Chicagomaroon111017

NOVEMBER 10, 2017

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

ACTIVISTS MARCH FOR LIBRARY CBA

Alexandra Nisenoff

Protesters from the South Side CBA Coalition hold signs on the walk to Jackson Park.

BY ALEX WARD ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Members of the Obama Library South Side Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) Coalition marched to the site of the Obama Presidential Center and temporarily blocked Cornell Drive Tuesday afternoon.

More than 100 marchers walked from Hyde Park Academy High School to the center’s planned site in Jackson Park, at 63rd Street and Cornell Drive. The group briefly blocked the intersection, chanting and holding signs.

The coalition is pushing for a set of three CBAs with the Obama Foundation, the City of Chicago, and the University, respectively.

At a press conference before the march, coalition leaders spoke about the need for a CBA to prevent area residents from being pushed out of

their neighborhoods. A CBA could also require that residents receive benefits from the development, including support for local schools, job training, and replacement of the public park land the center will replace.

The current plan for the center involves closing a stretch of Cornell Drive between 60th and 67th Streets, which coalition members fear will worsen traffic in the area.

Robert Hayes, a fourth-year and member of student activist group UChicago for a CBA, said in a phone interview with The Maroon that holding the march and blocking Cornell Drive were valuable ways to show that the City, the center, and the University need to take South Side residents into consideration.

“Last night, South Side communities came together to say enough is enough. Neighborhood resident members put out a powerful message:

They refuse to be displaced from their homes, and they refuse to be silent until the Obama Foundation, City of Chicago, and U of Chicago sign a legally-binding CBA for the Obama library,” Hayes said.

Hayes said that one of the coalition’s current aims is to finalize language for a proposed city ordinance compelling the City and the Obama Foundation to engage in CBA negotiations.

In a statement to The Maroon, Michael Strautmanis, the Obama Foundation’s vice president of civic engagement, said that the foundation believes continued dialogue will benefit residents more than will a CBA. “We do not believe a community benefits agreement is the right tool because it’s not inclusive enough,” Strautmanis said. “Instead, we’re focused on the work that can be done rather than the administrative tool.”

VOL. 129, ISSUE 14

Court Theatre Director to Step Down

Harper-Schmidt Fellows Ratify Union Contract

BY KATHERINE VEGA

BY SPENCER DEMBNER

DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

NEWS REPORTER

Stephen J. A lber t, executive director of Court Theatre, will be stepping down from his post at the start of the 2018 –2019 theater season, according to an announcement on the Court Theatre website.

Albert became executive director in 2010.

“I am grateful for the trust that Charlie [Newell, the artistic director,] placed in me, to the Court’s Board of Trustees who accepted my leadership, and finally, to the University of Chicago for their support,” Albert said in a statement to the Court Theatre blog.

During his time as executive director, Albert grew the annual budget by 50 percent and increased the theater’s par ticipation in community engagement, according to the C ou r t T heatre website. He also oversaw the launch of the University’s Center for Classic Theatre, which merged academic and artistic pursuits for the University.

Albert will be returning to his company AlbertHall&Associates. The company, launched in 1999, provides consulting services to nonprofit organizations and arts and entertainment companies.

On Thursday, Harper-Schmidt Fellows voted overwhelmingly to ratify their union contract, according to a statement from the union.

The contract promises a 9.5 percent increase in compensation.

The Harper-Schmidt Fellows are recent Ph.D. recipients who are hired for four years to teach humanities, social sciences, and civilization courses in the core.

In January 2016, the fellows joined the Local 73 branch of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU, a national union, has made unionizing nontenure-track faculty a goal through its Faculty Forward Campaign, which has also succeeded at Loyola University Chicago and Northwestern.

Non-tenure track faculty who are not Harper-Schmidt Fellows are also represented by Local 73.

Their contract negotiations with the University are ongoing.

“Negotiations were far from easy to say the least, but we ended up with a contract that we believe is fair and beneficial to both sides,” Mark Berger, a third-year fellow teaching the humanities course Human Being and Citizen, said in the union’s statement.

In addition to higher pay, the contract secures the fellows’ ability to take time off for research, as well as allowances to support childcare and publishing costs.

Sen. Sanders Urges Zimmer to Let Grad Union Vote Stand

BY KATHERINE VEGA DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

U.S. Senator and University alum Bernie Sanders (D-VT) (A.B. ‘64) has written a letter to University president Robert Zimmer urging him to respect the result of last month’s graduate student unionization election, according to a tweet from Graduate Students United. In October, graduate students voted to

unionize, but the administration has stated that it intends to pursue legal action.

“As an internationally prestigious institution of higher learning, I hope very much that you will set an example throughout the world by supporting a democratic decision made by graduate students and teaching assistants....” Sanders wrote. “To appeal this decision to an anti-worker, Trump-appointed Na-

tional Labor Relations Board is not something that a world class institution of higher learning should do.”

Sanders sent a letter of support to graduate students and listed some of the benefits of unionizing before the vote last month. He listed some benefits for the University, writing that in his experience, unionized students are more invested because they have greater say in the workplace.

Brooke Nagler

Indie pop artists Tegan and Sara performed in Rockefeller Saturday on a tour celebrating the 10th anniversary of their hit record The Con.

Tegan and Sara Consecrate The Con at Rockefeller Chapel

Advertising in The M aroon

Page 5 If you want to place an ad in T he M aroon, please email ads@chicagomaroon.com or visit chicagomaroon.com/pages/advertise

Musical duo and queer icons Tegan and Sara drew a packed crowd to Rockefeller Chapel on Saturday.

Back to the Drawing Board Page 4 UChicago’s homogeneous Board of Trustees cannot serve the needs of our diverse student body.

Maroons Head to Playoffs for Fifth Straight Year Page 8 Down only one loss, the No. 3 women’s soccer team enters postseason.

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

2

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 10, 2017

Events 11/10–11/13 Today Thanksgiving Cooking Class Room H-300, Billings Hospital (H-300), 12 p.m.

A cooking class for the holidays taught by UChicago physician Chef McDonald and the Food Network–featured Chef Digby.

Diwali Hutchinson Commons, 6 p.m.

Celebrate Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, with a full program by the South Asian Students Association (SASA), including performances by UChicago Bhangra, Chicago Raas, the South Asian Music Ensemble, and more. There will also be catered dinner, sparklers, and henna painting. Hutchinson Commons, $7 in advance, $10 at the door.

Monday All-Star Professor Debate Cox Lounge, Stuart Hall, 7 p.m.

Maroon Project on Security and Threats (MPOST) will present their first All-Star Professor Debate, featuring political science professors Jim Wilson and Paul Staniland. The two will be debating preemptive strikes against countries threatening the U.S. with nuclear weapons, and the audience will vote on the winners. The event is free and open to the public.

See more at chicagomaroon.com/events.

Professors Inducted to American Academy of Arts and Sciences Discuss Work

BY MICHAEL LI NEWS REPORTER

Five University professors were inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Professors Jonathan Lear, W.J.T. Mitchell, Tara Zahra, Lenore Grenoble, and Young-Kee Kim joined this year’s 228-member class in early October.

In an interview with The Maroon, Lear said he wanted to work on the intersection of philosophy and psychology because he shares the ancient Greeks’ interest in finding out what it means to live a good life.

For example, Aristotle was explicitly concerned with the way by which we can achieve eudaimonia, or happiness in a deep sense, which he believed was essential to living a worthwhile life.

Lear believes that the beginnings of philosophy and psychology are motivated by the same desire to understand ourselves. “I think psychoanalysis of the 20th and 21st century as being in that tradition, and I am trying to use it to continue thinking about the problem of human flourishing,” Lear said.

In the face of the analytic tradition that dominates contemporary academic philosophy, Lear said he believes that his work on Freudian psychoanalysis pushes the discipline’s boundaries.

Lear argues that all students, whatever their majors are, should consider taking a few philosophy classes before graduating.

“I think [learning philosophy] is a com-

pletely wonderful experience for everyone,” Lear said, adding that many successful people find that having taken a course or two in philosophy is useful in their careers.

Regarding his election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Lear said, “As much as one is honored, one has to be careful not to take recognition and awards too seriously.”

Zahra wrote in an e-mail to T he M aroon that her academic work focuses mostly on the intersection of politics and everyday life. That has led her to study several historical issues, from early 20th-century Central European children to the political and social mobilization of displaced families following World War II. Her current project focuses on how anti-globalization movements shaped the rise of fascism in Europe in the era between the two world wars.

Zahra noted in her e-mail that arguments for excluding migrants and refugees from the United States today resemble those used in the interwar period to exclude refugees from Europe.

“I very much hope that my teaching and research on subjects like migration and nationalism will enable students and other audiences to understand contemporary politics, society, and culture, in a more critical way,” she said.

W.J.T. Mitchell, professor of English and art history, wrote in an e-mail to The M aroon: “My work has always been about the relation of words and images, the sayable and the seeable. This takes me across

the boundaries between literature and visual arts into questions of media, visual culture and an ancient discipline called ‘iconology,’ the study of images across the media.”

Rather than focusing on language and written expressions, his work centers on the images in politics, advertising, and everyday life, including a recent study on the impotence of caricatures of President Trump.

Mitchell emphasized his thankfulness for the University’s interdisciplinary culture. “Physicists, anthropologists, artists, writers…[we] can find all sorts of contact zones here in a way that is unrivaled at any other university I know of,” he wrote.

Mitchell also believes that his scholarship has a significance beyond the University. He noted the duty of scholars to defend the truth in the midst of attacks from “altright” ideologues.

The key to resolving that crisis, Mitchell maintains, is to defend freedom of speech on campus.

“The University needs to defend its mission, and that of the American Academy, of advancing knowledge and educating smart, critical citizens,” he said.

Lenore Grenoble of the linguistics department and particle physicist Young-Kee Kim were not available for interview as of press time.

Advertising in The M aroon If you want to place an ad in T he M aroon, please email ads@chicagomaroon.com or visit chicagomaroon.com/pages/advertise.

Career Advancement to Host Diversity and Inclusion Summit

BY CINDY YAO

subscribe!

Subscribe to the M aroon newsletter for e-mails every Tuesday and Friday

chicagomaroon.com/newsletter

Scaramucci Plans CR Visit

NEWS REPORTER

Career Advancement will host its annual diversity and inclusion summit this Friday at Ida Noyes Hall.

The summit is open to all students and will “provide an opportunity to celebrate and educate students on workplace diversity and inclusion efforts,” according to the event’s Handshake page.

Students will first listen to a keynote

presentation from Jacqueline Robertson, global head of talent, diversity and inclusion at investment banking and asset management firm William Blair.

Robertson will speak about the shifting demographics and generations in the workplace, and William Blair’s initiatives to foster an inclusive work environment and culture. William Blair is one of the summit’s sponsors, and several leaders at William Blair are alumni from the College or the Booth School of Business.

Following the presentation, students will engage in two 30-minute panels.

The first session will focus on LGBTQ+ and cultural diversity in the workplace, and the second will focus on workplace gender equality and advice targeted to international students.

The sessions will be led by employers including Google, BP, and Accenture, which will speak about their efforts toward furthering diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

UCDI Survey Examines Levels of Political Engagement

BY PETE GRIEVE NEWS EDITOR

Former White House Communications Director A nthony Scaramucci plans to visit the University of Chicago College Republicans, although a date has not been finalized.

A student tipped T he M a roon , and Scaramucci confirmed in a Twitter direct message. Asked to confirm the tip, Scaramucci said, “I hope so yes. Working in a date.”

After this article was published, a representative of UChicago College Republicans (CR) said in a message, “We actually don’t have anything scheduled with Scaramucci at the moment.” Provided with a link to the story, the representative said, “We don’t have anything scheduled at the moment with him, but if we can work timing out we’re of course happy to host him.” When asked if CR were in talks with Scaramucci about a visit, the representative said they were.

This story is published in partnership with UCDI.

Simone Stover

Data collected and analyzed by the University of Chicago Democracy Initaitive (UCDI) suggests that students are more likely to have political disagreements if they spend less time discussing politics with friends and family. Full survey results and analysis online.

3

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 10, 2017

VIEWPOINTS A High Price to Pay The University’s Housing Strategy Is Driven by a Numbers Game, Not Institutional or Student Need News last week that the University is tentatively planning a 1,254-bed dorm, dining hall, and retail complex on the former site of the Harris School of Public Policy should come as a surprise for only one reason: It’s in a different location than the East 61st Street and South Dorchester Avenue dorm originally announced by Dean of the College John W. Boyer in August.

Otherwise, the move is in line with the University’s recent housing strategy to forego the satellite dorm model in favor of sprawling, centrally located megadorms. If built as projected, the dorm would be the University’s largest yet, capable of housing more than one-and-a-half times as many students as Max Palevsky, Renee Granville-Grossman, or Campus North. As the University gears up for the project south of the Midway, The M aroon Editorial Board braces itself for the inevitable cost—both the literal cost to the University and the figurative cost to student independence.

The megadorm model would appear to offer a catch-all solution to the College’s housing woes. According to a recent statement sent to T he M aroon, Housing and Residence Life hit capacity this year at 56.23 percent of the undergraduate population, explaining the embarrassingly last-minute addition of Vue53 as a housing option over the summer. Additionally, in a statement to The M aroon last month, Boyer stood by his 2008 goal of housing “at least 70 percent” of the College’s students

on campus and “ensur[ing] that students enjoy the same high-quality residential experience in every dorm.” (For reference, the projected megadorm would leave the University capable of housing about 75 percent of the undergraduate population.)

But the price of this “high-quality residential experience” is absurd—and not just for students, many of whom already find housing cost-prohibitive. North’s price tag came out to a whopping $148 million; if projections for the new dorm are accurate, it’s reasonable to assume that the new dorm’s cost will soar even higher. That’s at least $150 million that could have gone towards funding research, ensuring small class sizes, and coaxing top academics and researchers to the school—everything that ought to take precedence at a university like ours.

Northwestern University’s current housing master plan and its emphasis on renovation rather than demolition and reconstruction offers a possible alternative.

For an overall cost of $465 million, Northwestern is building five small- to mid-sized dorms and permanently closing three, but renovating 10 residence halls. Given the possibility that the current Harris building will be demolished only to essentially swap its function with New Grad’s, the more obvious and cost-effective option would have been to simply renovate both. Breckinridge—with its location on the Midway, history, and as-of-yet undecided fate—also

offers a prime candidate for remodeling, leaving the option of a more intimate, traditional housing experience open to those who seek it. Such a move wouldn’t even be unprecedented; Breckinridge was closed in 2001 following construction of Max Palevsky only to reopen again in 2003.

Moreover, Boyer’s rationale for meeting that 70 percent baseline negatively compares UChicago to peer institutions and assumes that undergrads are chomping at the bit to stay in Housing as upperclassmen— he shouldn’t, and, on the whole, we’re not.

In the same 2008 monograph, Boyer cited high housing rates at Yale and Brown (88 and 85 percent, respectively) as an incentive for the University to boost its housing rates, but Hyde Park is no New Haven or Providence; if anything, the University of Pennsylvania’s setting and housing market is most similar to UChicago’s, and it shares a similar on-campus housing rate (54 percent). Nor does Boyer address the cost of on-campus housing as a major deterrent to retention: In many cases, students paying full price for a double in Housing (around $950 a month) might be paying nearly twice as much as the cost for their own room in a multi-bedroom apartment, and the price for a single (about $1,050 a month) is on par with the average price of a studio or cheap one-bedroom apartment in Hyde Park, minus the cost of utilities. As long as the price of living on-campus dramatically outstrips that of living off-campus as it

currently does, Housing will face an uphill battle retaining students.

Plus, by limiting University-affiliated off-campus housing options over the years—currently, only Stony Island and Vue53 remain—Housing has left students with less variety than before. It’s common practice for universities to buy nearby properties to offer intermediary off-housing option, and the University of Chicago was no exception. Those of us who applied to the University of Chicago just a few short years ago remember a time when Housing advertised its variety as a major selling point; a few blocks off campus, Blackstone, Broadview, and the Shoreland in particular provided single-room or apartment-style housing options. However, under the current housing strategy, students seeking both the independence of living off-campus and the benefits of the House system are left with few options.

In an interview with T he M a roon shortly before the closure of Pierce, Boyer said, “New residence halls are very expensive. You don’t just decide to do them casually.” He’s right, obviously. But when a numbers race and quests for new, shiny developments are informing the University’s long-term housing strategy over tangible improvements to academic life and students’ demonstrated desires, the cost seems far too high.

—The Maroon Editorial Board

What do we talk about when we talk about religion?

Take RLST 10100 Introduction to Religious Studies where we begin to answer this question.

And check out our other Winter 2018 courses in Religious Studies: Jewish Superheroes, Saints and Barbarians, The Death of God, and many more.

For further information about this course and the Religious Studies program, contact Lucy Pick: lucypick@uchicago.edu divinity.uchicago.edu

4

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 10, 2017

Back to the Drawing Board UChicago’s Deeply Homogeneous Board of Trustees Cannot Serve the Needs of Our Diverse Student Body

Soulet Ali Over the four quarters I have spent writing for T he M aroon, most of my oped pieces have critiqued our university’s lack of administrative transparency and its reluctance to listen to students’ concerns. Decisions regarding graduate student unionization, negligent handling of Title IX cases, and a superficial and vacuous commitment to “free speech” reveal time and again the poor judgment of the administration. Many of the University’s recurring problems stem from the demographics of the administrators making the decisions; more often than not, administrative decisions ref lect the priorities of a homogenous group of privileged white men.

The University’s Board of Trustees, for instance, consists of 55 members who oversee the University’s large-scale programmatic goals and its financial resources. The nine standing committees of the Board focus mainly on maintaining University finances, with trustees providing financial support and helping with fundraising. For a body endowed with such far-reaching powers, troublingly, only seven of the 55 members serving on the Board are people of color.

I do not dispute the need for a board of trustees of this type, since the University obviously needs a group to manage its financial operations. However, while the choices that the administration has made are clear in its objective of “advocating for the University locally, nationally, and throughout the world,” it is also necessary to acknowledge that these decisions have been made by an association of predominantly aff luent white men.

The few people of color in positions of power in University leadership are rare examples, ref lecting coincidence more than any explicit University efforts to diversify its administration.

The exceptional person of color is never a sign of real social progress. Not only this, the racially diverse members of the administration or the Board of Trustees are also of high socioeconomic status.

Co-founders of capital management firms, vice presidents of foundations,

and CEOs of major financial companies all hold similarly high-paying positions, hardly reflecting a deep diversity of perspective and experience. Our university leadership consists of the top one percent of the United States in terms of adjusted gross income, and then some.

Perhaps it’s unfair to specifically call out UChicago for this issue, since many other boards of trustees at elite universities fit this profile. But UChicago’s Board is remarkably homogeneous compared to other colleges and universities. Take Amherst’s board, which includes a screenwriter and a vicar, or Princeton’s board, which includes a local news anchor and a global citizenship instructor. Even Harvard’s board, though far from perfect, still features academics and environmentalists. Our university, on the other hand, has a single director of a justice project and one newspaper columnist amid a sea of finance and corporate executives.

A counterargument in defense of this glut of corporatism is that our school’s strong economics program simply produces these types of people, who happen to be among our most “successful” alumni. However, our school is renowned for graduating academics who strongly influence every field, yet we don’t have a single professor on our board (excluding President Zimmer) when compared to other schools who don’t pride themselves as much on rigorous inquiry. Needless to say, nonfinance figures from outside academic communities would also have much to offer to a potential board. Surely, we have notable, successful graduates from more diverse fields and backgrounds. Rami Nashashibi (A.M. ’98, Ph.D. ’11), a social justice activist who won a MacArthur Foundation grant this year for South Side–based civic engagement efforts, serves as a prime example.

Why does this lack of diversity matter? The immense privilege of UChicago’s trustees calls into question their ability to fully consider the interests of UChicago’s heterogeneous student body, and whether they are actually able to lead the University’s continuous move-

VIDEO

Grace Hauck, editor BUSINESS

ment for diversity. How could the most privileged members of our University community speak for all of us?

My last op-ed explored the roles and responsibilities of administration members at the University and how the notoriously secretive administration is at fault for its often-contentious relationship with the greater UChicago community. Seeing that similar problems plague our Board of Trustees, I wonder if increased communication between the administration and students would do

much at all to resolve the disconnect between the University and its student body. Other boards at similarly elite universities, while imperfect, should serve as a framework for UChicago to consider.

Soulet Ali is a second-year in the College.

Anshika Bajpai

Plato’s Bedroom Desire, Union, Procreation A Lecture By

David O’Connor University of Notre Dame

Thursday, November 16, 7:00pm Social Sciences 122 Presented by the Lumen Christi Institute Cosponsored by the Department of Philosophy and the Seminary Coop Bookstore.

Free and open to the public. Copies of O’Connor’s Plato’s Bedroom will be available for purchase.

Andrew Mamo, chief financial officer

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

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

Cole Martin, editor Urvi Kumbhat, editor ARTS

DESIGN

Regina Filomeno, business manager Harry Backlund, distributor

Kay Yang, head designer COPY

Morganne Ramsey, copy chief Michelle Zhao, copy chief Katrina Lee, deputy copy chief Patrick Lou, deputy copy chief GREY CITY

Wendy Lee, editor SOCIAL MEDIA

Jamie Ehrlich, editor

Alexia Bacigalupi, editor May Huang, editor

Vishal Talasani, editor

SPORTS

PHOTO

Matthew Perry, editor

Olive Lopez, director of development Antonia Salisbury, director of marketing Ross Piper, director of marketing Taylor Bachelis, director of operations Alex Markowitz, director of strategy

THIS ISSUE

Design Associates: Helen Chen, Henry Gao, Peng Peng Liu Editor-in-Chief: 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 (773) 7029555.

David K. O’Connor is a faculty member in the departments

Circulation: 2,000.

of Philosophy and Classics at the University of Notre Dame.

ONLINE

Feng Ye, editor Brooke Nagler, editor

Our natural experience of romantic love, articulated so well by Plato, points toward a more explicitly religious interpretation of love’s commitments and pleasures.

O’Connor brings out some surprising and delightful connections between Plato’s pagan eroticism and the Adam and Eve story, Jesus’s teaching in the Gospels, and Catholic views about marriage.

© 2017 The Chicago Maroon Ida Noyes Hall / 1212 East 59th Street/ Chicago, IL 60637

Register at www.lumenchristi.org

5

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 10, 2017

Athens Vs. Alpha Delt

The Focus on Mainstream Western Intellectualism Prevents Us From Leading Truly Meaningful Lives

BY NUR BANU SIMSEK & MAROON CONTRIBUTORS

Some people bring nuanced arguments to the table about disbanding fraternities, namely their immensely sexist, classist, and racist histories. There are valid concerns about how they foster toxic environments in our universities that lead to lax and ambiguous attitudes toward sexual assault, how they protect hateful and marginalizing speech on the grounds of freedom, and how they exclude people of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Not to mention, fraternities started as institutions meant to bring together wealthy white men, and to develop exclusive and inaccessible networks that are, to this day, still meant to privilege the already-privileged and offer a clandestine sort of protection and untouchability.

And then there are those who criticize frat parties on the basis of music, the volume of bodies in a room, and the fact that people choose to drink. We posit that, not only are these the most misplaced points of frustration with frat parties, they are also judgmental of different lifestyles and choices and socioeconomic histories (with a tinge of white supremacy). It’s almost as if people can either go to frat parties, listen to black music (read: rap and hip-hop), and drink alcohol; or sit at home with classical (Western, white) music in the background, eat brie on a dry cracker, and talk about Hegel on their Friday nights. And that the same person cannot be capable of both. As if people are not complex, multifaceted beings, but rather one-dimensional caricatures that are only capable of partying OR intellectualizing, drink-

ing OR discoursing, dancing OR debating—but never both.

(To be clear, this article is not a defense of Greek life. If you look into a mirror at night, and say “disband frats” three times, we will pop up in your living room and tell you about all the reasons why we think fraternities should be abolished once and for all.)

Of all the ways to go about criticizing fraternities, berating them for not hosting parties that will bring “meaning” and “camaraderie” to your life is not one. To be fair, we have definitely become a more individualistic, selfish, and capitalism-driven society. We are encouraged to put ourselves first and we are expected to always be productive. But to say that this issue stems out of college frat parties is honestly giving them too much credit.

Meaning in our lives doesn’t just come from high discourse and intellectual conversation while drinking tea, it also comes from honest, emotionally raw, and supportive relationships. We get it, people on this campus like the idea of hyper-intellectualism and intellectual superiority, it’s the hallmark of UChicago’s “Life of the Mind.” But it’s just sad when we base our friendships on an extravagant (and highly Western) nexus of academic, highbrow discourse; it’s offensive to the dynamic nature of friendships.

Plus, more obviously, not everyone wants to “turn up” by eating hors d’oeuvres, nipping from cheese platters, and ruminating over Nietzsche. We don’t know about you, but that’s not our idea of unwinding after a week of midterms. In fact, that’s not our idea of unwinding ever. Does this make us barbaric and unintel-

lectual people who have deviated from the superior practices of the white male philosophers that came before us? Perhaps. But if that’s the standard, we really don’t mind.

Here’s the deal about philosophy as an academic realm: It is an extremely biased and not-at-all-diverse intellectual sphere. To give you some perspective, the philosophy department at UChicago has 26 full-time professors and only four of them are female; fewer still are people of color. This breakdown is roughly the same in the entire field. “The Whitest, Malest” field in Western academia is philosophy.

The majority of the people we read—what is considered “canon”—are white men from Europe. The numbers and the representation are so bleak that in the most cited 500 philosophy papers, there is a man who has been cited twice as many times as all the women on that list combined.

This whitewashed, patriarchal (and frankly, patronizing) perspective on what it means to do something as basic as socialize—that if your conversation does not fit into the western dialectic means it is unsophisticated and futile—is the biggest offense to the complexities of human potential for discourse. Not to mention that any focus on hip-hop and rap as unintellectual and decrepit sources of music is racist, because it’s our society that is rife with rape culture and misogyny, and to single out hip-hop and rap is to single out blackness. Let’s not mask racism with intellectualized critiques of socialization.

And sure, Athens is our most cited origin for democracy (a city that currently has one of the most poppin’ party scenes in Europe), but let’s not forget that Athenian democracy also had

slaves, and the only people that were allowed to participate in its highly discourse-driven political life were free, white men. And Western thought, that always boasts of blossoming from this source, carried on all its -isms (just look at the founding of America, for example).

Just to emphasize once again, the Western canon is not the be-all and end-all of human thought and discourse. Meaning-making and coming together to answer the difficult questions of human existence have been, and continue to be, tackled by people from all over the world. It’s an oftentimes unmentioned and glossed-over fact that the preservation and development of current Western thought was only made possible by medieval Muslim scholars that translated and added onto the Greek manuscripts that were found and valued. And let’s not forget that some of the oldest and most complex and comprehensive faith traditions and philosophies in the world come from India and China. Ultimately, valorizing white philosophers at the expense of others is not only problematic; it’s historically revisionist.

Even after all this, we just hope that when you have your wine and cheese discourse symposia, that you’re contextualizing intellect.

We hope that you’re talking about Avicenna, Maimonides, Abhinavagupta, Angela Davis, and hundreds (if not thousands) of other influential thinkers, and not just circlejerking on a Western-philosophical high about Kant and Heidegger.

Nur Banu Simsek is a third-year majoring in philosophy, and Salma Elkhaoudi is a thirdyear majoring in political science.

ARTS Tegan and Sara Consecrate The Con at Rockefeller Chapel

BY BROOKE NAGLER ASSOCIATE ARTS EDITOR

Rockefeller Chapel has been anointed, and not in the typical sense: There were no denominational ceremonies, no baptisms. No priest was present. Instead, what descended over the chapel was of a different profundity. On Saturday night, the music of two ethereal voices filled the depths of the space, echoes reverberating through its cavernous hall. The source of it all: the Canadian identical twin duo known as Tegan and Sara.

The concert, which sold out online within five minutes of the ticket release, was a stop on The Con X: Tour, a series marking the 10th anniversary of their album The Con. The duo commemorated the album by playing it in its entirety. Returning to older songs gave longtime fans a chance to reminisce about their first experiences with the album and to reflect on its newfound meaning a decade later. The remake gave Tegan and Sara a chance to look back on that time in their lives and observe how they have changed.

As they pointed out during the show, the album is mostly comprised of depressing songs with gloomy lyrics. “Are You Ten Years Ago,” for example, goes: “The pressure of this life is so/ You can’t be held accountable/ If you go, you go.”

“I was so depressed that I did not have fun at any of the Con shows,” Sara said, reflecting on her emotional state during The Con album cycle. She compared her touring experience to exercise: “Sometimes during hot yoga I think, ‘this is so stupid,’ and, ‘there is no reason why a human being should subject themselves to

Indie pop duo Tegan and Sara performed a sold-out concert at the Rockefeller Chapel last Saturday.

this on purpose.’” But she also pointed to how there is always a moment when “you stop feeling cynical and self-loathing.” For the twins, recording the album this time around felt different. “It has actually been extremely cathartic and really fun,” Sara said.

Although the two seem to have moved on from that dark time in their lives, they were able to tap into songs with just as much emotion as they did on their original recordings. In fact, Tegan played “Are You Ten Years Ago” with such intensity that Sara was prompted to check in with her.

But Tegan reassured her sister, “Oh god, I’m not back in that time at all.” Turns out, Tegan was actually thinking about

two Siamese cats that have yet to be adopted (the twins are cat-obsessed, and their own cats are featured prominently on social media). Tegan’s comment lightened the mood, and the signature humor for which the two are known returned as they bantered in between songs.

This banter has become an anticipated component of their sets. When speaking to each other and the audience, they make the audience-performer dynamic more personal, bringing their personalities to the stage.

Tegan revealed that her song “Dark Come Soon” is not part of a depressive streak, as the title seems to suggest. Instead, she wrote it about her anticipation

Brooke Nagler

for the dark, as this was the only time in the day when she could talk to her new girlfriend.

Sara jumped in, noting that whether or not their songs are interpreted according to their original meaning is unimportant.

“That’s what is so cool about music!” she said. “We can all hear the same thing and it might bring up memories and thoughts and feelings and emotions that are really unique and we can all come and sit in a place together and celebrate that.”

Tegan tried to bring this point one step further, relating differing interpretations of their music to the debate about the infamous dress (gold and white vs. black and Continued on page 6

6

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 10, 2017

“Rockefeller Chapel has been anointed, and not in the typical sense.”

Continued from page 5

blue) that went viral. But her comment, which prompted a back and forth discussion between the two about the topic and the relevance of the reference, brought the quirky banter to a new level. “You guys will be the show we acted really strange in front of,” Sara told the audience.

Aside from playing every track on The Con, Tegan and Sara also played seven other songs from various points in their career. There were deep cuts like “The Ocean,” off of their 2009 album Sainthood, as well as “White Knuckles” from their most recent album Love You To Death (2016). They played fan favorites as well, such as “Living Room” and “Closer.”

The tour not only marks the tenth anniversary of The Con, but also celebrates the release of their album The Con X: Covers, featuring covers from artists like Hayley Williams of Paramore, Sara Bareilles, Cyndi Lauper, and Ryan Adams.

The creation and proceeds of the album will go directly to their new non-profit organization, The Tegan and Sara Foundation, which aims to raise money for established LGBTQ+ organizations that focus on those who identify as women.

“Sara and I obviously are queer and we have always been political and socially active,” explained Tegan. “But the last few years we have acknowledged that with an increase in popularity our platform is developing, so we decided to legitimize the things that matter to us.” Part of the proceeds from their tour tickets will also go to the foundation.

The band has always functioned as a resource for its queer fans, with countless people disclosing their queerness to the duo through letters and other means. The two are making a concerted effort through their foundation to, as Sara said, “spread gay stories” and help that same group that has been so impacted by their work.

The concert alone was evidence of their ability to offer help, for the performance was cathartic for the entire audience. With all songs played acoustically, the sound was truly ethereal, creating a different type of religious experience in the chapel. Although Rockefeller might not seem like a typical concert venue, with the audience seated throughout the show and the stage more makeshift than most, the music transcended its setting.

Brooke Nagler

The pair has established The Tegan and Sara Foundation to support the LGBTQ+ community.

Matisse Prints Jazz Up Logan Center PERRI WILSON MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

Walking through the basement of the Logan Center, you might not expect to find anything shocking. The 20 prints from Matisse’s Jazz, however, are a jolting burst of color and shape. Now on permanent display in the otherwise mundane hallways, the installation is worth visiting almost as much for its bizarre locale as it is for the masterpieces themselves. Now is your only chance to view the complete book at once; for conservation purposes, the Logan Center will soon begin rotating only 10 prints at a time.

Finding yourself alone in the dim basement with such recognizable works as “Icarus” is an experience similar to happening upon a treasure in an attic.

The viewer is forced into such close proximity that it is impossible to step back and take in the composition of each print, let alone the series as a whole.

The dark location was chosen partly for conservation purposes, a concern

which was made visible by the specially designed frames. Bill Michel, executive director for UChicago Arts and the Logan Center, also explained that the lower level is regularly used by members of the community, and that they were excited to be able to add some art to the location.

A gift from the David and Reva Logan Foundation, Jazz was part of its collection of modern illustrated books.

Matisse created the book entirely on his own, beginning the pieces in 1943 and completing the project with an accompanying text in 1946. The images represent everything from “Lagoon” to “The Knife Thrower” to “The Cowboy,” but are united by what Matisse called the common theme of “memories and circuses, folktales and voyages.” No matter how diverse the subject matter, the images of Jazz undoubtedly form a collection.

Matisse’s handwritten texts are almost as visually stimulating as the bold forms opposite them, creating something closer to a diptych than a

book page. Although they are stenciled prints, they retain the physicality of the paper cutouts that Matisse used to create the original images. There is a tangible depth to the shapes and a vitality in the colors, even for something as simple as an orange circle. It is often through these stark forms, the places where Matisse clearly achieved his vision of “form filtered to its essentials,” that one feels confronted by, or perhaps sucked into, the scene.

It is easy at first to dismiss the prints as well-designed compositions, shapes that merely serve as visual pat-

terns. The more one allows oneself to be immersed in them, however, the more apparent it becomes that each image captures a genuine moment—a scene with layers of life and movement. The petal shapes in “Pierrot’s Funeral” don’t just serve as an aesthetic border. Rather, they fall straight from the plumes of the passing parade and threaten to float off the page. Who would have guessed that the colorless hallways of the Logan Center basement would become the home of such masterpieces?

Alexandra Nisenoff

Alexandra Nisenoff

The twenty prints, currently on display in the lower level of the Logan Center, are part of the Center’s permanent collection.

Anant Matai

7

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 10, 2017

Sir András Schiff is a Multitasking Maestro at the CSO

BY RENA SLAVIN MAROON CONTRIBUTOR

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) held its annual Fall College Night last Saturday evening, welcoming students from Chicagoland for a meal and Q&A session with CSO musicians. Oboist Lora Schaefer and bassist Bradley Opland discussed topics ranging from their career paths and conservatory practice schedules to their favorite composers and most embarrassing performance experiences. Though College Night itself is little more than a symbolic event, it is part of a much broader outreach program that successfully attracts a young audience to CSO events.

Saturday’s performance featured András Schiff as soloist and conductor for a program of Haydn, Bartók, Bach, and Beethoven. One of the foremost pianists of our time, Schiff has assumed the role of the conductor in recent years. The evening marked the penultimate performance of his four-concert engagement with the CSO. The evening began with Haydn’s Symphony No. 88 in G major, one of the composer’s more well-known works. The Adagio quickly gave way to the lively Allegro, which Schiff conducted with energy, levity, and spirit. Yet where the symphony truly excelled was in the slow second movement. The flowing theme from Largo was introduced by oboe and cello, and was succeeded with a series of increasingly ornate variations. When combined, the distinct timbres of the oboe and cello created a unique sonority with each iteration of the main theme. Despite the reduced size of the ensemble, the piece had an incredi-

ble warmth and a rich texture comparable to that of a full orchestra.

The Menuetto was somewhat underwhelming and lacked the dance spirit one might expect. The vibrant Allegro finale—a rondo based on a folk melody—more than compensated for the sluggish third movement. The CSO executed the middle section’s dramatic and complex canon perfectly; each instrument’s line was clear and independent amid a coherent overall interpretation.

The evening proceeded with Bartók’s Divertimento for String Orchestra, a three-movement work written in the style of a classical concerto grosso that explored modalities and rhythmic structures characteristic of Bartók. Throughout the Divertimento, a small group of soloists played against the full ensemble, creating fascinating musical interplay. Schiff brought out the full character of each movement: the Allegro non troppo was vivid and intense, the Molto adagio eerie and dark, and the Allegro assai energetic and joyful.

Yet the highlight of the evening, and where Schiff truly excelled, was when he conducted from the keyboard while playing the piano solo. The warmth and humility of his leadership combined with the intimacy of his interaction with the ensemble made for an incredible second half of Saturday’s program.

Schiff is arguably the greatest interpreter of Bach’s music today, and known for his lifelong habit of playing Bach every morning. He adamantly refuses to use the modern piano’s sustaining pedal, which the harpsichord lacks, and chooses instead to maintain the integrity of Bach’s phrasing through remarkable finger legato.

Courtesy of Robert Ghement

Sir András Schiff (pictured here in Romania) returns to the CSO after over two decades.

Saturday’s performance of the Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F minor was breathtaking in clarity and emotional restraint. Whereas other performers might succumb to Romantic inclinations, Schiff achieved great musical expression while adhering to stylistic conventions. The fast outer movements were intense and stern, and the Largo featured a beautiful melodic line against a modest orchestral accompaniment.

Schiff’s multitasking abilities were further put to the test in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, which is typically performed with a conductor. Yet the lack of intermediary between soloist and ensemble was well worth the risk; the orchestra successfully followed Schiff, and the unity of the performance was excep-

tional.

As Beethoven’s first concerto refers back to the earlier classical styles of Mozart and Haydn, Schiff’s conservative style was an asset to his performance.

The Allegro con Brio was crisp, and the Largo was wonderfully restrained and expressive. In the last movement, Schiff’s approach shone: he proved that his technical prowess and pianistic clout would not be tarnished by a playful, charming demeanor that put smiles on the faces of hundreds of attendees.

It is this humility that sets Schiff apart. His style is impeccable, intelligent, and relatable. One only hopes that he won’t wait another 22 years to return to perform with the CSO.

Running to NCAA Championships CROSS COUNTRY

BY MIRANDA BURT SPORTS STAFF

Maroons Look Ahead to Season WRESTLING

BY THOMAS GORDON SPORTS STAFF

As the leaves start to turn and the winter breeze comes into the air, it is time to witness a form of sport that has been around since ancient Greece. Wrestling is a sport that has survived the test of time, and the upcoming season for the Maroons is finally upon us.

There will be no chair-throwing, jumping off the ring, or LaVar Ball, but there will be action-packed feats of strength. The team starts out the season at the Trine Invitational at Trine University in Indiana. The Maroons are coming off a fairly successful season last year. The best result was current second-year Steve Bonsall finishing eighth in his weight class, at 157 pounds.

Last season, the Trine Invitational was very successful, with three Maroon rookies finishing within the top three in their respective weight classes. One was Bonsall, who, as a first-year, was UChicago wrestling’s first All-American team member since 2014. The

team is hoping that he can replicate his successful debut season into an even more impressive second season.

Overall, the team is focused and pumped for the upcoming season. John Jayne, a thirdyear, who also competed at the world junior championships for judo, is optimistic for the upcoming season.

“I think the team has really been working hard in the recent weeks and I feel like there’s a really good atmosphere about the team. So I think we’ll be able to start the season off strong and have our hard work pay off,” Jayne said.

This positive outlook is vital for the team to get off to a successful start. One benefit of this year’s schedule versus last year’s schedule is that the Maroons do not have to face Northwestern to start off the year. Northwestern is an extremely difficult match, considering their DI status, compared to the DIII Maroons. Starting off with an invitational against fellow DIII teams creates an opportunity for the team to get off to a successful start for their upcoming season.

The University of Chicago men’s and women’s cross country teams begin their quest for NCA A recognition tomorrow at Aug ustana College in Rock Island, IL. The women will compete in a 6K starting at noon, and the men will run in an 8K starting at 11 a.m. The meet is the NCA A DIII Cross Country Midwest Regional, and the advancing runners and teams will run in the NCA A DIII Championships on November 18 in Elsah, IL. The Maroons on the women’s side are coming off a very successful UA A Championship Meet, where they took home second place out of eight teams.

Fourth-year K hia Kurtenbach took home first place, coming in at 23:04, a full 10 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Fellow fourth-year Cassidy McPherson ca me i n 14th (24:19), and the top 20 was rounded out by first-year Abigail Shoemaker (18th, 24:40) and second-year Maggie Boudreau (19th, 24:42). Second-year Claire Brockway (23rd, 24:53), fourthyear Kelsey Dunn (34th, 25:25), and first-year Emma Dyer (39th, 25:30) rounded out the scoring efforts for the Maroons. “ The season so far has been going really well for the women’s team,” second-year Shelby Smith said. “We have so much depth within our team as both returning runners and first-years are

performing extremely well.”

The men placed fifth overall and were led by a pair of promising firstyears. Jordan Olson finished 7th overall with a time of 26:26, and Ryan Cutter finished 13th, crossing the line at 26:34. Second-year Ralph Patejunas (24th, 26:57), fourth-year Peter Kreuch (38th, 27:24), second-yea r A nd rew Kates (42nd, 27:31), third-year Jacob Gosselin (47th, 27:39), and first-year Charles Gardner (50th, 27:46) all additionally placed for the Maroons.

Having placed 10th last year and 25th in the previous year, Kurtenbach will try to improve upon her previous All-American finishes. In addition to her UA A championship, she is a fourtime UA A Athlete of the Week this year.

Smith is looking forward to this weekend’s regional meet. “We’re definitely ready for Regionals this weekend as we have prepared well during preseason and the regular season, which certainly gives us all the confidence to have really good races.”

Kurtenbach and the rest of the Maroon women and men will take to the course this Saturday in Rock Island, as they try to advance to the NCA A championships the following weekend.

8

THE CHICAGO MAROON - NOVEMBER 10, 2017

SPORTS Maroons Head to Playoffs for Fifth Straight Year WOMEN’S SOCCER

BY MICHAEL PERRY SPORTS EDITOR

The women’s soccer team is returning to the postseason this weekend for the fifth straight season after finishing the regular season with a 17–1 record, ranked No. 3 in all of NCA A DIII. The Maroons set a school record by winning the first 17 games of the season before dropping the very last game against rival Wash U (15 –1–1) by a score of 2–1. Because both programs had identical UA A records of 6 –1, they technically split the conference championship, with Wash U getting the automatic bid due to their tiebreaker over Chicago.

Despite heading into the playoffs coming off a loss, fourth-year Madori Spiker is not concerned but rather sees this as a pivotal learning moment for the Maroons. As nice as a perfect season would have been, teams can often learn more about themselves from losses. It is much better to go through that experience now, rather than when the games are win-or-go-home. “ The first loss has only motivated us to be better,” Spiker said. “It highlighted a few areas where we have

room for growth, and over the past week of practice we have worked hard to address those areas of our play.”

Both the first and second rounds of the playoffs will be hosted in Hyde Park this weekend, with the Maroons facing St. Catherine University (9 – 6 – 4) on Friday, November 10 at 11 a.m.

The winner of that game will then face the winner of the UW–Whitewater (14–3 –4) and Hope College (18 –2–1) on Saturday.

The Maroons’ eventual goal is to return to the Final Four, having lost in last year’s semifinals after a remarkable postseason run. This year’s Final Four is hosted in Greensboro, NC on December 1–2. Make no mistake, the team’s goal is to finish what they started last year and win the national championship. “ The team is incredibly excited to be heading into the most challenging portion of our season,” Spiker added. “We’ve put in consistent work as a team since mid-August and can’t wait to see the culmination.”

This also marks the final stretch of games for Spiker and her fellow fourth-years: Mia Calamari, Whitley Cargile, Kelsey Moore, and Caro-

Second-year Clare Suter dribbles through the opposing defense.

Defne Anlas

line Olivero. These five players have and our teammates,” Spiker said. helped lead UChicago to the playoffs “ This last stretch will hopefully be every year and now have one more the best stretch we’ve had playing for chance to bring a national champion- UChicago soccer.” ship back to Hyde Park. “ This playoff season is an opportunity for all of us seniors to accomplish the lofty goals we’ve set for ourselves

Football Fights for Third Place FOOTBALL

BY JOEY GUTBROD SPORTS STAFF

The University of Chicago football team is looking to finish their season strong against the formidable Lake Forest College this Saturday. Chicago is currently 5 –4 overall with a conference record of 3 –2. This record places them second in the North division of the Midwest Conference. Lake Forest is Chicago’s counterpart in the South division, placing second as well.

Therefore, these two opponents will face off during the Midwest Conference (MWC) championship weekend, with the winner taking home third place in the MWC.

Going into this game, the Maroons are coming off a 19 –14 win against Macalester College. Fourth-year running back Chandler Carroll had one of the best games of his career, rushing for 249 yards and one touchdown.

These dominant numbers bring his season totals to 19 touchdowns and 1,013 yards gained.

The first three quarters were a spectacle of Maroon dominance, as Chicago scored 19 unanswered points.

Despite Macalester’s offensive surge in the fourth quarter, UChicago held them off and came out on top.

The Maroons, however, must step up their play against the Foresters.

Lake Forest has an overall record of

8 –1, with a 4–1 conference record.

Their one loss came against Monmouth College with a score of 42–7.

Other than that matchup, the Foresters have had great success all season on both sides of the ball. The Maroon defense will be focusing on ways to subdue Lake Forest quarterback Jagan Cleary, who has scored an impressive 19 touchdowns this year, along with 2,000 total yards gained. Chicago will have quite the challenge for their last game of the year.

Despite this challenge, the UChicago team is doing everything they can to prepare for this matchup. “For a lot of these guys, this is their last game ever,” said second-year defensive back

Roberto Rabines. “Lake Forest is a very good team. It’ll be really great to get out there and beat this team. We want to send these seniors off with a high-quality win.”

The team will be ready to come out strong on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. If the Maroons stay disciplined and execute their plays, this will be a competitive game to watch.

The Maroons play at Lake Forest College this Saturday at noon.

South Siders Look to Ride Momentum Into Playoffs MEN’S SOCCER

BY SIDDHARTH KAPOOR SPORTS EDITOR

After a very successful regular season, the UChicago men’s soccer team is all set to tackle the NCAA regional playoffs.

With a 16–2 record and the UAA championship in the bag, the momentum is high.

This tournament will be played alongside Lake Forest College (from the Midwest Conference), Dominican University (from the Northern Athletics Collegiate Confer-

ence), and Capital University (from the Ohio Athletic Conference). This will be the 10th time that the Maroons take part in the NCAA tournament.

Not only this season but over the past few years, the University of Chicago has been in scintillating form. In addition to their UAA title this year, the Maroons have won two others over the past four years. Further, they have won 35 of their past 41 matches. With this good form, they will be hoping to top their best perfor-

UPCOMING GAMES SPORT

DAY

Opponent

TIME

Women’s Soccer Wrestling Football Men’s Soccer

Friday Saturday Saturday Saturday

St. Catherine Trine Invitational Lake Forest Lake Forest

11 a.m.

9 a.m.

12 p.m.

5 p.m.

mance in the playoffs, which was a semifinal appearance. Last year, the Maroons advanced to the NCAA round of 16, losing out 3–2 to the University of Redlands; they will look to improve on that this year.

One of the main performers during this period of success has been thirdyear Max Lopez, who has scored 35 goals over his time at UChicago. This ranks fourth-highest in the program’s history, and the Maroons will be hoping that he can continue this prolific run of scoring into the playoffs and fire the Maroons into success. Another player to look out for is second-year forward Dayo Adeosun. While Lopez has been fantastic in front of goal, it has been Adeosun who has mostly fed him, with 12 assists in the regular season.

This ties the school’s season record, so the pair is definitely one to watch out for. Statistically, the Maroons almost never lose when they score at least one goal (57–2–3 since the start of the 2014 season), so they

will be looking for Lopez and Adeosun to help them out.

The Maroons have been a strong defensive force as well, conceding only 12 goals throughout the 18 games of the season (with a goals-against percentage of only 0.66 per game). Fourth-year goalkeeper Hill Bonin has been in great form, with 29 saves, and has also been supported well by first-year goalkeeper Aaron Katsimpalis, who was awarded the UAA athlete of the week of October 30. They will look to this defensive resilience as well in their quest to win the NCAA tournament.

“I’m confident that under Andre [Abedian], Stacey [Reimann], and [Bonin’s] senior leadership. the team will ultimately be able to bring home that national championship,” said second-year midfielder Gary Zhao.

The first game of the tournament is at 5 p.m this Saturday at Stagg Field.