JANUARY 24, 2017
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
Study Compares Universities in Combatting Inequality
State Rep Launches Push for Asian American Studies BY LEE HARRIS SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
BY VIVIAN HE SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
Theresa Mah of the Illinois House of Representatives spoke Thursday at the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture (CSRPC) about a campaign for expanding Asian American Studies opportunities at the University of Chicago. Mah (Ph.D. ’99) was elected in 2016 as Illinois’s first Asian-American legislator, and holds her doctorate in history from the University of Chicago. The event, organized by PanAsia President Raymond Fang, a fourth-year in the college, was aimed at organizing an independent task force for Asian-American Studies advocacy. The event series’ short-term goal is to organize students to advocate for more classes in Asian American Studies (2–3 per quarter), and the long-term goal is to establish a more robust Asian American Studies minor within the Comparative Continued on page 6
Meals on Wheels: Campus Food Trucks BY SOFIA GARCIA STAFF REPORTER
Every weekday, roughly between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., brightly decorated trucks gather in thin lines down South University and Ellis Avenues. Hungry students, faculty, and staff come up to their windows, buying banh mi or tacos, burgers or pizza, to eat at the spot or take back to their workplaces. John Nguyen is the owner of Chicago Lunchbox, a food truck specializing in Asian fusion cuisine. He is Vietnamese-American, married to a woman from Thailand, and draws inspiration from his friends from all across East and Southeast Asia when preparing his dishes. He focuses on his “childhood favorite,” the Vietnamese banh mi,
Feng Ye
Women’s March These photos were taken by Camelia Malkami, Feng Ye, Giovanna DeCastro, and Samuela Mouzaoir of the Women’s March on Chicago. More photos of the march can be found in the print issue and online at chicagomaroon.com.
Continued on page 4
Court’s “Blues” Provides a Window Into a Renaissance
Senior Swim Day Ends in Win
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Page 12
Page 7 In a world where the unexpected can occur everyday, the best we can do is to take it in our stride with a little humor.
“We just have to continue to push each other in practice and work on the small things, such as turns and breath control.”
Imani Winds Champions Diversity of Repertoire and Race Page 9 In many ways, Imani Winds has been a trailblazer for the chamber and classical music worlds.
A recent study suggests that the University of Chicago is more accessible to families with a wider range of income than other elite universities, while noting that less selective universities provide for mobility on a much larger scale. On January 18th, The New York Times published a series of results from a study conducted by The Equality of Opportunity Project. The study looks at how American colleges fare as weapons against inequality. The University of Chicago did better than other elite colleges in terms of fighting against inequality, but performed poorly when compared to the entire pool of colleges in the country. The study used anonymized tax returns and attendance records to track about 30 million students born between 1980 and 1991. Nearly every college in the country was evaluated. The study focused on three measurements: access, outcome, and mobility. The University is designated as an “Ivy Plus” college. The rest of this group includes the Ivy League colleges, Duke University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University. At the University of Chicago, the median family income of a student is $134,500. Fifty-eight percent of students come from the top 20 percent. Compared to its Ivy Plus peers, the University of Chicago is most accessible to lower-income populations, with the lowest share of students from top 0.1 percent and highest share of students from bottom 20 percent. When compared to other universities in Illinois, however, the University of Chicago has the lowest share of students from the bottom 20 percent. The University has the lowest share of students who end up in the top 1 percent among Ivy Plus colleges and the highest share of students who end up in the bottom 20 Continued on page 6
Camelia Malkami
As much as Blues evokes hearty laughs, it also confronts elements of identity in a meaningful manner from beginning to end.
Meme, Myself, & I
VOL. 128, ISSUE 22
Contributing to THE M AROON If you want to get involved in THE M AROON in any way, please email apply@chicagomaroon.com or visit chicagomaroon.com/apply.
Excerpts from articles and comments published in T he Chicago Maroon may be duplicated and redistributed in other media and non-commercial publications without the prior consent of The Chicago Maroon so long as the redistributed article is not altered from the original without the consent of the Editorial Team. Commercial republication of material in The Chicago Maroon is prohibited without the consent of the Editorial Team or, in the case of reader comments, the author. All rights reserved. © The Chicago Maroon 2017
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 24, 2017
Women’s March and Inaugural Walk-Out
Brooke Nagler
Feng Ye
Samuela Mouzaoir
Feng Ye
Camelia Malkami
Camelia Malkami
Giovanna DeCastro
Feng Ye
Camelia Malkami
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 24, 2017
Tuesday, January 24 Elise Archias: The Concrete Body Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 6–7:30 p.m. Author Elias Archias will lead a talk about her book on the use of the human body as an artistic medium. University of Chicago lecturer Matthew Jesse Jackson will interlocute the discussion.
On & Around Campus 1/24 — 1/27 Wednesday, January 25 Enrico Fermi and the Birth of the Atomic Age 57th Street Books, 1301 E. 57th Street, 6–7:30 p.m. University of Pennsylvania physics professor Gino Segrè and Bettina Hoerlin, a health commissioner from Philadelphia, deliver a lecture on famed Chciago physicist Enrico Fermi. Gillian Thomas: Because of Sex 57th Street Books, 6–7:30 p.m. Gillian Thomas, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project, will discuss her book Because of Sex: One Law, Ten Cases, and Fifty Years That Changed American Women’s Lives at Work.
Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 6–7:30 p.m. Miguel Martínez explores the literary products of imperial Spain’s soldiery as its dominion expanded across the Old and New World. RSVP online for his conversation with Professor Frederick A. de Armas. Thursday, January 26 Urban Readers Series: Governing Habits Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 6–7:30 p.m. Eugene Raikhel, a professor of Comparative Human Development at the University, will talk about how addiction is treated in Russia in the context of its society’s transformation following the dissolution of the USSR. Medlife Terrarium Sale Reynolds Club, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Terrariums $7, pre-order online. Head on over to the Reynolds Club and buy a terrarium that comes with pebbles, soil, and a succulent plant! All proceeds will be donated to developing clean water infrastructure in Tanzania. Prospective customers can pre-order online. States and Cities in Pursuit of Clean Power Neubauer Collegium, 5701 S. Woodlawn Avenue, 3–6 p.m. Beginning on January 22, the Neubauer Collegium will host an exhibit that will examine the stories behind “Concrete Traffic,” a sculpture by Wolf Vostell of a Cadillac encapsulated in concrete. Exhibits will be featured in the Regenstein Library. Join the opening reception on January 22 at the Neubauer Collegium. Friday, January 27
Wednesday Lunch: Director of the Initiative on Islam and Medicine Common Room, Swift Hall, 12– 1:15 p.m., $5. Aasim Padela, director of the Initiative on Islam and Medicine, speaks on her work. Meal is vegetarian and includes bread, salad, a main course, dessert, and drinks. Michael Eric Dyson: Tears We Cannot Stop KAM Isaiah Israel, 5039 S. Greenwood Avenue, 6:30–8 p.m. Michael Eric Dyson’s Tears We Cannot Stop was praised as a telling response to America’s racial moment. Miguel Martínez: Front Lines
UCPU Presents: T urkey Should Be Kicked Out of NATO Institute of Politics, 6:30–8 p.m. The University of Chicago Political Union turns to international politics and considers the resolution: Turkey should be kicked out of NATO. Food will be served. OMSA Heritage Series: Latina Rebels Mandel Hall, 6–7:30 p.m. Prisca Dorca Mojica Rodriguez, founder of the online platform Latina Rebels, will give a keynote and discussion entitled “Woke Brown Girl: A Postcolonial Conversation Around Upholding a Latina Experience.” Tickets can be reserved online.
Stops Added to Daytime Shuttles The 53rd Street Express and Polsky Express daytime shuttles now include additional stops. Changes were made to the routes at the start of the quarter. The 53rd Street Express shuttle now i ncludes add itional stops at the Logan Arts Center, the Goldblatt Pavilion—the home of the University ’s comprehensive cancer cent er — a nd the nor theast corner of East 53rd Street and South Dorchester Avenue. The Polsky Express shuttle now stops at Ellis Garage.
Communications Manager for the Department of Safety and Security Bridget Malone said new stops and times were announced December 21 to create more ser v ice for the community between campus and East 53rd Street. Malone said the new stops and times are available on the TransLoc website and app. “ The shuttle changes were based on rider feedback and as a way to provide more complementary service,” Malone said. —Eugenia Ko
Start-Up Seeks to Increase Milennial Turnout BY MARJORIE ANTOHIE CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
A University of Chicago graduate’s company plans to work to increase millennial turnout in the upcoming special election for the Fourth Ward alderman seat. Tuesday Strategies aims to increase the involvement of millennials in current politics using online platforms and social media posts. Shola Farber, a co-founder of Tuesday Strategies and a 2012 UChicago graduate, says that the impact that millennials could have by becoming politically active cannot be underestimated. “We want to show young people that they have a voice and can impact the community where they live,” Farber said. He said that especially in local elections, which are often belittled and largely ignored, millennials could become a force in appointing leaders who will benefit their community. The co-founders of Tuesday Strategies believe that today’s typical political campaigns and advertisements are not sufficient to spark the interest of young individuals. The creation of Tuesday Strategies was a direct reaction to what that Farber and her co-founders saw while working on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. During her time as a regional director on the campaign in Michigan, Farber said that she saw “day in and day
out” that the campaign consistently failed to reach younger people. “We were contacting people on landlines, and by knocking on doors, and you’re never going to reach someone under the age of 30 by calling a landline,” Farber said. “We think that we can be more effective by taking the traditional organization methods and putting them in the digital space for the largest generation around in America today—millennials.” According to a statement released by the company, about 43 percent of millennials have turned out for presidential elections since 2008, but only 18 percent have voted in midterms. The low midterm turnout has led Tuesday Strategies to focus more on local elections, including an upcoming aldermanic election in the Fourth Ward. The Fourth Ward stretches along the lakefront from the very northern reaches of Hyde Park to the South Loop, and will be having an aldermanic election to fill a vacancy for the remaining two years of the term on February 28. Tuesday Strategies plans to impact the Fourth Ward Alderman race in Chicago by creating videos and distributing them online with the Fourth Ward as the target audience. In the videos, community members involved in local politics will discuss their interest in politics, the work that they do in their community, and the issues that matter
to them. The video content is set to be filmed in a studio space on January 29, and the videos will be posted on Facebook in intervals throughout February. According to the statement, while millennials have the numbers to dramatically influence the outcomes of elections, they rarely make use of their potential. “If millennial turnout was improved by a mere seven percent, four battleground states representing 75 electoral votes would have flipped blue in the 2016 presidential election,” Farber said. “Turnout for basically every election that’s not presidential is quite low,” he said. “In the Fourth Ward, in particular, we’ve had a couple of cases in the past decade, when they’ve held special alderman’s elections, and voter turnout is really low.” Farber hopes to communicate to Chicago’s young eligible voters that the aldermen of Chicago have significant authority. “The aldermen of Chicago have quite a bit of clout,” Farber said. “Our goal is to increase voter turnout, which could mean a couple hundred or a couple thousand people. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but it is really important.” In an effort to reach as many millennials as possible, Tuesday Strategies is also seeking partnerships with local youth-related organizations. Farber said that she has Continued on page 6
NEWS IN BRIEF OBS Raises Thousands for Haiti The Organization of Black Students (OBS) hosted a benefit dinner on January 21 for the Haitian victims of Hurricane Matthew, a Category 5 hurricane that devastated parts of Haiti in October 2016. The event, hosted in the Cloister Club in Ida Noyes Hall with more than 100 people in attendance, featured authentic Haitian food and entertainment. “[ We want to] just bring awareness to places that are often neglected,” said second-year and OBS community service chair Rahmel Robinson. “You would think that everything was
fi ne two weeks after [the hurricane]...[but] a place like that doesn’t recover in two weeks.” The proceeds will go to Hope for Haiti, an organization that provides medical supplies, care, education, and clean water and food to Haitians in need. Robinson, who organized the event, said it will benefit both the charity and the people attending. “I just thought it would be a great way to make money and have people contribute to a cause while also feeding themselves,” Robinson said. The sold-out dinner was catered by Kizin Creole, a Haitian
restaurant in Chicago, and featured performances by the University of Chicago’s Rhythmic Bodies in Motion and Haitian rapper Lizzie G. Robinson said the event ended up raising more than $2,000. “Fifteen dollars isn’t a crazy amount of money, but for some people, it might be a bit substantial just because of their personal finances or whatever,” Robinson said. “As long as enough people come together, you can make an impact with however little that you can give.” —Stephanie Palazzolo
Nussbaum to Give Prestigious Jefferson Lecture Philosopher and University professor Martha Nussbaum has been selected for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)’s 2017 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities on May 1 in Washington D.C. Nussbaum’s lecture will be entitled “Powerlessness and the Politics of Blame.” It will focus on emotion in politics and the way “uncertainty leads to the blaming of outsider groups.” “It is urgent for us to understand ourselves better, to see why we have arrived at this state of division, hostility, and non-communication. A philosophical approach, focused on a close look at
human emotions, offers that understanding of ourselves...I believe it also offers us strategies of hope and connection,” Nussbaum said in the NEH’s press release. The Jefferson Lecture is the federal government’s highest honor for intellectual achievement in the humanities, according to the NEH’s website. Other University of Chicago scholars that have previously been selected for this honor include sociologist Edward Shils, historian John Hope Franklin, and most recently, Leon Kass. Nussbaum has also covered this subject in her most recent book, Anger and Forgiveness:
Resentment, Generosity, and Justice, and in an ABC Religion and Ethics editorial with the same name as her upcoming lecture. The lecture will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets will be free and available starting in April through the NEH’s website. The lecture will also be livestreamed online. This will be the last Jefferson Lecture planned by the Obamaera NEH. The Hill reported earlier this month that the Trump administration was considering eliminating the NEH. —Anne Nazzaro
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 24, 2017
Food Truck Workers of Chicago Lunchbox and Aztec Daves Explain the Inspiration and Aesthetics of Their Products
Students line up to buy lunch at a campus food truck. Continued from front page
but also offers rice boxes, spring rolls, and chicken skewers, among other dishes. “From the Panini to the Cubano to the French dipped—there is a sandwich that represents what mothers have made for lunch on every kitchen counter,” he writes on the Chicago Lunchbox website. He always wants to bring this taste of home to the street, especially on a food truck, which prepares food he considers “on the go, easy to eat.” There is a reason why these food trucks have appeared to be very popular with the University population, whether hospital or university staff on their lunch breaks or students looking for something to eat while finishing their homework between classes. It makes sense to have lunch-on-the-go options for on-the-move people, and a food truck, never meant to stay in one place, seems to exemplify this fast-paced lifestyle. It might be easy, then, to assign a stereotype to food trucks—and street food in general—as highly impersonal. Yet food truck owners often see a domestic aspect to their cooking. Ramon Torres works in Aztec Dave’s, “the elite authentic Mexican food truck,” and stresses the personal aspect of his work. “We want people to feel that they’re coming into our home and eating at our table,” Torres said. Aztec Dave’s is a family-owned enterprise, and family is at the center of everything Torres does. “We have leaders in my family,
Giovanna DeCastro
I would consider myself a leader; my dad’s a leader,” Torres said. His recipes are based on those of his grandmother, from Michoacán. Although food truck recipes often stem from family recipes, reflecting their owner’s heritage, they frequently also incorporate more modern techniques, flavors, and ingredients. Bob Cha features bulgogi tacos, while La Boulangerie named one of its French-style sandwiches after the state of Wisconsin. Even Nguyen isn’t interested in representing his childhood dishes exactly. “I want to steer away from the traditional banh mi,” Nguyen said. Some of this is the result of cooking in a confined space in a short amount of time, but that alone cannot explain the tendency toward inventiveness and creativity displayed. Even the designs on the sides of the trucks reflect the same mix of old and new tradition that is evident in their menus, from the brightly colored Aztec calendar design on the side of Aztec Dave’s to the traditional American-style pin-up on the side of Lucy’s food truck. Menus frequently allow for mixing and matching, giving customers greater control over their meals than the average sitdown restaurant. Perhaps this is due to the immediacy of a food truck lunch—the “on-the-go” meal that might appear impersonal at first blush. Though food trucks are “on-the-go,” they’ve solidified their presence on campus and are here to stay.
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Above: A friendly reminder to check the dates on the pages before printing. Below: “You see all this office space we have here? Years ago, we used to have 30 ladies up here on each shift, 24 hours a day, with X-acto knives and wax rollers... everything was cut and paste,” recalled Gouwens.
A Visit to Litho Type: Where MAROON Magic Happens BY ANNIE CANTARA MANAGING EDITOR
Around 3 a.m. every Tuesday and Friday morning, the editors of T HE M AROON fi nish working on the newspaper layout, send PDFs of the pages off to the printer, and head home to get some rest. Hours later, over 5,000 copies of the paper can be found across campus. In an effort to better understand what happens while we’re asleep, we decided to take a trip to Litho Type LLC—the place where it all happens. Located about 20 miles south of campus in Lansing, IL, this commercial printer has been in business for more than 40 years and is responsible for the printing of 50–60 publication issues each week. Dan Gouwens, co-owner of the company, met with a few members of THE M AROON staff last week to offer a glimpse of the printing press in action. Currently, there are 32 employees, part and full time, working at Litho Type. The average employee has worked there for 25 years, according to Gouwens. Some employees work upstairs, taking care of the business and operations end, and others work downstairs at the printing press. “You guys missed the fun part,” Gouwens said. “The fun part was 20 years ago
when we worked with razor blades. The schools had students out here to put the pages together and proofread. They were here all night.” Before the age of desktop publishing, newspapers were produced through the process of phototypesetting, which used fi lm negatives to project text onto photographic paper. The paper was then developed in a chemical bath and cut and arranged manually to create the page layout. The technology that Litho Type now uses to print the newspaper is much more advanced and streamlined. Practically every step of the process is automated, with a variety of machines working in unison to turn an electronic copy of a page into the real thing. The printing press is constantly in motion, emanating a loud humming noise as it churns out page after page. Gouwens said the process generates very little waste, as nearly everything (newsprint, chemicals, scrap metal, etc.) is recycled after the printing process is complete. Gouwens believes that, despite the move to online news websites, a news publication could not exist without its print counterpart. “You still need a hard copy if you’re going to have a publication. I don’t think you can just do an online copy. But what do I know? I’m a printer,” he laughed.
THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 24, 2017
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Left: Gouwens demonstrates the process of offset printing. After PDFs of the pages are received, the text and images are exposed onto a metal plate and developed with chemicals. The plate wraps around the cylinder and ink is brought down from the rollers, sticking to the areas with images and text. The plate then presses against a blanket, transferring the content onto it. Right: A roll of paper is placed under each unit and fed through the inked blankets. Yellow ink is printed first, then blue, red, and finally black. The dots of color laid on top of each other combine to form images.
A view of the printing press, which can print up to 22,000 pages per hour. After the ink sets, the pages are cut and folded together.
Photos by Annie Cantara Left: One month’s worth of printing on display in Gouwens’s office. Right: A photograph of Gouwens, left, at the printing press where he worked as a part of his high school’s Diversified Occupation program in 1969. “That’s how I got into printing... I was able to work almost 40 hours in the press room... as school was already on half-day shifts because of over crowding,” he explained.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 24, 2017
Study Suggests University Is More Accessible to Wider Range of Income Than Other Elite Universities
State Representative Theresa Mah (PhD ‘99) Elected in 2016 as Illinois’ First Asian-American Legislator Continued from front
Continued from front
percent. The University also has the lowest average income percentile for a poor student (69th). Against other Illinois universities, the University of Chicago has the highest share of students who end up in the top 1 percent income bracket. The University has the highest share of students who moved up two or more income quintiles among both Illinois universities and Ivy Plus colleges. The study also compiled national rankings of universities in terms of access and mobility. On those lists, the University of Chicago still performed better than its Ivy Plus peers in most instances, but visibly poorer than many other colleges across the country. Nationally, the University ranks 114th at having more students from the top 1 percent than the bottom 60 percent. Princeton University ranks 21st, Stanford University 41st, and Harvard 62nd. Among elite colleges that enroll the highest percentage of low-income and middle-income students, the University ranks 11th, where Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton
rank 14th, 26th, and 51st respectively. On mobility, the success rate of which measures the percent of lower-income students who ended up in the top 40 percent, the University ranks 1820th nationally. Stanford, Harvard, and Princeton fall even lower on the chart. The study found that lower-income students who were admitted to elite colleges performed almost identically well as their richer counterparts. In other words, improvement in results for low-income students was substantial. As such, elite colleges do provide high mobility, except only for a small slice of the population. Less selective colleges seem to provide similar results to a much bigger portion of the student population, the report suggested. Overall, access to elite colleges among the bottom 40 percent of the country has not changed much over the duration studied. One explanation of this phenomenon, suggested by the New York Times’ reporting, may be that, while top colleges have made serious efforts to make tuition free for lower-income students, not that many from the group gain admission in the first place.
Tuesday Strategies Aims to Increase Online Platforms Continued from page 3
reached out to multiple local organizations in Chicago, including Kenwood Community Organization. She has also spoken to the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics for advice on contacting other Chicago establishments. After the aldermanic election is over, Tuesday Strategies will be heading to Los Angeles to cover the special elections there.
“There are some ballot initiatives coming up, city council seats opening up,” Farber said. “And later in the year, there are gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey.” While they are not currently based out of a specific location, Farber says that if Tuesday Strategies grows to the point that it makes sense to have an office in a certain place, they will take that opportunity in the future.
Race and Ethnic Studies program. Mah said she faced limited access to Asian American Studies as a Ph.D. student focusing on United States history. “I didn’t have the opportunity to learn from other scholars of Asian American Studies while I was here at the graduate school.... I was kind of self-taught at the graduate level,” she said. Mah was involved with the creation of the Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES) program in 2009, which absorbed the previously independent African and African-American Studies major and minor as a concentration within the course of study. The major allows for specialization in African American Studies, Asian American Studies, Latina/o Studies, and Native American studies. The CRES program was created to allow for specialization in a wider range of offerings, according to Mah, whose involvement stemmed from the importance of Asian American studies in her own life. “I don’t think I would be here today if I didn’t have the opportunity to take Asian American Studies classes,” she said. “Even if you did decide to major in comparative race studies and have your emphasis be on Asian Americans, it’s not possible, the courses aren’t offered,” Mah said. “Right now there are one or two faculty who can teach Asian American Studies courses.” While it is, in fact, possible to major in CRES with an emphasis in Asian American Studies, Mah is correct about the shortage of courses available. A current fourth-year CRES major is concentrating in Asian American Studies, and another graduated last year, but both used related courses in sociology, Chinese history, and Chinese language to supplement Asian-American CRES courses offered by the CSRPC. Sarah Tuohey, the student affairs administrator of the CSRPC and the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, acknowledged the need for more courses in the department. “Though both students were able to put together a major and work with faculty B.A.
advisers who focus in part on Asian American studies…clearly both would have welcomed the opportunity to take more courses that focused primarily on Asian American topics. CRES and the CSRPC support students’ desire to have a more robust Asian American Studies curriculum and we would like to help the efforts in that direction,” Tuohey said. Current faculty whose scholarship focuses on Asian and Asian American Studies includes professor Bruce Cumings and assistant professors Matthew Briones and Kimberly Hoang. Mah described larger-scale Asian American Studies programs at other universities including Northwestern, University of Illinois at Chicago, and DePaul, saying the University of Chicago is “the only major university in the area that doesn’t have it.” The Asian-American Studies major at Northwestern was created in 2016 after over 20 years of student activism including a hunger strike in 1995. Mah recommended a “multi-pronged approach” to advocating for more Asian-American Studies classes at the University, including putting pressure on the administration for more courses, voicing interest to those who sit on graduate admissions committees for the hiring of more Asian American Ph.D. candidates, and looking at racial employment metrics by department, not just overall. In conversations with the dean and provost of the University, Mah has pointed out trends in Asian American faculty hiring, which is heavily skewed toward the hard sciences and medicine. Mah insisted that the University “make sure we can identify Asian Americans in [the humanities and social sciences] and not lump them together with the sciences, because they were using those figures to justify, you know, to say we have plenty of Asian American faculty, we don’t need to make any special efforts…if you separate out those numbers, you do see a lot of underrepresentation.” Editor’s note: Raymond Fang is a former associate news editor of THE MAROON.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 24, 2017
VIEWPOINTS “Safety” School Discussions of the South Side’s “Safety” Too Often Miss the Point
Ashvini Kartik-Narayan Most students at UChicago have had to deal with endless inquiries about whether or not we are actually “safe” all the way on the South Side of Chicago. Concerned parents are full of questions about how the supposedly out-of-control violence of the city will affect their children, and whether or not campus is removed enough to create a solid barrier. While the University clearly strives to protect its students, after the recent surge in gun violence in 2016, it is becoming more difficult to combat rumors about just how safe Chicago really is. The University has already implemented safety measures that are typical at urban universities: the blue light system, the UCPD’s safety escort program, and security guards at every corner make navigating the campus itself fairly secure. I can recall being flooded with information about getting around the city, security on the South Side, and the resources available to me even during O-Week. Even then, hearing the doubts of family members as we are sent off again after winter break strikes a familiar nerve. UChicago’s safety measures notwithstanding, can we truly feel safe on campus? The first thing we need to keep in mind is that the University is constantly taking measures to create a safer environment for students. After the death of Ph.D. student Amadou Cisse in 2007,
UChicago took immediate action to improve security on campus. The UCPD doubled its late-night police presence, and the University took steps to improve the way it shared emergency information. It is clear that whenever there is cause to increase precautions, no time is wasted: some may even feel that the University needs to do more. However, students must consider that these safety measures often come at a price. A well-funded, expansive private police force sounds reassuring to UChicago students, but makes life more difficult for many Hyde Park residents unaffiliated with the University. This is especially true in a city fraught with allegations of racialized policing and profiling. Additionally, while attending UChicago, it is easy to ignore the rich cultural life that the South Side has to offer and let the stigma of crime overpower the positivity. Peering through the secluded bubble of our university, we only perceive the South Side through a violent lens. We are quick to go up in arms when there is an increased need for security, but there is a tendency to let the events of the South Side fall outside our realm of concern. To do this is to ignore the beauty of the South Side while unfairly highlighting only its pitfalls. Rather than perpetuating an incomplete perception of Hyde Park’s crime, students should fo-
Maggie Loughran, Editor-in-Chief Forrest Sill, Editor-in-Chief Annie Cantara, Managing Editor The MAROON Editorial Board consists of the Editors-in-Chief and editors of THE MAROON.
NEWS
Pete Grieve, editor Emily Kramer, editor Adam Thorp, editor Katie Akin, deputy editor Jamie Ehrlich, deputy editor Sonia Schlesinger, deputy editor Tamar Honig, senior editor VIEWPOINTS
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GREY CITY
Wendy Lee, editor SOCIAL MEDIA
Jamie Ehrlich, editor ONLINE
Euirim Choi, editor Vishal Talasani, director of data analysis PHOTO
Zoe Kaiser, editor VIDEO
Hannah Edgar, editor Grace Hauck, editor
Kenny Talbott La Vega, editor
SPORTS
Patrick Quinn, chief financial officer
DESIGN
Jeanne Marie Fishkin, director of development Anjing Fu, director of marketing Sandra Lukac, director of marketing Ben Lanier, director of operations Audrey Mang, director of strategy
Rhea Bhojwani, editor Britta Nordstrom, senior editor Siddharth Kapoor, associate editor Cavell Means, associate editor Stephanie Liu, production manager Kay Yang, head designer COPY
Sophie Downes, head editor Morganne Ramsey, head editor Michelle Zhao, head editor Katrina Lee, deputy editor Patrick Lou, deputy editor THIS ISSUE
Design Associates: Peng-Peng Liu, Angela Fung Copy: Shannon Bull, Aidan Lilienfeld, James Kon
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Editor-in-Chief E-mail: Editor@ChicagoMaroon.com Newsroom Phone: (773) 702-1403 Business Phone: (773) 702-9555 Fax: (773) 702-3032 For advertising inquiries, please contact Ads@ChicagoMaroon.com or (773) 702-9555. Circulation: 5,500. © 2016 THE CHICAGO MAROON Ida Noyes Hall / 1212 East 59th Street / Chicago, IL 60637
cus on investigating the circumstances that caused the surge in crime in 2016, and asking themselves what they can do as members of the community to combat these problems most effectively. Once we start to see ourselves as observers of the South Side rather than active participants in its culture, we lose the ability to address the issues that face the city as a whole. As a starting point, it is important to consider the fact that violent crime has actually gone down in Hyde Park: students at UChicago are in fact members of one of the South Side’s safest neighborhoods. To understand the reality of crime in the South Side, students also have to consid-
er the problematic history of the city itself: namely Chicago’s long history of race-based housing segregation. The South Side is often used as a political tool, as politicians paint its problems in broad strokes rather than considering the many nuances of urban crime. Most importantly, we cannot choose to only pay attention to the South Side when there is talk of danger. The past year in Chicago was also full of impressive musical performances, a thriving arts culture, and a series of powerful protests to which UChicago students are no strangers. In the same way, we have to make ourselves part of the solution, rather than contributors to the stigma
that surrounds the South Side. It is our job to circulate the positive experiences we have had in Hyde Park while also thinking critically about what we can do to effect change. Paying attention to our safety is obviously important, but in the process, we cannot marginalize the South Side residents that live beyond campus. The South Side cannot be perceived merely as a setting we must endure as UChicago students but rather as a diverse community in which we are all active participants. Ashvini Kartik-Narayan is a first-year in the College.
Meme, Myself, & I In the Face of an Uncertain World, Memes Have the Power to Unite Us All
Jasmine Wu Remember the 2007 Internet phenomenon of Rickrolling, where users are tricked into watching the music video of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”? From the ubiquitous “One Does Not Simply” photos to “Y U No” and now the Hooded Kermit, memes have become an irreplaceable part of our culture, in part due to their accessibility but also due to their ability to translate what we cannot articulate into a relatable unit. Memes are short, simple, and funny. Coined by Richard Dawkins in the 1990s, a “meme” denotes an idea or behavior that spreads from person to person. You can look at them as a microcosm of evolution; their survival depends on popularity and usage. They can undergo changes and mutate into entirely different meanings. Take the Hooded Kermit. Countless sardonic “mutations” of catchphrases have come into play to adapt to cultural shifts while the fundamental “biological” unit, the original picture of Kermit, remains. The memes that are repurposed the most will enjoy the most success, and those that do not will inevitably fade from our collective memory. It’s a brutal but honest process: It is the purest form of democracy, where memes are chosen by a jury of young and old, rich and poor, on the basis of their perceived popularity. Discussing memes’ scientific relevance, however, fails to explain why we like them so much. We like them because they are pointless, relatable, and mundane. In a time where content
on Facebook changes rapidly, fake news merges with real news, and global issues play out right in front of our eyes, we are constantly inundated with information. The world moves, but memes stay to offer up perspectives on the human experiences we share with each other. We use them because they make us laugh until our sides hurt.
We use them because they make the mundane marvelous. Memes bring our attention to the situations in life we never truly notice but participate in every day: They are snapshots of the past that exist in the present. Faced with Trump’s inauguration, fluctuating oil prices, and the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act, memes serve versatile roles. They make these global headlines satirically relatable and provide a safe haven from an increasingly intimidating world. Because of this f lexibility, Continued on page 8
Emily Xue
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“Memes, because of their innate flippancy, are unfairly dismissed... ” Continued from page 7 c r e a si ng ly i nt i m id at i ng world. Because of this f lexibility, memes often seem to merely divert attention from current issues. Though they can be a form of escapism, memes also provide a way for us to ref lect on ourselves. In a study published in the Journal of Business and Psychology, 74 Au s t r a l i a n u nder g r adu at e students i n a n i ntroduct o ry management course were
tested for their persistence at a Human Resource task. The students were split into three groups: one group watched a humorous video clip, another group watched an emotion-neutral clip, and the last watched a peaceful video clip. A fter wat c h i n g t hei r r e sp e c t ive clips, they were asked to solve an unsolvable task: they had to make performance predictions of potential employees in a hypothetical company based on the employees’ personality
profiles. Tasked with making 10 consecutive correct predictions, they were allowed to stop at any time. The group that watched the comedic video made twice as many predictions in the subsequent task and spent significantly more time working on it than participants in the other two categories. The humorous clip, rather than distracting the participants, actua l ly gave them the persistence to fully de-
vote themselves to the task before them. Memes, because of their innate f lippancy, are unfairly dismissed as inappropriate and distracting. Their ubiquitous imitation (mimema) across cultures has constructed a bridge to make our diverse and often fragmented experiences unif ied and relatable. Memes don’t draw us away from life; they pull us towards it. In President Obama’s final speech to his family, he told them, “you took on a role
you didn’t ask for. A nd you made it your own with grace and with grit and with style, and good humor.” In a world where the unexpected can occur everyday, the best we can do is to take it in our stride with a little humor. Jasmine Wu is a second-year in the College majoring in economics and philosophy.
ARTS Court’s Blues Provides a Window Into a Renaissance BY EMILY EHRET ARTS STAFF
Court Theatre opens 2017 with Blues for an Alabama Sky, a tribute to the Harlem Renaissance that unfolds all of the hope, humor, and heartache of the period. Pearl Cleage’s stunning and quick-witted script follows the lives of Angel (Toya Turner), an aspiring singer who dreams of her name in lights, and Guy (Sean Parris), a talented costumer for Harlem nightclubs whose goal is to design for Josephine Baker’s acts in Paris. The two live, lavishly and loudly, in an apartment beside their far more serious-minded friend Delia (Celeste M. Cooper), who works tirelessly with real-life birth control activist Margaret Sanger in hopes of establishing a family planning clinic for the women of Harlem. The set of Blues is brimming with color and detail. From the first moment the actors enter, we see how well the stage complements them; it appears lived-in, with half-sewn garments, bottles of liquor, and an enormous poster of a grinning Josephine Baker in feathers (and not much else), an omnipresent manifestation of
Guy’s deepest wish. Next door is Delia’s more subtle, cool-toned room with a tidy bookcase and simple vanity. Both rooms become centers of lively companionship and astonishingly intimate moments of isolation. Audience members feel privileged to be able to look in on these moments, all of which seem rich and real. Turner is dynamic and captivating as Angel, the play’s central character. She sings and shimmies her complicated persona into every heart as she gazes out her apartment window. After a bout of bad luck, she pushes on, struggling to make it as an artist in a city wracked by the Great Depression. In the moments between running about in high-arched heels and slinky gowns in search of auditions, she settles in for some bootlegged alcohol with Sam (James Vincent Meredith), a friend and local doctor. Sam, a kind but distant soul approaching middle age, appears between long hospital shifts delivering babies to Harlem mothers who often can barely afford to sustain themselves. The cast possesses a well-practiced familiarity that emerges in their
Michael Brosilow
A powerful cast and riveting script make Court’s Blues for an Alabama Sky a winner.
ear-filling banter and long-drawn moments of tension. In this midst of this, a stranger named Leeland (Geno Walker) from Alabama enters their lives and may turn their urban perspective around—for better or for worse. As much as Blues evokes hearty laughs, it also confronts elements of identity in a mean-
ingful manner from beginning to end. An homage to the inherent tragedy of an artist flourishing in the midst of a depression, Blues conveys a sense of yearning under the weight of pressing abstracts— from racism to gender expression to bodily autonomy—as well as the very physical effects of poverty. Though set in the past, this show’s
themes are essential, especially today. This isn’t one to miss. See Court Theatre’s Blues for an Alabama Sky now through February 12. $5 student rush tickets available one hour before show. For more information, please visit courttheatre.org.
Grammy-Nominated Spektral Quartet Shares History, Jokes BY HANNAH EDGAR ARTS EDITOR
Life comes at the Spektral Quartet fast. After its founding in 2010, the group was named ensemble-in-residence of the University’s music department in 2012, came out with its first album in 2013, then welcomed violinist Clara Lyon in 2014. And that’s nothing to say of 2016, the year the group’s sophomore album Serious Business was released and nominated for a Grammy, and in which it underwent another changing of the guard: the hiring of 23-year-old violinist Maeve Espy Feinberg following the departure of founding member Austin Wulliman. In advance of their F riday concert on campus— also Feinberg’s formal debut with the quartet— T HE M A ROON sat
down with the Spektrals in Logan Café to talk about the journey so far. C HICAGO M A ROON : First of all, congrats on your Grammy nomination! Where were you all when you got the news? Russell Rolen: I was sitting patiently at the breakfast table while my son took an hour to eat his eggs in the morning. Clara Lyon: How patient were you? RR: “Goddammit, eat it! ” Maeve Feinberg: “I have a Grammy nomination, and you can’t even eat your eggs?” [laughter] RR : A ny way, my phone pinged with a message from the guy who runs our record label. That was a good text message to get. Doyle Armbrust: I think
ou r hop e s wer e , l i ke…not even nonexistent, because the chamber music category is, if not the biggest, then one of the biggest in the classical umbrella—some 250, 300 albums. We weren’t expecting anything, so getting that text message was a big surprise. C H IC A G O M A R O O N : Spektral seems like such a Chicago fixture that it’s kind of astonishing to put things into perspective and realize that you’re sti l l a pretty young quartet. You guys started up, what, ’09? RR: We sta r ted play ing together in ’09, but the first concert we gave as Spektral Quartet was late 2010. DA : It was very enthusiastic and ver y out- of-tune. [laughs] C HICAG O M A ROON : So now Continued on page 9
Sono Luminus
Spektral Quartet earned a Grammy nod for its album, Serious Business .
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 24, 2017
“Our actual mission is ... the conversation between new and old.”
Joe Mazzo
With a Grammy nomination under its belt, Spektral Quartet (Doyle Armbrust, Clara Lyon, Maeve Feinberg, and Russell Rolen) has lots to smile about. Continued from page 8
I want to turn to Maeve, and ask what it’s been like having her come on board. What about her clicked? RR: Oh it’s been terrible!
DA: The worst! [laughter] Well, one thing that’s been clear for us is that our identity outside of Chicago has been based on our new music playing, and we’re really eager to
get [at] what our actual mission is, which is the conversation between new and old. New music [requires] a really specific skill set, and there’s not an overabundance of people
that do that, especially at a really high level. We started out by thinking we have to find a new-music person, but as we went through the process, we realized that we had a real ap-
petite for someone who could help us build our traditional [repertoire]. That’s what was really exciting w ith Maeve coming in: we found someone who felt as exuberantly about new music as traditional music and was playing both at a really high level. C H I C A G O M A R O O N : A nd Maeve, what was it like on your end? MF: It was great. I’m so fresh out of school that I haven’t taken a lot of auditions, so I haven’t been through the process a ton of times and don’t know what to expect. But like they said, when you play with someone for the first time, you can get a sense pretty early on if your basic outlook on music is in touch. Plus, when you meet people you get along with personally as well as musically, you just play better. A nd it’s not as though it was a very austere, scary process. DA: The interview portion was always an over-dinnerand-drinks kind of thing. Because sure, there’s a lot of competing things you’re trying to find in one person, but there’s a really important part of this, which is: If you got stuck in Snowmageddon on Lake Shore Continued on page 10
Imani Winds Champions Diversity of Repertoire and Race BY REBECCA JULIE ASSOCIATE ARTS EDITOR
When Valerie Coleman was studying flute performance at Mannes School of Music in 1997, she came up with the idea for the name of her wind quintet: Imani Winds. With that in mind, she asked friends for names of quality New York musicians of color in the freelancing scene and came across bassoonist Monica Ellis, French horn player Jeff Scott, oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz, and clarinetist Mariam Adam. Swahili for “faith,” imani became the new quintet’s namesake. Today, nearly two decades later and with four of the five original members still in the ensemble, Imani Winds has gone on to receive a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album (2016). Last year, Mark Dover came on board as Imani’s clarinetist. Throughout its career, the group has been devoted to promoting diversity in classical music, and it works hard to reach as diverse an audience as possible through various outreach efforts and collaborations with other performers and composers. At the end of last academic year, UChicago named Imani Winds the new Don Michael Randel ensemble in residence on campus, succeeding the Pacifica Quartet. O n F r iday, the I ma n is teamed up with the University of Chicago Chamber Music Organization (CMO) to partake in the third of a series of CMO-hosted panel discussions on race, class, and privilege in classical music in the Logan Penthouse. The dis-
cussion was moderated by fourthyear Shirley Zhang. The discussion quickly turned to the Imanis’ dedication to performing diverse music by composers of varying backgrounds. As Scott explained, wind quintets “don’t have the Mozarts, the Brahms, the Strausses, and so on. So we don’t have great literature, the great composers of the 18th and 19th centuries.” Scott—who, along with Coleman, is a composer himself—discussed that this distinct lack of repertoire is what placed Imani Winds and other wind quintets in a unique position to influence the birth of an entirely new canon of repertoire. “You just can’t survive without repertoire,” he continued. “So you celebrate the idea that you’re starting with a blank palette.” From this blank palette, Imani Winds created its Legacy Commissioning Project. Through Legacy, Imani commissioned 10 composers of color for a variety of concerts, as well as recordings. “We knew right away that it was important to commission music from underrepresented folk,” Scott said. “It’s hard enough to get your music premiered no matter who you are, but defi nitely if you’re African-American, or Latino, or Asian; if you’re not from the standard European canon, it’s hard to get music performed. We have a platform that we stand on, and we decided to put our money where our mouths were.” Ultimately the musicians stressed that performing diverse genres is integral to promoting inclusivity in classical music, and
Imani Winds
In making diversity its mission, Imani Winds is blazing new trails in classical music.
integral to Imani on the whole. “As artists, it’s our responsibility to be true to ourselves,” Coleman said. The group recalled a night when they performed one of Scott’s original pieces, a work that combined the music of Bach with John Coltrane. The concert included Imani Winds, a string quartet, and a jazz combo. In the Imani spirit of defying traditional musical boundaries, the performance attracted a wide array of classical music lovers and jazz enthusiasts alike. The ensemble also discussed the other ways in which they “put their money where their mouth is.” Outreach is key for Ima-
ni—half of the group’s touring schedule involves working with students, going to schools and churches, and reaching out to people who may not have otherwise had exposure to the ensemble. In many ways, Imani Winds has been a trailblazer for the chamber and classical music worlds, and at Friday’s discussion they encouraged and challenged audience members not to be afraid to do the same. “If you’re not seeing what you want to see in classical music on the stage or writing the music, be that person,” Scott said. “Find those other people with the same minds and push the boundaries.
We knew that there were not many African-American chamber music concert ensembles touring in the United States, so this was not by accident that we put this group together. We didn’t know if it was going to be successful, but that was part of the mission.” Friday’s discussion ended by turning outwards, well beyond the confines of Logan Penthouse. “We are proud to be a mostly African-American—and Mark— ensemble, but I think these questions of diversity should not just be asked of people of color, they need to be asked of everyone,” Spellman-Diaz concluded. “We feel it’s all of our challenge.”
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 24, 2017
“Humor is often the device we defer to in rehearsals...” Continued from page 9
Drive, would they still be alive at the end of those six hours? CL: Or would you? RR: Or would you get in the car with them in the first place? MF: And they need to like driving me, because I don’t have a license! DA : I n other word s , i f you’re going to be on the road with this person for 10 days, would you still want to hang out with them? RR: A nd we gave Maeve some rep to play that we knew wou ld n’t be s ometh i ng we could all play right away. We wanted to challenge ourselves with something that made us work and solve problems together. C HICAGO M AROON : Maeve, I hear you chuckling over there. What did they give you? M F: T here was a pie ce that, um, involved singing. CHICAGO M AROON: Ah—The Ancestral Mousetrap [by Dave Reminick], from Serious Business. Let’s talk about the CD for a minute, actually: What went into making that album? RR: We were inv ited to the Walden School, which is a summer festival for young
composers [i n New Ha mp shire], in 2014. That’s where we played Many, Many Cadences by Sky Macklay, who’s on faculty there, and we loved it immediately. DA: Well, we hated it, then we loved it. RR: Yeah, it’s ridiculously hard to play. We cursed her name ma ny times. [laughter] Anyway, around the time Clara joined, we had a meeting and hatched this album. It’s because we knew we were going to have Mousetrap and C h r i s F i s h e r - L o c h h e a d ’s piece [Hack], which is based on standup comedians. It also became apparent that Sky’s piece is quite funny, since it turns tonal music on its head. So we realized we definitely had something in the works there for a theme. DA: It felt like a natural fit, too, because Austin, Russ, and I listen to a lot of comedy podcasts, and humor is often the device we defer to in rehearsals when things get difficult or tense. C H I C A G O M A R O O N : A nd Mousetrap, as Maeve alluded to earlier, is pretty gnarly, since it requires you to sing and play at the same time.
RR: You know, lots of musicians sing and play, but there’s something different about this kind of prep. None of us are trained singers, so we also had to get over that hurdle of sel f- consciousness. Plus, Dave’s music is quite complex: the rhythms are off-kilter, and the melodies he has us sing are disjunct. Then that’s all layered on top of each other. So we started very slowly. DA : Is that the piece we spent the most rehearsal time on? I think so, by a long shot. CL: Yeah, and Sky’s [Many, Many Cadences] is up there too. C H I C A G O M A R O O N : S o, I have to ask: Doyle, why is it you who’s biting the dust on the CD cover? Is it a v iola thing, or…? DA : T here were a lot of things that wwwent into that cover. We wanted to riff off of the iconic Guarneri Quartet picture of them coming out of a neoclassical building and hailing a cab. I was in charge of getting the photo stuff set up, and had an interesting gaffe— CL: It wasn’t really your fault… RR: No, it was his fault. DA: There was a miscom-
munication between us and the label about when they needed final cover album artwork, and they basically called us and said, “We need this in three days.” So we went to Northwestern at like six in the morning, and the weather’s holding, and the temperature is reasonable. Then, just as the photographer gets there, all the sprinklers come on on the lawn at Deering Library. That limited the number of falls we could do, because with each take I was getting more mud and grass on my back. RR: But you asked why him, and the real answer is: because he’s a ham! He asked for that role. T here was no way anyone else was going to do that. MF: The word “prat” is in “pratfall”… [laughter] C H I C A G O M A R O O N : L et ’s look ahead to this F riday ’s concert, whose unifying theme is pizzicato [plucking strings]. You’ve got Beethoven’s Quartet No. 10, aptly nicknamed “Harp”; you’ve got the Ravel Quartet, with a second movement made famous by Wes Anderson; and you’ve got a recent work by Dai Fujikura, which kicks off with your instru-
ments strummed “banjo-style.” DA: Yeah. After Ear Taxi, wh ich was super new music-heavy, we wanted to balance our season as best as we could on the back half of the season. T his concert is one where we really want to focus on traditional pieces. RR: A nd they’re masterworks of the repertoire, too. We’ve been swimming in Beethoven and Ravel lately, which has been fun. M F: Deep waters. Deep. [laughter] DA: One thing we’re really looking forward to for this concert is that it’s kind of Maeve’s coming-out party—her full debut. MF: My debutante ball! A tiara would be a nice touch. Catch “Finger on the Pulse” Friday, January 27 at 7:30. Fulton Recital Hall. Admission free. Editor’s Note: This interview has been shortened and edited for print. The author was formerly a private student of Clara Lyon.
EXHIBIT [A]rts [1/24] TUESDAY 12 p.m. What’s so important about a Cadillac encased in concrete? Come to the Smart Museum for a gallery talk with Rafael Vostell, Wolf Vostell Estate managing director, and Hannah Higgins, UIC Professor of Art History, to discuss the 1970s interdisciplinary art group Fluxus. Gallery, Smart Museum of Art. Register online. Free. [1/25] WEDNESDAY 5:15 p.m. At the Oriental Institute, winter is the season of Egyptian films. Dina Rashed of UChicago’s political science department will introduce The Open Door (El bab el maftuh) (19 6 4), d i re ct ed by Hen r y Barakat. Come experience classical film while enjoying Egyptian tea and sweets! Breasted Hall, Oriental Institute. Free. [1/26] THURSDAY 6 p.m. The Logan Center, in conjunction with the Chicago Jazz Institute, will feature saxophonist Jenna Przybysz as part of its “Chicago Stage” series. Przybysz will play alongside vibraphonist Ben Karon, bassist Davi Priest, and percussionist A ndy Danstrom. Cafe Logan. Free. 7–9:30 p.m. Join UChicago’s arts group, Outside the Lines, for their weekly figure drawing session. No need to bring your own materials; paper, utensils, and snacks will be provided. This week will feature a male model. Room 802, Logan Center. Free.
[1/27] FRIDAY 7:30 p.m. O f f- O f f Ca mpus and UT/TAPS present an evening of sketch comedy and improv, entitled “Titanic 2: Reunion Cruise.” The Revival. $5. [1/28] SATURDAY 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Classroom educator and community arts worker Lavie Raven will lead the first of two hands-on workshops addressing social issues through an unconventional arts lens. “Nurturing Experimental Spaces for Learning and Making” will conclude with a second session on February 3. Arts Incubator, 2nd Floor Flex Space, 301 East Garfield Boulevard. Free. 3–4:30 p.m. Celebrate Chinese New Year with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Civic Orchestra of Chicago as they perform the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto to ring in the Year of the Rooster. The concert will also feature traditional instruments. Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. Free. 7 p.m. Wat ch r oma nce, treacher y, a nd mag ic ta ke center stage at the University Symphony Ballet’s adaptation of “Swan Lake, set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s score of the same name. There will also be a performance on Sunday, 2 pm. Logan Center, Performance Hall. $5 pre-sale / $7 at the door with UCID, $10 pre-sale / $12 at the door for public.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 24, 2017
SPORTS
Quick Start Bodes Well for Maroons TRACK & FIELD
BY MAGGIE O’HARA SPORTS STAFF
In just the second meet of the indoor season, the Chicago team fared quite well, with a first-place finish for the men and a second-place finish for the women. The Maroons competed at Illinois Wesleyan University’s I-55 Triangular on Saturday alongside host IWU and rival Wash U. On the men’s side, the South Siders finished on top by a close margin: 125.5 points to Wash U’s 121. The men saw seven individual victories throughout the day before taking the team tally. Fourth-year Temisan Osowa took first in the 60-meter and was nearly edged out in the 200-meter race by fellow Chicago third-year Connor Turkatte. The Maroons also saw victories from firstyear Tyson Miller, who won the 400-meter (51.68) and participated in the 4x400-meter with thirdyear Obinnaya Wamuo, first-year Elliott Paintsil, and third-year
Nathan Downey. On the field side of the event, fourth-year Andrew Maneval decisively took first in shot put with a throw of 14.54 meters, third-year Patrick LeFevre won the 60-meter hurdles (8.51), and fourth-year Nick Nielsen finished first in the 3000-meter race (8:41.04). Fourth-year Temisan Osowa spoke about the gravity of this weekend’s success. “This weekend was a great one for us. We saw lot of people improve upon their previous performances, a couple people step up, and a few personal records in multiple event groups,” he said. “Our team is feeling great moving forward, as we competed with some of the best athletes in the nation in our NCAA division and won.” Osowa further emphasized the difference in this team from past Chicago squads. “This was the first time that the men have ever won this tri-meet, a sign of our men’s team improving and becoming well-rounded. We’ll be
looking to make lots of noise at conferences,” he said. On the women’s side, Chicago (105.1 points) was edged out by Wash U with 132 points. Though they weren’t able to secure a team win, they compiled four individual victories. Three of these victories came in long distance races: third-year Cassidy McPherson topped the 1200 meter (3:46.06) and classmate Kelsey Dunn won the one mile (5:23.11) while fellow third-year Khia Kurtenbach won the 3000-meter (9:58.46). The women also had a top scorer in the high jump at the hands of thirdyear Ade Ayoola with 1.65 meters. Both teams have a heavy focus on team culture and unity this season. “As a captain on our team, it makes me very proud to say that our team culture is very strong,” said Osowa. “We work very well together, support each other, and inspire one another, on and off the track. That’s a product of a lot of time and effort spent by athletes, freshmen through seniors, to be
University of Chicago Athletics Department
Third-year Will Ackermann competes at the meet.
positive contributors to our team’s success.” The Maroons look to keep up their success as the season progresses and keep building on their hot start. Dunn emphasized that this meet was important for a number of reasons, but that the teams are looking forward to the rest of the season. “This weekend was a great opportunity for our team to compete against another
member of our conference. We are looking forward to the next meet at Whitewater. There will be more teams and even more competition,” she said. “It’ll be a great time for some of us to really test ourselves as we approach the midway point of the season!” The next meet for the streaking South Siders is the Windy City Invitational, held at Henry Crown Field House this weekend.
Maroons Hold On to Win Two WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BY JOSH PARKS SPORTS STAFF
After two major conference upsets a week ago, the South Siders looked to continue their hot start to UAA play, as the Judges of Brandeis University rolled into town Friday evening. Fending off a strong Brandeis push down the stretch, the Maroons’ first-half offense proved to be the difference as Chicago picked up its third conference victory by a final score of 62–55. After a slow start out of the gate, the Maroons’ three-point shooting quickly put the home team out front. In what has become a tradition, the South Siders be-
gan to pick up steam in the second quarter, outscoring Brandeis 20–5 in the 10-minute stretch. Forcing eight turnovers in the period, the Maroons rode a 37–19 advantage into halftime. Weathering a 9–0 run from Brandeis guard Paris Hodges, firstyear Miranda Burt and fourth-year Britta Nordstrom provided key baskets to keep the hosts on top 45–21 heading into the fourth quarter. Strong defense from the Judges forced several Chicago turnovers in the final three minutes of play, but the South Siders were able to hold on in the final minute to seal the victory. Burt led all scorers with 17 points while also grabbing four
steals on the night. In the paint, Nordstrom and second-year Ola Obi each recorded double-doubles to anchor the Maroons’ campaign. It was a short turnaround for the South Siders; they hosted conference foe NYU for a Sunday matinee. In a back-and-forth battle of grit, first-year Mia Farrell sent the Chicago fans home with a smile, fi nishing a game-winning layup in the closing seconds to put the Maroons on top 69–67. After a stif ling defensive start from the visiting Violets, it was timely outside shooting that yet again gave the Maroons the halftime edge. Farrell was rolling from the tip, scoring 11 of her career-high 13 points in the first
20 minutes of play. In a second half that saw a vicious trapping zone from the visitors, Nordstrom and fourth-year Elizabeth Nye righted the ship for the South Siders. The veteran combo accounted for eight key points in crunch time, while the Violets relentlessly battled back to knot the score at 67. However, it was Farrell that would have the last word, converting an off-handed scoop with 2.3 seconds remaining that put the game on ice. “It’s really an honor that my coaches and teammates put so much of their trust into me and the other freshmen,” Farrell said. “Being surrounded by such amazing coaches and players has
given [our class] great opportunities to contribute.” When asked about her team’s postseason potential, Farrell was confident in her teammates. “When we play as a team and work together, we have the potential to be unstoppable,” she said. The South Siders (11–5, 4–1 UAA) will travel to Cleveland on Friday to take on the Case Western Spartans (10–6, 2–3 UAA). Friday’s contest will be held in historic Adelbert Gymnasium as a part of Throwback Weekend recognizing the three institutions that united to become Case Western Reserve University. Friday’s tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. EST.
South Siders Tied Up Over the Weekend WRESTLING
BY GARY HUANG SPORTS STAFF
This past weekend, the South Siders featured in two intense matches that came down to the wire against strong programs in Wheaton and Elmhurst. Unfortunately, neither ended in the Maroons’ favor, but the results still bring a lot to be optimistic about. In the first match against Wheaton College on Friday, the South Siders took the initiative and gained an early 21–6 lead throughout the first five matches. Although Wheaton grabbed the first win through forfeit, Chicago won the next four matches, with two coming from forfeits on Wheaton’s end.
Third-year standout Devan Richter made his season debut after coming back from an injury and was able to start where he left off last season. Head coach Leo Kocher had moved Richter up a weight class to 133 lb., as he believed Richter would score crucial points for the team. His strategical choice paid off, as Richter earned a third-period pin. First-year Steve Bonsall represented the other win, earning a 10–8 decision at 175 lb. However, that was the turning point in the meet, and the Thunder went on to sweep the final five matches. Three decisions and one major decision allowed Wheaton to pull within two points of UChicago, with the score displaying 21–19 going into the
heavyweight and final match of the evening. Wheaton second-year Max Gierke was able to claim victory for Wheaton as he defeated second-year Patrick Mulkerin with a first-period fall. At 197 lb., second-year John Jayne gave returning All-American, Wheaton fourthyear Mikey Swider, a good match. The meet moved the Maroons to 4–2 on the season, and the Thunder improved to 5–3. The South Siders had to rally within 24 hours to play host to Elmhurst College. The storyline then was similar to the previous day. Richter, wrestling in his genuine weight class at 125 lb., got the team off to a great start by pinning his opponent in the first period to
give his side a 6–0 lead. The Bluejays came back to win the next two encounters by decision and major decision. However, first-year Kahlan Lee-Lermer took notice of Richter’s earlier result and matched it with his own first-period pin in two fewer seconds than Richter. Another pair of decision victories elevated Elmhurst to a tight 13–12 lead, but the Maroons would not be disheartened. Third-year Nicholas DiNapoli and second-year Jason Lynch dominated their opponents at 174 lb. and 184 lb., respectively. Both wrestlers earned 16–0 technical falls, with Lynch obtaining his 10th of the season, bringing him into the top five in NCAA DIII in
that category. Trailing 22–13 with two matches to go, Elmhurst secured a technical fall of its own, as well as major decision, and the match was tied up at 22 all. Unfortunately for the Maroons, the Bluejays emerged the victors by tiebreaker, as they had won six of the 10 matches, claiming the better win-loss margin. The Maroons may receive another chance to face the two schools, as all three of the teams will participate in the 2017 Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational hosted by Wheaton College. The matches will start on Friday at 11 a.m., and the championship and third-place matches will take place on Saturday.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 24, 2017
SPORTS IN-QUOTES... “I just think if you’re going to give the players [the vote], I think they should take it seriously.” —Warriors head coach Steve Kerr on All-Star game voting.
First UAA Wins for Chicago MEN’S BASKETBALL
BY MICHAEL PERRY SPORTS STAFF
The Chicago team had a great weekend, winning back-to-back games in the UAA. These are the first two conference wins for the Maroons this season, raising their record to 10–6 overall, 2–3 UAA. The wins came over Brandeis (6–9, 2–3 UAA) Friday night and NYU (6–9, 1–4 UAA) Sunday afternoon. After enduring a five-game losing streak that included multiple ranked opponents and losing the fi rst three games in conference play, the Maroons got themselves back in the win column Friday night, beating the Brandeis Owls at home 75–65 during “Beach Night.” The fans came clad in traditional beach wear, from swimsuits to sunglasses, to cheer on the Maroons Friday night. “It was great to play in front of the fans,” third-year forward Collin Barthel said. “Getting a win was important, so being able to do that at home in front of that turnout of fans was awesome. It’s also good to start getting wins again and compete in the UAA.” UChicago jumped out to an early lead and stayed in control for most of the game. Brandeis had no answer as fourth-years
Tyler Howard and Blaine Crawford and third-year Jake Fenlon all scored 16 points. The Judges tried various forms of man and zone defenses, staying aggressive all night. The Maroons took advantage of that aggression, getting to the foul line 30 times, making 19 of them. The win was even more impressive given the Maroons were short-handed, as second-year guard Noah Karras missed the game due to sickness. In the second game of the weekend, the Maroons took on the NYU Violets, dominating the game 93–79. Chicago dominated the boards 44–30, led by fourthyear center Blaine Crawford, who finished with nine. Crawford also rounded out his stat line with 17 points, nearly a double-double. Most importantly, 15 different Maroons logged minutes in the win, with no one person playing more than 30 minutes, which is very different from their norm. This season, only seven players are averaging more than 15 minutes per game. “It was great to build a lead. We came out strong in the second half and were able to let our coach get the whole team involved,” said second-year guard Noah Karras, who recovered from his illness and was able to
University of Chicago Athletics Department
Fourth-year Tyler Howard defends the ball from some tough defense.
contribute solid minutes. “We were able to get in the guys who work hard in practice and support us when we play, so we were sure to support them when they were in.” Fourth-year guard Waller Perez led the team with 24 points, while Howard led the team with seven assists. Perez started the
game hot, scoring eight of the fi rst 13 points for the Maroons, and never looked back. Fenlon, known for his precise shooting, complemented his 15 points with an impressive four blocks. Barthel added another 18 points in the complete team win. This style of basketball bodes well for Chicago, as the
UA A schedule is particularly long, involving more than seven flights over the course of just eight weeks. The Maroons’ next weekend includes two of those flights, as they head to Pittsburgh and Cleveland to take on Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve.
Senior Swim Day Ends in Win SWIMMING & DIVING
BY ALYSSA RUDIN SPORTS STAFF
Last Saturday, Chicago continued its hot streak and dominated at home against Calvin and DePauw in their senior meet. The Maroon women defeated DePauw 231– 64 and took down Calvin 225–75. The men similarly crushed their competition, winning against DePauw 193 – 87 and Calvin 205–89. Further, both teams celebrated their 10-person fourthyear class, comprising Abby Erdmann, Cara LoPiano, Jessie Ho, Emily Hunt, A lison Wall, Maya Scheidl, Megan Wall, Kevin Ku, Rolland Lee, and Jonathan Simoneau. These 10 fourth-years are remarkably accomplished, owning 19 school records amongst them. A lthough the competition wasn’t as good as teams they have faced in the past, this meet was very emotional for the seniors as they remembered all the incredible things they have experienced over their four years. Ku, reflecting on his favorite memory from his time on the team, recalled a get-out swim—the final task of the practice—that the team did his first year. The whole team
had to hold hands and swim 25 yards without breathing, which they did successfully. “It was a lot of fun and was incredibly symbolic of us rising or falling as a team,” he said. Scheidl, too, couldn’t help but reminisce. “ This weekend was a little surreal, because I remember watching the fourthyears get announced and walk down the bulkhead my first year and it was weird to finally be doing it as a fourth-year,” she said. “I was so proud of the entire senior class this weekend because we all performed really well, and showed that we are still a powerful class scoring points for the team.” The fourth-years delivered in their final meet, winning 10 of the team’s 23 total events won. Scheidl went 4 – 0, winning the 50 -yard freestyle, 100 -yard freestyle, the 200yard med ley relay and the 200-yard freestyle relay with times of 24.37, 53.00, 1:47.64, and 1:38.11, respectively. Ku also was undefeated Saturday, w in n ing the 10 0 -ya rd butterf ly in 52.51, the 200-yard butterf ly in 1:54.72, and the 200-yard IM in 1:58.31. Finally, Erdmann won the 100-yard butterf ly, 200-yard butterf ly and was part of the 200-yard
University of Chicago Athletics Department
A female diver is caught mid-flight.
medley relay with times of 58.34, 2:09.38, and 1:47.64, respectively. On the men’s side, firstyears showed their speed as well. Byrne Litschgi won the 200-yard backstroke in 1:56.89 and swam a leg on the first place 200-yard medley relay and the 2 0 0 -yard freestyle relay. For the women, Reona Yamaguchi won 100-yard
breaststroke in 57.74, 200-yard breaststroke in 2:09.02, and the 200-yard medley relay. Add itiona l ly, the d ivers had a great meet, with thirdyear Dean Boures winning the one-meter dive with a score of 256.20 and second-year Anna Girlich taking second, setting a new personal best and achieving an NCAA provisional score at 268.55 points.
Looking ahead to UAAs, Ku believes wholeheartedly in the success of this Chicago squad. “ We just have to continue to push each other in practice and work on the small things, such as turns and breath control, to fine tune our swimming,” he said. The Maroons next take the pool for the UA A Championships at home on February 8.