FEBRUARY 28, 2017
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
VOL. 128, ISSUE 31
College Introduces Signature Courses BY RACHANA MUPPA CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
The College announced this week that it will offer a number of large lecture classes for students to explore disciplines outside their majors, called “signature courses.” According to the course website, “signature courses are intended to introduce College students to exciting themes, ideas, and materials in the humanities and social sciences.” While they fall under the category of electives, signature courses can in fact count towards departmental major and minor requirements. Christopher Wild, deputy dean and master of the Humanities Collegiate Division, credited Martha Roth, the former dean of the Division of the Humanities, with coining the term “signature course.” Together they launched the Signature Course Grant Program to fund the creation of new classes. Wild went on to extend the program to include social sciences courses in addition to courses that are developed without grants. Wild explained that signature courses are intended to be “electives that ideally lead to a more substantive engagement with the topic, field, or discipline.” Wild stated that, historically, the college has served as a preparatory foundation for graduate study, often closing off opportunities for inquiry in a variety of fields. Alternatively, these new courses will cater to non-majors and students who are undecided. Wilde stated that the goal of signature courses is “to diversify the ways students can academically engage with the humanities” and “to offer courses that generate rather than presuppose an interest in an humanistic
field or topic.” To maintain this standard, there are a few criteria that a course must meet in order to be considered a signature course. Primarily, there should be no prerequisites. In addition, the course must be broad in curriculum and ideally have an attractive title. Wild mentioned that some pre-existing courses, such as “Introduction to the Middle East” or classes offered in the Slavic department already meet these requirements and are now considered Signature courses. Such classes have not been restructured, they are just recognized under the new category. For the remaining departments, however, this initiative is an “attempt to nudge departments and programs to redesign their curricular offerings and to include such courses regularly in their repertoire”, Wild stated. The Signature course Grant Committee is responsible for reviewing grant applications and choosing the ones that best fit the criteria. The grants themselves exist to incentivize the “creation of such courses and to provide the necessary resources to do so.” In addition to being signature courses, all classes are also cross-listed in their department of origin such as music or Near Eastern languages and civilizations, which would allow students to gain credit for a major or minor. Signature courses offered this spring include “Truth,” taught by Christopher Kennedy from the linguistics department, and “Self-Creation as a Philosophical and Literary Problem,” taught by Agnes Callard from the philosophy department.
Feng Ye Fourth ward aldermanic candidate Gerald Scott McCarthy speaks at a forum in Chapin Hall on February 23.
FOURTH WARD ALDERMANIC ELECTION: A VOTER’S GUIDE BY MAX FENNELL-CHAMETZKY STAFF REPORTER
The Fourth Ward A ldermanic special election is today. Here is a guide to all the candidates, their backgrounds, and their policies. The Fourth Ward stretches from portions of East 55th street to the South Loop district near South Michigan Avenue. Sophia King King is the current Fourth Ward alderman, a position she was appointed to by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel last April. K ing grew up in Evanston, IL. Before her polit-
bus services on 39th and 43rd streets. King opposes building a new city-run casino in Bronzeville, instead preferring a structure with residential, retail, and recreational services. In her view, this will be a better use of city property and will develop the culture of the Bronzeville area. Ebony Lucas Lucas is an attorney at the Peace of Mind Properties Law Office. She is also a small business owner in the ward. Lucas has four children who travel with her to various campaign events, such as the Kenwood Continued on page 3
How CPS’s Spending Freeze Hits White v. Non-White Students BY HANNAH GIVEN CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
Hannah Given Mayor of South Bend, IN Pete Buttigieg (center) participated in an IOP panel in Ida Noyes yesterday. Buttigieg was a candidate for DNC chair, but he dropped out shortly before the vote on Sunday. Axelrod (left) is bullish on Buttigieg.
This month, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced a $46 million spending freeze affecting all 516 district-operated schools in the city. For many schools, these cuts will come after budget decreases following the 2015–16 school year. The spending freeze was criticized for disproportionately affecting minority schools. In response to widespread disapproval, CPS announced it would return $15 million to the hardest hit schools
It’s Smart to Be Classic
in an attempt to lessen the racial disparity. In December of last year, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed a bill that would have allocated $215 million to help CPS fill its budget gaps, putting Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s CPS in a bind. CPS says it has already cut what it can in terms of administrative costs, but any layoffs would provoke a response from the teachers union. So CPS is freezing spending, but just how unevenly are the cuts distributed across schools? THE M AROON analyzed school-
Strong Racket Play Continues
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by-school budget data from the February spending freeze as well as the budget changes made in July to CPS’s 2016–2017 Demographics report and its Limited English Proficiency, Special ED, and Low Income report in order to see if any correlation existed between the percent a school’s budget was cut and the demographics of its student body. Each school is broken down into the percentage of black, Hispanic, and white students in attendance. Any school with more than a 20 percent white student Continued on page 2
Contributing to THE M AROON
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“I was sent for that purpose and will tell thee all.” With these words, Zollicoffer created a new space and time.
This weekend, the undefeated women’s team has its chance at the ITA Indoor Team Championship when it travels to Murfreesboro, TN.
Meme, Myself, & I Page 3 One possibility is simply to destroy the Reg. While drastic and much more unlikely than even a bounce house Reg, I fully support this measure.
ical career, she owned a small business for five years in the Fourth Ward. King also founded the nonprofit organization Harriet’s Daughters to increase employment and wealth in the black community. She is a longtime friend of the Obamas and received an endorsement from Barack Obama late last month. A s alderman, K ing has worked with Third Ward Alderman Pat Dowell to create a “Safe Summer” program and collaborated with local principals to build a Fourth Ward sports program in hopes of keeping kids in the ward safe. She has also restored weekend
Photos From Le Vorris & Vox Circus’s Winter Showcase Page 6
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