Dear Reader,
Week eight has come and gone. Before you head off for a much-needed break, here are the Maroon’s latest stories.
Read our latest print issue here.
News
University Trustee Thomas Pritzker (M.B.A. ‘76, J.D. ‘76) was named in new documents released by the House Oversight Committee last week as part of its investigation into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The files included more than two dozen emails between the men, in which they discussed current events, made dinner plans, and shared news articles. In a text exchange with an unidentified individual, Epstein wrote that Pritzker was “like family.”
Local food pantries are struggling to meet increased demand amid federal policy changes and disruptions to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Organizers report long lines and strained resources.
Developers broke ground on a new quantum research facility on the South Side in September. Mayor Brandon Johnson says the facility could generate up to 175,000 jobs and bring $20 billion to the area over the next ten years. However, some community organizations have raised concerns about environmental damage and displacement of current residents.
College Council (CC) prevented Nevin Hall from taking office to represent the Class of 2026 despite his election win, citing his impeachment from other student government positions last spring. “You can trust me or not, but it’s a moral question we’re asking here, which is [that] the Class of 2026 had a fair opportunity to choose other people,” Hall said at a CC meeting Monday. “Other people had an opportunity to run… and I won anyway.”
After students Mai Vu, Laurel Alpaugh, and Samara Blatt noticed a lack of thrifting spots near campus, they created Coclo, a clothing reselling app designed for the UChicago community to sell used and homemade fashion items. Since its launch in spring 2025, the app has reached more than 1,335 users and, as of November 10, had processed approximately 400 transactions.
The Maroon interviewed six students who conducted research abroad last summer. “You can have an adventure pretty much anywhere,” Claire Barbosa, a fourth-year public policy major who did research in Australia, said. “Once you like a certain subject, it’ll take you to a location, and I think you could have a great time anywhere.”
In response to Obama Presidential Center–related gentrification concerns, Chicago City Council passed an ordinance to expand affordability requirements, property tax relief, and tenant protections. However, some real estate groups worry the ordinance will hurt future housing developments.
Dean of the College Melina Hale discussed housing policies, artificial intelligence, institutional neutrality, and more at an event hosted by the Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression.
Friends and family mourn the loss of second-year Calista Lee who passed away on October 27 at 19 years old. “Though her life was brief, her words remain, shimmering with empathy and insight, with the impossible mixture of love and pain that defined her,” her family wrote in a eulogy.
Grey City
As a private police force, the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) is not subject to Illinois’s open records laws or city oversight. The Maroon explains what information UCPD makes public here.
Arts
Court Theatre introduced a new program to provide students with opportunities to study and practice dramaturgy. Fourth-year Jo Selmeczy, who is a member of the inaugural cohort, said they hope that “in a perfect world, UChicago becomes a school people go to for dramaturgy.”
Sports
The Chicago Bulls re-signed point guard Josh Giddey this summer. “Giddey doesn’t need to be the flashiest player on the floor. He just needs to keep being the steady heartbeat of a young team that’s finally learning how to play the long game,” writes sports reporter Klara Bagaric.
From the archives, November 27, 1959:
In a letter published November 1959, writer “cck” opined on the Great Cranberry Scare, in which the U.S. government announced that some cranberries were contaminated with a weed killer linked to cancer in rats.
“Was it merely a coincidence that the “cranberry scandal” should break just before Thanksgiving?” they wrote. “Perhaps some enemy of the international cranberry cartel ‘got to’ a prominent government official (here unnamed).”
