Chicagomaroon051217

MAY 12, 2017

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

VOL. 128, ISSUE 46

Students and Faculty Debate Disciplinary Changes for Disruptive Actions

BY ALEX WARD SENIOR NEWS REPORTER

Students and faculty debated the Picker Committee’s recent recommendations to update the University’s system of discipline for disruptive actions at a forum on Thursday.

The Council of the University Senate, a body made up of 51 elected members of faculty, is set to vote on whether or not to adopt the Committee’s recommendations on May 23.

The most recent version of the Committee’s recommendations includes suggestions to redefine disruptive conduct to include actions by individuals not part of the University community, and to potentially consider multiple unrelated incidents in determining the severity of an individual’s disruptive conduct. The recommendations also suggest the creation of a central discipline system for cases of disruptive conduct and that individuals involved in this system be prohibited from speaking publicly about the details of their cases. If the recommendations are adopted, the University will institute programs to educate students about free speech policies and will authorize special free-speech deanson-call to remove disruptive individuals without having to wait for approval from the administration.

The Committee’s recommendations are currently being revised, so their wording isn’t final, but Randal Picker, the Committee chair, said that he expects the revised recommendations to be delivered to the Council by 5 p.m. on Friday. Picker is also spokesperson of the Committee of the Council, which determines the agenda for Council meetings and communicates directly to the president and provost.

According to Picker, the revised recommendations will include the re-addition of the presumption of student innocence included in the previous 1970 System’s guidelines. Picker said the Committee will also recommend that three out of five faculty members of the committee that judges disruptive conduct cases be chosen randomly from the last three years of Council members, rather than from a

pool appointed by the provost as originally proposed.

If the Council votes not to adopt the recommendations, the University will continue operating under the 1970 All-University Disciplinary System for Disruptive Conduct. According to the Picker report, the 1970 System has not been invoked since 1974.

The disagreement between Committee members and the other panelists centered on whether the vote should take place without more time for discussion. Panelists not on the Committee and several members of the audience said that the recommendations should be given further consideration because of the current political climate and references to the 2015 Stone Report in several recent state laws mandating that Universities adopt free speech policies.

Picker and Christopher Wild, the other member of the Committee on the panel, responded that they felt they had adequately worked to solicit community feedback over the 11 months since the Committee was appointed and noted that neither the Stone report nor the Committee’s early meeting had prompted significant debate or opposition.

“It may not have worked out that way, and people might not have heard about it, but we also felt that it was an open and transparent process,” Wild said.

Panel members from UofC Resists, a coalition originally formed to oppose the Trump administration, said they were worried the Committee’s recommendations were part of a broader crackdown against campus protests. Everett Pelzman, a second-year and member of UofC Resists, described UChicago’s legacy of influential protests. Alejandra Azuero, a Ph.D. student and member of UofC Resists, said that it presents a false choice to say that the University must choose between either the 1970 System or the changes suggested by the Picker Committee’s recommendations. Azuero suggested that the University instead implement a new, more open and transparent process to determine better solutions.

Anton Ford, an assistant proContinued on page 3

Courtesy of the School of Social Service Administration

Representative Lewis signed copies of his new graphic novel, March.

Congressman Lewis Discusses Civil Rights and Graphic Novel

BY MICHAEL LYNCH NEWS STAFF

Hundreds of Chicago Public School students gathered in Rockefeller Chapel on Wednesday morning to listen to civil rights activist and Representative John Lewis (D-GA) and one of his aides, Andrew Aydin, discuss the civil rights movement and their new graphic novel

March.

Lewis began by describing his path from growing up as the son of sharecroppers in rural Alabama to becoming one of the most prominent student leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

Lewis recalled asking his family during his teenage years about signs that designated areas for “white men, colored men, white women, colored women.”

“I asked my parents, my grandparents: why? ‘Because that’s the way it is. Don’t get in the way. Don’t get in trouble,’” Lewis explained.

Throughout the talk, Lewis rejected this complacency.

“When you see something that’s not right, not just, you have to do something about it.

You have to get in the way, get in Continued on page 3

Two FCS Violations Reported Against FIJI

BY JAMIE EHRLICH SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

Two complaints against the Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity campus chapter have been filed to the Fraternities Committed to Safety (FCS) website regarding a May 5 party hosted at the fraternity house on University Avenue.

The FCS agreement, which all 10 fraternities re-signed in April, states that any social event must have water “readily available in a sealed, clearly labeled water cooler” throughout the duration of the event, with one cooler per active floor. The two separate complaints allege that FIJI did not provide water at all during the event.

The same May 5 FIJI party has been a source of controversy on campus after several multicultural student organizations called the party “racially insensitive,” because it was

Photography as Rebellion: Chinese Human Rights at #AiWei

“construction” themed and was hosted on Cinco de Mayo.

First-year Anna Attie was at the party when she became concerned about one of her friends and sought a cup of water. When she looked around for water coolers—which she knew were required by FCS—she couldn’t find any. When she asked the brother behind the bar, he said the fraternity didn’t have any water.

“It was pretty off-putting, especially because even if it was the case that because they were under construction they didn’t have running water, they could have at least offered plain mixer or asked to see the person I was worried about,” Attie said. “[Instead] they were very dismissive.”

One of Attie’s friends, who requested anonymity, accompanied her to the party and confirmed that they were told there was no water.

“We were not offered a cup of

Tennis Prepared for Tournament Test

mixer or asked about whether everyone is OK. In addition, when I got a drink at the bar and specifically asked for a single shot, I was given four inches of Fireball in a Solo cup—clearly way more than a shot in a cup that comes with a marker,” the friend said.

Attie also said that because the fraternity house was still under construction, several students were injured by the exposed wood blocking certain doorways.

Looking to file a complaint, Attie and the other individual e-mailed Phoenix Survivors Alliance (PSA), the sexual assault survivor advocacy group on campus. PSA submitted the violations to the FCS website, since the students did not know how to submit a complaint.

In an interview with THE MAROON, PSA co-leader Meg Dowd called the frequency at which PSA Continued on page 3

Advertising in THE M AROON

Page 8

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The women’s tennis team is once again NCAA-bound.

U Mad, Bro?

Free Black Women’s Pop-up Library Leaves Lasting Impression

Page 4

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Memes might not be the best way to address FIJI’s racism, writes columnist Henry Saroyan.

A pop-up library spotlighting literature by black women is the Stony Island Arts Bank’s latest addition.

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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 - MAY 12, 2017

Events 5/12 — 5/15 Today The Happiness Philosophers Seminary Co-Op, 6 p.m.

Bart Schulz, a lecturer in the humanities at the University, discusses his book, which uses the lives of the founders of utilitarianism to explicate their philosophy.

Decolonizing Architecture with Theaster Gates Swift Hall, 2 p.m.

This symposium features the Rebuild Foundation’s Theaster Gates in conversation with the Palestinian-Israeli architecture-design cooperative “Decolonizing Architecture.”

Saturday, May 13 Eurovision 2017 Watch Party International House, 1:30 p.m.

International House invites you to view the sixty-second annual Eurovision Song Contest. Tickets sold at the door; $3 with UCID, $5 without.

Daina Ramey Berry: The Price for Their Pound of Flesh 57th Street Books, 5 p.m.

The University of Austin history professor presents her book, the first comprehensive examination of the value of enslaved people from conception to death. “ I A m Not Your Neg ro” Screening and Discussion Ida Noyes Hall, Max Palevsky Cinema, 7 p.m.

Doc Films will host a screening of the Academy Award–nominated documentary “I Am Not Your Negro,” which is based on James Baldwin’s unfinished essay of personal recollections about civil rights leaders Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. A panel discussion will follow the screening. $5 tickets.

Sunday, May 14 Palestinian Comics: Stories from the Homeland to the Diaspora Build Coffee, 5 p.m.

The For the People Artists Collective hosts Mohammad Sabaaneh, a Palestinian cartoonist in conversation with Palestinian graphic novelist Leila Abdelrazaq.

See more at chicagomaroon.com/ events. Submit your own events through our intuitive interface.

ONLINE: Changes at the economics department; New research on celiac disease; Carillonneurs set out on Midwest tour; Rats at the Reg.

SUBSCRIBE! Subscribe to the Maroon newsletter for e-mails every Tuesday and Friday

chicagomaroon.com/newsletter

University Hosts Student-Led Free Speech Conference

BY JORGE ERNESTO CLAVO ABBASS NEWS STAFF

The University hosted a nonpartisan student-led conference late last month on freedom of expression on college campuses.

22 students from 14 colleges and universities across the country and University experts in law and politics participated. Student attendees created a Statement of Principles on campus free speech by the end of the conference.

The conference was organized by third-year Matthew Foldi, president of UChicago College Republicans, and the Statement of Principles was developed by a student group created at the conference, Students for Free Expression. The statement was created in response to perceived attempts by students and faculty nationwide to limit free speech.

“The only way to achieve [free and open discourse] is by cultivating a culture where all are free to communicate without fear of censorship or intimidation. While some speech may be objectionable and even hateful, constitutionally protected speech ought to be held and enforced as the standard and must not be infringed upon,” the statement reads.

According to Foldi and University coverage, organizers were careful to select individuals from public and private universities representing a variety of political ideologies and academic disciplines.

“I only knew about half of the attendees on a personal basis before the conference. The ideologies that I do know range from liberal to conservative, and everything in between. That was incredibly, incredibly important to us while we put together this event,” Foldi said.

According to social media profiles and online media coverage, a significant portion of the attendees are in the leadership of College Republicans at each of their respective universities. Fewer than five

of the attendees are publicly affiliated with the Democratic Party.

The conference was not publicized to the campus community, nor was it open to the public.

Soon after the conference ended, however, the event was covered by Breitbart.

Anton Ford, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Philosophy, commented on the lack of publicly available information regarding the conference.

“The University’s press release gives the distinct impression that the point of the conference was advocacy, not inquiry. If that is a false appearance, the administration could easily dispel it by revealing more about the conference…. Of all the students at all the schools in this country, how were those ‘22 students from 14 schools’ known to the conference organizers, and through what channels were they contacted? Did the University of Chicago foot the whole bill?” Ford said.

Foldi argued that the lack of publicity was done in the sake of fairness in the weight of different perspectives.

“We wanted to keep to the ratio of one student per school as much as possible because we didn’t want to have any school’s perspective dominate the conference, especially since each attendee had an equal vote when it came to drafting the Statement of Principles,” he said.

The conference was entirely funded by the University administration, according to Foldi, who explained that the Office of the Dean of Students in the University supported the event by covering the costs of food, lodging, and travel for attendees, as well as securing guest speakers.

When asked to corroborate that the University funded the event, University spokesperson Jeremy Manier did not confirm or deny Foldi’s comments but noted that “Campus and Student Life [CSL] has been actively developing

ways of exposing students to the University’s values around free expression…. When students raised the idea of working with peers from other colleges and universities on this issue, CSL used onetime discretionary funds to help support travel costs to Chicago.”

Manier did not elaborate on exactly how much money was allocated to the event. Foldi did not offer concrete figures but stated that the allocated budget limited the number of students who could attend.

Speakers at the event included David Axelrod, director of the Institute of Politics (IOP) at the University, and Law School professors Geoffrey Stone and Randal Picker.

Foldi told T HE M AROON that Dean of Students in the College John “Jay” Ellison also attended and spoke at the event. The University news office did not list him as a speaker in its coverage of the event.

Matthew Jaffe, director of communications for the IOP, declined to comment on Axelrod’s role in the conference, instead directing inquiries to the University news office. The University did not answer questions regarding Axelrod’s presence at the event.

Looking ahead, Students for Free Expression seeks to continue to promote the Statement of Principles drafted and signed at the conference.

“We launched a Facebook page…and plan on having students as representatives on campuses around the country to help us with spreading the word, and reaching out to students, alumni, and faculty to ensure that we are reaching out to as many people as possible,” he said.

Foldi stated that in the days following the release of the statement online, hundreds of people signed it in support. As of May 11, 909 individuals have signed the statement online. His group believes that support should also come from student governments and organizations all over the

country, and he hopes to see more campus representatives join the movement over the coming year.

Students for Free Speech does not hold official RSO status but was able to obtain University support because of its shared perspective of free expression with the administration, Foldi said.

“UChicago is incredibly committed to practicing what it preaches on free speech and expression; this conference was yet another manifestation of our leadership on this issue,” Foldi said.

Foldi believes that this conference is an example of how the left and the right can come together to talk about issues which can affect everyone.

“One thing that was constantly stressed during the planning of the conference and during the event itself was that this is an incredibly nonpartisan event. I sat next to David Axelrod during our meeting with him and we…[were] in complete agreement on this.

Professor Stone is also a staunch liberal, and yet we are on the same page on this issue…. We’ve seen Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Robert Reich, and others defend Ann Coulter’s right to speak [at the University of California,] Berkeley, even though they are all quick to highlight that they don’t agree with anything she has to say.”

Foldi countered the argument that University support of an event like this goes against the “neutrality of the university as an institution,” per the Kalven Report.

“I wouldn’t say that at all.

The Stone Report is our official policy, and this conference was in complete accordance with its values. This issue is at the core of any education, so it is logical that UChicago of all schools would be willing to host an event like this.

My only lamentation is that, like with Dean Ellison’s letter, other schools weren’t willing to step up and take the initiative themselves,” he said.

Professors Elected to the Council of the University Senate

BY FENG YE SENIOR NEWS REPORTER

Two weeks ago, the University Senate elected 17 new members to serve on the Council of the University Senate. This past Tuesday, the Council elected seven members to form the new Committee of the Council, a smaller group of faculty that communicates directly with the president and the provost.

Law School professor Randal Picker, spokesperson for the 2016– 17 Committee of the Council and chair of the Committee on University Discipline for Disruptive Conduct, was re-elected to be spokesperson of the 2017–18 Committee of the Council, according to newly elected members of the Council.

The new Council’s term of service will begin on September 25.

The new Committee’s will begin on September 1.

Among the new members elected to the 2017–18 Council, four come from the biological sciences and medicine, four from the

humanities, three from the physical sciences, two from Booth, two from the social sciences, one from the School of Social Service Administration (SSA), and one from the Law School. According to chair of the philosophy department Gabriel Lear, who served on the Council 2010–14 and was recently re-elected, there is no requirement for Council member distribution among the divisions and the professional schools.

In the past, the Council of the University Senate has voted in favor of the University’s affiliation with the Marine Biological Laboratory in 2012, approved the creation of a Ph.D. degree at the Institute of Molecular Engineering in 2013, and adopted the changes to statute 21 recommended by the Ad Hoc Committee on Protest and Dissent in 2014.

The University Senate consists of all tenured or tenure-track faculty. Each year, the Senate elects 17 new members to the Council of the

University Senate to serve a threeyear term. The Council consists of 51 members in total.

The University Senate meets in its entirety at least once a year to hear a report from the president and discuss matters pertaining to the interests of the University.

The Council meets at least once a month to discuss and vote on issues on campus.

Agenda for the Council meetings is determined by the Committee of the Council. The Committee consists of seven faculty members on the Council, each of whom is elected to serve a one-year term.

The president and the provost are chair and vice chair of the Committee without vote. The Committee meets once every two weeks.

For all matters presented during the Council meetings, an elected spokesperson is responsible for delivering the Committee’s opinion on them to the Council.

According to Lear, the Council could only vote on proposals whose

details are determined before being presented to the Council.

“There is that point of [the faculty’s] influence [obtained through voting], but when you consider that so much happened before anything is brought to the council, it’s a bit of a blunt instrument,” Lear said.

Law School professor Lisa Bernstein, another newly elected member of the Council, told THE MAROON that having different voices across disciplines is incredibly valuable.

“I personally love meeting my colleagues across campus. When smart people who care about the institution come together, something good comes out of it,” Bernstein said.

Bernstein also told THE M AROON that one of the issues she wishes the Council to address next year.

“From my perspective, the most important issue is maintaining the integrity of free speech on campus.

I want my voice for free speech to be heard,” Bernstein said.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - MAY 12, 2017

Poke Restaurant to Open in Hyde Park

BY LEE HARRIS & EMILY KRAMER DEPUTY EDITOR & NEWS EDITOR

A poke restaurant under the Aloha Poke Co. chain will open in Hyde Park this June.

Aloha Poke is a Hawaiian sushi bowl restaurant based in Chicago. In addition to its new Hyde Park location, the chain will be adding locations in Lincoln Park, the Magnificent Mile, and Naperville.

The restaurant, which topped Eater Chicago’s list of best poke bowls, features a build-your-own bowl option much like similar customizable chains, such as Chipotle and Cava Grill.

Managing partner Zach Friedlander told DNAinfo that he hopes to open a total of 14 new locations this year. By offering food that appeals to those seeking healthier options that are fresh and tailored to their tastes, he hopes to revo-

Obama Foundation Announces Chief Digital Officer

BY LEE HARRIS DEPUTY EDITOR

The Obama Foundation announced today that Glenn Brown will be its chief digital officer.

Brown works with Betaworks, a New York–based startup studio, and he is on the board of directors at The Texas Tribune. He previously worked at Twitter and YouTube.

“President Obama has challenged us to develop digital media and tools to help…connect the Foundation’s hub on the South Side of Chicago to people around the world,” Brown said in a press release. “We look forward to partnering

with media makers and technology developers large and small, and everyday citizens from all walks of life, toward this end.”

In a Medium post today, Brown wrote, “We’re building a team. Think of it like a cross between a start-up and a creative agency for citizenship. In-house, that will mean an all-star team of makers: creative, editorial, and technical.”

He also said that the Foundation’s digital team will look at why “life online has taken a turn toward silos,” linking to The Wall Street Journal’s Blue Feed, Red Feed project which visualizes the difference between a conservative and liberal Facebook feed.

lutionize the way people understand fast food.

In addition to the Hyde Park location, Friedlander will be opening restaurants in Lincoln Park near Loyola University and in Evanston near Northwestern University. According to DNAinfo, in choosing locations for his new restaurants, Friedlander sought areas close to college campuses and affluent individuals.

He also hopes that the restaurant will

attract former president Barack Obama to his Hyde Park location. “I thought it would be great if our former president wanted to stop by and taste his Hawaiian roots,” Friedlander told DNAinfo.

While he has not decided on the opening date and hours of the Hyde Park location, he expects that the restaurant will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day of the week.

University Discusses Graduate Student Unionization

BY LEE HARRIS DEPUTY EDITOR

In a joint e-mail released on Tuesday, President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Daniel Diermeier encouraged open discussion regarding graduate student unionization.

Graduate workers gained the right to unionize as of last August in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling, which overturned a precedent set by a case at Brown University. Since then, efforts to unionize by student groups have sprouted across different universities—public and private—with mixed results.

Citing these fluctuations as an indicator of the “complexity of the question,” the letter challenged whether the formation of a union truly benefits graduate students.

“A union could come between students

and faculty to make crucial decisions on behalf of students, focusing on collective interests rather than each student’s individual educational goals,” Zimmer and Diermeier wrote.

The letter also posits that administrative change can occur without union representation. Zimmer and Diermeier argue against the belief that labor unions produce better results in comparison to open dialogue, deeming them speculative.

The past collaborations between Graduate Students United and the administration were referenced as evidence. “The enhancements of the graduate student experience at UChicago in recent years occurred without union representation; they were the result of direct interaction among graduate students, faculty, deans, and the provost’s office,” the letter states.

Some Were Concerned Univeristy Committments to Free Speech Did Not Apply to All Continued from front

fessor of philosophy, said that the University seemed to be positioning itself nationally as a vanguard of free speech at the expense of academic freedom, as both the recommendations and the Stone report seem not to focus on defending the free expression of students and faculty, but of invited speakers and other visitors to campus. According to Ford, “It’s about freedom of expression, but the freedom of expression that it’s about is not ours.”

“Untenured professors at this university are afraid to speak their minds on the

record about freedom of speech, the topic of this panel,” he said. “Forget about them participating in disruptive protest or un-disruptive protest. They’re afraid to say what they think.”

Ken Warren, one of the panelists and a member of the committee that drafted the Stone report, said that he is uncomfortable with the recent campaign by organizations like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education (FIRE) to use the report’s principles as guidelines for state legislation.

Referencing an article published in The

Chronicle of Higher Education in March, Warren drew a distinction between freedom of speech, which has no requirements or responsibilities associated with it, and freedom of inquiry, which is one of the University’s fundamental values and requires a dedication to accuracy over the ability to speak indiscriminately.

During the Q&A, which became heated at several moments as audience members argued with Picker and Wild, some argued that the University should take time to consider the responsibility it holds as a focus of

national attention over campus free speech.

Justifying the argument that the University should solicit more community feedback, one audience member noted that the Committee had only met with four undergraduates and only one graduate student.

Referring to other campuses where students have recently protested against invited speakers, Wild said, “All eyes are going to be on us if something like Berkeley or Middlebury happens, and we should have a set of rules in place if we have a breakdown of our culture of free expression and inquiry.”

Lewis Emphasized the Importance of Young People in Activism and Social Change Continued from front

trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble,” he said.

“The first time I got arrested I felt free, I felt liberated...and I have not looked back since…. I’ve been arrested forty times since then. Since being elected to Congress I’ve been arrested five times. I probably will be arrested again.”

Lewis then told a story from a stop he made with a friend on the famous Freedom Rides, when students rode buses to the South to challenge segregation.

“Along the way we were beaten, left bloody, unconscious…. The two of us tried to enter the so-called white men’s room….

We were left behind in a pool of blood,” Lewis recounted.

Decades later, one of the attackers, then about 70 years old, brought his son with him to see Lewis at his office in D.C. The man apologized to Lewis and asked for forgiveness. Lewis held up this story as an example of the power of nonviolence and love in social justice.

“I forgive you, I accept your apology,

and the three of us cried together. It says something about the power of the way of peace, the power of love.”

Lewis fi nished his talk with a determined call to action.

“We’ve made a lot of progress, we’ve come a distance, but we’ve still got a distance to go,” Lewis said. “There are forces in high places in America today that are trying to take us back…. We’re not going back…. So be kind. Be bold. Be courageous. Be brave. Do your part.”

Aydin discussed March’s purpose as

expanding the story of the Civil Rights Movement, especially for those who know little of the Movement beyond the names of Dr. King and Rosa Parks.

“I never heard the stories of SNCC [Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee],” Aydin said. “No one told me the power that young people had in this process…. We have to show them how another generation used nonviolence, what the principles of nonviolence are, because we need them now.”

“I was given four inches of Fireball in a Solo cup” Continued from front

received complaints that were not sent to FCS “alarming.”

Attie’s friend also reported the incident to her sorority. According to the friend, the sorority is “currently voting on whether to discontinue mixers with specific frats.”

When asked about the reported violations at the FIJI party, Ilan Haskel, chapter president of Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) who operates the FCS website, said the online form that PSA

filled out sends a direct e-mail notification to the site moderator. Haskel then forwards the purported violations to a listhost composed of all Greek life presidents.

“I can personally say that upon every violation, I immediately share the report with every signee of the document,” Haskel said. “We certainly appreciate the feedback and would like people to be confident that their submissions are reaching their intended set of ears.”

“As such, we are working on updating the

website with an updated response system, including an automated message upon submission stating clearly that a member of the relevant fraternity will get in touch regarding the violation shortly,” he said.

According to Haskel, FIJI chapter president Clyde Anderson was quick to confirm that he read the report, and additionally expressed intent to internally address the reported violation “as soon as possible.”

Anderson told THE MAROON that the fra-

ternity received the complaints and that it is “working internally to ensure the safety and well-being of [its] guests,” but did not comment further about the specific incident.

Of the three complaints Dowd has personally filed with the website, she has neither received a receipt of submission nor been contacted by a fraternity. At the time of publication, neither Attie nor her friend had been contacted by any member of FIJI about the incident.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON - MAY 12, 2017

VIEWPOINTS U Mad, Bro? Memes Might Not be the Best Way to Address FIJI’s Racism

BY HENRY SAROYAN MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

However obvious it might be, it is important to confront just how increasingly dependent political expression is on social media’s empire.

We all know what the potential problems are—self-selected audiences and suspect simplifications of larger, more nuanced issues. In particular, the ascension of the “meme” as a vehicle for almost all forms of expression should trouble us because complex social thought is being reduced to witticisms plastered over strange images for popular consumption. (Yes, this is an implicit jab at the explosion of “meme” pages serving particular, usually elite, college communities.)

I am constantly reminded of how effortless undergraduate punditry truly is. When it comes to criticism, we students are incredibly generous.

To scorn, to lecture, to engage in that storied practice of “virtue signaling” is incredibly easy. (My writing this article serves as a perfect example.)

Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI)’s construction-themed party on Cinco de Mayo is only our university’s latest confrontation with its privilege. But it is astonishing just how warped and regressive certain dimensions of our reaction and discontent have been.

Before I move further, it is no unimportant task to keep perspective.

Politics during dark times compel us to resurrect, remember, and emulate basic moral premises. Racial insensitivity is terrible, and this party only served to perpetuate certain stereotypes specifically about the Mexican community. It is particularly heinous that this was propagated by a social institution defined by its inherent exclusivity. Critiques of the “fraternity” model are very much an implicit discourse on the problems of class, elitism, exclusivity, and groupthink.

It is no surprise that the most heinous ideological aspects of the fraternity are magnified at universities already facing these issues independent of Greek life.

FIJI’s actions should trouble us all. It is deplorable. It should not be tolerated. It deserves our censure.

But are we responding to this episode of insensitivity and racism, whether unconscious or intentional, properly?

Consult our university’s de facto meme page. (I’m reluctant even making reference to this platform, let alone the name of the group itself.) In response to the FIJI incident, we’ve seen a welter of images that invokes the same ideology of “otherization” that our mobilized campus is so passionately against. Should we be comfortable reducing a particular fraternity (and student-athletes generally) into acerbic memetic tropes?

Is this the best way to combat the very marginalization of the Other that FIJI has chosen to engage in?

Now, of course, not all stereotypes carry the same gravity. One case of insensitivity reinforces and perpetuates reprehensible attitudes that are actively weaponized by power structures in defense of oppressive political programs.

Nevertheless, there is merit in evaluating what inadvertent insensitivity reveals about otherwise admirable student discourse (something an otherwise uninteresting Facebook meme page has put on full display). I do not intend the grand takeaway to be resisting insensitive attitudes toward “fraternity x,” or football players, or what-have-you.

That would be shameful, tone-deaf, and foolish of me. The larger issue at stake here is how the platforms of our expression represent and perpetuate the increasingly unreflecting nature of college political discourse.

Adam Thorp, Editor-in-Chief Hannah Edgar, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Euirim Choi, Managing Editor Stephanie Liu, Managing Editor The MAROON Editorial Board consists of the Editors-in-Chief and editors of THE MAROON.

NEWS

GREY CITY

Emily Kramer, editor Sonia Schlesinger, editor Katie Akin, editor Lee Harris, deputy editor Eugenia Ko, deputy editor Deepti Sailappan, deputy editor Jamie Ehrlich, senior editor Emily Feigenbaum, senior editor Pete Grieve, senior editor

Wendy Lee, editor

VIEWPOINTS

Cole Martin, editor Sarah Zimmerman, editor ARTS

Alexia Bacigalupi, editor MJ Chen, editor Grace Hauck, senior editor SPORTS

Rhea Bhojwani, editor Emmett Rosenbaum, deputy editor DESIGN

Kay Yang, head designer COPY

Sophie Downes, copy chief Morganne Ramsey, copy chief Michelle Zhao, copy chief Katrina Lee, deputy copy chief Patrick Lou, deputy copy chief THIS ISSUE

Design Associates: Helen Chen Copy: Mohammed Bashier, Whitney Halperin, Marco Laghi, Tanvi Lakhtakia, Rebecca Naimon, Sarah Pan, Olivia Shao, Kuba Sokolowski

SOCIAL MEDIA

Jamie Ehrlich, editor ONLINE

Vishal Talasani, editor PHOTO

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What I am troubled by is the reliance on the “meme” as a way for our college peers to express their otherwise valid and meaningful resentment of this situation. I am under no illusions here. Writing this article won’t resurrect the Habermasian ideal of the public sphere. I am not intent on resurrecting the democratic accountability found in the Athenian demos. Articulating my beliefs through this article won’t inspire a generation of dissident pamphleteers or nation-wide campus protests. Much more will have to happen to occasion the resurgence of political praxis, dialogue, and social thought.

I simply want to bring to our collective attention to an oft-mentioned problem—which is to say, our immediate reliance on easy answers and, more importantly, lazy platforms for expressing our political beliefs. Practically speaking, I’m asking us to confront why we have resorted to the creation of trite memes in confronting an episode of racism on our campus?

Now, I am, in theory, sympathetic to some potential justifications, like increased outreach and awareness. I

am sure there is some social theorist out there who argues the emancipatory potential of political memes.

And indeed, there is a lot to be said about uniting both low and high culture in generating viable political movements. One can only hope this leads to genuine solidarity for those marginalized by the decision of this fraternity’s members. Alas, I am skeptical.

Will “meme culture” demand us to recognize our own prejudices and insensitivities and those of our beloved university? Will it force us to recognize how instances of racism and bigotry have generally been longstanding staples of Greek life not just at the University of Chicago but across the country? Will it inspire us to physically unite in a common space in support for those implicitly targeted and belittled by this fraternity’s act? Or rather, does “meme culture” provide us a problematic failsafe to purge our own guilt and frustration toward this incident, freeing us of the responsibility we have to repudiate and combat racism at the University of Chicago?

During a time in America where the insidious forces of fear and hatred have been rendered clear and potent once more, shouldn’t we hold more hard and fast to actually taking action? These are questions for all of us to consider. I don’t offer a grand theory of how to reconcile this incident, let alone problems of race and class in the American meritocracy. Rather, I am asking us to simply stop and think about what it is that we are doing and whether this is the best way to effect change.

This is not to say that there is no serious work being done and planned by campus activists in response to this incident. There is. This is not to say that we shouldn’t demand administrative support. We should be, and we rightfully are. But nonetheless, we, as concerned students, need to be conscious of our reasons for outrage, the best platform of expressing our outrage, and what will be wrought by the means we seek.

Henry Saroyan is a first-year in the College majoring in political science.

MURALxMaroon: Insincerely Yours FIJI Has Yet to Recognize the Concerns of Marginalized Students

BY JASMIN PIZANO MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

The Chi Upsilon chapter of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI)’s response letter to the grievances surrounding its construction-themed party on Cinco de Mayo is an apologetic attempt to address the expressed student concerns but ultimately fails to understand the true nature of the campus’s complaints. The released letter fixates on the context in which the party theme was decided upon rather than comprehending how the chapter blatantly failed to give proper attention to the expressed concerns.

On May 3, a member of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MEChA) reached out to a FIJI member after the group became aware of the then-potential party taking place on Cinco de Mayo and its construction theme. In the message, the member of MEChA made it clear that the event could be construed as offensive as it implicitly celebrates a Mexican holiday by having patrons dress as racial stereotypes.

The message also acknowledged the fraternity’s claim that the party’s theme revolved around the house’s recent renovations; however, they still asked that they consider changing the theme to something “less controversial.” In a comprehensive attempt to minimize the potential offense of the party, the MEChA member asked for an explanation of the party’s theme if the theme would not be changed—the chapter member who responded said the theme was going to be changed. Nonetheless, FIJI still held a construction-themed party on Cinco de Mayo and sought no further communication with any members of MEChA to further explain how this decision was made.

MEChA had been misled to believe the theme of the party was no longer going to be construction.

Among the many mediocre com-

ponents of FIJI’s letter, the most concerning is the lack of reflection from the fraternity regarding the event.

While the chapter’s full response to this issue was to change the event theme, they were not committed to enforcing that change. The chapter changed the event page on Facebook, but this unfortunately “did not dissuade some brothers from wearing construction themed attire,” as stated in their letter.

The apology mostly justified the theme, not acknowledging that they had misled MEChA and trivialized expressed concerns. MEChA’s released statement after the event reads: “MEChA believes the fraternity followed through their plans of a construction-themed party to demonstrate their privilege and authority by blatantly disregarding the concerns of the marginalized groups without facing disciplinary actions.” FIJI’s response completely disregards this fact and only views their offense in terms of the party’s theme and date.

As for disciplinary action, the chapter has stated they “should address the small number of brothers who did act recklessly.” Only one brother is facing disciplinary action concerning an insensitive comment in the Facebook group prior to the event. While the comment was of true discriminatory nature and elucidates the inner workings of the frat’s accepted social culture, the comment, again, was not the true concern of the incidents related to the event and was not a concern in MEChA’s statement. FIJI’s response seems to indicate that the chapter did not take the time, once more, to understand the concerns that were expressed, even after the event took place. They seem to believe that the measures taken with the now-suspended member will absolve the entire fraternity from their offense. Nonetheless, the fraternity’s insensitivity is marked

by their mass compliance to ignore and mislead, and by their refusal to communicate with students not comfortable with the event.

By blaming this on one individual, it ignores the broader issues at hand, which is the blatant disregard of sentiments and concerns of marginalized groups. More broadly, it is yet another example of the oversimplified approach to problem solving racial and cultural tensions on campus, which is in large part supported by the University’s distant relationship to Greek Life.

I have a hard time recognizing a sincere reflection from the fraternity with regard to their actions both before and after the event. FIJI cannot say they have offered a sincere apology if they have yet still failed to recognize MEChA’s true concerns. The offense being addressed by certain marginalized groups goes beyond costumes and themes. It is in the little importance that was given to a situation considered to be of high value and concern from some community members.

Demonstrating a firm commitment to diversity and inclusion can mean taking the sentiments and concerns of marginalized groups with the seriousness that they represent to those groups. But, it also can and should mean administrative accountability for the groups not upholding said University-shared values.

P.S. (With regard to the use of “Hispanic” in the FIJI letter) “Hispanic” denotes Spain or Spanish speakers. Cinco de Mayo commemorates a Mexican victory over French forces.

Jasmin Pizano is a third-year in the college majoring in romance languages and literatures and public policy studies.

Editor’s Note: See the online edition of this article for details on the MuralxMaroon collaboration.

5

THE CHICAGO MAROON - MAY 12, 2017

ARTS Photography as Rebellion: Chinese Human Rights at #AiWeiwei

BY MAX MILLER ARTS STAFF

On April 13, #AiWeiwei opened at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, showcasing the prolific work of Chinese-born artist and activist A i Weiwei. The exhibit is free and open to the public, which fits into the artist’s discourse on greater civil liberties for all people. As we enter an unprecedented era of surveillance, social media, and widespread paranoia, the exhibit is a timely snapshot of a society negotiating security and citizens’ rights.

A major part of the exhibit focuses on Ai’s blurry phone camera pictures of the people sent by the Chinese government to secretly observe him. One’s first impression is that Ai is overly paranoid about his surroundings. Viewers who look more closely at the strange situations in his hasty, blurry photographs inevitably sink into a reality where he is watched (and sometimes violently detained) by the Chinese government. Such photos and encounters reveal the breadth of his surveillance, and the lengths to which the government will go to barricade his privacy.

One of Ai’s photo sequences shows two men and a woman seated near his restaurant table. All three are utterly absorbed in their phones. However, their strange behavior extends beyond their smartphone obsession, since they order nothing throughout the “dinner.”

Their task for the night is evidently to monitor Ai’s words and actions. Other photos, like the ones that show a black car supposedly “following him,” or a man on his phone trying to move away from Ai and his camera, seem to be more questionable depictions of the secret police. By contrast, other photos

clearly show that Ai’s suspicions are true. In one photo sequence, A i confronts a leering bystander while on a walk with his son in the woods. Ai found that the man was a government agent who had been photographing and monitoring his actions.

Another sequence of photos, particularly blunt and frightening, show Ai’s discovery that his art studio had voice recording devices hidden in every power outlet, which were left undiscovered for years. If hundreds of undercover agents and police officers are tasked to follow an ordinary but popular artist, what might the government do against someone even more rebellious?

The exhibit captures the most profound parts of A i’s art, which blurs the line between reality and the digital realm. There are pictures of jugs painted with the Coca-Cola logo, compilations of Ai’s supporters mimicking his poses on Instagram, and surveillance camera footage of his protests.

One v ideo details A i’s high-prof ile online protest of his house arrest and mandatory surveillance. The artist set up a 24/7 live-streaming camera in his house to stream every second of his day online after he was put under house arrest for no reason. Ai cheekily told the government that he was “assisting them with their surveillance,” while it’s clear to his viewers that he was also preventing the government from inf licting unwatched v iolence. T he stream remained functional for almost three days before being taken down by government agents, but achieved a peak viewership of more than 5 million people.

A i’s photos are sometimes blurry and small, but create an overarching mosaic effect, an aggregate piece of

Courtesy of the Museum of Contemporary Photography Ai Weiwei documents his arrest with a selfie in “Illumination” (2009).

art, when in concert with each other.

One wall of the museum is dedicated to an actual mosaic of Ai’s photos of refugees, taken from his trips to places like Syria, Mexico, and Greece. More than 16,000 small photos document his travels, and trying to look at all of them at once is overwhelming. The assaulting wall of photos not only brings to mind the horrifying scale of the refugee crises of today, but also calls to our attention how we, as viewers, process tragic information.

The main emblem of the show, blown up to cover the entire back wall of the first atrium, is a selfie that Ai took while being detained by government

officers. After agents had broken into his room, beaten him, and pushed him inside a mirror-walled elevator, Ai took a tongue-in-cheek picture of himself in the ref lection with his unf linching oppressors. The picture tells a story of potentially unseen and unheard violence, and the importance and potency of social media and documentation.

Ai’s exhibit shows us that tools used to record sound and video —and even selfies—can be powerfully employed to fight against injustice. #AiWeiwei will run until July 2 at the Museum of Contemporary Photography.

Free Black Women’s Pop-up Library Leaves Lasting Impression

BY CHLOE BARDIN ARTS STAFF

The Free Black Women’s Library began in New York City two years ago, when Ola Ronke started organizing monthly pop-up libraries across Brooklyn. Fueled by book donations, the libraries aim to provide free books written by and for black women.

“The library uses books to build community,” Ronke explains on her Tumblr, “and explore the intersections of race, class, culture and gender while creating a space to center and celebrate the voices of Black women and girls in literature.”

The idea quickly spread. Last year, the

Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture gave away free books and organized a day of teach-ins on black women’s movements. This year, the project took place at the Stony Island Arts Bank, a national historical landmark since 2015. On Saturday, May 6, the bank hosted Chicago’s second Free Black Women’s Library pop-up library—a powerful idea sown in an uncommon and vibrant place.

The bank—constructed in 1923 and abandoned in the ’80s—has been completely redesigned as a center celebrating African-American culture and history. It is an incredible space that spans the old and the new, preserving the past in a modern form.

Chloe Bardin The Stony Island Arts Bank is home to a local iteration of the Free Black Women’s Library, which began in Brooklyn.

Upon stepping under the library’s domed ceiling, you discover a wooden sanctuary dedicated to Frankie Knuckles, known as the “godfather of house [music].” His entire vinyl collection is stored on the third floor of the building, in what used to be a banker’s office. From the hall, you can also catch a glimpse of the impressive archival collection owned by the Johnson Publishing Company, the largest black-owned publishing firm in the United States. The bank also hosts Edward J. Williams’s 4,000 mass culture artifacts, which present a stereotypical image of the African-American community. Thus, a single building on 68th Street documents both the heavy past and the hopeful accomplishments of the black community.

The Free Black Women’s Pop-up Library thus joins in the building’s mission to preserve black culture—with an added emphasis on women. The library spread out beneath the entrance hall, with new and used books from American or African-American authors. But the books were only one part of this curious library. The entire building was filled with teach-ins, healing sessions, and arts and crafts workshops, all of which created a space where black women could feel welcome, share their experiences, and feel proud of their identity. The left wing of the arcade hosted associations working for black women’s rights, such as Sista Afya, which is dedicated to black women’s mental wellness.

As a white woman, I could only par-

tially relate to their experience, but I felt more aware of their reality, especially after the teach-in on domestic violence and criminalization of black women taught by Deana Lewis, a member of the association Love and Protect. Through brainstorming and collective writing, the session offered a moment to reflect on what it means to be a black woman today among the images the media and society convey. The group of women in the room discussed their experiences with the criminalization of black people, particularly women, in schools and on the streets.

The discussion was followed by a presentation on the trial of Bresha Meadows, a 15-year-old girl arrested for killing her abusive father. Love and Protect is actively seeking her freedom, denouncing the injustice of her situation.

“She has been in jail for almost a year now,” Lewis said, “because no one else defended her and her family against domestic violence. Her health, both physical and mental, is not taken into account. She needs to be healed, not punished!”

The participants were given the opportunity to write a note to Meadow herself as well as to her judge to plead for her release.

In a building that houses the hope and weight of African-American history, the pop-up library represented the multiple aspects of black women’s reality: It was both joyful and solemn, celebrating a community gathered to remember its heritage, accomplishments, and struggles.

6

THE CHICAGO MAROON - MAY 12, 2017

uchicago MANUAL OF

STYLE

by alexia bacigalupi, mj chen, & chris d’angelo

LEXIE HOLDEN / FIRST-YEAR My name is Lexie. I’m a political science major, minoring in Germanic studies and human rights. I’m involved with UBallet.

“Do not be afraid to be badass and graceful.”

Lexie is wearing a thrifted blouse by Christian Dior, thrifted check pants, shoes from Steve Madden, and earrings from Club Monaco.

I think a woman can be graceful but also powerful. One of my biggest inspirations— perhaps not in fashion, but life in general— would be Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I think she’s a phenomenal human being and an example of someone who might seem frail but embodies sharpness and power. She wears these crazy dissent collars because the male justices wear ties, but the women don’t have anything interesting to wear under their robes. So she originated the dissent collar, and that’s why Kagan and Sotomayor started wearing them. And that’s why I like to wear crazy bows or ties around my neck trying to emulate RBG. I wear a lot of feminine, classic hourglass cuts to class, like A-line miniskirts and thrifted silk blouses. Occasionally I’ll wear short, block heels—walking across campus is very impractical in four-inch heels. I tried and failed miserably on the cobblestones! On the weekends, it’s more of a Madewell aesthetic: jeans, slip-on sneakers, and other basics. But then I add surprising necklace—I’m really into hammered brass or gold—it’s sort of “femme-dustrial” chic, I call it.

Femme-dustrial…. It’s hard metals, but maybe there’s a touch of pink to soften it. As a little girl, I grew up with pink and skirts and the like—I did ballet, so all I owned was pink and skirts. Ballet is another example of power hand-in-hand with grace. I love getting a new pair of pointe shoes because I think they’re the most beautiful, badass thing you can craft: You get them and they have these long, beautiful satin ribbons but they’re not ready to be worn yet. So much physical labor goes into transforming them, breaking them in. To avoid fraying on the ribbons you burn them with a lighter and pinch them down.

You literally take a rubber mallet to them, bend them, put them in the doorframe—you do whatever to make them more malleable so you can wear them.

I’m wearing a Dior blouse from the ’60s—speaking of, I just did a presentation for a comparative literature class on fashion and modernity about Dior and the New Look fashion of the ’50s. A lot of people—Coco Chanel in particular—criminalize Dior for bringing back the corset (and for good reason, because it is very unhealthy). But I think Dior should be allowed some charity for what he did with his fashion. World War II had just ended; clothing was rationed and everything was very expensive because of the war. Women would draw seams up the back of their leg in eyeliner because they couldn’t afford silk stockings since silk was used for parachutes. Then Dior came in and brought back these sumptuous, feminine, impractical clothes that women would have never worn during the war. They had to dress practically, in jumpsuits or shorter skirts that wouldn’t get caught in factory machinery. Dior did away with their need to work by taking away their practical fashion which, in terms of the feminist movement, is really not a step in the right direction—but perhaps it was also a kind of liberation for women to have the option to be feminine again.

I thrifted this blouse for $30—I love thrifting because you never know what you’re going to find. You find beautiful pieces that otherwise wouldn’t be seen anymore by the world. But since someone decided to donate it, you get to rock these trends as fashion is so cyclical. And that’s what I find fun about fashion. Maybe you find a piece that you absolutely adore, so you wear it for as long as possible. Maybe it was trendy back when you bought it. But you know they’ll come back someday—except for those clear-knee jeans Topshop sells, those are skeezy. It’s cool when that happens because you’ve been wearing them forever and you get to say, “Oh, this?

I’ve been rocking it for years.”

Shop responsibly, shop ethically. If you must follow trends, do what you can to make your choices healthier for the environment. Do not be afraid to be badass and graceful at the same time. —LEXIE

“It’s sort of ‘femmedustrial’ chic.”

Lexie is wearing a thrifted blouse from Michael Kors, a thrifted skirt from Pimkie, and her grandmother’s ring.

7

THE CHICAGO MAROON - MAY 12, 2017

Autumn 2017 Courses in the Big Problems Capstone Curriculum for juniors and seniors

b i g

Announcing

ENERGY & ENERGY POLICY

GLOBAL ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE Michael Greenstone (Economics), John Deutch (Chemistry) BPRO 29200, ECON 26730, ENST 28220, PBPL 29200)

MEDICAL ETHICS: CENTRAL TOPICS Daniel Brudney (Philosophy) BPRO 22612, BIOS 29314, HIPS 21609, PHIL 21609

THE NUCLEAR AGE Deborah Nelson (English Language & Literature) BPRO 26030, ENGL 26030, HIST 25424, SIGN 26031 (second, third, or fourth-year standing) For more information, please see: http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/thecollege/bigproblems

The Big Problems curriculum addresses matters of global or universal concern that intersect with several disciplines and aȔect a variety of interest groups.

p r o b l e m s

Stephen Berry (Chemistry), George Tolley (Economics) BPRO 29000, ECON 26800, ENST 29000, PBPL 29000

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8

THE CHICAGO MAROON - MAY 12, 2017

SPORTS Senior Spotlight: Burke Moser Football

BY MICHAEL PERRY SPORTS STAFF

When fourth-year Burke Moser walks across the stage this June, he will graduate as one of the most accomplished football players in Maroon history. Moser will leave Hyde Park holding eleven different school football records after passing for 6,363 yards and 51 touchdowns in his two years as the starting quarterback in the high-octane Maroon offense.

Moser holds the records in the following categories: career passing touchdowns (51), career completion percentage (58.3 percent), season passing yards (3,766), season touchdown passes (30), season completions (317), season completion percentage (58.5 percent), season pass attempts (542), game passing yards (588), game passing touchdowns (7), game completions (43) and game pass attempts (76).

The accolades do not stop there however— Moser was a captain, two time UAA Athlete of

the Week, two time SAA Athlete of the Week, three time UAA All-Academic, Second Team All-UAA, and Honorable Mention All-SAA. Perhaps the only Maroon in program history to surpbass his football accomplishments is Heisman winner Jay Berwanger.

Despite all these achievements, Moser did not even see the field until his third season.

After two seasons of riding the bench, Moser questioned whether he wanted to continue to play, given the physical impact of playing football and hefty time commitment it entailed.

Despite that, Moser came back for what would end up being the most impressive two seasons by any Maroon quarterback in the program’s long, storied history.

Fellow captain and third-year Chandler Carroll, who started every game at running back the last two years next to Moser, said Burke’s biggest impact on the team was not his stats. Carroll continued, “Burke had an outstanding career here at UChicago, if not

Tennis Prepared for Tournament Test Women’s Tennis

BY MIRANDA BURT SPORTS STAFF

The University of Chicago women’s tennis team has again made an appearance in the NCAA postseason, receiving one of the tournament’s nine pool C at-large bids to continue their impressive streak of nine straight tournament appearances. The South Siders (16–4) received a first-round bye and will host a regional that includes seven other teams; Coe College (18–9), Augustana College (24–6), Gustavus Adolphus College (19–7), St. Norbert College (23–11), Kenyon College (11–9), and Franciscan University (14–6).

While the Maroons did receive an atlarge bid, they are one of the tournament’s top-ranked teams and enter with high expectations. They are currently ranked No. 9 in NCAA Division III, coming off a second-place UAA finish where they narrowly lost a highly competitive contest against topranked Emory (5–4). The South Siders have been to the NCAA quarterfinals six times in the program’s history, and have made one finals appearance.

Second-year Adrienne Travis commented on the team’s recent momentum, saying,

UChicago Athletics Department

Second year Rachel Kim returns a serve earlier this season.

“Coming off of UAAs, I feel extremely confident in our team’s ability to fight for every last point. At UAAs we had one of the closest matches with Emory that we have had in a while, and we plan on channeling that same energy going into NCAAs.” First-year contributor Laura Gutierrez agreed, saying, “I was really proud of the energy our team brought to the courts, as well as the level of competitiveness that helped us finish as runner-up. [Singles No. 1 Ariana Iranpour] was incredible, and I think her hard-fought match and overall grit really set the tone for NCAAs coming up.”

The Maroons will face the winner of Coe College versus Augustana College, and then their fate will be determined by the rest of the seven-team regional. The Coe Kohawks are making their sixth straight tournament appearance. The Kohawks have played UAA opponent Washington University in St. Louis, losing handily (8–1), while the Maroons beat the Bears 8–1 and 5–4. The Augustana Vikings are making their second NCAA appearance in three years. The Maroons crushed the Vikings back in April, winning 8–1.

Gutierrez was excited for regionals, saying, “As far as regionals go, we just have to keep pushing. We’ve pushed each other all season, and personally that gives me a lot of confidence in my playing and fitness levels going into the tournament. We just have to take it one match at a time.”

Travis added on, saying, “I think a huge factor that will contribute to our success in the NCAA tournament will be mental toughness on the court, i.e. staying positive no matter what the score is or how we are playing, not giving up until the last point is over, supporting one another while playing, etcetera.

We have done a really good job with this as the season has progressed and I’m excited for it to really blossom at NCAAs. Having spent a year already competing in NCAAs and making it to elite eight last year is definitely a confidence booster. I think we have improved skill-wise as a team this year and I have high expectations for how far we make it in the tournament and how we compete against top teams.”

The Maroons will play at home May 12– 14, looking to continue their recent NCAA tournament success.

the most prolific in the program’s history. You will find his name all over the record books.

However, what made Burke such a special guy was his character. He sat for two years when he certainly had the ability and never complained once. I’ll never forget the memories of me and Burke in the backfield.”

Moser lead the team through the tough transition from a ball-control, pro-style offense his third year into the hurry-up, spread offense his fourth year. While a complete switch of systems is known to rattle quarterbacks, Moser put in the work for the transition and set an example for the entire team to follow.

When talking with members of the team, Moser’s character came up time and time again. “Burke is a natural leader who made every practice enjoyable because he knew when to laugh and when to work,” said second-year Trevor Anderson. “People followed Burke because of how much respect they have for his work ethic and for the care that he has

for each individual player.”

Anderson has a truly unique relationship with Moser. In Anderson’s first year, he was Moser’s primary backup at quarterback before being moved to wide receiver as a second-year. Moser helped Anderson make this transition, and Anderson ended up being named an Honorable Mention All-UAA wide receiver in his first season playing the position. “Being a quarterback who moved to receiver, Burke and I had great chemistry from the start because we were on the same page, and his tremendous talent always made my job easier,” added Anderson.

Moser, often called “B-Mo” by the team, is originally from Pittsburgh, PA. In addition to football, Moser was involved in the Chicago Basketball League and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity during his time as an undergraduate.

After finishing his A.B in economics in the winter quarter, Moser started working at a trading firm in Park City, UT.

Bulls Face Offseason Choices Professional Basketball

BY CAVELL MEANS SPORTS EDITOR

As the NBA playoffs rage on from coast to coast, one team looks on, wondering where exactly things went wrong and where to go from here. That team would be the Chicago Bulls. With a .500 record, the Bulls were the definition of average, despite having two superstars in Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade.

Furthermore, they possessed an excellent guard in Rajon Rondo, whose hand injury during their series against the top-seeded Boston Celtics seemingly doomed the Bulls.

During the final game of their season, conveniently at home at the United Center, chants of “Fire Hoiberg,” referring to the head coach, Fred Hoiberg, rang out, to go alongside fans’ longtime sentiment that the team’s management, John Paxson and Gar Forman (referred to as GarPax), should be removed as well. It looks to be a long summer for Chicago, and it starts in free agency.

The biggest concern for Chicago is deciding whether they want to rebuild or retool. In rebuilding, they would let some older players go and have to contend for the lottery’s top spot by being the worst team in the league. In order to do so, Butler and Wade would likely have to leave the team, through trades and free agency, respectively. However, history has shown that the Bulls have been fairly resistant to rebuilding in the last decade or so, thus making a retool more likely given the team’s leadership. This would mostly likely have to happen via free agency, as making the playoffs secured them a mediocre 16th place in the NBA draft although the pool of college athletes is certainly strong this year.

With Wade having a player option of $23.8

million, it is his choice whether to return to the team, or to potentially move and try to be signed to a team with a higher chance of winning the championship next year. With three rings, Wade said “I don’t need to ‘ringchase,’ but I can.” Furthermore, role players like Nikola Mirotic, Anthony Morrow, and Michael Carter-Williams are also free agents, complicating the equation anymore. As Mirotic is a restricted free agent, meaning that the Bulls can match any offer he gets from a different team, Chicago may have to overpay to keep the big man with the sweet stroke.

Lastly, Chicago will have to seriously consider shaking up the front office if it wants to keep its fans and players happy. Hoiberg has only been coaching in the NBA for two years and was ranked the worst coach in the league this season by ESPN. Various assistant coaches throughout the league would certainly love the opportunity to head up this Bulls team, plus others still looking for a job, like Kevin McHale, who would appreciate a shot being back on the bench after being fired in late 2015. Also, although it seems unlikely, there is a chance Forman or Paxson will step down from their positions as G.M. and V.P. of Basketball Operations, respectively. It would make most of the fan base happy although GarPax seem to enjoy their job security more than their supporters would like.

As the NBA playoffs continue and the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to look like locks for the NBA finals every year, a central question surrounds Chicago this offseason and for years to come: do they want to merely compete with their roster and front office as constructed, or do they want to raze everything and try to create a diamond from the rough? Only time will tell.

Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar

The Bulls have to decide whether to pursue a banner next year or begin a rebuild.