DePaulia
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Volume #106 | Issue #27 | May 31, 2022 | depauliaonline.com
FEST IS BACK, BABY LESLIE WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA
bbno$ performs as the opener for 2 Chainz at the first fest since 2019. In his iconic pink beanie, bbno$ raps “Lalala”, one of his most popular songs.
bbno$ rocks quad, talks career future By Lily L owndes Social Media Editor
Bbno$, pronounced baby no money, walked onto the FEST stage wearing a white tank top, white bomber jacket, pleated green pants and his signature pink toque — that’s what Canadians call a beanie. The Vancouver native was the opener for this year’s DePaul FEST. FEST is DePaul University’s annual end-of-the-year concert organized by The Office of Student Involvement (OSI) and DePaul Activities Board (DAB). It is one of the oldest music festivals in the city of Chicago, preceding Lollapalooza by six years. Although FEST was put on hold for the past two school years due to Covid-19 shutdowns on campus, the concert was brought back once again. Every year, both student performers and established artists are featured in the concert lineup. This year, the opener was Alexander Gumuchian, the man behind the rap persona bbno$. Bbno$ started out by making fun music with friends to upload on SoundCloud, until he found prominent success overseas in China and committed to launching his career. Since then, bbno$ has developed a cult following domestically and internationally. He’s found mainstream success, charting on Billboard and going viral on TikTok. His dedicated fanbase sports his signature pink toque at his shows, singing along to every word. A few toques could be spotted in the crowd as the sun started to set on the Lincoln Park quad ahead of bbno$’s set.
Students celebrate end of the school year concert
By Leslie Williamson Students gathered at the FEST barricade to get close to the Canadian rapper. His Staff Writer high-energy performance consisted of a mix of recent releases, including “matheAs a sea of students took over the quad matics” and “piccolo,” along with a selec- for a night full of music, DePaul reignited tion of songs made with his frequent col- a school tradition: for the first year since laborator and fellow rapper Yung Gravy. 2019, FEST was back. In an exclusive inOn Friday eveterview with The Dening, DePaul hostPaulia, bbno$ named ed performances his top three favorite from bbno$ and 2 songs to perform: Chainz for an end “help herself,” “Lalaof the school year la,” and “edamame.” celebration. FEST During his headbrings in artists for lining shows, he enstudents to see perjoys singing the lullform at affordable ing melody of the prices and has been breakup song “help an annual event at herself ” with his fans. DePaul longer than At FEST, he invited Lollapalooza has the audience to “cry been in Chicago. Abram Camarena together” as he perBut after being canDePaul junior formed the sad hit. celed for two years Also in his top due to Covid-19, three were two familfor most of the curiar crowd favorites. rent student body, “I’d be stupid to not say ‘Lalala’ or ‘eda- this school tradition was a new experimame,’ because they’re my biggest songs,” ence. the rapper said with a smile. Gwen Ashworth, a sophomore at DeBoth tracks blew up on streaming and Paul, had never had the opportunity to social media due to their hypnotic me- attend FEST before. lodic flows. On TikTok alone, the songs “I didn’t really know FEST existed un“Lalala” and “edamame” have been used til this year,” Ashworth said. in 13 million videos combined. Abigail Adan, another DePaul sophoAt the end of bbno$’s set, the audience more waiting in line with Ashworth, was buzzed as the familiar intro to “Lalala” also experiencing FEST for the first time. started to play. “I had a bunch of older friends that came to DePaul and they were hyping See bbno$, page 20 up FEST so much from their past years,”
It feels like DePaul as a community is able to come back together after Covid.
Adan said. “They said it was one of the best things about DePaul. I was really excited for that, and to have the first year go down the drain was really sad.” Although many weren’t sure what to expect, the event had still built up excitement among students. “You’re anticipating this the entire time, you’re voting for it, and you’re a part of the whole process in a way,” Adan said. “It’s like one last hurrah with friends before they go home for the summer.” Tents with donuts and pizza, free neon-colored FEST gear and bubbles transformed the quad into a mini music festival. Students began to roll in, wearing either comfy collegiate sweatshirts or their best festival outfits, posing for photos in glittery eyeliner. As the quad began to fill, student bands Any Two Words, Minivan and rapper 404KRAZY warmed up the crowd for the first few hours before the main performers took the stage. Canadian rapper bbno$ opened the main show at 7 p.m., where students jumped to viral songs like “edamame” and “Lalala.” He brought a funky sense of humor as he interacted with the crowd throughout his performance, reading recipes aloud from a cookbook, snacking on Cheez-Its tossed from the crowd and even bringing a student on stage to rap featured artist Yung Gravy’s verses in his songs. As the sun went down, anticipation began to build. Finally, headliner 2 Chainz took the stage. The audience brought the energy as they jumped under flashing
See FEST, page 20
2 | News. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
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News. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 3
Cracking down on prison conditions Dove soap drive combats prison living conditions for female inmates By Grace Vaughn Contributing Writer
The Starbucks located on the corner of Halsted Street and Webster Avenue is a daily stop for many residents of the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Now when they head to the back to pick up their mobile orders, they’re greeted by a large cardboard box with a poster reading “Dove Soap Drive” across the front. DePaul freshmen Jillian Muncaster and Amber Rosegay, who is a barista at the store, organized the drive in an effort to collect soap and other hygienic products for incarcerated girls at Cook County’s Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. It is one of the largest juvenile jails in the nation with a 350 bed capacity, according to the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office. They placed a second box in DePaul’s Lincoln Park Student Center and anxiously awaited donors’ contributions. “My next work shift was two days later [after she set up the box], and I checked to see if there was anything in there,” Rosegay said. “At the bottom I saw a couple boxes of panty liners... I’ve never been so excited to see panty liners in my entire life.” The project initially stemmed from a conversation between Muncaster and her professor, Heather Easley. After watching Muncaster collect menstrual products for The Grace House earlier this year, Easley wanted to connect her with Ryann Roberts, a public defender in Cook County. Roberts worked closely with detained youth, between the ages of 18 to 21, awaiting trial in the center. She led a street law course for a group of young girls to educate them on their legal rights. As the class came to an end, she wanted to do something nice for them, like throw a pizza party. However, their only request was Dove soap bars. “Once a youth is checked into the detention center, their belongings are taken from them,” Roberts said. “They get a jumpsuit, some underwear and a small bag that contains soap and a toothbrush and maybe a maxi pad. They’re expected to take care of all of their hygiene needs with that, and it’s simply not possible.” The products provided to them from the center were of such low quality that the soap cakes caused the girls’ skin to crack. Roberts brought what she could during her visits, but the issue was too large for her to tackle on her own. As a senator for the Resident Hall Council, Muncaster decided to recruit some help from the social justice committee and start collections immediately. The poor living conditions Roberts described did not come as much of a shock to Muncaster. She explained that her views of the criminal justice system in the U.S. have always been negative. As a young girl growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, she recalled her first encounter with the police. They aggressively detained a family member right in front of her. “From that day, I knew this wasn’t an institution or system that sat right with me,” Muncaster said.” Now I see that on a larger scale, and I think the pandemic brought many of Cook County inmates’ terrible living conditions to the forefront. Everything about the system during that time was inhumane.”
SOFIA LEAL | THE DEPAULIA
Freshman Jillian Muncaster loads paper bags with Dove soap bars and liquid body washes from the cardboard box in the Lincoln Park Student Center. The cardboard box is a donation box where students, faculty and staff can drop off donations.
“I know some people may argue that these people are getting detained for a reason, but I believe their living conditions should still be humane.”
Amber Rosegay
DePaul freshman
In April of 2o2o, Cook County Jail became the nation’s largest known source of Covid-19 infections, causing health officials to question their isolation methods. Though, reports of poor conditions at the prison date back to 2008 when a federal investigation found that people awaiting trial endured inadequate medical care and physical abuse from workers. Reports of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center breaking state rules regarding youth’s time in room confinement surfaced in 2018. Staff had been regularly confining inmates in their cells for over 36 hours, according to The Chicago Reporter. For Rosegay, a recent experience with Midwest Books to Prisoner, a nonprofit that distributes free reading material to incarcerated people, inspired her to help tackle this issue. She visited lo-
SOFIA LEAL | THE DEPAULIA
The drive originated after Muncaster said she found out the inmates at the Cook County prison had cracking skin from the soap cakes they have been using. cal inmates with her cousin and learned more about their living situations. One man described his cellmate as being completely covered in lice and bugs. “It was just horrible,” she said. “I know some people may argue that these people are getting detained for a reason, but I believe their living conditions should still be humane.” Roberts works directly with the center’s social worker and donation coordinator to ensure all of the collected items are properly distributed to the youth inmates. “It’s more than just a bar of soap — for a youth who is detained, who doesn’t
have anyone on the outside advocating for them, it connects them to the outside world,” Roberts said. “It reminds them that someone out there still cares about them. And you never know, these simple acts and connections with people can be truly life-changing.” Toiletries and hygiene products can be placed in the donation box at Starbucks for the remainder of the spring quarter. Please email Muncaster at muncasterjillian@gmail.com with questions regarding product restrictions or to plan a drop off on-campus or at the Starbucks at 2200 N. Halsted St.
4 | News. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
26th annual Latinx graduation has record class By Stephania Rodriguez Staff Writer
DePaul will have its highest ever number of Latinx graduates this year. 1,100 Latinx students earned their degrees universitywide on Thursday, May 26. A fraction of these students, along with their family and friends, gathered for an intimate hybrid ceremony in the Lincoln Park Student Center. The graduates were honored and recognized for their milestone achievement and for their resilience. As students who studied, struggled and worked through a pandemic, all with the additional pressure that comes with being a first-generation student, they were praised for their “grit.” “The concept of grit and perseverance is not really passive, but it sort of is in academia,” keynote speaker Gardenia Rangel, a DePaul alum, said during her speech. As the current interim Associate Dean of Instruction at Daley College, Rangel attributed a large part of her success to her parents, who lost their lives to Covid-19. Her parents resided in North Lawndale, a neighborhood that was disproportionately affected by the virus. Rangel spotlighted their sacrifices, which led her and her siblings to the opportunity to pursue higher education and create an abundant life.
“My parents taught me grit and a growth mindset … they instilled in us to never give up,” Rangel said. “‘Echale ganas, mija’ [give it all you’ve got] was very common in our household. My guess is that these concepts are not unique to my family.” From table to table, Rangel’s question was followed by numerous nods in agreement. She cited a 2007 study by The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology which concluded that grit was a better predictor of success in life than IQ. Supporting the notion of family support and sacrifice, Jose Dominguez Magdaleno recounted the hardships of leaving his parents’ home in New Jersey to pursue his bachelor’s degree at DePaul. “My first year I was hit with culture shock, and I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” he said. “I was missing my house with 10 people living in it, my parents’ shouting, my brothers who would never leave me alone and the homemade food. I missed my family, my roots for my hopes and dreams.” Magdaleno eventually realized he would need to adapt and accept that he was being pushed to start a different life. He ended up finding comfort in the Latinx neighborhoods of Pilsen, Little Village and Back of the Yards, which reminded him of home and his Mexican roots.
STEPHANIA RODRIGUEZ | THE DEPAULIA
Students who attended the Latinx graduation stand for a picture. The Latinx community at DePaul is honored with a ceremony for students and their families. Family members used to tell a young Dominique Mejia that she should be a lawyer because she loves to argue so much. Her Mexican immigrant parents struggled for many years in Los Angeles, California, trying to make ends meet to give her and her three siblings a better life than they had. The rising price of living in California and her father losing his job led to the family packing up and moving to Kansas and eventually Chicago. Now, she said, she will soon be handing her parents their documents for U.S. citizenship — as their lawyer. “I hope all of you students here today STEPHANIA RODRIGUEZ | THE DEPAULIA remember to tell your family how much A speaker at the Latinx graduation commends you appreciate their support and efforts to the Latinx community for their hard work. place you where you are today,” Mejia her “Now, we shouldn’t have to feel that speech at the ceremony. pressure,” he said. “We’re entering a world Magdaleno reflected on DePaul’s Vinthat is still unknown. It is both intimidatcentian mission “What must be done?” ing and exciting because we can create a and how difficult it was for many to answer path [that] allows us the room to find and amidst the pressure of events that have ocreimagine anything.” curred in the last few years.
CAMPUS CRIME REPORT: May 18, 2022 - May 24, 2022 LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS 2 10
990 W Fullerton Building
Fullerton Ave.
1
Centennial Hall
LOOP CAMPUS
9, 11 6
Munroe Hall
Arts & Letters 4
1000 W Block of Belden 5, 8, 12
13
Student Center
3
State St.
949 W Belden
17
O’Malley Place 18
7 14, 15
Ray Meyer Fitness Center
LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS
7
Assault & Theft
May 18 regarding items missing from a 1) A Domestic Trouble incident was room in Munroe Hall. report in Centennial Hall. May 22 May 19 7) A Disorderly Conduct report 2) A Graffiti report was filed for was filed regarding information of markings found at the 990 W. someone looking under the stalls at Fullerton parking lot. the Ray Meyer Fitness Center. 3) A Graffiti report was filed for markings on 949 W Belden. May 23 4) A Theft from Vehicle report was 8) A Harassment report was filed for filed regarding items taken from a a desk employee at Student Center vehicle parked on the 1000 W block being harassed by an individual. of Belden. 9) A Theft of Bicycle report was filed 5) A Disturbance was reported at the for a bike taken from a rack at Arts Student Center. and Letters. May 20 May 24 6) A Burglary report was filed 10) A Battery report was filed for
16
Lewis Center
DePaul Center
6
Drug & Alcohol
Other
a person who was spit on while walking down Fullerton. 11) A Theft report was filed regarding toilet paper taken from Arts and Letters. 12) A Harassment report was filed for a desk employee at Student Center being harassed. The person was given a Criminal Trespass Warning. 13) A Theft report was filed for toilet paper taken from the Student Center.
LOOP CAMPUS
May 18 14) A Disturbance was reported at the DePaul Center. 15) A Disturbance was reported at the DePaul Center. May 19 16) A Graffiti report was filed for markings on the Lewis Center. 17) An Assault and Theft report was filed regarding an incident that occurred on State near the Loop Campus. May 20 18) A Battery report was filed regarding an incident at O’Malley Place. Chicago Police were called and person was taken into custody.
News. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 5
‘I know I was not a rare case’
DePaul task force explores student health insurance plan By Madison Comeau Contributing Writer
Years ago, Joanna Buscemi, an psychology assistant professor, watched a DePaul student work tirelessly to complete her doctorate by 26-years-old when on track to complete by 27 or 28. The student had diabetes and needed coverage for insulin. In the United States in most cases, you can no longer be on your parents’ insurance once they turn 26. In that student’s case, that would have meant a few years without coverage for insulin if she were not able to graduate early, get into the workforce and get access to health insurance. This is not the case for individuals at every school. Nearby colleges such as the University of Illinois-Chicago, Loyola University, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago all offer opt-in health insurance to their students. DePaul offered coverage as well until 2014. However, as of January this year, a group of DePaul students, faculty and staff assembled a task force exploring whether a student health insurance plan is a necessity at DePaul and what it would look like to implement. The goal of the group is to gather data to “make a recommendation to senior leadership by the end of the academic year,” according to Eugene Zdziarski, DePaul’s vice president of student affairs, who is a member of the task force. Graduate students, who are no longer covered under their parent’s coverage, are among the most affected. In the submission to nominate herself to join the task force, Joanna Buscemi described how she has personally watched graduate students suffer physically, mentally and academically due to being uninsured.
“I’ve watched a student fall behind in coursework and research because she got into a car accident that involved injuries that she could not afford to get treated,” she said to The DePaulia. Himali Bhandari serves as a representative for graduate students on the task force. “As a grad student I am already very stressed and busy and the fact that I don’t have reliable insurance is a hindrance,” she said. Bhandari is also part of a graduate student association that conducted a survey among graduate students that found “substantial data” in support of student health insurance. The specifics of these findings were not provided. Beyond graduate students, Buscemi believes the “undergraduate need has increased.” As of 2018, 7.9 percent of college students are uninsured according to a survey conducted by Lookout Mountain Group. The survey showed Hispanic and Black college students are among the most affected, with 14.8 percent of Hispanic students and 11.5 percent of Black students being uninsured. Bhandari and Buscemi headed up a survey sent to a sample size of DePaul students to assess the overall need for student health insurance. The task force was unable to provide this data as well. Danaka Katovich, the national
co-director of Code Pink who graduated in 2018, was one of many affected by the lack of student health insurance during her time at DePaul. Katovich is from California and did not have access to her health insurance in Chicago. “I have prescription medications and would have to go all the way home to see my doctor to fill my prescriptions,” Katovich said. “I could only pick it up there also, so I would have to see if I could get 3 months’ worth until I was able to go home again and pick up more.” Katovich said it would have made her time at DePaul much easier for the university to provide coverage. “I was working around the healthcare system, the healthcare system was not working for me,” Katovich said. “I mean think about how many outof-state students DePaul has,” she said, “I know I was not a rare case.” Katovich’s experience with being underinsured has inspired her activism regarding universal healthcare and organized “Medicare for Mike” last year. She organized neighbors from Lakeview and Lincoln Park to call on Mike Quigley to cosponsor Medicare for All. “We sat outside of his office for three weeks every day,” Katovich said. They were ultimately successful in making Quigley the 114th cosponsor of the bill. DePaul stopped its insurance in 2014
when the Affordable Care Act was passed under the Obama administration, according to Zdziarski. The Affordable Care Act was passed in March 2010 which required all US citizens to enroll in a health insurance plan. As a result, a survey “found that residents who earned up to $30,150 ($61,500 for a family of four) and were eligible for the ACA’s most generous subsidies spent about 17% less annually on health care costs,” according to scopeblog.stanford.edu. “The healthcare marketplace was more affordable,” Zdziarski said. Eligibility changed in January 2019 when the government stopped requiring citizens to be enrolled in health insurance. In 2014, the average annual premium, or amount paid upfront for health insurance, was about $6,025 for a single person plan. As of 2021, that number had risen to an estimated $7,739. “Premiums were really high because people weren’t enrolling in the program,” Buscemi said about DePaul’s previous health insurance offering. The task force has not concluded a price for students to purchase health insurance at DePaul yet. Students are looking at paying $2,000-5,000 annually based on the task force’s research on other universities’ programs, according to Zdziarski,. Compared to nearby universities, Loyola University’s student health insurance costs $3,190 annually, Northwestern program costs $4,386 annually and University of Chicago’s costs $4,566 during the 2021-22 academic year. “The school has a commitment to social justice,” Buscemi said.
KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA
6 | News. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
CHDP Covid-19 risk level increases to ‘high’ By Patrick Sloan-Turner Staff Writer
DePaul’s Community Health Team urged the university community to follow Chicago Department of Public Health (CDHP) Covid-19 guidelines on Friday, as the department raised the city’s risk level from “medium” to “high” the day before. The statement was sent to the DePaul community over email and encouraged university students, faculty and staff, to follow guidelines “in spirit of Take Care DePaul.” For a “high” risk level, CDHP recommends the following steps: Wear a mask indoors in public Consider avoiding higher-risk activities such as crowded indoor gatherings Limit gatherings to small numbers Get tested if you have any symptoms Order free rapid at-home tests Compared to April, Cook County has shown a surge in cases throughout May thus far. Through May 25, 26,937 Covid-19 cases have been reported in the county, compared to 16,753 throughout all of April, according to the city’s Covid-19 dashboard. Nationwide, new cases have gone up by 22 percent according to reporting by the New York Times.
The same Times’ report also says around 25,000 people are currently hospitalized with Covid, with 11 percent of those in Intensive Care Units. DePaul has averaged 65.3 new weekly cases amongst students, faculty, and staff over the last three weeks of May, according to university data. This is an increase from the 58.3 average over the last three weeks of April. Thursday’s rise in risk level by CHDP comes after changing the city’s risk level from “low” to “medium” on May 6. DePaul’s annual Fest took place on Friday, drawing crowds to the quad on DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus. Very few masks could be seen amongst the crowd, as the university put no mask mandate in place for the outdoor concert. On April 19, the Illinois mask mandate for public transportation was lifted by Gov. JB Pritzker, effectively removing the mask requirement on CTA trains and buses. Since then, Chicago has seen a steady increase in infections, with the daily case rate more than doubling between April 19 and May 10. Friday’s email said that the university will continue to monitor agency guidelines, consult with on campus stakeholders and “make adjustments as needed.”
EMILY SOTO | THE DEPAULIA
Two DePaul students walk into the Lincoln Park student center in April.
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News. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 7
‘I feel full circle right now’
Fifth annual Midnight Breakfast rolls around as Esteban’s presidency comes to a close KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul’s annual Midnight Breakfast returned after a two-year hitaus Tuesday night at the Lincoln Park student center.
By Katharine Hanner Staff Writer
The fifth annual Midnight Breakfast returned to DePaul’s campus for the first time since the pandemic on Tuesday, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Lincoln Park Student Center. 1,013 students attended the study break at the end of the busy quarter. The event, sponsored by the Office of Student Involvement and the DePaul Activities Board (DAB), was free for all students and was helped run by Student Affairs staff volunteers and student employees. To help students pile their plates high, Chartwells, DePaul’s exclusive caterer, sponsored syrupy pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage links and crispy tater tots served by faculty, staff and administrative volunteers. Seniors, like Nikki Giatras, reflect fondly on the event in the past and present. “I remember going to Midnight Breakfast as a freshman. It was around the end of fall quarter, so I feel full circle right now,” Giatras said. “…It’s lucky to be in a class that got to have one full normal year pre-Covid and one full, pretty normal year post-Covid.” While upperclassmen may be familiar with the typically annual event, it’s foreign to lowerclassmen that didn’t have the chance to attend in previous years due to Covid-19. Awareness of the event spread through word of mouth, according to freshman, Jasmine Martinez. “Everyone was talking about it and I got curious and decided to come,” Martinez said. DePaul also increased marketing efforts in the week preceding the event to help inform students, according to Tina Van Buren, coordinator of campus activities and student involvement. “I came for the free food but also because it was marketed way more than other DePaul events,” freshman Alaina Wilson said. DePaul also offered free giveaways and activities like LED bowling, a video game lounge, DIY crafts and coloring and limited Midnight Breakfast stickers and tee shirts. The event’s giveaways and activities change
every year. “You try to appeal to different personality types. Not everyone’s going to want to sit downstairs and listen to music, but I’ve seen people make amazing crafts…,” Van Buren said. “…Because it’s every year, you don’t want students seeing the same exact thing every single year, you want them to see the branding, the staple of it and what to expect.” Van Buren ran the event in 2018 as a graduate assistant in traditions and affinity planning and took lead again this year. The event also offered live performances for the first time. This included blues musician, Phillip-Michael Scales, playing his unique sound, defined as “dive bar soul.” He’s referred to as the nephew of blues legend, B.B. King, who was close friends with his aunt. Socks Off, a DePaul student band, also played hit covers like Redbone by Childish Gambino and Valerie by Amy Winehouse. The audience reacted to performers Zeno Camera, Luke Gerskovich, Ryan Toomey and Enzo Goodrich with swaying, smiles and cheers. The band may have seemed familiar to students, having played at prior DePaul events, such as Sounds of Sheffield. Midnight breakfast is an event for students to take a break and connect with the DePaul community. It encourages everyone to mingle, from students to faculty to alumni. “The original thought comes from wanting students to take a break and celebrate the end of the quarter, especially the fall, the end of your first quarter if the year,” Van Buren said. “The thought is to take a break from studying, come get some food and then go back to studying if you need to.” It’s also largely centered on tradition. The first Midnight Breakfast was hosted Nov. 14, 2017, following the election of DePaul President A. Gabriel Esteban in July of 2017. One of Esteban’s priorities is to enhance the student experience and introduce new campus traditions, according to his website’s biography. He executed this strategic plan, conceptualizing DePaul’s Midnight Breakfast and tasking the student affairs division.
KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul President A. Gabriel Esteban hands out food to passing students during the Midnight Breakfast event last week at the Lincoln Park student center. “A big part of it is connection and affinity building. Of course, you can go to college, go to class, do academics, but a huge part is experiences and it helps you feel tied to the University,” Van Buren said. “It makes alumni think fondly and want to come back…My favorite part about traditions is giving a chance to connect with each other and have fun.” While Midnight Breakfast was intended to be an annual event, the pandemic had other plans. The event was shifted to a virtual setting in 2020 and didn’t occur in 2021, making its awaited return this year even longer. KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA The pandemic altered more than the Students play video games in the Annex event’s cancellation in past years, but also lounge of the Lincoln Park Student Center. impacted this year’s planning. Typically, the Midnight Breakfast begins later, at 9 p.m. Breakfast in the fall of 2022. Unlike previous years, food wasn’t ofand goes to midnight. This year it started fered in the dining hall. Connected rooms earlier, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. This is due 120 A and B, and the second floor’s open to original plans to hold the event on the areas offered seating to eat at. Since the Lincoln Park Quad at an earlier time, on event ran earlier this year, they couldn’t account of Covid-19. The goal is to move shut down the dining hall at regular hours. the event back to its original schedule, acSet up for the event began around noon cording to Van Buren. through 6 p.m. on Tuesday and clean up In the past, Midnight Breakfast octook an hour. curred at the end of the fall term, rather “I can confidently say Midnight Breakthan this year’s abnormal timing, occurring fast is not going anywhere,” Van Buren said. at the end of spring quarter. They plan on “It’s definitely one of our staple events and shifting the event back to the original seait’s so fun.” son, expecting to host another Midnight
8 | News. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
News. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 9
Reproductive rights town hall addresses contraceptive distribution By Nadia Hernandez News Editor
The DePaul Student Government Association will inquire to the university about distributing contraceptives, such as condoms, on campus. The DePaul Restriction on public distribution of inappropriate health and medical devices/supplies does not allow issuing them on campus. Students brought up this concern during the SGA reproductive rights town hall on Thursday, May 26. SGA wanted a space for students to voice their concerns about reproductive rights after the leak of the Supreme Court’s opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade. The policy was implemented in 2005 and was last updated in 2016 which states that the university does “encourage educational programs that provide a balanced view on health related and lifestyle issues and choices. It is expected that a Catholic teachings be provided as a part of these programs.” This was brought under former university president Rev. Dennis Holtschneider. Representatives from SGA, the Women’s Center and the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness (HPW) were also present, including new HPW director Tyler Wurst. He confirmed at the meeting that the DePaul policy prohibits this. “The policy is that we just can’t be sending out birth control or any other medical assistive devices,” Wurst said on Thursday. Previous DePaulia reporting has stated that due to DePaul’s “connection with the archdiocese,” student organizations and departments are banned from condom distribution. Incoming SGA Vice President Magoli Garcia created three priorities for the SGA to work on for the 2022-2023 school year. This will include initiatives for condom distribution. About 85 percent of colleges and universities in the U.S. distribute free condoms on campus, according to a study done in 2018. Courtney James, advisor of SGA and director of student involvement, said at the meeting that this initiative has been stuck at SGA for the past seven years. “Probably every other year, a group of students comes and sits down with us to talk about the policy with a specific emphasis on condoms,” James said. “[Wurst’s] predecessor, Shannon, and I would have a lot of conversations. In my seven years at DePaul, the conversation has always stuck there.” However, Garcia wants these initiatives to move past SGA. “The main focus of the town hall is for SGA to work together with students to brainstorm types of resources that SGA can work to provide to the community here at DePaul,” Garcia said. Currently, DePaul offers HIV and STI testing for free on campus provided by the AMITA Stage Medical Group, according to the DePaul division of student affairs page. Priorities will also include possible modules for incoming freshman about sexual health. This would be similar to placement tests for math and writing. There was also a push from student concerns to create and implement programs dedicated to gender violence for athletes and fraternities. These initiatives will be worked on during the summer to execute during the 2022-2023 school year. Jasslyn Hodges, a resident advisor (RA) and senator for community and government relations, said that RAs are holding events in their residence halls throughout the year. “I know that a lot of RAs really implement that in many of their first-year buildings, because a lot of residents who come in don’t have that comprehensive sex education while they’re in high school or middle school,” Hodges said at the meeting. “What-
KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA
Jasslyn Hodges, senator for community and government relations, brought up how Residential Advisors implement programs in first year residence halls about consent. Students were concerned over lack of comprehensive sexual health education. ever education they may have had beforehand is not comprehensive compared to how it would need to be in order to combat some of the things we’re discussing today.” Organizers also wanted the SGA town hall to be a safe space for queer and BIPOC people to voice their concerns. “In general there has always been a lack of inclusion when discussing reproductive rights and in the feminism movement for women of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities,” Garcia said. “That is why this town hall is so crucial to provide on campus. It is not the answer, but it is the first step into ensuring the inclusion of those marginalized voices.” The Women’s Center representative acknowledged the disparity in a statement at the beginning of the town hall. “We are aware that this country has never been a safe space for BIPOC, queer, low-income incarcerated and undocumented individuals to receive proper reproductive care and assistance and the current conflict against Roe v. Wade will affect these individuals the most,” the Women’s Center representative said. One student brought up the lack of inclusion in the Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights chapter led by DePaul students. The student said that speakers at on and off-campus protests were not inclusive to communities of color. SGA is not affiliated with this organization. “We overheard students’ complaints and assured them we are going to work to address this issue with the university,’’ said Riley Reed, SGA senator for LGBTQ+ students. Several students did affirm how they felt safer expressing their thoughts at the town
KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA
Senior Riley Reed [left] and sophomore Magoli Garcia organized the town hall. They are prioritizing condom distribution, sexual health modules and programs for athletes and fraternity groups. hall rather than in their classrooms or other campus spaces. “There were several students who said they were glad they came and were able to voice their concerns in a space that was more open than perhaps the other spaces on campus,” Reed said. “Since this was organized for BIPOC students to speak out, it raises awareness of how a lot of spaces of activism, especially around abortion rights, are cis and white-led.”
Ideas for the proposed initiatives will be further discussed at SGA. “We walk past that statue every single day that says, ‘What are you doing for justice’ and reproductive rights is a justice issue,” James said at the meeting. “Even if the policy does outline that, I think you all in the spirit of the Vincentian question, have an obligation to challenge and talk about it.”
10 | Nation & World. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
Nation & World
School shootings are a rarity in most developed countries.
Why are they so prevalent in America?
MAYA OCLASSEN | THE DEPAULIA
DARIO LOPEZ-MILLS | AP PHOTO
People pay their respect at a memorial set up outside of the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas Thursday, May 26, 2022.
By Jackson Healy Nation & World Editor
JAE C. HONG | AP PHOTO
People visit a memorial set up in a town square to honor the victims killed in the elementary school shooting earlier in the week in Uvalde, Texas, late Saturday, May 28, 2022.
DARIO LOPEZ-MILLS | AP PHOTO
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden comfort Principal Mandy Gutierrez and Superintendent Hal Harrell, outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Sunday, May 29, 2022.
In the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas that killed two teachers and 19 students aged 9 to 11, legislators, activists and the public at large are once again left wondering why tragedies like these are so unique to the United States. According to an analysis conducted by CNN, the U.S. experienced 288 school shootings between Jan. 1, 2009 and May 21, 2018 — 57 times more than all other G7 countries combined. As a result, American children face a threat to their safety nearly absent from every other high-income country on Earth. “Instead of [just] practicing fire drills and tornado drills or the things that are really uncontrollable in terms of natural events, our kids are practicing things that are very real and very scary — and to be honest, things that we could prevent with proper policy,” said Jocelyn Carter, associate psychology professor and director of clinical training at DePaul. “It’s a uniquely American childhood experience, unfortunately, because of the uniquely American experience with gun culture.” Craig Klugman, a Vincent de Paul professor in bioethics and health humanities at DePaul, notes that only a few decades ago, the U.S. was not nearly as alone in its prevalence of school shootings. “If you look at the U.K., you look at Australia — [we share] similar culture, similar historical backgrounds, similar political systems,” he said. “And like 30
years ago, each one of them had a school shooting, and in response, they put legislation that really restricted who could own a gun, made it very difficult to purchase one. So there are less guns available, and neither one has had a school shooting [since].” For children who have been exposed to gun violence and survived, the experience can have a dramatic effect on their outlook of the world. “It really changes the way that the brain processes information,” Carter said. “Children who have been exposed to violence or other types of [threats to] safety are likely to be really sensitive to the environment because they’re scanning the environment to look for signs of safety and signs of danger. They learn not to trust people. So instead of being able to explore the world freely, they’re thinking, because they’ve been exposed to this, that there is danger.” The psychological impact of school shootings extends far beyond just those who have experienced them themselves, though. Carter notes that for students across the U.S., fear and anxiety can take a serious toll through what’s known as vicarious trauma. “Vicarious trauma means that you’re seeing, learning, hearing about trauma that occurs with people that are similar in position to you,” Carter said. “So kids can put themselves in other people’s shoes and realize that ‘if this happened to someone else in another fourth grade classroom just like mine, this could happen to me as well.’” Alex McFadden, a freshman at the
Nation & World. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 11 University of the Arts in Philadelphia, explains how the high frequency of school shootings in the U.S. has impacted their perception of the classroom. “It’s scary to know there isn’t anything I can do to ensure my safety in an educational environment,” they said. “The anxiety that comes with the constant news cycles of tragedy is debilitating. I think the most frustrating aspect of all of this is that we’re expected to keep going as if these issues don’t affect us in any way.” A number of Republican figureheads, including U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and former President Donald Trump — have in recent days proposed “hardened schools” solutions such as requiring schools to have only one entrance. However, Klugman suggests the implications of enacting such policies would likely be far-reaching and untenable. “We can’t turn the country into an armed camp,” Klugman said. “And if we do that for schools, do we have to do the grocery stores? Do we have to do that for every office, every warehouse, every place that there’s ever been a gun shooting? [Do we] turn the United States into an armed camp? Then you’re not a free democracy anyway.” Instead, Klugman suggests that in order to sufficiently address the gun crisis in the United States, policy makers must enforce preventative measures rather than simply protective ones. “There are things we can do that work — that’s a public health approach,” Klugman said. “What we’re getting now is the sort of medical approach of, ‘It’s up to the individual. You should buy [bulletproof] backpacks. We should harden schools. We should arm every teacher. You should homeschool your child if you’re concerned about this.’ That’s individual responses to a systemic problem, and it doesn’t work.” Public health-oriented gun reform proposals such as requiring background checks on all gun sales, creating a national database for gun sales and even banning assault-style weapons are all policies supported by a majority of Americans, according to a Morning Consult/Politico poll conducted May 25. Despite widespread support though, no such policy has been implemented on a federal level since the Federal Assault Weapons Ban expired in 2004. Klugman suggests that the financial influence of lobbyists opposing gun control policies has played a significant role in swaying much of Congress away from the will of many of their constituents. “It’s very expensive to run for office in the United States,” Klugman said. “So, where do you get that money? You could have small individual donors — which can add up, but [it’s] not that great — or you can have large, deep pockets. So, you could have billionaires or you can have corporations. And one of those corporations that puts a lot of money into politics is the lobbying group the NRA (National Rifle Association).” Gun rights lobbying groups, including the NRA, spent a record $15.8 million on lobbying in 2021, according to a report from OpenSecrets. Since 1998, these organizations have spent $190 million in lobbying efforts, making it increasingly difficult in recent decades for Congress to enact any gun control legislation. Still, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday reportedly directed Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R) to begin discussions with Democrats in an attempt to find a middle ground on gun control policies. However, Klugman is skeptical that any bipartisan solution will be come from this. “I don’t think anything’s going to happen,” he said. “There’s too much money involved here. If your constituents can’t convince you, nothing’s going to happen,
DARIO LOPEZ-MILLS | AP PHOTO
Vincent Salazar, right, father of Layla Salazar, weeps while kneeling in front of a cross with his daughter’s name at a memorial site for the victims killed in this week’s elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Friday, May 27, 2022.
THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS VIA AP
A young person holds onto an adult’s hand as they visit the memorial created outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Thursday, May 26, 2022. or they’ll pass something like hardening schools — that individual responsibility thing that doesn’t work.” Similarly, McFadden cites Congress’ poor track record on gun policy as a source of hesitancy. “Honestly, I’m not very hopeful,” they said. “Considering the fact that Sandy Hook happened and not a lot of change has been made, I really don’t know what will compel people to pass gun legislation.”
JAE C. HONG | AP PHOTO
U.S. Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) attends a prayer vigil with Uvalde County Sheriff Riben Nolasco, left, in Uvalde, Texas, on May 25, 2022.
JACKSON HEALY | THE DEPAULIA
12 | Opinions. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
Opinions
Not me! Why it’s hard to understand the consequences of mental health until you’ve battled your own By Erik Uebelacker Opinions Editor
I got my first panic attack in months this week. It was more of a bummer for me than anything else. It had been so long since I had one that I thought I might not have to worry about them anymore, as unrealistic as that may be. But in a way, I’m also happy it happened. The fact I knew exactly what it was, and what to do reminded me how far I’ve come since I first started getting regular panic attacks last year. It also reminded me why it was so difficult for me to fully understand the impact of these mental health crises until I encountered them firsthand. I was in and out of doctors offices last year when they started for me, looking for a solution to, what I thought, was a physical problem. Time and time again, everything checked out. My heart was fine, my lungs were fine. There was nothing medical to explain the physical sensations I was experiencing daily: a racing heart, chest pain, constant shortness of breath, dizziness. It was almost insulting when my doctor suggested that these intense physical symptoms might have been a result of my mental health. “When we are diagnosed with a medical condition, there’s kind of an easy answer,” Harford County (MD) Health Department Director of Behavioral Health Bureau Andrea Pappas said. “I may take a medication, I may change my diet, I may have a procedure done. Sometimes
“Our thoughts are our thoughts; our body is our body — oftentimes people think they are two separate things,” Andrew Hogrogian
Psychiatry resident at Temple University with mental health, what’s the solution to that? It causes us to look inwardly. That’s uncomfortable.” I was craving a medical fix to a physical problem, completely disregarding the possibility of my own mental health being the culprit. In my defense, I didn’t know any better. I was living in ignorance for so long, blissfully unaware that something as seemingly benign and common as anxiety or panic attacks could be so debilitating on my body. “A lot of it has to do with our mindbody duality,” says Andrew Hogrogian, psychiatry resident at Temple University. “Our thoughts are our thoughts; our body is our body — oftentimes people think they are two separate things.” Of course, this isn’t the case. Mental health disorders can cause a vast array of very real physical symptoms, such as migraines, muscle soreness, digestive issues, sleep interruption, and more. What makes this even more chal-
lenging is the fact that these physical symptoms can vary intensely from person-to-person. We know what to look for with diabetes or high blood pressure. But anxiety, for example, can affect everybody differently. “There’s a full range of symptoms that a person might experience if they have depression or anxiety,” said Tara Gill, clinical psychologist at Lurie Children’s Hospital. “Typically, people don’t present all of the symptoms.” Because of this, it can be difficult for a layperson to associate physical issues with their mental health. When I’d describe my symptoms to family and friends, they, like me, thought they were indicative of a more serious medical condition. It wasn’t until I talked to a mental health professional that I realized what had been happening to me. The moment was bittersweet; as happy as I was that I was medically healthy, I knew that feeling better would be a more complicated process. It’s a process I’m still undergoing to this day.
ART BY ALICIA GOLUSZKA
Had I not experienced this myself, I still don’t think I’d understand the severity of some of the world’s most common mental health conditions. “If you had firsthand experience, either with yourself or a family member… then it becomes humanized in a way that it can’t be from a textbook or from a stranger,” Gill said. But mental health isn’t as stigmatized as it used to be. People are becoming more comfortable talking about their mental illness, and less reluctant to seek help. COVID-19 caused a 25 percent increase in anxiety and depression worldwide, meaning more people are battling these issues than ever. “Celebrities are now open about their mental health struggles, their addiction struggles,” Pappas said. “Things like that I think are hopefully ending the stigma. It still exists, not as much, but it still exists.” According to Gill, public schools are stepping up, too. “I am hopeful by what I see happening in schools,” she said. “There’s something called SEL instruction, which is young people being taught about social and emotional learning, how to develop skills for coping with stress and how to engage and help-seeking behaviors.” These strides should hopefully make it easier for those of us who don’t experience these challenges to empathize with those who do. But for all the reasons I described, it’s still going to be hard. Mental health affects so many people in so many different ways. Until you encounter it, yourself, it can be impossible to comprehend.
The opinions in this section do not necessarially reflect those of The DePaulia staff.
Opinions. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 13
I’m tired of the same sorry arguments against gun control By Erik Uebelacker Opinions Editor
The Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas took the lives of 19 children and two teachers. It’s a catastrophic and devastating tragedy that should prompt legislative outcry. But in the United States, home of over 200 mass shootings already this year, it’s become a numb and predictable routine. Nothing changes after these mass killings — we’ve learned that. We learned it after Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Parkland. As horrible as this latest catastrophe was, I’m past expecting federal gun reform from legislators in D.C. What frustrates me even more than the perpetual inaction from our national leaders is the pathetic rhetoric that comes from Second Amendment defenders after these atrocities. They’ll tell you, “It’s not a gun problem, it’s a mental health problem.” They’re wrong; they’ve always been wrong. Mass shootings are a gun problem, and I’m sick of people trying to convince me otherwise. There’s nothing uniquely American about experiencing mental illness. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) estimates that 16.93 percent of Americans have a mental health disorder. That’s very high, and absolutely a problem. But in Spain, that number is 18.32 percent; in Australia, 19.35 percent. What are uniquely American are mass shootings — there were 693 in 2021. Spain’s last one was in 1990. Australia has had one mass shooting since 1996. Spain and Australia happen to have far stricter gun laws. Their rate of mental illness is higher, but mass shootings aren’t a part of these countries’ daily lives. The “bad guys” don’t find ways to get a gun anyways. It is a gun problem. I feel for any Brits that try to tell us this. Any time one tries on social media, they’re met with a slew of responses saying, “Yeah, people just stab each other over there,” referencing London’s rates of knife crime. It’s another tired, substanceless argument based solely on stereotype. American cities trump London in homicide rates, and it’s not close. In 2017, London’s was 1.7 homicides per 100,000 people. Houston’s was 11.5, and Chicago’s was 24.1, the highest in the U.S. Bringing up London’s stabbings to defend gun ownership is stupid, statistically. But these same people love to bring up Chicago as proof that gun regulation is ineffective. After all, it boasts such a high murder rate, despite Illinois having some of the strictest gun laws in the country. If anything, this is just proof that we need federal regulation. About 10,000 illegal firearms are recovered by the Chicago Police Department every year. Sixty percent of them are traced back to other states, including Indiana, Mississippi and Wisconsin, whose gun laws are all laxer than Illinois’. Time and time again, these same arguments are made after these tragedies. They’re exhausting, insensitive and just incorrect. Still, gun rights defenders will act like there’s no way to prevent mass shootings. But it doesn’t have to be so difficult; the rest of the world is proof of that.
ART BY ALICIA GOLUSZKA
Americans want change, but our political system won’t allow it By Sam Moilanen Staff Writer
In the wake of the recent, tragic mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., Uvalde, Texas and the countless shootings in the nation’s largest cities this past month, America is about to enter yet another battle over gun rights. In 2022, the Gun Violence Archive recorded 216 mass shootings and over 17,500 deaths caused by senseless gun violence. Yet, the nation’s deeply divided political beliefs about gun ownership and their role in American society will undoubtedly stand in the way of passing meaningful gun control laws. “We have an incredibly divided government,” said Eulalie Laschever, an adjunct sociology professor at DePaul who specializes in American gun politics. “The combination of the political gridlock that prevents everything from getting passed, along with the fact that there’s so much more money and power within gun rights groups than gun control groups, makes it really difficult to move the issue.” The majority of Americans support restrictions on guns and believe gun violence is a serious problem, yet passing legislation on the federal level is nearly impossible, and now, it is becoming even more difficult at the state level where gun control activists have made substantial strides in the past. Small states disproportionately influence the distribution of national power in America. Therefore, because of the Senate’s filibuster rule, the majority vote holds little weight in regards to passing meaningful gun legislation. If the Senate were to do away with the filibuster, then legislation would be passed that represents the majority of the American people, rather than a small subset of the population. This is partly because the anger and passion for gun control that ensues after a mass shooting takes place, is often fleeting and easily forgotten once enough time passes. “Everytime there’s a mass shooting, the gun control movement gets a little bit stronger … but the commitment isn’t there,” Laschever said. “People care after a mass shooting for a few months, and then they tend to focus on other issues, whereas gun rights supporters are always gun rights supporters.” The consequence of the deeply divided
political culture we see today is that while mass shootings tend to strengthen the gun control movement. It also fosters fear in gun rights advocates who tend to purchase more guns following a shooting, than they may have before. Research shows a significant increase in gun sales in the months following the deadliest mass shootings. This is largely why, historically, mass shootings have little impact on gun reform and often have the opposite effect. While liberal gun control advocates believe tragedies like the Uvalde school shooting create opportunity for change, gun rights supporters prompted by the National Rifle Association harden their position out of fear their Second Amendment right is being threatened. “Our children dying is not helping to [pass gun control laws],” Diane Latiker, the executive director and founder of Kids Off the Block, a Chicago-based non profit dedicated to helping at-risk youth escape economic impoverishment, said. “If that doesn’t move you to set aside whatever it is that is keeping you from doing whatever you can to stop this violence, then I don’t know what else can be done.” Regardless of how many tragedies occur, the problem is America’s divided political system continues to prevent change. According to Latticker, this cycle of violence continues to persist because you have two conflicting worldviews that have developed into a culture war issue that makes compromise so difficult. Although polls show Democrats, Independents and Republicans alike support some form of gun law reform, the majority opinion is repeatedly deemed unsubstantial in enacting change on the federal level because of the filibuster — an action meant to delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other question, and provides a veto over national policy to a small number of states. “There would be a two-edged sword to getting rid of the filibuster because you would be able to pass major gun control, but you would also be able to pass all of the gun rights laws,” Laschever said. “Is that really an answer?” Nonetheless, gun control legislation must be passed on the federal level to make a difference in decreasing gun violence. Yet,
the disproportionate influence of small states in the democratic system makes it nearly impossible for any legislation to pass through the Senate. While Illinois has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country, they are ineffective in reducing gun violence specifically in Chicago because of the lenient gun laws in bordering states. According to a gun tracing report commissioned by Chicago’s former mayor in 2017, 60 percent of the majority of illegally used or possessed firearms recovered in Chicago were from Indiana. Laschever said it doesn’t matter how strong Chicago’s gun laws are. If you can buy a gun in Indiana and bring it back to Chicago, the laws become futile. There’s only so much you can do to control the flow of guns in a small geographic region if states have different laws. Although passing meaningful gun control legislation seems nearly impossible in a nation riddled with gun violence, yet so deeply politically divided that seemingly nothing can be done to prevent more violence, Americans still maintain hope for a better future. “I have to stay hopeful, because if I don’t, then I can’t give hope to the young people I serve,” Latiker said. People have become desensitized to gun violence because of how frequently it occurs, and Laschever believes forcing yourself to care after each shooting is one way to fight for reform in a corrupt political system. “There’s power in the outrage and there’s power in the shock of these events,” Laschever said. “But if people are no longer shocked and outraged because it’s something that happens all the time…the potential for an event to be transformative gets undercut.” It is time to relinquish our anger, avoid unnecessary rhetoric on both sides of the political spectrum, and take action to curb the gun violence that takes too many American lives every year. Being desensitized is no longer a solution, but only serves to strengthen the political agenda of politicians who do not care about the lives of the American people, but profit from their suffering.
Focus 14 | Focus. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
IN SETON HALL
bizarre events in dorm make students normalize fines, fires By Halie Wingo Contributing Writer
Seton Hall residents have had their year defined by black sludge bubbling up from the bathroom drains, bananas being thrown onto the roof and several fires. Students in Seton Hall have had an interesting and chaotic year. Seton Hall is located on Sheffield Avenue above the Lincoln Park DePaul bookstore. There are four floors in the building, with the first floor being the DePaul bookstore and the top three floors being the residence hall. It was completely renovated from a glove factory into a residence hall for students in 1989. This is the first full school year back on DePaul’s campus since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and residents of Seton Hall have faced some captivating and confusing situations. Most of DePaul’s campus has heard about many of these incidents through Seton Hall residents, or through a DePaul novelty account like @depaulbarstool and @dpuaffirmations. Senior Varya Bacalev is a Resident Advisor (RA) at Seton Hall. She has lived on campus three out of the four years she has been at DePaul. The only time she wasn’t living on campus was when she had to move back home for the 2020-2021 school
year due to Covid-19. In the past two weeks, there have been two fires on the second floor while she was the RA on duty. In the first incident, there was a fire inside of the oven in the kitchen. The oven was not working properly and when someone was baking their food. “We had a kitchen fire and we had a really janky oven,” Bacalev said. “If you were going to make anything in there, you would have to open the oven door and air it out because it would get so hot in there. You would set your temperature to 325 and the actual temperature of it was close to 400,” Bacalev said. A student had come to Bacalev’s door to tell her something was wrong and that’s when they discovered that there was a fire. “Somebody didn’t know that’s how the oven worked and she put in her cookies and she closed the oven door,” Bacalev said. “She put it up to 375 and she left the kitchen. Then I had a student smell something weird. She came up to my door and started pounding on it and said that the kitchen smelled weird. I came in and I could see that the kitchen was full of smoke. I opened the stove and there’s just a whole fire. I told her to call public safety and [I got the fire extinguisher] and I got it taken care of.” In the second incident, someone had
left incense burning inside their dorm room and it caused the carpet to catch fire. A student notified Bacalev and she had to put the fire out. “I had a student come pund on my door and she said something was burning,” Bacalev said. “I knocked on the door and no one was answering, so I opened the door and I could see that the carpet was smoking and starting to catch on fire. I got the fire extinguisher and put the fire out.” Seton has also experienced what students call “black sludge.” This unidentified liquid began bubbling up out of the floor drains in the second floor bathrooms in October of 2021. “We had a black sludge that started showing up around Halloween, so people called it the Halloween soup,” Bacalev said. “It literally looked [like it was] straight out of a horror movie.” Fortunately, this was resolved fairly quickly once students notified the university and it was cleaned up. Unfortunately, the sludge returned just a few days ago. “Facilities [Operations] came in and cleaned it up and it came back two days ago,” Bacalev said. One student, Erin Kaczynski, said she witnessed it come back. She watched it come out of the floor drains in both bathrooms on the second floor.
“I watched it bubble and grow and it kept on growing,” Kaczynski said. “I went to the bathroom on the other side and it was there too.” There was also a person who had climbed into the trash chute the night of May 24 at Seton. Kaczynski said that someone had texted in their floor’s group chat to inform everyone about what was going on. “She said that there was a man in the trash chute,” Kaczynski said. Bacalev was the RA on duty for this and she went to check it out with public safety. When they checked, no one was there, but there have been videos posted online on the DePaul Barstool Instagram. Nythaniel Tena, a freshman resident at Seton, had an incident in which an old dryer in the building burnt his clothes while he was drying them. He had several designer items and expensive pieces of clothing that were all ruined by a dirty, malfunctioning dryer. “The dryer overheats, so you put it in for 45 minutes but you have to take it out early or it’s going to be blazing hot,” Tena said.“So I put my clothes in, went back to my room and I got a text from my RA that said someone’s clothes were on fire. I knew it was my clothes, but I didn’t want to believe it.”
Focus. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 15
PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
Seton Hall is a dorm for both underclassmen and upperclassmen. The dorm has communal bathrooms and the Lincoln Park bookstore on the first floor.
HOW DID WE
make
After he contacted the school and was redirected to the dryer company, he was unsuccessful in getting a refund or a replacement for any of his items from the university or from the dryer company. “The dryer broke in November and they put a new dryer in a week ago,” Tena said. “We have only had two working dryers.” DePaul Housing was unavailable for comment after multiple attempts to contact the office. Aside from the issues with appliances in the building, there are also many issues relating to the residents themselves. Some residents on the fourth floor like to play video games late into the night while being excessively loud. Alex Guyton, a freshman at Seton Hall, said that he has witnessed this happening many times. “You’ll be hanging out early in the morning, and all of the sudden you’ll hear this scream,” Guyton said. ‘That’s because there are gamers. A bunch of people on the fourth floor game, especially on the guy’s side, and they will be up until 4 o’clock in the morning. There are days where they will just be screaming for hours on end.” Seton, despite its community-based design, has had many issues, from residents throwing bananas on the roof, to dryers not working and catching on fire. Despite this, the layout of the building creates a sense of community and friendship. “I’m a tour guide, and people always ask me if it’s worth living on campus, I think it is,” Bacalev said. “If you have the means and you’re interested, you should. It makes for a lot of good memories and a lot of funny stories, but also a lot of good community.”
IT HERE?
Take a look at the wild events that
Sept. 8happened in Seton Hall since have
the beginning of this academic year.
Sept. 8, 2021
VANESSA RAMOS | THE DEPAULIA
Sept.24, May 8 2022 THE FIRST INSTANCE OF SLUDGE APPEARED IN THE SECOND FLOOR WOMEN’S BATHROOM. THE BATHROOM WAS CLOSED FOR 8 TO 10 HOURS WHILE STAFF WAS TRYING TO RID OF THE SLUDGE.
Nov. 20, 2021
PHOTO COURTESY BY NYTHANIEL TENA
PHOTO COURTESY BY JASLYNN HODGES
A PERSON WAS RUMORED TO CLIMB INTO THE TRASH CHUTE. AN RA CONFIRMED THAT THE PERSON DID NOT CLIMB INTO THE TRASH CHUTE BUT GOT INTO THE TRASH ROOM AND WAS PULLING PRANKS.
Sept.24, May 8 2022 FRESHMAN NYTHANIEL TENA’S CLOTHES SET ON FIRE WHILE IN ONE OF THE DRYERS. HE SAID HE WAS GIVEN AN ULTIMATUM TO EITHER TAKE $50 OR HE COULD TAKE THE UNIVERSITY TO COURT.
MADISON COMEAU | THE DEPAULIA
THE SLUDGE RETURNED TO THE SECOND FLOOR WOMEN’S BATHROOM ON TUESDAY IN THE LATE AFTERNOON. THE SLUDGE CAME UP FROM THE DRAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BATHROOM.
16 | La DePaulia. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
La DePaulia 26° Graduación anual latina:
La comunidad celebra sus logros y perserverancia By Stephania Rodriguez Escritora, La DePaulia
1,100 estudiantes Latinx se graduaron de DePaul este año, el número más alto que ha tenido la universidad. Una fracción de estos estudiantes, junto con sus familiares y amigos, se reunieron para una ceremonia híbrida e íntima en el Centro Estudiantil de Lincoln Park. Los graduados fueron honrados y reconocidos por sus logros y por su resiliencia como estudiantes que lucharon y trabajaron durante una pandemia. Aparte de afrontar con la presión adicional que conlleva ser un estudiante de primera generación, se puede decir que fueron elogiados por su ‘valor’. “El concepto de valor y perseverancia no es realmente pasivo, pero sí lo es en la academia”, dijo la oradora principal Gardenia Rangel. La ex-alumna de DePaul y actual Decana Asociada Interina de Instrucción en Daley College, Gardenia Rangel, atribuyó gran parte de su éxito a sus padres, quienes perdieron la vida a causa STEPHANIA RODRIGUEZ| LA DEPAULIA del Covid-19. Los estudiantes latinos celebran alegremente su graduación. Sus padres vivían en North Lawndale, un vecindario que se vio profundamente choque cultural y no sabía si iba a lograrlo”, dijo. “Echaba de menos mi afectado por el virus. Rangel destacó sus sacrificios, que la casa con diez personas viviendo en ella, llevaron a ella y a sus hermanos a tener los gritos de mis padres, mis hermanos la oportunidad de continuar con una que nunca me dejaban sola y la comida educación superior y crear una vida casera. Extrañaba a mi familia, mis raíces por mis esperanzas y sueños”. abundante. Magdaleno finalmente se dio cuenta “Mis padres me enseñaron a tener agallas y una mentalidad de que tendría que adaptarse y comenzar crecimiento… nos inculcaron que nunca una vida diferente. Terminó encontrando nos rindiéramos”, dijo Rangel. “‘Echale consuelo en los vecindarios latinos de ganas, mija’ era muy común en nuestra Pilsen, Little Village y Back of the Yards, que le recordaron casa. Supongo su hogar y sus que estos raíces mexicanas. conceptos no “Espero que todos los Los familiares son exclusivos solían decirle a una de mi familia. estudiantes que están joven Dominique ¿Están todos de aquí hoy recuerden Mejía que debía ser acuerdo?” abogada porque le De mesa en encantaba discutir mesa, la pregunta decirle a su familia mucho. Sus padres de Rangel fue cuánto aprecian su inmigrantes seguida por m e x i c a n o s n u m e r o s o s apoyo y esfuerzo para lucharon durante asentamientos de muchos años aprobación. colocarlos donde en Los Ángeles, Ella citó un California, , estudio de 2007 están hoy” tratando de cubrir de The Journal los gastos a fin de of Personality darles a ella y a sus and Social WWSTEPHANIA RODRIGUEZ | LA DEPAULIA Psychology que Abogada de primera generación tres hermanos una La ex alumna de DePaul, Gardenia Rangel, fue la presentadora principal en la ceremovida mejor. concluyó que la nia dew graduación latinx. El aumento d e t e r m i n a c i ón del costo de vida esfuerzo para colocarlos donde están desconocido. Es a la vez intimidante y era un mejor predictor del éxito en la vida que el en California y la pérdida del trabajo de hoy”, dijo Mejía. emocionante porque podemos crear un coeficiente intelectual de cualquier su padre llevaron a su familia a empacar camino que nos permita tener el espacio Magdaleno reflexionó sobre la maletas y mudarse a Kansas y, finalmente, pregunta vicentina de DePaul “¿Qué se para encontrar y reimaginar cualquier persona. A fin de hablar sobre la noción a Chicago. Ahora, dijo, pronto entregará debe hacer?” y lo difícil que fue para cosa”. de apoyo y sacrificio familiar, José a sus padres sus documentos para la muchos responderla en medio de la Domínguez Magdaleno relató las ciudadanía estadounidense, como su presión de los acontecimientos ocurridos dificultades que enfrentó al dejar la abogada. en los últimos años. “Espero que todos los estudiantes casa de sus padres en Nueva Jersey para “Ahora, no deberíamos tener que que están aquí hoy recuerden decirle a sentir esa presión”, dijo. “Estamos obtener su licenciatura en DePaul. “En mi primer año me golpeó el su familia cuánto aprecian su apoyo y entrando en un mundo que aún es
Dominique Mejía
La DePaulia. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 17
Reseña culinaria con La DePaulia: Arturo’s Tacos By Vanessa Ramos & Santiago Posada-Jaramillo Editora de Multimedia y Gerente Editorial, La DePaulia
Yo me crié en un hogar salvadoreño, pero conocí la cocina mexicana desde muy joven. Crecí con compañeros de clase mexicanos, y es una de las comidas más populares en mi comunidad. Aunque expuesta a una gran parte de la cultura, nunca me he desviado de mi pedido habitual: un burrito o una torta de bistec. No es raro que mi familia y yo vayamos a estos restaurantes, pero esta vez me aventuré a salir sola. Aproveché este tiempo y decidí probar algunas cosas nuevas. A pesar de no ser mexicana, puedo decir con confianza que amo y aprecio la cocina mexicana. Mientras hacía compras de segunda mano en Village Discount y Family Thrift, tuve la suerte de encontrarme con Arturo’s Tacos. Había algunas construcciones cerca pero se podía distinguir rápidamente dónde estaba Arturo’s Tacos debido a su exterior pintado de color naranja brillante, cortando con el cielo azul. El restaurante también tenía ventanas hermosamente decoradas y pinturas por todo el lugar. En ocasiones normales habría pedido horchata, pero esta vez sustituí mi bebida por jugo de tamarindo. El sabor era una gran combinación de dulces y amargos. Antes de que llegara mi comida, me dieron papas fritas y salsa gratis. Primero probé la salsa fresca, era picante y no fue mi favorita. Tenía demasiada cebolla en comparación con los otros vegetales. Luego probé la salsa verde. Al principio, no era tan picante como la salsa fresca, pero luego entró y me golpeó de la nada. Como entrada, pedí un taco de barbacoa, gordita de bistec y un sope de chicharrón. Después de unos minutos mi comida había llegado y todo se veía genial.
La mesera fue muy amable y me hizo sentir como en casa. Tomé fotos antes de comenzar a comer, pero me moría de hambre y no podía esperar para probar la comida. Empecé con el taco de barbacoa. Aunque estaba bastante bueno, era solo un taco básico con cilantro y cebolla sin picante; nada especial en mi opinión. Después del taco probé el sope de chicharrón y este sí me sorprendió. Yo estaba acostumbrada a comer chicharrón frito o como aderezo para papas fritas. En cambio, el chicharrón estaba preparado con chiles verdes. Estaba bastante picante, pero considero que tengo poca tolerancia a lo picante. Terminé con el sope de bistec que tenía más relleno y variedad. Como su nombre lo indica el relleno era de bistec, pero también venía cubierto con frijoles refritos, lechuga, tomates y crema agria. En general, disfruté mucho de mi comida y experiencia. Recomiendo fuertemente ir a Arturo’s Tacos. De todas las comidas que probé, mi favorita fue el sope de chicharrón porque era el plato que tenía más sabor. Sabía muy bien incluso sin ayuda de los aderezos. Tanto el taco como la gordita son una gran opción, pero yo me iría por la gordita. Tenía la mayor cantidad de ingredientes y variedad, lo que hizo que valiera la pena el precio. En cuanto al taco, estaba rico pero era un poco caro para una sola persona. Necesitarías un poco más para sentirte satisfecho en comparación con pedir un sope o una gordita. ¡Arturo’s Tacos es un restaurante amigable con un ambiente encantador y gran servicio! Está ubicado en 2001 N Western Ave. Está abierto de 8 am a 2 am de domingo a miércoles y de 8 am a 5 am, así que no
VANESSA RAMOS| LA DEPAULIA
El ambiente del restaurante tiene muchos colores y decoraciones típicas mexicanas.
VANESSA RAMOS| LA DEPAULIA
Arturo’s Tacos es un restaurante mexicano en Bucktown.
tienes excusa para no salir a probarlo. Sirven desayuno, brunch, almuerzo y cena, y tienen diferentes opciones en el
VANESSA RAMOS| LA DEPAULIA
Unos tacos de asada con frijoles y arroz a la derecha de un sope de asada y gordita de chicharrón.
menú para que siempre haya algo para todos.
La Voz de Río de Janeiro en DePaul By Santiago Gonzalez Tijerina Escritor, La DePaulia
El pasado viernes 20 de mayo, en el campus de DePaul en Lincoln Park, se manifestó la voz de Zeno Camera, acompañado de la banda musical ‘Socks Off ’. Zeno Camera es un estudiante de 21 años nacido en Río de Janeiro, Brasil. A pesar de que la carrera principal de Camera es neurología y actualmente estudia para ser un neurocirujano, él compone su propia música y, a menudo, se sube al escenario y la presenta al público. Este viernes no fue la excepción. Varios estudiantes se presentaron en el área común de Sanctuary Hall en el campus de Lincoln Park donde lo vieron cantar junto a la banda con la que ha colaborado previamente, ‘Socks Off ’. Es una banda conformada por varios estudiantes de DePaul, incluyendo los guitarristas Enzo Goodrich y Luke Gerskovich, al bajista Ryan Toomey, y al baterista Sebastian Jones. Juntos, Camera y ‘Socks Off ’ hicieron covers de varias canciones, incluyendo coberturas de artistas conocidos como “Treasure” de Bruno Mars y “Valerie” de Amy Winehouse. También presentaron canciones originales de Camera, como “Felt like Summer”, una canción donde él compara pasar tiempo con su pareja con el sentimiento de calidez del verano. Este espectáculo fue parte del evento “DePaulia Palooza”, organizado por el comité de alojamiento de estudiantes. En el evento
SANTIAGO GONZALEZ | LA DEPAULIA
El cantante principal Zeno Camera acompañado de su banda, ‘Socks Off’, tuvo un concierto en el patio de Sanctuary Hall.
había inflables, juegos, y se proporcionaron helados y limonada gratis para el público. Uno de los miembros del comité de organización, Ronit Dey, mencionó que le encantaría volver a traer a Camera a cantar en próximos eventos que organicen para DePaul. “Son gente fácil con quien trabajar [Camera y ‘Socks Off ’] y son muy buenos” dijo Dey. En una entrevista con Camera, él explicó por qué le gusta cantar, lo cual ha hecho desde que tiene nueve años. “Como hombres, no hemos sido enseñados a expresar nuestras emociones muy bien, en especial como hombre latino siempre ha sido mal visto que lloremos o expresemos emociones tristes.
En cambio la música me da un canal para expresar enojo, tristeza, frustración, y las cosas que siempre fui enseñado que expresar sería malo, o poco masculino.” Camera también mencionó a Gilberto Gil, anterior ministro de cultura en Brasil, como una significante influencia para él, al enseñarle cómo mezclar canciones en inglés y portugues, al igual que incorporar su cultura brasileña a su música. Los estudiantes que asistieron al concierto de Camera se divirtieron bastante. Aaron Greenberg, uno de los fans dijo que la banda trajo “la vibra perfecta” al evento. “Ya tengo una de las canciones de Camera descargada en mi teléfono, me encantaría
verlos tocar de nuevo” agregó Greenberg. Esta ocasión marca la segunda vez que Camera participa como vocalista principal de ‘Socks Off ’ en un evento oficial de DePaul. La primera vez fue en la ceremonia de 20 años del centro de estudiantes de DePaul, ocurrido el 28 de abril de este mismo año. En este concierto tanto Camera como el resto de la banda dieron una maravillosa actuación, tanto así que cuando acabaron, el público gritaba pidiendo otra canción. La participación de Camera como vocalista principal de una banda popular entre los estudiantes de DePaul es una representación fenomenal del involucramiento de estudiantes latinos en la comunidad de DePaul; y él está orgulloso de su etnicidad. En su canción “Lips like Chardonnay”, la cual está disponible en todas las plataformas de música, Camera canta el último verso en portugues, lo cual expresa sus raíces brasileñas. Adicionalmente, en el concierto, Camera cantó “Quebra-Coco”, otra canción original, pero esta es completamente en portugués. ‘Socks Off ’ no tiene canciones originales aún pero los miembros de la banda planean, en su debido momento, componer y publicar un proyecto. Mientras tanto, ellos anuncian todos los eventos en los cuales se presentan a través de su cuenta de Instagram: @socksoffband. Camera, por otra parte, tiene tres sencillos y un álbum, llamado “Xeno”. Toda la música de Camera se puede encontrar en Spotify y en Apple Music.
18 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
Arts & Life
VANESSA LOPEZ | THE DEPAULIA
A crowd begins to gather at a stage at Chicago's newest Latin music festival, Sueños, in Grant Park on May 28. The two-day festival featured headliners such as Ozuna and J Balvin.
Sueños Music Festival
Chicago's first outdoor reggaeton latino-centric music fiesta By Josephine Stratman & Vanessa Lopez Staff Writers
This Memorial Day weekend, Chicago hosted its first-ever outdoor Sueños Music Festival in Grant Park. This is the largest outdoor reggaeton Latino festival ever held downtown. With music that mixes reggae rhythms with hip-hop elements, as well as Spanish rapping. Thousands of festival-goers celebrated and danced at the one-stage venue to the music of artists Ozuna, El Alfa, and J Balvin. It was the first time Ozuna had performed in Chicago in four years. The festival was also J Balvin’s only appearance planned in the city for this year, and his first time back since his 2019 Lollapalooza performance. Suenos was presented by the producers behind the Baja Beach Fest, Lollapalooza, and Reventon Promotions. Many attendees expressed their enthusiasm for the festival and what it offers to the Latino community in Chicago. “I came for the artists, but being here makes me feel like I'm a part of something special,” said Jackie Zambrano, 24, from Chicago. “This is for Latinos, and I am Latino; this is for me, and I'm representing today.” Cynthia Ortiz, 26, came with a group of friends and was very excited to be at the first Sueños. “It feels special because this is the first-ever festival that’s just [Latinos], playing reggaeton, so it feels special to have everybody together,” Ortiz, a Park Ridge resident, said. “I’m excited for tomorrow, too, because all the artists that will be there tomorrow, I know all of them. I love all their songs.” The festival aimed not just to bring top reggaeton stars to the Windy City, but also to continue to celebrate and uplift Latino culture, according to a press release. Latinos represent 28.6 percent of the city’s population.
Mauricio Ramirez, 27, came alone to the festival but said he still felt connected to others. “I'm proud to be here, I feel myself, and for the first time today, I've had genuine laughs… I definitely feel more at home at this festival compared to others, it's nice,” he said. Ramirez, like other attendees, was looking forward to the headliners. “This weekend, I'm looking forward to listening to my favorite artists, especially J Balvin,” he said. There was a range of food options on-site, including Adobo Grill, Cabo’s Tacos, Connie’s Pizza, and the Vegan Side of Mexico. A Ferris wheel on the grounds gave attendees a look at the skyline — and at the long lines filling the park. “We are so grateful. We are so grateful to be celebrating Suenos fest here in Grant Park,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said to the crowd, decked out in a summer-ready straw fedora. Despite the good spirits, the festival’s first day came with some glitches. Puerto Rican duo Jowell and Randy didn’t make their set, and a last-minute VIP change switched around the layout. Originally, the VIP section would have taken the full front area — but a map alteration five days before the festival changed the layout so VIP ticket holders had just one side of the stage. “This update has been made with the entire VIP experience in mind,” Sueños staff said over Instagram. “All VIPs will have Front Stage Viewing with plenty of space to dance, drink, laugh, sing, you name it. The VIP area on the side is simply quick access to your exclusive VIP bars, food, bathrooms, water, and more.” Emily Garcia, 20, was a disappointed VIP ticket holder.
VANESSA LOPEZ | THE DEPAULIA
Two festival attendees hold up a Columbian flag during day one of the Sueños festival. “I feel like the coordination could have been better,” Garcia said. “Many artists arrived late and didn't show up and security is only handing out water to those at the front… I understand that this is their first festival, but I was expecting more.” Even though Garcia wasn’t thrilled about the festival’s organization, she was still glad it happened. “I believe that for a long time, people have wanted to express themselves and their culture as Latinos. This feels like it was made particularly for us and to create an experience that brings us all together,” Garcia said. Rosa Franco, 31, is a Chicago resident, who was attending her first festival, was proud to be dancing with people from her
culture. “I love it,” Franco said. “I am happy to be here, I am looking forward to the experience this weekend because I have never done anything like this before.” Isabella Rivera, 24, Carmen Bena, 23, and Aislinn Trujillo, 24, are old friends from high school in Elgin. They came to Suenos with one mission. “We came to shake our asses,” Rivera said. “That’s basically it.” Her group is going on both days of the festival. “I want to see El Alfa, El Alfa is… fire,” Rivera said. “It’s just a whole vibe, it’s a positive vibe, it’s all Latinos, we’re all together.”
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 19
Young, Queer and in Chicago: Meetings Points finds a way to be understood By Grace Vaughn Contributing Writer
When reflecting on the writing process of his newest play, one word comes to graduate student Morris McLennan's mind: nightmare. The first draft of "Meeting Points” was created during the initial height of the pandemic, as McLennan isolated himself from others. He was forced to find inspiration in past relationships, his sense of self and the state of the world. "I never realized just how much of my ability to have coherent and creative thoughts relied on regular interaction with other people," McLennan said. "I couldn’t pull from my usual sources." "Moving Points" follows the lives of four young, queer people living in Chicago — Nathan, Nora, Jay and Wendy. They struggle with things most audience members can relate to, from waiting for a delayed Brown Line train that feels like it may never come to questioning their relationships with one another. For Quinn Riggs, a senior at DePaul studying Theatre Arts, the play's overarching theme of finding a sense of belonging drew them into taking on the role of Wendy. They transferred from Oklahoma City University in 2020 and found it extremely difficult to connect with others while taking remote classes. "Even now, as we've finally started to see people in person again, the feeling is strange and euphoric... but also dysphoric," Riggs said. Riggs originally joined the production as the assistant director, but when the original casting for Wendy left the show mid-rehearsal, they stepped in to fill the part. This week’s showings of "Meeting Points" will be their first and last time performing on DePaul's stage before graduating this spring. Riggs claimed similar labels as Wendy,
PHOTO COURTESY OF @THEATRESCHOOLDEPAUL ON INSTAGRAM
Students act in a scene from "Meeting Points," a DePaul Theatre School production. such as being nonbinary, but their affinities seemed to stop there. They worked to develop the character in an authentic way over time. One of the most important aspects of their performance was to display the internal journey of gender exploration to the audience without being candid about the topic. "It's a new level of visibility for me,” Riggs said. “Not only are we doing a show about queer people, but Morris created a script that doesn't box us in. He's offered some insight
Students grapple with mental health By Violet Smale Contributing Writer
As May comes to a close, the conversation about mental health remains open. It’s no secret that college is demanding, physically and mentally. Feelings of stress, anxiety and depression are all too familiar for the average college student. Roughly 44 percent of college students suffer from anxiety and depression according to the Mayo Clinic. With finals around the corner and summer just out of reach, DePaul students are no strangers to the stressors of springtime. Deadlines, move-out and final grades loom over the minds of busy students. Amid this chaos, many students find a challenge in prioritizing their mental health. DePaul Sophomore Isabella Eckhardt spoke honestly about her struggle with finding a balance between school and life. “I feel like I don’t really [prioritize mental health] at all. I probably should, but I don’t really take it into consideration,” Eckhardt said. “It’s like… ten percent [mental health], ninety percent [school],” Eckhardt continued. “Right now I’m sick, and I really didn’t take time for myself to deal with it until this morning. And it really takes a toll on me,” This begs the question: what is DePaul doing to support their students? And is it working? A brief glance at the DePaul Student Affairs website will uncover a page dedicated to “Mental Wellbeing.” “I think it’s a lot of talk and no show,” Eckhardt said, when asked if DePaul values the mental health of its students and employees. “Mental well-being is guided by a holistic approach to mental health and wellness. This includes recognizing that all of our facets of wellness (social, emotional, intellectual, environmental, financial, physical, and spiritual)
are equally important,” reads the web page, followed by links to several resources including an informational page about sleep, mental health “first-aid”, and the Student Support Program. This holistic approach to mental health, in which all aspects of wellness are considered, seems to resonate with students. “It’s important to nourish every aspect of your life,” DePaul sophomore Cate Monin said. “Academics is only one part of that. You also have your social life, your physical well-being, and time to pray or meditate, that’s important to me.” Students who have attempted to reach DePaul counseling services through the Student Support Program expressed disappointment in the system. “I went through the [Student Support Program] app and got set up with a therapist. We had five scheduled meetings, two of which she canceled last minute, so we only had three sessions. I emailed asking when I could reschedule and she never replied,” said sophomore Dan Deis. There seems to be no lack of resources pertaining to wellness on campus. There are hubs with resources for almost every issue a student may struggle with on the university website. These hubs cover topics such as substance misuse, relationship violence prevention, and other difficulties students may face. Whether or not these resources are effective is another question. “I think DePaul values mental health. I see that they hold events for de-stressing…I can’t say that I’ve been to them, but I think that the fact that they hold them shows that they have an awareness of mental health,” Monin said. Monin has found her professors to be accommodating and supportive. “I think if I went to any of my professors right now, and I said that I needed extra time, or that I was going through something, I think they would be supportive and give me the extension I need,”
into how he imagines the character while also encouraging us to find our own voice." While the play represents a range of different identities on stage, the plot remains focused on the characters’ yearning to feel understood. They slowly open their hearts to romance, but question whether it's possible to share a life with someone while staying true to yourself. "These are the kinds of relationships I know enough about to write,” McLennan
said. “It would be very strange if I attempted to write an authentic and accurate heterosexual love story." With "Meeting Points" set in the near future, characters faced the detrimental effects of climate change and the political state of the country. One scene shows Wendy and Nora sitting in their apartment dealing with a power outage after a windstorm destroys parts of the city. Towards the end of the play, Jay and Nathan are walking down the street as a news alert on their phone notifies them that the president had been shot by a gunman. These apocalyptic scenes are often interrupted abruptly by the characters sharing personal stories, contemplating the afterlife or imagining alternative realities. "I think it's the more subtle moments in this show that really stick with you. For me, it was the jellyfish tank," said Sam Theis, an audience member. They are referring to Nathan and Jay's first date scene at the Shedd Aquarium. The new couple admires the jellyfish exhibit and questions whether the creatures are stuck in the tank with other animals they can't stand. The questions that arise from this show feel more universal than ever as we navigate life during the pandemic. At times, it feels like society expects us to move on and plan for the future all while the world around us goes through drastic change. McLennan's work takes these moments and uses them as an opportunity for each character to become a more authentic version of themselves. In his playwright's note, McLennan writes, "I cannot solve all global problems by writing plays. But I hope that I can show the terrified teenagers in the audience that, regardless of what happens, you can live a full life. You can grow. You can become yourself."
Mental Health for College Students
SUICIDE
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY
AMBER STOUTENBOROUGH | THE DEPAULIA
Monin continued. Overall, students seem to believe there is room for improvement in DePaul’s approach to mental health. “I think they say they [value mental health] and they try to, but they don’t really take action,” concluded Eckhardt. This sentiment was echoed by other students, Deis saying his experience with the SSP led him to believe that student’s mental health
is undervalued at DePaul. Although DePaul has made a definitive effort to prioritize mental health on campus, there is still work to be done to make students feel truly valued and prioritized. More information about signs and symptoms of mental illness, as well as treatment options can be found on the NAMI website.
20 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 bbno$, continued from front page The song starts with bbno$ asking producer Y2K “did I really just forget that melody?” The producer then hums the line back to the rapper who launches into the catchy chorus. In the crowd, phones lifted to capture the rapper performing his biggest hit, only to get interrupted by “Never Gonna Give You Up,” the classic Rick Astley hit that inspired the Rickroll meme. After performing the first verse of “Never Gonna Give You Up” amidst the audience’s visible eyerolls, bbno$ gave the attendees what they wanted, restarting and finishing “Lalala” in full. There were other tongue-in-cheek moments during the show, including a poetic reading of a recipe from Richard Simmons’ “Never-say-diet” cookbook. The rapper is known for playing into internet culture; he is not afraid of being a little eccentric. Recently, after performing at the JUNOS, Canada’s biggest music award show, bbno$ made a “public service announcement” to the viewers, celebrating the end of his celibacy. He told The DePaulia that impromptu moments like that are all a part of the show. “I didn't really have a thought process, to be honest; I kind of was just winging it,” bbno$ said about his performance. “But, you know, put a show on for the people. Everyone always fits in between the lines. They always do this, they do that, or they do that. So why not just like, you know, lose your mind?” That sense of humor carried through in his performance at FEST. Bbno$ wasn’t afraid to engage the crowd. He ate the Cheez-Its that the FEST volunteers were handing out, invited a student on stage to perform Yung Gravy’s verses and ended his set with a fun collection of popular dance music. Students fed on his energy and decided to orchestrate an impromptu moment of their own.
Between songs, a group in the crowd invited the rapper to meet them at a local Lincoln Park bar, shouting “Come to Kelly’s!” “I’m not coming to Kelly’s,” the rapper responded, a little confused. When the crowd booed and began chanting the name of the bar, he conceded. “Maybe I’ll come to Kelly’s,” he said, appeasing the audience before launching into the next song. But after the show, bbno$ admitted he wasn’t planning on going out. He told The DePaulia that he was going back to his hotel to sleep in before an early morning flight back to Canada. Bbno$ is in the middle of the Canadian leg of his world tour. After FEST, he’ll perform approximately 110 more shows across the globe, wrapping up his tour in December. He’ll only have a short break and then launch into work again, preparing for his album set for a Sept. 9 release next year. “I'm gonna have a week off with my family and do Christmas, and then go to perhaps Barbados and then write an album for two months and not use my phone,” he told The DePaulia. “It's gonna be great. I can't wait. That's pretty much my life until February or March.” At DePaul, students are anticipating a summer break that is much closer in sight. The DePaulia asked bbno$, who has a degree in kinesiology, what advice he had for STEM majors who are preparing for their final papers and exams. While he would not recommend doing this, he told The DePaulia that he paid a friend $500 to write a final paper for a class about birds he took unrelated to his major. Flipping that into a more positive light, he advised students to collaborate with their peers. “Use your friends and study,” he said. Beyond study tips, bbno$ plugged one thing he thinks people should try. He enjoys Vietnamese food because it’s tasty and he doesn’t have to worry too much
LESLIE WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA
bbno$ opens the show at FEST. He performed one of his most popular songs "edamame." about his dairy or gluten allergy when choosing a Vietnamese dish. The DePaulia asked bbno$ about a clear essential to his brand. The pink toque is a bbno$ staple, but contrary to what you might believe, he doesn’t have a stockpile of hats. The toque is a treasured item in his wardrobe
that isn’t easily replaced. “Yeah, it's very well worn,” bbno$ said about his toque. “I've only had two of these in my whole career. I was in London, and [my brother] threw it out into the crowd. I was very disappointed. But that happened like three years ago. So this is a three-year-old toque.”
Fest, continued from front page
lights and shouted along to his setlist full of throwback hits like “Birthday Song,” “Grey Area,” and “BIG BANK.” The expectations for this year’s lineup were high, especially since several students recounted excited rumors flying around about FEST 2020 bringing in a big name before the event was canceled. A poll earlier in the quarter asked students who they wanted to see perform this year, with Pitbull emerging as a popular contender. When 2 Chainz was announced as the headliner, some students said they were apprehensive. “Every time I’ve told somebody that it’s him, they're like, ‘what?’” Adan, one of the sophomores, said before the show. “He's a little old, like early 2000s.” But the energy of the crowd seemed LESLIE WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA to give this year’s performer a stamp of Two student FEST goers snap a selfie during the opening acts of the student band. approval. DePaul sophomores Magda Wilhelm “You could tell that 2 Chainz is a per- campus. and Madeline Smith gave a review of the “I feel like we were able to return to Smith said. “I grew up listening former,” show at the DePaul Activities Board after a little bit,” Camarena said. “It normal pretty was that so mom, my with him to party in the Student Center. DePaul as a community is able like feels cool.” The two were dressed up as Pitbull together after Covid.” back come to without song single every liked “I and had been the center of student attenthe challenges of teachdespite But added. Wilhelm was,” he who knowing tion all night, but even though their faropes and navigating the students ing year’s this between gap the Given vorite performer hadn’t been chosen for restrictions, the OfCovid-19 changing of many 2019, in show last the and FEST FEST, they said they had a great time. was able to Involvement Student of fice FEST planning in involved students the “bbno$ I think knew how to appeal successfully. event the on put themselves. it to been never had to us better,” Wilhelm said. “Personally, I “After going through these past years Abram Camarena was one of the few know more [about] him from TikTok … the pandemic, it's great that we were with experihad who attendance in students I feel like he could connect to us better.” to bring such a campus tradition able before. FEST enced When 2 Chainz came on stage, the to DePaul,” said Teneshia Arnold, back part this back bringing that said He two said they were impressed by his endirector of the Office of Stuassistant the on spirits lift helped culture student of ergetic stage presence.
LESLIE WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA
2 Chainz performs at FEST which was held May 27 on the DePaul quad.
dent Involvement and the lead staff member who helped coordinate FEST. While just a year ago students finished their spring quarter by submitting online finals in their rooms, FEST brought a lively event to close out the year.
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 21
ART BY MAYA OCLASSEN
Star War's newest show narrates a tale of struggle and resilince By Lilly K eller Asst. Arts & Life Editor
In the 17 years since "Revenge of the Sith" graced theaters in 2005, many fans were certain they had seen the last of beloved characters such as Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor, or Anakin Skywalker, who is portrayed by Hayden Christensen. Yet, patience seems to favor those who wait. Announced in 2020, the two years leading up to "Obi-Wan Kenobi" repleted fans' love for the franchise after a disappointing end to the sequel trilogy in 2019. As a longtime fan of all things "Star Wars," I held high hopes for the "Kenobi" debut, so much so that I even primed my alarm for its 2 a.m. launch time to avoid spoilers. While I may not be well-rested, I am pleased to say that the premiere of "Kenobi" delivered on nearly all fronts. Told through three interconnected plotlines, "Kenobi" offers fans a glimpse into Obi-Wan's despondent yet mundane life after escaping the clutches of the fledgling empire. Nipping at Kenobi's heels are the strained yet menacing effort of Vader's inquisitors, crafting a grim outlook for the handful of remaining Jedi who managed to escape the Order's downfall at the clutches of Emperor Palpatine. Lastly, character introductions allow for an essential balance between Obiwan's struggles and his unaccounted-for years. Beginning in the arid deserts of Tatooine, initially, I was worried "Kenobi" would veer too far down the path of its sister show "The Mandalorian," which highlighted the honorable deeds of bounty hunter Din Djarin in the face of adversity. Fortunately, "Kenobi" doesn't run from the realities of survivor's guilt or grief when crafting the portrait of a once brilliant Jedi, now reduced to a brutal
daily existence with the singular goal of protecting ten-year-old Luke Skywalker. Perhaps one of the most notable aspects of the show's back-to-back premiere was the application of tension between the fan's last memory of Obi-Wan's self-imposed exile at the end of "Revenge of the Sith" and his mystic yet wise mentorship during "A New Hope." For the duration of the premiere, fans are left waiting, expecting Kenobi to rise to the occasion and run toward whatever impending danger is lurking behind the Dune sea. Yet, Obi-Wan has become a shell of himself, haunted by the ghosts of a past that remain irreparable. There is a certain humanity in ObiWan's hesitation and blatant refusal to help those in need. His struggle reflects the essence of a man who has been forced to give up, surrendering his confidence in others and himself. Kenobi's seemingly endless despair is tangible, proving that the franchise still has it when manipulating viewers' heartstrings. "Kenobi" highlights the ruined Jedi's path 10 years after his apprentice Anakin Skywalker fell to the dark side and became feared Sith apprentice Darth Vader. It crafts an essential link between the trilogies, strengthening the notions we thought we once knew. New characters, such as Inquisitor Reva, played by Moses Ingram, introduce a woman neither satisfied nor stated in her quest to prove her worth amongst the elite ranks of the Empire. Her unflinching determination in delive ring Obi-Wan to Vader is alluring and refreshing, captivating viewers every time she enters the frame. Admittedly, as the first episode powered onwards, the gnawing notion that a misplaced cameo could sour "Kenobi's" vital yet needed simplicity slipped into my mind. Despite the powerful effect of a cameo within an aged yet beloved franchise, such as with Luke Skywalker
within "The Mandalorian" finale, their ability to overshadow a show's main lead is more than apparent. Yet when Vivien Lyra Blair, portraying a 10-year-old Leia Organa, graced viewer's screens, it was more than a relief. For far too long has the franchise solely favored Luke Skywalker, often chaining Leia, initially played by the late Carrie Fisher, to her painfully unnecessary gold bikini in "Return of the Jedi" rather than treating her equally as a hero. While the performance of child actors is often a gamble, Blair perfectly en-
capsulates Leia's sharp wit and bravery in the face of the unknown. Young Organa offers a breath of well-composed nostalgia that merely enhances McGregor's performance, allowing for a moving yet well-crafted sequence to unfold. With four episodes remaining, it is evident that "Kenobi" will continue to deliver an emotional yet satisfactory resolution to a fan-favorite character. "Obi-Wan Kenobi" can be streamed through Disney+, where new installations are released every Wednesday.
Are you interested in helping us carry the weight of the world, or at the least the business-side of The DePaulia, on our shoulders? If so, apply for the position of Business Manager! Learn more by contacting Robin Boyd at rboyd5@depaul.edu
22 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
An album-long love letter arrives in the sounds of 'Harry’s House' By Chinyere Ibeh Film and Music Critic
Harry Styles comes in heavy as he pours his heart out in “Harry’s House,” his third solo studio album. It also has become the fastest selling album of the year so far, according to Official Charts — and for good reason. Throughout the album, we hear Styles go through the various moments and emotions of love. We get the slow and subdued aspects of love while also getting the upbeat, ecstatic parts. The name of the album fits perfectly as each song seems to encapsulate what Style would play in his home. The album kicks off with “Music For A Sushi Restaurant.” The bass guitar has a consistent presence throughout the song, which I thoroughly enjoyed. During the chorus, or the music break, the drums go from ear to ear if you’re listening with headphones. The overall vibe was a very soft psychedelic; imagine pastels and flowers. “Late Night Thing” features the subdued vibe I mentioned earlier as it’s a bit calm and slow. The late night theme deals with him and his love speaking all night and they continue until morning. Styles sings, “We’ve been doing this // late night talking // ‘bout anything you want // ‘til morning.” The song perfectly encapsulates the mood of speaking with someone
you love through the late hours of the night and early hours of the morning. Following the late night talks, we hear Style count down into the piano drum of “Grapejuice.” A pop-funk perfection reminds me of t he peak of Tumblr for some reason. Style sings about drinking “a bottle of rouge” while being in a garden with the one he loves; he speaks about the places they’ve been together. “Grapejuice” has Styles reminiscing about the special places he shares with his loved one while picnicking. A song that personally resonates with me has to be “Matilda.” Style sings about someone named Matilda who has grown up in a toxic environment. Sometimes, they feel guilty for moving away from their family and specifically, they feel guilty about not inviting Harry to a party. Styles reassures Matilda and validates her feelings: “You can let it go // You can throw a party full of everyone you know // And not invite your family, ‘cause they never showed you love // You don’t have to be sorry for leaving and growing up.” The closing track is “Love of My Life,” which puts the cherry on top in regards to the whole album. Throughout “Harry’s House,” Styles pours his heart out to his love — but in this song, he sings about letting go of that love. He shows regret for leaving the love of his life behind. Styles looks back on his life and he realizes how much he loved this person and he can’t believe that he let
By Vanessa Lopez Staff Writer
PHOTO BY IMDB
Harry Styles poses for Better Home & Garden to promote his latest album.
this person go out of his life. “Harry’s House” features a 13song tracklist that have various Instagram-ready lyrics. Styles dedicated the entire album to showcasing his love while experimenting with pop-funk and synth-pop as well as incorporating R&B. Styles continues to grow throughout his time as a solo artist and “Harry’s House” shall be another stepping stone in a positive direction.
'Under the Banner of Heaven': Hulu miniseries based on a true story
By K atherine Hanner Contributing Writer
“Under the Banner of Heaven,” a Hulu miniseries based on a true story explores the idea of organized religion, Mormon fundamentalism, and law enforcement. The show explores how personal beliefs intertwine with life and career choices. So far, only five of the seven episodes have been released. The main character, Jeb Pyre who is played by Andrew Garfield, is a devout Mormon man who works as a detective in Salt Lake Valley, Utah. In this primarily Morman town, there are few extreme crimes, with the exception of a double murder committed against Brenda Lafferty and her infant daughter Erica Lafferty. This case seems to point to devoted members of the church and their criminal actions. Throughout the series, we see flashbacks to the Lafferty family, which includes the five boys and their mother and father, as they are being arrested and investigated for the double murder. The Lafferty family, a respected family in the Mormon Church, have their normal family problems, like issues with the young men seeking approval from their parents about their spouses and how much they help the family, along with struggles with their faith that are broadcasted and chastised in the community. Allen, her husband, is the main suspect of her murder, but he is seemingly the only Lafferty that has left the church and his faith behind. The Lafferty family has separated and moved to different places, pursuing different paths in their careers and their personal faith. As the family's current actions are revealed, we find that Allen may be
PHOTO FROM IMDB
Gil Birmingham, Britt Irvin, and Andrew Garfield act in "Under the Banner of Heaven."
the most normal person in the family. Jeb, through interrogating this well-respected mormon family, begins questioning his own faith and the Mormon Church. Leaders in the church are telling Jeb to push away his questions about the past of the church and focus on his personal faith in the moment. He questions whether or not to baptize his children or to even attend routine Church meetings. Overall, this show is an incredibly interesting watch, especially if you enjoy watching shows about true crime and corruption. One of the other shows about the Mormon Church is “Murder Among the Mormons” on Netflix. That show highlights some unseen documents being traded, fabricated and sold within the church. Though the documentary is a very different style from
Mayfest comes back to Lincoln Park
the murder mystery style of tv show, they both cover similar subject matter. Though the plotline of “Under the Banner of Heaven” is confusing at times, and there are many characters, this seems to be intentional. There are many stories being told at the same time that seem to overlap, but this is done as the detectives are investigating the murder. As the investigation continues, the confusion subsides and questions are answered. This show follows the investigation as it unfolds, so the audience is able to figure out the mystery of the double murder along with the characters. Episodes of the show come out weekly on Hulu on Thursdays. The last episode comes out June 2.
Festival season has arrived in Chicago, and this weekend Mayfest kicked off the summer music street festival season in Lincoln Park. The weather may not have been ideal, but the rain held off long enough for Chicagoans to enjoy live performances, food, local vendors and activities for all ages. Mayfest celebrated its 25th anniversary this weekend as it began as a parking lot block party in Lakeview the past years. Mayfest relocated to Lincoln Park on Armitage in Sheffield this year, where many folks in Lincoln Park attended their first Mayfest. Kendall Davenport, who had recently relocated to Lincoln Park from Texas, noticed a lot of advertising for the event and brought her family for the first time. "My family and I are trying to experience [as] much as possible here in Chicago," Davenport said. "I've gotten to try a lot of different foods, and the food has been great, as has everyone here.” Many others, including Davenport, were attending Mayfest for the first time. Anna Wildeman from Wicker Park, who had read about the approaching street festivals in Chicago, wanted to check out Mayfest as well. “I wanted to see live music; I had heard about 16 Candles but missed it; still, I am excited to hear whoever is performing and spend some time with my friend here; nothing beats festival season in Chicago,”Wildeman said. Chicagoans were able to experience what Mayfest has to offer, but many local vendors were also attending their first Mayfest and were hoping for a successful weekend. Jose Silva from Silva Espadas was hoping to promote their business as it was their first year attending Mayfest. “Bags, shirts, sweatshirts, you name it, we sell it. With the help of close friends and family, all our items are custom-made,” Silva said. “We hand-draw most of our designs and handcraft all our other products with the help of each other.” “We came here to sell and promote our business, which was built by four brothers from immigrant parents,” Silva continued. “We are proud of what we do, and we are looking forward to what this weekend has in store.” Benjamin Hartman, who has driven back and forth from Kokomo, Indiana each day for Mayfest, was ecstatic to be there. "This is a huge event for me; there are a lot of other vendors here, and it feels awesome to be here," Hartman said. “All of my items here are handcrafted in Turkey, I assist my brother with his company. These items are handmade by female refugees in Turkey, and besides making sales this weekend I hope to raise awareness about violence against women and refugees.” This marks the start of summer for Chicagoans, as many individuals experienced Mayfest for the first time, each for different reasons but all supporting the local neighborhood through celebration. “It’s festival season and I’m here for it,” Davenport said.
What’s Fresh
FX’s ‘Atlanta’ season 3 is the best TV since ‘The Sopranos’
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 23
'Men' Review: Director Alex Garland’s Latest Movie Disappoints
PHOTO FROM IMDB
ALLISON FREEMAN | THE DEPAULIA
A poster from FX's hit series "Atlanta" promotes the most recently released season.
By Logan Sriharatsa Contributing Writer
Season three of “Atlanta” is what modern television should be: hysterical, bold, creative and genre-bending, with some of the most beautiful and well-acted television episodes I’ve seen to date. ‘Atlanta’ is one of the few shows that depicts what it means to live in a contemporary America in an entertaining way. If you still haven’t watched “Atlanta” or seen the most recent season, give it a few episodes and judge the FX show for yourself. This most recent season of “Atlanta” is set in Europe, unlike the first two which take place in Atlanta, obviously, but Europe? I was surprised, like many others, but this type of out-of- left field setting change is just the kind of straightforward symbolism that the creator, Donald Glover, loves to include. From “Atlanta” in Atlanta to “Atlanta” in Europe, the FX show’s recent season was surreal and purposely dreamlike in comparison to its last two. It also featured even stranger celebrity cameos from Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgård, Chet Hanks and many others. ‘Atlanta’s’ season three took four years to release since its second season in September of 2018. This was due to the star-studded main cast of Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz having trouble lining up their schedules, since they all were highly sought after ever since “Atlanta” first started in 2016. Luckily, during that four-year span, they were able to finish filming both seasons three and four. The main storyline for season three picks up right where season two left off. Most of the main cast is now in Europe for Paper Boi’s music tour. Now, they must deal with all that comes with being famous and Black in Europe. This season most of the episodes are
non-serialized, so the main storyline doesn’t take place continuously throughout the episodes; some of them sidetrack to a different plot meant to tackle the issues of race, gender and nationality more effectively. For example, the first episode, titled “Three Slaps,” doesn’t take place in either Atlanta or Europe and none of the main cast is in it. This is because it’s based on two true stories: the 2018 Hart Family Murders and the 1912 “racial cleansing” of Forsyth County in Georgia. Whether or not you are familiar with these two events, the director of the episode, Hiro Murai, retells those events hauntingly. I was left with a feeling of dread that remained throughout the rest of the season because of his dark and raw portrayal of those two events with the constant suspense of his specific retelling of two terrible incidents. This is through” specific use of afro-surrealism in “Atlanta,” which is seen throughout its three seasons, but even more especially during this third season. Afro-surrealism is the depiction of the Black experience in America through overdramatizations in art to emphasize key points. Sadly, in the first episode of “Atlanta,” these aren’t over dramatizations or absurd depictions, since the events did really happen. Instead, the way the episode’s main writer, Stephen Glover, warped the small details of the plot of the Hart Family Murders in 2018 made me sick to my stomach in the best way possible. “Atlanta” is fantastic. I love its different directors every episode, each with a fresh vision and its hilarious writers who can make light of even the grimmest topics. It does all this and then tackles the issues of modern-day America through the guise of an FX show about a rapper and his crew touring throughout Europe.
By Jacob Costello Staff Writer
“Men” is the latest A24 horror movie with a one word title that takes itself way too seriously. While the movie has some gorgeous cinematography and stellar performances, the unsatisfactory story and metaphors leave a lot to be desired. Alex Garland is a filmmaker that has shown a lot of promise. His two earlier movies, “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation,” were both hits with critics and audience members alike. Given his decent track record, I was moderately excited to see this movie. Unfortunately, “Men” is not nearly the same caliber as his two other movies. The film follows Harper, played by Jessie Buckley, a woman whose husband committed suicide when she told him she wanted a divorce. To clear her mind and heal, Harper takes a vacation to the English countryside. She stays in a remote village where many of the men that live there begin to rub Harper the wrong way. After being followed by a mysterious figure while on a walk in the woods, Harper begins to fear for her life which thoroughly ruins her vacation. One of the few favorable aspects of this movie are the performances. Buckley’s raw emotion is very compelling and believable. While I did not like this movie as a whole, I can't fault her performance in the slightest. The other principal actor is Rory Kinnear, who plays all the men in the village. I love when actors play multiple characters in the same movie, and it is no different here. Kinnear is able to play distinctly different characters, while still keeping commonality in their unnerving nature. Without spoiling the movie, there is something off about these men and he portrays them excellently. While I do like Kinnear’s performances, the heavy handedness of the movie’s message takes away from them. With a title like “Men” you can tell this movie is not subtle about what it is going for. While this is a horror movie, it is very clear that Garland wanted to make a movie about men’s treatment of wom-
en. As a concept, I like this a lot, but the movie falls apart with its execution. Harper is a woman haunted by grief and guilt. Her feelings are made even worse by the men of the village. The men constantly make disparaging comments to her that blatantly lay out the theme of the movie. In one scene a priest, played by Kinnear, simultaneously tells her “men strike women sometimes” and that she is responsible for driving her husband to kill himself. The movie is full of scenes like this. Harper is told unabashedly wrong things by these men, further making her blame herself for her ex-husband’s death. My issue with this movie’s message is from the lack of subtlety or tact when delivering this. This is most apparent by the men being played by the same actor. I believe the message here is “all men are the same and protect other men,” which is an interesting idea to have in a horror movie. It is kneecapped, like every other interesting idea in this movie, by the overt nature of the film.This movie lacks any form of subtlety. As soon as I saw the first trailer for this months ago, I knew exactly what it was going to be. Sometimes that is fine, like for a slasher or action movie, but for a movie that wants to be seen as “elevated horror” or wants to be taken as smarter than your average horror movie, this is bad news. I legitimately think that this concept could work, if it was written and directed by a woman. I saw this movie with two of my friends, both women, and they had just as many issues as me, if not more. The movie wants to speak to the “woman experience” but in being written by the male director, it is not able to achieve that. When we were leaving the theater and discussing what we had just watched one of my friends said something very poignant. “This movie gives me the same feeling as those men who claim to be feminists and talk about how much they hate men with the sole purpose of making themselves seem dateable,” said Allison Freeman. I am giving “Men” one and a half out of five stars.
24 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
St.Vincent’s
D e JAMZ
“Spinning fresh beats since 1581” By Amber Stoutenborough Arts & Life Editor
POV: it’s 2009 right after the housing crisis, you haven’t skated since your sixth birthday because of the recession but your elementary school is hosting a roller night at Great Skate Galaxy. After begging your parents for weeks, you finally are able to join your peers for a night you will never forget. You grab your four-wheel skates (the six-wheel is still too complicated for you) and hobble your way to the rink with the fluorescent disco ball shining neon lights to the beat of the top ‘90s dance hits. In case this memory is too faint for you, here is the playlist to back it up. Boom boom boom boom! Vengaboys To be fair, I didn’t know this song was about sex until recently. This was my favorite song as a kid and I never understood why it upset my parents
so much that I sang it until now. Either way this song needed to be included in my personal roller rink playlist. The high beats and dance vibes create the best roller skating song to ever be created. Around the World (la la la) A touch of Class I think this song upset me the most as I really assumed this would be the vibe at clubs once I’m older. Since this is not what Bounce plays in 2022, I unfortunately will have to start partying at old roller rinks to heal my inner child. While this song is slightly slower than the rest, don’t let this discourage your pacing on the rink — think double time or use this opportunity to show off some floor work and include some spins. Blue (Da Ba Dee) Eiffel 65 A true novelty, this song opened the gate to my emo phase. Nothing worse than feeling blue :( . I
Crossword Garden Shed by Alejandro Arakelian
felt it was disrespectful not to include this song in the collection since it was so popular back in the day. I still have every word memorized to this bop. It was always very impressive for the kids that sang each word making intense eye contact zooming around the bowl. The Rockafeller Skank Fat Boy Slim To be fair I didn’t know the name of this song. It took me over an hour to find this specific one but the beat has been ingrained in my brain since every early 2000 comedy used it in their finale dance portion. The perfect song to show off some funky moves in the rink. Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) C & C Music Factory An iconic song, no question. Sung by singer Martha Wash and rapper Freedom Williams, this song reached
ACROSS 1 Composer J.S. 5 Hendrix hairdo 9 Peacock network 12 "Now ___ me down to sleep" (prayer start) 13 Online journal 14 She, in São Paulo 15 Bagel type 17 Got the dub 18 Monotonous 19 Broncos legend John 21 Long way around 22 "Cool!" 23 Wind instrument? 26 All squared up 27 Like nostalgia glasses 31 Second year, for short 32 Stumble 33 Self-evident truth 35 Corn husk wrapped dish 40 Big ray 41 Frog's landing 42 Prefix with cycle 43 Nf6, for example 45 Musician Brian 46 Cousin's mom 47 Chrysler Building architect William Van___ 48 Name within "Valentina" 49 Hoses down 50 Dozes off
PHOTOS COURTESY OF WIKI
No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in February 1990. Not only a fan favorite but I promise you will hear this at least four different times when you go to any roller skating rink.
DOWN 1 Two-legged stand 2 Without company 3 French dynasty 4 Sleep: Prefix 5 Like a Rothko painting 6 Escape 7 Supreme Court pseudonym Jane ___ 8 Poet Nash 9 80s genre that drew on punk rock and disco 10 Swollen 11 River creation 16 Randy Newman's "___Got A Friend In Me" 20 Unwanted glare 24 Neither's partner 25 Some members of the 1% 27 1979 hit for the Police 28 Newspaper section 29 Bar offering 30 October birthstones 31 "Pulp Fiction" co-star ___ L. Jackson 34 Colorful parrot 36 "Dude!" 37 Speed skater Ohno 38 Washed 39 Utopias 41 Period after Mardi Gras 44 Shade
Sports
Sports. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 25
Saying goodbye to softball
DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA
Softball graduate student Maranda Gutierrez smiles during the Blue Demons’ 7-1 win over Villanova on April 2. Gutierrez finished the season with 46 hits, 25 RBIs and a fielding percentage of .954.
Seniors leave their mark as they prepare for life after sports By Madison Comeau Contributing Writer
After five years of playing, two Big East Championships wins and an abundance of pre-game Spikeball games, shortstop Maranda Gutierrez and left fielder Kate Polucha are moving on from their college softball careers, but not from softball altogether. Joining them in closing this chapter of their lives are senior pitcher Erin Hocker and graduate student second baseman Skylor Hilger. Both from Southern California, Gutierrez and Polucha were on the same travel team together in high school. According to Gutierrez, they actually visited Chicago together before they both decided to continue their education and softball careers at DePaul. “The coaching staff was a big reason why I came here, because they just made it feel like a family,” Polucha said. “It made me feel like I was in good hands to go far away from home.” Gutierrez is graduating from DePaul with her masters in elementary education and Polucha has one more year before graduating with her masters in community psychology. After graduation, Gutierrez has a busy schedule ahead of her. Over the summer, she is beginning her career teaching at Factory Prep Academy back in California, an “athletics and faith-focused” school that runs from fifth to eighth grade. Gutierrez has been actively involved in Christian ministry on DePaul’s campus and is excited to continue her passions for her sport, faith-life and educating at Factory Prep. Not only is she beginning her teaching career, but she has been training to become a longshoreman. A longshoreman is a laborious position where a person is in charge of the country’s commerce that comes and goes on ships. To prepare for this, Gutierrez has started training in lashing, the process that secures large containers in the ships, and utility tractor rig training (UTR), which refers to working with forklifts and tractors. Gutierrez said that she is in the fifth generation of her family to be working on the port of
DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA
Skylor Hilger cheers in their 14-0 win over St. John’s on April 15. She had three hits in the game.
Los Angeles in Long Beach. Polucha, on the other hand, still has another year before transitioning from DePaul into the workforce. “My dream goal after I graduate is to be a prison psychologist,” Polucha said. “And it’s been my dream for a couple of years now.” Entering her second year of graduate school, she said that she is grateful to have more time to figure out what life looks like beyond college softball. For the past year, Polucha has been doing work with Mike Lenti, the associate athletics director for facilities, and is continuing to work as the facilities assistant with Lenti next year. Polucha played with an injury for most of the season, a source of stress and exhaustion for any athlete. Beyond her time as a player, she is looking forward to being involved with De-
Paul athletics in a new way. Although Gutierrez will no longer be involved with the DePaul athletics program, she plans to stay involved with softball beyond graduating. She has been giving private softball lessons since eighth grade that she plans on continuing and said she may join a slow pitch team for leisure. Both Polucha and Gutierrez were selected to the 2022 CoSIDA Academic All-District 5 Women’s Softball First Team. This honor is given to players based on their performances both on the field and in the classroom. “You’re talking about some outstanding human beings,” head coach Tracie Adix-Zins said about the four players leaving this year. Adix-Zins went on to detail the impact Gutierrez and Polucha had on the team, as well as the other players leaving the team, Hocker
and Hilger. “Maranda is the most genuine person you’ll ever meet,” Adix-Zins said. “It is 100 percent Maranda who will get everyone into that having fun staying loose mentality.” In addition to her impact off the field, in Gutierrez’s five years at DePaul, she was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year three times, including this year. She started in 52 games and finished the season with a fielding percentage of .954, 46 hits and stole 12 bases this season. Hilger is in her second year of graduate school and has been with the team for six years. The longest with the team currently, Hilger had been an NFCA Scholar-Athlete for four years. This season, Hilger’s total fielding percentage was .948, while she started in 49 games and had 10 stolen bases. “She understood the game in a different way,”Adix-Zins said. “What she provided for the team leadership-wise will be missed.” Additionally, being a pitcher herself, AdixZins said she had a softer spot for pitchers like Hocker. Hocker pitched 106.2 innings and had 44 strikeouts this season. “She gave everything she could on the mound for us,” Adix-Zins said. When talking about Polucha, Adix-Zins explained that as a pitching coach, she gets nervous when a ball is up in the air about whether or not it will get caught. “No matter what, Kate could find that ball.” Polucha began her college softball career strong, being named 2018 Big East Freshman of the Year. Since starting on the team, AdixZins said Polucha grew and provided a lot to the team in both offensive and defensive production. “You’re going to have your teammates and coaches no matter how old you are,” Adix-Zins said. “You really do have a lifelong family to support you in any endeavor.” Gutierrez echoed this sentiment. “The softball team gave me a built-in set of sisters,” Gutierrez said. “They made it feel like a family.
26 | Sports. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022
Shot put athletes have thrown their way to the podium all season long By Halie Wingo Contribuiting writer
Shot put athletes spend hours every week training to compete at each meet and conference. They warm up, lift, run and throw to prepare for their events in hope of placing. They need to be mentally and physically tough to make it onto the podium and win a medal. At DePaul, shot put athletes on the track and field team had a very successful season. Many of the throwers found places on the podiums at their meets and won several silver and gold medals. The athletes and coaches worked together all season to meet goals, improve their performance and come together as a team. With the team’s recent success at the Big East Track and Field Outdoor Championship on May 13-14, where shot put athletes freshman Casey Mulvey and junior Jason Montano brought home silver and gold medals, respectively, they talked about their goals and how it feels to do well for their team. Montano, a shot put and discus thrower, said that his indoor season this year wasn’t what he expected, but he came back after an injury and won a gold medal at conference. Montano set big long-term goals for himself and has worked on achieving them. He suffered an injury during the third week of outdoor track and field season. This put him out for over a month, and he was unable to train and compete with his team. After this injury, he knew he had to come back and do his best to prove to himself and others that he could reach his goals. “I think one of my goals is that I want to be an 18-plus meter shot putter next year,” Montano said. “The other goal I have is that I want to try to score in discus. My two longterm goals I have [are] to graduate and go to the Olympics in 2024.” Montano said that he was able to learn from his other teammates to ensure everyone was achieving their aims. His teammates taught him to hold his other teammates accountable to their goals. If they say they want to do something, everyone makes sure they achieve it. Montano recently won a gold medal during the conference competition. If it weren’t for his teammates, he said he wouldn’t have done as well as he did. Montano set his personal goals high and received first place and a gold medal during the conference the weekend of May 13. He threw 16.57 meters, or 54 feet and 4.5 inches. “On that last throw, if I didn’t have my crew and everybody there, I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did,” Montano said. Assistant coach Brandon Murer has worked hard to create his own personal goals and team goals to help his athletes grow. Over his 17 years as a coach, he has changed his approach to goals and goal setting. One of
PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS/STEVE WOLTMANN
Casey Mulvey throws a shot put at the Big East Track and Field Indoor Championship on Feb. 26.
his main goals was to just come together and have fun. He also said that their range goals were important for the team. “We always have goals — that’s part of being in athletics,” Murer said. “One of the primary cornerstones of success is having goals. This year, I started a couple different things with my athletes. We started to have what I call range goals. What’s the bottom end of you at least being content with the day, and what’s the upper end? What’s that range? In that range is where most performance happens.” As athletes set their personal goals, including new PR’s or personal improvement, and work to achieve them, they will sometimes feel frustrated about not reaching their highest aspirations. Murer said that even if they’re not meeting those goals right away, it’s part of the process. Some athletes feel down on themselves because they aren’t achieving their goals as quickly as they would like, but that is the reality of being an athlete. After being apart because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Murer wanted to come together as a team and enjoy the season. “I just wanted to have fun,” Murer said. “Can we come back as a group? Can we come together? It’s taken a while.” Murer also asks his athletes to do checkins with him to ensure they are taking care of their mental and physical health and their studies. “I have asked all of them to come in and do check-ins with me,” Murer said. “If I haven’t seen them in my office, I will go up
and ask them [how they are doing].” Mulvey, a shot put, discus and hammer thrower for DePaul, is from Ireland and moved to DePaul for school and to compete on the track and field team. Her support system was mainly back home, but her coach was her main source of support when she was starting out. “My main source of support was my coach,” Mulvey said. “Obviously he recruited me, and I learned a lot from him.” Mulvey also said that she and her teammates hold each other accountable by making sure that they advocate for themselves. As a freshman from Ireland, she had to build all new relationships with her teammates, as well as adjust to the American school system. As she developed new relationships with her teammates, she learned how to encourage them to reach their goals.
“I always talk to my teammates about if they have something they’re not liking, they need to advocate for themself to change that,” Mulvey said. “Me and the throwers are very close, so we keep each other accountable for what we are doing as well.” During meets, Mulvey said she needs to keep her mind clear to be able to throw successfully during her meets. “For me, keeping a clear mind is my main weakness,” Mulvey said. “If I’m not confident, then I won’t throw well.” Mulvey landed on the podium many times for shot put between indoor and outdoor competition this season. She earned gold medals at the Notre Dame Invitational on Jan. 22 with a distance of 15.3m and at the Illini Classic on April 9 with a distance of 14.28m. Mulvey also placed second at the Blue & Gold Invitational on Dec. 3, the Blue Demon Holiday Invite on Dec. 10, the Big East Indoor Championship on Feb. 26. Mulvey has never been on a team before because she participated in club sports back home. She said feeling the success of her teammates and performing well for them is important for her now that she has experienced it for herself. “I’ve never been on a team before, I’ve always competed and trained by myself,” Mulvey said. “It’s a new feeling to be responsible for your team as well and having the feeling that you have to compete for your team. It’s amazing seeing so many school records being broken.” The shot put team has been wildly successful and broke many records this season. The team has bonded and grown throughout the year to bring this success and accomplishment back home from every meet. Montano set a new personal record with his throw that won him a gold medal. The throwers on the track team all rely on each other to stay accountable for their goals and accomplishments. Murer said that this is an important aspect of the team that he tries to instill in his athletes. “We rely on each other,” Murer said. “When [athletes] say that they’re relying on each other, that’s a primary thing that we talk about.”
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Jason Montano winds up to throw a shot put at the Big East Indoor Championship on Feb. 26.
Sports. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 27 TRACK AND FIELD, continued from back page individually did achieve some big accomplishments. With Borowiak being one of them, she recollects on the season as a whole. “I was really happy with the season [individually],” Borowiak said. “I broke some records that were on my to-do list and I made it to regionals. Both indoor and outdoor were successful for me.” Borowiak broke the DePaul record for the 1500m, which was a record that was held since 2004. She broke the record at the Billy Hayes Invitational with a time of 4:23.82. Dopek had his critiques on what the team could’ve done better in the outdoor season compared to indoor season, but he was happy overall with the turnouts the team did this season. “This season, in total, was one of success,” Dopek said. “I believe that a significant amount of work was accomplished in helping this young team grow toward being the team of the future.” With the team preparing for next year, Dopek and the athletes are planning to use some time to rest their bodies and recover from the long season. Brown’s goals are still to compete on the nationals stage. In order to achieve that, he plans to take two weeks off before heading back home to Louisville to begin his hardcore training. “I want to make sure in my training that I don’t lose my form for hurdling,” Brown said. “I want to keep consistent training so that my form gets better, lift some more so I can get stronger and get off the blocks faster. It is about technique and getting stronger at this point.” For Terry, he wants to eliminate the relapse the team experienced from a motivational perspective. He plans to be more of a leader to make sure the team always has a fire under the feet to continue with the same drive for the entire season. But more importantly to him, he wants to build his confidence. “The goal is obviously to get to Oregon for nationals, but the more I think about it, I don’t think I was really that confident in saying that,” Terry said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS
DePaul track and field junior Tori Carroll leaps in a long jump event at the Big East Indoor Championship on Feb. 25, where she placed second.
“Looking at it from now to next year, I definitely feel more confident in saying that I can be at that nationals stage.” Individually, players want to continue to strive for greatness in achieving competition on its biggest stages. However, at the end of the day, the goals are still the same for Dopek and his team: better success on and off the field. To achieve that success, the team must work hard physically/academically, improve their competitive mindset, compete hard/smart, continue the development of the ability to learn from our successes/mistakes, and focus on being better Blue Demons. “If we accomplish these goals, we will have higher team places at the conference championships, more individual champions, more NCAA preliminary round qualifiers, and finally, the ability to have a few of our student athletes advance into future rounds,” Dopek said.
DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA
Darius Brown lays on the floor in exhaustion after a race at the Indoor Championship on Feb. 26.
STUDENT-ATHLETES, continued from back page To help manage her time, Martin said that she balances her busy schedule by planning out everything by day to make sure that all of her tasks and assignments are covered. Like Martin, Anderson also said that his biggest challenge as a student-athlete is finding the time to balance everything. A junior who is studying cybersecurity in the combined degree program, Anderson’s schedule is usually full, and he has taken to scheduling out most parts of his day to make sure that every task gets completed. “During the season, you’re just focusing on winning; outside of the season, you want to develop to make yourself better for the next year,” Anderson said. “So, it’s really just trying to find that balance of getting your schoolwork done and in time so that you can focus on athletics.” The school and the athletic department offer many different accommodations to try and help student-athletes succeed off the field as well, Anderson said. There are study rooms and tutors available, and academic advisors that offer guidance for the entire length of a student’s college career. Women’s tennis graduate student Marija Jovicic was also honored for her academic achievements this month and earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large Team on May 20,
DARCY WASKIEWICZ | THE DEPAULIA
Track and field freshman Jetta Mays works on her laptop in the athletic center on May 26.
which makes her a candidate for the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team. Jovicic has consistently earned high grades in her classes and was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar-Athlete in the last four years straight while studying computer science. “It was really great,” Jovicic said on earning the honor. “I was a little surprised, I wasn’t expecting anything like this but it’s really great to be recognized for something that’s not that widely rec-
ognized as our athletic achievements, so yeah, I’m very happy.” Some of the things that Jovicic said she appreciates the most are the accommodations and guidance that the athletic department offers to the student athletes. Her advisor through the athletic department, Ben Gutman, has been a key help to her in the five years she has been at DePaul. The academic honors continued to flow in during the past week as the softball team had four members who were
also honored as CoSida student-athletes, this time on the All-District Women’s Softball First Team. Graduate students Maranda Gutierrez and Kate Polucha, along with juniors Brooke Johnson and Tori Meyer, all received the honor for their success in academics and athletics. “I was really happy obviously to be honored,” Meyer said. “I just prioritize school a lot before softball, and, you know, I try to excel in all aspects of life, so I always put school first.” Meyer, who is studying psychology and sociology, said it took some time for her to figure out a routine in her freshman year, but once she did, she was able to settle in and focus on balancing academics and softball. As she grew in her career, she has also begun to mentor the younger members on the team as well. It can be easy to forget that student-athletes, for all their prowess in their respective sports, are still students first. But at DePaul, academics are at the forefront, and in return, the athletic department offers all that it can to help the athletes succeed. “Everyone is just here to support you,” Jovicic said. “If you have a problem, anyone will be committed to solving that problem, which is really a great support system that I’ve never experienced before. I experienced it with my parents, but now I’m here without my parents, so I’ve never felt like I’m alone and I’m left alone where I don’t know how to solve a problem.”
Sports
Sports. The DePaulia. May 31, 2022 | 28
Track and field looks to next year after season ends at NCAA West Prelims By Joshua M. Hicks Asst. Sports Editor
DePaul’s track and field season has officially come to an end as the team did not qualify at the NCAA West Preliminaries on May 25-26 to advance in the next round of playoffs. At the preliminaries, junior Jarel Terry finished 27th in the men’s 400m dash race while record holder freshman Darius Brown finished his 110m hurdles event with a time of 14.61. On the women’s side, junior Tori Carroll finished in the top 40 with a 5.84m distance in the long jump. Junior Olivia Borowiak finished her 1500m event with a 4:25.30 time, just two seconds shy of her personal best. Her time got her a top 36 finish. Graduate student Kiersten Walker was disqualified from her event due to a lane violation. Head coach Dave Dopek was proud of his team’s performance, but believed the team is capable of doing better. “I feel like the team did fairly well, but we were definitely capable of capitalizing on this opportunity at a much higher level,” Dopek said. “Some first time qualifiers got much needed experience at the meet, some returners missed elevating their performance, but all should be improved student athletes due to the experience.” Even though Terry was excited to be
selected to participate in the event, he knew he should have performed better. When recollecting from a team’s perspective, he noticed a difference in motivation from indoor season to outdoor season. “Coming into the indoor season, the team was hyped,” Terry said. “We had this fire to us and we won the second in the indoor championship. We came into outdoor [season] and we got a little chill. I didn’t feel that same energy that we had in the indoor season and that really affected us going into the conference. If we had that same energy throughout, we could have seen a different reality.” Brown agreed with Terry’s sentiment. He believes that in the indoor season, there was something to prove, which gave the team the necessary focus in order to achieve their success. Although the team fell short in the outdoor season, Brown has confidence that the team can turn it around next season. “We came up short, but everyone did put their best foot forward,” Brown said. “There are some things that we can work on. Next year we’ll be a better team. We’ll add new pieces. We won’t really lose anyone [to school eligibility or transfer] so it is time to go.” As much as the team experienced some down moments, the Blue Demons
See TRACK AND FIELD, page 27
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BIG EAST
DePaul junior Jarel Terry takes a moment to look around at the Big East Outdoor Championship on May 13-14. Terry placed first in the 400m dash, qualifying him for the NCAA West Preliminaries.
Student-athletes find the right balance to excel in the classroom By Darcy Waskiewicz Sports Editor
DARCY WASKIEWICZ | THE DEPAULIA
Women’s tennis graduate student Marija Jovicic talks with Ben Gutman, her academic advisor, in the athletic center on May 26. Jovicic was named to the CoSida Academic At-Large team.
Balancing academics with life can be tricky for anyone, but when athletics are added into the mix as well, it can make for a challenging college experience. With many of the DePaul athletic seasons wrapping up, the student-athletes are now being honored for their academic achievements throughout the school year. Balancing academics and athletics is something that every student-athlete has to master in their career, and DePaul athletes have found that balance. DePaul athletics has their own award — the Rev. John R. Cortelyou award — that is given to the male and female student-athlete who showed the best academic dedication and achievements. And on May 20 at The Billys awards, Michael Anderson from men’s soccer and Valentina Martin from women’s tennis took home the award for consistently having high academic accomplishments.
“This award means so much to me because it shows how welcoming the DePaul community has been to me,” Martin said. “It shows that my hard work is recognized, and it makes me happy to see that I am leaving a legacy behind while inspiring my teammates and other student-athletes.” A junior studying business administration with a minor in management, Martin plans to go through the combined degree program to get her masters in marketing. With tennis happening in the fall, winter and spring quarters, Martin’s biggest struggle is finding time and energy for everything. “We are constantly on the tennis court, doing conditioning, lifting weights or gone for an entire weekend for tournaments [or] season dual matches,” Martin said. “Which can be very tiring physically and mentally, resulting in not being motivated to do schoolwork but having to push through.”
See STUDENT-ATHLETES, page 27