Chicagomaroon110717 by The Chicago Maroon

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

VOL. 129, ISSUE 13

ADMINS CONSIDER 1,254-BED DORM AT HARRIS SITE BY GREG ROSS NEWS REPORTER

The University is considering plans for a new 1,254-bed residence hall at 1155 East 60th Street. The residence hall would be built on the site of the Harris School of Public Policy, to be vacated once the school moves to a new location next year. Preliminary plans show a 378,922-square-foot complex, nearly 50,000 square feet larger than Renee Granville-Grossman Residential Commons. The complex would consist of 11 houses, a dining hall, and 2,000 square feet of retail space. T HE M AROON became aware of these plans when a reporter encountered a PowerPoint presentation for what seems to have

been an administration meeting last Wednesday in Booth. If built as presented, a 170foot building would line South University Avenue, and three shorter, interconnected buildings would sit along South Woodlawn Avenue and East 61st Street. As revealed on Wednesday, the plans indicate the dorm would be built by a private developer. In August, the University announced it was in the planning stages for a residence hall further east, at East 61st Street and South Dorchester Avenue. T HE M AROON reported in July that the University had notified building owners in this area of its plan to construct a new residence hall. Connie Spreen, Continued on page 2

Samuela Mouzaoir

Barack Obama at the inaugural Obama Foundation Summit’s opening concert. See page 6 for more.

King on Organizing for Social Justice BY CINDY YAO

Mac Leases Units for Low-Income Residents BY SPENCER DEMBNER NEWS REPORTER

In 2018, Mac Properties will open Solstice on the Park, a 250unit apartment building overlooking Jackson Park near 56th Street and Cornell Avenue. The firm has begun taking leases for 53 affordable units on the adjacent lot at 5528 Cornell Avenue, fulfilling a decade-old promise. The project was initially proposed in 2007, but its development was delayed by the recession, and it only received city approval last year. In collaboration with the Coalition for Equitable Community Development, a Hyde Park community group, Mac committed to including affordable housing in the plan for the project. “The Coalition for Equitable Community Development has long advocated for affordable housing in Hyde Park,” Peter Cassel, director of community development for Mac, wrote in an e-mail to T HE M AROON. “Fifth

Ward Alderman Leslie A. Hairston helped to broker the deal… to build broad community support for Solstice, including the support of the Coalition for Equitable Community Development.” This will be the second major development for Mac in recent years, after it opened the City Hyde Park building in 2015. Twenty percent of the building’s units are designated as affordable, which the Coalition’s website cites as one of its successes. Both buildings were designed by Jeanne Gang, who also designed Campus North Residential Commons. Earlier this year, Mac faced questions about its finances, with a $112 million mortgage due that some doubted it could pay. However, the properties were successfully refi nanced, and Mac continues to develop new projects, including a 250-unit proposal for Cornell and 53rd. The Coalition could not be reached for comment.

NEWS REPORTER

Writer and activist Shaun King spoke at Rockefeller Chapel Friday evening in a talk titled “How to Fight for Justice and Win.” King, a prominent voice in the Black Lives Matter movement, reflected on past cases of police brutality in black communities and offered insight into how people can make significant strides on the issue. He explained that while he put his activism on hold after college and marriage, his passion for social justice was rekindled after he was sent a video of Eric Garner, a black man who was unarmed, being choked to death by police officers in July 2014. Enraged by what he saw, King turned to social media to advocate for Garner and others affected by police brutality that same year, including Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and John Crawford III. When King discovered there would be no legal justice for Garner or other victims, he felt himself sinking into what he thought was “depression...a real funk.” “In 2014, over a thousand people were killed by police and not a single officer was held responsible.... I came to understand

that in the United States, police brutality is legal,” he said. To explain why some actions of police brutality are still allowed by law, King referenced the Tennessee v. Garner case. The case was brought to the Supreme Court in 1985—over a decade after officers shot a young boy, who they believed was a burglar. In what King describes to be a powerful decision, the Supreme Court ruled that officers are prohibited from shooting a fleeing felon. “The Supreme Court decision is so righteous, so amazing, I swear you would think a group of activists wrote it,” King said. “They talk in the decision about how much a life matters and how you are not able to trade a life in the name of bringing someone into justice.” However, there was a caveat many overlooked: If officers had sufficient belief that the felon posed a danger to themselves or to the community, officers would be legally allowed to shoot. “It created a new theory in policing. If you tell people you thought you were in danger, what could I do about it?” King said. Shifting from the past to the present, King argued that 2017 is en route to becoming the first or second deadliest year mea-

Belle of Amherst at the Court

In Defense of Grunt Work We should be open to the rewards of traditional volunteering.

Our critic reflects on the one-woman play on the life of Emily Dickinson currently showing at the Court Theatre.

Brooke Nagler

King concluded that while it is important to protest and march, significant change, particularly in issues of injustice, will not occur unless four conditions are met: There must be organized people, energized people, a clear plan, and money. “You do not accidentally find yourself on the winning path. It’s a series of choices...and I’m going to do everything I can to help you and to empower local activists and organizations. You have a lot of work to do,” he told the crowd.

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sured for police brutality in recent years. He continued, saying police brutality in black communities has been pushed out of headlines, which may create the impression that it is in decline.

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Football Beats Macalester Page 8 Team celebrates senior day with 19–14 win, and prepares to advance to divisional play.

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

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 7, 2017

Events 11/7–11/9 Today March for a Community Benefits Agreement Hyde Park Academy High School, 6220 S. Stony Island Ave., 4–6 p.m. Affiliates and supporters of the campaign to promote a series of community benefits agreements with the City of Chicago, UChicago, and the Obama Foundation will march from Hyde Park Academy to the Obama Presidential Center’s planned site. Open to the public. The North Korean Threat Ida Noyes Hall, 5:30–6:45 p.m. Mark Lippert, former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea; Dr. Han Sung-Joo, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea; and David E. Sanger, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times specializing in nuclear proliferation will discuss the extent of North Korea’s long-range capabilities and the long-term viability of diplomatic efforts. Free and open to the public, register online. Thursday Woodlawn Metra Mural Unveiling Metra underpass, E. 64th St., 3 p.m. A mural by two local artists on this previously grim Metra underpass will be unveiled at a ceremony, followed by a reception at the William Hill Gallery. See more at chicagomaroon.com/events.

Samuela Mouzaoir

Attendees at the annual South Side Pie Challenge queue up for a slice. See more photos online.

UChicago Crushes Launches Mirale, an Anonymous Messaging App BY XIAOHE GRACE GU NEWS REPORTER

FOUR MORE FOR OBAMA BOARD BY BRAD SUBRAMANIAM NEWS REPORTER

In a press release last Friday, the Obama Foundation announced the addition of four new members to their Board of Directors. The appointees will support the Obama Foundation’s goals of improving civic engagement within Chicago and other communities across the nation and aim to “identify, inspire, and train the next generation of civic leaders.” The new Board members include Penny Pritzker, former United States Secretary of Commerce; Glenn Hutchins, director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and cofounder of the private equity fi rm Silver Lake; Mahalia Hines, president of the Common Ground Foundation; and Juan Salgado, chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago. Obama Foundation Chair Marty Nesbitt said, “Over the last two years, the Obama Foundation has put together a diverse and talented team to fulfi ll an ambitious agenda—from unveiling the initial site plan of the Obama Presidential Center to rolling out the fi rst of our programming initiatives and events.” The Obama Foundation’s updated Board of Directors comes amid several public events which have drawn attention to the organization, including a recent inaugural leadership summit that revealed the planned construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Hyde Park.

Several moderators of the UChicago Crushes Facebook page recently took part in launching Mirale, an app that lets users send direct and anonymous messages. The app allows users to message their crushes anonymously, but requires that the crush uses the app as well. Anyone with a .edu e-mail can access the app, but since its creators want to gather more feedback before a wider release, Mirale has debuted only at UChicago and a few other schools so far (the creators have declined to reveal the other schools). As of the evening of November 5, 111 accounts have been made on the app, mostly by UChicago students. In lieu of an in-person interview, T HE M AROON exchanged messages with Mirale’s anonymous spokesperson through the UChicago Crushes Facebook page, in order to keep the identity of the page’s moderators hidden. According to the creators of Mirale, the app is “mostly created by UChicago student(s).” Mirale’s creators have distanced themselves from Maroon.Space, clarifying that the dating website—which was created by a group of undergraduate students back in March—is affi liated with a separate UChicago Crushes Facebook page, known as University of Chicago

Crushes. Limitations of the anonymous UChicago Crushes page inspired Mirale’s founders to design the app. “Oftentimes, the subject of a crush would reply back with something like ‘you should totally message me I would love to get to know you.’ But...the author of a crush can’t privately reach out while still maintaining their anonymity, and the subject of a crush can only reciprocate publicly, which not everyone is comfortable with,” the spokesperson said. Additionally, the app’s builders were interested in exploring the possibilities of asymmetrical communication. While most online conversations are “symmetrical,” in which neither participant is anonymous, “asymmetrical” communication means that one party remains anonymous to the other. “Asymmetrical communication has the potential to extend the range of human interaction in ways that aren’t captured by existing modes of symmetrical communication. That’s what we’re going after,” the spokesperson explained. With the anonymous feature, Mirale allows users to switch between symmetrical and asymmetrical messaging. Once users connect with five friends, they can choose who to message and whether to message them anonymously. The name Mirale comes from the creators’ goal of fostering connections.

“Mirall is Catalan for mirror, but we had to change the name [to Mirale] because [Mirall] was already taken,” Mirale’s spokesperson said. A few days after the app’s release on October 23, the UChicago Crushes Facebook page announced the app: “UChicago Crushes, but wish you could reveal yourself or privately reciprocate to a crush about you? Here’s an app that transcends those limitations! If you have any questions, feedback or feature requests – don’t hesitate to send UChicago Crushes a message!” The post was taken down soon after because users were experiencing difficulty unlocking the anonymous mode, and Mirale’s creators wanted to make changes to the app. Previously, the app required users to connect with at least 23 friends to send anonymous messages. Since updates have been made, users can unlock anonymous mode by connecting with only five friends. Aside from anonymous messaging, users can also add friends to their “BFF list” or make themselves invisible to select people. Mirale intends to add a new feature that allows users to see who from their school has downloaded the app, possibly by Friday. The app is currently only available on iOS.

New Dorm Still in Planning Process Continued from front

executive director of the Experimental Station, explained that the new residence hall would be built on the east side of the street next to the South Campus Chiller Plant. In an interview with T HE M A ROON earlier this year, President Robert J. Zimmer said he expected to see “a lot” of development between East 61st Street and the Midway. The proposed dorm at

East 61st Street and South Dorchester Avenue would sit next to a new 180-room hotel developed by the University in partnership with a national hotelier. It is not clear whether the University is still considering East 61st Street and Dorchester Avenue as a site for a dorm. In a statement to T HE M AROON, a University spokesperson said, “The University continues to explore building a new residence hall, as announced in May

2017. We are considering numerous designs and potential locations, but no final decisions have been made. If there is a preliminary internal decision to proceed—which has not yet occurred—there would be many additional steps in the planning, design and approval process, including additional community engagement and publicly sharing any plans that are approved.”

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VIEWPOINTS In Defense of Grunt Work We Need to Change Our Approach to Traditional Service and Volunteering Opportunities

Natalie Denby N The University’s civic engagement and service programs aren’t exactly lightning rods for controversy. As other firestorms brew, service commands an uncomplicated respect. But it’s not uncommon to hear this work criticized as “grunt work,” albeit of the noble-hearted variety. This complaint squares with an anecdotal observation: Members of hands-on service groups tend to be disproportionately firstyears. This suggests that many students drop their civic engagement ventures not too long after starting. The objection to service work isn’t entirely misplaced. Civic engagement usually involves a lot of grunt work. The prototypical service opportunities, ranging from assistance at nursing homes to community gardening, are repetitive and easy. They aren’t venues for life-altering displays of heroism, as people seem to imagine them to be when they fi rst sign up—except, of course, the Herculean strength required to spend your time thinking about elementary school homework again. On purpose. For free. Let’s face it, NSP tutors are heroes. For most service activities, you ask students the same questions, you attack the same weeds, edit the same essay prompts, and scrub the same plates—again, and again, and again. Although by no means unpleasant, service work is not exciting. You’re

not in the spotlight—and if you do stand out while volunteering your time at a community garden, it’s probably safe to assume something’s gone horribly wrong. People may appreciate the work of volunteers around them, but that work is rarely noticed outside of a fairly limited circle of acquaintances. What grumblers miss is that this is hardly the basis for a critique; in fact, the “grunt work” component of service work is part of what allows it to be so effective. Criticism of this aspect of service is often a result of a common misunderstanding: that impact is for the exceptional, and heroes are better than cogs. It’s easy to understand the appeal of other, more tempting forms of “service.” Whereas conventional service opportunities often leave volunteers feeling expendable, research and other high-level contributions can make for unique, important work. Joining political and intellectual groups gives us a sense of a special, critical connection to the problem at hand. It’s essentially the difference between working at a problem and trying to solve one. We can all identify which of the two is more glamorous. Problems arise when we think we only have the time or patience for one or the other. It’s that decision to treat the two as mutually exclusive that results in a slow and steady exodus out of service

groups. Although everyone wants to play the role of game-changer or hero in the context of their pet issue, we don’t usually end up being either of those things. Obviously, there’s much to be said for thinking cogently and holding serious discussions about the political crises, policy issues, and social justice concerns that animate our lives, even if you don’t necessarily have a significant impact on these areas. Outlets for discussion are intrinsically valuable. By themselves, however, they’re insufficient. We also need outlets to become participants, even if that means occasionally and temporarily trading the mantle of would-be problem solver for that of the expendable

weed whacker, essay editor, or fork scrubber. Those roles aren’t thrilling, but they are in the thickets and weeds of an X or Y issue (pun definitely intended). The criticism of hands-on work is colored by our expectations of what meaningful contributions look like. There’s an all-or-nothing, never-compromise attitude at work here. Substantive contributions are conceived of at a high level; they work on a global instead of a localized scale, and if they’re worthwhile, they may even win acknowledgment and acclaim. This is why many people fi nd service work disappointing: It’s a series of repetitive transactions, it happens locally, and it’s often effectively

anonymous. For those of us who want to see things defi nitively fi xed, working within “broken” frameworks without any expectation of enacting sweeping change can seem like a dirty compromise. It shouldn’t be. Grand policy changes look forward and may not even happen. They’re important to fight for, but if you care about the travails of others right now, take up grunt-work in tandem with those other fights. It’s not an opportunity to change the game or solve the problem, but why does it have to be? Natalie Denby is a third-year in the College majoring in public policy studies.

Katie Hill

Adam Thorp, Editor-in-Chief Hannah Edgar, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Euirim Choi, Managing Editor Stephanie Liu, Managing Editor

Many Secrets, No Accountability

The MAROON Editorial Board consists of the Editors-in-Chief and editors of THE MAROON.

UChicago Secrets Easily Lends Itself To Hateful Rhetoric NEWS

GREY CITY

Lee Harris, editor Eugenia Ko, editor Deepti Sailappan, editor Sonia Schlesinger, editor Tyrone Lomax, deputy editor Katherine Vega, deputy editor Emily Feigenbaum, senior editor

Wendy Lee, editor

VIEWPOINTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

Jamie Ehrlich, editor PHOTO

Brooke Nagler, editor Feng Ye, editor VIDEO

Urvi Kumbhat, editor Cole Martin, editor

Grace Hauck, editor

ARTS

Andrew Mamo, chief financial officer

Alexia Bacigalupi, editor May Huang, editor Grace Hauck, senior editor SPORTS

Rhea Bhojwani, editor DESIGN

Kay Yang, production manager Peng-Peng Liu, head designer

BUSINESS

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COPY

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

Design Associates: Jesse Davila-Paul, Angela Liu Copy: Julia Holzman, Kuba Sokolowski, Jason Lin

Editor-in-Chief E-mail: Editor@ChicagoMaroon.com Newsroom Phone: (314) 239-0993 Business Phone: (773) 702-9555 Fax: (773) 702-3032 For advertising inquiries, please contact Ads@ChicagoMaroon.com or (914) 393-5012. Circulation: 2,750 © 2017 THE CHICAGO MAROON Ida Noyes Hall / 1212 East 59th Street / Chicago, IL 60637

Alexa Perlmutter In the short time that I’ve been here, I’ve heard a lot about free expression—during O-Week seminars, in class discussions, on the front page of The Maroon, and most recently, on the front page of The New York Times. Clearly, free speech is an enduring and heavily-contested issue on our campus and in our world. Second only to free expression is the popularity of online content-generating and meme-producing communities on campus. I can’t scroll through my Facebook feed without run-

ning into new UChicago Crushes posts and more than a few memes about UChicago hookup culture. In fact, just last week, Maroon columnist Kathleen Cui criticized the flippant parodies of Rupi Kaur’s poetry on Facebook. These online communities intersect with the issue of free speech in an important and often undiscussed way. The anonymous pages to which users can submit posts—UChicago Secrets, most notably—are experiments in free expression. UChicago Secrets, a popular,

student-driven Facebook page, accepts nameless submissions about “anything and everything relating to the University of Chicago” and publishes them throughout the day. Moreover, both UChicago and UChicago Secrets pride themselves on being communities premised on open discussion and free expression—to a point. The Secrets page touts a moderation policy which prohibits posts that “defame, deride, threaten, or harass” individuals by name and those that use “hate speech in an intentionally infl ammatory way,” much like the line University president Robert Zimmer has drawn between open discourse and threatening behavContinued on page 5

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 7, 2017

“Anonymity is emboldening” Continued from page 4 ior. But there is an important difference between the principles of UChicago’s campus at large and those of UChicago Secrets, and that is anonymity. And anonymity is emboldening. In a recent column, Maroon contributor Lucas Du characterized UChicago Secrets as a necessary outlet for the pent-up thoughts and feelings in our community. A way, in his words, for students to express their “truest, darkest thoughts.” However, there may be legitimate reasons for some of these thoughts to remain unsaid. Only under the guise of anonymity would someone write, “I honestly hate poor people here. Like why even go to this university if you’re just gonna complain about tuition and donations to the econ department” or “Asian-Americans are fucking land stealing settler colonials just like white people” or “Daily reminder that if you’re not enrolled in calc 161 or higher and getting 80% then you’re brainless and should become an English and/or pub pol major.” And I only had to scroll back three days to find these, among many others like them. Don’t get me wrong, the overwhelming majority of posts on UChicago Secrets do not read like these, but the fact that there are a significant number that do should give us reason for concern. Despite the moderation policies, I didn’t have to scroll for even 30 seconds to encounter multiple posts insulting various minority groups. This type of anonymous free speech is dangerous. Between the legitimate questions, the jokes, and the pleas to stop talking in the Reg, there is something more insidious that emerges when one’s name is detached from one’s opinions. Indeed, anonymity offers those that hide behind it refuge from any sort of accountability.

In 2004, psychologist John Suler coined the “online disinhibition effect,” which states that online anonymity precipitates distance not only from one’s own identity, but also from civil standards of behavior. In other words, we are more likely to disregard codes of appropriate and decent conduct in a virtual reality free of consequences. Anonymity allows users of UChicago Secrets to take free expression to a new and perverse extreme. I’m not suggesting that we should all be tied to the childhood trope, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all,” though I think this is a helpful rule of thumb in many cases. But there is something wrong with free expression for the sole purpose of spreading a hateful message, and there is something even more wrong with free expression with no possibility of accountability. Taking responsibility for—or at least ownership of—your opinion should be a prerequisite for sharing it. There is no place in our community for opinions that are so hateful that no one will publicly claim them. Of course, there are certainly appropriate places for anonymity—journalism being one of them. Anonymous sources are key to the diffusion of sensitive yet reliable news. Furthermore, sharing one’s opinions anonymously is often the only way to safely speak truth to power. But if the point of UChicago’s dedication to free expression is the ability to engage in civil discourse, UChicago Secrets certainly undermines it. Alexa Perlmutter is a first-year in the College.

ARTS Dream Freaks Make Earthly Appearance in Second City Show BY DEBLINA MUKHERJEE MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

Nobody goes into comedy because they’re well-adjusted. The Second City has been struggling with that for the past year or so— the privately held company laid off four fulltime staffers and was on the business end of a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a former (white) cast member earlier this year. But none of that is apparent in the theater’s 106th main stage revue, Dream Freaks Fall From Space. Every Second City Show is generally a worthwhile experience for out-of-town visitors, but this show is so special that even Chicago natives should indulge. Written and performed by second-time Mainstage cast member Kelsey Kinney, and featuring new cast members Ryan Asher, Tyler Davis, Jeffrey Murdoch, Tien Tran and Nate Varrone, Dream Freaks is an absolute tour de force in improvisational comedy. Its pacing is tight, with long sketches followed by bite-size one-liners, political takes followed by apolitical runs, and every cast member displays high levels of empathy and comedic intuition. As the playbill states, Second City show structure is usually relatively consistent: beginning with two mostly scripted acts, followed by a third improvised act. The cast and crew constantly test and adjust material that can then be refined for a sketch the next day. So if you’ve seen a revue before (the 105th was The Winner...Of Our Discontent), some bits might be tweaked, but the process of positive refinement is worth coming back to see. Even in the old pieces—one in par-

ticular where each member of the cast says the phrase “I once had a friend who watered a plant for three weeks before finding out it was plastic!” comes to mind—there are new twists and turns, born from earlier feedback that has been incorporated. This process of refinement is most evident when the content has politics in its crosshairs. The Second City has never shied away from political material, and comedic theater as a whole has used the White House’s abdication of moral leadership to its advantage. But compared to their previous shows, Dream Freaks is the sociology major’s

diatribe. This show’s politics see President Donald Trump as a symptom of a larger structural problem. In effect, Davis croons “I gotta know, did you vote for Trump?” to a potential lover, and the cast does do a ballet wearing Trump masks as “Send in the Clowns” plays in the background, but the next line of Davis’s song is now “Red and blue don’t mean nothing to me, but how could you vote for that clown?” quickly followed by Varrone’s Putin impression, which compares complaining about Trump to “Febreze in a nasty poopy bathroom.” This plays better, not just because the

cast is punching up, or because it’s kinder to an audience ordained by geography to be more conservative than New York or L.A., but because the jokes feel like an extension of a truly diverse cast’s experiences. The biggest and best kept secret of improv is that you don’t need to be funny to be a good improviser, you just need to be able to create earnest characters about which audience cares. The female cast members singing their “Lady Song” (“We made so much money selling pussyhats, we retired./ Gender is a construct but this is our lady song.”), Davis Continued on page 6

Courtesy of Todd Rosenberg

From left to right: ensemble-members Ryan Asher, Tyler Davis, and Tien Tran .

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 7, 2017

“The political becomes the personal, and the personal is compelling” Continued from page 5

weird that we ascribe heterosexuality to babies, all of which are compelling moments not because the premise is completely fresh (political comedy moves far too fast for that in the Twitter-era) but because there are women in the cast, Tran is gay, and Davis is black. They are each embracing these parts of themselves and inviting the audience to do the same. The political becomes the personal, and the personal is compelling. Compelling, of course, depends on the audience when the show is improvised. It’s

easy to be compelling to a group of people like you, but the real magic of improv happens when you have to win over a boozy hostile audience that’ll enthusiastically shout “Harvey Weinstein!” when you ask for a celebrity name. Kinney took that suggestion in stride during her Mother Goose nursery rhyme parody sketch. “More reflection on your character than mine,” she said in her character voice, before incorporating the suggestion into a rhyme. The two other improv sketches—based on The Butterfly Effect and Six Degrees of Separation—are

similarly unruffled masterclasses on building realistic and funny scenes on the fly. The group’s cohesion in this respect is actually surprising, given that not everyone in this cast has a formal improv background (Tran performed stand-up, and Varrone was a humor writer). And while there are a few moments (a sketch with two kids duped into thinking prom was in a sewer) that lacked driving motion, both the sketch and improv parts of this show were incredibly well-adjusted. These are truly the poorly-adjusted oddballs

on whose personality Second City thrives. Nothing is more emblematic of their collective strength than the final sketch, called “Suit in a Backpack,” in which Murdoch— wearing boxers and a backpack—comes on stage singing “Suit in a backpack, suit in a backpack,” only to have all the other cast members join him. Tran plays the cymbals, Varrone the drums, Kinney the accordion, and Asher the harmonica, and all the instruments join together in beautiful cacophony as Murdoch puts on his suit, just as God intended.

Obamas Return to Chicago for Star-Studded Concert BY ALEXIA BACIGALUPI & MAY HUANG ARTS EDITORS

A two-day gathering that culminated in a concert on the evening of November 1, the first inaugural Obama Foundation Summit kicked off last Tuesday with over 450 young leaders from around the world coming to Chicago’s Marriott Marquis to share ideas and pave avenues for collaboration. The summit featured speakers such as actor, musician, and native Chicagoan Common, Prince Harry, who visited Hyde Park Academy High School with Michelle Obama, and the University’s own installation artist Theaster Gates, as well as professors, writers, and entrepreneurs around the globe. The event served as a way to promote the vision of the Obama Presidential Center, due to be completed in 2020, and unite international voices to build a transnational, cross-cultural community. At the heart of the Obama Foundation is a deep commitment to community engagement and renewal, and “train the next generation of leaders.” As former president Barack Obama said on Wednesday night at the Wintrust Arena, institutions such as the presidential center and events like the summit will provide a network for “the next person who’s got a vision of spreading justice and love and peace around the world.” “[The Presidential Center is] a project that I will be spending the next 20 years, 30 years, 40 years on,” he continued. “It will be a labor of love that we are gonna build together.” And when asked about why they decided to establish the center in Hyde Park, Michelle Obama’s response, “The question isn’t why would we be here in Chicago on the South Side, but why not?” was met with thunderous applause. Throughout the evening, sporadic chants of “eight more years” and “2020” swelled throughout the arena, filled with members of the South and West side communities and school groups. Wednesday evening’s concert was curated by Chance the Rapper, whom Michelle Obama declared “a great representative of this great city” (and fondly referred to as “my baby brother Chance”). The concert brought together an eclectic lineup of performers, from Cuban-American legend Gloria Estefan to the Grammy-winning band The National in a celebration of the power of change and hope. R&B singer Andra Day kicked off the concert with a stirring performance of her hit single “Rise Up.” The lyrics “I’ll rise unafraid./ I’ll rise up/ And I’ll do it a thousand times again,” powerfully framed Obama Foundation’s core mission: a call to action for young people around the world to overcome adversity and inspire their communities. The message was a recurring theme

of the evening’s performers as Michelle Obama and Chance the Rapper introduced iconic hip hop artist Nas for a rousing set that had the stadium on its feet. He sang his 2003 hit “I Can,” which incorporated elements of Beethoven’s “Für Elise” and hopeful lyrics such as “I know I can/ Be what I wanna be/ If I work hard at it./ I’ll be where I wanna be.” As part of the evening’s mission of inspiring civic engagement, there were promotional videos from the Obama Foundation between sets featuring global and community leaders, from Rihanna to a Dutch member of the European Parliament to the founder of a teen fathers’ group in Chicago, talking about how to change their communities and the world. Another headliner, Cincinnati-based The National, sang hits such as “Bloodbuzz Ohio” and “Fake Empire” accompanied by joyous sax crescendos and energetic drums. As emcee of the evening, Chance the Rapper was the fi nal artist to perform, with songs like “First World Problems” and “Summer Friends.” He was later joined onstage by his friend and singer Francis Starlite of Francis and the Lights for a charmingly quirky coordinated dance routine to “May I Have This Dance?” More surprise guests joined throughout the evening, including country band Brandi Carlile who performed a whiskey-smooth rendition of “Hallelujah,” comedian Aziz Ansari and his Chicago-born collaborator Lena Waithe, and perhaps the most memorable cameo of the night— Lin-Manuel Miranda, who joined Chance onstage to perform “Dear Theodosia” from Hamilton. “If we lay a strong enough foundation/ We’ll pass it on to you, we’ll give the world to you/And you’ll blow us all away.” What better way to celebrate active community engagement and a passionate belief in a better world than the story of the American Revolution. “Bringing the foundation here was important to us because we love this city,” Michelle Obama said at the beginning of the night. “[This city has an] amazing array of resources, organizations culture, music, talent, history, [and] beauty.” The summit’s astounding international scope reflects the valuable civic work being accomplished worldwide, but the presidential center, rooted in Chicago, is a testament to the community engagement, artistic creativity, and passion for change thriving in this very city.

Photos by Samuela Mouzaoir

Obama declared that there was “a whole lot of hope on the horizon” to a rapturous audience.

Country singer Brandi Carlile performed a tender yet plaintive rendition of “Hallelujah”.

Andra Day’s “Rise Up” was an uplifiting kickoff to the evening’s performances.

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 7, 2017

Belle of Amherst at Court Theatre Highlights Duality of Dickinson BY NICK OGILVIE ARTS STAFF

“Poetry is just truth, slanted,” Emily Dickinson slyly remarks some 10 minutes into the play, turning away from her bedroom window to address the audience in the darkness beyond. In many ways, it is this duality between the realities of the world and how each individual chooses to see these realities that frames the emotional hearthstone of The Belle of Amherst, a one-woman show about the life of Emily Dickinson now showing at the Court Theatre. Featuring Kate Fry as Dickinson and directed by Sean Graney, the narrative juxtaposes Dickinson’s isolated existence in a small town of 19th-century New England with her contextual circumstances. Her circumstances are more than simply geography; they somehow make her ability to find happiness in such a wilderness all the more meaningful and poignant. Stripped of all outside distractions— with only one character, one set, and one voice—the audience’s focus is stereoscopically aimed at this one central figure and the emotional consequences of her actions. In Dickinson’s isolation, her joy in her collection of birds becomes a triumph, her scheming against the small-minded townspeople who pry into her is a Hamletian tale of social deception, and her father coming home from work early seems an immeasurable disaster. There is nowhere to hide for the character or the audience, and the consequential magnification of such emotion is oppressively profound. Fundamentally, this is a play about finding joy in unhappiness, rather than the other way around. The internal cadence of the play is punctuated by constant grief—from the rejection of her

work to the death of her family members. Each twisted moment is skewered and etherized onstage in all its gory detail. Dickinson’s resilience becomes the heroic thrust of the narrative, and each wry smile and childish giggle shines like a beacon through the emptiness around her. Even the stage design reflects this distilled isolation that circulates the narrative. Built upon an irregular perspective, as a stage within a stage, a large, cluttered central living area frames an internal and elevated stage of a white bedroom. Interior versus exterior, internal versus external; the literal stripping away of walls and layers separating the two represent the simultaneous dichotomy and juxtaposition of the two segments of her life. Furthermore, it is in the interplay between the two, both in contrast with design and the ways in which Dickinson transverses this space, that her own internalized journey through her life shows through. The outer layer, while domestic and cozy, is filled with pictures of her family and living plants but is fraying at the edges and slowly crumbling. The inner layer contains a pristine white bedroom, framed by a distinct lack of chiaroscuro and bathed throughout the play in various pastel shades, like some large James Turrell exhibit. Both parts exist simultaneously, constantly in contact with one another, but Dickinson herself only ever exists in one at a time and is only ever illuminated in one. The narrative of her life mimics the framing on stage; her entire existence and her fragmented memories exist simultaneously, yet only the present within her mind gets illuminated. Dickinson herself admits embarrassedly at the beginning of the play that she has gotten into the habit of “tripping through time”; indeed, she exists con-

Courtesy of Court Theater

Kate Fry’s Emily Dickinson fills the stage in a one-woman show on the poet’s life in 19th century New England. currently in memory and reality. It seems amiss to cover a play about Emily Dickinson without mentioning her poetry and its immense impact. Though The Belle of Amherst is more so about her life than her work, it is almost impossible to extricate the two. The play goes far to illustrate how her poetry isn’t just a projection of the realities of her life, but a symptomatic representation of such. The language of her poetry seamlessly ties into the natural dialogue of the play. Dickinson’s poems aren’t just her life recreated on paper, but rather a direct representation of the ways in which she sees her life through the refractive prism of her mind. There’s something inherently tragic about the constant rejection of her work, as we watch her self-worth

degenerate to the point to which she even begins to refuse offers for her work to be published. Her posthumous recognition becomes bittersweet, and the audience’s mood dilate; figuratively and literally, she leaves the audience with all her poetry in a box as the lights fade to darkness. Poetry is just a slant on the truth after all, but now that the audience understands her experience more fully, does that really matter? The Belle of Amherst is now showing at the Court Theatre, running until December 3. The original play was written by William Luce and released in 1976. Discounted tickets are available for UChicago students. Contact the Court Theatre ticket office for details.

The Rockefeller Chapel Choir, conducted by James Kallembach, sings Heinrich Schütz’ mesmerizing Musikalische Exequien (Funeral Music, set partly to words of Martin Luther) for a Tuesday afternoon performance in the context of the evening Vespers service. Free.

Schütz Musikalische Exequien VE S P E R S | TU E S DAY N OVE M B E R 7 | 4 :30 P M Performed in the form of a Lutheran Vespers of Schütz’ time, using the musical styles and mix of Latin and the vernacular (in this case, German) that characterized the Reformation churches of the late seventeenth century, which gave rise to the rich cultural context of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries Introductory remarks by Professor Robert Kendrick at 4:15 pm

R O C K E F E L L E R C H A P E L | 5850 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 | rockefeller.uchicago.edu

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 7, 2017

SPORTS South Siders Win on Senior Day FOOTBALL

BY AUDREY MASON SPORTS STAFF

On Saturday afternoon, the University of Chicago football team played their final home game of the season against Macalester College. The Maroons came out on top with a 19–14 win on their senior day. With a record of 5–4 overall and 3–2 in the Midwest Conference, UChicago is now the No. 2 seed in the North Division. At senior day before the football game, the 18 seniors, families by their sides, were recognized by the coaches and the rest of the team. Back in 2014, the seniors were on the team that won the UAA title, and over the past four years, their class has a cumulative record of 23–15. UChicago only passed the ball a total of 10 times throughout the Macalester game, but ran the ball 56 times for a total of 253 yards, 249 of which were rushed by fourth-year running back Chandler Carroll. For the third year in a row, Carroll had a 1,000-yard season, and rushed the second most yards of his career at the game this weekend. Macalester ended the game with 262 passing yards, but the Maroons’ defense killed every attempt at rushing, leaving the visitors with a total of negative 42 passing yards in the end. This was partly due to the four fumbles

and two lost balls on Macalester’s side. In the first half of the game, third-year kicker Mike Kurzydlowski scored three times from 21, 27 and 23 yards out. Also in the first half, second-year Ben Christensen grabbed a fumble and intercepted a pass. At halftime, the Maroons were ahead 9–0. At the beginning of the second half, Kurzydlowski came back for another field goal, this time from 38 yards. Soon after, Carroll rushed 25 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, raising the score to 19–0 for the home team. Defensively, second-year Bill Rotnicki intercepted the ball at the end of the third quarter, and fourth-year Jeremy Vincent grabbed another at UChicago’s one-yard line during the fourth quarter. Second-year Zach Atiyeh had the most tackles, with nine total, followed by first-year Ryan Montgomery with eight and first-year Dylan Faires with seven. Fourth-year Peter Casey also held off the offense with three tackles for loss. In the fourth quarter, Macalester scored two touchdowns, increasing their score to 19–14 for the Maroons. With three minutes left in the game, they began their final drive, but dropped a pass on fourth down to give up their last opportunity to make a comeback. “It was a physical game but we were

Defne Anlas

Fourth-year wide receiver Jamie Rieger prepares to catch a pass.

able to do just enough on offense to come out on top,” said fourth-year wide receiver Jamie Rieger. “I’m grateful to all the underclassmen for helping us to go out with a win on senior day, and I’m extremely proud of my fellow seniors for sticking with it for all four years. It’s been a great ride and I’m going to miss strapping it up on fall Saturdays, but I’m looking for-

ward to one last opportunity to play with my boys and hopefully we can come out with a win and build momentum going into next season.” The Maroons play at Lake Forest this Saturday, November 11 at noon. The winner will take third place in the Midwest Conference.

South Siders Stumble WOMEN’S SOCCER

BY DIESTEFANO LOMA SPORTS STAFF

With a clear target placed on the back of the No. 1 Maroons throughout the entire season, no one had risen to the challenge of upsetting this undefeated and unstoppable juggernaut, until now. The fi nal game of the regular season for the University of Chicago women’s soccer team ended with a devastating defeat against No. 6 Wash U, with the fi nal score of 2–1. The Maroons struck fi rst and gained the lead in the 17th minute. Fourth-year Mia Calamari would once again score off of a majestic free kick from 25 yards out, with her right-footed shot making

it into the upper left side of the net. In the 68th minute, a Wash U midfielder would connect on a left-footed shot from 25 yards out. Immediately after, the Wash U offense showed no mercy as one forward broke away to score the game-winning goal. The Maroons had not allowed a goal in any conference game, with the last time they were scored on being back on September 26 in a 2–1 win. In what was a rare sight, the Maroons were outshot by a 19–9 margin, with only four being on goal for UChicago, compared to the 10 on goal by the Bears. Fourth-year Caroline Olivero spoke of what went wrong with this game, “This was a tough game against the

most talented and motivated team pire every day to be the best we can be – we’ve faced yet. I don’t think anything an undefeated season is a nice indicator in particular happened in those 41 sec- that we are doing just that, but it is not onds that was different from the rest the only focus or goal,” Olivero added. of the game. The opposition came out “Ultimately, we aspire to be national with a vengeance for a full 90. I think champions and that means approaching our team was caught off guard a little each individual game as an opportunity bit after a 17-game streak of consistent to make that a reality. Going forward, that is what we are working towards in wins and that shook some confidence.” Wash U improved to 15–1–1 and every training session. We will not be gained an automatic bid to the NCAA caught off guard again. We will train DIII tournament. UChicago now has every day and play every game with the a 17–1 record, and due to both teams knowledge that it could be our last and being 6–1 in the UAA, they will each leave everything on the field.” The NCAA selection show will take claim a share of the 2017 UAA Champlace November 6 at noon, and will depionship. “The team does not take this loss termine who the Maroons will face next. lightly, especially the seniors. We as-

Maroons Win UAA Title MEN’S SOCCER

BY ANNA ROSE SPORTS STAFF

The men’s soccer team snagged the UAA title with a 2–1 win against Wash U on Saturday. The victory was one for the books, as it marked the team’s annual senior day and gave the Maroons an automatic bid for the NCAA DIII tournament, their third in three years. The victory advanced the team’s overall record to 16–2. Game leaders included third-year

forwards Matthew Koh with one goal and Max Lopez with one goal and one assist. In response to the team’s performance on Saturday, second-year forward Dayo Adeosun said, “As a team, we are proud of the way we started off the game. We did well connecting the early vital passes needed for the team to get a flow.” Winning a UAA championship was an important goal for the Maroons this year, and securing the win on senior day made it that much better.

M AROON

SPORT Women’s Soccer Volleyball Men’s Soccer Football

SCORE BOARD W/L

Opponent

Score

L L W W

Wash U Carnegie Mellon Washington (Mo.) Macalester

1–2 1–3 2–1 19–14

“Obviously, it is always a great feeling beating [our] conference rival Wash U,” said second-year defender Nate Johnson. “But what made it even more special was that we did it for our four seniors on Senior Day.” Although proud of the win, the Maroons are far from satisfied. Moving forward, they are looking to improve ball movement and vary their points of attack. After coming up short and losing in the third round of the National Tournament last year, the Maroons are looking to redeem themselves and bring home the gold. “Moving into the postseason, it is always an exciting feeling,” Johnson added. “Last season we came up short, so there is definitely something that the three returning classes want to get back. We know we are a championship-caliber team, and we have a lot to prove both as a team and as a program.” Adeosun echoes his teammates sen-

timents, “At this point we are confident that if we continue to persistently focus in practice and understand that every moment matters, then we have a great chance to win it all. Ultimately, the national championship has been our goal since the beginning of the season, and we are determined to accomplish that.” The NCAA selection show is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on November 6. The Maroons will find out where they are seeded and will likely play in the opening round on either November 10 or November 11. “Following the excitement of the win over Wash U, we have a lot of motivation moving forward into the first round of the tournament this weekend,” Johnson said. “It is going to be exciting to find out our seed and prepare for our road to the Final Four.” The Maroons have an exciting week ahead of them with one goal in mind: winning a national championship.