15,693 lines. 200 translations. 24 books. 12 movies.

Starting 10 p.m. on Sunday, November 20, Classical Entertainment Society and Court Theatre are hosting a 24-hour interactive, staged reading of the Iliad that will last until Monday evening. The Homerathon will feature several high-profile professors from the University of Chicago, including Classics Professors David Wray, Alain Bresson, Clifford Ando, and Sarah Nooter; English Professor Christina Von Nolken; and Philosophy Professor Agnes Callard.

“We’ve invited readers to read in any language or translation they choose,” says Court Theatre’s Resident Dramaturg, Drew Dir. “One of the faculty members, for example, is reading… a translation by eighteenth-century English poet Alexander Pope. We’ve also invited participants to read it in the original ancient Greek, which many here at the University of Chicago are more than prepared to do.”

Students and community members are welcome to the stage to read. Interested readers should contact Ryan Mease at rmease@gmail.com to reserve their spot.

Throughout the event, various activities and movie screenings will also take place in the lobby. Movies to be featured include (but are not limited to): Troy, Helen of Troy, Percy Jackson ad the Olympians, O Brother Where Are Thou, Clash of the Titans, and 300. Guests will be able to try their hand at crafting Greek vases, shields, mini Trojan horses, and clothespin gods. Food and drinks will also be provided throughout the 24 hours.

The reading will take place on the set of Court’s upcoming production, An Iliad, which is set to premiere Saturday, November 19. Directed by Artistic Director Charles Newell, the modern, one-man adaptation of Homer’s classic revisits the voice of the lone poet as he delves into a story of human loss and folly that resonates across three millennia. Timothy Edward Kane stars in the leading role.

Don’t miss this celebration of one of Western culture’s most enduring legacies as all 24 books of Homer’s Iliad are read aloud from start to finish.

Chicago is a city bursting with art, music, and creative spirit. Unfortunately, the wallets of college students can’t always keep up. So what’s an art-starved student to do? For those seeking free art events, musical performances, and more, UChicago offers no shortage of options. Below is a guide to the best free and discounted opportunities on campus.

Concerts

The University of Chicago Presents is one of the most generous programs on campus, bringing internationally esteemed musical performances to students free of charge. Students only have to send an e-mail request to obtain one of the 35 free student tickets, which are sponsored by the UChicago Arts Pass and Sponsor-A-Student programs. The catch? They must also write a short thank-you note to their patron. For those unable to grab a free ticket (or disinclined toward writing), they can still get discounted tickets for five dollars and watch famous groups like the Pacifica Quartet perform.

Students can also catch weekly free concerts at Fulton Hall as part of the Noontime Concert Series. Concerts are every Thursday at 12:15 p.m.

Art Galleries

The Chicago Arts District hosts a monthly “2nd FRIDAYS Gallery Night,” which is a free tour of galleries and artists’ studios around South Halsted and 18th Streets in the Pilsen district. With 30 creative spaces, this art community is an exciting opportunity for students to explore the newest art installations and meet local artists. Complementary food and drinks are also provided.

Theatre

Court Theatre is a professional theatre nestled between Ratner and Pierce on the University of Chicago campus. Featuring classic works and named “the most consistently excellent theater company in America” by The Wall Street Journal, Court is a little-known but widely respected theatre that is readily accessible to students. Students can buy ten-dollar advance tickets, five-dollar rush tickets, or catch Wednesday/Thursday 7:30 performances for free by stopping by the box office window one hour in advance. The theatre also offers Student Nights, where students can get tickets, pizza, and drinks for only ten dollars.

Figure Drawing

For those looking to get their hands dirty with charcoal and paper, Outside the Lines offers figure drawing classes every Tuesday, 6 to 9 p.m., in Cobb 409. Students have access to drawing supplies and live models free of charge, and artists of all levels are welcome to participate.

Museums

For UChicago students, the UCID also functions as the UChicago Arts Pass. This pass gives them free access to the Art Institute of Chicago, Hyde Park Art Center, Museum of Contemporary Art, Smart Museum of Art, Oriental Institute, and the National Museum of Mexican Art.

The Arts Pass also provides various other discounts, such as to the Joffrey Ballet, Blue Man Group, and Lyric Opera. Visit http://arts.uchicago.edu/artspass/orgs.shtml for more information.

Thank you for agreeing to this interview, Becky. Would you share your motivations for creating this group?
I was trying to start awareness of campus resources available for sexual assault survivors. I have had meetings with other survivors who contacted me [since I put up a flyer to reach out to other survivors]. This group is like a support network for survivors.

I was really bothered by the lack of campus support. The campus has prevention and education [like Sexual Awareness Month], but that is only half of equation of sexual violence. The Student Counseling and Resource Service (SCRS) only aimed at people just beginning to talk about their problems.

When I went to the SCRS they told me that I was not eligible for their conversation group. They said that I would intimidate people in the group because they are not quite ready to talk about it [their sexual assault]. I just don’t understand why mental health services are lacking from campus services when The Maroon reported that UChicago’s endowment posted greater percentage gains this year than Harvard.

What options did you explore before starting this group?
During the second week of September I went to the SCRS for individual counseling. They set me up with someone in community. However I also wanted group counseling. So I was directed to RSVP, (Resources for Sexual Violence Prevention) the school’s answer to sexual violence prevention. So I went to RSVP and spoke with Vicki Sides who stated, “we do not provide support groups, you could contact sexual assault dean on call”.

I went to the sexual assault dean on call who told me to contact the rape victim advocate for all of Illinois. I was also told that I could find group counseling done through the YWCA (Young Woman’s Christian Association). I was also told to check if some sort of group counseling was offered through SCRS, which was the first place that I checked. So I visited the SCRS a second time. This time I was told that they do offer group counseling, but someone at my [high] level of processing was not eligible. This was 4th week.

Finally I was told by Dana Regett— who is in charge of these groups at the SCRS— that a high level group doesn’t exist. Dana said the SCRS would consider starting a group but needed at least 5-10 attendees every single week. This is difficult. A lot of survivors are not willing to commit going on a weekly basis because of the academic pressures of this university.

In the meantime, I had been doing my own research on community resources, and I found a group in Evanston. I wanted to join, but it was too far and I don’t have car. So then I decided to start my own group. We’ve had to do a loose network, so we can be there for each other.

Pictured: Joe Tschetter, of Des Moines, packages vegetables for a customer at the Cleverley Farms naturally grown produce and garlic standard at the Des Moines Farmers’ Market in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Amy Lorentzen)

During most of my time as a student at the University of Chicago, I rarely thought about the wider social impact of the vote in my pocket. My prevailing argument against my ethically-minded, upper middle-class friends who always have “disposable income” was that the ethics of consumer choices are relative. If the cost of buying Fair Trade coffee over regular coffee means that I had to forego buying toothpaste that month, then my decision to pass on the “ethical” product could not be branded as socially irresponsible. I tended to make decisions about which printer paper to buy based on price. I didn’t give a second thought to whether more trees were planted for every ream I bought. I cared more about the springiness of my vegetables than whether the farm where it was produced maintained environmentally sustainable farming practices. For people whose consumer choices are completely restricted by day-to-day needs—people who really need the $5 they can save at Wal-Mart—spending is not a social act, or even a personal choice.

But in the past few weeks and months, I have started to pay more attention. It is not that my boycott of unethical food will save the planet or bring a megacorporation like McDonald’s to its knees. But when I deny my role in global issues such as human rights violations and climate change, I am shirking my social responsibility—and this is habit-forming. Perhaps the immediate goal is not to build a more ethical society (whatever that might mean), but to build a society in which people are more aware of how their decisions affect the world and desire to make informed choices.

The amount of conflicting information about a product or a company can be overwhelming. We should give credit to a company like Wal-Mart for carrying organics, but the company also has a lot of allegations of labor violations. In the cocooned environment of our supermarkets and shopping centers, the story behind each product is hidden. It is easy to believe that our meat and vegetables, wrapped in seamless, shiny packages, have always existed that way. Indeed, often the only criterion by which we can compare our choices is price—and there are many institutions set up to keep the unhealthy and unethical choices the cheap ones.

“Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte

Bylines in Iraq are matters of life and death. As “the long war” — as it is increasingly labeled by the Pentagon — grinds on past its fourth anniversary, foreign correspondents and their local colleagues live in an environment of fear and intimidation. Sebti, an Iraqi reporter for the Washington Post, who, like many locals, does leg work for Western journalists, said in an interview for Dangerous Assignments, a journal of the Manhattan-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), that he is placed in “double jeopardy” by his occupation. Insurgents view him interchangeably as a “spy,” “infidel,” and “profiteer.” He has little doubt about what will happen should his cover be blown: Since 2004, he says three translators for American firms living in his neighborhood have been murdered. Sebti refuses to divulge his occupation to neighbors, and his paranoia compels him to take different routes to work every day. What would ordinarily be considered extraordinary circumstances for any stateside reporter are commonplace for media workers in Iraq.

On May 29th, CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier was injured, and her camerman and soundman were killed, by a car bomb that exploded while they were traveling with a U.S. military convoy. After three months of being held hostage by Iraqi insurgents, freelance reporter Jill Carroll was released unharmed on March 30. Sadly, the fate of dozens of other journalists who shared Ms. Carroll’s misfortune tends to resemble that of Steven Vincent, another kidnapped American freelancer who was murdered along with his translator in August 2005. Since the commencement of hostilities in Iraq over three years ago, 97 media workers have been killed. Such circumstances are by no means unique to Iraq. Journalists occupy an increasingly precarious position, working in a post-9/11 world fraught with transnational terrorism, geopolitical uncertainty, and governments intent on controlling the information to which its population has access.

Though reporting is a hazardous occupation, the trends of the past two years are particularly alarming. For journalists, 2004 was the most dangerous year over the past 20 years: 53 individuals died on the job. Despite a decrease in the overall number of deaths in the industry in 2005 (47), the proportion of media workers that were murdered rose to three-fourths from two-thirds the previous year. This tally doesn’t take into account instances of kidnapping, imprisonment by authorities, or forced closures and intimidation of media outlets. Countries on every continent are involved in restricting and intimidating the press, including two of the world’s largest: China and Russia.

China’s government may have embraced free-market capitalism and opened its economy to the outside world, but the authorities still maintain a stranglehold on their population’s access to information. Internet access to news is filtered with the convenient aid of Google, and undesirable articles bring serious repercussions, as evidenced by the imprisonment of New York Times researcher Zao Yan since 2004. Endemic rioting across the Chinese countryside, such as the December 6th, 2005 demonstration in the village of Dongzhou, where clashes between security forces and protestors led to the deaths of at least three people and the arrest of 13 more, is downplayed in the state-controlled print and broadcast media. Currently, 34 reporters are being held by China’s government, two-thirds of the 125 reporters worldwide who have been thrown in prison for their activities.

At the University of Chicago, students have the tendency to stay on the campus grounds, within the safe boundaries of the Quad. In fact, I was the same way during my first quarter here. It is understandable; you are new to the college, let alone the city, and you would rather be comfortable and explore closer surroundings. Well, as your friendly neighborhood journalist, I am going to start reporting on restaurants and venues downtown that are affordable, easy to reach, and enjoyable.

Today’s spotlight falls on a popular venue in Wrigleyville known as The Metro. I know that sounds far away, but it really isn’t. Just take the Red Line to Addison, and once you get off, walk past Wrigley Field and head a block north. It does not really stand out so be careful not to miss it.

At first, The Metro looks sort of small and dirty. Both of these are false assumptions. Up the stairs, The Metro opens up into a wide and shallow room with a big stage, a bar, and a balcony. I actually prefer this set-up, compared to the long and deep variety, because it allows more of the audience to be up close to the performers (when I say “up close,” I mean it). Just last night I got a fist bump from Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth, lead singer of Overkill. At the end of their set, he even dived off the stage and crowd-surfed the audience. The Overkill show is definitely one I am going to remember, a phrase I have uttered often after leaving The Metro.

It is not the best venue in the world, especially for metal or rock. The main reason is that The Metro is ‘professional’ and looks down on crowd surfing, stage rushing, and stage diving. Also, the sound quality is not the highest quality in Chicago: the House of Blues has a much better sound system. However, this place is not known for its heavy metal shows. For the most part, these guys book alternative and electronic gigs, such as Tim Green, who is making his first Chicago appearance on May 21, and Local H, who will be playing an entire album on May 23.

The one thing I have found in common between all the varied artists that come through is a passionate energy that transmits through the music to the audience and floor. Luckily, shows are reasonably priced; the most I have ever paid for a show is $25. If you do decide to go, make sure to check the age. Some shows are 18+ or 21+ so keep that in mind while planning your outing.
After grooving or rocking or dancing to whatever show you go to see, there are several places to eat nearby from local dives, upper class sit-down locations, and fast food restaurants. Everything one could possibly desire after a concert is at hand. Would I recommend going? Definitely. Am I going to go again? Definitely!

Next time, I will talk about two restaurants near the heart of downtown. Hope you enjoy whatever show you choose to attend. Maybe I’ll see you there.

There are only two institutions on campus that offer banking services – Citibank and the University of Chicago’s Maroon Financial Credit Union, and in case you’re still searching around campus for an ATM by any other name, you’re out of luck. Chances are, you’ll open an account with one or both of these if you haven’t already. We’ll compare the two institutions and examine the University’s special relationship with each.

Maroon Financial Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative. This means that when you deposit funds into your credit union account, you become a partial owner and participate in the union’s profitability. To join the union, you must be a member of the University of Chicago community. Said its President, Cristian Hernandez, “We exist to exclusively assist the University [of Chicago] community and all their financial affairs.” The pros: the cooperative structure; free checking and savings forever; free ATM access at more than 65,000 ATMs in all 50 states, the UK, and Canada; a clear summary of rates and fees for all products made readily available on their website; automatic payroll deduction. The cons: no credit cards; only two free ATMs on or near campus, with the one 24-hour ATM located two blocks farther west than the Citibank Ellis Street ATMs.

Citibank is an international bank that is a branch of Citigroup. Citigroup is a company owned by its shareholders. Major shareholders include US taxpayers, who own more than a third of Citigroup following the $45 billion bailout in 2008, the government of Singapore, Prince Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, Capital Research Global Investors, Capital World investors, Citigroup employees, and many large asset management and pension funds that manage money for investors. Jared Evans, the manager of the Citibank branch on campus, said, “Because of our location here, we want to offer the best accounts for the students.” The pros: 10 on-campus ATMs, including 3 24-hour ATMs at the Citibank branch on Ellis Street; globality and reach — 1400 branches and free ATMs in 46 countries; student credit card availability, including credit cards for international students; may qualify for Checking Plus Overdraft Protection, which transfers funds from your credit line to your checking account to cover banking transactions for a $10 fee — this prevents checks from bouncing as long as you have enough credit available, 24/7 live person customer service. Neutral: ThankYou Network rewards program. The cons: free checking and savings valid only as long as you are an active enrolled student at U of C, only 26,000 surcharge-free ATMs worldwide.

Both institutions offer the basic cadre of banking services, including online banking (including BillPay), direct deposit, and 24/7 Automated Telephone Banking.

After completing this basic research, I still found it curious that the University’s own homegrown credit union had such a dirth of ATMs on campus. I paid a visit to the credit union and sat down with its President to find out the reason.

Sue: Is it expensive?

Mr. Hernandez: No.

Sue: [The university administration] won’t let you?

Mr. Hernandez: I can’t comment on that.

Sue: Is there a lot of policy to go through?

Mr. Hernandez: No comment.

After several minutes of further questioning, Mr. Hernandez finally replied “We would work on putting ATMs on campus if we were allowed,” but he had no comment on who I could speak to regarding the credit union’s inability to place more free ATM’s closer to campus. Intrigued, I did some digging.

I interviewed John Kroll, the Comptroller of the University. Citing data regarding the phenomenon of colleges in the US fostering exclusive relationships financial institutions, I asked whether the University was aware of any such relationship between the University of Chicago and Citibank.

“You’re absolutely right about what takes place around the country,” Mr. Kroll replied, adding that indeed, campus institutions focus on striking a deal with a single financial institution. The deal with Citibank, he explained, started with a “very detailed . . . Request for Information (RFI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) … It was a formal process when all major banks were invited to make a proposal … including the credit union.”  This took place at a time when the credit union did not have a big cadre of products (Maroon Financial Credit Union confirmed that it had only opened its doors to students two years ago, and prior to that had served employees of the University and Medical Center).

The choice was made to go with Citibank as the on-campus provider, with the provision that the credit union could continue to do business without interruption. As a part of this agreement, the credit union was allowed to have an ATM on campus as long as it was “within the facility space that they are using,” which is the basement of the Administration building on 58th and Ellis. The first right of refusal regarding the placement of ATMs on campus is with Citibank, and unless Citibank specifically waives that right, no other financial institutions may place ATMs on campus.

What did the University get in exchange for granting Citibank these exclusive rights? Mr. Kroll said that globality was a huge motivator since the University has students from all over the world, and in addition cited free checking and savings with no minimum balance, unlimited check writing, no surcharge at Citi ATMs and other ATMs networked with Citi, and twice a year discounted airfare. The most important aspect that drove the deal was that Citibank provides a solution for students when they are away from campus domestically or internationally. The moment that they try to renegotiate the terms of the deal with Citibank to allow students on-campus ATM access for other financial institutions, everything is up for renegotiation, especially regarding anything with the words “no” (i.e. no minimum balance), “no charge,” and “free” (free checking and savings as long as you’re a student at the U. of C.)

But what else does the University get? I asked,

“Does the University profit from this deal?”

“I wish,” Mr. Kroll replied. “Citibank gets a small amount of retail space across from the school. In exchange for that, they pay us rent … The University does not benefit from this deal in a financial way.”

In a follow-up e-mail exchange, I asked about credit companies and credit-card issuing banks. I reproduce the questions and responses here:

Does the University of Chicago disclose students’ contact information to credit card companies or credit card-issuing banks? ***NO***

Do credit card companies or credit-card issuing banks strike partnerships with any University-affiliated group or entity in order to market to the University’s students? ***NO***

Does the University of Chicago have any revenue-generating deals with credit card companies or credit card-issuing banks? ***BASED ON THE TERMS OF OUR CONTRACTUAL TERMS,  RELATIONSHIPS WITH CREDIT CARD COMPANIES ARE CONFIDENTIAL***

I was unable to obtain any further information regarding the last question, but representatives of Chase Bank at the Booth School of Business orientation fair verified that, to their knowledge, they did not pay to have a table at the fair and that they did not pay for student information from the University.  (If anyone has a tip, please write me at sue@diskordchicago.com.)

Now, if I may proffer my personal, layman’s opinion on Mr. Kroll’s response and my advice regarding banking on campus — other than the discounted airfare (which, by the way, was news to me — I’ve never heard of anyone taking advantage of this and have myself always found great rates via price comparison shopping on the Internet. If any of our readers can verify that the offering from Citibank beats those, I would love to hear from you: sue@diskordchicago.com), the globality, and the credit card offering, Maroon Financial has the same services, including unlimited check writing, and they ask only for a $5 minimum balance to open the account, which will probably not break anyone’s back. But globality is indeed a critical factor. The single credit union branch location may not affect those who can handle their banking by phone or on-line, but would be an inconvenience to anyone who wants or needs to take care of their banking affairs inside a physical office after moving away from Hyde Park.

The move made by the University was a shrewd one in the sense that they are getting terms from Citibank that they would not have gotten without the deal (for example, Citibank does not offer free checking and savings to all college students), whereas Maroon Financial Credit Union would do all of the same things with or without an exclusive deal.

Regarding the lack of a rewards program, Mr. Hernandez of the credit union said, “Our knowledge of rewards is that the consumer ends up paying a lot more than the reward is worth … Obviously, any institution would not offer rewards unless they’re getting a profit off it.” It was not the small size of the credit union that prevents him from offering rewards — he wants to offer simple, easy-to-understand products, and given a very competitive interest rate vs. rewards, he will go with the very competitive interest rates. He does not see the rewards as beneficial. My position on rewards vs. no rewards is neutral, and the interest rates on the savings account won’t make a difference for most of us anyway, who probably have at most a couple thousand dollars in checking or savings at any given time.

The only fee that I’ve ever come across is the overdraft fee — this is $34 at Citibak and $26 and Maroon Financial Credit Union.

The 24-hour ATM for the credit union on the first floor of DCAM, two blocks further than the Citibank ATM is indisputably more inconvenient. DCAM is not a 24-hour building, but if you have your student ID with you the 24-hour security guard will let you into the building as long as you have business there.

Bottom line: If you want a credit card and convenience when you’re traveling abroad and you’re looking to open an account with a bank close to campus, Citibank is the way to go. But it will never cost you anything to have an account with the credit union, which comes with its own set of conveniences. My advice is to open an account with both.