Chicago Maroon PDF 050815

FRIDAY • MAY 8, 2015

CHICAGOMAROON.COM

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

ISSUE 44 • VOLUME 126

University acquires papers of prominent graphic novelist Clowes Adam Thorp Senior News Writer The University of Chicago Library announced that it has acquired some of the papers of Daniel Clowes, a prominent and pioneering literary cartoonist with personal connections to Hyde Park and the University of Chicago.

The acquisition was announced a little more than a week ago.

Clowes’s offbeat and sometimes grisly cartoons were showcased for 15 years in the comic book Eightball. Two days ago, Clowes’s publisher announced that Patience, his first entirely new book in more than five years, will

be published next March.

The donated papers include preparatory materials for three of his graphic novels: The Death Ray, Mr. Wonderful, and Ice Haven.

“What the [materials] show is the creative process that Daniel Clowes uses from the original conception of the idea for the PAPERS continued on page 2

Foundation reviews UChicago Core Curriculum for education research Tyler Kissinger, Alex Jung, and Kenzo Esquivel celebrated their victory with cake after the results were announced.

Lorentz Hansen News Staff

COURTESY OF TYLER KISSINGER

United Progress wins SG election, voter turnout highest in four years Raymond Fang Associate News Editor On Wednesday afternoon, results for the 2015 Student Government elections were released to the public. Turnout for this year’s election was much higher than last year’s, with 3,127 votes cast. This is a 57-percent increase over last year’s turnout of 1,991 votes cast, and is the largest student turnout since at least the 2011 elections.

United Progress, consist-

ing of President Tyler Kissinger, Vice President for Administration Alex Jung, and Vice President for Student Affairs Kenzo Esquivel, won the race for Executive Slate by a huge margin, with 1,340 votes—more than all of the other slates combined. The Moose Party, The Very Good Slate, and One Slate, finished second, third, and fourth, respectively.

“This year, we’ve worked to make Student Government into a place where

any student can come to substantially impact the way their University is governed,” Kissinger wrote in a statement. “We’re excited to keep building off the progress we’ve made this year in creating a more active and engaged SG, and look forward to making sure all students have the opportunity to take part in this process every step of the way.”

Andrew Young won the race for Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of TrustSG continued on page 2

Bernie Sanders, UChicago alum, announces presidential candidacy Brandon Lee News Staff On April 30, University of Chicago alum Bernie Sanders (A.B. ’64) announced his 2016 presidential campaign run. The 73-year-old Independent Senator from Vermont is the first confirmed challenger to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Sanders has served almost two terms as Sena-

tor, 16 years as representative of Vermont’s at-large congressional district, and eight years as mayor of Burlington, Vermont.

Sanders defined his political platform last Thursday, in which he emphasized how he would champion green energ y systems, thwart trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, push for a single-payer health-care system, dramatically increase government

spending on education and infrastructure, and topple the “proliferation of millionaires and billionaires.”

His left-wing views and disapproval of the role of money in American politics stem from his lowermiddle-class upbringing in a poor, Jewish family. “My dad came to this country at the age of 17, dropped out of high school, never made any money…. We didn’t BERNIE continued on page 2

The Teagle Foundation is currently reviewing the University’s Core Curriculum, along with those of Yale and Columbia Universities, as part of a study intended to shed light on how students view core curricula and to what degree core programs accomplish the goals of a liberal arts education.

The Teagle Foundation is a grant-giving institution

that works with liberal arts colleges and universities to conduct research on different educational programs, which are used to compile a set of educational practices it deems effective.

These practices are then used to evaluate the grant applications the Foundation receives and to decide to whom it will award its grants.

The study in which the University is participating aims to determine the efficacy of different types

of core curricula to better inform the Foundation’s opinion of them in liberal arts colleges. Participation in the study is voluntary, and is intended solely to contribute to the overall findings about core curricula. The study is not meant to inform or alter the University’s Core program.

The Foundation arranged five focus groups throughout this week with Core faculty and nine foCORE continued on page 2

Univ. community members hold moment of silence for victims of Nepal earthquake Natalie Friedberg News Editor On Wednesday, at 4:30 p.m. on the Main Quad, approximately 30 students, faculty, administrators, and community members sat in a circle holding candles in a few moments of silence for the people killed in the earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25.

After the moments of silence, participants took turns sharing their stories about Nepal and the earthquake, outlining ways to help victims, and reading Nepalese poetry.

Sujata Singh, a Harris School graduate student who has family living in Nepal, told the story of how once she heard that the

Members of the University community hold a vigil for victims of the Nepalese earthquake on the Main Quad.

NATALIE FRIEDBERG | THE CHICAGO MAROON

earthquake had hit, she was unable to contact any of her family members for three hours to make sure they were okay.

“Nepal is not just about Mount Everest and being a tourist destination. It’s so much more than that,” Singh NEPAL continued on page 3

IN VIEWPOINTS

IN ARTS

IN SPORTS

How to love someone in the long run » Page 4

Photo essay: FOTA Springfest celebrates student art and bloom » Page 6

W Tennis: Stagg Courts to host regionals this weekend » Backpage

Editorial: Ticket pain » Page 4

This week in sports: A look at the NBA and NHL » Page 7 and backpage

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | May 8, 2015

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Let them eat pi: UChicago calculus instructor gives talk on her new book Annie Nazzaro Associate News Editor Eugenia Cheng, former Senior Lecturer and Honors Calculus instructor at the University of Chicago and current “Scientist in Residence” at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) set the lines straight Tuesday evening with a discussion about her new book How To Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematicians at the Seminary Co-Op. Joined by her friend Laura Strickling, Cheng discussed the feelings that people typically have about math and, by using analogies and examples, discussed how her goal as an educator was to rid people of their “math phobia.”

“I think math is great and I think that people are afraid of it possibly for the wrong reasons, but I don’t blame them for that,” Cheng said.

“It’s just that no one told them why math is fun and beautiful, and not something that you necessarily have to be afraid of.”

Cheng thinks that to overcome this distaste, we should start thinking of math more like we think of food.

“When you make food, you can just add some ingredients together and do what you like with it.”

The reason that people are afraid of math, Cheng contends, is that it is poorly taught. The way people learn math revolves around a set of rules that students have to memorize and apply to problems. When people apply these rules incorrectly and get a problem wrong, they become discouraged. The issue with this method is that it doesn’t describe math at the research level.

“Math, at a research level, is a place where you make your own rules up, and as long as you follow your own rules it’s ok. And, as I tell my students, you can make up any rules you want. The worst that will happen is that your whole world will implode and turn into zero.

And that’s kind of fun too!”

When Strickland asked about the difference between teaching math to math students at the Uni-

versity and math to art students at SAIC, Cheng responded by saying that they were different for inverted reasons. “[At the University of Chicago] I had to deal with [a student’s] emotional progress of thinking that [they’re] really good at math, and realizing that actually higher -level math is a lot different than [they] thought it was...whereas at [SAIC] they’re so excited that higher-level math isn’t [rulebound high school math], so that from that point of view it’s really fun. And in a sense the art students are my perfect target audience for this book.”

Cheng concluded by noting an improvement in the way people talk about math.

“When I meet people and tell them that I’m a mathematician, 10 years ago they would go, ‘I hate math.’ Recently they’ve started saying, ‘I used to really like math and then I got really confused.’ So I’ve had the thought that now we are ready to show people the math that I love.”

“We’re excited to keep building” SG continued from front

ees, defeating Anthony Downer by more than 150 votes.

“I’m looking forward to making this position mean something to the student body. Next year I will work my absolute hardest to increase every student and RSO’s ability to communicate and connect with members of the Board of Trustees,” wrote Young in a statement. “In doing so, I hope to build a foundation that will prove critical in allowing us to shape the decisions of the Board.”

Katie Perri won the race for Graduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees by a large margin, with more than 50 percent of the total vote, defeating Eduardo Arenas

Hernandez and Rafadi Hakim.

Perri was unavailable for comment.

Nina Katemauswa won the position of Community and Government Liaison. She was the only candidate running for the position who was on the ballot.

“I’m really excited and honored to have been elected as the Community and Government Liaison because I really think that this will get me the opportunity to be able to best serve the interests of low-income students, underrepresented students, sexual assault survivors, and all types of minority students whose voices might not have been heard otherwise,” Katemauswa said. “I look forward

to working with all of the relevant RSOs on campus to allowing these positive changes for students and for the surrounding South Side community.”

The winners of the 2015 College Council Elections are listed below: Class of 2018 College Council Representatives: Cosmo Albrecht, Calvin Cottrell, Eric Holmberg, Michael Meng Class of 2017 College Council Representatives: Louisa Richardson-Deppe, Leeho Lim, Katherine Shen, Peggy Xu Class of 2016 College Council Representatives: Edward Vincent Barrett IV, Clark Halpern, Mark Sands, Mike Viola

The Foundation is investigating education methods in order to develop its own grant program CORE continued from front

cus groups with students in the College who expressed interest in participating. During these hour-long discussions, affiliates of the Foundation spoke with undergraduate students to better understand how the Core affects

students’ selection of other courses and how students ultimately perceive the Core to have affected their college experience.

According to an outline of the study provided to the University, the Foundation seeks to use these conversations to “identify com-

mon threads and themes” among the participating universities to better inform future core programs.

The Foundation announced that a summary of the conversations at participating universities would be released next fall.

Donated papers include prep materials for three graphic novels PAPERS continued from front

comic all the way through the development of the different ideas and characters to the final drawing and renderings of the work that becomes a finished comic strip or comic book,” said Daniel Meyer, director of the Special Collections Research Center.

English professor Hillary Chute teaches several of Clowes’s books, including The Death Ray and Ice Haven. Chute arranged a conference called Comics: Philosophy and Practice, where Clowes spoke in 2012. According to Chute, interactions like this between Clowes and the school built toward the acquisition.

“I think Chicago had a leg up on other institutions…[because] we had a demonstrated record of taking his work seriously,” Chute said.

Chute said she pushed to acquire the papers behind *Ice Haven* in particular because of its importance as a graphic novel and its connections to Hyde Park: The book is set in Chicago, and touches on Leopold and Loeb, the famous pair of murderers who were University of Chicago graduates.

Ice Haven, Chute said, is interesting in its presentation— a small, almost postcard-sized book—and the variation of the book’s flat, colorful style in each of the story’s several episodes.

“It’s sort of pushing on preconceptions of what a graphic novel

could be—so to have all of this archival material related to this book in Special Collections is going to open up so much thinking in terms of what it’s trying to accomplish, in terms of form and in terms of format,” Chute said.

Clowes grew up in Hyde Park and graduated from the Lab School. His papers will join the papers of his grandfather, James Lee Cate, a medieval history professor at the University, in Special Collections. While being shown the archives last Thursday, Chute said, Clowes noticed some books from his childhood bedroom had been preserved with Cate’s papers.

Over the last several years, the University Library has acquired several special collections related to comics and cartoons, including a growing collection of Chicago-based zines. “What I’m hoping now is that the Dan Clowes archive will set a model, and that the University of Chicago will be able hopefully to successfully reach out to other Chicago cartoonists and try to get their work as part of the [special collections] too,” Chute said.

The donation is a portion of Clowes’s papers. According to Chute, another portion went to a private collector. Meyer said the Library hoped to add more of Clowes’s papers to the new collection. Special Collections plans to publicize the papers with a public exhibition.

“I remember being down in the stacks...buried down there” BERNIE continued from front

have a whole lot of books,” Sanders said in last Thursday’s press conference. He said his father, Eli, was a Polish immigrant who sold paint to support his family.

Sanders told The New York Times that his family’s financial situation left a lasting impression.

As a low-income undergraduate student at the University of Chicago in 1961, Sanders said that he felt out of place. “When I went to the University of Chicago, I began to understand the futility of liberalism,” Sanders told a reporter for Monday’s edition of Chicago Magazine. Sanders was an organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, joined the Youth People’s Socialist League, and was chairman of the social action committee of the Congress of Racial Equality.

According to a February 14 article in The University of Chicago Magazine, Chairman Sanders led approximately 33 people to a sitin protest along the walls adjoining former University President Beadle’s office.

“I was not exactly a stellar student,” Sanders said in the article, and said that he began college majoring in English. Soon after, he switched to political science and graduated in 1964. He pursued the majority of his education in the basement of Harper Library and spent his time reading Marx

and Freud. He told the author that he remembered Harper Library fondly. “A very good, a very fine library. I remember being down in the stacks. I don’t know what they call them now. Buried down there,” Sanders said.

His upbringing and experiences at the University have since shaped his political career, as evidenced by his consistent, public attack on the country’s wealthiest one percent . In last Thursday’s press conference, he acknowledged that such platforms would result in the loss of wealthy donor contributions. “I’m not going to get money from the Koch brothers; I’m not going to get money from billionaires,” Sanders said, but emphasized his belief in the power of small contributions from middle-class Americans to fund major campaigns.

Since his announcement six days ago, Senator Sanders has raised more than $3 million in four days via contributions to BernieSanders.com, from approximately 75,000 contributors, averaging $43.54 each, according to The Huffington Post.

In an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” George Stephanopoulos asked whether someone who calls themselves a socialist could win the race, let alone defeat Hillary Clinton. Senator Sanders delivered the following reply.

“Don’t underestimate me.”

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | May 8, 2015

NEPAL continued from front

said.

Another participant urged attendees to donate money and supplies via drive locations in Swift Hall, the Social Services Administration building, Ida Noyes Hall, and the Reynolds Club.

“We need more shelter,

food, medicine... even a few dollars from us can help,” he said.

Dean of Students Celia Bergman told the story of how she and her husband spent four months in Nepal trying to adopt a three-yearold girl in 2009.

Shrabya Timsina, a sec-

ond-year undergraduate student from Kathmandu, discussed how the destruction of so many historical, sacred spaces would affect Nepalese spirituality.

The event ended with a reading of a poem, first in Nepalese and then in English.

Big Problems Curriculum in the College

ABRAM DE SWAAN Author of “Words of the World” (2001); Professor Emeritus, University of Amsterdam

In the World Language System of about 6,000 language groups, how could such a system with English as its hub emerge?

How do asymmetric language relations accelerate the 'slow stampede' towards English, spreading English (especially American) notions and practices worldwide?

Wednesday, May 13 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

Franke Institute for the Humanities 1100 E. 57th. St., JRL S-118

The Big Problems curriculum addresses matters of global or universal concern that intersect with several disciplines and affect a variety of interest groups.

Persons with disabilities who need an accommodation in order to participate in this event should contact 773.702.8274 in advance.

CLASSIFIEDS Learn Philosophy of Life Through the Explanation of Bhagwad Gita

by Swami Ishatmananda Wednesday, May 13th, 7:30pm – 8:30pm Quaker House, 5615 S. Woodlawn Ave. Chicago, IL 60637 Info: 773 679-8148; 773 636 -7926.

Free and Open to All.

For Sale 2BR Co-op 3rd flr unit w/balcony near U of C. $54000.

773-667-5534.

p r o b l e m s

“UNEQUAL EXCHANGE IN THE WORLD LANGUAGE SYSTEM”

b i g

“Nepal is not just about Mount Everest and being a tourist destination”

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VIEWPOINTS

Editorial & Op-Ed MAY 8, 2015

T(icket)-Pain Moving Summer Breeze ticket sales online would cost MAB about $1,300—but it doesn’t need to be that way On Monday, hundreds of students lined up to buy tickets for Major Activities Board’s (MAB) Summer Breeze Concert. The popularity of the event has grown tremendously in the last couple years, thanks in large part to MAB’s success in booking popular artists. Last year’s tickets were the first to sell out in one day—a feat repeated this year—and MAB has made adjustments to its ticket-selling process to address the issues of last year. However, buying tickets remains a time-consuming and frustrating process for students, which often involves missing classes. Many students waited five or more hours for their tickets this year, and some waited just as long only to find that tickets were sold out. Ideally, these tickets would be sold online. Either MAB needs to slightly raise its ticket prices, or the University can make online sales possible by lowering the cut taken from online ticket sales through the Logan Box Office.

It’s true that, if tickets were sold online, the hosting site could crash. However, this is something MAB and the University will need to learn to prepare for, and is necessary for a more efficient ticket-buying process in the future.

As it currently stands, selling tickets online is an expensive decision for

MAB. In order to sell tickets through the University online, MAB would have to go through the Logan Box Office, which takes a three-percent cut of all revenue. For the 2,225 tickets that MAB sold this year at $20 each, 3 percent of revenue equals approximately $1,300. MAB Chair Natalya Samee told the Maroon Editorial Board that $1,300 is a significant amount which could noticeably affect the performers MAB is able to bring to campus. But to make the same revenue through online sales, MAB could raise its ticket prices to $20.60—a small price to pay for increased efficiency and time not spent waiting in line.

However, this doesn’t change the fact that the University ought to still reduce the cut it takes from RSOs, including MAB, selling through the Logan Box Office. By taking a cut, the University is profiting off of student-run organizations. Whereas three percent is a drop in the bucket for the University’s budget at large, for RSOs like MAB and others, that three percent may mean the difference between a successful event and a dud.

–The Maroon Editorial Board

ALICE XIAO

|

THE CHICAGO MAROON

I want to know what love is A roommate illustrates how to love someone in the long run

Sophia Chen

PhiloSophia I still remember my first crush—the one I’ll never forget. During superhero make-believe, he used to channel

Bibleman, namesake of the overacted, under-produced children’s show loved by evangelicals that featured off-brand

The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892.

Eleanor Hyun, Editor-in-Chief Sarah Manhardt, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Stephen Moreland, Managing Editor The Maroon Editorial Board consists of Alan Hassler, Eleanor Hyun, and Lear Jiang.

News Natalie Friedberg, editor Alec Goodwin, editor Marta Bakula, deputy editor Isaac Easton, associate editor Raymond Fang, associate editor Shelby Lohr, associate editor Maggie Loughran, associate editor Annie Nazzaro, associate editor Isaac Stein, senior writer Viewpoints Sarah Zimmerman, editor Nina Katemauswa, associate editor Patricia Nyawga, associate editor Kayleigh Voss, associate editor Arts Andrew McVea, editor Evangeline Reid, editor Ellen Rodnianski, editor Hannah Edgar, associate editor Grace Hauck, associate editor James Mackenzie, senior editor Sports Helen Petersen, editor Zachary Themer, editor Ahmad Allaw, associate editor Katie Anderson, associate editor Tatiana Fields, senior editor Sarah Langs, senior editor Grey City Sindhu Gnanasambandan, Editor-in-Chief Kristin Lin, Editor-in-Chief Design Annie Cantara, head designer Copy Sophie Downes, head editor Alan Hassler, head editor Sherry He, head editor Morganne Ramsey, head editor

Multimedia Forrest Sill, editor Photo Marta Bakula, editor Yeo Bi Choi, associate editor Liana Sonenclar, associate editor Video Amber Love, editor Social Media Emily Harwell, editor Online Ryan McDowell, web developer Business Nicolas Lukac, chief financial officer Ananya Pillutla, vice chief financial officer Andrew Ahn, co-director of marketing Eitan Rude, co-director of marketing Ben Veres, director of operations Patrick Quinn, director of strategy Lenise Lee, business manager Harry Backlund, distributor Kay Li, director of data analysis This issue: Copy: Delana Tavakol, Michelle Zhao Design: Julia Xu, Jen Xue Fridgidaire Fgh196p! Endorsed my The Maroon.

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light sabers and carefully on-brand lessons. I was always Ice-Skating Girl, prancing around in my only skating outfit from my short stint in a sport I was heinous at.

We were five, but I had long decided that the couple that saved the world together stayed together. I never paused to wonder what would happen one night in the distant future when superhero uniforms were traded for civilian clothes, when someone had to cook dinner and take care of the kids and do the laundry. I never asked myself if, when we finally got bored of talking about our awesome superpowers, we would still care about one another enough to ask about the day the other had, or even to talk. I didn’t realize that according to reality, Ice-Skating Girl and Bibleman had about a 50-percent chance of getting divorced.

Since then, I’ve grown up in a world where couples no longer seem to stay together for long. This is a conscious choice for many (and I respect that), but for others, it feels as if they had hoped for forever and got lost on the way there.

It felt to me like sustaining love after an initial infatuation was nearly impossible.

In a Wong Fu Productions video about the stages of a relationship called “Strangers, again,” the narrator tells us, “I was pretty disappointed…. Somehow, the girl I was so crazy about a year ago had turned into somebody who just wasn’t that special.”

I wish that what the guy said in the video wasn’t true. I wish that the entirety of a relationship could be like the start of a new one. I wish a video like this didn’t even have to exist, but it does. Are relationships, then, doomed to repeat

such a cycle once the novelty wears off ?

In response to this, my faith says many things about how a marriage can successfully endure fading infatuation and survive. One idea that I think is applicable to everyone, religious or not, is striving to love one another as selflessly as possible. But is that even possible these days? How would that even work?

I wasn’t sure about how before, but I’m starting to see what that looks like thanks to my dear roommate—let’s call her M—and the love that she’s shown me, a love which seems so different from what I found in any of my past relationships.

For many, it’s easy to be attentive and loving to a new source of infatuation, whether it’s the next iPhone or the prospect of a budding love interest. The novelty makes every detail fascinating.

The chase makes every effort worth it.

However, to find someone special in the beginning means nothing, because that’s the nature of this beast.

The easy answer seems to be compatibility in addition to that initial attraction—look for someone you share common interests with and the rest will follow, right? Unfortunately, the problem with idolizing compatibility as the crux of a relationship is that it fosters complacency; it posits that certain people fit better together than others.

That may be true, but it causes less effort to be expended to make things work, because there’s the assumption that affection and harmony should just come naturally. Perhaps a love built solely on compatibility is the scariest.

M and I, for example, have nothing in common. She dances. I trip in anything with a heel. She rocks at math. I would sell my hair to keep the answer

key with me. But that doesn’t matter, because that’s not what defines our coexistence—it is defined by the nights when I slump back into our muggy dorm room and she recounts to me an anecdote about her day, one that makes me laugh and laugh. I, on the other hand, am not so good at talking—I live in my head most of the time, preferring abstract concepts. But to ignore the mundane and to only look for intellectual compatibilities is the very pitfall I described above. I’m lucky to be learning from a roommate who, instead of hoping that things flow naturally, makes a conscious effort to create everyday memories even when I’m being a bland vegetable.

Being roommates is actually the most similar relationship to lovers that see one another in all their unsavory glories. It’s easy to celebrate parting with a roommate, thinking that we’ll never have to go through such an ordeal again, but marriage is honestly just glorified roommate-hood. No privacy, no masks, no singles in B-J. So then maybe the best way to practice for a lifelong love is to treat every relationship with as much kindness as the most important one.

That way, we can sustain respect and affection when our lovers turn boring, unattractive, and mundane, just like our roommates do after the third week of living together.

The truth is, no one is perfect for someone else—at the end of the day, we are all human rather than Vogue editorials that are airbrushed and stagnant.

Even if there exists a stunning array of mutual interests that include books and sports and hobbies between us and our lovers, consistently engaging LOVE continued on page 5

“Being roommates is actually the most similar relationship to lovers...in all their unsavory glories.”

LOVE continued from page 4

conversations about these romanticized topics cannot be sustained indefinitely when we eat, sleep, and perform bodily functions in the same space. The nights when we are unashamed to scrubbily sit on the couch and vegetate in front of one another increase. See enough

of each other like this, and we become ordinary to one another, instead of the special snowflakes we once were.

When it gets to this point, it’s no longer about whether that other person deserves your affection or not.

It’s about whether or not you choose to love that person for better or for

worse—selflessly. M has shown me the value of creating lasting rapport through intentional small kindnesses, wrenching my chemistry textbook away from my iron grip each night as I half-consciously protest that I’m not done reading, leaving perfume samples and notes for me on my desk when she

leaves for the weekend. Love means continuously choosing the other person to create bonds with.

M loves selflessly even after seeing how boring and insipid I am. She’s given me hope for the future. So even if some fellow and I initially seem to be superheroes like Bibleman and Ice-Skating Girl

to one another, I believe that we’ll be OK even when we cast off the facades and change into civilian clothes.

Why? Because M is my superhero.

Sophia Chen is a first-year in the College majoring in English

The missing birds of Hyde Park The release of the peregrine falcon has put Hyde Park’s bird population in serious danger Karen Bradley Maroon Contributor Hyde Park’s bird population has been utterly decimated by the purposeful release of peregrine falcons sometime around 1999 by the Minnesota Raptor Center, sadly in association with the Chicago Audubon Society, the Chicago Academy of Sciences, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the Lincoln Park Zoo. I am writing this letter as an alert to city and state officials as well as to anyone interested in birds: Releasing these raptors has destroyed the delicately balanced population of native small birds living here, in which there was just enough habitat for each group to live, hide, nest, and maintain its numbers. I assume what has happened in Hyde Park is also happening in the other lakefront communities where these falcons were released (Evanston, Edgewater, Michigan Avenue, Lakeview, etc.). Although in the past we have had the occasional Cooper’s hawk and other hawks, especially during migrations, our local bird numbers held steady until the appearance of the peregrines. The birds that have nearly or entirely disappeared from Hyde Park are mourning doves, pigeons, starlings, our once-famed green monk parakeets, blue jays, nighthawks, grackles, and American kestrels. If the peregrines remain, our local birds will never be able

to come back, as is already evident.

Like many Hyde Park residents, I have personally witnessed hundreds of attacks by peregrines (and some by Cooper’s hawks) on birds like mourning doves, pigeons, starlings, robins, parakeets, cardinals and sparrows—even in the midst of activity near restaurants, grocery stores, and on campus.

I have lived in Hyde Park since 1979, and from 1990 onward I have counted, tracked, studied, named, fed, and tried to help and protect our local birds, particularly the mourning doves, to no avail. I am trained as an archaeologist, and am experienced in detailed observation. I was drawn to the birds here due to the radical changes I was seeing, the attacks by the peregrines, and the horrible destruction of balance I saw unfolding. I have examined every inch of this neighborhood, from backyards to parks; in 2007 alone I spent about five hours per day between July and October tracking our birds, especially the mourning doves, pigeons, starlings— basically, the prey-sized birds. For the last five years, since the annihilation of the mourning doves and starlings, I have tracked instead just about every struggling cardinal. In December 2000, I began to take note of the peregrines’ attacks on mourning doves and initially thought the falcons were simply transient visitors; after a while, however, I realized that they were staying. Here

is a sample of my initial log of viewed falcon attacks: 12/1/00 4 p.m., killed a mourning dove; 12/30/00 9 a.m., “got a dove”; 1/16/01 4:20 p.m., “close on a dove tail”; 2/9/01, “dove with abdomen slashed open.” I eventually stopped keeping the sad log.

Between 1990 and around 1999, there were approximately 150 adult mourning doves in Hyde Park at any given time. There were about 50 mated pairs, each pair having two to six young each season between April and November, resulting in a population of hundreds of doves. Already by 2005 there were only about 65 doves, by 2008 about 22, by 2010 about nine, and now there are none. Our neighborhood doves were permanent and never migrated. Yet despite their ability to produce many healthy offspring, they could not hang on in the face of the raptors, which took every fledgling during its first weeks of life. Birds do not move away in response to danger, and most live near where they were hatched.

There is no doubt that the falcons are completely responsible for the decimation of these birds. The incidences of illness that I studied (such as avian “pox,” Nile virus, oral candida, and Trichomonas) were brief and did not exact an amount of damage anywhere near that which the falcons have. For the past five years, any dove that strayed here has not survived; no baby dove has survived

here for 10 years. The doves’ haunting cry had been the sound of summer in our neighborhood; in the years between 1990 and 2005 I could count as many as 110 doves simultaneously.

One hundred percent of our mourning doves have now been destroyed.

The falcons aren’t affecting only the dove population. Starlings lived in large, chattering, gregarious groups on virtually every block, all year round, though some did migrate. Any longtime Hyde Park resident would remember large groups of starlings: on lawns, in parks, in big, noisy groups in treetops, around sidewalk cafes, and on campus. Our starlings are now sadly reduced by 95 percent, and their constant chatter is gone.

Even our smaller birds are being diminished. Robin population is down about 60 percent, and house sparrows are down 50 percent. Although in 2001–2003 there was an incidence of Mycoplasma gallisepticum, this illness only took about 10 of these sparrows; it did not devastate their numbers to the degree I see now. I estimate their numbers are down at least 50 percent; they are primarily attacked in leafless winters.

Nothing can diminish what I know about what happened to our Hyde Park birds. There was a balance here, and our birds thrived in a residential urban area. They clearly could not survive with the purposeful addition of these

deadly raptors. Besides waiting in trees, the falcons have learned to fly low over rooftops and are able to prey upon birds that are eating on the ground. You may have heard the chilling sound of their screams from Rockefeller Chapel; you see the result on the strangely dead campus, devoid of the pigeons, doves, and starlings, amongst others, all of which once populated the quads.

Hyde Park and other neighborhoods into which peregrines were quietly imposed will have either peregrine falcons, alongside whatever other raptors may already visit, or all the other colorful singing birds that had always been here, and that Hyde Park residents have come to love. Apparently no one considered the effect these big raptors would have on our small birds; falcons are flashy, covered in the news, but doves and starlings are not.

Additionally, the probable construction of the Obama Presidential Library in one or both of our largest parks, Washington and Jackson, will be a further major blow to our remaining birds, including any clusters of monk parakeets that seek refuge there; such shortsightedness can’t be easily reversed later.

Now, what can we do to salvage these local bird populations?

Karen Bradley is a University alumna (A.M. ’89).

GR ADUATE STUDENTAT-L ARGE INFORMATION SESSIONS Join us to learn how you

UPCOMING DATES

can take one or more undergraduate or grad-

MONDAY, MAY 11, 2015 12–1 PM; HM 151

uate courses across campus as a GSAL student to bridge your undergraduate experience to a graduate or professional degree program.

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015 4–5 PM; CL 111 MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 12–1 PM; HM 151 TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2015 4–5 PM; CL 111 TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 4–5 PM; CL 111

RSVP to gsalinfo@uchicago.edu Please indicate which session you would like to attend. Pizza and soft drinks will be served.

ARTS

What is art?

MAY 8, 2015

FOTA’s Springfest celebrates student art in bloom

Festival of the Arts’s annual Springfest is coming to a close. The RSO’s big week featured the work of student artists, both providing the funding and creating the space for their creativity to be showcased. The week opened with a chic launch party at Reynolds Club, with RSO performances, a fashion show, and the presentation of some of the new works, and concluded with a performance from Ira Glasshole, a rapping jazz quintet. Events included a studio open house in Logan with Valeria Contreras’s comic books and a popup bakery by Rachel Sally, a comedy night with Occam’s Razor and Commedia, and an eclectic RSO performance evening. If you missed the events, don’t stress! You didn’t miss the whole week. It’s easy to peruse exhibitions of student work along the walls of the Reg, in McCormick Lounge at Reynolds, and in Logan’s Café and second-floor lounge. Join in with the concluding festivities tonight at The Promontory and catch DJ Nu Lucas, The Board, CJEP, student art, and delicious food.

Friday, May 8, doors open at 7:30 p.m., $10.

–Evangeline Reid

Top: UChicago Experiences by Diane Lee. Left: Paintings

by Alice Xiao. Right: Urban Sketches by Cecilia Resende.

YEO BI CHOI | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Art imitates life science in the installation pieces of David Brooks Darren Wan Staff Writer You would hardly expect to learn about biology when hearing an artist speak. Yet that was where installation artist David Brooks commenced his lecture in the Performance Penthouse at the Logan Center this past Monday. Touted in his introduction as “an explorer of material culture,” Brooks drew creative inspiration from his travels through South America with a group of ichthyologists, ornithologists, and herpetologists.

He characterized the Amazon as a place of mystery and escape, a view popularized in the Western imagination by the fantastic journeys of Alexander von Humboldt. Yet its signifi-

cance endures to this day: “It really is an organic abyss where biologists have not yet reached a plateau in biodiversity studies.”

With enough energy to be mistaken for an evolutionary biologist, Brooks used the example of the armored catfish of the family Loricariidae to describe how geologic and evolutionary factors have created that unique ecosystem.

However, there is a method to the madness of an artist displaying such deep knowledge of biology. Brooks introduced the topic of art by talking about Preserved Forest, his installation at MoMA PS1 in New York.

He claimed that this piece was directly inspired by the Interoceanic Highway cutting across Brazil and Peru. “This mega-

infrastructural level of construction, in my mind, is almost like paving the Amazon,” he said of the project, which bisects large tracts of rainforest. For the installation, Brooks planted South American trees and plants procured in Florida on an earthen hill within the museum to represent “a remnant forest.”

He then covered the greenery with concrete “to entomb, almost to drown, but also to preserve the entire forest.”

What was most fascinating about Preserved Forest was that it was still alive and never unchanging: “With the very fragile traces embedded within the concrete, there’s really a fossilization, and a crystallization, but also a decomposition, all happening simultaneously.”

Branches break off and fall, exposing living matter to moisture in the air and allowing trees to regrow. “This subverts the stasis of a monumental sculpture, since here was something that’s meant to change over time.”

What is so powerful about Brooks’s work is his interpretation of art as a mutable entity, challenging the viewer’s idea of what art constitutes.

Brooks’s other works include Still Life with Stampede and Guano, a traveling piece in which mundane statues of animals are covered in bird droppings. A Proverbial Machine in the Garden, located at Storm King Arts Center, features a tractor buried underground, visible through steel grates covering exposed, unearthed

sections of the work. A work entitled Lonely Loricariidae, shown at Art Basel in 2014, displays the five unclassified South American catfish with which Brooks was enamored.

It captures not only the intrigue of trade within the high-end aquarium industry, but also the failures of taxonomic classifications, as the species exhibited have yet to be fully described by biologists.

Desert Rooftops was installed in the heart of New York City.

In the piece, shingled rooftops evoke the banalities of suburbia, with interpretive signs about desertification situated on the side designed in the style of National Park Service signs.

What is unique about many of Brooks’s pieces is a conscious

element of sustainability. Desert Rooftops, for instance, was designed to make disassembly easy. All materials were then given to Habitat for Humanity, allowing real rooftops to be constructed. Even in Preserved Forest, the vast quantity of concrete was ultimately recycled.

“It takes a cumbersome and suffocating amount of material to create a visceral portrait of the situation, so it’s important that it continues on to have a life after that,” Brooks said. And that is what is so compelling about Brooks. He is an artist who not only challenges the boundaries of art itself, but is also aware of environmental and ecological concerns that plague today’s world of consumption and excess.

Django Django is unreined, suffers from Second Album Syndrome Miriam Benjamin Arts Contributor Dave Maclean, Django Django’s drummer/producer, has one of the better curated Twitter accounts out there. He often posts YouTube links to albums he’s listening to that day, and they’re usually ones that most people would only find digging around in the “used” crates at record stores. Just in the last few weeks, he’s linked his followers to a live album by Jackie Mittoo (a Jamaican keyboardist), Joy Division’s Peel Sessions, ’60s American rock band The James Gang’s James Gang Rides Again, Sex Pistols’ manager Malcolm McLaren’s Duck Rock, and an album by British electronic producer Lone.

Of course, Maclean isn’t

the only member of Django Django. There are three other members: Vincent Neff sings and plays guitar, Jimmy Dixon is on bass, and Tommy Grace is a “synth operator” (that alone says something about Django Django—there are probably no other indie guitar bands with a member who holds that title).

Their tastes are equally eclectic, encompassing everything from Ethiopian folk and post-punk to psychedelic rock. How can people with such diversity in their influences and no clear genre preference decide what they want their music to sound like?

How do you determine which track begs a four-to-the-floor disco beat, which song needs an injection of soul, where the bongos need to come in? When you know so much music, how do

you incorporate all your influences into a cohesive sound for a single album?

The main thing Django Django’s second album, Born Under Saturn, has going for it is its distinct sound—no doubt owing to the combination of these myriad influences. From the smooth synth intro to “First Light” that spirals into a thumping beat, to the popping-bubble noise on “Vibrations,” to a jazzy keyboard line on “Pause Repeat,” Born Under Saturn sees Django Django pushing itself to combine new sounds with old favorites. Best of all, the songs on Born Under Saturn rarely lose their hooks—even underneath the bongos and the tambourines and the scrapers, there’s an irresistibly catchy melody.

The same thing was true for

their self-titled debut album, which was nominated for the 2012 Mercury Prize. “Default,” Django Django’s best song, is hyper-addictive: It worms its way into your head to such an extent that even without listening to it for a few months, I could still bang out the rhythm perfectly.

None of the songs in Born Under Saturn have the hit-single potential of “Default,” and the album does have a longer total running time than their previous effort—56 minutes versus 48. This is where the myriad influences turn into a problem: Django Django stuffs Born Under Saturn a little too full. Although each of the 13 tracks is diverse and interesting on its own, stringing 13 of them together is a little hard on the listener—each track demands

your full attention, but it’s pretty damn hard to drop everything and listen intently for 56 minutes. At around the eleventh track, my mind started to wander. I had the same problem listening to Django Django’s lengthy self-titled release; to an unflattering degree, Born Under Saturn follows the same template. It’s a classic case of Second Album Syndrome, in which bands attempt to create replicas of their (successful) debut album: Born Under Saturn has the same number of tracks, the same ratio of slow to fast songs, and there are no significant changes to the band’s overall sound.

Django Django is, in many ways, comparable to Alt-J: Both bands released albums in 2012 that have been nominated for

the Mercury Prize (Alt-J won), both have been pegged as Radiohead-wannabes (valid in Alt-J’s case), and both released second albums with the exact same format as their debuts. Just like Alt-J’s This Is All Yours, Born Under Saturn could have been released as an extension of Django Django’s first album—perhaps the second half of a double LP—and I wouldn’t have batted an eye.

The musical diversity within Django Django’s songs is still bewitching; it’s just the compilation of them that dilutes their strength. Thankfully, the digital age has a solution: cherry-pick the catchiest numbers of Born Under Saturn and throw them into a playlist titled “For When You Get Tired of Django Django.”

THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | May 08, 2015

WHO’S THE MVP?

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

TABBETHA BOHAC

SOFTBALL: BOHAC CONCLUDES STELLAR CAREER

Fourth-year Tabbetha Bohac led the softball team to 10 of its 25 wins in 2014.

COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS

Ahmad Allaw Associate Sports Editor On the diamond, the day is cool and the breeze refreshing. When the batter steps out of the box, though, beads of sweat quickly form on her forehead. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. It’s hot. She knows it’s hot. But she regains her composure and re-enters the box, digging her feet into the ground.

The pitcher winds up to throw, and the batter sees the pitch with incredible clarity. Her front foot moves up and her bat drops back.

She violently torques her body to meet the pitch with the perfect swing. It’s flawless. But all she hears is the crash of the ball against the mitt. She can’t handle the heat. No one can.

Chicago fourth-year Tabbetha Bohac, atop the

mound, is unhittable.

Such has been the story for much of the last two years. In 2014, Bohac, pitching 91 1/3 innings, held batters to a .217 average and guided the softball team to 10 of its 25 wins.

On the year, she finished with a 2.22 ERA, six complete games, and allowed just one run or fewer in 12 matches. In one of her careerdefining games, Bohac struck out 16 batters in a 10-inning win against Lake Park.

What has separated Bohac from the rest is her versatility. In addition to her role on the mound, she commonly started at second base, spraying the ball over the field with her bat and leading the team with her defense. But Bohac’s contributions go far beyond the numbers.

Above all else, she is a leader, which is something her teammates know quite well.

“Tab will always and forever be the heart of this team. On the field, she leads by example, whether it’s through making plays when the game is on the line, or pushing through injuries to do her best for the team. Tab is our number one supporter, and every one of us knows that Tab will have our back even when it’s been a rough go. I, and the team, are going to miss the heck out of Tab. We’re going to miss her challenging us to a random game of basketball, we’re going to miss her chugging a Mountain Dew before practice, we’re going to miss her high-fives, we’re going to miss her advice when we most need it, we’re going to miss her spontaneity and love for life, we’re going to miss her singing ‘Leave the Night On’ or some other country song. Basically, we’re going to miss everything about Tabbetha,” third-year shortstop and catcher Kristin Lopez said eloquently.

For all her contributions on the diamond, Bohac has had no shortage of success in her other extracurricular and academic pursuits.

A double major in Biology and Chemistry, Bohac is a Dean’s List student, and has been a four-year lab group member. She also served as President of the Women’s Athletic Association and was a member of Benzene (the University’s undergraduate chemistry society), the Maroon Key Society, the Body Project, Athlete Ambassadors, and Senior Gift. Clearly, Bohac has been a major force on campus. As Lopez explains, “I honestly don’t know how she’s able to do all the things she does, but I also know that no one but Tab could do them.“ Bohac’s long list of accomplishments is only set to grow. After graduation, she will attend Washington University in St. Louis for a chemistry Ph.D. program. Her years at Chicago, however, will never be lost on her.

As Tabbetha says, “I chose UChicago for the academics—it is an awesome school—but it has also been great to be able to still participate in athletics here as well. Chicago athletics is truly a family and I will miss everyone. My teammates are some of my best friends here and I don’t know what I’ll do without them.

The advice I would give would be follow your passions, have fun and don’t get caught up in the little things.”

Senior Day features doubleheader vs. Bears Baseball Michael Cheiken & Bobby Butler Maroon Staff This past Monday, the Maroons traveled to the thriving metropolis of Verona, WI to take on the fearsome Edgewood Eagles.

Third-year pitcher Nick Watson was the coach’s choice to trot out to the bump on Stampfl Field that glorious afternoon. The South Siders were able to narrowly escape the Wisconsinites en route to a 5–3 victory.

The Maroons were able to open up the scoring in the top of the third inning.

Some small ball and a fateful error by Edgewood second-year shortstop Brodie Engel brought in two runs, both unearned.

Meanwhile, Watson continued to contain the Edgewood batters.

In the fifth inning, Chicago was able to add on another run when fourth-year Kyle Engel crossed home plate. Fourth-year Will Katzka stroked one down the thirdbase line and registered the RBI. The Eagles, however, retaliated in kind.

In the bottom half of the inning, they drove in a run and followed it up with a second in the bottom of the sixth. The lead was cut to 3–2. After Watson closed out the inning, the Maroon hurler made way

for fourth-year Andrew VanWazer.

The new man on the mound pitched a very clean seventh inning, and by the time he made it back onto the field, the Maroons had provided him with another two runs, padding the lead and going up to 5–2.

VanWazer was a bit wild in the eighth, and after putting men on first and second, the Maroons opted to send fourth-year Simon Swanson to the mound. The Eagles could only muster a single run against Swanson.

Thereafter, Edgewood was shut down by closer first-year Michael Davis, who was able to register his first save of the season.

Other Maroon players played admirably as well. The Maroons’ top hitter, Engel, eclipsed a .500 batting average for the year.

After the game on Monday, he sported a DIII-best .504 batting average. The impressive statistics and his nation-leading 25 doubles earned him a spot on the d3baseball.com Team of the Week.

Reflecting on his experience over the past four years, Engel commented, “I’m excited to play on Saturday. Our games with Wash U are always good games so it will be a nice way to end the season and my time here on the team. Saturday is also Senior Day, so I’m looking forward to having my family and friends at the game in

7

support. Playing baseball here at Chicago has been a great experience overall and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to end my career. It’s going to be fun playing my final games against a good opponent, with great teammates, and with my family and friends at the game in support.”

This win was a great way to catapult the team into its upcoming three-game date with Wash U. The Bears are strong this year, boasting an impressive 30–14 record.

Both clubs are looking to end their season on a strong note. The Maroons hope to send the Bears home with what will still be a nice record, but a bitter ending to the season.

On the home side, this season has been an uphill struggle the whole way through.

The South Siders went 2–10 during March and have been trying to claw their way back ever since. They broke .500 this Monday for the first time since March 21.

Competition with Wash U kicks off this weekend on Friday at 3:00 p.m. Saturday’s games are at 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively. Saturday will represent the program’s Senior Day, an event that coincides with the Order of the C’s annual Sausage Fest, in which food and drink will be provided during the double header.

with Andrew VanWazer

Earlier this week, the NBA awarded the title of Most Valuable Player to Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. The 27-year-old point guard collected 100 of the 130 first-place votes after leading his team in scoring en route to the best record in the NBA (67–15). But the second and third leading vote recipients, James Harden and LeBron James, respectively, also produced incredible stats while leading their respective teams to high seeds in the playoffs.

So why did the 130 writers who decide on the award choose Curry in such an overwhelming fashion?

Looking purely at the numbers, here are the rankings of Curry, Harden, and James in a number of key categories: Points Per Game: James Harden 27.4 LeBron James 25.3 Steph Curry 23.8 Rebounds Per Game: LeBron James 6.0 James Harden 5.7 Steph Curry 4.3 Assists Per Game: Steph Curry 7.7 LeBron James 7.4 James Harden 7.0 These numbers may not appear fair because the three players play different positions. If we take a look at more advanced metrics, though, we can draw better apples-to-apples comparisons.

Player Efficiency Rating: Steph Curry 28.0 James Harden 26.7 LeBron James 25.9 Usage Percentage (Percentage of team possessions used by the player): LeBron James 32.3 James Harden 31.3 Steph Curry 28.9 Win Shares (Estimated number of wins contributed by the player): James Harden 16.4 Steph Curry 15.7 LeBron James 10.4 Value Over Replacement Player: Steph Curry 7.9 James Harden 7.8 LeBron James 5.9 From these figures, we can see that Curry was the most “efficient” and the most “valuable” player from a statistical basis. However, the Cavaliers decided that LeBron was their best offensive option over 32 percent of the time. Meanwhile, James Harden helped the Rockets win more games than *any* player did for his team in the NBA. All in all, even with these new complex metrics, there is no clear-cut statistical method or number that can determine MVP status. One could make the argument that LeBron is clearly the MVP, seeing that the Cavaliers won 20 more games than they did without him last year. Similarly, whereas Stephen Curry has top-10 scorer Klay Thompson beside him, James Harden is by far the number one threat on his team, scoring about 27 percent of the Rockets’ points this year.

So why was Curry such a dominant selection in the eyes of the voters? The answer: hype. There is a level of bias associated with the hysteria behind Curry. Not only did Curry put up amazing numbers, but he also did it with style. Two of his defining plays were against the Clippers, one in which he made Chris Paul fall down after a few dribbling moves. The fact that Curry’s ankle-breaking skills made some of the most “replayed” and “GIFed” plays this season definitely helped his cause. Additionally, it would be boring to hand LeBron his fifth MVP award, and it wouldn’t be as good of a story to hand Harden the trophy as it is to see the 6 foot kid out of Davidson turn out to be an NBA MVP. We can’t blame Curry for being on a team with talent around him, but it begs the question: is he really the most “valuable” player in the league then? Maybe, maybe not. But one thing is for certain: Curry is the best player on the best team in the NBA. Maybe we just need to not take the wording of Most “Valuable” Player so literally.

SPORTS

IN QUOTES “God said I’m gonna make me a perfect basketball player...I’m gonna give him everything but a full head of hair ” – Charles Barkley comments on Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lebron James’ lone fault

Stagg Courts to host Regionals this weekend

HOCKEY FEATURE

Women’s Tennis

A look into some of the hottest NHL players so far these playoffs:

Fourth-year Maggie Schumann returns a ball at a practice game earlier this season.

COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS

David Kerr Maroon Staff The Maroons’ plans for a deep run in the NCAA DIII tournament kick off this Saturday at Stagg Courts, as Chicago hosts the first round of the Women’s Tennis regional tournament. The South Siders will be joined by Carnegie Mellon, Augustana, Edgewood, St. Norbert, and St. Thomas (MN), each of which is aiming to be the team that moves on to the quarterfinals.

The excitement is mounting for Chicago as they get set to host regionals and shoot for a strong postseason run. The Maroons are lucky to start the tournament in familiar territory with friendly fans cheering them on. Look for them to use their home court advantage and first-round bye to give them a leg up in the tournament.

First-year Courtney Warren is particularly looking forward to the opportunity to host regionals. “We are very excited to start the playoffs especially because we are hosting,” she said. “We can’t wait to com-

pete on our home courts and hopefully draw some fans.”

Chicago wi ll have a bye, sending it automatically into the second round where the Maroons will play the winner of the Augustana (IL) vs. Edgewood matchup.

Augustana and Edgewood come into the matchup with 23–8 and 18–10 records, respectively. This is not their first time playing each other this season; Augustana dominated the first matchup 9–0 on its home court.

On the opposite side of the bracket, Carnegie Mellon will play the winner of the St. Thomas (MN) vs. St. Norbert matchup.

St. Thomas enters the tournament with an 18–2 record while St. Norbert enters with a 24–7 record. The Maroons will look to use their bye as an opportunity to scout their potential opponents and look for strengths and weaknesses.

Playing fresh, new opponents is always a challenge, and the South Siders will have to make the necessary adjustments to remain successful. Warren added that this is the Maroons’ biggest obstacle. “We haven’t played either team at all this year so I think our biggest challenge is to adapt to whatever these teams throw at us.”

This trial is compounded by the quality of the teams that are playing in the NCAA tournament. Every team that has made the tournament has proven with its record and body of work that it is worthy of playing in the NCAA tournament.

If you think the Maroons are going to lie down and avoid the adversity, think again.

Warren added confidently, “I think everyone is definitely up for the challenge.”

While there are certainly a lot of new challenges being thrown at the South Siders, their approach should stay the same.

The Maroons will try to keep high energ y across all courts, compete, and give their best in every match. Chicago has had tremendous success throughout the season with its winning formula, and hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The Maroons play their first match this Saturday at 2 p.m. at Stagg Courts against the winner of Augustana vs. Edgewood.

Maroons kick off postseason at UW-Whitewater Men’s Tennis Emmett Rosenbaum Maroon Staff After an extremely impressive showing at the UAA championships two weeks ago, the No. 8-ranked Maroons have been selected to play in the NCAA DIII Championships this weekend. The squad enters as the No. 1 seed and has a bye for the first round. Chicago will face off against the winner of the Coe vs. Grinnell match in the second round.

Regardless of the outcome of the match, this year can only be viewed as a success for the South Siders. The team finished the regular season with a 14–4 record, enough to secure a spot in the UAA championships. There, the Maroons bested No. 12 Case Western, and after narrowly falling to No. 2 Emory, beat No. 10 Carnegie Mellon handily to secure third place and raise their overall record to 16–5 for the year.

The performance earned them a selection to the NCAA tournament. That, however,

isn’t changing the way the team approaches these upcoming matches.

“We are coming into the NCAA tournament with a lot of confidence coming off our third-place finish, where we beat two top-12 teams in the country,” said thirdyear Gordon Zhang. “We are going with our same routine in practice and making sure we are in the best shape possible for this weekend.”

Since this has been the best year that the men’s tennis team has had in recent memory, there is a lot of anticipation going into the tournament. Bolstered by younger players’ terrific seasons, the team earned three All-UAA First Team selections, and firstyear Nicolas Chua was voted as the UAA Rookie of the Year. The future looks very bright for this young Chicago team.

The tournament will be a first for the team, as none of its members have made it there in the past. However, they are not letting that distract them from their goal.

While the competition will undoubtedly be

fierce, the Maroons are looking at a slew of familiar faces on the other side of the net.

“This weekend we are most likely going to play familiar opponents, which include Coe in the second round and either Gustavus [Adolphus] or Whitewater in the third round,” Zhang said. “We have beaten all three teams this season already so I do not think the mentality will change. We feel confident but at the same time, we have to prepare for a battle every single match because every team is very good.”

This confidence and experience bodes well for the team, whose members will be venturing into uncharted territory and looking to make a name for themselves .

Zhang said, “We are all extremely excited for the opportunity and we know as a team we can do a lot of damage.”

The Maroons’ second round match will be at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. If they win, the third round match will be held on Sunday at noon.

with Ruslan Shchetinin

TYLER JOHNSON CM – Tampa Bay Lightning Quickly redirecting a pass from teammate Victor Hedman, Johnson gave the Tampa Bay home crowd a 2–1 victory in Game 3, putting the Lightning in a perfect position to sweep the Montreal Canadiens.

The magic of that goal? It happened with only 1.1 seconds left in the game. Johnson came up clutch yet again. The young player, who originally went undrafted and was told he was too small to play in the NHL, now leads all playoff participants in game-winning goals with three. Steven Stamkos may be quiet these playoffs, with only one goal throughout two series so far, but Johnson is more than making up for it.

The 24-year-old, 5’8” Johnson is currently leading the NHL with eight playoff goals.

PATRICK KANE RW – Chicago Blackhawks Of course. How could he not make it onto this list? Ten weeks ago, news broke that Kane was due to be out for 12 weeks.

Five weeks ago, Kane came back anyway.

Though his return was earlier than expected, he has netted 11 points so far through the playoffs, with six goals and five assists.

Kane has scored four goals going into Thursday’s play in the Blackhawks’ series against the Minnesota Wild, as many as the Wild have in total in the three games, all of which were Chicago victories.

COREY PERRY RW – Anaheim Ducks Not only are the Anaheim Ducks dominating, but Corey Perry is leading the NHL playoffs with 14 points as of Thursday morning. It didn’t take long for Perry to start his hot run; he scored four points in the very first game of the Ducks’ postseason, a win over the now-fallen Winnipeg Jets. After Anaheim breezed through Winnipeg, Corey Perry put up four points again, this time in the first game of the Ducks’ second round, a win against the Calgary Flames. Talk about a man who knows how to open a series—Mr. Game One now has six goals and eight assists, leading the Ducks to their relentless 6–1 run so far in these playoffs.

BRADEN HOLTBY G – Washington Capitals Braden Holtby’s unbelievable play is leaving the President’s Trophy-winning New York Rangers confused, frustrated, and down 3–1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Rangers have been dominating play but just can’t seem to buy one against Washington goaltender Holtby.

Holtby came up huge in Game 4, stopping a penalty shot against Carl Hagelin in the third period to allow his Washington Capitals to finish the game up 2–1.

Holtby leads all active playoff goaltenders with a superb 1.48 goals against average and a .95 save percentage. Thanks to him, the Capitals are just one classic Alexander Ovechkin performance or another stellar Holtby game away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.