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FRIDAY • OCTOBER 30, 2015

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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

ISSUE 9 • VOLUME 127

University seeking changes to dining as Aramark contract ends Wendy Lee and Emily Feigenbaum Associate Editor, Contributor

Arielle Brotherson works on chalking a wall with the message: “Accessible door—No door button” as part of a protest held a week ago.

ZOE KAISER | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Students protest University disability policies Margaret Glazier Maroon Contributor Students for Disability Justice (SDJ) organized a chalking of the main quad last Friday in protest of the University’s accessibility policy for students with disabilities.

During the protest, members of SDJ, an organization committed to influencing University disability policy, stated that it has three goals: ending forced leaves

of absence in regards to out that several bathrooms mental health, increasing across campus, including the budget for counseling the women’s room on the and disability services on first floor of the Regenstein campus, and focusing on Library, are inaccessible beacceptance and equality for cause they do not have autodisabled members of the matic doors.

The chalked phrases asUChicago community.

SDJ concentrated its serted that while there is a chalking on areas like student to faculty ratio of the Classics building and six to one, there is a student Haskell Hall, where the to disability counselor ratio group says accessibility for of 3750 to one. The chalked students is limited, lacking phrases also referred to a a handicap button at certain 2006 Department of Jusentrances. SDJ also pointed DISABILITY continued on page 4

Student concerns prompt changes to O-Week sexual assault education program Eileen Li and Olivia Rosenzweig Associate Editor, Contributor The University made changes to its sexual assault education program, UMatter, during O-Week this year in response to student concerns.

During O-Week, first-year students attended one of four different UMatter presentations across campus. Each presentation included a performance by Catharsis Productions entitled Sex Signals, and

there was a panel discussion with Orientation Leaders led by a staff member from the University.

The new panel format marked a departure from past years’ discussions after Sex Signals, which were conducted in small groups similar to other Campus Life Meetings. According to Belinda Vasquez, the Title IX coordinator for UChicago, the change occurred as a result of student concerns about consistent messaging across the different small

group discussions.

“Oftentimes [in the small groups] things could get derailed either by strong personalities or students who are not as willing to participate in what could be difficult conversations. So we took that feedback and one of the things we decided to do is…really have a specific dialogue with four people who have been specifically trained... who can facilitate the discussion but still involve peers,” Vasquez said.

OWEEK continued on page 4

UChicago Dining’s fiveyear contract with food provider Aramark Corporation will soon expire in June 2016, opening the door to negotiations with other providers.

The University will work with Envision Strategies, a food service consulting firm, to launch a request for proposal (RFP) process.

Through the RFP process, a wide range of food service companies, such as Sodexo and Compass, will have the opportunity to bid on a contract with the University through the submission of a competitive business proposal. During the fall and

winter quarter, the University will assess the bids it receives, and a dining provider will be chosen by the end of winter quarter. The contract with this new dining provider will begin next fall quarter.

Members of the College Council (CC) met in the Cox Lounge of Stuart Hall on Tuesday, October 20 to discuss the future of oncampus dining with Richard Mason, the University’s executive director of dining.

The news of the contract expiration pleasantly surprised Calvin Cottrell, a Class of 2018 representative.

“A lot of us were very excited about the news,” Cottrell said. “Mr. Mason made it seem like he was looking for some substantial im-

provements.”

During the meeting, Mason expressed a need for higher quality food in the dining halls. To him, this means improving the quality of the ingredients, the state of facilities and equipment, and the care with which the chef prepares the meal.

“We want to make sure we provide dining that really builds and sustains community. In order to build community, you have to really enjoy your dining experience,” Mason said. “How you can deliver quality food is what we’re looking for in the next contract. The framework is in place, but we’re looking for consistency in the quality of food and the quality of service. We want DINING continued on page 4

Ramos talks journalism, activism, and confrontation with Trump

Jorge Ramos, Univision anchor and Emmy-award winning journalist, addresses an audience at the IOP. ZOE KAISER | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Katherine Vega Senior Writer Eight-time Emmy Awardwinning journalist and Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos spoke to a packed audience in the I-House Assembly Hall on Wednesday night. As a self-proclaimed “proud Mexican immigrant,” Ramos emphasized the intersection between his identity and his reporting.

His talk, which focused on journalism, politics, and Latinos in America, was part of the Institute of Politics’ (IOP) Road to 2016 speaker

series and the International House Global Voices lecture series. Third-year Liz Stark, a member of the IOP Student Advisory Committee, introduced Ramos, saying that he “epitomizes what it means to be a fearless journalist.”

Ramos structured his 25-minute talk around three different interview clips.

Each clip offered a lesson in journalism, ethics, and “taking a stand.”

“People have been asking me, are you an activist, or are you a journalist?...And my answer is...that I am just

a reporter asking questions.

However, there are some times in which as a journalist, you have to take a stand.”

He later added, “When we don’t do that, we are failing our profession.”

The first clip was of an interview with President Obama in which Ramos asked about U.S. deportation practices. The second highlighted a conversation about racial profiling during police stops with Arizona Sheriff Joe Arapio. The final clip showed Ramos’ controversial removal from Donald Trump’s press conference this summer after he repeatedly asked Mr. Trump to clarify his immigration policy.

The tension between the two had arisen earlier that summer when a personal letter asking for an interview from Ramos to Trump, which contained Ramos’s phone number, was published online without Ramos’s permission. Ramos explained the logic behind his confrontation with Trump, noting that everything was intentionally planned in orRAMOS continued on page 4

IN VIEWPOINTS

IN ARTS

IN SPORTS

EDITORIAL: On Halloween costumes » Page 5

PHOTO ESSAY:Community seeks to paint Woodlawn in a new light with 67th Street mural » Page 7 & 8

SWIM & DIVE: South Siders carry momentum to Wheaton » Backpage

BLACKLIGHTxMAROON: Really sticking out » Page 6

MEN’S SOCCER: Pair of tough conference foes will test team »Page 11

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | October 30, 2015

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High demand at City Hyde Park building Talk at Hillel adresses ethics, war, and the Jewish state Cairo Lewis Senior News Reporter

There has been high demand for the new City Hyde Park retail and residential apartments located at 5105 South Harper Avenue, much of which comes from students seeking an alternative to the university housing system.

Construction of the 15-story, 500,000 square foot complex began about a year ago when MAC Properties received its foundation permit to start building last March.

The Jeanne Gang and Studio Gang-designed development features a total of 180 units that range from $1,820 per month for a one-bedroom to $4,405 per month for a penthouse unit.

As of April 2014, MAC owned 53 apartment buildings in Hyde Park. According to a Maroon article from last year, the average price for a MAC one-bedroom apartment was $1,000–$1,200.

Unlike other similarly sized apartment complexes in Hyde Park, City Hyde Park’s parking spaces will be below ground, and the tower will feature an extensive green roof space.

In addition to regular cost units, MAC is placing 36 below-market rate units on the market. These units will be set aside for people who make close to half the city’s median

income.

According to MAC Apartment’s Silliman Group Director of Community Development Peter Cassel, the apartments have attracted many different types of people who are looking for an upscale living experience.

“We believe [City Hyde Park] will appeal to many Hyde Parkers, including the young and older students, teachers, working people, professionals, and retired,” Cassel said.

Potential tenants have already applied for all 36 of these units that will be rented out for $613 per month. The number of bedrooms and views of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan are major factors that differ among the rental rates.

These 36 affordable units are part of a deal made between MAC developers and the city of Chicago for a break on property taxes through Tax Increment Financing (TIF). MAC will be receiving an $11.3 million tax break on the $115 million project.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Development (LEED), a green building program that awards best in-class building strategies and practices, has also recognized the new spaces for using optimal business tactics. The LEED certification of the building site is currently in progress.

The new building complex will also feature ample retail and office space for new businesses to set up shop in the neighborhood.

A Whole Foods grocery store, a Marshall’s department store, and a Michael’s arts and crafts supply store will anchor the new developments. Office space provider Regus has also rented out 17,000 square feet of office and meeting spaces on the second floor of the building.

15,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor, mostly along the Hyde Park Boulevard and Harper Avenue sides, have not yet been rented out.

The first tenants, who will be living on the fourth through sixth floors, are expected to move into the building in December. The rest of the tenants, along with the major retailers, will start moving into the remaining spaces in early 2016.

Cassel believes that the new additions will further enhance Hyde Park’s development.

“There hasn't been a [newly] constructed apartment building in Hyde Park for over 25 years. This means the last building was built before the Americans with Disabilities Act. City Hyde Park is an inclusive building and we look forward to welcoming people from across the neighborhood and City into the community,” Cassel said.

Noah Zion, a scholar at the Jerusalem-based Shalom Hartmann Institute, spoke on ethics and war at Hillel Wednesday.

ANJALI DHILLON | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Adam Thorp Associate News Editor A talk at Newberger Hillel last Wednesday addressed the intersection between ethics and war, especially in the context of the ongoing IsraeliPalestinian conflict.

The event was arranged due to recent violence in Israel, the West Bank, and specifically the city of Jerusalem, and recent activism on campus, including this week’s Apartheid Week events, made its topic particularly relevant. Noam Zion, a scholar at the Jerusa-

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lem-based Shalom Hartman Institute, said that recent events were on his mind as he gave the talk.

“In the back of my mind— when I think about ethical issues in terms of war—has got to be what’s happening in my own neighborhood,” Zion said Zion was invited to the event by Newberger Hillel Executive Director Andrea Hoffman, after she spent time studying at the Institute last summer. The Institute, as Zion described it, tries to accommodate historical Jewish

thought to the relatively brief modern history of Israel as a Jewish state.

“When you’re under the gun—literally under the gun, in the ethics of war— you don’t have much time to think...The test of ethics as the Hartman Institute sees it is always the test of what is the relationship between ethics as an aspirational world…and the attempt to live in the real world,” Zion said.

Zion pointed out a traditional distinction made between the ethical justification HILLEL continued on page 4

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | October 30, 2015

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SJP-sponsored panel talks Palestinian At 125th anniversary panel, the past history, contemporary politics and future of civic engagement Isaac Stein Senior News Reporter In a speech last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Mohammed Amin al-Husseini, a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim religious leader, advised Adolf Hitler to “burn [Jews],” at a meeting between the two men in 1941. That comment was a subject of campus discussion on Tuesday, when the RSO UChicago Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) held a panel and discussion titled “Jerusalem in Crisis: Insider Perspectives on the Violence in Palestine-Israel.” The event was part of SJP’s “UChicago Israeli Apartheid Week,” a series of three pro-Palestinian lectures and discussions that ran from Tuesday to Thursday.

“Jerusalem in Crisis” was a discussion of regional history from Palestinian perspectives, and was co-hosted by Alex Shams and Eilat Maoz, both SJP members and graduate students studying anthropology.

Netanyahu’s comment, which has been heavily disputed by historians of The Holocaust and described by the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as “regrettable,” has kindled a firestorm of media attention on the future of a two-state solution to the IsraeliPalestine conflict. According to Maoz, Netanyahu is drawing attention for his style, but not for his beliefs, which she argued are consistent with a long-run “culture of terror” in Israeli politics that villainizes Palestinians.

“Unlike Israel’s leaders of the past, Netanyahu is not even putting on a show. Israel’s government doesn’t even try to claim it’s going for a two-state solution.

[Netanyahu] wants a security state...the prime minister openly

rejects any political solution, and repeatedly argues that Israelis would have to learn to ‘live with terror.’ In this constellation, terror is not understood politically...but as a manifestation of unintelligible metaphysical or primordial hatred of Jews. It is not by chance, then, that The Holocaust is constantly being invoked by Israeli officials,” she said.

Shams added his belief that the Israeli West Bank separation barrier is a physical representation of how Israeli policy has made a two-state solution to the IsraeliPalestine conflict unfeasible.

Israel began constructing the barrier, which separates parts of Israel from West Bank, in 2002, and the construction is ongoing. Proponents of the construction, such as the nonprofit Anti-Defamation League, argue that the barrier is necessary to protect Israeli citizens from Palestinian terrorist attacks. Critics, such as Shams and SJP, refer to the structure as the “Apartheid Wall,” and claim that Israel has used the barrier as a way to annex territory outside of its jurisdiction, and has dislocated Palestinians as a result.

“The Apartheid Wall is deep inside the West Bank, nowhere near the Green Line [1949 territorial borders between Israel and neighboring governments], which is why tens of thousands of Palestinians are stuck in walled enclaves on the wrong side of it.

That’s also why it’s being built— to annex West Bank land to Israel,” he said.

Both Maoz and Shams said that the contemporary violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is partially attributed to the dispossession of Palestinians in British Mandatory Palestine, which existed from 1920 to 1948. After World War I, The British Empire was assigned to govern what are

now Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

But during the War, Arthur Balfour, the British foreign secretary, had also made a written promise to secure a “homeland” in Palestine for the Jewish people. Israeli leaders later cited the Balfour Declaration in their Declaration of Independence, in 1948. Shams, referring to the Covenant of the League of Nations, said that the Balfour Declaration should not have been held as credible, as “according to the Mandate system, you cannot change the border of a given political system.”

He added his belief that Palestinians have been denied adequate political representation since 1948. In 1993, the U.S. mediated the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO. The Accords established the Palestinian Authority (PA), a representative Palestinian legislative body, which governs parts of West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, Shams criticized the PA as a “tool” of Israel and the United States.

“The last elections were in 2006, when Palestinians democratically voted Hamas into Parliament; in response, the U.S. and Europe refused to allow Hamas to lead. The PA is a complete sham,” he said. He added that while he thinks a two-state solution is impossible, he hopes for “a single, democratic state with equal rights for all people between the River and the Sea, Palestinians and Jews.”

But until that agreement is reached, he argued, Palestinians ought to be treated as lawful combatants in a war zone.

“Palestinian violent resistance against the violent Israeli military is always justified; it is the equivalent of biting the hand that is trying to choke you to death.”

$2.1 million grant funds project looking for the meaning of life Victoria Cattelona Maroon Contributor The University is participating in a $2.1 million project to investigate the meaning of life. The John Templeton Foundation is sponsoring the collaborative effort with the University of South Carolina, set to span 28 months.

The project’s primary researchers and leaders are Jennifer Frey of the University of South Carolina and Candace Vogler of the University of Chicago. Both women are professors in their schools’ respective philosophy departments.

“It will be a huge breakthrough if our team can begin to show in a rigorously interdisciplinary way that virtue, happiness, and meaning in life are related not merely in theory but also in practice. The implications for social policy and education could be considerable,” Frey said in an interview with the Columbia Regional Business

Report.

The project hosted a kickoff presentation at the University of Chicago’s Humanities Day on October 17. Six public lectures will follow through 2017.

The project will also feature two weeklong seminars offered in June 2016 and in June 2017 at the University of Notre Dame.

Two courses will be taught at UChicago by visiting scholars and will be open to both undergraduate and graduate students.

“The project’s enduring impact will be to bring focus on selftranscendence to the forefront of cutting-edge research and public discourse about virtue, happiness, and the meaning of life and to develop a new self-transcendence construct for empirical research,” Vogler noted during her presentation at the kickoff event.

The project has launched a website, virtue.uchicago.edu, that explains its objectives and future plans. The website describes the

mission as one that encourages intensive collaboration among philosophers, religious thinkers, and psychologists. Together, they will investigate the role of selftranscendence in determining how virtue connects to a central happiness and human life’s meaning.

The website presents three integral questions the project will seek to tackle. The first concerns the role of self-transcendence in virtuous activity. The second asks when and how virtue results in a fulfilling human life. The third question considers the kind of happiness that results from virtue.

The project’s team has also published a blog, The Virtue Blog. It will be used to post research content, interviews, and discussions. Scholars have already published posts such as “Does Money Buy Happiness?” to pose questions that relate to conventional ideas of happiness.

Derek R. B. Douglas, Vice President for Civic Engagement, introduces the Civic Engagement Panel at the Gordon Parks Arts Hall on Tuesday.

AHONA MUKHERJEE | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Alex Ward Maroon Contributor On Tuesday, the Office of Civic Engagement (OCE) hosted a panel at the Gordon Parks Arts Hall to discuss the University’s plans for the next 125 years of civic engagement.

The panel also provided opportunities for local residents to provide input on the University’s programs.

Derek Douglas, the University’s vice president for civic engagement, opened the panel with a brief explanation of the OCE’s work. Douglas highlighted programs like the UChicago-affiliated Becoming a Man program, which directly inspired President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, and the No Barriers program, which has contributed to a 43 percent rise in first-generation students in the College within its first year.

Woodlawn Children’s Promise Community Managing Director Nina N. Longino explained her program’s interest in creating “cradle to career” education. She highlighted her organization’s mission to support underprivileged children by promoting higher quality education in local schools and full-day pre-kindergarten programs.

UChicago Charter Schools

CEO Shayne Evans delivered a powerful message about Chicago’s traditionally abysmal college graduation rates, especially among blacks, but noted major improvements in recent years. “I’m here to tell you that there’s nothing wrong with the young person—the young people are in fact amazing—and our goal is to create enough knowledge at the University of Chicago to ensure that more of our students across the nation graduate from college,” Evans said.

Bright Star Church Pastor Christopher Harris discussed how his organization, the Bronzeville Dream Center, plans to train local faith and community leaders for posttrauma counseling, bringing what would otherwise be a costly and stigmatized service to the South Side. They also hope to provide mentoring and workforce development programs to the community.

Finally, Deborah GormanSmith, director of the Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention (CCYVP), spoke about her organization’s mission to analyze risk factors for local youth. The Center develops intervention programs and provides critical data on area neighborhoods and families to the Bronzeville Dream Center and other organizations.

The panel was then opened to questions from audience members, who asked about issues like the University’s focus on charter schools rather than the Chicago Public School system and the potential benefits of building additional athletics facilities on the South Side.

After the panel, breakout discussion sessions were held for attendees to discuss and provide input to the University through feedback cards.

Monica Morrow, a local public school teacher who was in attendance, acknowledged that her colleagues often have a negative view of charter schools, but said, “I enjoyed hearing that the plan is to build a relationship between neighborhood schools and charter schools. The better we do at building that bridge and understanding that the goal behind all of these is to teach children and to educate them at a level that’s above mediocre, that makes some big differences.”

William Scott, a neighborhood resident who asked a question about engaging seniors in community outreach programs, said, “I was more than pleased I came out tonight. There was quite a bit that I know I garnered from listening to [the panelists]…what I heard was quite refreshing.”

NEWS IN BRIEF Grant allows expansion of urban sensor network A $3.1 million grant will be used to expand an urban sensing project that aims to provide data on city environments for public use.

The Array of Things project envisions a network of sensors throughout Chicago that will gather various data on the city environment such as air-quality, sound levels, temperature, and population movements.

This will provide a magnitude of quality data that is open to the public with the aim of aiding city governments, researchers, and citizens solve problems in urban communi-

ties.

The grant awarded to the project is part of the $35 million in new grants given by the National Science Foundation as part of the Obama Administration’s $160 million “Smart Cities” initiative.

The initiative aims to boost technology and creative collaborations to help cities solve key problems ranging from reducing traffic congestion to increasing public safety.

Brenna Berman, Chicago’s chief technology officer, told Chicago magazine that the “funding is going to let us take

the Array of Things from design, plan, and prototype to the first full-scale pilot here in the city. We anticipate putting the first 50 nodes up in Q1 of 2016, and the additional fullscale pilot over the next twoand-a-half years.”

Two nodes were activated at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts and the Regenstein Library over the summer along with nine other nodes on the UChicago campus as part of the pilot phase.

–Jaehoon Ahn

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | October 30, 2015

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“As a journalist, you have to take a stand” RAMOS continued from front

der to shift the balance of power between interviewer and interviewee to a more equal standing.

At the press conference, Ramos and his crew had three cameras instead of the typical one in order to capture every angle. Ramos was also intentionally microphoned so that his voice would be the same volume as Trump’s even though this is not a standard practice for press conferences. “His voice is as loud as mine. It’s a different balance,” he said.

Confrontation of power was a common thread in Ramos’ talk. He asserted that journalists should be a force,

constantly pushing back against those in charge and reporting news to the common consumer.

“We have to be right on the outside between the White House and the street.

We have to be right on the edge between the candidates and the voters…Our role is to be the ‘anti-power.’ That’s where we get our responsibility, our credibility, and our value,” he stated.

A question and answer session moderated by IOP Executive Director Steve Edwards followed the talk, and 20 audience members, many of whom had their own personal stories to share, asked questions. Ramos gave his

thoughts on a broad range of topics, ranging from Venezuelan politics to the role of Black/Latino solidarity.

When an audience member asked what Latinos could do to with their growing numbers, Ramos highlighted the purchasing power of the 26 million Latinos who will be eligible to vote in 2016. “You have to go vote,” he simply responded.

Ramos left the audience with three main points.

“One, this is a multi-cultural, multi-racial, multiethnic country,” he said.

“Second, take a stand when it really matters. And third, don’t give your cell phone to Donald Trump.”

College Dining expects to retain staff DINING continued from front

to continuously raise the bar on the food we offer.”

Cottrell, however, noted that one of CC’s biggest concerns with the contract expiration was with the transparency of the bidding process itself. Students in CC expressed concern over Aramark’s eligibility to bid for another five-year term due to Aramark’s ties to University Board of Trustee member Joseph Neubauer (M.B.A ’65). Neubauer is the previous chief executive officer and chairman of Aramark. He retired from Aramark in 2014, and was elected vice chairman of the Board of Trustees in 2012.

“My understanding is that the University is going through the bidding process...to see what other options are out there,” Cottrell said. “[But] in the past, Aramark has had a privileged position in the bidding process. We want to make sure the bidding process is open and fair so there would at least be the possibility of getting [a new dining provider].”

Second-year Max Freedman, a Jannotta House dining representative on the Campus Dining Advisory Board, says it’s likely that Aramark’s contract with the University will be renewed

because of the company’s history of reliable service.

For Freedman, however, his problem with Aramark is its lack of accountability as a food service provider on campus.

“The very fact that I first raised concerns about allergen and nutrition labeling inaccuracies last November means that they have had 11 months to fix a real liability, and only now have they committed to presenting the dining reps with a plan for moving forward,” Freedman said. “Aramark does well with incorporating what we like when we request it and replacing less popular options…On the other hand, the fact that systemic issues such as alerting students with allergies or with dietary issues like diabetes are allowed to persist indicates to me a kind of complacency that comes from a lack of accountability.”

Another major concern for students is whether staff members employed by Aramark will continue to be employed by the new contractor.

In regard to Student Government (SG) members’ concerns about the existing staff ’s employment with the change in contract, Mason stated that the University’s priority is to keep existing

staff, regardless of the dining provider.

“We expect that whoever we work with will work with our union staff,” Mason said.

“If we were to make a transition, the successful company would interview existing staff first and work with the staff who are already here.”

Mary Abowd, the Campus and Student Life news officer for the news office, said that the University will take student, faculty, and staff input heavily into account.

“We believe that with input...we will be able to continue to meet the needs of our diverse campus community with a top tier, high quality dining program,” Abowd said in an e-mail.

In the case that Aramark’s contract with the University is renewed, Freedman hopes that the company prioritizes increased transparency during its next five years on campus.

“The University needs to demand the same standard from its contractors as the City demands from all food service outlets,” Freedman said. “While Aramark has been more helpful than most students imagine...they have been shockingly negligent to this issue which I would argue is one of their most basic responsibilities.”

Speaker questions the idea of ethics in war HILLEL continued from page 2

for the decision to engage in war—ethics of war—and the way the war is conducted— ethics in war. Ethics in war, Zion said, has been complicated by an intellectual shift that has prioritized a humanitarian approach to the question. Previously, Zion said, the question had been conceived of as a sort of contract between the two sides in a conflict, in which one side’s compliance depended on the others.

“When ethics is identified with human life, with sensitivity to a universal justice, and not only as a loyalty or a patriotism to your group or to

your city, then it becomes very problematic to talk about ethics in war,” Zion said.

Zion described a debate around the time of the foundation of the modern state of Israel between Jewish figures who saw a Jewish state as necessary or desirable, and their opponents, including some religious Zionists and pacifists, who considered the war that might be needed to achieve it morally unacceptable.

Zion said that he identified more closely with the position of Israeli novelist Amos Oz. Zion had participants from the talk read at length from an essay in which Oz argues that

the “tools of statehood”—including war—must be adopted as a matter of necessity for the Jewish people, though it should not be gloried or seen as a good in-and-of itself.

“His ethical problem is: ‘Can we live in a world which is imperfect without either, on one hand, having such a visionary notion of peace that we will not get involved in sovereignty at all or simply be wiped out, or on the other hand, can we defend ourselves without making a virtue out of what’s an awful necessity?”

Anjali Dhillon contributed reporting.

“Our main concern was that all students were familiar with their rights” O-WEEK continued from front

This year’s changed programming also sought to address student concerns about the content of Sex Signals, namely its heteronormative scenarios.

Jeremy Inabinet, Assistant Dean of Students in the University for Disciplinary Affairs, said that one of the four performances, put on in Ida Noyes’ Max Palevsky Cinema, featured fewer heteronormative scenarios. “The pilot piece at more times focused on the intersection of violence and race, male victimization and how violence can impact those in the LQBTQIA communities.”

Though the one performance was especially conscious of these issues, aspects of the other three presentations were also changed to shift the conversation away from solely male/female scenarios. The three non-pilot programs also included a discussion of LGBTQ issues, race, socioeconomic class, and other issues of power.

Meg Dowd, president of the Phoenix Survivors’ Alliance (PSA), said that discussions between the PSA and University administrators last spring and over the summer played a role in the recent changes.

“Our main concern was that all students were familiar with their rights and the University’s policy on sexual assault, in accordance with Title IX,” Dowd said.

Another change implemented by the University and Catharsis Productions centered on making the party scene less of a focus of the skits. ”It’s one of the scenes of many and they explore other

scenes in which students may find themselves whether by being a bystander to sexual violence or being a victim of sexual violence,” Vasquez said.

As for next year, Inabinet and Vasquez do not yet know whether the student panel format will remain or be changed again.

“Feedback was collected through the College Programming Office…so we’re looking to see what that data said,” Vasquez said. “It’s a lot of information…we’re not at a place yet where we are exactly sure how we will proceed.”

Despite the University’s attempt to address these issues, some students were still critical of the presentation and had suggestions for improvement.

“While this year’s O-Week programming was significantly improved from the years preceding, we know that one 90 minute presentation in the form of Sex Signals is not sufficient preventative education over the course of four years,” Dowd wrote in an e-mail.

Dowd also cited the University’s integration of Title IX and policy education into graduate orientation this year as another positive step and hopes to see more long-lasting preventative education programs next year.

Michael Ferguson, a firstyear LGBTQ student, watched a non-pilot presentation in Mandel Hall and expressed concerns about the heteronormative scenarios.

“Because they only talked about male and female and society’s definition of male and female, I thought they left out a big portion of LGBT students who have very different situa-

tions. It was helpful and I know it’s meant for the majority of people but it didn’t apply to me personally,” Ferguson said.

First-year Santiago Thompson criticized the student panel, saying it wasn’t representative of the student body.

“I think the idea of a student panel is good but the execution of the one I was at I didn’t really care for,” Thompson said. “I couldn’t identify with the students I saw on the panel... I feel like it would have been cool to see some athletes up there doing that or maybe some people from Greek life.”

Austin Herrick, a third-year O-Leader from DelGiorno House, discussed the difficulty in striking a balance between student participation and helping students feel safe.

“Going forward, I think it will be important to find a medium between not engaging the students on one hand and having them be sort of spectators versus…having the format in the past which made people feel very uncomfortable or trapped,” Herrick said.

Vasquez emphasized that, while the content and format of the UMatter presentation is constantly improving, the core message to the first years remains unchanging.

“We wanted students to leave knowing…we are here, we are listening and we care.

Violence is unacceptable, violence of any kind, and...we will respond to allegations of violence.”

The UMatter program also includes a new website (umatter.uchicago.edu) that contains resources for getting help, finding support, or filing a report after a sexual assault.

“One of SDJ’s big goals is to politicize disability” DISABILITY continued from front

tice (DOJ) filing against UChicago for not complying with the American Disabilities Act (ADA).

The director of public affairs for the University, Marielle Sainvilus, responded that the DOJ never actually filed a lawsuit against the University.

However, Sainvillus said, “In connection with a compliance review by the Department of Justice, the University entered into a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice in 2006. The agreement expired in 2010 and the University has continued to meet and strives to exceed legal accessibility requirements, including ADA requirements.”

Sainvilus explained that following the 2006 settlement, the University has “made numerous changes to improve the accessibility of its facilities, transportation, accessible routes, sig-

nage, and assistive listening systems on campus, among other things.“ Recent renovations include: renovating the sloped walkway at Cobb gate, installing new elevators at the Reynolds Club and Study of Gender and Sexuality/Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, and significant accessible features constructed at the Saieh Hall for Economics.

“The University has not reduced spending in relation to the accommodations provided to students.

On the contrary, the budget for Student Disabilities Services has increased significantly in recent years,” Sainvilus wrote in an e-mail.

SDJ was formed last spring by Nora Heflin as an affiliate of Southside Solidarity Network (SSN). SDJ has not limited itself to the traditional sense of “disability” in order to allow more students to associate themselves with the movement.

“We’re tying in a lot of

things with the word disability: depression and anxiety, which are most prevalent on college campuses, physical disabilities, such as the use of wheelchairs and assistive technology, ” Helfand said.

Third-year Hannah Landes, a leader in the SDJ chalking, said, “The way that the University has been prioritizing its prestige and its financial standing over the lives of its students is, I think, really unacceptable. Ultimately we would want to make this an institution that is accessible to its disabled students, to disabled faculty, to students who may not fit into the four-year plan or the academic plan that prioritizes efficiency and prioritizes academic success over one’s individual health and well being.”

VIEWPOINTS

Editorial & Op-Ed OCTOBER 30, 2015

On Halloween costumes Culturally appropriative Halloween costumes are not acceptable Last year several students’ Halloween costumes set off a chain of events which included a petition with over 2,500 signatures calling on the University to address the campus climate on racial issues and the promise for a campus climate survey to address racial issues. The costumes, which were designed to imitate lower-class Mexican gangsters, were both inappropriate and culturally appropriative, and the Maroon Editorial Board calls on the campus community to be mindful and respectful when choosing a costume this Saturday.

The events following last Halloween were not the first incidents of racial insensitivity on this campus in recent years. In spring 2012 two fraternities faced bias claims and in spring 2013 a Facebook page entitled “Politically Incorrect Maroon Confessions” launched, featuring discriminatory content. During the events last fall, anonymous and personal attacks flooded social media.

This Halloween we would like to emphasize that no one’s culture is a costume. It is not one person’s place to represent another historically marginalized group through their outfit. Many members of marginalized groups are very familiar with seeing their identities presented by others in American (and other) media, more often as the butt of a joke than not. Costumes that continue this trend are not only the opposite of original and decidedly not funny, but they

are also definitely hurtful. “Dressing up” as a stereotype reduces an entire group—its members, its history, and its struggles—to a joke. This is dehumanizing to the individuals and fellow students who identify as part of that culture and insensitive to the burdens that come with that identity.

By aping another person’s culture, the costume-wearer seeks to socially profit off of making fun of others, contributing to the further marginalization of this culture for the sake of a couple cheap laughs.

In addition, it is not acceptable to claim ignorance as an excuse, especially on our campus. All members of our campus community have the means and responsibility to act in a way that does not degrade other members of our shared community.

We urge all members of the campus community to think critically about the costumes they choose to wear on Halloween, and by extension, how individual actions affect a campus climate. Not only should students choose respectful costumes, but they should also speak up if a friend opts to wear an offensive one. We all have the responsibility to speak up in the face of insensitive and inappropriate actions, and must continue to work towards a campus climate that is welcoming to all members of the community.

—The Maroon Editorial Board ALICE XIAO

| THE CHICAGO MAROON

Letter: New trauma center location neglects Southeast and Far South Sides I write to respond to the recent Maroon article about the University’s decision to partici-

pate in a Level I Trauma Center on the Southwest side of Chicago (“Trauma Center on the

The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892.

Eleanor Hyun, Editor-in-Chief Sarah Manhardt, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Stephen Moreland, Managing Editor The Maroon Editorial Board consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor-in-Chief & editors of The Maroon.

News Marta Bakula, editor Maggie Loughran, editor Isaac Easton, deputy editor Annie Nazzaro, deputy editor Alec Goodwin, senior editor Viewpoints Sarah Zimmerman, editor Kayleigh Voss, editor Kiran Misra, senior editor

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Arts Andrew McVea, editor Ellen Rodnianski, editor James Mackenzie, senior editor

Business Nicolas Lukac, chief financial officer Ananya Pillutla, vice chief financial officer

Sports Helen Petersen, editor Zachary Themer, editor Tatiana Fields, senior editor

Andrew Ahn, co-director of marketing Eitan Rude, co-director of marketing Ben Veres, director of operations Patrick Quinn, director of strategy Emily Reinherz, director of human resources Harry Backlund, distributor

Grey City Evangeline Reid, Editor-in-Chief Design Annie Cantara, head designer Copy Erica Sun, head editor Michelle Zhao, head editor Morganne Ramsey, head editor Social Media Emily Harwell, editor

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Editor-in-Chief E-mail: Editor@ChicagoMaroon.com Newsroom Phone: (773) 702-1403 Business Phone: (773) 702-9555 Fax: (773) 702-3032 For advertising inquiries, please contact Ads@ChicagoMaroon.com or (773) 702-9555 Circulation: 6,800. © 2015 The Chicago Maroon Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637

South Side: an in-depth look” [10/16/15]) and to discuss some of the issues related to the ongoing controversy. I write as an emergency physician on the South Side, a community activist, and a University of Chicago alumnus.

The public reporting and discussion concerning the proposed Holy Cross Hospital Trauma Center over the past month or so has given too much credit to the University (though it certainly deserves some), and not enough to the many community members and students who fought so hard, many risking arrest and expulsion, to push the University to do its share in providing South Side trauma care. Not only that, but too much credit is also being given to the proposal in general.

After the announcement of a trauma center to be established in Marquette Park, Chicago Fire Department Paramedic Fitz Maurice said, “It can’t hurt.”

While it certainly can’t hurt, and will probably help, the reality is that the vast Southeast and Far South Sides of Chicago will remain many miles from a trauma center. The main advantage of a Holy Cross Trauma center, it seems to me, is to relieve the cur-

rent excessive trauma burden at Mount Sinai Hospital (already a Level I Trauma Center and UChicago’s prospective partner at Holy Cross) and at Advocate Christ Medical Center, which provides Level I trauma care to much of the South and Southwest sides at its facility in Oak Lawn.

The Holy Cross location will also be advantageous—if one can use that word in such tragic situations—for major-trauma victims in areas such as Englewood.

Many of us still wonder why the University cannot provide adult trauma care at its centrallylocated tertiary-care campus in Hyde Park, and many of us think we know the answer: it still has to do with money, patient mix, and image. We also wonder if the University will continue to serve pediatric trauma victims through age 17 at the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC).

The South and Southeast Sides of Chicago will still be without a near-enough Level I trauma care. For example, where I live in South Shore, five miles from UCMC, if I were the victim of life-threatening injury, I would be transported about 12 miles away to Northwestern Medical Center (which, unlike the Uni-

versity of Chicago, has never tried to avoid its responsibilities in this regard). While 12 miles may not seem like a lot, in a life or death situation, every minute counts.

To me, it seems that to complete the process of providing adequate, proximate trauma care to all Chicagoans, another Level I trauma center should be established on the South or Southeast Side. A logical candidate would be Advocate Trinity Hospital in South Chicago, where the University of Chicago could partner with Advocate-Christ, as it plans to do with Mount Sinai at Holy Cross.

An anatomic term that might be used for the University’s current, limited plan is “half-assed,” and this is not becoming for a great institution. An adult trauma center at UCMC in Hyde Park, or a University partnership at Trinity or another southeast or far-south hospital, could make whole the University’s participation in the Chicago trauma system.

Peter Draper M.D. MPH, University of Chicago (A.B. ’75)

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | October 30, 2015

BLACKLIGHTxMAROON

RSO: Really sticking out Cultural RSOs should be spotlighted during O-Week, when first-year minority students need them most Shayla Harris Blacklight Magazine Contributor I can still recall the uneasy feeling that rose in my stomach as I surveyed the crowd during the bagpipe processional.

In a mob of over 1,000 people, I began counting the people of color within my line of vision on my hands. A wave of skepticism washed over me, and I found myself wanting to recoil back into my mother’s embrace where I knew I would be understood, respected—loved. The realization that I was “different,” paired with the novelty of college, presented itself as a doubly ostracizing force. I faltered for only a moment, quickly disregarding my feeling of apprehension and diving into each cheesy icebreaker whole-heartedly. But my growing list of friends and acquaintances didn’t satisfy my desire to have Black friends. I held my breath, anxiously awaiting the day when I would require the type of support and solidarity that can only come from a shared racial experience.

Universities boast about their progressive and critical way of thinking, showcasing a diverse cast of students on the covers of their brochures, yet they remain unresponsive to minorities’ issues. What these brochures don’t mention is the lower retention rates many minorities face, as well as a host of other issues. In my first few weeks at UChicago, I often felt like I was simply a statistic or a token—not a respected, contributing part of the University.

Thankfully, the Organization of Black Students washed away this apprehension while simultaneously fulfilling my dream of building friendship and solidarity with my black peers. The fleeting doubt that many minority students beside me experience could be greatly minimized if the University championed cultural organizations instead of

solely emphasizing the fact that minorities exist on campus, as if it is trying to prove that it can meet some quota.

First year is a huge (and often rocky) transitional period for all students; this makes the support of cultural organizations for minority students increasingly important. Unfortunately, this is also the time when students know the least about these organizations. The University should play a more active role in connecting incoming students to cultural organizations like the Singaporean and Malaysian Student Association (SAMSU), or the Malaysian Student Association. Of course these RSOs should recruit new members just like any other, but placing the responsibility solely on these organizations says, “This is your problem.” To truly create a more welcoming campus, the University should task itself with assessing and aiding the transition of minority students. Even something as small as posting a schedule of cultural events within the Diversity & Inclusion webpage could help students find more events and feel more included.

This way, students aren’t merely reading about inclusion in abstract terms, but reading how to actively become a part of a solidarity movement. The University should not only post events, but also host them throughout the year.

Cultural RSOs are visible on campus only leading up to their showcases or during times of social unrest. In other words, the minority voice is only palpable as a form of entertainment or as a form of resistance. This does not sound like an environment that is inclusive of or conducive to fruitful cross-cultural conversation. If the University organizes cultural events independent of any RSO, it sends the message that diversity is important for everyone—not just minorities. This would tear down

WEI YI OW

the conditioning that labels minorities as “Other.” Furthermore, the University should look at cultural RSOs as a partner with whom it has a mutualistic relationship. They are the foot soldiers fighting for the “respectful and inclusive environment” the University strives for, and the administration should take advantage of that.

Even if the University does not have sufficient manpower to plan and organize events regularly, it still possesses the financial means. The simplest way to support and strengthen cultural RSOs is to fund their events, yet many of these RSOs remain greatly underfunded. If diversity and inclusion is of importance campus wide, why are cultural RSOs lumped in with Badminton and Bridge Club? While it’s clear that cultural RSOs target specific students for their membership pools, topics of diversity and inclusion are a

campus-wide concern. The administration is tacitly diminishing the importance of this, and again relinquishing responsibility.

Placing cultural RSOs on the same playing field as other RSOs not only undermines the University’s dedication to diversity and inclusion—it is also nonsensical. Cultural RSOs are forced to compete with organizations that make a profit when applying for SGFC (Student Government Finance Committee) funding. Though cultural RSOs demonstrate a greater financial need and play a more pivotal role in a building a safe, welcoming campus, the committee largely favors organizations whose events have made a profit in the past. Cultural RSOs are thereby constantly disadvantaged since solidarity and support are—and should continue to be—priceless. Making money is not their purpose. Furthermore, many

|

THE CHICAGO MAROON

minority students are often economically disadvantaged, making it all the more inappropriate to turn these community building events into profitable exchanges. While offering funding through the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs is a good step, it remains just that: a step. The University is in many ways overlooking its biggest asset. The success of these organizations directly correlates with a positive campus climate and unity among students.

Simply fostering the growth of cultural RSOs would go a long way in making the open, welcoming environment depicted in its brochures a reality.

A full list of UChicago’s cultural & ethnic RSOs can be found at https:// blueprint.uchicago.edu/organizations.

Shayla Harris is a second year majoring in Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies.

Major disappointment Students studying econ expect practical knowledge for careers in finance, but get something different

Liam Leddy

Sprezzatura “Yeah, but how can we assume that?” someone asks. “Like, what is the real-world evidence that government debt grows more slowly than the interest rate?”

The professor stops, and stares at the ground for the briefest of moments, either pensive, frustrated, or both, it’s hard to tell.

“Okay, so the thing about economics is, we make assumptions, assumptions like this one. They make the math easier,” he says. “If you look at all of these assumptions and you believe them, you should get a Ph.D in economics. If you don’t, you should go to the job market.”

He pauses.

“The problem for me was, I was already in the Ph.D when I realized that I didn’t believe them. Now I am over 30 years old, and I’m only just about to get out of here. I think I am going to go private sector.”

Some people (myself included) laugh, some simply glance up from their online shopping, and others stare blankly. But almost every-

body at least smiles. Because almost all of us are third- or fourthyears, and, at least to some extent, we know how he feels.

A few days later I’m walking out of Earth as a Planet with a teammate, a first-year. This particular first-year has oddly and unnecessarily perfect diction, and places outsize emphasis on seemingly arbitrary syllables, and as we walk he says, “I want to major in astrophysics.” I try to convince him to do that (or to specialize, or interdisciplinary opportune, or whatever—you read the list of majors and tell me). But he says his dad won’t let him—that he has to major in economics because he won’t get a job otherwise. I try to tell him that econ is no more applicable than astrophysics, and that banks and consulting firms really won’t care what his major is, so it might as well be something he’s interested in. The conversation fizzles out, and maybe I’ve made some progress. But he still thinks he’s an econ major.

As a first-year I was also unsure of what I was interested in, and I also settled on econ because it sounded applicable and employable. But now, looking back on my three years (and five weeks) here, I wish I’d made a different choice— that I’d realized that my major wouldn’t impact my job prospects too heavily. More than anything, I wish I’d understood what I’d actually be majoring in. The economics major here is not a realworld-grounded interpretation of economic processes or a thorough exploration of the economic element of current international relations, and, beyond an elementary understanding of R and a propensity for slogging through banality, it doesn’t endow you with any useful job-market skills. Our economics major prepares you to do one thing: be an economist. It prepares you to model and model and model and take so many Lagrangians you’ll forget what lambda is (unless, like me, you never knew in the first place). Perhaps it was rather foolish of me to think that I would be learning anything else, but that doesn’t mean the partialderivative-taking prowess I have now really excites me.

To be clear, I’m not advocating

for the econ major to change. It does what it’s supposed to do: prepare students for careers as economists (this is something I’m assuming, based largely on words from professors and my experience reading actual economic papers, which uses tools similar to what we learn, except not the “Mickey Mouse,” dumbed-down version, as my professor says). That’s not an issue.

But it is an issue that when I look around my classrooms, I see few people who actually intend to be economists. Instead, I see a room full of people who just want jobs, who aren’t interested in the model that’s on the board and won’t ever think about it again after the final.

I’m one of those people. I’m not really heartbroken by my status as an econ major, and it can be cool to try to explain human behavior with numbers, but I do wish I’d majored in history, or linguistics, or even biology. I’ve talked to other fourth-year econ majors, and some of them wish they’d majored in computer science, physics, statistics, or the humanities, but almost nobody says they’re glad they’re an econ major. I’ve only ever met one person at this school who wanted to get a Ph.D in economics, but that’s what roughly 16 percent of

the school is being prepared for.

Obviously, it’s not altogether bad or uncommon to do something unrelated to your major when you graduate. But it does seem unfortunate that so many people aren’t really interested in their major, not to mention that people who actually are interested in it have their classes cluttered with people who just want to make bank.

I’m not sure what the solution to this is, or if one is really needed.

Maybe the school needs a finance major. Maybe advisers and career advancement just need to get the word out to underclassmen that an econ major does not an investment banker or consultant make—like, at all. Maybe Econ 200 professors just need to tell kids who don’t want to be economists to get out of their classrooms. Perhaps all those things would have some impact, perhaps none of them would. But when something like a tenth of the school isn’t really that interested in their major, I think some sort of action should be taken. Kids who want to major in astrophysics shouldn’t think they have to major in econ instead.

Liam Leddy is a fourth-year majoring in Economics.

ARTS

What is art?

OCTOBER 30, 2015

Community seeks to paint Woodlawn in a new light with 67th Street mural

This section of the 67th Street mural is among many empowering symbols on the mural, encouraging community members to speak up and make their voices heard.

GRACE HAUCK

| THE CHICAGO MAROON

Grace Hauck Associate Arts Editor A train of honking cars passes under the viaduct at 67th and Dorchester. Some drivers slow down. Some holler out of their windows.

Some park, get out, and pick up a paintbrush.

This past weekend, the residents of Woodlawn began work on a public beautification project—a community mural entitled “Woodlawn Works” that will adorn the three walls of the railroad underpasses on 66th and 67th streets. This celebration of local labor history, now two years in the making, is a

collaborative effort between the Woodlawn Residents Association and the Chicago Public Art Group.

“It’s an artistic counterargument to the Chiraq stigma,” said Rahmaan “Statik” Barnes, a muralist of 18 years born in Woodlawn.

Statik is spearheading this project under the community’s direction along with professional Chicago artists Damon Reed, Max Sansing, and Bernard Williams. Together, these artists aim to develop an inspiring mural that reflects the desires of the Woodlawn community: to reiterate cultural identity, improve community self-

esteem, and emphasize the importance of education.

The “Woodlawn Works” project got its start back in 2013 when the Woodlawn Residents Association received an allocation of $250,000 from the Ward’s participatory budget and chose to invest the money in improving the lighting and sidewalks under the viaducts in an effort to ensure that the Metra stations remain open.

Members of the Woodlawn Resident’s Association, nicknamed the “Block Club,” spent the next year and a half planning the final mural component and sifting through layers of bureaucra-

cy, meeting every quarter in the basement of Christ the King Catholic Church on 64th and Woodlawn.

“It’s one big social experiment,” said Woodlawn resident Dawanda Asberry, “You never know what a little bit of color will do under a dark, yucky viaduct.”

Asberry and her husband Kenneth have been actively involved in this project from the get-go. Originally from Andersonville, the Asberrys have lived in Woodlawn for the past ten years and are regulars at Block Club meetings.

“Reality is, the South Side is challenged,” Dawand said,

Acoustics, queer identity collide in Sexing Sound May Huang Maroon Contributor A three-day citywide event, Sexing Sound: Gender Sound Music, was an innovative collaboration between the Goethe-Institut, the University of Chicago, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Northwestern University, and Experimental Sound Studio (ESS), a non-profit organization dedicated to the production and exhibition of sound as a cultural medium. True to ESS’ goal to promote the “creative dimensions” of sound, Sexing Sound explored the intersectionality between gender and sound art in creative yet accessible ways. “[An event like this] has yet to be produced in the U.S.,” said ESS audio artist and executive director Lou Mallozzi at the event launch

last Thursday. As Mallozzi noted, it is fitting that Sexing Sound is taking place in this city, as the intersectionality between gender and sound “is something that has a really deep history in Chicago.”

Sexing Sound officially kicked off at Logan Center with a joint performance by vocalist Lynn Book and pianist Katharina Klement, whose multimedia piece “Plot” combined visual and acoustic elements. It speaks to the creativity of the performance that Klement not only played the keys, but also created unconventional noises by experimenting with the interior of the Steinway, tapping its case and manipulating the piano strings.

On Friday, October 23, performances were held at the ESS headquarters on the North Side of Chicago.

It featured a sound installation by Mark Barden titled Dark Room, as well as a performance by Alex Temple called The Travels of E.C. Dumonde. The former portrayed the intimacy of gay relationships through sound and the latter was a haunting, multi-section “radio drama” tracing a woman’s journey through eerie American towns. Influenced by Temple’s own gender transition, Travels combined synth with the composer’s own electronicized narration, drawing a link to the way sexuality informs sound art.

The event culminated at SAIC on Saturday with two panel discussions moderated by Ryan Dohoney, a musicologist at Northwestern. Artists from Thursday and Friday’s performances participated alongside experts including art historian

Seth Kim-Cohen, composer Katherine Young, and musicologist Meg Orita, whose work examines how gender theories inform local contemporary music. The first discussion, Is New Music a Feminism?, focused on KimCohen’s area of expertise, while the second, Sound’s Queer Pasts and Futures, sheds further light on how queer theories and history have influenced contemporary art.

Although Sexing Sounds showcased some ways in which gender and sexuality have informed Chicago’s contemporary sound art, there is no doubt that gender and sexuality have also greatly informed work in the past and will continue to be a significant part of the art of the future regardless of the forms it takes, the places in which it is set, and the audience that receives it.

“Unfortunately, the media doesn’t really help. There’s no shooting right now, right? But that’s what you see. That’s what you hear. It creates a false sense of depression and cloud over the community that’s not necessarily true.”

While a single mural may not dissipate the cloud overnight, the colors, patterns, and images taking shape on the concrete are a welcome change. Already, viewers can see references to Adinkra symbols—vibrant, geometric West African tribal designs embodying particular proverbs. The artists also plan to integrate visual allusions to the Dutch settlers of Woodlawn and pay tribute to deceased black soldiers, many of whom are buried in Oak Woods Cemetery, located across from the viaduct. Towards the end of the painting process, the artists even hope to paint on some URL addresses, adding an interactive element to the seemingly static scene.

In an effort to incorporate younger community members’ ideas into these designs, the Woodlawn Residents Association reached out to Hyde Park Academy, a high school on 62nd Street. Artists visited the school at the end of last year and asked students what they wanted to see on the murals. The students provided many sketches—mostly abstract works—that will be featured on the westernmost panel of the southern wall.

Students have been participating in this project far beyond the planning stage.

Residents and even a handful of University of Chicago students stopped by the viaducts this past weekend to help paint for an hour or two, filling in design outlines with blocks of color. With continued support from the community, the Woodlawn Resident’s Association predicts that the mural will be complete within a month, weather willing.

Kenneth Asberry reflected on what the completion of this project might mean for Woodlawn: “There are plenty of parts of Woodlawn where you can walk around and nobody’s trying to kill you. You know the South Side goes to 160th, so if you say something’s on the South Side, what does that mean? For us, that’s the difference: we’re creating some light. That’s the best thing to do—start small and create some light. Start with the viaducts, start with the murals, fix the lights, and let people know that you can actually get something done.”

The historic Christ the King Catholic Church— the one where the Block Club held their “Woodlawn Works” planning meetings for over a year—went up in flames three weeks ago.

While the church, which was already undergoing a renovation process following a previous fire, is severely damaged, the work that began in its basement has emerged just two blocks south. Here, visions of hope, history, and strength now grace the dark underbelly of the steel rails.

MURAL continued on page 8

the Sketch: arts, booriefly The 10th Annual Latino Music Festival continues throughout the month of November.

The festivities include a Día de los Muertos concert presented by the Chicago Sinfonietta.

True to the spirit of this Latin American holiday, the program transcends grief to end on a celebratory, life-affirming note, progressing from the solemnity of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings to José Pablo Moncayo’s rollicking Huapango. Also on the program are works by Fauré and Wagner and the world premiere of Ofrendas, composed by the festival’s co-director, Elbio Barilari.

Monday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. Symphony Center, 220 South Michigan Avenue $10 student rush tickets available at box office.

In Hyde Park, Doc Films will be showing horror classic The Exorcist Friday night at 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. The recent STD (Spookiness Transmitted

Disease) inspired film It Follows plays on Halloween, also at 7 p.m. and 9:45. Farther north, The Music Box Theater and all AMC theaters—including River East, which is just North of the river—will be showing everyone’s favorite kinky musical romp The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Patrons are highly encouraged to come costumed and to interact with the film as it plays. The Music Box’s showing, which starts at midnight both Friday and Saturday night, will be selling crowd-interaction kits. Navy Pier will be hosting a free fireworks show on Halloween and will have free admission to showings of E.T. and Psycho on Friday and Casper and Carrie on Saturday.

The Promontory presents its Jungle Boogie Costume Party on Friday night, with a cash prize for the best jungle-themed costume. 21+ only, tickets $10 at the door or at promontorychicago.com.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | October 30, 2015

PHOTO ESSSAY: Recreating 67th Street

GRACE HAUCK

|

THE CHICAGO MAROON

The view of the viaduct on 67th Street, pre-mural.

Joe Barnes and Statik projecting an image on the wall, which will be painted over to create the mural.

Words of empowerment will be painted in the hair of these women.

Volunteers from the Woodlawn neighborhood pitch in to paint the mural.

A symbol of love, power, and strength waits to be painted.

The mural is livened up with bold andikra patterns, painted in bright colors.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | CROSSWORD | October 30, 2015

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5 Ruiner of a perfect GPA 9 Get rid of graphite 14 Edible fish 15 Give stars 16 Au pair 17 Ailment healed by ice cream, or 1 & 2 19 Love, for Napoleon 20 Where some burials take place 21 "___ Tough, but you gotta keep your head held high", or 3 & 4 (3 words) 23 Model Reid 25 Skin growth 26 Members of the "Bounty," for instance 29 Leaf through 34 Rainbow's shape 35 Child star O'Neal 38 Blemishes, for a car 39 Bridal accessory 41 Straightforward, or 5 & 6 43 Smartphones, e.g.

44 Key above "shift" 46 Star of the ball 48 Elizabethan ___ 49 The Wright brothers' Ohio home 51 "On ___" (work of 37-Down) 53 Comfy furniture

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DANIEL RUTTENBERG

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THE CHICAGO MAROON

56 Component of brainstem 57 "Breaking Bad" setting, or 7 & 8 (2 words) 62 Dealing with birth 65 "The ___ Guys" (2010 action movie) 66 Silly arm component, or 9 & 10 (2 words) 68 Japanese cartoons 69 Engrave 70 Oodles 71 Disliked fervently 72 Sew a falcon's eyes shut 73 Manipulate text Down 1 Job safety org.

2 Homer's occupation 3 Feature of constitution and scrunchie 4 Breakfast advertised by a rabbit or a leprechaun 5 "Is it a boy ____ girl?" (2 words) 6 Salt, to a chemist 7 Strong work ___ (diligence) 8 Buff 9 Made a law 10 Avatar of Vishnu 11 Soon, to Shakespeare 12 Overlook, as an Oscar 13 Brontë's Jane 18 Clairvoyant's cards

22 Power to read minds, for short 24 Egyptian or Saudi 26 Like a born-again Christian 27 Stadium 28 Pierce 30 Dem.'s rival 31 "Got it?" reply 32 First space on some game boards 33 English assignment 36 Exploit 37 Philosopher John Stuart 40 Permit 42 Short video 45 Like a color of makeup (2 words) 47 Key material 50 Goddess of night 52 Allow 54 Marching band instruments 55 Like the angles of an equilateral triangle 57 Biblical zookeeper 58 Italian erupter 59 Iota 60 "Dank" internet fad 61 A single time 63 Opposing 64 "___ we forget" (Kipling) 67 Bruins' gp.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | October 30, 2015

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Chicago hopes to avoid tricks this spooky weekend VOLLEYBALL Gary Huang Maroon Contributor This Halloweekend, the No. 20 Maroons (18–8) will travel to Illinois Wesleyan for the IWU Classic. Their opponents, Hiram College, Carthage College, and Depauw University, may be in for a real Halloween horror as the South Siders seek to extend their three-match winning streak and make a statement heading into the UAA Conference Championships next weekend in Rochester, NY. Players to watch for at the IWU Classic include UAA Athletes of the Week Ragine Graves and Audrey Scrafford.

Fourth-year setter Ragine Graves was instrumental in the Maroons’ wins against Wheaton, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and Millikin this past weekend, as she collected a total of 102 assists and an additional 11 digs in each match over the three-match stretch.

In that same stretch, firstyear outside hitter Audrey Scrafford played beyond her years, smashing 60 kills with an impressive .420 hitting percentage. Fourth-year Maren Loe, who broke the school record for career kills earlier this season, accompanies Scrafford at the outside hitter position. The opponents’ defenses will certainly have their hands full this weekend

with this deadly duo. Meanwhile, opposing hitters will be looking to get past the skilled defensive pair of third-year Mary Claire Tuohy and firstyear Jessica Wang, who posted 18 and 12 digs respectively last weekend.

Reflecting upon the successful weekend, Graves said, “Last weekend has helped us get back into the swing of things. We are taking this momentum and rolling with it.”

When asked whether she is doing anything differently in her final season, she continued, “I’ve generally had the same approach [to playing]. The only thing different is that the losses hurt a little more. Knowing this is my last season really makes me value every single game we play.”

While Graves has not necessarily changed her personal style of play, she does notice something special about this team that could make her last year one to remember. “I think something that makes this team special this year is that we are all on the same page and dedicated to our program and each other,” she said. “A goal I have for the team this year is to make it to the final round of regionals in the NCAA tournament.

We’ve never made it that far before, and I think we have a great chance to do that this year.”

Chicago’s most recent wins include big victories over regional rivals. The Maroons knocked off both Wheaton and Millikin, as well as nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh. Going into their first game this weekend, the South Siders face a good team in Hiram. The Terriers currently sit at 19–7, coming off of two wins and quickly gaining confidence.

Chicago will also face DePauw, which, despite its rather lackluster record of 16–8 overall, is 7–3 in its last three games, with two of those losses coming against ranked teams. While each of the three matches will be difficult, the Maroons will no doubt look to test themselves against No. 14 Carthage. Carthage has had a few wins over nationally ranked teams at the beginning of its season, but has struggled against Top 25 teams since. Regardless of its opponents’ records and previous results, Chicago will be on the search for another threewin weekend.

The Maroons will open the IWU Classic on Friday evening against Hiram College (19–7) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday morning’s doubleheader will kick off at 10 a.m. with the match against No. 14 Carthage College (24–7), and then against DePauw (16–8) at noon.

Fourth-year Maren Loe hits a dig in an earlier season game.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | October 30, 2015

Maroons look to poach tigers on senior day FOOTBALL Emmett Rosenbaum Sports Staff As football season begins to wind down, the Chicago Maroons find themselves hosting their final home game of the year this weekend at Stagg Field. Playing host to the Sewanee Tigers, this Saturday will be Senior Day, as the team’s 14 members of the Class of 2015 will be recognized.

The Maroons will enter the game behind a respectable 5–2 record, coming off their second loss of the season in a nail-biter against Hendrix College last weekend at Homecoming. However, the Tigers will tread in during the midst of a dismal season, having gone 1–6 to date.

When they take the field, the South Siders will be looking to avenge their previous defeat from the last time they faced Sewanee, a heartbreaking 47–0 loss back in 1973.

The Tiger’s offense will provide an interesting challenge as well, as the team utilizes three quarterbacks and uses an option-heavy approach to run the ball frequently. “The preparation for Sewanee has been more unique,” noted third-year lineman Eddie Giannina. “They do not run a prototypical college spread offense.”

Meanwhile, Chicago will be looking to third-year quarterback Burke Moser to lead their offense. The play-

caller has spearheaded the team’s offense much of the season, throwing 16 touchdowns and averaging 263 yards-per-game. On defense, the Maroons will likely lean on Giannina (seven tackles for a loss) and third-year Jackson Garrey (70 tackles on the year) to help stop the run.

This week’s game will be special for the fourth-years, who have been present for one of the most successful stretches of the football team’s history. “I think the biggest takeaway for us seniors is that ‘we left our jersey in a better place’ as Coach Wilkerson would say,” remarked fourth-year kicker Karol Kurzydłowski.

“As freshman we were 4–6, but since then we have managed to finish each year with a winning record and bring home some trophies too. It’s nice to think that our class has put UChicago football back on the national scale, especially with our first ever top 25 ranking this year.”

The seniors are the last holdovers from the team of coach Dick Maloney, and were key cogs in last year’s 8–1 squad that won the UAA conference title.

They’ve all played large roles in the success of this year’s team as well, and will walk away at the end of the year with a record well over .500 during their time here.

“We have gone through the highest of highs and lowest

Third-year Brock Moser drops back for a pass against Berry.

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of lows together,” observed Kurzydłowski.

The day will undoubtedly be emotional for those involved. “Senior Day is always a special time,” said

Giannina. “[The fourthyears] put so much time and effort for four years into a commitment that not many people around the university recognize and all of the sud-

den they are playing the last football game of their entire lives.”

“I will miss the preparation and pressure that comes with playing,” confided

Kurzydłowski. “However, I will miss hanging with the boys the most.”

Kickoff is scheduled for noon on Saturday at Stagg Field.

Pair of tough conference foes will test team this weekend MEN’S SOCCER Alec Miller Maroon Contributor

First-year Matthew Koh dribbles the ball earlier this season versus St. Olaf.

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After back-to-back road wins over Aurora and NYU, the Maroons have two big home games this weekend against Case Western Reserve on Friday and Carnegie Mellon on Sunday. Chicago comes into the weekend with a 9–4–2 record, while Case and Carnegie stand at 12–2–1 and 9–2–3 respectively. The South Siders look forward to lacing up against a couple of tough conference opponents this weekend.

Third-year forward Brenton Desai has had an outstanding season, leading the team in goals with nine, including two in last week’s win over Aurora. Desai has seen a change in the way the Maroons have played lately.

“I think we’ve hit our stride offensively,” Desai said. “We really struggled in the beginning of the season to be really dangerous on offense because of a few things, including the fact that we are a very young and inexperienced team and weren’t able to get chemistry

or find the right positions where we clicked with each other. I think we finally got that going and will be very dangerous this weekend.”

The Maroons will need this extra firepower if they hope to climb the conference standings. Despite a good record overall, the team has a conference record of 1–2–1. Case, which holds a UAA record of 3–1–0, is currently tied with Brandeis for the lead. Two wins this weekend would give the Maroons three conference victories, potentially catapulting them to the top of the conference.

Knowing that it is the tipping point of the season, the Maroons have been preparing all week. “We have been preparing like we always prepare for games…with an intense week of practice and by getting our minds in the right place to fight as a team for 90 minutes,” Desai said.

In addition to having the opportunity to make a push for the conference title, there is always a little something extra on the line when playing a conference foe. Last

year both matches against Case and Carnegie ended in a 0–0 draw. If last year is any indication, it might be fair to say that the first team to score in the games this weekend will be the victor.

As a third-year, Desai will be facing off against Case and Carnegie for the third time in his career and says the team is always juiced up for conference competition.

“We are always extra excited to play conference games,” Desai said. “Our conference is arguably the best conference in the country so every conference game gives us a chance to show that we’re capable of being the best in the country.”

The South Siders are looking forward to the big tests they have coming up. They will kick off against Case at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at Stagg Field. Two days later they will wrap up the weekend, kicking off against Carnegie at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. After they finish these two crucial games, the Maroons will have only one game remaining in their regular season schedule.

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IN QUOTES “This team taught all of America’s children that ‘playing like a girl’ means you’re a badass,”

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South Siders carry momentum to Wheaton SWIM AND DIVE

The squad hits the pools in a meet from last season.

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Rhea Bhojwani Maroon Contributor Following an impressive debut in a pool of stacked competition, the Maroons will travel to Wheaton this weekend to showcase their talent and make

further improvements. Chicago left its previous meet against DI squads Northwestern and UIC and DIII powerhouse Denison with seven finishes in the top three of an event.

First-year Alexander Farrell certainly used his collegiate

debut to make an immediate impact, finishing second in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events. Showing his versatility, he also helped Chicago to finish third in the 200-yard medley relay. The other top relay finish for the South Sid-

ers came in the 400-yard free relay, which not only included Farrell, but another first-year, Stephen Park. Further displaying the benefits of youth, fellow first-year Michael Todd took third in the 200-yard butterfly.

Fourth-year Thomas Meek was right on Farrell’s heels in the 50-yard freestyle, snatching third place, and also helped the squad finish third in the 200-yard medley relay as well as the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Returners Alex Lin, Connor Turkatte, and Jonathan Simoneau also contributed to the relay teams, demonstrating Chicago’s depth.

On the women’s side, second-year Melissa Bischoff finished second in the 100-yard backstroke while her third-year teammate Maya Scheidl captured third place in the 100yard free.

When asked about last week’s meet, Scheidl said, “The team as a whole did really well last weekend. We had pretty tough competition, including the Division I Northwestern swim team, so I think we really stepped up and swam exceptionally well considering it’s still so early in the season.”

Looking ahead to this coming Saturday, the team looks to carry that momentum to claim a vital win against a motivated Wheaton squad. Upperclassman Scheidl commented on the team’s morale, saying, “Going into this weekend against Wheaton, I think many of us

are taking that momentum from last weekend and using it to get excited about the season.”

Wheaton is opening its season this weekend against Chicago, and the squad can certainly expect an energized team. The Thunder also returns two of its top swimmers: fourth-year Kirsty Nitz, who will be defending her threetime College Conference of Illinois and Wiscosin (CCIW) Women’s Swimmer of the Year title, and second-year Jack O’Connor, who as a first-year was the CCIW champion in four different events.

While last weekend was the first of many tests for this upand-coming Maroon team, the swimmers and divers hope to use their diverse talents to prove themselves this weekend. “Last weekend we were looking to swim fast and use the other teams to push us,” Scheidl said. “This weekend, I think we are looking to come out with a win and I know as a team we are strong enough to do that.”

With motivation and dedication, Chicago is anticipating making its mark this coming Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. at Wheaton.

Squad readies to cement bid to UAA title in the sight of NCAA playoffs Maroons WOMEN’S SOCCER Michael Cheiken Sports Staff The Maroons were granted some reprieve during their tough stretch of games to close the season. Having not played since last Wednesday, the Maroons should be plenty rested and well prepared for their pair of games this weekend. After a brief hiatus from conference play to thrash Illinois neighbors Wheaton College, the Maroons now prepare to face familiar foes in Case Western Reserve on Friday and Carnegie Mellon on Sunday.

While Case Western rests in a firm spot at the bottom of the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings, Carnegie Mellon will provide the Maroons with their toughest challenge of the season. To date, the undefeated Tartans have won 13 of their 14 games. The Maroons have their noses to the grindstone and, as hard as it may be, remain prepared to take the games one at a time.

The Spartans of Case Western Reserve started the year off magnificently, open-

CROSS COUNTRY ing to a 6–1–2 record after their first nine games. However, since beginning conference play, the Spartans have staggered, winning only one of their last six games. Now at 7–4–4, and 0–3–1 in the conference, the Spartans look to play spoiler to the leaders of the UAA, Carnegie Mellon, WashU, and UChicago, each of which controls its own destiny. It looks grim for the Spartans, though. During their last six games, Case Western has only been able to find the back of the net a single time in the second period of overtime against an admittedly strong Denison team.

The Case Western plan of attack seems relatively obvious and simple. Their offense is anemic, and they look to win games by playing good defense in the back and getting somewhat fortunate with the counter-attack. If the Maroons are able to crack the Spartan back line, they should be able to win the game.

The real test comes on Sunday, when the Carnegie Mellon Tartans visit Stagg Field.

They are currently ranked

third in the nation and have yet to lose a game. Rarely do the Tartans lapse on defense, giving up a paltry six goals thus far this season. They’ve been tested throughout the season and have stood up to each of the challenges, reaching overtime on four separate occasions but never faltering.

The Maroons look to break them down, and they will almost certainly turn to second-year Mia Calamari to provide that breakthrough.

With 14 assists this season, Calamari has already broken the Chicago single-season assist record she set last year and currently is tied for third in assists amongst all Division III players. If she is able to maintain her phenomenal form through the remaining three games of the season, the Maroons could win the stacked UAA Conference and put themselves in great position entering the Division III playoffs. The Maroons’ place in the tournament is not yet secure, but with magnificent play this weekend, they could certainly cement their place in the postseason.

Zachary Pierce Maroon Contributor This weekend marks one of the biggest games of the year for the Maroons, and such an occasion warrants a trip halfway across the country to Massachusetts for the UAA Championship at Brandeis. The Maroons’ weekend trip to Boston culminates on Saturday, when they will be matched against the seven other members of the conference, in a meet that will dictate which team takes home the conference title.

October has been a good month for the Maroons as they participated at the Illinois Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships in Bourbonnais, IL, the Lucian Rosa Invite in Kenosha, WI, and the AAE Invitational hosted by UW–Oshkosh. The men’s team finished fourth of 16 teams, sixth of 16 teams, and 14th of 45 teams, in each respective meet. Meanwhile, the women’s team took first of 16 teams, fourth of 16 teams, and third of 46 teams, respectively.

The UW–Oshkosh AAE Invitational was a great test for the team, and they performed

relatively well, especially considering the 45-plus teams competing for both the men and women. Additionally, the past meets add a layer of experience: this weekend’s meet will feature several familiar faces from the AAE Invitational, including Wash U and Emory.

Regarding the Maroon’s approach for this weekend, fourth-year Michael Frasco said, “The team is motivated to run fast this weekend. Competing against the teams in the UAA has a very personal feeling to it.

We cherish the opportunity to assert athletic dominance over our somewhat comparable academic peers.”

Frasco is coming off a strong run at the UW–Oshkosh AAE Invitational where he led the team with a time of 25:04, good for 19th in the 8K. The team was also led by third-year Gareth Jones, in 29th with a time of 25:11, and third-year Timofey Karginov, who placed 86th overall with a time of 25:49. All will certainly be near the front of the pack at this weekend’s invite.

Of course, since this is one of the last meets of the season, it is a bittersweet time for many

of the team’s fourth-years who want to close their career with individual and team conference champions. With this thought in mind, Frasco said, “Last year, I led 7990 meters of the race.

I felt amazing. In the last ten meters, a runner from Carnegie surprised me and won the race.

It was devastating. It still eats at me. I’m going to try my best not to let it happen again this year.”

With that sentiment in mind, the women’s team is prepared to make a strong attempt at winning the meet this year. The Maroons are led by second-year Khia Kurtenbach, fourth-year Brianna Hickey, and Young, who placed 13th, 26th, and 48th respectively at the UW-Oshkosh AAE Invitational.

Last year, the South Siders lost the title to Wash U, but they won in 2013 and 2012. Young said, “We are definitely looking to win the conference meet this weekend. It will be super challenging as Wash U has a great team this year and is currently ranked fifth in the nation.”

The women’s race is at 11 a.m. and the men’s race is at 12 p.m. at Franklin Park near Brandeis’s campus.