DePaulia
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Volume #106 | Issue #9 | Nov. 8, 2021 | depauliaonline.com
Faculty primarily responsible for student mental health By Nadia Hernandez News Editor
PHOTO COURTESY OF IONE CASSENS
The family home of a Choix student, typical majority of homes in the area located near the L’Ecole de Choix campus.
Forgotten neighbors Haiti battles relevency on top of tragedies By Jana Kunz Contributing Writer
Between the earthquake on Aug. 14, the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, a gang security crisis and a global pandemic, Haitian-born DePaul alum Paul Carisma said many “feel as though the country is cursed, that it can’t catch a break.” Carisma is aware that the place he grew up in and calls home is known to most of the world only from occasional news reports on the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. But with the country’s situation at a tipping point, more than 10,000 migrants brought their desperation to the United States’ door, according to the New York Times. The mass migration brought a lot of media attention to Haiti, but Carisma said these issues have been building up for a long time. When the pandemic hit in 2020, he said that it was overshadowed by the existing humanitarian issues, and ended up exacerbating them. “Corona is not the issue in Haiti,” he said. “While it is present, people don’t really think of it or care for it.” Laura Hartman, 58, is a professor emerita from the Department of Management & Entrepreneurship at DePaul. She went to Haiti in the late 2000s to represent the university in a microfinance project called Zafen to commemorate the death of St. Vincent de Paul, and she was struck by the gap in the quality of life and education levels that held many Haitian entrepreneurs
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL CARISMA’S FACEBOOK
Paul Carisma is a Haitian-born DePaul alum who has seen issues in Haiti far past Covid-19.
back from running an effective business. According to Partners in Literacy Haiti, the country’s literacy rate is 61 percent. “They had great ideas for small businesses and we could give them small loans, but many of them were illiterate, and their education was so poor that it was very sad,” Hartman said. “So I was really frustrated by this. In 2009, we began talking about building a school.” DePaul allowed her time to go to Haiti and follow through with her idea, and it opened on Oct. 17, 2011 as the School of Choice. It was modeled after Francis W.
Parker, a K-12 private school in Chicago where both Hartman and her daughter went to high school. “I thought, ‘Why should children in Haiti have any less quality of an education as my daughter or me?’ They deserve a high quality education, I don’t care where they were born or how much money or how little money they were born with,” she said. “And it’s called l’Ecole de Choix, the School of Choice, because education gives you choices, and choices give you dignity.”
See HAITI, page 10
Faculty members raised concerns over lack of university counseling services (UCS) in the Nov. 3 Faculty Council meeting as finals approached. Newsline published an article offering advice for faculty and staff on how to best support students during finals. Director of UCS Tow Yau gave more advice as well about how to interact with stressed out students. “Faculty are not mental health professionals, but they play an important role as the so-called gatekeeper for students, who often reach out to them first when they’re having problems,” Yau said in Newsline. “Our current generation of students is very open to sharing their mental health issues, and we want to be sure faculty have the tools and resources to respond.” UCS has not made any hires yet and is still relying on My Student Support System (SSP) for DePaul students. Professor Jay Baglia gave a presentation to the Faculty Council where he cited that faculty was not made aware of the lack of counselors at the beginning of the academic year. “There was no heads up -- not from the office of marketing and communications or anyone else -- at the beginning of the fall,” Baglia said in his presentation at the meeting. “No references to this considerable alteration at convocation or during the state of the university presentation.” Baglia also addressed Newsline’s article at the meeting where he said that he “facepalmed” at the administration’s response. He had heard rumors from students about the lack of counseling services. Once confirmed, Baglia started hearing student testimonies about My SSP. “Students confirm that their experience with My SSP was anything but ideal,” he said. “There are certainly uses for an app like My SSP as a stop gap as that would allow the university to offer some kind of counseling services for students who live out of state.You can’t provide counseling to a student who’s not in the state. So there are uses for an app but as far as I know, there’s not many examples of a university who’s gone almost exclusively to the app.” Other members mentioned how Loyola University is currency fully staffed with nurses, social workers, psychologists and a therapy dog. Vice President of Student Affairs Gene Zdziarski, who was in attendance at the Nov. 3 meeting, explained many factors that contributed to the current
See COUNSELING, page 5
2 | News. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
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CAMPUS COVID-19 CASES
Sept. 17, 2021 - Nov. 5, 2021
The DePaulia is the official student-run newspaper of DePaul University and may not necessarily reflect the views of college administrators, faculty or staff. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | Lawrence Kreymer eic@depauliaonline.com PRINT MANAGING | Nika Schoonover managing@depauliaonline.com ONLINE MANAGING | Nate Burleyson online@depauliaonline.com NEWS EDITOR | Nadia Hernandez news@depauliaonline.com ASST. NEWS EDITOR | Josephine Stratman news@depauliaonline.com NATION & WORLD EDITOR | Sonal Soni nation@depauliaonline.com OPINIONS EDITOR | Erik Uebelacker opinion@depauliaonline.com FOCUS EDITOR | Kiersten Riedford focus@depauliaonline.com ARTS & LIFE EDITOR | Amber Stoutenborough artslife@depauliaonline.com ASST. ARTS & LIFE EDITOR | Brandon Sun Yechout artslife@depauliaonline.com
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News. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 3
President Esteban rejects all Faculty Council motions By Nadia Hernandez News Editor
President A. Gabriel Esteban rejected all of the motions from the Faculty Council’s latest Council of the Whole. Although Esteban’s rejections do not affect the passing of the motion, it further strains the relationship between Faculty Council and University administrators while discussing university matters. The administration will not take action towards the motions. The Council of a Whole took place in September and had a record number of motions passed. Faculty discussed the implications of lack of shared governance and concerns over the endowment, which the motions address. The motions were ratified by 71 percent of full-time faculty in October, according to the Faculty Council. The five motions were about longterm educational excellence, increasing communication and trust between faculty and the Board of Trustees, reasserting faculty role in new program and curriculum development, reestablishing transparency in shared governance and repealing DePaul’s return to principal policy. Esteban responded to these motions in an email sent to faculty on Oct. 27, about three weeks after the motions were ratified. He discussed the motions with the provost, executive vice president and Board of Trustees leadership, according to his email. In the email obtained by The DePaulia, he begins with his commitment to shared governance. Out of the five motions, Esteban said he “cannot approve the motion as written” for motions one and four regarding the definition of shared governance and that motion four was “factually inaccurate in suggesting that the university’s budgeting process lacks transparency.” Esteban said the second motion is incorrect about the correspondence between faculty and the Board of Trustees. “Motion #2 incorrectly suggests that trustees do not meet with faculty and that faculty do not have access to information about the Board of Trustees,” Esteban wrote. “To the contrary, it has long been the practice of the Board of Trustees to communicate with the Faculty Council, and most of the actions listed in Motion #2 already do, in fact, occur.” He also writes that the third motion was “unworkable” for its appeal to have ideas for programs go through Faculty Council before fully approved. Finally, Esteban rejected the fifth motion, asserting that it would place the university’s long-term financial health “at risk.” “Motion #5 asks the university to put its long-term financial health at risk by reducing its rate of savings rather than managing its revenue and cost structures in response to current or anticipated market conditions,” Esteban wrote. “A university’s endowment is intended to generate income to support university operations in perpetuity. As a tuition-dependent university, DePaul’s financial stability requires a disciplined approach to build the endowment and provide a strong financial foundation for future generations.” He ended the email with a reminder: “We will certainly disagree with each other along the way, but we must always treat each other with grace and with recognition that we are all guided by the same mission and core values.” Faculty Council administration then sent an email to faculty on Oct. 31 detailing their disappointment with Esteban’s response.
“The faculty did not seek the outgoing president’s approval of its motions and we find his wholesale rejections unacceptable,” Faculty Council administration said. “His response also dismisses the faculty’s desire to renegotiate the way we as faculty work with the executive administration and Board.” Faculty Council President Sonia Soltero, who was elected in June, reiterated her disappointment with Esteban’s answers. Her board consists of Vice President Quinetta Shelby, Secretary Victoria Delorio and Committee on Committees Chair Greg Brewster. “The faculty overwhelmingly found President Esteban’s response unfortunate and demoralizing because he used a tone that many found to be condescending and reprimanding toward faculty,” Soltero said in an email to The DePaulia. “His long message and wholesale rejection cannot undo the ratification of the motions.” In the Faculty Council administration’s email, they write the purpose of the motion and how Esteban either did not understand it or address it correctly. They called Esteban’s disapproval of the first proposed motion, “inconsistent with recent activities in planning for the 20212023 budget and by his response to the Council of the Whole’s five motions.” Faculty members had raised concerns about finances back in September. The Faculty Council administration wrote in their admin email that the return to principal policy “is a defense of the unyielding financialization of the university, or put most simply, prioritizing endowment building over the university’s educational mission and essential functions.” The disagreement over the motions highlights the faculty’s distrust in the administration, according to Soltero. “It is quite clear that we have a serious fractured relationship between Trustees [and] executive administration and the faculty, and his response to the faculty motions only served to intensify the divide among us,” she said. “We must therefore all sit at the table and talk to each other as equal partners in ensuring that DePaul continues to be a university of choice for students,” Soltero added. Faculty members have gone without raises since January 2020, as the cost of living has simultaneously increased. Newsline recently published an article this past week telling faculty that they would be the main supporters for students as the university has no counselors available for students. As finals approach, stress will intensify. “Where faculty, given our continuous interactions with students in our classes, responded to their academic and mental health needs on a daily basis while dealing with our own family and mental health stressors, all while internalizing the terrible trauma that many of our students have experienced not only due to the pandemic but also the national racial and ethnic injustices,” Soltero said. “All of this was compounded by salary freezes, cuts to our benefits, hiring freezes and an austerity approach.” As far as hope for DePaul’s future goes, Soltero is hoping for a “visionary new leader” when Esteban announced he would be stepping down as president in June, although she hopes that concerns will be taken seriously now. “[I]t is imperative that the outgoing President and other executive leaders take our concerns seriously and respond in a conciliatory manner that is open to negotiation,” she said.
4| News. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
DePaul alumn goes missing near 31st street beach By Josephine Stratman Asst. News Editor
Former DePaul student Oribi Kontein, 26, jumped in Lake Michigan for a swim on Tuesday. He hasn’t been seen since. Kontein went missing at the 31st Street Beach Oct. 26. He’s described as a 5’10 Black man with brown eyes and brown hair. Camera footage reportedly shows Kontein driving his car to the 31st Street Beach. Family and friends put together a search party to look for Kontein and shared flyers widely. “He was a really nice guy,” Tena Guwor, a friend of Kontein’s, said, already speaking of his friend in the past tense. “You didn’t need to know him for ages to see [his] kindness.” Guwor went to DePaul with Kontein, but the two met years ago, back in their home country of Nigeria. Kontein is an avid swimmer and loved to play pool, according to his
“You didn’t need to know him for ages to see [his] kindness.”
Tena Guwor
friend of Kontein friend. According to his website, in his personal life, Kontein loves “water and fresh air, swimming and eating homemade caramel popcorn.” Alongside Guwor, Kontein graduated from DePaul in 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in sociology. However, he went back to school for massage therapy and later started his own Kontein massage therapy practice in Uptown. According to his LinkedIn, Kontein also worked at the Ray Meyer Fitness Center for one year and as a Transition Leader for DePaul for two years. A little more than a week after Kon-
tein went missing, a body was found at 31st Street Beach Thursday. The body was recovered on the shoreline around 10:45 a.m. in the 3500 block of South DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Police said the man was Black and between 20 and 27 years-old. The recovered body’s name and the cause of death has not been released by the Cook County medical examiner’s office, and as of Sunday, remains unidentified, according to Brittany Hill, public information officer of the Cook County Bureau of Administration. According to Guwor, the family has received new information.
PHOTO FROM INSTAGRAM
Former DePaul student Oribi Kontein has been missing since jumping into Lake Michigan on Tuesday. “We got some new information that we are waiting to confirm and the family are not wishing to share,” he said.
Students prepare for upcoming travel for winter break By Elizabeth Hernandez Contributing Writer
With lifted Covid-19 restrictions and available vaccines, airports are expected to be bustling with travelers as the holiday season approaches. Nearly 63 percent of all Americans aged 18 or older will travel for at least one holiday this year, and nearly 43 percent of all Americans aged 18 or older feel more comfortable traveling this holiday season than last, according to a survey conducted by Eric Jones, co-founder of The Vacationer, a website that provides travel guides and research. In November 2020, amid the pandemic, more than 2 million passengers traveled through O’Hare International Airport and over 600,000 passengers traveled through Chicago Midway International. By contrast, over 6 million passengers used O’Hare, while around 1.6 million passengers used Midwayin November 2019, according to the ChicagoTribune. The expected increase in travel raises concerns for how effectively airlines and airports will be able to handle the demand, especially in the wake of over 2,000 flight cancellations from Southwest Airlines between Oct. 8 and Oct. 13. Southwest Airlines being short-staffed and experiencing poor weather played a key factor in the major delays and cancellations, according to an Oct. 13 Southwest Airlines press release. “The past several weeks have been horrendous with airlines unable to deal with relatively minor weather problems without causing a service meltdown,” said Joseph Schweiterman, a professor in DePaul’s Graduate School of Public Service and Director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development. “Both the recent American and Southwest disruptions were very disheartening since it took them days to recover from what should’ve been a single-day problem.” Schweiterman is hopeful that the airlines will learn from these cancellations and provide better service during the holidays — if the weather permits. On Nov. 5, the number of Southwest Airlines canceled flights was back down to 26, according to flight tracking service FlightAware, but Schweiterman worries those numbers will rise again with a surge in holiday travel and weather changes. “I think airlines know that Thanksgiving is going to push them to the max with their
labor shortages and will learn from their past mistakes,” Schweiterman said. “Unless we have a serious weather problem, Thanksgiving should blow pretty smoothly.” Schweiterman suggests the easiest way to solve the problems airlines are facing is to cut flights back by 5 to 7 percent. For those traveling this season, he encourages keeping an open mind and avoiding flights that have connections that are less than an hour and 15 minutes. “Go to the airport with the attitude that you may be stuck there for a while,” Schweiterman said. “Bring food, something to read. It’s partly a mindset you need when things get difficult to avoid letting it ruin your holiday.” For some DePaul students, the return of in-person classes also signals the return of holiday travel. Tessyi Dewhurst, a second-year video and film production student, will be flying back to Denver after finals, returning to Chicago two weeks later for work and making one more trip to Denver before winter quarter begins. Dewhurst’s mother is a flight attendant for United Airlines, which enables her to fly “stand-by” — if there is an open seat on a flight, she could board the plane without paying for a ticket. This is how Dewhurst usually flies. However, given the expected rise in travel this season, she bought tickets well in advance to ensure she has a seat on her flights. “My flying experience is not normal compared to most people’s,” Dewhurst said. “I’ve flown enough that I don’t stress out about flying as much.” Dewhurst has learned from her years of flying experience to prepare the day before your flight to avoid running late. “Make sure you have everything packed the night before,” Dewhurst said. “It sounds silly, but you don’t want to be rushing right before you [leave for] the airport and leave something important behind. To be early is to be on time. If you’re on time, you’re already late.” Mackenzie Cowan, a junior in the film program, will also be flying home during break. The Naples, Florida, native said that she’s not nervous about the trip home. “Florida has always been kind of like a war zone, so I’m used to it,” Cowan said. “I’m careful and always wear my mask.” Cowan said she also plans on flying back to Chicago in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. “It does scare me with the amount of people on the flight,” she said. “Like, ‘Oh no, I don’t want anyone to sit next to me!’”
JIM SLIFE | THE DEPAULIA
A student emerges with her suitcase highlighting the impending travel boom for winter.
ALI SCHULTZ| THE DEPAULIA
A student awaits a Red Line train, train is a popular mode of transportation for students.
News. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 5
COUNSELING, continued from front page situation. “We got into this pandemic and there was a number of hiring freezes, this was one of the positions we put on hold,” he said. “That combined with the other opportunities. There are a lot of different reasons why we’re in this situation. Our concern at this point is to provide resources to the best of our ability and refill these positions as quickly as possible. He said that other Chicago universities were in similar situations during the pandemic. “Northwestern was in a similar situation a year ago,” he said at the meeting. “A lot of this has to do with turnover of different staff.” A university with 20 to 25 thousand students needs at least nine counselors, according to Baglia. Whereas DePaul had 21 thousand students in 2020. “But the average across the United States, without knowing whether we’re talking about private or public colleges, is 14 [counselors] for a university of our size,” Baglia said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had 14 counselors.” DePaul has posted job listings for nine university counseling positions, according to Zdziarski. However, faculty have only seen the associate director and two part time positions. Some of the positions are listed as “temporary”. To which Baglia said this is “woefully inadequate.” A faculty council member asked
whether Zdziarski took into consideration any exit interviews from previous counselors about work conditions. “I have not gotten specifics related to the exit interviews concerning the counselors,” Zdziarski responded. “HR did some exit interviews for many staff and student affairs, it was the idea of coming back to an in person environment versus a remote environment.” He assured that the lack of counselors has hit the university hard. “There are some articles out there that you can see it’s more than just us,” Zdziarski said. “But certainly we’ve been hit hard as it relates to the counselors.” In the meantime, faculty and staff will be the primary support system for students. Baglia said this adds more stress to their jobs. “I believe professors at DePaul embrace personalism and embrace the idea of caring for and being kind to their students and being flexible with their
students,” he said, “But we are also not equipped to provide any kind of mental health counseling. And quite honestly, if the burden of listening becomes overwhelming, we ourselves are capable of burnout by virtue of that kind of heavy trauma, lifting heavy trauma and taking on the trauma of others has a cost.” Yau recommended asking students certain questions to help faculty adjust to their newfound predicament. “Be prepared not to be distracted by other things,” Yau said in Newsline. “You can ask open-ended questions, such as, ‘How’s your family? How’s life? How’s school?’ That can open the conversation, and then wait for students to express what is going on.” However, Baglia said referring students to an app makes him feel powerless. “I do feel helpless when I can’t provide a service or more refers to a service
ART BY ALICIA GOLUSZKA
that is a status quo served at every university in this country,” he said. To make up for the lack of direct services, some DePaul groups are trying to find outside resources. The Women’s Center has found Lu Rocha has services for students at no cost during finals. Yau said that part of faculty support is referring to counseling services.Yau and Zdziarski did not provide a timeline or plan for upcoming finals or winter quarter. “We need forward thinking and action — now,” Baglia said at the meeting. “Those of us in the classroom require a public accounting of the mental health support plan that is being implemented.” Yau will be attending the Nov. 11 Student Government Association meeting to answer student questions.
6| News. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
CAMPUS CRIME REPORT: Oct. 27 2021- Nov. 3, 2021 LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS
LOOP CAMPUS
University Hall 6
4
Corcoran Hall
1
9
Cacciatore Stadium Belden- Racine Hall 2
3
Munroe Hall
6
McGowen South
Wish Field
6
7 5
LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS OCT. 27 1) A Criminal Sexual Assault report was filed regarding an incident that occurred in Corcoran Hall in September. OCT. 28 2) An Illegal Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor report was filed for a person outside Belden-Racine Hall. Chicago EMS were called to scene. OCT. 30 3) A Harassment and Criminal Trespass report was filed for a person trying to gain access to Munroe Hall. OCT. 31
Assault & Theft
Drug & Alcohol
4) An Illegal Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor report was filed for a person in Corcoran Hall. Person was transported to Illinois Masonic by Chicago EMS.
Other
7) A Robbery was reported near Wish Field. A Timely Warning was issued to the campus community regarding the incident.
DePaul Center 11
13
12
14
Lewis Center 10
LOOP CAMPUS
Lewis Building. OCT. 29 11) A Criminal Damage report was filed for broken Flower Pots in front of DePaul Center. 8) A Battery report was filed OCT. 31 regarding an incident that occurred 12) A Graffiti report was filed for 5) A Motor Vehicle Offense report on the 900 W block of Webster Ave. markings on the DePaul Center. was filed regarding damage to a (Not pictured above) NOV. 01 vehicle parked on the 2300 block of NOV 2 13) A Criminal Trespass Warning Kenmore. 9) A Drug Paraphernalia report was report was filed for a person trying to filed for items found in University stay overnight in the DePaul Center 6) A Graffiti report was filed for Hall. 14) A Graffiti report was filed markings on Cacciatore Stadium, the regarding marking found on the CDM McGowan South parking lot, Munroe LOOP-OCT. 25 Building. Hall, and University Hall. 10) A Graffiti report was filed regarding markings found at the
News. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 7
DePaul’s preparation for the arrival of refugees continues By Josephine Stratman Asst. News Editor
DePaul will soon welcome 10 Afghan refugees to campus. After the fall of the Afghan government to the Taliban, 148 Afghan students from Asian University for Women (AUW) reportedly evacuated Afghanistan. They flew to a military base in the U.S. to be relocated to several American universities — including DePaul — to finish their studies. The refugees will be full students at DePaul: They’ll live in the dorms, eat at the Student Center and attend classes. The group is currently waiting at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin to get the last of their paperwork and visas in order before they can come to Chicago. Although they attended an English-language school before leaving their home country, university administrators will still place them in DePaul’s intensive English classes through the English Language Academy in the Loop Campus. “We’re proud to be able to do this work,” said GianMario Besana, associate provost of DePaul’s Global Engagement and Online Learning. “Because it’s in sync and resonates with DePaul’s mission, and we’re blessed to be able to support them… this has been such an outpouring of support from every corner of the park community.” DePaul has partnered with Refugee One, who it has worked with in the past, to settle the students. This is the first time DePaul is resettling refugees in this magnitude. DePaul offers an Open Arms Scholarship, which offers tuition assistance to one refugee, asylee or asylum seeker per year. The Afghan students coming to DePaul will
JOSEPHINE STRATMAN | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul students and organizations have been collecting donations such as food. Organizations like DePaul Sanctuary are collecting clothes and household supplies. receive full tuition and room and board assistance. Besana said protecting the refugees’ privacy is of the utmost importance. “We’re trying to welcome them as deserved while also protecting their privacy,” Besana said. “They’re coming to us after severe trauma. Once they get here, we want them to have some degree of normalcy.” When students encounter the Afghan students, they should treat them like any other peer, Emily Kraus, the assistant director of special programs of global engagement, said. “Keep in mind that a refugee might have experienced something traumatic,” Kraus said. “Encounter them with grace, and... with an open mind and open heart... And allow them to have space to feel like they can
normalize their experience at DePaul. Besana said the various uncertainties and unknowns — when the students will arrive, how proficient in English they are, what their exact needs are — makes planning difficult. The DePaul community is working hard to prepare for their arrival. The team working to support the students meets weekly, and students and staff are collecting food and clothing donations, tabling in the Student Center to raise awareness and are preparing to offer peer support systems. Katy Arnold, a political science professor and director of refugee and forced migration studies, plays a key part in the preparation efforts for the Afghan students and The DePaul Sanctuary group, a campus organization, plays a role in providing sup-
port for immigrants and refugees to make DePaul a sanctuary campus. Chicago is a sanctuary city — it provides a level of protection for immigrants. Sanctuary zones limit the sharing of student information with federal immigration authorities, restrict federal agent’s access to information about students and provide resources and information for immigrants. DePaul itself has not adopted a “sanctuary campus” label, although in the past the university has pledged support for refugee and immigrant populations. “These [DePaul] students are just amazing. And without them, we wouldn’t have a room full of clothing and food,” Arnold said. Arnold said a network of activists at DePaul and beyond are working to provide complete resources and get the students safely to DePaul. “These students coming in are going to be in an entirely new community at an entirely new university,” said Maddie Easton, a DePaul political science graduate and department assistant. “And it’s just like having that base level of, ‘You don’t need to worry about this part because we can provide those sorts of resources for you,’ is something that I think will be very helpful in getting them resettled here.” DePaul’s political science department will set up donated supplies like a shop for the refugee students, allowing them to pick and choose what supplies they need. “We’re excited to welcome them into our community,” Easton said.
8 | News. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
New Fullerton pillars will be painted by students By Jocelyn Diaz
La DePaulia Assistant Multimedia Editor
“The Little School Under the ‘L,’” and “Under the ‘L’” are a series of murals under the Fullerton CTA station. Each pillar visually portrays the history of DePaul University through prominent figures such as DePaul University’s third president, Reverend Francis X. McCabe, C.M. Started six years ago and currently led by Brother Mark Elder, C.M., the pillars are created and developed by ART 291, an art class offered by DePaul University. “There are about two dozen of them [pillars] that should adequately tell our [DePaul’s] story from pillar to pillar,” Elder said. “The closer to Belden you get, the more historical they are, the further north you go, you find the topics are more timely and deal with the present.” In the past, ART 291 would travel throughout the city to work on murals such as “The Mural at 91st St.” located onin the South Sside of Chicago in collaboration with SkyART – a non-profit visual arts program. However, due to a change in the student population, the community decided it would be more convenient for incoming classes to work on more local pieces. “Each ART 291 class has been trying to help me fabricate these pillars that you see under there, and it came from a specific idea that it should serve the community somehow.” This in turn was the motivation for the creation of The Little School Under the ‘L’, Under the ‘L’ in 2015. This led Brother Mark to look for an opportunity to scout projects that would benefit and speak to the university. He said he wanted to approach it “But to do it in such a way that students could learn from the experience of dealing with new materials and the notion that they would be contributing to the various de-
JOCELYN DIAZ | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul art students start planning their ideas for the Fullerton station pillars. signs of the particular pillars they encoun- fall of 2015, and I announced it, we had a tered that year,” Elder said. nice luncheon, and we let people talk.” In deciding what that year’s pillar topic Students gather at these town hall will be, town hall meetings are held and ad- meetings hosted by DePaul to voice their vertised in various news media outlets such opinions on what would be a relevant topas The DePaulia and are open to the DePaul ic to cover through a pillar. Input from the community. DePaul community is heard at these meet“I have town hall meetings,” Elder said, ings and creates a pillar that shows what the “When we first started the project in the public considers to be crucial to DePaul’s
story. This year, the ART 291 class faces a topic that everyone was affected by: – COVID-19. “As everybody was, we were all affected by this onslaught called COVID-19,” Elder said., “Just looking around and seeing how it affected us at the university and all the changes we had to make throughout the academic year, people were really banged around, but we had to respond and deal with it,” Elder said..” This year’s pillar will include individual “‘mask”’ formats that each student will design to represent their experience with COVID-19. Topics such as chronic illness, death, and mental health are just some of the issues students are working on portraying. DePaul senior Em Sicinski is creating a piece that commemorates healthcare workers and people who are choosing to get vaccinated. “My sister is a nurse,” Sicinski said “Seeing and hearing all of what she’s done inspired my mask.” They designed one of their masks as a way to say thank you to everyone getting vaccinated as well as a piece to acknowledge the impact healthcare workers have had on the pandemic. “Each of these pillars is like a time capsule in its own way, and this COVID pillar is no different than that,” Elder said. “This year’s ART 291 class gets the opportunity to encapsulate their own memories – good, bad, or indifferent – as to what affected them in accordance with COVID-19.” The COVID-19 pillar will be installed by this spring quarter, and thenext fall will be the completion of this project, with 25 pillars in the collection, will be completed next fall.. This project is a reminder of the great power that art has to capture our collective lived experience and tell a story.
9 | News. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
10 | Nation & World. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
Nation & World
IONE CASSENS | L’ECOLE DE CHOIX
Sixth graders in the L’Ecole de Choix classroom are hard at work while social distancing to be cautious of Covid-19 measures.
HAITI continued from front page Hartman agreed with Carisma that Haiti’s problems already ran deep when the School of Choice was ordered to close on March 13, 2020. “People had such trouble getting food, getting health supplies — everything was closed,” she said. “When schools are closed, kids are home with parents, it’s troublesome, parents can’t go to work, there’s massive unemployment to begin with, no one can make money.” The School of Choice was one of the only employers to keep paying their workers when it shut down. Otherwise, people were left to navigate an impossible environment on their own. Hartman said the difference between living conditions in Haiti and the U.S. is so large she “can’t even talk about it” because it is impossible to compare. 59 percent of Haiti’s population lives under the poverty line and more than 24 percent lives in a situation of extreme poverty, according to Relief Web. “I don’t even have words for it,” she said. “It’s so suffocating in its danger, in its impact on everyone’s daily life, and these are people at all levels of the economy. It’s not like you can protect yourself if you have a job or a home. They’re leaving because it’s so inhumane and intolerable and they can no longer live under those conditions.” “When you’re in poverty in Chicago, there’s social service agencies, a safety net, there are things you can do. You can be really poor, but you can go to a church, or welfare agency. In Haiti, there’s nothing. You can starve. I’ve seen students who show up at 5 years old and they are literally starving. Their hair has turned orange. They’re malnourished. They’re not on the doctor’s charts,” Hartman added. Hartman said this desperation can cause an increase in crime. When the New York Times reported on 17 people from Christian Aid Ministries kidnapped on Oct. 13, kidnappings were already a large concern in Haitian’s day-to-day life, and a
NIKA SCHOONOVER | THE DEPAULIA
deciding factor for many making the journey north. According to Hartman, “there is no isolated incident when you’re talking about Haiti.” “When people can’t feed their families, things deteriorate,” she said. “And while we’d like to think that many of us would not resort to crime, and wouldn’t resort to gang and criminal behavior, simply because of poverty, some people are distressed, and act out of that distress. It does not mean that poverty equals criminal behavior, but there are certain behaviors that happen when people are under stress. You are more prone to upheaval. And then they are angrier at the government for not stepping in. You can imagine how this will spiral downward.” Carisma agrees that it’s not an isolated incident, particularly when referring to the kidnapping of missionaries.. “This has been going on for the last couple months,” he said. “Now, the international community is hearing about it, because a group of foreigners were affected and it got headlined.” While in the past, kidnappers would generally target those with means, or perceived means, Carisma said that now, no one feels safe. “Lately it’s become random and chaotic, borderline terrorism,” he said. “And it’s every day, every week. It’s definitely different. It’s a lot more, and a lot more taxing. That’s why most people, by 6 or 7 p.m., at least in Port-au-Prince, are off the streets.” Hartman said kidnappings are something she has to think about constantly
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Professor Laura Hartman founded L’Ecole de Choix in Haiti in 2011 in response to the education gap to give Haitians more freedom and agency in their futures.
“And it’s called L’Ecole de Choix, the School of Choice, because education gives you choices, and choices give you dignity.”
Laura Hartman
DePaul professor, Management & Entrepreneurship as she travels between her home in Sint Maarten and her school in Haiti. She has kidnapping ransom insurance, and she and her campus director have to drive separately. “I’ve been stopped on the road, held at gunpoint, but this is just part of what you do,” she said. “You figure out that it’s a risk. Someone asked me if I’m safe, and you know, I’m as safe as I can be.” According to Carisma, on top of kidnappings, the void left by the president’s assassination has allowed the gangs to control main roads and demand a tariff
for common resources from the southern part of the country like gas, plantains, chickens, eggs and coffee. Often, people are not able to afford the extra cost. Hartman stressed that Haitians do not want to leave their homes — they are being forced to. “Imagine how intolerable their life must be in Haiti for them to deal with the issues that we have in the U.S.,” she said. “And they’re unwanted. Imagine what they’re seeing, and they still make the trek, they still come across. And they know how hard it is, and while I am not
Nation & World. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 11
NIKA SCHOONOVER | THE DEPAULIA
one of them, there are many people in the U.S. who have made it clear that they don’t want these Haitians.” Hartman has chosen to stay because now that she has a connection to this place and people, and the financial ability to help them, she feels a calling to. “I understand why Haitians want to leave, but if I leave, and I stop working there, then [the gangs] really have won,” she said. “Because then we all just abandon this country to darkness, and we can’t. I have to persist, I have to stay, because if I leave then darkness wins. I have a generation of students that I’m telling, they need to grow up and lead this country to a better future. And if I’m not willing to be there with them, what am I going to do, abandon Haiti to them? Then I’m just being hypocritical.” Carisma felt the same way. Although he was able to come to the U.S. to get an education, and has family in America, he never really considered leaving Haiti behind. “Haiti is home,” he said. “The challenges here can be tiring and exhausting. There definitely is Haiti fatigue. And so certain days it’s easier, certain days it’s challenging, and regardless of when I was at DePaul, for undergrad or masters, Haiti has always been home and Haiti will be home for me.” Because of this, he said his perspective on U.S. immigration policy is complicated. “Haiti doesn’t have the means or capacity to take in individuals and provide support and assistance,” he said. “It’s a really hard thing to answer. I know that the U.S. isn’t going to take in everyone. So my only answer is to treat those individuals with dignity and respect, and to do what is possible.” Political science professor Joe Tafoya focuses on Latino politics and immigration, and saw immigration policy play out when he was a student at the University of Texas at Austin. “The fact that the U.S. has not done as much as it could have to develop and uphold democracy and government in Haiti is to the detriment of the living conditions that people deal with,” he said. “We know that people sacrifice so much to migrate to the U.S., so those who got here are doing it out of desperation.” While President Joe Biden’s administration has stopped separating children from their families, allocated more resources to ease the strain on the system and worked to make detention centers more accommodating, it is still leaning on Trump-era policies like Remain in Mexico, which means asylum seekers have to wait in Mexico for their papers to be processed, Tafoya said. But Haitians were not even afforded the treatment that this policy would extend. While Puerto Ricans, with their connection to the U.S., have been able to cross over freely after natural disasters, and migrants from other Latin American countries are processed at the border, however slowly, Haitian immigrants were simply sent back, Tafoya said.
IONE CASSENS | L’ECOLE DE CHOIX
L’Ecole de Choix nurse Nancy leads the line of students in hand washing before lunch.
NIKA SCHOONOVER | THE DEPAULIA
“I think that the reason the Biden administration responded so swiftly, literally deporting everyone overnight, is because that would send a signal to the rest of Latin America,” he said. “It was also trying to get ahead of public opinion. So it’s paying attention.” The intense level of need and the presence of political instability alongside natural disasters sets Haiti apart and would cause a lot of strain on an already burdened immigration system. Still, the unequal treatment is telling, and has been noticed by activist organizations, Tafoya said. Black Lives Matter published an article on Sept. 22 condemning not only the deportations, but also the use of force against migrants peacefully assembled at the border, saying, “we are reminded that policing and immigration are inextricably linked and that migration is rife with anti-Blackness.” This connection, Tafoya said, brings the issue home, since it puts the attitude of the U.S. government towards different groups on display. “The policy has attributed different value, different worth, to these different types of people from Latin America,” he said. “And this could be an example of the way similar U.S. policy could treat other people in other cases. We’re thinking of this social desirability of certain populations over others. That is an amazing cause for alarm.” For Haitians in the U.S., Tafoya said the immediate deportations could cause alarm that temporary protected status, which allows many Haitians to stay here, would not be provided to future Haitian generations. “We know from really good political science, that once the government extends a benefit, that’s it; it’s very hard to take it
IONE CASSENS | L’ECOLE DE CHOIX
Students engage in social distancing as they leave the classroom for the day. back,” he said. “So the people who have temporary protected status are not going to get that taken away, because it’ll make for bad headlines. But about the possibility of extending temporary protected status to other folks — the fact that that didn’t occur means that that safety valve in immigration policy is not going to be a tool that the government uses.” As of 2018, there were 687,000 Haitians living in the U.S. according to Migration Policy Institute. Carisma said he would challenge the DePaul community to keep Haiti in mind, because the issue is close to home for many in the city that is
our campus. “Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the founder of Chicago, came from Haiti,” he said. “So for Chicago, while Haiti is an island far away and only comes up in the news when they want to talk about the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haitians have been part of the city’s fabric for years, and will be. How you decide to treat your neighbor, and the individuals in your surroundings who are the least fortunate, have the least access to health, education and opportunity, eventually becomes a reflection of you.”
12 | Opinions. The DePaulia. Nov. 8 2021
Opinions
Taxing the rich isn’t about economics — it’s about culture
JOY ASICO | AP IMAGES FOR TAX MARCH
Satirical “corporations and the wealthy” protest outside the Trump Hotel, in support of higher taxes on the rich in the Build Back Better plan on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, in Washington.
By Erik Uebelacker Opinions Editor
Elon Musk is not a fan of Senate Democrats’ proposed billionaire tax. And why would he be? The now-richest man in the world grew his net worth by about six times between 2020 and 2021, and has gotten used to paying nothing in taxes by living off of loans from his stock options. It’s not uncommon for America’s ultra-wealthy to avoid meaningful taxation; Donald Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes the year he was elected president. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has paid $0 on multiple occasions. Time and time again, these people try to justify it. Billionaires and powerful institutions exploit America’s culture of individualism to convince us that taxing them more would be detrimental to society. “Eventually, they run out of other people’s money and then they come for you,” wrote Musk via Twitter in response to the Senate’s proposed wealth taxes, implying that taxing him will lead to increased taxes on ordinary Americans. What is shocking is how many people are convinced by this argument — just look at Musk’s Twitter mentions. His supporters aren’t just unbothered by the billionaire’s lack of taxation; they applaud it. His meme-friendly everyman online persona persuades wannabe tech icons and cryptocurrency gurus that they, too, can be the next Elon. And if the U.S. government is taxing Musk, they’ll be after them when they make it big. This attitude goes much deeper than just Elon Musk, though. Income
inequality is far worse in the United States than in other comparable countries. It’s been like this for a while, but has worsened significantly in the last decade. “America has suffered from escalating income and wealth inequality for decades and the gap between the haves and have nots has not been higher since the Gilded Age,” wrote Matthew Cason in an email to The DePaulia. Cason is the treasurer of the Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Despite this, there is something embedded deep in our country’s spirit that makes us react vehemently to wealth redistribution, despite its presumed benefit for most Americans. “We’ve done a wonderful job of teaching everyone ‘government bad, government inefficient, government sucks,’” said DePaul economics professor Robert Kallen. “This includes the uber-wealthy or the billionaires ... They feel they know how better to distribute their wealth than the government does.” Declining trust in U.S. institutions makes it even easier for the wealthy to convince ordinary Americans of this. A recent Gallup poll revealed that Congress’ approval rating was an abysmal 27 percent. That certainly doesn’t help justify higher taxation, of the wealthy or of anybody. But perhaps an even more powerful force is the continued faith in the socalled American dream: the belief that if you simply work hard and make good choices, you can comfortably move up the socioeconomic ladder. This belief has been a staple in American culture since the 1930’s, despite its notion becoming progressively more unrealistic. “There’s a wonderful thing I call the
“ ...the gap between the haves and have nots has not been higher since the Gilded Age,” Matthew Cason
Chicago Democratic Socialists of America illusion of the American dream,” said Kallen. “You read about these internet folks, people who created these apps and [become successful], but they are the outliers. We all sort of drink the Kool-Aid, so to speak.” This idealistic trust in the American dream is making it difficult to talk about tax reform in a meaningful way. Despite being such an integral part of our culture, the United States actually has lower social mobility than most other advanced countries. In the U.S., the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. Waiving taxes on the wealthy isn’t going to help fix that. It doesn’t look like the issues of low social mobility and income inequality are going to be fixed any time soon. Taxation remains a divisive political issue in the United States, despite the desperate need for major wealth redistribution. Additionally, the Biden Administration is hardly the beacon of progressivism for which many Americans were hoping. Those eager for meaningful change under this government shouldn’t hold their breath, according to DePaul political science graduate Luke Kirkpatrick. “I think that the hopes of immense structural change that were put forth
shortly after Biden’s inauguration have dissipated,” Kirkpatrick told The DePaulia. “The reality is that the Biden Administration has to hammer out actions in Congress with a slim House majority and a 50-50 split Senate ... Anyone hoping for an overhaul of the United States’ healthcare system, for example, will be disappointed.” In fact, Democrats seem to be going the other direction, currently pushing for an increase to the cap of the “SALT” deduction: a tax cut that only benefits high-income households. Not only is this another unnecessary handout to the upper class, it’s also the most expensive aspect of Biden’s Build Back Better Act, costing nearly $300 billion. Think of the multitude of other ways those funds could be allocated. Taxing the rich isn’t an economic issue in the United States; it’s a cultural one. The economic benefits are well-documented. But America’s culture of individualism and institutional distrust makes taxing the wealthy much more controversial than it needs to be.
The opinions in this section do not necessarially reflect those of The DePaulia staff.
13 | Opinions. The DePaulia. Nov. 8 2021
ART BY ALICIA GOLUSZKA
The cinema isn’t dead, but they’re being forced to adapt in a changing media landcaspe By Hallie Long Contributing Writer
For as long as I can remember, going to the movie theaters has always been an exciting event for me. From buying the infamous buttery popcorn to watching upcoming movie trailers before the film starts, there is nothing that can replicate that one-ofa-kind experience. Even the feeling of walking out of a movie theater is something I can never forget despite not having gone to one in over two years. While the pandemic may have halted just about every aspect of normalcy, movie theaters have been taking hits in attendance far before Covid-19 shut in-person businesses down. Due to rising ticket prices and streaming services taking off, people are finding cheaper, more convenient alternatives to watching new films. Even so, streaming films can never recreate the experiences or memories a movie theater so effortlessly produces. Yes, it may be cheaper and, with Covid-19, more people may be accustomed to streaming from home, but there’s more distractions that come with this alternative. “Streaming — like many media technologies before it, like television and home recording — has definitely eaten into the audience for movies,” said Paul Booth, DePaul’s Graduate Director for Digital Communication and Media Arts. “Many people prefer to stay home and watch movies rather than go to the theater.” While a majority of people may want to stay home and watch a movie on Netflix or HBO Max, there is still an audience that prefers the experience of a movie theater to streaming any day. “I think it’s the most enjoyable way to watch any movie,” said Fiona Warren, a DePaul senior majoring in Film and Television. “Even if I see a bad film in theaters, I won’t realize it was bad until weeks after solely because of the experience.” Everything from a completely dark room with cozy, reclining chairs to a screen that stretches from wall to wall makes me feel like it’s an escape from the world — even if it only lasts for 90 minutes. “The movie theater experience is of-
NADIA HERNANDEZ | THE DEPAULIA
Regal Cinema in Round Lake, Illinois. 23 percent of all movie theatres in the U.S. have closed since March of 2020.
ten expensive or can be more expensive than staying home to watch a movie on streaming,” Booth said. “However, there are many people who want to spend the money or effort to see a movie at the theater because of the experience of the big screen, the popcorn and watching a movie with other people.” This past Halloween weekend, the Music Box Theatre held its annual three-day showing of “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” where over 1800 people attended the special screening. “We reopened our doors in July and it was rough, we were very uncertain,” said Ally Berry, the general manager of the Music Box Theatre. “But it’s evened out so well and this Halloween screening was just as busy as the screening prior to the pandemic.” The Music Box Theatre is best known for its showings of cult classics, foreign and independent films. However, they mix up the movie theater scene with their special screening events throughout the year, something that draws significant numbers of people and sells out the box office.
“Individual theaters can do special screenings, rent out theaters to groups or have events,” Booth said. Though the Music Box Theatre may experience slow periods after the holidays, according to Berry, their unique offers are catching the eye of past and new audiences, which is something more theaters can start doing as Covid-19 regulations relax. Not only are the special screenings a hit among audiences, but it isn’t all competition between the Music Box and streaming services like Amazon and Hulu. Some movie theaters work with streaming services to premiere films before releasing them online. “We do occasionally get partnered up with Amazon,” Berry said. “And they will premiere their movies here before putting them online. Sometimes it’s a game with streaming services, but there have been great opportunities with them too.” Maybe it isn’t all competition with streaming services, at least for right now. Some films are meant to be seen in a theater, while others may not need the all-encompassing experience.
“There are movies you want to watch at home and then there are movies you want the big screen, sound experience for,” Berry said. “I think it has balanced out more, and there is more of editing films with intent for certain ones to have that movie theater experience.” Focusing on films that induce these unique, one-of-a-kind memories, ones explicitly made for the big screen, may be one way to garner more audiences. “The change has to come from the industry — more movies that are geared towards a cinematic experience would draw more audiences in,” Booth said. Perhaps there is a happy medium between movie theaters and streaming services, but the theater experience can never be beaten. While movie theaters may not be as popular as they once were, the Music Box Theatre is a perfect example of adapting to the changes and transitions of digital media and doing so with success.
14 | Focus. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
Focus
STARS AND STRIPES VETERANS SAY DEPAUL
BY THE NUMBERS 19.36 PERCENT
of student veterans are between the ages of 20 to 25.
69
percent of student veterans are male.
52.84 PERCENT
of student veterans are married. SOURCE | STUDENT VETERANS OF AMERICA
By Kiersten Riedford Focus Editor
Sitting in a lounge with a window view of skyscrapers and sky, full of couches, board games, a Keurig and a fully equipped desk space, sophomore Liam Turman, president of the Student Veterans Union, said this is luxurious compared to the spaces and resources other schools offer student veterans. “When I attended Miami University, like DePaul, it has regional campuses,” Turman said. “One of those regional campuses had a small lounge for veteran students and they only had one part-time paid position for a retired veteran who would help students come in, get their documents for their GI Bill and process them. He would do that all by himself for the entire veteran population [of over 100 people]. While I was there, in 2020, Miami University sent out an email essentially saying that they were cutting back and that his position would be redundant. So they would take away his position and that lounge.” At DePaul, there are veteran affairs offices located on both the Lincoln Park and Loop campuses that are staffed with multiple people. The Lincoln Park location is in the Student Center in Room 360 and the Loop campus location is in DePaul Center in Room 11007. There is a Zoom link for those who are remote and have questions or would like to reach the veterans affairs staff or need to speak with a student veteran. The offices are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for those who are looking to submit documents for their benefits or if someone has any questions for the staff. There is also a lounge for the Student Veterans Union members to host events and provide a space for veterans to have community.
Vaughn Cooper, veteran liaison and senior, works for the veterans affairs office at the DePaul Center. He said DePaul offers more resources and a smoother process to transitioning to student life from active duty than many other schools. “There’s a lot more accessibility to those who are in the veteran process,” Cooper said. “We understand what it means to be a [student veteran] because we are student veterans. We are here to help by any means.” Second-year graduate student Corinthian Maldonado agrees with Cooper. Maldonado said his experience at DePaul has been different from his undergraduate experience, but in a good way. Studying at Indiana University during his undergraduate years, he said it was a struggle to receive his benefits in a timely and smooth manner. “Getting benefits released on time is better at DePaul,” Maldonado said. “At [other universities], it was very bothersome [to receive benefits]. Coming here was like ‘you do this, we do this’ and it was very smooth.” Turman said the verification process for veterans’ benefits at DePaul was fast and effortless. “Having DePaul have an entire staff devoted to this kind of processing [is nice],” Turman said. “Taking the weight off of veterans’ shoulders about utilizing this GI Bill makes a really big difference.” There are many benefits that are provided by DePaul’s veteran services department. Some of the Veteran Affairs Educational Benefits programs that DePaul provides student veterans are: The Post-9/11 GI Bill, for those who served at least 30 consecutive days on active duty after Sept. 10, 2001; The Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program, for the spouse and children of deceased or disabled veterans; and The
DePaul is a very very good school that makes a small community, veterans are less than 1 percent of the population, feel bigger than that. Sophomore Liam Turman Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship, which may be awarded to children of an active duty member of the Armed Forces who died in the line of duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001. The eligible children may be married and under the age of 33. Beyond helping veterans receive their benefits at a quicker pace, Maldonado said there are academic benefits veterans can take advantage of. If student veterans are struggling academically, or simply want an additional resource, they are able to take advantage of the resources supplied by the Dean of Students, the Counseling Services department, the Center for Students with Disabilities, the Writing Center and the Tutoring Center. He said having academic support is important because there are many veterans who have not been in school for years and may need help as they transition. “I know here we do offer a lot of mentorship to our student body whether it be us or by outsourcing to tutors,” Maldonado said. With the influx of resources at DePaul, Cooper said his transition from active duty to student life was comfortable.
JAMIE MONCRIEF | DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
Army ROTC cadets stand at attention during the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of DePaul’s Student Veteran’s Union Luncheon in 2015.
Focus. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 15
S OF STUDENT LIFE IS BEST FOR BENEFITS “I dove in head first. I enrolled in 2019 after pulling out [of the military],” he said. “I was preparing [for school] my last few months. It was a good transition, I came in as a sophomore and it was a comfortable transition. I had a couple of veterans in my classes so it made it easier [to adjust].” Turman said the challenges of facing academic life after switching over from military life can be overwhelming.. “A lot of us spent some very important years, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, not building anything of your own and being completely guided and given the next step every single day,” Turman said. “When you get out and you no longer have that structure, you can drift. It takes a little bit of time to gain that traction back and that you just haven’t had to learn before.” Turman said Jim Rhode, admissions counselor and veteran, helped him conquer the fears of becoming a student again, nonetheless in Chicago. “On a fringe referral, I went to this Zoom meeting that Jim was having,” Turman said. “He talked about his experiences and really let me know that it was possible to come here and do well with the benefits that I had. Because it’s not always about having the benefits, a lot of veterans have them, but being told that these things are possible, that was really what got me here.” Maldonado said despite the benefits that are offered, there will always be a struggle in changing your mindset from the military to that of a student. “Student life becomes primary, military life becomes secondary,” Maldonado said. “You get to experience student life and distinguishing life is different from the military lifestyle.” To make the transition into student life easier, the Student Veterans Union is hosting events the entire week open to the student body so veterans can celebrate Veterans Day while meeting members of the student body. On Monday, Nov. 8, there will be ultimate frisbee in the quad at the Lincoln Park campus from 4 to 6 p.m. On Tuesday, Nov. 9, there will be a movie night from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in DePaul Center Room 11007. On Wednesday, Nov. 10, there will be a game night from 4 to 6 p.m. in DePaul Center Room 11007. On Thursday, Nov. 11, there will be a Veterans Day luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in DePaul Center Room 11018. On Friday, Nov. 12, there will be a game night with pizza from 12 to 2 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 13, there will be a Salute to Service basketball game at Wintrust Arena at 5 p.m. Veterans who attend the basketball game will get in for free and are encouraged to sit in the student section to meet other student veterans. There will also be a recruitment table at the event. “We generate different events but try not to limit it to just veterans,” Cooper said. “Students could have family [members] that are veterans too. We encourage all students to take advantage of the events. We definitely try not to exclude anyone because of that connection and we try to acknowledge that.”
FLAG PHOTO | MADDY MAES | THE DEPAULIA
COURTESY OF LIAM TURMAN | PHOTO
Army ROTC cadets stand at attention during the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of DePaul’s Veteran’s Luncheon in 2015. Veteran Student Affairs offers a number of resources and programs to the university’s military-affiliated students.
SCHEDULE OF STUDENT VETERANS UNION EVENTS NOV. 8 NOV. 9 NOV. 10 EVENT: ULTIMATE FRISBEE LOCATION: THE QUAD TIME: 4 TO 6 P.M.
EVENT: MOVIE NIGHT LOCATION: DEPAUL CENTRAL 11007 TIME: 4:30 TO 7 P.M.
EVENT: GAME NIGHT LOCATION: DEPAUL CENTRAL 11007 TIME: 4 TO 6 P.M.
NOV. 11
NOV. 12
NOV. 13
EVENT: LUNCHEON LOCATION: DEPAUL CENTRAL 11018 TIME: 11 A.M. TO 2 P.M.
EVENT: GAME NIGHT AND PIZZA LOCATION: DEPAUL CENTRAL 11007 TIME: 12 TO 2 P.M.
EVENT: SALUTE TO SERVICE BASKETBALL GAME LOCATION: WINTRUST ARENA TIME: 5 P.M.
DEPAUL STUDENT VETERANS UNION | SOURCE
Turman said he is excited for the upcoming week and is grateful DePaul allows student veterans to have spaces where they can host the events. “DePaul does make you feel like you are doing the right thing getting your degree here,” Turman said. “It’s fully covered, you don’t pay out of pocket, they make sure that they use your benefits to the ‘T’ correctly, there’s a great community here, resources that Loyola and Northwestern do not offer, and you get an excellent education here. DePaul is a very very good school that makes a small community, veterans are less than 1 percent of the U.S. population, feel bigger than that. [DePaul] makes us feel like our sacrifice was worth something.”
KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA
COURTESY OF LIAM TURMAN | PHOTO
Sophomore Liam Turman, Student Veterans Union president, stands with a friend.
16 | La DePaulia. The DePaulia. Nov 8, 2021
La DePaulia
Nuevo proyecto de arte recuerda la experiencia de los estudiantes durante el COVID-19
FOTO CORTESIA DE JOCELYN DIAZ | LA DEPAULIA
By Jocelyn Diaz Assistant Multimedia Editor, La DePaulia
El programa de arte llamado, La pequeña escuela debajo de la “L”, es una serie de murales debajo de la estación Fullerton CTA. Cada pilar retrata visualmente la historia de la Universidad DePaul a través de figuras prominentes como el tercer presidente de la Universidad DePaul, el reverendo Francis X. McCabe, C.M. Iniciado hace seis años y actualmente dirigido por el hermano y Coordinador de aprendizaje de servicio Mark Elder, los pilares son creados y desarrollados por ART 291, una clase de arte ofrecida por la Universidad DePaul. “Hay más o menos dos docenas de [pilares] que deberían contar adecuadamente nuestra historia [de DePaul] de pilar en pilar”, dijo Elder. “Cuanto más te acercas al [edificio] Belden, más históricos son, cuanto más al norte vas, encuentras que los temas son más oportunos y se tratan del presente”. En el pasado, la clase ART 291 viajaba por toda la ciudad para trabajar en murales como The Mural at 91st St. ubicado en el lado sur de Chicago en colaboración con SkyART, un programa de artes visuales sin fines de lucro. Sin embargo, debido a un cambio en la población estudiantil, la comunidad decidió que sería más conveniente que las clases trabajaran en piezas más locales. “Cada clase de ART 291 ha estado tratando de ayudarme a fabricar estos
FOTO CORTESIA DE JOCELYN DIAZ | LA DEPAULIA
Los estudiantes preparan el pilar conmemorando a sus experiencias durante el Covid-19 debajo de la parada de tren fullerton.
Estudiantes de la clase ART 291 Universidad de DePaul preparan un mural para conmemorar sus experiencias con el Covid-19.
“Con solo mirar a nuestro alrededor y ver cómo nos afectó en la universidad y todos los cambios que tuvimos que hacer durante el año académico, la gente estaba realmente golpeada, pero tuvimos que responder”
Mark Elder
coordinador de aprendizaje de servicio pilares que ven debajo del estación Fullerton CTA, y vienen de una idea específica de que debería servir a la comunidad de alguna manera”. Esto a su vez fue la motivación para la creación del programa La pequeña escuela debajo de la “L”, debajo de la “L” en 2015. Esto llevó al hermano Mark a buscar una oportunidad para explorar proyectos que beneficiarán y simbolizarán la universidad “de una manera que los estudiantes puedan aprender de la experiencia de trabajar con nuevos materiales y la noción de que estarían contribuyendo a los diversos diseños de los pilares particulares que encontraron ese año ”, dijo Elder. Para decidir cuál será el tema principal del año, las reuniones del ayuntamiento se llevan a cabo y se anuncian en varios medios de comunicación como The DePaulia y están abiertas a la comunidad de DePaul.
reuniones “Tengo en el ayuntamiento”, dijo Elder, “Cuando comenzamos el proyecto por primera vez en el otoño de 2015, y lo anuncié, tuvimos un agradable almuerzo y dejamos que la gente hablara”. Los estudiantes se reúnen en estas reuniones públicas organizadas por DePaul para expresar sus opiniones sobre lo que sería un tema relevante para cubrir a través de un pilar. Los comentarios de la comunidad de DePaul se escuchan en estas reuniones y crean un pilar que muestra lo que el público considera crucial para la historia de DePaul. Este año, la clase ART 291 se enfrenta a un tema que afectó a todos: Covid-19. “Como todo el mundo, nos afectó a todos este ataque llamado Covid-19”, dijo Elder, “Con solo mirar a nuestro alrededor y ver cómo nos afectó en la universidad y todos los cambios que tuvimos que hacer durante el año académico, la gente estaba
realmente golpeados, pero tuvimos que responder”. El pilar de este año incluirá formatos de “mascarillas” individuales que cada estudiante diseñará para representar su experiencia con Covid-19. Temas como enfermedades crónicas, muerte y salud mental son solo algunos de los problemas en los que los estudiantes están trabajando. Em Sicinski, un estudiante de cuarto año en la Universidad DePaul, está creando una pieza que conmemora a los trabajadores de la salud y a las personas que eligen vacunarse. “Mi hermana es enfermera”, dijo Sicinski. “Ver y escuchar todo lo que ha hecho inspiró mi mascarilla”. Diseñó una de sus mascarillas como una forma de agradecer a todos los que se vacunaron y también hizo una pieza para reconocer el impacto que los trabajadores de la salud han tenido en la pandemia. “Cada uno de estos pilares es como una cápsula del tiempo a su manera, y este pilar de COVID no es diferente a eso”, dijo Elder. “La clase ART 291 de este año tiene la oportunidad de encapsular sus propios recuerdos, buenos, malos o indiferentes, como lo que les afectó según Covid-19 ”. El pilar Covid-19 se instalará este trimestre de primavera y el próximo otoño será la finalización de este proyecto con 25 pilares en la colección. Este proyecto es un gran recordatorio del poder que tiene el arte para capturar nuestra experiencia colectiva vivida y contar una historia.
La DePaulia. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 17
La banda Divino Niño de Chicago desafía géneros y representa la escena musical indie
FOTO CORTESÍA DE @DIVINONINO | INSTAGRAM
Divino Niño es una banda bilingüe de Chicago que toca música indie rock.
By Jana Kunz Contributing Writer, La DePaulia
Los álbums de la banda bilingüe de Chicago, Divino Niño están llenos de canciones de amor alegres y maravillosas que te harán sentir como si estuvieras en un montaje de cámara digital en el verano—a pesar que nos acercamos al final del trimestre de otoño y nos acercamos al clima frío de Chicago. En la canción titulada Quiero, la segunda canción del álbum Foam, se nota el drama de las r’s arrolladas de Camilo Medina, vocalista de Divino Niño. Su entonación cautivadora en los versos en Español se complementan con los versos en Inglés. Adicionalmente, los coros son acompañados de otros versos en el fondo de la canción... ‘‘I don’t ever wanna change your mind I wanna be with you the way that you are’’ Los sonidos de la música de la banda Divino Niño incluye: guitarra eléctrica suave y funky, rasgueo acústico, ritmos contundentes y sintetizador elevado. Los sonidos combinan algo que no es tradicionalmente rock latinoamericano, ni del indie pop , sino algo nuevo e inexplorado. Se puede rastrear los comienzos de Divino Niño a las infancias de Javier Forero y Camilo Media, quienes cantan y tocan el bajo y la guitarra para la banda. Ellos pasaron sus primeros años juntos en Bogotá, Colombia, y luego se volvieron a conectar en Miami por casualidad, cuando sus familias se mudaron. Con la pasión compartida de la música, tocaron juntos para su mega-iglesia en Florida, pero la cultura allí era limitante. Finalmente, ellos decidieron expandir sus horizontes musicales, se fueron de la iglesia,
y viajaron juntos a Chicago para asistir al colegio y explorar una escena musical nueva, de acuerdo a WBEZ. Aunque ya no estaban cerca de su hogar en Colombia , sus raíces todavía están presentes en su mezcla de Español y Inglés en la letra y sonido de verano. “Me encantaría dar a la gente una pequeña vacación”, dijo Medina a WBEZ. La banda acaba de lanzar una nueva canción, llamada Drive, en 2021, y ellos están de gira ahora mismo con Crumb, banda estadounidense de indie rock hasta noviembre. Adrian Lara, 26, es empleado de mantenimiento y reparador de guitarras en Chicago. Él toca música, y conoció a los miembros de Divino Niño en 2018. Lara conoció a la banda a través de ir a shows, ayudarlos a cargar sus equipos de instrumentos y toparse con ellos, ya que viven en barrios cercanos. Lara vive en Hermosa y ellos viven en Humboldt Park. Él dijo que Divino Niño es único en parte porque los miembros tienen una larga historia juntos—es una experiencia diferente tocar la música con alguien a quien conoces muy bien. “No necesitas decirles, en esta parte [de la canción] tócala así. Solo les das una mirada, y ellos saben de lo que estás hablando”, dijo Lara. Lara es un inmigrante de segunda generación de México. Su madre es de Totoltepec Puebla y su padre es de Olinala Guerrero. La banda lo ayuda a sentirse conectado a su herencia. “Aprecio profundamente que ellos canten en Español. Es realmente genial ver que alguien está tratando de mantener sus raíces y hacer música que es bastante diferente de muchas cosas, incluso aquí en Chicago”, dijo Lara. Lara se describe a sí mismo como alguien que está realmente interesado en la música,
FOTO CORTESÍA DE @DIVINONINO | INSTAGRAM
Camilo Medina, vocalista de Divino Niño, cantando en el festival de música Pitchfork. y conoce a mucha gente similar en Chicago solo en ir a conciertos. Dijo que la banda está muy involucrada con la comunidad de música indie. “La escena indie allí es increíble, toda la gente se conoce. [Divino Niño] definitivamente está involucrado diferente aspectos en su música. Ellos ayudan a tanta gente, que es “asombroso “y muy necesario”, dijo Lara. Foam, el álbum más reciente, fue lanzado en 2019. Lara dijo que a medida que hacen más música, han crecido como músicos con su sonido único. “En su primer álbum, Pool Jealousy, las raíces latinoamericanas están muy presentes. Ese álbum está un poco más cerca de lo que la mayoría de la gente llamaría rock indie con influencias latinoamericanas”, dijo Lara. En los siguientes álbumes, él cambió al rock indie. “Con Foam, es tan evidente—estos son ellos, esta es su música, y es tan original e increíble”, dijo Lara. “Hay tantas capas diferentes e interesante música instrumental que se encuentran en su música que encajan perfectamente”. Gayun Cannon, estudiante de segundo año en la Universidad de DePaul con especialización en el negocio de la música, describe los géneros que cautiva la música de Divino Niño. “Tiene una especie de pop Latino, pero también tiene una sensación de pop de ensueño y pop psicodélico. Hay tanta reverberación en su música y es tan aireada”, dijo ella. Cannon ha tocado música desde que tenía cuatro años, y en el año pasado comenzó a escribir y publicar sus propias canciones. Vio Divino Niño en concierto por primera vez cuando abrieron para Crumb en Thalia Hall en el barrio de Pilsen en Chicago, y se enamoró
de su música y estilo. “El cantante principal—su baile me atrapó primero. Exudaba tanta confianza en el escenario. Me da la energía de Freddie Mercury”, dijo Cannon. “Pero entonces, su voz era hermosa e inesperada, era tan única. Algunas de las cosas que decía eran en Español, así que realmente no las entendí, pero era solo la forma en que las cantaba”. Bianca Brown, estudiante de segundo año de la universidad DePaul, por otro lado, se conectó con las letras en Español por sus raíces Mexicanas. Ella habla Español en casa porque su madre es de México. También escucha bandas latinoamericanas como Juanes Y cantantes Latinos como Bad Bunny. Después de escuchar a Divino Niño por primera vez, estuvo de acuerdo con Cannon y Lara sobre la energía de la banda, y dijo que su música se sintió un poco diferente a la que ella está acostumbrada—dice que da un sentido más juvenil. “Me gustan, porque parece que su música está hecha para personas de nuestra edad, un poco más que algunas de las otras canciones que escucho”, dijo ella. Beverly Bryan, en una reseña de Pitchfork sobre el álbum Foam, dijo algo parecido. “Foam, es un álbum de mentalidad progresista. Si sus referencias son nostálgicas, su espíritu no es … Foam demuestra que es posible tomar de todas partes, sin sonar como otra cosa”, dijo Bryan . La banda ofrece algo realmente nuevo—e inspira a una nueva generación de músicos, como Cannon, que ha sido influenciado por su creatividad y ejecución fluida. “Quiero que la gente sienta todo cuando escuchen mi música’’, dijo Cannon.
Arts & Life
18 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
Untitled (Forever), 2017 text stating: YOU ARE HERE, LOOKING THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, DARKLY, SEEING THE UNSEEN, THE INVISIBLE, THE BARELY THERE. YOU.
JIM SLIFE | THE DEPAULIA
THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. Art Institute exhibit takes on issues of capitalism and the feminist ideal By Amber Stoutenborough Arts & Life Editor
Barbara Kruger, famously known for her art in collages and graphic design prints, now has an exhibit in the Chicago Art Institute called THINKING OF YOU. I MEAN ME. I MEAN YOU. This exhibit will be at the Art Institute until Jan. 24 showcasing work throughout her years as an artist. Each room is filled with her block style calligraphy stating anti-capitalism and consumer quotes in bold red. You can hear the booming music as you walk up the stairs to the exhibit and are faceto-face with walls filled with content dating back to the early days of the internet to recent contemporary and global issues. The next room consists of bold black words stretching across the entire building to the floor, these statements consisting of feminist ideology carried on the conversation of women doing the invisible work needed in the world. Taylor Yarmie, an art student visiting the museum, was excited for the exhibit and felt the whole experience was moving and connected her to how the artist was feeling when creating these pieces. “I thought that was really powerful,” Yarmie said. “This is all about empowerment and reclaiming what was taken away from females or marginalized communities even. In that sense, she’s showing you that by art you can take control of these things.” One of the rooms called “Picturing ‘Greatness’” consists of famous photos all taken by renowned male artists. In the middle was a statement from Barbara Kruger discussing this issue with our subjective ideas of who can be “great” in the world of art and why in most cases it is strictly considered to be the “almost all are male and almost all are white” demographic. Another room within the exhibit has three screens, each displaying considerable important documents for the United States. One of the screens has the Pledge of Allegiance, one has wedding vows and the last is a will. Each typed out the wellknown statement except switching up
the words to form a more radical statement within the speeches.The pledge of allegiance, a mantra taught to American children for generations, changed its wording in a live display. The phrase “one nation” was changed to “one corporation,” among other replacements. In addition, “under God” was changed to “my God is better than your god,” as just one of the replacements as well. For Alison Gensmeyer, this piece was one of the highlights of her visit as she felt it spoke to the issues society commonly faces in everyday life. “My favorite piece was the pledge of allegiance,” Gensmeyer said. “I feel it perfectly sums up where America is in this day and age, I think the same goes with the portraits of digital media, it’s overwhelming but I think that’s the point.” Each room carried a new weight of difficult topics and created a discomfort for many people who were not expecting to be faced with these particular radical conversations. For Anita Parisi, the art was disturbing and left a bad taste to the rest of her museum experience. Parisi felt while the topic was important, the way it was portrayed made her uncomfortable. “I personally choose not to surround myself with those things because that is sad,” Anita Parisi said. “I can understand the need for this but when I want to come to see art necessarily, I want to feel joy through the art and that [Barbra Kruger exhibit] doesn’t set me free.” Parisi’s husband, Adam Parisi, didn’t feel as overwhelmed with the exhibit, but felt it was important to discover these experiences and reflect on them — even if they make you uncomfortable. “There are certain things that I came in for today that I really wanted to see,” Parisi said. “And that was it didn’t shock me as much as it shocked her, but it was something that I didn’t expect which is okay. It’s part of the reason we have art. It is supposed to awaken the senses.” One room in particular created discomfort among the masses, as the top of the entryway in large writing said “Please do not enter unless you consent
JIM SLIFE | THE DEPAULIA
The entryway to Kruger’s exhibit. Titled I SHOP THEREFORE I AM.
“This is all about empowerment and reclaiming what was taken away from females.”
Taylor Yarmie
Spectator of the exhibit to be pictured while pictureing. A phone/ camera is needed for entry. Thanks.” Inside the room, one wall read, “I hate myself and you love me for it.” The opposite wall read, “I love myself and
you hate me for it.” Like this room, the whole exhibition from Barbara Kruger forces you to face the uncomfortable in an artistic perspective about the realities of our lives.
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 19
From the classroom to the stage
Sophomore acting majors make in-person debut By Paul Cranley Contributing Writer
The halls of the Theatre School buzzed on Nov. 30 as acting majors prepared for their fifth and final Intro to Performance show. The series began on Nov. 22 and marks the first time that the class of 2024 has appeared to perform in front of DePaul audiences. Because underclassmen at the Theatre School are excluded from the casting pool for main stage productions, the shows devised for the class were the sophomores’ first shot at impressing the DePaul community. As the quarter began, students were organized into four casts and began devising the performances. Each cast, along with their directors, navigated this process differently. One group devised solely through discussion. Another created written pieces based on prompts and acting games. The overall goal was to find and capture “moments that could be shifted into storytelling,” said actor Zach Schnitzer. Throughout the process, actors shared stories and viewed the craft through new lenses. With the encourALENA HERNANDEZ | THE DEPAULIA agement of the directors, students reSophomore acting majors made their debut to the DePaul community in their final Intro to Performance show, their first in-person show flected on themselves and their experiences. Personal stories and emotions Adler, the performance centered around authenticated each scene. “It made me the pandemic lockdown. The show befeel close to everybody in our cast,” said gins at the outset of the COVID-19 cast member Mia Kendall. breakout and continues chronologicalOnce the actors felt they had what ly. The first scene is an elaborate piece they needed, the hard part began. Each wherein the actors shift around the stage cast of around ten students distilled exploring the question: “What is the last their mountains of ideas into eloquent, thing you remember from before the concise pieces. By Oct. 22, they were pandemic?” prepared for their debut. From there, scenes depicting lockThe variety and emotional complexdown life walk us through the mental ity of the shows blew DePaul audiences and physical effects of isolation. Graceaway. Each performance combined eleful dance and movement pieces return ments of movement and dialogue to deintermittently throughout the show, liver compelling messages about identireminding the audience of the actors’ ty, growth, mental health and more. versatility. The focal point of the perOne show, titled “Kaleidoscope,” emformance, unofficially titled “The Long braced variety on every level. Elements Depression Dance,” depicts “the turning of song, dance and speech kept the audipoint in lockdown,” Schnitzer said. “The ence on their toes as actors explored difshow then turns from a struggle for surferent topics that affected them. In one vival to how we can learn from [the panmoment, the audience held back tears as demic] and be grateful,” he continued. Sonya Coltin bid farewell to childhood. The cast’s method for devising the In the next, they howled as Daniel Mcshow included an assortment of strateNeill lip-synced “Cool for the Summer” gies. To learn each other’s strengths and in a hilarious office scene. weaknesses, director Rob Adler started Our guide through this adventure, them off with acting games and improlovingly nicknamed Carl Sagan, was ALENA HERNANDEZ | THE DEPAULIA visation. As the quarter progressed, the played by Reese Parrish. She describes cast would receive writing prompts ask- Sophomore acting majors made their debut to the DePaul community in their final Intro to the character as “an entity taking human ing them to reflect on the pandemic and Performance show, their first in-person show form to communicate.” The entity apthe emotions they experienced. “He was pears as a parent, god, guide and host, equipping us with the tools we needed to maintained the same free-form attitude. soliloquies or elaborate kinetic pieces. tying the intricate scenes together. create whatever we were going to create,” Jordan, a neo-futurist, allowed the show No matter how the actors chose to exAccording to Parrish, Carl Sagan is to remain improvisational. “It was more press themselves, every word and every Schnitzer said. an amalgamation of the cast’s ideas and The cast of “@shaelynn_falls tbh about working with what we knew the movement was completely original and stories — a reflection of the time spent you seem cool” adopted a more loosely actors were capable of, rather than re- true to the heart. devising the show. Next year, the sophomores will gradstructured approach to the creation pro- straining them to lines,” Williams said. As the class began, the “KaleidoThe performance navigated pressing uate from the small classrooms where cess. Their method involved long disscope” cast started crafting personal societal issues while maintaining a dethe Intro to Performance shows were cussions about identity and experience. manifestos. These manifestos expressed cidedly light and fun tone. Each actor held. Their talent will soon grace DeFor the cast, composed mostly of people each student’s reason for pursuing actwore pink as comedic scenes explored Paul’s main stage and reach new audiof color, this often meant reckoning with ing. “They were the starting point for the the issue of hypersexualization in our ences beyond the collegiate community. racially-predicated constructs in our show,” Kendall said. “As we kept devisgeneration’s media. Topics of identiUntil then, they will continue to hone society. “We started by discussing our ing, we got new prompts that made up ty also appeared throughout the piece their craft through devising and perdifferent lived experiences within these the rest.” The prompts which followed as every actor was given the chance to forming new and exciting pieces. identities,” explained actress Tryumph asked students to generate pieces relatspeak their truth. Williams. “It was very conversational.” ed to childhood, dreams, villains, news The Intro to Performance shows As the students discussed, director and more. The patchwork of ideas and captured the range of talent at DePaul’s Jasmine Jordan pointed out moments pieces quickly fused into a dazzling perTheatre School. Each student brought she felt were worth expanding on. These formance. something unique and meaningful to moments would come to comprise the Another show, “Untitled,” followed the table. Some delivered contemporary performance. a more classic formula. Directed by Rob monologues. Others indulged in grand As the show got on its feet, the cast
20 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
The Office Experience brings Scranton to Chicago By Nika Schoonover Print Managing Editor
It’s no longer enough to watch a TV show, fans now want to experience it. Located on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, The Office Experience allows fans of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and all its loved employees to experience the sets, props and humor associated with the show’s widespread popularity. The experience is created by Superfly X and Universal Live Entertainment in consultation with The Office’s U.S. creator Greg Daniels. The experience opened on Oct. 15 and will be open to the public until Jan. 17. ”We are delighted that Superfly X is presenting the world’s largest official interactive fan experience based on the beloved series, The Office,” Michael Silver, president of global business development for Universal Parks and Resorts, said in a press release. “Fans will not only relive memorable episodes from the series but will themselves be able to participate in some of its most iconic moments. The Office is more popular than ever, and we are thrilled that its millions of fans around the world will now be able to live the experience as well as view it on Peacock.” Superfly X is a global themed entertainment division of Superfly that was founded in 2020. The company previously brought the Friends TV show to life at the same location. The two-floor experience features 17 rooms with original props and costumes and set experiences that are modeled after the original show. As many first days begin, The Office Experience kicks off with taking an ID picture and receiving your employee identification card. Before visitors officially enter, they get to take their ID photo and receive their very own employment badge for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Then, there is an orientation session serving as
an introduction to the attraction and the company, complete with theme music from the show — bound to revive memories of binging the famous show for the first time. After orientation, visitors make their way through the Scranton Business Park, complete with original costumes and set pieces — including the Dundee Awards displayed in a glass case. Interactive exhibits such as The Office Experience are able to tap into the legacy of the show by invoking the sense of familiarity and kinship that is associated with its viewing experience. Most notably, the characters and the developed love viewers have for them are a key part of invoking those feelings in the interactive experience. “People love the characters because the characters are flawed,” Jamaal Orr, vice president of marketing at Superfly X, said of the important aspects of the Office Experience. “And I think when it comes to TV, specifically in film, people relate to the flaws of the characters but still able to kind of find like the loving nature, they have those moments where you kind of see the recognized humanity and love between the characters.” “I think those are really the things that people focus on and what makes them come back episode after episode,” Orr added. Elements of the characters are strewn throughout the exhibit. Visitors can look around each of the characters’ desks, and even listen to some of their voicemail messages. There are also multiple photo opportunities, including taking a picture of Kevin’s famous spilled chili and Michael Scott’s desk with his famous “World’s Best Boss” mug. The Office Experience is able to bring the showto life and is a must-see for any fan. The attraction is open until Jan. 17, 2021 with tickets available on their official website.
COURTESY OF CAROL FOX AND ASSOCIATES
The Office Experience is a two-level interactive experience with 17 rooms that includes original costumes and props and sets modeled after the original show.
COURTESY OF CAROL FOX AND ASSOCIATES
Some of the rooms are recreations of the Office sets, including reams of Dunder Mifflin paper.
Let me plan your date: a historic night of jazz By Amber Stoutenborough Arts & Life Editor
If you are tired of sports bars and want to impress your date with a classic Chicago jazz club, plan your next outing at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge. Combine live New Orleans-style jazz, 1910s prohibition style with Chicago’s mob history and you’ve got one of the best dates in Uptown. Its popularity is in part due to its historical appeal; the lounge was
a notorious speakeasy owned by “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn, an associate of Al Capone. Capone even had a special booth that allowed him to keep an eye on both entrances while enjoying the show. To Al Capone, this was the best seat in the house. You can see his quote on the wall today and the rumored trap door that he used to sneak out of. Some of the most famous jazz singers have performed here, including Billie Holiday and Tommy Dorsey. Open seven days a week from
4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Green Mill is one of the oldest continuously running — up until the pandemic — jazz clubs in the country. The Green Mill is different from the usual happy camper, no cocktail list, no credit cards and no reservations. This club does not play around but consistently holds an intriguing vibe for a perfect evening.
AMBER STOUTENBOROUGH | DEPAULIA
Green Mill Cocktail Lounge transports visitors back to 1920, in which it served as a speakasy during prohibiton
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 21
“The Art of Banksy” in Chicago Anonymous artist captures Chicago’s attention with unauthorized exhibition By Lily Lowndes Social Media Editor
While his true identity remains a mystery, the graffiti artist known only by the mononym Banksy has risen to international acclaim. Little is known about the artist save for speculations about his place of birth (Bristol, England) and his penchant for social commentary displayed through his art. Pieces like “Save or Delete,” “Rage, The Flower Thrower” and “Di-faced Tenner” are responses to deforestation, the Palestinian conflict and the royal family’s treatment of Princess Diana. As the artist no longer publicly sells his work – he still creates public displays – Banksy enthusiasts and collectors have come together to create “The Art of Banksy,” an unauthorized exhibition of over 80 Banksy originals with an estimated total worth of $35 million. The exhibition made its way to Chicago in August and had its final showing in the city Sunday. While they are widely shared on the internet, Banksy fans had the chance to see authentic pieces that would normally never have been shown to the public. Banksy may be known for his graf-
fiti, but the anonymous artist works in a LILY LOWNDES | THE DEPAULIA multitude of mediums. He has produced Banksy’s “Rage, the Flower Thrower,” also known as “Love is in the Air” disa documentary, book, postcards, album played in gold frames. covers, a theme park and at one point, owned his own print shop called Pictures who narrated the er and co-founder of Pictures on Walls, on Walls. audio tour of the exhibition, all proceeds were displayed across the gallery. All of these works and more were are going to Love Welcomes, a charity Eine provided anecdotes about his on display at “The Art of Banksy” exhi- that Banksy has publicly endorsed. The time spent working with Banksy, notabition. The collection contained pieces organization supports female refugee ar- bly choosing to omit the artists’ name, spanning over twenty years of Banksy’s tisans by selling their works. censoring it himself by voicing the word career, including works from gallery Banksy’s artistry is not solely defined ‘bleep.’ showings, screenprint runs and memora- by graffiti. The anonymous painter has Banksy’s commitment to anonymity bilia from his public art stunts. produced a documentary, book, post- is a part of his appeal to fans. Upon walking into the exhibition, cards, album covers, a theme park, and “Most artists want their works to be visitors were greeted with a stenciled at one point, owned his own print shop famous and to become famous themstatement reading “At this point it is called Pictures on Walls. selves,” said Jackie Xu, a visitor of the exworth clarifying, Banksy himself has givJuan Davis, a native of Compton, hibition. en no acknowledgement about this exhi- California, and longtime Banksy fan flew She noted that it was admirable that bition, nor does he endorse or authorize out from Los Angeles to Chicago to see an artist using such a public medium it in anyway.” the exhibition. It was everything that he leads such a private life. Nicholas Fasolt, a visitor at the exhi- expected it to be, snapping photos and Despite “The Art of Banksy” showing bition, was surprised at the high cost of taking home prints in the gift shop. the largest collection of his art assembled, the exhibition. “It was great; it had everything,” said the artist has not publicly commented on “It was overpriced, which seems Davis. “The only thing I thought might the exhibition. counter to Banksy’s message,” said Fasolt. be there that wasn’t was the Simpsons Perhaps Banksy is offering his silent Tickets for “The Art of Banksy” run collab. I thought they might show it on approval, or perhaps his silence is not a from $55 to $70. In comparison, Banksy’s a TV screen.” statement at all but a continuation of his public art installations are free to view. While Banksy’s opening “couch gag” commitment to privacy. The exhibition, however, was not cre- sequence was not shown, video interated for profit. views with Ben Eine, video interviews According to Ian Ellis, the curator with Ben Eine, Banksy’s screen print-
Kirsten Stewart shines as Diana in ‘Spencer’ Lauren Coates Staff Writer
Diana Spencer, or “the people’s princess,” is without question one of history’s most beloved leading ladies. From “The Crown” to “Diana: The Musical” and a baker’s dozen of documentaries and tell-alls in between, the Princess of Wales is no stranger to Hollywood’s gaze. The latest film to tackle Diana’s tragic and iconic legacy is Pablo Larraín’s “Spencer,” a chamber drama that follows Diana’s increasingly tenuous weekend with the British royal family over Christmas. Though Larraín has found previous success in telling the stories of tragic historical women (particularly with 2016’s “Jackie”), “Spencer” misses the mark — a heavy-handed, uninspired look at Princess Diana’s life that’s anchored around a performance by Kristen Stewart that’s so insipid, it borders dangerously on parody. By staging “Spencer” as a tense, character-driven drama that serves as a quiet slice of life — as opposed to more sweeping look at Diana’s tumultuous time as a member of the royal family — the film puts nearly all of its eggs in the Kristen Stewart basket, relying on her force as an actress to transform Steven Knight’s script into the thoughts, words and feelings of the beloved Lady Spencer. It’s clear that Larraín had total faith in Stewart’s performance and felt more than comfortable letting the weight of the film rest on her shoulders, but in putting so much faith in Stewart, Larraín makes it incredibly difficult to look past the flaws in her performance. As the Princess of Wales, Kristen Stew-
art (best known for her leading turn as Bella Swan in the “Twilight” franchise) hits all the hallmarks of what we conventionally understand to be Princess Diana: She’s demure, unsophisticated and kindhearted, while simultaneously refusing to cave to the demands and traditions of the royal family and the institution they represent. However, there’s an unshakable element of insincerity in Stewart’s performance — though the hair and makeup design is top notch, Stewart never quite disappears into the role, and it feels very much as if we’re watching Stewart and Larraín’s idea of how Diana acted as opposed to Diana herself coming alive on the screen. In the same vein, the entire film takes this approach for virtually every element of Diana’s life — from her clothes to her inner turmoil to her iconic quotes, Larraín’s vision of Diana plays out less as an intimate, revelatory look at her innermost thoughts and feelings in a time of great strife, and instead makes certain to hit every mark and signifier that made Diana so famous and so beloved. Her gentle speaking voice and introverted body language, hallmarks of her public persona, are laid on so thick at certain points it almost feels like a “Saturday Night Live” take on Diana. Is it true to who Diana was? Sure — all the staples of Lady Spencer are here, and everything from Kristen Stewart’s imitation of her lilting voice to the specificity of the costumes feels clinically designed to replicate Diana and garner critical acclaim. But for all the time that the film spends showing us just how well it’s able to recreate Diana, Larraín doesn’t seem interested in exploring anything particularly compelling about who she was,
PHOTO FROM IMDB
Kirsten Stewart acting as Diana in the new movie ‘Spencer’.
or taking a fresh set of eyes to a now wellknown story. Other than beating a comparison to Anne Boleyn into the ground, “Spencer” feels as if it has nothing to say about its subject, nor does it attempt to recontextualize or think critically about her life and tragic death in a new light. She remains the people’s champion — the delicate English rose — while the royal family are practically twirling their moustaches as the looming villainous presence in her life. Are the royals deserving of such a portrayal? Certainly — but it’s not news that the royal family treated her poorly, and rehashing what most audiences likely already know about her poor treatment doesn’t make for a very compelling film. Narratively, “Spencer” is small in scope yet aimless. Though we’re apparently watching Diana slowly come to the decision that she’s going to leave Charles, most of the film spends its time following Diana as she picks
out what to wear, vomits up her meals and chases after dreamlike spectres of the aforementioned Anne Boleyn. The film at times shimmers with promise when it frames her story in contrast to the staff of Sandringham House, including chef Darren (Sean Harris), page Allistair (Timothy Spall) and dresser Maggie (Sally Hawkens), but those moments aren’t substantial enough to create any semblance of a compelling narrative. Though Claire Mathon’s breathtaking cinematography paints the entire film in soft hues reminiscent of an impressionist portrait, the beauty of “Spencer” remains frustratingly skin deep — echoing how little it explores the woman at its center. Unfortunately for Larraín, though, beautiful visuals does not a good film make, and “Spencer” is little more than a cliche-ridden examination of a beloved public figure predicated on a valiant but misguided performance from Stewart.
22 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
DIY Decor: Turn your walls into works of art By Leslie Williamson Contributing Writer
For Rafia Afzal, decorating her apartment bedroom is about more than just making a space look nice — it’s about expressing herself. But the graphic design major doesn’t need nice furniture or expensive accessories to make herself feel at home. She uses her love for art and keen eye for design to create a space all her own by collaging her walls with magazines, art prints and even old DVDs. Afzal, a Junior at DePaul, couldn’t imagine herself living in an undecorated space. “That would be awful,” she said. “I did that for so long. Like, ‘Oh, I’m definitely a minimalist.’ And then I started collaging my old wall at home and I was like: ‘This is so much fun — I’m gonna fill my room.’” Afzal’s bedroom wall looks artsy even from afar, but inspecting the details up close is like poring over a “Where’s Waldo” illustration littered with endless small discoveries. Funky quotes, pictures of stylish people torn from magazines and vintage microcassettes are just some of the treasures on display. “I like to start in a corner and then just kind of creep my way across the wall — I don’t like to start in the center,” is the advice she gives to beginner collagers. Many of the items on her walls are things she holds dear, like photos of friends, an art print that reminds her of her family in Pakistan and a painting she made herself. But starting a project like this doesn’t have to be filled with meaning or meticulously planned out. A good part of her collage, she says, is purely for fun.
“If it’s cool, I just cut it out,” she said, finding inspiration in anything from magazines and books to business cards. You don’t have to be a graphic designer to create a space that’s both true to you and aesthetically pleasing. Even for less creative types, do-it-yourself decorating can be both easy and rewarding. Jul Reynoso, a sophomore at DePaul, moved into her apartment about six months ago. She said she’s still in the beginning stages of decorating, but her space is already starting to feel like home. The first thing she did in her new space was put up pictures of her friends she took at her high school graduation. She’s surrounded herself with images that are close to her — posters from her favorite TV shows, her favorite bands and a meaningful quote. “It’s a simple sentence, but it’s a part of me,” she said. “‘Never give up.’ It’s been there since I got here.” Zilva Asif, another sophomore at DePaul, treats her walls like a museum of her favorite experiences. “I collect things, so if I go out and there’s tickets, I smack them on the wall,” she said. “It looks messy, but I think there’s a method to the madness.” Her collection started back in high school, and that mural of experiences has grown and traveled with her to her room in college. Collecting old tickets is just one example of how decorating doesn’t have to be expensive. Both Afzal and Reynoso raved about the cheap finds that thrift stores can hold. Making collages is especially budget-friendly thanks to how it turns old pages and knickknacks into new statements. Reynoso even collects the tags from her favorite brands of clothing to display on her walls.
LESLIE WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA
Just one corner of Afzal’s bedroom decor features old newspapers, vintage records and a detailed collage of words and images pulled from thrifted magazines.
LESLIE WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA
Old postcards, a canvas she painted herself, letters from friends and even clothing accessories all make up the collection of art on Afzal’s walls.
From family photos to vintage vinyls, it doesn’t matter what you use to decorate. What’s most important about the process of collaging a wall is how the space ultimately feels. “The process is super comforting to
me — sometimes I just do it to de-stress,” Afzal said. “And the end product makes me feel really good ... I flop back on my bed and I look up at my handiwork. It makes me feel so good inside, like this is my space.”
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 23
Something for thee hotties
Megan Thee Stallion’s latest project treats her local fanbase By Chinyere Ibeh Staff Writer
Megan Thee Stallion released her latest compilation album, “Something For The Hotties,” on Oct. 29, intending for it to be a special thank you to her fans, or “Hotties.” The album begins with “Tuned In Freestyle,” a freestyle which highlights how even the rapper’s haters tune in to what she is doing. She refers to them as “secret Hotties,” which I found amusing. She puts it in perspective by saying, “If I were worried about y’all...how y’all [are] worried about me, I’d be [messed] up, too.” The freestyle rides on a fast-paced percussive beat. “Megan Monday Freestyle” follows up with someone humming as part of the beat. This freestyle features many clever one-liners. She brags about how people have been hooked since “Big ‘Ol Freak,” which was one of her first hits back in 2018. She also takes a shot at the media and crazed fans with a reference to ABC’s hit show “Scandal,” saying: “I must be Olivia Pope with how y’all keep putting me in scandals.” The next song comes in the form of a short interlude called “Trippy Skit.” The interlude features Juicy J going on about Megan Thee Stallion while smoking weed, which is on-brand for the Memphis rapper.
PHOTO FROM WIKI
Cover from Megan Thee Stallion’s new album, “Something for thee hotties,” released Oct. 29
Another freestyle, titled “Southside Freestyle,” has Megan talking about her Southern roots. In it, the rapper shouts out her mother and grandmother, who both died within a month of one another. She raps, “I’m goin’ hard for my mama, she knew I could do it // I pray every day just to prove it // I goin’ hard for my granny, she want it, she have it.” Not only does she shout out her mother and grandmother, she talks about how her career essentially skyrocketed, rapping “Man, I done took off...I’m outta here.”
I’m on a ship, outer space, I’m a rocketeer.” She also brags about her success while mentioning the haters that come along with it. “Outta Town Freestyle” has the Houston rapper serving more punchlines, many of which showcase her confidence. One of my favorite lines out of this freestyle has to be: “They should call me Dr. Miami because I body them.” “Something For The Hotties” has Megan riding each and every beat effortlessly at the speed of light. Each song and freestyle features the various things that
Megan likes to talk about — sexual freedom, self-confidence, her riches and successes and her pimping energy. One of my favorite songs has to be “All Of It” because it gave me a sense of nostalgia. The song reminded me of the songs of the early 2010s with its simple, smooth and chill vibe. Even though there is plenty of bass, the angelic beat of the song took me back to a time earlier in my life. “All Of It” discusses how Megan wants to be extremely successful and bask in the fruits of her labor. In the chorus, she says she wants to date a scammer, and she shouts out JT from the City Girls, who had gone to jail due to participating in credit card fraud. The last entry on the album is a 52-second thank you to Megan’s fans called “To Thee Hotties.” The thankyou note tops off the compilation and it’s a perfect ending, as the fans helped the rapper get to where she’s at now. She appreciates her fans and decided to give back to them with this compilation. The bass-bumping, smooth-riding album showcases the fiery talent of Megan Thee Stallion. It’s only been three years since “Big Ol’ Freak” and the rapper has already left a huge stamp on the music industry. Her presence in the rap game is a force to be reckoned with, and “Something For The Hotties” only proves that.
Notable Upcoming Game Releases
Showings at the Music Box Theatre
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition Nov. 11 Remastered editions of “Grand Theft Auto” titles “Grand Theft Auto III,” “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” and “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” will be dropping on Nov. 11 as part of Rockstar’s “Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition.”
Gravity Nov. 10 Arguably one of the most important directors working today, Alfonso Cuarón’s 2013 space thriller “Gravity” will be receiving a 35mm screening at the Music Box on Nov. 10. A portion of ticket proceeds will be put towards Chicago Public Schools Student Science Fair, Inc.
Battlefield 2042 Nov. 19 The highly anticipated latest entry in DICE’s legendary sandbox shooter series — “Battlefield 2042” will be releasing on Nov. 19.
The Lodger Nov. 15 See and hear Hitchcock as never before — the master of suspense’s 1927 thriller “The Lodger” will be showing at the Music Box on Nov. 15 with live musical accompaniment provided by keyboardist Maxx McGathey and his trio.
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Dec. 7 This 2013 MMORPG has kept neck-and-neck with genre titans such as “World of Warcraft” and even Amazon Games’ recent “New World,” and is still going strong through into 2022. Catch the latest expansion pack, “Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker,” on Dec. 7.
Fargo Nov. 16 The Coen brothers’ iconic thriller “Fargo” will be showing at the Music Box on Nov. 16. Todd Melby, author of “A Lot Can Happen in the Middle of Nowhere: The Untold Story of the Making of Fargo,” will be in attendance for a post-screening Q-and-A.
Halo: Infinite Dec. 8 343 Industries’ latest foray into the world of “Halo” will be releasing on Dec. 8. For the first time in the series’ history, the game’s multiplayer component will be free-to-play.
The Sound of Music Nov. 26 Hollywood maestro Robert Wise’s classic 1965 film “The Sound of Music” will be receiving a series of screenings at the Music Box starting on Nov. 26. A costume contest and guided vocal warm-up will precede each sing-along showing of this beloved musical. BRANDON SUN YECHOUT | THE DEPAULIA
24 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
St.Vincent’s
D e JAMZ
“Spinning fresh beats since 1581” By Amber Stoutenborough Arts & Life Editor
It’s that time of the year again! Cuffing season has begun and nothing is better than making a playlist full of cheesy love songs. If you are unfamiliar with the term, cuffing season is the period of time in late October early November when people start to get into relationships. It’s commonly known to correlate with the holiday season so you aren’t alone for the big 3; Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. This DEJAMZ is all about the beginning of relationships and the process of getting “cuffed.”When I think of the beginning of relationships I always relate it to classic love songs as shown in this DEJAMZ.. Is you or is you (aint) my baby- Dinah Washington “I wanna walk up to your gate and see
if we can make this straight.” A very blatant question carried through generations of women tired of waiting to be asked out. Dinah is basically asking “so what are we?”, the epitome question before the relationship starts. The big jazz band, the strong vocals it’s hard not to love this version from Dinah. It had to be you- Frank Sinatra Giving “When Harry Met Sally” vibes, Sinatra portrays a whole new side of the beginning of a relationship. “It’s new but I also always knew it was going to be you” trope is very famous in classic rom-coms. Hence, I feel it would be ridiculous not to include Frank Sinatra when talking about honeymoon fever as nobody says it quite like Frankie. A Sunday kind of love- Etta James Etta James is not down for tinder hookups and ghosting. She wants the real relationship and this song eloquently portrays her expectations before getting together. We love
Crossword
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKI
a woman who knows what she wants and James’ hypnotic voice carries us into a dream like the end of a Disney movie. Put your head on my shoulder - Paul Anka High school romance and puppy love come to mind whenever I hear this song. You’ll want to slow dance with someone to this song. The nervous tension before asking her out, simple and tender acts of kindness to show you care all wrapped into one song. “Maybe you and I will fall in love.” In just a few simple lines Anka perfectly reflects the ideas of your first love and the start of relationships. If I give my heart to you (will you handle it with care) - Doris Day and The Mellomen. The constant reassurance to want the beginning of the relationship to stay the same and never waiver. Day describes in this song
how she doesn’t want to date unless he’s true and throughout the song tells him she won’t give her heart until he promises to handle it with care. I feel this portrays the importance of how so many relationships start perfect but soon stop giving each other the attention needed to keep the relationship happy.
ACROSS
DOWN
1. Suitable 4. Sculptor’s piece 8. Breakfast staple 12. Informal greeting 13. “Hang ___ your hats” 14. Gallop 15. Bank amenity, for short 16. Go wild 17. Fairy tale fiend 18. Kind of bean 20. Made comfortable 21. Common flag symbol 23. Go on a shopping spree 25. One of the Barbary States 27. Created a lap 28. Battering device 31. Misused 33. Longfellow’s equestrian 35. Sweet potato 36. Apprentice 38. Breaks in relations 39. Fajita filler 41. Luxurious 42. Southern breakfast dish 45. Dressed to the ___ 47. Delicate fabric 48. Glazier’s item 49. Austrian peak 52. Perched on 53. Expires 54. Get prone 55. Staffs 56. After the hour 57. Resting place
1. Revelation response 2. Cat or canary 3. Eardrum 4. Brought into being 5. Hand and foot 6. Bends over 7. New walker 8. Vast 9. ___ to riches 10. Field measure 11. Grant basis 19. Flower with a bulb 20. Become a contestant 21. Doggy directive 22. Marching band member 24. Listener 26. Splinter groups, often 28. Rejections 29. Crafts partner 30. Fine screen 32. Rightful 34. Offensive 37. One of a bunch 39. Measures 40. Varieties 42. Rock genre 43. Pro follower 44. It’s clicked on a computer 46. Home, informally 48. Spirit 50. Pouter’s protrusion 51. Royal insomnia cause
Sports
Sports. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 25
Volleyball: Donna Brown’s presence has been felt since day one By Darcy Waskiewicz Sports Editor
When Donna Brown approaches the volleyball net for a hit, the team on the other side has mere seconds to prepare before her 6’2” frame is leaping in the air to connect with the ball to complete the hit. And with 684 career kills, she often finds success. A senior and middle blocker on the DePaul volleyball team, Brown has spent all four years of her collegiate career as a Blue Demon. However, while volleyball plays a large role in her life today, it was not the sport she had intended to play growing up. A native of Galloway, Ohio, Brown’s athletic life centered around soccer and basketball. She never considered playing volleyball until her god-sister suggested she give volleyball a try because of her tall height. “I didn’t really see other tall women, especially where I’m from,” Brown said. “So, going to tournaments, it was amazing to see other tall women in it like me. It empowered me.” Therefore, Brown began playing for club teams in her freshman year of high school, became serious about volleyball and found her way to DePaul in 2018. However, volleyball wasn’t what originally drew Brown to DePaul. She originally visited Chicago for an orchestra trip and fell in love with the city, so she visited DePaul and loved the diversity across the school. Brown joined the Blue Demons her freshman year and made an immediate impact. She played in 98 sets and finished with 173 kills — placing her in third on the team — and 47 blocks.
KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA
Middle blocker Donna Brown leaping in the air to hit the ball against UConn on Oct. 24. Head coach Marie Zidek, who has been Brown’s coach for her entire DePaul career, saw Brown come in as a freshman and was impressed with how Brown began her collegiate career. “She came in right away as a freshman and had to play right away,” Zidek said. “We had to win by committee, so she had to come in and not just play, but be an impact player right away. Obvious-
ly, everybody wants to play until they get in a 30-match season, and they realize how hard it is to play at this level, and so I think Donna’s done a nice job leveling up.” Brown’s impact did now slow down after her freshman year. In the 2019 season, she played in all 30 games and totaled 250 kills, 101 blocks and 67 block assists.
In the 2020 season, which was shortened due to Covid, she had 72 kills, 48 blocks, which placed her in seventh in the Big East conference, and 33 block assists in all 45 sets. “She’s able to bring such a tenacious level of volleyball but at the same time she jokes around with the younger players and makes everyone feel welcome,” Zidek said. “She’s really just turned into that total athlete, total student-athlete that you need, that you build your program around.” While she has has success on the court, the moments with her teammates over the years are what she considers to be her favorite memories. “It’s been really great to see her grow over the years,” graduate student and right-side hitter Emma Price said. “She has transformed into such a powerful player and such a leader on the court that it’s been fun to watch her fill the shoes as she’s grown up and take over.” However, with volleyball a central part of her life, Brown found it hard to keep that from consuming her entire identity, and she considers that her biggest challenge. But she was able to overcome that when she realized there is more to her than just that and fell in love with playing volleyball all over again. Now in her fourth year, Brown has 189 kills, 85 blocks and 67 block assists in 87 games, and is looking to enjoy her senior year while helping the Blue Demons make a push for the playoffs. “My faith is really important to me, so focusing on my faith and with that, I found so much freedom in playing,” Brown said. “Especially this year, this is probably the year I’ve played with the most freedom and just enjoying every single moment.”
Guide to Wintrust: what to know when attending DePaul games By Zach Elliott Contributing Writer
For the first time in months, fans of DePaul men’s and women’s basketball will flock to Wintrust Arena as the teams’ seasons kick off this week. As students and fans prepare to enjoy home games at Wintrust, there will be plenty of Covid-19 protocols to follow and amenities to enjoy on game day. As the new season commences, DePaul Athletics and Wintrust are determined to make games both safe and enjoyable. Before any protocols come into play, fans will need to grab a ticket. DePaul employees receive a 20 percent discount off full-priced tickets in lower-level and 200-level seating, and recent graduates — the last four classes — are potentially eligible for a 50 percent discount in 100-level sections. Current students may be in the lower-level student stand once admitted. In addition, groups of 10 or more can get discounted prices by purchasing group tickets, saving $5 to $10 each, depending on the section they are in. To get to a game, fans will either need to take the Red Line down to the CermakChinatown station and walk four blocks west or take the Green Line down to Cermak-McCormick, depending on where you are starting from. For those brave enough to drive, they can head to Wintrust’s Parking Lot A, B or
C, all located close to the arena. In Lot A, spots can be reserved ahead of time at a discount on the DePaul Athletics website. Currently enrolled students are also offered complimentary bus rides from the Lincoln Park Campus to Wintrust on gameday, and bus reservations can be made when purchasing a student ticket. Busses will arrive between an hour and 75 minutes prior to tip-off. Once at the game, all guests aged 2 and older are required to wear a face covering, and vaccination is strongly encouraged, but not mandatory. Doors will be open two hours before tipoff to reduce crowd size and tightly packed lines. All DePaul students and guests will enter a specified “student door” at the primary entrance on Indiana Avenue. A DePaul student ID is required for access to the student section as well. When entering the arena, the only things that fans can carry in are Wintrustapproved clear, plastic or vinyl bags, or anything needed for medical reasons. Fortunately, fans are allowed to bring in any sign or banner 2 feet by 3 feet or smaller. With safety still in mind, extensive cleaning procedures will be conducted in the arena prior to and during games, hand sanitation stations will be available on the concourses, and all concession stands and box offices will be cashless, thus requiring a debit or credit card for all purchases. Social distancing and masks will be encouraged
DARCY WASKIEWICZ | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul’s student section cheering for the basketball teams in their games on Thursday. and required, respectively, in all lines. Additionally, all seating and entrances are wheelchair accessible, and guests needing to purchase accessible seating can do so ahead of time. Wintrust is also sensory inclusive, so guests or families can register ahead of time to have access to things for the sensory-sensitive like headphones or fidget items. Once in the building, fans will find their seats out of the 10,387 at Wintrust or — if 10
to 16 people want to spring for it –—suites are available for single-game rentals at all men’s and women’s basketball games. Some health risk must be assumed at any indoor sporting event. With that being said, the Covid-combating protocols in place and the services Wintrust provides will allow DePaul basketball fans to feel as pre-pandemic as it has been in a while.
26 | Sports. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021
Club hockey sweeps weekend series against Lewis By Nate Burleyson & Darcy Waskiewicz Online Managing Editor & Sports Editor
DePaul took off on Friday night in a high-octane match with the Lewis University Flyers. Forward Zander Plotkin got the scoring going early, striking three minutes in to take a 1-0 lead. On an ideal night, DePaul could carry that lead forward and control the game. But, as anyone on the team knows, hockey rarely works that way. Goals began to slip in for Lewis. Two snipes and another goal put them up 3-1 by the end of the period. Despite the 3-1 deficit, DePaul didn’t look rattled going into the second period. Quickly in the period, Plotkin scored again, notching his second of four total points on the night. Again though, the goal is followed up by a blow to the Blue Demons. A Lewis player “snowed” DePaul goaltender Asher Motew, and the ensuing fight caused alternate captain Jake Bolger to be ejected from the game. Snowing is when a defender stops hard in the face of a goalie, shooting ice shavings into their face while they’re down covering a puck. “Bolger kinda had my back,” Motew said. Regardless of if the ejection was deserved, there wasn’t any time for DePaul to falter. After 4-on-4 hockey for two minutes as the Lewis player served his penalty, the Blue Demons had to kill the remainder of Bolger’s five-minute major. In what has become a pattern with the team — they were successful in the kill. From there, DePaul kept it tight, with Motew making a few solid saves himself, despite not having many shots get past the solid defense. Then, forward Brock Ash scored to tie things up with 4:50 remaining in the period. 50 seconds later, DePaul took a 4-3 lead into the final 20 minutes. DePaul took a lot of control in the second period. Their top lines were keeping the puck away from Lewis and finding their own scoring opportunities. Multiple breakaway chances for DePaul kept Lewis on their toes. Even with the loss of Bolger, the team was composed and came back to a rightful lead. Expanding on the lead in the 3rd period was nobody other than defenseman Michael Helf. Helf was getting more breakaway opportunities, taking the puck straight from a Motew pass and rifling it past the Lewis goaltender. With 14:46 left, DePaul just had to keep that 5-3 lead clean. Again though, just like Lewis’ lead in the first period wasn’t safe, fate struck again. A very long shot by Lewis forward Matthew Ernsting snuck past Motew to keep things interesting. A few minutes later, DePaul found themselves facing another penalty kill, which they swept away. Then, like most of the night, when it was 5-on-5 DePaul was a level clear above Lewis. Especially Helf, who caught a rebound on the left side and sent a scorcher into the top right corner of the net. “It felt pretty good,” Helf said. “I got off to a slow start, I think it was [Plotkin’s] shot and I got the rebound and it was an easy put back.” Finally, DePaul didn’t falter the rest of the game. They were able to battle back from the early deficit to win 6-4 in game 1 of the series. “I just think compared to how we started off the season when we got down
NATE BURLEYSON | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul Club Hockey defenseman Michael Helf skating with the puck against Lewis on Nov. 5. He had four goals on the weekend. and just got in our heads, we just kind of stayed loose, knew that we had it in us,” Motew said. “[Before] we had a big comeback win against Kentucky this season. We kind of know that we were able to do it.” DePaul’s Friday night win was their third straight victory. After over a year off the ice it’s shown now that the team is back in the swing of things. “We could have played better and we still won,” Plotkin said. “So I think we’re going into the next game pretty confident and ready to go.” The Blue Demons returned to face Lewis on Saturday night in a tight game that resulted in a 3-2 win for DePaul, their fourth straight win, with Helf scoring two of the goals. The Blue Demons came out flying from the first puck drop, and Helf landed the Blue Demons on the board 30 seconds into the game with a shot that flew past the Flyer’s goaltender and into the back of the net with an assist from Jackson Leptich. “[The start was] way better than yesterday,” captain and forward Jake Camp said. “We had a lot of energy and a lot going forth, much better start.” Lewis earned the first powerplay of the game as the Blue Demons went short-handed, but DePaul was able to kill off the penalty. The Blue Demons had a powerplay chance of their own when two Lewis players were sent to the penalty box, giving DePaul a 5-on-3 opportunity. However, the Blue Demons were not able to capitalize on it, and instead canceled out one of the power plays by receiving a penalty themselves. Neither team were able to do much with the chances and the first period ended with a 1-0 DePaul lead. “We’re a team that has first-period issues sometimes,” Motew said. “So, I thought it was kind of a big morale boost to go out there, get out of the first with a 1-0 lead and go from there.” Lewis got a power play halfway
DARCY WASKIEWICZ | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul Club Hockey celebrating after a goal against Lewis in their 6-4 win on Friday. through the second period, but the Blue Demons were able to kill it off. However, the Flyers were able to send a shot past Motew to tie the game at one with five minutes left in the second period. DePaul didn’t let that deter them, though, and when Lewis took a penalty late in the period, the Blue Demons jumped on the opportunity. And just seconds into the powerplay, Helf had his second goal of the game with under three minutes to go in the second period. The Blue Demons were not finished with their second-period attack on the Flyers. However, with under a minute left in the period, forward Tyler Marcelletti scored to put the Blue Demons up by two to enter the final period. DePaul and Lewis began the third period with vigor, and both teams were
much more aggressive in their play and hits. As a result, the Blue Demons ended up in the penalty box halfway through the period. DePaul’s penalty kill was strong all night, but they were unable to kill off the powerplay and the Flyers scored to shorten DePaul’s lead back to one goal. The number of penalties the Blue Demons took in the game is something both Camp and Motew think the team needs to work on. “We got some penalty troubles,” Motew said. “When we play 5-on-5, we’re one of the best teams in the league.” The Blue Demons take on Adrian University on the road on Nov. 12 and 13 before playing Aurora University on the road on Nov. 19 and at home on Nov. 20.
Sports. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 27 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, continued from back page “My mindset was to go in and dominate the offensive and defensive glass and then I’ll be able to score off getting rebounds, but unfortunately, I had a few fouls,” Morrow said. “But, other than that, it was dominating on offensive and defensive rebounds and then being super energetic as much as I could on defense.” By the end of the third quarter, DePaul had scored 32 points while Lewis had scored 14, and the Blue Demons led 82-48. Lewis began to challenge the Blue Demons in the fourth quarter and pressured their defense. However, the Blue Demons’ continued to add to their lead, and Lewis was never able to overcome it. By the end of the night, DePaul dominated Lewis in every category. The Blue Demons scored 21 points off of Lewis’ turnovers, while Lewis scored eight. DePal also had 76 points in the paint, 27 points off second chances and 26 points off the bench. Morrow finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Morris had 17 points and Rogers had 13 rebounds. “I think I’m learning the game more each and every day and getting better, so I’m understanding the concepts of rebounding, sharing the ball when needed, instead of taking extra dribbles or taking bad shots,” Rogers said. “Obviously, sometimes that’s going to happen, but I’m just trying to learn overall and be the best player I can be overall, not only for myself but for my teammates.” The regular season for the Blue Demons begins on Tuesday, when the team takes on Texas Southern at home. DePaul graduate Allie Quigley will be honored for her WNBA Championship win with the Chicago Sky.
MEN’S BASKETBALL, continued from back page Montevallo got the game back to a more manageable halftime deficit after closing on a 6-0 run to make it a 17-point game, 38-21. Taking some of that momentum from the final few minutes of the first half, the visitors used that to spurt a 10-0 run out of the intermission. DePaul didn’t record a made basket until nearly six minutes went past the second half. “I think we got to do a better job rebounding the basketball,” Stubblefield said. “We [gave] up 15 offensive rebounds — we [have] to be a more physical team that does a better job of rebounding the ball. And it’s too many turnovers, you can’t have 20 turnovers and be successful.” Even though DePaul managed to keep a healthy distance between itself and the visitors for most of the second half, the home side didn’t have the same cohesiveness on offense as it did in the first half. “I think we played with a little bit more defensive intensity in the first half,” Stubblefield said. “We were getting stops. When they started making a couple of baskets, we got sped up and we got to continue to play inside-out.” The Blue Demons committed 11 turnovers in the second half and only shot 26.2 percent from the field The Falcons, meanwhile, kept poking away at DePaul’s lead and eventually pulled within three, 66-63, with 36.1 seconds to play in the game. Stubblefield recognizes that the team still has to get better before Wednesday’s season opener against Coppin State. “We got to have better ball movement and just execution,” he said. DePaul was also without two key players, Ahamad Bynum and Jalen Terry, who are awaiting clearance from the
MADDY MAES | THE DEPAULIA
Women’s basketball forward Aneesah Morrow hustling for the ball while guard Sonya Morris looks on against Lewis on Thursday. NCAA to play this season. According to the athletic department, both of them are practicing and attending classes, but are not allowed to play as of yet. Stubblefield said he’s “very hopeful” to have both of them playing soon. As for the potential starting lineup
in the season opener, Stubblefield said he’s not sure yet who will be his opening five against Coppin State. “I’m sure we will be shuffling it up for the next couple of weeks trying to figure it out and figure out the best rotations,” he said.
Upcoming Events Women’s Basketball: -Nov. 9 vs. Texas Southern, 7 p.m. (home opener, Allie Quigley Night) -Nov. 12 vs. Loyola Chicago, 7 p.m.
Men’s Basketball:
-Nov. 10 vs. Coppin State, 8 p.m. (home opener) -Nov. 13 vs. Central Michigan, 5 p.m.
Volleyball:
-Nov. 12 at Butler, 10 a.m. -Nov. 14 at Xavier, 1 p.m.
Cross Country:
-Nov. 12 at the NCAA Midwest Regionals, Ashton Cross Country Course, Iowa City, Iowa
Club Hockey: MADDY MAES | THE DEPAULIA
Men’s basketball forward David Jones leaping to make a shot against Montevallo.
-Nov. 12 at Adrian, 4 p.m. -Nov. 13 at Adrian, 4 p.m.
Sports Basketball is back
Sports. The DePaulia. Nov. 8, 2021 | 28
Women tip off on Tuesday, men on Wednesday
NATE BURLEYSON | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul women’s basketball guard Lexi Held rises for a jump shot against Lewis in their 104-65 exhibition game win on Nov. 5. She had 14 points and 2 rebounds in the game.
Women’s basketball: DePaul breezes past Lewis in tune up game By Darcy Waskiewicz Sports Editor
DePaul women’s basketball dominated from the beginning as the team returned to Wintrust for an exhibition game against Lewis University. The Blue Demons defeated Lewis by a score of 104-65. Last season, the team split home games between Wintrust and McGrath-Phillips Arena, with no fans in the buildings due to Covid. Now back at Wintrust for the entire season, the Blue Demons are able to play in front of their fans once more. Made up of veteran players, the team is led by returning seniors and guards Lexi Held and Sonya Morris and graduate students
Deja Church and Dee Bekelja. Additionally, freshman Aneesah Morrow and Kaitlyn Ammons made their debuts as Blue Demons. Morrow, who’s sister is a junior forward on the team, dominated the game and finished with a game-leading 21 points. The Blue Demons claimed the lead early over Lewis — that only increased as the game continued. Morris landed DePaul on the board first with a 3-point jumper. However, the Blue Demons looked slow at the start, and the points went back and forth between the teams. The Blue Demons began to come alive later in the first quarter, and pulled ahead to take a 10-point lead. By the end of the quarter,
the Blue Demons were leading by 13-points and Held had six points. The second quarter was much the same. Everytime Lewis began to challenge the Blue Demons, they responded quickly and were able to take advantage of a few Lewis turnovers. By the end of the first half, the Blue Demons were leading 50-34. Held had 10 points, while Morris and Morrow had eight points each, while junior guard Darrione Rogers had eight rebounds and Morrow had six. However, while the Blue Demons controlled the game in the first half, they lacked a spark that head coach Doug Bruno noticed.
“I did not think we had great energy when the game started, I don’t think we had great energy throughout the first half, actually,” Bruno said. “I thought the second half was a much more energized third quarter.” DePaul came out flying in the third quarter, and the first three baskets were scored by Held, Church and Rogers. The Blue Demons did not allow Lewis to get close to them once in the quarter, and everytime Lewis tried, the Blue Demons increased their lead. In the quarter, Morris had seven points and four rebounds, while Rogers had nine points and three rebounds.
See WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, page 27
Men’s basketball: DePaul defeats Montevallo 67-63 in exhibition game By Lawrence Kreymer Editor-in-Chief
There were some bright moments. There were some ugly moments. In the end, DePaul sneaked by with a 67-63 exhibition victory over Division II opponent Montevallo at Wintrust Arena Thursday night. Under first-year head coach Tony Stubblefield, the Blue Demons came out firing in the first half, jumping out to an early 15-2 lead. Some of the early positive moments came from center Nick Ongenda, who had three dunks in the opening three minutes. He also made his impact felt on the defensive end, blocking a couple of shots. DePaul featured an almost entirely new starting lineup, with senior guard Javon Freeman-Liberty the only returner from last season. In the early going, the lineup did damage against an under-sized Montevallo team. It took the visitors over seven minutes before recording their second made basket. DePaul’s defense was swarming in the first half, deflecting passes, getting steals, leading to easy transition buckets. DePaul recorded 15 fastbreak points in the first half.
“We have got a lot of work to do,” Stubblefield said. “We got to get better and do a better job, we got to defend better.” Four players made their DePaul debut in the first half — Yor Anei, Philmon Gebrewhit, Brandon Johnson and Tyon Grant-Foster. Johnson only played four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, but the other three all played extended minutes. Anei made his presence felt in the paint, blocking two shots while also showcasing a nice touch around the basket that led to four points. Grant-Foster had a solid showing with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting but also turned it over four times. Gebrewhit, meanwhile, didn’t score in the first half but added two rebounds and two assists. DePaul received steady contributions from the entire team in the opening 20 minutes, with Freeman-Liberty and Ongenda each scoring 10 points. The Blue Demons’ largest lead of the game came late in the first half following a 7-0 run that put them up 36-13. David Jones and Freeman-Liberty both took over in the final few minutes of the half, scoring 13 of the team’s final 15 points before the break.
See MEN’S BASKETBALL, page 27
NATE BURLEYSON | THE DEPAULIA
Guard Tyon Grant-Foster prepares for his next move against Montevallo on Nov. 5.