ChicagoMaroon020317

February 3, 2017

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

VOL. 128, ISSUE 25

Uncertain & Unwelcome: How Trump’s Order Has Hit Campus

Professor to Teach Class on Truth in Response to Trump

BY LEE HARRIS

BY SOFIA GARCIA

STAFF REPORTER

STAFF REPORTER

Courtesy of the University of Chicago

Read about the vigil on page 2.

Inspired by President Donald Trump’s rhetoric, linguistics professor Chris Kennedy will be teaching a spring quarter class called Truth on the nature of truth and lies in public discourse.

Kennedy had planned to teach a course on cryptography, but told the Chicago Tribune that he thought that would be “frivolous” after Trump’s election, and decided instead to use linguistic analysis to explore the polarization of national Continued on page 3

Brooke Nagler

Brooke Nagler

Nearly a hundred students participated in a vigil Wednesday for victims of the Quebec City shooting.

Student President Arrested at Protest Against Betsy DeVos for Education Secretary

BY DEEPTI SAILAPPAN STAFF REPORTER

Five University of Chicago students, including the Student Government (SG) president, were arrested yesterday while protesting President Donald Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos as U.S.

Secretary of Education.

Third-year SG president Eric Holmberg, fourth-year Tristan Bock-Hughes, second-years Isabel Bloom and Anna Wood, and first-year Simone Gewirth were detained at around 3:45 p.m. along with two other individuals.

Around 500 protesters gathered outside the John C. Kluczyns-

Courtesy of Deana Rutherford Student president Eric Holmberg (far right) was arrested Tuesday.

Continued on page 6

Continued on page 7

Pay Up or Shut Up

This feature is by DAVID FARR, CHRISTIAN HILL, & MJ CHEN.

Read at chicagomaroon.com/arts.

When you do a Romantic Italian opera, you need to tell a story.

Drama for me is primary.

Rematch on Docket for Maroons Page 11

Parties provide fraternities with a significant opportunity to show their commitment to social service, social justice, or even just social decency.

THE MAROON’S recurring fashion feature rigorously inquires: “Who are you wearing?”

In Conversation with Riccardo Frizza: The ABCs of a Bel Canto Opera

Illinois has proven itself to be incapable of responsibly managing defi ned benefit plans. It cannot be allowed to continue on a path of gross negligence.

The women’s basketball team will be taking on the same two teams they faced last weekend: Case Western and Carnegie Mellon.

Courtesy of Camelia Malkami Camelia Malkami in Iran over winter break on a trip to see family.

UChicago Manual of Style

The biggest issue coming to Chicago from Florida was learning what fall and winter colors were! I always wanted to wear bright, popping colors year-round—all the heavy coats I have, they’re all colorful. People were like, “Lizzie, it’s fall, you should be wearing maroon and green.” I’m getting better with that now.

Pension for Your Thoughts

Continued on page 2

—In Arts—

ki Federal Building, at the northwest corner of Dearborn Street and Jackson Boulevard, for the second in a planned series of weekly rallies against the Trump administration. The rallies, called “Resist Trump Tuesdays,” are organized by Fair Economy Illinois, which bills itself on its website as “a statewide alliance that organizes urban, suburban, and rural residents around issues that affect the common good.”

Yesterday’s protest urged U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, whose offices are inside the Kluczynski Building, to vote against DeVos’s confirmation. A second aim, according to the event’s Facebook page, was to demand that Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and Speaker of the House Michael Madigan increase

Page 10

Page 9

Yao Xen Tan

Last Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order restricting immigration for individuals from Libya, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, and Syria. Students and alumni with ties to the countries affected by Trump’s recent immigration restrictions described their uncertainty and feelings of being unwelcome.

David Farr

Contributing to THE M AROON If you want to get involved in THE M AROON in any way, please email apply@chicagomaroon.com or visit chicagomaroon.com/apply.

Excerpts from articles and comments published in T he Chicago Maroon may be duplicated and redistributed in other media and non-commercial publications without the prior consent of The Chicago Maroon so long as the redistributed article is not altered from the original without the consent of the Editorial Team. Commercial republication of material in The Chicago Maroon is prohibited without the consent of the Editorial Team or, in the case of reader comments, the author.

All rights reserved. © The Chicago Maroon 2017

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - FEBRUARY 3, 2017

Students Affected by the Ban Described the Situation as Uncertain and Threatening Continued from front page

Camelia Malkami is a second-year biology major in the College with Iranian heritage. She frequently visits Iran to see her family, and is worried about being unable to see them there now that Iran has banned U. S. citizens from entering the country in response to Trump’s executive order.

Due to confusion surrounding the executive order, making long-term plans is now more difficult for Malkami’s relatives. “There’s just a lot of uncertainty. No one knows what’s happening, no one knows how long this is going to last,” Malkami said. “I’ve heard thirty days, I’ve heard ninety days.”

Malkami’s main concern is that

Trump was just attempting to test the limits of his power through the executive order. “This ban is part of something so much bigger. It’s just the beginning,” Malkami said. “He realized that his Department of Homeland Security doesn’t have to answer to the federal courts.”

Malkami also worries that the executive order was meant in part to gauge the public’s response. “The Trump administration might be playing with his resistance fatigue, like the idea that after a certain amount of time people will get tired of protesting and it’ll get normalized, basically, which is really scary.”

UChicago alumna Emma Tehrani (A.B. ‘16) is a student in the University of Southern California Law School. She

Courtesy Emma Tehrani

works at the International Refugee Assistance Project, an organization that connects refugees, particularly those under Special Immigrant Visas, with teams of lawyers. Most of Tehrani’s family lives in Iran, although she herself grew up in the United States.

Tehrani fi rst heard about the executive order on Saturday. She described her family as being shocked and confused, unsure how to move forward when faced with what she considers to be an unclear and ambiguous piece of legislation.

“There is a lot of uncertainty both in the drafting of the order itself and the plans of the administration, and then families like mine across the entire country are just trying to come to terms with this,” Tehrani said.

Despite the executive order, her aunt and uncle are still looking to move to the United States and will move forward with their plans for green cards. “I don’t think they would consider living anywhere else.

They are attached to the United States, their only grandchild is here, he was just born,” Tehrani said. According to Tehrani, as they try to establish lives in the United States before that is no longer a possibility.

For Tehrani’s family, the executive order doesn’t represent Americans or even the United States. “They themselves are obviously familiar with a government that doesn’t represent the will of its people, and so I think they are very capable of understanding that this administration does not represent the wishes of the majority of Americans,” Tehrani said.

Tesbih Habbal is working on a master’s degree in the Committee on International Relations at the University of

Chicago. Although she is a U.S. citizen, she was born and raised in Aleppo, Syria, and has only been in the United States for five years.

Habbal is considering relocating to Canada with her husband, even though

Courtesy Tesbih Habbal

she holds U.S. citizenship, because she is uncertain about remaining in the United States. “We’re not sure how bad things are going to go even though we are U.S. citizens,” Habbal said.

For Habbal, the executive order represents a threat to many of the people she is closest to, as their plans to move to the United States are beginning to fall apart.

“I have a family member, she’s in Germany right now, and she has a valid visa and she was wanting to come here and get married, and now her entire life is baContinued on page 5

Muslim Students Assoc. Hosts Vigil for Victims of the Quebec City Mosque Massacre

BY OLIVIA ROSENZWEIG ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

On Wednesday night, University of Chicago’s Muslim Students Association ( MSA) hosted a vigil for the v ictims of the Quebec City mosque massacre. About 100 students, some holding lit candles, met in the middle of the Quad.

On Sunday night, a shooter opened fire on a mosque in Quebec City, Canada. Six men were killed and 19 others were injured. The suspected shooter, A lexandre Bissonnette, is a student at a nearby university and has been cha rged a nd is i n cust ody. Justi n Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, deemed the massacre an “act of terror.”

The event began with the recitation of Dua Nasiri, the Prayer for the Oppressed, in Arabic and English.

Tahir Abdullah, assistant director of Spiritual Life and Advisor for Muslim A ffairs, then gave some opening words. “ We are here to send our prayers and condolences to...our six Muslim brothers who were murdered for praying at the Islamic Center of Quebec City Mosque by a white supremacist. … We are also gathered here today to proclaim that we as black and brown Muslims and people from all over the world…are all here to assert that everyone has the right to be treated with respect and dignity and that we will not allow ourselves to be criminalized and intimidated into g iv ing up our freedoms to travel, to speak out, or to practice our faith,” Abdullah said.

Representatives from MSA, the Organization of Black Students (OBS),

Sad ha na: C oa l ition of P rog ressive Hindus, and UChicago South Asian Students A sso ciation (S A S A) each shared words regarding the massacre and shared solidarity with the Muslim students on campus. Some representatives also spoke out against Islamophobia, racism, and President Trump’s immigration ban. “ W hile the targets of the latest generat ion of A mer ic a n Xenopho bia are Muslims, A rabs, and South A si a n s , we k now c ou nt le s s ot her g roups i n th is countr y have faced v iolent d iscr imination and hatred.

Fear-mongering and othering of an entire group of people we know only exacerbate Xenophobia and racism while doing nothing to make anyone safer,” Nikhil Mandalaparthy, a second-year and the student representative from Sadhana said.

The vigil concluded with a moment of silence for the victims of the terrorist attack.

Students met before the v ig il to make posters for the event. Si x of the posters had the names, photos, and facts about each of the men who were murdered. One poster read “Never Again is Now” and another “Jews Against Islamophobia.”

The event was co-sponsored by the Jewish Anti-Racism Circle, OBS, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Chicago, Leaders of Color Initiative at the UChicago Institute of Politics, SA SA , Sadhana, Prayer and Action Collective, and the African Caribbean Students Association (ACSA).

Yao Xen Tan University of Chicago’s Muslim Students Association hosted a vigil for the victims of the Quebec City mosque massacre.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - FEBRUARY 3, 2017

Former HUD Secretary Talks Career Path, Affordable Housing at IOP Event

BY MICHELLE BRITO STAFF REPORTER

Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development ( H U D) Julián Castro gave a speech at an Institute of Politics (IOP) event on Thursday to reflect on his career and HUD’s current political state. He then took questions from visiting IOP fellow and New York Times writer, Jackie Calmes.

Castro began the event by recounting his own journey into politics. Castro’s mother was politically active during his childhood in the late 1960s and 1970s. His family believed that political involvement and public service could make a difference.

He said that his entry into public service was a combination of both his education and his passion to encourage others to go out and help the community. Ultimately, this led him to run for City Council, and later Mayor of San Antonio.

“My interest in going into politics arose from two things. Number one, a question of how could you combine the best of those worlds in a community and create a city that was future oriented, well-educated, had good income levels, and also was a great place to raise a family and a place that still felt connected,” Castro said. “And then secondly, I felt very, very blessed in my own life to have grown up in those public schools and had the opportunity to go to Stanford and then go on to law school. Basically the chance to reach my dreams the way that y’all have the opportunity to reach yours.”

He then pointed to one of his biggest accomplishments as a mayor, expanding Pre-K programs for San Antonio residents. The Pre-K 4 SA initiative, which was on the ballot in November 2012, mandated increased sale-tax funding for new pre-kindergarten centers to expand early education opportunities.

He also discussed his work at HUD, including ConnectHome, a pilot program partnered with internet service providers and nonprofits. ConnectHome brings broadband access to the residents of public housing. Project Soar, another program created under Castro, brought education navigators to public-housing communities to help high school seniors fill out their FAFSA forms.

“We know that FAFSA is a gateway instrument. That folks who actually fill out the FAFSA are so much more likely to actually attend a college or university, because they know, they find out, when they apply for financial aid that it’s not $50,000 a year or $20,000 a year,” Castro said. “It’s something much more manageable than that taking into account grants and scholarships and loans.”

Castro concluded the event by expressing his hope that students will choose to go into public service. “Go and find the people that interact or are affected by the office you want to run for,” Castro advised. “Listen to their different perspectives and understand them as you come up with your position, because you need their input to understand the nuance and the complexity of each issue”.

Following the speech, Calmes asked

Protest Planned for Corey Lewandowski Event

BY HILLEL STEINMETZ ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Members of UofC Resists are planning to protest an Institute of Politics (IOP) event with Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, on February 15.

The group intends to voice discontent with what some members perceive as the IOP normalizing Trump’s administration.

“We invite all of Chicago to take a stand against this normalization of bigotry,” reads

the Facebook event description.

Corey Lewandowski served as Trump’s campaign advisor beginning January 2016 before he was fired in June 2016 over worries about whether he could lead the Trump campaign against Hillary Clinton.

UofC Resists is campus group that aims to resist Trump’s policies through protests.

Its first meeting was held on January 13 and recently held an emergency meeting on Monday.

SECC Transitions to Self-Governing Entity

BY SONIA SCHLESINGER DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

After 65 years of partnership with UChicago, the South East Chicago Commission (SECC) will transition to a self-governing entity independent of the University. The SECC board is currently appointed by members of UChicago’s Office of Civic Engagement (OCE), but after this transition the board will be appointed by the SECC itself.

SECC is a community organization that works with small business owners and residents toward economic development in nine neighborhoods on the mid–South Side, including Hyde Park, Kenwood, Woodlawn, Washington Park, and Oakland.

When the organization was founded in 1952, its work comprised much of the University’s engagement with the community. Over the last decade, the University has developed and partnered with several other community programs, including UChicago Local, the Community Programs Accelerator, Neighborhood Schools Program, and Hyde Park Jazz Festival. After a months-long decision-making process, members of SECC and

OCE decided that a formal partnership with the University is not necessary because the SECC is no longer its primary means of engagement with surrounding communities, according to OCE Director of Communications Calmetta Coleman.

Coleman explained that SECC’s new relationship with the University will resemble that of other community organizations. “It’s really hard to say what it will be like because of the history with the University, but I think it will be similar,” said Coleman, “just that now the University is doing so much direct engagement that it does not have to do that work through the SECC. It’s a very open relationship.”

President Zimmer praised the University’s relationship with the SECC in a statement last week. “The SECC has served an important role for both the University and surrounding communities for more than six decades and we are grateful for its contributions,” he said. “As we continue the University’s efforts to engage more directly in work to strengthen the South Side, we look forward to a new partnership with the SECC and its board members.”

Castro which of his HUD programs he is concerned about under the new administration. He explained that while he believes most of his programs will remain in place, he is worried about the new administration’s commitment to the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act tells communities that get HUD funding to give HUD an assessment of the landscape of affordable housing opportunities and what they are doing

to make affordable housing available throughout the area.

In response to a question regarding the next steps in his career, Castro replied that he will finish his memoir, use his platform to speak out on important issues, and perhaps return to politics one day. “I am keeping the option open to go back into politics,” Castro said. “I will be using my voice on issues that come up that I think are important.”

Olivia Shao

Kennedy’s Class Will Cover the Distinction Between Subjective and Objective Truth Continued from front page

political conversation.

Kennedy is especially concerned about the Internet as a platform for “echo chambers” and the dissemination of biased or incomplete information.

“The way that communication works is that the things we say are all uttered against some background of shared beliefs and context,” he said. Kennedy sees that shared context breaking down in the current climate, and worries that so-called fake news has gained traction because of the fragmentation of healthy public discourse.

The class will cover the distinction between subjective and objective truth, examine contemporary case studies, and “look at the mechanics, and the role that notions like truth and evidence play at the very basic level of the way communication works,” Kennedy said. “And, given that role and structure, how it’s possible to take advantage of and manipulate for the purpose of getting people to take on some belief or another.”

Citing Salena Zito’s claim in The Atlantic that Trump’s supporters took his comments during the campaign “seriously, not literally,” and that liberals underestimated Trump’s base of support because they took his words at face value without considering their meaning, Kennedy said media outlets need to communicate in ways more accessible to broader audiences.

“Tailoring your message to your audience is part of what got us here in the first place,” he said, referring to the

news media. “Our democracy is built around the idea that people all have a stake in and have some mechanism for contributing to conversation.”

Kennedy said he is worried that decreased faith in the news media could pave the way for the breakdown of democratic processes. “ The more people think the voting process is out of whack, based on repeated [false] claims, the more likely it is they won’t engage with it…or they’ll be more likely to believe claims that results are bogus, if somebody who gets voted out of office makes that claim. We see that happening in other countries that are not democracies, where results of elections are just bypassed by people in power,” he said.

In Kennedy’s view, some manipulation of facts for partisan advantage always occurs in politics, but Trump represents “an extreme example,” and widespread public distrust of the president’s claims could have far-reaching consequences.

“The more you undermine trust and belief in institutions, the more you undermine people’s idea that what policy makers are saying has evidential basis…it undermines the basis for the system itself,” he said.

“Truth” is one class in a new series called Signature Courses, started by Christopher Wild, Master of the Humanities in the College. Kennedy said the series aims to get people interested in different disciplines in the humanities by offering courses on current topics without prerequisites.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - FEBRUARY 3, 2017

February 3, 2017 Fra mes of Resistance: Vo s t el l a n d F r ien d s i n 16mm 7–8:30 p.m., Logan Center for the Arts T h is s c re en i ng event w i l l feature 16mm films by Wolf Vostell and other Fluxus filmmakers. Frames of Resistance explores these artists’ use of film as political interventions into the built environment and

On & Around Campus 2/3 — 2/6 the media landscape. The selection of films to be screened

by Vostell were proposed by the artist to be shown during his visit to the MCA in January 1970 when he supervised the production of Concrete Traff ic —including Sun in Your Head (1963) and Starfighter (1967). Presented by UChicago Arts, the Department of Cinema and Media Studies, and the Film Studies Center.

Containment: Roundtable Discussion 3–5p.m., Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society Fol low i ng the Febr ua r y 2 screening of Containment, the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society, in partnership with the A rts, Science, and Culture Initiative and the Film Studies Center, will host a roundtable discussion with filmmakers Peter Galison, a Pellegrino University Professor of the History of Science and of Physics at Harvard University, and Robb Moss, Professor and Chair of the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University; D. N. Rodowick, Glen A.

Lloyd Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Cinema and Media Studies, and Visual A rts; Joseph Masco, Professor of Anthropology and of the Social Sciences; Dr. W. Mark Nutt, Principal Nuclear Engineer at Argonne National Laboratory and National Technical Director of the DOENE’s Nuclear Fuel Storage and Transportation Planning Project; and Natalia V. Saraeva, Nuclear Engineer at Argonne National Laboratory.

February 4, 2017 Ca r oly n M a r ie W i l k i n s : Mojo for Murder 2–3:30 p.m.57th Street Books Author Carolyn Wilkins will be discussing the latest installment in her “Bertie Bigelow” murder mystery series. The series follows amateur detective and choir director Bertie as she investigates local mysteries and tries to keep her love life afloat.

Fa m ily Day: Sewing and Citizenship 1–4 p.m., Smart Museum of Art Attendees of all ages can participate in an embroidery workshop inspired by pieces within the Smart’s exhibition, Belonging, and centered around the theme of community and identity. Materials will be provided.

Fourth Ward A ldermanic Candidiate Forum 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m., Kenwood Academy The Hyde Park–Kenwood Community Conference will host the candidates for 4th Ward Alderman for a Q & A session.

Residents from throughout the Ward are invited to attend.

February 5, 2017 Moominland Midwinter!

2–3:30 p.m., 57th Street Books T his Moomin-themed event will feature map-making, a Moomin character quiz, and a themed photo-op. Additionally, all Moomin books will be 10 percent off.

Camelia Malkami PHOTO: A panel of five graduate and undergraduate students discuss how Trump’s executive order has affected their lives.

Former Resident Sues UCMC for Discrimination and Retaliation

BY ANNIE NAZZARO ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

A former University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) resident is suing UCMC for discrimination based on national origin and retaliation. The jury trial for the suit began on January 31.

Dr. Maria Artunduaga was a resident physician in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery program from June 2011 to June 2012. She alleges that she was discriminated against during her residency due to her Colombian origin, and that UCMC let her go in retaliation for her attempts to end the discriminatory treatment.

Artunduaga originally filed in October 2012 against UCMC for discrimination, the creation of a “hostile work environment,” and defamation. The claims of defa-

mation were dismissed in 2013, though the court found that the evidence presented as defamatory could still be used in a discrimination suit against UCMC. The current allegations are only against UCMC and are for discrimination based on national origin and retaliation.

Artunduaga was born and raised in Colombia, and graduated from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, a Colombian medical school, in 2003. After practicing medicine for three years in Colombia, Artunduaga went on to complete a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University in 2007. Following her fellowship, she was accepted into UCMC’s plastics residency program, which is meant to last for six years.

In the original complaint, Artunduaga alleged that, on the

basis of her Colombian heritage, she was assigned fewer surgical cases than her co-residents who were not Colombian, that she was consistently assigned undesirable clinics that her co-residents did not want to attend, and that she was excluded from academic activities and social events. She also alleges that she was often ridiculed and sidelined for her accented English by both co-residents and superiors.

In November 2011, Artunduaga was placed on probation in the plastics program. In March 2012, she received notice that UCMC had decided to let her one-year residency contract expire in June, rather than renew it and have her continue the program. According to a letter given to the plaintiff by her supervisor, this decision was Continued on page 6

Calvert House Replaces Six-Year Director

BY OLIVIA ROSENZWEIG ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

The University’s Catholic community is taking stock as Calvert House replaces its director for the last half-dozen years.

Calvert House, the University’s Catholic center, held a town hall meeting on Monday night to discuss the center’s incoming new director and ideas for the future of Catholic life on campus.

Father Patrick Lagges has been director and chaplain of Calvert House for the past six years, but his term ends on June 30, 2017.

He told T HE M AROON in an e-mail that as director and chaplain, his role has been to serve the spiritual needs of Catholic students on campus through performing Catholic religious rites and to serve the administrative needs of the center.

Because Lagges is leaving in June, the Priests Placement Board of the Archdiocese of Chicago is in the process of searching for a new pastor to serve as chaplain and director.

“I wanted to acquaint the leaders of the Archdiocese with the students at UChicago, and see the high quality of students we have here, and their leadership abilities,” Lagges said in the e-mail.

Prior to the meeting on Monday, CSA and U of C Progressive Catholic Outreach (ProCath) worked with Calvert House to release a survey for Catholics of the University. The survey asked questions about the participants’ Catholic practices or lack thereof, Catholic activities of interest, traits they are looking for in the new director, possible discussion topics of interest, and things about Calvert House and Catholicism that they find uncomfortable.

The survey had 147 complete responses, 49 percent from undergraduates, 36.7 percent from graduate students, and others who were alums, faculty, or families in the area. 11.6 percent of those who took

the survey said that they don’t participate in any activities at Catholic churches at all, and 24.5 percent said that they don’t participate in any activities at Calvert House specifically. Some people said they are not involved in Calvert House because of the Church’s social teachings and because of gender, race, or national identity.

Respondents are looking for a priest who is intellectual, charismatic, and international or well-travelled, according to a question asking about the qualities most important to students. Many respondents also expressed interest in getting a Jesuit Chaplain or a layperson director.

Many people also expressed interest in future discussion topics such as social justice, gay marriage, marriage in general, the history of the church, and Catholicism in the 21st century.

Respondents also expressed discomfort in their experiences with Calvert House because of their LGBTQ identity or their progressive views. On the other hand, according to the survey report, there was “Lots of testimony about Calvert being a safe space for conservatives, and wanting it to stay that way, or become more conservative.”

The results of the survey were read aloud to the audience and the Priest Placement Board members during the meeting on Monday.

The priests were also given their own copy of the results of the survey.

There were three Priest Placement board members at the meeting: Rev. Michael Knotek, executive secretary of the board, and Rev. Peter Wojcik and Rev. Ronald Lewinski, co-directors of the Parish Vitality and Mission of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Around 40 people were present at the meeting, including undergraduates, graduate students, and some community members.

At the start of the meeting, the priests asked the attendants

what they were most proud about Calvert House.

Many students said that they found Calvert house to be a nice break from the secular world of the campus, which they felt was oftentimes unwelcoming of their views.

“Calvert house is a refuge on this campus,” one attendant said.

Another said the University’s intellectual environment has become more anti-Catholic over the past five years.

The audience also discussed the problems or changes they hope that Calvert House would address going forward.

Some students said that they would like a new director who is more charismatic and extroverted.

Others expressed how they would like a director who is tolerant.

Various audience members said how they would like to talk about more controversial issues at Calvert House, while some expressed how they would like to avoid discussions involving “culture wars.”

Before the meeting, Dominic Surya, co-president of ProCath related his hope that multiple opinions would be said at the meeting.

“The problem with Calvert House is that there are problems that no one talks about, there are problems that no one acknowledges and people think that they must be alone and they must be crazy [for recognizing these problems]. ” Surya said. “[Hopefully] Then the Archdiocese realizes that it needs to bring in someone who is really engaged in that diversity.”

Surya also had his own opinions about what he would like for the future of Calvert House.

“I want a Calvert House that reaches out to the range of Catholic students on campus and that reaches out cognizant of the baggage that it has with all sorts of Catholics,” Surya said. “This includes conservative Catholics […] and [also] LGBT, students of color, poorer students.”

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - FEBRUARY 3, 2017

SG to Hold Referendum on Extended Status Voting Eligibility

BY VIVIAN HE STAFF REPORTER

On January 30, the Student Government’s (SG) General Assembly voted on a resolution that calls for a University-wide referendum on amendments to SG’s Constitution.

The resolution was passed unanimously in the General Assembly, surpassing the required two-thirds vote to put the referendum on a ballot.

Voting on the constitutional referendum—the first in more than a decade— begins Monday, February 27. Voting will be conducted online. The amendments will be applied if three-fifths of those who vote are in favor.

Chief among the proposed amendments is one that would grant students on Extended-College Status ballots in future student government elections.

These students have been unable to vote in spring elections since last year

because their status is not included in SG’s current Constitutional provisions that define membership to the Student Association.

The current Constitution reads “a student shall be any person, registered in any Division or School or with advanced standing, considered a student in residence by the University of Chicago.” The amended version will add “on Extended-College Status and assessed a Student Life Fee” to the list of preconditions.

E x tended- C ol lege Status is for fourth-years in the College who have completed their graduation requirements prior to the quarter in which they officially graduate. Students who apply for this status no longer pay tuition to the University but still pay a student life fee and may maintain access to University facilities including the Regenstein Library.

Extended-College Status was part of

Zoe Kaiser SG Parliamentarian Max Freedman speaks at Monday’s assembly meeting.

a new University policy instituted last year. Previously, fourth-year students in similar positions would go on parttime status, an option discontinued by the University in fall quarter 2015.

Max Freedman, Chair of the Constitutional Review Committee and a third-year in the College, said during the Assembly that the purpose of the proposed amendment is to “correct for this shift in how students in the College are classified.”

“Students on extended college status are bifurcated into two categories: those who domicile within 100 miles of the University and those who do not. Those within a 100-mile radius pay a student life fee, from which our operations are funded, but because they are not expressly included as members of the student association, they may not vote in our elections nor can they serve,” FreedZoe Kaiser man explained during the Assembly.

Immigration Restrictions (Cont.)

We don’t really have a country left.”

Habbal sees the executive order as a sically stopped because she cannot really message from the administration that come here and she is not sure whether people like herself are not welcome in the executive order is subject to renewal,” the United States. “I think unless you’re Habbal said.

Muslim and you’re being subjected to this According to Habbal, the order is par- order, it’s very diffi cult to understand ticularly threatening to Syrians because what it is truly like to be fleeing your of the ongoing civil war. “Our issue is not country because of this dictatorship and only that we’re Muslims and not really just coming here and feeling that you’re welcome here, but where would we go to? unwanted,” Habbal said.

Continued from page 2

Courtesy of Tesbi Habbal

Louisa Richardson-Deppe, a Class of 2017 representative in the College Council, commented on widespread discontent among College fourth-years for not being able to vote in the last election.

“This is really frustrating for a lot of seniors who have invested in the campaigns for student government, have friends running [for student government], or really cared about student government, and then were just not allowed to vote. Our inboxes are full of really angry seniors’ [e-mails],” Richardson-Deppe said.

A second amendment was also proposed during the Assembly that officially defines SG’s Executive Slate as consisting of SG’s President and its two vice-presidents and makes a variety of small technical changes, which Freedman described as “routine housekeeping.”

Boyer Talks Architecture of Colleges

BY MARJORIE ANTOHIE CONTRIBUTING REPORTER

John Boyer, dean of the College, moderated a “Building the University” talk on Thursday. The event examined the history and sociology of buildings on university campuses.

Paul Hardin Kapp, an associate professor at the Illinois School of Architecture and an expert on historic university campuses, spoke fi rst, followed by Carla Yanni, a professor at Rutgers University who specializes in 19th and 20th century architecture in the United States and Great Britain. Sharon Haar, a professor and chair of the architecture program at Taubman College at the University of Michigan, spoke as well.

Kapp explained that the fi rst universities in America strove to create an “academical village” inspired by Thomas Jefferson and discussed how this layout spawned imitations in universities around the world.

Before Jefferson’s idea of the academical village was implemented, a common construction on university campuses was a multipurpose building which housed all of the university’s amenities, from dorms, to laboratories, to classrooms.

“It wasn’t really until Jefferson, with his idea of the academical village, that we really started to develop what we think of as a campus, with buildings being dedicated for certain purposes,” Kapp said.

The Universities of Alabama and Virginia became templates of the academical village, which, according to Kapp, showcased “major ideas of learning” through libraries with rotundas. This template was also mimicked by schools in other countries, such as Tsingshua University in China, which includes an auditorium designed by

a UIC graduate, and the University of Birmingham in the UK, which incorporated a bell tower like the modern towers on American campuses such as that of Cornell.

Yanni spoke about the role of social interaction at colleges and universities, specifically the housing of women on coed college campuses, and its effects on university architecture. Yanni pointed to Oberlin, the first school to admit male and female students on equal terms. Though Oberlin initially used a large multipurpose room, similar to that of the fi rst universities it eventually started using smaller, cottage-like buildings to house its female students. This move was caused by “a fear of lesbianism” that resulted from circumstances at Vassar College, an all-female university which housed all of its students in a large building together. These cottage-like buildings eventually evolved into dorms.

Haar discussed the relationship between a campus to its city, and how the two communities influence each other. “Urban universities in particular cannot be understood as entities separate from their host cities,” she said. The founders of universities in big cities tried to separate the schools from the distractions and influences of the cities by placing the universities in areas removed from the main city centers.

“Many universities of higher education are marked by an anti-urban bias,” Haar said.

However, according to Haar, the campuses of these universities were built to face “conceptually to the West…to train individuals to go out and conquer that land.” College students in large cities had the opportunity to do this on their campuses and in their cities, just as University of Chicago students have the opportunity to progress in Chicago.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - FEBRUARY 3, 2017

Plaintiff Says UCMC Discriminated Against Her

Holmberg and Four Other Students Were Arrested on Tuesday

Continued from page 4

a result of her lack of “many of the basic skills expected of a resident at [her] level of training,” a point which Artunduaga contests.

Artunduaga claims that she complained multiple times about the alleged discriminatory treatment to UCMC before she was told that her contract wouldn’t be renewed, but that UCMC took no action to correct the problem. UCMC denies the allegations of discrimination and further claims that Artunduaga did not complain of the discrimination until after she had received notice that the University was not going to renew her contract.

Artunduaga is suing UCMC under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, religion, nation of origin, and other factors.

Since leaving UCMC, Artunduaga has completed a master’s degree in public health at the University of Washington and has entered a dual master’s program in translational medicine at University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, San Francisco.

Lorna S. Wong, the news representative for UCMC, stated that because the case is currently being tried, the medical center will not comment on the case outside of court proceedings. “The medical center continues to deny the claims Artunduaga has made in this lawsuit,” she said.

Jamie S. Franklin, one of Artunduaga’s lawyers, also said that she cannot comment on the case outside of court, but that the trial will continue at least until late next week.

Courtesy of Deana Rutherford The arrested students were released around 5:15 p.m. and charged with disorderly conduct and causing a disturbance in a federal building.

Continued from front page

taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations to fully fund education in Illinois from pre-kindergarten through college, including for undocumented students.

The five students entered the building’s lobby along with University of Illinois at Chicago student Joe Padilla and recent Illinois Institute of Technology graduate Jacob McCurry, carrying a banner reading “Duckworth & Durbin: Vote NO on DeVos. Free Public Education For All!” After refusing to leave, the seven students were dragged across the floor by 10 police officers and taken to two attached holding rooms in the building’s basement—one for the three female students, and one for the four males, according to Bloom.

The arrested students were released around 5:15 p.m. and charged with disorderly conduct and causing a disturbance in

a federal building, according to Bloom and Holmberg. A court date is pending, and the students could be fined.

Bloom described the officers as “considerate” throughout their interactions with the students, and both she and Holmberg said the student protesters had been well prepared for the situation. None of the students attempted to resist the arrest; a photo taken during the arrests shows Holmberg going limp as an officer drags him away.

Holmberg said in an interview that he intends to continue participating in the Resist Trump rallies on Tuesday afternoons, and reiterated the need for today’s actions.

“Public education is a huge part of my personal story,” he said.

DeVos is a major Republican donor and supports vouchers that would provide government subsidies for some students attending private schools. Her critics, includ-

ing Tuesday’s protesters, fear that this will undercut the public school system and the separation of church and state.

Citing these fears as well as DeVos’ ignorance about civil rights protections in schools, Duckworth announced on Tuesday morning that she would vote against confirming DeVos. “Cutting resources for our public schools is not a formula for success; it robs students of their right to a quality, equitable education,” she said in a statement.

“I was also stunned by her apparent lack of knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) – a federal law that requires schools across the nation to equitably educate students with disabilities.

And I am troubled by her statement that the treatment of students with disabilities is ‘an issue that’s best left to the states,’ which makes her misunderstanding of the law’s premise clear.”

Answers to Tuesday’s crossword puzzle, “Four Square”

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - FEBRUARY 3, 2017

ARTS

uchicago MANUAL OF

STYLE

LIZZIE HUNPATIN / SECOND-YEAR My name is Lizzie Hunpatin and I’m a chemistry major. On campus I’m a tour guide in the admissions office and a sister in Alpha Omicron Pi.

“I mostly dress for how I want to be seen, or where I want

ing my mother pick out colorful tones in both her traditional West African dresses and casual American daywear. When I lived in Nigeria, I picked out the most daring colors for what I wore to parties and socials—I still gravitate to colorful clothes that accentuate my Africanness.

I draw influences from both Western and non-Western cultures—of course I’m a young adult in America today, so I’ve definitely acquired an American sense of style. I also like to travel, which lets me pick up things from different places. I’ve gotten into French and African fashions, as well as patterns and tastes from India. I especially love the head wrap that’s prominent in African wardrobes—headwear is common among most West African men and women. Those for women are very extravagant and beautiful... but would definitely seem out of place if I wore it around in the Reg! Whenever I can wear that, though, I do try. There’s also the Indian sari that I admire very much.

I have a lot of fashion role models— number one is Lupita Nyong’o. I’ve been obsessed with her ever since she came into the spotlight, and I think she’s an amazing role model for black girls everywhere: The effect she has had on young black women is magnetic, with her message to love yourself.

to live.”

Lizzie is wearing a coat by Ann Taylor, a turtleneck she thifted, and corduroy pants by Urban Outfitters.

I wouldn’t say I try to actively send a message with the way I dress. By trying to complement my skin color, I send a message to myself—the clothes I pick are an expression of self-love through fashion. My style expresses my background and heritage, but also where I am and where I’m from—and where I’m going. —L IZZIE

The people who know me well know that I can look like complete opposites from one day to the next. I don’t try to make them work together—I just wear what I think is cool or what I’m feeling. It’s a very not cohesive wardrobe, which I don’t think is a bad thing at all.

I’m pretty minimalist as far as accessories go: at most one ring at a time, maybe a small necklace, plus a minimalist watch for my day-to-day look.

If I’m going out to dinner or a show, something that asks for a bit more, I accessorize with cuffs. I have a few gold cuffs I wear up my arms as well as big earrings. I have a small afro now, so I try to accentuate my ears and my skin with large, visible earrings.

I mostly dress for how I want to be seen, or where I want to live. Someone will say that I look like I’m sitting in a coffee shop in Manhattan’s FiDi or by the beach in San Francisco. I can see myself living in these places one day and try to emulate my interpretation of their styles in my wardrobe. When I think about adding things to my wardrobe, I think of where I want to be next.

My background is Nigerian, and my mom always raised me to love color in any outfit I’m wearing. So I have one fundamental rule for everything I buy: “Does this make my skin look good?” I really like colors that make my brown skin glow—I call it “skin-pop.” In any Nigerian woman’s wardrobe, colorful clothes and accessories are vital. I grew up see-

by david farr, christian hill, & mj chen

“I really like colors that make my brown skin glow—I call it ‘skinpop.’”

Lizzie is wearing a mustard shirt by H&M, flare jeans by Lucky Brand, and a headband by francesca’s.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - FEBRUARY 3, 2017

A Dollop of Uptown Comes to Campus North

BY EVANGELINE REID SENIOR ARTS EDITOR

The latest addition to UChicago’s coffeeshop scene, Dollop has become a go-to study and hangout spot on Campus North. One quarter in...will it last longer than Packed?

Sitting down with a cup of locally roasted, fair-trade coffee and a slice of homemade pie is not a bad study break.

Despite invoking a few Portland stereotypes, the Chicago-based chain Dollop Coffee Co. has fit right in on campus, pleasing foodies and café lovers alike.

Suspended along a curved, glass wall, letters dotted with large bulbs light up the ground f loor of North Campus’s eastern tower: “DOLLOP.” The bright, sunlit cafe can look oddly serene, painted in muted earth tones, but it’s the DJing barista who really sets the mood, shifting from acoustic to New Age throughout the day.

Whatever the music, it’s business as usual for customers, usually found leaning over notebooks and laptops. Large tables and comfortable couches, most with accessible outlets, fill the southern end of the shop. The atmosphere is welcoming yet modern. It’s a space designed to let students to settle in.

It may be a thriving chain, but Dollop feels local. Founded in Buena Park in 2005, Dollop now has 10 locations

across the city, offering goods from a variety of Chicago-based businesses.

The Hyde Park branch offers breakfast a nd house -made sa ndw iches, served with a side of creamy potato salad. If you’re looking for a satisfying brie sandwich (that takes a bit too long to prepare) or a cultured Egg McMuffin, you know where to find one.

But don’t neglect the sweeter side of life, because it’s the little things that set Dollop apart. Their muffins, baked at another Dollop location in Ukrainian Village, are f luffy and delicate. The blueberry muffin surprises you with pockets of juicy f lavor—not the pebble-like berries often found in pastries.

San Pellegrino, boxed water, and niche yogurt brands dot the refrigerated case to the left.

As for the coffee itself: it’s strong, surprisingly acidic, and comes in every form—from Kyoto-style brew to espresso. Patrons eating in-house can drink out of mugs and glasses with character; some are thick, others curved, all funky. The beans are roasted in small batches by another Chicago business, Metropolis Coffee Company.

It’s clear that Dollop has made a business out of collecting the very best offerings in one space. They sell the devastatingly delicious pies and quiches of Hoosier Mama Pie Co., yet another Chicago business, alongside their small

Camelia Malkami Dollop Coffee Co. has taken over the first floor of North Campus’s eastern tower.

batch brew. Even the employees seem accidentally cool. It sells the whole package—but at a price. So be careful about getting hooked on their offerings, delightful as they are, or you’ll find yourself short on rent.

Instead, come for a treat; stay for the ambiance.

CORRECTION: It was stated in a concert review “Fans Flip Out Over Eclectic Twenty One Pilots Show” on Tuesday, January 31, that Twenty One Pilots have been nominated for three Grammys.

They have received five nominations.

VIEWPOINTS Don’t Desist to Resist The University and Its Students Should Continue to Fight Trump’s Unethical Policies Last Friday, the President signed an executive order temporar ily banning nationals from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States. The order immediately created chaos at many of the nation’s airports, including O’Hare, where large numbers of protesters voiced their an-

ger as confused border patrol agents detained over a dozen people, some of whom were legal permanent U.S. residents.

The order perpetuates an us vs. them narrative, one that paints Muslims as “dangerous individuals” that shouldn’t be allowed into this country. The University was not unscathed. For

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the voice of the administration, but we do have the power to use our education as a tool against bigotry and discrimination.

We are uniquely positioned to organize and demonstrate.

There are different ways to do this: protesting, donating time and resources to volunteer organizations, supporting those affected, calling your representatives to state your opposition, and standing up against discrimination on campus. We should never normalize or forget the insular, bigoted vision of America put forward by President Trump and his allies. Instead, we all must speak up and hold those in power accountable for the policies they enact.

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that is grounded in prejudice, we condemn President Trump’s executive order and encourage both the administration and the student body to continue to vocalize their disapproval as similar instances arise in the future.

There will continue to be occasions in the next four years when political actions will threaten core values of our university and the well-being of students. Whether or not you think the University was explicit enough in its critique of the executive order, the administration should at least be lauded for responding quickly with its letter to President Trump and taking a bolder stance on a political issue than it has in the past.

As students, we don’t have

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example, an Iranian speaker from McGill was forced to cancel a lecture on political theory and a sociology graduate student from Iran discovered that she may not be able to return to Hyde Park to continue her studies and teach a core class in the spring. Students from a few of those countries have spoken up about how the order has made them feel unwelcome and how it has created uncertainty for them and their families.

While we generally avoid commenting on national issues, we believe that the President’s order significantly harms many of our fellow students and faculty on campus who are nationals of majority-Muslim nations, and because we do not want to normalize a presidential order

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Letter: The University’s Response to Trump’s Executive Order Is Insufficient I am deeply disappointed in the tepid response of the leadership of the University of Chicago to President Trump’s anti-humanitarian and discriminatory executive order targeting Muslims and refugees. The impact of this order is to discriminate against a religion and to withdraw from

the country ’s responsibility to assist the persecuted and the terrorized. The U.S. has a strong and admirable tradition of welcoming emigrants, including the forebears of those issuing the order. It is incumbent on us, if we wish to represent ourselves as guardians of civilized values, not to stay silent.

The University is reneging on its duty by cowering pusillanimously behind bromides about the impact of this executive order on academic discoveries.

—Colm O’Muircheartaigh, former dean and current professor at the Harris School of Public Policy

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - FEBRUARY 3, 2017

Pay Up or Shut Up If Frats Want to Prove Their Commitment to Social Issues, They Should Put Their Money Where Their Mouths Are JAKE BITTLE MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

I join a long tradition of Viewpoints commentators in believing that fraternities are harmful institutions and should be disallowed from our campus.

But I am also a realistic person, and I understand that because the fathers of the current Psi Upsilon pledge class have a combined wealth that is greater than many countries, the University of Chicago will not be banning fraternities any time soon. The potential damage of such a decision to the school’s endowment and the Wall Street Journal–reading Old Boys’ Network with which the University has such good standing because of its stalwart defense of free speech (in this case, freedom to shout slurs from the third-floor window of a frat house), makes it unfeasible, at least for now.

It would be equally senseless to expect fraternity brothers themselves to be sympathetic to arguments about the abolition of fraternities, especially since they have invested so much time and money into their preservation. In the M A ROON ’s recent interview with fraternity presidents, this strange species can be observed espousing its belief that the American fraternity, which originated in the 1700s with Phi Beta Kappa, an ex-

plicitly pointless “secret society,” has a positive effect on the campuses it has so resolutely infested. I have no publishable comment on the effect individual fraternity brothers may have had on our campus, but I think the majority of my fellow non-fraternity students will agree with me that fraternities as institutions only really affect us when a) the Moose Party insists on recycling the same stupid joke or b) they host parties.

Yes , f rat er n it y pa r t ies , those meeting grounds of the insipid and the vile—what else do we mean when we talk about the horrors of the fraternity? It is my own position that the capacity of frat parties to create predatory and unsafe environments is abundantly clear and that the world would therefore be greatly improved if there were never to be another fraternity party anywhere on earth.

But such decisions are not in my power to make. I recognize that fraternity parties, with the exception of Phi Delt’s, are not going anywhere.

As long as that remains the case, parties provide fraternities with a significant opportunity to show their commitment to social service, social justice, or even just social decency. This is for one very simple reason: they make money. Sources in a Continued on page 10

Ted Davis

Why We Shame the Healthy Students at UChicago Too Often Glorify Academic Success and Shame Self Care

BY RAJIV HURHANGEE MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

I n the ea rly hou rs of a Monday some two years ago, I found mysel f unconscious on my bathroom f loor. W hen I regained my senses, I realized that my entire body was spasming. My clothes were drenched in sweat and my head felt like it was about to crack open. I tried shuff ling back to bed but I lost consciousness after a couple of steps. This time I landed right into the bathtub, straight on my head.

I was rushed to the emergency room. I threw up several times, including once while some poor nurse was struggling to set up an I V line for me. I had gotten so weak that my legs could no longer support my weight; I had to be carted around in a wheelchair.

They kept me at the hospital for half a day, ran some tests, told me I had a pretty bad concussion from my falls, and that I was not to leave the house for three days.

What I was suffering from, turns out, was severe exhaustion. I hardly needed a doctor to tell me that. This happened right after my first finals week at the University of Chicago, in the fall of 2014. I had fin-

ished my exams on F r iday, f lown out of Chicago on Saturday, and landed home in Cyprus on Sunday. It was a pretty bad week. I had averaged about three hours or so of sleep each day of that week.

This, while consuming coffee and energy drinks as though they were water.

I have a history of sustaining these kinds of bad habits.

In high school, I would go for days on end with little sleep and then take a day off each month to sleep in— collapse might be more accurate—and re-energize. During my gap year, I struggled with insomnia, which did not exactly help.

And when I came to UChicago, overwhelmed by the stress and the need to succeed that this place unfailingly instills in its eager first-years, things got out of hand. The caffeine, the refusal to sleep, the anxiety, the commitment to be miserable in the name of success, and the weird, fetishistic pleasure that came with that misery— everything had gotten to be too much. I was leading a kind of life that I do not think would count as a human life by any stretch of the imagination.

My post-finals breakdown, regrettably, was not an effective wake-up call. My sleeping

and caffeine habits improved slightly when I came back to school after winter break, but they were still far from normal. As the year progressed, they deteriorated back to their most toxic forms. By the time of my spring quarter finals, I was again averaging about two hours or so of sleep per day.

It took a lot to see these habits in their true light; to see them as self-destructive addictions that disabled every meaningful possibility of happiness, and to realize that they were sustained by a profoundly confused outlook about the shape and values of a good human life. It took a series of tragedies to come to my senses, including the sudden loss of one of the most beautiful human beings I have come to know, admire, and love.

Since the beginning of this academic year, I have been trying very hard to restructure my life into something that looks and feels a lot more like a human life. I have made it a personal goal to get at least seven hours of sleep every night, exercise four times a week, go to yoga twice a week, take every Friday and Saturday night off, and never stay at the library past 11:30 p.m. Oftentimes, there are things that get in the

way of honoring these goals.

Homework, exams, meetings, emergencies. That, I expected.

What I did not expect was my peers’ judgement being an obstacle to my health.

A n u n s e t t l i n g nu m b e r of times over these past few months, friends have asked me in a tone I do not appreciate questions such as: “Do you not have work to do?” “ You’re leaving the library this early?”

“You’re taking both Friday and Saturday night off ?” “What is going on with you?”

I initially treated these questions as unworthy of the energies of serious deliberation. But they have started to really bother me, and I think rightly so. What these kinds of questions are expressing, I now realize, is disapproval of the individual who is trying very hard, in the face of real obstacles, to remain sane. They are grounded in and perpetuate the poisonous idea that the self-destructive overachiever is an appropriate and desirable model for students of this university to try and live up to; they place large pressures on those of us who are struggling to resist this idea to question the value of our health and well-being.

I do not think that these questions are asked malicious-

ly. I think that they illustrate the extent to which the toxic idea I have just described has infected students on this campus. When you are confronted with a reality where the good life requires treating sleep and health as luxuries, encounters with the seemingly leisurely, yoga-going slacker become upsetting. I am sensitive to that, because that was the kind of reality I used to live in up until last summer. But I also believe that it is neither appropriate nor helpful to shame those who are trying to live a healthy life on the basis of their choices and values.

W hat is at issue here is clearly larger than the attitudes which many students have towards those who lead, in their eyes, lives of leisure.

The issue here is that so many of our peers see themselves as members of a world where neglect of one’s well-being in the name of a profoundly misguided conception of success is the cornerstone of a f lourishing life. This, in my view, is one of the most urgent problems on this campus. It is time we start thinking about how to solve it.

Rajiv Hurhangee is a thirdyear in the College majoring in philosophy.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - FEBRUARY 3, 2017

Pension for Your Thoughts Illinois Is in Desperate Need of Pension Reform

Natalie Denby With such a depressing national news cycle, it’s almost impossible to believe that anything good can happen. But, for the Prairie State, something close to a miracle occurred: an actual budget. Not a stopgap budget. Not a proposal doomed before its introduction. Not a list of impossibly partisan demands. A real, feasible proposal that just might pass. But we shouldn’t get too excited just yet. A budget will do little to save the state’s financial crisis unless it takes steps to address our disastrous pension system.

Illinois hasn’t had a budget since 2015, and hasn’t done much to work towards making one. The impasse has been long, embarrassing, and grievously toxic. Illinois’ credit rating has sagged toward junk, vendors have gone unpaid, the state’s “Rainy Day Fund” has been virtually drained, and citizens have lost what little faith they had in state government.

But most of the damage has been indirect. State universities laid off staff.

Non-profits, like Metropolitan Family Services, have had to cancel critical services (including mental health programs) when the state couldn’t pay. In a historically divided country, Madigan and Rauner managed to overcome state partisanship to become equally hated by Illinoisans of all political stripes.

Finally, a proposed budget has arrived from Senate president John Cullerton.

Illinois senators shouldn’t be patting themselves on the back just yet, though.

A proposed budget won’t fi x the disastrous pension

problem we’ve gotten ourselves into. The pension is no glamorous issue. Its problems inspire little appetite for reform on either side of the aisle. Prohibitive measures in the Illinois Constitution (i.e., Article 8, Section 5) make it impossible to diminish pension benefits in any way.

But the state will buckle without reform of some kind.

Illinois’s pension system is about as bad as it could possibly get. It is, in fact, the very worst in the country, with a whopping $130 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.

How it happened isn’t an issue of contention. Illinois uses a defined benefits plan, in which recipients are promised a guaranteed amount of money per annum throughout their retirement.

Employees and employers alike give a certain percentage of employee salaries to the fund on a yearly basis.

The first problem with Illinois’s pensions is that those annual contributions don’t come remotely close to covering the promised payout. As a result, taxpayers pick up most of the tab, while recipients often contribute only a tiny percentage of their payout.

Even if the pension funds were well-managed, the promised benefits would have left taxpayers with a hefty burden. But Illinois can’t manage anything well enough to save its own skin.

The pensions were structured on the expectation of unrealistically high investment returns, which of course didn’t materialize. To make matters even worse, the money was compiled into

Helen Chen

a slush fund which legislators pilfered to pay for other expenditures—while often failing to make the annual contributions the funds required. (Sound criminal? It ought to be.)

The result is a bloated and underfunded set of obligations which could drag the entire state down with it. We’ve been left with a bill we can’t afford. And it isn’t shrinking. With a credit score of Baa2 from Moody’s, just two steps above junk, there’s no way for the state to borrow its way to safety, as many Illinoisans blithely assume. Since our public schools, infrastructure, and welfare programs won’t pay for themselves, we can’t allow pension benefits to consume much more of our

(hypothetical) state budget.

For context, it already takes up 25 percent.

The Illinois Senate can’t make that $130-billion gap vanish. The quickest fix to a crisis of this magnitude, cutting pension benefits, is both an unconstitutional and politically suicidal measure. But the legislature does have a politically viable opportunity to fix the pension’s many structural issues. It’s already demonstrated some interest; the current proposal may allow the state to offer employees a choice between a higher pensionable salary and cost-of-living raises after retirement.

That’s a start, but it isn’t enough. Fortunately, there’s room to do more:

making a full budget will give Illinois the rare opportunity to consider what goes in it. Provisions to ensure that new state employees are put on defi ned contribution, like 401(k) plans, rather than defined benefits plans, are a must.

Pension reform has often been maligned as cold-hearted conservatism.

But it should be appealing to liberals too. Ballooning unfunded liabilities aren’t abstract numbers we can afford to ignore. With pension funds sucking up increasing amounts of Illinois’s expenditures, a looming catastrophe awaits the state—one in which school funding and welfare programs for low income residents are at serious risk.

Illinois has proven itself to be incapable of responsibly managing defined benefit plans. It cannot be allowed to continue on a path of gross negligence—at the expense of not only future recipients, who have been promised vastly more than the state can give, but also of everyone who lives in Illinois. This isn’t just an issue for state employees to consider, after all. If we want to live in a state that can afford to repair its roads, operate its schools, and fund its welfare programs, then pension reform should be an issue of paramount importance to us all.

Natalie Denby is a second-year in the College majoring in public policy.

“...parties provide fraternities with a significant opportunity to show their commitment to social service, social justice, or even just social decency.”

Continued from page 9 number of major frats have told me that parties bring in hundreds of dollars on average, if not upwards of a thousand dollars. If fraternities are really so invested in the welfare of this campus and this planet, if they are not merely organizations established to protect the sanctity of locking young men in basements and making them drink copious amounts of hard liquor, then they should immediately start

donating the profits to Planned Parenthood, End Rape on Campus, RAINN, or another organization supporting women’s health and fi ghting against sexual assault and domestic violence. They can post their donation receipts to the event Facebook pages or submit them for publication in The M AROON in order to be more transparent.

This suggestion may s e em u nc onvent ion a l , but we live in unconven-

tional times. We have to do more work toward justice than ever before, especia l ly those of us who have been cushioned and protected by the existing system. Fraternity parties currently operate with juridical carte blanche, dependent on the benevolent and entirely selective mercy of the law. There is no institutional barrier to the deployment of their profits for a better world. Alpha Delt recently hosted

a “garty” (i.e., “gay party”) and donated $1,100 to Broadway Youth Center; why not do the same with Bar Night? The nice th i ng about money is that it has no identity; no matter whose pockets it springs from, it can still be pointed in the right direction.

At my own apartment, on a Wednesday night two weeks ago, the generosity and conviviality of perhaps 100 people total was enough to raise

nearly $500 for the only remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi. We plan to continue mobilizing our joy in this way as long as there is a crisis that needs our attention and support ( hint: always).

I imagine nothing could help endear this campus’s fraternities to their very justified critics than if they were to join us in turning a de rigueur college activity into an opportunity for engagement and action. The fact that

Greek life par ties are (though I’m sorry to admit it) the largest parties on campus only means that these parties have more potential as fundraisers for urgent and essential causes, not to ment ion a s o c c a sion s to begin atoning for the copious harm fraternity parties have encouraged and allowed.

Jake Bittle is a fourthyear in the College majoring in English.

11

THE CHICAGO MAROON - FEBRUARY 3, 2017

Rematch on Docket for Maroons WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

BY MICHAEL HINKLEY SPORTS STAFF

The Maroons will hope to build off of their steady conference success this weekend as they head into the back end of the UA A schedule. With a record of 5 –2 in the conference, Chicago once again finds itself tied for the top seed in the UA A. At this point, the squad is deadlocked with both Rochester and Wash U for the pole position. Now, the Maroons will return home to face off with Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon, the same teams that they played last weekend on the road. A pair of victories this weekend could go a long way toward creating separation with the rest of the field.

On F r iday even i ng, the squad will welcome the Spartans of Case Western to the Ratner Athletics Center. Just a week ago, these two teams met i n Clevela nd a nd the squad fell to the home team by a close margin of 80 –78.

Despite a strong performance,

the Maroons blew a sizeable late lead after allowing their opponents to score 31 points in the fourth quarter. In order to overcome the potent Spartan attack, the Maroons will need to bear down on defense and force turnovers like they have for the majority of the year.

Coming off of a loss to Wash U, Case Western enters the game with an overall record of 11–7 and a UAA record of 3–4. They will undoubtedly be hoping to avenge their recent defeat and make some headway in the conference standings.

“The game against Case is going to be a real test for us,” said fourth-year guard Stephanie A nderson. “ We need to bounce back, play our game, and avoid falling into the same traps as last time. We have had less than a week to prepare, but we are confident in our scheme and ready to go out and compete.”

Then on Sunday, the Maroons will take on the Tartans from Carnegie Mellon in another UA A rematch. The Tartans enter the weekend ranked

20th in the nation. They also come in with a conference record of 4–3 and an impressive 15–3 overall mark. Yet, in the matchup last Sunday, it was the Maroons that emerged victorious. The Chicago defense was able to shut down its opponent’s prolific scoring threats.

Then, riding the career-high 25-point scoring performance f r om fou r t h-ye a r for wa r d Britta Nordstrom, the squad was able to cruise to an easy 20-point win.

Come Sunday, the Maroons will look to match their recent performance and sweep the Tartans for the first time since 2015. In order to do so, the Maroons will need to once again contain Carnegie’s dominant fourth-year players. Notably, a pair of Tartan seniors together average over 43 points per game, but Chicago was able to hold them to well under 30 points as a pair in the first meeting.

Anderson is excited about the matchups this weekend, saying, “ These games set up a really big opportunity for

University of Chicago Athletics Department

First-year guard Mia Farrell brings the ball forward.

us. We are looking forward to playing these teams for the second time in two weeks, and are confident that we can hold onto the top seed in the UA A.” C h ic ago t a kes on Ca se Western Reserve this Friday at

6 p.m. at Ratner Athletics Center. Then on Sunday, Chicago will host the Tartans from Carnegie Mellon at 2 p.m. The Maroons are hoping to earn a pair of victories and retain their top position in the conference.

Ready to Rebound on the Run TRACK & FIELD

BY MAGGIE O’HARA SPORTS STAFF

This weekend the Maroons are set to host their two-day Windy City Invitational. The field will be a competitive one featuring a plethora of top local talent.

This will be the fourth year in a row the Maroons have hosted the Windy City Invitational.

Last year the women finished first of 11 teams and the men placed second of 10 teams. The Maroons are looking to repeat their dominance as they continue to race at their best.

Third-year distance runner Claire Costelloe noted that this weekend’s competition will not be limited only to DIII schools.

“We’re expecting a pretty competitive meet, not only will we be competing against other DIII schools, but we will also see a few local DI programs and unattached athletes from New Balance, as well as others,” she said.

This weekend represents an opportunity for the South Siders to see how they match up against some of the best local talent, regardless of school affiliation. They’re welcoming in the challenge to compete against athletes that they don’t often get to race against.

Third-year pole vaulter and sprinter Nathan Downey reiterated the level of talent that will be seen in Henry Crown

this weekend, while also seeing it as an opportunity for some exciting performances. “We’re expecting a lot of good teams from around the area to bring their A game,” Downey said.

“It should be a good environment for some potentially nation-shocking performances.

I ’m excited to see what we can accomplish in the coming weeks.”

Though the Maroons have been racing well, they have been hampered by injuries and illness recently and are hoping to be running a healthier squad in the coming weeks.

The success the Maroons have seen despite not being 100 percent healthy is a testament

to the depth of their roster.

Their success also speaks to the team’s culture of building each other up, especially seen in those who haven’t been able to compete. “ The team’s been good so far, a little bogged down by illness recently but on the mend.

The Class of 2016 was a hard group of athletes to lose, both in their athletic prowess and leadership. However, the rest of the team has really worked well in f illing these roles,” Costelloe said. “We pulled in a strong first-year class and one of our first-years, Alisha Harris, set the school record in the 60-meter dash last weekend with a time of 7.84 seconds,

putting her eighth in the country right now.”

T he early impact of the first-year class has been incredibly important to the success on both the men’s and the women’s teams. Every firstyear has welcomed the role they ’ve been given and has been eager to compete well for the team. As the Maroons lace up this weekend, they’ll continue to expect big outputs throughout the lineup.

Friday’s events will begin at 11 a.m. in Henry Crown Field House and will include the women’s pentathlon and the men’s heptathlon. The twoday meet will conclude on Saturday starting at 8:30 a.m.

Top Ranks for Two Maroon Teams TENNIS

BY SIMONE STOVER SPORTS STAFF

After a triumphant return to the court this past weekend, both the UChicago men’s and women’s tennis teams will look to continue their success in their matches this coming weekend. The No. 5 men’s team and the No. 10 women’s team will take on Hope here in Chicago before the men travel to Evergreen Park to participate in a matchup against Lewis.

L ast weekend’s mat ches were extremely successful for the South Siders. The men’s squad competed against No. 35 Coe in two separate match-

es. The team came away with wins in each, touting 8 –1 and 9 – 0 v ictor ies. In a similar fashion, the women’s team defeated Lewis with a decisive 9 – 0 win. T hese wins leave both teams with an undefeated season record thus far, with the men sporting a 3–0 overall record and the women a 2 – 0 record.

In regards to this weekend, the men’s squad is facing a particularly busy day, as they will compete against Hope before facing off against Lewis only a few hours later. The match against Hope should be a fairly easy victory; while the Maroons have earned a No. 10 ranking, Hope is currently not

ranked within DIII. Lewis, a DII school, will probably prove to be the bigger challenge of the day.

The squad looks to continue its dominance in doubles play, as the men have yet to lose a doubles match this new year, and indeed have only lost one match the entire season, dating back to September.

Riding high off of their win against Lewis last weekend, the women’s team seems to be going into this weekend with some well-deserved confidence.

“I feel pretty good coming into this match,” first-year Estefania Navarro said. “It’s early on in our season so the team is definitely still ironing things

out but we’ve shown a lot of improvement since practice has started.”

Like the men’s team, the women’s squad should very easily be able to achieve a victory this weekend. The South Siders have not competed against No. 34 Hope in two years and have yet to face any common opponents during the current season. However, in their last matchup against Hope, the Maroons managed to achieve a very solid 8 –1 victory. Additionally, the team’s respective rankings seem to point to a Maroon victory. With their No. 10 ranking, the South Siders sit a full 24 places ahead of Hope.

Despite its victory being

more or less assured, the team is not backing down in its preparations for this coming weekend’s match. “ The team is working on being aggressive both in singles and doubles,” Navarro said, commenting on the team’s focus going into the match. “Practice has been very intense but a lot of fun at the same time.”

T he men’s game against Hope will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, at XS Tennis here in Chicago. Their game against Lewis will be at Evergreen Racquet & Fitness Club in Evergreen Park and will begin at 3 p.m. The women’s game against Hope will begin at 9 a.m. at XS Tennis.

12

THE CHICAGO MAROON - FEBRUARY 3, 2017

SPORTS IN-QUOTES... “The commissioner is a dope. He’s a stupid guy.” — President Donald Trump on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Same Teams Up Next for Chicago MEN’S BASKETBALL

BY OLA OBI SPORTS STAFF

Last weekend the Maroons went on the road to take on more UA A competitors. Their first stop was on Friday in Cleveland, Ohio, as they faced off against the Case Western Reserve Spartans. This was a special game for the Spartans, as it was their “ Throwback Game.”

For the o c c a sion , Case Wester n R eser ve Un iversity invited back many of their alumni from the original colleges which had made up the university, including Western Reserve University, Mather College, and Case Tech.

The game was even played in an older, retro gym and the Spartans sported the original uniforms from Mather College. The competition held up to the hype, as the game was a nail-biter throughout with a total of 19 lead changes, with Case having the biggest lead against the Maroons with 14 points. Fortunately, the South Siders pulled through at the end when they were dow n 72 –71 with 3.5 seconds on the clock. Third-year shooting guard, Jake Fenlon was able to pull up and nail a three-point-

er, bringing the score to 74–72, solidifying a victory for his team.

On Sunday, Chicago was on the road again, this time to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to face off against the Carnegie Mellon Tartans. This proved to be an even more difficult battle for the Maroons as they had to fight back from a deficit the entire match, with the largest gap being 19 points.

F rom every position the Tartans were a solid match-up for the Maroons, especially inside the posts. “Carnegie had a lot of height down low, it was a little difficult for our guys to defend. We had to be smart and know that we couldn’t be muscled under but would still have to play straight up on the catch to avoid fouling,” said second-year point guard Max Jacobs. This game became a shootout for the Maroons as Carnegie’s defensive efforts did not allow much offensive penetration. Fenlon proved himself again offensively as he led his team with 30 points off of three-pointers, but the effort was not enough, as the Maroons fell to Carnegie 89 –80.

This weekend marks the halfway turnaround for UA A play, as the Maroons from this

University of Chicago Athletics Department

Fourth-year Tyler Howard tries to prevent his opponent from progressing.

point on w ill get a second chance at all the teams in the league. The next competitors for Chicago will be Case and Carnegie again. “ This turnaround is always the most interesting because there’s only one week between and you come right off of playing these teams, so if you won or lost it’s

easy to remember what went wrong and what adjustments need to be made to ensure victory,” Jacobs said. “However, these teams are also making their own necessary changes so while these games can be predictable, you can expect just about anything to happen.”

Going into the weekend, the

Maroons are currently 3 –4 in the UAA and in fifth place. Friday’s match against the Case Western Reserve Spartans will be played at 8 p.m. in Ratner Athletics Center following the women’s match. Sunday’s game against the Carnegie Mellon Tartans will begin at 12 p.m. in Ratner Athletics Center.

Single Match Up for South Siders WRESTLING

BY CAVELL MEANS SPORTS EDITOR

The men’s wrestling team will bid adieu to its home, Henry Crown Field House, for the season, as it faces off against Augustana College on Friday. The matchup looks to be particularly challenging for Chicago, as the Vikings have an impressive 8–5 record, good enough to be ranked 25th nationally. However, the Maroons, with their 4–3 record, are certainly no pushovers.

The Maroons are coming off a 12th place finish at last weekend’s Pete Willson–Wheaton Invitational. This was out of 34 contestants, with Chicago picking up an impressive 57 points along the way. The team looks to be anchored again by the first-years on the team, as Steve Bonsall, Grant Morrison, and Kahlan Lee-Lermer performed incredibly well their last time out, placing on the podium with places of seventh in Bonsall’s and Lee-Lermer’s brackets, and fourth for Morrison.

They are, however, not the only members of the team excelling, as fourth-year Michael Sepke too has over twenty wins.

Sadly, Sepke’s last match of the weekend ended in heartbreak, as he suffered an elbow fracture in addition to losing his match

against Augustana’s third-year Trace Timmons. The head coach of the Maroons considered the loss of Sepke a “tough break for him and the team.” Evidently, other members of the team will have to step up in order to fill the gap that Sepke has left open.

Lee-Lermer remarked on the loss of his teammate, “It’s sad to see Sepke’s college career end with an injury, but as a team we are confident in our depth at that weight,” he said. “Like our coach always says, ‘there are no second bananas on our team’. Last week was probably our toughest tournament so far and it has put us in the right mindset to finish the season strong.”

Augustana, too, did well at the Willson Invitational, with two of their wrestlers, third-year Christos Giatras (184 pounds) and second-year Adarios Jones (285 pounds), taking home individual championships in their weight classes. Only two other schools, the winning Messiah College, and Ferrum College, had champions in particular weight classes. As a whole, the Vikings ended up placing ninth out of 34 teams at the meet, with a grand total of 74.5 points. For perspective, the top team, the Messiah Falcons, had 161 points. It may be worth noting that for the Vikings,

University of Chicago Athletics Department

Third-year Nicholas DiNapoli gets ready for his bout.

fourth-year Matt Sears lost to the eighth-seeded Maroon in Lee-Lermer. It will be interesting to see how that matchup changes this weekend, should the two face off again.

This is not the first time that the Vikings and the Maroons have faced off. Last year may be on the mind of some upperclassmen as they prepare for this year’s meet,

as Chicago was defeated 35–16.

The loss may still sting so much due to the fact that the Maroons had an early lead, but lost the final matches in a big way. The four wins that the team accumulated last time came from second-years Louis DeMarco (133 pounds) and Mason Williams (141 pounds), as well as third-year Nick Ferraro (174 pounds) and fourth-year Paul

Papoutsis (174 pounds). Obviously, more than four teammates look to try to win this weekend if Chicago is to have any chance in avenging their loss from last year.

For the Maroons to improve to 5–3, they will have to be at their absolute best. The match against Augustana College will be held this Friday, February 3, at Henry Crown Field House at 7 p.m.