ChicagoMaroon013117

JANUARY 31, 2017

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

VOL. 128, ISSUE 24

— Immigration Order Roils University Community — President, Provost Write To Trump; University Extends Support

Grad Student May Not Be Able to Return From Iran

BY PETE GRIEVE

BY SOFIA GARCIA

NEWS EDITOR

STAFF REPORTER

An Iranian graduate student at the University who is doing fieldwork in her home country for her sociology dissertation fears she may not be able to return to teach the Core class she has planned for the spring.

Sixth-year sociology doctoral student Maryam Alemzadeh is affected by President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on immigration for people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

“I have a ticket right before the spring quarter starts. I’m supposed to teach my own class in one of the Core sequences, but the ticket I have currently falls within the 90 day ban,” Alemzadeh said yesterday night in a Skype interview from Tehran.

“If nothing changes, it’s not

Last Friday’s immigration executive order —which has already disrupted academic programming and may have stranded at least one student overseas—has pushed the University past its traditional reticence to weigh in on political issues.

The University scrambled to provide guidance to students and faculty who might not be able to reenter the country under the provisions of the order, were they to leave. Yesterday, University President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Daniel Diermeier sent a letter to President Donald Trump expressing their concern about the order’s impact.

They acknowledged their support for strong national se-

Continued on page 4

Adam Thorp Law Professor Aziz Huq laid out the legal situation to a packed lecture hall yesterday, during a time slot that was to be fi lled by a Iranian-Canadian professor. “I would anticipate that a lawsuit will be brought this week. My only surprise is that it hasn’t been brought this morning,” Huq said.

See p. 3.

Creative Writing Major Comes to the College

BY DEEPTI SAILAPPAN STAFF REPORTER

STAFF REPORTER

Continued on page 4

#NotMyAlumni Page 6 “It turns out, there are a decent number of terrible alumni that the University remains dead silent on. It’s shocking, I know.”

Continued on page 3

Fifth Annual Sex Week Underway

BY LAUREN PANKIN

In response to high student demand, a creative writing major will be offered for the first time beginning in fall quarter 2017.

The new major will require 13 courses, including advanced level workshops focusing on the production of creative writing and lecture classes that analyze existing works of nonfiction, fiction and poetry, according to Creative Writing Chair John Wilkinson.

The major will be “strenuous,” focusing on both the creation and theory of writing, Wilkinson said.

curity, but affirmed their desire to see talented immigrants able to study in the United States.

The order, titled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry To the United States,” temporarily restricts immigration from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The Office of International A ffairs (OI A) sent out an e-mail while the executive order was still being drafted to warn international students of its possible effects. It recommended that students from any of the listed countr ies avoid travel l i ng abroad i n light of potential difficulties returning to the country. At the time of writing the e-mail, the OIA believed that students with valid visas would not be

Brooke Nagler For more from this weekend’s production of Swan Lake, see p. 8.

The fi fth annual Sex Week comes to the University of Chicago this week with 20 events scheduled across campus.

The aim of Sex Week, accord i ng t o th i rd-yea r a nd co-director Zhenying Tian, is to normalize sex by framing it in an intellectual, academic context—thus keeping with the university’s tradition of open, spirited inquiry. As such, lectures like “Lovely Lolita: Sex or Eroticism?,” by Russian and Eastern European Studies professor Malynne Sternstein, are juxtaposed with interactive presentations and student-led discussions.

“We often think that sex belongs to the private, and the pri-

Poets Slam Down On Social Issues Through Verse

Late Game Heroics Give South Siders the Win

Page 9

Page 11

The event aimed to support students in marginalized groups and survivors of sexual assault through artistic collaboration.

“Breaking the record was exciting, but that’s really just indicative of how guys on the team set me up to take good shots,” Fenlon said.

Fans Flip Out at Twenty One Pilots’ Chicago Show Page 10

The effect was very much overgrown-prep-school-boy-meets-seasoned-burglar.

vate is not political,” Sex Week’s co-treasurer, third-year Avery Yuan, said. “We’re trying to create a space on campus through which we can talk about sex openly and learn about it openly, and make it politically relevant on campus.”

The week features no official theme —both Tian and Yuan named Sex Week’s broad scope and flexibility as its biggest strengths. This year’s slate of events includes a new focus on sex across cultures and time periods.

After an open house held at the beginning of fall quarter to solicit students’ suggestions for Sex Week, the board of directors sought out events that would ref lect the growing diversity on campus, Tian said.

Continued on page 4

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 31, 2017

January 31, 2017 Film Screening: IXCANUL 5 –7 p.m., Social Science Research, Room 122 The Center for Latin American Studies will be hosting a screening of Jayro Bustamante’s debut film, “IXCA NUL”.

The project examines the lives of a population of Mayans who live on a coffee plantation at the base of an active volcano.

Refreshments will be provided.

On & Around Campus 1/31 — 2/2

Urba n R e ader s : S cen e s capes 6 –7:30 p.m., Seminary Co-Op Bookstore I n their book S cenescapes, Terry Nichols Clark and Daniel Aaron Silver consider how people, places, and experiences combine to create scenes.

At this event, Clark will discuss the book with Timothy J. Gilfoyle, the chair of Loyola University Chicago’s history department.

The Acquisition and Evolution of Linguistic Variation 12 –1 p.m., Neubauer Collegium, 5701 S. Woodlawn Avenue Kenny Smith of the University of Newbury will be discussing his research on artificial language systems. By conducting experiments, he was able to trace the patterns of natural variation as the artificial language was taught and learned by test subjects.

February 2, 2017

Michael Tisserand: Krazy: George Herriman, a Life in Black and White 6 –7:30 p.m., Seminary Co-Op Bookstore Author Michael Tisserand will discuss the his biography of the acclaimed cartoonist and in which ways in racial identity shaped Herriman’s art. Tisserand will be joined in discussion by historian Tim Samuelson and author Chris Ware.

Raise a Glass for Ray 6 –8 p.m., Promontory. $35 in advance, $40 at door.

Proceeds from this event will go to Ray Elementary school. Ticket price includes wine, beer, and appetizers. Guests will have a chance to socialize and dance along with a live band. Child care will be provided for $20 per child, $10 for siblings.

Lunar New Year Celebration 9 –12 p.m., B artlett D ining Commons PanAsia has teamed up with UChicago Dining to present a Lunar New Year themed fourth meal. Dining options will include dumplings, spring rolls, pork buns, fried rice and more!

Lunchtime Gallery Talk: The Organization of Irrigated Agriculture in Southern Mesopotamia 12:15–1 p.m., Oriental Institute Postdoctoral scholar Stephanie Rost will be discussing early Mesopotamian systems to control the Euphrates and Tigris rivers to better suit agricultural needs.

February 1, 2017

Containment Screening 7–9 p.m., Logan Center for the Arts Containment is a part film essay, part graphic novel account of how the radioactive leftovers of World War II might affect future generations. Filmmaker Robb Moss will be present, and will participate in a discussion the next night (an event which is, conveniently, also in this calendar).

Jon at h a n L e a r : W i s d o m Won from Illness 6:30 –7 p.m., Seminary Co-Op Bookstore Author and philosopher Jonathan Lear will be discussing his latest book, Wisdom Won from Illness, which examines the relationship between reason and desi re th roughout some of the most famous philosophical texts. He will be joined in discussion by Martha Nussbaum, a law and philosophy professor at the University.

E c onom ic Grow th a nd Growi ng I nequ a l it y i n Times of Empire: The Babylonia n E c onomy in the Sixth Century BCE 7–9 p.m., Oriental Institute Led by University of Vienna Professor Michael Jursa, this lecture will focus on the causes and consequences of the prosperous “golden interval” of the Babylonian empire.

Obama Endorses Emanuel Appointee Sophia King for Fourth Ward Alderman

Glenn Greenwald: Isla m ophobia and Surveilance in the Age of Trump 7–9 p.m., Rockefeller Memorial Chapel Journalist, constitutional lawyer and author Glenn Greenwald will join author Moustafa Bayoumi in conversation about the struggle for justice in Trump’s America.

Chris Salata Barack Obama visiting his Kenwood polling place in 2008.

BY MAX FENNELL-CHAMETZKY STAFF REPORTER

Former President Barack Obama threw his support behind Fourth Ward Alderman Sophia K ing for the special election on February 28.

In a statement early Monday morning, the 44th president endorsed King, his longtime friend, in Obama’s fi rst political statement since leaving offi ce.

The Obama family has known

King for a long time, since her days of founding the nonprofit Harriet’s Daughters and as a teacher and administrator in Chicago Public Schools, as well as her time with the Obama campaign in 2008.

“Michelle and I have known Sophia many years as a leader dedicated to improving her community. Over the years, Sophia has worked to make neighborhood schools and communities better,” Obama said

in his statement. “Sophia is the type of leader Chicago and the 4th Ward need.”

K i ng was appoi nt ed by R a h m Ema nuel as Fou r th Wa rd a lderma n a f t er Wi l l Burns stepped down from the position to work as an executive for Airbnb. She has since joined the progressive caucus, which frequently opposes the mayor.

Four other candidates are currently contending for King’s Fourth Ward seat: Gregory Seal Livingston, Ebony Lucas, Gerald Scott McCarthy, and Marcellus Moore.

Of the four, Livingston has been the most outspoken so far about the Obama endorsement. He complained that the endorsement was effectively cheating, and spoke out against it on Monday.

“One of the great problems of Chicago is when fr iendship trumps responsibility to the citizens,” Livingston told DNAinfo.

This endorsement marks the lowest level political race former President Obama has been involved in using the inf luence of his presidency, the previous being Juliana Stratton in the Illinois Fifth District House race last March.

The Fourth Ward stretches along the shore of Lake Michigan from the northern reaches of Hyde Park to the southernmost part of downtown. The aldermanic candidates will meet Saturday at an al dermanic forum sponsored by the Hyde Park Herald. The election will be on Tuesday, February 28.

College Alum Hired as Aide to Chief Strategist

BY JAMIE EHRLICH DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

A University of Chicago graduate and former Breitbart News reporter was recently appointed as an aide to White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.

Julia Hahn (A .B. ’13), a philosophy major who graduated from the College in 2013, was hired by conservative news outlet Breitbart in 2015 and will join the White House this month as an aide to the chief strategist.

Breitbart News is a far-right media outlet that is known as the “home” for the so-called altright movement—a movement that champions white nationalism and rejects mainstream conservatism. Before joining the campaign and eventually the White House, Bannon was executive chair of Breitbart.

Hahn’s formal title will be special assistant to the President, though she will primarily

work under Bannon. The news of Hahn’s hire emerged simultaneously with the news that President Donald Trump reorganized the National Security Council and elevated Bannon to a seat on the council— a move which Senator John McCain called a “radical departure from any National Security Council in history.” Hahn’s hiring as special assistant was first reported by Politico.

Hahn mostly covered immigration during her time at Breitbart News, writing articles with headlines such as “Muslim Immig ration P uts Half a Million US Girls at Risk of Genital Mutilation,” and “Final Warning from Immigration Officers: Clinton, Open Borders Will ‘Unleash’ Violence, ‘Countless Preventable Deaths’ in America.”

Hahn has also been a vocal critic of House Speaker Paul Ryan. Many of her articles focus on the GOP ’s inaction in preventing illegal immigra-

tion. During the election, Hahn wrote a story implying Ryan’s support for Hillary Clinton, titled “He’s With Her: Inside Paul Ryan’s Months-Long Campaign to Elect Hillary Clinton President.”

In 2015, Hahn pressed conservative lawmakers on their support of “a suspension or reduction in Muslim immigration,” but, as the Washington Post reports, Representative Raul Labrador (R-ID) refused to answer the question.

“I don’t answer questions from you because you are not a truthful reporter, and I will not answer any of your questions,” he said.

Within the Republican party, Hahn is considered to be more conservative than much of Congress.

“She’ll be Bannon’s Bannon and make Bannon look moderate,” Editor-at-Large of The Weekly Standard William K ristol told the Washington Post.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 31, 2017

In Slot Left by Iranian-Canadian Professor, a Discussion of the Reality Created by Trump’s Immigration Executive Order

BY ADAM THORP NEWS EDITOR

The head of the University’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) and a Law School professor spoke Monday to a room packed w ith students concerned with President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration.

The University’s political theor y workshop had been scheduled to host Arash Abizadeh, a pol itica l scientist from McGill University. In the wake of Friday’s executive order, Abizadeh, who was born in Iran, f lew to Montreal instead. Trump’s order banned entry for residents of seven countries, including Iran, as well as all refugees.

“My city of birth is Shiraz, and all the evidence suggests I would be detained on arrival in Chicago and refused entry on the basis off my birthplace,” Abizadeh wrote in an e-mail.

Among other topics, Abizadeh has written that unilateral border controls are incompatible with a theory of popular sovereignty. “ R ather than cancel l ing the workshop, we thought that

it would be better to use this hour and twenty minutes to have a general discussion on the many issues surrounding the executive order, including its likely effects on the members of our academic community—students, staff, and faculty,” political science professor Chiara Cordelli said. Cordelli introduced the event. Attendees spilled into the aisle in the large basement lecture hall.

Will L ev ine, a g raduate student in the political science department, then read a stat ement f rom M a r ya m Alemzadeh, an Iranian graduate student at the University of Chicago. Alemzadeh was f in ish ing f ieldwork for her sociology dissertation in Iran when the executive order was issued.

In her statement, Alemzadeh reacted to the order, which may prevent her from returning to the University for spring quarter. She also ref lected on the response to the ban.

“I…feel denigrated today, not just personally, but as part of a community whose members had to worryingly cancel their travel plans, doubtfully travel, and be disdainfully re-

stricted at transit airports, if not detained upon arrival, and most heartbreakingly of all, go back to the terrifying life of war and persecution that they managed to escape from. But I also feel a borderless power rising from the feeling of revulsion shared between the quote unquote banned community and the mass of U.S. residents. This is absolutely new and deeply thrilling,” the statement continued.

A ziz Huq, a professor at the Law School who spent part of Saturday helping people detained at O’Hare, spoke next.

Huq , who a lso works w ith the American Civil Liberties Union, laid out the “legal landscape” in the confused aftermath of the executive order.

He said he expected the case to face legal challenges from under the Establishment and the Free Exercise Clauses of the F i rst A mend ment , the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Ad m i n istrative P ro cedu res Act, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. “I would anticipate that a lawsuit will be brought this week. My on ly su r pr ise is

that it hasn’t been brought this morning, mostly because the lawyers who are doing it I know personally, and they’re very, very good, and they’re very, very quick. I would be surprised if it’s not brought this week, but it could take months, or, more likely, years, for such a suit to play out,” Huq said.

Huq said he knew of several organizations looking for plaintiffs willing to challenge the order. “An ideal plaintiff is someone that is in the United States, is somebody with a relatively stable, long-term visa, and is not a green card holder but is a national of one of the seven countries, and has a valid reason to leave the United States—a family reason, or a religious reason would be interesting. I would f lag that I am perfectly happy to help connect people who are in that kind of position or who know people who are in that kind of position, to the right lawyer,” Huq said.

In the meantime, Huq and Tamara Felden, the head of the OI A , acknowledged that the situation was serious. At the point of entry, both pointed

out, immigration officials had broad discretion to challenge, detain, and reject new arrivals. The new order made the situation even more pressing.

“As you are hearing, we are in a pretty dire environment at this point,” Felden said.

Felden emphasized the resources available to students through the University, and encouraged students and faculty to reach out to the OI A with questions. Dur ing the event, Felden and Huq fielded questions from the audience about the implications for people with a variety of connections to the banned countries. “ I’ve been talking to severa l i nd iv idua l s who ver y correctly pointed out, this essentially traps me in the U.S., and that is not how things should work. However, at the moment, I’m grateful for every person who tells me they are still in the U.S., that you’re not abroad, trying to get back.

At least for the moment, we think that your situation is somewhat stable, and we hope that we will soon have additional information about the impacts on the ground to work with,” Felden said.

Head of OIA Says University Is In Contact With Students From All Seven Countries Specified by Presidential Order Continued from front

affected. “While re-entry into the U.S. with a valid visa should not be affected, it is difficult to anticipate what changes the provisions of the EO may cause and what the risks to such travel might be.”

As soon as the order was implemented, however, it became clear that individuals from those countries could be detained upon entry to the United States even with a valid visa, as students with valid F1 visas at other universities were detained or sent back to their home countries in the wake of the order.

On January 29, Zimmer and Diermeier sent out a message to the campus community “to reaffirm, in the strongest terms, the commitment of the University of Chicago to our international students, faculty, scholars, and staff as well as to those members of our commu-

nity with undocumented immigration status or who qualify for relief under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.”

In the letter, they expressed support for the message from the Association of American Universities (A AU), to which the University belongs. The A AU wrote in opposition to the order, urging Trump to rescind it as quickly as possible.

“It is vital to our economy and the national interest that we continue to attract the best students, scientists, engineers, and scholars,” Zimmer wrote.

The OIA is currently undertaking a series of measures to provide information to all concerned students about immigration law and the potential ramifications of changes to U.S. immigration policy. In addition to hosting sev-

eral informational events centered on immigration law and offering pro-bono consulting to undocumented students, the OI A developed a new page on its website titled Updates on Presidential Executive Orders Affecting Immigration. According to a public response from Sian Beilock, executive vice provost, and Michele Rasmussen, dean of students, the OI A is in contact with members of the campus community from the seven countries.

Tamara Felden, head of the OI A, recognizes the uncertainty of the situation and strongly cautions all students from the seven enumerated countries or other Muslim-majority countries that could potentially be targeted in future actions to avoid travelling outside of the United States and learn their rights under immigration law. On Monday,

a discussion regarding the effects of the executive order was held in Saieh Hall, where Felden provided advice to concerned members of the campus community.

On January 28, the president of the University of Michigan affirmed in a statement that it complies with federal requirements “associated with managing its international programs,” but otherwise does not share informati on like immigration status. Yesterday, a Twitter user wrote to @UChicago: “ Take a stronger stand: PLEDGE not to release students’ visa status.” The official University account responded: “UChicago complies with federal law and protects all personally identifiable student education records…including information on immigration status. See: bit.ly/2jMr6vB.”

U of C Dems Condemn Immigration Order

BY ANNIE NAZZARO ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

University of Chicago Democrats (UCDems) released a statement on Facebook on Sunday condemning President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries and limiting U.S. acceptance of refugees.

“Donald Trump’s executive order is unconstitutional. It is perverse and evil.

It is reckless. It is the antithesis of smart

governance. It is the absence of integrity.

It is deeply characteristic of our new president,” UCDems wrote.

The order, which was signed on Friday afternoon, blocks immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations—Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen—for 90 days. It bars entry to the country for Syrian refugees indefi nitely, and bars refugees from any other country for 120 days.

Third-year Rachel Neuburger, the president of UCDems, said that while a

lot has happened in the past 10 days of Trump’s presidency, this order prompted them to speak because it was “particularly egregious.”

“It attacks the human rights and the constitutional rights of a lot of people, some of whom go to this school, and I think that it also illustrates the indifference that many members of our Congress have to some groups’ human rights and illustrates how willing they are to roll over for Donald Trump,” Neuburger said.

UCDems also chose to share a state-

ment in the comments of their post by Keith Ellison, a representative for Minnesota who is the first Muslim elected to Congress. “This executive order runs contrary to everything we cherish about America,” he said.

At the end of their statement, UCDems invited students to join them in “speaking up and out” against the radical policies of the current administration. UCDems will be participating in two upcoming phone banks to organize both Illinois residents and students across the country.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 31, 2017

Sex Week Goal is to Normalize Sex Continued from front page

These include lectures like “Masculinity in Iran: Contemporary Contexts,” as well as a screening of the Indian web series Ladies’ Room, written by a current Harris School of Public Policy student, and “Bible Thumping,” a panel discussion with Episcopalian clergy members and Good Christian Sex author Bromleigh McCleneghan.

Back by student demand are “Introduction to Rope Bondage,” a workshop

taught by a guest instructor, and the ever-popular Lascivious Ball, a tradition predating Sex Week by almost 50 years, to be held Friday night at 10:30 p.m. in Ida Noyes. The Lascivious Ball is the only Sex Week event that costs money to attend—tickets are $10 at the door—and will include food, dancing, and appearances by PhiNix, Maya, and other performance RSOs. Over its fi ve years on campus, Sex Week has grown from a fledgling event

into a tradition, Tian said, adding, “People actively reach out to us to propose their own ideas.” The event provides a recurring platform to RSOs with interests in sex issues—from Amnesty International to Tea Time and Sex Chats to The Body Project. Sex Week has also forged ongoing relationships with outside sponsors, including Trojan Condoms and Early2Bed sex toy store.

Yuan predicts that Sex Week will become more politically charged in the

future. “Especially within the public sphere, there will be a lot of discussions related to sex, whether it’s about policy or academics…. There will be more politically related content, and policy-based content. I see that as an inevitable trend.”

Sex Week begins Monday at 5 p.m. with the presentation “Title IX on Campus.” A full schedule and related announcements can be found on the Sex Week website and Facebook page.

Graduate-level Creative Writing Program Could Follow Continued fromfront page

“Whilst it is devoted to improving the writing of the students, it is not simply a workshop course,” Wilkinson said. “The major is designed to enable students to locate their practice politically, socially and professionally.”

Wilkinson said the major is designed to be interdisciplinary and classes outside the major can fulfill credits.

“If you’re writing a novel set in Papua New Guinea, then you could take a couple of courses in anthropology,” Wilkinson said.

The major will require a B.A. thesis during the student’s fourth year, with a winter thesis workshop and a graduate student preceptor. The entirety of the

creative writing department will make a decision to confer honors on a minority of students based on overall academic performance and the quality of the final paper.

Through a survey which compared the proportional number of students enrolled in the University creative writing minor to peer institutions with creative writing major programs, the department estimates there will be 40 major candidates per year, Program Coordinator Jessica Haley said.

Haley also noted that a high proportion of students currently enrolled in the English honors option in the creative dissertation track may decide to pursue a double major instead. With the establishment of the creative writ-

ing major, the creative dissertation will be phased out over the next two years.

“We anticipate there being a lot of double majors in creative writing and economics, based on how many economics students take our minor and take more than the required number of courses for that minor,” Haley said.

Second-year Tommy Zhang said he would consider double majoring in either economics or mathematics and creative writing if the number of credits were less of an issue for his academic schedule. Zhang is currently in his third creative writing workshop, and he intends to take a few more creative writing courses to complete the minor requirements.

“As someone who doesn’t love writ-

ing essays or analytical papers but loves math, poetry is good because it is a creative outlet with a lot of structure,” Zhang said.

Second-year Urvi Kumbhat, who is currently enrolled in Fundamentals of Poetry, said she may consider the creative writing major.

“It would be ideal if there was support from real poets and writers who are producing work on a regular basis, not just academics,” Kumbhat said. “I would want there to be a good balance between critical study and independent writing.”

According to Wilkinson, as the creative writing major program becomes more solidified, a graduate-level program may be developed.

Maryam Alemzadeh Fears She Will Not Be Able to Return for Spring Quarter; Had Been Scheduled to Teach Core Class Continued from front page

at all clear what will happen after the 90-day ban. The order didn’t clarify this.

My visa should still be valid until August 17,” she said. “I have no idea what will happen after the ban is removed or ended.”

Alemzadeh said she won’t have issues fi nding work or a place to stay because she’s lived in Iran for a significant amount of time. “It’s difficult only because it’s unclear so I can’t plan ahead.

That’s my biggest issue.”

Alemzadeh said she is on Pro Forma registration with the University of Chicago, which she said means the University should be formally aware that she’s not in Chicago or a nearby city. Two administrators said in a campus-wide e-mail Sunday that the University was not aware of any members of the University community who are in one of the seven countries affected by Trump’s executive order. Alemzadeh said that the administration has since been notified of her situation.

“The University administration didn’t know, because in the e-mail they sent to the whole community, they said ‘we’re not aware of anyone abroad,’” she said. “I wish that they would’ve gathered more information before they sent out the e-mail.

It was kind of disappointing to see they were not aware of my being abroad despite the Pro Forma registration so it’s officially in the system.”

A University spokesperson did not return a request for comment.

Asked generally about the Uni-

versity’s response, A lemzadeh said that it has done what it can do “Honestly I have no idea what we can do. I saw the letter to the President, to Trump.

To be honest, I don’t know what to think because I don’t know what’s to be done. I think the letter sounded good. It was fair.

And I should also add that the University community itself has been very supporting. Maybe not officially, but unofficially.

Like friends and even people who know have e-mailed, faculty members have e-mailed and shown support.”

Professors and Nobel Laureates Sign Petition Opposing Executive Order With Thousands of Other Academics

BY VIVIAN HE STAFF REPORTER

More than 120 faculty members at the University of Chicago have signed a growing petition denouncing President Donald Trump’s executive order banning refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

Trump issued an executive order on January 27 that banned nationals of seven Muslim countries including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia from entering the United

States for at least the next 90 days and suspended admission of Syrian refugees for the next four months. Since its release, the order has sparked opposition from around the world.

As of January 30, three days since the release of the executive order, the petition has garnered signatures from 9,000 faculty members from universities across the country. Among them are 44 Nobel Laureates and 273 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Arts. Close to 3,000 other signatures have been garnered from doctoral students, master’s stu-

dents, and non–U.S. scholars.

From the University of Chicago, Nobel Laureates Eugene F. Fama (economics, 2013), Lars Peter Hansen (economics, 2013), Robert Lucas Jr. (economics, 1995), and Roger Myerson (economics, 2007) have signed the petition, among other distinguished faculty.

The petition lists three reasons for its opposition to the executive order.

First, the petition holds that the order is discriminatory because it unfairly targets immigrants based on their countries of origin.

Second, the petition says that the ex-

ecutive order is detrimental to American leadership in education and research, citing the prolific academic collaboration that takes place between America and several of the banned countries. According to the petition, more than 3,000 students from Iran alone have received Ph.D.s from American universities in the past three years.

Finally, the petition claims that the order imposes undue burden on members of the academic community.

The petition decries the immigration ban as “inhumane, ineffective, and un-American.”

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 31, 2017

VIEWPOINTS Refugees Over Riches UChicago Should Ignore Federal Mandates in Order to Protect Undocumented Students

BY SOPHIE DOWNES HEAD COPY EDITOR

On Monday morning, University President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Daniel Diermeier sent an e-mail to the University community sharing a letter they had sent to President Donald Trump in reaction to Friday’s executive order halting the flow of Syrian refugees and citizens from several predominantly Muslim countries into the United States.

The letter followed shortly after a pair of e-mails sent from administrators to the entire campus over the weekend, which did not explicitly condemn the executive order but sought to “reaffirm, in the strongest terms,” the University’s commitment to international students, faculty, and staff and to all members of the community regardless of immigration status.

While the administration deserves credit for its swift response to this stunningly reprehensible action from the White House, the

tone of the letter reflects a worrying trend in the immigration debate that should give pause to all Americans, not just University officials.

Zimmer and Diermeier make a troubling concession regarding the President’s intent in issuing the order. When they write, “We understand that the motivation for recent actions concerning immigration has been a concern for national security and the threat of terrorism,” they seem to be taking the order’s title—“Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States”— at face value, when in fact the president’s action is based in fear and bigotry.

But that is not the main problem with the language of the letter. The administration’s argument seems to be outlined in the first paragraph: “A failure to maintain this [welcoming] position [on immigration] will ultimately weaken the nation’s world-leading higher education

institutions, diminish the innovation energy in the country, slow the pace of technology development, and ultimately weaken the nation.”

This kind of statement perpetuates an attitude, common even among liberals who claim to be pro-immigrant (including the Obama administration), that prioritizes what Zimmer and Diermeier called in their January 29 e-mail “the flow of talented scholars and students” while implicitly disregarding other groups that are affected by the order and by other anti-immigrant policies— notably refugees and any immigrants who are not highly skilled and are not studying or doing research in the United States.

It makes sense, of course, that the University would focus its response on students and scholars and on the potential impact on higher education institutions. Researchers and university officials across the country, including the Association of American Univer-

sities, have expressed concerns over how the executive order will affect recruitment of students in the sciences and pose travel problems for foreign-born scientists; many institutions depend heavily on a flow of researchers from other countries. And it’s true that scientists, entrepreneurs, and other skilled and educated workers who seek opportunities in the U.S. are extremely valuable to the nation’s economy and global standing, and we should continue to facilitate and encourage their immigration.

But what about the immigrants who aren’t bound for Silicon Valley? What about a child from Syria who wants to become an elementary school teacher, not an engineer? Or a retired grandmother from Iran? Or parents with green cards who work as landscapers, domestic workers, and taxi drivers and cannot bring their children to visit their relatives for fear of being prevented from re-entering the country? Are they somehow less worthy of our support?

To phrase the importance of welcoming immigrants solely in terms of their potential contributions to science and technology is to base the value of immigrants on their utility rather than their humanity. It ignores some of the most vulnerable targets of Trump’s fearmongering and xenophobia, and it insults the principles of openness on which this country was built.

We must change the narrative surrounding immigration, and expand our understanding of why anti-immigrant policies are harmful and anti-American.

Our vision of the ideal immigrant shouldn’t be limited to the kind of person who will make us look good. It should include people who aren’t coming here to found tech start-ups or do cancer research, but simply to seek a better life.

Sophie Downes is a fourthyear in the College majoring in English and is a head copy editor.

Higher Education The University Has an Obligation to Do Everything in Its Power to Resist Trump’s Discriminatory Order

BY ELISABETH HUH MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

The University of Chicago, its students, and its faculty have a collective moral obligation to publicly condemn President Donald Trump’s “Executive Order on Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals” and to vociferously advocate for exceptions to the ban for members of

the UChicago community. While I approve of the positive steps the University administration has taken so far—University President Robert Zimmer and Provost Daniel Diermeier sent an e-mail to the University community on Sunday affirming “the commitment of the University of Chicago to our international students,” and a second e-mail from Executive Vice Provost Sian Beilock and Dean of Students Michele Rasmussen describes the

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Continent of Asia,” a 1924 national origins quota system, and finally the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. Trump’s interpretation of the INA threatens to revive the bigotry and xenophobia that its architects strove to leave behind to build a stronger and more inclusive country.

Despite decades of court precedent that maintain the illegality of discriminating against immigrants based on national origin, as well as recent federal action calling into question the constitutionality of the EO’s jurisdiction over green card holders, those who support the EO might justify the ban as a necessary means of ensuring American security. Yet Trump also offers an exception to the nationality ban for Christian religious minorities.

This preferential religious treatment does not track significant Continued on page 6

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victims of terrorism and on our fundamental American values. It allows xenophobic fear and hysteria to override respect for legal precedent, to warp basic ethical sensibilities, and to cloud our rational thinking about what is needed for our security.

The Cato Institute describes in detail why it is illegal for Trump to use section 212(f) of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to authorize his EO. Furthermore, one of the major proponents of the original 1965 bill, Ted Kennedy, stated that the law intended to “eliminate the national-origins system, which was conceived in a period of bigotry and reaffirmed in the McCarthy era.” This American “period of bigotry” initially barred my Korean grandparents from entry into the country, and includes the 1882 ban on Chinese laborers, the 1917 ban on natives “on the

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University’s “steps to assist members of our community,” who “are understandably anxious about the ongoing developments”—the administration and the UChicago community as a whole must take even stronger action to protect our community and defend our commitment to freedom and equality enshrined in our nation’s founding documents.

Trump’s executive order (EO) suspends the entire U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days; proclaims that “the entry of nationals of Syria as refugees is detrimental to the interests of the United States;” and implements a 90-day ban on visas issued to both immigrants and nonimmigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. This order is an illegal and immoral assault on the most vulnerable

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“Trump’s executive order threatens the very mission and intrinsic values of the University...”

Continued from page 5 discrepancies in the group’s greater need for protection from terrorism. According to a 2011 report from the National Counterterrorism Center, Muslims suffered between 82 to 97 percent of terrorism-related fatalities.

Those familiar with these facts would likely view this religious exception as amounting to an assertion that Muslims from these countries threaten American security while Christians pose none.

However, we must decouple the effects of the EO from the security concerns it purportedly works to address. The EO issues a blanket nationality ban on those coming into the country from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. According to a report from the Cato Institute, not a single American has been killed by a national on this list from 1975 to 2015. Furthermore, if we even were to entertain the notion of supporting, at best, an ethically-disgraceful and legally-contestable nationality ban for the sake of security, Trump’s list notably excludes Saudi Arabia, and thus this measure would have done nothing to prevent the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

The other misguided components of Trump’s executive order are his 120-day ban on refugee resettlement and his indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. Refugees are already the most heavily-vetted individuals to enter the U.S.; their resettlement process takes 18 to 24 months and already includes extensive background checks, biometric checks, and in-person interviews. Furthermore, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees uses a needs-based process to allocate applicants to one of 28 host countries, which refugees ultimately do not choose. The process, as reported by a number of resettled refugees, is grueling. It would not be freely chosen except by those in the most dire circumstances. Trump will also slash the annual number of accepted refugees from 120,000 to 50,000 at a time when 21.3 million refugees are displaced worldwide during the worst refugee crisis in recorded history.

We need only look back to the last century’s memory of the Holocaust to understand how the decision to bar immigrants and refugees from entry into our country could mean the difference between life and death for thousands if not millions of people—while offering only the most miniscule of benefits, if any, to U.S. security.

Why does University of Chicago administration itself have a moral obligation to publicly condemn and advocate against this executive action? The 1967 Kalven Report, which describes the University’s role in political affairs, states, “A university, if it is to be true to its faith in intellectual inquiry, must embrace, be hospital to, and encourage the widest diversity of views within its own community.” While the Report cautions that the University “cannot take collective action on the issues of the day without endangering the conditions for its existence and effectiveness,” it also states, “from time to time instances will arise in which society, or segments of it, threaten the very mission of the university and its values of free inquiry. In such a crisis, it becomes the obligation of the university as an institution to oppose such measures and actively to defend its interests and values.”

Trump’s executive order threatens the very mission and intrinsic values of the University by preventing students from the targeted countries from being able to participate as free and equal members of our intellectual community. It will bar these students and faculty members from traveling in and out of the country, and it will prevent them from getting any necessary extensions on their student or work visas. It will also prevent accepted applicants from these countries from being able to attend UChicago.

The president of Columbia University issued a public condemnation on Sunday in keeping with the values upheld by our own

University by decrying it as “discriminatory, damaging to America’s leadership in higher education, and contrary to our nation’s core values and founding principles.” The University of Michigan has refused to release the immigration status of its students. UChicago must follow suit with language and action at least as strong, forceful, and effective. Specifically, Zimmer should: 1. Publicly condemn Trump’s executive order as a threat to the mission and values of the University.

2. Demand that Trump, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of State immediately make a legal exception to this offensive ban for University of Chicago students and faculty, which is permitted under section 3(g) of the executive order, which states: “the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security may, on a case-by-case basis, and when in the national interest, issue visas or other immigration benefits to nationals of countries for which visas and benefits are otherwise blocked.”

If the University fails to take these minimal actions, it assents to the view that the individuals affected by the order constitute real threats to national security, it condones any limitations they may face in their intellectual pursuits at this institution, and it accepts the discriminatory spirit of decree.

The University’s willingness to zealously uphold its “commitment to academic freedom”

against “the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’” and “so-called trigger warnings”— compared with its reluctance to condemn an executive order banning the entry of individuals on the basis of nationality—betrays moral inconsistency at best and cowardice at worst. The University of Chicago has never openly discriminated against applicants on the basis of race or gender. It must continue to defend this proud history by fighting for its right to welcome students from all countries, and by standing up for its mission to foster a flourishing intellectual community that represents the widest diversity of voices and ideas.

This political climate has forced me to ask myself: What does it mean to be an American citizen? For some, “being an American” is something passive; it might just mean that we were born or naturalized within the geographical borders of a nation-state known as the U.S.A. But America’s unique self-understanding has always been grounded, not on a specific ethnic identity, but on shared political ideals—more specifically, on a commitment to freedom and equality.

We are united by our belief in our Constitution, and in our support for our Declaration of Independence. Yet “holding” these beliefs by merely admiring them abstractly is not enough to make us American citizens. To be an American is to strive to realize the dream of America—it is to direct our life decisions

through its values so we become citizens molded by its ideal image.

The current political situation makes it far easier to adopt a pessimistic outlook and to treat this ideal as a lost cause. Right now, it seems easy to stop identifying with the nation at large when it has elected a man many of us do not support. However, it is our obligation to actively fight against his policies instead of secluding ourselves within comfortable, like-minded communities. Silence is complicity. Inaction is just as consequential a reflection of our characters as protesting forcefully in the streets.

I want to be an American citizen who strives to build a character and country worthy of its ideals. I urge my fellow students and the faculty whom we so deeply admire to join me on this mission.

You can take a look at the action guide compiled by the Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities to find the phone-numbers of U.S. Senators, call-in scripts, and talking points to write op-eds to your local newspapers about this issue. Now more than ever, it is a necessity that our representatives, both in politics and in the University, take concrete action against this order to defend our American values.

Elisabeth Huh is a fourth-year in the College majoring in Fundamentals: Issues and Texts.

#NotMyAlumni The University Must Publicly Disavow Graduates Who Promote Hatred

Jake Eberts Over the summer I worked in D.C. as a translator for the government. One day, I received a message from another department e-mail address asking if I’d like to get coffee.

The sender was an alumnus of the University who graduated in the 1990s. I’ll call him Tyler, because that was also the name of a kid from my middle school who I absolutely despise. Both the bureaucrat Tyler and the original Tyler really sucked.

Bureaucrat Tyler quickly taught me that just because someone is from the same university as me, it doesn’t mean they still can’t be complete and utter jerks. Before I even had a chance to burn my tongue on my skim dolce cinnamon latte, Tyler had already flipped his luscious lipid-lathered locks across his forehead and started giving me his completely unsolicited rundown of how the Middle East works. He used solidly descriptive phrases like “barbarian Pakistanis” way more than should ever occur in normal conversation (they should probably not ever occur in normal conversation). I’ve recently learned that Tyler was not a fluke, either. It turns out, there are a decent number of terrible alumni that the University remains dead silent on.

It’s shocking, I know.

In the last few months we have seen a number of these less-than-savory Tyler-types rise to national prominence because of their unique brand of suck. Despite what the Alumni Association has tried to tell you with free milkshakes and swag bags, some alumni are objectively pretty horrible people with whom I do not want to share any sort of camaraderie or networking-flavored cocktails.

Richard Spencer, the neo-Nazi who calls for fun things like “peaceful ethnic cleansing” in order to realize a white homeland, comes to mind, especially since his hair is also fairly greasy like Tyler’s.

Moreover, a week or so ago, President

Katie Akin

Trump brought relatively recent University of Chicago alumna Julia Hahn on the White House team under Stephen Bannon’s wing, or more accurately, his talons. Her repertoire includes a litany of well-researched articles for Breitbart such as one decrying the influx of African Muslim immigrants because of female genital mutilation and the “thousands of cases of rape, sexual assault, and murder of young girls” that resulted from laws that did away with country-based immigration quotas in the 1960s. I feel like Sosc or something

would have covered why functionally racial quotas are bad, but then again, I was never great at the Core.

Gross people pose a sensitive issue for the University, particularly given our institutional tendency to remind everyone and anyone of how many Nobel Laureates are affiliated with the school. For its part, St. Mark’s School of Texas, where Richard Spencer went to high school, was very clear in its disavowal of their alumnus and his dreams of peaceful Continued on page 7

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 31, 2017

“Our alumni do represent our university, whether we like it or not...”

Continued from page 6 ethnic cleansing. Our university has been much less forceful—in a statement the University disclaimed itself of the views of alumni and made a sufficiently vague statement about diversity and love and tolerance and plans for an unofficial Kumbaya singing on the quad some time before Summer Breeze. This is an inter-

esting PR move, especially given how vocally Spencer credits the University with the development of his absurd, oxymoronic worldview.

Moreover, claiming that the alumni do not represent the views of the University is a tenuous cop-out at best—albeit indirectly, our alumni do represent our university, whether we like it or not, and what they collectively

do and say reflects back on the institution. That is just as true when one particular alumnus is an outspoken, influential racist.

I am not going to blame the University for making Richard Spencer a white nationalist, or Julia Hahn a Bannon acolyte, or even for making Tyler the Bureaucrat ugly in both personality and hairdo. I do not expect

them to condemn the obnoxious gnats who feed on Overheard drama or anyone who otherwise offends my delicate college liberal sensibilities—that list runs very, very long for a special snowflake like myself.

Perhaps the University has rallied a little too zealously around the banner of free speech as an end in itself and wishes to avoid the ap-

pearance of taking political sides, as if blatant ethnic cleansing is a legitimate political view worth acknowledging in the first place. Perhaps the administration does not wish to offend donors of a similar stripe. Perhaps they hope that just by ignoring Spencer and those like him, they will go away. Whatever the reason, I do hope that in the future the University is

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more forceful in delivering direct, unambiguous condemnation of literal neo-Nazis and other gangrenous former That Kids that were once so directly tied to campus. There is a compelling moral reason to do so, and not much to lose.

Jake Eberts is a thirdyear in the College majoring in political science.

8

THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 31, 2017

ARTS UBallet Takes Beginners Under Its Wing in Swan Lake

BY ABBY KUCHNIR MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

Swan Lake is a perennial classic, famous for Tchaikovsky’s emotional score and Lev Ivanov’s choreography that, from the cursed swans’ woeful fluttering to the jester’s exuberant leaps, captures the profound emotion of the plot. Last weekend, University Ballet of Chicago (UBallet) gave its first full-length production of Swan Lake—an ambitious undertaking for a no-cut ensemble. The music and choreography weave an incredibly nuanced story, making graceful acting as important as graceful dancing, and the 1895

revival choreography, now the standard for performances of Swan Lake, is difficult even for the most seasoned dancers.

UBallet took the defining classic of a traditionally elite art form and gave it to the curious but uninitiated. Before the curtains parted, Executive Director Zoe Makoul took the stage, explaining how to interpret the pantomime that allows characters to communicate with one another and the audience. The synopsis printed in the program allowed new audience members to follow along by connecting the pantomimed action onstage to the plot points listed in the program. From the start, Makoul and company showed their com-

Brooke Nagler Third-year Kyle Wickham as Prince Siegfried and Divinity School graduate student Caroline Anglim as Odette.

Brooke Nagler Ballerinas form a diagonal in UBallet’s production of Swan Lake.

Ballerinas pose en pointe.

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mitment to making a classic ballet accessible for the new viewers in their audience.

After the fi nal notes of the overture faded away, the Jester (fi rst-year Samuel David) gleefully opened the ballet at Prince Siegfriedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday party. The ladies of the court danced en demi-pointe (on the balls of their feet) in ballet shoes, followed by a pas de trois (dance for three) that highlighted three experienced dancers: second-year Riko Kanaida, third-year Elizabeth Ortiz, and fourth-year Chris Chen. The sets and choreography did not stray far from tradition, except for the lack of men in the cast and the adaptations made in the choreography for newer dancers. Dancers of all levels integrated most fully in the group of cursed swans at the lake, some en demi-pointe, some en pointe (on the tips of their toes), all dancing Ivanovâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iconic choreography in unison.

Divinity School graduate student Caroline Anglim was remarkably emotive in her role as Odette; her facial expressions and melancholic wing flutters grounded the emotional arc of the show.

Anglim acted the transitions from despair to hope to tragic loss with the faltering reserve that is emblematic of her character. Second-year Kelsey Hopkins drew thunderous applause for executing the notoriously difficult choreography of Odile, bringing an unexpected sweet-

Brooke Nagler

ness to the villainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s puppet. Chris Chen was ominous as Von Rothbart, the villain himself, aided by glowing red light cast on his black feathers. Although his magical mastermind created the conflict, Chen truly shone as a dancer in the pas de trois of the fi rst act. All three of these main dancers, alongside the other ballerinas who danced en pointe, belied their lack of experience in ballet. Their mastery of core roles supported the performances of newer dancers and made the ballet a success.

Throughout the performance, the spirit of learning invoked by Makoul in her opening remarks rang true. From bringing in first-time viewers with a pantomime briefing to featuring dancers who had never done ballet before rehearsals began, UBallet made its philosophy clear: ballet is for everyone. There were several moments during the performance, watching steps that felt beautiful but accessible, when I caught myself thinking that I could possibly dance ballet, too.

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to try your hand (and feet), auditions for Romeo and Juliet, UBalletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next tryst with Tchaikovsky, will be held on Sunday, February 5. Everyone who auditions will receive both a part in the show and the opportunity to learn about an amazing art form from performers who seek to spread the love of ballet.

9

THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 31, 2017

Bill T. Jones Traverses Memory Through Dance at DuSable

BY NICK OGLIVIE MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

“ W ho knew we would be here — a g a i n? ” D u S able Mu s eu m D i r e c tor Perri Irmer wryly remarked. A band of laughter, muted and almost sorrowful, rippled across the room.

For one night only, multi-awardwinning director, choreographer, and dancer Bill T. Jones had been invited to speak at the DuSable Museum of African-American History, in collaboration with the Alphawood Foundation and the new visual arts exhibition Arts AIDS America. Yet, as Irmer noted in her opening remarks last Friday, in the context of the election and current social moment, the mood had taken on a different edge. But, it is perhaps even more so in these times—as she went on to note —that talks like these become more powerful, more poignant; it is through talks like these that we can try to come together and take “refuge in our creative institutions.”

T hroughout the evening, Bill T. Jones covered a loose history of his life from the death of his partner Arnie in

March of 1988 to his work with the Survivor’s Project, an organization that helps those who have survived or who are suffering from terminal illnesses.

A mixture of speech, performance, and video clips, his presentation blurred a variety of artistic media together into a seamless, more abstract performance.

Memory was the overarching theme, and he frequently punctured silences or pauses between acts with the simple and touching refrain “still here.” From the opening montage of his naked body being painted by Keith Haring to his opening quip—“Sorry, I don’t look like that anymore”—it’s clear that Jones has a true human interest in the dialectic between the past and present.

There’s an almost ethereal uncertainty to displays like these that bare their hearts — scars and all—to the audience. Simply lit and elegantly designed, the stage was draped in neutral black tones with small, warm spotlights. It almost seemed to ref lect the psyche of the man it was projecting on stage: With memories filled by so much sorrow, only small parts were visible at any given time as Jones tried to navi-

gate and illuminate the larger space.

Aud ience members t ravel led through Jones’s memories, namely the harrowing, painfully detailed description of his partner’s deterioration, from their f irst diagnosis together ( him HI V+, his partner with A IDS-Related-Complex) to his partner’s final day.

This portion culminated in a performance of “Dink’s Song” accompanied by interpretive dance and a photo montage of the two of them together.

I n another moment, Jones paid tribute to his friend Damien with a description of the dance routine he choreographed to music by Mendelssoh n. With a si mple per forma nce (“my memory is not my enemy...my memory is my enemy ” ), Jones reminisced that Damien once wore a tutu and combat boots during New York rush hour, and g rew so weak from A I DS that he couldn’t walk orperform without Jones’ physical support.

Though we can never truly understand Jones’s life and motivations, we can engage with the empathy emanating from the performance space, and we can learn the lessons that he can pass on.

Estelle Higgins Bill T. Jones gave an intimate performance at the DuSable on January 27.

Poets Slam Down On Social Issues Through Verse

BY BROOKE NAGLER ARTS STAFF

“When they tell you that your love is just a phase, tell them that you do not like the word just, that you are not just anything,” Kevin Kantor said in the quiet buzz of Hallowed Grounds on Thursday night.

These words were part of an evening of slam poetry on campus that featured two highly recognized performing artists.

Kantor, a poet, teaching artist, and— as they say in their online bio—“queer agent of social change,” spoke fi rst. They were followed by Queen Sheba, a poetry slam champion and Grammy-nominated artist. Both poets set their experiences to rhythm, composing a symphony of words as they delved into their struggles with homophobia, transphobia, sexual assault, sexism, and racism.

Conceived by students, the event was a collaboration between Lion & the Slam, a poetry RSO on campus, and Student Government’s Sexual Assault Awareness and Protection Committee (SAAP). The event aimed to support students in marginalized groups and survivors of sexual assault through artistic collaboration.

SA A P has been finding creative ways to spread their message of support for sexual assault survivors. In the fall, they engineered a photo campaign, taking pictures of about 200 students holding messages expressing solidarity with sexual assault victims. In the upcoming months, they plan to collaborate with Kitchen Sink, a visual arts RSO. Kosi Achife, a fi rst-year and mem-

ber of SAAP, explained how the groups chose the two speakers for the evening.

In selecting two queer artists—one of whom is a queer person of color—she said that Kantor and Queen Sheba “really encapsulate the intersectional approach that we are going for.”

The event certainly met its intended goal to be, in Achife’s words, a space that was diverse and inclusive. As the speakers fi lled the room with powerful words, the audience of about 25 was silent and captivated, as if every member could relate to the stories in some way.

Kantor went into detail regarding their experience with sexual assault through “People You May Know,” a poem they wrote about the time they found their rapist on Facebook. In the poem, they described how clicking through their rapist’s pictures online brought back traumatic scenes from the incident.

“It felt like the closest to revisiting a crime scene that I’ve ever been, that is if you do not count the clockwork murder that I make of my own memory every time that I drive down Colfax Avenue,” they said.

When Kantor shared their poem with the world, it circulated widely on the internet. They explained that while the work was lauded as a piece on male survivorship, it was also met with criticism; many people, like journalists, doubted their story and asked them to provide more substantial evidence.

“No one comes running for boys who cry rape. When I told my brother, he also asked me why I didn’t fi ght back.

Adam, I am. Right now. I promise.”

Brooke Nagler Queen Sheba performs for an intimate audience in Reynolds Club.

Despite identifying as gender-queer, Kantor also talked about how their male privilege factored into the discussion surrounding their poem. They are constantly misgendered, even when wearing the shirt that they proudly displayed at the event—a white tee with their pronouns written boldly on the chest. “Just search ‘they/them rose,’” Kantor replied when an audience member asked them how to find it online.

Kantor ended their recitation with a poem they created as a response to a message they received on Tumblr. The message was from a young person whose grandmother refused to believe that they were gay. Kantor told them: “If anyone ever tries to tell you that you love wrong… tell them that you are sorry that they would rather live in darkness than learn to love your light.” At the end, they added “P.S. We hear you, loud and clear.”

A f t er K a nt or ’s mov i ng per formance, Queen Sheba took the stage, with a presentation mirroring the grace with which Kantor divulged their di ff icult personal struggles.

Sheba started by saying that Kantor’s words about phases of attraction, along with caffeine, prompted her to compose a tweet, which she read to us in real time: “If I’ve been gay since 4th grade with S.D. when she slept over & taught me how to explore, at 9-years-old...were men ‘the phase’?’”

Sheba’s dialogue with Kantor, who then went into the audience, continued throughout the night, a testament to the interactive and collaborative environment of slam poetry. At one point, Sheba solicited the audience for questions, claiming she could solve our life’s problems. “I can’t do that,” Kantor comically interjected from the audience.

Nevertheless, both were able to give helpful advice throughout the evening.

Sheba addressed a variety of people with her poems. She wrote a poem to her son and his grandmother, called “You Told My Son I Was Going to Hell Because I Have a Girlfriend.” She also discussed how difficult it is to be in public with her girlfriend—the stares, the taunts, and the gossip are reactions for which she would never have asked. “ We are perfectly dysfunctional

like any normal couple, but we’re not allowed to hold hands,” she said. “And if I get sick, her insurance doesn’t cover me — on paper, I’m her niece.”

S h e d e l v e s f u r t h e r, e x p l o r ing the male gaze on her relationship. “ Men don’t bother to whisper.

‘What a waste,’ they always say. ‘But you’re so pretty ’ a lways fol lows.”

At the end of the poem, Sheba admitted to us, “That was scary to read in front of y’all.” She fi nds intimate audiences more intimidating than big crowds, because the former are all watching and paying attention. If that’s the case, her performance belied her fear: She looked brave, bold, and eager to speak her mind as her poems confidently streamed from her lips, booming and reverberating.

She talked about her childhood, explaining that she was adopted by two white parents at an early age.

“Adopting me, they said, was their effort to try to save the world. Good thing for them, their color would fade.”

Along with accounts of her childhood experiences, Sheba called on collective identities. In “We Are Warriors First,” she urged women struggling around the world to fi ght against sexism and refuse to stay silent. “This is about way more than taking back the night—it’s about taking back our lives.”

But while she spoke with fierce language of the universal nature of hardship, she also peppered the conversation with lightheartedness. She asked us about our favorite artists and our Chicago crushes. We argued over our opinions of Future, and she admitted her celebrity crush is Tracee Ellis Ross.

Sheba’s fiancée, an artist known as DJ Knodat, sat at the turntables on the side of the stage during Sheba’s performance.

“Going through this relationship… exposes a lot of me that [I was concealing] for so long… I’ve been Queen Sheba for so long. That’s all I knew how to be.”

With this confession, she offered us advice. She urged us to remember that we are all putting on facades to become the characters we want to be. In order to really know someone, you have to make a concerted effort.

“Give people a chance, and then give them a second chance,” she said.

10

THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 31, 2017

Fans Flip Out at Twenty One Pilots’ Chicago Show

BY ALEXIA BACIGALUPI ASSOCIATE ARTS EDITOR

He stood on the top of the piano, shirtless in bright red pants and a shock of lime green hair, heels hanging precariously over the edge. He pulsed to the song for a few moments before launching into a well-executed backflip, landing smoothly and heading back to the drum set. The crowd roared with excitement at what has become drummer Josh Dun’s signature move in Twenty One Pilots’ “Emotional Roadshow World Tour.”

The stunt was one of many in a concert marked by its manic energy and dizzying visuals at the United Center on January 28, in which Twenty One Pilots mostly performed songs from its most recent album, Blurryface. Dun and lead vocalist Tyler Joseph regularly disappeared off the main stage to reappear halfway across the venue, or performed while being supported by the crowd in the pit, drum set and all. In a creative twist, Dun engaged in a furious percussion duel with himself—or rather, a pre-recorded video of himself blown up on the screen behind the stage. Towards the end of the set, Joseph challenged a fan to a game of Mario Kart on stage and broadcasted it to the entire venue (spoiler: he won, proudly proclaiming he was three-forthree on the tour so far). And throughout the concert, images on images of red-eyed rabbits dripping in blood, skull-faced bal-

lerinas, giant pink roses, and black and white clips of books spiraling down a chute were juxtaposed over the musician’s faces, playing out in the background.

The pair began their set with a bang—quite literally. Bathed in sinister red light to match their red blazers and black ski masks, the fi rst song, “Heavydirtysoul”, came to a crashing conclusion with a gunshot noise and swiftly dimmed lights, the first of many bold unexpected moves by the duo. The effect was very much overgrown-prep-schoolboy-meets-seasoned-burglar, thoroughly disconcerting but an attention-grabbing visual complement to the anxiety-tinged, no-fucks-given attitude of their music.

This odd contrast permeated the show as the band careened between crashing, chest-thumping percussion, clear piano melodies and delicate ukulele strumming, slipping in and out of clipped rapid-fi re rap verses, Steven Tyler-esque shrieks, and high-pitched crooning with ease.

Joseph’s outfits alternated between a floral kimono and ukulele, a look that was described to me as “Jason Mraz getting arrested for a DUI,” and an all-black attire (complete with a shaved head, beanie, and tattoos) that better resembled an “addict skinhead at a 7/11 at 2 a.m.”

Performed live on stage, Joseph’s rap took on a razor-sharp staccato edge, backed up by the furious intensity of Dun’s drumming. A tense, rolling bassline that at times swelled to engulf the stadium

Camelia Malkami Lead singer Tyler Joseph pauses as the audience chants the chorus of “Heavydirtysoul,” accompanied by drummer Josh Dun’s crashing bassline.

occasionally gave way to plaintive fragile songs with quietly mournful piano melodies. A humming bassline added urgency to the soft anguish of “Cancer” as the audience swayed, iPhones aloft for a thoroughly twenty-fi rst century concert experience. “Stressed Out,” the biggest hit off their recent album, built up to a frantic crescendo, coming to an abrupt halt with another unexpected gunshot.

The audience sang along nostalgically.

“Emotional Roadshow World Tour” marks the cap to a stratospheric year for Twenty One Pilots. They were nominated for three Grammys, released the top single for the highly anticipated Suicide Squad, and had two singles in the top five Billboard Hot 100 Chart at the same time—making them, along with Elvis and The Beatles, one of the only three rock acts to have ever accomplished that feat.

Exploring growing up, the confi nes

of society, anxiety, and living up to expectations, Blurryface has been described as “schizophrenic pop” for its genre-defying sound. Spanning reggae, hip hop, rock and electropop, the album’s amorphous nature resonated with the varied makeup of the audience: teenage girls bickering over whether the cute blonde across the aisle was “big on social media or something,” middle schoolers with fuschia mohawks and beanie-topped shaggy skater boy cuts accompanied by their bemused looking parents, and 20-somethings who drunkenly sang along to the opening act’s set.

B or ne a lof t by f u r ious energ y and sheer overwhelming stage presence, T wenty One P i lots puts on one hell of a show, skipping between genres and tempos like the Dun’s piano f lip—with unexpected ease and daring, but always landing smoothly before launching the next stunt.

EXHIBIT [A]rts [2/01] WEDNESDAY 6–10 p.m. Satisfy your cravings for art and dessert by joining Kitchen Sink for its Alice in Wonderland–themed painting session, Through the Looking Glass.

There will be free paint supplies and cupcakes! Free. Logan Center.

[2/02] THURSDAY 7:30 p.m. Watch big ideas unfurl on a small stage as University Theater’s A Weekend of Workshops culminates this quarter with student adaptations of Pericles, The Cherry Orchard, and A World of His Own—a parody of Twilight Zone.

Free on Thursday; $6 advance / $8 door for Friday and Saturday showings. FXK Theater, Reynolds Club.

[2/03] FRIDAY 7:30 p.m. Let comedy be your fifth week savior as the 30th Generation of Off-Off Campus presents Where in the World Is San Diego, a reference to an educational computer games franchise and its main villain, Carmen Sandiego. The 31st Generation will kick off the show with a pre-glow. $5. The Revival.

[2/04] SATURDAY 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Celebrate anime and cosplay at the 15th annual Uchi-Con, a day-long anime convention organized by

the Japanese Animation Society on campus. The event will include a photo booth, Super Smash Brothers Melee Tournament, swing dancing to anime jazz, and more! Free. Ida Noyes Hall and the Harper Memorial Building.

7:30 p.m. Get a sneak peek of the University Chamber Orchestra’s March production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe, alongside pieces by Léo Delibes and Gabriel Fauré, at Song and Dance, their fi rst concert of the quarter. Free. Performance Hall, Logan Center.

6:15–8:30 p.m. Laugh away your midterm woes at MAB’s Winter Comedy Show, which will feature LA-based standup comedian Jerrod Carmichael, creator of the upcoming HBO stand-up special, Jerrod Carmichael: 8 and famous for his cameo in The Neighbors. He will be supported by Josh Rabinowitz and third-year Val Bodurtha from Off-Off Campus. $5 students / $10 staff. Mandel Hall.

[2/05] SUNDAY 2–3:30 p.m. Virtually explore the world created by Finnish author Tove Jansson at Moominland Midwinter hosted by 57th Street Books. The event will include map-making, photo-ops, and Scandinavian Cloudberry Cake. All Moomin books will be 10 percent off. Free. 57th Street Books.

11

THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 31, 2017

Late Game Heroics Give South Siders the Win MEN’S BASKETBALL

BY MICHAEL PERRY SPORTS STAFF

T he Maroons (11–7, 3 – 4 UA A) went on a road trip this weekend, first taking down Case Western Reserve University Friday night and then falling to Carnegie Mellon University Sunday afternoon.

The weekend started with the Maroons traveling to Cleveland, Ohio, to take on UA A opponent Case Western University (5–12, 0 –6 UA A), beating them 74 –72 in a come-frombehind victory culminated by third-year guard Jake Fenlon’s buzzer beating three-pointer.

Case Western initially took advantage of Chicago’s seven straight misses behind the arc to start the game by jumping out to a 29 –15 lead before the Maroons went on a run of their own, including three-pointers from Fenlon, fourth-year for wa rd Wa l ler Perez , and fourth-year guard Tyler How-

ard. Going into halftime, the University of Chicago trailed 41–37, but the squad was confident that it would be able to make a run after playing poorly in the first half.

In a back-and-forth second half, second-year forward Ryan Jacobsen made a big impact off the bench, snagging five rebounds and scoring 13 points, including a crucial offensive rebound he turned into another three-pointer for the Maroons.

“I was glad to come in and contribute to the team,” said Jacobsen, who led all bench players with 19 minutes. “It was a great win. A lot of guys contributed. I think we had five different guys score in the double digits. What is most important is that we got another conference win, though.”

All this, of course, led up to Fenlon’s late game heroics, as he scored the buzzer beater to give Chicago the 74–72 edge and beat Case. Perez led the

Maroons with 17 points, while Howard led with seven assists, and fourth-year forward Blaine Crawford again led the team in rebounds with 14.

T he second game of the trip did not go as well for the Maroons, who fell to fellow UA A member Carnegie Mellon (10 – 8, 4 –3 UA A) 89 – 80, despite Fenlon continuing his outstanding play by setting a University of Chicago record with 10 made three-pointers.

The loss snapped Chicago’s three-game win streak, all of which were in conference.

Carnegie Mellon led the entire game, as the Maroons got out to yet another slow start. Chicago found themselves in an early 25–9 hole that they were never able to climb out of.

Second-year guard Noah Karras contributed to Chicago’s three-point barrage, however, adding five three-pointers of his own in a 17-point performance, second only to Fenlon.

University of Chicago Athletics

Third-year guard Jake Fenlon is focused on beating his defender.

“Breaking the record was exciting, but that’s really just indicative of how guys on the team set me up to take good shots,” said Fenlon. “Carnegie played zone most of the game, which opened up a lot of outside shots, and our team was great about finding me when I was open, and fortunately I was

able to knock a lot of shots down.”

Howard led the team with eight assists, while Perez led with seven rebounds in the loss.

The Maroons get to try again against both teams this weekend, as both Case Western and Carnegie Mellon are traveling to Chicago for their respective rematches.

Chicago Hits Speed Bump in Wisconsin TRACK & FIELD

BY EMMA GRIFFITHS SPORTS STAFF

Both the men and women of the track squads showed very promising team efforts at the two-day University of Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawk Classic Invitational this past Friday and Saturday. Since 10 teams were participating, the meet was separated into a men’s meet on Friday and a women’s meet on Saturday, with the men taking seventh and the women finishing third.

T h i s me et i s t he mo st competitive DIII meet in the country, especially for indoor season, producing many of the top times in the nation. This created a great opportunity

for the Maroons to reach new heights in their events. Despite both teams being smaller than usual after suffering from illnesses and injuries, the depth of the team proved to be very strong against some very large and talented opponents.

In dealing with the smaller group, both teams showed great unity and gave encouragement to every athlete on the team, w ith teammates constantly cheering each other on during their breaks in between events. This strong team support created the enthusiasm and conf idence to produce some outstanding performances.

T he men’s team showed very impressive performances

in both the 4x200-meter relay and the 4x4 0 0 -meter relay, placing second and fou r th.

Other exciting performances from the night came from third-year Patrick L eFevre, who pl ac e d s e c ond i n t he 60-meter hurdles, and classmate Jacob A miri who took fourth in the 80 0. “ To have g uys across multiple event groups score points this early on is really exciting,” said Tyson Miller, a first-year on the 4x400-meter relay.

One highlight of the night for the women’s team came when first-year A lisha Harris broke the school record in the 60-meter dash in only her third colleg iate track meet with a time of 7.84 seconds.

Like many of the first-years of the team, Harris has shown immense potential and has created a lot of excitement for the team’s future. “I think the first-year class this year is the strongest we have had yet not only as far as athletic potential, but also being excellent teammates to one another,” said fourth-year captain Charissa Newkirk.

A nother exciting moment of the women’s meet was when the four UChicago 5K runners snatched the first four finishes, with Taylor Campos and Claire Brockway making the first-year honor roll. Captain and fourth-year Minnie Horvath, the winner of the 5K , expressed her excitement and

confidence in the team’s future: “we look set-up to have a strong rest of the season!”

Other top finishers for the women include third-year Cassidy McPherson, who took second in the mile, second-year A lex a nd ra T hompson , who took second place in the high jump, first-year Mary Martin, who f inished second in the long jump, and the 4x200 and 4x400-meter relays that both snatched third place victories.

With such strong performances and team unity, the UC h ic a g o t r ac k a nd f ield teams are looking toward a successful future this upcoming weekend with a meet at home on Saturday, the Windy City Invitational.

Top Half Finish in Top Tier Meet for Maroons WRESTLING

BY GARY HUANG SPORTS STAFF

This past weekend, the South Siders participated in the Pete Willson Invitational hosted by Wheaton College. The Maroons were part of a pool of 34 teams from around the region that also included eight nationally ranked programs. The invitational championship went to Messiah College who scored 161 points total, while UChicago placed 12th overall, picking up 57 points along the way.

The South Siders entered eight wrestlers in the highly competitive field and reaped strong results, going a combined 19–12 on the first day of the two-day event. Four of

the competitors fought their way to the quarterfinals of their respective brackets, and three were able to earn their place among the remaining competitors set to compete on day two. First-year Grant Morrison started as the No. 7 seed and recorded three wins and a loss on the day, assuring him a spot in the top eight in the 141 lb. weight class. In his first match, Morrison pinned his foe and subsequently won an 11–2 major decision to coast to the quarterfinals. The No. 2 seed was able to counter Morrison’s momentum with a 7–4 victory, but Morrison ultimately picked up another decision in the consolation bracket.

Fellow first-year Kahlan

Lee-Lermer, at 149 lbs., attained a 4–1 record as the No. 8 seed in his bracket. Lee-Lermer also pinned his opponent in the first round but suffered a 9–5 defeat in the next. Retribution was quick for the talented rookie, as he won the next three matches consecutively, securing him a top-eight finish regardless of his performance on day two. Classmate Steve Bonsall (157 lbs.) and fourth-year Michael Sepke also guaranteed their topeight finishes, at sixth and seventh seed respectively, with Bonsall advancing to day two of the invitational along with Morrison and Lee-Lermer.

The first-year trio did not disappoint and carried the Maroons

to their respectable 12th place finish in the consolation draw. Morrison led the way, placing fourth overall in his bracket. Drawing on his positive performances from the previous day, he picked up a pair of decision victories to reach the third-place match before falling to the No. 1 seed from Manchester University by major decision.

Lee-Lermer was unlucky to not place higher than seventh, as he painstakingly lost 8–7 to the No. 3 seed, but once again, he quickly bounced back to pin the No. 4 seed in the second period.

Bonsall also earned a seventh place finish, losing 9–4 before similarly rebounding in a 5-1 victory.

Asked about the first-year

class’s success, Lee-Lermer stated, “The coaches put together a strong recruiting class of guys around the same weight that are able to benefit off each other.” He also credited a medical rehabilitation center called Egoscue, located in Chicago, and the school’s sports psychologist to the class’s accomplishments, saying “Egoscue is an integral part of the wrestling program and the hip drop technique.

Additionally, our sports psychologist, Flan, has helped give us the right mindset entering each match.”

The Maroons’ next fixture will take place this Friday, February 3, as the they play host to the Augustana College Vikings.

12

THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 31, 2017

SPORTS IN-QUOTES... “There are no draws in tennis but if there were, I’d be happy to share it with Rafa.” — Roger Federer after his mammoth Australian Open victory.

Chicago Splits Against UAA Foes WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

BY JOSH PARKS SPORTS STAFF

After winning four of their fi rst five conference matchups, the South Siders looked to continue their dominance in a Friday night battle in Cleveland against Case Western Reserve University. However, it was the host Spartans that had the final word, rallying in the fourth quarter to edge the Maroons by a score of 80–78.

The two UAA heavyweights were in a battle from the opening tip. In a fi rst half full of lead changes, first-year Miranda Burt sunk a three-pointer with 21 seconds remaining to cut the Spartan lead to 33–32 at intermission. Fourth-year Britta Nordstrom got rolling early, posting 12 points in the first twenty minutes of play.

The Maroons came out of the locker room on a mission, outscoring Case Western 24–16 in the third quarter. However, the seven-point advantage after three quarters was not enough for the Maroons. Lighting up the scoreboard for 31 points in the final 10 minutes of action, Case Western surged back to reclaim the lead. Weathering a late Chicago run, the Spartans held on to knock off the visitors.

Nordstrom led the Maroons offensively with 20 points and six rebounds on the night.

Fourth-year Stephanie Anderson and fi rst-year Taylor Lake also chipped in 12 points each for Chicago.

On Sunday, the South Siders were back on the hardwood to face ninth-ranked Carnegie Mellon University in a true UAA road test. With a chance to regain first place in the conference, Chicago’s stifling defense proved to be the difference. Picking up their third straight victory over a ranked opponent, the South Siders defeated the Tartans by a final score of 81–61.

Gu ided by Nord st r om’s 25-point effort, the Maroons captured the lead early and never looked back. Lake got off to a hot start, scoring 10 of her 15 points in the fi rst 20 minutes of action.

Building on a 10-point halftime spread, Chicago answered every Tartan run, cruising to a 65–48 lead after three quarters of play.

The fourth quarter brought more of the same from the South Siders, running away from Carnegie Mellon to secure the upset. Defensively, Chicago’s tenacity was the key to limiting NCAA DIII leading scorer fourth-year Lisa Murphy to just 16 total points, less than half of her season av-

University of Chicago Athletics Department

Fourth-year Britta Nordstrom makes a drive to the basket.

erage. Anchored by 17 steals and six blocked shots, the Maroon defense forced a season-high 31 turnovers in the contest.

“We play best when we are excited and it’s pretty easy to get excited for big games like Carnegie,” third-year Elizabeth Nye said after recording 12 points and three steals in the

upset. When asked about the offensive balance this season, Nye exuded confidence in her teammates. “We need everyone and have faith in everyone. Age disappears when you’re trying to win,” she said.

The fi rst-place South Siders (12–6, 5–2 UA A) will kick-off a busy weekend Friday night,

hosting the Spartans of Case Western Reserve University (11–7, 3–4 UAA) in a rematch at Ratner Athletics Center. Currently sitting in a three-way tie atop the UAA, the weekend matchups could have postseason implications for the Maroons.

Friday’s tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Maroons Off to Hot Start in Winter Season TENNIS

BY NATALIE DEMURO SPORTS STAFF

On Saturday, the University of Chicago men’s and women’s tennis teams dominatedin their fi rst matches of the new year, with the men taking down Coe College and the women sweeping Lewis University. The No. 5 Maroon men traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa,to face the No. 25 Kohawks in two complete matches. The No. 10 women’s team captured the win against the DII Flyers at home.

Taking the court for the fi rst time since September, the men competed in 18 total matches that were scored as two separate duals. The Maroons began the day with victoriesin all six doubles contests. The top two doubles matches —featuring third-year David Liu and fi rstyear Erik Kerrigan at number one and second-year Charlie Pei and third-year Peter Leung at number two—ended in tiebreaks, 9–8. The other doubles matches ended with the Maroons on top 8–3, 8–0, 8–5,and 8–0.

Capturing all six doubles matches gave the Maroons two 3 – 0 leads going into singles play. The victories also gave the squad momentum going

forward and set the tone for a number of dominating singles performances.

UChicago came away with an 8–1 victory in the fi rst set of matches and a 9 –0 win in the second to improve their overall season record to 3–0. Liu, the reigning Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region singles champion, was satisfied with his team’s performance this weekend. “We came into this match wanting to set the tone for the rest of the season,and I think we did that. Of course we had ups and downs, but that’s to be expected in our fi rst match of the season,” he said.

Liu also spoke highly of the team dynamic and is looking forward to seeing the squad progress over the next three months of the season. “ The team competed well, and our chemistry is really good right now. Most importantly, this weekend helped us find our streng ths a nd h igh l ight ed things we can improve on moving forward,” Liu said. “ We should have a great week of practice in preparation for our home matches next weekend,” he added.

In their first competitive team play since October 3, the

University of Chicago Athletics Department

Third-year David Liu makes a sliced backhand return

Maroon women tallied victories in all nine of their matches. The squad dropped one set at each of the top two singles spots, but third-year A riana Iranpour and fi rst-year Marjorie Antohi came away with the wins in super tiebreaks.The other singles matches ended in two sets,and the Maroons won doubles play

8 – 6 , 8 – 4 , and 8 – 3 . A ll si x UChicago competitors—Iranpour, Antohi, second-year Rachel Kim, fourth-year Tiffany Chen, first-year Estefania Navarro, and first-year A lyssa Rudin—were multiple winners.

The women are now 2 – 0 this season. The teams are back on the court on Saturday,

with the women playing Hope College at 10 a.m. and the men taking on Hope at 1 p.m. and Lewis at 6 p.m. The women’s matchup will feature two top 10 central region teams, withthe Maroons currently ranked first andHope ranked eighth.

A ll three matches will take place at XS Tennis.