Chicago-Maroon-10-10-29

CHICAGO

MAROON The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2010 • VOLUME 122, ISSUE 10 • CHICAGOMAROON.COM

ADMINISTRATION

Spartans come to Chicago for UAA opener

SPORTS, p. 12

CAMPUS SAFETY

NextGen report card Slate on track to meet most platform promises

MathStat fire ruled accident Fire department investigation plays up wind's role in MathStat fire

By Amy Myers Senior News Staff When running for executive slate last quarter, Next Generation (NextGen) set 30 goals for its year in office. Most have met or are scheduled to meet their deadlines, though the slate dropped two—a legal clinic for students and new outlets in Hutch.

Others, like late-night dining and the UChicago Apartments website, have been successfully implemented, and many other projects on their original timeline are currently underway.

How has Next Generation measured up with its campaign promises? Turn to page 3 for a full rundown.

Its officers—fourth-year Greg Nance, third-year David Chen, and second-year Patrick Ip—determine which campaign goals can be implemented and which programs will see expansion this year.

A free legal clinic—one of NextGen’s

SG continued on page 3

CULTURE

Big Boi to play MAB's Fall Show

By Adam Janofsky Associate News Editor Hip-hop artists Big Boi and Kid Sister will perform at Mandel Hall on November 13, the Major Activities Board (MAB) announced Tuesday.

“I think MAB puts on a quality show every time, but this year it will be different because we

have two artists that are wellknown,” fourth-year and MAB Chairperson Marie Joh said. “It reaches out to a larger group of people.”

Big Boi is best known for his collaboration with André 3000 in the hip-hop duo OutKast and released his first solo album, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico

BIG BOI continued on page 2

Smoke pours from the roof of the MathStat building as firefighters battle the blaze from multiple angles. Log onto ChicagoMaroon.com for more photos of the fire.

MATT BOGEN/MAROON

By Asher Klein News Editor Th e f i r e t h a t t o r e t h r o u g h the roof of the Statistics and Mathematics Building Tuesday evening has been provisionally ruled accidental, according to a fire

department spokesman.

The blaze blew out windows and left large holes in the roof, and University spokesman Steve Kloehn said much of the interior was damaged by fire, smoke, and water. One firefighter was hurt when he was hit by falling debris, but the injury was

minor and he was released from the hospital that evening.

A Chicago Fire Department (CFD) investigation into the fire’s cause called it “likely accidental, having to do with the use of torches on the metal” which were being

FIRE continued on page 2

HYDE PARK

Thinking cap

City to close roads for Obama rally Saturday

By Jonathan Lai News Staff

T

he iconic glass-and-steel dome of the Mansueto Library has been completed, but construction continues within the building. Log onto ChicagoMaroon.com for full coverage.

DARREN LEOW/MAROON

In one of his last scheduled stops before the midterm elections, President Barack Obama will hold a public rally that includes a performance by hiphop artist Common on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. on the Midway Plaisance.

The rally will mean street closures on either side of the Midway. “As with any Presidential appearance, this one comes with extraordinary security measures,” said University spokesman Jeremy Manier.

The City of Chicago will close roads from East 58th Street in the north to East 61st Street in the south and from South Cottage Grove Avenue in the west to South Stony Island Avenue in the east. Parking will be prohibited

starting at 6 a.m. on Saturday, and traffic will be banned at noon.

The restrictions will be in effect until midnight.

Foot traffic and campus buildings will not be affected except by some areas blocked off by the main area, Manier said.

The event, ninth in a series of “Moving America Forward” rallies, is part of a Democratic push to maintain the party’s control of Congress as the November 2nd midterm elections approach.

Recent polls have shown Republicans in a slight lead in the Congressional and gubernatorial races. Recent rallies by Democratic leaders have focused on recapturing the historic turnout from the 2008 general elections.

OUTREACH

Project HEALTH opens new South Side location

By Emmuri Jo News Contributor National non-profit organization Project HEALTH opened a fourth Family Help Desk in Chicago two weeks ago.

P r o j e c t H E A LT H c o n n e c t s

patients with basic resources like food and housing in an attempt to ameliorate health problems in urban areas. There are family help desks staffed by students in clinics and health centers in six cities. The organization's three pre-existing Help Desks in Chicago are staffed

primarily by U of C students, as is its newest location.

Project H EALTH's C EO and founder, Rebecca Onie, was on campus Wednesday, one month before the scheduled announcement of the organization’s new name and logo. Updating the

name and logo is part of the program’s efforts nationwide to adapt as it continues to expand.

Project H EALTH opened the new help desk on October 12. One of 23 help desks across the country, it is located at the Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) on

South Exchange Avenue and East 91st Street.

It is the result of cooperation between the Project H EALTH administration and CFHC, which was eligible for a help desk because of its certification as a federally

HEALTH continued on page 2

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CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | October 29, 2010

DISCOURSE

STUDENT LIFE

Holy rigamarole

Fourth-year conjures $10k out of Pottermania

Student groups debate God's role in morality

By Sara Hupp News Contributor Harry Potter “Uber-Fan” Ashley Demma walks without an invisibility cloak through the Hogwarts-like halls of UChicago, despite taking the occasional cyber-bashing.

Fourth year Demma beat four other finalists in the Embassy Suites hotel chain’s “Uber-Fan” contest Wednesday. She was awarded $10,000, 20 free nights at the Embassy Suites and an iPhone 4G. Demma’s winning essay included details of how the book series influenced her life.

To understand the meaning behind the spells the characters use, Demma took six years of Latin. She plans to incorporate the books in her BA thesis.

“Throughout the contest, there were a lot of people pulling for me and constantly asking if I’d won yet,” she said.

Over 40,000 members voted on the Facebook community for the contest. But after she won,

Paul Dueck, a third-year representative from the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, argues his case at the "Do you need God to be good?" debate.

DARREN LEOW/MAROON

By Hiba Ahmed News Contributor You can’t spell “good” without “g-o-d,” but can you be good without God? The Philosophy Club, Secular Student A l l i a n c e , a n d I n t e r Va r s i t y C h r i s t i a n Fellowship all thought they had the answer, at a debate called “Do you need God to be good?”

The debate, which took place in Stuart on Monday night, was moderated by Philosophy professor Michael Kremer, and co-sponsored by the three associations. The 60-personcapacity room was at overflow; people sat in the aisles, on the floors, and would-be attendees were turned away.

“We are doing this to give people a chance to think and explore,” said third-year chemistry graduate student Ben Zalisko, secularist Philosophy Club (PC) member.

The panel was divided into secularists and theists; PC had members on both sides.

The secularist panel argued for consequentialism and attacked faith as a basis of morality.

“We do things because of consequences, the Universe does not care about what we ought to do, [what] Humans do,” Zalisko said. “Faith is the willful suspension of thinking; it poisons rational thought.”

In response, the theists argued that something objective and transcendent provides the reasoning to be moral. “[Morality] has nothing to do with the desires of a person…the existence of God provides us a purpose,” third-year PC member Ajay Ravichandran said.

Second-year Paul Duek of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship furthered the argument.

“Only transcendent things qualify as reasons to actually do something.”

Kremer concluded with a quote from Plato’s Euthyphro: “Is something good simply because God commands it, or does He command it because it is already good?”

After Summer Breeze problems, UBazaar won't sell Fall Show tickets BIG BOI continued from front page Dusty, to critical acclaim this summer.

Chicago rapper Kid Sister gained popularity in 2008 when she released the single “Pro Nails” featuring Kanye West.

MAB picked two “danceable” musicians after the success of last year’s Fall concert featuring the mashup artist Girl Talk.

Students liked “being able to let loose and dance in Mandel Hall last year,” Joh said.

Changes to the format will make it easier for students to get tickets.

“For Girl Talk, we sold out in two and a half days,” said Joh, adding that MAB had reserved tabling at the Reynolds Club five hours a day for two weeks last year. Joh said MAB will only sell two tickets per UCID presented, as opposed to last year’s four, in order to allow more students to buy tickets.

Tickets will still be sold in the Reynolds Club this year starting Monday, $10 for

M

students and $15 for faculty. After issues at last year’s Summer Breeze with uBazaar, a Student Government website designed for selling tickets and RSO merchandise, MAB decided to only sell tickets in person.

Because of the timing of the concert, a lot of artists MAB contacted couldn’t make it to campus, Joh said. There was one opening in Big Boi’s schedule that happened to align with one of the possible concert dates.

“It was kind of rough,” said Joh, who couldn’t mention other artists MAB was pursuing because they’re still deciding the Summer Breeze lineup. “But we’re really, really happy to have Big Boi because I didn’t think he would be feasible because he had a pretty full schedule.”

Due to Mandel Hall’s built-in seating, there will be room for only 1000 students, but the front section near the stage will hold 200 to 300 people standing.

ChicagoMaroon.com

Demma started to attract negative attention.

Most shocking to Demma was a comment on the Chicago Sun-Times article announcing her victory, written by a U of C alum.

“Basically, the alum said that I do not deserve to earn my degree from UChicago.” Demma said. “I haven’t written my BA yet, so this person doesn’t understand how I plan on relating Harry Potter to the classics.”

After the results were announced, the mother of a “Twilight” fan competitor wrote on Demma’s Facebook wall, calling her a bad, “Twilight”-bashing person with no class, Demma said.

Demma, a muggle, still celebrates her years as an avid “Harry Potter” fan.

“Growing up, I could feel what Harry was feeling,” Demma said. “Every generation can relate to it, and more people are fans than are willing to let on.”

She said will use the prize money to visit the newly opened Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios in Florida.

Fire and police departments to continue investigating blaze FIRE continued from front page fire by keeping embers from the torches burning that might have gone out otherwise.

“There may have been a small amount of smoldering material aggressively stoked by the wind,” Langford said.

He said the investigation will continue, with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) looking into criminal motives for the fire. The CPD had no information on their investigation.

The fire lasted roughly an hour and a half, starting just before 6 p.m. No one was in the building at the time.

Witnesses described tall flames, billowing smoke, and sparks flying out of windows.

“It was a spectacular blaze,” third-year Kyle Shymanik said Tuesday.

He had watched the fire from his fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi, a few doors south of the building at 5727 S. University Avenue, which is commonly known as the MathStat building. “The entire top story was just a roaring fire. I’m really impressed by the job the [the firemen] did, when you’re contending with these winds.”

It will take a few weeks for the extent of the damage to be determined, involving assessments by the University’s Facilities and Risk Management Department and the University’s insurer, Kloehn said.

No other structures were damaged, and Kloehn mentioned that a new addition to the MathStat building that was under construction was not damaged.

The interior and exterior of the MathStat building were being renovated since August of

last year, according to a Facilities Department website on the project. The project was slated for completion in December.

The building is being renovated for use as the Stevanovich Center for Financial Mathematics.

Peter Stevanovich (A.B. ’85, MBA ’90) donated $7 million in 2006 to fund the Center. He was elected a trustee last year and sued this year for allegedly playing a part in a large Minneapolis Ponzi scheme.

Before the renovations, the Mathematics department used the building for graduate student office space. Shawn Drenning, a sixth-year mathematics graduate student, had office space there for three years.

But he wasn’t sentimental about it Tuesday night while the fire was burning. “It’s not a nice building,” he said. “They’re trying to make it nice.”

Tuesday’s high winds helped feed the fire once it was going, something many witnesses noted. High winds make fires exponentially harder to fight, Langford said, and caused the CFD to raise the alarm one or two levels higher—meaning more fi refi ghters and engines on the scene—than it would have done if the building caught fire in calmer conditions.

“A wind-set fire can be much more aggressive,” Langford said, “and can take in much more real estate.” A fire on the North Side on Wednesday, under similar windy conditions, spread from one building to two more buildings to trees across the street, Langford said.

New Project HEALTH location serves far South Side HEALTH continued from front page qualified health center. “The center has been very eager and open. In general, it’s such a good fit for our services,” said Program Manager Sarah Grusin (A.B. ’10).

The new help desk accepts referrals from all four CFHC locations: East Side, Roseland, Pullman, and Chicago Lawn. It joins three other Chicago help desks, all of which were established by 2006. These other help desks are at Friend Family Health Center, La Rabida Children’s Hospital, and University of Chicago Medical Center.

Project HEALTH’s leaders are trying to adapt the organization as it expands. At a talk, Onie explained that the program is rebranding in response to “a distinct period in Project HEALTH, an evolution,” she said.

Onie gave an unofficial presentation of the new name, the logo, and the future goals

of the organization. The offi cial renaming announcement will take place on November 8.

“I’m really excited about the possibilities and the doors this new name opens up. It’s really grown on me,” said third-year and U of C Project HEALTH Campus Coordinator Deanna Digitale, who took part in the rebranding process.

Project HEALTH started working on the infrastructure of the new help desk during the summer. The campus branch has a total of 16 student volunteers, 46 clients, and 30 to 40 referrals from other Chicago locations.

Friend Family Health Center, one of the other health centers in Chicago with a Project HEALTH help desk, has 44 volunteers. Grusin is hoping to have 30 volunteers at the new site by January.

3

CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | October 29, 2010

Funding problems stymie two SG projects SG continued from front page goals for fall quarter—was abandoned after they judged the program to be too expensive.

Student Government (SG) initially considered partnering with the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, a program run by the Law School as a community resource, but the Mandel Clinic decided it would compromise its mission to open the service to students.

Nance noted that peer institutions do offer such services.

Instead, SG worked with Campus and Student Life to release an online legal resources guide for students.

Nance views the online guide as a “strong intermediate step” in SG’s overall goal of releasing legal resources to the student body. “It’s a good first step,” Nance said, and he did not rule out the possibility of pursuing the clinic in the future.

SG will also abandon the goal of placing new electrical outlets throughout Hutch and the Reynolds Club. SG’s executive slate named the new outlets as a goal last year—a step they hoped would create more functional study spaces for students.

SG received $5,000 in funding for a facilitiesrelated project and had planned to use those funds for the outlets. But after meeting with administrators in the spring, NextGen learned it would cost an additional $7,000. The main expenditure for the project would be ensuring there would be enough energy for the outlets.

SG is not currently moving forward on the project, but is still seeking out additional funding.

At the same time, SG is now seeking out an alternative project. “We’re actively facilitating opinions by students on a new facilitises-related project,” Nance said. He hopes to fund a project that will similarly benefit students.

While some goals slated for completion in NextGen’s first 30 days in office are not yet complete—passenger vans for students to rent are not yet available, and the UAchieve website is under construction—SG is moving forward on projects scheduled for completion later in the year.

The slate is working on getting an ATM in Midway Market, a project on its list of winter goals. Ip, vice president for student affairs, said the logistics of hiring security for the ATM have delayed the process.

While some goals have been abandoned, other programs not part of the original platform have been implemented as well. The Collegiate Readership Program—an initiative by SG and USA Today to place free newspapers campuswide—may continue past the initially projected end date of November 12.

Nance plans to meet with The New York Times and Gannett Publishing to discuss the costs of continuing the pilot program. “We hope that we’ll have the level of readership meriting the investment,” Nance said. SG has not yet assessed the popularity of the program, but will do so in the coming weeks.

Additionally, NextGen has formed the new SG Arts Council, in which student arts leaders and TAPS will meet with SG to discuss strengthening arts involvement on campus.

The students have begun informal meetings and plan to expand display space for student art. SG may also name an Arts Czar to lead the group, Nance said.

Nance, Ip, and Chen praised the high level of student interest in SG. Nance offered record turnouts in voting and homecoming attendance as evidence for increased student interest this year.

Chen, vice president for administration, said the class of 2014 has been particularly active in SG. Three former candidates for class representative, despite their losses, have joined Chen in pursuing additional student discounts and increasing initiatives for school spirit such as telecasted sports events.

“We’re really thankful that the student body is really engaged this year,” Nance said. “We’re seeing people not only take notice of [SG], but take initiative.”

NextGen Report Card

= ACHIEVED

Has Next Generation kept the promises it made when it ran for SG’s executive slate?

= ABANDONED = IN PROGRESS

Campaign Promises Summer Free Legal Aid Clinic: Plans to establish a free legal aid clinic are off the table after discovering they couldn’t partner with the Law School’s Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, which focuses on serving the community, and the costs of a separate clinic proved too high for SG alone to fund. Instead, there is an online resource guide for students in need of legal help.

Bike Registration: SG partnered with IHC and UCPD and will be tabling to tag bikes and laptops with GPS chips so stolen items may be retrieved.

Less Library Warning Bells: Alarcon and Nance met with the library administration over the summer. They learned “it’s very difficult to clear the libraries.... Either people will be asleep at 1 a.m. when they’re closing the library, or they’ll be very, very involved in their studies,”Alarcon said. NextGen is still looking to reduce the number of bells.

Speakers: SG is providing financial support and working with the TEDxUChicago group to bring a series of influential speakers to campus next April. TEDxUChicago, which is inspired by the influential TEDTalks but organized independently of them, has not yet to brought any speakers to campus.

Discount Program: The program has not expanded the number of restaurant discounts since last spring, but SG is trying to improve the service and is training volunteers on how to solicit restaurants. A comprehensive list of businesses offering discounts will be online Sunday. SG is looking to get grocery store and dry cleaning discounts as well.

First 30 Days (September 27–October 27)* Buy Three More Passenger Vans: SG has allocated funds for the purchase of two vans and the plan has passed the University’s legal evaluation. Nance will be meeting soon with the Office of Procurement, through which large-expenditure items must pass before being purchased.

SG Funding Committee FAQs: FAQs about funding will be available on the SG website by the end of the quarter.

RSO Resource Guide Summary: Ip worked with ORCSA Coordinator Arthur Lundberg over the summer to create a summary of the funding process, which is now available on the Funding Section of the SG website.

Weekly Tabling: The executive slate tables weekly in the Reynolds Club and includes the information on bulletins posted around campus.

C-Shop Office Hours: SG members sit in the C-Shop on a regular basis and make themselves available to anyone with questions or ideas.

Weekly Bulletins: Weekly bulletins posted in the dorms announce SG and IHC accomplishments and progress.

Four-Square: The slate hung out on the quads to meet students and hear the concerns. Ip said it was a good way to gather student concerns about dining issues.

Webcast Athletic Events, Scav Hunt, and Speakers: Homecoming was webcasted, Ip said, with more to come.

But SG’s Ustream account couldn’t be found online, and many University events are already streamed online.

Student Accomplishment Site: Scheduled to launch in the next few weeks, UAchieve will publicize student achievements with articles and videos to foster school spirit and help students show off their accomplishments.

Pub Crawl: A pub crawl took place in the spring, with 21-and-up students going to Bar Louie, Jimmy’s, and The Cove. The next pub crawl will be downtown.

Fall Attendance and Voting Records Online: The platform is up online and records will be available soon, although they are not yet posted.

Late Night Dining: After a pilot program in the spring, biscuits and gravy, breakfast skillets, french toast, and other breakfast options are available at Bartlett.

Online Sports Calendar: Rather than focusing on a sports calendar, SG is working on a comprehensive calendar after hearing from students that they wanted a single source they could use for learning about events. “We want to hit it out with one blow,” Ip said.

List of Funding Sources and Application Deadlines: Part of a larger projct being undertaken by SGFC, this will be completed by the end of the quarter. The project will also include a public record of which events have been funded and which ones have not.

Electronic RSO Account: SG is working on a web portal that allows RSO presidents and treasurers to access balance and account info.

Winter Student Health Center: SG still has hopes of finding a new location for the Student Health Center, preferably one close to the quad.

Electrical Outlets in Hutch and Reynolds Club: SG will not be installing electrical outlets in the near future, after finding that although they had $5,000 available for the project, they would need an additional $7,000 to complete it. They are still looking for funding.

Student Art Displays: A task force composed of arts leaders on campus has begun meeting and will be initiating projects to improve student arts involvement on campus,.

Among other things, the task force plans to provide more displays of student art.

South Campus ATM: SG is working on getting an ATM on South Campus, but the need for a security guard at the ATM is delaying the process.

UChicago Apartments: UChicago Apartments is up and active, with advanced-search apartment listings, information about legal issues, and resources for getting Internet and cable. An FAQ page will be added in the next month *The slate’s term technically began June 14, the first day of summer.

New Initiatives Collegiate Readership Pilot Program: Upwards of 1,000 copies of newspapers—The New York Times, USA Today, and the Chicago Tribune—are available for free on campus, part of a national Collegiate Readership Initiative pilot program ending November 12. The future of the program will be determined after the pilot program ends.

Action teams and task forces composed of students outside of SG are working with SG to initiate new programs: An Arts Task Force is working to increase arts involvement on campus. Action teams are working on events and outreach, student discounts, and the UAchieve website.

4

CHICAGO MAROON

| VIEWPOINTS | October 29, 2010

VIEWPOINTS

EDITORIAL & OP-ED OCTOBER 29, 2010

EDITORIAL

CHICAGO MAROON

The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892

JORDAN HOLLIDAY, Editor-in-Chief JAKE GRUBMAN, Managing Editor ASHER KLEIN, News Editor ELLA CHRISTOPH, News Editor PETER IANAKIEV, Viewpoints Editor ALISON HOWARD, Viewpoints Editor HAYLEY LAMBERSON, Voices Editor JORDAN LARSON, Voices Editor WILL FALLON, Sports Editor NICK FORETEK, Sports Editor VICTORIA KRAFT, Head Copy Editor MONIKA LAGAARD, Head Copy Editor HOLLY LAWSON, Head Copy Editor MATT BOGEN, Photo Editor JACK DiMASSIMO, Head Designer JOSH SUNG, Web Editor BURKE FRANK, Assoc. News Editor ADAM JANOFSKY, Assoc. News Editor ILIYA GUTIN, Assoc. Voices Editor JUDY MARCINIAK, Business Manager VINCENT McGILL, Delivery Coordinator JESSICA SHEFT-ASON, Senior Designer IVY PEREZ, Senior Designer DOUGLAS EVERSON, Designer ANDREW GREEN, Designer REBECCA GUTERMAN, Designer ALYSSA LAWTHER, Designer VINCENT YU, Designer SHARAN SHETTY, Ed. Board Member SAALIKA ABBAS MELA, Copy Editor AMISHI BAJAJ, Copy Editor JANE BARTMAN, Copy Editor ALICE BLACKWOOD, Copy Editor MARCELLO DELGADO, Copy Editor SABINA BREMNER, Copy Editor DANIELLE GLAZER, Copy Editor DON HO, Copy Editor JANE HUANG, Copy Editor GABE VALLEY, Copy Editor ALEX WARBURTON, Copy Editor BELLA WU, Copy Editor LILY YE, Copy Editor SAMANTHA LEE, Copy Editor TARA NOOTEBOOM, Copy Editor LANE SMITH, Copy Editor RITOHDI CHATTERJEE, Copy Editor ALISON HUNG, Copy Editor VICKY HO, 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: jdimassimo@ChicagoMaroon.com Copy Editing: Copy@ChicagoMaroon.com Advertising: jmarcini@uchicago.edu

Slow but steady

Next Generation’s work isn’t done, but the slate is on its way to bringing change we can believe in When Greg Nance and the Next Generation (NextGen) slate took office, they brought some promises with them. If all went according to plan, the slate said, they were going to buy three vans for use by student clubs, establish a website to broadcast campus events, open a clinic to provide students with free legal aid, expand restaurant discounts to downtown and Chinatown, bring back the UCPD’s bike registration program, make the Reg’s warning bells less obnoxious—and have all that done before autumn classes began.

Take three guesses whether any of those things have actually come to pass. The first two don’t count.

So reality has once again failed to meet our lofty expectations. It turns out that imagining change is easy, but making it happen is

hard and requires negotiating all manner of nitty-gritty details that can derail any idea, no matter how clever or well-intentioned. This isn’t an issue unique to NextGen; the guy throwing that big rally on the Midway tomorrow also knows a thing or two ab out the gap between expectation and reality.

There will certainly be some who see the list of things NextGen hasn’t done and judge each item as a mark against Student Government’s (SG) power and efficacy. And while it might not be entirely wrong to do that, it is, at the very least, too easy.

Proposing changes and trying them out is how things get done.

There were complications to some of NextGen’s ideas—installing power outlets in Hutch was too expensive, putting an ATM in South Campus

meant stationing a security guard there as well—which the slate couldn’t reasonably have expected.

And now that they’ve done the initial footwork and found the drawbacks to those ideas, NextGen and their successors will know the constraints they face when undertaking similar plans.

And NextGen’s successes also provide guidance as they go forward. Securing a permanent latenight dining program in Hutch—in spite of a trial run in the spring that wasn’t quite profitable—is evidence that by pairing students’ demands and SG’s access, SG can bring about major changes.

On the other hand, the popularity of the Collegiate Readership Program, which distributes free copies of major newspapers around campus, shows that often-

times relatively small changes are the ones we most appreciate. This lesson in particular is one that NextGen should bear in mind as the year wears on.

As for the rest of us outside SG, we should continue to take an interest in NextGen’s work and remember that their goal is to bring about incremental change that, cumulatively, makes the campus a better place. If we can muster the patience and forbearance to cheer on Obama tomorrow despite his struggles, surely we can extend the same consideration to NextGen and support their efforts to turn their own rhetoric into results.

The M AROON Editorial Board co n s i st s o f t h e Ed i to r - i n Chief, Viewpoints Editors, and an Editorial Board member.

OP-ED

THE UNCOMMON CRITIQUE

The consequences of disaster

Neither fired up nor ready to go

A personal account of the devastation of the Pakistan floods

By Maha Ahmad Viewpoints Contributor This past July, Pakistan—the country of my parents, the country of my childhood—was hit with another devastating tragedy. It was the usual, expected monsoon season, but this time the rains came with an unearthly force and refused to halt. Like many other Pakistani-Americans, I watched in pain from the comfort of my Chicago home as my country drowned deeper and deeper in the infamous floods that would soon be described as the worst natural disaster in recent history.

I had scheduled a trip to Pakistan before the floods happened and arrived in Lahore on August 16th, a few days after Ramadan began.

Although Lahore was not affected by the floods, the city’s spirit had completely changed. The once vibrant city had turned somber and signs of the flood’s destruction were everywhere. Tents were collecting food and clothing on every street corner, school children walked the bazaars and streets to collect donations, and volunteers on speakerphones urged passersby to donate.

My family and I watched the news in silence every morning at suhoor, the pre-dawn meal that precedes each day of fasting. We struggled to eat as newscasters announced the millions without food and clean water.

We then began to discuss the idea of going to Muzaffargarh, a town about nine hours away from Lahore, to deliver bags of food that we would prepare. My family and I began looking for a local NGO that we could go to the affected areas with. We dropped off the majority of our bags at the Imran Khan Foundation, while the remainder was taken in our car.

We met up later with workers from an NGO called Eisaar Trust to help distribute these essentials.

Eisaar Trust had chosen a village in Kot Addu, about an hour ahead of Muzaffargarh, to set up their relief efforts. We first stopped in Muzaffargarh and were horrified at what we saw. For miles and miles, there was nothing but water.

The water from the main road had subsided in this area, but it was still engulfing the entire landscape of Muzaffargarh. In the small tracts of dry land were the relief camps— cramped lines of tents with displaced people. The first camp we visited was run by Islamic Relief and had about 3,000 people and 300 families living in tents. The organizers of the IR camp told us that the residents were being plagued with a host of skin problems, along with gastrointestinal troubles, eye infections, and malaria.

Where were the doctors? Another camp that we stopped at before entering Kot Addu was run by the Turkish Red Crescent. The camp only had food supplies for another 15 days and was in dire need of flour, rice, and lentils. What would happen after 15 days? About 700 people were residing there.

Finally, we reached Kot Addu and met with the members of the Eisaar Trust. They distributed the daily food supplies to each family member on their list, and we gave them our bags to add to their supply. The villagers proceeded to give us a tour of the area, which was completely submerged in water just a few weeks ago. At this point, the villagers were trying to rebuild their lost homes and were making bricks for their new houses. I watched in horror as I passed by the abandoned homes that had fallen victim to the floods—

broken beds and tables and crumbled walls. It was essentially a complete annihilation of these people’s former lives. As I stood in a haze of disbelief, a man approached me and insisted that I come see his home. He told me his name was Muhammad Sabir and then stood on top of a pile of rubble and broken objects and said in tears: “This is my home. The water was up to my roof and it was running like a canal. My tractor and trolley that I used for harvesting have been destroyed. All my stuff is destroyed.

My house is destroyed. No one is with me. I am by myself.”

Before I left Kot Addu, he looked at me again and cried while handing me copies of his ID card. “Please come back to help me,” he said. I took the ID cards and nodded, while every part of me overflowed with guilt at the thought of not being able to do what he was imploring me.

It is precisely because of this reason that I am deeply frustrated with the response of the international community. Billions are needed for immediate relief and long-term rehabilitation. However, claims of corruption and terrorism are used as excuses to ignore the crisis in Pakistan even though legitimate organizations such as the Imran Khan Foundation, E i s a a r Tr u s t , a n d t h e H u m a n Development Foundation are doing everything they can to provide relief for the victims. Ordinary Pakistanis are doing even more. I had the opportunity to visit an HDF clinic in a poor village near Lahore two weeks prior to going to Kot Addu.

The clinic coordinator had told volunteers from the village that my family and I were headed to the floodaffected areas. One of the young girls from the group, Sana Yusuf, looked

FLOOD continued on page 5

Obama rally won’t offer a substantive defense of liberal politics

By Jonathan Rodrigues Viewpoints Columnist Ev e r y o n e s h o u l d g o t o t h e rally on Saturday! I’m not quite sure what it’s about, but I hear Common is excellent live, and I think the President is going to be there. Why he would choose such an oddly shaped, half under construction venue is beyond me, but hey, he’s coming back home!

If you’re excited, it’s definitely warranted. It’s not every day you get the President a few hundred feet from your dorm. But that’s about as far as your excitement should go.

Don’t get me wrong, you should definitely go vote next week if you haven’t already (shame on you if you don’t!). But

Rallies don’t win elections.

Real leadership does. if you’re like me, a member of the un-“professional” left, you’re not too excited about all these rallies Obama has been doing lately.

Rallies don’t win elections. Real leadership does. Besides, it seems Bill Clinton’s endorsements have been more effective in swinging voters this election, as some Democrats run as far away from

OBAMA continued on page 5

CHICAGO MAROON

Obama speech should forego clichés, attack Republican voting record OBAMA continued from page 4 the President’s image as possible.

So as the President lands in Chicago Saturday, he’ll probably be practicing one of those really inspiring speeches. I swear, if he mentions cars in ditches and not giving keys back to Republicans one more time, I might drive a car into a ditch myself. But no matter the rhetoric, what won’t be in his speech is substance. The Democrats consciously chose to run with a 50-state strategy of disorganization. No Democrat knows what the agenda really is for the next two years, and no Democrat dares to boast about the accomplishments of the party so far. So what’s left (no pun intended)? The “We’re not Republicans!” platform, of course.

It’s understandable; Republicans have candidates like Sharron Angle and her blatantly racist ads, Christine O’Donnell and her aweinspiring lunacy, Mark Kirk and his compulsive lies, as well as a host of other hopefuls that run the spectrum from innocently illinformed to straight-up crazy. It gets worse: Republicans don’t have an agenda either.

When recently asked what the most important goal was for Republicans going forward, Mitch McConnell, leader of Republicans in the Senate, candidly responded, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”

Aside from these things, what else can P r e s i d e n t O b a m a a t t a c k Re p u b l i c a n s for (if you’re reading this Mr. President, you’re welcome!)? He can highlight how Republicans are wholly owned subsidiaries of corporate America. If there’s one thing America hates right now, it’s corporations.

He can attack them for voting down the

5

| VIEWPOINTS | October 29, 2010

Humanitarian catastrophe in Pakistan deserves attention and resources from U of C DI SC LOS E Act, a crucial piece of legislation that would have eliminated the millions of anonymous, possibly foreign, dollars that currently flood our electoral system and corrupt our democracy. No Republican in the Senate even voted for the bill’s passage. He can attack them for their lack of decency in voting down a bill that would pay for 9/11 workers’ healthcare because paying for it would close an offshore tax loophole. Or perhaps he could be even braver and scorch them for their recalcitrance in supporting the healthcare and financial reform bills. These are winning electoral strategies that resonate with voters, and best of all, they’re the truth.

Trying to convince the electorate that the economy would be worse without you is a hard thing to do; it involves a lot of hypotheticals. These arguments, on the other hand, are simple, effective, and clear. It’s mystifying that President Obama doesn’t use them.

Any voter that can stop for a minute and sort out the facts would be crazy to vote for some of these Republican candidates.

But voters just don’t have that time. We’re angry—very, very, very angry—and we don’t have time to think about whose fault it is or how crazy the other side is. And even though Republicans look ready to repeat the same policies that got us a decade of wage stagnation and, finally, a worldwide recession, they at least look very confident and united about repeating them! And that, that is present-day American politics at its finest.

Jonathan Rodrigues is a third-year i n t h e Co l l e g e m a j o r i n g i n Lat i n American Studies.

FLOOD continued from page 4 me straight in the eye and said, “I know we are not fit to give others anything, for we barely have anything ourselves, but we want to help our country. I will tell the rest of the villagers to gather what they can.”

If Sana is ready to do her part in flood relief, then we, as students at the University of Chicago, with every resource at our disposal, should be more than ready to do the same.

Though I took Muhammad Sabir’s ID card with guilt and uncertainty, I hope I am right in saying that the University of Chicago and its students care and will not fail Pakistan. In my three years here, I have come to see the students at the U of C as brilliant, resourceful, and civic-minded individuals. Now, we are

faced with the challenge of assisting Pakistan in its time of crisis and all these qualities are needed. I urge us to not replicate the disappointing response of the international community to this disaster. I urge us to care. Our sense of responsibility to our fellow citizens of the world and our collective conscience are alive and well. I know this because I witnessed it firsthand in the way this campus and the students mobilized in response to the earthquake in Haiti. Now, we face yet another humanitarian crisis—one of the worst of our time. Pakistan is calling. Humanity is calling.

Will you answer the call?

Maha Ahmad is a third-year in the College majoring in Biology.

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CHICAGO MAROON | ADVERTISEMENT | October 29, 2010

VOICES

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT OCTOBER 29, 2010

ART

Venus Collective brings new voices to Chicago art scene

By Julia Harper Voices Hear Me Roar Eight years ago, Jessica Juarez, a student at the Art Institute of Chicago, was dissatisfied with the art shows she attended. Not because she saw a lack of talent, but because she thought there was talent out there that was being ignored. After visiting many different shows throughout the city, she came to two realizations: First, the majority of artists showing pieces were male, and second, the same people seemed to be frequenting all the shows.

Along with a friend of hers at the Art Institute, she started the group now known as the Venus Collective: an all-female association of Chicago artists that hosts exhibitions at venues in many Chicago neighborhoods to raise money for women’s charity organizations.

Kristen Atkinson, a show organizer, described the Collective’s first art show: “Targeted to a particular crowd, [Juarez] wanted to open the art scene up [to people] who might not frequent the traditional gallery show.”

As the Collective grew, Atkinson said it kept to its goal of expanding and diversifying the Chicago art community. “For a number of years after that, [the Venus Collective] just focused on having one annual

art show, showcasing local women artists, people who are into the art scene,” she said. “Every year the name would change and the neighborhood would change, and the idea was to reach out to different people and different communities.”

Although the members of the Venus Collective consider it a feminist organization, that label doesn’t in any way restrict the content of the artists’ pieces. Rather, they are trying to foster a supportive environment in which women can feel free to show their art in a safe and accepting atmosphere.

One of the artists, Karolina Faber, doesn’t even consider herself a feminist. “A lot of my works have to do with femininity, but they’re very subconscious choices. Feminist art is not the style of art that appeals to me the most,” she said. “My pieces are feminine, but I wouldn’t consider myself a feminist, but that my art is feminist—maybe a little bit.”

On October 9, the Collective gathered on Cermak Avenue for Just Be: Soul Revival 2010, this year’s incarnation of their annual art exhibition. The event featured visual and performance art, as well as several musical performances.

Fo r E l i z a b e t h Ro d r i g u e z o f Lelièvre Design freelance studio, Venus provided the perfect setting in which to display her art for the first time.

Artwork by collective members Vanessa Shaf (bottom three) and Manuela Perez's (top three) was displayed during the Venus Collective's latest exhibition, Just Be: Soul Revival 2010.

COURTESY OF KRISTEN ATKINSON

“The Venus Collective is sensitive to artists’ needs, while also [being] very professional. The event was an open space to be who you are and take your inspiration and your talent and let it be,” she said. “I wanted my first time to show my work to be for a good cause.”

Atkinson described the event as something akin to a religious

experience. “It was a warm and inviting vibe; the energy was high that night,” she said. “I feel like with art there’s this observational wall: you’re just a bystander to it, but this show stood out because it brought people into it and engaged them.

You were a part of it.”

All the proceeds from this event went to Rape Victims Advocates,

an independent non-profit in Chicago that provides services to victims of sexual assault.

The Venus Collective is about more than art. It’s also about caring for others and bringing attention to social issues. As Faber pointed out: “The show wasn’t just about art: It was also about community and awareness of women’s safety.”

ART

In Pilsen, art becomes a matter of life and death

By Ana Klimchynskaya Voices Skeleton Key The first room I walk into in Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art is full of skeletons.

No, the museum didn’t decide to use its exhibition space to store Halloween props. These skeletons are part of its annual exhibition on Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday that falls on November 1. Like Halloween, it draws its roots from ancient beliefs and festivals. As a way to both remember the dead and accept our own mortality, Día de los Muertos is the product of Christian and ancient South American beliefs, and the exhibit examines all of the traditions of this holiday centered around these two aspects.

The Day of the Dead, to those who have heard of it, probably brings to mind skeletons that, upon first glance, look like something from Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride or the undead in Pirates of the Caribbean: women in fancy dresses and men in top hats who look like normal people except that they have skulls and bones instead of faces and flesh. The museum’s exhibit features these skeletons performing a variety of daily (or not so daily) tasks like writing, playing the guitar, staring off into the distance, and killing each other.

You’d think that since skeletons are already dead, the idea of them killing each other sounds a bit ridiculous, but there is a deeper meaning to these displays. The skeletons do not represent dead people. Instead, they are suggestions that one day

DAY OF THE DEAD

National Museum of Mexican Art Through December 13

we will all die. No matter what we do—from the safest, most everyday activities like eating, to the unsafe and unusual, like engaging in a war— we will all one day transform into skeletons, reduced to only bones and dust. In the long run, we are all these skeletons, these dead people, and the holiday’s tradition of putting it out there so bluntly is a way of accepting the fact.

Another important part of the holiday and the exhibit are the ofrendas, or altars. The Day of the Dead is the one day that the spirits of the dead come back to Earth to visit their loved ones, and these altars are meant to welcome the spirits back. They usually contain the dead’s favorite food and drinks, their possessions, bright flowers and candles that guide the spirit through the darkness, and symbols of their hobbies and interests.

ILLUSTRATION BY SABINA BREMNER/MAROON

This year’s incarnation of the exhibit added its own touch to the usual display by using the holiday’s traditions to remember and celebrate the history of Mexico, which gained its independence exactly 200 years ago in 1810. One of the altars, for example, is an homage to the courageous women who participated in Mexico’s independence movement.

The altar is made of three stages, all of which portray women (in traditional Día de los Muertos skeleton

form, of course) writing about the revolution, holding guns, being shot by a firing squad, and participating at the first revolutionary meeting.

A large room is dedicated to the social problems that the independence of 1810 had failed to fix—namely, the growing disparity between the rich and the poor. The room features skeletons of upperclass people riding away on a train that the poor skeletons clearly built but do not have enough money for.

They can only gaze at it longingly as it drives away. The poignancy of this scene is deepened by the fact that all the individuals are skeletons— another reminder that, despite the disparity of social classes, everyone dies, and death does not discriminate based on social class.

Strolling through the neighborhood of Pilsen, where the museum is located, I had a chance to reflect on social classes once again. Pilsen is a neighborhood of immigrants, and everything about it says so: the Mexican cafes, the immigrant rights mural painted on a wall. It’s almost as if the exhibit extended out of the museum and into the neighborhood, as reminders that this Mexican community celebrated Día de los Muertos were ubiquitous, from the altars in store windows to the skeletons painted throughout the streets to the sugar skulls for sale in stores.

The rights of immigrants, their place in our society, and the DREAM act are all part of our nation’s current conversation. The Day of the Dead exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art was a reminder of difference and diversity, but also of the fact that, although Día de los Muertos is part of a particular culture, its main idea—the acceptance of death as the one thing that unites us all—is universal.

8

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CHICAGO MAROON | VOICES | October 29, 2010

The Fun Corner.

Across 1. Recurring Seinfeld character 5. Japanese poem 10. Coyote’s supplier 14. Purim’s month 15. Picked-out coiffes 16. Stocking stuffer 17. Deflated currency?* 19. Journeyman infielder Alex who won a World Series in 2007 20. Rubik’s _____ 21. The Common Market: abbr.

23. Reefer lacer, briefly 24. Chicken _____ King 26. State taxes in Terre Haute?* 30. Chrome spinners, maybe 32. Bar debt 33. “Just a _____ away from the cycle...”

34. Second-yrs.

36. Scalp 38. Tangle up 40. Team Rocket preparation 44. O-Chem word for being like olive oil 46. Bar seat 47. Fires 50. Vinegar partner 52. Soft-boiled snacks 53. Poop protest?* 56. “_____ is me!”

"Electioeering"

57. Non-prescrip. drug 58. Can. currency 59. Clickthrough promise to not use iTunes for nuclear weapons, briefly 61. Big Love state 63. WASP...or how a Green Party candidate appeared on South Side ballots for Illinois midterms?* 68. Highway hulk 69. Durance who plays Lois Lane on Smallville 70. Love, to Venus?

71. Gaelic tongue 72. Beginning-, middle-, and end-haver 73. Samus of Super Metroid Down 1. Eng. degrees 2. Palindromic name 3. Ones without running water, say?* 4. Overheard in Islamabad 5. Quality that America’s got, apparently 6. Partner for 64-down 7. Org. concerned with firing practices?

8. Don Draper’s war 9. Yes-man 10. Terps org.

11. Cramp like a clucker 12. Writer Proust 13. Pass, like time 18. Japanese sash

22. Rock’s Santana 24. Scottish rump 25. Mufasa, e.g.

27. Villain from season 1 of Buffy 28. “How could _____ so stupid!”

29. Add water, perhaps 31. Dope 35. Like peanuts and pretzels 37. Unflinching 39. Makes new, like an old painting 41. Cranberry bed?* 42. Swoosh or Peacock 43. “Get outta here, or ____” 45. Prop for “This Little Piggy” 47. Lucy, to Ricky 48. One can be designated 49. U of C improv troupe, casually 51. Wiggle room 54. R. Kelly’s “I’m a _____” 55. Ndamukong of the Lions 60. Minnelli of Cabaret 62. Shake a leg 64. See 6-down 65. The Big Fucking Deal, briefly 66. Reagan follower?

67. “... the morn... walks o’er the dew of _____ high eastward hill" (Hamlet)

Solutions for 10/15 puzzle

Sudoku is provided by Laura Taalman (A.B. '94) and Philip Riley (A.B. '94).

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More Voices, but on the computer Head online to ChicagoMaroon.com/Voices-Blog

10

CHICAGO MAROON | VOICES | October 29, 2010

Style

Chicago Manual of

by Jessen O’Brien

While weary, hungry, and squished aboard an international flight, I recently re-watched The Devil Wears Prada. While I enjoyed the film the first time I watched it, perhaps it was just my mood, but I had several complaints the second time around. At the beginning of the film, the fashion industry is portrayed as an evil empire.

Eventually the main character starts to see fashion as relevant and positive, but soon the idea of fashion as a malignant, corrupting force is re-asserted. The film’s overall message is that the industry will cause you to change (never for the better) and damage all of your non-work

relationships (because only in fashion must you sacrifice a personal life for a professional one).

Obviously, I disagree with most of these claims. Fashion—and even more importantly, style—is all about expressing oneself. In many ways it’s one of the most practical arts because, like architecture, we live in its creations. And unlike our interactions with most forms of art, we get to take an active role by purchasing and assembling outfits, instead of just admiring from afar.

“But wait!” you cry. “The Devil Wears Prada is primarily about entertainment and pretty cloth-

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Style on film: Documentaries depict the working world of fashion ing. It doesn’t present itself as an in-depth look at the fashion industry.” And you are correct.

So, in response, I’m taking this week to promote three interesting, revealing, and honest documentaries about the world of fashion.

Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton: This documentary by Loïc Prigent follows Jacobs in his role as creative director for Louis Vuitton. But it is not just about him. The film also focuses on his role as a designer, examining both his creative and business sides. Ultimately, what makes Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton so great is its clear, informative narration by Prigent. Jacobs is a fascinating character, and the merging of a designer known partly for his “stinky rat” collection with a company of iconic class is a somewhat bizarre but wonderful premise in need of thorough, expert explanation. This fascinating story is accompanied by charming music and footage.

Valentino: The Last Emperor: Unlike Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton, this film is truly a character piece. Who is Valentino Garavani the man, and what makes him Valentino the legend? The film follows the designer through a year of his life, starting in 2006 as he prepares for a retrospective on his 45 years of design. At the center of the film is both Valentino’s relationship with his partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, and his relationship with beauty, especially beauty through design. This documentary is wonderful partly because it follows Valentino in one of the most pivotal years in his career, but also because it gives the viewer such intimate insight into the designer.

The September Issue: And, finally, the documentary that examines what The Devil Wears Prada cheekily alludes to: Vogue and Anna Wintour. However, what drives the film is not

an exploration of the magazine or its editorin-chief, but the constant struggle between art and content. Anna Wintour represents content.

As editor-in-chief, she must always maintain a focus on practical issues and the magazine overall. In contrast, Grace Coddington (currently Vogue’s creative director and one of its former models) represents art. Coddington concerns herself with beauty and little else. We see her look for inspiration, create art, and defend her work. In the end, it’s not about victory but reconciliation. The magazine must find a way to balance both, and luckily for the viewer the juggling act is riveting.

The September Issue COURTESY OF ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

If you love beautiful things and have any interest in the industry and designers that produce them, then watch these films. If you hate fashion, watch these films. They are neither a defense nor a critique, but rather an exploration of one of the most controversial industries in today’s society.

Love it or hate it, it can’t hurt to know more about the art we live in.

CLASSIFIEDS Classified advertising in the CHICAGO MAROON is $3 for each line. Lines are 45 characters long including spaces and punctuation. Special headings are 20-character lines at $4 per line.

Classifieds are not accepted over the phone, and they must be paid in advance. Submit all ads in person, by e-mail, or by mail to the CHICAGO MAROON, Ida Noyes Hall, Lower Level Rm 026, 1212 E. 59th St., Chicago, IL 60637 attn: Classified Ads. Deadlines: Wednesdays and Fridays, 12 P.M., prior to publication. The CHICAGO MAROON accepts Mastercard & Visa. Call (773) 702-9555.

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11

CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | October 29, 2010

Wash U will provide Chicago’s stiffest competition at UAAs W. CROSS COUNTRY continued from back page

The Library goes Mobile!

Julia Sizek who placed 23rd with a time of 22:32, and fourth-year Elizabeth Bright who came in 29 th at 22:41. First-year prodigy Michaela Whitelaw rounded out the group at 45th with a time of 22:55.

All this came as the runners were feeling the stress of a long season and as if they were running on empty: “[It was one of ] those days in which things don’t go so well, and your legs feel like cinderblocks,” explained Lawton.

“Not one of us felt fresh or sharp during the race,” added Ohman. “But we were able to push through the fatigue of midseason training.”

Though they did not feel too well prerace, the women began the race with a bang.

They struggled with the middle portions of the event, but constant encouragement among the team members helped them keep up the pace. “We all took it out pretty fast but managed to finish well,” said Whitelaw.

“However, my teammate Sonia [Khan] really

helped to keep me going the last 0.7 miles.”

In fact, the beginning may have been too fast, and the runners may have overstrained themselves. Lawton admitted that this “wasn’t the smartest tactical race I’ve run.”

Nevertheless, the Maroons displayed their tenacity and heart in the showing—one can only wonder how good they would have been fully rested.

Head coach Chris Hall expects tough competition in the UAA Championships on Saturday and considers a fourth-place trophy finish or higher to be a sublime accomplishment. “We have goals of winning the UAAs and expect our greatest competition to come from Wash U who did not have their best meet at Oshkosh and Case Western Reserve.”

The Maroons, who are ranked higher in the USTFCCCA poll than any other UAA team, still expect strong competition this weekend from 16th-ranked Wash U. The team will look to improve on its sixth-place finish at last year’s UAAs.

Win over Case would end Spartans’ 38-game regular-season win streak FOOTBALL continued from back page

Visit mobile.lib.uchicago.edu to: Check the hours of all campus libraries Search for books, journals, DVDS, and more with Lens Text or IM a Librarian Navigate the Library’s website

mobile.lib.uchicago.edu

University Symphony Orchestra with the Hyde Park School of Dance Annual Halloween Concert Barbara Schubert, Conductor

Music of

Come in Costume!

Berlioz Dvorák ˇ Liadov Mussorgsky & more

Donations requested: $8 general $4 students/children

Witches of Yore Saturday, October 30 7 pm & 9 pm Mandel Hall, 1131 E. 57th Street Event Hotline: 773.702.8069 • music.uchicago.edu Children under age 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Persons who need assistance should call 773.702.8484.

The Baba Yaga Digital Art. deviantart.com 1 Sept. ‘10 <http://samolo.deviantart.com/art/The-Baba-Yaga-115701755>

biggest one of the season,” said Polaneczky.

“Our goal from the beginning of the season was to win the UAA, and beating Case is the first step to reaching that goal. They are a great team having won 37 straight regular season games, but I believe we can end that streak if we all do our jobs and play with great intensity on every play.”

Polaneczky, led the team with 13 tackles and a blocked punt last week against Kenyon on the way to being named to D-III football’s team of the week for the second time in three weeks.

The offense, led by healthy fourth-year

quarterback Marshall Oium, has posted an average of 31 points a game this season.

Hosting Case this Saturday at noon will prove the litmus test for a streaking Maroons team poised to finally win a UAA championship.

“Obviously, winning this game not only ends this streak, but puts us in position to contend for a UAA Championship over the following two weekends,” summed up Tripolitakis. ”Also, the chance of making the D-III playoffs for the first time in school history is still a realistic possibility, but can only happen if we win out. Really, what can be more exciting than this?”

IN QUOTES

SPORTS

“If last year’s situation repeats itself, I will cross those who play off my list because they will be dead to me.”

—Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, referring to his team’s 4–0 loss to lowly Alcorcon last year.

FOOTBALL

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

7–0 Case arrives to open UAA play PREVIEW

Noon, Saturday, 10/30

Chicago vs. Case

With UAAs near, Maroons run record times at Oshkosh

By Charles Fang Sports Contributor

Chicago begins UAA play against a Case team that has won 38 straight regular-season games.

Fourth-year Tommy Parks breaks free from a tackler earlier in the season. The Maroons will need a strong ground game against undefeated Case tomorrow.

DARREN LEOW/MAROON

By Nick Foretek Sports Editor So far this season, everything has gone according to plan.

With five wins the Maroons have already won as many games as they did last season; they enter tomorrow’s game against Case having won the past three consecutive games with an average score of 25 points.

Th e p r o b l e m i s C a s e . Th e vaunted, undefeated, defending champions Case Western Reserve.

Possessed of a 7–0 record, a sweet-

slinging fourth-year quarterback named Joey Baum, ultramarine uniforms, and a website teeming with video clips of the team’s victories featuring a screeching radio announcer so excited one quickly realizes nothing else ever happens in Cleveland, Case doesn’t lose… ever.

Coming into the game ranked 23rd in the country, Case refuses to roll over. They have won 38 straight regular season games.

“We are all aware of what Case has done over the past few years,” said second-year defensive line-

man Joseph Tripolitakis, an integral member of the team’s staunch run defense this season.” They have run the UAA and haven’t lost a regular-season game in a long time. What better weekend to end that streak than Halloween weekend?”

Last season, the Maroons played Case under similar circumstances: entering the game with a 4–2 record and poised to fight for the UAA championship, heading into the fourth quarter, the teams were tied at 24. However, after a few costly mistakes, the Maroons

finally gave way, falling 38–24 and beginning a two-game losing streak that knocked them out of contention for the UAA championship.

But the Maroons are hot and ready for all that’s coming.

Second-year punter Jeff Sauer, who averaged 48 yards a punt last weekend against Kenyon, explained the importance of this week’s game. “This is definitely our biggest game of the year,” he said. “A win against a good Case Western team would give us great momentum throughout the UAA schedule. We will need to be very physical from the start and execute on offense, defense, and special teams to beat Case.”

The Maroons may have to rely on a special teams unit that has dominated so far this season. Led by third-year linebacker Danny Polaneczky, the Maroons tied a D-I I I record last week against Kenyon by blocking their fifth punt of the season.

“This is a huge game for us, the

FOOTBALL continued on page 11

SOCCER

Maroons battle NYU, Brandeis for conference position

By Liane Rousseau Sports Contributor Both men’s and women’s soccer are looking forward to a big weekend.

Both teams will play NYU tonight and Brandeis University on Halloween.

Right now, the men’s team stands at a mediocre 1–2–1 in University Athletic Association play. With two upcoming UAA games, there is a lot of pressure riding on the team to perform.

“This weekend is very important to us,” third-year Ryan Tunstall said. “We need to produce results in order to win the league. At this point winning is also necessary for us to qualify for the national tournament.”

Wins this weekend will not come easily. Coach Scott Wiercinski expects a challenge from both teams.

“These teams are pretty standard for our league in that they’re both good,” Wiercinski explains. “NYU is coming off a great streak. They’re coming in confident as the number-one team in the league.”

In order to win this week, the Maroons will have to continue the way they’ve been playing with better finishes.

“We’ve been playing well despite not having many wins recently. We

just need to score more and be tidier in the back field,” said Wiercinski.

“We’ve had a good week of practice, and the guys are energized. If we play well minute-to-minute we’ll have a successful weekend.”

Beating NYU and Brandeis is incredibly important to the Maroons if they want to be back in the mix to win the league. Beating NYU is especially important because they’re the numberone team.

“We have the right mix of guys, and this is a great opportunity to close the gap,” said Wiercinski.

On the women’s side, the team is going into this weekend 3–1 in league play. At this point, the Maroons are looking to build on their previous success.

“I’m really proud of our team so far, especially since we’re such a young team,” said third-year Maggie Tobin.

With only five fourth-years, the team hopes to capitalize on its youth.

“We feel really confident going into the weekend because these tough battles are our team’s personal favorite to play,” added Tobin.

Traditionally, NYU and Brandeis are not at the top of the women’s conference. However, the games will be tough battles because of the weight they hold for the Maroons’ season.

“We ran for our teammates!”

Such was the unifying rally cry from third-year Rachel Ohman as the Maroon women’s crosscountry team tied for second at the UW–Oshkosh Brooks Invitational last Saturday. Despite the discomfort of bad weather across the Midwest over the weekend, the girls from Chicago were able to channel their inner Rocky as they achieved season-best times across the board. Now, as the UA A ch a m p i o n s h i p s a p p r o a ch , t h e Maroons will look to capitalize on their strong performance.

At Oshkosh, Chicago entered the race ranked 15th in the nation but faced 10 of the top 25 teams in the country. After the win, the Maroons moved up to seventh in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll.

“Our coach has been telling us all season that we are an excellent team and have great potential, but I don’t think any of us fully believed it until Oshkosh,” Ohman said. “At Oshkosh we finally trusted ourselves and each other.”

Th e d o m i n a n t p l a c i n g w a s indeed a team effort as Chicago gained 116 points from its top five runners. They were led by fourthyear luminary Liz Lawton, who finished second in the 6,000-meter race with a time of 21:15.

Ev e n f o r L a w t o n i t w a s a n incredible run. Her time was the fastest result in the UAA in 2010.

The team also benefited from magnificent times by Ohman who finished 17th at 22:22, second-year

W. CROSS COUNTRY continued on page 11

CA LEN DA R

Friday 10/29 • Women’s Soccer vs. NYU. 5 p.m.

• Men’s Soccer vs. NYU. 7:30 p.m.

• Volleyball @ Ill. Wesleyan Invite vs. Monmouth. 5:15 p.m; vs. Anderson, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday 10/30

First-year Liz Doman dribbles past an opponent. The Maroons will play NYU and Brandeis over the weekend.

DARREN LEOW/MAROON

“These are two teams that cannot be overlooked,” said fourth-year Emily Benoit. “Two wins would really help secure our position at the top of the UAA.” Winning this weekend, however, doesn’t just have implications for UAA play. Winning the league would automatically secure a bid to the national tournament for the Maroons.

“Getting an automatic bid to the tournament would be ideal,” Benoit said. “I am confident with the way we have been playing that we can get these wins this weekend.”

Overall, both teams look forward to some tough competition this weekend.

Both teams have both UAA hopes and national tournament hopes riding on their performances.

• Men’s Cross Country @ UAA Championships, 11 a.m.

• Women’s Cross Country @ UAA Championships, noon • Football vs. Case, noon • Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving vs. Illinois Tech, 1 p.m.

• Volleyball @ Ill. Wesleyan Invite vs. UW–Platteville. 12:15 p.m; vs. North Park, 2:30 p.m.

Sunday 10/31 • Women’s Soccer vs. Brandeis, 11 a.m.

• Men’s Soccer vs. Brandeis, 1:30 p.m.