Chicago Maroon: Jan. 29, 2013

TUESDAY • JANUARY 29, 2013

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

CHICAGOMAROON.COM

ISSUE 22 • VOLUME 124

UCMC protests, four arrests prompt rapid response from supporters Madhu Srikantha News Editor A longer version of this article, detailing the police action against the protesters, the arrests, and Student Government’s response can be found at chicagomaroon.com.

The University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) broke up a demonstration at the new hospital building on Sunday, arresting and pressing misdemeanor criminal trespassing charges on four of the participants, including a University graduate student, a College alum, and a minor. The demonstration was in protest of the lack of an adult trauma care facility at the UCMC in light of the $700 million spent by the University on the Center for Care and Discovery.

Protesters from the South Side organization Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP) and their youth group affiliate,

Fearless Leading by the Youth (FLY), organized the sit-in at the new hospital building, set to open February 23. The sit-in was also attended by members of the group Students for Health Equity (SHE), which comprises students from the College. A small group of the protesters were prepared to be arrested during the occupation of the hospital property, according to Darius Lightfoot, co-founder of FLY. Two of the arrested protesters, Alex Goldenberg and a 17-yearold local high school student, were part of this group.

According to several protesters, the situation became violent a few minutes after the declaration of the protesters’ intentions to peacefully occupy the building, around 2:10 p.m. According to fourth-year SHE member Nastasia Tangherlini, the rapid escalation was shocking.

UCMC continued on page 2

University of Chicago police officers subdue fourth-year Nastasia Tangherlini while graduate student Toussaint Losier lies handcuffed at Sunday’s protest at the University’s new Center for Care and Discovery.

COURTESY OF JOE KAPLAN

App numbers challenge competition Number of applicants for each class

Stephanie Xiao Associate News Editor The College received a record 30,369 applications for the class of 2017, a total surpassing those of other elite institutions, including Yale and Princeton.

Not only is this year’s total number of applicants the highest yet in the College’s history—representing a 20-percent increase over last year’s 25,307 applications—it also exceeds the 29,790 received by Yale and the 26,505 received by Princeton this year.

2014

2015

2016

2017

UChicago

19,370

21,774

25,277

30,369

Harvard

30,489

34,950

34,285

N/A

Yale

25,869

27,282

28,974

29,790

Princeton

26,247

27,189

26,664

26,505

Columbia

26,178

34,929

31,851

33,460

Northwestern

27,533

30,975

ADMISSIONS continued on page 3

Hamid Bendaas News Staff

Sarah Miller Senior News Staff

Indian activist Erando Leichombam described the desperate state of Northeast India under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in a talk Monday evening.

AFSPA, instituted in 1958, allows security forces from the Indian Army to search, arrest, and shoot anybody suspected of insurrection, placing Manipur and its neighboring states under a form of martial law. Leichombam, the founder of the Manipur International Center, estimated that there is about one soldier for every seven civilians.

In highlighting the brutal-

This fall will bring the introduction of the University’s first course sequence geared towards College students interested in education.

The sequence will expand on a class first offered to undergraduates last spring entitled “Schools, Communities, and Urban School Reform” and taught by Kavita Kapadia Matsko (A.M. ’03, Ph.D. ’07) and Sara Stoelinga (A.B. ’95, A.M. ’01, Ph.D. ’04). Stoelinga and Matsko will teach the course again this spring.

The sequence, which will expand on topics covered in the original course, is part of an emerging partnership between the Urban Education Institute (UEI), the Urban Teacher Education Program (UTEP), and the new UChicago Careers in Education Professions (UCIEP). Matsko is the Director of Teacher Preparation at UTEP and Stoelinga is the senior director at the UEI. Nahida Teliani (A.M. ’12), director of UCIEP, has been working closely with Stoelinga and Matsko to create the sequence from the original one-course template. Like the original course, the sequence will be offered through the public policy studies department.

Maria Bavaro, a third-year student and board member of UCIEP, credits her in-

The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago has released the results of a comprehensive independent survey, concluding that regardless of individual experiences with finance and healthcare, people were likely to vote along partisan lines in the 2012 presidential election.

The three-part survey, titled “2012 NORC Presidential Election Study: Americans’ Views on Entitlement Reform and Healthcare,” was designed to gauge public opinion about three key issues of the election—economic recovery, health care costs, and political polarization.

The survey was carried out in partnership with five academics across the country, including two University of Chicago faculty—John Mark Hansen, Charles L. Hutchinson Distinguished Professor in Political Science, and Kirk Wolter, a statistics professor and NORC’s Executive Vice President of Survey Research.

“The [2012] election was shaping [up] to be one of the more interesting ones in my lifetime and certainly the most interesting [election] in recent memory,” Wolter said. “We felt we wanted to shed light on the election because many polls in the media were quite shallow and use me-

INDIA continued on page 3

EDUCATION continued on page 2

NORC continued on page 2

32,066 32,772 Source: The New York Times

Activist details Northeast India’s plight Sindhu Gnanasambandan News Contributor

Erendro Leichombam, founder of the Manipur International Center, criticizes a Manipur law that he claims violates human rights in the name of security.

SARAH BLAUSER | THE CHICAGO MAROON

New courses Voters put guide future party first, educators study shows

IN VIEWPOINTS

IN ARTS

IN SPORTS

Explanation needed from campus cops » Page 4

In new collection, Saunders sets the perfect literary date » Page 7

Fundraising with class: WAA to host raffle benefiting local schools » Back Page

Stranger in a familiar land » Page 5

Daddy Love in dangerously shallow psychological straits » Page 8

Chicago comes up (just!) short in pair of UAA contests » Page 11

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | January 29, 2013

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1) UCPD usher protesters out of the Hospital facility entrance. Brittany Blancey, 19, member of FLY and student at Robert Morris University, said that as UCPD were asking demonstrators to move they also took out their police batons. COURTESY OF OLIVIA WOOLLAM 2) Jacob Klippenstein, cameraman, is restrained by UCPD officers inside the hospital facility. The demonstrators were shortly removed from the inside the building. COURTESY OF OLIVIA WOOLLAM 3)Toussaint Losier, University graduate student and designated police liaison during the protest, is apprehended by two UCPD officers. According to Losier, one officer grabbed his hand as he asked to speak with the Dean-on-Call while another officer grabbed his other hand and started arresting him. A third of-

1,100 sign petition demanding University explanation for UCPD’s actions UCMC continued from front

Tangherlini and FLY member Veronica Moore, part of the group designated to be arrested, were trampled as they sat in the doorway while police officers pushed the protesters out of the building.

Tangherlini repeatedly asked to speak to the Deanon-Call but was never given the opportunity.

According to Moore, Sheila Rush, mother of the late Damian Turner, whose death inspired the trauma center campaign, was hit to the ground by UCPD. “It was a very brutal protest today,” Rush said, crying.

Losier, an eighth-year graduate student in the history department, was the designated police liaison

between the protesters and the UCPD. He was arrested during the sit-in and charged with a misdemeanor of resisting arrest, though he was not part of the group that intended to be arrested.

Officers pushed Losier to the ground, where he said he remained for five minutes out of shock for what had occurred. According to Tangherlini, Losier did not resist arrest.

Alex Goldenberg (A.B. ’06), director of STOP, and Jacob Klippenstein, a cameraman, were among the four arrested of nearly 30 protesters who were forcibly removed by UCPD from the new hospital facility.

None of the UCPD officers present at the protest answered requests to comment on the incident.

After being arrested, Losier, Goldenberg, Klippenstein, and the fourth protester were taken to a Chicago Police Department (CPD) station on the corner of West 51st Street and South Wentworth Avenue around 3 p.m. Sunday. Three were held until 3 a.m. Monday and released on an I-bond, or a promise to appear in court on February 26, Goldenberg said. The minor was released to a juvenile facility for processing around 9 p.m. Sunday.

Lynda Daher, director of the Bias Response Team, arrived at the scene of the protest after the arrests had been made on Sunday. The Dean-on-Call arrived after the arrests had been made.

Losier said that he was most disheartened and frustrated that the hospital administration has yet

to speak directly to protesters at any of the trauma center demonstrations.

“The UCPD is put in a difficult position because rather than being mediators, they are in a situation where they are effectively kind of pushing and shoving people out of the way rather than facilitating an opportunity for there to be some sort of dialogue between [the UCMC and protesters],” Losier said.

The ordeal prompted STOP member Duff Morton to write a petition demanding that the University explain the violence perpetrated against the protesters by UCPD officers, drop the charges on the arrested, and increase communication with the community regarding the protest and trauma UCMC continued on page 3

Education sequence combines public schooling and social justice EDUCATION continued from front

terest in education to the template course.

“Taking [Stoelinga and Matsko’s] class made me realize I want to go into education,” she said, calling it a “phenomenal experience.” She plans to seek a master’s degree through UTEP. Matsko said she hopes the sequence will induce greater interest in education among undergraduates.

“We need smart individuals with a social justice orientation to enter teaching and the field of education more broadly,” she said. “Ideally, our courses will

create a spark for someone to consider a career in the education professions that was not thinking about it before.”

But according to Stoelinga, the spark is already there.

“As a graduate of the College, and as a professor who has taught many courses focused on urban education to undergraduates over the years, I know education electives are in high demand,” said Stoelinga. “Students in the College have serious interest and deep concern for public schooling and a commitment to social justice.”

John Lim, also a third-year board member of UCIEP, believes the course sequence is necessary, considering the demand for Stoelinga and Matsko’s course last year.

“I know last year there were about 20 spots, and about 50 students filled out the essay to apply.

There’s definitely high demand and I think this expansion of the program is reflective of that,” he said.

Though priority will be given to UCIEP students for Matsko’s class this spring, the application process and priority status “probably will look different” for

the course sequence next year, according to Teliani.

Teliani said she hopes that by offering a teamtaught course sequence, as many interested students as possible can take education classes.

Stoelinga is eager for the challenge of meeting the high demand.

“What consistently impresses me about undergraduate students is their passion,” she said. “My takeaway from teaching undergraduates is consistently, ‘We want more courses like this,’ and so that is exactly what we are doing.”

Study finds that attitudes toward the ACA did not influence election results NORC continued from front

diocre methodology, so we wanted to dig deeper and determine the issues that were critical to this election and the future policy-making decisions.”

The survey results indicate that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) did not give Obama an advantage in the election—85 percent of Democrats and Dem-

ocratic-leaning independents stated they intended to vote for Obama, and 82 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents they planned on voting for Romney, regardless of personal experiences with health care and attitudes towards the ACA. “Partisanship plays a significant role for people.

The ACA was a significant policy proposal, and it

would have taken a lot of effort and information to work through each of its points for any individual,” Hansen said. “It is natural for voters to fall back on partisanship because the people trust that leaders in the party will look out for their best interest.”

According to Hansen, the nationally representative study tallied the opinions of 1,125 adults across

Democrat, Republican, and independent party lines. The participants were polled twice: once from mid-September to October before the election and again in the weeks following the election. The first questionnaire primarily focused on perceptions of the economy, while the second dealt with attitudes towards specific policies, including the ACA.

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | January 29, 2013

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ficer then pushed him to the ground as he continued to ask for the Dean-on-Call. COURTESY OF OLIVIA WOOLLAM 4) Molly Cunningham, graduate student at the University and friend of Losier, speaks with Lynda Daher, Director of the Bias Response Team, Monday following presentation of the petition to U of C and UCMC administrators. “The U of C as an institution is on the line here,” Cunningham said to Daher in the course of the conversation. SYDNEY COMBS | THE CHICAGO MAROON 5) Sheila Rush, member of STOP and mother of the late Damian Turner, whose death inspired the trauma center campaign, protests the lack of an adult Level One trauma center in the community. GRIFFIN DENNIS | THE CHICAGO MAROON

UCMC continued from page 2

center. Since Morton posted the petition on change.org Sunday evening, it has received over 1,100 signatures.

Nearly 20 University students and trauma center supporters presented the petition to Associate Dean of Students Belinda Vazquez Monday morning.

Vazquez said she was directed to forward the petition to Provost Thomas Rosenbaum.

A second copy was delivered to the UCMC, although the presenters were not permitted to personally deliver it to UCMC president Sharon O’Keefe, the intended recipient. They were told it would be delivered to the UCMC Vice President of Communications.

Losier, Goldenberg, and Klippenstein were released early Monday morning. The delivery of the petition to Vazquez and the UCMC was preluded by a press conference on the steps of the Administration Building, where speakers made their case for both UCPD accountability regarding the violence and arrests, and the rights of community members to a trauma center. Local media were in attendance.

Lorna Wong, Assistant Director of Media and Social Media at the UCMC, declined to comment on what she referred to as the “police brutality” by UCPD officers during the protest.

UCMC issued a statement in response to the protest.

“The University of Chicago Medical Center sup-

Applications have increased by nearly 11,000 since 2010 ADMISSIONS continued from front

While UChicago’s application numbers still lag compared to many larger schools, like the University of California at Los Angeles, which received the most applications in the nation this year at 80,472, this year’s total marks a continuing upward trend for the College. Application numbers have increased steadily since 2004.

The most significant jump in numbers in the University’s recent history occurred in 2010, coinciding with the appointment of Dean of College Admissions and Financial Aid James Nondorf and the year after the College switched to the Common Application. The College received 19,306 applications for the class of 2014, a 42-percent increase from the 13,600 applications for the class of 2013.

Other schools like Harvard and Columbia have seen application numbers decrease

in recent years. Between the 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 admissions cycles, both schools saw a dip in the number of applicants, from 34,950 to 34,285 and 34,929 to 31,851, respectively.

At over 30,000 applications, UChicago’s total this year represents an increase of just under 11,000 since 2010. In comparison, Northwestern’s application numbers, while still consistently higher than UChicago’s, have increased by less than 5,000 in that time.

Paralleling growing applicant numbers are continued increases in yield as well as continued decreases in admission rates. In December, a record-breaking 10,317 students applied through the Early Action program, out of which 13.38 percent—the lowest in the University’s history—were accepted.

All class of 2017 applicants will be notified of their admissions decisions by mid- to late March, according to a University press release.

ports the City of Chicago’s Trauma Care Network, which has the best pre-hospital emergency care, provides trauma victims with the most rapidly available treatment, and coordinates transport to trauma centers throughout the city. The Medical Center also abides by the Illinois Department of Public Health’s guidelines of a pediatric trauma center, which is to provide care for trauma victims up to age 15,” the statement said.

The University issued a statement regarding the arrests, writing, “University officials are working to better understand and address the incident, including reviews of video recorded at the scene and interviews with witnesses. University of Chicago Police have initiated a review as part of the department’s

normal procedures.”

The University News Office did not answer the Maroon’s questions regarding the UCPD’s response during the protest.

Losier said he believes that the UCPD reaction was racially influenced.

“I don’t think I would have been treated the same way, in terms of being tackled to the floor and what have you, if I wasn’t a large African-American male,” he said. “I mean, to be in the situation and to [be tackled] at the same time that I’m asking to speak to the Dean-on-Call because there’s this other student that’s being trampled on seems a bit ridiculous.”

—Additional reporting by Ankit Jain

Leichombam: “People need to wake up and be united” INDIA continued from front

ity against civilians, Leichombam spoke of his own run-in with the army.

“Once I was at gunpoint. I was driving my car peacefully and this cop turns out of nowhere and points a gun at me, simply because he wanted to bully me,” he said.

Leichombam said he worries that the people of Manipur have passively accepted their condition.

“When I go back to Manipur, what I see is that people are getting used to this lifestyle of being humiliated constantly. They are getting used to the idea of very nasty cops, kicking and ordering them around, harassing them,” he said.

The situation is exacerbated by India’s rampant corruption, he said. According to Leichombam, 90 percent of the state’s funding and revenue comes from the Indian central government.

“The local people, the local politicians— everybody is dependent on the money. That

generates a lack of political accountability, and that is why you don’t see the local politicians or the local leaders standing up against this act,” he said.

Manipur has just two seats in a parliament of 552 members, making it difficult for the state to wield significant political power.

For Leichombam, the issue boils down to a lack of unity among the Northeast Indian people.

“There is no political unity, there is no political consensus, so my feeling is that people need to wake up and be united and build political will around the repeal of this act,” he said in an interview with the Maroon.

“Yes, insurgency does happen. Sometimes insurgency comes with a lot of violence, which I totally repudiate. When there is some sort of fearmongering in society, the way to find peace is not by imposing it, but by really employing the core values of what our democracy is.”

VIEWPOINTS

Editorial & Op-Ed JANUARY 29, 2013

Explanation needed from campus cops The UCPD’s treatment of protestors raises concerns about student safety and community trust The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892 JORDAN LARSON Editor-in-Chief SHARAN SHETTY Editor-in-Chief COLIN BRADLEY Managing Editor HARUNOBU CORYNE Senior Editor DOUGLAS EVERSON, JR Senior Editor JAMIE MANLEY Senior Editor CELIA BEVER News Editor MARINA FANG News Editor MADHU SRIKANTHA News Editor JENNIFER STANDISH News Editor AJAY BATRA Viewpoints Editor DAVID KANER Viewpoints Editor EMMA BRODER Arts Editor HANNAH GOLD Arts Editor DANIEL RIVERA Arts Editor DANIEL LEWIS Sports Editor VICENTE FERNANDEZ Sports Editor MATTHEW SCHAEFER Sports Editor SONIA DHAWAN Head Designer BELLA WU Head Designer KEVIN WANG Online Editor ALICE BLACKWOOD Head Copy Editor JEN XIA Head Copy Editor BEN ZIGTERMAN Head Copy Editor SYDNEY COMBS Photo Editor TIFFANY TAN Photo Editor JOY CRANE Assoc. News Editor ANKIT JAIN Assoc. News Editor STEPHANIE XIAO Assoc. News Editor EMMA THURBER STONE Assoc. Viewpoints Editor ALICE BUCKNELL Assoc. Arts Editor SARAH LANGS Assoc. Sports Editor JAKE WALERIUS Assoc. Sports Editor JULIA REINITZ Assoc. Photo Editor

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The Chicago Maroon is published twice weekly during autumn, winter, and spring quarters Circulation: 5,500.

The opinions expressed in the Viewpoints section are not necessarily those of the Maroon. © 2012 The Chicago Maroon, Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637 Editor-in-Chief Phone: 773.834.1611 Newsroom Phone: 773.702.1403 Business Phone: 773.702.9555 Fax: 773.702.3032 CONTACT News: News@ChicagoMaroon.com Viewpoints: Viewpoints@ChicagoMaroon.com Arts: Arts@ChicagoMaroon.com Sports: Sports@ChicagoMaroon.com Photography: Photo@ChicagoMaroon.com Design: Design@ChicagoMaroon.com Copy: CopyEditors@ChicagoMaroon.com Advertising: Ads@ChicagoMaroon.com

On Sunday, activists staged a protest at the University of Chicago Medical Center’s new Center for Care and Discovery as part of a campaign to convince the University to open a Level I adult trauma center. Protestors from Fearless Leading by the Youth (FLY), Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP), and Students for Health Equity (SHE) declared their peaceful intentions, but were asked by UCPD officers to vacate within a few minutes of their arrival. According to the Chicago Tribune, “before the majority of the group had a chance to leave on their own, however, University of Chicago police took out their batons and started shoving protesters toward the door, several people tripping and falling onto the floor in the middle of the crowd.” The police reportedly struck the camera of a protester filming the eviction. They also forcefully subdued graduate student Toussaint Losier, who was the group’s designated police liaison, meant to facilitate safe police-protester communication.

Losier was requesting the presence of a Dean-on-Call, who arrived after the arrests. According to a protestor quoted in today’s Maroon, “Once they got him [Losier] on the ground, they just kept hitting him.” Losier, who is black, was

jailed along with three others. This incident raises serious questions about the UCPD’s response, especially in light of its historic reputation for unjustifiably targeting people of color, and demands a full and swift explanation.

The University has made a stronger relationship with the local community an important focus over the last several years. It has been, and should be, commended for efforts to direct financial resources and research projects toward improving infrastructure, education, and quality of life on the South Side. But such efforts will do little to improve trust and understanding if the UCPD appears to feel justified in using unnecessary force against peacefully protesting community members.

The events on Sunday, and those like them, also erode our trust in the UCPD as a protector of student safety. The protest and arrests were a front-page story on the Tribune’s website for much of Sunday evening. A change.org petition demanding an official explanation had more than a thousand signatures at press time. The magnitude of this response can be partially attributed to community concern about the UCPD’s seemingly excessively forceful tactics. It appears no one was seriously injured, but

based on the aggression that was displayed Sunday, we cannot be confident that the UCPD will not repeat this behavior, and possibly on a larger scale.

Most of all, what is disturbing about this incident is how thoroughly it runs counter to the ideals and goals of this institution.

Our university is supposed to be a place for open, free, and peaceful inquiry. The administration, as per the Kalven Report, even refuses to take institutional stances on political issues because it is afraid of subduing expression. But can anything stifle debate more effectively than a policeman’s baton dangling above all who would even think to respond to University policies with protest? And how can we continue to attract the best students and teachers, and foster the kind of community that facilitates intellectual exchange and growth, if people living in this neighborhood cannot trust the very individuals tasked with keeping them safe?

By and large, the UCPD demonstrates a high degree of courtesy, professionalism, and respect on a daily basis. However, these qualities cannot shield its reputation indefinitely. The amount of force that officers used this weekend appears to have been excessive, and

that is unacceptable. Thus, the UCPD must thoroughly account for what occurred, and why. And if the UCPD’s actions can be deemed officially unwarranted, whether through open forums or through further investigation, steps must be taken to ensure that similar incidents never happen again. Given that Losier was a co-chair of the ad hoc committee appointed to investigate UCPD tactics after the controversial 2010 arrest of Mauriece Dawson (A.B. ’10) in the Regenstein Library, his arrest and alleged beating aren’t encouraging signs when it comes to investing trust in campus security. It’s simply unclear why a peaceful protest in a not-yet operational hospital warranted any semblance of a violent response, even if the protestors’ presence was not authorized. An explanation is absolutely required, and one that not only acknowledges that an error has occurred, but also explains why such events recur. Outcry among students and community members with regard to UCPD tactics will continue to resurface, as long as the department remains unable to fully justify and account for the actions of its officers.

The Editorial Board consists of the Editors-in-Chief and the Viewpoints Editors.

Police blues UCPD’s actions speak to wider structual inequalities in our society Michael McCown Viewpoints Contributor I went to a high school where it was not altogether surprising to see a student tackled and cuffed by one of our two school police officers. It was also common knowledge that white students and students of color had different rights and privileges. It was widely known that students of color needed a hall pass but white students did not. Not that there was not enough arbitrariness to go around: One time I (a white student) was brought in on a so-minor-as-to-be-unreal offense, and the officer seemed to relish making clear to me that my future lay completely in his hands.

He proceeded with a humiliating “repeat after me” routine meant to bring home the fact that I was not under the authority of the school principal, but under the authority of the law that could and would jail me if it so chose, before finally letting me return to class.

I bring this up only so that, when I say that what I saw on Sunday shook me, you’ll understand that I have at least some experience structuring my perceptions.

Some of us in the University community will want to explain this away as a misunderstanding between police officers trying to do their job and rowdy protesters, but it was not. A black University

of Chicago student was asking to speak to the Dean-on-Call when he was tackled to the ground by perhaps six officers, who had him laying face-down, cuffed. Three years after the infamous Reg arrest, this is still how police work is done at the University of Chicago, as it is all over the nation. The irony is that the arrested student, Toussaint Losier, was a member of the very ad hoc committee formed after the Reg arrest that led to the creation of the recently-endowed Campus Dialogue Fund.

“

This is not some stunt that wily protesters put on to make waves—this is the default mode of policing, which is why we see this kind of violence over and over again.

”

But not only was a University student arrested. Members of Fearless Leading by the Youth (FLY), the group protesting the lack of a Level I trauma center on the South Side, were also arrested and mistreated by the University of Chicago Police Department.

The footage, which is on the In-

ternet, depicts an officer striking at protesting FLY youth with a baton. Several arrests were made, including that of a 17-year-old female member of FLY who studies at King College Preparatory.

Another female FLY youth was kicked while on the ground. Photos of her bruises were posted on Facebook.

This is the kind of brute force and arbitrariness that the police are used to exerting on black communities, largely without consequence. This is not some stunt that wily protesters put on to make waves—this is the default mode of policing, which is why we see this kind of violence over and over again. When I worked with FLY in the summer of 2011, I brought the youth to campus one day for the innocuous purpose of getting some work done at the Community Service Center. At one point a young man in the group stepped outside, and the next thing we knew, an entire squad of UCPD officers had surrounded him and had him with his hands up against the wall because, believe it or not, he “fit a description” of the perpetrator of a crime that had occurred the previous week. Except this young man lived in Roger’s Park, making him far from a likely suspect.

You do not need to think that there ought to be a trauma center at the UCMC to recognize that

the fact that there is no trauma center on the South Side, and the area’s general paucity of medical services, is closely linked to the same racial and class marginalization that shaped the UCPD response on Sunday to the protesting youth. And they have truly a lot to protest about. The day before the demonstration, there were seven deaths by shooting on the South Side. While South Side residents face the longest travel time of any population in the city to life-saving trauma care, the most resource-rich hospital in the vicinity is constructing expensive “penthouses” for high-end patients. The UCMC claims opening a trauma center would cause the closure of other vital programs, and maybe that’s true. But to me, the fact that the UCMC emergency room declares itself on bypass five times more frequently than any other emergency room in Chicago indicates that the University’s disinterest in serving this population goes deeper than just trauma care.

People will say that the UCMC is the wrong target. As a private institution, it can structure itself how it will (and forcibly remove dissenters); it is the government’s separate responsibility to provide care for its citizens. I can accept that to a certain degree: It’s true there is more than one way to skin POLICE continued on page 6

THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | January 29, 2013

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Surviving the winter Counseling services aren’t a cure-all —students should reach out to peers experiencing difficulties this quarter

By Maya Fraser Viewpoints Columnist These are the times that try men’s souls.

The summer student and the sunshine worker will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their school, but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of guy and girl.

I am talking, of course, about winter quarter. You are not a true University of Chicago student until you survive your first.

Winter quarter, demon of our school year, has the unfortunate habit of coming too early and staying too long. Our fall enthusiasm has flagged. Work seems more daunting, and the sun is already down when we get out of class. The cold hurts our faces and blows through our clothes. (Oh, why didn’t we go to Stanford?) We argue with our roommates and get woken up at night by the clunk of

radiators. Everyone is stressed and unhappy.

These common miseries and gripes create instant commonalities. When we all complain about the same things, we feel less alone. However, when these complaints are academic in nature, they may serve as a form of one-upmanship rather than something that brings us together. The student who complains about the difficulty of her classes also engages in a certain amount of moralizing, i.e. “I am morally superior because my classes are more difficult than yours.” In short, misery is normalized and expected.

Our culture of academic one-upmanship and the normalization of misery create an environment where students are not only discouraged from making healthy, proactive choices about their mental health, but are also taught to think that such unhappiness is a necessary part of life at the University of Chicago. In order to improve the mental health and happiness of students, we must create an environment where seeking help is not stigmatized. As a community, we must also take responsibility for each other and provide support for those who are having a hard time.

The biggest problem lies in our conception of the archetypal University of Chicago student. Such a student is brilliant, mo-

tivated by the life of the mind, and able to take anything that may be thrown at them.

Unfortunately, this stereotype simply does not mesh with the reality that we are not machines designed to deal with the mental and emotional toll that our work may bring. We cannot read hundreds of pages, churn out problem sets, take exams, apply to internships, participate in RSOs, and deal with our emotional lives—all on too little sleep— without feeling any negative consequences.

Many people can just grit their teeth and get on with it. Those who cannot, or who have preexisting problems exacerbated by the stress of school, are often left to their own devices. Though there are certain University structures that are supposed to deal with student problems (e.g. Resident Heads in the housing system and counseling through Student Health Services), these are often not enough.

This is why we must take responsibility for our peers. We as students are more perceptive than any system created by the University could possibly be. We see each other every day and can notice changes in individuals’ behavior. We may not know exactly what is wrong, but we can tell that something is. We need to remind our un-

happy friends that their unhappiness is not something that is expected of them. If we can lend a friendly ear, offer advice, or encourage them to get help, then fewer people will fall through the cracks.

Individuals must also try to take steps to improve their own mental health. A friend of my family who is a registered nurse told me, “People should be as proactive about their mental health as they are about their physical health.” Though this is far from reality for most people, it does underscore how little we think about our own mental health. Students should take note of their moods and their reactions to situations. If you feel sad, you should ask yourself why. If you have no answer, then that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

Though occasional unhappiness is probably unavoidable at the University of Chicago, continual unhappiness should not be a mark of our education. We need to strive to create an environment in which it is perfectly fine to ask for help, and in which individuals who need help are supported by their peers. That way, we can all have a happier and healthier winter quarter.

Maya Fraser is a third-year in the College majoring in sociology.

Stranger in a familiar land One doesn’t have to travel far to experience different ways of thinking, or to realize that culture shock happens at home too

By Jane Huang Viewpoints Columnist Since I’m slated to study abroad next quarter, I’ve been receiving boatloads of information about what to expect. As one would hope, the packet provided by the Study Abroad office had a lot of useful content, such as explanations of tipping customs and public transportation options. Nestled in there, though, was also a lengthy section about anticipating culture shock. I admit that I was rather surprised to see it, mostly because saying that going to another country might result in culture shock seemed to be like saying fire is hot or water is wet. Good to know, but not something that I would have expected to be new information for most people.

I recognized soon afterward that what seemed obvious to me was probably not as obvious to other people. Depending on a person’s background, the opportunity (or misfortune) to experience culture shock may not yet have aris-

en. But, to steal a turn of phrase from 30 Rock’s Jenna Maroney, my whole life is culture shock.

Naturally, I’ve experienced culture shock when traveling abroad, but in many instances, I didn’t even have to leave Chicago to go through it. For example, high school marked the first time I met so many people from non-parochial private schools or from the North Side of the city. College was an even bigger transition, with a student body significantly more conservative than that of my high school and that included a hefty proportion of people hailing from the suburbs. On one hand, I enjoy observing the spectrum of human behavior and viewpoints by entering new environments. On the other hand, it’s not that thrilling to have to play by a different set of rules every few years, especially if I have to figure out what those rules are in the first place.

While there are plenty of arguments to be made for the value of experiencing culture shock abroad (promoting cross-cultural understanding, sparking an interest in foreign affairs, bringing about world peace, etc.), I think that everybody needs to experience culture shock a little closer to home too. When one goes abroad, there’s so much hullabaloo over travel arrangements, language differences, souvenirs, and endless photos that it’s tempting to think of the experience in grand terms—a coming of age, one that brings with it an increased sense of sophis-

tication or a greater understanding of humanity.

On the other hand, the experience might seem so far removed that its import to day-to-day life might seem limited.

However, experiencing culture shock closer to home can be useful for understanding the value of cultural capital, which suggests that success (typically of the socioeconomic variety) can be predicated in part on the knowledge one picks up from being assimilated into a culture. Cultural capital is a term that seems to get people to tune out, even in the classroom, because they try to avoid talk of anything that might veer into sociology, a subject that often serves as a punch line to jokes about the uselessness of the liberal arts. It also tends to get dismissed because, by nature, cultural capital is used unconsciously.

Navigating through life while in possession of cultural capital can be likened to Dom Cobb’s description of dreaming in Inception: “It’s only when we wake up that we realize how things are actually strange. Let me ask you a question, you…you never really remember the beginning of a dream, do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what’s going on.”

Likewise, there are pieces of knowledge whose origin can be hard to trace. For example, while I can remember learning my multiplication tables or about Christopher Columbus sailing the ocean blue, I can’t tell you when I learned

that people shake right hands during introductions or that elbows should be kept off the dinner table. The behaviors I listed probably seem obvious to you, which makes it easy to forget that people don’t spring into existence knowing these customs.

It would be trite to say that culture shock is like waking up, but it’s a helpful reminder that one’s life is not fundamentally “the way things are.” That moment of utter bewilderment when encountering a community with a drastically different ethos forces one to slow down and think. Visiting exotic locales isn’t the only way to experience culture shock. It could start with something as simple as reading the writings of someone who grew up with a completely different lifestyle (though the Internet has made it increasingly easy to avoid material we disagree with). It might be hard to accept that other people make different choices or hold different opinions because our own conclusions seem to flow logically from our premises, but you have to remember that people start with different premises. If you seek to help or persuade others, communication is more effective when you understand how they’ve arrived at where they are.

Jane Huang is a third-year in the College.

A second chance at change After four years of struggling to articulate his agenda, Obama’s MLK Day inaugural speech could signal a new political moment

By Luke Brinker Viewpoints Columnist Campaigning in 2008 against a stirring but politically inexperienced orator, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain reminded voters that speeches don’t craft solutions.

Depictions of then-Senator Barack

Obama as little more than a skilled rhetorician failed to halt his ascension to the presidency. Over the course of his first term, the President proceeded to dispel doubts about his political finesse. Economists overwhelmingly agree that the 2009 stimulus staved off further economic disaster, as did the politically unpopular bailout of the auto industry. Disregarding cautious centrists within his own party, Obama then pushed hard for the passage of health-care reform.

When he signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, Obama fulfilled a policy goal articulated by every Democratic president since Harry Truman.

Vice President Joe Biden wasn’t wrong when

he described health reform as “a big fucking deal.”

When he faced the American electorate for the second time last fall, Obama could also point to a successful track record on foreign policy. By simple virtue of not acting like the swashbuckling cowboy that was George Walker Bush, Obama dramatically improved America’s global standing. After eight years of U.S. involvement in a Mesopotamian quagmire, Obama ended the war in Iraq. Osama bin Laden met his demise at a Pakistani compound in 2011.

Despite these successes, Obama spent most of his first term struggling to stay above water in public opinion polls. The

sluggish pace of the economic recovery engendered frustration. Misleading claims from the likes of Sarah Palin—death panels!—did a real number on the popularity of the health-care law, even though its individual provisions boasted robust public support. Riding a wave of populist angst, the GOP galloped to victory in the 2010 midterms. Gridlock would soon rule the day.

Amid the tumultuous debt ceiling standoff in the summer of 2011, Obama’s approval rating dipped into the 30s. Throughout the 2012 campaign, keeping his numbers near the 50-percent mark—just enough to eke out another win—was a tremendous feat.

OBAMA continued on page 6

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | January 29, 2013

Dems, public opinion both Protestors should not be charged for UCMC protest last Sunday support active government POLICE continued from page 4 will about the specific merits of their cause, the whims of hospital administrators and OBAMA continued from page 5 The great irony of the President’s first term is that the captivating speechmaker proved adept at the substance of policy, but often struggled to galvanize the public.

Unlike Bill Clinton, Obama seemed not to care much for the presidential bully pulpit. Vexing many of his supporters, Obama remained confident that if he got the policy right, the politics would eventually fall into place. Big speeches, chants of “Yes We Can”—those belonged to a different, if not quite distant, time. At the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte last summer, it was not Obama’s listless speech that earned rave reviews, but the compelling remarks of Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama. For once, Obama was no longer his own most effective advocate.

That appeared to change last week, at the President’s second inaugural. Speaking on the federal holiday commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr., Obama linked his vision for a fairer, more compassionate society to the great social movements of the past. “We, the people,” he intoned, “declare today that the most evident of truths—that all of us are created equal—is that star that guides us still, just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall.”

We live in a time of ever-increasing support for full equality for LGBT citizens, but for those of us who vividly remember having a president who supported writing discrimination into the Constitution, Obama’s declaration had a certain radicalism to it.

Sensing that history was running away from them on gay issues, conservatives generally opted not to assail Obama’s paeans to gay rights. Instead, they took him to task for his forceful defense of welfare-state liberalism. In a not-so-thinly veiled reference to erstwhile Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s Randian attack on social programs, Obama denied that those who benefit from Social Security and Medicare are “takers.” Such programs strengthen the social bond, the President argued, providing beneficiaries the economic security that allows them to participate fully in the nation’s civic life.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, referring to a 1995 speech by the centrist Clinton, would have none of it. “For Democrats in the Obama age, the era of ‘big government being over’ is officially over,” the dour Kentuckian lamented on the Senate floor.

And maybe he’s right. Perhaps Democrats’ heads are finally emerging from the sand as they begin to recognize that seven in 10 Americans support raising taxes on the wealthy, and that strong majorities oppose cuts to Social Security, Medicare, antipoverty programs, education, and federal funding for the arts and sciences, according to Gallup. Obama’s address also mentioned climate change, a problem that will require massive investments in clean energy and cutbacks in CO2 emissions. A recent AP poll found that eight in 10 Americans see climate change as a serious threat. McConnell may be disappointed to discover that it’s not just Obama-era Democrats who want more government action. The American public does too.

The President enjoys considerable public backing on a host of issues demanding a vigorous government response. Whether he can translate that support into federal action depends on his commitment to a more effective use of his powers of public persuasion over the next four years. If Obama maintains the fighting spirit he displayed last week, historians may one day write that his presidency marked the start of a new progressive era.

a cat. But when we get right down to it, if the government is truly by the people, it is still up to us to right these wrongs. There is no farming out of responsibility. FLY is demanding a trauma center, but they are also posing a question to the University community: Who and what is important to us?

Will this community of intellectuals, businessmen, researchers, politicians, presidents even, take some kind of responsibility for the entrenched disparities of this society— or are we all so helpless? Think what you

but FLY is doing this community good by breaking its bubble, by continually manifesting through its protests the bitter reality of social exclusion we have become so adept at not seeing, or maybe not believing.

This is not to suggest that the University must devote all of its resources to charity.

The question goes much further than that.

We must go far beyond the idea that we owe “charity” to poor communities. What we owe is a world far too long in coming where access to medical care is not left to

justice is not left to the caprice of the police, who, as it was made clear to me first as a frightened 16-year-old and then again yesterday, feel unconstrained in their authority, and have come to expect from civil society the assent that is silence. Let’s begin by raising our voices and asking that the University of Chicago administration not charge those arrested on Sunday.

Michael McCown is a third-year in the College majoring in history.

SUBMISSIONS The Chicago Maroon welcomes opinions and responses from its readers. Send op-ed submissions and letters to: The Chicago Maroon attn: Viewpoints 1212 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637 E-mail: Viewpoints@ChicagoMaroon.com The editors reserve the right to edit materials for clarity and space. Letters to the editor should be limited to 400 words.

Op-ed submissions, 800 words.

Mexican Montage University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, February 2 | 8 PM Mandel Hall 1131 E. 57th Street, in Hyde Park Barbara Schubert, Conductor A vibrant program of Latin American music, featuring Silvestre Revueltas’ thrilling La Noche de los Mayas, Oscar Fernández’s Batuque, Arturo Márquez’s Danzon No. 2, and Gershwin’s Cuban Overture.

Donations requested: $10 general/$5 students 773.702.8069 | music.uchicago.edu

Luke Brinker is a graduate student in the MAPSS program.

Persons who need assistance should call 773.702.8484

ARTS

Trivial Pursuits JANUARY 29, 2013

In new collection, Saunders sets the perfect literary date Emma Broder Arts Editor Before you read George Saunders’ new short story collection, Tenth of December, you should read a profile of Saunders recently published in The New York Times Magazine, “George Saunders Has Written the Best Book You’ll Read This Year.” You will learn certain facts: Saunders is in approximately the same generational cohort of fiction writers as Jonathan Franzen and David Foster Wallace—to wit, he’s firmly rooted in postmodernism; Saunders published his first collection, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (1996), at age 37, having written the stories while working a day job preparing technical reports in Rochester; Saunders’ work has a strong interest in the dehumanizing effects of capital, something he picked up on through jobs (roofing , for example) he held earlier in his adult life.

You may also see a picture accompanying the Times profile that shows a young Saunders. The author of the piece, Joel Lovell, writes that Saunders is “playing a Fender Telecaster, with whiteblond Johnny Winter hair to his shoulders. ‘In our lives, we’re many people,’ he said as he lifted the photo off the shelf.”

These are just a couple sentences from a lengthy profile, yet Saunders’ generous reaction to his young self is powerfully telling of how he writes. His stories are not flush with formal innovation, or humor, or straightup satire, though they contain these things. They’re also not about ego. Saunders does make his presence felt in every story, but the collection is primarily rooted in a fascination with people. Each story is, at its core, a portrait of one, two, or a few characters. Often, he gently lays bare the plot of the story as if taking a blanket off a character.

We see the characters’ best—or worst—selves, and the author’s respect for the messiness—life— that unfolds between the extremes of human behavior. People are worth loving, Saunders and his characters conclude, but rarely because things are simple.

Tenth of December is also an impressive collection in form and style. One story, “Sticks,” is barely a page long ; another, “The Semplica Girl Diaries,” is the longest story in the book (60 pages). The story should have come earlier. It weighs down the middle section of what is otherwise a well-paced romp of a collection. “Exhortation” is a memorandum. “Home” has numbered sections. “Puppy,” a

concise gaze into class issues, is told from more than one point of view (this isn’t exactly formal innovation, but it still exemplifies Saunders’ deep consideration for communicating the full human implications of his stories).

In “Victory Lap,” Saunders sounds like what he is, which is a middle-aged man writing the thoughts of a 14-year-old girl, but he also sounds totally right: “So ixnay on the local boys. A special ixnay on Matt Drey, owner of the largest mouth in the land. Kissing him last night at the pep rally had been like kissing an underpass.”

“The Semplica Girl Diaries” is written in a kind of shorthand.

The diarist is a middle-aged man, not a girl, and he writes, “Why were we put here, so inclined to love, when end of our story = death? That harsh. That cruel. Do not like.”

Saunders’ collection will continue to move you after you finish the book’s last/title story about a young boy who meets a cancer patient in the woods on a brutally cold day. It ends on a Saunders-ian, humanistic note, when the cancer patient, Donald Eber, sees his wife’s face clouded with worry for him. “He knew her so well... Overriding everything else in that lovely face was concern. She came to him DEC continued on page 8

Style

George Saunders’ possible secret plan: Make college students think they’re buying The Myth of Sisyphus.

COURTESY OF RANDOM HOUSE

Chicago Manual of

Haute for show

Jessen O’Brien byby Alexandra McInnis

Look fetching in fencing in this Valentino that costs more than any fence.

COURTESY OF GORUNWAY

The Paris couture shows are where a designer’s most extravagant fantasies come to life. After months of preparation, elaborate and outlandish garments hand-stitched by professional seamstresses from the highest quality fabrics are displayed in the most prestigious locations Paris has to offer. For the spring/summer 2013 shows, creative directors of various fashion houses rarely strayed from the opulence and intricate detailing that are synonymous with the popular conception of haute couture, opting for traditional visions of luxury rather than avant-garde or unprecedented looks.

In order to show couture in Paris, designers must first receive permission from the Paris Fédération Française de la Couture, which typically requires that designers have five years of couture experience.

However, newcomer Giambattista Valli was granted couture status after his first guest appearance for autumn/winter 2011, and continues to prove that his standard of work complies with that of the rest of the couture lineup. Valli experimented with some drastically different proportions, ranging from tailored minis to dramatic full skirts. He began with some opaque pieces in

dark hues before transitioning into lighter gowns with sheer accents.

Transparency was also popular at Elie Saab and Valentino, who rejected floating gauze in favor of sheerness peering out from under thick lace, heavy embroidery, and brocade.

Count on the perpetual fashion iconoclast Jean-Paul Gaultier to stray from these trends with tapered maxidresses, bold stripes, and one of his signature sharp corsets.

At Dior, Raf Simons, who was appointed creative director last year, seemed as though he was still on a mission to prove that despite his tenure at Jil Sander (the most minimalist fashion house on the block), he can still take on the drama and flair of the Christian Dior legacy. His runway show, in which models traipsed daintily through Paris’s Jardin des Tuileries, was filled with references to the New Look popularized by Dior in the 1950s: bodice tops, wasp waists, and full skirts. There was occasionally a piece that played with volume and proportion, but most of these seemed like random additions, not part of a cohesive vision. The overall look was modernized only by the models’ pixie haircuts and bright rhinestoneencrusted lips, but hair and makeup

should not be the transformative aspects of a collection.

Simons also relied heavily on elements that are quintessentially evocative of spring, such as pastels and florals, which by now have become clichés of spring/summer collections. There were certainly some stunners among the flowerspattered gowns in lilac, mint green, and classic Dior soft pink, but they didn’t seem to be the product of any significant new inspiration.

The Chanel show similarly displayed many self-conscious nods to the history of the house of Chanel. Creative director Karl Lagerfeld recently received much acclaim for his Scottish-inspired collection shown at the Linlithgow Palace. Critics have praised the collection for striking the perfect balance between stepping away from Chanel’s classic French style (which can border on obsessively French), while drawing a relevant connection to Coco Chanel’s own history with Scotland—most notably her love of tweed. His spring/summer couture collection, also held on a gardenthemed runway at the Grand Palais, initially showcased nubby jackets and long, tailored dresses—Chanel STYLE continued on page 8

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | January 29, 2013

Daddy Love in dangerously shallow psychological straits Sarah Tarabey Arts Contributor A mother and her son walk hand in hand.

How could such an inconsequential act bear such heavy burdens? The boy wonders why he can’t see the car yet. But his mother, consumed with details like the appearance of motherhood, releases his grasp (or does he release hers?). And soon he is gone.

Joyce Carol Oates’ latest novel, Daddy Love, is the wrenching and disturbing tale of a fiveyear-old, Robbie Whitcomb, who is abducted from a mall parking lot and forced into abusive captivity. Taken from his mother, Dinah, in a moment, Robbie is lost for six years. Dinah’s desperate attempts to chase his attacker render her brutally and permanently disfigured by the kidnapper, Chester Cash, also known as Daddy Love. He is a serial killer, a pedophile, and a master in the art of deception. He torments the boy, who is now called Gideon Cash, into both physical and psychological submission.

It is natural to demand what purpose Oates’ particularly painful brand of storytelling serves, though she is known for her forays into the heavy and twisted. It may be precisely due to her need to tackle the extents of human potential—to bring the inner perspective to a vantage point that is frighteningly grounded in reality—that she has penned this novel. But Daddy Love verges on being too distressing. The book is at once a depiction of the depths of cruelty and the heights of hope. While it succeeds in evoking the reader’s emotions, the story wants for elaboration and exploration on several fronts.

The novel’s strength lies in its intimate understanding of human motivation: how the individual thinks and reacts. This establishes a palpable connection between character and audience. The story unfolds through various perspectives, allowing for a range of language poetic and powerful in its simplicity and direct in its insight. One is not a witness to but a participant in a script of human thought, emotion, and interaction: The desperation of a mother in critical condition and of a stricken father at her bedside, searching for their son, is moving. And yet, when Preacher Cash (as Daddy Love disguises himself ) delivers a sermon, the

aura of the biblical intermingles with the tongue of evil. The sermon is a sickening display of religion rendered completely hypocritical when expressed in the voice of a psychopath. At times the novel shocks with a line or an idea so gripping that one must halt and wonder: How much is there beneath the surface that we do not detect?

“Our memories goad us to repeat the past, when we’d been happy,” writes Oates. “Even as we know that the past is past, and we will not be happy.”

Yet the story lacks the development necessary to convincingly portray the magnitude of its undertaking. In giving voice to the abductorabductee mentalities of Daddy Love and Gideon, the narrative is unrestrained; the former ruminates on his warped and perverted machinations and likens them to divine purpose, while the latter thrives on Daddy Love’s approval but hates him profoundly.

The questions remain: Why does Gideon not attempt escape sooner? Why does he not seek help, silently enduring years of torture? The psychoanalysis that would provide answers to the crux of the story is scarcely glimpsed. When it comes to Daddy Love and Gideon, the narrative becomes a horror story–type depiction instead of a psychological exploration. Oates’ point may well be that one cannot understand such a devastating situation without experiencing it.

Once Dinah and Gideon are reunited, Dinah’s thoughts impart this idea. Still, the novel lacks the progression necessary to convincingly communicate this message.

The Whitcombs’ character development is trite and too cliché to redeem the dark undertones of the narrative’s main thrust. The superficiality of the investigation into their trauma leaves much to be desired. Dinah’s husband Whit is the spiraling, adulterous husband who simultaneously contemplates leaving his wife and proclaims his familial affection for her. Dinah plays the archetypal survivor with undying devotion, walking without a muchneeded cane, braving the grimaces of a world too enamored with appearance and too laden with artificial pity to appreciate the toil of her efforts.

However, her desperate longing for her son—her “mommy love”—gives her depth.

On the whole, Daddy Love lacks resolution.

What would Coco Chanel do (WWCCD)?

STYLE continued from page 7 signatures. Lagerfeld’s quest to maintain the traditional Chanel aesthetic is admirable, but Coco Chanel also believed that a woman should dress for her time, and whether she would have wanted a woman in 2013 to wear a 1930s-style dress is arguable. However, the show progressed to show floral prints against dark, liquid-like satins that lacked conventionally florid prettiness. The show’s finale revealed gowns with airy, sheer tops paired with unexpected feathered skirts.

These were the collection’s highlights, as they lent an element of surprise to couture finery.

Unlike ready-to-wear or accessories collections, couture does not exist to be a profitable industry. Only a handful of people in the world actually buy couture, usually members of long-standing European nobility

who purchase these pieces for aesthetic value and craftsmanship as if they’re betting on Dutch Masters paintings at Sotheby’s.

Couture has no place in department stores, and actresses are only rarely lent couture dresses for the red carpet because they don’t comply with the public notion of Hollywood glamour. Free from these profitmaking constraints, designers can use couture collections as the ultimate means of selfexpression. However, with certain fashion houses, it seems like the creative directors are more closely associated with the house’s historical image than their own artistic vision. It’s a fine line to walk, and often we are grateful to see homage paid to the name on the label, but it begs the question of what these legendary designers would have envisioned for contemporary women.

Tenth of December, a joy to read and to live DEC continued from page 7 now, stumbling a bit on a swell in the floor of this stranger’s house.”

After I finished Tenth of December, it was as if the space between those last two pages, the place where the spine is, was Saunders’ furrowed brow, calmly but firmly advising that I go into the world. I needed to leave my chair, maybe for a walk, maybe to go to Treasure Island, where the high concentration of old people is always refreshing. Half-snow was coming down. Later that night my roommates and

I ended up at a party on the other side of the city. We were suddenly friends with the DJs; then we were the DJs. We introduced ourselves to everyone there, using a different name each time. The bathroom mirror of the small apartment, I found, was shattered, and the sconces had been torn from the walls. I saw corners of my reflection. In our lives, we’re many people.

What more would the wise Saunders say about the situation I had gotten myself into? Why was I so perplexed, and so delighted, to be alive?

Joyce Carol Oates delves into physical abuse and emotional trauma in her latest novel.

COURTESY OF MYSTERIOUS PRESS

It skips from 2006 to 2012 without explanation, and the concluding chapters falter to an abrupt end. It is conveyed unsatisfactorily. The ending not only waxes irresolute, but also shatters any hope of safety. After Robbie is returned, what

remains is the telltale acknowledgement that six years have been utterly stripped from the Whitcomb family—“a part of their souls,” writes Oates—with relationships left in a state beyond repair.

Rhyme Holden court at Logan Ellen Rodnianski Arts Contributor A year ago Catcher in the Rhyme considered it a good Wednesday open mic when there was a grand total of ten people in the audience.

This year their average open mic receives an audience of around 40, while their slam poetry event on January 23 gathered over 100 people who willingly cramped into Café Logan to listen to the poets perform. The slam was the long-awaited competition to see who would win a spot in the traveling team for College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI).

The competition consisted of two rounds— each potential CUPSI contestant performed a poem in both, while being awarded points by the very critical judges. Out of the ten potential victors, the five who were chosen to travel were second-year Shaan Heng-Devan (one of the founders of the club—the other is second-year Nina Li Coomes), first-year Emma Koch, first-year Cindy Ji, first-year Helena Bassett, and second-year Brandon Nichols. The competition will take place at Barnard College in New York City the weekend of April 3.

Although the slam is an important component of the organization, Catcher in the Rhyme are more than just CUPSI competitors. Everyone is welcome at their open mics, which initially offered a chance for people to hang out and share their poems. Last year there were around five constant members.

One of the group’s favorite anecdotes is that Heng-Devan constantly had to write poems in order for the open mics to last long enough to

constitute a substantial show.

The term “slam poetry” is often associated with honest, confessional or political prose styling. In Catcher in the Rhyme’s case, the term covers many different genres of poetry, in addition to poetic forms of artistic expression that may have little or nothing to do with the written word. People have read haikus, played the guitar, read letters, and danced before.

This is all in accordance with Catcher in the Rhyme’s mission to build a community of poets and other artists who listen and give each other feedback. And although the main focus seems to be poetry, for Bassett, “Catcher in the Rhyme is not about the poetry. It’s about the moment right after, when the music comes on and everyone is just happy together.”

It may be difficult to understand what a slam poem even is. For Ji, slam poems are usually pieces of prose in which she tries to figure out topics that bother her but that she can’t seem to talk about in usual conversation.

Slam poems help her open up in a way that everyday conversations, which tend to be full of small talk, don’t. The success of slam poems comes from their raw emotion, not their form.

There is no specific formula to writing slam. However, in order to write Rhyme’s group-authored pieces, brainstorming and extensive planning of the format are essential. Many participants at the open mics consider the process an excellent method of stress relief. If you are looking to get a jolt of inspiration, or blow off steam in the form of free-flowing poetic discourse, join Catcher in the Rhyme at its regular Wednesday evening gig in Café Logan.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | January 29, 2013

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Shooting woes resurface as squad falls to Case, Carnegie Women’s Basketball

Paige Womack, a first-year guard, shoots a three during the Neon Night game against Brandeis on January 18.

IVY ZHANG | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Sam Zacher Sports Staff After a three-game winning streak, the Maroons (6–12, 2–5 UAA) ran into tougher competition this past weekend, falling 56– 41 at Case Western (12–6, 4–3) and 76–68 at Carn-

egie Mellon (11–7, 3–4).

A poor shooting percentage, which has plagued Chicago this season, was the Achilles’ heel again for the Maroons last weekend.

The team shot 26.8 percent against Case and 26.4 percent against Carnegie.

On Friday at Case, the

Maroons grabbed an early lead but let the home Spartans pull away 32–22 at half following an 18–2 run. Chicago didn’t make much headway in the second. Case held the lead the rest of the way, pulling out a 15-point victory.

In addition to shooting,

Chicago struggled to hold onto the ball, coughing it up 25 times. The Maroons were led by first-year Paige Womack (13 points and three rebounds).

“Their guards pressured us full court defensively, making it hard for us to get in a rhythm and comfort-

able in our offensive sets,” Womack said.

On Sunday, the Maroons started off similarly against Carnegie, snatching an early lead but quickly losing it. They found themselves down 35–26 at half.

The second half was a different story. Carnegie had a 13-point lead, but the Maroons fought back and even went up 58–57 with four minutes left— thanks to two free throws

by Womack.

Unfortunately for the Maroons, Carnegie knew how to finish the game.

Tied at 61 with 2:45 left, the Tartans went on an 8–0 run and never looked back, winning 76–68.

Chicago was led by second-year Claire Devaney (14 points and 14 rebounds) and first-year Caitlin Moore (13 points and 10 rebounds). Moore says the key was free throws.

“Our rebounding effort really got us back into the game, but throughout we had a hard time converting free throws,” she said.

“Down the stretch Carnegie capitalized on a couple key possessions and made a few more free throws.”

The Maroons had success on the glass, which was cer-

tainly a promising sign. The visiting Maroons won the rebounding battle 46–38 against Case and 59–48 against Carnegie, achieving a season high in Sunday’s game.

However, Chicago struggled with turnovers against Case and converting free throws against Carnegie (60 percent as a team), along with field goal percentage all weekend (26.6 percent between the two games).

Despite these poor statistics, Chicago has received strong play from first-years, most notably Womack and Moore.

“My teammates always make great passes, allowing me to get good looks at the basket,” Womack said.

“Also, the coaches have pushed me to be a scoring threat and to crash the offensive boards for secondchance looks too, which I’ve been focusing on going into games and has helped a lot.”

Womack has averaged 11.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in her last six games.

Chicago plays again at Ratner against the same set of teams this weekend, Case on Friday at 6 p.m. and Carnegie on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | January 29, 2013

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Chicago comes up (just!) short in pair of UAA contests Men’s Basketball Alexander Sotiropoulos Senior Sports Staff The Maroons had two comebacks this weekend. Unfortunately, neither was enough to seal a victory for Chicago. The Maroons lost to the Case Spartans on Friday 64–61, before getting edged out by the Carnegie Tartans 75–74 on Sunday.

After trailing by 16 points just minutes into the second half of Friday night’s contest at Case, Chicago brought a new level of defense to the game.

“We just picked up our defensive intensity, and we closed up the space on their shooters because in the first half, they really shot the ball well,” third-year forward Sam Gage said.

Gage also said that second-year point guard Royce Muskeyvalley’s full court pressure helped Chicago.

Case still managed to shoot 50 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes. But the Maroons went on a 12–1 scoring run with 9:23 left in the game to tie the contest with just over two minutes left on the clock.

A free throw and a layup for Case put the Maroons down 64–61 with 1:23 remaining.

The Maroons missed three shots from beyond the arc in the final minute to seal the 64–61 final.

Even though Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh featured a Carnegie team

that was 0–6 in UAA action going into the match, traveling for three days straight took its toll on the Maroons. But that was not an excuse.

“The biggest challenge on the Sunday games, especially away ones, is to bring a level of energy that’s going to allow you to win that game and compete with other teams,” Gage said. “They’re already going to have some level of energy that comes with [playing at home]. You’re going to have to be able to beat that just as the opposing team who’s been on the road for three days. It’s something you’ve got to do in the UAA if you want to be good.”

After a back-and-forth first half, the Tartans were up 33–30 at the break.

The Tartans found themselves up by seven points with 7:44 left in the game. Chicago then went on a 6–0 run to cut the lead to one.

With seven seconds left in regulation and the Maroons down by three (66–63), Chicago called a timeout to design a three-point attempt.

“I would get the ball at the top of the three-point arc and would look to pass to [second-year guard Alex] Pyper on the left wing,” third-year forward Charlie Hughes said.

Unfortunately for Hughes, Pyper was not open and the third-year had to take the three himself. Luckily, he banked the three-pointer off the

Third-year Wayne Simon takes the ball down the court in a January 18 home game against the Brandeis University Judges.

JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON

glass to send the game to overtime.

Overtime was a back-and-forth affair until, with eight seconds left, Asad Meghani made a floater to seal the win for Carnegie.

While the Maroons’ chances at a postseason bid or UAA championship are dwindling, Gage said that

the Maroons still look to improve this season.

“You just really want to keep getting better every day, try to win as many games as you can this year, and then you don’t want to look too far in the future, but this is our team for the next year or two,” he said. “You

don’t want to have any more weekends where you’re taking steps back, where I think there were times this weekend where that was definitely the case.”

Up next, the South Siders take on Case and Carnegie again this weekend, this time at home.

Whitelaw: “It’s time to step up our level of competition” TRACK continued from back

tive events.

The women also garnered a slew of top finishers, including fourth-year Kayla McDonald (800m run), third-year Sarah Peluse (mile), and first-years Kristen Greenwood (5,000m) and Nelly Trotter (triple jump).

They helped the Maroons dominate the women’s field as well, with the smallest win coming against Loyola, 88–52.

“We competed pretty well considering that most of our competition came from racing against each other,” third-year Michaela Whitelaw said. “It was the end of the begin-

ning of our season. From here on, the competition only gets better.”

Whitelaw also had a strong meet, finishing behind only McDonald in the 800m run.

The South Siders recognize they will have to improve steadily if they want to compete with higher-powered squads later this year.

“Our goal is to win the UAA this year,” Bennett said. “We went up against Washington University earlier this year and did very well, and they are usually the team to beat in the conference, so we have a good chance to win.”

In order to achieve this goal, the Maroons

will have to get healthy in all aspects. Injuries have plagued both sides in past years and drastically affected their ability to collect points at contested meets. However, the Maroons have the young talent to provide the needed boost later in the season when injuries normally strike.

Furthermore, while track and field may appear to be an individually-oriented sport, the South Siders know they need to come together as a whole to win.

“We need to develop the team mindset further. There are a lot of young talented members on this team that really need to be

integrated into the squad,” Whitelaw said.

The Maroons have a little less than a month before they travel to Cleveland to compete in the UAA Championship. This weekend, they will have the opportunity to compete against top squads such as host UW–Whitewater (ranked fourth in the nation) and UW–Oshkosh (ranked first) at the Warhawk Classic. That meet will offer a yardstick for where Chicago’s athletes are competitively at this point in their season.

“We’ve had a bit of a lower key up [season] until this point,” Whitelaw said. “It’s time to step up our level of competition.”

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

| JAMIE MANLEY

GREGOR SIEGMUND, MEN’S TRACK & FIELD Head Coach Chris Hall: “Gregor won his first ever collegiate race. The senior was up against outstanding competition, specifically from Washington University, that had run consistently in front of him for the past three years. His performance was a lifetime indoor best in the 5K and currently ranks him No. 2 in the UAA conference in that event. It was fun watching Gregor’s performance as our entire team on the sideline was cheering extremely loud over the last 200 meters as he was running down the other competitors. I feel they have grown to respect him so much as a person that the chance to support him in the race was a special moment for not only Gregor, but also his teammates.”

JULIA SIZEK, WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD Teammate Michaela Whitelaw: “Julia is someone who, no matter what her individual circumstances are and no matter how she is feeling, will show up not only to compete as an individual, but to be there for the team. She is dependable on every level, whether that involves cheering on other teammates or dominating her own race. Having spent over two years as her teammate, I can say that Julia has extraordinary discipline,enthusiasm,andloveforour sport that I can only hope to achieve.”

COURTESY OF STEPHAN BATES

THE CHICAGO MAROON

The executive boards of the Women’s Athletic Association and the Order of the “C” have implemented a program, “Athlete of the Week,” to highlight athletes making a big impact on the campus community—both on and off the field. We hope the MAROON’s series on these ‘Uncommon’ athletes can start a conversation...and not just within the walls of Ratner.

SPORTS

IN QUOTES “Joe is dull. As dull as he is portrayed in the media. He’s that dull. He is dull.”

—Steve Flacco, father of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, in a phone interview with Scott Cacciola of The New York Times.

Maroon women fly, men flounder in matchup against DePauw Swimming

A member of the swim team awaits the start of the race in a swim meet earlier this season.

JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Tatiana Fields Sports Staff After losing to a superior DI UW– Milwaukee squad last weekend at home, the Maroons traveled to Greencastle, IN, and split the results of their dual meet against DePauw. The South

Siders won on the women’s side with a score of 176–123, while the men’s team was defeated by the Tigers by a final tally of 187–110.

For the men’s team, which was hoping for a victory against DePauw this year, the 77-point loss was disheartening.

“We had high expectations coming into this meet,” first-year freestyler Matthew Veldman said. “After a narrow loss last year on the men’s side, we really wanted to return the favor this year. I think most of the men expected to swim better than we did.”

The men’s performance at the meet

was discouraging, but it can be taken as a learning experience with important meets on the horizon.

“Losing was disappointing, as we would have liked to send our seniors out with a win in their last dual meet,” head coach Jason Weber said. “In the grand scheme of things, losing is not a big factor, but I was not happy with how we lost. We could have won if we were more focused, matched their intensity, and didn’t make so many mental mistakes while racing.”

While this loss for the men’s team wasn’t an optimal way to finish out the team’s dual meet portion of the season, the Maroons are looking to put this setback behind them as they head into the UAA Conference Championship in two weeks.

“One of the most important things to do right now will be to forget about this meet,” Veldman said. “It is hardly something to dwell on now that championship season is here. The most important meet of the year for us is UAAs, so we’ll be shifting gears in our training as we wind down and rest in preparation, as well as mentally preparing ourselves for the competition we’ll face.”

Though the men’s team didn’t have its best performance as a group, many individuals had strong showings despite not tapering for the meet. First-

year James Taylor took first in both the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard IM, while fellow first-year Bryan Bunning won the 100-yard backstroke. On the diving side, second-year (and UAA Diver of the Week) Matthew Staab took home victories in the one-meter and three-meter dive events.

On the women’s side, the Maroons earned a decisive victory, which will give them momentum looking ahead to the UAAs. The team was led by firstyears, with Jen Law and Ciara Hu scoring multiple victories. Law took first in the 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard backstroke, and 200-yard IM, while Hu won the 100-yard breaststroke and the 500-yard freestyle.

With the UAAs two weeks away, the Maroons are focusing on bringing the intensity of their training down and perfecting racing techniques.

This year, Chicago will be hosting the UAAs, giving the South Siders an added incentive to post top times and take down the competition.

“Now is the time when we put the ups and downs of the season behind us and trust in our training to take us where we want to go,” Veldman said.

Chicago will host the UAA Championships February 13–16 at the Myers-McLoraine Pool, located inside Ratner.

Fundraising with class: WAA to host raffle benefiting local schools

South Siders demolish weak competition at Chicago Duals

Hoops for Hyde Park Schools

Track and Field

Jake Walerius Associate Sports Editor The Women’s Athletic Association (WAA) will host its annual Hoops for Hyde Park Schools (HHPS) fundraising raffle at the men’s and women’s basketball games against Case Western this Friday.

The money raised will be donated to two Hyde Park schools, Woodlawn Elementary Community School and Fuller Elementary, to spend on equipment for their athletic departments and physical education programs.

Expectations are high for this year’s edition of the fundraiser, which has raised over $30,000 since it started 25 years ago.

The success of HHPS has not gone unnoticed. At this year’s NADIIIAA/Jostens Community Service Awards, WAA was given an Award of Merit for their work. The award offers justification for the work WAA has put into this project, which isn’t the main purpose of the organization.

“While the WAA is an organization that is not primarily targeted at helping the community, we all have an obligation to critically engage with the world around us,” WAA Special Events Chair Julia Sizek said.

“Students often do not realize

our own privileged position in the world, and how opportunities that we had are not necessarily shared by all students. By having an event like HHPS, we can both raise money to address these inequalities in opportunity and raise awareness among the student population.”

After having its most lucrative year to date in 2012, Hoops for Hyde Park Schools is poised for an even more successful 2013. As well as selling raffle tickets, WAA has supplemented its fundraising efforts this year with the sale of Chicago Maroon merchandise.

“This year, we did a few additional efforts to raise more money for Hoops for Hyde Park Schools,” WAA president Kim Cygan said. “At the beginning of fall quarter, we pulled together a pinnie order (jo“c”k pinnies) for current students and alums, and $4 from each pinnie purchased went to HHPS.” The raffle prizes have been donated from various Hyde Park and Chicago businesses, including Second City and Shedd Aquarium. There will be five grand prizes of $100. Between the raffle tickets and the Maroon merchandise, WAA hopes to earn somewhere in the region of $4,500: $500 more than last year’s event. This improvement, however, would come as no surprise to the

women working on the event.

“Every year, we make sure that more student-athletes are involved and start earlier with the organization of the event and fundraising,” Sizek said. “By increasing efficiency as well as the number of students involved, we raise more money.”

“The secret to the success of this event is the participation by our WAA members,” Cygan said. “Every female athlete commits to selling $30 worth of raffle tickets for the cause. Additionally, the WAA reps and executive board members voluntarily seek out donations for the event from local businesses, restaurants, museums, and sports teams for the raffle.”

For all of the hard work that goes into making Hoops for Hyde Park Schools a successful event, perhaps the most important ingredient to its success is the enthusiasm WAA brings to the work it’s doing. As student -athletes themselves, the members of WAA are uniquely placed to understand the benefits of a strong physical education department.

“Participation in sports is something that has positively affected every member of WAA,” Cygan said, “so it is great to be able to give back to the community in the unique way that HHPS does.”

Isaac Stern Sports Staff The Maroons went undefeated at the Chicago Duals, going 11–0 on both the men’s and women’s sides.

The level of competition that assembled at Henry Crown this past weekend, however, did not compare to that of previous weeks.

In the field of 12 teams, the men demolished every other squad they faced.

Their narrowest margin of victory came against the Northwestern Track Club.

That margin was still 52 points wide.

“I felt the team did very well this weekend compared to the competition we were up against,” firstyear Michael Bennett said.

“A lot of the members of the team, myself included, are capable of better times and marks than we got this past weekend.”

Bennett captured first place in the pole vault, with a height of 4.28m.

“It felt great to be able to win this past weekend, but I still have plenty improvements to make in the next few weeks,” Bennett said.

“The transition from high school to college sports was

not the easiest, but it really isn’t an issue anymore now that we’re in season.”

Other top finishers included first-years Michael Darmiento (55m hurdles), Ben Clark (400m dash), and

Tom Ward (triple jump).

Second-years Renat Zalov (3,000m), Semi Ajibola (high jump) and fourth-year Billy Whitmore (mile) also finished first in their respecTRACK continued on page 11

Third-year Evan Jin races around Henry Crown in the Chicago Duals meet this past weekend.

SARAH BLAUSER | THE CHICAGO MAROON