minutes, it sounds like she is alone in a Dakotan field with her harp, the sound of a record player stylus the only thing between the listener and the artist. A tinny, overdriven electric guitar will occasionally crack through the scene as Newsom sings. Drums kick in for a minute or two, and a chorus laments along with Newsom. She seems, as she often does, to be taking on another character here, perhaps a mother singing to a missing child. And for once, the character carries through the whole piece, never winking or glancing away. The song’s raw beauty is startling, and its depth of emotions is palpable, perhaps most when she sings: And if I die before I wake, Will you keep an eye on Baby Birch Because I’d hate to see her Make the same mistake Have One on Me isn’t about any one thing—there are disparate references to different types of popular music, and recurring references to animals. If the album works, it’s in no small part due to Newsom’s unbelievable voice and her uncanny talent for playing the harp gorgeously. It’s fitting that the last we hear of her is more than one minute from the end of the final song, “Does Not Suffice,â€? before it disintegrates into steady, electronic pulsing, the only time technology is audible. Newsom’s voice drifts away while the instruments go as loud as ever, and she sings, “la, la la, la la‌â€?. You’re left wondering, was she even there?

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Excerpt from “The Master of Ceremonies,” a personal essay by Jake Grubman ...It began with “Something About Coffee.” JB wrote the song in a red Mead Composition Book. The day after writing it, he discussed the song with his friends at school. He wanted to record this song. He had experience making music in his bedroom; they didn’t. Once, for a project in AP Government that year, he presented a history of the U.S. Department of the Interior through rap. Fro2000 had been in that class; he presented on the Department of State with a PowerPoint slideshow. “Something About Coffee” would be different, though. “You’re the cream in my coffee/You make it taste good/And without you/My Coffee would suck.” This one would blow up. So JB—back then, he was Jerk Butt, a name the origins of which have been lost to the sands of time, hopefully—got Fro2000 and Kid Charm to come over and make beautiful music. JB was on the keyboard. Kid Charm was on the Tupperware. Fro2000 was on vocals. They practiced the song until Fro2000 knew most of the words and JB could play something reasonable for about three minutes, and then they recorded it on the microphone JB had bought at Wal-Mart for $15. “Obama Nation,” as they decided to call themselves, was born.... Read more in Grey City, coming out this Friday at www.chicagomaroon.com/grey-city.

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CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | March 2, 2010

Maroons settle for second in conference but earn at-large bid to national tournament W. BASKETBALL continued from back page built a 9–3 advantage and forced Wash U to take its first time-out. Fourth-year Micaela White said the Maroons’ emphasis on playing together in the early going Saturday helped them put their previous struggles with Wash U behind them. “In the first half I think we did a good job of relying on the team to make plays instead of individuals,” White said. “We got good looks and finished well.” Although that stoppage gave the Bears a moment to regroup, play had hardly resumed before second-year Joann Torres stroked a three, igniting another Chicago run that would end with the Maroons on top 19–10 after a layup by second-year Taylor Simpson. That layup was only the start of an impressive performance from Simpson, who finished the game with seven rebounds and 14 points on 6–7 shooting from the field. However, it also marked the turning point for Wash U, which began to pull closer on

the strength of three-pointers from guard Alex Hoover and forward Kathryn Berger, plus a handful of short jumpers and layups by forward Jaimie McFarlin during the final stretch of the first half. At halftime, the

percent of their field goals and incrementally built their lead until they were up 60–49 with less than nine minutes to play. The Maroons, on occasion, appeared primed to make a run, but they never cut their deficit back below six points, and Wash U sealed a 71–60 win that was cushioned by Chicago’s desperate fouling in the game’s last moments. The change from the first half to the second half of Saturday’s game was less a matter of Chicago falling off, and more of Wash U starting to play like the two-loss team and defending national runners-up that they are. That the Maroons still played the Bears fairly evenly, with the exception of a few quick runs from Wash U, should be a source of assurance heading into the tournament. “We’ve played a tough schedule this year and I think Wash was one of a couple games that should give us the confidence to play with anyone in the country,” White said. “Obviously the tournament is one-and-done, so we’re going to have to finish close games like that.”

teams were tied at 33, though Wash U had led by as many as four points. After halftime, momentum never swung entirely to Wash U’s end, but the Bears returned from the locker room hitting 50

Women head to NCAA hoping to repeat 2008 success After finishing with a 19–6 record overall and finishing second in the UAA, the women’s basketball team has been selected for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. In the third NCAA appearance in program history, the Maroons will meet Simpson (22–5) in the first round of the tournament, which will be played at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, IL. The Storm, boasting the eighth-highestscoring offense in the nation at 77.6 points per contest, have relied on a trio of scorers on offense this season, with guards Katie

Kitzman and Amy Hamilton and center Stacey Schutjer combining for 39.5 points per game this season. If the Maroons can overcome Simpson to advance to the second round, Chicago will likely meet third-ranked Illinois Wesleyan (24–1). When the squads met on December 5, the Maroons held a lead into the second half before Wesleyan rallied for a 64–57 win. Chicago’s best tournament performance came two seasons ago, when Chicago reached the Sweet Sixteen. —Jake Grubman

Team looks to continue progress into next season with a fresh crop of talented players SAYING GOODBYE TO CLASS OF ‘10 Wi t h S a t u rd ay ’s 6 4 – 6 0 l o ss , t h e Maroons’ class of 2010 finished their final season with a 13–12 record. Over the past four years, the men’s basketball team has compiled: An overall record of 57–45. Two UAA Championships, the fifth and sixth in program history. Two NCAA tournament appearances, the seventh and eighth times Chicago has appeared in the national tournament.

M. BASKETBALL continued from back page their team goals. “Our goal is to win the UA A every year, so we are disappointed we could not accomplish that goal,” Adams said. “I do think we took some great strides at achieving that goal in the near future.” It was the Maroons’ mental approach to the game that ultimately prevented them from getting over the top more consistently this season. “The biggest challenge was trying to get the group to play with confidence and feel comfortable, but at the same time, playing with a sense of urgency,” McGrath said. “Half the game is playing with confidence and being sure of yourself, and the other half is playing with a frenetic energy and

Emory picks up fourth consecutive win over Chicago as women’s tennis places second W. TENNIS continued from back page The top of the lineup gave Chicago a chance in singles, where Higgins fought off defending N CA A Champion L orne McManigle and second-year Jennifer Kung picked up a win at the third spot. The Eagles swung the match in their favor at second singles, where second-year Carmen Vaca Guzman took the first set to give Chicago reason for confidence. After going up 5–3 in the second set, Vaca Guzman couldn’t close the match out, and Emory’s Zahra Dawson came back to win 5–7, 7–6 (7–2), 6–1. The Eagles controlled the match from there, taking the bottom three singles matches in straight sets to seal the 6–3 win. The match marks yet another frustrating setback at the hands of the perennial UAA Champion Eagles. After losing 5–4 twice last season, Chicago has been unable to get over the hump. With no more matches currently scheduled against Emory, the Maroons will hope to get the Eagles in

the UAA tournament draw, where the two squads will likely meet in the finals. “It was disappointing losing to Emory,” Higgins said. “It was a very tough loss for us; we thought we had it this year, but it’s going to take a little more practice, a little more change in what we’re doing, And hopefully, we can beat them when it counts, especially at UAAs, or if we meet them again at NCAAs, it would be even more sweet.” The Maroons now have three weeks off before returning to action over spring break, when they’ll play five matches in seven days. With second-ranked Williams and other top competition on the slate for that week, the Maroons will be looking to further their resume for the NCAA tournament—and get ready for another potential encounter with Emory. “We have to keep our heads up,” Higgins said. “Every single time we go out, we’re thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, Emory beat us last time.’ We should be thinking, ‘Yeah, Emory beat us, but we have nothing to lose.’”

Sports.Leisure.Etcetera. MaroonCity.com

UAA standings next season. “I think we have as talented of a group coming back as any team in the UAA next year,” Adams said. “We have big expectations for next year, and we believe that we have the talent necessary to uphold those expectations.” Chicago will look to build upon their experience while also incorporating a talented crop of new players to accomplish their goals as they move forward into the 2010–11 season. “If we continue to make the strides from last year to this year this off-season, with the talent we have returning and the talent I expect to have coming in from recruiting, I think we could have a lot of fun next year,” McGrath said.

enthusiasm. Over time, I feel we made great strides in balancing composure and enthusiasm.” On the whole, Chicago made significant progress from the previous season, using their cohession to battle a strong nonconference and UAA schedule this year. “I feel really good about the strides we made from last season. Some of that is our record and the teams we played. We had a very high level of competition this year, but I feel a lot of that was that we had a great group this year,” McGrath said. “These guys were a true team this year—a bunch of guys who enjoyed being around one another and worked hard together.” The Maroons look forward to continuing their upward momentum to the top of the

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Before

IN QUOTES “Never, never. It would be to dishonor me. ... I’d rather die.�

SPORTS

—Zinedine Zidane, refusing to apologize for head-butting Italian defender Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup Final in Germany.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Despite loss to Wash U, Maroons move on to tournament By Jordan Holliday MAROON Staff Women’s basketball wasn’t able to earn a share of the UAA title this weekend, but as it turns out, the Maroons will not need the title in order to keep on playing. Even after falling 71–60 to visiting Wash U (23–2, 13–1 UAA) in Saturday afternoon’s regular season finale, Chicago (19–6, 11–3) still garnered a bid to the NCAA tournament when the brackets were announced yesterday morning. The Maroons will play their first-round game against Simpson (22–5) this Friday in Bloomington, IL. Simpson picked up its NCAA berth by beating Coe in the IIAC championship game on Saturday. Chicago learned it will be making the trip to Bloomington, where Illinois Wesleyan (26–1) will be hosting a four-team regional, yesterday morning during an NCAA webcast that most of the Maroons watched at Ratner. If Chicago gets past Simpson on Friday, then on Saturday they’ll play the winner of the Illinois Wesleyan–Franklin (21–6) matchup. The odds-on favorite to emerge from the region will be Illinois Wesleyan, currently the thirdr a n k e d t e a m i n t h e c o u n t r y. The Titans played at Chicago

December 5 and ultimately won that game 6 4–57, though the Maroons led by as many as nine points in the second half. “ We k n e w a l l s e a s o n [ t h e regional] was going to go through Hope [another of the midwest’s best teams, it was going to go through Illinois Wesleyan,� head coach Aaron Roussell said. “To be honest, though, when you see your name go up there, you’re just so happy to be in the tournament, you don’t worry too much about the teams.� Although Chicago was likely to make the tournament regardless of how this weekend’s date with Wash U turned out, the game offered the Maroons, who suffered a 63 –34 defeat in St. Louis earlier this year, a shot at redemption plus the chance to share the UAA crown with Wash U if they won. With the way Chicago played in the minutes after the opening tip, it looked like redemption and a championship banner were all but assured. Over the first two minutes, Chicago’s five fourth-years— who all got the start for Senior Day—built up a small lead for the Maroons by keeping the Bears without a single point. Chicago quickened its offensive pace by subbing in a more typical lineup

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Second-year Bryanne Halfhill fights for a shot during Saturday’s de facto UAA championship game against Wash U. The Maroons lost 71–60. MATT BOGEN/MAROON

W. BASKETBALL continued on page 11

MEN’S BASKETBALL

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Season ends with loss in home finale

Chicago falls to Emory in first appearance at ITA Indoor Championships

By Jefferson Mao Sports Staff

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Physical and determined, but not quite consistent enough to pull it out: men’s basketball in a nutshell, both on Saturday afternoon and throughout the season. Th e M a r o o n s ( 1 3 – 1 2 , 7 – 7 ) ended their season in a fitting manner with a close 64–60 loss to Wash U (23–2, 13–1) at the Ratner Athletics Center. Chicago came into the game looking to upset the top-ranked Bears but could not overcome Wash U’s strength down the stretch on this Senior Day. “[Wash U] is a rival, a team we’ve had a healthy competition with the last couple of years,� head coach Mike McGrath said. “We would have loved to have seen our seniors go out with a win there—that would have been huge.� Despite the loss, the Maroons displayed a gritty effort b oth defensively and on the glass. “Our guys played extremely hard,� assistant coach Drew Adams said. “We executed our defensive game plan very well. Wash U is an extremely talented offensive team, and I thought we did a great job of limiting easy looks for them.� Bears’ guard Aaron Thompson, who averaged over 17 points and

five rebounds per game during the year, led the Wash U attack with 23 points and seven boards, yet the Maroons refused to give up and stop competing as the game went on. “ Th e r e w e r e a c o u p l e o f stretches where we could have let the game slip away, but we didn’t let that happen,� McGrath said. Chicago was paced by fourthyear guard Jake Pancratz, who poured in 12 of his 18 points from the three-point line, as he ended his career total one point shy of 1000 over four seasons. Pancratz formed the core of the senior class that really set the tone for the squad throughout the year. “Our senior class was outstanding all year, through the good and the bad,� Adams said. “There was not a game this year where that class didn’t leave everything they had on the floor. I thought they set an outstanding example for our underclassmen.� “They were a group of guys we really leaned on and that I really leaned on as a coach,� McGrath added. “They handled that pressure and really kept battling.� While the seniors showed their grit throughout the year, Chicago’s season will still have a bittersweet taste to it as the Maroons failed to reach all of

M. BASKETBALL continued on page 11

By Jake Grubman MAROON Staff The third-ranked Eagles won their fourth straight match in the last year against women’s tennis, toppling the Maroons 6–3 in Sunday’s ITA Championship final. “[Against Emory] I don’t know if it was, ‘Oh my gosh, how close we were before’...but it just didn’t work out for us this weekend,� second-year Kendra Higgins said. “Then again, we’re not mad that we got second. Emory was in that position last year.� Even with the top two teams in the country (Amherst and Williams) sitting out this year’s indoor championship, the weekend offered the Maroons a glimpse at some of the toptier competition they’ll see over spring break and again at the NCAA Championship in May. Playing in their first ITA Championship tournament, the Maroons defeated DePauw 8–1 in the opening match before sneaking by Washington and Lee 5–4 to reach the final. The Maroons faced few hurdles through the first two matches. Opening the tournament against 11th-ranked DePauw, the Maroons cruised to three points

in doubles and took four straightset wins in singles play. Chicago followed that performance up with a strong outing against Washington and Lee in the first meeting between the two programs. While Washington and Lee won four singles matches, all of those wins came after the Maroons had already clinched the match by going up 5–0. The semifinal win set up yet another clash between Chicago and Emory, who have become familiar rivals over the past season as the Maroons have pushed into the upper tier of D-III tennis and challenged the Eagles for the top spot in the UAA. After this weekend, the two teams have now played in the regular season, the conference tournament, the NCAA tournament, and the ITA tournament over the past year. “We always play the same players...and it’s hard because, each person we play, we know their game so well,� Higgins said. “I think it’s going to be a rivalry until all of us graduate.� In their last match, the Eagles topped Chicago 5–1 in the NCAA third-place match. The Maroons started slow once again on Sunday, as Emory took a 2–1 lead into singles play.

W. TENNIS continued on page 11

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