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NEWS: UCPD Union Alleges Wage Discrepancies, Bad Faith Bargaining

MAY 2, 2024

SEVENTH WEEK VOL. 136, ISSUE 15

Pro-Palestine Protesters Launch Encampment on Main Quad

A man attempted to film encampment members while they were praying and was met with participants’ flags and blankets, Tuesday, April 30. finn hartnett.

NEWS: Three Students Robbed Near Campus, Blue Light Near Incident Broken PAGE 7

GREY: Yours for Food

Protesters hang signs on a wall constructed inside the encampment, Monday, April 29. nathaniel rodwell-simon .

VIEWPOINTS: The Preventable Death of Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero

Follow daily coverage, including live updates and photo stories, of the encampment on our website: https://chicagomaroon.com/

Pro-Palestinian protesters’ encampment, Monday, April 29. nathaniel rodwell-simon

Pro-Palestine Protesters Launch Encampment on Main Quad

By MAROON STAFF

UChicago United for Palestine (UCUP) launched an encampment on the main quad the morning of Monday, April 29. Around 100 protesters set up roughly 20 tents outside of Swift Hall at 10 a.m. As of Tuesday night, the number of tents has increased to roughly 40.

UCUP has named their encampment the “UChicago Popular University for Gaza.” Protesters set up tents and demanded that the University disclose its investments, divest from weapon manufacturers and fossil fuel companies, and provide reparations to Palestine and the South Side.

The move comes as protesters have set up similar encampments at universities such as Columbia, Harvard, U.C. Berkeley, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

University President Paul Alivisatos and Dean of Students Michele Rasmus -

sen sent emails that said the demonstration violated the University’s policies while emphasizing the University’s commitment to free speech. UChicago United for Palestine (UCUP) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Chicago responded that they will “continue to disrupt business as usual” until UChicago meets the demonstrators’ demands.

UCPD officers and safety ambassadors were present at the event and did not intervene in the setting up of the encampment. Legal observers from the National Lawyers Guild were also in attendance.

Other universities have taken varying approaches toward encampments. Across nearly 20 universities, administrators have attempted to clear out protests by imposing ID restrictions on certain campus areas, arresting protesters, and utilizing “chemical ir -

ritants” to dispel crowds.

UCUP, formerly UChicago United, formed in 2017 as a coalition of different student activist groups, including SJP at UChicago, Environmental Justice Task Force, UChicago Against Displacement, and Care Not Cops.

The first day of the encampment, which included a rally, prayers, and teach-ins, was marked by moments of tension. An online streamer moved around the encampment, attempting to film protesters, including those praying. In the evening, Maroons for Israel rehung Israeli flags, which had been approved by University Student Centers, that had been taken down by unidentified individuals.

Leading up to the encampment this past Friday, UCUP organized a rally in front of Levi Hall and a subsequent march to locations on campus such as the Crown Family School of Social Work, the Law School, the Rubenstein Forum, and the Harris School of Public

Policy. During the rally, the coalition raised demands towards the University including disclosure of its investments, divestment from weapons manufacturers and fossil fuel companies, and reparations for residents of the South Side.

The University has long maintained that divestment would violate its stance against taking positions on social and political issues, as articulated in the Kalven Report.

In November, the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) arrested 28 protesters with UCUP who were engaged in a sit-in inside Rosenwald Hall. All charges were later dropped.

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Demonstrators paint banners outside of Swift Hall, Monday, April 29. nathaniel

Individuals affiliated with Maroons for Israel rehang a sign reading “Let Our People Go” on a lamppost in the quad, Tuesday, April 30. nathaniel rodwell-simon

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University Administrators Respond to Pro-Palestine Encampment

By KAYLA RUBENSTEIN | Co-Editor-in-Chief and AMY MA | Senior News Reporter

University President Paul Alivisatos addressed the UChicago United for Palestine (UCUP) encampment that assembled on the Main Quad this morning in an email sent to members of the University community. His message, sent on Monday afternoon about five hours after the encampment’s implementation, was followed by another email from Dean of Students Michele Rasmussen. She further expressed the administration’s concern over the protesters’ methods, which violate University policy.

President Alivisatos began by reaffirming the University’s commitment to free expression as a “core animating value.” He emphasized that the University operates on a principle of viewpoint neutrality, meaning that no discrimination based on viewpoints will occur in handling the protests.

However, Alivisatos underscored that the administration holds the right to intervene should protests disrupt learning, compromise safety, or hinder the University’s operations. According to Alivisatos,

the current encampment on the Main Quad “clearly violates policies against building structures on campus without prior approval and against overnight sleeping on campus.” While the administration may temporarily tolerate the encampment due to “the importance of the expressive rights,” he warned that continued protests could cause the administration to “act to preserve the essential functioning of the campus.”

In particular, Alivisatos emphasized that violence or harassment towards individuals or groups will not be tolerated and that prolonged encampments lead to greater “disruptions.” Should the effects of these “disruptions” accumulate, the protesters may be met with disciplinary consequences.

Alivisatos referenced two previous incidents to illustrate the University’s approach to handling protests. A previous installation in January involving a large Palestinian flag was permitted as it was seen as an exercise of free expression and did not disrupt uni-

versity operations. In contrast, a student occupation of Rosenwald Hall in November was met with arrests and disciplinary action because it constituted a “clear disruption of the learning of others and of the normal functioning of the University.”

“In short, when expression becomes disruption, we act decisively to protect the learning environment of students and the functioning of the University against genuinely disruptive protesters,” Alivisatos wrote.

Alivisatos encouraged protesters to find alternative methods of expression that do not disrupt the functioning of the University or compromise the safety of others. “I believe the protesters should also consider that an encampment…is a way of using force of a kind rather than reason to persuade others,” Alivisatos wrote. He also noted the potential necessity to redirect police resources from broader public safety due to the encampment.

In a follow-up email, Rasmussen reiterated the administration’s disapproval of the encampment. According to Rasmussen, setting up tents without prior approval

constituted a violation of University policies that “will result in disciplinary action.” Rasmussen stated that the University has issued warnings to the protesters, making it clear that continued violation of University policies regarding the “time, place, and manner” of protests could lead to disciplinary action. Deans-on-Call, Safety Ambassadors, and officers from the University of Chicago Police Department are also onsite to ensure public safety.

In a statement posted on their Instagram, UCUP responded to specific points in the email. “We have [protested in manners approved by University policies] time and time again: Rallies, teach-ins, flyering, and marches. And yet, the University continues to ignore our demands and refuse transparency of their investments,” the statement read. “It seems that UChicago only allows protests it can ignore.”

The statement also underscored the organization’s mission. “We will not stand by and attempt to ‘persuade’ the University to stop supporting the genocide. We will not stop, we will to rest until admin meets our demands.”

Three UCPD officers kept watch as the encampment grew on Monday morning. eric fang

UCPD officers walk through the encampment early Monday afternoon. nathaniel rodwell-simon

UCPD Officers Union Alleges Wage Discrepancies and Bad Faith

Bargaining for a New Collective Bargaining Agreement

By ELENA EISENSTADT | News Reporter

Recently retired University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) officer Gordon Dameron suspected something was wrong with his wages around 2015; he was making the same amount as officers who had served for far fewer years than he had. He couldn’t fully determine what the issue was until Officer Victor Vazquez, president of Police Benevolent and Protective Association of Illinois, Local 185— UCPD officers union—informed him that he had been missing his longevity raises since 2017.

According to documentation that Dameron showed the Maroon, the University originally confirmed on April 6, 2023 that he was owed $25,166.08 in retroactive payments to make up for the missed raises.

When he actually received the retroactive payment on June 11, 2023, it was only $16,250.

Dameron’s case was part of a widespread issue in which numerous officers were paid incorrect wages over the course of several years, union representatives President Vazquez, Vice President Alexander Donner, and Treasurer Joseph Augustyn informed the Maroon. Twelve officers were being underpaid and an unconfirmed number were being overpaid; some of the cases dated back more than a decade. Although the union reports that the University has spent more than $120,000 paying back officers over the past year, they also claim that the University owes officers significantly more money. The University has not commented on the issue of wage discrepancies or how they originated, nor did they comment on cases involving individual officers due to privacy concerns.

Dameron retired in March 2024 after serving 23 years as a police officer and 18 years at UCPD.

“I was a pretty dedicated officer. And I spent a lot of years… doing the job to the best of my ability,” he told the Maroon in an interview.

He expressed disappointment in the way things ended and said the University never gave him a full explanation of why

these discrepancies occurred in the first place or what they planned to do to avoid these situations in the future.

“If [Vazquez] didn’t come across this issue, there’s a very strong possibility that none of us would have known anything about [it],” Dameron said.

According to union representatives, the wage discrepancies began to unfold in November 2022, just after the union and the University first became embroiled in contract negotiations in August 2022 to modify its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that expired in April 2023. The negotiations have amounted to the union filing a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case against the University alleging bad faith bargaining.

However, the University maintains that it “is bargaining in good faith with the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) police officers’ union, the Illinois Police Benevolent and Protective Association (PB&PA). We greatly value the work of UCPD officers in service to our community and have built constructive relationships with the union’s leadership for a number of years,” according to a written statement by a University spokesperson to the Maroon

Amid preparations for negotiations, Vazquez discovered pay discrepancies in officers’ salaries arising from missed longevity or annual increases. Longevity raises add to an officer’s base hourly salary according to the number of years they have spent working for the department.

The union returned to the issue of negotiating a new contract in May 2023 and negotiations are ongoing as of April 26 this year. In March 2024, the officers’ union filed a report with the NLRB accusing the University of participating in surface bargaining and direct dealing on a newly proposed step wage system and Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs). Surface bargaining alleges that the University is negotiating with the union without intention to achieve a collective deal, while direct dealing alleges that the University has bypassed Union negotiators to deal directly with individual officers. Yet

this isn’t the first time the officers’ union CBA negotiations with the University have been held up due to wage disagreements.

According to the union, the University explained that their shifting contract proposals this February came as a result of sudden financial pressures. This explanation has left the union perplexed, as they assumed the University had been aware of growing financial pressure since last fall.

Alongside the University’s ongoing financial pressures, 2024 has been a busy year for university-affiliated unions. In March, the university nurses’ union ratified a new contract with the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCM), prompting the union to call off their previously announced plans to strike. In April, the Graduate Students United (GSU) ratified their first-ever contract with the University after indicating “willingness to strike.”

“Over many decades, the University has built productive relationships with numerous unions, including the Illinois PB&PA, and unions currently represent more than 4,000 employees at the University,” a University spokesperson wrote to the Maroon

UCPD’s officers are contractually prohibited from striking “or interference with the University’s functions or operations, regardless of the reason,” according to the UCPD officers union’s most recent CBA. The union opposes police strikes because they believe a strike would threaten public safety. Although their commitment to these principles remains strong, pay discrepancies and heated contract negotiations have heightened tensions between the University and the union.

“We are truly dedicated to doing our jobs and it means a lot to many of us that we keep the UC community safe. As police officers our nature is to protect and serve. It’s ingrained in us,” Vazquez wrote in a statement to the Maroon

However, the union representatives have raised concerns that wage discrepancies, coupled with ongoing contract negotiations, are “creating a lot of morale issues. Because of these morale issues many officers are starting to look at leaving to

other departments, which is good for no one,” Vazquez wrote.

Wage Discrepancies

Vazquez first discovered discrepancies in officer wages in November 2022. While the union was still awaiting a formal response to its intent to modify its CBA, Vazquez began planning for the union’s proposal for officer salary increases in the new contract. For due diligence, Vazquez looked at other local departments’ average salaries, comparing them with payroll printouts he had requested from the University for all officers in the union.

He expected union officers with the same number of years of service to have equivalent salaries but discovered that officers who should have had equivalent salaries were making significantly different amounts.

Vazquez found that the University had not paid certain officers their longevity raises or had paid officers longevity raises at incorrect times. For some officers, the pay discrepancies had begun five years prior, while others had been affected for longer, with the longest wage discrepancy going back 15 years. Vazquez would go on to find 12 officers who had been underpaid due to withheld longevity raises, estimating that the amount the University owed officers was “a six-figure problem,” he wrote to the Maroon.

According to the most recent CBA, officers are supposed to receive longevity raises of $1 hourly after two years at the department, $2 hourly after three years, $1 hourly after years six, nine, and 12 years, and then a $1 hourly raise every three years after 15 years of service.

In addition to longevity increases, all officers regardless of seniority received general COLA increases to their hourly pay rate under the most recent CBA. In July 2018 and 2022, officers received a general increase of 3.0 percent, while they received a 2.75 percent increase in July 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Vazquez resolved to bring his concerns to the University. On November 17, 2022 he alerted the UChicago Employee and Labor Relations office of the first pay

“Everyone deserves a fair wage... everyone deserves to be paid fairly in accordance with what you agreed with them.”

2018-23 CBA section on general and longevity increases. courtesy of ucpd officers union

CONTINUED FROM PG. 5

discrepancies, and that he would continue to direct them to more pay discrepancy issues for individual officers in the coming weeks.

Each time Vazquez alerted the University to a new issue, he calculated estimates for what he believed the University owed individual officers.

“[I was] putting in hours; it was like a part time job,” Vazquez said. His responsibilities as union president include filing grievances when the contract is violated, but not doing audits on the University’s payroll. The union is represented by a lawyer who represents multiple unions but is not responsible for audits.

Vazquez said that the University’s responses to his pay discrepancy alerts were infrequent, and that the University told him they were looking into the issues. The University did not comment on these initial responses.

At the same time, Vazquez also began alerting officers to the issues he was discovering with longevity increases. The officers wanted answers.

“I have to remain persistent because the officers involved keep contacting me for answers. So now I have a ton of people contacting me like hey, what’s going on with my money? It’s a lot of money,” Vazquez said. He wanted to remain polite with the University but felt that he need-

ed to continue reminding them about the discrepancies and inquiring about how they planned to move forward.

According to the union representatives, the University acknowledged that some officers were being overpaid on December 19, 2022, but did not mention whether officers had been underpaid. The union was aware of these cases, as they had already reported overpayment wage discrepancies to the University. According to the union representatives, the issue of overpay occurred because some officers had received their third year $2 longevity increase during their second year, when they were only meant to receive a $1 increase during that year.

Union representatives were concerned that the University only responded to the issue of overpayment, when, by their calculations, the majority of pay discrepancy cases were due to underpayment of officers. Vazquez estimated that the majority of the overpay discrepancies were each less than $2,000 because they had begun relatively recently, whereas many of the issues of underpay had been ongoing for years.

Vazquez said the pay discrepancies were causing stress and a “lowered morale” within unionized officers. “It created a lot of discontent [and] some trust issues, because it’s like, you know, everyone deserves a fair wage. But then

also everyone deserves to be paid fairly in accordance with what you agreed with them,” Vazquez said.

On February 1, 2023, Vazquez filed an official grievance about the collective pay discrepancies. In accordance with union policy, he first submitted it to the Police Chief Kyle Bowman. The grievance remained unsettled after this step, so he appealed it to the University’s Employee and Labor Relations office where it has been held since, according to Vazquez.

In the grievance, the union reported that 11 officers had been underpaid. Of the 11 officers, five had been underpaid over a short period of time, meaning the union reported that the money the University owed them amounted to less than $2,000. Six of the officers represented in the grievance had more severe cases, and the union reported they had been underpaid thousands of dollars since, or even prior to, 2017.

In the year after filing the grievance, union representatives have worked with the University to issue retroactive payments. During this time, the University and the union had several disagreements about how much money the University owed underpaid officers. These cases led to concerns among the representatives that the University was making miscalculations in determining retroactive payment or not being fully transparent about how they were calculating owed wages.

In one case, the University first only acknowledged that an officer had been overpaid. However, the union argued that, while he had been overpaid for a period of time, he had first been underpaid from missed longevity increases. Since he was underpaid longer than overpaid, the union explained that he was still owed money. The conversations around this particular case started in March 2023. Six months later, according to union representatives, the University paid this same officer a retroactive payment, acknowledging that the officer had been underpaid.

Despite the low morale and skepticism within the union about the fairness of the retroactive payment calculations, union representatives and officers affected by

the discrepancies stress that officers have remained dedicated to their work.

The Maroon spoke to one officer who was not included in the original pay discrepancy grievance because he had left the department in good standing in 2022, but he estimated the University owes him $15,000 after missing his longevity raises since 2017. The union has since filed a grievance on his behalf.

However, according to union representatives, the Employee and Labor Relations office denied the claim, citing a one-year limitation for appealing for retroactive compensation under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act.

This former officer stressed that despite officers being disappointed by the pay discrepancies, he believes that all currently serving officers will continue doing their job to the fullest. “Would I be motivated? I’ll be a little bit less motivated, honestly. But it wouldn’t stop me from just doing my job and showing up,” the officer said.

Contract Negotiations

Although the union initially notified the Employee and Labor Relations office in August 2022 of their plans to negotiate a new CBA, the union explained that the University delayed the process because UCPD sergeants had formed a union: the Employee and Labor Relations office had informed them it did not have the capacity to negotiate with the officers’ union before finishing CBA negotiations with the sergeants union.

On May 26, 2023, the union and the University had their first meeting to begin negotiations to modify the CBA. Deven Swanigan, Employee and Labor Relations office Senior Consultant, was the lead negotiator present at all meetings. At this meeting, the two parties agreed to ground rules for negotiating in good faith.

After two meetings in which the University presented proposals for economic and non-economic items in the contract, the union presented a new wage proposal on August 15. According to union representatives, a step plan would replace the old system of longevity increases. The

“We’re held to a very high standard... the University just needs to operate in the same way.”

CONTINUED FROM PG. 6

union proposed that each step represented a specific hourly wage which would increase annually. Officers would begin at the step corresponding to their years of experience at UCPD.

According to Vazquez, replacing longevity increases with the step plan would give officers the opportunity to earn more money earlier on in their career as UCPD officers, incentivizing more people to join the department. In addition to the step plan, the union proposed an annual 2.5 percent COLA for the duration of the new CBA, which would expire in 2026.

On October 9, according to union representatives, the University confirmed its approval of the new wages in writing.

In November, per University request, union Treasurer Augustyn put together a comprehensive wage list. On January 10, 2024, the union said it received a new offer from the University, which was comparable to the union’s August 15, 2023, proposal. The union representatives expressed acceptance of the deal—they felt it was fair. On January 14, Vazquez notified the University that the union would be willing to accept the proposal.

On January 17, the union and the University had a meeting scheduled to make a tentative agreement on all non-economic items in the proposal. The union representatives recalled that the union made some non-economic concessions in the meeting, with the understanding that the next week they would turn to tentative

agreements on the economic proposals, including wages.

After the January 17 meeting, union representatives reported that the University began raising questions about how a step plan would work together with the COLAs, prompting the union to explain the proposed system once again. Still, at the next meeting on January 24, the union representatives recalled that the University negotiators offered contradictory proposals on how the step plan and COLAs would work in the new CBA.

The union representatives first recalled that, in the University’s understanding, officers’ wages would be fixed in the “step” that aligned with their years of service once the new contract was ratified, and no officer would continue to the next step while the contract was in place. The only annual salary increases would come in the form of COLAs. However, the union argued that step plans generally did not entail fixed steps, but instead would entail officers progressing to a new step—a higher hourly rate—on an annual basis within the contracted period.

Later in the same meeting, the union representatives said they heard a different account of the proposed system: the University acknowledged that there would be annual longevity progression along steps, but no annual COLAs. This proposal caught the union representatives by surprise—it was the first time they had heard of a proposal that omitted COLAs. They requested that the Universi-

ty send them a formal proposal to review.

Despite these requests, the representatives said they never received a formal copy of the proposal and instead were only shown one on-screen at a virtual negotiation meeting on February 8. In this proposal, union representatives recall that the University removed all COLAs and froze the step plan, meaning no officer would receive wage increases until salary renegotiations after the new CBA would expire in 2026.

The union representatives report that the University told them that the shifting proposals came as a result of sudden financial pressures. The representatives expressed skepticism about this response. They said the University had been aware of its financial pressures dating back to the fall, when the University began sharing information with faculty and staff about plans to address its growing budget deficit. The University has not commented on the issue or cause of the shifting proposals.

After the February 8 meeting, union representatives reported that the University modified the proposal twice. First, to include 2 percent COLAs for 2025 and 2026, without including raises for the first two years of the contract. In the second modification, the University added a one-time $1,500 bonus in 2024 for all officers. The union maintains that all three proposals are “regressive,” offering significantly lower increases than the offer the University had originally proposed

on January 10.

On March 8, the union filed a case with the NLRB, accusing the University of “refusal to Bargain [and] Bad Faith Bargaining, including surface bargaining and direct dealing,” according to the NLRB website. The union’s attorney and the University’s Employee and Labor Relations office have contacted federal mediators to set up negotiation sessions in May.

“Both parties agreed to utilize the services of a federal mediator to help reach mutually agreeable terms for a successor collective bargaining agreement. We look forward to working constructively on a renewed contract and are confident we will arrive at an agreement that will benefit UCPD officers and serve the University community,” a University spokesperson wrote to the Maroon

The union is committed to resolving the contract negotiations and getting “the contract they originally offered us and that we agreed to… so we can keep as many of our best officers as possible,” Vazquez wrote in a statement to the Maroon

In future negotiations, the union representatives are hoping for more support and fair communication from the University.

“We’re held to a very high standard: [the University] expects us to operate with the utmost honesty and integrity. And the University just needs to operate in the same way,” Vazquez said.

Three Students Robbed Near Campus, Blue Light Near Incident Broken

By GABRIEL KRAEMER | Senior News Reporter

Three students were robbed at gunpoint in two separate incidents on the afternoon of April 17 on and near the University’s campus. In one of the incidents, an emergency blue light box located nearby to be used to contact emergency services was inoperable and had been since

at least September 2023.

After the robberies, the University sent an update on safety measures it was taking in response.

Four armed individuals approached two University students at around 2:50 p.m. One student was on the sidewalk

outside Bartlett Dining Commons on South University Avenue. The other student was across the street from Bartlett outside the Psi Upsilon fraternity house on 5639 South University Avenue, according to a security alert sent to students by Eric Heath, the vice president for safety and security. The suspects “took property from the victims” before

fleeing the scene in a four-door black Infiniti, the email said. The victim outside Psi Upsilon resisted the armed individual who approached her and grabbed the magazine out of his gun before the individual retreated to a waiting car.

Five minutes later, two armed individuals approached a single University

A pair of students attempted to use the box in September but could not connect to emergency services.

CONTINUED FROM PG. 7

student on East 56th Street between South Kenwood and South Dorchester Avenues, about three blocks east of Max Palevsky Residential Commons. The suspects fled with some of the student’s property in an unidentified four-door black vehicle, according to the email.

An emergency blue light box located at the corner of East 56th Street and South Dorchester Avenue, near where the second robbery took place, has been broken since at least September. A pair of students attempted to use the box in September but could not connect to emergency services, the Maroon confirmed through a text one of the students sent at the time. A black plastic wrap was later placed on the box and remains there as of April 22.

In a statement to the Maroon, the University confirmed that the blue light

was inoperable.

“The Department of Safety & Security operates 358 emergency blue light phones both on- and off-campus,” the statement said. “We regularly test the phones to make sure they are in working order and repair out-of-service phones as quickly as possible. Approximately 99% of phones are currently fully operational; however, the blue light phone near E 56th St. and S Dorchester Ave. is currently inoperable. That phone is not located on University property; we are working to identify a long-term solution.”

The University said that, in addition to the blue lights, individuals in emergencies should dial 911 or connect to the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) through the UChicago Safe app or by dialing (773) 702–8181.

Dean of Students Michelle Rasmussen and UCPD Chief Kyle Bowman sent

an email to the University community on April 18 reiterating UCPD and the Chicago Police Department’s efforts to respond to crime near campus.

“In addition to the ongoing work of apprehending suspects in these cases, UCPD and our Campus Safety Ambassadors have increased their presence in the area,” the email said. “While the number of robberies in our area has decreased over the last year, we are continuing active measures to reduce crime.”

Rasmussen and Bowman listed the creation of a “strategic operations center” to centralize monitoring and data collection; new security technology; campus transportation offerings, including the transition between the TransLoc and Passio GO! UGo shuttle tracking apps; and resources for victims of crime as steps the University has taken to ensure campus safety.

The inoperable emergency box located on the corner of East 56th Street and South Dorchester Avenue, near the location of one of the robberies. peter maheras

UChicago Alumni Pledge to Withhold Donations Unless Endowment Eliminates Fossil Fuel Investments

By OLIVER BUNTIN | Senior News Reporter

A group of more than 100 UChicago alumni have pledged to withhold donations to the University unless it eliminates fossil fuel investment from the endowment.

The group, which describes itself as being led by UChicago for Climate Action, emphasized that many of UChicago’s peer universities have committed to divestment.

“If the University of Chicago wants to truly be a peer of Ivy League institutions, the Board should approve this change and join the majority of the Ivies, like Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Princeton, in working to divest from or substantially reduce investment in fossil fuels,” Katharine Bierce (A.B. ’10), co-founder of UChicago for Climate Action, said.

In an interview with the Maroon, Michael Hendrix, another co-founder,

discussed the pledge’s potential effects on UChicago’s rankings.

Hendrix explained that, even if major donors declined to participate in withholding donations, overall alumni engagement is factored into college rankings, saying, “Insofar as the University might care about that participation rate, we’re hoping that they take notice [of] the messages they get from engaged alumni.”

Hendrix also called on the University to be more transparent in its investment practices.

“It’s hard to have an honest debate about this, because [the University] is not willing to share more information,” Hendrix said. “Current students have a stake in this. Future students have a stake in this. So I think first off the University is in a position where it can and probably should share more information about how it’s investing.”

Students calling for the University to divest its endowment from fossil fuels at “Divestival” on April 21, 2023. naina purushothaman

Hendrix said that there is also a financial case for divesting from fossil fuels.

“I think you’ll always find people advocating for turning a quick profit,” he

said. “And they might point to fossil fuels as a way to do that. I also think that, every year that passes, you see stronger and

CONTINUED ON PG. 9

The University said divestment was against its policy of abstaining from taking political or social stances.

CONTINUED FROM PG. 8

stronger evidence that investing in fossil fuel companies is not good for long- and medium-term, and sometimes even shortterm, businesses.”

In a statement to the Maroon, the University said divestment was against its policy of abstaining from taking political or social stances, as articulated in the Kalven Report.

“Over more than a century, through a great deal of vigorous debate, the University has developed a consensus against taking social or political stances on issues outside its core mission,” a Univer-

sity spokesperson said. “The University’s longstanding position is that doing this through investments or other means would only diminish the University’s distinctive contribution—providing a home for faculty and students to espouse and challenge the widest range of social practices and beliefs.”

The University said its investment team performs “due diligence to ensure that the funds in which it invests and their managers have no history of illegal behavior and have a strong track record of meeting the professional norms of their business.”

The University also said it would continue its efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

“The University continues to focus on reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to meet the goal set in 2020 of a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030, by procuring renewable energy and implementing energy conservation projects,” the spokesperson said. “UChicago was recently named by the U.S. EPA as a 2024 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for Sustained Excellence in energy management.”

The move comes after a rally organized

by Divest UChicago in April 2023 where students made similar calls for the University to increase transparency around its endowment and divest from fossil fuels.

In 2023, the student organization UChicago Environmental Justice Task Force filed a complaint with the Illinois attorney general against the University of Chicago Board of Trustees for their investment in fossil fuel enterprises. Bierce said that the action was an inspiration.

“We’re really building on the work that the students have done with the new complaint and wanted to continue that momentum,” she said.

UChicago Medicine Residents and Fellows to Hold Union Election

By ANIKA KRISHNASWAMY | Senior News Reporter

On April 1, about 650 of the over 1,000 residents, fellows, and interns at the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCM) signed an election petition to join the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) labor union. If a simple majority of 50 percent vote yes in the election, the house staff will become a union represented by CIR.

According to organizing committee member Aisha Amuda, who is a fourthyear internal medicine and pediatrics resident, the decision to unionize has been building among residents and fellows for the past two years, with patient care as a driving force.

“We are forming a union because we are very, very dedicated to caring for our patients,” Amuda said. “At UChicago, [residents] play a really crucial role in patient care, and because of that responsibility as physicians, we deserve to have a way to negotiate for improvements that affect not only us but the patient as well.”

General surgery resident Vanessa VanDruff said a significant factor driving the decision to unionize was the nature of residency programs, which create a consistent lack of negotiation power, especially relative to other professions.

“I think that residency in general, not specific to the University of Chicago, is a very challenging time of your life,” Van-

Druff said. “You are in a very vulnerable position for several years after dedicating at least eight years of education prior to you entering residency, and… you need to be able to advocate for the things that you need.”

Union organizer and nephrology fellow Nicholas Kowalczyk described the changes residents are seeking through unionization, noting a desire for “increased salar[ies] that match inflation, improved health insurance benefits, improved childcare, [and] improved paternity and maternity.”

“It makes complete sense to me that when residents and fellows are not overworked, when we are paid a salary that we can live off of and take care of our families with… that then translates to better patient care,” Kowalczyk said.

Kowalczyk and other UCM residents and fellows join a growing trend of hospital house staff across the country seeking improved working conditions and benefits through unionization. Over the past three years, national union membership among residents has expanded from 17,000 to over 32,000.

While resident unions have existed since 1934, Kowalczyk attributes their recent momentum to the influx of patients during COVID-19. In 2020 alone, over three dozen hospitals declared bankrupt-

cy in the United States, with at least four of those closures occurring at Chicago-area hospitals.

“After the worst of the surges [of COVID], I think [residents] were disillusioned by how the hospital treated us,” Kowalczyk said. “[The hospital] always… gives us the idea that we are all part of this… ‘learning family,’ that we are students on the job, but during COVID I think we came to realize that we were really just viewed as bodies and workers. So three years ago, we met with an organizer from CIR to get an idea of how we can get to an election… It took a couple years of a sort of quiet grassroots campaign reaching out to different residents and fellows all across the University of Chicago between North Shore and Hyde Park to form this committee.”

In addition to supporting a wider community after the closure of other local hospitals like Mercy Hospital in 2021, UChicago also hosts the only Level 1 Adult Trauma Center on the South Side. According to Kowalczyk, UCM’s infrastructure has been struggling to meet this increased demand.

“There are patients always in the hallways unable to get a room,” Kowalczyk said. “The ICUs and the floor rooms are always overfilled, and patients are waiting in the ED (Emergency Department) for several hours for a room. The hospital was not built with a trauma center in mind. That being said, I think we have an opportunity to fix

that… The community’s need is [for a] great trauma center, an emergency room that’s able to see them, primary care that’s able to see them at any time. So those are my priorities for the hospital.”

In a statement to the Maroon, UCM said it was committed to supporting its residents and patients.

“As one of the nation’s top teaching hospitals, the University of Chicago Medical Center is deeply committed to training the next generation of doctors,” the statement said. “We work hard to foster an exceptional learning and care environment that both supports future generations of physicians and prepares them for exemplary careers in medicine. We immensely value our residents and fellows, their perspectives, and the roles they play in providing exceptional care to our patients and community.”

Reflecting on the committee’s progress, VanDruff emphasized that the unionization effort is ultimately rooted in responsibility to both the community and the institution.

“My perspective on unionizing and many of our residents’ perspective on unionizing is that it is not coming from a place of grievance,” VanDruff said. “It’s coming from a place of pride, pride in my job… pride in the patients that I serve. It’s coming from a sense of responsibility and duty to leave the University of Chicago better than I found it.”

Uncommon Interview: Dean of Students in the College Philip Venticinque

By TIFFANY LI | Deputy News Editor

Dean of Students in the College, Philip Venticinque (A.B. ’01, A.M. ’02, Ph.D. ’09) sat down with the Maroon early this quarter to discuss his transition into the role of dean of students, his work with other offices and groups in the College, and who he looks up to as his mentors and role models in being a “dean for students”.

Venticinque started his tenure as dean of students on February 1 transitioning from his previous position in the Office of the Provost, where he had served since 2018. He returned to UChicago after teaching at Cornell College from 2009 to 2018, first as an assistant professor and then as an associate professor of Classics.

Prior to teaching at Cornell College, Venticinque spent twelve years as a student at UChicago earning his B.A. in Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics; M.A. with the Committee on the Ancient Mediterranean World; and Ph.D. in Classics in the Program in the Ancient Mediterranean World.

The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Chicago Maroon (CM): How has the past month been for you?

Philip Venticinque (PV): It’s been incredible […] It has been exciting. It has been humbling as an alumnus coming back to the College. There’s so many of those moments where I’ve been able to be in contact with some of my old mentors like my own [former] Dean of Students, Susan Art—I’ve been talking to Susan. In terms of what I’ve been spending my days doing, I’ve been spending my days trying to be the “dean for students.” I’ve been meeting a lot with the people that work here in the Dean of Students Office centrally and in all of our groups: the advising office, the Center for College Student Success, College Programming and Orientation [CPO].

I have been meeting with a lot of students, and I’m eager to keep meet-

ing with a lot of students. It’s been my attempt to try to onboard myself or reintroduce myself to the College. It’s an institution and a place that I know very well—not just from having been a student here for so long in the College and in the humanities division. I know it from all the time I spent in the Office of the Provost, where I was lucky enough to focus so much of my portfolio. In the Office of the Provost, I really became focused on the College and teaching and learning, between accreditation and any number of things that I was involved with; and [that] allowed me to build on everything that I had done as a professor at a small liberal arts college.

And we can’t forget our campus partners […]. Because the College is perhaps in some sense—I think [Edward H.] Levi said this—it’s this sort of ideal heart to the University, right? The different parts of [the] University all feed into the College. This is the place where we come together, even centrally when you look out the windows, right? We’re in the middle of campus from over the Midway, on the other side of Midway. So metaphorically and literally, we’re like the heart of campus. So much of the work of the College is integrated with Campus and Student Life.

That’s a long answer. I could have just said, I’ve been really having a ton of fun working with old friends and new friends and colleagues, and trying to get to know the ways and think critically about something I’ve been saying a lot, even when I was doing accreditation: How is the university, on the student level, reproducing itself, generation to generation? What are the sorts of things that connect me and you, current student and former student? What are the things that we do in the classroom, out of the classroom, RSOs, campus and student life, housing, experiences with office hours, core tutors? You name it. How are we going from matriculation to graduation and beyond, in the sort of certain way that we do it around here?

CM: Has your own experience being

a student here informed anything about your work?

PV: My own experience as a student here as an undergraduate and graduate student has informed all the conversations I’ve been having with everyone, students in particular. When I asked those questions about how your Hum class was going, or which Sosc class you’re taking, how would you find reading Smith and Marx in the autumn quarter, things like that—these aren’t just questions, this is sort of a shared language amongst University of Chicago students based on a shared experience.

So it has been so much fun to start having those conversations again, and think about how I experienced the College and the formative experiences I had, including with Susan, who used to have this office, [former Vice President and Dean of Students in the University]

Steve Klass who used to do what [current Dean of Students in the University] Michelle Rasmussen does—the sort of folks I worked with very closely when I was in student government.

For instance, we’ve been meeting with the folks from the Student Advocate Office. It’s been really interesting to think about their approach to their work as students, and their approach to engagement with administration and

the College. I think the common aspect of that is that we’re all interested in supporting students, improving the student experience, and thinking holistically. And that’s why those conversations so far have been so good, right? I have spent a ton of time the last few years thinking about the student experience in the classroom, and that certainly informs when I’m thinking about advising, or when people talk to me about their advising experience, or when I’m working with the college advisors.

But there’s so much more to being a U of C student than those three to four hours a day spent in class, right? So much of what you do, who you are, who you are becoming—I use the progressive there, right, because we’re all still becoming— so much of that is happening outside the classroom. I still think a lot of who I am and what I do was impacted by those para-curricular, co-curricular, classroom-adjacent type things, where you’re learning how to apply the rigorous inquiry, critical thinking, asking questions, developing research questions—the sorts of things you do in class—to other issues, regardless of what you might be passionate about.

CM: Could you give me an overview of the structure of the Dean of Students

Dean of Students in the College, Philip Venticinque, in his office. nathaniel rodwell-simon

And I hope students will... always know that the people in this office are going to meet you guys where you are, and hopefully be there to support you.

CONTINUED FROM PG. 10

office? Who are all the partners that you work with?

PV: The Dean of Students Office actually is multifaceted, and it has in fact changed a lot since I was a student. When I was a student in the College, the Dean of Students Office really was just advising. Things like the were coming into existence. So, what is the Dean of Students Office [now]? It’s the advising office. It’s the CPO. It’s Telaya [LeGette] in the Center for College Student Success. It’s [Office of College] Community Standards, which is again a new part of the office—this is where questions of academic standing take place, we have a set office—the idea there is, it’s for supporting students in these moments in one’s career.

There’s also what I’m starting to call the central student support team, Jacqui [Payne, Assistant Director of Retention], Joshua [Moeller, Assistant Director of the Office of College Community Standards], Koryna [Bucholz, Deputy Dean of Students], and others that we’re trying to hire and build out, who are there to help students on a number of levels, socially and academically.

A passion of mine, and something that I’m hoping for [is that] in three, four or five years from now, that part of the office has really taken hold and grown. And we’ve figured out new ways to support students on, for instance, delayed graduation timelines. People that don’t finish in four years. We have an amazingly high graduation rate across the board at all levels, but I want everybody to finish. That’s not good enough for me that we graduate most people—I want to graduate everybody; I want everybody to succeed. People come and go on leave for different reasons. Those are the students that I’m hoping we’re going to find new ways to support when they’re reorienting themselves with the College. I think it’s some of the most important work that we can do here.

Our focus on that cohort, I think, is also going to help us with the students in year one, two, three, and four, because we’re going to find new ways to support

people over the entirety of their of their career here, and work with academics, work with our instructors, work with people in the Center for Teaching and Learning, work with people on campus and student life, work with people in housing, trying to find ways that we can be proactive. That’s another pillar of mine. It’s easy in a job like this—and including my old job at the Office of the Provost—it’s easy to be reactive, to intervene, and wave a wand and try to fix things once things go wrong. I want to help us all think about how to intervene early. The trick is to think about things systematically, process wise, so that we can intervene earlier and can help students not even struggle the first time.

That’s the hope: to be more proactive. I want us to be more strategic. I hope that we can build this out so that we have fewer moments.

CM: You said you’re sort of still in the mode of the “new guy soaking up information.” What’s your process of finding what’s important from conversations that you have, and then building some priorities and knowledge from that?

PV: I think in spreadsheets. I’m a humanist and a classicist, and by training, I spend a lot of time—or I used to spend a lot of time—working with papyri from Egypt. I worked on contracts, letters, receipts, guild charters, so I studied ancient craftsmen and merchants and the rules they forged to govern their own communities. So, I think a lot about people working together and how that all fits in. And each one of these documents is sort of like an individual piece of data, right? One receipt tells a story. [But] 37 receipts tell more of a story about transactions in Tunis and first century Roman Egypt. Same thing with a letter. One letter home is interesting. 75 letters tell us more about Roman letter writing practices and things like that.

You asked about my process. I am meeting with everybody. I am meeting with everyone who works in my office. I am meeting with people across the College; there’s a couple hundred people that work for the College, believe it or not, just on the administrative side.

I’m trying to meet with as many people as possible. I’m asking a lot of questions. I’m compiling a lot of notes. I’m compiling a lot of data.

I’m building my own Dean of Students onboarding archive, and I am trying to think about common themes, issues, opportunities, and challenges that people have identified, because we have an amazingly talented group of people that work here at the College.

I want to think about ways not only from my own ideas but harnessing the amazing work and ideas from people like Koryna who’s our Deputy Dean of Students. Josh and Jacqui have amazing ideas about intervening in students’ lives and helping them succeed. Telaya has amazing things about firstgen, low-income (FGLI) students and thinking about that cohort. The folks at the advising office, from systems and enrollment to just individual meetings with students—so much critical thinking and thought, and so many good ideas that people have. I’m trying to figure out which ones we can amplify. I’m trying to think about ways that we all can be thought partners and start thinking about how the things that we do on a small level, and then a large level, fit into learning goals and outcomes.

Challenging the myths we tell ourselves—that’s something that I learned from Melina [Hale] a long time ago, thinking about, what could we be doing differently? Why haven’t we been doing it in certain ways? I know this feels kind of abstract. But that’s my thought process. It’s a process founded on dialogue, because we make better decisions. When there’s more people at the table. It’s not just about me, it’s about shared vision and shared process.

CM: I’m curious what you’re excited about in the coming months.

PV: What aren’t I excited about? I’m excited for the summer breeze. I’m excited about engaging with campus in the spring. It’s such a vibrant time, being out, being able to meet [students]. I’m excited about doing all this work I’m doing right now, quite frankly. I mean, the onboarding work is so interesting. It’s fun finding

new friends and new thought partners. Going into the things, learning from the students, embracing you guys as thought partners, too. That’s why I’m really eager to meet with [students]. We’re trying to get office hours set up soon. I want to do it monthly, maybe even more often, because I need the ideas.

CM: Your predecessor, Jay Ellison, was not the most uncontroversial person, and some students have said that they felt unsupported during his tenure. How do you think about that experience? Does it inform how you view the way you go about your role right now, and moving forward, how you will go about it?

PV: My approach to the role, I think, is more influenced by what I learned from Susan Art and what I learned from Steve Klass, who were my Deans of Students. In fact, their names are on a bunch of this stuff in my office that I have in frames and keep as keepsakes, and as constant reminders of their influence on me as mentors and friends.

They approached the job with an amazing amount of openness. I didn’t invent the “more dialogue, less monologue” thing, right? I learned it. I made it sound pithy, but I learned it from them, and they were masters at it. There was never a moment that I couldn’t go to Susan and talk about something. There was never a moment that I couldn’t go and talk to Steve about something. Steve was the Vice President and Dean of Students when I was a student ombudsman for those years, and I learned about patience, I learned about collaboration, I learned about meeting students where they are. That is what I’m bringing to this job.

And I hope students will always feel listened to, always feel supported, always know that the people in this office are going to meet you guys where you are, and hopefully be there to support you.

This is a hard place. It’s a demanding place, and I know that academically having been here and taught here as a graduate student. And my approach to this job is founded by the time I spent with Susan and Steve watching them do the work.

CONTINUED ON PG. 12

I approach most things as still teaching. Advising is teaching, and teaching is advising.

CONTINUED FROM PG. 11

They would come meet with me when I was doing student government things; I would sit across the table with Steve and go through some of the thorniest issues that came to the ombudsman’s office and learn, again, patience and grace too because sometimes, it’s about thinking about how this one thing impacts large scale policy and thinking forward.

So all that being said, I mean, I hope you guys always feel supported by the

folks here. That’s what I’m bringing to the job. The other thing I’m bringing to the job is 10 years as a liberal arts professor. I approach most things as still teaching. Advising is teaching, and teaching is advising. Working with meetings and

managing large university processes and things—I’m still similar at heart, even though I don’t teach all the time like I used to at a liberal arts college, that’s still very much what’s in my core.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Speaks About Persistence and Recovery at International House

By TIFFANY LI | Deputy News Editor

On April 16, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal visited International House at UChicago to speak about Ukraine’s wartime economy and recovery plan and call for increased global support for Ukraine.

The event was moderated by Institute of Politics (IOP) director Heidi Heitkamp and jointly organized by the IOP, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, International House, and UChicago Global. Shmyhal, who has been prime minister since 2020, was introduced by Polsky Center Managing Director Samir Mayekar and Ukrainian American Booth School of Business student Marko Supronyuk ‘24.

“There is a saying that armies win battles, but economies win wars. So today, I would like to talk about Ukraine’s resilience, wartime economy, and future recovery,” Shmyhal said.

Throughout his speech, Shmyhal was staunchly optimistic about Ukraine’s prospects both economically and militarily. He claimed Ukraine has continued to encourage private sector innovation and growth during the war so that it could maintain a balanced economy, rather than one solely concentrated on funneling resources towards defense.

“I remember that in the spring of 2022, we were told, ‘you will be lucky if the Ukrainian economy falls by only 50 percent, and that inflation could reach triple digits.’ It seemed like the economy was in free fall. But two years later, the situation looks completely different,” Shmyhal said. “In 2023, the Ukrainian economy had already begun to recover.”

Shmyhal credited international support and Ukrainian public policy as factors towards Ukraine’s economic resilience. He said the Ukrainian government has taken measures including increased support for small and medium businesses, war risk insurance, stimulating domestic demand and export market access for Ukrainian products, and implementing a program for the rapid reconstruction of infrastructure and housing.

Looking towards historical examples of economic revitalization including the Marshall Plan in Europe while drawing parallels with the U.S.’s “Build Back Better,” Shmyhal also laid out a plan for Ukraine’s economic recovery after the war.

“We will not just win the war, but we should win the peace after this war by rebuilding our country,” he said, highlighting defense, agricultural processing, machine building, construction, IT, and energy as “priority areas on which the Ukrainian economy of the future will be based.” He said creating a sense of security and recovering the jobs lost during the war would also be crucial to bringing back Ukrainian refugees who fled the country after the invasion.

Throughout the event, Shmyhal emphasized the global stakes of the Russia-Ukraine war. He called for international aid and support for Ukraine, including in the form of artillery ammunition and the supply of air defense, as well as for Ukraine to be accepted as part of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

politics

Since the event, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill authorizing nearly $61 billion in aid for Ukraine. The Senate has yet to approve the bill, but it is widely expected to pass.

“This is not just about Putin versus Ukraine. It’s not even about Putin versus the West and the free world. We are talking about protecting the existing global security system against a worldwide threat of uncontrolled aggression, crimes against humanity, and genocides in many parts of the world,” Shmyhal said. “If Ukraine falls, global security will be destroyed. We will all be under tremendous danger.”

Shmyhal also argued that further international punishment of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is necessary to uphold global se-

curity, and that frozen Russian assets after the onset of the war should be used to fund Ukraine’s recovery.

“[Russia’s] main crime is the crime of aggression – the political decision to make this unprovoked, illegal aggression against Ukraine. Putin and his regime should be punished for this by an international tribunal such as the kind [that took place] after big conflicts like the second world war,” Shmyhal said. “It should be demonstrated to all potential aggressors, to all dictators, that such unprovoked, illegal aggression will be punished and you will pay for it at the end of the day. This is crucial for the global security system which we had for the last 80 years and which we would like to bring back globally.”

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal speaking at International House. courtesy of institute of

University to Pay $13.5 Million in Antitrust Settlement Over Financial Aid

By NEIVE RODRIGUEZ | Senior News Reporter

On February 28, Judge Matthew Kennelly of the Northern District Court of Illinois preliminarily approved an antitrust class action settlement involving the University of Chicago, in which the University will pay $13.5 million. The settlement was reached in the lawsuit Henry, et al. v. Brown University, et al., which alleges that UChicago, among sixteen other universities, was part of a price-fixing cartel that determined financial aid amounts in violation of antitrust laws.

Ten out of the 17 universities involved in the lawsuit have reached settlement agreements so far with the plaintiffs, with a total settlement sum

of $284 million. Per the press release, the plaintiffs assert that the universities participated in “wealth favoritism in the admissions process for families capable of making large donations to the university,” and “engaged in collusive behavior concerning the award of financial aid.” According to a court notice, the plaintiffs are alumni of the defendant universities who received partial need-based aid.

The $13.5 million paid by UChicago will go to members of the settlement class. For UChicago, eligible class members are required to have attended the University between fall 2003 through February 28, 2024 and

received partial financial aid. Current or former students whose entire cost of attendance was covered are not considered part of the class.

The actual amount of the individual payments does not reflect how much money the class member paid in tuition. Per the settlement website, the settlement class is estimated to include 200,000 former and current students. Members of the class can exclude themselves from the settlement until May 13, 2024. If final approval for the settlement is granted during a hearing on July 19, members of the class can submit a claim in order to receive a payment and can expect to be paid as much as $2,000 in cash.

“These new settlements will sig -

nificantly increase the compensation to the class members for the harm we allege the Defendants’ cartel caused,” Ted Normand, member of the plaintiffs’ lead counsel and partner at Freedman Normand Friedland LLP, wrote in a press release.

The lawsuit was originally filed in January 2022. UChicago filed to have the lawsuit dismissed but was denied in fall of 2022. UChicago was the first of the universities to settle, announcing its intention to do so in spring 2023.

“We look forward to the court’s resolution of our motion for final approval of the settlements this summer,” Normand wrote in an email to the Maroon.

Hyde Park Produce Remains Closed After Fire

By SERAPHINA HALPERN | News Reporter

Hyde Park Produce (HPP), the locally-owned grocery store in Kimbark Plaza, has been temporarily closed since a small fire took place inside on April 5. A sign posted on the front door and a Facebook post on April 11 said that the shop will reopen at an unspecified date.

The store has removed stock from its shelves, but electricity is still running and cleanup efforts are underway as of April 18. Hyde Park Produce could not be reached for comment.

An “‘accidental’ electrical issue” started the fire shortly before 9 p.m. after the store closed to the public for the day, according to the Chicago Fire Department, as reported by the Hyde Park Herald. It was put out with “handheld extinguishers” and caused “very slight damage to the building.” The other storefronts in the complex, including A&S Beverages next door, are operating as usual.

Allied Universal Security, the private security contractor that patrols Kimbark Plaza, briefed its employees that the fire involved a foul-smelling

chemical spill that caused one person extreme dizziness, according to a security officer who spoke to the Maroon on the condition of anonymity. He said he’d been told by his employer to “be aware.”

Third-year Camilla Linares, who was present in Kimbark Plaza when the fire happened, said that the area “smelled really bad… like burning plastic. A bunch of firetrucks started pulling up. They pried the door open, I think, opened up the fire hydrant, and connected the hose.”

Videos she took that night show smoke inside the store and multiple fire trucks in the parking lot with a ladder extended over the store.

The family-run store has been in Kimbark Plaza since 2008. As of April 11, a week after the fire, the Maroon still observed shoppers arriving at the store every few minutes to find the doors taped off.

Though HPP promises to reopen soon, many historic and locally-owned Kimbark Plaza businesses have been replaced in recent years, according to

Block Club Chicago. The two storefronts on either side of HPP are currently permanently closed–Leona’s Pizzeria closed in 2023, and Kimbark Laundry has been closed since 2019.

Other Kimbark Plaza business owners declined to comment on HPP’s closure.

The entrance to Hyde Park Produce was taped off following a fire on April 5. seraphina halpern

UChicago Students’ Startup is Changing the Way Entertainment Venues Operate Nationwide

By KALYNA VICKERS | News Reporter

Just last year, the three co-founders of Speakeasy, Paul Stacek (A.B. ’23), Tamas An (A.B. ’23), and undergraduate Alex Manavi (M.B.A. ‘24) met on campus. A software-as-a-service company assisting venues with payments and booking optimization, the startup has acquired a client portfolio boasting some of the biggest names in hospitality across eight major cities.

The Maroon spoke with Manavi and Stacek. Manavi declined to share his class year.

The primary purpose of Speakeasy is to assist venues in optimizing their operational efficiency. The streamlined software offers a platform to manage online, at-door, and in-venue sales, which, in turn, allows venues to draw in repeat, high-value patrons. Clients maximize their revenue by consolidating access to premium entry, cover payments, and bar tabs all through the Speakeasy website or app.

“Our goal is to make live entertainment, the entertainment industry, better off… if [our clients] can extract better value from their resources… we help them save in the areas they shouldn’t be losing in and hoping that with these efficiency improvements, with the value Speakeasy creates, the industry as a whole improves,” Stacek said.

“With Speakeasy’s door product, there

really isn’t something similar that uses the technology we use, and we keep our fees low and focus on adding value upfront,” Manavi said. Despite being in the first year of operation, the three co-founders have already secured over 20 prominent venue clients, including TAO Group Hospitality, Groot Hospitality, and Forward Hospitality.

The founders credit the rapid success of their startup to the close relationships they forge with their clientele. “We are very much building around the needs of our clients. We are in very frequent communication with venues and the people who we work with, asking for feedback… that allows us to really understand the needs of each venue better and then add more value,” Manavi said. And indeed, the startup has added value to the venues they operate with. Stacek said, “The annualized value we are driving can be upwards of $750,000 for a single venue.”

“If you’re an owner or operator and you want to streamline your operations, increase revenue monthly, and increase the data you have, that’s the sell,” Manavi said.

Another key aspect of the startup is the founders’ business philosophy—a model that prioritizes the financial success of their clients before their own profit. “We don’t charge a monthly fee. We really only make money if our clients make money.

I think that’s how all software service should be—your client does well, you do well,” Stacek said.

Speakeasy is “currently closing a strategic investment round from several prominent entrepreneurs and key names in entertainment, some of which are professional sports team owners, UChicago alumni, and prominent founders of PE [private equity]-backed companies” Manavi said.

Looking ahead, Speakeasy is helping their clients launch in Las Vegas, the startup’s ninth city. “The Las Vegas launch is big for us—that’s with two of the biggest hospitality groups in the world,” Manavi said.

Additionally, Speakeasy just released a new feature designed for direct payments— patrons can purchase tickets, bar service, and expedited entry all from a QR code outside the venue, with no app download required. On the venue side, the platform allows them to change prices in real time.

In imagining the future of the company and their long term plans, Stacek has ambitious goals.

“However, many years from now, if you’re running a live entertainment venue, Speakeasy is a core part of the operations and is a key part in how the guests interact with the venue.” Furthermore, Manavi said the ultimate goal is to be “consistently adding value and optimizing on several different fronts, whether that be venues, features, maybe even tangential industries.”

While the Speakeasy product certainly

changed as the idea developed, the people pushing the startup have remained constant. The three co-founders all credit each other with the product’s success. Speaking about Stacek, Manavi said, “He is the smartest person I’ve ever met—in analysis, in understanding the drivers behind results, both in the industry and outside of it.” In a similar vein, Stacek said, “Alex [Manavi] brings the creative side, that deep understanding of the industry, having been someone who succeeded in it early on himself,” referring to Manavi’s experience organizing concerts and events in the past.

Besides the three co-founders, Speakeasy has been helped along by senior advisor Morgan McMeel since the startup was a mere idea in late 2019. McMeel, who is currently director of VIP marketing at Tao, has been involved in the live entertainment industry for over 20 years. One of the clients that Stacek and McMeel pitched to referred to McMeel as a “Chicago institution.”

The co-founders also discussed the role UChicago played in forming their team and making connections with key individuals like McMeel. “The UChicago name was a very key factor for why he [McMeel] even followed up with us. He said had we not gone to UChicago, he probably wouldn’t be talking to us,” Stacek said.

“There are so many amazing people at this school. I was lucky enough to be around two of them, who pushed me, motivated me, and took a chance on me,” Manavi said of his co-founders.

The Speakeasy platform for customer ticket purchase. courtesy of speakeasy

From left to right: Morgan McMeel (Senior Advisor),Tamas An (Co-Founder), Paul Stacek (Co-Founder), Alex Manavi (Co-Founder). courtesy of alex manavi .

Yours for Food

Hutchinson Commons’s adoption of the Grubhub point-of-sale system and what we lose when our daily interactions with the world go virtual.

By FINN HARTNETT | Grey City Reporter

“I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” — Genesis 1:29

I never cared for the Reynolds Club much, but that was before they destroyed it.

The building is truly Hogwartsian. A pale-brown tower down to the steeple, it is one of the first locations students become acquainted with upon arriving at the University of Chicago in September, bright-eyed and clad in North Face or Carhartt. The building holds a variety of attractions for incomers: a sleek ATM; a student-run café, Hallowed Grounds, frequented by the kinds of well-dressed 20-year-olds who will one day, apologetically, move to Brooklyn; a Pret a Manger, one of two in Chicago (the founder’s son went here); various carpeted quiet-study rooms; and a large dining room, filled with regal portraits of past University presidents, connected to a food court.

This food court, Hutchinson Commons, is synonymous with the Reynolds Club more than any other locale. So much so that some never call it the Reynolds Club. Instead, they refer to it by its food court. They call it Hutch.

During my first year at the University of Chicago, I lived alone in a dorm, had cotton swabs rammed up my nose each week, and washed my snotty cloth masks out every evening in the bathroom sink. I also occasionally made the walk from my dorm to Hutch. Noodle soup, taco bowls; all the collegiate hits were on offer. There were also a few special deals. On Wednesdays, as is often noted in UChicago pro -

motional paraphernalia, students flocked to the building for dollar milkshakes. On Saturday nights, Hutch made certain dishes free to anyone on campus with a meal plan.

My early trips to Hutch were never particularly memorable, although that may have just been the brain fog. In the age of the coronavirus, students weren’t allowed to eat indoors. Instead, we stood under the tepid lamplight of University Avenue, alongside dozens—on Saturday nights, hundreds—of other hungry souls. We filed in, ordered our food at one of the restaurants, and left to eat in circles outside or else walked back to our dorms, our pad thai cradled snugly in cardboard togo boxes. It was a dreamy, dreary time.

But that time passed; Biden won, the coronavirus fell out of the collective consciousness, and I moved off-campus and stopped paying $7,500 a year for a meal plan. I bought groceries and cooked, like a real adult, except when I got drunk with my friends. Then we’d order McDonald’s. Or Quesalupas. The Reynolds Club faded into the background of my life. This was how the University was able to undermine it.

Nothing about Hutch changed much over the years. I think the Indian place was swapped out for a different Indian place at some point, but that didn’t cause too much of a stir. But a few weeks into my final year at the college, a bit of poster board caught my eye. Outside the building, a bright-orange advertisement proclaimed the new partnership of Hutch with the food ordering platform Grubhub. Order From Your Phone!, it exclaimed happily.

I had seen the rise of mobile food delivery with my own eyes, particularly in New York City, where I grew up. New York, where cash was once king, became in the 2010s littered with businesses that didn’t accept it. Ads for Seamless, New York’s premier delivery service (and a company Grubhub purchased in 2013), beckoned to residents from subway-car interiors. “Mobile Pick-Up” stations quickly became a prerequisite for any new restaurant, café, or bakery.

I worked in one such bakery once. Two summers back, as a cashier. A large part of my job was checking the company iPads every two minutes for new mobile orders. If there was one, I’d pack the rugelach and olive sticks and babka and whatever else into a bag and staple it closed. A few minutes later, a guy wielding an electric bicycle tracking dirt onto the floor would come into the bakery and show me the

name on his phone. It was usually something like “Hillary.” I’d give him the bag, and he’d leave. It was like magic.

This was in 2021, after the pandemic served to further sunder the ties between customer, food, and vendor, and the use of mobile food delivery services had grown exponentially. American restaurants have delivered to people’s homes since Warren Harding was in office—1922 is the first instance of the idea appearing in writing, after a Chinese restaurant, KinChu Café in Los Angeles, cannily popped an advertisement in the Glendale NewsPress pledging to “deliver hot dishes direct to you” until 1 a.m.—but post-coronavirus, the idea of food delivery has been taken to its logical, awful extreme. New York City is now forced to reckon with institutions like Gopuff, a consumer goods company worth $15 billion, which claims,

finn hartnett

Don’t acknowledge the commoners, the spaced seemed to say.

CONTINUED FROM PG. 15

on their website, to deliver “groceries, alcohol, home essentials & more” to your door in minutes. This bastion of social anxiety recently opened a storefront on Canal Street in Manhattan, near where I grew up. “We’ll deliver all you need in minutes. Or just come in!” reads the lettering on their window, in what one can only hope is some kind of unfunny satire on the part of a suicidal marketing director. Their membership program is called the “FAM,” which stands for “Fucking Awesome Membership;” their Twitter account posts things such as “Hope ya’ll are thirsty because there’s maaaaad hydration deals in the app this week.” In 2018, Gopuff was found to be recording user interactions on its app and sending the videos to a third-party mobile analytics company without consent. In early 2023, the company was fined $6.2 million by the Massachusetts Attorney General for listing its drivers as “independent contractors,” which allowed for fewer benefits and protections on the part of the employer. (Grubhub continues to claim its drivers are contractors.)

Visions of Gopuff flashed through my mind upon seeing the orange advertisement outside the Reynolds Club. Upon entering Hutch, things looked even worse. More Grubhub ads lined the walls, encircling eaters-to-be. A line of crowd-control stanchions divided the hall lengthwise. On one side of these stanchions, kitchen workers stood behind their counters— cutting onions, frying chicken, chilling poké—and students flitted through the other, picking up their food and leaving without breaking stride. If you were one of the sorry few who didn’t have the Grubhub app on your phone, not to worry. You could place your order from one of four large tablets—“Ultimate Kiosks,” the company calls them—which stood opposite the kitchens. Crossing through the stanchions like water bugs were the kitchen supervisors, whose main job was to hand students their boxed food after it had been placed on a wire rack by the kitchen staff and yell at impatient students who were trying to grab it themselves.

Pick your food up and leave.

finn hartnett

Fuck, I thought.

Hutch was never perfect. The food was expensive, and the portions small. Still, you used to be able to at least acknowledge the service worker toasting your quesadilla. This new structure was intensely, almost comically dystopian; it literally segregated students from workers. Don’t acknowledge the commoners, the space seemed to say. Pick your food up and leave. I ordered from the tablet, waited outside, and picked up my food without a word. The worst part was just how easy it was.

“A lot of it is driven by, I guess, this ever-present drive for convenience.”

Emelyn Rude, a food writer and author of Tastes Like Chicken: A History of America’s Favorite Bird, told me over the phone. “My friend is a high school teacher, and she says that basically all of her kids order Starbucks to be delivered at the end of class. Which is highly annoying for the security guards.”

Rude condemned the large cut—sometimes as much as 20 percent—which intermediaries such as Grubhub take from restaurants. This severely screws up any given restaurant’s day-to-day. “In restaurants the margins are, even if you’re doing good, like 10 percent,” she said. “You’re killing it as a restaurant if you’re [making] a 10 percent profit.” This means when an order goes out for delivery, that little

off the top going to Gruhhub can be the difference between a place thriving and falling apart. But what are you going to do—not offer delivery? The sea of cyclists is already in motion; you’d be remiss not to join.

The food historian agreed that online food delivery “does create more distance in an already distant system.” She also said that partnering with Grubhub likely “made financial sense for the university.” Food providers are expensive. We ended the call.

Grubhub at Hutch, of course, works a bit differently than Grubhub at a restaurant. It’s mobile pick-up, not mobile delivery, so you still have the massive burden of having to go get the food yourself. Nevertheless, Grubhub co-opting the food court in order to expand their customer base among students makes sense. There’s more than a dash of nepotism in the partnership: the company is Chicago-based, and its cofounder, a man named Matt Maloney, holds a 2010 Masters of Business Administration from UChicago. Grubhub was the winner of the Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge at the UChicago Booth School of Business in 2006. Currently, Maloney is listed as an School.

So Grubhub, after growing out of the university, has slowly stuck its fingers back in as one might stick a finger into a molten vat of cheese fondue. And the university is all too willing to be penetrated like this, because it looks great for them too. A business-school graduate begets a start-up, secures eighty million dollars in venture capital funding, sells it in 2021 to a Dutch company, Just Eat Takeaway, for $7.3 billion, while remaining CEO; and now brings his behemoth back home to roost, all too happy to help modernize the food court he ate at as a zitty 20-something. UChicago earns more prestige, more money. The checks clear.

Now Grubhub is hungry, hungry beyond its volition. It is running itself into the ground in an everlasting desire for more; no longer its own, nor mine, nor yours.

And yet: the reason Grubhub’s acquisition of Hutch is so interesting is because, at the same time, the company kind of needs this. Grubhub laid off 15 percent of its full-time staff in June 2023, which included around 130 workers in the heart of the Windy City. Their most recent financials, released in January 2024,

show a 13 percent decline in orders and a 15 percent decline in transaction value from the same period last year. Hell, the company’s been up for sale since 2022!

“We’ve made some difficult decisions,” Just Eat Takeaway’s CEO Jitse Groen (who can be found under the profile URL “pizza” on LinkedIn—how irreverent, how charming!) recently said of Grubhub in an earnings call. “We’re cutting costs over there to make sure that our cash burn in the U.S. goes to zero as rapidly as possible.” And so the company’s takeover of Hutchinson Commons is not simply a partnership to make them a little extra dough. It’s a microcosm of a larger organizational plan that shareholders hope will see Goliath regain his footing. They’ll woo the next generation of consumers in Gen Z. It shouldn’t be too complicated: they love their screens and their convenience, those kids. And after the pandemic, they’re traumatized—they don’t want to talk to anyone. So we install mobile pay-and-go systems at their universities. And we’ll save them time—time that could be spent studying, or TikToking, or whatever it is they like to do.

While it’s difficult to determine when the process of Grubhub-izing the college experience truly began, the strategy has worked well for the company. The company stated in April 2023 that they have set up shop at over 300 different colleges nationwide. Such expansion has bred technological innovation. In 2021, Grubhub trialed the use of campus delivery robots after agreeing a partnership with the Russian company Yandex. They ended this partnership after Russia invaded Ukraine but have since sent out a second fleet of the little guys in partnership with the Estonian company Starship Technologies, currently in use at colleges such as the University of Kentucky, Southern Methodist University, and Fairfield University. Soon, you won’t even need those pesky independent contractors to deliver your food—it’ll be a cute metal box with blinking lights and wheels.

More recently, Grubhub struck a deal with Amazon for the use of Just Walk Out, an artificial-intelligence powered

checkout system wherein shoppers can take what they need from convenience stores and groceries and—get this—just walk out, no pimply cashier required. (Just security guards to stop all those lovable rogues from Just Walking Out with $300 of unpaid-for groceries in their arms.) The partnership was trialed at Loyola University Maryland, where one of their campus convenience stores was retrofitted with the tech. “The services and products we provide for our campus partners are designed to enhance and improve the dining experience, and we’re excited to offer this innovative and frictionless technology to our campus partners,” Grubhub’s COO Mike Evans said in a statement. No doubt more universities are mulling over plans to implement such a high-tech pay-and-go system at their overpriced kitchens and convenience stores. It sounds great in a brochure.

You get it by now. In Grubhub’s ideal world, no one orders food by talking to another human. Because, well, why should you? Do you enjoy standing there, in front of someone else, attempting to make small talk or else blinking in musky silence, as this other scoops your couscous or blackens your chicken, both parties all too aware of the class disparities between themselves? So awkward! Why not, then, simply Get Food Now! on your phone? With a tap of a screen, your meal becomes entirely removed from the context surrounding it. A salad, a pizza, becomes a stable, sterile entity, appearing when and where you want it, in full. To view your food as something assembled from base ingredients, by another beating heart—a heart which could use a cigarette, or at least a few minutes in a yellowing break room, a heart which might be thinking about their lover, or about killing themselves, as they dress your bowl, as they add your side order of bread—all this should feel a strange concept.

This piece is the first of two installments, the second of which will appear in the Maroon ’s graduation special issue. The article will be published in its full form on the M aroon website once the second installment is published.

The Preventable Death of Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero

A pediatrician’s perspective on migrant policy and how Chicagoans are called to make change.

By PRANSHU BHARDWAJ

It is impossible to describe the loss parents experience with the death of their child. As physicians at a large children’s hospital in Chicago, my colleagues and I work tirelessly to spare parents such heartache. We see some of the most complex pediatric cases in the state and help patients with progressive diseases pass on comfortably. However, there is nothing more devastating to a pediatrician than the preventable death of an otherwise healthy child.

On December 17, 2023, 5-yearold Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero, a migrant who had arrived in Chicago only days earlier, passed away at Comer Children’s Hospital. At the time of his death, he was residing at a retrofitted warehouse for migrant families in Pilsen housing 2,300 individuals. Initial reports stated that Jean Carlos had prolonged diarrhea, bleeding, and fevers. Per a press release from the mayor’s office on February 17, 2024 it was confirmed that Jean Carlos’ cause of death was sepsis secondary to invasive Streptococcus pyogenes. From my perspective as a pediatrician, this boy’s death was not an accident but rather was secondary to the numerous inequalities he suffered as a recent immigrant.

In medicine, we seek not only to manage symptoms but to ascertain the underlying cause of illnesses to treat them effectively. When we see a patient, we consider their background and circumstances, identifying socioeconomic barriers to care: the factors outside of an illness that prevent the patient from obtaining necessary care. Barri-

ers could be monetary (inability to pay for services), geographic (lack of transportation to care facilities), or even cultural (medical mistrust and language barriers). All three likely contributed to the death of Jean Carlos.

Children in low-income families, regardless of immigration status, can receive Medicaid benefits in Illinois under the All Kids program. Depending on their household income, there is a chance that families may still need to pay insurance premiums and copays for medical visits. While I am unsure of Jean Carlos’ insurance status, there is a substantial chance he could not obtain medical insurance during his short time in Chicago. A 2015 study of Iraqi refugees in Texas noted that the language barrier and complexity of Medicaid renewal were one of their most cited obstacles to them obtaining medical care.

Initial reports noted that Jean Carlos’ family asked shelter staff to leave them alone when they inquired about his health. It is possible the family was worried about the monetary cost of taking him to the hospital or was distrustful of the medical staff’s ability to care for him. A 2023 study found that immigrant children are between 4–16 percent less likely to visit a physician than their non-immigrant counterparts. Volunteer teams such as the Mobile Migrant Health Team regularly visit shelters to administer care and offer vaccinations, but their resources are stretched thin.

Crowded and unsanitary conditions at the Pilsen shelter further worsened Jean Carlos’ situation. There are numerous reports

of rampant viral infections, dirty bathrooms, and spoiled food at the shelters. These conditions and low vaccination rates contributed to the highest spike in chickenpox cases Chicago has seen since 2005; the Chicago Department of Public Health identified 400 cases of chickenpox in the city since January of 2023. Anecdotally, we often see children who are experiencing homelessness visiting the emergency department with viral gastroenteritis. These stomach bugs can cause profuse diarrhea and vomiting, which can lead to dangerous dehydration that may be life-threatening if not appropriately treated. Since August of 2022, Chicago has received over 26,000 migrants, complicating an already dire housing crisis. Today, 68,000 Chicagoans are currently experiencing homelessness, many of whom are migrants. However, the city of Chicago only allocates $77 million to homelessness as of FY 2024, order(s) of magnitude less than fellow big cities like Los Angeles and New York.

While these factors all shaped the end of Jean Carlos’ life, my colleagues and I believe that negative sentiment towards refugees created these crises in the first place. Public services are strained beyond their breaking points in sanctuary cities such as Chicago, as Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) transports migrants in the thousands. These children are viewed as political statements rather than innocent human beings fleeing conflict-ridden countries. Jean Carlos’ death is not an isolated incident—another tragic example is the death of 3-year-old Colombian refugee Jismary Alejandra Barboza González, who

died of bacterial pneumonia while riding a bus from Texas to Chicago. She was ill when boarding the bus but never received medical attention in Texas.

I propose the immediate mobilization of increased funds to address the homelessness crisis in Chicago. One proposed solution is the “Bring Chicago Home” movement, which seeks to restructure the Real Estate Transfer Tax for homes sold for more than $1 million, creating at least $100 million in additional revenue annually. Unfortunately, Bring Chicago Home’s proposal did not pass this year, but I urge Chicagoans to stay vigilant for similar policies in the future. Furthermore, a state-funded unit of health care professionals dedicated to primary care screening, vaccination, and shelter hygiene should be formed in conjunction with the numerous hospital systems in the city.

Until more systemic changes can be implemented, I urge students, such as those at the University of Chicago, to volunteer at mi-

grant vaccination clinics. These initiatives are even more integral to migrant health as measles cases have skyrocketed in shelters. Both health professionals and individuals without healthcare expertise can volunteer through the Chicago Medical Reserve Corps, the Mobile Migrant Health Team, and the Chicago Refugee Coalition. Finally, educating peers, professors, and administrators alike regarding the plight of migrant children is equally as imperative. Only through vocal and public advocacy will organizations, such as the University of Chicago, feel motivated to mobilize the appropriate teams and resources to make an appreciable impact on this public health emergency.

Unfortunately, the truth is that these tragedies will only end when politicians stop viewing migrants as pawns and start treating them as people deserving of compassion and care.

Pranshu Bhardwaj, MD is a Resident Physician (Pediatrics) in Chicago, IL.

ARTS The Rural Alberta Advantage, Loud and Proud

The Rural Alberta Advantage’s Lincoln Hall performance brought vivacity and warmth to a frigid Chicago night.

By HARMONIE RAMSDEN | Senior Arts Reporter

In a likely first for Chicago, both opener – Julianna Riolino – and band – the Rural Alberta Advantage – noted the crowd’s silence. The audience at the Lincoln Hall show, though, took these quips as a challenge to raise their voices—a difficult feat for an audience in which I was the youngest by about 20 years and where the only throngs of concertgoers formed by the bar.

Julianna Riolino, the concert’s opener, took relatively rudimentary chord sequences and elevated them through her gritty vocals and talented bassist, Roddy Rossetti. Though the songs themselves were not technically complex, she wove variety into each melody with her unique voice. A crooned verse quickly transitioned into a yelled chorus; a sweet line became a

dance break. Between each song, she delivered one message over and over: her name and to not forget it. With a relatively short history—Julianna only began releasing music in 2019—it’s clear she knows she’ll be a star. She’s only waiting for the rest of us to get with the program.

The Rural Alberta Advantage, in contrast, are seasoned performers, having collaborated for over 15 years. The Canadian indie rock band is made up of vocalist Nils Edenloff on guitar, Paul Banwatt on drums, and Amy Cole on accompanying vocals, keyboard, and bass. As their set began, the audience heard only a tambourine. The band slowly entered Lincoln Hall through its back door, with a guitar slowly joining in. The crowd’s silence offered a blank slate for

the arrangement to shine. As the Rural Alberta Advantage hit the main stage, guitar and tambourines met vocals and drums. And the magic began.

Though I initially didn’t find Edenloff’s voice to be remarkable, his performance worked in complement to Cole and Banwatt’s percussion-driven instrumentation. Tambourines and maracas by Cole and incredibly complex drum beats by Banwatt defined the music in Lincoln Hall. Banwatt’s skills on the drums were both technically impressive and the engine behind the venue’s rising energy. In the breaks of her performance, Cole danced around the stage and encouraged the audience to clap. Though attendees may not have raised their voice, they were happy to raise their hands. The venue’s lights synchronized with Paul’s drumbeats, another reflection

of the value the band placed on percussive elements.

As the show came to a close, the Rural Alberta Advantage ended their performance the same way they began it —by walking through the crowd and taking in their essence. They wished good night to “the northern winters” and the “equally depressed.” Lincoln Hall’s only spotlight shone dead on the band, the audience encircling them in darkness and silence. As we were bid good night by the band, a stillness fell again upon the venue. Then, as the main lights rose, the noise of the concert’s height was renewed. The band exited to raucous applause, with the crowd hanging back for another round of drinks with newly formed friendships. The Rural Alberta Advantage performance was a testament to the power of music in breaking the silence.

Rural Alberta Advantage plays Lincoln Hall. harmonie ramsden .

rods to seek underground water

55 Grizzlies v.s. Bulls, e.g.

57 One form of a gene

58 Deals divine retribution

59 “Siddhartha” and “Steppenwolf” author Hermann

Bloodhound’s trail

Disneyland’s land

Gases and liquids, at cold temperatures

With “storm,”

Before surgery, informally

CROSSWORDS

76. Where Am I?

By SILAS COLEMAN | Crossword Constructor

Last week’s solutions are available at https://bit.ly/3JNqrVP. Solutions to this week’s puzzle will be in the next issue.

9 Sticky mammoth traps in Los Angeles 10 Ran the show

13 No bedroom apartment 17 Impulse

18 Southwestern U.S. tribe

19 Word with zone or boots

20 Greed and envy, e.g.

25 Words said in blackjack

27 Vietnamese garment

30 Frat parties

31 President Barack Obama’s middle name

34 Implement with an ink well 35 Green prefix

36 2024 Chicago attraction in Roscoe Village 37 Writes messily 39 Run 40 44-Across, e.g.

41 Pam’s first husband

43 Neigh sayers?

46 Like many Shakespeare plays

48 Insignificant, as mortals 49 Recedes

52 Brazilian soccer great

53 Ewes’ guys

54 “Lah-di-___!”

56 Superlative suffix