TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 27, 2012
CHICAGOMAROON.COM
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
ISSUE 15 • VOLUME 124
Obama strategist reflects on election Egyptian politician optimistic for new gov’t Jennifer Standish Associate News Editor
In his first public forum since the election, David Axelrod, senior strategist for President Obama’s reelection campaign, spoke on Monday reflecting on the 2012 presidential race and his goals for the future at the Institute of Politics. JULIA REINITZ | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Ankit Jain Senior News Staff David Axelrod (A.B. ’76), one of President Barack Obama’s closest aides and the communications director of his 2012 reelection campaign, dissected the recent presidential election and previewed
Institute of Politics events yesterday evening at the Logan Arts Center. Axelrod said he thought the seeds of Obama’s victory were planted on the day of the 2010 midterm elections. “The gravitational pull of the Republican Party from the right became so
strong in that midterm election that it was clear to me that any Republican presidential candidate would have to deal with those forces to become the nominee—forces which went against the demographic and social trends of the country,” he said. It was because of this
underlying dynamic, and internal polling that consistently showed Obama in the lead, that Axelrod said he was confident of an Obama win. Axelrod said the Romney campaign’s inability to define Romney on their own terms was another big AXELROD continued on page 2
Former Egyptian presidential candidate Dr. Abdelmoneim Abol Fotouh, who unsuccessfully ran in the election held earlier this year, spoke to a packed audience in International House on Monday about the future of Egypt under its new democracy. According to Fotouh, whose Arabic was translated by the event’s moderator, Dr. Abdullah Al-Arian, Egypt’s newfound democracy is here to stay. “Regardless of where [parties] sit on the political spectrum all have agreed that there’s no going back to the dictatorship and subjugation and that democratic institutions are what have to arise from this process,” he said. Last year, Fotouh resigned from a leadership position in the currently ruling political party, the Muslim Brotherhood, and is now the head of the new “Strong Egypt Party.” Fotouh argued that recent political unrest resulting from President Morsi’s decree temporarily preventing Egyptian courts from
overturning his decisions indicates the democracy’s durability. “The January 25th uprising is a sign that things will never go back to the way they were,” he said. “Even after two or three months, the idea that the president could immunize himself against any accountability sent many Egyptians into the street.” Fotouh also shared his views on the Muslim Brotherhood and the role of the United States in the Middle East. Addressing the Muslim Brotherhood, Fotouh said he was concerned about its non-secular nature. “On the one hand they can be an advocacy organization for religious purposes but at the same time be a political party. I think those two things should be separated,” he said. “They must recognize that a democracy is not simply a means to achieve power but an end in and of itself.” When it comes to the U.S.’s role in the new Egyptian democracy, he asked for a hands-off approach. “The Egyptian people don’t wait for the U.S. to deEGYPT continued on page 2
Sky’s the limit For one Harris worker, the dead come to have fun for U of C prof Stephanie Xiao Senior News Staff
Qianyi Xu News Contributor Middle schoolers across the country will be able to reach for the stars from their classrooms beginning next fall, with the help of U of C astrophysics professor Richard Kron and former student Dan Reichart (Ph.D. ’00). The Skynet Junior Scholars program, initially proposed by Kron and Reichart over a decade ago, gives middle school students access to a professional network of robotic telescopes. The program launched October 1 thanks to a $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Aimed at preparing the students for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, the program will operate using telescopes at the U of C’s Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin, the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, the
Every time zombie novelist and University spokesperson Scott Kenemore writes a book, he’s told it will be his last. “My publisher thought zombies were a trend at first. I’d do a book, and they’d be like, ‘Just so you know, Scott, this is probably going to be the last one,’” Kenemore said. “And now I’ve done seven.” “I feel like a drug dealer, because they’re trying to quit, but can’t.” Kenemore joined the University this past year as a communications associate at the Harris School of Public Policy. But his true passion involves pondering the moral complications surrounding the realm of the living dead. “Some people think my entire preoccupation is just gross. Nasty zombies coming back from the dead. But I think they’re [a] riveting core icon that can create interesting narrative situations and conflicts in
TELESCOPES continued on page 3
ZOMBIES continued on page 3
Scott Kenemore, a communications associate at the Harris School of Public Policy, is also a prolific fiction writer and has published seven zombie novels to date. SYDNEY COMBS | THE CHICAGO MAROON
IN VIEWPOINTS
IN ARTS
IN SPORTS
A name of one’s own » Page 4
Box office turkeys: Thanksgiving movie roundup » Page 7
Augustana Vikings invade, conquer Ratner Center as Maroons fall to 3-1 » Back Page
Attenberg does suburban family drama medium-well » Page 7
The Winter Season, In Photos » Page 11
Students must work for justice in Palestine » Page 5