Welcome back, Blues

By Maroon Editorial Staff / November 4, 2005

With the announcement of the Checkerboard Lounge’s opening, Hyde Park will finally have a great social hotspot that’s not University-focused. Students and residents can enjoy great music together at a venue that promises to be not only enjoyable, but historical. The Checkerboard brings blues and jazz back to where it belongs: Chicago’s South Side. The...

Crichton is talking to Congress?

By Patrick Hogan / November 3, 2005

Recently, a funny blip popped up on the national news radar: Michael Crichton, creator of Jurassic Park and ER, served as a lead witness at a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Finally!” I thought. “It’s about time Congress cracked down on dinosaur cloning in this country!” Unfortunately, my initial enthusiasm evaporated...

Sam Alito is not as bad as some might think

By Patrick Burke / November 3, 2005

George W. Bush succeeded to further sever his ties with his New Haven alma mater this past Monday through the nomination of the Tiger-turned-Bulldog Samuel Alito, Jr. to the highest court in the land. “Scalito’s” apparent shirking of perhaps the greatest New England Ivy League rivalry, attending Princeton as an undergrad and Yale for law...

Palestine banner is flawed

By Adam Weissmann / November 3, 2005

Anyone who has walked through the Reynolds Club marketplace in the past two days has seen the banners advertising next week as Palestine Awareness Week on our campus. What many do not realize is that suddenly Israel has ceased to exist, vanished without a trace into obscurity. Or at least that is what the event’s...

New solutions for crime

By Maroon Editorial Staff / November 1, 2005

The University of Chicago is a city school. There are advantages and disadvantages to this obvious, but crucial fact. Our location in one of the great American cities affords us remarkable cultural, academic, and social opportunities. On the other hand, we must be aware of the realities of city life and act accordingly. This fact...

Bush is kidding himself about Iraqi conflict

By Patrick Burke / October 6, 2005

The Bush Administration is not all that preoccupied with the most recent terrorist act on the part of the Sunni insurgency in Hilla. After all, once the Shiites and Kurds finally decide to include the Sunni minority of Iraq in the developing post-Baathist constitution all will be well. Once the Sunni minority of Iraq has...

Eating at Pierce and finding species-being

By Patrick Hogan / October 6, 2005

Many things can be found lurking in or around a plate of Pierce food (though it’s probably best not to speculate too much on what they might be) including the fodder for some serious philosophical musings. Some friends and I were sitting in that fine dining establishment, and someone mumbled a brief lament about having...

The City of Chicago abuses power with excessive, regressive excise tax

By Elliot Hasdan / October 6, 2005

Cigarette prices in Chicago have finally surpassed $6 per pack, and though there was no devastating tobacco deluge or Virginia Slims cartel, the notorious “sin tax” has invaded the private vices of Chicagoans once again, except this time with a combination of federal, county, and city taxes that have increased the cost of one pack...

Jews for Jesus offends Jews and Christians

By Ethan Frenchman and Seth Mayer / October 3, 2005

“Forgive us, lord, when we fail to foster genuine understanding between Christians and Jews,” wrote the late Pope John Paul II in his 1994 book, Crossing the Threshold of Hope. Jews for Jesus, an evangelical organization, has launched a campaign around campus that fails at exactly that. Coinciding with both the beginning of the school...

While boring, local elections still matter

By Monica Groat / October 3, 2005

As nearly all of us in the College have experienced, one’s 18th birthday is a mixed blessing. Yes, you are legally an adult, but the immediate privileges are scarce. Contracts that actually mean something can be signed, cigarettes can be bought, but one of the most important consequences is often ignored: We can vote. “But...

Designing for Disaster

By Maroon Editorial Staff / September 29, 2005

The displacement of Gulf Coast college students in the wake of Hurricane Katrina should prompt college officials nationwide to take a hard look at their respective emergency disaster plans. The University of Chicago had the foresight to take the important step of examining its own emergency management plan even before the hurricane hit, but the...

Ignore the news; Chicago is doing great

By Samuel Rosenberg / September 29, 2005

When I arrived on campus this fall I was pleased to see that once again students were happily heading to class, the grass was lush and green along the midway, and that 57th Street was being resurfaced. Although the last of these items may not bring as much joy to some hearts as it does...