CHICAGO
MAROON The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892
Round-up of the day NEWS, p. 2
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2010 • VOLUME 122, ISSUE 9 • CHICAGOMAROON.COM
OBITUARY
ADMINISTRATION
Memorial celebrates Div School's Browning
Stimulus ends, but work-study still strong The U of C watches funding rise, even as work-study dollars plummet nationwide By Jonathan Lai News Staff
Professor and minister Don Browning bridged religion, philosophy, psychology, and the law. He died at 76. COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO NEWS OFFICE
By Sara Hupp News Contributor Family, friends, former colleagues and students of the Divinity School’s Don S. Browning (BD '59, AM ‘62, PhD ‘64) gathered on Saturday to honor Browning’s life at a memorial service in Bond Chapel. Browning died of cancer in his Hyde Park home on June 3 at the age of 76. An ordained minister and a Divinity School professor of religion and ethics for 37 years,
Browning was known for making the academic study of religion more accessible by studying how religion and real life intersect in issues like marriage and psychology. His academic work branched into several fields, including religion, philosophy, psychology, and law. “He had an amazingly capacious mind that could see how religious and moral questions need to be explored from a variety of vantage points,” said Divinity School Professor William Schweiker, according to a June 8
University News Office obituary. “He could pinpoint the strength and weakness of an argument and indicate this in a forceful, but gentle way.” Browning was dean of the Disciples Divinity House from 1977 to 1983, and authored three books. Browning made a lasting impact on those around him both as a Divinity School student—he received all his degrees from the school—and as a professor, according to those who spoke at
BROWNING continued on page 3
The DREAM Act: Hip-hoppers break it down Workshop raises awareness on campus immigration issues
Rebel Diaz, a Chicago-based political hip-hop trio, gave a performance on “Hip-Hop and Immigration,” as part of a workshop on the D R EAM Act last Friday at 5710 Woodlawn. The DREAM Act, which has yet to be passed in Congress, would offer undocumented students in good standing a path to conditional permanent residency. It recently became a nationwide campus issue due in part to a provision that undocumented students would need to attend a four-year institution of higher education to be considered eligible. Rebel Diaz, which consists of brothers RodStarz, La Tere (not present at this performance), and G1, threw down songs about injustice and political resistance before discussing hip-hop from a historical perspective.
“I thought the workshop was informative. It showcased the immigration movement from a different lens,” said second-year Noemi Garcia, a member of the Organization of Latin American Students. Hip-hop has moved hand-inhand with immigration, Rebel Diaz said, getting involved in issues ranging from the DREAM Act to border security. The group wanted to raise awareness about immigration issues on campus after confusion among both students and the administration on the University’s policy. Th e U o f C C o a l i t i o n f o r Immigration Rights (U C C I R), which helped sponsor the workshop, petitioned the University last spring to endorse the DREAM Act. Presidents at other universities, including Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, have publicly supported the act. The University has not given a
statement on the DREAM ACT, citing the Kalven Report, which dictates political neutrality on such issues. But earlier this month the administration clarified the policy on undocumented students in a meeting with UCCIR and through a press release, stating that the University admits undocumented students and provides them with private financial aid funding. Although the administration did not make a statement on the DREAM Act itself, UCC I R said they were pleased with the statement that was issued and understood the rationale behind the administration’s reading of the Kalven Report as it applies to undocumented students. Re b e l D i a z w a s b r o u g h t t o campus “in order to create an environment for students to discuss openly and safely issues regarding the DREAM Act and immigration issues in general,” Garcia said.
WORK-STUDY continued on page 4
HYDE PARK
Burns eschews appointment, angles for votes By Ella Christoph News Editor
CAMPUS LIFE
By Danny Rosa News Contributor
As some universities and colleges around the country struggle with drops in Federal Work-Study funds of over 30 percent, the University’s federal work-study funding increased for the 2010-11 school year, according to Director of College Aid Alicia Reyes. The number of students eligible for work-study at the University has not changed significantly, Reyes said, and the University has experienced “nothing like what other schools experienced,” in part because of the relatively little federal work-study funding the University received last year. The Department of Education received $200 million in stimulus funds for the Federal Work Study Program for 2009, which led to slight increases in work-study funding for some colleges nationwide. But the non-renewable Recovery Act funds were unavailable this year, and many schools dropped back to pre -stimulus levels, worrying some students
who rely on work-study funding at those schools. New York University received 36 percent less federal funding for work-study this year compared to last year, according to the Washington Square News, NYU’s s t u d e n t n e w s p a p e r. G e o r g e Washington University’s (GW) GW Hatchet reported a drop in federal work-study funding of 34 percent. The Hatchet reported that one GW sophomore, Matt Freeman, couldn’t find a work-study job after losing the one he had last year. “This year, I applied to seven different work-study jobs but I was unable to get any offers back,” Freeman said. Nationwide, the cuts in workstudy translate to a loss of over 162,000 work-study jobs—and that number may go as high as 768,000 jobs, according to an article in the U.S. News and World Report. But Reyes said the University of Chicago actually received slightly higher federal work-study funding this year. While the precise fig-
Will Burns (A.B. ’95, A.M. ’98), state representative for the 26th Ward, will run in the open primary for Fourth Ward Alderman on November 2 rather than put his name forward for an appointment. Current Fourth Ward Alderman and candidate for President of the Cook County Board Toni Preckwinkle had announced in April that she recommended Burns to Mayor Richard M. Daley as a replacement. However, Burns asked her not to recommend him after he learned from constituents that they often view appointments as an unfair advantage that give politicians planning to run in the next election a leg up. “I don’t want anyone in the ward to feel they didn’t have a say in my selection for City Council,” Burns told the Hyde Park Herald in the Wednesday article “Burns unappointed.” Said Burns: “The ward has a number of constituents who believe in fair play. Appointments are viewed as unfair, and I agree with them.” Preckwinkle declined to com-
ment to the Herald on whom she would recommend as “caretaker,” telling them she would consider it after the November 2 election. In addition to Burns, George Rumsey, president of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference, Norman Bolden, owner of the banquet facility Room 43, and financial consultant Brian Scott are also running for Fourth Ward Alderman.
Will Burns will run in the Nov. 2 open primary for Fourth Ward Alderman rather than seek appointment. CHRIS SALATA/MAROON