The fifth element

By Claire McNear / March 4, 2008

[img id=”80408″ align=”alignleft”] I love the U of C. I really do. But the University of Chicago, like so many institutions of its caliber, possesses students from across the spectrum of education. Each is, of course, a gem in his own right, but many are severely lacking on one or more fronts, however brightly they...

More than a game

By Matt Barnum / March 4, 2008

[img id=”80406″ align=”alignleft”] Going to last Saturday’s men’s basketball game made me feel like a normal college student. The arena—OK, gym—was packed. The crowd was into it. And our Maroons won, earning a league title and a berth in the NCAA D-III tournament. It was a genuinely exciting time, and it revealed an important truth:...

Land before time schedules

By Zack Hill / February 29, 2008

[img id=”80384″ align=”alignleft”] This winter, U of C students’ discontent has been particularly oppressive. Battling through fierce weather, we’ve slipped and slid our way to class every morning. Even worse, space-time recently collapsed in on itself: Midterms, papers, lab reports, and other graded assignments blurred together into one giant, indecipherable mass, and then time dramatically...

Good to the last drop

By Marshall Knudson / February 28, 2008

[img id=”80372″ align=”alignleft”] Last week, Tom Buffenbarger, president of the machinists’ union and Hillary Clinton supporter, made a blundering attempt to portray Barack Obama voters as “latte-drinking, Prius-driving, Birkenstock-wearing, trust-fund babies.” It wasn’t very eloquent, but then again, Hillary’s campaign has never set much store by eloquence. Now I happen to appreciate a good latte—and...

Searching for Treasure, sliced prosciutto

By Marybeth Tamborra / February 26, 2008

[img id=”80368″ align=”alignleft”] My dinner the other night consisted of my favorite hamburgers: thick, juicy balls of chuck, pan-cooked to perfection so as to retain the fat, topped with thinly sliced Granny Smith apples, two slabs of bacon, a generous pile of gouda, and topped with one golden, runny, dripping-down-your-chin gooey egg—all plopped between two...

A more youthful McCain

By Zach Werner / February 26, 2008

[img id=”80366″ align=”alignleft”] Watch out, Washington. Beware, Barack. A new political force is gathering strength, picking up speed, and fueling the Straight Talk Express. Ravishing and Republican, pert and patriotic, this scion of sunny Arizona is ready to remake politics as we know it. Just who is this guru of governance? McCain. Meghan McCain. That’s...

It’s not easy being green

By Alec Brandon / February 26, 2008

The stars arrived in style at last night’s Oscars. Every performer and presenter was offered a free ride in the Green Car Journal’s green car of the year: GMC’s new line of hybrid SUVs. Over the past few years, being green has become a way of life in the city of angels. Hollywood stars have...

Who wants to go to Whole Foods, anyway?

By Katharine Bierce / February 26, 2008

With the opening of Treasure Island likely still weeks away, many Hyde Park residents find themselves shopping at the refurbished Hyde Park Produce (HPP). Amazingly, since relocating to the site of what was formerly the 53rd Street Co-op, its selection of foods has increased but the prices have not. In particular, pineapples, usually $4­–6 apiece...

Forget the A-level, campus needs 24-hour diner

By Tim Murphy / February 26, 2008

Everything goes better with bacon. It’s a simple truth that has stood the tests of time and taste. The list of products it enhances is endless: cheeseburgers, salads, sirloin steaks—even sticks of butter. So last year, when the good folks at Bacon Salt premiered their groundbreaking new line of pork-flavored seasoning, it came as something...

Primary school: a post-racist poster child…

By Ethan Stanislawski / February 21, 2008

[img id=”80335″ align=”alignleft”] This week, instead of working on my B.A. thesis, I’ve been reading The Race Card by Stanford law professor Richard Thompson Ford. In clear, fierce prose, Ford argues that we’re living in a post-racist society where racial and identity politics have entered a gray area, such that just about anyone, minority or...

Primary school: an over-the-Hill senator

By Ryan McCarl / February 21, 2008

After winning the “Democrats Abroad” primary on Thursday, Barack Obama can truly be considered a world leader. The two-and-a-half delegate victory increased his winning streak to 11 over Hillary Clinton, and although the media continue to treat the Obama–Clinton race as a nail-biter, these contests haven’t even been close: Obama has won each of them...

A culture of free inquiry

By Toussaint Losier / February 21, 2008

Over a year ago this month, newly inaugurated University of Chicago president Robert Zimmer made two important announcements that have raised concerns about core principles. On February 2, the Office of the President revealed that, in spite of the demands made by a broad-based campaign for divestment, the Board of Trustees voted to maintain financial...