TACO TASTE TEST
Arts & Life, page 16
Vol. # 97, Issue # 27
SGA elects new president, vp By KEVIN GROSS Staff Writer
Arena plan criticized at student town hall Students question plan as Crain’s report challenges attendance data are only about a third of what DePaul records.
By DYLAN MCHUGH News Editor
The votes are in, and next year’s officers for DePaul’s Student Government Association (SGA) have now been chosen. Upcoming seniors Casey Clemmons and Sarah Rens will serve as president and vice president, respectively, of SGA next year. SGA leadership next year will also include upcoming senior Brandon Davis, who will serve as treasurer, and upcoming juniors Sophia Lammers and Matthew von Nida, who will serve as executive vice presidents of academic affairs and operations, respectively. “Newly elected members of SGA certainly have a lot to learn and become more knowledgeable on,” said Clemmons. “However, through my previous roles, I have gained the necessary knowledge and experience on the university and student interest to fulfill my position to its fullest.” There is a lot on the plate of SGA for the upcoming year. Among the constant issues that the SGA has to deal with is the war against rising college prices. “The majority of initiatives will always be talking about keeping tuition prices low,” said graduating SGA president Caroline Winsett. “This will always be a constant issue.” Davis explains part of how this issue is addressed. “For my role (as treasurer), I sat on the Tuition Pricing Committee, where I relayed information from the students’ perspective See SGA, page 6
| June 3, 2013
Student Town Hall claps for critics
Since the announcement of a new DePaul basketball arena and construction partnership with the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority (MPEA), the public and university response has been anything but unanimous. The proposal hit another bump on Thursday, as students openly criticized and questioned the plan at a Student Town Hall, while Crain’s Chicago Business reported that DePaul’s actual attendance numbers at Allstate Arena
DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto, treasurer Jeff Bethke, men’s basketball assistant head coach Ron Bradley and women’s basketball head coach Doug Bruno formed the Student Town Hall panel and fielded questions about the new arena plan in the McGrath-Philips arena, moderated by Student Government Association president Caroline Winsett and vice president Casey
Clemmons. As some students waved a banner that read “Kids need schools, not stadiums,” about 60 students and community members listened to Ponsetto and Bethke briefly explaining the proposal and the new arena’s benefits, including a potential “winter FEST in the colder months,” according to Bethke, and using the arena for commencement ceremonies. “We negotiated a deal that is selffunding,” said Bethke. “We’re going to realize a healthy portion of additional See TOWN HALL, page 7
State Street “scramble”
DENNIS GEORGES | The DePaulia
The city’s first diagonal crosswalk opened up at State St. and Jackson Blvd., right outside the DePaul Center Friday, May 31. The experiment allows pedestrians 14 seconds to cross in any direction and stops all vehicles every for 35 seconds every third light cycle.
Free HIV testing promotes better sexual health By DYLAN FAHOOME Contributing Writer
For many DePaul students, the university’s last-place standing on the Trojan Sexual Health Report Card is still a lingering reminder of the Catholic institution’s reluctance toward sexual health education and coverage. But DePaul rose from 141 to 114 on the 2012 edition of the list, and in keeping with that trend, DePaul held free HIV testing at its Loop and Lincoln Park campuses May 30
and 31. School-sponsored HIV testing is a rare occurrence at DePaul, and Rima Shah, sexual health and violence prevention coordinator, said it was a new initiative. “We developed the Free HIV Testing Initiative as a team,” said Shah. “Markisha Woodson, the health promotion coordinator in the Office of Health Promotion & Wellness, played a large role in planning this initiative.” The Office of Health Promotion & Wellness, LGBTQA Student Services and Student Health Advocates sponsored
the event. The AIDS foundation of Chicago provided testing in the DePaul Center May 30, and Test Positive Aware Network provided testing in the Lincoln Park Student Center May 31. Ken Williams, a prevention specialist for Test Positive Aware Network, said May 31 was “a really good day” in terms of student turnout. The test is administered via an oral swab test, which gives results in about 20 minutes. “If the test is either positive or negative, we sit down (with students) and work it out,” See HIV, page 6
ELIZABETH SCHUETZ | The DePaulia
A student takes a DNA sample that was developed on-site in less than twenty minutes at the Lincoln Park Student Center Friday, May 31.