13 million to expand No Barriers FEMMES denied RSO status, twice

FRIDAY • JANUARY 9, 2015
CHICAGOMAROON.COM
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
ISSUE 18 • VOLUME 126
Univ. mobilizes to save Obama library bid University releases committee’s
statement on free expression
Isaac Stein
Senior News Staff
UChicago’s bid to bring the Obama Presidential Library to Hyde Park faces challenges after the Obama Foundation expressed concerns about property rights on
the proposed sites. Neither of the two prospective sites for the library are owned
solely by the University.
COURTESY OF UCHICAGO NEWS OFFICE
Marina Fang & Ankit Jain
Senior News Editor &
Senior News Staff
After the Barack Obama
Foundation expressed concern
with UChicago’s Obama Library proposal, the University
has mobilized the support of the
mayor, several local aldermen,
and numerous community
groups to try to save its bid. The
University on Tuesday disclosed
the location of its proposed sites
for the first time in the start of a
public process to secure the land
it hopes to be the site of the library.
The University had proposed
three different sites as potential
locations for the library: Washington Park, Jackson Park, and
an area close to the South Shore
Cultural Center. Neither the
University nor the city of Chicago owns the land on any of these
sites—a major concern of the
Barack Obama Foundation, the
organization charged with planning the logistics of the library,
according to comments recently
made public.
The South Shore Cultural
Center is now off the table due
to controversies over its lakeLIBRARY continued on page 3
On Tuesday, the Committee on Freedom of Expression
(FOE) issued its report, which
stated that it is imperative for the
University to defend the expression of ideas, even at the fringes
of unpopular or offensive opinions. The FOE is a seven-person
faculty group organized in July
to articulate the University of
Chicago’s institutional values in
a formal statement. The report, which was distributed by President Robert J.
Zimmer to the student body via
e-mail, stated that the University must be an environment in
which all “ideas and opinions”
may be expressed, “however offensive or disagreeable those
ideas may be to some members
of our community.” The report
was compiled by the FOE over
a period of six months, and was
Katherine Vega
News Staff
The University announced
a $13 million donation from
the Neubauer Family Foundation to fund new programs for
underrepresented and international students in late December. The donation is an expansion of No Barriers, the new
financial aid policy announced
last fall.
The donation will go towardstarting or expanding four
programs for undergraduates
and prospective students. The
Neubauer Family Foundation
is a non profit run by University Trustee Joseph Neubauer,
M.B.A. ’65.
The first program, Neubauer
No Barriers Scholarships for
International Students, will
provide more need-based scholarships for non-U.S. citizens,
including undocumented students. The University guarantees that it will meet 100 percent of demonstrated need for
all students. However, according to the admissions website,
financial aid remains “needsensitive” for international
students, meaning that their
AID continued on page 3
FEMMES denied RSO status, twice
Cairo Lewis
News Staff
A student group that supports women in STEM fields,
Females Excelling More in
Math, Engineering, and Science (FEMMES), has twice
been denied RSO status. The
group was first denied status
on November 19, 2014 and
after appealing was again denied on December 4, 2014.
After consideration with
members from CORSO
(Committee on Recognized
IN VIEWPOINTS
Land of the free? » Page 5
Strategic Satire » Page 6
Student Organizations) and
the Center for Leadership
and Involvement (CLI), CLI
Director Sarah Cunningham made the final decision.
The group is still working
alongside the University of
Chicago’s Office of Special
Programs and the computer
science department to plan
events for the year.
Fourth-year Sarah Li and
third-years Megan Renshaw,
Emilee Urbanek, and Alice
Chang established FEMMES
at the University in late
spring of 2014. According
to FEMMES Marketing Director Morgane Richer La
Flèche, the organization encourages young women to
help bridge the gender gap in
technology through mentorship and first hand experience
at daylong FEMMES technology workshops.
“We want to get girls involved in computer science at
a young age to encourage more
women to pursue technology
in college and beyond,” Richer
FEMMES continued on page 3
affirmation of the University’s
values, which can then be used
as a reference by the Administration in evaluating cases involving
questions of free expression.
“We were not attempting to
create a statement of values that
did not already exist as a part of
our institutional culture. The
points outlined in the document
are a statement of principle. It’s
not a manual for how the University should respond to particular cases, but rather a tool
which it can apply when working out what to do in a difficult
situation,” Woodward said.
The document does, however, leave an open-ended question of what, exactly, constitute
“ideas” and “opinions,”—the
two classifications of speech covered by the statement. According to Geoffrey Stone, chair of
the FOE and a professor of law
at the University, to define those
terms is outside the intend scope
French Club mourns Paris shooting
Sarah Manhardt
News Editor
$13 million to expand No Barriers
released in the wake of several
recent controversies related to
on-campus race relations.
While the statement did indicate that the University would
stand behind expressions of
unpopular opinions, it also acknowledged that certain forms
of speech exist that go against
the University’s mission as an
institution.
“The University may restrict
expression that violates the law,
that falsely defames a specific individual, that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment, that
unjustifiably invades substantial
privacy or confidentiality interests, or that is otherwise directly
incompatible with the functioning of the University,” the statement read.
According to Amanda
Woodward, a member of the
FOE and a professor of psychology at the University, the purpose of the report was to issue an
In the wake of the recent
terrorist attack on a French
satirical newspaper, the
University’s French Club
responded by hosting two
events in Chicago, including holding a moment of
silence for the victims.
On January 7, gunmen
killed 12 people at Charlie
Hebdo, known for its provocative cartoons that have
parodied Islam, as well as
many other religions and
political groups. The gunmen appear to have some affiliation with Al Qaeda, reported The New York Times.
“The goal [of this attack]
was to destroy this newspaper, and to try and kill the
newspaper. [It] gave birth
to and united people who
would have otherwise been
divided over the content of
the newspaper—it united
people in defending what
allows the paper to exist in
the first place,” French Club
president and fourth-year
Eve Zuckerman said in between the two events.
Zuckerman organized an
event at the Alliance Française cultural center in Chi-
people.”
Thomas Pavel, a French
professor at the University,
said French society has a
tradition of more provocative humor than in America.
“This is their kind of
humor: rude, coarse, but
hitting some important
truths. Because the French
need this kind of joke, it is a
way of making fun of everything,” he wrote in an email.
French professor Desan Philippe said he thinks
French society has become
more tame, which Charlie
Hebdo combatted.
“There’s a sentiment
that there is a tradition in
France, I would not say of
insults, but of strong debates, where words are really important, probably
more twenty or thirty years
ago than today,” he said.
“Today I think we’re more
polite, more Americanized,
insults are not flying around
anymore, it’s not as accepted, and people feel there’s a
limit; and [Charlie Hebdo]
push[ed] back, there’s a philosophy behind the magazine that says, ‘No, we do
not believe this has ended,
that is why we’ve continued
to do the work.’”
IN SPORTS
IN ARTS
Spektral Quartet
cago within hours of the
shooting on Wednesday.
Over 200 people gathered
in solidarity, and the Consul General of France in
Chicago Vincent Floreani
made a speech.
The French Club also
hosted a moment of silence
on Wednesday on campus
that was originally planned
as the French Club’s celebration with galette des
rois cake. Over forty students attended, as well as
Floreani. Both Zuckerman
and the president of the
Muslim Students Association, third-year Salman Sayeed Islam, also spoke at the
event.
“According to what
sources tell us and our understanding of the event,
the people who decided to
senselessly murder 12 innocent individuals at a satirical magazine did it in
the name of the prophet
Muhammad,” he said. “Now
I want to be clear that to
the understanding of every
Muslim scholar who actually claims to have a true understanding of the religion,
these actions are contradictory to the teachings that
Muhammad imparted to his
» Page 9
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first meet back » Back page
Swimming and Diving: Maroons
look to make waves at Chicago
Invitational » Page 11
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | January 9, 2015
2
UCMC proposes $36 million for new adult emergency department
Sarah Manhardt
News Editor
The University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) announced
plans to build a new $36 million
adult emergency department late
last month. It will be on the first
floor of a parking garage currently
under construction, and is part of
the UCMC’s modernization of its
facilities.
The UCMC must receive permission from state regulators, the Illinois Health Facilities, and Services
Review Board for the project. The
Board is scheduled to vote on the
plans March 31, 2015. Emergency
departments are colloquially referred to as emergency rooms (ER).
The new ER will have almost double the square footage of the current
ER, which is located in the Bernard
Mitchell Hospital. It will have 42
beds—six more than the current
one—and an additional entrance. It
will be connected to the new Center
for Care and Discovery (CCD), the
site of many of the UCMC’s services, by a tunnel and a bridge.
The UCMC cited overcrowding,
long wait times, and a currently inef-
ficient location as needs for the new
facility. The ER sees around 52,000
patients per year, with the number
of patients rising over 5 percent annually since 2009. Approximately
6,000 patients, or 16 per day, leave
before receiving treatment.
Patients who are ultimately discharged without admittance to
the hospital spend on average six
and a half hours in the UCMC
ER, according to the UCMC’s application. The nationwide average
is about 3.3 hours, according to a
study done by the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance.
The UCMC emphasized the
community’s need for these services
in its application, noting that 82
percent of adult ER patients live in
the immediate area and 52 percent
are on Medicaid or are indigent.
The adult department sustained a
$23 million operating loss last fiscal
year.
“This [p]roject demonstrates
our enduring commitment to lowincome and other vulnerable populations, and our Adult [ER] is an
anchor for the South Side communities,” UCMC President Sharon
O’Keefe wrote in the proposal.
The Emergency Medical Services
in the City of Chicago (Region XI)
submitted a letter in support of the
UCMC’s proposal, citing its proposed easily accessible entrance and
safety measures and the ability to reduce overcrowding in Chicago ERs.
Southside Together Organizing
for Power (STOP), part of the Trauma Center Coalition advocating for
a Level-I adult trauma center at the
UCMC, requested a public hearing
on the proposal.
If approved, the project is anticipated to be completed by March
2020.
Mayoral hopeful talks Chicago city finances, policing
Christine Schmidt
News Editor
As the Chicago mayoral race gets
underway, North Side alderman
Bob Fioretti brought the campaign
trail to the Institute of Politics on
Monday evening.
Fioretti, a native Chicagoan who
has been an outspoken critic of previous Chicago mayor Richard M.
Daley and incumbent Rahm Emanuel, has represented the 2nd Ward
of Chicago—which includes parts
of Wicker Park, Old Town, and
Lincoln Park—since 2007. He ran
for mayor against Emanuel in 2011
before dropping out of the race to
battle tonsil cancer. After being declared cancer-free last October, Fioretti is once again a candidate.
“This city [is] headed in the
wrong direction,” he said, explaining his motivations to run. “On all
counts, I said we can do better.”
Fioretti began by describing his
South Side roots, coming from a
home with an Italian immigrant father and a mother who spoke seven
languages, translating letters for
their neighbors. He eventually be-
came a lawyer, working to overturn
wrongful convictions in Chicago
before joining the City Council.
“I learned that politics in Chicago
is not a spectator sport—everybody
gets involved and engaged,” he said.
Chicago’s fiscal issues are one
of the three main problems in the
city today, he said, in addition to
crime and education reform. He
said a property tax increase, which
has been used in the past to financially support the Chicago Public
Schools, is “off the table”—but
suggested that the city should ask
the state of Illinois, which is also
strapped for cash, to help fund the
CPS system.
Fioretti explained how the city is
also severely challenged by the lack
of opportunities in certain neighborhoods. “We cannot divorce poverty from violence, from a lack of
education, from a lack of hope,” he
said. He wants the city to become
more business-friendly, encouraging
investment in lower-income neighborhoods through tax-free zones.
At the same time, Fioretti advocates for increasing taxes on corporations and closing loopholes that
cost the city millions of dollars.
He described how the airport commissioner told him that the reason
Chicago funds part of the Gary/
Chicago International Airport in
northwest Indiana is because that
partnership allows Boeing, a corporation the city lured to Chicago several years ago, to store some of their
corporate jets there.
Fioretti also noted his plan to introduce a commuter tax, adding a
1% increase to the federal tax rate
on the paychecks of people who
work in Chicago but live outside
the city. “If they don’t like it, they
can move here,” he said.
To address recent events regarding
racial profiling and tension between
police departments and residents
across the country, Fioretti touched
on the importance of hiring police
officers from communities across
Chicago, so they understand the intricacies of the issues facing the areas
in which they work.
He did acknowledge the challenges of working as a police officer anywhere in Chicago: “It’s hard
to be a police officer in this day
and age,” he said. “Police officers
NEWS IN BRIEF
Zimmer’s payment ranked
11th largest in 2012
Previously known as the highest-paid college president in the
United States, University President Robert J. Zimmer is now
ranked as the administrator with
the 11th-largest compensation,
according to a survey recently released by the Chronicle of Higher
Education.
The results published relied on
data from 2012 salary figures, so
the statistics do not reflect Zimmer’s current pay.
Zimmer’s ranking reflects a
drop from the Chronicle’s 2011
ranking of Zimmer as the highest-paid university president in
the U.S. There is a $1.5 million
difference in pay between the
2011 and 2012 figures—Zimmer’s pay totaled $2,903,923 in
2011 and dropped to $1,369,856
in 2012. Most of the payment
in 2011 was the result of a lump
sum of wages Zimmer deferred in
earlier years. Figures for 2013 are
not currently published.
“The compensation of University officers is consistent with
leaders of institutions of similar scale and caliber,” University
spokesperson Steve Kloehn wrote
in an e-mail to the Maroon in
November.
Kloehn said executive compensation was decided by the Board
of Trustees with guidance from
an outside consultant and a recommendation from the President.
—Shelby Lohr
President/Institution
Total Compensation
Shirley Ann Jackson
$7,143,312
John L. Lahey
$3,759,076
Lee C. Bollinger
Columbia University
$3,389,917
Amy Gutmann
$2,473,952
Charles R. Middleton
$1,762,956
Susan Hockfield
$1,679,097
David W. Leebron
$1,522,502
John E. Sexton
$1,404,484
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Quinnipiac University
University of Pennsylvania
Roosevelt University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Rice University
New York University
Marc Tessier-Lavigne
$1,381,341
Richard C. Levin
$1,375,365
Robert J. Zimmer
$1,369,856
Rockefeller University
Yale University
University of Chicago
Bob Fioretti, a mayoral candidate orginally from the South Side
of Chicago, spoke on Monday at the Institute of Politics as part
of his campaign. Fioretti discussed his views on recent issues
involving fiscal matters, racial profiling, and education reform.
LIANA SONONCLAR | THE CHICAGO MAROON
can make mistakes.” One way to
confront this issue, he added, is to
encourage kids’ interest in the Chicago Police Department and public
service through summer mentoring
programs.
The alderman is running against
two other well-known Democrats
in the February 2015 election—
Emanuel and Cook County Commissioner Jesús “Chuy” Garcíåa,
who has been endorsed by several
unions including the powerful Chicago Teachers’ Union, already.
Official forum in February will follow
Committee on Free Expression’s
statement for students and faculty
LIBRARY continued from front
of the statement.
“We actually played the game of
imagining lots of hypotheticals [of cases
involving freedom of expression] and
trying to figure out how we would resolve those issues, but that’s not what we
were asked to do,” Stone said.
However, Stone acknowledged that
a gray area clearly exists in the hypothetical cases that the FOE broached.
“There might be some situations in
which I might think an action in question fits within the concept of an idea
that someone else does not think fits
within the concept of an idea, so there
will be cases where interpretations or
applications are necessary. The word
‘idea,’ to me, at the margins, is ambiguous,” he said.
Students responded to the FOE
statement with suggestions as to what
the “offensive or disagreeable” ideas
mentioned in the statement might
manifest as in terms of on-campus issues. Fourth-year Rachel Katz said in
an e-mail that the foremost concerns
would be incidents in which issues of
individual conceptions of “identity” are
called into question. “Persons of this generation seem to
be particularly concerned with “identity”... not only particular descriptions
of ‘identity groups,’ especially as understood traditionally, but perhaps,
more substantially, claims that suggest
reduced stock be placed in the protection of ‘identity’ as such. So, challenges
to the emotional orientation underlying ‘identity politics’ might constitute
ideas ‘unwelcome, disagreeable, or even
deeply offensive’ to members of the
University community,” Katz said.
Third-year Ken Armstrong agreed
with Katz, and cited an incident which
took place last May at the Institute of
Politics (IOP) in which some students
alleged that Dan Savage, a guest speaker
and columnist who focuses on LGBT
issues, had used language that was derogatory toward transsexuals.
“The University does a service of
bringing guys [like Savage] to campus,
so we as students can determine what is
valid, and what is bullshit. We’re mature
enough,” Armstrong said.
In the e-mail in which he sent the report to the student body, Zimmer said
that the University will hold an official
forum in February for students and
faculty to discuss their thoughts on the
FOE report.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | January 9, 2015
3
Following concerns from Obama Library Foundation , University releases site proposals
LIBRARY continued from front
front location. Mayor Rahm Emanuel
announced on Monday that he would
begin the process of transferring control
of the two other sites from the Chicago
Park District to the City of Chicago.
The Chicago Park District is a special
jurisdictional district with its own institutional powers and authority, separate
from the city’s authority. To transfer the
property to the city, the Chicago Park
District will vote to hand over control
of the land, and the City Council will
have to approve the transfer.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Park
District declined a request for comment. The Park District will be holding
two community meetings next week to
solicit community feedback.
University spokesperson Jeremy
Manier said that the University could
not use land it currently owns in Hyde
Park and Washington Park because
none of it is large enough to accommodate a presidential library.
“If you look at the last three presidential libraries, the total land is 50 acres on
average,” he said. “The conclusion we
came to after a long process of talking
to people in the community, the city,
city agencies, and the Foundation gave
feedback in various ways throughout
the process, was that parks offered—in
these areas, in this part of the South
Side—the best chance of having a site
that was right for the library and would
benefit these neighborhoods.”
The University, city officials, and
community members also wanted to
ensure that any library site would not
displace South Side residents, making
park land a viable option.
Louise McCurry, president of the
Jackson Park Advisory Council, said
she supports the University’s proposed
sites due to their accessibility and rela-
tively minimal impact on the community.
“You don’t want to move people off
their land,” she said. “And [park land] is
where all the major museums in Chicago are located. DuSable, Field: They’re
all located in places that are accessible to
the public, and this park land is accessible to the public.”
The Washington Park site sits on the
western edge of the park. The 22 acres
of parkland would be combined with
10 acres of land on King Drive already
owned by the University. The Jackson
Park site covers about 21 acres.
A source involved with the University’s bid said the University was aware
that the use of parkland might draw
community anger. He cited in particular a track in Jackson Park gifted by the
Chicago Bears that might have to be
removed.
“They were saying that if we did this
parkland we would have to remove this
track, which might be a problem—the
[site] in Jackson Park. Or if they did the
[site] in Washington Park there was a
lot of trees in the area that they would
have to clear that would make people
angry.”
According to Manier, the University was aware that the use of parkland
would draw community backlash but
expected that its commitment to creating as much as or more parkland than
the library would use would assuage opposition.
Manier reiterated that the library bid
has the backing of the community.
“The community members that
we’ve worked with are overwhelmingly
supportive of bringing the library to the
South Side, and they continue to be,” he
said. “There has been a competitive process, and there have been a lot of ideas
that came through that. We had a lot of
different sites that we looked at, at the
beginning, and narrowed that in light
of feedback. We think these are the best
sites. A lot of folks on the South Side
agree, and we see overwhelming support, still, for bringing the library here.”
On Thursday, all four aldermen representing the land covered by the two
sites signed a letter in support of the
University’s South Side bid, in which
they emphasized the importance of “establishing appropriate governance over
the land.”
In addition, nearly 40 community
leaders, including members of the University’s Obama library community
advisory board, penned a separate letter
expressing similar support and pointing
out the potential economic impact of
the library. An economic study commissioned by the University found that
the library would create 1,900 permanent jobs.
Donation will fund four programs, one of which is targeted toward international students
AID continued from front
financial situation and the amount
of aid they might need is taken into
consideration during the admissions
process. The additional funding will
create more scholarship opportunities
for lower- and middle-income international students who would not otherwise be able to afford full tuition.
The second, the Neubauer College Scholars program, will provide
full tuition support for four years for
students from Latino communities or
students honored in the National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP).
The NHRP recognizes Latino students who score highly on the PSAT
exams taken during junior year of high
school. The College Scholars program
will also offer career enhancement and
summer opportunities.
The third and fourth programs
funded the Neubauer Family Foundation will benefit prospective students.
The Neubauer Summer Scholars program will fund summer college prepa-
ratory courses at the Graham School
of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies for high school students
from Latino communities. Finally, the
donation will provide additional funding for Admissions Academy, a series
of workshops that help college counselors and parents navigate the application process. These new funds will help
launch bilingual programming.
Fourth-year Daniel RamirezRaftree, community relations chair of
the Organization of Latin American
Students (OLAS), said that it should
be a priority to increase the number of
underrepresented students at the University.
“Incorporating a diverse array of students into the university body makes
for richer opportunities to discuss,
engage and be challenged,” he said.
“Additionally, though greater diversity will be good for the University as
a whole, having more Latino students
on campus is also good for other Latino students who may come to UChi-
cago and feel like they've lost a sense of
home by coming here.”
Last fall, the University announced
No Barriers, which aims to increase
socioeconomic diversity by removing loans and application fees based
on student need. Before the Neubauer
donation, the other No Barriers initiatives were expected to approximately
$12.5 million dollars a year, University
President Robert Zimmer said in an interview with the Maroon last quarter.
University cites other options for funding, but denies FEMMES offical RSO status
FEMMES continued from front
La Flèche said.
FEMMES’ capstone event’s budget sits at $5,000, which will be used
to provide supplies, technology, and
food for workshops. They currently
receive funding from eSpark Learning, Stroz Friedberg, Orbitz, and
Jane Street. CORSO and the CLI
decided that the group does not need
status to organize its events and that
the budget would be too expensive to
fund.
CORSO, the CLI, and a Student
Government (SG) committee provide input on groups that would like
to receive RSO status. Third-year SG
representative and former CORSO
member Mark Sands declined to
comment about FEMMES’ denial
of status, but said that numerous factors are taken into account when determining which groups are eligible
for status.
“Some of them include whether
the group seems like it would be viable in the long term—including realistic financial expectations and ideas
for recruiting more students into the
organization—and whether there are
currently similar RSOs, and liability
concerns,” Sands wrote in an e-mail.
Cunningham also declined to
comment about her decision to deny
FEMMES status, but said the University offers other ways of supporting student-led organizations.
“UChicago is unique in that students have a variety of resources they
can tap into to support program or
lecture ideas on campus. Becoming
an RSO is just one resource, as are
funds such as the Deans Fund for
Student Life, the Uncommon Fund
and the Campus Dialogue Fund. The
ideal new RSO is one that proposes
a sustainable model for success over
time, rather than being organized
around a one-time program. Single
events or programs may be best supported by the funds or other alternative resources,” Cunningham said.
All budding RSOs must first submit an application through Blueprint to be reviewed by CORSO.
Each group must give a short presentation and answer questions about
its mission and funding. CORSO,
Members of the student group FEMMES held a meeting to discuss options after RSO status was denied.
XUEQI ZHANG | THE CHICAGO MAROON
which consists of four students and a
chair, then votes on a recommendation that is given to Cunningham.
Cunningham takes this recommendation and opinions from SG into
account, but ultimately determines
alone whether if the group obtains
RSO status, and makes the final decisions on any appeals.
If the group obtains RSO status,
the Student Government Finance
Committee (SFGC) and Annual
Allocation funds its events, with the
exception of sports clubs and com-
munity service RSOs. SFGC funds
events that are organized throughout
the quarter and annual allocation is
used for yearly events.
Richer La Flèche says that
FEMMES would still like to have
RSO status. “We value RSO status
because it gives us access to University advising and space. As an official
student organization, it would be
easier for us to sustain future workshops and reach a wider audience. As
we have shown through our fundraising efforts, we always believed that it
was important for us to be self-sustaining,” Richer La Flèche said.
In the meantime, FEMMES
plans on hosting quarterly events.
Their first event is the UChicago
FEMMES Code Camp, which will
be held on February 28. More than
150 middle school girls have been
invited to attend the event, which
features a keynote address by Chicago Regional Program Manager for
code.org Jenna Suarez, followed by a
full day of computer science workshops.
Student Government expands restaurant discount program
Anne Nazzaro
News Staff
Students can take advantage of
discounts at local stores ranging
from the Promontory restaurant
to Radio Shack through Student
Government’s (SG) expanded student discount program this quarter, which includes new “Maroon
Monday” deals.
New businesses on the expand-
ed list include Cornell Cleaners,
Radio Shack, Promontory, Bonne
Santé Health Foods, Greenline
Coffee, and more. Students can
receive a 10–15 percent discount,
depending on the business, by presenting a UCID and requesting
the discount.
Maroon Monday discounts offer similar deals with often higher
discounts, but are offered exclusively on Mondays, and the stu-
dent must be wearing maroon at
the time.
According to Kenzo Esquivel,
SG’s community and government
liaison and a second-year student,
the discounts are meant to benefit
both UChicago students and local businesses. “[We’re] trying to
get students to try things that just
aren’t your typical options that are
right here on campus, and also to
really help out, perhaps getting
more student and UChicago traffic into some of the local businesses,” Esquivel said.
SG recruited the Promontory,
Bergstein’s Deli, and Greenline
Coffee to the program and worked
with the Office of Civic Engagement’s UChicago Local campaign
for the second round of persuading businesses to join, according
to Esquivel. UChicago Local is an
initiative by the University to ac-
tively support local residents and
businesses through the creation of
job opportunities, business showcases, and partnerships like this
discount program.
“Their main issue was publicizing that they’d made these discounts available to students, and
our issue was that [the businesses]
weren’t talking to us,” he said.
“And we just kind of helped with
the advertising portion.”
4
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | January 9, 2015
Prepare...
Transform...
Empower...
Become a
RESIDENT HEAD
Attendance at an information session is required for all Resident Head applicants.
Information sessions will be held at the following dates, times and locations:
Saturday, January 10th - 10:00 a.m. - The Fairfax, 1369 E. Hyde Park Blvd.
Monday, January 12th - 7:00 p.m. - Burton Judson Residence Hall, 1005 E. 60th St.
Wednesday, January 21st - 7:00 p.m. - Burton Judson Residence Hall, 1005 E. 60th St.
For more information about applying visit College Housing at housing.uchicago.edu
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VIEWPOINTS
Editorial & Op-Ed
JANUARY 9, 2015
Land of the free?
In order to truly champion open discourse, the University must spell out what it means by hate speech
On January 6, the Committee
on Free Expression released a report addressing the issue of freedom of expression on campus. The
committee consists of seven professors at the University who were
appointed in July to draft a statement that articulates the University’s “commitment to free, robust,
and uninhibited debate and deliberation among all members of the
community.” The statement itself
says that the role of the University
in fostering freedom of expression
should be to help members of the
community debate “in an effective and responsible manner.” We
agree with this central idea—that
the University must protect open
discourse. However, this report
lacks clarity on what constitutes
“effective and responsible” discourse. The University needs to
clearly differentiate hate speech
and offensive speech. Hate speech
is defined as “speech that offends,
threatens, or insults groups, based
on race, color, religion, national
origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other traits,” according
to the American Bar Association.
The report’s failure to clearly define hate speech implies that all
speech short of unlawful harassment is acceptable, no matter how
vile or cruel. While it is important
for students to challenge each
other’s opinions, this should not
come at the expense of students’
mental well-being or safety.
The report specifies that the
University can still regulate
speech that is unlawful, libelous,
or threatening, calling these categories “narrow exceptions” to a
policy of general free expression.
However, labeling these types of
speech “narrow exceptions” minimizes the seriousness and harmfulness of this kind of speech. What
is more concerning are the University’s apparent inconsistencies
on this issue. In an e-mail sent on
November 24 in response to the
false hacking incident, Vice President for Campus Life and Student
Services Karen Warren Coleman
reiterated the University’s “commitment to a diverse campus free
from harassment and discrimination.” Given the University’s
stated commitment to eradicating hateful speech on campus in
the past, it is disappointing that it
has failed to maintain this strong
stance in its most recent report.
Condemning hate speech would
not have detracted from a strong
defense of free speech—it would
have simply clarified it.
On December 12, President
Zimmer and Provost Eric Isaacs
detailed new steps the University
will be taking to address issues of
diversity and inclusion, includ-
ing the establishment of two new
campus climate surveys focused
on gainging insight on issues pertaining to cases of sexual misconduct and underrepresented groups
on campus. Given the fearful climate that many students have
cited in the past few months, the
University must take the issues
of diversity and inclusion into
account when writing about the
importance of free speech. It is
not enough for the University to
simply reiterate its commitment
to free speech; it must also discuss
its nuances and where the lines
between acceptable and unacceptable speech fall.
Freedom of expression is essential to a productive and creative
learning environment. This means
students must be prepared to listen to opinions that differ from
their own. Speech that challenges
commonly held assumptions can
be beneficial. Hate speech benefits no one because it seeks only
to tear down, not to build up. The
University needs to directly address hate speech for the good of
productive discourse.
In their January 6 e-mail, Zimmer and Isaacs said that this report would be a part of an ongoing discussion about the role of
free expression at the University.
In order to forge an inclusive campus climate, the University must
maintain a consistent commitment to eradicating hate speech
and harassment in campus discussion. Free expression and a campus climate of inclusivity are not
mutually exclusive. Rather, fostering a culture of inclusivity will
serve to increase the quality and
diversity of discourse on campus.
ized to the industrial participants
of the oil industry. The net environmental impact is also, in the grand
scheme of things, drops in a barrel.
Estimated to add between 1.3 and
27.4 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere (or in human
terms between 250,000 and 5.5 million cars on the road), the pipeline
will not significantly add to the 36
billion tons the human race already
produces. Moreover, even if you
hold the defendable position that we
are at a tipping point when it comes
to global warming and every marginal emission could still make the
situation catastrophically worse, the
reality of the situation is that the 2.1
million daily barrels of oil produced
by Canada’s tar sands will probably
make their way to their final destination anyway by rail or alternative
pipeline—leading the State Department to conclude that the pipeline
would not have a significant impact
on emissions.
The wrench in the analysis is that
the pipeline will only leave oil production unaffected if prices are high
enough. If the cost of oil is less than
its market value, regardless of means
of transportation, then granted global warming concerns are irrelevant,
but if prices are in that sweet spot between $65 and $75 a barrel, where
it’s profitable to ship it via Keystone
but too expensive to use rail or one
of the less direct and less efficient
pipeline routes, emission levels will
indeed be significantly increased as
a result of Keystone XL’s construction. With prices having recently
fluctuated between $50 and $100
a barrel, oil sand projects are those
most affected because they represent
the most expensive sources of oil.
According to Vice President for Research at CERI Dinara Millington,
“anything not under construction
[is] at risk of being delayed or canceled altogether.” Despite the massive drop in oil prices, futures markets are still pointing to a longer-term
price of $85 to $90 a barrel, so the
Keystone Pipeline is still expected
to be profitable and would be built
if given the opportunity, especially
since the short-term drop in prices
is not actually affecting the profits
of Alberta’s tar sands. TransCanada,
the company in charge of the potential project, has long-term contracts
in place from customers with prices
already set—as an industry-common
hedging practice—which represent
fixed demand and fixed prices during
these times of oil-economy uncertainty. The economic conditions are
such that oil from Alberta’s tar sands
will probably be either extracted, or
not—the scenario where it will only
be economical to deliver to market
if Keystone XL reduces shipping
costs is worth considering if climate
change is your main concern, but it
PIPELINE continued on page 6
—The Maroon Editorial Board
Keystone unlocks potential
A breakdown of the contentious Keystone Pipeline project
David Grossman
Factcheck This!
After the sweeping 2010 Republican victories in the House and the
failure of a major climate bill in the
Senate, environmentalists recognized the difficulties associated with
passing legislation and reallocated
their attention toward the Keystone
XL Pipeline, whose construction
is stalled until it is approved by the
State Department. The proposed
pipeline would stretch from Hardisty in Alberta (western Canada) to
Nebraska. From there, it would use
existing pipelines to reach refineries
in Illinois and Texas. The importance of the Keystone Pipeline is that
it is a massive, state-of-the-art project, capable of transporting more
than 800,000 barrels of oil a day and
significantly reducing transportation
The student newspaper of the
University of Chicago since 1892
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Circulation: 6,800.
costs — both in terms of dollars and
energy (gasoline). Although the environmental lobby was the first to
draw attention to the pipeline, what
was meant initially to be a quiet
project has turned into the focal
point of debates about jobs, safety,
eminent domain, oil independence,
and climate change. If nothing else,
Keystone XL has been net beneficial
for the nation as a result of the educational benefits the debate about
it has brought about. However, the
Keystone project could also be beneficial for the U.S. for many other
reasons.
The heart of the issue of whether
or not the U.S. government should
authorize the construction of the
Keystone Pipeline is the trade-off
between jobs and carbon dioxide
emissions. Estimated by the State
Department to create 42,000 jobs
over its two-year construction and
contribute $3.4 billion to the economy, the project is expected to have
significant impact—maybe not on
a national level (0.02 percent boost
to GDP), but certainly for the local
communities directly involved in the
project. The “problem” is that these
jobs are those specifically necessary
to build the pipeline. The number
of permanent jobs after its construction? Thirty- five. This isn’t to argue
that the pipeline isn’t economically
beneficial, but only to point out that
its long-term benefits will be local-
SUBMISSIONS
The Chicago Maroon welcomes opinions and responses from its readers. Send op-ed submissions and letters to:
The Chicago Maroon
attn: Viewpoints
1212 East 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
E-mail: [email protected]
The editors reserve the right to edit materials for clarity and space. Letters to the editor should be limited to 400 words. Op-ed
submissions, 800 words
6
THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | January 9, 2015
Strategic Satire
The Interview forces us to have a real discussion about Kim Jong-un through its accessible comedic medium
Anastasia Golovashkina
The Left Write
On Christmas Day, I saw
The Interview.
In all, I found the film
thoughtful and funny. Though
there is obviously a strong element of fantastical fiction to
the film, it gets the facts that
matter right while still being
funny—very funny. Though
there are the not-so-subtle sex
jokes that come with any Seth
Rogen feature, its political humor is sharp and to the point,
rivaling that of even The Daily
Show’s best bits. Then there’s
the beautiful cinematography,
well-crafted set, and costume
design, and modern yet fitting
soundtrack. In concert, these
elements—artistry, research,
humor—help create the unexpectedly compelling, subversive satire that makes the film
so great.
The opening scene captures
this approach perfectly. In
it, a beautiful young North
Korean girl is shown against
the backdrop of Pyongyang’s
Monument to the Workers’
Party. “Our beloved leader is
wise,” she sings to a crowd of
government officials. “He is
good, kind, and strong. We
wish him joy. We wish him
peace. We wish him love.”
Nothing we wouldn’t expect.
Then she continues in that
same, cheerful voice, “And
the one thing in our time, we
wish more than this is for the
United States to explode into
a ball of fiery hell!.... May they
drown in their own blood and
feces!”
Far cry from reality? Far
from it. In North Korea,
kindergarten school posters
regularly promote such activities as “playing military games
knocking down the American
bastards” alongside images of
bloody U.S. soldiers.
By using the premise of a
satirical film, The Interview
cleverly points out that some
of the elements that might
seem the strangest or most
inconceivable are often of the
most true. North Korea isn’t
even the only country The Interview pokes fun at—though
Kim’s Korea is certainly the
main act, Rogen and Franco’s
characters are nothing if not
compelling satires of our own
selfie- and celebrity-obsessed
homeland.
That said, Rogen and company could have easily played
it safe by, for instance, setting
the film in a fake country, or
by not making its current
ruler’s assassination the centerpiece of their plot. Sacha
Baron Cohen set his film The
Dictator in the made-up Republic of Wadiya. The West
Wing’s terrorism subplots
center around the nonexistent
state of Qumar. DC and Marvel don’t even think about
letting their series use a real
country for plotlines hinting
at leadership assassination.
But the creators of The
Interview did all of this and
more. They chose North Korea by name. They made a
complete fool of its godlike
leader Kim Jong-un, while
eating away at the dangerously
both one-dimensional images
of perfection and characterless tyranny that media outlets in North Korea and United States have, respectively,
cast him to out to be.
Then they killed Kim off,
brutally, both as a physical
human being and, even more
importantly, as a symbol—a
figurehead. Both times to the
tune of Katy Perry’s “Firework.”
By casting the powerful
and feared Kim as a humanized caricature of a repressed
young man with unresolved
daddy issues, The Interview
points out the leader’s inevitable complexity. Even if this
complexity does not necessarily align with what is presented in the film, the mere
suggestion that Kim is more
than a cold robot with a bad
haircut is at odds with virtually all popular representations
of him today. In doing so, the
film points out Kim’s inevitable humanity—a humanity
that, like all human things, is
flawed. The film drives home
this point in its conclusion,
which shows the success of a
North Korean people’s revolution—a sort of proof that
this, too, is human, fallible,
and will too succumb to the
reality of our shared human
condition.
Through these and other
strategic decisions, the filmmakers successfully challenge
the very principles of the Kim
dynasty’s horrifically corrupt and hypocritical reign.
By opting to communicate
through the accessible humor
of a Hollywood comedy, they
moreover ensure that their
message can reach as wide an
audience as possible, engaging
and staying with that audience.
This humor—and its indisputable
reverberating
sociopolitical impact worldwide—is a testament to the
movie’s success, illustrating
how comedy, especially satire,
is perhaps the quickest conversation catalyst we have.
It’s certainly one of the
most
underappreciated—
without the benefit of 20/20
hindsight, few would have
predicted the astounding
success of shows like Saturday Night Live and The Daily
Show, movies like Dr. Strangelove, publications like The Onion and Charlie Hebdo, and
countless viral videos (and the
like) at not only generating
laughs, but also at very effectively communicating specific
messages.
Time and time again, these
and other productions have
often made controversial social commentary not only
more accessible (indeed, appealing) than in typical news
sources—thereby reaching a
much wider audience—but
also more interesting, memorable, and ultimately provocative than in opinion pieces.
That’s precisely why The Interview inspired such a strong,
aggressive reaction from the
North Korean government—
a feat millions of prior anti–
North Korea media have
failed to do.
In the weeks leading up to
the film’s global release, the
communist dynasty went so
far as to hack and leak among
Sony’s most sensitive employee data, including internal communications, private
documents and passwords,
salary records, social security
numbers, and the like. The
hack affected everyone from
high-level chief executives
and actors to low-level administrators and personnel.
It’s also why South Korean
activists are dropping DVDs
of the film into North Korean territory by balloon. In
border areas and major cities
where such balloons are being
dropped, leading North Korean scholar Andrei Lankov
wrote of the country in 2013,
“one out of every three or four
families has a DVD player
nowadays.”
Though reviews of the film
have been mixed, it’s been remarkably successful in achieving its satirical purpose: forcing us to have a conversation.
Pushing us to pay attention.
Pushing everyone, global
leaders and average audiences
alike, to pay attention.
Kim Jung-un clearly got the
joke. Do you?
Anastasia
Golovashkina is a fourth-year in
the College majoring in
economics and public
policy.
ALICE XIAO
| THE CHICAGO
MAROON
Rarely do so many topics—economy, eminent domain, climate change, energy independence—
get raised while discussing a single issue.
PIPELINE continued from page 5
is relatively unlikely.
The economy and the environment aside, the pipeline is also deeply controversial because its construction requires the usage of eminent
domain by a foreign corporation.
Eminent domain is the practice of,
out of economic or national security necessity, the forced sale or use
of private land at fair market prices.
Eminent domain has been delegated to U.S.–based corporations for
many years for the purpose of building railroads, pipelines, and electric
transmission because otherwise such
works would never be built. Invariably, they stretch for hundreds of
miles and pass through property that
is owned by people who attach sentimental value to it and are unwilling
to sell to a corporation at any price,
period.
Without eminent domain there
would be no such thing as a straight
railroad—it would be as squiggly as
the boundary of a newly redrawn district. In practice, eminent domainempowered corporations use that
privilege sparingly, opting to reach
voluntary agreements to purchase
the land rights, to in an overwhelming number of cases. In the case of
the Keystone Pipeline, TransCanada
reached voluntary agreements to secure 100 percent of the easements required for the pipeline in Montana
and South Dakota and 76 percent in
the case of Nebraska—overall, it exercised domain with only 2 percent
of landowners. Of course, this number is arguably immaterial. The very
threat of eminent domain might
be a powerfully coercive bargaining chip. Interestingly, the House of
Representatives actually passed a bill
banning the use of eminent domain
for private interests: The government can still exercise it for national
parks, military bases, etc., but can’t
give it out to corporations whose
only objective is profit. However,
they restricted the law so that it only
applied to new projects (Keystone
has already been “in the system” for
a long time). Of course, writing legislation which can interrupt projects
already in the system is highly de-
stabilizing and would be a terrible
precedent, but many nevertheless see
this as a loophole used by Republicans to specifically exempt the Keystone Pipeline. On a broader level,
the debate over eminent domain essentially boils down to whether the
benefits of railroads, pipelines, etc.
outweigh the rights of landowners to
keep their property despite being offered fair market value for it because
the market does not price in the sentimental value of having generations
of history tied to the family farm. It’s
a tough question without an immediate answer, and one which every
society must resolve for itself.
The final issue to consider is the
“independence card.” All things being equal, we would prefer to import our oil from people who greet
us with “feel free to break anything
you like, we honestly don’t mind”
(Canada) rather than “death to
America” (Saudi Arabia). In the
late 90s Canada, Saudi Arabia, and
Venezuela were the largest exporters of oil to the United States with a
near-identical share. Now, we import
more from Canada than we do either
of the other two nations combined.
Combined with the massive rise
of the fracking industry, the drop
in oil prices has served to severely
weaken OPEC’s potential influence over the U.S. economy. Greenlighting Keystone XL would serve
to only continue that trend. While
it should be noted, out of fairness,
that the critics of the pipeline point
out that once the oil is shipped from
Canada to American refineries, it is
often then shipped elsewhere for sale
in the global market, what matters
from a national security perspective
is not where oil ends up but where it
comes from, because where it ends
up is what can be manipulated by
OPEC. The last time OPEC cut off
our oil supply, there was no way to
relieve the shortages that crippled
the economy. Now, if OPEC were
to make a similar move, prices in the
United States would indeed rise, but
the oil it exports would be redirected
by the market toward internal consumption to satiate ongoing demand
without cutting off.
The Keystone Pipeline has received more than its fair share of attention because, from a perspective
of political action, it is the last issue
that is still truly on the table, and as
such it’s arguably the only thing on
the agenda worth caring about. On
balance, it’s probably a good idea.
The pipeline will make some money,
weakly improve our energy independence, and adhere to much higher
safety standards than current transportation alternatives, all while having little to no impact on the actual
quantity of oil consumed—unless
prices stabilize in the $65–75 range,
in which case all bets are off. Aside
from the practical impacts of the
pipeline, which as I’ve explained are
quite debatable, is the very important reality that they are so debatable. Rarely do so many topics—
economy, eminent domain, climate
change, energy independence—get
raised while discussing a single issue.
David Grossman is a secondyear in the College majoring
in computer science.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | ADVERTISEMENTS | January 9, 2015
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von Otter and
Angela Hewitt
SUNDAY / JANUARY 11 / 3 PM
MANDEL HALL, 1131 East 57th Street
2:00 PM pre-concert talk with Angela Hewitt
and Assoc. Professor Berthold Hoeckner
An afternoon of German and French songs, with
works including Beethoven, Schubert, Fauré and
Debussy
The internationally acclaimed Swedish mezzo-soprano
Anne Sofie von Otter and the mesmerizing pianist
Angela Hewitt perform exquisite French and German
songs. Enjoy a transcendent afternoon with these
warm, masterful performers.
Angela Hewitt, piano
Tickets: $35 / $5 students
k6KHSRVVHVVHVRQHRIWKHPRVWpH[LEOHDQGQDWXUDOYRFDO
instruments of any living artist.” —Opera Now
For tickets call 773.702.ARTS or visit chicagopresents.uchicago.edu
$5
STUDEN
T TICK
A limited number of FREE tickets are available through the
Sponsor-A-Student Program, made possible by University
of Chicago Arts Pass. For more information, visit
chicagopresents.uchicago.edu/tickets/student-tickets
ETS
7
ARTS
What is art?
JANUARY 9, 2015
theSketch
Arts, Briefly.
piece of theater from its inception until showtime all in
under 24 hours. One does not
have to be a University Theater aficionado to participate;
the event is open, and encourages anyone and everyone to
participate, irrespective of
one's background in drama.
The only requirement is enthusiasm and willingness to
spend 24 hours continuously
“art-ing.” Past outcomes included pieces about muffins
that grow on trees and another
about mermen. This weekend
six groups will come together
for a weekend of original
work and sleep deprivation
to create similarly unique performances. The plays, which
will only be staged once, will
be performed this Saturday,
January 10 in the Francis X.
Kinahan Theater of the Reynolds Club. Entrance is $4. Be
there for a once-in-a-lifetime
theatrical experience if you
choose to not participate but
are curious to see the results.
Saturday, January 10, Francis X. Kinahan Theater (Reynolds Club), $4.
Don't get caught in the cold. Keep warm with these body
-and-heart-warming activities around Hyde Park.
WEI YI OW
| THE CHICAGO MAROON
It might require a bit of
legwork in the frigid temperatures, but the offerings on
East 53rd Street for the First
Weekend celebration are well
worth even the most grueling bouts of Chicago weather.
On Friday and Saturday, from
6–11 PM, a number of stores
and organizations will be offering exclusive discounts and
special deals to University
students. For starters, Harper
Theater will be showing free
midnight screenings of the
classic comedy Caddyshack,
along with a medium popcorn and soda for only $5.
Not every offer is explicitly
arts-related, but we here at
the Arts section like to see
the potential for artistic enjoyment everywhere. You can
talk about arts over food, as
The Sitdown is offering a 15
percent discount on all food.
Kilwin's famous dessert shop
is offering special discounted
prices on several items, including their renowned fudge.
And of course, any artistic experience can be augmented by
certain beverages frequently
consumed by college students.
Which is why Kimbark Beverage Shoppe will be serving
free “Grownup” hot chocolate
to any student over 21(must
show photo ID). There’s way
more than just these offers in
store. For more information,
go to the UChicago First
Weekend Facebook page, and
for a complete list of offers,
go to firstweekend.splashthat.
com.
Friday and Saturday, January 9—10, East 53rd Street,
all offers require UCID.
Every quarter student actors, directors, and writers
unite to create an original
While the University of
Chicago might be best known
for the Hogwarts-ian buildings lining the main quad,
a feature which has been a
part of the campus aesthetic
since its inception, in recent
years there has been an explosion of new buildings
popping up around campus
diverging from the traditional neo-gothic style. The
evolving architectural style of
the university, ranging from
the Mansueto Library to the
currently under-construction
Campus North, is the focus
of a talk being hosted by the
Renaissance Society this coming Sunday. Associate Curator
of the Renaissance Society
Hamza Walker and Architect Steve Wiesenthal will be
leading a discussion on the
history and growth of the architectural aesthetic of the
university as well as the various adaptations that facilities
have gone through over the
years to meet changing needs
and tastes.
Wiesenthal helped develop
the University’s Office of Sustainability, which has been
working to update many of
the University buildings as
well as push for the construction of more green buildings
in the future. The new design
for Campus North plans to
meet the LEED Gold standard
for sustainability. The talk is a
companion piece to the current Renaissance Society exhibition by Mathias Poledna,
which challenges how art is
displayed in specific venues.
Sunday, January 11, Swift
Hall Third Floor, free.
The struggle is real, but worthwhile
for communal bonding, at Kuvia
Sammie Spector
Arts Staff
They said misery loves company. They didn’t say just how
many in the company or how
much misery, though. My RA
said, “It won’t kill you—actually the opposite—you’ll have
so much fun.” I felt exactly the
opposite of R. Kelly: my mind
was saying yes, but my body was
telling me NO. So there I was,
at 5:45 a.m., putting on pants
before I knew what was going
on. ’Tis the season for Kuvia,
and all of its misery, company,
and frigid attraction.
The winter festival attracts
more than 400 students to
Henry Crown, where warm-up
sun salutations start off the celebration. This number slowly
dwindles by 100 or so by the
end of the week. They say if
you make it to Wednesday, you
have to see the week through
to it's end. Otherwise, it’ll have
been a waste. What’s at the Friday finish line? The sweet taste
of victory, house competition
money, school pride, and a free
t-shirt.
Emily Tixier, assistant chair
of the Council on University
Programming (COUP) board,
can’t wait for the winter quarter tradition that she has participated in since her first year.
“I think [Kuvia] is the favorite
event of many people on the
board,” Tixler said. “I think
the earliness of it makes it very
fun to work as we’re all kind of
delirious from a lack of sleep
and collectively dealing with it
together as we put this event
on each morning. The board
definitely becomes a lot closer
during Kuvia. We just have to
make sure that everyone wakes
up (which might involve some
phone calls)!”
This will be Kuvia’s 31st year,
and was founded in 1983 by
Don Levine, a former dean of
the College. Kuvia’s namesake
comes from Kuviasungnerk,
which means the pursuit of
happiness in Iniktitut. When
my sleepy body is dragged out
of the dorm and into the cold
on Monday, happiness isn’t ex-
actly the first word that comes
to mind. Many argue otherwise. Tixler advises people to
treat the week like a challenge.
“Getting up every morning and
learning something new is a
great bonding experience,” Tixler said. “Mutual complaining
brings people together!”
So, after my first day of refreshing sun salutations led by
certain faculty members, and
an amusing and uncoordinated
dance workshop led by Indian
folk dance RSO Raas, I felt
good, just not good enough
to play Groundhog’s Day on
Tuesday. While our RAs gathered the Alper troops to head
to Crown, I slept soundly. I
heard rumors that some RAs
woke up their houses by banging on pots and pans in the
morning…I was grateful mine
were more forgiving.
My RA, Molly, is a die-hard
fan. “I’ve done Kuvia for three
years,” she said. “I lived in
Broadview my first two years,
so now that I’m in Max it
would be sad and embarrassing
if I quit now.”
I only felt mildly pathetic for
quitting after my first day, but
as a native South Floridian and
perpetual night owl, Kuvia goes
against everything my body
stands (and rolls out of bed) for.
The only thing that makes me
feel guilty is that I’m missing
some fantastic memories that
a portion of the school gets to
bond over. “My best memories
of Kuvia are always attempting
dance moves with friends that
are far beyond the skill levels
we could dream of achieving,”
Molly said. “My worst memory
was the one time I missed the
Broadview shuttle.”
Kuvia typically remains the
same from year to year, with a
few alterations, such as the addition of a house banner competition and cancellation of
fireside chats a few years ago.
The next steps will be to replace
the knitting competition with
a community service element,
and opening up the festival to
more groups and RSOs that
would like to join. Ice skating
was an older tradition that my
What better time ithan 5:45 a.m. is there for pushups?
COURTESY OF THE COUNCIL ON UNIVERSITY PROGRAMMING
R.A. hopes will be reinstated.
“And of course the polar bear
run,” Molly said. “We always
have to warn Harper administrators that there are going
to be a bunch of naked people
around that afternoon.”
For those planning on attempting more than one day
like I did, Molly says you learn
some tricks of the trade after a
whiile. Her best kept secret:?
“Nobody knows how to use the
#171 bus, and instead they take
the shuttles; meanwhile I have
been one of the first to grab
my Kuvia shirt for three years
now…”
I returned to Kuvia on its
final day last year, and saw the
joy, and frozen tears, of those
receiving their well-earned
free shirts, donning the phrase
"Misery Loves Company." I
felt disheartened by my lack of
perseverance and considered
trying again this year. Molly
tells me that when her residents
(like me) complain about waking up early, she reminds them
that “a house that commiserates
over morning calisthenics together, stays together” or gives
us a reality check by reminding
us that since kids from satellite
dorms and apartments can do
it, us Max P kids are in no position to play the "it’s too early
and cold" card…
It’s obvious that you don’t
get it until you see it, or feel
it: more than the cold—the
enthusiasm and communal
pride. At least that’s what they
told me. Molly summed it up
as something you do, for whatever reason, because of this immense pride and maybe even a
few of the warmest memories
you’ll have from our winter.
“During [Kuvia], it’s easy to
bite the bullet and go. Especially if you have people check
you on it. After, you just spend
a Friday night with carbs and
Netflix and ponder why this
all happened.” Evidently, the
attending company loves misery, because of the camaraderie
it produces, best described by
one of Kuvia’s previous t-shirts:
“Because UChicago isn’t intense enough.”
THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | January 9, 2015
9
With dormmates snowed in, a guide to keep them cinematically engaged
James MacKenzie
Arts Editor
It's cold; no one wants to leave
the dorm. You think you're thickskinned enough, but you're just not.
This leaves two options: drinking
or holding house movie viewings.
I'm not sure how much I'm allowed
to write about the former (editor's
note: he's not), so I will focus on the
latter. If you have been put in charge
of organizing house movie nights,
then you have been given a sacred
duty. You are literally the only thing
between your housemates and potential alcohol-related disaster. As a
failed house movie czar of years past,
I'm here to give you some tips to
keep people unproductively sitting
in front of a large screen (as opposed
to a small screen).
Have faith in your audience...just
not that much faith
Look, we all got into the University of Chicago. We are all smart, well
cultured consumers and also generally have an open mind to entertain-
ment outside of the mainstream.
So you should absolutely not feel
obliged to stick with conventional
crowd pleasers; go for some cool,
high-brow films. However, there are
limits.
Maybe you're a film studies major or just a huge film buff. That's
great. But no one shares your passion
for 1920s German Expressionist cinema. I know this from experience.
Some films, though they lie outside
the mainstream, still feature prominently in the zeitgeist of student film
discourse. Identifying these films is
essential.
Some examples: Quentin Tarantino is infinitely popular among
people (particularly men) our age.
Stanley Kubrick might have had that
30 years ago, but I wouldn't count on
it today. Showing almost any Hayao
Miyazaki film will earn you the adoration of your housemates. Showing
a film by French New Wave auteur
Jean-Luc Godard may result in defenestration.
A good rule of thumb is that the
older a film is, the less likely it will
fly. But the best thing you can do is
listen and be attuned to your fellow
students.
Have a friend who knows how to
get films from questionable sources
If you know how to do this yourself, then there’s really no problem. Those of you among the technologically impaired, however,
may find that your ease of access to
films is greatly diminished and fail
to meet your housemates' requests.
Your fumbling attempts to navigate
past ads for Asian singles and muscle
supplements might pay off...or maybe you'll just get a virus and have to
pray that the TECHB@R can actually fix it.
So the best thing to do is place all
that risk on your friend. That's what
friends are for, after all. That guy in
your dorm will find a movie more
quickly and in higher quality than
you ever could. If you're lucky, they
might even donate their own computer to the cause, saving you from
the virtually non-existent risk of
penalty from the University for illegal downloads.
Scheduling: You can’t win, so stop
trying
Logic would dictate that if you are
trying to run a movie night then you
should create some regular schedule
based on the times people seem to be
mostly free. You put a poll on Facebook, find a day and a time that seem
reasonable, and get to work. You get
your first movie, get all set up, and...
no one.
Now, every house is different,.
Some (especially smaller, more tightly knit houses) tend to really rally
around things like a movie night,
and you get a great turnout. Others
need a little more prodding. You can
pick the best movie, bring snacks,
whatever. Sometimes, people are just
not gonna be in the mood for a movie. I have found that spontaneity is
the best cure for this particular problem. If you and three or four others
want to watch a movie at a given
time, put it on and announce it on
Facebook. People will flock to that,
even if (especially if ) it's 11 p.m. on
a Tuesday because people are weird.
Bad movies can be great, but only
in moderation
Everybody loves a good bad movie. It's something of a college staple
to put on something like The Room
or a latter-day M. Night Shyamalan
movie and laugh together. It’s a great
bonding experience. Controlled substances may or may not be a factor.
But like junk food and other forms
of hedonism, bad movies are bad for
the soul. There is ultimately a reason
we label these movies as "bad" first
and foremost even if we might call
them "good-bad." Plot holes, bad acting, poor image and sound quality
will wear on your brain after a while,
killing brain cells and increasing
your risk of early dementia. I have no
scientific data to back this up (other
than my GPA), but I do believe it is
best to only deliberately watch bad
movies every few weeks at most.
Spektral Quartet to warm listeners with upcoming winter performance
Spektral Quartet members Austin Wulliman, Doyle Armbrust, Clara Lyon, and Russell Rolen will be playing "Snowpocalypse Antidote" Saturday.
COURTESY OF SPEKTRAL QUARTET
Evangeline Reid
Associate Arts Editor
The same unapologetically lively group that presented a series
of commissioned classical pieces
based on ringtones last year, the
Spektral Quartet—an ensemblein-residence at the University of
Chicago—will be performing its
upcoming winter concert, the playfully named Snowpocalypse Antidote. Given the current wintery
weather and its exciting lineup, it
seems only fitting.
Very rarely would a quartet
agree to sing while it plays, but this
group doesn’t seem to be afraid of a
challenge. This Saturday’s concert
will be the world premiere of a fivemovement work Spektral commissioned from a Chicago-based
composer, David Reminick, called
Ancestral Mousetrap that implements unique musical techniques,
including singing.
Viola player Doyle Armbrust,
laughed about it, saying, “I played
the viola so I didn’t have to sing.”
But all jokes aside, he explained it’s
not so much the singing that’s difficult as the technical aspect of doing what he compared to rubbing
your stomach and patting your
head at the same time. Another
strange technique to look out for
has members holding a second
string instrument between their
legs which they alternate playing,
but with only a bow—no fingers—
creating unique percussive noises.
“We spend a lot of time putting
together programs a year in advance or more, but it’s really only
once we start running the program
that we get a true sense of it…. It’s
a really high-octane show. It’s a
lot of really fast, virtuosic, exciting playing,” Doyle explained.
Spektral Quartet only came onto
the Chicago music scene in 2010,
but it quickly partnered with the
University and made a name for
itself. It is known for its “sampler
pack” concerts, which cover a large
breadth of different genres and
eras of music, typically with only
a movement or two from larger
pieces. The result is accessible and
interesting concerts that keep even
an audience with a short attention
span leaning forward in their seats.
This winter’s sampler pack includes well-loved movements from
Dvořák, Haydn, and Beethoven
as well as a newly arranged tango,
a piece by Chris Fisher-Lochhead,
and a piece that was composer Stephen Gorbos’s reaction to encountering Chicago and all its noises
and sights for the first time.
Doyle said, “We want to do it
all. Our concerts—this concert is
a great example; it’s really jumping
through the ages in a way that we
find really inspiring. This concert
is just really emblematic of us as
a quartet in that regard, and also
because Dave [Reminick] is a Chicago-based composer. That’s also a
big part of our mission: really giving voice to composers here in our
city because there’s so many great
ones—a lot of them are even from
the University of Chicago.” They really do “do it all.” As an
ensemble-in-residence,
outside
of their own rehearsals, they run
chamber music programs, lead orchestra sectionals, set up performance opportunities for groups,
lead workshops, and host open
rehearsals. Looking forward, Spektral is continuing to stay busy.
In May it’ll be performing Steve
Reich’s Different Trains Every
Time, a lengthy and striking work
interspersed with recordings of
the composer’s family members
describing trains before, during,
and after World War II that has
become a touchstone in modern
composition. This summer it will
be recording its third album, which
will include Reminick’s work. But
until that warmer weather arrives,
go warm up with its fast-paced and
unique antidote to the blustery
weather.
January 10, Logan Center for
the Arts, Performance Penthouse, 8
p.m., free with UCID
Puns, movies, writing, oh my!
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | January 9, 2015
11
Maroons look to make waves at Chicago Invitational
Swimming & Diving
Katie Anderson
Sports Staff
The South Siders will host
nine schools from across the
Midwest at the Chicago Invitational today and tomorrow
at the Myers-McLoraine pool.
Expectations are high as the
men’s team is currently ranked
No. 12 in the nation, while the
women’s squad is ranked No.
10. However, with Wash U
and Emory both ranked above
the men’s and women’s teams
and NYU also ranked above
the men’s team, the UAA will
be as competitive as ever as for
the championship which is
about a month away.
The Maroons are ready to
return to competition after
a six-week hiatus since their
strong performance in their
most recent tilt, the Phoenix
Fall Classic in November.
“Our last meet was the
Phoenix Fall Classic and there
were tons of new NCAA Bcuts, not to mention new pool
and team records,” said firstyear swimmer Miriam Benjamin. “We are very excited
to continue our success this
weekend.”
First-year swimmer Melissa
Bischoff, for example, broke
the school and pool records
while also qualifying for the
NCAA Championship in the
100-yard backstroke at the
Phoenix Fall Classic. On the
men’s side, fourth-year diver
Matt Staab took home a firstplace win in the three-meter
dive.
Despite a six-week break
since their last competition,
the men and women have been
hard at work over winter break
during their annual training
trip. This year, the trainig location was in Florida.
“I went into the trip expecting to be totally exhausted by
the workouts, and although
they were definitely tough, we
had plenty of time in between
to hang out in a hammock or
go kayaking,” Benjamin said.
“I think we really did bond
well as a team over the course
of the week, and I know the
hard work we put in will show
in our results this weekend and
at UAAs.”
It helps that this meet is at
home in Hyde Park, too.
“It’ll be nice to compete
again,” Benjamin said. “There’s
always lots of positive energy
on deck at home meets, so I’m
sure that’ll carry us through
this weekend as well.”
That home-pool advantage
could really prop the South
Siders up, especially as players
try to execute their best times
for the UAA Championship
in February. With a season that
started in late October and will
conclude at the end of March
with the NCAA Championship, the Maroons are just hitting the halfway mark of their
long season.
“The Chicago Invitational
is a great chance for us to both
mentally and physically prepare for conference championships. It will teach us what we
need to work to improve on
for conference both as individuals and as an overall team,”
fourth-year diver Sofia Gross
said.
The Chicago Invitational
will begin on Friday at 6 p.m.
and continue through Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. at the
Myers-McLoraine pool in Ratner Athletics Center.
84–31 win over IIT sends team rolling into conference play
Men’s Basketball
Mary MacLeod
Sports Staff
This weekend, the University of
Chicago men’s basketball team finished out its preseason play with an
84–31 blowout win over the visiting Illinois Institute of Technology
(IIT). The victory brings the Maroon’s record to an impressive 8–3
heading into season play, while IIT
dropped to 0–12.
The Scarlett Hawks came out
with a 2–3 zone defense in the first
half of the game, trying to slow
down the Chicago offense. The
ploy seemed to work, as the South
Siders missed their first six shots of
the game until first-year guard Jake
Fenlon hit a dagger from beyond
the arc. Fenlon went on to score
eight of the team’s first 13 points,
jump-starting the offense and paving the way to a dominant win.
The Maroons were able to combine their sharpshooting with a
dominating presence down low.
The home team outrebounded its
opponents by a shocking margin of
50–15, resulting in a 41–10 advantage for points in the paint.
“We really practiced executing
our offense the way we wanted to”,
said first-year forward Collin Bar-
thel. “We did a good job handling
the zone defense, and we knew we
had a size advantage that we could
use down low.”
In the second half, Chicago was
able to extend its lead to 49–14.
However, what was most impressive about the 53-point win was
that the bench for Chicago accounted for almost two-thirds of
the team’s points. The ability of
the whole team to score is something the Maroons will no doubt
try and take with them into conference play.
“Overall we had a good preseason,” said second-year guard
Tyler Howard. “We won the eight
games we were supposed to win,
but lost three close games to very
good teams. If we execute better
during conference play, we should
be able to win those close games.”
The first game of the 2015 UAA
season for the South Siders is
against Wash U. The Bears are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation
by the NCAA, coming into season
play with an 11–0 record and 622
points. Wash U is also coming off
an 88–78 road win against Coe
College from December 20.
“The biggest obstacles against
Washington University is not to
have mental lapses on defense because they are very disciplined and
will take advantage of any mistakes
we make,” Howard said.
The previous time the Maroons
and the Bears met was in the last
game of season play in the 2013–
14 season. Wash U defeated Chicago 86–73 through its sharpshooting and presence down low—two
things the South Sider’s defense
will try and take away this time
around.
Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. this Saturday at Ratner Athletics Center.
Get in the game.
Write for
sports.
editor@
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SPORTS
IN QUOTES
“They have no idea Im am double parked in a handicap spot out side this
court house in a 450k car with a registered pistol. Who am I to judge.”
–Arizona Cardinal defensive end Darnell Dockett on his qualification to serve on jury duty
Squad finishes 2–1 at first meet back
Wrestling
Bronagh Daly
Sports Staff
Second-year Britta Nordstrom runs the floor in transition at a
game against Wesleyan last season.
FRANK WANG | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Chicago wrestling had a strong
performance this past weekend
at the Chicago Duals. Although
their first match against No. 2
Wabash started off rocky, the
Maroons held the home advantage and took home the matchup,
winning the next two matches
against Manchester University
and Harper College.
“I was very proud of our performance this past weekend,” said
fourth-year Mario Palmisano.
“We had a lot of guys really step
up for us and win some important matches. Overall, I think we
grew both as individuals and as a
team.”
Palmisano had a successful
showing, going 3–0 in the Chicago Duals along with second-year
Paul Papoutsis.
First-year Nicholas DiNapoli,
who was able to take home a win
against Manchester University at
184 pounds, agreed that Palmisano and Papoutsis were two of the
standouts of the day.
“Two other veterans I thought
stood out were our 165-pounder
Paul Papoutsis and Mario Palmisano who both went undefeated
on the day and beat their opponents pretty handily,” DiNapoli
said. “In previous matches this
year I feel we have not had the
intensity we need to be successful, but at the Chicago Duals I
feel we wrestled tough and each
wrestler played an important role
in securing two victories.”
The squad had several smaller
victories throughout the Chicago
Duals as well, for both newer and
older team members. First-year
Devan Richter brought home an
offensive-filled 27–16 win at 125
pounds against Wabash. Similarly, fellow first-year Nick Ferraro managed back-to-back pins
against Harper.
On the veterans’ side, thirdyear David Gremling pinned his
Manchester opponent immediately at 197 pounds. Fourth-year
Adam Wyeth took an 8–7 win at
133 pounds against Harper.
DiNapoli gave reason to such
successes.
“Over the winter break the
wrestling team was at the University practicing and I thought
that was a crucial part for our
success at the Chicago Duals,”
said DiNapoli. “We only got to
go home the week of Christmas,
and the rest of the time we were
here practicing twice a day. During this time we made gains both
on and off the mat.”
Palmisano is feeling optimistic.
“The team energ y was great
this past weekend. Hopefully we
can ride that momentum and go
into next weekend feeling strong
and enthusiastic,” Palmisano said.
A winning weekend helps, but
the Maroons still have plenty of
work left to do in the season.
“The team is preparing very
hard for the upcoming Lakeland
Duals,” DiNapoli said. “We had
a great performance last week,
but we know we still have a long
season to go. The most important
thing we can do this week is push
each other to get better every
practice, keep our weight under
control, and stay healthy. I feel
we have had two great practices
already this week and plan on
having two more hard workouts
before we compete this weekend.”
The Lakeland College Duals
will occur on Saturday, January
10 at noon in Sheboygan, WI.
Chicago back on track South Siders break in the
with five straight wins new indoor track with
Women’s Basketball
Ahmad Allaw
Sports Staff
It appears the Maroons have
reversed their early season woes.
Chicago (6–5, 0–0 UAA) crushed
both of its opponents over the
break. After decimating Illinois
Tech (0–13), the Maroons were
able to cruise past Oberlin (6–7).
The pair of victories gives the redhot South Siders five wins over
the last six games.
Neither of the games was a close
affair as neither outcome was ever
in doubt.
Chicago jumped out in front
early against Illinois Tech. By the
end of the first half, all but one of
Chicago’s players had scored. On
the day, four different Chicago
players—fourth-years Ali Shaw
and Ellie Greiner, along with
first-years Mary Grace Bilby and
Katie Anderson—had racked up
more than ten points a piece. All
of this combined for a lopsided
76–30 rout against the inter-state
foes.
The game against Oberlin
didn’t start in quite the same decisive manner. Instead, Oberlin
hung around for the first 13 minutes of play, trailing the Maroons
by only three points toward the
middle of the first half. But in
the waning minutes of the opening half, the South Siders enlarged
the lead to 14. From there on out,
the Maroons added to their ad-
vantage, finishing the game with
an 83–47 victory. Every Chicago
player managed to get her name
on the score sheet.
The recent success for the Maroons portrays a contrasting picture to their earlier season scores,
when they dropped four of their
opening five matchups.
“Our team has had a great
couple weeks of practice and we
have really focused on taking each
game one at a time,” said fourthyear Claire Devaney.
As the season progresses, the
UAA will become part of the picture. Illinois Tech and Oberlin
were softer opponents—the UAA
field is an entirely different beast.
Chicago shares the worst record
in the conference with Case Western, but conference wins could
help turn the season around.
Chicago faces No. 4 Wash U
(11–0, 0–0 UAA) this Saturday.
The Bears have blown out nearly
all of their opponents. Only one
team was able to come close to
stealing a victory, and the final
point differential was 11 points.
“In order to beat Wash U, we
have to have a great week of practice and come out ready to play
right away on Saturday afternoon,” Devaney said.
The game tips off at 1 p.m. in
Ratner Athletic Center.
Editor’s note: Katie Anderson,
mentioned above, writes for the
Maroon Sports section.
Phoenix Invitational
Track and Field
Zachary Themer
Associate Sports Editor
This past Wednesday, the temperature at the University of Chicago was colder than the surface of
Mars. Luckily, the men’s and women’s track and field teams will not
have to worry about braving the
extraterrestrial elements in their
home meet this Saturday at Henry
Crown Field House.
The Phoenix Invitational is the
first meet of the indoor season,
with indoor being the operative
word.
Expectations are high for the
Maroons, who have been practicing
and training for the indoor season
since last quarter. The outdoor season last spring ended with several
Maroons competing in the national championships. However, the
South Siders know that the indoor
season is not just a continuation of
the outdoor.
“Our training is designed that we
have our peak performances during
the outdoor season. Competing indoor allows us to have a controlled
weather environment,” said thirdyear runner Henry Blood. “The
indoor track[...]has more curves
which slows runners down, inducing a smaller and more competitive
setting.”
Regardless of the changes in set-
ting, conditions, or environment
of competition, the Maroons will
look to emerge as a competitor for
the DIII National Championship.
Leading that charge from the distance running sector will be thirdyear All-American Michael Frasco
and Blood, who narrowly missed
out on being an All-American in
the fall season. On the women’s
side, the members of the women’s
cross-country team will face high
expectations, including third-years
Catherine Young, Brianna Hickey,
Maggie Cornelius, and first-year
Megan-Verner Crist.
“For distance runners, crosscountry season was a great threeplus months or so of setting a base
foundation for our mileage,” said
third-year runner Yorkbell Jaramillo. “A good part of the team is using
the weight room as well to get some
more power.”
However, the Maroons’ indoor
team is more than just distance
runners.
One of the other leaders of the
team will be third-year Michael
Bennett, who won the national
championship last indoor season
in the pole vault with a height of
4.90 meters, which is also a school
record. Bennett narrowly missed a
second national championship in
the outdoor track and field season,
placing second in the pole vault.
On the women’s field side, thirdyear thrower Nkemdilim Nwaokolo will look to build off of a strong
season last year which saw her attain UAA Champion status in both
the shot put and weight throw.
She’s been UAA Champion in multiple events each year of her career.
In the high jump, fourth-year
Semi Ajibola, who was the UAA
Champion last season, will look to
continue his success in his farewell
season.
On the whole, the team is ready
for the season. Despite the individual nature of some events, the players feel team above all else.
“We are truly a family here,
through every up and down,” said
second-year sprinter Charissa
Newkirk. “I think that this team
dynamic will translate into success
on the track also.”
With such high hopes emerging
for the Maroons, the keys to eventual success will come down to enduring the long season by staying in
peak physical condition throughout practice, training, and conditioning. With all that in mind, the
South Siders have set their sights
on a national championship.
The Phoenix Invitational will
start this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in
Henry Crown Field House. Additional times for specific events can
be found at athletics.uchicago.edu.