CHICAGO
MAROON The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892
Amateur filmmakers have their day VOICES, p. 7
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 • VOLUME 122, ISSUE 6 • CHICAGOMAROON.COM
OBITUARY
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Esteemed computer science prof dies
College Council spot goes to tiebreaker By Adam Janofsky Associate News Editor
Partha Niyogi, a professor whose work spanned many disciplines, passed away of brain cancer October 1. COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO NEWS OFFICE
By Asher Klein News Editor One of the most highly regarded professors in the Computer Science and Statistics departments, speech recognition expert Partha Niyogi passed away two weeks ago at the age of 43.
Niyogi died from brain cancer at home in Hyde Park on October 1. Niyogi was slated to begin his tenure as chairman of the Computer Science department last year when the diagnosis forced the department to seek another leader.
A computer science and statistics professor, Niyogi was remembered by his colleagues as a brilliant scholar and warm instructor. “The combination of his tremendous power as a researcher and his wisdom and human
NIYOGI continued on page 3
Student Government (SG) announced three winners of the first-year College Council election yesterday in Hutch Commons, but the fourth is still up for grabs, due to an unprecedented tie between first-years Angela Wang and Katie Burkhart. The 15 current memb ers of College Council will vote in Stuart Hall Monday on who will fill the spot after both candidates speak in front of the Council. Th e w i n n e r s o f t h e o t h e r three spots are first-years Ben Yu, Forrest Scofield and Alex B e n n e t t . Th e i r f i r s t v o t e a s College Council members will be to elect who fills the last spot. Wa n g a n d B u r k h a r t b o t h received 161 votes. “I cannot believe there was a tie,” Bennett said. “Ties in hockey and ties in soccer are common, but not in an election.” Bennett added that even though he knows the two candidates, he’s trying to go into the election with an open mind. “It will really come down to what they bring to the table, but it will
be intense,” he said. “Many of the candidates brought great ideas to the table,” fourth-year SG president Greg Nance said. “And I think the winners were the ones who stood out the most.” Wang said she’s looking forward to the tie-breaker election because it gives her a chance to run mainly on College Council issues rather than name recognition. “Mostly I want to improve communication,” said Wang, who mentioned improved transportation, subsidized laundry and printing, and better cell phone service as three issues that SG can address. “The student body doesn’t know what we do or can do.” Regardless of the vote, Wang said she’s glad to have made it this far and isn’t anxious about the outcome. “I’m not that worried because I know I’ll stay involved with SG either way,” she said. SG is hoping to expand student participation through action groups, teams of volunteers working on initiatives like getting student discounts at local busi-
COLLEGE COUNCIL continued on page 3
ACADEMICS
DISCOURSE
Graham School sprouts Green Business 101
Honduran coup brought in dangerous dictator, activist says
By Willy Hu News Staff Less than three years after taking up the green campus movement, and 18 years after developing a major in environmental science, the University finally has a class that teaches how to make money from sustainability. The Graham School of General Studies launched a “Leadership in Sustainability Management Certificate Program” this fall, a new non-credit program that offers students the opportunity to take six classes and participate in a cumulative final project at the end of year, all to make their businesses greener. The focus of the program is to give professionals the tools they need to help their business go green. “Our typical student is early to mid-career, who is working in an industry where they are trying to practice sustainability more thoughtfully,” said Cary Nathenson, associate dean of the Graham School. “We have seasoned professionals to students who just graduated enrolled in our classes.” While the Graham School had
previously offered environmental studies classes, the school had been receiving requests for classes with an applied focus. The program is being offered through one of the Certificate Programs at the Graham School, which allow students and professionals to take advantage of career-oriented education. There is no degree offered for completing this program, but the Graham School is offering students who successfully complete the program a certificate in sustainability management. “One of the things I really like about it is the holistic approach. We tend to be very academic and not focusing on the day-to-day operations, but this program looks at the real world applications,” said Ilsa Flanagan, director of sustainability and member of the program’s advisory council. The new program is one of a host of efforts by the University to improve sustainability, following the establishment of a Sustainability Council, the first of its kind at a university, the appointment of a director of sustainability, and the construction of
SUSTAINABILITY continued on page 4
By William Wilcox MAROON Staff The government of Honduras has consistently violated human rights and censored the media that could keep it in check, according to human rights advocate Berta Oliva, speaking on Monday in Stuart Hall. The January 2009 coup d'état in Honduras that ousted president Manuel Zelaya cast a cloud over the Latin American democracy, Oliva said. “We are living in a military dictatorship which is much more dangerous than dictatorships in Chile in the 1980s,” she said through a translator. “This is because it is a silent dictatorship.” Oliva received the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award on Wednesday for her work with the Human Rights Platform of Honduras. The award is presented by the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington to those who advance human rights in the Americas. Emphasizing the rampant censorship in the current government and attacks on journalists in the country, Oliva said many foreigners misunderstand Honduras’s plight. “We are victims of disinformation,” she said. “[The government] informs the international community of what they want to.” One of the greatest issues facing Hondurans is the lack of international response to the governmental crisis due
to the de facto government’s misinformation, Oliva said. The de facto government “thought they would get the support of the international community, and they have,” Oliva said. Since the removal of Zelaya, who lives in the Dominican Republic, the de facto government has held an election, which Oliva criticized as undemocratic. “They convened a public event disguised as elections,” Oliva said. “These elections were repressed savagely.”
Graduate student Erin Bradley called the talk informative, “especially given the lack of complete media coverage here in the United States. I think a lot of people don’t realize the human rights aspect and see it as much more of a political struggle.” Oliva argued that unless the international community takes action, Honduras will continue to suffer. “If they continue this silent treatment we will be in peace soon but it will be the peace of death,” Oliva said.
Activist Berta Oliva speaks about human rights issues in Honduras in Stuart Hall Monday evening. DARREN LEOW/MAROON