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APRIL 30, 2010
CHICAGO
AROON
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 41
CHICAGOMAROON.COM
The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892
ADMINISTRATION
DISCOURSE
Rothschild illuminates life of Bengali slave girl
Ad hoc group forms in response to arrest By Brittany Birberick News Staff An ad hoc group of nine students and one faculty member will advise protocol changes in response to the February 24 arrest of a student in the Reg’s A-level, Vice President for Campus Life Kim Goff-Crews announced at an open forum in the Reynolds Club Wednesday. The Alliance for Community and Student Rights (ACSR) sponsored the forum and presented the 12 demands it has made regarding the administration’s response to the incident. Vice President for Campus Life Kim Goff-Crews, UCPD Chief Marlon Lynch, Associate Director of the Library
Jim Vaughan, and Dean of Students Susan Art, spoke in response to the demands and many questions that were raised by the audience of about 50 students. Despite the administration’s plans, many students were not satisfied with the responses. Students mentioned incidents where they felt racially profiled, and others voiced the need for more open dialogue about the issue of race on campus, rather than closed door ad hoc groups. The visibility of the student’s arrest was also criticized. Students brought up past incidents as evidence of long-standing race issues on campus, like the “Straight Thuggin’” party that took place nearly four years ago.
FORUM continued on page 4
MEDICAL CENTER At a lecture in Classics Hall Tuesday, Harvard Professor and British historian Emma Rothschild shares the story of a Bengali slave girl in Scotland. DARREN LEOW/MAROON
By Crystal Tsoi News Staff Harvard professor and British economic historian Emma Rothschild traced the path of a slave girl from Bengal and her master’s ties to the Scottish Enlightenment at a talk Tuesday in Classics Hall. Her talk comes just a week after her husband, economist Amartya Sen, spoke on poverty. Rothschild’s research into the correspondence and legal documents regarding the life of the young woman, who went by the name both Bell and Belinda, has given her insight into the political discourse of her master, John Johnston.
The girl was tried for murder after she disposed of her stillborn s o n i n t h e r i v e r. S h e w a s s e n t t o t h e N e w Wo r l d a s punishment. ”Bell or Belinda, with her terrible traverse from Calcutta to Williamsburg, is an extraordinary illustration of... the consecutive and contiguous jurisdiction through which she passed. Jurisdictions, which are in turn, a remarkable source, I think, of the transnational history of 18th century life,” Rothschild said. Rothschild spoke of her efforts in tracing the relative obscurity o f t h e S c o t t i s h f a m i l y. “ Th e Johnstons were not the sort of people to compose intimate
STUDENT LIFE
diaries or who commemorated their own sentiments, [but] brothers and sisters did write to each other from time to time with anguish, vexations, and anxieties,” she said. This made it especially hard for Rothschild to trace the ideas and important political discourse relevant to the debate over the slave trade, but she said the unique perspective made her research more meaningful. This method of research might prove useful in understanding other contemporary figures. Both Rothschild and Sen’s talks were presented by the Nicholson Center for British Studies.
UCMC says it still qualifies for nonprofit tax exemption under new ruling By Amy Myers News Staff State hospitals are reconsidering their charity practices following a significant Illinois Supreme Court ruling against the Provena Covenant Medical Center. Though it is unlikely, the case could affect the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC)’s application for property tax exemption after it recently broke ground on a $700-million hospital pavilion slated for 2012. Hospitals across Illinois could lose property tax exemptions typically awarded to nonprofit medical care centers in light of the March ruling,
which said Provena did not provide sufficient charity in 2002 and could not now be considered a nonprofit hospital. The new pavilion at the UCMC would require the hospital to renew its property tax exemption; any major change in facilities, including construction, requires a new application to, and assessment by, the State. UCMC spokesman John Easton said the medical center, which currently qualifies as a nonprofit, does not plan to change operations or procedures in light of the court decision. “This ruling, because of its narrow focus, should not have any direct impact,” Easton said.
NONPROFIT continued on page 4
Time's up!
Fourth-years with business jobs thank CAPS By Barbra Kim News Contributor Many graduating fourth-years going into the business sector credit a relative abundance of jobs to help from the University’s Career Advising and Planning Services (CAPS). Though CAPS has yet to release job data, many fourth-years going into business who spoke to the Maroon said they had jobs in their planned career path lined up. Frances L ow credited CAP S with helping her find positions through on-campus recruiting. “It was definitely convenient because everything is in one place. Having interviews on campus makes it a lot easier. When looking for jobs outside of CAPS, you’re just one of thousands,” said Low, who will be working as an associate consultant at Bain & Company. According to last year’s CAPS
exit surveys, in which graduating seniors are polled on their job situation, 70 percent were employed full-time, 2 4 percent attended graduate or professional schools, and the remaining 6 percent took time off. CAPS Director Meredith Daw was optimistic for this year’s exit surveys—due to be distributed in mid-May—showing higher employment rates this year. “We have been aggressively working with our alumni base and employers to provide more opportunities. There are more opportunities this year than last year,” Daw said. Recent data compiled by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a national nonprofit focusing on recruiting and college careers, indicates that employers plan to hire 5.3 percent more college graduates this year than last year, and the unemployment rate
CAPS continued on page 4
V
isitors to the 63rd Street Beach will now have to pay parking fees, to the consternation of Alderman Leslie Hairston of the Fifth Ward and some of her constituents. Hairston said she would subsidize the meters this summer for beach visitors. See story on page 2. ERIC GUO/MAROON