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NEWS: College Offers New Kreyòl and Haitian Studies

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The Chicago Maroon

NOVEMBER 5, 2025

SIXTH WEEK VOL. 138, ISSUE 4

ICE Near UChicago / ICE cerca de UChicago

East 52nd Street and South Kimbark Avenue: Location of an immigration enforcement sighting and detention.

East 53rd Street and South Dorchester Avenue: Location of an immigration enforcement sighting.

East 53rd Street and South Greenwood Avenue: Location of an immigration enforcement detention.

55th Street and South University Avenue: UChicago international student briefly detained and then released. olin

.

Kimbark Plaza. The Obamas’ “kissing rock.” Campus North Residential Commons. These are some of the places where the Maroon has verified the presence of federal immigration officers around campus since September. An interactive map displaying all verified detentions and sightings is available on chicagomaroon.com. Learn more on page 7.

El Kimbark Plaza. El “kissing rock” de los Obamas. Los Campus North Residential Commons. Estos son algunos de los lugares donde el Maroon ha verificado la presencia de agentes federales de inmigración cerca del campus desde septiembre. Un mapa interactivo demostrando cada detención e avistamiento esta disponible en chicagomaroon.com.

NEWS: Netflix Film Saturn Return Shoots on UChicago Campus

PAGE 5

VIEWPOINTS: New Writing Program Works in Theory. That’s the Problem.

PAGE 8

ARTS: CSO Wind Ensemble Showcases the Art of Remixing

PAGE 10

SPORTS: Are the Bears Back?

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Second-Year Calista Lee Passes Away

By ISAIAH GLICK | Senior News Reporter

Calista Lee, a second-year in the College, passed away on October 27. She was 19 years old. The cause of Lee’s death was not immediately available.

Dean of the College Melina Hale and Dean of Students in the College Philip Venticinque shared the news of Lee’s passing in an email on October 28.

Lee was born on June 6, 2006 in New York City. Before coming to UChicago, she attended Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. She is survived by her par-

ents, Jonas and Heather, and her brother, Noah, who is a fourth-year at UChicago.

Lee was specializing in business economics and philosophy and allied fields, with a focus on evolution. She was also pursuing a minor in creative writing. She lived in Baker House in Woodlawn Residential Commons and served as a member of the Baker House Council. She was also a member of the sorority Pi Beta Phi.

A memorial on Lee’s behalf was held at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in the East Dean’s

Lounge of Woodlawn, organized by Baker House and her family. More than 75 people attended the gathering.

The email from Hale and Venticinque referred students to resources on campus, including UChicago Student Wellness, the College Student Care and Support Team, and religious advisers. Students can also text the Dean-on-Call through the UChicago Safe app or call them through the University of Chicago Police Department at (773) 702–8181.

Counselors at UChicago Student Wellness are available by phone at (773)

834–3625, and the Therapist-on-Call can be reached for immediate support at (773) 702–3625.

Antonia Romm contributed reporting.

Editor’s note: We hope to follow this article with an obituary memorializing Calista’s life and her time as a member of the University community. We ask anyone who has memories they want to share about Calista to please contact the Maroon ’s Editors-in-Chief at tiffanyl9@uchicago.edu and elenae@uchicago.edu.

Nevin Hall Running for College Council

Even as USG Officials Say He Is Disqualified

By GABRIEL KRAEMER | Head News Editor

Nevin Hall, the former vice president of student organizations (VPSO) and Elections & Rules Committee (E&R) chair for Undergraduate Student Government (USG) who was impeached last year, is running for a College Council (CC) seat this week despite current USG leaders’ determination that he is ineligible to hold office.

Hall is the only candidate on the ballot for elections to fill two Class of 2026 CC vacancies. One of the five representatives elected in the spring declined the position, while another, Ben Fica, assumed the position of College Council chair instead, according to E&R Chair Jay Love. Voting for these positions opened on Monday morning and will close on Friday at 4 p.m., alongside firstyear CC representative elections.

Hall was accused in May of attempting to change USG bylaws to consolidate his own power, allowing personal biases to affect his decisions about RSO funding allocations, and planning to invalidate spring USG election results in response to his impending impeachment. He denied all the allegations, writing in a Maroon op-ed that his decisions, while sometimes unpopular, “were rooted in a sincere effort to strengthen an institution many saw as ineffective and to follow the rules in place.” College Council vot-

ed 13–0 to remove him and three other members of E&R.

The impeachment resolution, as archived on USG’s website, calls for Hall’s “impeach[ment] from any and all positions he holds or is scheduled to hold on the Undergraduate Student Government,” but does not explicitly bar him from future USG positions.

In an email Hall shared with the Maroon, Executive Vice President Alex Fuentes wrote that the impeachment does apply to future positions, making Hall ineligible to accept a CC seat, citing the minutes from the May 7 emergency meeting at which Hall was impeached.

According to the minutes, CC initially voted on and passed a motion to impeach Hall and the other E&R members from a list of specific USG positions. After the vote, the USG secretary asked whether the impeachment applied to other positions the E&R members might hold, prompting a brief discussion. Representative Kevin Guo, who sponsored the impeachment resolution, later “clarified” that the impeachment would apply to “all their current positions… and all future positions they may hold in Undergraduate Student Government.” No members objected to the clarification.

Fuentes told the Maroon in an interview that USG had mistakenly failed

to update the official record to include the provision barring Hall from future offices afterward. “Everybody in College Council from last year agrees that that was the intention, and that was what was said,” he said. “But that was not necessarily notated.… We said these amendments were added and then never added them.”

He added that, because the minutes and other documents were approved last year, USG can no longer revise them.

Fica, who supported Hall’s impeachment last year as a CC representative, confirmed Fuentes’s account. “In the room, the members of the College Council believed that they were voting on impeaching Nevin from his current positions and any position in the future— not just positions that he was planning on holding, all positions,” he said. “That’s reflected in the minutes.”

Fica added that, if USG had implemented a proposed judicial council, Hall might be able to contest his disqualification, but Hall himself had blocked its creation last year.

USG President Elijah Jenkins also told Hall in an email explaining why he was not included in a USG Instagram post featuring candidates in this week’s elections that “the [impeachment] resolution disqualifies you from assuming or being seated in any elected or appointed role within USG.”

In a follow-up email after speaking

to the Maroon, Hall wrote that “the justification [for disqualification] seems to have been constructed after the fact,” noting that the minutes do not show a formal motion to amend the resolution. He also argued that the entire impeachment process was rushed and that CC was unprepared to deliberate on it. “It’s worth noting that even CC members at the time recognized the dysfunction and didn’t really understand what they were passing,” he wrote.

Fica said that CC could, by a twothirds majority vote, reverse the provision barring Hall from future office to allow him to be seated.

Hall claimed that any motion to overturn his disqualification would “almost certainly” be blocked procedurally, writing that only seated members of CC could introduce such a motion and that considering one would require the chair to allocate it agenda time. “From experience, getting agenda time is quite difficult, as CC rarely wants to remain in session for longer than an hour per week,” he said. “Given that, it’s unclear how such a process could practically occur.”

Fica disputed the existence of any procedural hurdles. “There is no guideline in the Constitution or in the bylaws that says, ‘This specific person can bring in a resolution,’” he said. “Nevin is free to sponsor any resolution, and so long as

Meet the Candidates in This Week’s First-Year College Council Elections

By DANIEL FEI | News Reporter

This fall, Undergraduate Student Government (USG) elections will take place between 9 a.m. on Monday, November 3 and 4 p.m. on Friday, November 7. First-years will receive their ballots via email and can vote for up to five candidates through Blueprint.

The Maroon spoke with this year’s Class of 2029 candidates for College Council (CC) to capture their respective platforms. CC members sit on at least two committees, which develop policy proposals that go to the full council for approval.

Candidates Diya Kondur and Gavin Wynn declined to participate. Aarnav Chopra and Logan Shim did not respond to requests for comment. Juan Kim, Nick Kopaliani, and Amara Nwuneli contributed written responses.

Olivia Diaz (Audrey and Olivia Party) said that while there are many academic and professional resources on campus, the process of finding them can often be overwhelming. USG should work on “simplifying that down, so that people really understand they have support here and [so that] it’s easy to find,” Diaz said.

She also thinks that ensuring students are able to have the same academic advisors through their time at UChicago is important to support students academically. “Making sure that [advisors] are staying long-term so students can have them for the entirety of their four years is really important,” Diaz said.

Diaz served as the student body president of her high school. “Through my leadership experience, I’ve developed a strong commitment to advocacy, leadership, and collaboration,” Diaz said.

Carmen Gonzalez Valle believes students should be able to use Maroon Dollars on printers and wants to reduce wait times for Vias. She also wants to promote student life and engagement with the city. “I want everyone to have a great experience, not just within the school, but also I want people to feel safe enough to actually get to know the city,” Gonzalez Valle said.

Gonzalez Valle served as both a student board representative and senator in her

high school’s government, noting at the time that students were often disconnected from student government. “If I [were] elected, I would want to make sure that everyone knew what was going on—the ins and outs,” Gonzalez Valle said.

Aaron Horowitz said students should have the option to pay for laundry with Maroon Dollars. “It wouldn’t really create an additional cost for the administration because the funding is already there. But also, if this policy were implemented, students wouldn’t be required to pay out of pocket for laundry,” Horowitz said.

He also suggested that USG should better promote its work within the community. “USG could be doing a better job [at explaining] what the stakes are, what it’s responsible for doing, [and] why it matters,” Horowitz said. “Once USG starts doing that, more people will get excited about USG.”

Juan Kim said that “leadership means creating change that you can actually witness.” Kim hopes to improve student life by facilitating communication between students and the administration. “Better communication about resources, clearer feedback systems, and more accessible support can make a big difference in how connected we feel as a community,” Kim said.

He said that he runs a social enterprise which operates a bakery, café, and online market with 30 volunteers and seven employees. It donates 100 percent of its profits to single mothers and orphans. “That experience has taught me how to manage teams, listen to different perspectives, and turn ideas into real impact,” Kim said.

Nick Kopaliani aims to “fight for experiences that make UChicago memorable beyond the classroom” and “make our campus experience match the excellence of our education.” He said that, as a CC representative, he would push to make essential amenities such as toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and laundry services free for on-campus students. He would also advocate for spring concerts featuring pop and hip-hop artists. Kopaliani previously served as class

treasurer for his high school’s student government. “Coming from a small rural public school where collaboration was essential… I feel that I am well equipped to bridge divides, listen to different perspectives, and get things done efficiently,” he said.

Audrey Krajewski (Audrey and Olivia Party) is focused on “promoting wellness more around campus and trying to make sure that students are aware of the mental health resources [available].” Krajewski believes that “wellness pop-up days” and similar events are one way that USG can promote mental health.

In high school, Krajewski founded a nonprofit focused on teaching coding to students across 16 countries who were engaged in robotics. Krajewski also served on her principal’s advisory board and student council throughout high school.

Kumar thinks that bold, unconventional thinking is a key part of UChicago’s character and history. “[The University is] always pushing the boundaries. And I think that’s paying dividends for us.… Not all our crazy ideas work, but the fact that we’re trying these new ideas is something that really resonates with me at UChicago,” Kumar said.

Siddharth Mitra wants to introduce weekly office hours for students to speak to their USG representatives. “If there’s any problem on campus, [students] don’t need to wait—they have a place every week where they can approach at least two out of [their class’s] five College Council members,” Mitra said.

He also wants to ensure that RSOs create plenty of application opportunities in the winter quarter so that students don’t

Mukul Kumar wants to solicit new projects and ideas for USG. “Imagine having a rap battle in the middle of the Reg,” he said. “I mean, it sounds crazy—but the main point for me isn’t only… my ideas, it’s about hearing other people’s crazy ideas.”

CONTINUED ON PG. 5

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“These are people with whom we trust over $2 million a year.... They represent us, and we should ask who we want representing us.”

CONTINUED FROM PG. 2

he emails it to me, I can put that on the agenda.”

He added that if Hall sent him a resolution “a reasonable amount of time” before a CC meeting, he would make time for it on the agenda. “My job is to be as unbiased as possible,” he said. “I have zero personal qualms with Nevin. If he wants to run for College Council, and [if] he can convince nine members of College Council to undo his impeachment, then I will welcome him with open arms.”

Multiple CC members declined to comment on whether they supported seating Hall.

No USG bylaws or policies prevent Hall from running in the election regardless of his eligibility for office, according to Love. He added that E&R would report two versions of the results to College Council, one including votes for Hall and one excluding them, and leave it to CC to decide whether Hall is eligible.

“In the end, when it comes to the actual seating of College Council repre -

sentatives, that’s not E&R’s purview,” he said.

Love added that Hall would “almost certainly” receive the most votes, since he is the only candidate on the ballot. If Hall cannot take office, the top two write-in candidates would win the seats.

Hall—who described himself as having done “more or less everything for student government”—served as acting VPSO and chaired E&R, the Program Coordinating Council, and the Committee on Academic Teams before he was impeached. He has also served on the University’s Library Student Advisory Council and the Independent Review Committee for the University of Chicago Police Department, which are groups separate from USG. He has never held an elected position.

He described a variety of reform efforts as priorities should he be seated, emphasizing an overhaul of how USG manages RSO funding.

“[USG needs] no-nonsense reforms that basically go, ‘The pot of money

hasn’t grown. RSO needs appear to be growing. Let’s ensure that RSO needs are actually growing,’” Hall said.

He proposed more audits of RSOs to ensure they spend money as student government allocates it, reassessing which RSOs fall under the jurisdiction of separate committees with separate budgets, and clarifying USG’s funding guidelines, among other ideas.

He emphasized the importance of improving accountability in USG. “These are people with whom we trust over $2 million a year,” he said. “They represent us, and we should ask who we want representing us.”

Hall also called for the elected CC to take on more responsibility. “It’s a little strange to me that, in the course of my impeachment, nobody asked the question, ‘Why can unelected administrators accrue so much [power]?’” he said. “We have a boatload of elected positions, many of which do substantively nothing, and I’d like to change that—more College Council involvement on every committee.”

Hall argued that disqualifying him from office after the election would be unfair. “Is it reasonable to exclude the guy who wrote the primer for how USG finance works and is the only person who has real experience in running elections, in running RSO finances, in dealing with University administration, particularly if the electorate picks him?” he asked. “I would say no—particularly because, assuming what’s alleged in the impeachment resolution is true, which it largely isn’t, I can’t do that again in College Council.”

CC, USG’s legislative body, votes on proposals that originate in committees; approved proposals then return to committees to be implemented. CC members typically sit on committees.

Fuentes said it was not his responsibility to judge Hall’s eligibility. “I personally have no strong feelings towards Nevin at all,” he said. “I think he’s an incredibly talented budget person…. I don’t think I get to make the decision.”

College Offers New Kreyòl and Haitian Studies Minor

By LARK MARTIN | News Reporter

Beginning in autumn 2025, the College is offering a new minor in Kreyòl and Haitian studies, housed in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.

The minor program was developed by assistant instructional professor of French and Haitian Creole Gerdine Ulysse. The minor requirements include two Kreyòl language courses and four other upper level courses spanning language, culture, and literature concerning francophone Caribbean culture, Haitian culture and society, and Creole-speaking communities.

Students will be encouraged to branch across departments and areas of study to fulfill the second requirement, according to Ulysse. “For us, it’s important for the program to be a collaborative initiative, where students can take courses from

other departments as well,” Ulysse said.

“It’s a way to bring faculty members together, working towards the same goal.”

The minor combines language and sociocultural learning to give students a holistic view of Haitian life. “Language is intertwined with culture,” Ulysse said.

“Our role is to give students an overall picture of the Haitian context. It’s not just language, but also other aspects of the society.”

Kreyòl courses were first offered in autumn 2021 when Ulysse arrived at the University as the sole lecturer in Kreyòl and Haitian studies. But, when she arrived at the University, Ulysse thought the need for a true Kreyòl program was obvious. “When I came, I wanted to create a program, and the school supported it,” Ulysse said.

“I saw that students needed this,” she

said. Before the introduction of the minor, students could take six or more Kreyòl courses, but they would only count toward a minor or major in Romance languages and literatures, not as a stand-alone certificate. The process of building the minor program began in autumn 2024 and the minor was approved in February 2025.

A stand-alone program in Kreyòl and Haitian studies is rare within higher education institutions in the United States. Only a few other institutions, such as Duke University and the University of Florida, offer dedicated Haitian Creole programs. Still, most programs are part of a broader francophone studies program, often without Haitian leadership at the forefront.

“With my background in sociolinguistics and also as a Haitian, I think that I have a personal duty [to create this program]. For me, it is important to see Kreyòl at the same level as every

other language,” Ulysse said. “Especially in higher education, we want people to see that we need to go beyond offering a course.”

“This is beyond UChicago,” she continued. “This is something I’m doing for the people of my country.”

Third-year Kreyòl student and President of Kreyòl Club Jessica Pierre emphasized the broader importance of an official program in giving visibility to the Creole language community. “People who speak Creole languages are often underrepresented and underserved,” she said. “Because Creole languages come from a history of colonization, there is a lot of stigma around if they are considered real languages.”

The program aims to provide a comprehensive education in Haitian culture, history, and language. “If you are interested in any attribute of the Haitian peo -

“This

fall, Undergraduate Student Government elections

will take place

between 9 a.m. on Monday, November 3 and 4 p.m. on Friday, November 7.”

CONTINUED FROM PG. 3

have to wait until the following year if they missed sign-ups in autumn. “Every RSO has quite a rigorous application season in the fall. But most of us don’t know exactly what we want to do, and, for a lot of us, it gets pretty overwhelming,” Mitra said.

Kavon Mouton (Unfiltered Party) is focused on mental health and improving student morale on campus. He aims to achieve this through a variety of events: musical chairs on the quad, added mental health resources during midterms, and therapy dog visits on campus.

Mouton served as student body president in high school and is a member of business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi. He believes these experiences will help him be an effective representative in USG.

Amara Nwuneli grew up “between cultures and continents—from West Africa to the U.S. and beyond”—which deeply influenced her understanding of community and drew her to UChicago. “I’ve learned to find home in conversation, in shared laughter, and in spaces where people are curious about the world and each other,” she said, describing UChicago as a vibrant, curious family.

Nwuneli wants to expand the ArtsPass program to include concerts and live events across Chicago. She would organize more

first-year social and pre-professional mixers and implement a system for students to request guest speakers. Nwuneli would also aim to improve quality-of-life issues related to laundry and shared spaces on campus, including an increased range of discounts and free subscriptions.

“What sets me apart [from other candidates] is my ability to connect big ideas with everyday experiences — to take inspiration and turn it into something tangible, joyful, and lasting,” she said.

Miah Reyes (Unfiltered Party) wants to serve as a connection between USG and students. “I just [want] to be able to be a kind of mediator for people—if they see an issue, they can know that they can come to me and have someone to rely on,” Reyes said.

Reyes is also focused on promoting mental health and student morale on campus. She hopes to achieve this through USG-sponsored events on campus and additional mental health resources, such as therapy dogs. In high school, Reyes worked with the school administration to bring policy change wanted by students. “I have a lot of experience with working with administrative people and being somewhat of a bridge from the students to the teachers,” Reyes said.

Nik Rizvi (Nik and Abdon Party) said he loves organizing community gatherings

such as cookouts and study groups. He advocates for more catered class-wide events. “We’ll work day by day,” Rizvi said. “[We’ll] toil night after night, just to help people.”

As a pre-med student, Rizvi makes an effort to give back at least once per week, whether it be volunteering at the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative, providing hospice care, or assisting in labs.

Ubaldo Rodriguez’s campaign is driven by a demand for greater financial transparency at UChicago. “Our tuition costs have been rising year over year, and that is largely due to spending money that we simply do not have,” Rodriguez said. “I believe that it is the University’s responsibility to be clear and transparent about where the tuition is going.”

He plans to pressure the administration to form a commission that would release an annual budget report—available to all students and faculty—outlining how and why funds are being allocated, and plans to advocate for a community forum where students and faculty could voice their suggestions and concerns about the budget. He also proposed a credit system for laundry, billed quarterly along with meal plans.

Rodriguez has previously served in leadership roles in high school and in local government, including advocating for and helping to pass legislation with the city council.

Timur Tuncman wants to streamline what he describes as the “tedious” process of signing in guests at residence halls, suggesting that one-time sign-ins might be the answer. He said he hopes students will realize that USG can “have a significant influence in the community” and encouraged everyone to vote.

Tuncman served on his high school student council for four years and was inspired by its effectiveness. He hopes to use his amiability and experience collaborating with administrators to make a similar impact at UChicago.

Abdon Valenciana (Nik and Abdon Party) emphasized the importance of active listening and time-efficient responses over poor communication. After hearing about social challenges during O-Week, Valenciana hopes to build stronger bonds among first-years. “There’s people in my classes that I haven’t really spoken a word to—it just doesn’t feel like a community,” he said. “I hope to give our class and future first-years more time to connect and make new friends.”

Valenciana served as a senior class representative at his high school, noting a “disconnect” between student government and the student body. “I hope to bridge that gap [at UChicago] and host events where students with concerns can come directly to Nik and [me].”

Netflix Film Saturn Return Shoots on UChicago Campus

By DANIEL FEI | News Reporter

Netflix transformed campus into a working movie set for its upcoming film, Saturn Return, from October 3–20, recording scenes in and around campus buildings including Kent Chemical Laboratory and Regenstein Library.

Directed by Academy Award nominee Greg Kwedar, the film is a romance following two college sweethearts as they navigate “love, loss, and life’s unexpected turns” over the course of ten years. The cast features Rachel Brosnahan, Charles Melton, and Will Poulter. Other filming lo-

cations included Ida Noyes Hall, Botany Pond, the main quad, and the Psi Upsilon Omega fraternity house.

First-year Will Stewart, who served as an extra in the film, described his experience with the filming process: “It was… almost eight hours of being on set,” Stewart said. “But it was really cool to see how a movie production works and meeting all the people behind the scenes… [and] we got to talk a little bit with the directors [and] some of the actors.”

“Not many people get [to be in a] Net-

flix movie… and it just makes me appreciate watching movies so much more,” he continued. “[It’s] definitely one experience I don’t regret doing and would love to do again if I ever got the opportunity.”

Other students, like first-year Duy Le, simply observed the production. Le, who passes Ida Noyes on his walk to class every morning, said he understood the appeal of filming at the University.

“The campus is very beautiful… [with] Harry Potter architecture, so it makes sense that people would want to make a movie that takes place here,” Le said. “I’ve heard people complain about being ush-

ered [away] when they were walking along the quad… but personally, I think it’s just a minor inconvenience.”

One anonymous Sidechat post from during the filming read, “[H]onestly the filming is an inconvenience, but in a couple years we’re all gonna be watching this movie and pointing out all the buildings they show in the movie to our friends.”

The University of Chicago has been the filming location for other movies, including The Fugitive and Divergent

Members of the cast and crew were not able to share plot details or take interviews due to non-disclosure agreements.

CONTINUED FROM PG. 4

“The program is taking things day by day.”

ple—it could be the history or the culture, music, food, regardless of where you came from, your origins, your background—the program is for you,” Ulysse said.

The Kreyòl and Haitian studies program plans to collaborate with the Kreyòl Club, which Ulysse founded as a space for Kreyòl students to practice the language. The Kreyòl Club organizes events like a celebration of Haitian Heritage Month in May and an upcoming Kreyòl Poster Event on November 19. “The Kreyòl Club

is a place for students to practice their Haitian Creole and to learn more about Haitian culture,” Pierre said.

Ulysse highlighted opportunities for cultural immersion off campus as well.

One course, KREY 20400, will take students to Haitian restaurants, the Haitian American Museum of Chicago, and the Haitian Consulate of Chicago. This course is cross-listed with Chicago Studies and the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity and also collaborates with the DuSable Heritage Association,

coordinating guest speaker presentations for students in the minor.

The primary goal for the Kreyòl and Haitian studies program in the coming years is to ensure its long-term viability, Ulysse said. “We want the minor to be more stable, because it is still a new initiative, before we turn to a major.”

She added that hiring more faculty and developing more courses will ensure the program can sustain itself. While Ulysse is currently the only professor of Kreyòl and Haitian Studies, the Department of

Romance Languages and Literatures is in the process of hiring a part-time lecturer, she said.

As the College’s Division of the Arts & Humanities faces possible restructuring to cut administrative costs, the future of many programs, including Kreyòl and Haitian studies, is uncertain. When asked about the potential impact of these changes, Ulysse said, “I have not heard anything about the program being different in the future. The program is taking things day by day.”

John Kirby Named New Director of UChicago Institute of Politics

By DEREK HSU | Deputy News Editor and ELENA EISENSTADT | Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Retired Rear Admiral John Kirby will serve as the next director of The University of Chicago Institute of Politics (IOP), the nonpartisan center announced earlier this week. Kirby will succeed former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp and will begin his new role on November 15.

“The University and the Institute have incredible reputations for rigor, for open dialogue, [and] for an innovative and creative approach to creating space where current events can be really explored…. I just want to make sure that I continue to rise to that standard,” he told the Maroon about stepping into his new role.

Kirby comes to the IOP after serving in the Biden administration as assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, and most recently, as the White House national security communications advisor from 2022 to 2025. Kirby also served as spokesperson for the U.S. State Department under the second Obama administration.

Drawing from nearly three decades of military experience, Kirby said he hopes to incorporate an additional focus on national security in IOP programming. Specifically, he said he would provide students with opportunities to continue exploring challenges to U.S. security, including cyber threats, climate change, transnational criminal organizations, and the effects of mass migration.

Kirby intends to draw on his pro -

fessional relationships and experience working in six presidential administrations across both parties to recruit new IOP guests and fellows. He said he is particularly interested in bringing current and former military leaders to the IOP.

“I want to make sure that we continue to have a healthy conversation in this country about the role of the United States military and continue to try to form muscle and sinew between American citizens and their military,” he said.

Kirby also plans to support the IOP in its fundraising and student engagement efforts—two key priorities Heitkamp highlighted for the next IOP director in her Maroon interview this spring.

As incoming director, Kirby plans to further evaluate the IOP’s fundraising goals to “get a better sense of where we need to go,” he said.

Kirby previously engaged with UChicago students in July 2024 when he participated in a moderated interview for IOP summer interns in Washington, D.C. He is now in the process of moving from Virginia to Chicago to be present on-site at the IOP, which, he said, was crucial to fulfilling his responsibility as director.

The IOP, founded in 2013, provides UChicago students with opportunities to engage in public service and discussions on pressing political issues. Two weeks after the establishment of a pro-Palestine encampment on the main quad in May 2024, pro-Palestine protesters

briefly occupied the IOP building next to campus to protest the Israel–Hamas War and what they called the University’s “current complicity in the genocide of Palestinians.”

When Heitkamp, who was in the building at the time, asked the protesters why they were occupying the IOP, a nonpartisan institution, protesters responded, “Everyone has to choose a side.”

While serving as White House national security communications advisor, Kirby drew criticism for saying it was “inappropriate” to describe Israel’s conduct in its war against Hamas after October 7, 2023 as a genocide. Instead, he said that Hamas wanted “a genocide. They want to wipe Israel off the map.… If we’re going to start using that word, fine. Let’s use it appropriately.”

Asked how his White House communications experience would shape his role at the IOP amid a divisive campus climate, Kirby told the Maroon that, although his role had been to explain national security policy on conflicts around the world including the Israel–Hamas war, “that’s not my job here.”

“My role here is to be the best possible director of the Institute of Politics that I can be and to do everything I can to make sure that this amazing institution, and the terrific fellows, and students, and staff that make it up can have the conversations, can have the dialogue, [and] can explore the value of public service and engage citizenship in the most effective way possible,” he said.

President Paul Alivisatos and Provost

John Kirby will serve as the next director of the Institute of Politics, beginning November 15. courtesy

Katherine Baicker called Kirby “exceptionally qualified to carry forward the Institute of Politics’ mission to provide students with the opportunities, mentorship, and perspectives necessary to engage thoughtfully and constructively in civic and political life.”

Following the announcement of Kirby’s appointment, David Axelrod, the IOP’s founding director and chair of its board of advisors, described him as “a thoughtful, proven leader whose lifelong commitment to service, extensive experience, and dedication to constructive dialogue align perfectly with our values and mission.”

Editor’s note: David Axelrod is a member of the Maroon Advisory Board.

of john kirby.

Map: Tracking ICE Activity Near UChicago

By ELENA EISENSTADT | Deputy Editor-in-Chief and NATHANIEL RODWELL-SIMON | Deputy News Editor

How to Use the Map

Viewers can hover over each marker to view information about when the enforcement was sighted and how the Maroon verified the sighting. The markers do not represent the real-time locations of federal ICE agents.

Sending Reports to the Maroon

The Maroon is collecting evidence of immigration enforcement activity (e.g., a timestamped photo or video) to verify reports of ICE activity around campus. To submit a report and evidence, please contact the Maroon at editor@chicagomaroon.com or submit a tip through the tip form. If you prefer to use Signal, the Maroon can be reached at nrodwellsimon.50. The Maroon protects source information, and your name and contact information will only be seen by the paper’s editors.

The Maroon will not directly publish the video or photo evidence it receives of immigration enforcement within this map but will instead use photos and videos to verify and review each report. The Maroon advises everyone to follow best safety practices from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) when documenting ICE activities.

The Maroon uses image metadata to verify the date and time of ICE activity. Visual evidence will also be verified through comparisons with Google Street View or by editors visiting the location where the image or video was purportedly taken.

The Maroon refers to law enforcement officers specifically as “federal immigration agents” when visual evidence shows officers with visible ICE insignia, or when officers are referred to as such by the sources the Maroon uses to confirm reports. If the Maroon receives visual evidence of an immigration enforcement detention showing no visible insignia related to ICE, the Maroon will refer to them as “law enforcement officers.”

Contact editor@chicagomaroon.com with any questions or concerns.

Como usar el mapa

Los lectores pueden pasar el cursor sobre cada marcador para ver cuándo se vio el avistamiento y cómo lo verificó el Maroon. Los marcadores no indican la ubicación actual de los agentes.

Enviar informes al Maroon

El Maroon está recopilando evidencia de actividad de agentes de inmigración (por ejemplo, una foto o un video con marca de tiempo) para verificar informes.

Para enviar informes o evidencia, por favor contacta a el Maroon en editor@ chicagomaroon.com o enviar un “tip” a través de este formulario. El Maroon también puede ser contactado vía Signal: nrodwellsimon.50. El Maroon protege la información de sus fuentes, así que su nombre y su información sólo serán vistos por los editores del periódico.

El Maroon no publica los videos ni las fotos de evidencia sobre actividad migratoria recibida con este mapa. En lugar de eso, se utiliza fotos y videos para corroborar cada informe.

Se recomienda que todos sigan las mejores prácticas de seguridad recomendadas por la Coalición de Illinois por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes y Refugiados cuando están documentando actividades de ICE.

El Maroon usa el metadata visual para verificar la fecha y tiempo del avistamiento. Evidencia visual también sera verificado tras comparaciones con el Google Street View o por editores visitando el lugar donde el imagen o video fue hecho.

El Maroon se refiere a agentes de la ley como “agentes federales de inmigración” solo cuando existe evidencia visual que muestra agentes con insignia visible de ICE o Border Patrol, o cuando las fuentes que el Maroon utiliza para confirmar los informes se refieren a los oficiales como tales. Si el Maroon recibe evidencia visual de una detención de inmigración que no muestra insignia visible de ICE, se refieren a los agentes como “agentes de la ley.”

Contacta editor@chicagomaroon. com con preguntas o preocupaciones en ingles o español.

Resources

The ICIRR runs a family support hotline where callers can report ICE activity. Callers can request support for finding people who are detained or connecting with an immigration legal counsel. The ICIRR hotline can be reached at (1–855) 435–7693.

Additionally, the ICIRR runs the Illinois “Eyes on ICE” Text Network, a text alert system that sends prompt reports of verified ICE activity around the city. Join the Illinois “Eyes on ICE” Text Network at the link on our website.

The Kenwood/Hyde Park/Woodlawn Rapid Response Network is an ICIRR-affiliated group working to verify, record, and alert people about immigration enforcement activities specifically in the area around UChicago.

For alerts and communication about ICE activity in Hyde Park, Kenwood, and Woodlawn, join the Kenwood/Hyde Park/ Woodlawn Rapid Response Network’s WhatsApp and follow it on Instagram.

The Illinois Immigration Information Hub provides free and multilingual advice for finding legal assistance and preparing for ICE raids, as well as steps to take if a friend or family member has been detained.

Recursos

La coalición de Illinois para los derechos de los inmigrantes y refugiados (ICIRR) tiene un línea telefónica de apoyo familiar donde cualquier persona puede reportar actividades de ICE. Pueden pedir apoyo para encontrar personas detenidas o conectarse con un asesor legal de inmigración. Llame a la línea: (1–855) 435–7693.

Además, ICIRR administra la “Eyes on ICE” red de texto de Illinois, un sistema de alertas de texto que envía informes rápidos de actividad de ICE verificado por toda la ciudad. Únete a la red aquí.

El equipo de la Respuesta Rápida de Kenwood, Hyde Park, y Woodlawn es un grupo afiliado con el ICIRR que trabaja para verificar, registrar, y alertar a la gente sobre las actividades del ICE por las zonas cerca de UChicago.

Para estas alertas, únete al Whatsapp de la Respuesta Rápida de Kenwood, Hyde Park, y Woodlawn o sigue su cuenta de Instagram.

El centro de información sobre inmigración de Illinois proporciona consejos gratuitos y multilingües para encontrar asistencia legal y prepararse para las redadas de ICE, así como los pasos a seguir si un amigo o familiar ha sido detenido.

VIEWPOINTS

New Writing Program Works in Theory. That’s the Problem.

The replacement class appears to be a retreat into the abstract, decontextualized version of writing instruction the University once prided itself on avoiding.

By BRENT FERGUSSON

A recent Maroon article detailed a change on campus that cuts me to the core: the writing program is being sunset. Or at least, the writing program as it has existed for the last 40 years is. That itself is not a problem; change is inevitable. However, the replacement class all undergrads will soon be required to take appears to be a retreat into the very kind of abstract, decontextualized version of writing instruction the University once prided itself on avoiding.

To make my biases clear straightaway, I am an alum of the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities, where I took the flagship course Academic and Professional Writing, nicknamed the “Little Red Schoolhouse” (LRS). I later worked as a writing intern, trained by the writing program and embedded in the humanities Core teaching writing seminars. Then I trained other writing interns. Finally, I worked as a lector, TA–ing a section of LRS. (I have not worked for the writing program since 2020.) But my bias runs even deeper—my stepfather Larry McEnerney ran the program for 30 years. I was raised on the functional power of “however” and knew from a young age the value of a problem.

So what’s my problem now?

The one place on campus that I saw resisting the siren song of “theory” is now giving in and embracing the abstract.

Taking the place of the writing program’s presence in the

humanities Core is a new class, titled Inquiry, Conversation, Argument” (ICA), which seems to me to fly in the face of 40 years of writing training at UChicago.

At the risk of being reductive, instead of teaching that writing is an embedded facet of academic work, it’s a writing 101 class that removes writing from academic work and instead teaches it as an abstract skill.

What do I mean when I say writing is being made abstract?

In a classic writing 101 class, students are all engaging with the same question, presumably chosen to facilitate the teaching of writing. In doing so, the class removes students from the realities of writing. In the real world, academic and professional writers do not get to choose their topics. The topics are determined by the demands of the job or are part of a “conversation” between interlocutors in a field. I challenge you to find me an article in an academic journal that doesn’t engage with, respond to, refute, or challenge other articles.

When students write on a generic topic that exists to facilitate the teaching of writing, they are abstracted from actual readers. Imagine playing chess, but you’re never allowed to see or think about what your opponent’s moves are. Imagine teaching students to play chess but telling them they don’t need an opponent to play!

Teaching writing as if there are abstract and universal rules or qualities that make it “good” is a devastating mistake. Are Trump’s tweets “good writing”?

If you think you can answer that without first asking who the audience is and what the function of the writing is, you may have taken a writing 101 class.

I’m making these claims based on a review of the syllabus, which we all know might not accurately represent the class. But based on what I’m seeing, I think concern is warranted regarding the aspects of argument that are stressed. Arguments will be “logical” and “grounded in analysis of evidence.” Obviously, I have no problem with logic or the analysis of evidence, both of which are essential in academic writing. But crucially, students must learn that logic is not abstract; it does not operate outside of communities and disciplines. I can hear my undergraduate logic professor shrieking as I write this, but the logic of arguments in history is different from the logic of biology, which is different from the logic of law, which is different from the logic of anthropology, and so on.

Anyone paying attention to the world in the last decade should know that logic is usually not what convinces people to accept an argument. More precisely, different communities rely on different logics to create truth. Those who fail to see how logic functions within community are those who wonder why their article is not getting published in the journals they want to be in, “even though their logic is perfect.”

As for analyzing evidence, students at UChicago don’t need to be told how to analyze things; they’ve been doing that since fifth grade. What they need is to learn

how to argue. And academic and professional writers cannot be successful arguers if their logic and analysis are made abstract from their readers.

UChicago has long avoided a “writing 101”–style requirement, and for good reason: those classes treat writing as an abstract skill that can be removed from the field in which one is writing. The qualities of good writing are the same whether you are writing an email to your mother or writing an article for the Journal of Economic Perspectives, a writing 101 syllabus would say. But it’s obviously the case that different fields have different expectations for writing, and even within fields, writing can function differently for different audiences and goals. However, we are ideologically inclined not to like that, because it’s hard and complex. Truth should be simple! And should not contra-

dict Itself! So we create writing 101 classes.

The philosophy of ICA and the new writing program seems to be that the skills students learn in generic topics—writer-centered topics—will transfer to specialized, reader-centered writing. But will they? Does the five-paragraph essay? Starting with a “hook”? The “funnel method” of introductions? These are the things that the writing program has spent 40 years drilling out of undergraduates who were only ever trained before coming to UChicago to make writing instructors and standardized test–graders happy.

The writing program always delivered an inconsistent product because it embraced this complexity, but that was a feature, not a bug. By hiring people with master’s degrees and some Ph.D.s

marysabella llamas .

“They will get clear rules about what makes ‘good writing.’ And, because of it, they will be much worse at writing.”

CONTINUED FROM PG. 8

(people who were engaged in academic work, as opposed to people engaged in writing instruction), the writing seminars were inherently chaotic. But consistency came from the fact that the teachers were actually writing in their field. The coherence didn’t come from teaching writing as an abstract skill to be applied in a field. The teachers were working on an article for Critical Inquiry They were publishing in Philological Quarterly. They were actively

engaged with their interlocutors, and they needed to think about their readers in order to be successful.

Now undergraduates at UChicago are losing the concrete connection to the people here who are doing the work of actual academic writing. Instead of publishing in the Chicago Journal of Sociology, they are teaching writing.

Apologies to those in this boat, but according to the new director of the writing program, the new instructional professors

teaching this course “represent the best qualified and most effective writing instructors in the country.” Respectfully (because Lord knows I don’t have any of these skills), wouldn’t it be better to choose effective writers? I have found that it’s rarely the case that effective academic writers teach writing. Effective academic writers are doing research and getting published in academic journals in their field.

If I had to guess, from now on, undergrads here will get a more

standardized experience. They will get clear rules about what makes “good writing.” And, because of it, they will be much worse at writing. Because writing isn’t standardized. A good argument is not good because it’s logical, or because the evidence has been analyzed. It’s not good because it follows rules. A good argument convinces the readers the author wants to convince.

The debates about what the new writing program should be like ended at some point a year

Who Is Policing the State?

ago. I’m not sure what writing this accomplishes beyond simple venting, and I hope I’m overreacting. It certainly may be the case that there is already a plan in place to avoid these pitfalls. But we are at UChicago, and it’s usually a safe bet that UChicago will move toward the abstract. It often serves us well… but not when it comes to writing instruction.

Brent Fergusson is the assistant dean of students for academic records and systems.

ICE’s policing tactics pose a deep threat to the notion that power is supposed to answer to the people.

By ADAM ZAIDI

It’s no secret that President Trump has been wielding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) like a weapon, using presidential power to enforce ideology through fear. The Trump administration’s renewed immigration crackdown, couched in rhetoric of border safety and criminal aliens, has revived a very similar machinery of surveillance and intimidation to that used past authoritarian regimes. Its nasty tendrils have spread all across the city and have unfortunately made their way onto our campus. The ICE crackdown is not an immigration issue; it’s a case study in the dissolution of democracy, and Chicago has been experiencing it firsthand.

On September 8, ICE started its “Operation Midway Blitz,” targeting “criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago.” Not four days later, ICE agents conducted a vehicle stop in Franklin Park, a Chicago suburb, and fatally shot

Silverio Villegas González during what the agency described as “targeted law enforcement activity.” González was a father of two and the first casualty of Chicago’s ICE crackdown. Beyond resulting in the tragic loss of life, this incident signals the unpredictability of enforcement. What begins as a traffic stop can end in tragedy, as we have so often seen with Black drivers across the United States. This pattern of racialized policing is only compounded by ICE. The agency operates at the intersection of race, citizenship, and criminalization, expanding the same traffic stop logic that has long endangered Black Americans to anyone perceived as “foreign,” now with the blessing of the Supreme Court. What makes this overlap so dangerous is how it mirrors the very structure of a police state: diffuse authority, overlapping enforcement, and constant uncertainty about who holds power. That ambiguity is another tenet of a police state: control without clarity and power without accountability.

This past month, a large Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE raid at a South Shore Chicago apartment building led to the arrest of 37 people. Besides lacking human decency, as people were pulled out of their beds in the night—some residents were undressed, children were separated from parents, and U.S. citizens were zip-tied alongside undocumented immigrants—the spectacle was unmistakable, complete with flashbang grenades and helicopters. This area-wide sweep essentially acted as a collective punishment for all living there, leading to collateral arrests and blanket fear within the community. The Ministry for State Security (Stasi) in East Germany used similar midnight raids and visible shows of force to remind citizens that no home was private and that no person was beyond their reach. What connects the South Shore raid to the traditions of police states is not simply the people arrested; it’s that these agents entered their homes as an occupying

force, treated people indiscriminately as subjects of suspicion, and turned the apartment building into a stage of dominance.

My online algorithms seem to think that I am a Spanish speaker, pushing me more and more ads in Spanish. Recently, though, I was served an ad with Secretary of

Homeland Security Kristi Noem telling me I should self-deport rather than face the consequences of ICE raids and deportation. What struck me wasn’t just the ad itself but how easily the language of state power had crept into my personal feed. In classic

rhea sadagopan

“The state no longer needs propaganda murals or uniformed patrols... it has algorithms, data brokers, and tech firms that do the work invisibly.”

police states, control depends on visibility, being tracked, and being reminded that the government knows who you are. Without the Big Brother poster staring down at you, how do you know that you are being watched? The state no longer needs propaganda murals or uniformed patrols to remind you of its reach; it has algorithms, data brokers, and tech firms that do the work invisibly.

Behind much of that infrastructure sits companies like Palantir, whose software quietly powers ICE’s ability to track,

target, and detain. In 2019, Vice reported on one of the largest immigration raids at the time and found out that Palantir’s FALCON Tipline, a tool used by the DHS, was used to methodically plan cut raids. Technology like this allows the government to watch without being seen and to predict rather than respond. That’s the essence of a police state: not just punishing disobedience but also anticipating it. Just earlier this year, the federal government introduced a new database system called ImmigrationOS with the help of a $30 million contract from, once again,

Palantir. The platform links Department of Motor Vehicles files, license plate scans, utilities, and more into dashboards used by Enforcement and Removal Operations. This is the machine that helps them target whoever they like, with the added benefit of scale and invisibility. By linking together data trails from everyday life, ICE can have the ability to make entire communities legible to the state. In East Germany, that legibility came through the Stasi’s informant networks; today it comes through algorithms. The difference is scale. What once re-

quired thousands of human spies can now be achieved with a few lines of code.

In a recent article in the Maroon, it was revealed that Housing & Residence Life directed resident heads and resident assistants to call the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) if any federal immigration enforcement agent enters a UChicago dorm. On paper (email), that policy offers some reassurance for students whose ethnicity or accent might implicate them. But how do we know ICE would stop for UCPD? The agency has already shown it

can operate with impunity, entering homes without judicial warrants and escalating routine encounters into violence. While there is no precedent for agents entering actual college dorms, there have already been sightings and stoppings around campus. The boundary between public safety and state power is dissolving fast, and once that line is gone, fear and surveillance are no longer things of the past and become our reality.

Adam Zaidi is a second-year in the College.

ARTS CSO Wind Ensemble Showcases the Art of Remixing

By ALKIS KARMPALIOTIS | Arts Reporter

What does classical music have to do with artificial intelligence? More than you might think.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s (CSO) wind octet kicked off the 2025–26 CSO Chamber Music series, hosted by UChicago Presents, with a wide-ranging program featuring Mozart and Prokofiev on October 12. The concert was the first of three performances that address one of the most urgent issues of our time: artificial intelligence.

Paula Harper, assistant professor in the Department of Music and the series faculty partner, collaborated with CSO musicians and UChicago Presents to develop themes for the season. “Maybe you don’t immediately think of AI when you think of classical music, or vice versa,” Harper said in her pre-concert lecture, “but I think there are a number of issues in the conversation around this explosive new technology that

have resonances with longer histories and other domains—like music.”

Sunday’s concert explored the idea of musical “remixes” and the different ways that art can be adapted and repurposed.

“Generative AI tools are, effectively, remix machines on a massive scale,” Harper said in the lecture, “ingesting huge training sets and then predictively rearranging their components into new outputs.”

Of course, the practice of remixing music is nothing new—and certainly not a bad thing. Modern artists do it all the time, mixing and matching various musical samples to create new, creative products. Even centuries ago, piano transcriptions of orchestral compositions were common. Sunday’s concert featured several such remixes, including arrangements of music originally composed for different instruments, as well as musical adaptations of plays and novels.

The program began, bright and lively, with three solemn chords and a spiritual chorale, followed by a rapid-fire fugue

that kept us on the edge of our seats. The charming arrangement of the overture to

Eight performers from the CSO wind ensemble. courtesy of uchicago presents

“Every new performance is a remix of its own....

That’s what enables art to stay alive across time.”

CONTINUED FROM PG. 10

Mozart’s The Magic Flute filled the air with the vibrant spirit of the fairy-tale opera, rapidly oscillating between calmness and intensity, happiness and darkness.

Going in, I wondered whether a wind ensemble could bring out the same colors as a full orchestra. But the CSO musicians quickly dispelled any doubts, producing a rendition of Mozart’s overture no less thrilling than a full orchestra’s. I was most struck by how seamlessly they handled lines originally composed for different instruments. The clarinetists and oboists, for example, bravely took over several string passages, maintaining the character of the original score without losing sight of the unique timbre of their instruments.

Part of what makes a great composer is the ability to produce depth and dramatic variety within a piece, even with limited forces. The next piece on the program, Mozart’s “Serenade for Winds in C Minor,” did this adeptly. As Harper noted in her lecture, “While it’s called a serenade, it’s basically, in formal terms, a symphony for wind octet.” The final movement illustrates this well. Its “theme-and-variations” structure begins with an ominous motif that is repeated and transformed through new harmonies and textures (a kind of “remix” in itself), building toward a stormy climax before resolving in a triumphant major recapitulation of that original theme.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the ensemble’s performance was the way the musicians stayed together not only in tempo but also in style, sounding less like eight individuals and more like one massive instrument. Every crescendo and diminuendo, every ritardando and accelerando, every forte and piano was in perfect harmony.

After a brief intermission, the second half of the concert began with selections from another Mozart opera, Don Giovanni. Though technically an opera buffa— opera lingo for “comedy”—Don Giovanni is yet another example of complexity and dramatic variance, containing some of Mozart’s most intense and dark music, as well as some of his most elegant and lighthearted. The story follows a criminal

seducer who murders a woman’s father in the first scene and is dragged to Hell by his ghost in the finale. In between, he goes on what can only be described as a series of sidequests that fluctuate between humor and tragedy.

The overture perfectly captures the back-and-forth nature of the opera, opening with a sequence of fiery chords (which return in the opera’s finale), then moving into a lighter, quicker-paced central section. What impressed me most about the ensemble’s performance was their ability to bring out the dramatic tone of Don Giovanni even without voices or a full orchestra. In traditional orchestral performances, those opening chords are often loud and brassy (listen to Karl Böhm’s recording with the Vienna Philharmonic for reference). But rather than belt out an obnoxious fortissimo in an attempt to emulate that orchestral sound, the CSO musicians recognized the strengths and limitations of their instruments, playing the chords softly and with a more subdued melancholy yet no less intensity.

Throughout the remaining operatic excerpts, the vocal part generally fell to the bassoons, who did a masterful job of conveying each piece’s messages even without singers and words. The famous ballad, “Là ci darem la mano,” was touching and sweet, while the iconic “Fin ch’han dal vino,” the so-called “champagne aria,” in which Don Giovanni embraces his hedonistic lifestyle of drinking and sleeping around, was a thunderstorm of speed and intensity.

Even without voices and lyrics, even without a full orchestra, even with only a few short excerpts from a three-hour opera, the CSO musicians still gave us a complete Don Giovanni, proving that the power of a work lies not in its particular medium or scale but in its character. It was musical remix at its finest.

The program concluded with Andreas Tarkmann’s suite arrangement of Prokofiev’s ballet, Romeo and Juliet, which presents excerpts from the ballet in a unique order that brings out the sharp contrasts and dramatic variance within the music. Of course, the Romeo and Juliet we heard on Sunday was far removed from

its source material—from Shakespeare’s play to Prokofiev’s ballet to Tarkmann’s arrangement to the CSO’s interpretation. In terms of “remix,” it doesn’t get much more extreme than this.

Every new performance is a remix of its own, clarinetist John Yeh emphasized in the post-concert Q&A. If another wind ensemble were to perform the same music, in the same concert hall, and with the same instruments, they would still, in a sense, be producing new music, depending on elements like dynamics, tempo, and style. That’s what enables art to stay alive across time. “Every great work of art requires different interpretations,” he said. “Through interpretation, you discover things about the performer, the composer, and yourself.” With masterful control and balance, the ensemble’s interpretation made for a remix of Romeo and Juliet that felt as complete as the full ballet itself.

The CSO musicians and UChicago

Presents masterfully demonstrated the unique power of the arts in illuminating and offering insight into real-world issues. Beyond admiring the musicians’ playing, I now find myself asking more questions than ever about the concept of “remix” and how it relates to the role and function of generative AI.

Although I was happy to see the house packed, I couldn’t help but notice how few undergraduates were in the audience. Perhaps this points more to the declining popularity of classical music than anything else, but it also reflects a mistake in advertising. If students were more aware about the program’s intersections with contemporary touchpoints, I suspect that they’d be more eager to attend.

The CSO Chamber Music Series will return in February with an environment-themed concert inspired by the severe impact of AI on the natural world.

Smart to the Core: Wise to Power Makes Ideas Visible

On view at the Smart Museum through 2026, the exhibit gives students taking the Power, Identity, Resistance sosc sequence a new way to engage with course material.

By JOÃO PEDRO DO PRADO SANCHES | Senior Arts Reporter

Pre-registration has just opened. In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, you choose one of the most traditional options to fulfill your social sciences requirement: Power, Identity, Resistance (PIR).

With texts ranging from the classic Thomas Hobbes to the contemporary Christine Korsgaard, students in PIR explore themes related to the formation of the state, economy, and political recognition. At first, all these canonical texts do is make you stay up late. After a few classes, you realize that the authors are all, to some degree, trying to understand why and how people form and manage political communities. But why should this matter now, when we live far from Hobbes’s “state of nature”? Smart to the Core: Wise to Power, a new exhibition at the Smart Museum of Art, takes up this very theme, not only asking the same questions as the Core sequence but also giving viewers new ways to answer them.

Rowlandson etched House of Commons, depicting the lower chamber of the British Parliament. More than giving political visibility for the “commons”— townspeople distinct from the nobility in the House of Lords—the print shows a social organization defined by state and class. Around the same period, Japanese artist Ryuko painted Four Classes of Society, a scroll showing a samurai, farmer, artisan, and merchant organized in descending order. By visually placing each figure below the other, Ryuko also displays the hierarchy embedded in Edo-period Japan’s social organization.

example, artist Barbara Jones-Hogu advocates for social change as a form of collective historical reparation fueled by popular revolt. Artist Bob Thompson, on the other hand, proposes in Herding of the Cows a way to imagine the future, taking into consideration narratives of the past that once were silenced.

Although they think about similar themes, artists and authors work in different mediums. While authors express their vision by building a sequence of ideas using written words that form sentences, one after the other, artists are limited to the visual depiction of a single moment in time. In a brilliant 1766 essay, the German dramatist and art critic Gotthold Lessing wrote that, because artists must choose only a moment in time to focus their depiction, they “must therefore choose the one which is most suggestive and from which the preceding and succeeding actions are most easily comprehensible.”

might end up with an overly linear understanding of the authors’ ideas.

Most authors read in PIR are either Europeans or Americans; most are men, and most are white. But the exhibition Wise to Power shows that outside of the West, individuals were also wrestling with similar questions. In the early 19th century, the English artist Thomas

Both Rowlandson and Ryuko captured their realities by depicting different forms of social organization. Together, these works reveal how all social orders are constructed, rather than natural. Across the West and beyond, authors and artists have wrestled with how individuals arrange society. This concern is as important today as it was then: if societies have changed from their time to ours, they can change again from today into the future. The remaining question is how. The answer to this question depends—in PIR it depends on the author, and in Wise to Power it depends on the artist. In the screen print Land Where My Father Died, for

When reading a text in PIR, one might treat the material as one’s entire philosophical world because, given the nature of the written medium, an author can fully walk their reader through their ideas. But Wise to Power gives students the possibility to “look” at those ideas. To break down and interpret the composition of a given work in this exhibition, one has to both understand what the visual work is doing and what it does in relation to the texts and concepts of the sequence. The artworks both reinforce and challenge theories from different authors and, at the same time, allow students to find meaning and contradiction in ways that words alone often cannot.

In a given year, PIR students read around 13 authors over three quarters, though this can vary depending on the instructor. Classes in UChicago’s social sciences Core requirement are sequential: this allows students to build one idea on top of the other and think about one author in terms of another. But at the same time, because it is not possible to read 13 authors simultaneously, one

An exhibition like Wise to Power changes this dynamic: all works are physically present in the same space, at the same time. This simultaneity allows students to engage bodily with multiple works concurrently and non linearly— they might walk around a sculpture while considering a nearby painting or porcelain piece. Exhibitions invite one to move from one work to another without a rigid order, providing an opportunity for students to form connections between works and themes present in PIR that they otherwise might not. This spatial experience reminds us that these ideas are all interconnected through the entire sequence.

Smart to the Core: Wise to Power is not simply an attempt to give a visual language to the themes covered in PIR. Rather, it functions as a pedagogical tool to enhance students’ experience with the sequence by showing how visual production can both illuminate and complicate the same debates that philosophers articulated in writing. At the same time, the exhibition also denaturalizes our present reality by revealing that the structures shaping society are constructed rather than a given. In doing so, it extends the classroom experience, CONTINUED ON PG. 13

Installation view, Smart to the Core: Wise to Power, 2025. Smart Museum of Art. courtesy of michael tropea

Installation view, Smart to the Core: Wise to Power, 2025. Smart Museum of Art. courtesy of michael tropea .

Installation view, Smart to the Core: Wise to Power, 2025. Smart Museum of Art. courtesy of michael tropea

“These questions, like the works on display and the texts in PIR, remain open to challenge and new reinterpretation through art and history.”

CONTINUED FROM PG. 12

reminding students that the questions they encounter in texts are not limited

to theory but are lived and contested by real people—including themselves. These questions, like the works on dis -

play and the texts in PIR, remain open to challenge and new reinterpretation through art and history.

Paul Pfeiffer Stages a Study in Spectacle, Media, and Mass Culture

Paul Pfeiffer’s retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art explored sports and celebrity.

By ELIAS BUTTRESS | Arts Reporter

To describe Paul Pfeiffer in one word would be difficult, but the closest descriptor would be “enigmatic.” Born in Hawaii to a family of church musicians, he spent part of his formative years in the Philippines at a Protestant American university where they performed. This close exposure to, as he calls it, “the production of… American ritual” informs his work. The Museum of Contemporary Art’s recent retrospective on him, Paul Pfeiffer: Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom, wonderfully demonstrates this perspective.

Pfeiffer’s work centers on mass media and spectacle. Whether sports, celebrity, or film, his work focuses on how images are made—or, perhaps, how images make us. Sport in particular fascinates him. In early adulthood, he frequented New York Liberty basketball games, where he noted their visuality and ritualistic production. Arenas serve not only as platforms for grand spectacle but also as sites where collective identity—national, communal, societal—is shaped in ways that reflect deeper ideological forces.

In his “Hear from the Artist” video, he notes the key role of media production in his work: “The whole pageant of it is… like a church service and has to do with the purposeful production of all the kind of affective possibilities of the sensorium, of all the senses being brought to bear in creating a very potent experience.” He critiques the production of these spectacles as a sensory form of propaganda. If you look away from the action and towards the fabrication of

these images, he argues, you notice a highly orchestrated process—one so controlled that the feeling of personal perspective evaporates. In Pfeiffer’s view, spectacle doesn’t just entertain; it subsumes.

Among the most intriguing examples of this dynamic is a newer work, Red Green Blue (2022). Named after image display systems (which are based on human perception of color), this video installation takes center stage in one of the galleries. A massive screen displays a documentary Pfeiffer made about the University of Georgia at Athens (UGA) Redcoat Marching Band while teaching there. Treating the stadium as his studio, Pfeiffer focuses on the student musicians, band conductors, and support staff that underpin the spectacle of a college football game. Never concentrating on the action itself, the film shifts freely from one point to another without plot, names, or dialogue outside of what keeps the band running.

By stripping away character and narrative, Pfeiffer decenters the spectacle, instead prioritizing the labor and process behind it. Lighting behind the screen alternates between the three titular colors, corresponding to whatever is displayed onscreen. Red correlates with the band itself, while blue and green are more often deployed with their staff and with the shots filmed outside the stadium. Throughout, the documentary cuts to Oconee Hill Cemetery, a gravesite next to UGA’s stadium. Game-day noises pierce the cemetery’s silence, creating a striking contrast and subtly drawing a throughline between ritual,

sport, and nationalism. I was awestruck by the scale of the entire installation, finding myself immersed within the experience.

Fitting with Pfeiffer’s emphasis on media production, cameras are everywhere in his art, often serving as the frame for videos. A noteworthy exception to this motif, however, is Live From Neverland (2007).

Live From Neverland features a crowd of 80 men and women standing on a riser. In perfect synchrony, they repeat Michael Jackson’s infamous 1993 Neverland Statement. While the crowd takes up an entire wall with the video, a small TV in the opposite corner facing them plays the original video. Jackson, however, is inaudible; the video has been edited so he speaks at the pace of the crowd. In doing so, Pfeiffer creates an

unsettling middle ground between an individual’s speaking voice and a crowd’s roar. Abstracted through the chorus, Jackson’s image feels eerily inauthentic—too smooth, too rehearsed, too familiar.

Pfeiffer exposes how images affect us and how we affect images. He foregrounds the pieces—whether they be objects, support staff, crowds, or cameras—that result in the spectacle we see on TV. His work, in a world saturated with media, encourages us to stop and consider where spectatorship ends and participation begins.

Paul Pfeiffer: Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom was on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art from May 3 to August 31.

Smart to the Core: Wise to Power Part I is on view at the Smart Museum through February.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (09), 2004. courtesy of paul pfeiffer

SPORTS

Tradition Meets Athletics: Switzerland’s Centuries-Old Athletic Tradition Finds Its Way to UChicago

UChicago postdoctoral researcher Daniel Kranzelbinder had an exceptional stone-putting performance at Switzerland’s Federal Wrestling and Alpine Games Festival 2025. But for him, there’s more to this unconventional sport than just athletic enjoyment.

By ANUSHKA VASUDEV | Senior Sports Reporter

For many people, sports offer an escape from daily life and responsibilities, whether that be work or academics. However, Daniel Kranzelbinder, postdoctoral researcher and instructor in the Committee on the Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science at the University of Chicago, finds that his sport uniquely complements his work studying ancient cultures and traditions, seeing it as both an athletically rewarding and intellectually stimulating hobby.

Drawn to the unusual blend of culture and athletics, Kranzelbinder began stone putting as a hobby four years ago. In stone putting, athletes lift a stone over their heads, run a short distance with it, and then throw it as far as they can. In late August, Kranzelbinder competed in the Swiss Federal Wrestling and Alpine Games Festival (ESAF) with the 184-pound Unspunnenstein. In front of 56,000 live spectators and 2.3 million more viewers on national television, Kranzelbinder threw the Unspunnenstein 3.785 meters, producing the 8th best distance in the 220-year history of Unspunnenfest.

ESAF takes place every three years, with three qualifying events in the year leading up to the main competition. Kranzelbinder has been training with the Unspunnenstein for four years but had been specifically preparing for ESAF for a year. Surrounded by a talented group of stone putting athletes, Kranzelbinder finds that the key factors to success are core stability and speed.

“A lot more is in the legs rather than the arms. You can only get so far just with

pure strength, so there is an element of just being faster,” he told the Maroon.

Despite the technique and skill that goes into this sport, Kranzelbinder adds that there is always a significant amount of variability with each throw: “Whether I am going to [throw] 3.90 [meters] or 3.80–that is a huge jump. That is the difference between fourth and second. Those feel very hard to control. It’s too variable; things like humidity will change that for you.” Having to balance speed, explosiveness, and strength while constantly adapting to new sporting conditions, different tracks, and even stone types is one of the reasons Kranzelbinder finds stone putting so fascinating.

However, these aren’t the only reasons Kranzelbinder is drawn to the sport. Stone putting dates back to the 6th century in Greece, boasting a rich history not just for its role in recreation but also hunting, self-defense, and warfare. It is this relationship between athletics, tradition, and culture that Kranzelbinder finds so thought-provoking. He discussed how in the 1990s, training for stone-putting competitions was considered cheating because it portrayed stone putting as a form of athletics rather than a tradition. While this is no longer the case, Kranzelbinder noted an interesting tension between tradition and athletics in the sport: “There’s something weird about a traditional sport. Sport and athletics [are] about progress, looking forward; you always want to do better. You might think tradition is backwards-looking and nostalgic, and you have this idea of an idealized past; you try to preserve it.”

Trying to reconcile these contrasting perceptions of sport and tradition, Kranzelbinder, in a very UChicago-esque turn of events, introduced an argument from Aristotle. He discussed Aristotle’s example of a cobbler who, rather than teaching you shoemaking, gives you a bag full of shoes in order to obviate any pain in the feet. Aristotle argues that growing and producing knowledge is not done by simply giving away an object to preserve, like a bag of shoes, but passing on the tools and skills required to make them. Kranzelbinder built on this idea to reframe how we understand tradition. “You emphasize the act of passing things down or forward, not the contents of the tradition itself as something that has to remain unchanged.”

While Kranzelbinder agreed that there is a lot of value in recognizing and

understanding tradition, he believes that tradition is not synonymous with nostalgia.

Kranzelbinder found that this shift away from viewing tradition through a backwards-looking lens has contributed to the growth of stone putting. Rather than trying to hold the activity in its place and preserve it as it is, competitors and fans alike are embracing the idea of helping stone putting evolve and move forward.

For example, recent rules have now allowed women to compete in stone-putting competitions. Kranzelbinder also noted how the athletes’ skills have grown tremendously. He shared how lucky he is to be surrounded by “very talented athletes who move the game along for all of us. If CONTINUED ON PG. 15

Kranzelbinder competing at the Federal Alpine Games (ESAF) in 2025. courtesy of daniel kranzelbinder

“As interest and talent [in stone putting] increase... Kranzelbinder is excited to see how the sport continues to evolve while growing alongside it.”

CONTINUED FROM PG. 14

I see them throw much further, breaking a record, this gives me motivation to try harder as well. The level across the board has just risen over the last 50 years, and it’s really nice to be a part of this and see things move on.”

As interest and talent increase and the perception of stone putting changes, Kranzelbinder is excited to see how the sport continues to evolve while growing alongside it. Stone putting has not only

given him an athletic purpose to motivate his training but has also been part of a valuable intellectual journey. “The idea of a traditional sport is a helpful way to think about traditions in a way that is progressive and forward-looking and open to change and innovation. I don’t think there is a tension [between tradition and sports]. I think it gets pitched or read through with this tension. I think [stone-putting athletes] are proving that doesn’t have to be the case.”

Are the Bears Back?

The

Chicago Bears have not been good for a long time. However, under new head coach Ben Johnson and young quarterback Caleb Williams, that is starting to change.

By CASPAR BAILEY | Sports Reporter

The Chicago Bears once stood at the forefront of professional football.

Throughout the 1980s, household names like William “The Refrigerator” Perry and Michael Ditka transformed the Bears into an American icon. From Saturday Night Live skits to a Super Bowl, Chicago’s favorite franchise had it all.

In recent years, however, there hasn’t been much to celebrate at Soldier Field. Since 2013, the Bears have finished only one season with a winning record, with their best finish in that time frame being a Wild Card appearance.

However, the Bears have now won four straight games and are establishing themselves in the National Football Conference Playoffs race. For the first time in over a decade, Chicago football fans have something to be excited about, spearheaded by a dynamic offense led by second-year quarterback Caleb Williams and visionary rookie head coach Ben Johnson.

Johnson was brought on board this offseason from the Detroit Lions where he served as offensive coordinator for three seasons, leading a top five offense in each season. Throughout the league, Johnson is regarded as an offensive maven, celebrated alongside Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan, who are two of the National Football League’s (NFL’s) very best offensive minds. Included in Johnson’s diverse attacks are wide-zone runs

(run plays to the outside instead of up the middle), bootlegs (play-action passes with a wide quarterback rollout), and layered route trees (initially similar route combinations that are intended to deceive defensive backs).

After walking onto the football team at the University of North Carolina as a reserve quarterback, Johnson graduated with degrees in mathematics and computer science. Johnson worked for a year in software development before returning to football, where he slowly worked his way up the coaching ladder at the college and professional level until landing his breakthrough offensive coordinator role with the Lions. Now, in his first season with the Bears, Johnson is trying to prove himself as a head coach.

After a shaky start, which included a close loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season and a beatdown at the hands of his former team in Week 2, Johnson strung together quality wins in four straight weeks. Now only one win away from equaling their season total in 2024, the Bears are looking much stronger than they have in recent memory.

So what’s been behind their resurgence?

For one, the Bears have fixed their turnover problem. They are leading the league in turnover differential, with 11 more takeaways than turnovers. The

Bears are doing a better job of holding onto the ball. Thanks to a steady zone rush attack led by running back D’Andre Swift, the Bears are top 10 in time of possession and have been commanding the flow of their games.

Although their defense has been causing turnovers at a prolific rate, it has also been allowing 350 yards a game, near the bottom of the league, which is not sustainable if the Bears are to be a playoff team. The defense has been meager at best against the run, which does not project well with a few of the league’s most prolific running backs on the docket in the coming weeks. While the secondary has been solid against the pass in supporting that league-best turnover ratio, the run defense simply needs to be better.

Furthermore, the Bears’ offense has also shown signs of imbalance, displaying an overreliance on their rushing game. Caleb Williams has been a decent game manager so far, making plays when necessary, but he has been struggling to establish the passing game as a more substantial threat. If Williams is able to add a dynamic passing game as a complement to the Bears’ seventh-ranked rushing attack, their odds of beating real playoff contenders will drastically increase. Johnson’s offensive scheme has adapted to accommodate the Bears strengths, but if Williams can continue to improve as he has over his first few games, we will soon see more of the offensive firepower that brought us the Luther Burden flea-flicker

Pregame festivities before a Bears home game at Soldier Field. courtesy of nikhil prasad.

in Week 3.

The Bears have been impressive this year. Williams has taken significant strides under Johnson and Swift is lighting up the stat sheet through the former’s dynamic zone-run scheme. The defense has been making game-changing plays, but needs to be more consistent against the run, an ability that will doubtless be put to the test in the coming weeks. While the Bears’ schedule will not be too taxing over the next few weeks, five of their last six games are against top-11 teams. Over that stretch, their run defense and passing game will need to rise to the occasion, and if they do, the Bears might just find themselves back in the playoffs.

CROSSWORD

96. Pick of the Patch

By ELI LOWE | Head Crossword Editor

49 Cooks 8-Down,

61 Notable Dumbo features 62 According to Tennyson, “He makes no friend who never made ___”

63 Lab coat?