FRIDAY • NOVEMBER 7, 2014
CHICAGOMAROON.COM
ISSUE 11 • VOLUME 126
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
New Grad dorm closing, will be new site for Harris Sarah Manhardt News Editor
Following the retirement of New Grad as a college dormitory in 2016, the building is scheduled to become the new home of The Harris School of Public Policy. KATHERINE CHRISTENSEN | THE CHICAGO MAROON
New Graduate Residence Hall will be repurposed into the new location for the Harris School of Public Policy, the University announced Wednesday. This comes after the Harris School received $32.5 million in two major gifts, which will fund a variety of initiatives including the school’s move into the building, which will be renamed the Keller Center. Originally built in 1962, New Grad housed graduate students and visiting scholars for most of its existence. The first undergraduate house in New Grad, which was established as a dorm in 2011, was Midway House. Henderson and Tufts Houses moved in last fall after the closing of Pierce. In an e-mail
to residents on Wednesday, Executive Director of College Housing & Residential Services Jennifer Luttig-Komrosky announced that New Grad will be a residence hall through the spring of 2016, and all students will be guaranteed spots in the housing system after the dorm closes. Campus North is scheduled to open in fall 2016. The announcement received varying reactions from residents of New Grad. Second-year Haley Budigan, who lives in Midway House, said it was a shock. “It’s a really strange feeling around the dorm,” she said. “We’re all kind of...reasonably upset about it. Not like angry upset, just wondering what’s going to happen.” Second-year Garrett Healy, who lives in Henderson House, said it NG continued on page 3
UCMC nurses ready to strike as talks between union, hospital stall
SG rejects petition to role back exec cabinet stipends, cites lack of signatures
Tamar Honig Maroon Contributor
William Rhee Associate News Editor
Negotiations between the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) and National Nurses United (NNU), the union which represents its nursing staff, have yet to come to an agreement about the union’s contract that satisfies both parties. A union vote to strike may be forthcoming. October 30 marked the
last scheduled bargaining session between the two organizations, and their contract expired the next day. A new contract for NNUrepresented nurses at the UCMC has yet to be drawn up. There are three days of meetings planned for November, with the next session scheduled for November 10. Since August, the UCMC and the NNU have engaged in 11 bargaining sessions. Several agreements were
reached, but significant points of contention between the UCMC and the NNU remain. The disputes at hand include displacement and layoff, schedule changes, vacation days, and patient-to-nurse ratios. Negotiations haven’t even begun to include economic proposals like wages and benefits. One source of discord is staffing levels. The UCMC favors a system of assessing NURSES continued on page 2
Student Government (SG) discussed a petition intended to force a referendum on stipends and future projects during their second full
Isaac Easton Maroon Contributor In the culmination of a long effort to create a neuroscience major, 61 percent of students responded to a survey distributed by the Neuro Club saying that they would pursue it. The results of this survey will be discussed in an upcoming meeting with Peggy Mason, one of the members of the University’s Department of Neurobiol-
ogy who is leading the cause, as well as other members of the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division (BSCD). Neuro Club is an RSO for students with an interest in neuroscience. Fourth-year Anya Krok, president and founding member of the club, is very optimistic about the possibility of this major becoming a reality within the year “as evidenced by curriculum changes for third-years interested in ma-
joring in this starting this quarter.” These curriculum changes refocus the course and make it applicable to a neuroscience major. Although it is unclear how the survey was advertised and distributed, in addition to the 61 percent of students who said they would be interested in pursuing a neuroscience major, 91 percent of those who answered “yes” would be eligible to pursue NEURO continued on page 3
Former UChicago undergraduate student and software developer Daniel Yu founded Reliefwatch, an organization that helps medical clinics in developing countries track essential medical supplies. He started the company in 2012 as a second-year and later decided to take a leave of absence from school to pursue it full-time. Reliefwatch uses the Cloud to notify medical suppliers when a clinic is running low of certain medications. It is already being used in clinics in Central America and next week will be launched in Liberia for reporting cases of
Ebola. For the full version of this interview, visit chicagomaroon.com. Chicago Maroon: So you started Reliefwatch. Could you tell me about what Reliefwatch does? When did you start it? Daniel Yu: I actually started working on Reliefwatch about two years ago. It grew out of my personal experience living in rural Egypt [for a summer study abroad program]. I spent about a month living in a very small town in the middle of nowhere in Egypt, and I happened to go into a local health clinic one day and I saw all of these expired medicines. And when I
IN VIEWPOINTS
IN ARTS
Decisions to be made » Page 4
Azealia Banks’s Broke With Expensive Taste reivew » Page 7
Letter: Homecoming banner was great » Page 5
did not receive enough signatures to force the referendum and was not accepted. The necessary number of signatures was 762. Although the petition’s future is unclear, one of the SG continued on page 2
Uncommon Interview: Daniel Yu helps NGOs fight Ebola Kelly Zhang News Staff
Faculty, students petition for new neuroscience major
SG Assembly of the quarter yesterday. According to SG President Tyler Kissinger, the recent petition created by third-year Kevin Hasenfang, intended to force a petition on stipends for SG members,
New software promises to thwart scalpers for MAB » Page 9
asked the pharmacist around the clinic what was going on he told me that that wasn’t even his biggest problem; he also had all these essential drugs as well that he was completely stocked out of. And there was nothing that he could do. My background is actually as a web developer.... Instinctively, I look at problems and I think, you know, “Can I build or code something that could solve this?” And to be honest it wasn’t actually immediately apparent what I could do in that situation because this clinic didn’t have a computer, didn’t have Internet access. So you know I was thinking, “what do I MEDS continued on page 3
IN SPORTS
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | November 7, 2014
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Treasure Island discount a hit with students, but some question outreach Stephanie Williams Maroon Contributor Treasure Island’s temporary 10-percent discount was a success, although it wasn’t advertised enough, according to students. The grocery story offered the discount during the months of September and October to students who brought in the flyer and a UCID. Student Government (SG) representatives worked with the store as a part of their discount program that allows students 10 to 15 percent off their purchases at local restaurants, the list of which is posted on their website. They arranged the discount to run for only two months, an outlier since the restaurant discounts all run year-round. Treasure Island employee Rosalee Fields says the short span of the discount was meant as a test. “This was a trial period,” she said, “to see how the students respond.” To bring attention to the
new discount, Treasure Island set out flyers in stores and Student Government President Tyler Kissinger posted a PSA on Facebook and the Student Government website announcing the discount on September 31. Students needed to print the flyer posted on the website and present it with their UCIDs at the register to receive the 10 percent off their entire purchase. There was a disconnect between the efforts to publicize the discount and the access of the student population to those efforts. According to students who didn’t see Kissinger’s post or didn’t spot the flyers in the store, the new discount wasn’t easy to find. Many students claim not to have heard of the discount before a post was made on Facebook in late October, just before the discount was due to expire. Zev Chonoles, a graduate student who took advantage of the discount, was surprised
by its initial lack of publicity: “I'd certainly never heard of [the discount] from any friends, from any UChicago announcement (SG or otherwise), or from any Treasure Island announcement.” Once it gained popularity, the discount was usually met with enthusiasm despite the initial hang-ups. According to several students, sometimes the printed cards were too small to scan, new cashiers hadn’t been informed of the discount, and the confusion held lines for up to 10 minutes. Many transactions, however, were successful. Treasure Island employees Rosalee Fields and Debra Boykin never had problems with the discount, and commented on its the success. “Everybody loved it. We put out more than 1,500 flyers, and they were all gone by the end,” Fields said. “It was really great to do for the students— they were just getting back into school,”
Kissinger suggests committee to examine SG pay SG continued from front
proposals Kissinger brought up during the meeting was the creation of a working group comprised of the student body and SG members to review the issue of SG staff compensation. “Ultimately what we think it’d be useful for on our end is that we want to figure out if the model that we have right now for staff compensation is the best model. In particular, we want to look at what other schools across the country are doing,” Kissinger said. SG was not able to vote on the issue of seating a working group during the meeting because it lacked quorum. SG also discussed several future projects. One is hosting a town hall meeting in conjunction with the IOP in the coming weeks to meet with members of the student
body to discuss staff compensation, among other topics. Another is the possibility of bringing U-Pass to the College. Kissinger brought up the results of the SG transportation survey from last spring, in which 69 percent of participating students expressed their support for the program. Students at schools signed up for U-Pass will receive unlimited transportation on CTA buses and trains for $7.50 per week. Currently, the School of Social Service Administration (SSA) is the only school at the University that has signed a U-Pass contract with the CTA. According to Chair of the Graduate Council Anthony Martinez, this is because many SSA students have internships downtown, in comparison with students from other
schools, who have internships in Hyde Park. If one of the University’s divisions signs up for U-Pass, every student in that school will have to pay a quarterly fee on top of their Student Life Fee. Additionally, SG Vice President for Administration Arlin Hill said that it seems likely the University administration was fairly receptive to the idea of a campus climate assessment, based on conversations with the University president and higher-level administrators. The assessment would review perceptions of inclusiveness, support, and opportunities for achievement and academic success provided for people on campus. Hill announced that he would meet with the director of OMSA and other administrators in the coming weeks.
Boykin added. The response of the student population to the twomonth trial period has been positive. Kissinger recognized the positive response and spoke about Student Government’s future plans: “Ultimately it’s
[Treasure Island’s] decision, but we plan on exploring with them how successful the program was with the hope that they would extend [the discount]—we’ll certainly urge them to.” Once it gained momentum, the Treasure Island discount became popu-
lar among students, and its success didn’t go unnoticed by other grocery-goers. Fields recounted about the success, “We even had a few older customers who saw the students using their IDs asking about why there was no [counterpart] for the elderly.”
Treasure Island, a Hyde Park supermarket on East 55th Street, offered discounts for UChicago students this September and October. FINN JUBAK | THE CHICAGO MAROON
UCMC, nurses’ union stuck on quality of work issues, have yet to discuss salary NURSES continued from front
how many nurses are needed for a given shift based on patients’ care needs, and staffing to that number, whereas the NNU advocates for fixed patient-tonurse ratios. Another area of disagreement involves how to handle a potential downsizing of the nursing workforce. According to Senior Vice President for Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at UCMC Debra Albert, the NNU proposes moving displaced nurses into any available position and training them after they begin. “The union would want us to allow nurses to go into any open position, and there are some areas that require intensive care
experience, so we’re saying that they could not go into those roles if they did not have that experience. We would like to maintain the minimum requirements for competency,” Albert said. The issue of rotating shifts—calling a day nurse into work at night or vice versa a certain number of times in a six-week period— is also under debate. The UCMC seeks to expand the practice, but the union wants to end it. Regarding next steps, the NNU has begun openly talking to the press about holding a strike vote. Jan Rodolfo, the lead negotiator and Midwest director of the NNU, told the Chicago Tribune that although a strike vote is always a last option, it is likely one will
occur in the near future “unless something significant changes.” Albert maintains that the hospital has been running as usual in spite of the expired contract. Until a new agreement is reached, the UCMC will honor the current terms of the contract that are applicable to the day-to-day affairs of the nurses, and will not implement any new initiatives. “Our nurses are coming to work exactly as they did before. I’ve got every confidence that our nurses are just as passionate about patient care now as they were before we had a contract,” Albert said. “Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, we’re focused on quality patient care, and I know that our nurses are, as well.”
Former negotiator sees extension for Iran talks, but says much work ahead Maggie Loughran Maroon Contributor A former Obama nuclear weapons negotiator said he expects the U.S., Iran, and other negotiating nations to agree to an extension of nuclear talks currently underway as they work towards an agreement. The negotiator, Gary Samore, former White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction, spoke at a talk titled “Avoiding a Nuclear Iran: Inside the Arms Negotiation” at the Harris School of Public Policy yesterday. On November 24, negotiations regarding the extent
of Iran’s nuclear program, which began in January, are set to end. The United States’s main goals in the negotiations are to cut Iran’s nuclear bomb-building resources and to monitor its nuclear production activity. David Axelrod, former senior advisor to President Obama and director of the University’s Institute of Politics, moderated the talk. The speakers were Samore, former White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction, and David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times. Samore said that the na-
tions have come too far to give up now. “I think there has been enough progress made in these negotiations so that all the governments involved will be able to justify some additional extensions to try to come to an agreement,” he said. Nuclear tensions between the U.S. and Iran date back to the Bush Administration. President George W. Bush had the opportunity to eradicate the program in its early stages, according to the panelists, but he hesitated given the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Sanger called this a “lost diplomatic chance.” By the time Obama took
office, Iran’s program had significantly grown. Since then, Obama has been working to “limit Iran’s capacity to produce nuclear weapons in exchange for having better relations with the United States,” Samore said. “We’ve made progress on a number of key issues, including stronger inspections, including ways to limit Iran’s ways of producing plutonium, but on the main issue—the central issue— which is limits on Iran’s enrichment program, I think we’re still very far apart because we’re asking Iran to really drastically reduce its current enrichment capacity and keep those limits in
place for the next 20 years,” Samore said. Samore and Sanger believe the U.S. will have to keep a close eye on Iran regardless of whether an agreement is reached because Iran may build secret facilities. Monitoring Iran’s production activity is a delicate issue, however, because it demonstrates a fundamental lack of trust between the U.S. and Iran. The risks of failing to come to an agreement are numerous. According to Samore, if Iran builds its nuclear capacity, it will likely step over the line and create a bomb. This could heat up the Middle Eastern arms
race, creating further instability. Sanger said that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei must decide if he wants Iran to be perceived as a country or a revolution. If he favors diplomacy, he will sign the agreement. If he favors revolution, he might not. The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is resistant to the idea of new sanctions. However, according to the panelists, many Iranians have felt the economic and financial effects of the current sanctions. The people are generally sympathetic to the idea of reaching an agreement and improving relations with the Western world.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | November 7, 2014
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Yu’s company helping NGO fight Ebola, hopes to work directly with governments in future EBOLA continued from front
really have to work with?” Well, what I realized was that this guy and pretty much everyone else in the town had a mobile phone. A basic mobile phone, a dumb phone. And I started thinking, well maybe there was something I could do with that. And I did some research and realized that in fact there had been a lot of innovative uses of these dumb phones in the developing world. But nothing that really had to do with tracking essential medical supplies. So I at that point got a team together of other developers that I knew and started to work on this initial prototype of a platform that could use these basic mobile phones to keep track of what these clinics had and then that would alert the suppliers when they were running low, so they could be resupplied before it’d be stocked out. CM: So it alerts the suppliers? How does it work?
DY: Yeah, so let’s say that you’re a health clinic worker, OK?...Right now what happens is when you run out of a particular medicine, nobody knows about it—the supplier doesn’t know because there’s no information system in place that’s keeping track of what you have. What Reliefwatch does is it’s a system that will automatically call you on a prescheduled basis. So let’s say at 5 p.m. every day you know that you’re going to get this call. It’ll call you and it’ll actually automatically go through these voice prompts that’ll explain—it’ll literally ask like, “How many bottles of ibuprofen do you have? How many bottles of acetaminophen do you have?” And the health clinic worker on the phone, all they have to do to respond to those voice prompts is hit the numbers on the keypad. Yeah, so you put in, you know, 52 or 570 or whatever. At the end of that call, all of that informa-
tion gets updated in a Cloud database that then alerts the suppliers when they’re running low, before they stock out so that they know, Hey, we need to send out a new shipment to these guys before they run out. CM: What kind of impact has it had, and where is it being used? DY: We launched about six months ago in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. And since then have digitized over nine million units of different medical supplies, as well as reduced the supply expiration rate—which is what initially spurred my observation—reduced that rate by over 90 percent.... And in fact just two weeks ago closed a contract with a new multinational NGO that’s opening clinics in Liberia to fight Ebola, and we’re doing the essential supply tracking, as well as the disease reporting for them.
CM: So they would ask how many are sick and then they would report it? DY: Yeah, so the little prompt is like you know, “How many confirmed cases of Ebola did you see today? How many suspected cases of Ebola did you see today?” And then they just hit in the number. CM: Is there something you see Reliefwatch doing in the future? Are you looking for ways to expand it to different areas? What is your vision? DY: Right now Reliefwatch is focused on working with multi-national NGOs. That being said, still the largest providers of health in the developing world are government health ministries. So kind of our medium-term goal is to be able to integrate with actual government health systems in the developed world as well, though there’s obviously a lot of bu-
Daniel Yu, a former UChicago student, is the CEO and founder of Reliefwatch. Founded in 2012, Reliefwatch is a data analytics platform meant to track inventories and diseases for health organizations in developing parts of the world. COURTESY OF RELIEFWATCH
reaucracy that goes into that. So what we figure is that for now focusing on developing these relationships with NGOs that work on the
ground and from there being able to leverage those relationships to connect with the national health ministries as well.
Univ. doubling Metcalfs
University had considered reusing New Grad “since before 2010”
Marta Bakula News Staff
NG continued from front
The College recently announced a new goal to double the number of undergraduate student employment opportunities provided by the Jeff Metcalf Internship Program. In the upcoming three years, the program plans to expand from 1,000 to 2,000 internship opportunities offered to students per year. With this expansion, the College is trying to provide enough summer internship positions to allow all students in the Class of 2018 to be able to participate in the Metcalf program. “Metcalf internships will not be guaranteed for all students in the class of 2018, but our goal is to increase the number of internship opportunities to the point where every member of the class has had at least one paid, substantive opportunity before they graduate,” Meredith Daw, assistant vice president and executive director of Career Advancement, wrote in an e-mail.
The Jeff Metcalf Internship Program was founded in 1997 with eight internships. Over the following 17 years, it has continued to grow and offer paid positions to students in over 500 companies and organizations throughout the world. The program hit a milestone this past year, accommodating over 1,000 students with internship positions offered in over 180 companies. The program was recently expanded after the University announced its No Barriers program, which provides aid and programming for low- and middle-income students. In addition, the Odyssey Scholarship Program will provide paid summer internships to Odyssey Scholars after their first year in the College, beginning with students entering in the fall of 2015. In the College, there are currently more than 1,100 Odyssey Scholars, students from low-to-middle income families who receive additional grants to replace student loans in their financial aid, along with additional career guidance.
caused a mixed reaction in his house. “Henderson House has only been in New Grad [for a little while], this is its second year…. It’s an old Pierce dorm, so a lot of people don’t feel as attached to New Grad as they did to Pierce, but we have created somewhat of our culture here, so it did feel like they’re taking our building from us,” he said. University spokesperson Jeremy Manier said the repurposing of New Grad has been a possibility for several years. “The possibility that the New Graduate Residence Hall would be renovated for a new use has been discussed among faculty, staff and students since before 2010,” he wrote in an email. “However, the specific plan that the University announced on Nov. 5, and the donations that will support the renovation, were finalized in recent weeks.” The repurposing comes
A November 4 article, “Founder of SparkNotes, OkCupid talks entrepreneurship at CIE” originally said that Yagan is the CEO of Match.com. He is the CEO of Match Inc. A November 4 article, “Uncommon Interview: Max Grinnell (A.B. ’98), ‘Urbanologist’” Grinnell misstated the number of miles between Hyde Park and the center city.
public policy schools. Harris’s new dean, Daniel Diermeier, wants to emphasize the creation of policy, not just analysis, according to a Chicago Tribune article. New Grad will be remodeled into Harris’s new space and renamed the Keller Center. According to the News Office, the building is much larger than Harris’ current facility and will allow for an expansion in faculty and student enrollment. Currently Harris has 37 full-time and 49 part-time faculty members, and approximately 370 master's degree students and 40 Ph.D. students. Students said they were not aware whether there was an opportunity for their input on the repurposing, and the Inter-House Council, which in the past has worked with the housing office to consult students on housing decisions, was not aware of the decision until it was publicly announced. “I don’t remember any opportunity to speak on this or
[College Housing] asking us at all,” Budigan said. With adaptive repurposing of New Grad, students voiced concerns over where their houses will move to and whether they will stay together. Budigan said that in Midway there is uncertainty given its newness. “ We’re assuming Tufts and Henderson House will stay together because they’re more established, but Midway house is only like three or four years old so we’re wondering whether we’re going to stay together or not,” she said. Midway was established in 2011. Third-year Jonathan Haglund, who lives in Henderson, expressed confidence in the House’s ability to move. “Considering Henderson will only be in New Grad for two years, the House culture has definitely had some alterations from when we were in Pierce but the core values have stayed the same and I think that will stay the same in a new building,” he said.
Professor blames “cultural inertia” for lack of neuroscience major NEURO continued from front
CORRECTION
with two major gifts to the Harris School for Public Policy. University trustee Dennis Keller, MBA ‘68, committed $20 million to Chicago Harris, the largest gift in its history. University trustee King Harris and his family will give $12.5 million as well. Additionally, Keller pledged $5 million to Booth School of Business. “These generous gifts by Dennis Keller and the Harris family will add to the scope and impact of that scholarship and education, enhancing the Harris School of Public Policy’s roles as a center of rigorous policy analysis, education of the next generation of public policy leaders, and an intellectual destination for scholars and policymakers and practitioners from around the world,” University President Robert Zimmer said in a News Office article. The gift is part of Harris’s efforts to pursue a new direction, distinguishing itself beyond its No. 4 U.S. News & World Report's ranking for
the major. This, Krok believes, is promising. Mason said that there was broad support for the major from departments across the University. “We are in a place where [people from all over the University are] on board that this is a great thing to happen,” Mason said. When asked about the feasibility of this major coming to exist the director of the BSCD Laurens Mets declined to comment.
The major has been in development for the past three years. As a first-year Krok started the Neuro Club and began contacting faculty to see whether or not she could start a major. Faculty who felt similarly to Krok, including Mason and Cliff Ragsdale, a professor of the Intro to Neuroscience class, started the campaign. Part of the reason it has taken so long for a neuroscience major to come close to becoming reality is that
the BSCD in the University only has one major. According to Mason, creating a new major “infinitely [increases] the variation… so there is a cultural inertia that [needs to be] worked through.” Krok said that cultural inertia comes from the fear that if neuroscience, which is a specialization within Biology, becomes a major other specializations like endocrinology could become majors as well. The University already
offers a course called Introduction to Neuroscience that would be required for all neuroscience majors. Although the neuroscience major will be in many ways grounded in the biological sciences, Mason believes that students should “receive a strong background in the breadth of neuroscience” meaning that a person would graduate “with a strong understanding of the nervous system” and all that pertains to it.
VIEWPOINTS
Editorial & Op-Ed NOVEMBER 7, 2014
Decisions to be made In order for discussion to be effective, administration must direct student input to areas where it can have a real impact On Wednesday, the University announced its decision to convert New Graduate Residence Hall (NGRH) into an expansion of the Harris School of Public Policy. NGRH will close in the spring of 2016 and be renamed the Keller Center. Three houses currently occupy NGRH, a total of about 200 residents, but this decision was not discussed with current residents of the building, the Inter-House Council, or the student community before the official announcement. The administration has suggested that other dorms may also close after Campus North opens. Although University Housing and Dining representatives have stated that student input would be solicited before any of these dorms closed, the decision to close NGRH without student input raises questions about which of the decisions surrounding the closure of dorms have already been
made—and how much of an effect student input can actually have. In order to ensure that these discussions are productive and students’ voices have an impact, the administration should more clearly delineate the decisions that remain to be made, and the issues on which they are still soliciting input from students. The closure of NGRH comes at the heels of the public announcement that Maclean, Broadview, Breckenridge, and Blackstone may also close before Campus North opens in 2016. University officials said at a panel event at the beginning of the year that they would seek student input before the closure of any of these dorms is finalized. However, given that there was no student input prior to the closure of NGRH, the administration has set a negative precedent for future communication with students. Students should be part of the deci-
sion-making process if and when any dorm is considered for closure. But in the event that the decision to close smaller, satellite dorms has already been made, Housing should solicit input on how they can help ease the transition for students, particularly in terms of preserving house culture. For students, part of the difficulty of transitioning to a new building is the loss of the culture attached to their old home. In interviews with The Maroon, current NGRH residents have expressed concern about the continued existence of their houses after moving to the new dorm. While house culture cannot be completely replicated in the move to a new dorm, the administration can still take steps to help preserve parts of it. Students who are invested in the housing community often have an intimate knowledge about their house cultures and can provide valu-
ALICE XIAO
| CHICAGO MAROON
able insights. Communicating with students is the first step the administration can take in easing the transition for the upperclassmen who will be making the move to the new dorm. Although the University’s
public commitment to consult students before closing dorms is encouraging, the closing of NGRH shows that the administration’s communication with students can be improved. As we move into discussions surrounding the
other possible dorm closures, the University needs to start directing student voices to where they will have an actual impact. —The Maroon Editorial Board
Behind the mask of Halloween Costumes of racial stereotypes are not isolated incidents—they are part of a larger narrative of racism on our campus Vincente Perez Maroon Contributor Halloween night, I decided to go out with friends despite reading article after article about the racist and insensitive costumes typical of the holiday. As the night neared its end, I was thoroughly surprised that
I had not seen anything offensive and excited that I would make it through an entire Halloween without having my cultural and racial identity mocked. But I soon realized that my relief was premature as I watched an Asian-American student enter a shuttle dressed as a “Cholo”—a racist caricature of a Mexican gangster.
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In that moment, I was forced into an awkward position—choosing between seeming over-sensitive and like I “can’t take a joke,” or letting someone blatantly objectify an important part of my identity. However, I chose to speak up and ask him what he was wearing. He confirmed that he was, in fact, dressed as a Cholo. When I confronted him and explained how racist and offensive his costume was, he ignored me. A fellow Latina and I got off the shuttle exclaiming, “thanks for the racist costume.” The entire shuttle laughed at us. Another loss. I spent the rest of the night pissed, wondering if this was another incident that would be swept under the rug as an “isolated occurrence.” The next morning, I saw pictures of many others dressed in similar attire. Again, I was faced with a dilemma: silence and complicity or speaking up and being met with ridicule and belittlement. People of color on this campus are forced into this double-bind whenever they encounter other students’ racially insensitive behavior. At this university, this is a burden unique to students of color and it is ridiculous that we must shoulder this burden in an environment which is supposed to foster inclusivity and diversity. The burden is only made heavier by the resistance we encounter when we do decide to defend ourselves and our friends. Why does everyone believe that people of color are fabricating or overstating the microaggressions and outright instances of racism they constantly face on this campus? Why is our first reaction to discredit or downplay a person’s
lived experience for the sake of “freedom of expression” and/or objectivity? Is it possible that one’s privilege may keep them from seeing how prevalent these experiences are? Perhaps. Revisiting our campus history, though, shows that these are more than isolated incidents. From The Maroon: On May 8, 2012 Alpha Delta Phi (Alpha Delt) held a pledging event, which involved first-year pledges performing a racial caricature, mowing the lawn in front of the fraternity house wearing oversized sombreros while Latin music played from a stereo. A couple weeks later, Delta Upsilon (DU) hosted a party entitled “DU Presents: Conquistadors and Aztec Hoes [sic],” which in its description encouraged attendees to bring “an unlimited need to conquer, spread disease, and enslave natives.” What people believe to be isolated incidents are a lot more prevalent
ANDREW KOLSKI
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than the naysayers would have you believe, and they create a toxic environment for students of color. Unfortunately, there’s more. On Friday, May 24 2013, a shipment of four or five boxes filled with more folded-up boxes addressed to “Reggin Toggaf ”—a homophobic and racist slur if read backwards—was left at [Phi Delt’s] front door. Just a month before, the University was forced to come face to face with the dark side of anonymity when “Politically Incorrect UChicago Confessions,” a Facebook page that proclaimed “racism, homophobia, prejudice, offensiveness in all forms is welcome,” turned into a series of attacks aimed at racial groups and even specific individuals. We are uncomfortable with KKK members, but look the other way when subtle forms of racism, such as cultures and people being mocked, occur. We say nothing when women of color are fetishized for their bodMASKED continuedon page 6
THE CHICAGO MAROON
THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | November 7, 2014
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Letter: Teach for America is part Letter: Homecoming of a solution banner was great The Maroon recently ran a critical editorial on the effectiveness of Teach For America (TFA) (“An Education in Teach for America” [10/17/14]). In it, Spencer McAvoy argues that TFA isn’t a permanent solution to our nation’s unequal education system. But in doing so, he misses the fact that this is never what the organization set out to be. Teach For America aims to be one source of teachers and leaders dedicated to working in partnership across sectors to provide all students with an excellent education. They won’t solve these problems alone, nor do they seek to. I graduated from the University of Chicago in 2013 and now teach special education English and history at a charter school on 95th Street as a TFA corps member. Like every teacher’s first year, mine certainly had its ups and downs, but looking back on it, I had some incredible moments with my students. Moments like when one of my 10th graders with a cognitive impairment connected a class discussion on Nazis to the importance of respecting the differences of others and the differences within yourself. Moments like when one of my ninth graders with autism successfully and independently drafted a structured essay with correct citations. And moments like when another 10th grader went downtown for the first time to attend Model United Nations of the University of Chicago (MUNUC), overcame her fear of public speaking, and spoke in front of an assembly of hundreds of affluent suburban children.
TFA certainly isn’t perfect, but the best evidence out there says it makes a positive contribution. A rigorous study of secondary math teachers, published last year by Mathematica Policy Research, found that TFA members moved their students forward an extra 2.6 months during one school year. In the three states (Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee) that rank teacher preparation programs based on student achievement, Teach for America comes in at or near the top. No study could ever capture the moments like those I’ve detailed above, but the stats are an important part of the larger puzzle. In the aggregate, they make a difference. TFA is also criticized for the diversity gap between its teachers and their students. Obviously, this is not ideal; students should be able to relate to their teachers. TFA has been working to minimize this gap: Among this year’s corps, 50 percent identify as people of color, 47 percent received Pell grants, and one-third are the firstgeneration college students. And yet, there is something to be said for the diversity of experience that TFA teachers bring to their students. After all, isn’t that what we want from our college experience? We applaud the diversity on our own campus through a range of cultural RSOs, not to mention RSOs that appeal to a diversity of skills and interests. Coming in as a German-American New Yorker who attended a French high school, I was able to offer a unique perspective. I was able to teach my students every-
thing from what bagel and lox was to how Nazism grew out of discontent with World War I. And I was able to learn from my students as well; I had to, in order to become the teacher they need. At the end of the day, that’s what a true culture of achievement is: It’s providing opportunities. And that’s what I was able to provide my students, through my background and the interests I shared with them, like MUNUC. One of our core beliefs at the University of Chicago is in the importance of learning for its own sake. We consider this belief to be so important that we even canonized it in our school’s motto: crescat scientia, vita excolatur. Life is enriched not by grades or by standardized test scores, but by the excitement we get when we learn something new, something that piques our curiosity and pushes us to discover even more. When I think back on my last year of teaching, that’s what I was able to provide in my classroom: a little bit of UChicago. My students got excited about discussing things; they asked questions, and they wanted to know more. So as I hold up our campus as a model to my students, I hope we’ll live up to it—setting aside easy conclusions like the one drawn in the recent editorial for the tough conversations that yield big questions, big ideas, and bold solutions. —Sophie Riemenschnieder, Class of 2013
To the University Community, We are dismayed by the decision not to approve Chamberlin House’s 2014 banner for the Homecoming festivities. The banner was fun and irreverent; not indecent, unkind, or offensive. We wish to express our appreciation for the good-humored intelligence embedded in the imagery, and our hope that visual culture on campus will be allowed the full breadth of uncensored expression accorded other kinds of intellectual activity that we all value so highly.
—Catherine Sullivan Associate Professor, interim chair Department of Visual Arts Jessica Stockholder–Artist, Raymond W. and Martha Hilpert Gruner Distinguished Service Professor, Chair of DoVA, Division of Humanities
SUBMISSIONS The Chicago Maroon welcomes opinions and responses from its readers. Send op-ed submissions and letters to: The Chicago Maroon attn: Viewpoints 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
CORRECTION A November 4 article, “Those Who Fall in the Middle” misstated that Shin v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology established that a university is liable for suicides on campus. The case was actually settled outside of court.
T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F C H I C A G O L AW S C H O O L P R E S E N T S
The Dewey Lecture in Law and Philosophy
Three, not Two, Concepts of Liberty The Idea of Social Freedom
is seeking new Viewpoints associate editors. Qualified applicants should be available on Mondays and Thursdays from 4:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. If interested, please email viewpoints@chicagomaroon.com
Axel Honneth Discourse? I love that shit.
November 12, 2014 | 4 p.m. Weymouth Kirkland Courtroom University of Chicago Law School 1111 East 60th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 Reception Follows Even for those among us who are not altogether convinced by Isaiah Berlin’s famous essay “Two Concepts of Liberty,” it has by now become common place to adopt a distinction between “negative” and “positive” liberties that largely coincides with the one he offered. In my lecture I defend the thesis that this bifurcation of the concept of freedom is incomplete in a significant respect, because it omits a third type, which I will call “social freedom.” I proceed first by illustrating with some well-known examples how we must understand this third form of freedom, which cannot be performed by one subject alone, but rather requires the cooperation of others. In the second step I want to recall briefly the philosophical tradition in which this idea of “social freedom” has always had a central place. Finally, I delve into the systematic question of whether the suggested model of freedom in fact designates a third concept, which does not conform to the traditional bifurcated understanding.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | November 7, 2014
“I want students of color to feel safe and comfortable on this campus” MASKED continued from page 4 ies and other forms of racial microaggressions occur. Are people going to acknowledge the fact that these seemingly “harmless” costumes are stereotypes that lead to police brutality and are informed by a history of racism that is anything but comical? The most important part of this whole situation is that all of the instances I’ve recounted happened on our campus. It is our fellow students who experience this dehumanization. The politically incorrect confessions came from this student body. Even worse, the perpetrators were people we call “friends.” Yet no one stepped up when this individual decided to dress up and mock Latin@s*. No one in these fraternities said, “hey bro, those slurs can really hurt someone and aren’t a joke.” How are students
of color supposed to feel comfortable and safe on the University of Chicago campus, especially when it takes extreme measures for our concerns to even be heard, let alone addressed? Personally, I was hurt most by the fact that the person in the racially offensive costume was another person of color. I would never imagine dressing up as a stereotypical Asian person for a few laughs, but this person seemed nonchalant about his actions. If people of color cannot even stand in solidarity, where are we supposed to find support? Why do we expect victims of some kind of injustice to stand alone because it’s “their issue” and not “our problem.” I write this letter to the campus in hopes that people will see that we have much work to do if we want to be a community that is truly wel-
coming to students of color. We cannot continue to sit idly by as people of color continue to reveal how this campus has often presented itself as a hostile environment for them. We cannot treat instances of racial insensitivity as issues for students of color to combat and face alone. These situations have to be campus issues, and our reactions to these events will demonstrate what kind of people and students we are. The façade of innocence, though tempting, is a burden for the students of color on campus who are asked to not only carry all the weight of a UChicago education, but also the weight of a society still grappling with its racist past and present. So what can we all do to address this situation? First and foremost, we can give this situation the recog-
nition it needs and deserves by not ignoring how frequently microaggressions like this occur. Students of color have experiences everyone could learn from, if only we stopped debating and listened first. Next, we must come to some mutual idea of respect. We all stand to benefit from deciding to condemn instances of racism even when they seem subtle or harmless because people deserve to have their identities respected. If more people commit to respecting this right in our personal lives, in Greek life, or when our friends say things without thinking, we could foster a community that takes the life of the mind beyond the classroom, into our social interactions by accepting that words have power. We must constantly evaluate the way we are treating one another if we believe
in the benefits of diversity and intellectual inquiry—because these values mean nothing if we do not have basic respect for one another. This campus will continue to be divided until it takes a stand against the harmful mistreatment of our students. We must have accountability. I want students of color to feel safe and comfortable on this campus. I want all students to share this goal. Then, I will know that I am not alone. *The gender-neutral term for referring to those who identify as Latin American Vincente Perez is a third-year in the College majoring in anthropology and comparative race and ethnic studies.
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ARTS
Heartlandia NOVEMBER 7, 2014
After 2011 breakthrough, Azealia Banks finally releases debut album Hernando Fereira Arts Contributor “What you gun’ do when I appear?” Azealia Banks nearly screams on her breakout single, “212.” Simultaneously a challenge to her thencontemporaries and a self-assured statement of purpose, “212” served to catapult the young Banks from internet darling to rap superstar overnight. Between then and now, Banks has released only a handful of singles, a wildly-acclaimed EP, and a mixtape, each release showcasing what the Harlem native does best—quick-witted rhymes effortlessly flowing over beats produced by some of the best names in underground electronic music. Three years post-“212,” during which time a debut album was promised, delayed, and delayed again, finally the long-promised Broke With Expensive Taste has dropped. In the past three years, not much about Banks’s style has changed. Part of her appeal is her unique selection of producers. To many, the names are unknowns, but to those versed in the underground club scene (a scene which Banks both honors and capitalizes on), names like Machinedrum and Lone are sure to spark interest, and their contributions to this album are some of the standouts. As she did on 1991, Banks here rhymes mainly over a mix of house, dub, and trap beats–a sound that only years later has grown close to gaining mainstream exposure (see Vic Mensa’s recent stellar single, “Down
on My Luck”). What sets this album apart from Banks’s sparse earlier work is her exploration of sounds that she previously left untouched. “Gimme a Chance,” the second track on the record, is first held together with a thick double bass line and a flurry of horns before smoothly transitioning into a salsa-rap hybrid, complete with Banks singing and rapping in well-practiced Spanish. Other experiments on the album are less successful, including an ill-conceived collaboration with indie rocker Ariel Pink, which serves at best to provide some sonic variety, and at worst as a poor attempt at a rock crossover. Fortunately for the listener, the rest of the album showcases Banks in top form. Unlike her contemporaries, Banks avoids saturating her debut record with too many guest features. Save for one cut, “JFK,” Banks takes charge of all the singing, rapping, and occasional yelling on the record. Taking center stage, Banks shows off with a no-apologies swagger, throwing out lines like, “My attitude is b****y, but you already knew that,” from record standout “Chasing Time,” which is at once a dig at a former lover and a sarcastic note to her critics who constantly lampoon Banks’s tendency to engage in flame wars across social media. Other highlights, the AraabMuzik produced “Ice Princess” and the SCNTST cut “Soda” may finally give Banks the radio voice that she rightly deserves, but other inclusions may leave some listeners baffled. One particular slap in the face is
Korra returns for final season on Nickelodeon James Mackenzie Arts Editor Maybe we all got a little old for cartoons. That’s the impression I got in the fleeting weeks during which The Legend of Korra’s third season aired on Nickelodeon this past summer. The commercials are what got me. Commercials for shoddily made children’s toys, screwball middle school comedies, plugs for the Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie disguised as behind-the scenes special features. It was a bit of a culture shock, especially when football is the only other syndicated television I bother to watch live these days. I got the distinct sense that I was an intruder, and yet the trappings were familiar. It’s been a decade or so, but I did once watch those screwball middle school comedies on Nickelodeon and cartoons on free Saturday mornings (themselves now extinct in my young-adult life), and to my memory the trappings and tone of the channel were all the same. But we changed, and so
did Korra, which might be the reason it’s now going onlineonly after two years on Nickelodeon. Avatar: The Last Airbender was set in a world of “benders” who could manipulate the elements to do combat, following the titular Avatar as he opposed the evil Fire Lord in the Fire Lord’s bid for world domination. When the show began its extremely popular run in 2005, television occupied an entirely different universe from the one it does today. Streaming TV shows online had not yet entered the public’s imagination, let alone their computers. If you wanted to watch something, you would watch it live or you would set your DVR (or possibly even your VCR) to record it. Avatar was an excellent show then and it remains an excellent show now, even if our age has brought out some of its idiosyncrasies. That’s probably why Korra appeals to us so much. The sequel series, launched in 2012, was set several decades after the first and brought with it a very different KORRA continued on page 9
Azealia Banks performs at the Denmark Roskilde Festival in an attempt to procrastinate her premiere album. That album has now dropped. COURTESY OF KATRINE EMILIE ANDERSEN
the inclusion of her now-aged single "212." While still arguably her best track, it feels a touch insulting to keep fans waiting for years and still include the track that made her a star. Other cuts, like “BBD” and “Luxury” stand as some of the best songs, but have also been around for nearly two years. Luckily, at 16 tracks, these older songs are balanced by a large volume of new material. At just over an hour, the record may seem a bit long, but instead of falling into the trap of frontloading all the best songs, the album
always feels appropriately paced. The sonic variety also contextualizes previously-released tracks “Heavy Metal and Reflective” and “Yung Rapunxel,” whose seeming left-field production now sounds perfectly at home. After such a long time, Banks’s largest barrier to success is a fan base cockteased into apathy. Three years ago, Banks sang “They’ll forget your name soon, and won’t nobody be to blame but yo’self,” retrospectively both a dig at her rap rivals and a prophetic statement about her own fu-
ture. After so many delays and seemingly empty promises, most of Banks’s fan base no longer cares. Broke With Expensive Taste may be her best offering yet, pushing the boundaries of her own unique sound while still remaining club-(and radio-)friendly. After something like 10 listens, the album is certainly good enough to silence most of her critics, but after all this time it remains to be seen if it is good enough to make people care again, and ultimately, make Banks a rap superstar.
Stars dumb, filmmakers dumber Will Dart Arts Editor What the hell happened to the Farrelly Brothers? Seriously — has any directorial pair (except for the Wayans brothers) ever had such a stunning, downward turn in quality over the course of 10 years? We’re talking about a pair that went from There’s Something About Mary, a certified classic, to *The Ringer and The Heartbreak Kid*—both unwatchable, even on long flights—in less than a decade. This is an Orson Welles-level drop off in quality, and this from a duo that produced the most impressive directorial debut since Citizen Kane. I’m speaking, of course, of Dumb and Dumber, which, if you were born in the early 90s, you’ll remember as the greatest comedy in the history of the medium; better even than Happy Gilmore or Tommy Boy. It’s been 20 years since that stunning first outing, and Dumb and Dumber still holds up. I watched it yesterday, as I have at least twice every year, since its release. The humor is sometimes crude, but the gags are clever, the soundtrack is killer, and the characters are likeable. Harry and Lloyd, the titular Dumb and Dumber, are as endearing as they are infu-
riating, a pair of good-hearted Harlequins down on their luck. Their stupidity was enjoyable, relatable rather than grating or nasty. Not so in *Dumb and Dumber To*. Here Harry and Lloyd—still crazy after all these years, and even dumber—find themselves on yet another crosscountry journey to the west, the details of which are as unimportant as they are uninteresting: something about a billiondollar invention, a kidney, and a long-lost daughter, along with the requisite side-diversion and sight-gags. Who cares as long as it’s funny, right? Unfortunately, it isn’t. To call Dumb and Dumber To a shadow of its much-loved predecessor is an insult not only to Dumb and Dumber, but also to the very idea of the shadow itself. Dumb and Dumber To isn’t simply the absence of the sort of laughs found in the original; it’s the opposite, a swirling black hole of not-funny so potent that I could literally feel the laughter being sucked from my very being in the first 10 minutes of its overlong run time (there’s two hours of this shit!). I sound like I’m being overly inflammatory for the sake of humor. But I am not. Dumb and Dumber To is really, really bad. It’s not just that the writing
is weak (“You’re deaf as a bat!” says Harry to Lloyd in a winning quip) — this is standard, bad comedy fare, of the type that Comedy Central loves for its 3–4 a.m. Sunday morning slot. Fine. But it’s the performances that really elevate this picture to the type of unwatchability that the Farrelly Brothers have recently made their specialty. Carrey and Daniels haven’t managed to recapture the magic dynamic that made the duo so endlessly watchable in Dumb and Dumber — Carrey’s Lloyd Christmas as the illiterate-but-lovable scamp, Daniels’ Harry his long-suffering, slightly smarter best friend. To’s Harry and Lloyd have been reduced to warped caricatures of their former selves. The years have not been kind to either; they’re now too “dumb” to be believable, and their good nature takes a back seat to the Farrelly’s often mean-spirited sense of humor. Daniels—so good, recently, in The Newsroom—does his best to imbue his oblivious straight-man with some heart, but seems unable to muster more than a half-hearted Harry impression. Carrey, meanwhile, is at his absolute worst here. This is the Jim Carrey of The Cable Guy and Me, Myself and Irene or, if you’re feeling vin-
dictive, the same Carrey that advocated against vaccination for the chance to bone Jenny McCarthy. His aged Lloyd is insufferable. It becomes obvious fairly quickly in the proceedings that Carrey, Daniels and the Farrellys have lost touch with these characters over the years, characters which I will now choose to believe died shortly after the events of Dumb and Dumber - hopefully painlessly, in their sleep. Out of respect for their memory, and for the memory of a childhood to which they were so important, I walked out of Dumb and Dumber To shortly after “Harry” finished fingering a geriatric in what might have been intended as a laugh-out-loud moment. Dumb and Dumber To — like Anchorman 2 or Dead Man’s Chest before it — is a comedy sequel that simply should not have been made. Its impetus remains obscure —surely fan demand couldn’t have worn down the Farrelly Bros. after 20 years? More likely the duo needed more money, or Carrey and Daniels just wanted to hang out again. I don’t know. But the result is a film so bad that, even after watching half of it at a free screening, you still want your money back. Or at least your innocence.
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"Streaming saved the show from death, but the television ratings were never there." KORRA continued from page 7
tone. The characters were aged up, the moral balance became a little more nuanced, and the setting was even given a shot of steampunk for good measure. It was still Avatar, but tailormade for a college-age audience, i.e. the audience of the original show nearly 10 years later. Now in its fourth season, the show centers on a political vacuum in the former Earth Kingdom filled by a nationalist group with a strong allegorical connection to Nazism. Like past seasons of Korra, there is never enough meaningful ambiguity to blur good and evil, but just enough to make you think that the other side might have some valid points. This season almost went even further down that road, setting up part of its returning cast in alignment with the new villains. It only took about four episodes to put a stop to that however, with said cast members seeing the error of their ways.
Similarly, the early season set up a more personal struggle for protagonist Korra, forcing her not just to grow but to deal with the damages she suffered after three seasons of battle. But here as well, that healing is tied up in a pretty nice bow after only a couple of episodes. It highlights both how much more adult the show has grown and also how much it clings to its roots. Unlike in the original Avatar, death is a constant and acknowledged threat for the cast. And while its occurrence is rare, the show does not gloss over it when it does happen. Because of that, it can be jarring, almost anachronistic, when some of the cartoon tropes come back around: the non-swear words, the slapstick, the romantic entanglements without even the hint of sex. But I think that fusion is the core of the show’s charm. It’s perfectly suited to our collegeage blend of serious and silly that drives the ups and downs of our daily lives. That college audience has
also been driving the many ups and downs of Korra’s production during its troubled history. Originally slated as a fulllength series focused on one main story arc, the show was cut down to a 12-episode run before its release. That arc was the egalitarian, anti-bender revolt storyline which became Season One, successful enough on streaming that more seasons were ordered with new storylines to follow. The show didn’t last much longer on the airwaves, however. Streaming saved the show from death, but the television ratings were never there. We loved the show because it catered to us, but the younger audiences that Nickelodeon thrives on just were not interested anymore. Season Three was finished online, and Season Four was shoved out the door mere months later, Nickelodeon washing its hands of a property which was once among its tent poles. The show has not quite regained the heights it reached
Series protagonist Korra struggles with both perrsonal and professional affairs in the show's final season. COURTESY OF NICKELODEON ANIMATION STUDIO
in the first two seasons. It seems that being forced to condense those seasons from what would have been longer plot arcs also gave them a
breakneck pace that the more concise plotlines of these last two seasons could not match. Seasons Three and Four together feel like a victory lap for
a franchise that will probably never return after this year. They may lack the thrill of the race, but victory laps have their own sweetness.
In new role, Gyllenhaal grimier than the accidents he films
Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) and assistant Rick (Riz Ahmed) search for more grisly accidents to film for the news. COURTESY OF CHUCK ZLOTNICK
Taylor McDowell Arts Contributor I am a man, mid-20's, say, with a future stretching before me—open, wild, and free— and a past laid out behind— less open, more wild and just as free. I have held in my palm
lives, and I have extinguished them, five or six of them to be exact. One, my protégé—a mere boy, and the man whom before his death I would have called the one closest to me— the others, officers of the law, and I am responsible for the events that conspired toward
and culminated in their passing. Let me be clear: for their deaths, each, I am responsible, this I know. Each of their passings was critical, and after the fact—and even before they were finished and through with, and laid settled down to rest—each was justifiably and
absolutely worth the hassle. If he could speak of the matter to you, this is how Jake Gyllenhaal’s character Lou Bloom would recount the events that make up Dan Gilroy’s 2014 film Nightcrawler. It is an unnerving affair concerning the rise of a young crime-video journalist set gently at first, and then with increasing rapidity, along the streets that sprawl through contemporary Los Angeles. And let me be clear—and this is your writer talking now—the film is creepy and as skin-crawlingly haunting as that lead-in would have you believe. The film’s setup is uncomplicated: Bloom begins the movie fencing some stolen copper, metals, and manhole covers to an otherwise disinterested construction manager who turns a blind eye to the thievery but also refuses to acknowledge him as a valid employee. He then pulls off on the side of the freeway at the site of a car accident and watches as another man pulls up, jumps out of a panel van
and runs charging to the scene with a heavyweight camera attached to his shoulder, filming up close as paramedics pull and hoist a breathing, battered body from out of the damaged vehicle’s window and into an ambulance. Bloom, with eager eyes, is all over the scene—this, we learn, will be his calling. As he informs his potential employers, “I’m a fast learner, I’ve told you that already. I pick things up quick. I’m always on my computer, on the Internet, I’m always studying.” And so he is. Lou Bloom is quick, he’s sharp, and though he may not have a formal education, he’s a mechanical thinker who dissects and extracts the tangled human from situations and analyzes the parts left in rigorous systematic fashion. Characteristics which lend themselves, in a strange way, to the pursuit of his new profession. He’s a “stringer” in the terms of the industry; a freelance video guy who jumps onto a crime scene early and shoots film, then sells to the highest news media bidder.
And let’s be clear: this is L.A., where news footage is grimy and distasteful and bloody; but when Bloom enters icily with his for-profit efficient analysis, the game changes forever and drastically. The film manages the action excellently, following scenes and moving bodies in a manner that mimics the very story being told: a fast, kind of jerky camera style, with wide angles and sharp cuts that narrow drastically to close onto moments of tension. Freshman director Gilroy builds anticipation impressively and inserts a sinking knot of dread into the stomach, dread that is released in a drawn out final scene of cathartic speed and violence that leaves the moviegoer resting hollowly in a warm numbness. Think of 2011’s Drive, amped up to 11. Nightcrawler is excellently done: just enough rough edges, polished but not overly so, with a creeping soundtrack, and stellar character portrayal by Gyllenhaal. It’s two hours of haunting but enigmatic entertainment.
New software promises to thwart scalpers for MAB Isaac Stein Maroon Contributor Last year’s Summer Breeze Concert, put on by the University’s Major Activities Board (MAB), saw incidences of ticket scalping, as reported on by Will Dart in the May 6, 2014 issue of The Maroon. Third-year Trevor Martin, a web developer who can often be found coding on the first floor of the Regenstein, believes that his new software can be used to stop scalpers dead in their tracks. In June, Martin founded Event-
Kast, a service for, as he puts it, “hosting, managing, and attending events.” EventKast also features a digital ticketing system designed so that tickets are not transferrable. “When you register for an event [using EventKast], you take a picture of yourself, which goes to Facebook and then to the event host. Also, the name of the attendee is on the ticket. So scalping is impossible because a name and a face is associated with each individual ticket,” Martin said. In spite of the fact that he began
work on EventKast a month after the tumultuous Summer Breeze, Martin said that his initial motivation to develop the software was not to create an anti-scalping application, but to offer an alternative to EventBrite, a San Francisco based online ticketing service. “EventKast was born out of my own frustration with using EventBrite to organize coding and martial arts events,” Martin said. Martin characterized his distaste for EventBrite as a product of its primary function as a ticketing service. He said that the philoso-
phy behind EventKast incorporates event marketing and the goal of facilitating human connections. “What they are doing is a ticketing service for events—I am trying to provide a hosting service for events. You can declare the existence of an event, but you need a marketing campaign to reach people. EventKast does this via a builtin, social media –based marketing application. There is also a built-in chat feature, so attendees can talk to each other—the whole point of this application is to foster people connecting offline,” Martin said.
EventKast is effectively underground—Martin said that he will not solicit a clientele until he is done developing the program. He also said that he recently began working with third-year Reshad Monsur, a web designer, to make the EventKast website presentable. “I’m the technical, coding, guy—he does mockups and design. Before him, we didn’t have a logo—I was just using a disco ball from ClipArt,” Martin said. Martin said that he plans to pitch his software to MAB within the next two months.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | November 7, 2014
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Carrell's dark turn catches theSketch Arts, Briefly. audience by surprise in new film Michael Cheiken Arts Contributor Despite having begun his career as a director in 1998, Bennett Miller has only made four movies. If his previous works, which include Capote and Moneyball, were any indication, his most recent film, Foxcatcher, should not disappoint. And it didn’t. The film is based on the real life story of John du Pont, an eccentric millionaire who in the mid-90's trained two brothers, Mark and Dave Schultz, to compete to win the Olympic gold medal in wrestling. After months of grueling training, du Pont shot and killed Dave in his driveway, and subsequently was sentenced to prison, where he later died. The movie, which details the time when the three are at du Pont’s wrestling academy at Foxcatcher Farms, is anchored by a truly sensational performance from Steve Carell as du Pont. Foxcatcher is an acting showcase; Miller’s direction ensures this. The story of Foxcatcher Farms and its trophy wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum)
provides room for numerous fireworks. However, at every opportunity the director opts for restraint. While in most psychological thrillers the characters externalize their pain either physically or verbally with quite a bit of dramatics, Miller fights this convention. Foxcatcher does not provide any release, and du Pont’s constantly chilly demeanor does nothing but heighten his presence as a villain. Carell’s visage and intonation alone are enough to paint a picture of evil. What truly disturbs the viewer, though, are his words. John du Pont is a patriot. He is the embodiment of American exceptionalism. As much as his goal for Mark Schultz to win the gold medal is a selfish one, it is very much representative of America’s own nationalistic, competitive spirit. The viewer identifies with du Pont, and it is terrifying. Carell’s performance scares the audience on an internal, psychological level. While Carell’s performance as du Pont is certainly the showcase, Tatum's and Mark Ruffalo’s respective depictions of Mark Schultz and his brother Dave definitely
do not go unnoticed. Ruffalo is wonderfully cast as an antithesis to both Carell’s du Pont and Tatum’s Mark Schultz. While his brother’s life is very much in flux, Dave Schultz has been able to settle down with a family. Mark is coerced into joining Team Foxcatcher because he is short on cash, but it is out of love for his brother that Dave jumps on board. For du Pont, Dave Schultz is everything that he cannot be. The two share a similar thirst for victory, but Dave takes a backseat to the welfare of his family. Du Pont could do nothing but dream about the success Dave Schultz acquired as a wrestler. Throughout Mark Schultz’s training, they battle with each other. Du Pont pushes Mark to and over his limits to achieve gold while Dave defends Mark Schultz’s psyche. In a masterstroke, Miller takes all of the fighting in this movie full of wrestlers and stages it on the battlefield of the mind. The narrative complexity in conjunction with its restrained acting places Foxcatcher at the forefront of this year’s batch of psychological thrillers.
Spektral Quartet
Tafelmusik
Take a study break this Sunday afternoon with beautiful, intriguing music and a dramatic view. Despite still being quite young, Spektral Quartet grabbed attention and good reviews right from the start. The group was founded in 2010 and is an ensemble-in-residence at UChicago. They’re known for presenting traditional and well-loved works as well as pieces that are fresh and more recently composed. They even went one step further last year by enlisting 40 talented musicians to compose ringtones as reimagined by classical artists, which they recorded and offered to the public. This year they will be unveiling four large-scale commissioned pieces, one of which requires the string players to sing as they play. They will be performing Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op. 132, Philip Glass’s String Quartet No. 2, and Stravinsky’s Concertino for String Quartet this weekend. November 9, Logan Center Performance Penthouse, 3 p.m., free with UCID
This Friday night, Tafelmusik, an award-winning period-instrument orchestra from Canada, will be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the birth of the telescope with a unique performance that promises to be entertaining and memorable. “[Tafelmusik] is really super creative about putting together content. This is not just a straight concert,” UChicago Presents’ Executive Director Amy Iwano explained. The show will include poetic narration, music from Galileo’s time period—Handel, Vivaldi, Bach, and Monteverdi—and a backdrop of mind-blowing celestial images taken by the Hubble telescope. before their show the group will give a lecture on the project. This show is the perfect blend of entertainment and academics. November 7, Logan Center Performance Hall, 6:30 p.m. pre-concert lecture with 7:30 p.m. show, $35 or $5 with UCID Dan Pashman Reading Dan Pashman knows how to eat, but not in the
way you’d expect. He’s not an expert chef or a metabolism manipulation expert. He’s just here to help out the common man with incredibly important things, like how to perfect a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (The secret is to layer jelly on both sides of the peanut butter to avoid that peanutbutter-meets-roof-of-mouth dilemma.) He will be speaking at 57th Street Books on Saturday to promote his aptly named new pseudotextbook, “Eat More Better," which features plenty of food hacks and an equal serving of humor. Pashman gained some attention for hosting the Cooking Channel web series You’re Eating It Wrong and is the creator of The Sporkful, a podcast series with the motto, “It’s not for the foodies; it’s for the eaters.” This is your chance to meet this cool guy and hear some of his insider insights without having to buy the book. As a guy who is clearly still a college student at heart, he will definitely understand. November 8, 57th Street Bookstore, 3 p.m., free –Evangeline Reid
wants your questions! This quarter, The Chicago Maroon will meet with President Zimmer to ask questions about University programs, policies, and forthcoming changes. In preparation for the meeting, The Maroon is seeking reader feedback: What issues would you like us to discuss with President Zimmer? What questions would you like us to ask? Submit your questions at chicagomaroon.com/ZimmerQuestions
MAROON X ROBERT ZIMMER
THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | November 7, 2014
Wave of momentum to crash upon Bears
As regular season ends, NCAAs in sight Men’s Soccer Eirene Kim Sports Staff
Men’s & Women’s Swimming & Diving Zachary Themer Associate Sports Editor While the Maroons will have to fight against the currents of a grueling season for the next five months, they will have little opportunity to splash water on their foes within the UAA Conference. In fact, the South Siders have but one conference matchup throughout the entire season: a bout against chief conference rival Wash U. Chicago competes against Wash U this Saturday, and the team knows that extra training, conditioning, and focus are necessary in the week preceding the meet. “We may train a bit harder before teams which we are expected to beat,” said fourthyear team captain Robert Kunkel. “This way we really have to work on our mental toughness to still put up fast times. This year [one] of our tougher meets will include Wash U, a team we beat last year.” To beat the Bears, the Maroons are not only going to have to repeat their dominance from last year’s meet, but also utilize the momentum they have from last week’s victory over Wheaton. On the men’s side, Chicago was anchored by the likes of second-years Jonas Fowler and Rolland Lee, both of whom took home two top finishes in their respective events, as the men crushed Wheaton 162–64. As for the women, who won 136–101, the South Siders will turn to seasoned veterans
like fourth-year team captain Jennifer Hill, who had the top time last week in the 100yard freestyle. At the end of the day, however, the Maroons know that every meet is different, and that anything can change. Thus, in order to prove that Bears can’t swim, Chicago will have to put its best stroke forward this weekend in the midst of its third straight weekend with an exhausting meet. “There are some teams that are better than others, but no matter what we give our best efforts at the meets. Certain teams we know, since we face them every year, so we can plan where to put our best swims in advance,” said fourth-year team captain Andrew Angeles. “There is definitely a lot of encouragement the weeks before big meets, especially those against teams in the UAA.” While the Bears are certainly the focus for the Maroons this week, the South Siders know that there is a bigger picture to fit into the frame. After having the school’s best season ever last year, the Maroons are looking to top their triumphs with an even greater summit on the mountain of success. “We are taking things step by step, focusing on hard work in practice, and meets will help us rise to a new level. There is a very positive attitude on the team, especially with all the momentum we have from last year pushing us forward,” Angeles said. The Maroons will take on the Bears tomorrow at 1 p.m. in St. Louis.
As UAA Championship begins today, Chicago enters at No. 5 seed and takes on No.4–seeded Case VBALL continued from back
Brandeis University. The draw seems likely to set up a matchup between the No. 5 Wash U Bears and the Chicago Maroons. Last time the two sides met, the Maroons handed the Bears their third loss of the season. Such a matchup would pit current Maroons head coach Sharon Dingman against Vanessa Walby. Walby, who is in her inaugural season with the Bears, led the Maroons for the previous six seasons. Wash U would enter the match on a 12-game winning
streak, marked by victories over four different nationally ranked teams. The winner of the match will advance to the UAA Championship game, while the defeated team will be relegated to the third-place match. Barring any upsets from Rochester and NYU, the other semifinal would pit Carnegie Mellon against Emory. Emory would be the heavy favorite in such a matchup, especially since the Tartans enter the tournament on a five-game losing streak. Should the semifinal partic-
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The Maroons look to beat Wash U to clinch the program’s first UAA champion title and NCAA tournament bid in five years. Chicago (10–5–2, 4–0–2 UAA) has a lot at stake as it enters its last conference and regular season game against chief rival Wash U (8–6–2, 1–4–1) this Saturday. With a win against the Bears, Chicago is guaranteed both the UAA title and a tournament bid, something no Maroon player on the current roster has ever accomplished. “This is now the most important game any of us has ever played…. Wash U is the next opportunity for us to show what kind of a team we can be. The conference title is at stake,” said fourth-year defender Kevin Matheny. “I would like nothing more than to top conference undefeated and end the regular season with a win…. The UAA title and playoffs are at stake,” added first-year defender Andrew Mines. This season has had some rough times, but Chicago has worked through them to build a successful and competitive program, and things are finally coming together for them with this last game against the Bears. “We’ve been through a lot as a team and as a senior class, but we have an opportunity on Saturday to erase all those memories by becoming UAA champions and starting another journey to the NCAA tournament,” said fourth-year midfielder Nick Codispoti. “This has been a season-long effort to revolutionize the program,” Mines said. Wash U may be in last place in the conference, but the Maroons do not see this game as different from any other UAA conference game. “Wash U currently holds last place, but by no means will this be an ‘easy game.’ Every conference game is extremely competitive, and as the
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ipants be as anticipated, a victory by Emory over Carnegie Mellon would either set up a rematch of the last championship game against the Maroons, or a matchup between the fifth and sixth nationally ranked teams. Regardless of the way the cards fall, the UAA Conference Tournament should provide a bundle of exciting and competitive volleyball matches. The Maroons are eager to perform at a high level and emerge unscathed, which they hope to do starting this afternoon at 1 p.m.
GET IN THE GAME.
bottom team they have nothing to lose,” Mines said. “Whether you’re playing the top of the conference or the bottom, every UAA game is a battle from start to finish…. No matter what the situation in the UAA standings may be, we are going to St. Louis to win,” said fourth-year forward and team captain Kyle Kurfirst. In addition, Chicago has not forgotten its loss to the Bears last season that cost the team a possible NCAA tournament bid. “Last year’s players have some resentment for losing to Wash U at the end of the 2013 fall season, which is sure to fuel our motivation,” Mines said. Despite everything at stake, the Maroons look to stick with what has helped them produce their big wins so far this season: remaining composed, staying focused, and working hard. “We’re all focused on earning a victory on Saturday. When we step out to practice, everyone has been locked in and has prepared for the task in front of us,” Codispoti said. “It comes down to the guys in our locker room. Each guy needs to be locked in and focused on what he has to do for us to get a win,” Kurfirst said. The Maroons also know what needs to be done tactically in order to come out successful this weekend. “We need to continue to play stingy, organized defense, and on attack we need to make sure to move the ball, play our style of soccer, and attack with purpose and creativity,” Matheny said. “We need to compete on 50/50 balls in the air. If we win the battle in the trenches, we’ll be able to control possession and execute our game plan,” Mines said. Second-year defender DJ Weis summed it up simply: “Prepare hard, play hard, and win.” The Maroons’ last regular season game against the Bears takes place tomorrow at 11 a.m. in St. Louis.
CONCERT SERIES
Tafelmusik FRIDAY / NOVEMBER 7 / 7:30 PM LOGAN CENTER FOR THE ARTS / PERFORMANCE HALL 915 East 60th Street
The Galileo Project: Music of the Spheres 6:30 PM pre-concert lecture with Tafelmusik Hear Canada’s award-winning period instrument orchestra in this multimedia performance, featuring music by Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Bach and Handel, poetic narration and choreography, all set to high-definition images from the Hubble telescope. Tickets: $35 / $5 students “an event steeped in intellect and imagination” —New York Times
WRITE FOR SPORTS. editor@chicagomaroon.com
For tickets call 773.702.ARTS or visit chicagopresents.uchicago.edu
$5
STUDEN
T TICK
A limited number of FREE tickets are available through the Sponsor-A-Student Program, made possible by University of Chicago Arts Pass. For more information, visit chicagopresents.uchicago.edu/tickets/student-tickets
ETS
SPORTS
IN QUOTES
“In the words of the great @AaronRodgers12, ‘RELAX.’” –Basketball superstar LeBron James eases worries about his Cleveland Cavaliers’ 1–3 start. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers made the original comment after the Packers’ 1–2 start; they’re 4–1 since.
6–1 Maroons to host Tartans on Senior Day Football Helen Petersen Associate Sports Editor They say all good things must come to an end. For 12 Chicago fourth-years, Saturday’s UAA showdown against Carnegie Mellon stands as the last time they will suit up on Stagg Field. “It’s kind of a surreal feeling to think that I am playing my last game at Stagg Field this Saturday,” said fourth-year quarterback Patrick Ryan. “I feel like I was just arriving on campus yesterday. This is one of the last times in our life when we can forget about everything going on with school and job searches and just play the game we love. I’m definitely going to miss having that release.” In their four years as Maroons, the Class of 2015 boasts six All-UAA selections, six All-UAA Academic team honorees, and eight current starters on the 6–1 Chicago squad. They have led the transition from former head coach Dick Maloney to current head coach Chris Wilkerson, who is 12–5 in his two years at Chicago. “It’s crazy to think it is our last home game,” said fourth-year defensive end Brandon Bolock. “Our class has been a part of some big changes within the football program, and we have been
through a lot of good and a lot of bad.” Chicago (6–1), which is 1–0 in conference play after defeating Wash U 44–23 two weeks ago, leads the UAA right now while Carnegie (3–5, 0–1 UAA) brings up the rear of the rankings. The Tartans have struggled to piece together a consistent offense so far this season. The game will be a battle of the running game versus the throwing game. Carnegie averaged only 0.4 yards per carry in its last game and averages only 93.5 rushing yards per game. Chicago, on the other hand, averages 166.1 rushing yards per game. “This game definitely brings about a number of emotions,” said fourthyear running back Zak Ross-Nash. “The first one that comes to mind is definitely excited. We’re excited to go out there and show everyone how hard we’ve worked this year and that we’re ready to be one of the prominent teams in DIII football.” Ross-Nash, who leads the Maroons with eight rushing touchdowns, earned UAA Offensive Player of the Week on October 27th, the same time that third-year cornerback and team captain Vincent Beltrano earned UAA Athlete of the Week. Beltrano knows the implications of these final conference grudge matches.
Fourth-year punter Ben Cheaney punts the ball in the Homecoming game against Wash U this October. COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS
“While nostalgia creeps in, quite frankly, there is no time to sit back and feel sorry for ourselves, because we are in a great opportunity to accomplish something that hasn’t been done here since before the seniors entered the University of Chicago,” Beltrano said.
All 12 fourth-years will be honored during a pre-game ceremony on Saturday, as it is Senior Day. Fourth-years include Ryan, Ross-Nash, Bolock, running back Miguel Maseda, offensive lineman Isaac Stern, receiver Tom O’Neill, punter Ben Cheaney,
tight ends Tom Sutrinaitis, and Bryan Tisdale, and team captains linebacker Schuyler Montefalco, offensive lineman Jake Winkel, and defensive lineman Scott Mainquist. The game kicks off at noon on Saturday at Stagg field.
Postseason chances to be South Siders aim to serve up conference title determined at Wash U Volleyball Michael Cheiken Maroon Contributor
Women’s Soccer Katie Anderson Maroon Contributor The Maroons look to finish the regular season with a victory this Saturday against the Wash U Bears. After two wins last weekend, the No. 11 South Siders boast a 13– 3–1 overall record (4–1–1 UAA), while the No. 17 Bears are 12–3–2 overall (2–3–1 UAA). The women will head to St. Louis for the final regular season contest with confidence, coming off of two conference wins at home last weekend against NYU and Brandeis. “We are going into this game with a lot of confidence,” said third-year defender Bethany Robinson. “If we play our game and our style, there’s no reason we shouldn’t win this game.” The women also want to keep Wash U’s unique style of play in mind. In practice, the Maroons worked on exploiting the gaps in the Bears’ defense, which is expected to be a major strategy in this weekend’s match. “This week, we really focused on switching our point of attack to exploit Wash U’s wide space on the weak side. We definitely have the skill set to do that successfully,” Robinson said. This weekend’s matchup also provides the Maroons the opportunity to earn the UAA title, depending on the outcome of Carnegie Mellon’s match against Emory.
With that in mind, the team wants to make sure to focus on winning this game and using it as a chance to improve before the tournament. “We’re confident at this point about our chances of getting a bid into the tournament,” Robinson said. First-year midfielder Whitley Cargile commented on the importance of this final regular season contest. “This is a big game for us, and we definitely want to finish regular season play on a high note. Winning our last regular season game would be a great confidence boost that would help our chances in the tournament,” Cargile said. A major strength for the Maroons all year has been the strong performances in goal by fourthyears Mallory Morse and Jacinda Reid. Combined, the two goalkeepers have 10 shutouts this season, two of which were last weekend in conference play. The Maroons’ strong defense will be vital this weekend. “Wash U is a very attack-minded team, and they keep the ball really well. Our defense has been great all year, though, and we should be able to stop them successfully if we play our game,” Robinson said. Chicago’s performance in this contest will determine its chances of making the NCAA Tournament. The Maroons kick off against the Bears on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Last weekend, the Maroons concluded the regular season with a win over No. 17 Elmhurst, to cap off a 4–0 showing at the Benedictine University Eagle Classic. More important for the Chicago squad (24–11, 4–3 UAA), however, was the return of fourth-year libero Eirene Kim and third-year outside hitter Jasmine Mobley. “[The] weekend off after the second Round Robin was very much needed, but there is no additional fatigue from the tournament at Benedictine,” said third-year outside hitter Maren Loe. With all fitness worries alleviated, the Maroons’ path through the postseason will surely be determined solely by their skill and determination. The journey through the volleyball postseason begins with a first -round match against the fourthseeded Case Western Spartans (16– 11, 4–3). The Cleveland team beat the Maroons earlier in the season at the second UAA Round Robin. Middle hitter Kayla Pfaff and outside hitter Carolyn Bogart powered the Spartans to a 3–1 victory over the South Siders. Since then, however, the Case Western squad has gone 2–4. In the same time span, the Maroons have found form, posting a 5–1 record. With the return of leadership from veteran Kim, and the momentum heavily in the Maroons’ favor, Chicago will look to capitalize when
they take to the court this afternoon at 1 p.m. The schedule for the rest of the tournament is dependent on the outcome of the match with Case Western. A win will keep the Maroons in the hunt for the title, while a loss will
send them to the consolation bracket. Provided the South Siders emerge victorious from the matchup with the Spartans, they will play the winner of the match between top-seeded Wash U, and the eighth-seeded VBALL continued on page 11
Second-year outside hitter Amy Risk prepares to serve the ball in a match against Lake Forest last September. COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS