Jackson gives dictators cover

By William Sean / March 4, 2003

Once again the Reverend Jesse Jackson manages to grab a microphone and completely miss the target. By his own claims, Jackson is directly responsible for the freedom of more than 603 prisoners and victims due to his (always unsolicited) interventions with enemies of the human race–Fidel Castro, Slobodan Milosevic, and Saddam Hussein. But what about...

Celebrities and the rest of Us

By Kenneth Aliaga / February 28, 2003

Some of you might be familiar with the publication Us, a magazine that celebrates the lifestyle, fashion decisions, eating habits, exercise regimes, and relationships of A-list, B-list, C-list, and D-list celebrities. Situated at the very bottom of this list is Kelly Clarkson, who exudes as much charisma as a slice of crustless wheat toast. My...

Community by other means

By The Maroon Staff / February 28, 2003

Chicago’s fourth, fifth and 20th wards encompass the University of Chicago, and the three re-elected aldermen–Toni Preckwinkle, Leslie Hairston and Arenda Troutman–will be determining how Hyde Park looks and works over the next four years. George Bush, Rod Blagojevich and Richard Daley all figure into the political world that structures our neighborhood, but these three...

Discussing relationship status

By Persis Elavia / February 28, 2003

Does the following sound familiar? A: Hey, I think we should talk. B: All right, talk about what? A: Well…us…I mean…like, where are we going? B: (long pause) Uh…well, where do you think this is going? A: I don’t know, I just want to make sure I’m not wasting my time with you… B: Well,...

Foreign aid fails to win friends

By John Lovejoy / February 25, 2003

Most people in this country take it as a given that foreign aid must be a component of the war on terrorism. “Drain the swamps,” is their rallying cry, as they reason that improving the standard of living for impoverished Muslims overseas will keep more of them from becoming terrorists. The swamp-drainers tacitly assume that...

Lincoln’s legacy and relevance

By Joshua Steinman / February 25, 2003

“Our Constitution was created not to preserve a preexisting society, but to create a new one,” Justice William Brennan said in 1985. Since its beginning, our union has been in a state of rebirth. The Declaration of Independence led to the Articles of Confederation, which were reborn as the Constitution, revised with the Bill of...

Changes on the global level

By George Anesi / February 25, 2003

The world is changing. Perhaps September 11 prompted this transformation, or maybe that day just put it in better light. It doesn’t really matter. Either way, these changes have arrived, and as the world’s only superpower, America is in the center of it all. These changes do not simply contain the growing threat of terrorism...

Disarming academia

By The Maroon Staff / February 25, 2003

It is difficult to approach the recent controversy surrounding former U of C instructor John Lott’s research for his influential More Guns, Less Crime without betraying one’s politics in the process. A definitive answer to the questions about Lott’s statistics has yet to come down, and by no means is his research, at present writing,...

Universities and everyone else

By Tim Miller / February 21, 2003

Yesterday a University of South Florida professor was arrested on charges of aiding Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which has been designated a terrorist group by the U.S. government. Sami Al-Arian had already been forcibly suspended from his post for suspected dealings with terrorist groups. With all of the talk about various universities’ responses to the orange...

A principled stand

By Maroon Editorial Staff / February 21, 2003

The University of Chicago, along with seven other private universities, recently filed an amicus curiae brief in the ongoing Supreme Court battle to overturn the Bakke case, as it pertains to affirmative action in admissions at the University of Michigan. It bears noting that the University of Chicago as an entity is only permitted to...

Dating II: Use statistics to score

By Persis Elavia / February 21, 2003

The class of 2006 has 1,117 people, 49 percent of whom are male. That means if you’re an eligible female looking for a date, you have about 547 men plus the upperclassmen. That means we’re dealing with about 2,100 eligible men, that is, before the statistical breakdown. About a third of those boys have girlfriends,...

Dating I: Dress well to seduce

By Kenneth Aliaga / February 21, 2003

When Cher Horowitz of Clueless uttered the infamous words “Searching for a boy in…school is like searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie,” she was obviously speaking in reference to the U of C…or was she? In explaining their single status or their sexual inactivity ever since they donned a U of C emblem,...