Brothers Quay
These innovative animators offer insight to DePaul students page 16
Earth Day Celebrate being green and get a head start on Earth Week page 14 & 15
Volume #98 | Issue #21 | April 21, 2014 | depauliaonline.com
boston, still strong
By Haley BeMiller Nation & World Editor
One year ago on April 15, two bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three spectators, injured 264 people and rattled a city on one of its biggest days of the year. However, if you ask DePaul senior and Hopkinton, Mass., resident Paige Girardi how she feels about this year’s race, the response is overwhelmingly positive. “It’s going to be amazing and really special this year,” she said. Monday marks the 118th Boston Marathon and the city’s Patriots’ Day celebration. Boston residents, runners and others across the country have spent the past week remembering those affected by the actions of Chechen brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, But like Girardi, they’re also using this anniversary to honor the city whose resilience warranted the unforgettable slogan “Boston Strong.” Hopkinton, Mass. is 26.2 miles west of Boston and the location of the marathon’s starting line
every year. Marathon Monday is one of Girardi’s favorite days, and she even ran the race for charity in 2011. She remembers feeling shocked and heartbroken by the bombings, but this year, she remembers the city’s — and nation’s — spirit above anything else. “The sense of community was huge afterward, and I could feel it even though I wasn’t there,” she said. “This year especially, it’s going to be just monumental.” Girardi thought about going home for the race this year, but decided against it. However, she plans to watch it on television and might even go for a run to honor the occasion. “It’s just heartwarming to see that it’s still a priority around the country to be supporting Boston,” she said. In response to the 2013 attacks, Boston officials have worked to protect this year’s race. According to a press release from the Boston Athletic Association (BAA), the Boston Police Department will deploy an increased number of uniformed and undercover officers. Officials
Photo courtesy of AP
Boston Marathon runner Jessica Boucher places flowers at a memorial honoring the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings Sunday, April 20 in Boston. have also installed 100 security cameras along the Boston part of the marathon route. Large items such as backpacks have not been
banned from the event, but will be subject to search. The city has also provided immediate access to emergency
counseling for anyone affected. The Boston Public Health
See BOSTON, page 10
Activism at DePaul challenging, but present By Olivia Cunningham Contributing Writer
Proposed design of the new DePaul arena.
Photo courtesy of PELLI CLARK PELLI
Traffic studies for arena prove low impact for South Loop residents By Ben Gartland Asst. Sports Editor
Third Ward Alderman Pat Dowell and the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance unveiled new traffic studies last Monday that assured residents the new Bronzeville expansion would not add significant traffic to the South Loop area. The traffic studies looked at the main constituents to the new arena, in which DePaul men’s basketball is a major client. According to a traffic engineering consultant to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), Don Jakesch, most of the DePaul men’s
basketball season ticket holders are from the North Side of the city, so they will come off the expressways to get to the arena. “The neighborhood will not be a cutthrough for anything.” Jakesch said. The worries from South Loop residents were that the main streets around the new entertainment district would have an increase in traffic during events, however these studies suggest that there would not be many people coming from the South Loop area to attend games. The same study also suggested that most clients of
See ARENA, page 8
When DePaul students with a cause gather, their first act as student activists is fighting for the right to exist as a recognized group on campus. Before DePaul’s LGBTQ student group could work toward social gatherings or rallies, it first had to fight to even exist as an LGBTQ group at a Catholic institution. “So even the ‘non-political’ activities had their roots in political struggles,” Matt Muchowski, DePaul alum and student activism researcher, said. Muchowski has been researching DePaul students with causes since his years here from 2002 to 2006. It started as a credited independent study, but grew into a passion that kept Muchowski at the library well past class time. “I would spend whole days without breaking for lunch,” Muchowski said. “I blasted past their limit on photocopies, and eventually had to buy a laptop so I could take notes on what I could not take out of the room.” The library held the history of student activism from the 1910s Irish struggle for independence to 1960s Civil Rights to 1980s Anti-Apartheid. He even reached out to alumni involved in these movements. “It was great to meet with some of the people I was reading about, many of whom
were still active in progressive activism,” Muchowski said. He found that all their causes stemmed from the very identity of the school. “What is the role of a Catholic University in a Capitalist society?” Muchowski said. Former student activist and alum, Ben Meyer, sought to answer this question by forming a committee to make sure DePaul’s investments were for the greater good. “Through our conversations with DePaul administration we got them to set up a Fair Trade Committee,” Meyer said. Meyer was not only a FTC member, but an active student organizer for nine years, starting as an undergrad in 2001 till he graduated from Law School in 2010. His resume extends from Students Against the War in Iraq, to the Coca-Cola Boycotts with Muchowski, to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). “I knew a lot of people, and a lot of people knew me,” Meyer said. Meyer and Muchowski are currently working on their own causes, but still have ties to DePaul activism, forming new connections with the current hot button on campus, the Israel-Palestine conflict. The focus is on DePaul investment funds, and the debate on whether or not
See ACTIVISM, page 8