This post might be old news for most, but the Chicago Maroon staff elected Supriya Sinhababu as our new editor-in-chief, and I couldn't be happier about it. Supriya is a strong writer and Voices section editor with a work ethic that can hopefully see the paper through another year.
But I'm not interested in singing any praises here—not when public opinion of the Maroon on campus ranges on a given day from apathetic to enraged. As the candidates eagerly pointed out in their speeches last Sunday, we have a lot to improve upon, and many chances to grow stronger in the next year:
*One of the strongest components of Supriya's platform was her call to expand the Maroon's web staff to the size of any other section (i.e. News; Viewpoints; etc), especially since budget issues may require us to relegate some articles to "Web Only" status to save paper.
*Matt Barnum presented a series of ideas for boosting traffic to the Maroon website by adding multimedia content. Though the logistics have yet to be hammered out, I would eagerly get behind any initiative to teach reporters to shoot videos and record podcasts of interviews and panel discussion. Of course, the success of this plan would rely upon collaboration with the entire Maroon Staff, not just the editors—whether they're goofing around or recording hard, engaging news content.
*Claire McNear asked the staff to focus on the Maroon's endowment in her speech, alluding to both the growing financial pressures on the paper and a University-wide push to tap into our alumni resources. And like Matt, she also wanted reporters to reach beyond their writerly roles, possibly by taking more photos and posting fliers to publicize the paper.
Left largely unanswered was the question of how to scale back the paper's production costs. Staffers on both sides of the podium suggested initiatives from banning homework-related printing to firing our current distributors and asking students to pass out the paper. I actually think this is a great idea—maybe this way I'll actually have a Friday paper in my hand before 5 p.m.
The Maroon certainly has a lot to sink its watchdog-teeth into here. But when the new year is over, it won't matter so much to me who was elected last week. Rather, I'll want to know that we didn't simply file away these fantastic ideas from our candidates (all current section editors) during the daily grind of college journalism. And here's news for you, team: it will take more than just Supriya, Matt, Claire, Mike, Sara, etc. to finish the story on the paper's web-content and finances.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
No Time for a Break at the Border
U.S. students have a couple more reasons to be cold this winter: Arizona Universities advise spring breaks south of the border should be avoided. Universities in Tuscon, Tempe and Flagstaff have all issued various travel advisories and warnings to students, in the wake of an upsurge of violence and crime in Tijuana, Juárez and Nogales.
“Mexico's drug cartels are waging a bloody fight for smuggling routes and against government forces, dumping beheaded bodies onto streets, carrying out massacres and even tossing grenades into a crowd of Independence Day revelers - an attack that killed eight people in September.”
More from MSNBC:
"In just the past week...
- In Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, the police chief of Mexico's largest border city quit after cartel hitmen started killing police officers and threatened to kill more until he resigned. Police went on high alert, travelling in groups with pistols in their hands.
- In Reynosa, across from McAllen, at least six people died in running battles between soldiers and gunmen armed with grenades and bazookas.
- In the state of Chihuahua, which includes Juarez, gunmen opened fire on the governor's convoy, killing one of his bodyguards and injuring two others."
Taking these articles as examples of two types of media coverage of this border-war-zone, I think they show a really strange lack of concern on behalf of the U.S. of the killings so geographically close to us, and even at times spilling over the border and into Phoenix. Is it the drug trafficking in and of itself that brings violence to the border, or can we look deeper into the escalating conflict and question how the U.S. and Mexico have been policing the border?
“Mexico's drug cartels are waging a bloody fight for smuggling routes and against government forces, dumping beheaded bodies onto streets, carrying out massacres and even tossing grenades into a crowd of Independence Day revelers - an attack that killed eight people in September.”
More from MSNBC:
"In just the past week...
- In Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, the police chief of Mexico's largest border city quit after cartel hitmen started killing police officers and threatened to kill more until he resigned. Police went on high alert, travelling in groups with pistols in their hands.
- In Reynosa, across from McAllen, at least six people died in running battles between soldiers and gunmen armed with grenades and bazookas.
- In the state of Chihuahua, which includes Juarez, gunmen opened fire on the governor's convoy, killing one of his bodyguards and injuring two others."
Taking these articles as examples of two types of media coverage of this border-war-zone, I think they show a really strange lack of concern on behalf of the U.S. of the killings so geographically close to us, and even at times spilling over the border and into Phoenix. Is it the drug trafficking in and of itself that brings violence to the border, or can we look deeper into the escalating conflict and question how the U.S. and Mexico have been policing the border?
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Law School dean Saul Levmore announces 2010 retirement
By Rachel Cromidas
Updated: 2009-02-20
Saul Levmore announced that he will be resigning his position as dean of the University’s Law School in an e-mail sent to students and faculty on Tuesday.
Levmore joined the Law School faculty in 1998 and assumed the position of dean in 2001. In his announcement, Levmore said that eight years is “about the longest a dean should serve” and that he plans to officially leave the deanship in 2010 in order to give the University time to search for a replacement. Levmore also said he will likely return to a full-time faculty position after stepping down.
His tenure as dean has at times come under criticism, especially when several tenured faculty members left the law school , including Cass Sunstein, who accepted an offer from Harvard earlier this year and now serves as head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Obama administration.
But Levmore did not dwell on the specific successes or challenges of his tenure in his announcement, citing the Law School’s academic work over the past decade.
“It is all too common in these announcements to list the buildings renovated, the capital campaigns completed, the faculty hired, and the programs launched. We should be proud of such things, but I prefer to associate myself with the terrific and important work done by faculty colleagues and with the great students who have blossomed here during my time as dean,” Levmore said.
Levmore received praise and criticism for cutting off wireless internet access in the Law School’s classrooms in an attempt to prevent students from distracting themselves during class last year. He also rejected pressures to change the school’s complex letter-grading system, even after peer institutions such as Harvard and Stanford changed theirs to a pass/fail system.
“Saul has provided successful and energetic leadership for the Law School,” University president Robert Zimmer said in a press release. “In the months ahead there will be a number of occasions to recognize Saul’s many achievements as dean and to thank him for his leadership and service.”
To law professor Martha Nussbaum, Levmore’s biggest achievement was fostering the Law School’s unique intellectual community.
“I don’t think any other law school has a community like ours,” Nussbaum said. “[Levmore’s] created a community here that’s both very challenging and like a family. It crosses political lines, but [the faculty] have complete respect for opposing views—very rare in the academic world,” Nussbaum said.
Thanks to the Law School’s relatively small size, Nussbaum said, Levmore was able to encourage departments to interact with each other through weekly lunches and workshops.
Law professor Brian Leiter, whom Levmore hired from the University of Texas last year, hopes the University will keep its intellectual culture in mind while searching for a new dean. “The University isn’t like other places that have subgroups [of professors] who don’t talk to anybody else. [The new dean] will have to understand our institution,” he said.
Leiter also stressed that the new dean should make sure the University stays competitive with its peer institutions, especially in light of the financial crisis many are facing.
“I think a big issue is the competition for faculty and students,” Leiter said. “Our situation is better off than [others’]. But whoever is coming in will have to have some vision to adjust.”
Updated: 2009-02-20
Saul Levmore announced that he will be resigning his position as dean of the University’s Law School in an e-mail sent to students and faculty on Tuesday.
Levmore joined the Law School faculty in 1998 and assumed the position of dean in 2001. In his announcement, Levmore said that eight years is “about the longest a dean should serve” and that he plans to officially leave the deanship in 2010 in order to give the University time to search for a replacement. Levmore also said he will likely return to a full-time faculty position after stepping down.
His tenure as dean has at times come under criticism, especially when several tenured faculty members left the law school , including Cass Sunstein, who accepted an offer from Harvard earlier this year and now serves as head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Obama administration.
But Levmore did not dwell on the specific successes or challenges of his tenure in his announcement, citing the Law School’s academic work over the past decade.
“It is all too common in these announcements to list the buildings renovated, the capital campaigns completed, the faculty hired, and the programs launched. We should be proud of such things, but I prefer to associate myself with the terrific and important work done by faculty colleagues and with the great students who have blossomed here during my time as dean,” Levmore said.
Levmore received praise and criticism for cutting off wireless internet access in the Law School’s classrooms in an attempt to prevent students from distracting themselves during class last year. He also rejected pressures to change the school’s complex letter-grading system, even after peer institutions such as Harvard and Stanford changed theirs to a pass/fail system.
“Saul has provided successful and energetic leadership for the Law School,” University president Robert Zimmer said in a press release. “In the months ahead there will be a number of occasions to recognize Saul’s many achievements as dean and to thank him for his leadership and service.”
To law professor Martha Nussbaum, Levmore’s biggest achievement was fostering the Law School’s unique intellectual community.
“I don’t think any other law school has a community like ours,” Nussbaum said. “[Levmore’s] created a community here that’s both very challenging and like a family. It crosses political lines, but [the faculty] have complete respect for opposing views—very rare in the academic world,” Nussbaum said.
Thanks to the Law School’s relatively small size, Nussbaum said, Levmore was able to encourage departments to interact with each other through weekly lunches and workshops.
Law professor Brian Leiter, whom Levmore hired from the University of Texas last year, hopes the University will keep its intellectual culture in mind while searching for a new dean. “The University isn’t like other places that have subgroups [of professors] who don’t talk to anybody else. [The new dean] will have to understand our institution,” he said.
Leiter also stressed that the new dean should make sure the University stays competitive with its peer institutions, especially in light of the financial crisis many are facing.
“I think a big issue is the competition for faculty and students,” Leiter said. “Our situation is better off than [others’]. But whoever is coming in will have to have some vision to adjust.”
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Blood Orange Yogurt Cake (Happy Valentine's Day)
V-Day has come and gone, and I am still deep in the bunkers of the Reg, warring against my 9 page paper on maquiladora workers and the production of gender in Ciudad Júarez. Still, I think this recipe is one thing about my weekend worth getting jealous about:
Blood Orange Yogurt Cake with Blackberries and Chili Powder
(I adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted it from the Barefoot Contessa, who originally called it a lemon cake? This cake bears absolutely no resemblance to anything you've seen before, I'm sure.)
*2 cups of teff flour (you can use regular cake flour or whole wheat flour, but teff is the high-fiber and protein powerhouse I do all my baking with)
*1/2 cup AP flour
*1+ cup of plain yogurt
*a couple tablespoons of baking powder
*1/2 teaspoon chili powder
*1/2 cup sugar
*1/4 cup of orange rind
*a handful of finely chopped blackberries
*the freshly-squeezed juice of 4-6 blood oranges (for taste)
*1/4 teaspoon of orange extract (optional; this stuff's expensive, and I can't find any other uses for it)
*1 tablespoon salt
*4 eggwhites or 2 whole eggs
*vegetable oil to grease the loaf pan
Mix wet ingredients, mix dry, then combine; etc. etc. (I don't like baking, okay?)
Bake at 350 degree heat for about 30 minutes. I actually think this sounds much too short, but that's honestly how long it took.
Blood Orange Glaze:
1) Squeeze the juice of a couple more blood oranges into a wok pan coated with vegetable oil.
2) Pour half a cup of sugar into the pan, and then add water as necessary to even out the mixture
3) Cook on medium/low heat for 5 minutes until the sugar and water combine to form a bright pink syrup.
optional: Call me and complain that I give impossibly horrible directions for this impossibly delicious and healthy cake!
Blood Orange Yogurt Cake with Blackberries and Chili Powder
(I adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted it from the Barefoot Contessa, who originally called it a lemon cake? This cake bears absolutely no resemblance to anything you've seen before, I'm sure.)
*2 cups of teff flour (you can use regular cake flour or whole wheat flour, but teff is the high-fiber and protein powerhouse I do all my baking with)
*1/2 cup AP flour
*1+ cup of plain yogurt
*a couple tablespoons of baking powder
*1/2 teaspoon chili powder
*1/2 cup sugar
*1/4 cup of orange rind
*a handful of finely chopped blackberries
*the freshly-squeezed juice of 4-6 blood oranges (for taste)
*1/4 teaspoon of orange extract (optional; this stuff's expensive, and I can't find any other uses for it)
*1 tablespoon salt
*4 eggwhites or 2 whole eggs
*vegetable oil to grease the loaf pan
Mix wet ingredients, mix dry, then combine; etc. etc. (I don't like baking, okay?)
Bake at 350 degree heat for about 30 minutes. I actually think this sounds much too short, but that's honestly how long it took.
Blood Orange Glaze:
1) Squeeze the juice of a couple more blood oranges into a wok pan coated with vegetable oil.
2) Pour half a cup of sugar into the pan, and then add water as necessary to even out the mixture
3) Cook on medium/low heat for 5 minutes until the sugar and water combine to form a bright pink syrup.
optional: Call me and complain that I give impossibly horrible directions for this impossibly delicious and healthy cake!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
After midterms and a bad cough/cold...
...Comes 62 degree weather and more midterms! That's the University of Chicago for you. While I'm either too sick or busy to update this blog regularly, here are some articles to read instead:
*Thinking about shipping your kid off to Princeton to become a high-salary I-banker? Think again: "As Pipeline to Wall Street Narrows, Princeton Students Adjust Sights," details the struggle two Princetonian princesses are having trying to find work out of college. The problem is no less dire here at UChicago, I suspect. But before the Econ-majors all have an existential crisis (perhaps decide to pick up philosophy?) I think they should consider putting what will still be an extremely useful degree good use in the public sector. I wrote a short piece on finding internships with non-profit organizations for the University Community Service Center Newsletter a couple weeks ago. Also, check back next week for my co-worker Mutisya Leonard's piece on finding grants and fellowships for summer/post-graduate work.
*"Twilight Zone"—this Washington Post article addresses one of the very problems my midterm on U.S.-Mexico Borderlands is about. The author, a self-described border rat, details the changing climate of the third country that is "20 miles long and 2,000 miles wide." He says:
*Thinking about shipping your kid off to Princeton to become a high-salary I-banker? Think again: "As Pipeline to Wall Street Narrows, Princeton Students Adjust Sights," details the struggle two Princetonian princesses are having trying to find work out of college. The problem is no less dire here at UChicago, I suspect. But before the Econ-majors all have an existential crisis (perhaps decide to pick up philosophy?) I think they should consider putting what will still be an extremely useful degree good use in the public sector. I wrote a short piece on finding internships with non-profit organizations for the University Community Service Center Newsletter a couple weeks ago. Also, check back next week for my co-worker Mutisya Leonard's piece on finding grants and fellowships for summer/post-graduate work.
*"Twilight Zone"—this Washington Post article addresses one of the very problems my midterm on U.S.-Mexico Borderlands is about. The author, a self-described border rat, details the changing climate of the third country that is "20 miles long and 2,000 miles wide." He says:
"Nowhere does the change in border dynamics appear more striking than in Ciudad Juárez, a city of about 1.5 million across the Rio Grande from El Paso. Juárez, which in recent years has seen a string of unsolved sexual assaults and murders of young women, was once the swingin'-est town on the entire frontier. Here, at the crossroads of NAFTA, terrific literature, quality artisan crafts, foreign-owned assembly plants and dance halls galore, the erosion of border life as it existed for generations is almost complete. Juárez awoke one day last December to learn that four policemen had been killed within a half-hour, one of them decapitated. It was the worst carnage of that week, but it numbed rather than outraged. Juárez experienced more than 1,500 homicides last year, which, along with daylight carjackings, occasional kidnappings, random street robberies and plain vanilla extortion, made for a population fearful of the new year."
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