FRIDAY • OCTOBER19, 2012
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
CHICAGOMAROON.COM
ISSUE 5 • VOLUME 124
Gov. returns for 4th diversity summit Post-Mandela South Africa still on the road to equality Mara McCollom News Contributor
Lester McKeever (left), former chairman of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, joins President Robert Zimmer and Gov. Pat Quinn at the Business Diversity Symposium last night. MATTHEW TAUZER | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Celia Bever News Editor Governor Pat Quinn lauded the University’s continued commitment to contracting minority and women-owned businesses at the fourth annual Business Diversity Symposium reception held at International House last night. According to University Presi-
dent Robert Zimmer, the symposium spawned from the realization that the University was lacking business contracts with minority- and women-owned businesses, especially those in professional services. “We want to create opportunity in an environment where diversity is recognized,” Zimmer said. The reception served as a networking
opportunity for the 422 people, representing 45 businesses, in attendance at the symposium. The businesses were selected by recommendation, some by organizations including the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council, the Chicago branch of the Women’s Business Development Center, and the advocacy group Chicago United. SYMPOSIUM continued on page 3
The struggle for a modern, egalitarian state has not concluded with the end of apartheid in South Africa, said journalist Douglas Foster in a talk at International House Wednesday night. Foster, also an associate professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, spoke of his experiences working and living in South Africa, as recounted in his new book, After Mandela: The Struggle for Freedom in Post-Apartheid South Africa. He began traveling to South Africa in 2004, a decade after Nelson Mandela’s election. Like many journalists, Foster initially thought that there was nothing left to write about the country. “The narrative about South Africa, like the narrative of most of Africa in journalistic treatment, comes in one of two types,” he said. “Either the miracle or the cataclysm, and by 2004, South Africa had been represented in both.”
Upon spending more time there, however, Foster developed a new approach to investigating South African modern political history by telling an “upstairs, downstairs” story. For Foster, “upstairs” includes the point of view from the top of South Africa’s political hierarchy, especially the past three presidents: Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, and Jacob Zuma. “Downstairs” refers to younger citizens, who have grown up during a period of transition, straddling traditional and modern South African culture. After showing clips from an interview with current president Zuma, Foster described how he developed close relationships with many young South Africans in order to understand the “downstairs narrative.” “What is it like to put together Jacob Zuma’s world with a modernizing country that has been founded on the principles of a constitution [promising ] a nonracial, non-homophobic, and S. AFRICA continued on page 3
Reg to get makeover this year First-year election yields record turnout Qianyi Xu News Contributor The Reg is branching out with a new look. Twenty-seven new wood carrels are being installed in the Regenstein library to replace some of the original 42-yearold gray metal linear carrels, part of a
two phase renovation plan that began in February. Each new carrel will have an overhead storage shelf, a light fixture, and two electrical outlets. With the end of October as the slated completion date, the installation of the new carrels is part of the first phase, which focuses on fostering community REG continued on page 3
Park it here: UCMC to get new lot Nicholas Rouse News Contributor Administrators presented a proposal for a new campus parking structure at a community meeting Wednesday evening at the Cummings Life Science Center. Officials from the University’s Office for Civic Engagement outlined a plan for a parking garage that would serve the Center for Care and Discovery hospital, due to open in February. The proposed structure would be located near 57th Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue. The plan takes the form of an amendment to Institutional Planned Development 43 (PD43), a city zoning document that controls how the University can use its land.
The new structure encompasses 1,800 parking spaces as well as a 60,000 square feet ground floor that will not be used for parking. The University Medical Center’s (UCMC) current garage of 1,400 spaces does not fulfill the needs of the facility, said Bill Buffman, the president of Facilities, Design, and Construction for the UCMC. The current solution is the University’s valet parking program that, with 67 employees, is the largest in Chicago. UCMC does not anticipate staffing changes necessitated by the new structure. Eric Russell, a manager with traffic consulting firm KLOA, Inc., explained that the new garage would reduce traffic PARKING continued on page 2
New Student Government College Council Representatives were announced yesterday. From left to right, Amay Sheth, Timi Koyejo, Mike Viola, Holly Rapp, Christina Dong. The fourth place on the council was a tie between Sheth and Koyejo at 147 votes - the current College Council will break the tie. EVELINA STERINA | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Anika Jain News Contributor This year’s first-year College Council (CC) race culminated last night with the highest voter participation in recent first-year elections. The winning candidates were Christina Dong with 362 votes; Holly Rapp, 230; and Mike Viola, 182. The question of the fourth open position is up to the discretion of the current CC, as candidates
Timi Koyejo and Amay Sheth tied for fourth place with 147 votes each. A total of thirteen first-years ran for the four positions on the council, seven fewer than last year’s record high of 20 candidates. The number of candidates last October made for fragmented election results—the vote counts of the winners ranged from 114 to 171. Consensus appeared much higher this year, particularly with Dong’s 362 votes, which was more than double
any winner from last fall received. The eight other candidates from this year’s pool were Parina Lalchandani, Parker Thomas, Sean Gasiorowski, Nicole Gorton, Katie Oliver, Rex Johnson, Thomas Remissong, and Martin Spencer Hyman. Both Lalchandani and Thomas received over 100 votes, normally an indication of a winning candidate, but this year’s high turnout changed the game. SG continued on page 3
IN VIEWPOINTS
IN ARTS
IN SPORTS
Changing the conversation » Page 4
Sondheim production scores points with hat tricks » Page 7
Holy smokes! Wheaton douses Chicago’s fire » Back Page
U of C student moves away from the YA in Steppenwolf ’s The Book Thief » Page 8
Taking on a new opponent—the imaginary undead » Page 11
The art of community building » Page 5