NOVEMBER 29, 2016
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
Dining Considers Replacing Einstein Bros
What’s Ahead for Graduate Student Unionization BY EILEEN LI FORMER DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR
Dollar Milkshakes to Stay BY YAO XEN TAN MAROON CONTRIBUTOR
After a review found that Einstein Bros. Bagels was “underutilized,” UChicago Dining is considering different options for the location. Dining hopes to announce the decision late winter quarter. “Please note that $1 shakes will continue to be offered on Wednesdays on campus,” Executive Director of UChicago Dining Richard Mason said in a statement through a University spokesperson. According to the 2014 Chicago Maroon Orientation Issue, “Legend has it that Einstein Bros. Bagels could move into the Reynolds Club only on the condition that they sold $1 milkshakes each week, a tradition established in the prior coffee shop.” The evaluation of Einstein Bros. comes as part of a Request Continued on page 3
BY PETE GRIEVE NEWS EDITOR
THE MAROON’s fashion feature rigorously inquires: “Who are you wearing? See page 5
A New Direction for the Computer Science NEWS STAFF
Recent years have seen growing investments in the Department of Computer Science, as new faculty have been hired, new collaborations have been created, and ambitious research centers have been established. Conversations with faculty and administrators in the department reveal that these investments are part of a plan to make the Department of Computer Science “world class” by shifting its traditional emphasis on theoretical computer science to strengthen its programs in data science and systems, and collaborate on computational initiatives with other departments at the University and partner institutions. The origin of the department’s long-standing focus on theoretical
computer science lies in its foundation in the 1980s. The Department of Computer Science was started by Robert Soare in 1983, a professor in the Department of Mathematics. Because Soare was a mathematician, there was a strong emphasis on the mathematical and theoretical sides of computer science in the early days of the department, according to John Goldsmith, a professor of computer science and linguistics. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the department made some efforts to diversify its strengths and grow its faculty. Goldsmith said that around this time the department appointed many junior and senior faculty members who specialized in areas outside of theoretical computer science. More recent efforts to grow the department began in 2008, Continued on page 5
involving New York University students. James W hitehead, a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and a lecturer at the Law School, said it’s very likely that a new case concerning graduate student unionization would come up in the near future and Continued on page 4
Zimmer Signs Letter Supporting DACA
NEWS EDITOR
move onto the second and third floors of John Crerar Library. “ This move is yet another step toward the division’s goal of having every department in
University of Chicago president Robert J. Zimmer signed a statement yesterday supporting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy. DACA is an executive action that was ordered by President Barack Obama in 2012. It protects children and young adults who entered the United States illegally from deportation. Zimmer joined more than 300 other college presidents who have signed the letter in the past week. By signing the
Continued on page 5
Continued on page 3
South Siders in Final Four Against No. 5
Contributing to the Maroon
Yao Xen Tan
BY VARUN JOSHI NEWS STAFF
Renovations are underway that will allow the Computation Institute and the Department of Computer Science to
Page 16 After just a short week off, the No. 11 women’s soccer team returns to play in the NCA A Championship.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW program pays tribute to an avant-garde all-star.
Yoko Ono Sculpture Lands in Jackson Park Page 10
Facebook isn’t a neutral site t o sha re a va r iety of v iewpoints —it’s more like an echo chamber.
TRUMP AND THE UNIVERSITY
BY PETE GRIEVE
Page 9
The Social Media Bubble
that graduate students working as teaching and research assistants at Columbia University are employees and therefore free to unionize. Graduate students have been down this road before. August’s ruling reversed the Bushera NLRB’s 2004 decision in a similar case at Brown University and stated that the Brown decision “deprived an entire category of workers of the protections of the [National Labor Relations] Act.” That Brown decision had, in turn, reversed the pro-union decision of the Clinton-era NLRB in a 2000 case
Joins More Than 300 College Presidents
Different Quatrains: A Steve Reich Celebration at the Harris Theater
Page 6
A fter winning the right to unionize earlier this year, graduate students at private universities like the University of Chicago may see those gains reversed under a Trump presidency. As president, Trump would have the authority to nominate new members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the government agency charged with adjudicating collective bargaining disputes. Currently, the five-member board is made up of two Democrats and one Republican, with two unfi lled vacancies. Opposition from a Republican-controlled Congress has prevented the Obama administration from fi lling those vacancies; Trump’s nominees would presumably shift the board to a Republican majority. One of the many issues that may be affected by the changing party majority on the board is graduate student unionization. In August, NLRB’s Democratic majority ruled in a 3–1 decision
Computer Science Dept. Moving to Crerar
The Push to Be World Class: BY VARUN JOSHI
VOL. 128, ISSUE 17
This fall Yoko Ono installed her new sculpture “Sky Landing” on the newly renovated Wooded Island in Jackson Park.
If you want to get involved in THE M AROON in any way, please email apply@chicagomaroon.com or visit chicagomaroon.com/apply.
Excerpts from articles and comments published in T he Chicago Maroon may be duplicated and redistributed in other media and non-commercial publications without the prior consent of The Chicago Maroon so long as the redistributed article is not altered from the original without the consent of the Editorial Team. Commercial republication of material in The Chicago Maroon is prohibited without the consent of the Editorial Team or, in the case of reader comments, the author. All rights reserved. © The Chicago Maroon 2016