UCMC BEGINS CLINICAL TRIAL USING PLASMA TO TREAT COVID-19
APRIL 22, 2020 THIRD WEEK VOL. 132, ISSUE 20
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Former Student Charles Thomas Released from Jail
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Lee Harris
Courtesy of Wendell Thomas
UCMC Expands Public Testing PAGE 2
Emma Dyer
University Moves Summer Session Online, No OnCampus Summer Housing ARTS: Rockefeller Bells When You’re Cooped Up at Home PAGE 17
NEWS: Remote Learning Reveals Inequity in Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
VIEWPOINTS: A Tuition Strike? Consider the Trade-off First
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University to Hold Summer Session Courses Remotely By GUSTAVO DELGADO Senior News Reporter All Summer Session programs and summer-quarter courses at UChicago will be shifted to online learning as a part of the University’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to an email from the University last week. Due to the switch to remote instruction, the University has also removed on-campus summer residential options for students to maintain the policy of so-
cial distancing, similar to spring quarter. “For Summer 2020, Summer Quarter and Summer Language Institute courses will run via remote instruction. As has been the case in Spring 2020, class schedules will remain as is, and instruction will be a mix of synchronous and asynchronous learning,” the University wrote. Other programs offered during the summer, such as the Summer Business Scholars Program and the Summer Financial Math Program, have traditionally been three weeks long, but their schedules
have been revised. The change was made to give students more time to work on projects or to take classes alongside summer internships. The Summer Financial Math Program, geared toward the application of math, programming, and statistics within the industry of finance, will be on a seven-week schedule, from June 15 to July 31. The Summer Business Scholars Program (SBSP), which focuses on building business and analytical skills, is now on a five-week schedule, running from July
7 to August 4 . “Due to the shift to remote teaching, SBSP students will have an even more realistic experience of what it is like to work on cross-national and global teams in an online environment,” the University said in the email. Due to the changes in various programs, which may affect students’ decisions to participate in the Summer Session, the application deadline for summer financial aid has been extended to April 30.
UChicago Medicine Will Provide More Free COVID-19 Testing to South Side Residents By YIWEN LU Senior News Reporter On Thursday, the University of Chicago Medicine (UCM) system announced that it will expand its free COVID-19 testing to 1,000 tests each day for residents of Chicago’s South Side and suburban Harvey. The tests will be available at both the University of Chicago Medical Center in Hyde Park and the Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey. UCM started to offer free onsite testing on March 15, but was limited
to conducting an average of 200 daily tests for employees and eligible patients who have displayed symptoms of influenza-like illness, according to the UCM website. As the availability of necessary testing supplies increases, this number will be leveled up five times, contributing to Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker’s goal of 10,000 tests a day across the state. Curbside screening will be available to the general public and partnered South Side community hospitals, skilled nursing facilities,
Curbside COVID-19 testing at University of Chicago Medicine. EMMA DYER
and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). “Approximately half of the tests will be available to symptomatic patients who directly contact the health system to request appointments, while the remainder will be reserved for community partners, healthcare workers, emergency room patients and hospitalized inpatients,” according to the announcement. Individuals who have influenza-like symptoms and would like testing are asked to either call UCM’s COVID-19 triage hotline or use MyChart if they are current patients for a pre-testing screening. Patients who meet the testing criteria will be asked to schedule a test at curbside clinics and receive the test results in one to two days. For communit y par tners such as hospitals, nursing facilities, and FQHCs, UCM asks the agencies to perform tests on their patients and send the samples to UCM’s lab for analysis, with the possibility of also providing testing supplies. Organizations unable to perform swab tests should direct their patients to UCM directly. UCM decided that tests would be free regardless of patients’ insurance policies. Brenda Battle, vice president of UCM’s Urban Health Initiative, saw this expansion as a move to reduce the disproportionate rate of infection in communities of color and gather criti-
cal information needed for controlling the epidemic. The statement sent out by UCM quoted Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who acknowledged UCM’s efforts “to halt the spread of this disease and treat our areas most in need, as well as level the racial inequity that has been tragically prevalent in COVID-19 cases.” In addition, two UCM outpatient clinics in Hyde Park have been dedicated to care for sick patients who do not require hospitalization, so they may receive medical care without coming in contact with other groups. Since the start of the testing program, UCM has tested over 7,000 individuals, with approximately 20 percent testing positive for COVID-19. “The system has discharged more than 400 COVID-19 patients since the pandemic began,” according to its website and currently it is “caring for a combined 187 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and an additional 75 patients under investigation.” To date, Illinois has seen 31,508 confirmed cases, with a death toll at 1,349. 148,358 tests have been performed in the state, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Over the last four weeks, Chicago’s intensive care units have been at an average 74 percent capacity, and were able to keep pace, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
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Michigan Governor Talks COVID-19 Response at IOP By ALEXIS FLORENCE Senior News Reporter Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the federal government lacked preparedness and has mismanaged its response to the COVID-19 pandemic in a podcast taping with IOP director David Axelrod. The taping was broadcast on Monday to UChicago students over Zoom. Whitmer recently rose into the national spotlight following her comments last month about the federal government’s inability to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to state governments. In response to Whitmer’s comments, President Donald Trump tweeted negatively about the governor and referred to her as “that woman from Michigan” at a White House press conference. Addressing Trump’s statement, Whitmer told Axelrod that she was concerned the exchange between the President and her would affect her ability to help her constituents. “I was worried that this petty back-and-
forth might preclude me from getting what I need for the people of this state. The last thing I want is for anything to stand in the way of our ability to give our nurses and doctors the kind of support they need,” Whitmer said. “I don’t have time for any of that; all I need [are] masks.” Whitmer said that Michigan and other states are not getting all of the resources they need to combat the novel coronavirus in part due to the federal government’s lack of preparedness, especially referring to a lack of PPE. She says this will cost lives. “We’re getting a fraction of what we need, and I don’t think that is because we’re Michigan. I think that is because the federal government doesn’t have the kind of tools that we all need,” Whitmer said. “This is a virus that is ravaging our country and I think the under preparedness is really dangerous…. It’s gonna cost lives, the fact that we weren’t prepared as we should have been.” Whitmer also brought up the racial disparities among populations affected by the crisis, citing that African Americans are disproportionately affected by the virus in
Michigan and across the country. Not only are communities of color physically impacted, but they will also likely feel the worst economic fallout, she said. Whitmer called on the federal government to share the racial data related to the spread and mortality rates of COVID-19. “This has shown we have a lot of work to do as a nation,” Whitmer said. “When there’s not really equitable access to healthcare, when there’s not real equitable access to employment or educational opportunities, we see that the pain caused from something like this is felt much worse by communities of color.” Going forward, Whitmer hopes that U.S. governments will reflect on what she has seen as a lack of preparedness to the COVID-19 crisis by looking into U.S. manufacturing of medical supplies, like protective masks currently manufactured in China. She also hopes the government will look to ensure clear communication from federal agencies in response to a public-health crisis. Whitmer said she is cautious about when to send the people of Michigan back to work,
after recently extending the state’s stay-athome order until the end of April. Whitmer added that she will look to medical professionals when making the decision to lift the order, to avoid a potential second wave of infections. Axelrod mentioned that Whitmer is considered a major contender to be picked as the running mate for Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, as Whitmer gains more attention from the national spotlight. Whitmer replied that she will work to ensure that Biden wins in November and that she is excited to see his commitment to a female running mate. “There are a lot of phenomenal female leaders across this country that would be great on his ticket, and the fact anyone would even mention me among the names that I initially think of is an honor,” Whitmer said. However, when Axelrod asked Whitmer directly, “If asked, you would serve?” Whitmer avoided giving a clear answer and simply thanked Axelrod for the conversation.
Charles Thomas Released From Jail By MATTHEW LEE News Editor Charles Thomas was released from Cook County Jail on Thursday morning after two denials of release on bail. Thomas, a former University of Chicago student, was incarcerated at Cook County Jail as he waited trial for charges stemming from a 2018 incident in which he was shot by an officer of the University of Chicago Police Department. His father, Wendell Thomas, said Thomas was made eligible for bail release after a court hearing in which Thomas committed to several surveillance and self-monitoring measures. “There was a series of meetings where he went in front of a judge again,” Wendell said, “and this time they agreed to let him out with the stipulation that he wear a GPS monitor again, that he goes to therapy meetings, and takes his meds, and if he agrees to that, they let him out.” After posting bail on Wednesday
night, Thomas was greeted by family early Thursday morning. “I stayed up all night,” Wendell said, “because I didn’t want to miss the phone call. Because if I missed the hearing, they’d take him back to jail.” Thomas was denied bond release earlier this month, despite developing symptoms of COVID-19, including the loss of his sense of taste and smell, and the onset of lethargy. Asked about his experience with COVID-19 in Cook County Jail, Thomas said that the jail was “disgusting” and “a breeding ground for disease.” “It’s hard to clean, there’s not enough cells, there’s not enough hand sanitizer, they didn’t give anybody masks, and they didn’t test anybody either.” According to analysis by The New York Times, Cook County Jail is the site of the fourth-largest outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States and the number one source of infections in Illinois. More than 500 inmates have tested positive for the virus as of Monday.
Thomas described the spread of COVID-19 among inmates as rapid. “It was like somebody got sick, and then three people got sick, and then eight people got sick, and then 19 got sick, and then the whole deck got sick,” he said. He elaborated by calling the jail’s response to the outbreak half-hearted and ineffective. “Other divisions got tested a little bit. But from my experience? Nobody was getting tested. The motto seemed to be too little, too late…. Everybody got sick, and nobody did anything. “They sequestered us, they quarantined us, and we only came out two and a half hours a day. It, as a method, just makes people go crazy. And then, after everyone’s fine, after everyone’s gotten over it and beaten it, then they decide to hand out masks. But nobody’s sick anymore.” Asked about his feelings following his son’s release, Wendell said, “It’s hard—I’m just overcome with emotion. I have not been able to lay eyes on him physically ever
since September—there’s either been glass between us or plexiglass.” Thomas shared his father’s jubilance, saying “At around 1:15, the doors were open, and I was back on the phone with my mom. I found out I got [bond release]. It was pure disbelief. Something goes so well that you’re like, no, this is jail. Things don’t go well in jail. I did not believe that I was going to be getting out.” “It was exciting; it was incredible that it happened. And today was my birthday.” Thomas turned 24 on Thursday, April 16. A statement emailed to the Maroon by Cook County Jail said, “As of 5 p.m. [on April 16], there were 174 detainees who are currently positive for COVID-19, 20 of which are being treated at local hospitals. 168 detainees in our custody are no longer positive and are being monitored at a recovery facility in the jail.
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UCMC Launches Clinical Trial Using Plasma to Treat COVID-19 By PEYTON JEFFERSON Senior News Reporter The University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) recently launched a clinical trial to study whether plasma from recovered COVID-19 donors can be used to treat patients with the same disease. No preliminary results have been released yet. The study, which began on Monday, April 13, looks to utilize convalescent plasma therapy to combat the virus. Convalescent plasma therapy is the process of taking plasma, the liquid part of blood, from individuals who have recovered from the disease, and giving it to patients who currently have it, in order to transfuse antivirus antibodies. “Your body, when it sees a virus, it recognizes the proteins of the virus,” Maria Lucia Madariaga, a thoracic and lung transplant surgeon at UCMC leading the study, said. “There are several different mechanisms for the way it fights off the virus. One of them is to create antibodies which are specific to the virus protein, that then signals to the immune system to kill off this virus. And so, by giving those antibodies to people who are suffering from the disease, it can serve to treat people with the disease and help them better.” This is not a new process. Initially, convalescent plasma was designed as a prophylaxis, an action taken to prevent a disease. For example, in the 20th century, children were given convalescent plasma from others who had recovered from measles, and it served as a makeshift vaccine to protect against measles infection. More recently, convalescent plasma has been used as a therapeutic to treat cases such as influenza, MERS, or SARS infections. In other words, it has been used to help make people feel better and recover from illness, as opposed to being used with the aim of preventing infection. For this study, UCMC is recruiting 100 people to donate their plasma. They must meet the screening criteria: be 18 years old or older, had a positive COVID-19 test in the past, be eligible to donate blood, and currently have no symptoms. However, because they are still trying to assess the feasibility and safety of the project, the team will start by treating 10 patients who are currently at UCMC. The trial will be conducted in collaboration with UCMC immunologist Patrick Wilson, whose lab studies antibody immunology.
Michael Rubin participated in the UCMC plasma trial. COURTESY OF MICHAEL RUBIN Antibodies are protective proteins produced by our immune systems in response to the presence of foreign substances, such as viruses and bacteria. After recognizing these foreign substances, antibodies latch onto them and help facilitate their removal from the body. This means that as patients are treated in the clinical study, if an effective antibody is discovered, Wilson’s lab could try to use this antibody to develop new medications and possibly a vaccine. “What we will be able to do in our study, is hopefully we can say that this plasma that we used on this patient, it helped them a lot. Or [that] this plasma that we use on this patient, it didn’t help them a lot,” Madariaga said. “Then we can take the plasma that helped a lot, and say, okay, what in this plasma works well, what was able to fight the virus? So we can figure out what targets do those antibodies use against the virus.” Wilson’s role will be to find monoclonal antibodies from that information. Monoclonal antibodies only bind to one specific substance, so they “can be used as drug therapy,” Madariaga said.
The study will be conducted in partnership with a wide range of facilities and personnel at the UCMC—the blood bank, Department of Medicine, Department of Surgery, transplant team, and others. “This study takes a donation from a plasma donor all the way to a patient in the hospital who is sick, so it touches a lot of people along the way,” Madariaga said. “It brings all these people together in order to make something happen…. The fact that University of Chicago has all of these players under one roof is really unique. A lot of studies going on right now nationally don’t have their own blood bank, don’t have their own scientists…. We’re lucky that we have everything here.” One of the donors, Michael Rubin, is an alum of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and a current second-year at Columbia University. “I first filled out a survey online detailing when I got my diagnosis, what my symptoms were, how long they lasted, and that kind of stuff,” Rubin said of the process. “Within an hour, the leading doctor of the trial, Dr. Madariaga, reached out to me. While we
were on the phone, she signed me up for an appointment at the blood bank. I went to the hospital and they asked me the basic questions for donating blood. And then they took my blood, and that was it.” Rubin was sick with COVID-19 in early March, but said he recovered in four to five days. “I was really lucky to have had a mild case, been young and healthy, and able to recover really quickly. But, there are a lot of people out there who are not having that same experience—people who are being put on ventilators, being put on ECMO [extracorporeal membrane oxygenation],” Rubin said. “And so, it was a pretty easy choice for me to make [to join the trial] that could potentially be lifesaving to a few other people. The pros definitely outweighed the cons.” “We want to get the plasma into patients, and hopefully, we see a good response,” Madariaga said. “Once we see that we can do it, and that it’s safe and we can help people, then we can think about treating more people, helping throughout the whole city, area of Chicago.”
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How You Can Help COVID-19 Relief and Response Efforts in Chicago By ALICE CHENG News Senior Reporter While it is easy to become overwhelmed by uncertainty as we navigate life amid a pandemic, there are countless ways to help relief efforts in Hyde Park and Chicago, and to contribute remotely to national initiatives. Below are some of those efforts and how you can get involved. Greater Chicago Food Depository This organization is searching for volunteers to pack food for Chicagoans, particularly for children who are no longer receiving meals from school. Serving as a volunteer for the Greater Chicago Food Depository is considered an essential service and does not violate Illinois’ Stay at Home order. Individuals who are between the ages of 18 and 60 can sign up to volunteer in a warehouse. Those who are unable to volunteer can also support the Depository by donating on their website. The Depository will use the funds to buy food and stock their shelves. American Red Cross Volunteer From Home Initiative The American Red Cross has launched a Volunteer From Home (VFH) initiative. Applicants can sign up for remote volunteering opportunities
through their website, including urgently needed positions in regions around the country. Anyone who has any questions about applying or finding the right opportunity in their region can contact UChicago third-year and National Youth Council member Rodrigo Estrada at rodrigo.estrada2@redcross.org. MoVE in Place: Calling All Generations To help connect with socially isolated seniors and to deliver critical resources, such as food and prescription medication, to the elderly in long-term care facilities in Chicago, you can sign up to volunteer from home to make calls with the Millennial Engagement Vote Initiative (MoVE). Volunteers must be willing to commit at least three hours a week of communication through phone calls or through a number of email exchanges, determined on a case by case basis. Tenant’s United Hyde Park’s Community Laundry Mutual Aid This project is looking for volunteers living in Hyde Park, Kenwood, or Woodlawn to aid their effort in offering free laundry services to people with limited access in the Hyde Park area. Volunteers with access to cars and cheap laundry
are especially in demand and will be given protective gear and safety instruction as well as funds to offset any cost of laundry. Those who would like to contribute to the effort can fill out this form. For more info, interested applicants can contact Brandon E. Patterson at brandonepatterson@gmail.com. Donate Blood to UChicago Medical Center The University of Chicago Medical Center is looking for blood donors, as blood donations have severely decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To make an appointment, call 773702-6247. All donors must have an appointment to enter the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine (DCAM) and the Blood Donation Center. The center is open from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Mondays - Fridays. More information can be found on the UChicago Medical Center’s website. NYC Against Coronavirus NYC Against Coronavirus is looking for Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean speakers to translate COVID-19 information that the organization has compiled on a Google Doc and wishes to transform into a website. The Google Doc can be found here. For more information, contact the
project at NYCCoronavirus@gmail.com. Donate Face Masks to UChicago Labs and Hospitals The University of Chicago Medicine is looking for face masks and other personal protective equipment. This equipment can be dropped off at the Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery (57th Street and South Drexel Avenue), Room 1220, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. A more comprehensive list of highly demanded items can be found here. Contact covid-donations@uchospitals.edu for more information. UChicago Mutual Aid Face Mask Volunteer UChicago Mutual Aid has opened an application for students interested in sewing together face masks. A University alum from Hyde Park is also working with local businesses to cut fabric in bulk for face masks, and would like to assess how many people would be willing to sew once the fabric is cut. Editors’ Note: The Maroon urges all volunteers to take the necessary safety precautions to protect themselves when physically participating in these activities.
UCMC Brings In Perioperative Nurses to Help Treat Severely Ill COVID-19 Patients By CAROLINE KUBZANSKY Managing Editor University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) nurses began taking rotations in the ICU last Wednesday in order to care for COVID-19 patients, according to ICU —specialist nurses and nurses preparing to return to the unit. As of Monday, the hospital was treating 125 cases of COVID-19. Pamela Valentine, who began treat-
ing COVID-19 patients this week, has worked at UCMC for 39 years, most of which she spent as an ICU nurse. Two years ago, Valentine switched to working as a post-anesthesia nurse in the perioperative unit. Now, she’s preparing to jump back into her old role. “I’m pretty confident with it, but some of the nurses [reentering] the ICU haven’t had that role for years,” Valentine said. She understood why the change was happening, though, stating
“most of the nurses that are currently working in the ICU haven’t had time off.” Scott Mechanic, currently an ICU nurse, is concerned about the impact the decision might have on patient care. “The nurses who are rotating in need more training, precepting, support. It’s not that they can’t take care of the patients. It’s that they don’t know where things are, who to call, how to
use the technology. And when patients are critically ill, these things can make a difference,” Mechanic said. “While the P.O. [perioperative] staff do an amazing job, it just doesn’t seem like the best, safest care for our patients.” Mechanic works in a 24-bed ICU unit that has been converted to solely treat COVID-19 patients. He added that non-medical staff is currently strained as well—a lack of manpower which has CONTINUED ON PG. 6
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“Where the hospital is really lacking support is with environmental services…and lower wage ancillary staff. They have not gotten training.” CONTINUED FROM PG. 5
created problems maintaining units. Aside from medical attention, cleaning and maintenance services are essential to keeping ICUs functional. “Where the hospital is really lacking support is with environmental services…and lower wage ancillary staff. They have not gotten training. Units aren’t being cleaned. Equipment isn’t getting brought to the unit,” he said. According to Mechanic, UCMC is “mostly full, not completely full of COVID-19 patients”. The vast major-
ity of people being treated are Black— which he noted is not a huge change from ordinary times, but also fits the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black Chicagoans overall. Despite making up 14.5 percent of the population, Black Chicagoans account for 27.5 percent of COVID-19 cases and 43.5 percent of deaths. Mechanic and Valentine both work in close proximity to the virus and have taken precautions to protect themselves against infection. However, Mechanic said that although he’s tak-
ing the steps to prevent himself from catching the virus, he is more concerned about the negative impact the infection could have on those around him. “I’m worried that if I get sick I’ll spread it to other healthcare staff and other people in my life. I’m more worried that I won’t have the opportunity to provide the best care possible to my patients,” he said. Valentine is wearing a mask and gloves at all times. “I feel safe because I am taking care of the things I need to
take care of,” she said. “But you don’t know who has it and who doesn’t. It’s definitely a concern.” UCMC has recently begun accepting transfer patients from other area hospitals, although Mechanic worries the hospital could be doing more to assist those with heavier caseloads. Valentine noted, “we’re not yet overwhelmed yet. But we haven’t met the curve.”
Hyde Park Bookstores Adapt Amid COVID-19 Uncertainty By CARL SACKLEN News Reporter Usually frequented by students and faculty, Hyde Park’s favorite bookstores have been forced to close their doors to the public as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to plunge many local businesses into uncertainty. To maintain cash f lows, Hyde Park’s bookstores have shifted their sales to online and sought support from the government and community crowdfunding. The University announced that it would provide grants to small businesses and rent relief to its tenants. The newly-signed federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has also made $376 billion in relief available to small businesses, primarily through loan programs. Seminary Co-Op & 57th Street Books The Seminary Co-Op was founded in 1961. In 1983, it opened its second location on 57th Street. “We have three peaks that get us through the year and they coincide with the beginning of each quarter. Fall and spring are our biggest peaks because they a lso coincide w ith our very heavy events season,” Jeff
Deutsch, director of the Seminary Co-Op Bookstores, told The Maroon. “[This quarantine is] hitting us at one of our two busiest times and that, from a cash flow perspective between now and fall, will have a significant impact.” To maintain cash f lows, the Seminary Co-Op and 57th Street Books have ramped up their online sales. “There’s been a tenfold increase in online sales for the month of March,” Deutsch said. However, online sales are a relatively small part of revenues. “Normally that’s about 5 percent of our total sales, now it’s 100 percent of our total sales, so you can do the math on that. Even a tenfold increase is not enough to sustain us long term.” The Seminary Co-Op has converted its 12,000-square-foot store space to fulfill these online orders while also maintaining social distancing requirements. “The front table and other display areas have been converted to be more like storage units. In the past we could only work in the back rooms because we wanted to keep the stacks available for the community. That’s no longer a consideration, so the ability to work is pretty easy for us,” Deutsch said. Originally, Deutsch had forecasted a 90-percent decline in sales. But with
the increased fulfillment capacity at the store, he expects a 60– to 75-percent drop. This fall in sales has been met with efforts to cut costs. However, all 45 staff are still employed by the store. “We have not had to let anyone go or have any lay-offs or hours reductions, which feels like a privilege at this point,” Deutsch said. Instead, the Seminary Co-Op has cancelled all outstanding publisher orders, which is its biggest expense. “There are so many amazing books being released right now that we would normally have on the front table or in the stacks and we cancelled all those so we’re going to reduce all those orders significantly. That represents a six-figure dollar amount of books.” Aside from lowering costs, the Seminary Co-Op also launched a GoFundMe with a $250,000 goal. Much of this goal will go toward paying outstanding publisher fees. “Because it was such a busy time for us ordering course books, all those bills are going to be due, so we owe quite a bit of money for the spring coursebook season and just regular books that we’re ordering in,” Deutsch explained. The Co-Op has also applied to the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program and received a grant
from the University. “The University has been fantastic and has been a great partner in a lot of ways. It’s the landlord for one of our two buildings, and has been incredibly generous,” Deutsch said. “We’re very lucky in having two landlords who are both interested in supporting us and have the means to do so right now with their generosity.” Deutsch said that working at the bookstore and seeing community support are comforting in the time of the pandemic. “To be around books and other people who care about books and seeing all of the beautiful messages that are coming through from the community is something of an oasis for many of us and a nourishing part of the day,” Deutsch said. Powell’s Books Also located on 57th Street, Powell’s Books has specialized in academic books since 1970. Its wholesale division carries over 16,000 titles and sells exclusively to other bookstores. “The retail part of the store is just closed and obviously we won’t open until the governor tells us otherwise. Our internet store out of our warehouse has been able to continue to operate and we are doing well enough with a skeleton crew,” Bradley Jonas, CONTINUED ON PG. 7
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Hyde Park Bookstores Turn to the Community and Online Sales During Pandemic CONTINUED FROM PG. 6
the owner of Powell’s, told The Maroon. Powell’s wholesale operations make up the bulk of its cash flows, but they have stagnated since the bookstores that buy from Powell’s wholesale have also shut their doors. However, its online sales have grown. “At the moment, because there are so few places to get books across the country, our internet sales are actually doing fairly well. That’s the way we’re coping at the moment,” Jonas said. “Our internet sales have gone up about 20 to 25 percent so we are a little lucky that we are diverse in our income streams.” However, Jonas’s main concern right now is the safety of his staff.
“We’ve focused on [fulfilling online sales] out of our warehouse, which is 130,000 square feet, so we have plenty of social distancing that we can do,” he said. Currently, there is a skeleton crew fulfilling the online orders in the warehouse. “The rest of the staff have been furloughed and as soon as we can get them back, we want to get them back,” Jonas said. Unlike many other businesses in Hyde Park, Jonas decided not to start a GoFundMe page. He told The Maroon that he wants to leave that resource to those businesses who need it most, as Powell’s internet sales as well as reduced staff has put it in a relatively stable position.
“It’s this balance between the internet sales and the lower costs based on a skeleton crew. The only reason I am comfortable with that right now is that my crew is being taken care of by unemployment [benefits] in a pretty good way,” he explained. “Can we ride this out forever? No, it’s not sustainable long-term, but it is sustainable for the next month to month and a half, so we will keep reevaluating as we go. But as I said, the internet sales are up 20–25 percent and that seems to be getting even stronger, so with that plus a skeleton staff I think we can survive for a while.”
University Bookstore for comment and was issued a statement from Barnes & Noble’s head office. “On March 24, we made the difficult decision to close our store. While we had originally planned to reopen on April 6, continued developments in the spread of COVID-19 led us to re-evaluate our plans,” a spokesperson told The Maroon. “The store remains closed at this time, and as a result, a number of our store employees have been placed on furlough. This was not a decision we made lightly. Our hope is that over the next few months we can return to normal operations and staffing.”
Barnes & Noble The Maroon reached out to the
South Side Community Leaders Call for Economic, Housing, Criminal Justice Reforms in Wake of COVID-19 By CAROLINE KUBZANSKY Managing Editor Black community leaders, including 20th Ward Alderman Jeanette Taylor and State Senator Robert Peters, held a virtual press conference on Friday morning where they called for reforms around Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) practices and policing norms in the wake of COVID-19’s impact on Black Chicagoans. The conference was organized by the Right to Recovery coalition, a campaign by elected officials, activists, and community organizations that formed following the Right to Recovery legislative package proposed on March 23. Items in the package included 20 days of paid sick leave; a moratorium on rent payment, evictions, and utility payments; and more attention to the needs of senior citizens and disabled citizens, among other proposals. Peters focused on his ongoing push to end pretrial detention as a way to limit
the spread of COVID-19 among incarcerated populations. He said that Charles Thomas, a former University of Chicago student shot by UCPD two years ago who is currently being held at Cook County Jail, needed to be released. Cook County Jail has emerged as the one of the top hotspots in the country for COVID-19, with more than 200 active cases as of Tuesday and six deaths so far. Thomas was denied release on bond earlier this month despite his parents’ reports that he exhibited symptoms of COVID-19. “If I’m going to be someone who advocates for ending pretrial detention, then someone like Charles Thomas is an example in which he’s being locked up and being controlled, instead of getting the healthcare and the love that he deserves and the dignity he deserves,” Peters said. “So I do think he needs to be out and I do think all the actors involved need to get him out. I’ve made those calls and I’ve had those conversations and I’ll continue
to do so.” The Right to Recovery platform also calls for the immediate release of inmates held on bonds and inmates whose age or medical conditions means they are at higher risk for contracting the virus. Taylor discussed how residents of the 20th Ward are choosing between basic needs as they shelter in place, and she called for a moratorium on utility payments to help address this strain. “The majority of my calls have been: ‘Listen, I’m not paying my rent, I’m not going to pay my light and gas, because I need to feed my children. My children are at home. I’ve got to provide meals. There are other needs that my family has,’” Taylor said. Taylor also called for the city to fill its CHA vacancies as part of its response to the stay-at-home order. Though the city is opening up YMCAs and hotels for housing-insecure Chicagoans, Taylor deemed this “a band-aid on a bullet wound.” Gregory Kelly, the president of SEIU
Healthcare for Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Kansas, highlighted the overrepresentation of Black people in the population of those impacted by COVID-19. In Illinois, while only 14.6 percent of residents are BBlack, they make up 27.5 percent of the state’s confirmed cases and 43.5 percent of COVID-19-related deaths. “Frontline childcare and health-care workers are struggling in this moment,” Kelley said. “You have employers who don’t have the proper respect for working people and frontline workers, and those people of color, BBlack folks in particular, are the ones who are bearing the brunt.” Taylor echoed this. “Let’s make it plain, the majority of the folks with the cases are us,” she said. “The majority of the folks who are dying are us. And we still don’t have testing sites on the South and West Sides. And so definitely we have a problem, and we have an opportunity to make this right with our folks.”
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University Announces Plan to Cut Carbon Emissions in Half by 2030 By CARL SACKLEN News Reporter The University announced on Monday that it has revised its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target to 50 percent of current emissions by 2030. This is more ambitious than the target the University announced two years ago, which aimed for a 20 percent reduction in emissions by 2025. According to the recent announcement, the University expects to meet that goal ahead of its original time frame. This new target comes as the University’s emissions have fallen by 11 percent from their “starting point,” which the announcement defined as the average annual emissions from 2012 and 2014. “Given the early success, UChicago is prepared to take on more aggressive targets to advance the sustainability of University operations,” Alicia Berg, assistant vice president of Campus Planning and Sustainability, said in the announcement. According to the announcement,
emissions from electricity usage account for almost half of the University’s greenhouse gas emissions. The University plans to begin purchasing more electricity generated from renewable sources. “Wind power and other renewable sources of energy have become more affordable in recent years, and in some cases should allow for a decrease from current spending rates,” the University wrote. The University will also focus on improving the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings; scaling back its vehicles’ gasoline consumption; and increasing its landfill diversion rate, which represents how much waste is diverted from a facility without buying landfill space. Knowing the current diversion rate as a benchmark is important for improving the success of a recycling program. Currently, the University publishes its emissions reports online. The latest Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory Report was released in October 2019 and the one prior was published in May 2018. Gerald McSwiggan, a University
spokesperson, told The Maroon that the University has also implemented an Energy Management Information System (EMIS) to track campus utility data and plans to release these EMIS dashboards for public viewing in the near future. A resolution passed by Student Government (SG) in February this year advocated for publicly available data to show the University’s energy consumption, both historic and in real-time. The resolution also argued that using emissions per square foot may misrepresent the University’s environmental impact. Since it is a function of area, emission intensity on campus could seemingly decrease simply because of an increase in campus square footage, even if emissions were not really reduced. The resolution contends that measuring emissions per square foot *could* conceal an increase in net emissions. Until now, emissions were measured per square foot of building, but these future emission reductions targets will be based on emissions as a whole.
“The absolute reduction goal means that even as the University grows, we are targeting an overall decrease in emissions, not just a decrease on a per square foot basis,” McSwiggan told The Maroon. “We were pleased to see the new announcement, but believe the student role in environmental advocacy deserves credit,” SG said in a statement on Facebook. The University’s announcement only briefly referenced student involvement. “This target would not have been announced today without the UChicago Environmental Alliance and Student Government’s efforts to advance campus sustainability.” “Until then,” SG wrote, “the Committee on Campus Sustainability will continue to advocate for a carbon neutrality deadline to match peer institutions including Brown, Harvard, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, the University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.”
Remote Learning Reveals Inequity in Accommodations for Students with Disabilities By KATE MABUS News Reporter For students with disabilities, the transition to self-isolating or quarantining under the current circumstances is not unfamiliar, but still presents challenges. With the University ’s switch to remote learning, accommodations that students with disabilities have requested in the past are now commonplace in the virtual classroom. Brittney Dorton, a fourth-year undergraduate, and Beth Karp, a fourthyear at the Harris School of Public Policy and the Law School, serve on the University’s accessibility advisory board. Dorton is also an organizer of the Organization for Students with
Disabilities (OSD). According to them, remote learning offers relief from the inaccessibility of campus and normalizes the physical and emotional isolation that being disabled often brings. “Most people [with disabilities] have had a period in their life where they have had to either be isolated or quarantined for a month if not longer,” Dorton said. “So, for a lot of people, this is better [than usual] because they’re not the only ones doing it…. When you’re disabled and you’re isolated by yourself, it’s really lonely.” However, COVID-19 also poses a unique health risk for disabled and chronically ill people. Not only are they possibly at a higher risk for contracting the disease, but the pandemic has also
overwhelmed hospitals, limiting their access to the ICU should their condition bring about a medical emergency. The barrier to accessing therapeutic services, including physical, educational, and behavioral therapy, has also posed a challenge for people with disabilities. Dorton uses Student Counseling Services and receives physical therapy regularly for her disability. Both have transitioned to teleservices. Dorton’s physical therapy provider offers video sessions, where a therapist coaches her through home exercises, but she says the quality is diminished without hands-on coaching. More concerning, Dorton said, is the lack of access to technology and
procedures that physical therapy offices and medical centers typically provide. Dorton receives a spinal injection every three months to manage chronic pain, but since health services have been overwhelmed, her procedures have been indefinitely canceled. “For me, it’s more of a quality of life thing, but there’s definitely people who have a treatment they need in order to survive, and it’s a scary time not knowing if you’re going to get it or not,” Dorton said. A s many health challenges as COVID-19 has posed, Dorton and Karp both highlighted the academic benefits it has brought for students with disabilities. Virtual learning has provided the CONTINUED ON PG. 9
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flexibility of recorded classes, either to make up a class missed due to illness or to playback a class more than once for those with learning disabilities. It also lifts the burden of having to physically navigate an inaccessible campus. However, “disability is funny because it’s a really big tent…. One person’s accommodation can be a disadvantage to another disabled person,” Karp said. She mentioned the challenges of looking at a screen for certain disabilities, and how virtual classes might make it more difficult for students with ADHD to focus during class. For other students with disabilities challenged by remote learning, including deaf and blind students, technology has in some ways aided the transition, according to UChicago’s Student Disabilities Services (SDS). In an emailed statement to The Maroon, SDS wrote that “Students with approved academic accommodations are able to access resources such as note-taking support, recordings of course content, alternative text and document conversion services, and interpreting and captioning services as appropriate. A number of these accommodations are integrated directly
into the Zoom platform. Exam accommodations have been incorporated into Canvas and typically take the form of additional examination time.” The University has also recommended certain accommodations and considerations for teaching students with disabilities. However, it is at the discretion of individual instructors to grant them to students, unless mandated by a student’s personal accommodation letter. These considerations include closed captioning lectures, audio descriptions of visual displays, and keyboard accessibility functions. Dorton and Karp recognized the resources the University has provided students. However, according to them, this also highlights that the University’s past resistance to accommodate students with disabilities in these ways seemed to be not a matter of resources but discrimination. “Having [these resources] now is nice, but it’s also a feeling of, why couldn’t this happen before?” Dorton said. “There are a lot of people with disabilities who have asked for these kinds of things in the past as accommodations…. For years we’ve been told, ‘No, that’s not possible. You just can’t learn that way. It’s not the same.’ And, now, suddenly, it is possible for everybody
to do it and everything is moving to this. We had that capability all along; people just didn’t want to make those accommodations,” Karp said. Karp listed the option to dial-in to meetings and access to recorded lectures among these accommodations, which she has been denied in the past. According to Karp, some students have previously been granted the accommodation of recorded lectures, while others have been told lectures will not be recorded as an accommodation under any circumstances. Karp said that a consequence of denied accommodations, especially stringent excused absences, is that students come to class sick or at the detriment of their physical health. “The school’s policies are endangering people. I really hope that there’s going to be a proof of concept here that refusing to record or provide a remote option under justified circumstances is discriminatory and, frankly, it’s dangerous,” Karp said. When Dorton received her updated accommodation letter from the University a few weeks ago, it included two sections: one for virtual learning and one for normal classes. Both Karp and Dorton want the accommodations that have been granted for remote learning
to continue when the University returns to campus. Karp and Dorton additionally wish that, as the University becomes comfortable with the remote technologies that students with disabilities have previously requested, it will be more likely to offer them as accommodation in the future. “I just hope that, at the end of all this, people will keep in mind that we all benefit from a more accessible world. There’s literally no downside to having classes that can be Skyped into or being able to record lectures,” Dorton said. “Having all those measures in place benefits disabled students and benefits a student who needs to go out on a job interview for a day, or a student who loses a parent, or a student who’s sick with the flu.” “And I hope that more people will come out of this with more empathy for what disabled students and disabled people go through because our lives, all the time, revolve around periods of isolation…. So, everything that people are living through now is kind of the norm for disabled and chronically ill people,” Dorton added.
Student Petition to Halve Tuition Gains 1,700 Signatures, Calls for Tuition Strike By AVI WALDMAN Grey City Editor At the end of March, a Facebook page for a student-run group called UChicago for Fair Tuition (UCFT) began circulating a petition online that laid out a set of demands including halving tuition and calling for students not to pay their tuition fees until those demands were met. As of April 16, the petition had accumulated nearly 1,700 signatures, according
to fourth-year organizer Julia Attie. As the April 29 deadline to pay tuition approaches, UCFT continues to organize student support for its five demands: reducing tuition by 50 percent, waiving advanced residency tuition for doctoral students (fees charged for Ph.D. candidates working on their dissertations after their fourth year of study), reinstating the possibility of going on part-time status for students, instituting a tuition freeze, and publicly releasing
the University budget. While UCFT came together after the announcement that spring quarter classes would be conducted remotely, many of its organizers were already members of Fair Budget UChicago, a project of student advocacy group UChicago Student Action. Fair Budget UChicago has, for years, pushed for budget transparency and related issues such as raising the campus minimum wage, investing in mental health services, and supporting
graduate student unionization. “I think the biggest overlap between Fair Budget and the tuition campaign is that both have this budgetary analysis where we know how much money the University has and we know the ways that transparency figures into our demands,” said second-year UCFT organizer Livia Miller. “We’re carrying that same sense [that] what the University chooses to put money into is a list of priorities, and we’re asking them to prior-
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itize individual people’s well-being and financial situations.” UCFT argues that the economic fallout from COVID-19 will force many students and their families into a state of financial crisis, as unemployment rates rise and non-essential businesses are forced to shut their doors. According to Miller and other organizers, the University has a responsibility to support students by reducing their financial distress. Less central to their demands but a complaint frequently heard among the student body, UCFT also claims that the experience of in-person instruction and classroom interaction, along with the academic resources available on campus, can’t be replicated in a distance learning format, and therefore distance learning doesn’t justify charging full tuition. An early statement from the University provided to UCFT said that all distance-learning classes count the same toward degree completion as those held in person, which is why the University is charging the same tuition rates despite the disruption of transitioning online. Low-income students and their families have been especially affected by campus closure and growing economic instability, as have international students from countries whose currencies may become devalued faster than the dollar. Additionally, graduate students, many of whom have significant student loans and already occupy a precarious financial position, will also suffer in a recession—especially those who have families of their own to support. “Since my partner has lost his job due to COVID, I am now the primary provider for our family,” Carly Murray, a graduate student in the School of Social Service Administration, wrote in a testimonial provided to The Maroon. “UChicago continuing to charge full tuition is forcing me to decide between my education and being able to buy groceries or pay my rent.” The University has taken a number of steps to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19 on students, including guaranteeing six weeks of pay for hourly workers unable to work remotely and implementing a tuition freeze for the
2020–21 academic year. In an email sent to the campus community on April 7, President Robert Zimmer reiterated the University’s commitment to meeting students’ “demonstrated [financial] need” despite budget cutbacks in other areas, and noted that all officers of the University would be personally contributing to the Odyssey Scholarship program. However, Miller said that financial aid might not be able to account for recent changes in families’ situations as job losses continue, and that emergency measures and special circumstances appeals to adjust individual families’ contributions to tuition may not be able to keep up. “Financial aid isn’t sufficient because of how unstable a lot of things are right now,” Miller said. “Financial aid is calculated based on tax returns from two years previously, which means in situations where one or both parents have lost their income…financial aid won’t change to reflect that until 2021.” The size of the University’s approximately $8.5 billion endowment, and the fact that it raised $5.4 billion in the recent Inquiry and Impact fundraising campaign, are key to UCFT’s argument that tuition could be lowered with little damage to the University’s overall finances. At the moment, it’s unclear how the endowment, whose growth is linked to the stock market, might be adversely affected by a recession. While acknowledging that reduced tuition would certainly be a loss to the University, Miller claimed the University could absorb that loss far more easily than individual families. “Even if they were to refund tuition for every single person in the University, undergrads and graduate students, that would still account for less than 2 percent of that fundraising haul,” Miller said. “What we’re talking about is a lot of money when you ask families what they can pay but not a lot of money when you ask a billion-dollar institution.” University spokesperson Gerald McSwiggan said in a statement responding to these claims that endowment funds, including those added by the Inquiry and Impact campaign, are legally restricted to certain purposes
and generally can’t be tapped for other needs. Funds that haven’t already been earmarked for immediately supporting financial aid therefore can’t be relied on to offset lost tuition revenue. “The University’s endowment and fundraising campaigns rely heavily on gifts that support education and research at the University in perpetuity,” McSwiggan wrote in the statement. “Annual payout from the endowment enables the University to address priorities over the long term, including comprehensive financial aid for students, rather than using principal for the current budget at the expense of future students and faculty.” Under ordinary circumstances, students who can’t pay tuition on time are subject to having holds placed on their pre-registration and graduation, and might be charged late fees. However, if late fees have been eliminated for spring quarter, more students might find it feasible to withhold tuition. Miller pointed out that although the number of students likely to strike is unprecedented, students frequently pay tuition late for a variety of reasons during the course of non-pandemic school years as well. “We have no way of knowing what’s going to happen, given [that] a lot of students are going to be striking, but a lot of people are late on tuition for all kinds of reasons,” Miller said. “It’s unlikely there is going to be any new punitive action.” While it’s unclear what actions the University might take should a tuition strike occur, UCFT suggests that there may be some safety in numbers. Over 400 students have committed to strike while close to 560 are considering it, according to UCFT, and organizers plan to reach out to those still on the fence in order to persuade them to commit. National media coverage of UCFT and similar movements nationwide could also apply pressure to the University to engage with their demands. Articles in media outlets such as Inside Higher Ed, The New York Times, The Chicago Sun-Times, and others have drawn attention to UCFT’s campaign and the efforts of college students nationwide to secure reduced tuition. A petition by students at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) demand-
ing their administration reimburse the difference in cost between in-person and online education has racked up over 8,000 signatures. Students at the New School in New York City are also conducting a “digital strike” demanding a partial tuition refund. Miller said UCFT had been in touch with student organizers at Northwestern, DePaul, and New York University as well as UIC, and was still contemplating a “coordinated national action. Ultimately, UCFT hopes a tuition strike will compel administrators to engage with students in discussions surrounding tuition and the University budget.“What we’re really looking for is a seat at the table, and a willingness to be part of the conversation about the financial policies both now and moving forward,” Miller said. “We see the tuition strike as escalation, but also as just a tool in developing a relationship with administration that takes into account student voices.” Provost Ka Yee Lee sent an email to the student body Tuesday morning addressing “common questions” raised by students regarding tuition. While the email did not mention UCFT by name, it responded to several of their claims about the impact reducing tuition would have on University finances. “Tuition is an essential source of funding for the University’s ongoing operations, including support for financial aid as well as faculty and staff salaries,” Lee wrote. “Reducing tuition for students regardless of their financial means would require substantial cutbacks in operations.” Lee reaffirmed that the University is committed to meeting students’ “full demonstrated financial need” for domestic undergraduates and that financial aid options would be available to graduate students (the email did not mention options available for international students). Lee also mentioned the bursar’s office’s emergency assistance fund as a resource for students in need, although the fund is designed to assist with emergencies not related to tuition or the cost of attending the University. Lee’s email complicates the question of late fees for tuition payment. While an CONTINUED ON PG. 11
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“The University cannot claim it meets the ‘full demonstrated need’ of students during this crisis.” CONTINUED FROM PG. 10
email from the bursar’s office to a UCFT organizer stated that the office would not assess late fees, Lee’s email stated that students who don’t qualify for a payment
extension will be subject to the same penalties as they would under ordinary circumstances. “The email from Provost Lee provides absolutely no new financial support,”
wrote UCFT in a statement provided to The Maroon. “The University cannot claim it meets the ‘full demonstrated need’ of students during this crisis; the fact that they have instituted a new fi-
nancial hardship appeal form because so many students are struggling just shows that current financial aid packages are not sufficient.”
Provost Addresses Spring-Quarter Financial-Aid Policy in Email By AVI WALDMAN Grey City Editor In an email to the campus community Tuesday morning, Provost Ka Yee Lee detailed aspects of the University’s financial aid policy in response to COVID-19 including permitting students to apply for an extension on their spring-quarter tuition deadline. While the email did not refer to UChicago for Fair Tuition (UCFT), the student group advocating for a tuition strike, the message responds to several issues UCFT
has raised. Lee wrote that the University “has expanded its extensive and longstanding commitment to meet the full demonstrated financial need of all domestic undergraduate students,” who will be able to apply for increased aid through the Financial Aid Office’s Special Circumstances Request form. Graduate students will be able to apply for the forms of financial aid already administered through their graduate divisions or schools, which use a range of different funding models.
Lee’s email also refers to the emergency assistance fund maintained by the bursar’s office, which can offer aid for expenses not related to tuition. The fund offers up to a $3,000 one-time grant and loans of up to $1,500 that must be repaid within 60 days. The email noted that the bursar’s office had added a Financial Hardship form in response to COVID-19, which students can use to apply for an extension on their tuition payment. UCFT had reported on April 13 that there would be no fees for late payment, based on an email exchange between
a UCFT member and a student account advisor in the Bursar’s Office who wrote, “At this time, Late Fees are not being [assessed].” Lee’s email clarified that the policy on late payment remains the same as it was in previous quarters, with students subject to late fees penalized by holds on their pre-registration or graduation. “We consider this a strike retaliation and a direct response to our campaign publicizing their initial internal commitment to no late fees,” wrote fourth-year UCFT organizer Julia Attie in a statement to The Maroon.
RSO Weekly: Students Explore with Outdoor Adventure Club By BRINDA RAO Sports Editor With more than 1,300 listhost members, the Outdoor Adventure Club (OAC) is one of the largest RSOs on campus. The OAC has taken students around the country on hiking, climbing, and kayaking tours. Over the past four years there has been a rise in membership and interest, enabling the RSO to expand its ventures to a global level. The OAC promotes and provides resources for UChicago to engage with the outdoors. It does this by funding and organizing hikes, walks and climbing trips around the Midwest throughout the academic year. The OAC also provides climbing equipment rentals for students, a large appeal for many to join due to the expenses of owning one’s own equipment. Moreover, it works to bring people together, especially those that have not had the opportunity to explore this passion before. “Most of our people haven’t done outdoor stuff growing up; they’re people com-
ing from urban settings. We’re giving them a first experience diving into nature that is fun and rewarding,” Fourth-year Copresident Michael Thew said in an interview with *The Maroon*. The OAC gives students a diverse multitude of opportunities. It organizes Chicago-based events like barbecues on the quad, bonfires at the Promontory Point, and an annual kayaking trip in the river. They also lead regional trips to nature reserves and preserves for camping, hiking and walks throughout the quarter. Over spring break, they launch massive endeavors to send members across the country. These trips have included backpacking trips in Arches, Zion, and the Grand Canyon National Parks. They have also led consistent trips to the Rockies. Last year, the OAC organized and ran its first ever international trip to Iceland. Having been around since the 1950s, the club has gone in waves of membership, including a surge in interest, members and funding in the past four years. In recent years, the club’s popularity has shot up with
the high aspirations of its leadership. Thew has led the OAC since his second-year, pioneering many endeavors for expansion with other board members. In his four years in OAC, the club went from an organization with six events a year to multiple events a quarter. The number of due-paying members shot from 10 to 80. “Between my years the incoming classes are more willing to try things and put themselves out there and try things they haven’t tried before and get out of the classroom,” Thew explained in an interview with The Maroon. This rise in membership and interest is accompanied by increased University-based funding. Annual allocations have steadily risen, starting with $500 a year in the years before 2016 and ending with $5,000 for the 2019-2020 school year. Additionally, the Student Government Finance Committee has historically increased funding for the OAC’s spring break trips. This year they received $10,000 to coordinate a series of trips. While the remote quarter led to the cancellation of spring break trips and spring
quarter plans, the OAC is still maintaining its community. They had six trips planned for spring break and their annual kayaking trip during spring quarter that were all cancelled. The OAC plans to use their remaining funds to do gear upgrades, with many of their gear purchased in the 1990s. Moreover, they’re organizing Netflix Party movie nights for members to still engage with one another. Members of the OAC are still celebrating their passion for the outdoors. “We’re getting photos of our people doing self-quarantine hikes. We’re looking at people across the world doing their own outdoor adventures at home,” Thew said. The OAC is open to new members, with due-paying members paying an annual fee of $15 and listhost members joining for free. Editor’s Note: Each week, The Maroon will be showcasing a different RSO on campus. The authors of RSO Weekly are not affiliated with the RSO they are featuring. RSOs that would like to be featured in RSO Weekly should contact news@chicagomaroon.com.
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Students in Sustainability: A Rocky Road to a Greener Path Amid a growing appetite for ambitious sustainability reform, student leaders voice concern about the University’s commitment to environmentalism. By LAURA GERSONY AND MILUTIN GJAJA Grey City Reporters
On a chilly, gray afternoon in the fall of 2018, third-year Perrin Davidson took a walk. He set out from campus, walking north a few blocks and then east along 53rd Street to his destination: an office building, sleek and austere, at 53rd and South Harper. Davidson entered. A security guard eyed him as he approached the front desk to confirm his appointment. He was directed to take the elevator up to the 10th floor, where he was greeted by a freshly scented lobby and a set of plush chairs. Davidson sat, waiting for his meeting to begin. After a few moments, he was greeted by the person he came to meet: Sara Popenhagen, the lone employee of the University of Chicago’s Office of Sustainability. Housed off-campus under the University’s Facilities Services Department, the Office of Sustainability (OS) rarely takes the spotlight in student discourse; in recent months, however, student environmental leaders have thrust the remote office into the public eye. “BE IT RESOLVED the University administration should hire at least three (3) more personnel to expand the work of the Office of Sustainability,” a unanimously passed February 2020 Student Government (SG) resolution reads. Peer institutions, including Brown, Harvard, Northwestern, Princeton, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Yale, and Stanford, have a minimum of four, and an average of seven, full-time employees in their Offices of Sustainability, the SG resolution states. The University of Chicago has one.
UChicago: Falling Behind? The call for increased staffing at the OS is just one of many demands being made by student environmental leaders at UChicago. To many students involved in environmentalism on campus, the message of the moment is clear: that, as stated in a November 2019 presentation by student sustainability leaders, “UChicago is behind.” Fourth-year Kimika Padilla, chair of SG’s Committee on Campus Sustainability (CCS), told The Maroon in an interview that the February SG resolution had three main demands. The first, she said, was to call on the University for a public commitment to more ambitious long-term sustainability goals. UChicago’s long-term climate plan is laid out in its 2016 Sustainability Report. Using a “target base year” as its baseline—a figure calculated by taking the average greenhouse gas emissions for fiscal years 2012 through 2014—the report aims for a 20 percent reduction of carbon intensity, a measure of emissions, by 2025. This would bring the University’s carbon intensity to 13.2 kg eCO2/sqft. The SG resolution outlined two primary concerns with the 2016 baseline report. First, it said, the initial goal of reducing emissions by 20 percent was simply not ambitious enough; many peer institutions—of which the resolution lists several: Brown, Harvard, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, the University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale—have committed to become carbon neutral by 2050 or earlier. While UChicago has not committed to carbon neutrality, the University announced on Monday that it is increasing its carbon-emissions reduction goal from 20 percent by 2025 to 50 percent by 2030.
According to the announcement, the University is slightly ahead of its initial goal, having reduced its intensity by 11 percent as of 2018. Padilla said that she and other environmental leaders were “encouraged” by the University’s announcement. “The target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by 2030 gets us half of the way there!” she wrote in a comment to The Maroon the day of the announcement. “We hope that the University’s progress in bringing its emissions down over the next decade will provide compelling evidence that a carbon neutral future is possible.” In addition, the resolution states, the 2016 report measures University emissions in terms of carbon intensity, a measure of carbon dioxide emissions per square foot, rather than net emissions, an absolute quantity of carbon released. The resolution argues that using carbon intensity as a metric of emissions may misrepresent the University’s environmental impact. Because it is a function of area, carbon intensity on campus may decrease simply due to an increase in the campu’s square footage, rather than an actual reduction in total carbon output; in fact, the resolution contends, this metric could potentially conceal an increase in net emissions. “Recent building constructions such as the new Woodlawn Residential Commons will significantly increase the total square footage of campus buildings,” the resolution reads. “It is possible that the University will increase its net emissions even as it reports a reduction in carbon intensity.” The University also announced on Monday that it will transition to using net emissions as a metric of carbon output, rather than carbon intensity.
The second “big ask” of the SG resolution, Padilla said, was increased staffing at the OS, the administrative office responsible for sustainability planning and oversight on campus. “Our Office of Sustainability actually only consists of one full-time employee,” Padilla said. “It’s really hard for our Office of Sustainability to continue doing the great work that we need them to do if they are so severely limited by personnel.” But in addition to the relatively small size of UChicago’s office, Padilla also sees room for improvement in the role that the OS plays on campus. Other institutions’ counterparts function not simply as administrative departments, but as centers for collaboration among University community members. “A lot of Offices of Sustainability act as, essentially, a hub, kind of a coming-together place, for different students, faculty, University administration to work together productively,” Padilla said. The remoteness of UChicago’s OS from central campus makes it difficult to form this sense of community, she said. “The Office of Sustainability is currently located under Facilities Services, kind of administratively within the University,” Padilla said. “They also physically sit in Facilities Services [in Harper Court]...which makes it very difficult for students to go there and actually access them.” SG’s third main demand was for improved environmental data transparency. The resolution calls on the University to make public their annual and monthly data about net greenhouse gas emissions, food consumption, and waste management— data which, in the past, students have had trouble getting their hands on. CONTINUED ON PG. 13
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Data Transparency In the spring of 2018, having just become co-president of the Environmental Research Group (ERG), Davidson was informed that the group had been commissioned a project by the OS. “We were handed a project by the Office of Sustainability with a big, red stamp that said ‘Confidential,’” Davidson told The Maroon. “They came to us, as the quantitative undergraduate research think-tank group on campus.” The focus of the project was energy use in buildings on campus. ERG was asked to determine how campus could increase its energy efficiency through the behavior of individuals, such as closing fume hood sashes or turning off idle electrical devices, rather than through structural and management aspects of buildings. So, the following fall, ERG began recruiting a team to work on the project: They set up an application process, even turning some candidates away to form a selective research group of 25 students. “We start basing our whole entire first project [of the year]...around this seemingly very official and very concrete project,” Davidson said. “At the time, it seemed like an incredible opportunity.” But when they reached out to the OS for the building energy use data needed to perform the project, they got either no reply, or an occasional “We’re working on it.” The students who ERG had recruited to work on the project began to inquire into the status of the data; Davidson gave them busywork, in hopes that the data would be forthcoming. “Five months go by,” Davidson said, “No data.” Ultimately, ERG was never given the information they needed to complete the project. “We produced a super hand-wavy presentation for the Office of Sustainability that basically tells them everything they already know,” he said. “We were not able to give any deliverables to the people who approached us about the project, because we weren’t given any data.” When asked about the reason for the data withholding, Davidson said that the information they needed “most certainly exists.” The University’s upcoming Environmental Frontiers summer program promises summer interns access to the very data ERG was requesting. Instead,
he believes that the data was deliberately withheld: an opacity characteristic of the University in this regard. “It’s pretty clear that the reason we weren’t able to get the data is because the administration has restricted such data releasing,” he said. “It’s the accessibility of data that is really inhibiting any sustainable action on campus.” President of Phoenix Sustainability Initiative (PSI) Amy Tian told The Maroon that she has encountered the same difficulty. “In the past, we’ve come to the OS asking for data, but sometimes they wouldn’t get back to us and they just would keep [the data] tied up,” she said. What’s more, said Tian, when they did acquire the data, its “resolution,” or quality and specificity, remained subpar. “Even if we were able to get our hands on the data, which was pretty rare, the data would not be high resolution,” she said. “More transparency is needed to display the data, and also a greater degree of specificity with how it’s collected.” Concerns about data transparency are widespread among student environmental leaders; the unanimously passed SG resolution identifies a “serious lack of student and public access to transparent information about campus electricity, natural gas, and water consumption as well as food and waste management data.” University spokesperson Gerald McSwiggan wrote in an email to The Maroon that data sharing was “an important aspect of the University’s sustainability approach,” and that the University has published several general overviews of campus’ greenhouse gas emissions data. McSwiggan also said that the University has implemented an Energy Management Information System (EMIS) to track and analyze campus utility data. The University intends to make the EMIS public “in the near future,” he wrote. Many students involved in sustainability also stressed that the employee of the OS, Popenhagen, was not at fault for the lack of data; Davidson said that she is “working at maximal capacity” and is his “personal hero.” Rather, he said, the OS is structurally unequipped to handle student initiatives due to underinvestment in the department. “There aren’t those resources that the OS needs to effectively deal with students, and work with students to make UChicago a more sustainable place,” he said. To Davidson, this lack of resources reflects a broader reluctance on the part of
13 the University to invest in sustainability. “Leaders of the administration...aren’t prioritizing sustainability at UChicago,” he said. “There needs to be a stated want—an interest by the current administration to increase the management and structure that goes into the Office of Sustainability.” Walker Gillett, a board member of ERG, believes that while many administrators support sustainability initiatives, the concrete investment has been lacking. “There’s a difference between saying you’re on board with sustainable issues and actually committing funding to sustainable issues,” Gillett said. “Financially, we have yet to see significant commitment on the part of the University, and that’s really what matters.” A Cause for Optimism? In spite of these obstacles to environmental progress, some believe that things have been looking up for the sustainability effort in recent months. Last fall, leaders of several environmental student groups—including PSI, ERG, CCS, Environmental Justice Task Force, and public policy think tank Paul Douglas Institute—joined forces to form the umbrella group UChicago Environmental Alliance (UCEA). UCEA was borne out of a presentation that environmental leaders were invited to give last fall, where representatives from sustainability student groups addressed members of the Board of Trustees about the University’s role in addressing climate change. After the presentation, Tian said, “We [environmental leaders] realized, ‘Wow, it was really helpful for all of us to come together and talk about these things.’” What makes the organization so unique, she said, is that it represents an unprecedented collaboration by sustainability-related student groups to push a single, collective message. Consequently, UCEA has the self-declared goal of dealing with a higher level of administrators that individual groups could not reach. “A singular group, I think, can only do so much,” explained Tian. “The vision with UCEA is that [it becomes] a quasi-administrative working group.” Among UCEA’s achievements so far has been the creation of a Green Fund, a pool of grant money worth $50,000 housed under the Department of Campus and Student Life that will be dedicated to supporting student sustainability projects. UCEA initially brought up the idea of a Green
Fund at the presentation with Board of Trustees members before they presented it to Michele Rasmussen, dean of students in the University. Another new campus sustainability initiative is the Environmental Frontiers program, spearheaded by UChicago’s Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation. As part of the program, for a 10-week period during the summer, multiple teams of undergraduates working as research assistants will be granted access to the University’s EMIS to work on projects such as developing a campus energy dashboard and a “sustainability app and tool.” According to Anne Dodge, executive director of the Mansueto Institute, the emphasis of the summer program is on an applied, data-driven approach. “[We] want to make sure that students who care about these issues can be grounded with projects and research that gives them an empirical basis,” she said. Nonetheless, certain stipulations of the Environmental Frontiers program have raised questions as to the transparency of these projects. According to the Research Assistant job description, students “will be expected to keep this data confidential during and after the Research Assistantship.” McSwiggan wrote in an email to The Maroon that the program will use confidentiality agreements because the data shared with the Environmental Frontiers interns “will likely be more granular” than the EMIS data to be published online. Dodge said that the decision to include NDAs was primarily administrative. “The big picture answer is that it’s what made everyone feel the most comfortable,” she said. Dodge views the releasing of data, despite the prerequisite of NDAs, as a sign of the University’s increasing willingness to be open about sustainability. “It is part of a trajectory that the University’s on toward more transparency,” she said. “But it’s taking it at a pace that is almost certainly frustrating for students.” At the end of the day, the stakes of UChicago’s action—or inaction—are clear to student leaders like Padilla. “Obviously, individual choices are incredibly important,” she said, “but institutions are really where the high-level, one-off decisions happen that really determine...how our world is going to move forward on this all-important issue.” “We’ve reached a point in time where, unfortunately, it’s not a question of whether or not we act; it’s imperative.”
THE CHICAGO MAROON — APRIL 22, 2020
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VIEWPOINTS
A Tuition Strike? Consider the Trade-offs First Advocates for a 50-percent cut in tuition for this quarter should consider unintended impacts of such a reduction. By ZAREK DROZDA A number of students have been calling for a universal 50 percent tuition cut in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Their campaign is well-intended, but we must all consider the possible consequences from the resulting shortfall. While student advocates for UChicago for Fair Tuition (UCFT) raise important points, their demands are not grounded in the financial challenges faced by the University in the current crisis. Such a significant loss in tui-
tion payments will likely mean less money for the most financially atrisk employees: dining hall, cleaning, and other service staff. It will mean less money to support research and grants, including vital research on COVID-19. Furthermore, it will mean less money for the students currently receiving and dependent on financial aid for their attendance at the University—about half of undergraduates from year to year. While UCFT has asked that neither existing financial aid nor staff be impacted by the 50 percent tuition cut for which it
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advocates, it is unclear exactly how that is feasible. I was an undergraduate at the College for three years, graduated early last spring, and have been on staff for the past seven months. Many of the students advocating for this strike were in my class year. I do not speak on behalf of the administration, but some quick math based exclusively on public data may help explain the University’s financial situation, and why cutting tuition by 50 percent is not possible without some serious sacrifices elsewhere. At first glance, the demand for a tuition reduction may seem simple. As the students organizing for UCFT have pointed out, we have a $8.5 billion endowment. There is also the $5.43 billion fundraising campaign the University completed just this year. Seemingly, they together could easily cover a quarter’s worth of tuition. But these often-quoted figures can be misleading. Our $8.5 billion endowment sounds massive, but it only pays out about $500 million per year. In order for any endowment to remain sustainable, it needs to keep a low payout rate over time. We could try to disperse a larger amount than usual, but a majority is restricted anyway, and it depends on the rules guiding particular funds within the endowment made at the time of a donation—they cannot be changed retroactively. These inherent restrictions led to similar challenges following the 2008 financial crisis. Moreover, with markets taking a nosedive from COVID-19, our payout will now likely be even lower. For comparison, the University spent $2 billion on employee sala-
ries and benefits in 2018. There may be some shakable expenses in there, but if you want to support and keep paying University faculty, academic staff, and service staff— to which the University committed following effective student advocacy—this amount can’t be modified all that much. The difference leaves about a $1.5 billion gap between endowment payout and salaries. Our annual revenue from tuition and services makes up for part the gap, bringing in around $1.5 billion per year. This means that on a normal operating basis, we are relatively even with annual revenue and annual expenses, excluding charitable gifts. And again, we can expect revenue from on-campus services to decline during a campus shutdown, creating additional challenges. While some services could be offset by lower operating expenses, others will not be able to be modified, especially given the University’s commitment to continue paying all service staff. Thus far, it seems unlikely that dipping into our endowment would provide the necessary funds. So, what about that $5.4 billion in fundraising we recently completed? As is the case for most nonprofit fundraising, many of those gifts are earmarked for certain purposes, or have already been spent for capital projects (for example, the Woodlawn dorm, or the Center in Hong Kong). If you don’t believe me, take a look at some of the announced donations between 2016 and 2020. The sum is large, but I could personally only find $1 million explicitly labelled as “unrestricted.” While there is no breakdown of these funds publicly available—and as the Fair Tuition
campaign advocates, more budget transparency would be helpful— we certainly don’t have $5 billion in cash just laying around. Moreover, annual donations may significantly decline, if not evaporate entirely, as charitable giving is redirected (rightfully) to coronavirus relief. Clearly, funds from our endowment and recent campaign are not so easily diverted to make up for lost tuition revenue—so where would that money come from, and how would a 50-percent cut in tuition at the college affect everyone? In 2018, tuition from the College raised $325 million, with $108 million allocated for College financial aid and $126 million for direct support costs—leaving $113 million for academic departments, major/minor programs, and professor salaries. Moreover, these amounts need to be considered as ratios, since money coming in for any particular quarter is concurrently dispersed. An imperfect estimate with this data would suggest that for every three dollars that comes in as tuition, on dollar goes toward financial aid, one dollar for direct support costs, and one dollar for supporting departments in educating undergraduates. If the College suddenly lost 50 percent of its tuition income, that loss could directly affect current income for financial aid, service staff, or professors, assuming the current budget allocation process. And as the simple math above indicated, it’s unclear where the extra revenue would come from given the overall challenge of the situation. These challenges were confirmed in a email to staff, which did not directly address the Fair CONTINUED ON PG. 15
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“Advocacy must be grounded in economic reality.” CONTINUED FROM PG. 14
Tuition campaign, but separately announced a salary freeze for all faculty and staff, a partial hiring freeze, and other spending cuts— due to the existing economic and financial consequences from COVID-19. And these changes were announced expressly in part for the purpose of honoring and increasing financial support for the students who need it. The pandemic is incredibly painful for everyone. Many difficult choices will have to be made in the months ahead. I realize many students are likely struggling right now with the transition, both emo-
tionally and financially. Yet a universal tuition strike is not the solution. Because the campaign has not made clear what source the money needed to meet their demands will come from, their goals could generate unintended consequences, hurting the very people student activists purport to help. It is important to note the University now guarantees full tuition aid for families earning under $125,000. While the virus negatively affects everyone, its economic impacts are unequal and extremely bifurcated: Families dependent on hourly wages will suffer much more than those with
salaried earners making above $125,000. Allowing high-earners to continue to support those most impacted is even more important during a time of crisis. “Means testing,” the term invoked by UCFT, is a very pejorative way of framing progressive tuition rates. Advocacy is hard, and I deeply admire the students who have been standing up for their classmates. Other goals of their campaign are important: For instance, it is true that securing financial aid can be cumbersome and a lengthy process, especially for those who were only recently laid off due to COVID-19 disruptions. Student
advocates for the tuition strike have highlighted several heartbreaking examples of what some community members are going through, and raising this awareness is an undeniably important service. But that advocacy must be grounded in economic reality. There are other ways these challenges can be ameliorated for individuals and families in our community that are struggling, and the University should continue to explore support options that are more targeted. Reinstituting part-time status (as UCFT has already advocated), streamlining aid processes, or even providing tem-
porary stipends to compensate for lost on-campus wages are possible examples. I am sure there are even better solutions. The University has already taken many steps to help students through this crisis, which place us comparatively ahead of our peer institutions. They could of course do more. Additional direct support for students on financial aid is a good idea. Additional flexibility for all students is another good idea. Cutting tuition universally for the many students who can afford it is a bad one. Zarek Drozda graduated from the College in 2019.
Making the Best of It Don’t neglect small ways of improving quality of life at home. By MANYA BHARADWAJ As someone who loves to be surrounded by people, coping with isolation is one of the most difficult challenges I’ve faced. It’s stifling and tedious. Very often, the lack of social interaction is painfully miserable. It’s true that despite being physically isolated, there are many virtual ways to connect with people. When you’ve scrolled through every post on your feed, though, when your friends are all asleep because they live on the other side of the world, when you have nothing but thoughts of the coronavirus left to distract you—it’s easy to just feel low and alone. Distractions can only take you so far. But the need to stay home is going to last a while, and soon we’re going to need to find a way to live in quarantine—actually live. And in order to do that, this lifestyle desperately needs more of two things: structure and beauty. With regards to the first, Dr.
Stephanie Cacioppo, director of the Brain Dynamics Laboratory at UChicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine, advises that “a sense of control is essential for one’s sanity.” As someone who’s planned out almost every course I want to take in the next four years, I can definitely relate to that. Pandemics, however, aren’t conducive for control. We can’t control what happens in the world at large, and we can’t control most of what happens in our own lives. Uncertainty like this is terrifying, and it’s exactly why we need to focus on controlling all the little things that we can. Having to sleep during the day because of time differences, with mandatory 3 a.m. labs and midterms, I’ll confess that it’s been hard to find a semblance of the motivation I had on campus. But I’m trying to find a sense of structure by using a planner to make a stricter sleep and study schedule. As much as I often need to push myself to start working on something, keeping
my mind busy as much as possible has made it far more difficult to be bored. And knowing that there’s something that needs to be done gives me the incentive to get out of bed every evening. But there’s also a second effect of boredom—being stuck at home with not much to do other than schoolwork, the compulsive desire to add pretty, useless things to my online shopping cart gets stronger and stronger. And judging from my friends and posts I see online, I’m not alone. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a weakness for pretty things. I have a large collection of jewelry, much of which I won’t wear more than once a year—but I feel good when I do wear them. The week before orientation, I ordered a pink and rose gold filing set—I didn’t use it much, but it added significantly to my room aesthetic. Pretty things aren’t usually necessary, but they make life more worth living. Right now, some might consider such spending on
non-essential items unnecessary, and I can understand why, but consider: This is precisely the time to do it. In a time when all we can really think about is a deadly virus that is shutting down nations, we need to pay more attention to the little, unnecessary, frivolous things that make life better (and frivolity doesn’t have to mean spending money). We need more beauty around us to make up for the ugliness of the headlines that come out every day. The easiest way I can start accomplishing that is by how I get ready for class. With the luxury of taking classes at home, it’s tempting to wake up just before my first class and stay in bed with my video off, but I’m instead getting ready as I would for regular college, with a full outfit. It seems pointless. But when I’m well-dressed in pretty clothes, I feel better and more confident about myself. And like I said, during this chaos, we could use all the feel-good we can get. I’m
also fortunate enough to live in a house with very large outdoor spaces, and I’m trying to make the most of that by finding places to work that are surrounded by nature, because having a beautiful place that I look forward to being in might help me better enjoy studying. Despite everything, online classes cannot replace campus life. During lockdown, there are no quads, libraries, or other study spaces. There are no friends’ doors to knock on when you’re bored. There are no parties to help you de-stress on weekend nights. We didn’t expect to have our spring taken away, but self-isolation is how we’re trying to protect ourselves and the people we love. And so, we’re left to make the most of it while we wait for life to resume as normal. Until then, there isn’t much else we can do other than make this situation better by taking control where we can and trying to make life more beautiful—whatever helps us stay sane.
THE CHICAGO MAROON — APRIL 22, 2020
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Home Again? Leaving campus poses unique challenges for first-year students By NOAH TESFAYE A little over a year ago, I stepped onto UChicago’s campus for the first time. As an admitted student, I hadn’t ever thought that I could find a home at college so fast. Taking my first stroll through the quad was a moment that gave me excitement at the possibility that I could find a space that could once and for all be removed from my past, giving me a chance to define my own destiny. And if there is a position I could not anticipate being so complicated in these times, it is being a first-year during a pandemic. Fortunately, like many other first-years, UChicago presented me with the community that allowed me to grow and mature in a way that I did not know was possible in such a short time. Through classes, RSOs, and, most of all, the people, college became my home. Was it perfect? Of course not. It had its flaws— the pressure to always be working or seeking out future career paths—many of which I felt sometimes hindered my ability to take advantage of it at times. Yet, for all the flaws, I genuinely could not see myself anywhere else. Then, abruptly, our first year on campus came to an end. And within a week, an identity we were forming within our new home swiftly shifted. To be a first-year in this pandemic, without the same established relationship to this school as the rest of the students, is in many ways a blessing and a curse. And, as we all do our best to adjust to this new reality, I won’t deny that the challenges we all face coming to terms with it could define our first year as members of the UChicago community. Transitioning to life at home has come with its many challenges, things that I hadn’t anticipated dealing with so soon. To return to a life with nowhere near the same autonomy nor opportunities to do different activities or explore new spaces is difficult. But while I’ve felt boxed in at times, I’ve made strides to express my own growth and maturity in my house. Whether that’s reminding my family that I need my room back to study and wake up for Sosc at 7:30 in the morning, or that I have a club meeting so dinner may be pushed back, they understand that I have obligations that I need to maintain that existed before I
had to come back home. The mindset they instilled in me to put my education as my priority is, in many ways, what has allowed them to let me be the college student that I am, despite being at home amid a pandemic. Insofar as I’ve grown and matured by being a college student, I don’t necessarily feel as though I am not myself. I still have the same mannerisms my family recognizes, which my friends from home remember through FaceTime and Houseparty. Sure, I may have experiences from college that are completely detached from anything at home, but I make sure to be conscious of that in daily conversations. I don’t try to impose an attitude that I am better because I’ve gone to college and come back. While I may slip into political arguments like I do with friends at school, I reel in my sporadic thoughts and just take time to appreciate the fact that I’m at home with family and getting into unnecessary disagreements isn’t necessary. We aren’t far removed from high school, so living under our parents’ roofs for this extended period may not seem very far removed at all. Yet, as I’ve gotten adjusted to life at home, I can’t help but realize how short college really has been. Leaving for campus from California in September was just over six months ago. And in those six months, aside from the current situation, I had spent just three weeks away from Max P., the Reg, Harper, or anywhere else in Hyde Park. It goes without saying that I am grateful to be in the safe and comfortable space within my own home and be okay in these times when so many are truly fighting for their lives. It is with them in mind that I want to continue to carry a further sense of gratitude and awareness of my own privileges in attending a place like UChicago. Being a first-year in these times gives me the chance to be able to use these first months as a college student as a sort of test run. I know what has and hasn’t worked for me, and I can make adjustments in the future to make the most of the time I have left. Even though I acknowledge that this will be the final stamp of my time as a first-year, I remain optimistic that we can grow stronger together, better equipped to take on any other challenges we may face as we become upperclassmen in the future.
THE CHICAGO MAROON — APRIL 22, 2020
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ARTS Rockefeller Chapel Bells for When You’re Cooped Up at Home By GABBY BAYNESS Arts Reporter You might have heard the hourly chimes on campus, but the bells in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel play more than just the time. Ripple Effects is a collection of 17 tracks performed on the University’s carillon. Five of the tracks were recorded live at the Rockefeller Carillon New Music Festival in May 2018, and after two years of work with five different composers, a cellist, trombonist, and at least 18 carillonneurs, the album is a staple of the modern potential this medieval instrument has to offer. Ripple Effects was released by Joey Brink, the sixth University of Chicago Carillonneur, in collaboration with several composers, including Grammy winner Augusta Read Thomas. “This CD really represented a lot of ways to collaborate with other people,” Brink told The Ma-
roon. The album was put together in commemoration of the former Dean of the Chapel, Elizabeth Davenport. Thomas, the composer of the titular piece and UChicago professor, remarks in the album booklet: “The title Ripple Effects hopefully captures the potency and influence of Elizabeth’s magnificent life-force, efforts, leadership, and positive energy.” Davenport was celebrated for expanding the reach of Rockefeller beyond a purely religious embrace, pushing the boundaries of spirituality and engagement at the University of Chicago. Like Davenport’s impact on Rockefeller, Ripple Effects pushes the bounds of what people view the carillon to be capable of. Brink hopes for “the album to reach a non-UChicago audience,” and the carefully arranged pieces might just ring a bell for people of all music tastes. Something that makes Ripple Effects
so unique is that it is performed on the Rockefeller Carillon, the second-largest carillon instrument in the world. “My favorite thing about our instrument…is that the lowest, say, 20 bells—are so rich and so resonant and so powerful,” Brink described. “A lot of pieces on the CD have low note clusters on them…. They sound really good on our carillon, there is so much color, and I like them.” Brink explained that when designing the album, he wanted to “[collaborate] with more people and [get] as much variety as [he] could, not just with the type of music…but also the variety of performers in age and gender and life path.” The tracks tell stories about everything from the birth of Brink’s daughter to the birth of the atomic bomb. The pieces take inspiration from a series of French paintings, the destruction of Rockefeller Tower, and a song from an undergraduate carillonneur to her friend.
The album was recorded over several months after the festival. Four microphones were placed inside the tower to capture the detailed and nuanced notes of the smaller bells, and two microphones were placed outside of the tower to simulate the listener’s experience. “90 percent of the takes that we do are going to be interrupted by a bus or a siren,” Brink said. “It takes about an hour to record five minutes of music…. It’s really challenging.” But sometimes the sounds of the campus worked to the advantage of the album. “I really like having birds in the recordings.” The titular piece emulates the motion of a ripple, as a simple duet grows with the addition of more players. The final massive cluster chord brings together 18 musicians into a final and triumphant ring of all 72 bells in the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Carillon. The largest of the bells, Big Laura, weighs 18.5 tons and can vibrate for CONTINUED ON PG. 18
University of Chicago Carillonneur Joey Brink’s album Ripple Effects tells personal stories with Rockefeller Memorial Chapel’s bells . COURTESY HYDE PARK JAZZ FESTIVAL
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“90 percent of the takes that we do are going to be interrupted by a bus or a siren. It takes about an hour to record five minutes of music.” CONTINUED FROM PG. 18
up to 30 seconds; her ring can be heard from over a mile away, demonstrating that the carillon’s music resonates across the entire community surrounding the tower. “A real goal of mine in making the CD and getting it out there is to show that the carillon is a contemporary instrument… that is capable of playing all sorts of genres as a solo instrument, as a duet, or with 18 players,” Brink said. The CD includes
three tracks layered with electro-acoustic sounds as well as synthetic instrumental tracks, all of which were projected from the Rockefeller Tower, bringing a modern touch to a traditional instrument. The carillon is not only an instrument, but it is also a home to many musicians, including UChicago students. Brink explained: “Teaching the students and leading the guild is really the highlight of my experience as the University of Chicago
Carillonneur…That’s what I love most about my job.” Something designed as a solo instrument has become a beacon to students on campus and listeners in the Hyde Park area. As we’re away from campus, Rockefeller stays with us in the form of Ripple Effects. “Something nice about the album is that when you’re listening to it and you’re hearing the carillon and you’re hearing the outdoor noises of the birds and the
wind and insects and sometimes cars or honks…you’re hearing the soundscape of the campus, and it’s actually a nice thing,” Brink said. “It feels like you’re back on campus…and that’s my hope right now… that people can listen to it and feel like they’re still part of the UChicago community.” Ripple Effects is available for streaming on Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify.
Radio[24]: The Socially Distanced Theater[24] By GABI GARCIA Arts Reporter A terrified first-year, I wrote for Theater[24] during fall quarter and had the worst (and so far, only) all-nighter of my life. Nervous about disrupting my sleep schedule that badly again, I opted not to write winter quarter and was planning similarly for spring. But when we were all sent home and into the illusory abyss of unstructured time, I began to yearn for the sense of purpose that countless hours of academic toil had once instilled in me. So when my friend texted me two weeks ago, I reluctantly agreed to write with him for Radio[24], the socially-distanced adaptation of Theater[24]. Writing for Theater[24] is a grueling affair: You’re brought to a secret location by a festival curator, left there from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next day, and expected to have produced one act in that time period. Given that it’s a Friday night, you’re sleep deprived, and you’re already running on fumes, the night becomes a caffeine-fueled fever dream in which you’re not quite sure what time it is or whether you’re actually awake. By the time the clock strikes 8 a.m., you’re ready to sleep for a month, but instead you head over to the brief production meeting and read-through that follow. Knowing this, I was more than a little nervous about Radio[24]. Would I be forced to stay awake for 24 hours in my childhood bedroom? Would I have to be
on a Zoom call for 12 consecutive hours? Would I have the same or similar opportunities for collaboration that come from being in a room full of sleep-deprived writers? I didn’t trust my post-all-nighter brain to remember everything, so I kept a timeline of what I was doing throughout the night of Radio[24]: 6:30 p.m.: I join the Zoom company meeting to meet everyone involved with this cycle of the festival. 7 p.m.: We receive our themes. This time, the curators have selected seven Bath & Body Works fragrances for the writers to take inspiration from. My friend Liam and I are given “Juniper Coriander” while other writing teams get scents like “Mahogany Teakwood High Intensity,” and “Endless Weekend.” After the meeting ends, Liam and I begin to throw ideas at each other. He pitches buddy cops, I pitch old people. He pitches strippers, I pitch vegans. We decide to write about old undercover cops at a gerontophilic vegan strip club. 9 p.m.: First writer meeting takes place (these occur every two hours throughout the night). Everyone outlines their plays—we hear about vampires, Starbucks, Econ Bros™, wishes gone wrong, and more. Our strip club idea gets some laughs. 11 p.m.: Second writer meeting takes place. Liam and I have a couple pages of our script written. Cameron, one of the curators, organizes us into breakout rooms so we can discuss our progress.
I talk with fellow writers Kenjiro and Livia, while Cameron guides our conversation. 11:20 p.m.: My breakout session goes longer than Liam’s, so I come back to a couple new pages of script. I review what Liam’s added, and we keep writing. 1 a.m.: Third writer meeting. Not everyone’s here, since these plays are shorter than traditional Theater[24] plays, and people are finishing faster. We move into breakout rooms, and this time I talk with Liam, Belen, and Molly. Despite my caffeine dosage, I’m too tired to remember much, but I recall talking about vacation cults and Econ Bros™ at some point. Our horrible innuendos get some laughs as well. Liam and I decide over Messenger that our draft is complete! 1:20 a.m.: Liam is visibly exhausted (it’s 2:20 a.m. his time), and we’ve finished reviewing our script to ensure our old people sound old enough. We remove our goofy Zoom backgrounds, thank each other for working together well, and head to bed. Our next meeting is at 8:15 a.m.—we’re not looking forward to waking up for it. 2:13 a.m.: I head to bed, reading some Jean Anouilh to cool off my over-caffeinated brain. 8 a.m.: I regretfully get out of bed for an 8:15 a.m. company meeting. 8:13 a.m.: I join the full-company Zoom meeting. I’m one of the first people there, but I’m definitely not the only drowsy writer. Cameron leads us through
logistics as people trickle in. 8:16 a.m.: I’m split into a breakout room with our group’s producer, Rohan. 8:30 a.m.: Actors, sound designers, and Liam trickle into our breakout room. 8:40 a.m.: Everyone’s here, and we’ve decided to do a quick read through so Liam and I can go back to sleep. 8:58 a.m.: Liam and I are dismissed, and I head back to bed. 2:04 p.m.: I wake up and start my day. At this point, it’s a waiting game. 8:02 p.m.: Showtime! Right before the livestream starts, I’m informed that we’re the closing show. Throughout the night, we timed the play, tried out our old people voices, complained about radio formatting on Google Docs, and just had a good time. We were laughing so hard we couldn’t speak most of the time—indicative of either a solid play or two very, very tired writers. Radio[24] was glorious: All of the plays turned out remarkably well, considering the 24-hour time period in which they were created. I hope this festival continues as an addendum to or separate form of Theater[24], as it creates opportunities for more people than just writers, directors, and actors. Additionally, writing for radio was fun. As much as Liam and I griped about the formatting, learning to write for radio was a great learning and creative experience. If you missed the festival, you can hear my play (Very Legal: The City’s Finest Spice Racks) and all of the others on the Theater[24] YouTube channel.
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SPORTS
Maya De Jonge: Leaving a Legacy By ALI SHEEHY Sports Reporter
When Maya De Jonge first arrived at UChicago, her mom left her with two pieces of advice: “One, explore—explore people, classes, and experiences as much as you can. Two, trust yourself—trust yourself to have that hard conversation, to make that tough decision, or to stray from the norm.” As a first-year, she was excited about the new opportunities and challenges to come, but at that time she did not know that one of those new experiences would be to help found and lead the University of Chicago’s women’s varsity lacrosse team in their first two seasons. Throughout her time here, De Jonge proved to be an integral part of the team. Her positivity and kindness will always be remembered. But most importantly, her leadership of a new program has cemented her legacy, and the team will continue to build on the example she has set. It is one of the things that comes to the mind of head coach Kate Robinson. “Maya has brought so many things to our program, but what
I will miss most was her leadership of our young team. Even before we officially started at the varsity level, she hosted many of our current sophomore class when they were being recruited. Since then, she has been a captain and has been a great representative of the team. Her leadership was a big reason why we saw success in the past two years.” During her career, the Maroons won a total of 18 out of their 21 games. Her leadership not only led to success on the field but also off the field in supporting her fellow teammates with issues related to school or lacrosse. According to teammate second-year Jordan Coan, “She is one of the best examples of a student-athlete at this school. Whether it was walking from the locker room, helping me pace for the mile, or hosting pasta parties before games, she has never failed to be there for me on and off the field.” Looking back on her time at UChicago, De Jonge is proud of what she has been able to accomplish both as a student and athlete, always keeping in mind what her mom told her four years ago. In her own words, “This school
was such a unique opportunity for me, both academically and athletically, and I think as I continue to reflect on my career here, I will just remember and be grateful for all the wonderfully challenging experiences I had and the relationships I was able to build with my friends, teammates, coaches, and professors.” Although her final season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact that she has had on the program is immense, and her legacy will continue on after she graduates and pursues a career in medicine. Those that have had the honor to have been able to play alongside or coach her sum up their emotions in one word: grateful. Grateful for the opportunity to work with such a caring and inspiring person. Coan wished to say: “Thank you for always being there for me whether that is for advice, encouragement or a hug. Thank you for being the first person I call when something is wrong and my first role model at UChicago.” Robinson expressed a similar sentiment. “She is going to make the world a better place and I feel lucky that she was part of our lacrosse program.”
Fourth year Maya De Jonge COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS
A Season without an Ending By ALISON GILL Sports Editor
Second-year wrestler Ben Sarasin found out while watching ESPN. Fourth-year thrower Alexander Scott woke up from a nap to an update on his phone. Fourth-year pentathlete Laura Darcey and second-year jumper Isabel Maletich heard from head coach Chris Hall after a pre-meet practice. No matter the delivery, the message was the same: All NCAA championships were cancelled. With the tournaments so close—the next day—many athletes and coaches had clung to the hope that the championships could continue, even as news of other businesses, leagues, and universities shutting down rolled in. “It was the day before the
tournament…. Our coaches had just gotten back from a meeting at the venue, where the tournament director had told them that the tournament was definitely still going to happen,” Sarasin recalled. “That morning we had started seeing news about things shutting down and schools moving online…. Honestly, it felt inevitable at that point, but I was still holding out hope that they would let us compete,” Darcy said. Confronted with the unprecedented cancellation of winter sport championships, a mix of confusion, disbelief, and devastation ensued. The members of the track team “were all a little confused because we already practiced at the facility with almost every team…. We thought that since we were all there and had already been exposed, we
should just compete,” according to Maletich. The team knew that their outdoor season was cancelled, so for seniors, like Scott, “I was comforted only by the fact that I had one more shot—pun intended—so when we found out the indoor championship was cancelled as well, I was devastated. We were a day away.” Darcy’s parents had flown in from London to attend the meet, and so she focused on just “trying to hold it together until I saw them.” The track team was slated to remain in North Carolina for the next several days and soon turned from the disappointment of the ending to making their last few days together memorable. Sarasin described a “disbelief—the whole situation was so surreal. Now everything seems a little more normal since we’ve been living this reality for over a month now, but
at the time it was all so unprecedented and shocking.” Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, where the championships were being held, he was able to go directly to his parents’ house while the team headed back to Chicago. “I remember going to sleep that night in my old bed, knowing I was supposed to be wrestling at nationals the next day, feeling like I was living in some sort of dream,” he says. Losing the chance to compete for a national championship—a chance that so few athletes realize—was “heart-breaking,” in Darcy’s words. Darcy was the top seed in the pentathlon and the third seed in the high jump, an event in which she placed second in the 2019 outdoor championship. Earlier this year, she had made history with the CONTINUED ON PG. 20
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third-best pentathlon performance in DIII history, and she was a heavy favorite to claim the national title at the indoor meet. Winning that elusive championship was, Darcy said, “all I thought about for the last year,” and “finishing my college career without a national title under my belt really hurt.” She described her four-year plan: qualify for nationals, become an All-American, finish in the top three, and win it all her fourth year. While she will never get the chance to accomplish that last goal, Darcy said, “In my mind I still executed that plan.” Since the cancellation, Darcy has been named the DIII USTFCCCA Women’s Field Athlete of the Year, and she plans to return home to England to compete post-graduation. The defending national champion in the long jump and the top seed in that event and the triple jump, Maletich said, “What is so hard about losing this opportunity is that you never really know what will happen in the future, especially with athletics” given changing competition and injuries. She knows that, unlike Darcy, she will get another shot to compete for UChicago, and this situation “will serve as encouragement next year to work harder and perform better.” Sarasin, too, recognized the keen loss of championship competition. After an All-American finish last season, he was the favorite in his weight class, coming off an incredible year in which he went 26–3. “In wrestling, the other competitions in the year matter, but they also really don’t. Everything is more so practice for what is really important—the national championship,” Sarasin described. For the underclassmen who will get the opportunity to compete again, the cancellation just reminded them to appreciate those opportunities. It becomes easy for college athletes to take a sport they have been playing for their whole life for granted. “Looking ahead, I realized I only have a couple years left; you can’t really go around and wrestle after college very easily. The abrupt end to the season made this even more jarring,” Sarasin said. He added that he feels more for his fourth-year teammate Steve Bonsall, who had to “[end] his career with a big question mark.” Maletich, too, emphasized the gratitude
that the situation has lent: “Track has been a part of my life since I was 13 years old and I have trouble picturing my life without it. Having the season end so soon makes me miss the sport more than I ever could have imagined.” The 2020 season will most likely be remembered for its dramatic ending—or lack thereof—but athletes have been forced to find solace in the entirety of the season, rather than just its cancellation. Sarasin will remember the season “very fondly,” especially the UAA Championships in New York City and the senior leadership and character that first brought him to UChicago. Maletich de-
scribed the season as a “whirlwind,” notable for the talented team and the memories made, while Scott called it “a slight hiccup.” Darcy stressed that the ending “doesn’t detract from everything my team and I achieved,” a point that Sarasin echoed. “Just because I didn’t get to take home a shiny medal didn’t mean the work I put in doesn’t have value,” he said. “The journey is the goal, right? We lost the opportunity to compete and show it off—that takes nothing away from all of our hard work,” Scott said. Life has had to go on, though, as it has for everyone in this global pandemic. Achieving a sense of closure has been a process, a gradual
Fourth year field athlete Alex Scott. COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS
reckoning of all that has been lost. “I’ve definitely had my closure. The world turned upside down, and right now I just feel fortunate to have stability and health,” Sarasin said. Spending the time with family and reflecting on the past season has provided Maletich with closure on her season, and she has learned that she is more resilient than previously thought. “With everything feeling backwards and abnormal, it is comforting to know that I can still handle myself and find my way in this new normal,” she said. A consummate planner, Darcy has focused on “staying in the moment, and taking every day as it comes…. I have learnt that things don’t always go as planned, and sometimes there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.” A public-policy major with a human-rights minor, she has thought a lot about her fortune with her safety, her health, and her finances. Ultimately, the athletes agree that, for all the disappointment in the moment, the cancellation was the right decision. “In the subsequent days, everything going on seemed to accelerate rapidly, and it became incredibly clear that this was all about much more than sports…. My opportunity to compete pales in comparison to the safety and health of my family and community,” Sarasin said. Scott put it in plain terms: “While the initial reaction was all ‘woe is me,’ if just one more person had died because we chose to carry on competing, it would not have been worth it.” For now, the athletes have continued to stay connected to sport, using it as an outlet for social interaction and a distraction from the worldwide uncertainty. Darcy has continued to exercise as normal, using track “as a way to ground” herself, and discovered familiar comfort in working toward a longterm goal. Sarasin is eager to get back on the mat once everybody is healthy again. From home workout sessions and Zoom dance classes to watching reruns of past football games, Maletich considers athletics a connector and distraction that “is truly needed” in a time like this. Scott applies the lessons of athletics with even greater urgency to the current crisis: “Training for a sport is all about sacrificing the present to succeed in the future. We are sacrificing now.”