ChicagoMaroon011916

JANUARY 19, 2016

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

EUChicago Hopes to Promote European Policy Research

See Through Stigma Week Raises Awareness of Mental and Physical Disabilities

BY HILLEL STEINMETZ MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

BY ANNIE GUO NE W S STAFF

This Monday marked the beginning of the inaugural See Through Stigma Week: four days of events dedicated to raising awareness of mental and physical disability.

The week is the result of a collaboration between two campus RSOs, Axis and Active Minds. Active Minds is a nation-wide mental health organization whose UChicago chapter was started and is currently run by fourth-year Madeline Klinger.

Axis is a community service RSO dedicated to raising awareness of and changing the perceptions surrounding both mental and physical disability. Axis brings discussion about disability to campus through teach-ins and lectures. Its philanthropic arm sends UChicago students to volunteer with students receiving special education services at local elementary schools. The RSO was founded by and is co-led by fourth-year Grace Koh and third-year Alita Carbone.

The goal of the week is partly to create dialogue about disability and also to break through the stigmas associated with mental and physical disability.

The events will try to increase recognition of how notions of disability may defi ne and affect someone, and then reinforce the belief that people have a right to shape their own identities.

“One of the biggest issues facing young people today is the stigma surrounding disability, mental health, and other differences. I want this week to encourage people to ask for help if they need it, to cherish being different, but to also know that it is your right to identify in the manner of your choosing,” Carbone said.

One of the ways in which they aim to facilitate dialogue is through the Polaroid Project, Continued on Page 2

Karyn Peyton | The Chicago Maroon

Pastrami, pumpernickel, beer-braised onion, and pickled green tomato dumplings topped with violet mustard at Packed on 57th Street.

Packed Sells out of Dumplings by 6PM on Opening Day

BY BEN ANDREW NEWS STAFF

Packed, a new Hyde Park r e st au r a nt s er v i ng u nc onventional dumplings, finally opened its doors on Friday at 11 a.m., after initially planning to open at the end of this summer. By 6 p.m. that evening, the restaurant ran out of food and had to close for the night. “ We ran through what we thought we would run through in two days,” restaurant cofounder Aaron DiMaria said.

DiMaria and Mike Sheerin, the head chef at Packed, initially planned to open the restaurant at the end of last summer. However, the owners ran into difficulties renovating the building and acquiring per-

mits from the city, according to DiMaria.

The counter-service restaurant is located on 57th Street in the former location of Edwardo’s Pizza, a space leased from the University of Chicago.

Sheerin, a Bronzeville resident, said that he wanted to open a restaurant in Hyde Park to bring more creative, high-quality, and affordable food to the South Side.

Sheerin is known for his work at other Chicago restaurants such as Blackbird, Trencherman, and Embeya.

“I thought food was very creative, but it could use some fine tuning. However, the food was reasonably priced and it has a nice atmosphere,” third-year Continued on Page 2

New Student-Run Podcast to Showcase Student Narratives

BY ALESSANDRA LEONG MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

A group of students in the College began work this quarter on The Attic, a new student-produced podcast that will feature personal narratives and unconventional storytelling.

The biweekly podcast will consist of readings related to each episode’s theme. Student submissions are selected for each podcast that will be read aloud by hosts,

authors, or voice actors.

The organization, currently applying for RSO status, is in the early stages of development. While the details of production are still being determined, the group has received an encouraging number of submissions according to its founders, second-year Wyatt Bland and first-year Margaret Glazier.

The Attic will focus on promoting pieces written by UChicago Continued on Page 2

UChicago Maya’s Kaleidoscope Dazzles in Theater West

Viewpoints highlights new and old pieces focused on black identity following Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

BY XIN SUI MARO O N CO NTRI BUTOR

A talk Monday evening by public policy researcher Tom Mortenson examined the effects of public policy on low-income students’ access to higher education.

Mortenson was invited to speak by the Socioeconomic Diversity Alliance (SDA) at the University of Chicago. The event was originally scheduled for November 30, but was postponed due to a shooting threat that shut down classes and most campus events.

Mortenson is a senior scholar at The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education in Washington, D.C. and an independent higher education policy analyst. The goal of his research is to aid traditionally underrepresented populations in higher education, including low-income, first-generation, and minority students.

“The price of higher education is going up at the same time that family income is going down,” Mortenson said in the beginning of

The women’s basketball team traveled to Pittsburgh and Cleveland this past weekend.

Satchmo presents fresh take on American icon Page 6 Court Theater’s Satchmo at the Waldorf stars Barry Shabaka Henley as Louis Armstrong.

Ertl said that the RSO would help students become involved in policy research. Its potential affi liation with European Horizons would allow students to share their research with a larger audience and publish in the think tank’s twice-annual journal, the Review of European and Transatlantic Affairs.

“For this chapter, it would mostly mean that if people are doing research and they think they did something really interesting and they want to share it, that they would be able to share through the think tank channels, and then perhaps get it published,” Ertl said.

Presently, EUChicago is working on creating research cohorts for a variety of topics affecting the European Union, including national identity and international security. The coContinued on Page 2

Socioeconomic Diversity Alliance Hosts Speaker on Access to Higher Education

Backpage

The show featured 17 performances envisioned by eight choreographers.

Pages 3–4

Second-year College student Jan Ertl is leading efforts to create an RSO called EUChicago, which would encourage students to fi nd solutions to policy issues within the European Union.

The RSO would function as the campus chapter of European Horizons, a student-led policy think tank established at Yale University in February 2015.

About 70 students have expressed interest in EUChicago as indicated by subscription to its listhost, and Ertl hopes that

by February it will be granted RSO status. The Committee on Recognized Student Organizations reviews applications from student groups during winter quarter and decides which will receive RSO status during eighth week.

Chicago Goes 1-1 on the Road

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MLK Day Celebration

VOL. 127, ISSUE 21

his speech. He then exhibited data from his research and noted the gaps that exist in access to higher education in the United States.

Only about 34 percent of high school graduates from families that earn less than $10,000 per year enroll in college, while 83 percent of high school graduates from families that earn more than $150,000 per year enroll in college.

Mortenson’s data demonstrates significant inequity between low-income and high-income students who enroll in college.

“The education pipeline is hemorrhaging low-income kids; they’re just falling out of the system,” he said.

His statistics also point to the financial barriers to postsecondary education that remain for the poor. From 1987 to 2014, the upper limits for family income declined for both the bottom income quartile and the middle income quartile, rising only for the top income quartile.

Mortenson noted that as states reduce their fiscal support Continued on Page 2

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All rights reserved. © The Chicago Maroon 2015

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2016

“I want this week to encourage people to ask for help if they need it.”

University Remembers Trustee Kathryn Gould, 65

BY BRANDON LEE ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Continued from front

for which students can stop by Reynolds Club anytime between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Tuesday–Thursday to take Polaroid pictures of themselves and label them with how they are feeling.

The Polaroids will then be displayed on a poster board for public viewing.

The fi rst event of the week will be a lecture and discussion on Hidden Disability at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Jason Harris, the 26-year-old College of Mount St. Joseph graduate and co-founder of Jason’s Connection, an online resource for friends, family, and individuals with disabilities, will be speaking about his experiences with Asperger’s syndrome.

A Resource Fair from 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. on Wednesday is designed to showcase the resources available on campus to

support mental and physical disabilities. Members from a variety of RSOs and health organizations such as Health Promotion and Wellness and Resources for Sexual Violence Prevention will be present.

Discussion concerning mental health and how to help friends who are dealing with difficult experiences will take place Thursday evening after a showing of The Perks of Being a Wallflower at 7:30 p.m. in Harper 141.

The week will conclude with an Intersectional Social Friday night from 6:30–8:30 p.m. in Bartlett Lounge. This is a chance to meet students who organized the week and discuss mental and physical health in an informal setting.

A ll three presidents expressed hope that See Through Stigma Week will recur annually and grow in the future.

New student podcast is a “platform for all stories to be heard” Continued from front

students. The organization aims to increase appreciation of intimate pieces ranging from creative writing to nonfiction narratives from all facets of student life on campus.

As a self-proclaimed “platform for all stories to be heard,” it is dedicated to preserving the art of storytelling.

“We are filling in a space of the University. There are a lot of students who do not know where to turn with their work. We have so many different RSOs that I think The Attic is something fresh and different to do with creative writing or personal stories,” Glazier said.

“A big purpose of ours is to display these works. We want to keep them as much as we can in their original forms,” Bland said.

The idea of the podcast is

rooted in conversation. Bland and Glazier hope that The Attic will serve as a medium for individuals who want to share, engage, and Continued from front respond to matters at hand. for higher education, public in“There are all these stories stitutions increase their tuition tucked away and we want to bring to offset the loss of state backing. them out as curators,” Bland said. According to his figures, the avFirst-year Larkin Smith, a erage tuition and required fees contributor to The Attic, was in public institutions in constant drawn to its relaxed nature. “I dollars skyrocketed from 1964 to thought the phrase, ‘personal 2012, while the mean unmet finarrative through podcast’ was in- nancial need for dependent underteresting and I think that the for- graduates steadily increased for mat opened me up more to share the bottom income quartile from something that is very personal,” 1990 to 2012. she said.

Mortenson, by applying figures Bland and Glazier are enthu- collected by the Organization for siastic about the prospects of The Economic Cooperation and DeAttic as it evolves to serve the needs of the University of Chicago community. Podcasts will be available on SoundCloud and iTunes after production.

Continued from front

for CEO and vice president levels.

In 1995, Gould founded Foundation Capital, which manages more than $2.4 billion in investment capital and has invested in over 200 ventures, including Netflix, during its early days.

Even in retirement Gould found ways to start anew and fostered a variety of passions and interests. A private pilot, artist, and amateur violinist, Gould purchased a small ranch located in Springville, CA in 2009 and founded Battle Mountain Vineyard, developing premium Cabernet Sauvignon wine.

“I often walk among my grapevines and think how grateful I am for my life right now. But, if the vines had come first without the adventure and hard work, it wouldn’t be nearly as sweet,” Gould said during her speech. “But it’s not over yet because the Cabernet is really good!”

Gould is survived by her son, Alex Gould, and husband, Allen Stewart, who support the Kathryn Gould Sarcoma Research Fund through the V Foundation, a health charity that specifically funds cancer research.

“The price of higher education is going up”

“We ran through what we thought we would run through in 2 days” Sean Colin-Ellerin said. Colin-Ellerin went to Packed on Saturday night.

Third-year Charlotte Yarboro, who also visited Packed on Saturday, said, “ It was pretty good, but not the right pr ice point for the quality.

Packed certainly has creative f lair, you can’t fault them for that.”

The menu at Packed currently includes Peking duck, butternut squash, meatball, short rib, and pastrami dumplings. However, this selection will change seasonally because the restaurant sources the majority of its ingredients locally.

Its website lists farms in Indiana, Illinois, and southwest Wisconsin as partners. The restaurant is also committed

A 2014 blog post titled “Pioneering Women in Venture Capital” called Kathryn Gould (M.B.A. ’78) a Silicon Valley trailblazer. “She was twice as smart and just as tough as the guys,” said tech entrepreneur and author of the blog, Steve Blank.

Gould died of cancer on November 26, 2015. A trustee of the University since 2002, she served as chair of the Investment Committee from 2006 to 2010. She earned a 90 percent internal rate of return, or rate of growth, throughout her investing career, distinguishing herself as one of the most accomplished venture capitalists in the field.

As one of the first female venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, Gould was also one of the first female co-founders of a venture capital firm. Throughout her career, she took unconventional risks that allowed her front-row access to new trends and opportunities in technology.

“Most people thought I was nuts.

I had no idea what I was doing—

just that I had to be [in Silicon Valley], and in a start-up,” Gould said in her 2014 commencement speech to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Passing up offers from Intel, Tandem, and Apple, Gould quickly rose to the position of vice president of marketing at a small, 20-person company then known as Relational Software, Inc. That company became Oracle Corporation, an American global computer technology company that specializes in developing and marketing computer hardware and software products.

After leaving Oracle, Gould searched for new start-ups and realized that she loved looking for a job despite her dissatisfaction with the companies themselves.

“I liked meeting people, hearing the company plans, learning about their technology, figuring out if it was for real—all that was fun.

How could I do that for a living?”

Gould said during her speech, as she described the beginnings of her own executive search firm aimed at identifying new start-ups. She was quickly recognized as one of the best recruiters in the Valley

to serving at least 90 percent organic ingredients, and 100 percent non-GMO ingredients, according to DiMaria.

As part of its focus on ecof r iend ly prac t ices , Packed composts all food scraps and serviceware, and converts its fryer oil into biofuel. This commitment to ethical practices inspired the restaurant’s decor, which features photographs of the farms where it sources its ingredients. “ I would challenge every restaurant to show us where they’re getting their ingredients at,” DiMaria said.

Packed is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays. It will offer delivery soon, according to its website.

velopment, demonstrated that European countries such as Iceland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, and Poland are all increasing their nations’ attainment rates of university-level degrees at higher rates than the United States. “We’re failing in our public policy choices. The European nations are positioning themselves to succeed while we’re not,” he said.

He also outlined his recommendations for restoring college affordability and reversing what he called a regressive social policy agenda. His recommendations in-

cluded federal-state partnerships for financing the Pell Grant program, college work-study for all students, income-based student loan repayment, admissions lotteries for class-selective Title IV institutions, and rigorous evaluation of all financial aid programs for effectiveness.

“This labor market is absolutely brutal. It’s really hard to do well without post-secondary education.

Being honest and hardworking is still essential, but it’s not enough anymore. You need post-secondary education,” Mortenson said.

RSO Would Function as Campus Chapter of European Horizons

Continued from front

horts, which will be led by both graduate and undergraduate students, will conduct research by analyzing fundamental documents and modern academic papers.

EUChicago is also planning to host events in spring quarter in partnership with other RSOs to raise awareness of European policy issues.

Michal Rajski, a second-year in the College, was particularly excited about the initiative’s academic component.

“I think this is a great opportunity for me, and for UChicago in general, to learn more about European affairs,” he said.

Ertl, an international student from Germany, was originally uninterested in studying policy issues when he enrolled in the College. He became more invested in European affairs last year when he felt that Pegida, an anti-Islamic organization

that staged protests throughout Germany, threatened to foster intolerance in his home country.

Ertl was also motivated to lead this initiative due to admiration for the European Union’s mission to create a transnational political entity.

“I do think the success or failure of the European Union

is crucial because its success or failure will determine future attempts at international organizations,” Ertl said. “The European Union is also very relevant in the U.S., not just as its prime economic partner or even ally in most other affairs, but also in the sense that U.S. Americans are world citizens as well.”

Christina Cano | The Chicago Maroon

Second-year Jan Ertl speaks at an EUChicago event.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2016

VIEWPOINTS

Teacher, I Need You Institutionalized Racism Prevents Students of Color from Receiving the Education They Deserve

Wei Yi Ow

Call me naive, call me an optimist, but I still strongly believe in the power of a dream.

That something that tugs on

the heart, that desire that won’t fade, that vision we all have of who we can be and what we can offer to the world—it’s

what inspired me to become a teacher three years ago. It’s what keeps me teaching today.

When I boarded the plane

for Houston to take part in Teach for America the day after graduating from the University of Chicago, I was so excited for the chance to be a part of system that equips children with a quality education—one of the most powerful tools out there.

I understood that their knowledge could serve as the key to open doors and the vehicle to new opportunities. It had done exactly that for me.

A s a black g irl g row ing up i n h ist or ic Cha rlest on , SC, the opportunity to dream was nearly stolen from me. In third grade I moved to a new school halfway through the year and was placed in an allblack classroom. In that room there were some kids coloring instead of reading, others were talking, and yet others sleeping. All this time, the teacher was paying no attention and sitting at her desk. I wondered, “Why aren’t we doing anything in class? A re the other kids learning? Are the other teachers teaching?”

My stay in that first classroom didn’t last long. A few days later I was pulled out and put into what I would later come to understand was the “Gifted and Talented” classroom. This was because my mother advocated for me and made a phone call that triggered the change to this more challenging and monitored atmosphere. In this new classroom, nobody looked like me. There were two other black students. For the remainder of my public education, this would continue. Classmates with the same racial identity as me were few and far between.

To this day I am disturbed by the idea that some parents didn’t see the classroom I left behind for what it was. They did not know that their child’s potential had been assessed by the darkness of their skin. For every child who spent the year in that classroom, there was a seed of potential not planted, a dream not watered, a talent not tilled, and a world-changing idea not harvested.

Now, standing at the front of my own classroom, as a teacher for Teach for America, I see what’s possible. This gap between what is and what could be will fuel my passions wherever I go.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has showed us the power of a dream. Every child has the right to receive a quality education that will allow them to live their dreams to the fullest. My students are delving into Langston Hughes’ “ Dreams” and “Dreams Deferred” as well as dissecting Dr. Martin Luther K ing Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. We are discussing our hopes, we are being real about the barriers we face, and we are promising one another that we will never let go of our plans and ambitions. It is our duty to ensure that we help our kids hold fast to their dreams and nurture them. They are, after all, our future.

I s i s S m a l l s i s a 2 012 alumna (A.B. ’12).

Editor’s Note: This article has been edited from the original, which appeared in print on February 26, 2015.

The Audacity to be Black The independent student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892.

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The Word African American Masks the Political Strife and Oppression that Comes with the Word Black “Black is hurt.

Black is pain Black is strong.

Black is Love Worked hard and long Black is deserving Black is unnerving Because it is so Goddamn powerful No matter what side of Blackness you represent Remember Always Black is beautiful.”

—excerpted from B(lack)NESS & LATINI(dad) I remember the first time I was teased for being Black. I was trying to fit in with the

kids—all Mexican—so I wore my mother didn’t meet my father unhair gelled down, but no amount til the 1990s. I’d never felt Ameriof mousse or gel could hide my can. So what was I then? My mom nappy curls. It was my turn to get told me: “You’re Black. There’s no roasted. They threw out the word need to be ashamed of it, it just is Mayate (a slur for Black people) what it is.”

As I began to identify as and laughed at how much product my hair required. I wasn’t “really” Black and Latino, the attempts Mexican like they were. My father to police my identity increased. was Black and my mother Mex- “What do you speak?” “What are ican, so I was something caught your fractions?” “You’re too light!” in between. “Mayate.” The word It seemed as if people could not rang in my ears. For some reason, handle me being both Black and it hurt just like n***er did, but Latino at once. Even worse, my more than that, it threw me into a membership in one group was state of alienation. This word was reneged based on my identificaflung at me from a language that tion with another. Was I African shouldn’t be foreign to me, but is. American or Mexican? I was both So where did I fit in? African and neither. Though I lived in American didn’t feel right. My America, my political and racial mestizo family migrated to the background did not fit the narU.S. in the 20th century and my Continued on Page 4

THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2016

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MLK DAY CELEBRATION “Blackness and Black culture is more often the source of strife for most Black people, not their ‘Americanness.’”

I have found that the term Continued from Page 3 “Black” better represents my porative of the American dream. I realized that my family and so litical beliefs as it has more pomany others were being written tential for political transformainto this dream as afterthoughts tion. More people should have the audacity to be Black—not rather than as real members.

My journey into Blackness re- “African American”—because, vealed to me that being multiracial ultimately, Blackness and Black was something that was far more culture is more often the source common than people realized. of strife for most Black people, not More slaves went to South Amer- their “Americanness.” Blackness ica than the United States during in America is definitely a unique the slave trade. Afro-Latinos are manifestation that deserves its the norm in many places south of own attention. However, the the United States. After reexam- term “Black” mobilizes all people ining my family, I realized there throughout the African diaspora were people with darker skin from and allows us to focus on our our indigenous roots and plenty shared experiences no matter our of other kids with Black par- nationality or geographical locaents—but where was the discus- tion. Additionally, we can focus sion about Blackness? My Brown on the way that racism, white sufamily was forced to take on the premacy, and colonization affect label of white (or “Other”) because all Black people whatever their of the tenacity of the strict Black location.

Black people have been coloand white dichotomy, so parts of nized mentally, physically, and our own ancestry were erased.

culturally for centuries. If we and mask important social and fail to see our connections to our political linkages. Evoking the Black family in Latin America, term “Black” opens up critiques the Caribbean, and other places of nationalism and American throughout the world, we truly exceptionalism. Using the term risk seeing the way anti-Black- “Black” is the conscious decision ness has its roots in most societies to identify exactly how society and how Black people are inten- marks you—as Black, political, tionally forced onto the bottom- and dangerous. Most impormost rungs of society. These is- tantly, the term “Black” diminsues are global. Black Americans ishes the power of nationalist gaining freedom and luxuries at and essentialist/biological conthe expense of Black and Brown structions of race. “Black” points bodies in other countries is not to a tangible history of political equitable and it definitely isn’t a awakening in the midst of oppression and subjugation. In this sign of progress.

We cannot be fooled into the current sociopolitical moment, it illusion of “progress” when so would serve Black people well to many victims are unheard and acknowledge the power of Blackunrecogn ized. When we opt for ness with its historical lens and white supremacist or racist con- fearless critique of the systems ceptions of identity that erase aimed at destroying its constitour Blackness and its primacy uents.

To know I could be Black and in our lives, we allow these oppressive conceptions to control Latino rather than Mexican or our own self-understanding African American would have

aided my early identity crises, and I know so many other people can relate. This conversation in many ways resembles one that could be about being Latino and one’s position in Latinidad, but ultimately, this all goes to make one point: love all parts of yourself and open yourself up to a connection with other people that is radical and (self) affi rming. Take on a Black political identity and make connections that national boundaries attempt to erase because the world is going to mark you as Black and treat you accordingly either way. You might as well learn how amazing identifying as Black can be!

Vincente Perez is a fourthyear in the College double majoring in anthropology and comparative race and ethnic studies.

The Meaning of Black Ferguson is the Catharsis of a Slow-Brewing and Now Wildly Raging Inherited Black Rage Black is the color of Mike Brown’s 292-pound, six-foot-fourinches-tall, strong-boned-yet-stilltoo-fragile-for-the-impact-of-six (or possibly more)-bullets-in-his-nowdead body.

It is the color of my father’s hands, shifty and shaking, reaching for his driver’s license and registration in the glove compartment, as the waiting police officer’s gaze burns shame into the bowed heads of me and my small friend in the backseat of the brand new car like iron-branding marks, reminding us of ancestral betrayals and ancient humiliations. Still too familiar, too close, despite the centuries and the generations that separate us from their legacy in those tense moments. We sit there huddled and ashamed, frozen, like resigned criminals, with our breaths and hands held tight, as Father goes on to sign his non-American name on the dotted lines of the faded pink speeding ticket we know he does not deserve—as if to underline his disgrace, as if to mark ownership of his shame.

A pitch-dark sludge of tar-like silence drips down on us all the way home, with the loud, proudly African music from the stereo now turned off and Dad refusing to take his eyes away from straight ahead of him at the windshield even once—even as I desperately try to catch his eyes in the rearview mirror to let him know, quietly, that I am old enough to tell what’s happened, that I am on his side, and that I still respect him— in spite of the way his hands were shaking so awfully, and in spite of the cruel, sharp stench of his fear accumulating all around us as the police officer had interrogated

him, making him appear somehow even physically smaller right before our eyes, with each uttering of the word “boy” in reference to him—with each skeptical glance at the car’s fresh paint and brandname model.

Black thrust me into a narrative of long suffering—a history of personal struggles.

Black has tucked me in after long days spent overcompensating for who I am, and bathed my feet after months spent trying to outrun her twisted legacy and the societal perceptions that have limbs far more powerful, more swift, than the legs of my individual achievements alone. Black caressed me in her churches and in her buildings when no one else would take me in.

Black taught me to be careful— to look both ways when crossing the streets of apparent progress— lest someone come and drag you back to the depths of your old ranks in an instant, lest someone run up in front of you to force a mirror toward your face and remind you: Black is still black.

For once you are born black, there is no growing up—only growing in. Every year you are encouraged to retreat more and more into yourself and apart from the light of first-class civilization until you are indeed so dark you are nearly invisible, when at last you are finally sterile and safe for the rest of society. But only after you have thoroughly been muted down, pegged a few notches below the normal assuredness, and dimmed to your least vibrant of settings, transforming into a less threatening shade of yourself in

each potentially dangerous situation in exchange for a more pleasant experience of subjugation at best—in exchange for the right to stay living at worst.

Black is a nation 20 years past apartheid yet still decades from equality; it is voting along party lines, not communal benefits; it’s half a lifetime’s worth of jail time for a crime you never committed except through birth; it’s watching your entire village be ravaged in three weeks by a disease whose cure is still so foreign to people like you: black as the night sky in the loneliest of African deserts—in the prism of day-to-day life with skin the color of “outsider.”

It is startled, fallen, shaking Mike Brown at the edge of death; shot one time too many by the hands of an enemy as old as dirt, as dark as time, more dangerous than even the stark white grip of Darren Wilson’s cold hand on the trigger: Black.

Black is knowing this should not be my story to anguish over, my pain to emphasize with, knowing that some forms of grief are collective and raw and persistent, knowing that the alternative to being gunned down isn’t living freely but living quietly, never crossing the wrong stars and finding yourself in the wrong place or the wrong time at one of destiny’s many not-so-color-blind crossroads.

Like the grief-stricken paths of a thousand frozen black mothers, clutching prayer beads and tissue papers tonight, remembering the small dimple, the crooked smile, the tender brow of a child whose fate was aligned with a million crashing black asteroids of inevi-

table destruction, of final torment, from a bullet too strong, too determined, to be deterred by the power of maternal pleading or unwavering belief in the divine alone. And Black is still black. *** Black is in the silence. It is the distanced, detached responses from all those at this University who have not seen the things so many of us have seen, who refuse to be reminded about how Mississippi is still burning; how we are still fleeing from our civil-war legacies in Brooklyn and in Compton, in Chicago and in Detroit; how South Africa is still aching from the weight of upholding its feigned progress; how neglecting the spread of prevaentable diseases is still a form of genocide; and how Ferguson, Missouri is just a bursting microcosm of the ailments replicated all over our society—all over our campuses.

Black is the rising smoke from a burning police car during post-verdict riots in Ferguson. The rioting is our catharsis. It is the pressure-cooked manifestation of all our slow-brewing but now wildly seething anger. It is the phenotypic evidence of our inherited black rage, a rage that has been floating in us all along, just beneath our whitewashed smiles to you on the other side of our gentrified streets, building up in us all these times we have had to bristle in silence and cower in small corners when the steep, astronomically taxing cost of injustice strikes us again and forces us once more to remember, to remember the names and faces of all the ones that have come before this: Eric Garner. Trayvon Martin.

Timothy Russell. Tyisha Miller.

Patrick Dorismond. Alonzo Ashley.

Wendell Allen. Yvette Smith. Ronald Madison. Victor Steen. James Brissette. Tarika Wilson. Aiyana Jones.

Too soon to forget their names.

Too soon to forget the reality of the countless others whose bodies are never recovered, whose memorials are never held, who rot to slow deaths in the cells of a prison-industrial complex as sprawling and glittering with shame as the majestic shadows of the towering plantations of the Deep South— just a few short centuries, a few long sufferings, from the headlines we mourn today.

And yet.

Black is the sound of my heavy heart, still beating: resilient and marching forward— onwards.

For Malcolm, for Martin, for Michael…

For the millions who have disappeared in our history books, our news coverage, and our memories.

And, lastly, for the precious child I hope will read these words one day and know with certainty that her mother, like the rest of her people, may at times appear battered, fallen, and broken beyond repair— But we shall never be silenced.

Nina Katemauswa is a student in the College majoring in philosophy and political science.

Editor’s Note: The original version of this article appeared as a BlacklightxMaroon collaboration, and appeared in print on December 2, 2014.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2016

ARTS

UChicago Maya’s Kaleidoscope Dazzles in Theater West

BY ALEXIA BACIGALUPI ARTS STAFF

Palms pressed together, heads thrown back, and bathed in hazy purple light— the scene was almost one of reverence.

Standing in concentric circles with arms outstretched and faces lifted to the ceiling, the dancers formed a human lotus flower.

UChicago Maya presented its winter showcase Kaleidoscope in the Logan Center’s intimate Theater West this past weekend. Featuring 17 pieces envisioned by eight choreographers, the performance marked the culmination of four months of intense practice. Led by directors thirdyear Christine Chin and fourth-year Angela Shen, Maya is a co-ed fusion dance group that combines elements of Western and Eastern dance traditions including lyrical, hip-hop, jazz, and Odissi—a traditional Indian dance—among others.

The sold-out Saturday matinee was off to a late start as the dancers scrambled to shimmy into their costumes offstage. The steep incline of the seats ensured that everyone had an unencumbered view of the stage, which was bathed in pink light and featured white linens draped from the upper level balcony. Theater West itself became a kaleidoscope as light reflected off the small circular mirror fragments suspended from the ceiling.

The lights finally began to dim and six dancers—five female and one male—pattered onstage for the fi rst piece, clad in gauzy white tunics. Fluid and rounded, the constant spin of limbs and bodies matched the dreamy melody of Sara Bareilles’s “Kaleidoscope Heart.” Once the piece was fi nished, the next one began without missing a beat. The mood changed immediately: the music became tense, the motions sharp and writhing, the costumes fitted and metallic. The shift was disorienting and changed again as quickly as it had started, morphing into an upbeat Passion Pit song with dancers scampering joyously across the stage.

Daniel Ehrlich | The Chicago Maroon

UChicago Maya explored the idea of kaleidoscopes in three performances this past weekend.

Initially off-putting, the organic rotation of pieces, styles, and costumes elegantly interlaced each of the three sections to carry the kaleidoscope motif throughout the entire show. The dancers came together as a whole company for the very last number, outfitted in the spectrum of costumes from earlier pieces.

Even as the costumes changed, certain elements remained the same or reappeared in different pairings.

But the innovative routines were what truly brought the show to light.

Though arranged by several students, the choreography explored the continuity of change. Dancers rolled over each other on the floor, wrapped themselves

around banisters, cartwheeled across the stage, and skipped hand-in-hand.

The incorporation of group lifts and a multi-level pyramid added variety, each dancer always part of a larger whole.

The most direct nod to the kaleidoscope theme was the recurring technique of coming together and breaking apart— bodies constantly rearranging.

However, the sudden transitions occasionally left things rushed and unpolished. Costume changes sometimes occurred on the edge of the stage as dancers hurried to their places. The almost frenetic pace could be overwhelming: in the rush to be in their spots, dancers tripped over each other or came

close to bumping into each other.

An hour of nonstop motion later, the dancers reconvened at the center of the stage. The dancers—palm-to-palm with their neighbors, backs arched—executed the final spin of the kaleidoscope.

The audience, which had been vocal throughout the performance, slowly got to its feet in a standing ovation. The lights dimmed, and the dancers fled the stage before returning for a bow as an ensemble.

Mesmerizing and always surprising, UChicago Maya’s winter showcase was a dazzling exploration of the constancy of change and the fluctuating relationship between the individual and the group.

Satchmo presents fresh take on American icon

BY HENRY BACHA MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

By 1971, Louis A rmstrong, affectionately dubbed “Satchmo,” had long since deviated from the trailblazing jazz pathways he had forged through-

out the 1920s and ’30s. Instead, he fully embraced the role of American icon; familiar and palatable, Armstrong’s affable and charismatic persona enabled him to succeed as a black entertainer in a white-dominated industry. As he aged, his musical accomplishments

Michael Brosilow

Barry Shabaka Henley stars as Louis Armstrong in the Court’s Satchmo at the Waldorf.

took a backseat to his grandfatherly stage presence, and by the advent of the 1960s, A rmstrong felt his relevancy—particularly with black audiences—slipping away at the hands of more socially conscious and politically outspoken musicians.

Satchmo at the Waldorf, written by Terry Teachout and directed by Charles Newell, portrays Armstrong after what would be his last public performance— only months before his death at 70 —in the dressing room of New York’s luxurious Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The aging trumpeter, now reliant on an oxygen tank, chronicles the story of his life in a spartan stage setup, from his childhood as the illegitimate son of a New Orleans prostitute to top billing at America’s most prestigious venues.

Actor Barry Shabaka Henley is brilliant as Armstrong. One-man, biopicstyle productions often force the actor to take on rigid, exact characterizations, but Henley’s Satchmo is looser, more relatable. His voice, musical and gravelly, is full of Armstrong’s trademark warmth, but also colored with the melancholy of a man who knows his life

is nearly over.

Although Henley is the only actor on stage, he plays two characters other than A rmstrong: Joe Glaser, A rmstrong’s longtime manager, and Miles Davis, a caricature of the jazzcat aesthetic embodied by Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. Glaser, a Chicago-born son of Russian Jewish immigrants, was perhaps as well known for his connections to the mob as he was as for representing jazz legends Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Dave Brubeck. Henley, when he assumes Glaser’s persona, abandons Armstrong’s slouch and dons a sharp, tough Chicago accent and swagger.

When he portrays Davis, the lights dim and Henley adopts a silky, pretentious tone: he chastises Armstrong as a relic, a sell-out who abandoned black America to win favor with white audiences. (“Louis, he’s got to play the clown. Nod his head and grin real big like he’s some kind of old-time darky.”)

While Glaser and Davis certainly add texture to the performance, and briefly give Henley vehicles other than Armstrong, neither of these auxiliary Continued on Page 6

6

THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2016

Bel Canto Promotes Unity, Despite Disjointed Performance

BY REBECCA JULIE ARTS STAFF

“Through its years of planning, none of us could have known how startlingly topical Bel Canto would be at the time of its world premiere performances,” wrote Lyric Opera of Chicago general director Anthony Freud in his program letter for Bel Canto. A later portion read, “ Those of us who care passionately about the arts dream that…works of art offer insight and maybe even some healing in our turbulent times.”

Freud’s words helped set the tone for the violent plot of Bel Canto. The opera takes place in Lima, Peru, and portrays a terrorist attack on the Peruvian vice president’s mansion during a diplomatic event. The terrorists—who strive to uplift the poor and forgotten— hold the guests hostage, including the famous American soprano Roxane Coss.

Her singing ultimately catalyzes unlikely friendships and romances among the hostages—apparently to remind audiences of the therapeutic and unifying power of music. Based on the novel

by Ann Patchett and curated by star American soprano Renée Fleming, the opera just concluded its world-premiere run in Chicago.

Though it succeeded in making an impression on audiences with its tragic finale, the performance itself was less than impressive. Soprano Danielle de Niese supplied some of the weakest vocals of the evening as prima donna Roxane —ironic, considering her entire character is defined by her magical, powerful voice. De Niese’s opening aria was a bit jarring: I was expecting it to be stunning, but instead I found it weak and shockingly subpar.

Luckily, she improved by the end of the first act. But when it came time for Roxane’s aria in the finale—a swooping, melodramatic ode to those lost in the hostage crisis—I was once again left unmoved. How sad that a role with so much potential for a soprano to truly shine ended up being so lackluster.

The strongest voices of the evening came from smaller roles, such as the parts of Carmen, sung by mezzo-soprano J’nai Bridges, Gen Watanabe,

sung by tenor Andrew Stenson, and Cesar, sung by the brilliant countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo. Cesar’s role was minor, but Costanzo stole the show with one aria. He sang it humbly, but with genuine nuance and feeling. It was the moment of the evening when I sensed the most unity between singers and orchestra.

The score, written by Jimmy López with a libretto by Nilo Cruz, was wonderful orchestral work. Though it featured the dissonance so common to contemporary music, I found it palatable, interesting, and filled with a clear understanding of the orchestra’s timbre and technical capabilities. The brass section was not at all fazed by López’s insistence on making the trumpets play in a range more suited to woodwinds, resulting in a magical intensity.

That being said, I was disappointed by the utter disconnect between the orchestral and vocal melodies. For a score so diverse melodically, I was hoping for some sort of vocal reciprocation. Instead, I found many of the vocal melodies to be largely similar throughout.

Perhaps this was meant to represent the monotony of hostage life, but I was not sold.

The opera featured a number of languages, jumping between English, Spanish, and Japanese, among others.

The artistic manipulation of language made Bel Canto a smart, unique listening experience. Such artistic direction took the plotline to a new level of sophistication: rather than telling the audience that some of the characters were from Japan, audience members could hear it for themselves and collectively experience the frustration different characters felt about their language barriers.

Cue Roxane’s powerful (or supposedly powerful) voice: though it sounds cliché, Bel Canto embodied the notion of “music as the universal language.”

The opera exemplified music’s ability to heal conf lict and foster human empathy, emphasizing that in times of enmity we must recall our shared humanity.

Despite its weaknesses, the plot of Bel Canto was thought-provoking and

“Race is omnipresent in Armstrong’s solitary confession...”

Todd Rosenberg

Danielle de Niese (Roxane Coss) and John Irvin (Christopf) survive a hostage crisis in Lopez’s Bel Canto.

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Continued from Page 5 man, he never completely embraced the characters are true antagonists or foils. idea of himself as a black artist, either.

Glaser represents the shady underworld For Teachout’s Armstrong, music was that Armstrong was forced to navigate about making people —white people, to achieve success, and Davis adds ter- black people, all sorts of people—happy.

Despite these noble intentions, some, rific doses of cynical comedy (although Henley’s Armstrong offers plenty in the such as Davis, could never look past the fact that, in a period of high racial way of laughs as well).

Although Armstrong seldom spoke discontent, Armstrong was less than out regarding issues of race during his willing to take a stand on civil rights. life, race is omnipresent in Armstrong’s Instead, he only smiled, laughed, and solitary confessional. In one scene, he played in front of audiences so predomreminisces coldly on his early career, inantly white that they resembled “a when he headlined clubs and hotels carton of eggs.” that would make him eat dinner in the kitchen. In one of the most energetic segments of the play, Armstrong decries Satchmo at the Waldorf, Court ThePresident Eisenhower for refusing to atre, 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursact during the Little Rock desegrega- days, 8 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Sattion crisis of 1957. urdays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays.

Teachout’s dialogue seems to em- Ends February 7. $45 –$65. (773) 753phasize that while Armstrong never 4472 or www.CourtTheatre.org. Run attempted to hide his identity as a black time 90 minutes.

characters fully conveyed the horror of terror in our world.

Ultimately, with tragedies plastered on daily headlines worldwide, I was willing to overlook some of Bel Canto’s inconsistencies and feel grateful for its constant reminder to audiences that, despite our ideological and cultural differences, we are all human.

poignant. Sure, some of the melodies sounded pretty much the same, while others more closely resembled melodramatic Broadway ballads. But Bel Canto also gave us moments of much-needed comedic relief from Roxane (who was in every way the classic obnoxious American) and, at its conclusion, catharsis—the tragic deaths of many of the

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7

THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2016

Squads Open Indoor Season With Two First Place Finishes TRACK & FIELD

BY MICHAEL CHEIKEN SPORTS STAFF

University of Chicago Athletics Department

Third-year Eleanor Kang gets to a fast start in a recent meet.

The Maroons entered into the track and field season with a ferocious hive mind mentality. Throughout the offseason they trained vigorously to get into great condition for the upcoming indoor season, and on Saturday at the Phoenix Invitational, the quest for nationals began. The Phoenix Invitational was a small meet, meant as a warm-up for all the athletes to get back into the hang of competition. Aurora, Northwestern, Concordia, and Illinois Tech were the only schools to travel to the prestigious and historic track on the second f loor of Henry Crown, and the home squad dismantled each of them.

It was an absolute slaughter. Chicago dominated almost every event. The upperclassmen provided the impetus for the day, providing a handful of victories and podium appearances. Third-year Temisan Osowa blurred by the rest of the field in the 60- and 200-meter races, finishing first in each.

Not far behind him was fourthyear Ryan Manzuk, who fin-

ished third and second in the two events, respectively, while setting a personal best in each of them by a huge margin. Another fourth-year, Parker Tikson, captured first in the long jump, and moments later laid claim to the same placing in the triple jump while setting a personal best.

T he women per formed equally well as they ran their way to first place in the 60-met er, 2 0 0 -met er, 4 0 0 -met er, 800-meter, 4x400-meter, and one-mile races. Fourth-year Mikaela Hammel also set collegiate bests during the meet, shattering her own personal record in the 60-meter dash by an astonishing two-tenths of a second. Her fellow fourth-year and teammate Rebecca AskinsGast also set a personal record while winning the 800-meter run.

W h i le the Ch icago student -ath let es were raci ng, throwing, and jumping, they cheered each other on and made sure they were all at the top of their games. Despite tweaking a hamstring during the 60-meter preliminary heats, Obi Wamuo enjoyed the meet and embraced his place

on the cheering squad. According to Wamuo, it was the first time this season the whole squad was able to “get together as a team and cheer each other on. It was a very exciting day.”

F i rst -yea r jumper T homas Rhines expressed a similar sentiment, saying, “It was fun.”

After the day was done both the men’s and women’s teams had won, besting the r unner-ups by 102- and 81-point ma rg i ns, respectively. T he teams are just warming up, too. There are great things ahead; Wamuo and other team members are confident that they “have a big shot at winning the UA As on both the women’s and the men’s side.”

Manzuk shared that positive outlook and hailed the Phoenix Invitational as “a great first step towards our goal to shock the nation.”

Both the men’s and women’s sides will head to Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday for their next meets, and they hope that the teams in Bloomington will be able to bring more of a challenge than those that came to Chicago this past weekend.

Maroons Lose Close Matchup on Senior Day SWIM & DIVE

BY ERIC WONG SPORTS STAFF

This past weekend, the Maroons hosted the UW–Milwaukee swimming and diving squad in the last home meet of the season. Although both the men’s and women’s teams suffered losses, the Maroons were happy to honor their 14 fourth-years in Gerald Ratner Athletic Center one last time.

In past years, Chicago has had great difficulty against UW–Milwaukee because of its Division I status, but this year the performance at the meet was drastically different. Fourth-year Brian Weisbecker mentioned,

“Both our men’s and women’s teams won several events, even sweeping [first through third] in a few.” Weisbecker’s remark showed the excellent effort by both men’s and women’s teams this year.

On the women’s team, fourthyear Jen Law stood out on Senior Night in the 100-yard individual medley (IM) when she broke the school record with a time of 1:01.63. Third-year Maya Scheidl was also triumphant in the 100yard freestyle event and firstyear Daria Wick placed in fi rst for the 100-yard butterfly event with a time of 58.62.

On the men’s side, fourthyear Thomas Meek also showed

a superb performance, finishing in fi rst place in the 50-yard and 100-yard free style events.

Second-year Alex Lin also had an outstanding performance in the 100-yard IM when he broke the school record with a time of 53.59, while Keenan Novis won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:43.98 and the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:10.00.

Furthermore, the South Side relay teams looked quite impressive on Saturday. The women’s 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay came in fi rst place with times of 1:47.75 and 3:32.86, respectively. In similar fashion, the men’s 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard free-

style relay also proved victorious with two fi rst place fi nishes in each of the events, with times of 1:34.26 for the medley event and 3:07.36 for the freestyle event.

Both teams tried their best to send the fourth-years off with the best performances they could, but a victory was not in the cards for the Maroons. Weisbecker did say that “our teammates made each of the seniors cards as well, which was really funny and thoughtful.” This is a great signifier of the amazing team chemistry the swim team has, and one of the reasons for its great success in recent years.

Because of their great team performance this past week,

both of the squads look forward to a potential win-win at their upcoming meet versus DePauw and Calvin in Greencastle, Indiana this Saturday, January 23. The Maroons look forward to continuing an impressive season already, with wins at Wheaton, Wash U, and most notably, a first place finish out of ten other teams at the Phoenix Fall Classic back in November.

Both the men’s and women’s teams have opportunities in the rest of January and February to correct this minor, but still smarting, mishap. All of this comes before the NCAA Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina in March.

Underclassmen Shine at Elmhurst Invitational WRESTLING

BY ANDREW BEYTAGH SPORTS STAFF

The Maroons traveled to Elmhurst, IL this weekend for the Al Hanke Invitational. The Maroons competed well but only brought wrestlers in seven out of the 10 weight classes. However, four made the semifi nals of a very competitive invitational. According to Intermatwrestle.com, Elmhurst College’s team ranks eighth in the latest DIII wrestling poll.

The 11-team meet was won

by the U W– Stevens Point, with the Maroons finishing a respectable sixth, considering they brought so few team members.

The first-years stood out during this meet: Mason Williams, Jason Lynch, Louis DeMarco, and Luke Iida all had multiple victories in such a tough meet. Lynch and DeMarco both placed fi fth in their respective weight classes. Williams opened his tournament at 149 pounds with two fi rst-period pins. He followed this up with two tough

losses to fi nish fourth. Iida also showed impressive form by dominating two matches with major decisions of 17–9 and 15–7, respectively.

Second-year wrestler Cristen Bublitz said of the firstyears’ performance, “The fi rstyears have played a huge role on the team this year. We have a great class of younger wrestlers that are willing to step into starting sports and preform. They are very dedicated to wrestling and it shows in their performances.”

The leaders on the squad also stepped up, as second-year Nick Ferraro battled at 165 pounds and fourth-year Paul Papoutsis at 174 pounds. Ferraro won his first two matches, advancing to the semifi nals. However, the competition proved tough, and he placed sixth in one of the most competitive weight classes.

Papoutsis also faced top-notch competition. He eventually fell in a close semifinal match at 6 –4. Papoutsis dominated the consolation bracket by taking out his first opponent with a

score of 14– 0 and his second with a first-period pin. With the pin, Papoutsis snagged third place.

Papoutsis is looking forward to the rest of the year and the continued improvement of the team. “ We’re going to keep training hard and continue to improve as a team,” Papoutsis said. “Regionals are not that far away so we’re going to have to really ramp it up.”

Chicago’s next meet is on Friday, January 22 at Elmhurst College.

8

THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2016

SPORTS IN-QUOTES... Panthers head coach Ron Rivera recently made the decision to ban his players’ hoverboards, stating, “They were drag racing them in the freaken hallway!”

Chicago Goes 1–1 on the Road WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

University of Chicago Athletics Department

The squad gathers in a huddle in a game earlier this season against Illinois Wesleyan.

BY MICHAEL HINKLEY SPORTS STAFF

The Maroons had a busy weekend as they hit the road to take on a duo of UAA opponents. First, the team hopped on a plane to Pittsburgh where on Friday they faced the No. 21 Tartans from Carnegie Mellon. Both teams were on fire all night, but in the end Chicago fell in heartbreaking fashion by a margin of 83–80. Then, after a long bus ride to Cleveland, the squad took on Case Western Reserve. In this

contest, the Maroons were dominant throughout, securing a 67– 58 victory. With these results, the Chicago squad moves to 9–5 on the year and 1–2 in UAA action.

In the game against Carnegie, the Maroons got off to a quick start, scoring 22 points in the first quarter and allowing just 16 points. It was apparent that the coaches had stressed the importance of starting strong, and the team responded well. This was especially true for fourth-year guard Caitlin Moore who scored 10 points during the

first period, including two bombs from beyond the three-point arc.

But, the Tartans didn’t go away, and by halftime the score was knotted up. From this point on, the teams were neck-and-neck.

Carnegie Mellon relied on efficiency, as it shot 49 percent from the field and a remarkable 80 percent from the free throw line on 26 attempts. On the other hand, Chicago answered with a stout post presence and deadly accuracy from long range. More than half of the Maroons’ points were scored in

the paint, often by slashing guards like third-year Stephanie Anderson and second-year Elizabeth Nye. The team also managed to make 40 percent of shots from the threepoint range, which helped it keep up with its opponents’ steady offensive production.

At the end of the day, the Maroons found themselves on the losing end of a hard-fought game.

Anderson finished with 17 points and six assists, each of which was a team-leading total. Nye and Moore also put up strong performances, banking 15 and 14 points respectively. As a whole, Chicago did a great job of taking care of the ball, turning it over just 12 times.

Unfortunately, at the final buzzer, this all wasn’t enough.

“It was nice to get off to a good start against Carnegie,” Anderson said. “As a whole, the team played with great energy all game. But, at the same time, we didn’t come out ahead so there’s definitely more work to be done.”

Just two days later, the Maroons squared off against the Spartans of Case, who also were looking for their first UAA win. The second quarter proved to be the difference in this contest as Chicago netted 21 points while allowing its opponents to score just nine. In fact, the Maroons’ defense held strong throughout the afternoon, holding

the Spartans to just a 33 percent shooting. The squad also managed to force 23 turnovers, including 15 steals. With this win the Maroons secured their first UAA victory of the season.

Moore and third-year forward Britta Nordstrom led the team with 11 points each. Second-year guards Madison Dunbar and Katie Anderson also delivered strong performances. Dunbar accumulated 10 points throughout the game, including a perfect 2–2 from behind the arc. Katie Anderson swished her own pair of long-range treys to add to her scoring total. She finished with eight points to go along with a team-high of four assists.

After the game, Stephanie Anderson said, “It’s always nice when you can beat a conference opponent.

Hopefully we can use the momentum from this win as we continue our UAA schedule.”

This weekend, the Maroons return home for the first time since fall quarter to face two more conference opponents. Chicago is set to host No. 4 NYU on Friday and then Brandeis on Sunday. Last year, Chicago beat NYU on both occasions, so the squad will look to feed off of this recent success. The Maroons tip off against the Violets at 6 p.m. this Friday at the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center.

Maroons Push Winning Streak to 11 MEN’S BASKETBALL

BY MICHAEL PERRY SPORTS STAFF

The No. 16 Chicago squad had a huge weekend on the road, first pushing past the Carnegie Mellon Tartans on Friday and then dominating the Case Western Spartans two days later.

The Maroons (12–2 overall) improved to 3–0 in conference play and are currently ranked No. 16 in the country, having won 11 games in a row. It was a long weekend for the team, as both games were away so the squad had to first travel to Pittsburgh for Carnegie Mellon, and then straight to Cleveland for Case Western, before finally returning home to Chicago.

The first game of the weekend was a 70–68 nail-biter against Carnegie Mellon. The two squads battled relentlessly for all 40 minutes, creating seven lead changes and seven ties throughout the game. Going into halftime, the Maroons were down by one but came back stronger in the second half to get the win.

The Tartans (7–7 overall) gave the nationally ranked Maroons all they could, but that was not enough. Third-year forward Blaine Crawford came off the bench, giving the Maroons a strong presence in the post. He joined fellow thirdyear forward Waller Perez scoring

in double-digits on the night.

After the close game, the team packed up and headed to Cleveland for its next matchup against Case Western.

The team rebounded and looked dominant against an 8–6 Case Western squad. Despite again finding themselves down at halftime, the Maroons outscored the Spartans 61–46 in the second half. The high scoring game ended with the Maroons winning by 12, 112–100. Fourth-year forward Nathan Brooks, Perez, Howard, and second-year forward Collin Barthel all scored in double digits.

Brooks earned a double-double on the night with 13 rebounds and 17 points.

The leading scorer of the day was fourth-year guard Jordan Smith, who tallied up 26 points and broke 1,000 total points in his career.

First-year Noah Karras talked about Smith and how much Smith means to the team: “Not only is Jordan such an outstanding basketball player, he is such a great guy. He’s always leading the way for our team in a positive manner.

He’s also such a great influence and person to look up to. I know that us four freshmen really look up to him, and he’s always trying to help us on the court with things we don’t understand, and to also

University of Chicago Athletics Department

Third-year Waller Perez looks to make a pass in a recent game.

make us better people.”

As the Maroons continue into conference play, they will have a target on their backs, but the Maroons are ready for it. “There is a high sense of expectations, but once the games start, I think the guys have a lot more confidence in their abilities which has really been able to carry us through these tough away games,” Barthel said. “As the rest of the season goes,

I think we will continue to take it one game at a time and continue to play basketball we know our guys are capable of playing.”

The first-years also got to make an appearance against Case Western, earning valuable experience from a talented opponent. Named the “white squad” for the color of the jersey worn during practice, they have gotten more playing time as the season has

gone on.

“The white squad checked in with two minutes to go in the game, with the lead being the smallest of any game the white squad played before,” Shearmire said. “It was great experience to play against a good team’s starters with high stakes.”

The Maroons’ next game is this Friday against No. 15 New York University.