Chicago Maroon News Blog

Farewell to Obama's Favorite Restaurant & The New Yorker on UChicago

2008-07-17T13:36:00.010-05:00

Barack Obama will not be pleased.

Calypso Cafe, a restaurant he called his favorite in Hyde Park according to this week's New Yorker, will be vacating the area.

According to a blog post that Justin dug up, Calypso Cafe, C'est Si Bon and Dixie Kitchen will leave Harper Court now that the University owns the property.

The New Yorker article (yes, the one with THAT cover) focuses on Obama's quick political ascent, charting how he laid roots in Hyde Park.

The very in-depth (read: long) article will interest students, Hyde Parkers, and anyone who likes to read about the Democratic presidential nominee (perhaps three groups with some overlap?). It quotes Will Burns - a UChicago grad, Chicago pol, and former Obama aide - who had this say about UChicago's role on the South Side:

“Even though the University of Chicago is one of the largest employers on the South Side of Chicago, it is seen by some, particularly black nationalists, as a bastion of white political power, as a huge entity that doesn’t take into account the interests of the community, that doesn’t have a full democratic partnership with the community, and does what it wants to the community in maintaining clear boundaries about where black people are. It’s seen as an expansive force, trying to expand into Bronzeville and into Woodlawn”—historically black neighborhoods adjacent to Hyde Park—“and put poor blacks out of the area. The University of Chicago is not a brand that helps you if you’re trying to get votes on the South Side of Chicago.”

Whether you consider it an informative read could hinge on how you feel about using the Hyde Park Herald "as a sort of time capsule" - the article cites it over nine times. Either way, it's still worth checking out to see your local alderman Toni Preckwinkle raking in some national attention. It starts with Preckwinkle - calling her a "tall, commanding woman" - and includes a few of her characteristically blunt remarks, this time targetting the Democratic presidential nominee.

Milton Friedman Kerfufle

2008-07-16T17:35:00.004-05:00

A group of more than 100 faculty members from across a departmental spectrum recently sent a letter to President Zimmer and Provost Rosenbaum to express their concerns about the Milton Friedman Institute and have begun a petitioning process to call a meeting of the entire faculty to discuss the issue.

The Maroon recently posted an article about the debate. Check back over the week for updates.

Physical sciences department receives $20 million gift from mathematics alumnus

2008-07-14T09:30:00.003-05:00

President Zimmer announced yesterday a $20 million gift to the University’s physical science division from alumnus William Eckhardt. The gift will fund construction a new Center for Physical and Computational Sciences on the west side of Ellis Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets, slated for completion in 2013. The Center will be comprised of the Eckhardt Research Institutes building and a new building to be built over the site of the current Accelerator Building.

In an email memo to the University community, Zimmer said that the gift and the building project would attract valuable researchers and thinkers to the University faculty.

“Mr. Eckhardt’s gift in support of these efforts will help ensure that we can continue to attract the world’s most original and innovative scientists and foster the development of their work,” Zimmer wrote.

Zimmer said that the department would also use the gift to strengthen inter-disciplinary studies within the sciences, including specialties spanning computation, particle astrophysics, and neuroscience. Zimmer also mentioned the possibility of directing gift monies to launch a new molecular engineering program.

Discussion concerning the University’s standing relative to other research institutions has been underway since February 2007, when the Zimmer and Provost Thomas Rosenbaum convened a faculty committee to discuss the merits of adding a molecular engineering program to the physical sciences division. Although some voiced concern that an engineering program would detract attention from the University’s longstanding emphasis on theory and “the life of the mind,” most biological and physical science professors said that the lack of an engineering program is a limitation for the University, faculty, and students studying the physical and biological sciences.

“[The departments] are all basic science, and that works for and against us. I’d say that right now, it is primarily working against us. We lack the kind of expertise that links science to new technologies,” said Neil Shubin, a biology and archeology professor, in a February 2007 interview with the Maroon.

The committee meetings culminated in a list of faculty recommendations and a report, which estimated a conservative cost of a molecular engineering program around $250 million, according to an October 2007 Maroon article. Apart from the Eckhardt gift, the University has not mentioned other potential sources of funding for the engineering program.

Echkardt received a master’s degree in mathematics from the Univeristy in 1970, and is currently chairman and CEO of Eckhardt Trading Company based in Chicago. He is also a member of the Physical Sciences Division Visiting Committee at the University.

Reader's Comments: David Stein

2008-07-01T09:23:00.009-05:00

Rising College third-year David Stein was found dead by apparent suicide in his Hyde Park studio apartment Friday, June 27.

The Maroon has posted an article on its website, and will be providing additional coverage soon.

If you knew David Stein, we invite you to post your comments and reflections here.

Super-collider lawsuit may not see its day in court

2008-06-27T17:05:00.003-05:00

The Maroon covered the lawsuit filed by two scientists last quarter against the US government--and the U of C's Fermilab--to prevent the creation of a super-collider they claimed would destroy Earth by creating a black hole that would swallow us up. The NY Times reported today that lawyers for the federal government were seeking a dismissal of the case since its statute had run out and, perhaps more importantly, the money had already been spent. The article also addresses Fermilab specifically:

Meanwhile, the government also argues, Fermilab should be left off the hook. It cannot be sued, they said, because it is not a legal entity, not an agency of a corporation. It is "simply a collection of physical assets (such as scientific equipment and buildings)" owned by the Department of Energy, which approves and pays for all the operations there, according to an affidavit from Joanna M. Livengood, the department's site manager there.

Chicago named 2016 Olympics finalist

2008-06-04T16:07:00.006-05:00

The day after Kenwood resident Barack Obama clinched the Democratic party's presidential nomination, Chicago's South Side has yet another reason to celebrate (in the opinion of some).

Hyde Park moved a step closer today to becoming the focal point of international attention if the city of Chicago is selected to host the 2016 Olympic games. The city survived the International Olympic Committee's final cut before the host is chosen in late 2009. Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Madrid are the other three contenders. Prague; Baku, Azerbaijan; and Doha, Qatar, were eliminated from contention.

The city's selection would have a profound impact on the redevelopment of Hyde Park, its neighbors, and the South Side more generally. Under current plans, Washington Park, just east of campus, will be the site of the main Olympic stadium, and University administrators, including the next VP for community and government affairs, will work closely with the bid's organizers to prepare the neighborhood to assume the international spotlight.

Not everyone is excited about the prospect, and the city's efforts from here on out will undoubtedly spur fierce debate among local residents about what the bid would mean for Hyde Park, its neighbors, and its residents.

From the Chicago Tribune:
By Philip Hersh

Chicago has advanced to the final phase of the contest to become host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics, although it has ground to make up on its three remaining rivals before the International Olympic Committee's 110 members choose the winner Oct. 2, 2009.

The IOC executive committee decided Wednesday to eliminate three of the original seven bidders, Prague; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan. That leaves Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo.

Wednesday's decision was based on evaluations in a report made by an IOC working group. Chicago wound up tied for third with Doha in the rankings. Tokyo placed highest -- followed by Madrid -- with Rio in fifth. The IOC executive board used the rankings as guidance rather than ultimate selection criteria.

"This is a key hurdle to have passed,'' said Bob Ctvrtlik, the U.S. Olympic Committee vice-president for international relations. "Now the bid committee and the city and the USOC and the nation have to unite behind Chicago.''

From information provided by each city, the bids were ranked overall and in 11 areas on a 10-point maximum. Chicago ranked no higher than second in any of the 11 and fifth in three: government support, legal issues and public opinion; sports venues; and transport concept.

To put that in perspective, 2012 Summer Games host London finished third overall behind Paris and Madrid in the rankings at the same stage of the process.''

"We know where we are strong, and we know where we are weak,'' Ctvrtlik said. "We respect the analysis that has been done.''

Both the USOC and Chicago 2016 officials expected the report to show concerns about transport, given the aged nature of the city's subway and bus systems, and finance, since the U.S. is the only country where the games cost is not completely guaranteed by government entities.

Those concerns were well founded.

The report was particularly hard on Chicago's transport. It cited inconsistencies in the amount the city planned to spend on road and transit projects and said the many sports venues along Lake Michigan are well connected to Lake Shore Drive but not close to rail lines and stations.

"The working group had difficulty in identifying the location of transport projects and therefore assessing the coherence between transport projects and the Olympic Games concept,'' the report said.

The low grade in sports venues came from the working group's worry that four major venues require private funding and "the construction budgets appear low.''

The report also noted that the wording of Chicago's guarantee does not fully conform with the Olympic Charter, which demands the host city and Olympic organizing committee assume all financial responsibility for putting on the Games.

Chicago has come up with a $1.15 billion guarantee against operations, including $500 million from the city, $500 million in projected operating surplus and a $150 million pledge from the state, which has not been approved yet.

The finalists immediately can begin international promotion of their bids, through advertising, interaction with global media and lobbying of IOC members.

The next formal event in the bid campaign takes place at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where each finalist will send observer teams to learn first-hand how a Summer Games runs, to assess how they can use the pluses and minuses of China's organization to improve their own candidature -- and to chat up IOC members.

"We will take full advantage of the opportunity to spend the full time in Beijing for the Olympics and Paralympics,'' said Patrick Ryan, chairman of the Chicago 2016 bid committee.

"Every candidate city will be there and wanting to communicate as much as they can about their city and their bid -- as much as IOC members are willing to take the time to listen to.''

Since the goal is to convince a majority of IOC members rather than the global public that Chicago's bid is the best, the impact of advertising is diminished.

"We would also like to convince other people of sport who have influence with IOC members,'' Ryan said. "People in (international sports) federations. People in national Olympic committees.''

After Beijing, the cities begin working in earnest on the "bid book'' -- a highly detailed candidature file that generally runs to 400 pages. That file must be submitted to the IOC by Feb. 12, 2009.

The IOC will then send an evaluation commission for three-day visits to each city, likely next April and May. That commission prepares a report released a month before the final vote. It does not contain an official ranking of the candidates.

Since the IOC banned members from making inspection visits to candidate cities -- except for business or personal matters -- in the wake of the bid city vote-buying scandal that erupted in 1998, many cities have been frustrated in trying to overcome their unfamiliarity to many IOC members.

That is an issue for Chicago. Ryan said fewer than 25 percent of the members have visited Chicago, and Mayor Richard M. Daley told the Tribune Monday the city's "profile was very important.''

In April, IOC president Jacques Rogge said that to alleviate the familiarity issue, all candidate cities and IOC members would be invited to a meeting at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland some time next year, probably late spring.

2008 Scav Hunt Blog

2008-05-09T23:57:00.005-05:00

Springtime in Chicago ushers in the usual flora and fauna, colonies of feral cats, and the U of C's annual four-day, nationwide Scavenger Hunt--the world's biggest, according to my sources.

This year, our web editor Mischa Fierer launched the Maroon's shiny new Scav blog. Check it out for around the clock updates by editors, writers, and scavvies.

Stay tuned for the inside campus scoop, on the grounds reporting, and Sunday's judging results.

http://blogs.chicagomaroon.com/scav/

UChicago gets bad rap

2008-05-06T18:21:00.002-05:00

According to the New York Times, a Chicago graduate is responsible for Uma Thurman's stalking woes.

Higher Education Act Expires

2008-05-01T12:55:00.001-05:00

From Politico:

As of today, there is apparently no Higher Education Act. On Tuesday, the Senate passed by unanimous consent a one month “extension of higher education programs.” But the House hasn’t taken action on the extension, which means that the original expiration date – April 30, 2008 – has come and gone.

HEA is a huge barrel of rules and authorizations of appropriations that form the basis of federal higher education policy. A House Democratic aide said that the short-term extension will be passed next week and that the Congressional Budget Office has said that "no programs will be affected." But as of today, it’s gone.

What’s that mean exactly? One lobbyist noted to the Crypt that the rule that prevents students with drug convictions from getting loans is now gone – but so too, apparently, are the loans themselves. So tough luck, stoners.

We’ll update this post when we learn more.

Here’s the extension that the Senate passed on Tuesday…

SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

(a) Extension of Programs- Section 2(a) of the Higher Education Extension Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-81; 20 U.S.C. 1001 note) is amended by striking `April 30, 2008' and inserting `May 31, 2008'.

(b) Rule of Construction- Nothing in this section, or in the Higher Education Extension Act of 2005 as amended by this Act, shall be construed to limit or otherwise alter the authorizations of appropriations for, or the durations of, programs contained in the amendments made by the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-171) or by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (Public Law 110-84) to the provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act of 2004.

Covering a Tragedy (video)

2008-02-17T20:30:00.003-06:00

I spent Friday morning with the staff of the Northern Star, NIU's student newspaper, as they covered the aftermath of the shootings from the previous day.

I also had a video camera.

(Check out more videos at Fresh Cut.)

NIU Vigil

2008-02-16T14:28:00.002-06:00

Student Government announced today that there would be a vigil in support of Northern Illinois Monday. Here's the info:


Name:	Vigil in Support of Northern Illinois
Tagline:	Show Support for our Fellow Students
Host:	Student Government
Type:	Causes - Rally

Time and Place
Date:	Monday, February 18, 2008
Time:	12:00pm - 1:00pm
Location:	Main Quads: Flagpole
City/Town:	Chicago, IL

Contact Info
Phone:	541.760.9342
Email:	srduncom@uchicago.edu

Student Government is organizing a vigil in support of the students of Northern Illinois University. We will have a memorial book for students to sign.

The facebook event is here: http://uchicago.facebook.com/event.php?eid=10451052462

Covering a Tragedy

2008-02-15T13:06:00.003-06:00

It's 7:00 a.m. The generators are up and running, hair and make-up artists are hard at work, and fat, unshaven cameramen are talking about basketball over boiling cups of coffee. Their discussion is interrupted when a younger looking guy asks for the bathroom. His hair is perfect, he's styling a chic $1000 outfit, and he could have done without the semi-obvious face lift. But the cameramen cut him some slack: He's from CNN.

This was the scene as I arrived on the campus of Northern Illinois University this morning, situated 60 miles or so west of Chicago in Dekalb, IL. The shootings that ravaged the campus a day earlier opened the door to a media frenzy a town this size should never have to see. And I stood out like a sore thumb amidst all of it.

Or so I thought, until I decided to ditch the stodgy press area and visit the offices of the Northern Star, the campus newspaper whose constantly updated website has served as a lifeline to concerned NIU parents, students, and outside journalists. Indeed, situated about a mile away from the lights and camera crews, the Northern Star offices proved instantly to be ground zero for anything and everything NIU. And I was the only person there.

It wasn't long before I met Justin Smith, an NIU senior and the Northern Star's online editor, as he unlocked the door to the newspaper office. He'd already sipped half of his frappuccino and was toting about five of this morning's national newspapers, all of them headlining the events of the previous day. He leads me to his computer, we chat for a bit, and he checks his Blackberry every 30 seconds for updates. Like many of his fellow staff members, he hasn't slept all night.

But for a guy who's just been through a national tragedy and spent the past six hours doing interviews for every major news outlet in the world, he looks like he couldn't be happier. After all, it's Friday, and he's been nothing but smiles as he updates the Northern Star's website.

Jim Killam, the newspaper's faculty adviser and NIU journalism professor, is the second staffer to arrive at the office, and he has some news for Smith. First, the Associated Press has offered to pay the paper for using its photos. Second, the coroner has released the names of the dead. And third, "Did I ask 'How are you?' yet?" Yet again, smiles on both their faces as Killam holds the Northern Star's morning issue, hot off the press, draped with the headline: "TRAGEDY".

(to be continued, later today)....

Resources

2008-02-15T13:03:00.004-06:00

An e-mail sent to University students and staff this morning from VP/Dean of Students Kimberly Goff-Crews:

February 15, 2008

Dear University Community,

Today we are mourning the tragic loss of lives in the shootings at Northern Illinois University. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims as well as the entire NIU community. President Robert Zimmer has written a letter to President John G. Peters of NIU expressing our condolences and offering our support.

University of Chicago students are making plans to honor the victims of this terrible tragedy. We will share more information as soon as it is available.

A number of resources are available to students, staff and faculty to help us process our feelings of grief, sadness and fear. We are working with deans of students and residence hall staff to reach out to students who may need extra support during this time. Students who need assistance are encouraged to contact the Student Counseling and Resource Service, 5737 S. University Ave., 773-702-9800. Counseling resources are available to faculty and staff through Perspectives, 5751 S. Woodlawn, 800-456-6327. Other University resources are available by calling 773-834-HELP.

University of Chicago Police are trained and prepared to respond in the event of an emergency similar to that which occurred at NIU. Police would send an emergency message via cAlert and campus e-mail if we were ever in a situation that required community members to take immediate safety precautions. If you have not yet signed up for the cAlert emergency notification system, we encourage you to do so by visiting http://calert.uchicago.edu.

More information about the University’s safety resources and efforts is available at http://www.uchicago.edu/safety/.

Sincerely,

Kimberly M. Goff-Crews

Vice President and Dean of Students in the University

Tragedy

2008-02-15T01:02:00.003-06:00

In an unfortunate irony, I was about to board a plane headed to my home state of Virgina - the site of last year's tragic killings at Virginia Tech - when I first heard the news about what had happened at Northern Illinois (read Adrian's post Six dead from shooting at Northern Illinois for the latest). Sitting on the plane, thinking about what I had just seen flash across the television monitors, I couldn't help think about that day last April - the panicked phone calls from friends asking if I had heard the news, if I knew if this or that person was ok; my Facebook news feed flooded with messages from one friend to another checking on each other's safety and health; the phone call from my mom, nearly in tears, wondering how something so horrible could happen to kids with so much to look forward to; and, most harrowingly, the conversation with my roommate, also from Virginia, about a girl who he had worked summers alongside, helped with homework, attended church alongside, and that he would never see again.

Undoubtedly, countless kids across the U of C campus - and campuses around the state and country - had similar experiences this afternoon. There are students tonight who have lost best friends, parents who have lost sons and daughters, and communities that have had to confront an unfathomable violence. There are serious questions to be answered about how something so horrible could happen - could be allowed to happen - especially on a college campus, the last bastion of safety and security we're afforded before being dumped into the "real world" - but most important is the fact that six of our fellow students are dead today, sixteen others are injured, and many, many beyond that have been wounded. Our condolences to the families and friends of these students, to the Northern Illinois campus, and our hope for a speedy recovery and return to full health for all injured today.

--

Returning to a more objective news analysis, expect that the coming weeks and months will raise new questions for public officials and universities - including the U of C - to grapple with. It has become increasingly obvious that the problem of violence on campus is one that cannot be ignored or dismissed as aberrations, and schools will have to make tough decisions that could dramatically alter the culture and atmosphere of college.

Looking first to security, universities will have to evaluate whether substantially increased police presences and security systems are warranted - and what the tradeoffs of that extra layer of safety are. Most likely, text messaging and e-mail notification systems like cAlert will become more commonplace, but also expect increased pressure on schools to make these systems mandatory and as effective as possible. We are still unsure how - or if - such a system came into play today at NIU. Administrators will find it increasingly difficult to justify not informing students immediately about violent incidents, and excuses like those floated after Virginia Tech, or even the Amadou Cisse murder south of our campus, will become increasingly less compelling. So too will "opt-in" rather than "opt-out" campus security updates about violent crimes like muggings and robberies.

There is also a principle question of student mental health - one that was particularly pertinent after Virginia Tech, where the shooter was diagnosed with anxiety disorders - but that surfaces after any instance in which a person decides to open fire on a group of innocent and defenseless individuals. Early reports indicate that the shooter at Northern Illinois was a former graduate student who left the University, although further details are still unknown. Regardless, trends of competitiveness, high stress, and social disorder on college campuses are undeniable, and universities will be forced to yet again take a sobering look at the resources, preventative measures, and support systems available to their students.

---

Still, these themes are largely speculative, and it will be important to keep track of the developments from NIU, both for a better understanding of what happened today, and what it means for universities going forward. We will, of course, have continuing coverage in the Maroon, online here and in print starting again Tuesday. The NIU student newspaper, the Northern Star, has up-to-the minute updates, and has done an exceptional job in covering the story as it develops. The paper lost at least one staff member Thursday, and so special condolences and recognition to those providing their campus with important information as they mourn the loss of one of their own. Hassan will be at the NIU campus tomorrow, filming segments for Fresh Cut, so on the ground updates will also be available there.

Six dead from shooting at Northern Illinois University

2008-02-15T00:28:00.007-06:00

Police and university administrators have announced that five people, all students, were killed when an as of yet publicly unidentified gunman barged into a Northern Illinois University (NIU) lecture hall and began firing shortly before 3:00 Thursday afternoon. At least sixteen other students were injured, some seriously, before the gunman, a former graduate student of the university, turned the gun on himself.

Witnesses of the incident have told officials, according to various media reports, that the gunman stepped out from behind the curtain on the stage of the lecture auditorium and started shooting. Students dropped to the ground to shield themselves from the gunfire and some tried to slowly make their way toward the classroom's exits.

The gunman was armed with a shotgun and two handguns, officials said. The Chicago Tribune has reported that the suspect was a 27 year-old graduate student of sociology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In a press conference late Thursday, John Peters, NIU's president, said that two of the sixteen wounded students sustained critical injuries.

Administrators implemented an emergency response plan minutes after receiving reports of the incident, Peters said, according to reports. Many universities, including the U of C, developed such response plans in the aftermath of last year's deadly massacre at Virginia Tech University which left 32 people dead. University officials there were criticized for not having done enough to alert the university community of the impending danger.

NIU is located in DeKalb, Illinois, about 65 miles west of Chicago.

Be sure to pick up Tuesday's issue of the Maroon for coverage of campus response to the NIU shootings.

Police: 17-year old Warren shot Cisse

2008-02-12T10:36:00.000-06:00

The Chicago Tribune is reporting today that police have identified 17-year-old Demetrius Warren as the shooter of Amadou Cisse, the graduate student killed late last quarter. Warren is also believed to be the one who shot at a university employee who ran away from a confrontation with Warren and three other men, who have all been charged as accomplices in the murder and preceding string of robberies.

We'll have more details as they emerge on the blog, with full coverage in the print edition of the Maroon. As a heads up, there will be no paper on Friday (College Break Day), but publication will resume next Tuesday. Also, be sure to check out the revamped Maroon website at http://maroon.uchicago.edu.

Open House

2008-01-05T11:38:00.000-06:00

Winter break is drawing to an all-to-quick close, but for those of you who might have stumbled upon the Maroon blogs during our hiatus, a quick public service announcement from our editor-in-chief:

"Want to break into journalism? Made a New Year's resolution to get more involved in a campus group? Want the inside scoop on the goings-on at the U of C? Consider working for the Chicago Maroon, the university's student-run, independent newspaper.

The Maroon is hosting its annual open house this Monday (Jan. 7) at 7:30 p.m. We'll provide free pizza and soda, and the editors will be on hand to explain how you can get involved in writing, photography, copy-editing, art, or design. Just show up in the office, located in the basement of Ida Noyes.

We do not require prior experience; we'll provide the training. Contributors can spend as much or as little time with the newspaper-- every bit helps us. If you have any questions before Monday, feel free to contact Kat Glass at kglass@uchicago.edu."

Don't worry - if you write for the paper, copy editors will make sure your articles don't include incomplete sentences like the one that may occur in the last paragraph of that e-mail... In all seriousness, though, the Maroon is a great way to get involved at the U of C, and we're looking for people interested in writing for any of our sections - news, viewpoints, voices (arts & entertainment), or sports. There are also lots of opportunities for working on the design/business/photography side of things, too.

The Maroon will return in print form on Friday, January 11, so be sure to pick up a copy at the end of first week - we have reporters working hard on some in depth looks at the stories that we've been reporting on over the break, so those are worth checking out for sure. We'll continue to update here until then, after which the blog will still be live for small updates and stories that fall through the cracks. Happy new year to everyone.

Workers approve contract

2007-12-24T21:25:00.000-06:00

University clerical and service and maintenance workers voted Friday to accept the latest offer from the U of C negotiators, settling for less than the 4 percent annual raise they had previously demanded. Clerical wokers will receive a 3 percent raise in retroactive to March of this year with a $175 bonus; a 2 percent increase in March 2008; 2 percent in September 2008; and a 3.5 percent increase in March 2009 with $100 bonus. Service and maintenance workers will receive a 45 cent hourly raise retroactive to March with no bonus; a 40 cent raise in March 2008; and another 40 cent raise in March 2009, with a $100 bonus.

To get caught up on the negotiations, check out Adrian's excellent series:
Union negotiations reach new impasse
Campus workers reject contract offer
Protesters back union stance
Workers to vote on contract

And here's the press release put out by SOUL (Students Organizing United with Labor):

Chicago, Illinois – University of Chicago clerical and service and maintenance workers voted Friday to accept a new contract agreement presented by the UChicago human resources and Teamsters Local 743 negotiating team. This contract offer fell short of workers' demands for a 4% yearly wage increase to keep up with the rising cost of living in Chicago, but it stands as a marked improvement over wage increases won in past contracts.

Since January 2007, Teamsters Local 743, which represents over 1,100 clerical and maintenance workers at the University of Chicago, has been negotiating a for a 3-year contract. Many workers, frustrated with University stalling tactics and intransigence on offering a decent wage increase, began running a confrontational campaign that involved a mass contract-education drive, open worker discussion meetings, weekly rallies and outreach to student and community groups.

This campaign refused to accept the 3% yearly wage increases that had been the status quo of clerical contracts at UChicago, and instead pushed for 4% increases, coupled with improved job security and a return of yearly 'step' wage increases. The workers argued that a 4% wage increase would have a negligible financial impact on the wealthy University—it would amount to an additional expenditure of less than $400,000 per year, which is less than the combined salary and benefits enjoyed by many individual University administrators. As a result of the campaign, workers were organized to reject two contract offers from the University—a first in the history of this Local 743 bargaining unit.

After the workers rejected the second contract offer, University human resources officials announced that any future offers would be inferior, and they refused to meet with union negotiators for several weeks. However this past Tuesday, Dec. 18, in the wake of escalating pickets, rallies and other actions by workers and their allies, a contract was presented to the rank-and-file that is stronger than both of the previous offers. "This improved contract offer shows that the University felt the pressure of our campaign," said Joe Sexauer, campus clerical worker leader, "even as it shows that the University still stubbornly refuses to offer a wage that its workers can live on. This contract campaign is only the first step; two years from now we'll be entering the next contract negotiations with a reformed union local and focused, educated members—we will win 4%+ wage increases, good job security, and any other demands that campus workers decide are essential."

We'll have more coverage of the implementation and ramifications of the new contract on the blog and when the paper returns to print in January. Hope everyone is having a happy and safe holiday season...

Updates

2007-12-19T14:59:00.001-06:00

The Co-Op voted Monday to formally accept Option A, by a margin of 7-1, despite last minute calls by some activists to extend the University's deadline and an offer of $500,000 from Hyde Park Herald owner Bruce Sagan. The store will close on January 28, and another grocer - either Treasure Island or Dominick's - will open shop in mid-February. Employees will lose their jobs but will receive accumulated sick and vacation pay.

One aspect of the deal that we haven't extensively covered in the Maroon is the involvement of Certified Grocers, the company that both supplied the Co-Op and owned the lease on the 47th Street store. Certified agreed to a $1 million buyout of the 47th street lease under Option A, which relieved the Co-Op of both a $1 million loan it had already taken from Certified, and the obligation to pay them an additional $1 million in rent for the 47th street location every year until 2023.

While, on the surface, the move made some sense for Certified - the Co-Op would have been released from the lease anyways under bankruptcy protection had Option B succeeded, and this way Certified was guaranteed to at least recoup the outstanding loan - the fact that Certified is also the principle supplier for Treasure Island raises some ethical questions about the bidding process in place to replace the Co-Op. Was the University able to secure Certified's cooperation with Option A by promising that they would replace the store with another Certified client? If that's true, is the University seriously considering Dominick's, or only using them to leverage a better offer from Treasure Island? Not that this is particularly scandalous (coordinating all the actors involved to get the Co-Op out and a new grocer in is no small undertaking and undoubtedly involved a lot of back room dealbreaking, while competition for the store, real or perceived, will only benefit shoppers), but one would hope that the choice of the new grocer is actually fair and above board, if for no other reason than to avoid any sort of validation of the University conspiracy theories that oftentimes surface during these types of impassioned neighborhood issues. Furthermore, one of the biggest complaints with the Co-Op was with the quality of the food - old produce, dented cans, and expiring packaged goods were all cited as reasons for getting rid of the grocer. While this was partially due to mismanagement, blame also resides with Certified for providing the Co-Op with the less-than-savory stock, and the University should weigh this among the many other factors involved when choosing between Treasure Island and Dominick's.

Continuing coverage of all of this here and on the viewpoints blog...

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Bail was denied Saturday for 21-year-old Benjamin Williams, who is the second person charged in the murder of graduate student Amadou Cisse. According to UPI, Police believe Williams, who has admitted his role in the crime, helped to select victims during the neighborhood crime spree, and served as a lookout during the murder. At least two other arrests are expected in connection to the murder and robberies.

Breakdown of Co-Op Vote

2007-12-15T11:14:00.000-06:00

The latest info on the Co-Op vote, via their website:

All ballots were received, overseen and counted by Project LEAP. Its approach was to maximize the opportunity for voters to have their votes honored. Approximately 75% of the ballots contained minor violations of the rules that did not effect the vote. Additionally, there were a great many votes that were injured or separated in the mail. To the extent possible, the intentions of voters were honored, regardless of these irregularities.

Vote watchers from each of the two positions were in the counting room at all time and agreed in the resolution of all questions.

Ballot packets mailed	approximately 19,000
Returned undeliverable	approximately 650
Ballots Packets received	approximately 4,000
Results
Option A	3,200
Option B	2,049
Ballots separated from member information in mail :
Option A	228
Option B	134
Spoiled Ballots and reasons
Insufficient Shares ^*	153
Overcast ^*	9
No member information	8
Not entitled to 2 votes ^*	23
No record in membership list	8
Single person cast 2 ballots ^*	342
Fraud	1
Identifying marks on ballot	33
Duplicate votes ^*	7
^* In these cases votes were recorded on both sides of the packet when the voter was eligible to vote just once. The vote on left-hand ballot was recorded and the other discarded; thus the ballot was not truly spoiled.

It's pretty remarkable that 75 percent of the ballots contained "minor violations of the rules" - it will be interesting to see if this is a fact that some die-hard Co-Op loyalists pick up on, or if this whole ordeal is really over. Still no reaction yet from the University, but I'm sure that's forthcoming after the weekend...

Co-Op Shareholders Approve Plan A

2007-12-15T00:50:00.000-06:00

The Co-Op has posted the results of their vote, and the University-backed Plan A (which allows the U of C to buy out the Co-Op, pay down their debts, and install either a Treasure Island or Dominick's within two weeks) ended up victorious, with roughly 61 percent of the vote. The final tally:

Option A: 3200

Option B: 2049

According to the Co-Op's website, a public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. next Monday, at which the board will announce the closing of the grocer. The actual timeline for the store's transition is unclear, but we'll get that to you as soon as it becomes available.

Second charged in Cisse murder

2007-12-14T17:09:00.000-06:00

- The Trib is reporting today that the state attorney is bringing murder charges against a second man - 21-year old Benjamin Williams - in the death of graduate student Amadou Cisse last month. According to Police, they do not believe that Williams was the one responsible for the shot that killed Cisse; teenager Eric Walker has also been charged in conjunction with the murder, but the Cook County prosecutor was similarly vague as to whether Walker was the killer. 17-year old Demetrius Warren was also charged in relation to the earlier crime spree, but has not - as of yet - been brought up on murder charges. Williams was additionally charged with two counts of armed robbery, and one count each of attempted robbery and aggravated discharge of a weapon.

- Check back tomorrow for breaking news of the fate of the Co-Op : according to the Sun-Times, the results of the shareholder vote, which concluded Thursday, will be announced.

“It is so exciting—there’s really no other way to describe it”

2007-12-10T18:58:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone - sorry for the lack of posts lately, I managed to destroy my laptop on my trip back to D.C. (our friends at HP are taking their sweet time getting it back to me, so I've appropriated my parents' computer for the minute) and even had Adrian been inclined to post, not only has he been bogged down with finals and throwing together his B.A., but he had a little run in with the inch of ice that has been covering everything in the Midwest this week. Without further adieu, a rundown of the latest U of C / Hyde Park news:

- The Hyde Park Herald is reporting that the Co-Op may have a loan in place, provided that the University is willing to forgive (or postpone the payment of) the $1.2 million in back rent due, and Certified Grocers accepts a $1 million buyout of the 47th street lease (the terms they had agreed to under the proposal the University is currently backing). Battling analysis of the report is available on the Editor's Blog, Hyde Park Progress, and Hyde Park Urbanist (the blog of Co-Op Board Secretary James Withrow).

- Kudos to Alice Sverdlik (A.B. '06), a 2008 Marshall scholar, who will attend the London School of Economics next year to study Social Policy and Urbanization and Development. More details here and forthcoming in the Maroon.

- Our fearless leader, Kat Glass, got quite the write up in the latest issue of the Chicago Chronicle, in conjunction with the Pacemaker Award we won in October. Congrats to Kat, Mike, Tara, and to all the writers, editors, contributors, copy editors, designers, photographers, front office staff, and everyone else who takes time to make the paper what it is - the award is shared by everyone who has taken time out of already crazy schedules to contribute to a newspaper that doesn't have many of the benefits of some of the competition, and they all deserve a lot of credit.

New Hyde Park Shooting

2007-12-04T23:06:00.000-06:00

University students received this safety awareness alert today by e-mail:

At approximately 3:30 p.m. today (Dec. 4), a 16-year-old unaffiliated male was walking with his sister and other teens on 61st Street between Kimbark and Kenwood. A beige sedan passed them and someone inside the car fired several shots in their direction, one of which struck the victim in the right leg. The victim was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he is listed in good condition. Police believe that this is the aftermath of an earlier fight that occurred near the Hyde Park Academy involving the victim's older brother. The police are investigating. Safety Awareness Alerts are based on information that has been reported to the police. The reported facts may not have been investigated or confirmed.

The shooting occurred just blocks from the site of the Amadou Cisse murder, and again raises questions about the University response time in issuing safety alerts. This e-mail was sent nearly 4 hours after the shooting, and although it appears to be an incident limited in scope, there are still legitimate questions as to whether the University should immediately notify students when gunshots are fired on or near campus. We'll post updates as they become available.

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Updates

2007-12-01T16:07:00.000-06:00

Demetrius Warren, 17, the second teen charged in the spree of Hyde Park crimes on the night of Amadou Cisse's murder, was denied bail by a Cook County judge, the Tribune is reporting today. Warren's lawyers are disputing his confession, arguing that the teen, who was already on probation, was denied access to a lawyer on three occasions. The police are claiming that proper procedure was followed, and say they are still considering charges against three other individuals in the car that night with Warren and 16-year-old Eric Walker, who was charged with murder Wednesday. Police have still not named the gunman they believe directly responsible for Cisse's death, but indications are that he may be one of the individuals yet to be charged.

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Strange happenings over at the Co-Op, as was reported by our friends at the Editors' Blog:

"Their main website is now advertising a fund raising campaign. They say they need $800,000 to be able to declare bankruptcy and that they have already raised $26,245."

It's extremely unclear what the Co-Op is trying to do with the pledge drive. From what I can piece together, it looks like the Co-Op is trying to raise the $800,000 filing fee to declare bankruptcy, assuming they are somehow able to secure the $2.3 million loan they would need to pay down their minimum owed debts and rent (if they were unable to secure that loan and declared bankruptcy, they would be forced to close and allow their creditors to fight over their assets in court, while the storefront would stay vacant). But, while the pledge drive letter seems to indicate that they have secured such a loan, entering the main website tells a different story.

While it's difficult to know how this whole situation will play out (it's more thank likely that an overwhelming number of voters will support the bankruptcy route over the University bailout, if the community meetings and Hyde Park Herald are any indications, but the board is not technically bound to the vote) - it does seem increasingly like the University will be willing to let the Co-Op languish if their offer is refuted. I alluded to this in an earlier post, but during a meeting this week with President Zimmer, some Maroon editors asked the President about the Co-Op's future. Zimmer's response was interesting for two reasons - in the two and a half years I've spent covering University events, I have never once heard him either share a personal anecdote or give an unequivocal, absolute answer to a question - he is a master (for better or worse) of ambiguity, especially on sensitive issues. Yet, when discussing the Co-Op Wednesday, he did both - apparently, in the '70s, when Zimmer was a graduate student in Mathematics at the University, he would drive north, dismayed with the quality even then of the Co-Op, to shop for groceries outside of Hyde Park. Secondly, when I asked him directly about the possibility of the University helping the Co-Op in any way were they to approve Proposal B (bankruptcy), he said that there was"absolutely no" chance of a bailout, rent forgiveness, etc. Unless the Co-Op is able to somehow secure a extremely large loan and solicit another $770,000+ in pledges, their future seems doubtful.