TUESDAY • OCTOBER 30, 2012
CHICAGOMAROON.COM
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
ISSUE 8 • VOLUME 124
University’s new “Promise” to eliminate loans, add resources for local students Rebecca Gutterman News Editor
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer announce plans to financially assist students from the City of Chicago with no-loan financial aid packages. PETER TANG | THE CHICAGO MAROON
The University and Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced an umbrella program yesterday that will group together financial, academic, and application resources for potential applicants to the U of C and similar institutions under one name: UChicago Promise. Part of the program will replace loans with grants for all admitted students from Chicago, ensuring that Second City natives will graduate from the University debt-free. The program answers a call from the Mayor to local universities to make themselves more accessible to Chicago students, according to University spokesperson Steve Kloehn. The impetus for the launch of UChicago Promise also came from a study by the University’s
own Consortium on Chicago School Research which found that only 28 percent of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students who are qualified to attend a selective college enrolled in one. UChicago Promise also includes an automatic waiver of the U of C’s $75 application fee for local students, a new Admissions Academy to help with the college application process, and a set of Jeff Metcalf internships that will recruit students from the College to work on the Promise programs. The Promise will also bring preexisting scholarships for Chicago students, the Neighborhood Schools Program, the Collegiate Scholars Program, and similar opportunities already scattered throughout the U of C infrastructure under a new Web site that will make opportunities the University PROMISE continued on page 2
Trial may lower birth control costs Uncommon: Arley D. Cathey Emma Dries News Contributor The University of Chicago Medical Center is currently one of 16 sites participating in a clinical trial, run by nonprofit pharmaceutical company Medicines 360, being conducted to put another IUD on the market. IUDs, or intrauterine devices, are small, plastic, t-shaped devices that are inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. According to a study published in May by the New England Journal of Medicine, IUDs can be up to 20 times more effective in preventing pregnancy than oral contraceptives, such as the pill. Addi-
tionally, unlike the pill, which must be taken each day, IUDs once inserted can last from five to 12 years, according to Planned Parenthood. That effectiveness and convenience comes with a more expensive price tag. One of the two IUDs currently available in the United States, Mirena, a hormonal IUD, costs $843.60 without insurance, according to the Mirena website. “[Mirena is] incredibly expensive, even for people with insurance, which makes it very cost-prohibitive for a very ideal segment of IUD users— young women,” said Stephanie Mistretta, senior clinical researcher in the Department of OB-GYN at the University of
Chicago hospital. The trial was conducted on women ages 1635, the target consumers. Medicines 360, a San Fransisco-based company, is looking to change that by creating an IUD that, except for the type of plastic and inserter, is functionally identical to Mirena, only without the cost barrier. “They have developed essentially the same thing and believe they’re going to be able to market it for less than a quarter of the cost,” Mistretta said. So far, the U of C branch of the study has enrolled approximately 30 women for the six-year trial. Although many participants are associated IUD continued on page 2
Journalist steps back in time Anastasia Kaiser News Contributor Paul Salopek, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and National Geographic fellow, spoke about his upcoming trek across the world at a lecture at International House last night. Salopek plans to shadow the first human who migrated out of Africa some 50,000 years ago in a seven-year adventure that will begin in the Horn of Africa and conclude in South
America. As he retraces the journeys of our ancestors, he plans to capture stories other journalists have missed in a pioneering form of journalism he calls “slow journalism.” In addition to uncovering the effects of climate change, poverty, and armed conflict, Salopek plans to explore the enduring strength and resilience of our ancestors. Salopek’s conception of slow journalism was born out of his frustration with conven-
tional forms of foreign reporting. He explained that foreign news correspondents are often parachuted into conflict zones and have little time to appreciate the nuances of local culture and history, whereas others become too invested in the story of its people. As a reporter for the Chicago Tribune and National Geographic, Salopek says that he has experienced both of these extremes and his journey on foot across 39 countries EDEN continued on page 2
Arley D. Cathey, Jr.’s (Ph. B. ’50) $17-million donation to the University last year attached his family’s name to a house in South Campus, the dorm’s dining hall, and the new Arley D. Cathey Learning Center in Harper Memorial Library and Stuart Hall. The Maroon sat down with Cathey during a visit to campus this weekend to discuss starting college at 16, his return to campus, and his bowtie collection. To read the complete interview, including Cathey’s experience living with a future Playboy executive, go to www. chicagomaroon.com. Chicago Maroon (CM): You came to the College when you were 16. Can you tell me a little bit about that and why you chose to start here so young? Arley Cathey (AC): Well, my mother and father had a friend whose daughter was going to school at Northwestern. Their son was younger, and he hadn’t finished high school, and Northwestern wouldn’t accept him... But [then-president Robert Maynard] Hutchins was down here [to Cathey’s hometown of El Dorado, AR], and he was taking people before they graduated from high school...[Cathey’s parents’ friend] wanted [their son] to go with someone, so one Sunday afternoon they brought
Arley D. Cathey Jr., an alumnus who donated 17 million dollars to the university last year, sits down with the Maroon for an Uncommon Interview. SYDNEY COMBS | THE CHICAGO MAROON
their son over to my mother and father’s home with applications to the University of Chicago. I hadn’t even thought about it, because I had not graduated from high school. It was a surprise that they wanted me to go and skip
my senior year of high school. That sounded real good to me (laughs), because I didn’t really like the local high school. I really thought that it would be wonderful to get away from that. So CATHEY continued on page 2
IN VIEWPOINTS
IN ARTS
IN SPORTS
Making the grade » Page 3
Logan’s a cabaret, old chum, come see the artists play » Page 6
Crossing that line: Maroons capture first UAA title since ‘94 » Back Page
Chicago’s vegan scene, from omegacado to umeboshi » Page 8
A homecoming of sorts—adjusting to life in the press box » Page 10
Looking for stage directions » Page 4