Students

Music and Medicine Foster Creativity and Belonging at South Side School

Humanities Assoc. Prof. Jennifer Iverson leads the Music Sociality program.

UChicago’s eight partner programs with City Elementary allow student volunteers to foster creativity and belonging for neurodiverse students who often feel left out in conventional classroom settings.

The Music Sociality program, led by Jennifer Iverson—an associate professor in the Department of Music and board chair of City Elementary—leverages collaborative and discussion-based activities to improve social skills in a fun and welcoming environment.

For Iverson, discussing musical tastes or collaborating on a song can be perfect ways for autistic children who struggle with turn-taking to practice reciprocal communication and listening.

UChicago Fourth-Year Student Earns Marshall Scholarship

On Dec. 11, it was publicly announced that Ethan Ostrow received the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, which will enable him to study at the University of Oxford, where he will advance his work on incarceration reform by pursuing a graduate degree in socio-legal studies next fall.

He is the 29th person affiliated with UChicago, since 1986, to win a Marshall Scholarship, which recognizes academic excellence, leadership and ambassadorial potential.

"Ethan's willingness to question the status quo and apply problem solving to the complexities of our justice system is inspiring, and exemplifies so many of the unique qualities that distinguish students here at UChicago," said Melina Hale, dean of the College. "We are so proud of Ethan, and this well deserved honor."

Humanities Grad Student Nova Smith Receives Diversity Leadership Award Tonight

Every year, the University of Chicago honors members of the UChicago community who demonstrate leadership and a sustained commitment to justice and equality. In addition to faculty, alumni and staff, this year’s Diversity Leadership Awards also recognize the contributions of UChicago students.

This year’s recipients are Prof. Anita Blanchard, MD’90; Rami Nashashibi, AM’98, PhD’11; Jessica Jaggers of Chicago Booth; and UChicago students Nova Smith (Cinema and Media Studies Department) and Demetrius Johnson Jr. They will be honored Jan. 12 during a virtual celebration of UChicago’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration.

With Augmented Reality, You Can Now Superimpose Publicly Exhibited Artworks in Your Home

YOU BE MY ALLY, 2020, LED Truck, Text: Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa, © 1987 by the author. Used with permission of Aunt Lute Books, www.auntlute.com; Sappho, fragment 1 from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Anne Carson, first published by Alfred A. Knopf, © 2002 by the author. Reprinted by permission of the author and Aragi Inc. All rights reserved. Chicago, Illinois, USA (© 2020 Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, Photo: Christopher Dilts)

For a week in October, LED trucks featuring animated, illuminated quotes from conceptual artist Jenny Holzer’s latest public art project, You Be My Ally, drove around downtown Chicago and the city’s South Side. Those walking on the University of Chicago’s campus can currently use their phones to project all 29 quotes from the project, selected from texts from the University’s Core Curriculum, onto seven university buildings using a free web-based augmented reality app.

But for the first time, using the same app, art enthusiasts can also superimpose a public exhibit of Holzer’s work—each of the quotes—in their own houses, or wherever they might be. Instead of seeing the words Suddenly incoherence feels violent, a quote from “Citizen,” Claudia Rankine’s book-length poem, rolling up the sleek Ludwig Mies van der Rohe-designed façade of the university’s School of Social Service Administration, users can experience this zooming towards them from a distant spot in their kitchen or bathroom.

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