DePaulia
The
Volume #106 | Issue #15 | Feb. 21, 2022 | depauliaonline.com
Presidential uncertainty
Five years ago, President Esteban was hired, but his replacement remains unknown By Lawrence Kreymer & Josephine Stratman Editor-in-Chief & Asst. News Editor
DePaul plans to hire a new university president by Easter weekend, according to Student Government Association (SGA) President Watfae Zayed during their general body meeting Thursday night. The university, however, has not commented if what Zayed said is in fact true regarding the timeline about hiring a new president. Zayed is one of 15 people on the search committee. “Although our search process has been extended, our goal of selecting a new president before the end of this academic year remains unchanged,” a DePaul spokesperson Mary Hansen told The DePaulia on Friday. DePaul has recently had a setback in its process to find a new president, with two of the four finalists deciding to take their name out of consideration due to “personal considerations,” according to Judy Greffin, chair of the search advisory committee. “We prefer to have a full slate to present to the Board,” Greffin said on Feb. 2 “ Given this preference, we plan to continue the work of the Search Advisory Committee to evaluate additional candidates.” The DePaulia has requested two times to do an interview with Greffin, but has been refused both times by the university. Those on the student vetting committee were not given much information about any of the candidates thus far and have not received detailed updates about the search process, according to a source. The four candidates would have been brought to campus in early February “for sessions with key constituents including vetting committees – student, faculty, staff, senior administrators, and board,” Greffin wrote in a Jan. 14 update. Originally, the search advisory committee would have submitted its own confidential report on the finalists, in addition to separate vetting committee reports, to the
board for their consideration in late February. DePaul has not released the names of any of the finalists or people in consideration for the job, which is consistent with how the university conducted its search five years ago. “…The names of finalists will not be shared publicly to protect the confidentiality of the candidates. Even so, students, faculty and staff can expect an inclusive and collaborative finalist interview process,” DePaul spokesperson Russell Dorn said. “All finalists will meet with vetting committees comprised of representatives selected by Faculty Council, Staff Council and Student Government Association.” “Considering students make up a large majority of the DePaul community, it is super important to have student representation in the presidential search,” Zayed previously said in an email to The DePaulia. “Actually, students should be the most represented group in the search, even though that’s unfortunately not the case with this one. Without students, there’s no university and our input should be considered when making such a big decision.” The university hired current DePaul President A. Gabriel Esteban on Feb. 20, 2017. In this current search, however, DePaul is not likely to hire a new president before spring quarter starts. According to Dorn, Esteban has no role in the search process. Dorn reaffirmed that Esteban is still planning to leave DePaul on June. 30. The reconsideration has delayed the search, but it’s unclear to what extent or why. “As Judy Greffin, chair of the search advisory committee, mentioned in her Feb. 2 correspondence with the university community, the search advisory committee will continue the search process until the best candidate emerges from the field, with the continued expectation that they begin their role as president of DePaul on July 1,” Dorn said. Esteban is planning to step aside from the university at the end of this school year.
He has spent five years as DePaul’s president. Esteban surprised DePaul five years ago for being appointed the university’s first laypresident. “DePaul has been led for 120 years by Vincentian priests so this spirit is in our DNA, it’s in the DNA of everything,” Professor Fr. Patrick McDevitt, a member of the Vincentian order, said at the time. “DePaul is going to inform the new president, this new president will learn from the institution and they will get it because it’s in the DNA. There’s no way to gut this.” Esteban has come under fire from students and faculty for a lack of transparency over his tenure. “After much prayer and reflection, I have discerned this is the time for me to shift my focus and energy to my personal and familial journey, and away from our shared institutional endeavors,” Esteban said in the email. “Now may be the best time for my wife, Jo, and me to pursue some of our other dreams, which includes discovering different ways to serve others.” ALICIA GOLUSZKA | THE DEPAULIA
Guilty, helpless, afraid: Ukrainian Chicagoans witness conflict from afar By Stephania Rodriguez Contributing Writer
Somewhere in London, DePaul alumnus Julian Hayda, 29, sits and anxiously awaits the day he’ll be able to return to Ukraine — his motherland, and the country he and his wife, Summer, recently made their new temporary home. With Hayda intending to become a priest, they planned to live there for the next four years while he completed his seminary and they both did journalistic work. Their plans have now been put to a halt as decades of turmoil between Russia and Ukraine have led to Russia surrounding Ukraine’s borders with tens of thousands of troops, ready to potentially invade the country at any moment. Americans were advised by the U.S.
State Department in late December not to travel to Ukraine, citing “increased threats” from the Russian military. President Joe Biden affirmed Friday that the U.S. has intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the final decision to invade Ukraine “in the coming week, in the coming days.” Hayda, born in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood, grew up in a Ukrainian household with strong ties to his heritage. His parents were second-generation Ukrainians, but he recalls not learning to speak English until grade school because his parents wanted to teach him to speak Ukrainian. Hayda graduated from DePaul in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree majoring in digital cinema production. After being involved in several journalism projects and covering the 2012 NATO summit protests, he decid-
ed to double major, adding journalism to his repertoire. “It increasingly became clear that instead of narrative films, narrative documentaries — Ukraine doesn’t need just more stories,” he said. “Ukraine needs more truth and more coverage.” Hayda, whose father was a priest in the Ukrainian Catholic church, said his family often moved around and lived “wherever the church needed us.” He is now continuing the 400-year lineage of priests in his family, completing his seminary with the Ukrainian Diocese of Chicago. Hayda and Summer, 27, got married last September before traveling to their new home in Ukraine and staying there until December. When they left Ukraine to visit Chicago for Christmas break, they did
See UKRAINE, page 4
PHOTO COURTESY OF ONLINE NEWS ASSOCIATION
DePaul alumnus Julian Hayda, 29, doesn’t know when he will be able to return to Ukraine next.
2 | News. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
First Look
Jan. 07, 2021 - Feb. 18, 2022
CAMPUS COVID-19 CASES
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News. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022 | 3
SAMANTHA MOILANEN | THE DEPAULIA
A community food center on Sangamon St. highlights the divestment of funds in certain neighborhoods. Mayor Lightfoot wants to decrease gang violence in South and West sides.
Chicago activists criticize Victim Justice Ordinance By Samantha Moilanen Contributing Writer
When Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced the Victims’ Justice Ordinance in September, activists spoke out against the proposal and her solution for decreasing gang violence in the South and West Sides of the city through civil asset forfeiture. Lightfoot proposed the ordinance in response to the rising homicide rate in Chicago. It will allow the City to file a claim against any person who engages in criminal activity, and if found guilty, the City is permitted to recover “compensatory and punitive damages” with the goal of decreasing gang-related crime, according to the press release. “It looks really great in a press conference, but it is not really something she’s going to deliver on,” said Edwin Yohnka, the director of communications and public policy at American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois. “If we are successful, we will seize their assets and disrupt the financial lifelines that support this criminal activity and fuels their dominance in our city,” Lightfoot said in the press release. The ordinance is modeled after the 1993 Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act allowing Chicago to file a civil complaint against streetgang members who knowingly engaged in two or more gang-related crimes within five years of each other. DePaul criminology professor Xavier Perez said policymakers should recognize that urban unrest, racial injustice and the pandemic are the primary reasons for increased crime, rather than chasing policies of the past that were not effective in reducing crime or making communities safer. “When you have economic incentives to policing, it leads to corruption,” Perez said. If approved, it will give courts the authority to impose fines up to $10,000 for each offense and “a minimum of 50 percent of any monetary fines recovered will be dedicated to supporting victims of, and witnesses to, gang-related activity,” according to the press release. “The problem is, what profits [from the forfeiture cases]? These are resources that would be awarded after lengthy litigation, and are there any profits after that?”
SAMANTHA MOILANEN | THE DEPAULIA
A sticker in Englewood demands equity for impoverished communities in Chicago, including social service programs. bills,” Wright said in regards to Pierre’s case. “If you take everything away from him because you find out he’s in a gang, you’re not looking at the fact he has no other option and those profits aren’t going to him, they’re going to his mom.” Chicagoans believe there is a better way to address the City’s rising homicide rate that does not unintentionally harm innocent residents in primarily minority Director of Communications and Public Policy at American Civil communities. “I was part of the After School Matters Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois (ASM) program that taught young kids how to produce videos to give kids someYohnka said. causes of violence in Chicago communi- thing to do after school,” Wright said. Yohnka is concerned there will not be ties are systemic policies of segregation Organizations like ASM work with any profits from the civil asset forfeiture and disinvestment leading to loss of jobs, nonprofits to provide teens with afcases because there may not be any finan- opportunity and equity.” ter-school activities that cater toward cial resources left to give to South and Because gangs are integrated into the their creative interests. Wright believes West Side communities once the litigation communities they reside in, it can be dif- investing in programs like ASM would be process has concluded. ficult to distinguish a gang member from a beneficial way to keep young adults out The proposal does not define how victims or relatives. Yohnka questions of gangs and developing plans for their cait will give the profits back to South and whether innocent people could be collat- reer and future. West Side communities and does not say eral when gang member’s assets are seized “[Lightfoot] owes the community a whether the money will be used for com- by the City. decisive plan on what she’s going to use munity reinvestment after it is confiscated “The truth is, they actually won’t take these assets for while she’s going out of the from gang members. assets from gang members, they’ll take way to stop these people’s only source of Cori Wright, a current Hyde Park res- them from their families,” Yohnka said. income, or only source of staying alive,” ident who grew up near 62nd and SacraWright said his childhood babysit- Wright said. mento, questions how the profits will be ter, Pierre, was a gang member and had Wright believes by channeling the used to help underfunded communities such an extensive criminal record that he funding received from asset forfeiture with high crime rates. couldn’t get a normal job to support his into community outreach programs, af“The community has the right to ask family. ter school programs, or into educational in what way?” he said. Wright disagrees with the proposal’s resources, Lightfoot could actively invest Additionally, the difference between solution to confiscate gang member’s as- into South Side communities helping the original statute and the Victims’ Jus- sets because of his experiences growing young people stay away from gang-related tice Ordinance is a shift in power from the up in both the North and South Sides of activities. elected Cook County State’s Attorney’s of- Chicago. “Crime is a symptom of something fice to the unelected Corporation Counsel He believes the proposal will negative- else, and poverty, disinvestment in Chicathat is only held accountable by Lightfoot. ly impact the people in the communities go’s neighborhoods, housing segregation, “The proposal itself is antidemocratic,” that are afflicted with gang violence, and all of those are principal causes of crime, Yohnka said. “She is usurping power from will be ineffective in deterring people but unless we are having real issues about an elected official for herself and for the from engaging in gangs because regard- that, then this is all just political theater,” person she has appointed.” less of the law, people still need to support Perez said. Critics argue the ordinance could have themselves. a negative economic impact on the com“He would have had to resort to findmunities it is targeting. ing a way by any means to put food in his According to the ACLU, “The root kids’ mouth and to help his mom pay her
“It looks really great in a press conference, but it is not really something she’s going to deliver on.”
Edwin Yohnka
4 | News. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
A Boost to Scheduling Stress DePaul’s Covid-19 booster requirement causes confusion amid spring registration By Patrick Sloan-Turner Contributing Writer
DePaul administration’s March 1 deadline for students to submit proof of their Covid-19 booster has created confusion and potential scheduling issues as spring registration opens weeks before. DePaul’s administration announced on Jan. 13 that they are requiring students, faculty and staff to receive the Covid-19 booster as soon as they become eligible. The emailed announcement stated that students would be required to submit proof of a booster by March 1 and would be unable to register for in-person classes until this requirement is met. Registration for DePaul’s spring quarter began on Feb. 10, and those yet to submit proof of booster were unable to sign up for any classes or even be added to a classes waitlist. This left students wondering why the deadline was after registration period for spring opened. “The March 1 deadline versus when class scheduling starts is majorly misleading,” freshman Parin Sensenbrenner said.”It’s a problem if someone has an issue submitting [proof of booster] or if it takes a long time to process.” Through Campus Connect, DePaul reveals that immunization document processing can take up to seven days after proof has been submitted. Despite this, the registrar’s office doesn’t foresee any issues with spring registration, even as many DePaul students rush to upload documents and hammer out their schedules. “We do not anticipate the booster requirement to have any negative impact on registration numbers,” said University Registrar Michael Wright in a statement to The DePaulia. “In fact, as of Feb. 15, approximately 60 percent of students who
UKRAINE, continued from front page not know they would not be able to return. Over the last two months, Hayda has been battling guilt about not being in Ukraine, stating that he could go today, but would be putting a lot at risk if he did. Traveling to the country would mean losing many of his benefits, such as his life and health insurance coverage, and receiving no consular services from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. “Which makes me feel really bad because there’s 45 million people living in Ukraine who can’t leave,” he said. “I am kind of in a little predicament in that regard because I want to be with them. I think I should be with them, serving them in a moment of great fear and provocation and psychological manipulation.” The church and people who are committed to the truth, like journalists, should be there, Hayda said. The U.S. State Department travel advisory for Ukraine, which lists the country at a Level 4 restriction, states that the Department of State has suspended consular services at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv as of Feb. 13. The U.S. government will not be able to evacuate U.S. citizens in the event of Russian military action anywhere in Ukraine. Hayda says he will only permanently return to Ukraine if all Russian troops leave Ukrainian borders and/or a diplomatic solution is reached. “The problem with diplomatic solu-
ALICIA GOLUSZKA | THE DEPAULIA
are eligible for the booster have submitted documentation, and that number is rapidly rising. Students can submit documentation at any point. We highly encourage them to do so as soon as possible.” The Center for Disease Control recommends waiting at least five months before getting a booster for those who received a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. This waiting period can make things tricky for students like Sensenbrenner, who couldn’t get vaccinated as early as others. DePaul gave students until Aug. 19, 2021 to submit proof of their Covid-19 vaccine. tions is that there have been diplomatic solutions,” Hayda said. “And rarely do the ideas include Ukraine.” The reason for that, Hayda said, is that Russia does not want Ukraine to have any sovereignty. Yale historian Timothy Snyder wrote in the Washington Post that Putin promotes the idea that Ukraine historically and rightfully belongs to Russia. “Whether Ukraine is a nation or not is a question for Ukrainians today, not for imaginary Russians in an imaginary past,” Snyder wrote. “In Putin’s presentation, though, the West is to blame when Ukrainians don’t answer the question the way he would like. He seems to believe that Ukrainians would share his view about ‘historical unity,’ if only the West would get out of the way.” Reports have shown that Ukrainian Americans’ feelings about the crisis have generally been unstable — many feeling hopeful, fearful and helpless. Chicago has one of the largest populations of Ukrainians in the U.S. Roughly 10,000 residents live in the city’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood. Oksana Adaskavych, a Ukrainian Village resident, feels helpless about assisting her family in Ukraine. “We just have to wait,” she said. “What else can we do? Maybe everything will be OK, I think everything will be OK.” Chicago’s Committee on Health and Human Relations responded to the Russia-Ukraine crisis by approving a resolution that declared the city’s support for the “independence, sovereignty and territori-
“It was a bit of a scramble for me,” Sensenbrenner said, as she also explained there was some ambiguity to the confirmation that her proof had been successfully uploaded and processed correctly. “They never really sent a note to say, ‘oh hey, this has been received, you’re good to go.’ It was more like, well I hope [my submission worked].” Scheduling has consequences for students. It can mean less time to earn money at a job, a complicated commute or even a delayed graduation date if a required class becomes filled before a student can
sign up. “I think registration can be very stressful,” said freshman Paige Maki, who already felt pressed to sign up for classes, even though she had submitted her booster very early in the process. Freshmen like Maki are in the last registration window and have less open seats to choose from when they’re finally able to schedule classes. “When I registered, there were only a few spots left,” Maki said. “If [someone] doesn’t have their booster uploaded or processed, they’re not able to get into the classes they need.” DePaul’s reasoning behind the March 1 decision was to give students enough time to receive the booster. “March 1 provided a consistent deadline and a reasonable amount of time for all members of the DePaul community — faculty, staff and students — to meet the requirement,” university spokesperson Mary Hansen said in a statement to The DePaulia. Students believe this deadline should have been different. “It was DePaul’s responsibility to announce that they would be requiring boosters earlier,” Maki said. “We went to break and were home so long that people had the time to get boosters, but [administration] called it very late and didn’t give students much time.” Registration began less than a month after DePaul announced the requirement and weeks before what some students ultimately feel is an arbitrary deadline of March 1. “They should’ve put the deadline before registration,” Maki said. “I don’t understand why they didn’t make the decision earlier on.”
STEPHANIA RODRIGUEZ | THE DEPAULIA
American and Ukrainian flags in front of Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church symbolize solidarity. al independence of Ukraine.” “Some may ask, ‘Why this administration? Why is the city taking an official stance?’ And the reality is that we are a global community and we have seen, time and time again, how turmoil in faraway places impacts all of us,” Nubia Willman, director of the city’s Office of New Americans, said, according to Block Club Chicago. “This resolution isn’t just about those currently living in Ukraine,” Willman said. “It is about showing our own communities that we stand united with them… [Chica-
go] is proud to be the home of a vibrant and strong Ukrainian community.” Unsure of what to anticipate, Hayda does hope to return to at least tie up loose ends. “If the U.S., for example, is unwilling to provide the services that they’re supposed to, constitutionally, to U.S. citizens, at the very least, I hope to go get my things, say my goodbyes, and wait somewhere back,” Hayda said.
News. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022| 5
SGA reaffirms mask, booster mandate despite concerns By Audrey Leib & Nadia Hernandez SGA Beat Reporter & News Editor
On Thursday, the Student Government Association (SGA) discussed the Presidential search, preliminary plans to assist student parents and the need for the booster and mask policy despite student complaints. DePaul affirmed they’ll continue recommending KN95 and N95 masks and double masking. Cloth masks alone no longer meet the requirement and have to be worn over a surgical mask. However, Gov. JB Pritzker announced he would lift all indoor mask mandates by Feb. 28. The mask mandate would not extend to schools. SGA asserted that DePaul was committed to mask and booster mandates for “public health,” according to Kevin Holechko, vice president of SGA. During the university wide town hall, students asked if the university would consider repealing its booster mandate. The administration said they would not because of safety reasons. “There are some people who get more frustrated with the masks,” said David Hupp, chair of SGA’s disabled student ad hoc committee.
Watfae Zayed, president of SGA, announced ongoing conversations with student parents to provide more resources. This could include priority registration. Additionally, SGA spoke about the Presidential search. Final candidates are being interviewed, with the new tentative timeline being that the Presidential Search Committee would anticipate selecting the next President by Easter weekend. SGA is holding several upcoming events such as Queer Prom and an Alumni Speaker Panel on Feb. 25. They will also hold their Student Safety Town Hall with Public Safety on March 1. This town hall will include DePaul Public Safety Director Robert Wachowski along with Chicago Police Department, Chicago Transit Authority and ward representation. Senators Lenin Plaza and Kellen Brown organized the event. During the townhall, Executive Vice President Sherri Sidler said she was happy to hear more suggestions on how to make campus safer. “The university is looking at more initiatives to make both campuses safer, particularly in relation to traveling between campuses at night,” Sidler said.
KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA
SGA Vice President Kevin Holechko at the general body meeting on Feb. 17.
CAMPUS CRIME REPORT:
Feb. 09, 2022 - Feb. 15, 2022
LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS
LOOP CAMPUS Seton Hall 3
Fullerton & Sheffiled 9
2
Ozanam Hall
11
Centennial Hall 5
Clifton Garage
Sheffiled Garage
4
8
SAC
CDM
Ray Meyer Fitness Center
6
12
10
University Center 16
Student Center
LINCOLN PARK Feb. 09 1) A Harassment report was filed for a person being followed on the Lincoln Park Campus. (Not pictured.)
Lewis Center 14
13
7
LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS
15
Assault & Theft
Drug & Alcohol
Other
LOOP CAMPUS
An unknown individual reached under the stall and inappropriately grabbed the victim’s leg.
Feb. 10 12) A Graffiti report was filed for markings on the CDM Building.
7) A Harassment report was filed for a person receiving unwanted advances in the Student Center.
Feb. 11 13) A Criminal Trespass report was filed for a person in the DePaul Center.
2) A Verbal Assault report was filed for a person being threatened Feb. 12 verbally on the street near Sheffield 8) A Theft from Motor Vehicle & Fullerton. report was filed regarding plate stickers stolen from vehicles in the Feb. 10 Sheffield Garage. 3) A Disturbance was reported at Seton Hall. Feb. 13 9) An Illegal Consumption of 4) A Theft report was filed for a Alcohol by a Minor report was filed person whose iPhone was taken in in Ozanam Hall. the Clifton Garage. Feb. 15 5) A Possession of Marijuana report 10) A Disturbance report was was filed for a room in Centennial filed regarding an incident at the Hall. entrance of the Ray Meyer Fitness Center. Feb. 11 6) A Sex Offense was reported in 11) A Possession of Cannabis report the first floor men’s room in SAC. was filed in Seton Hall.
Feb. 12 14) A Graffiti report was filed for markings on the Lewis Center. Feb. 13 15) A Criminal Damage report was filed regarding damage to the doors of the DePaul Center Dunkin Donuts. Feb. 15 16) A Theft report was filed for a bathroom key taken in the DePaul Center.
6 | News. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
Coronavirus confusion
LILY LOWNDES| THE DEPAULIA
The SHIELD testing center in the Loop campus is the third Covid-19 testing location on DePaul’s campus. However, this is the only site that is owned by the city, not DePaul.
A deep dive into DePaul’s guidelines By Riley Andrews, Jacob Costello, Sam Painter & Brandon Tejeras Conrtibuting Writers
DePaul’s uneven policymaking by the university has left students, faculty and staff confused over the direction and logic of the university’s response to the pandemic. In mid-December 2021, DePaul required that all in-person classes be held online for two weeks, and when those two weeks were over, with U.S. and Cook County Covid-19 case counts remaining very high, students and staff were sent back to the classroom. DePaul didn’t require booster shots for students to return to campus, setting a mandate instead for March 1. And just recently, DePaul has not provided reasonable accommodations for high-risk students to take their classes online. Some students believe the university switched back to in-person classes too early. “I don’t think two weeks online were enough, I was pretty nervous returning to campus,” said Aya Alshubbac, a sophomore studying history. “I wish we were online longer to make sure everyone can be safe.” Other students point to uneven enforcement of Covid-19 safety protocols on campus, particularly in student housing. Residents of DePaul housing must wear a face mask at all times indoors, except for in their rooms or apartments. “You have to wear your mask everywhere that isn’t your room, but it is not very strongly enforced,” said Zach Liss, a sophomore studying screenwriting. Students living in the dorms feel as though the rules may be geared towards encouraging better health practices, but these rules aren’t enforced enough to have an effect. “The rules are enforced in the dorms, but there isn’t much more than someone telling us to put our masks on,” said Izzy Kryzzka, a freshman and a creative writing major. Colby Walzer, a sophomore studying film and television, believes the university needed to provide more advance notice of vaccination requirements, particularly DePaul’s demand for evidence of booster shots. “I think DePaul is trying to keep us in a safe environment, but also… if they made [the booster] decision ahead of time, I feel like I would be receiving it better,” Walzer said. ‘I don’t think there’s any real way to please everybody’ According to the university, masks, vaccination records and a Covid-19 booster by March 1 are required to attend classes in-person. Cloth masks alone are no longer permit-
ted. N95 masks are “highly recommended” but a cloth mask over a surgical mask can be substituted if such masks are unattainable. In most campus buildings, dispensers near the entrances contain KN95 masks available for students, faculty and staff. In the first two weeks of the quarter, these mask dispensers were often empty, and the highly recommended masks were scarce. However, as the quarter has moved along, the mask dispensers have been better stocked. Vaccinations are required for nearly all students and staff, and the booster requirement will take effect on March 1. DePaul sends out update emails to students and staff whenever a change occurs and maintains an update page with all the latest information. Some changes to DePaul’s policy came only after pressure from the student body. DePaul’s Student Government Association (SGA) passed a resolution calling on the university to enact a booster mandate on Jan. 4. The resolution noted that other Chicago schools had already required the booster. According to the SGA resolution: “Whereas other Chicago-area Universities… have already mandated booster shots for their students… The DePaul Student Government Association calls on DePaul University to implement a mandatory booster shot for all members of the DePaul community.” Kyle Drexler, an acting major at Columbia College Chicago, said that the school acted quickly to mandate Covid-19 vaccines. “Columbia has taken it very, very seriously,” Drexler said. “They required [the booster] to come back to campus this semester. You literally could not come back unless you either had the booster or could show proof you weren’t eligible to get it yet.” Loyola University Chicago is another school that was quick to require a booster shot for students and faculty. According to Block Club Chicago, Loyola announced a booster requirement on Dec. 15. “In an effort to further protect the health and safety of our community—particularly as we navigate the impact of the highly transmissive omicron variant—Loyola will now require students, faculty, and staff to receive a booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as they are eligible, a statement released by Loyola reads. “All students, faculty, and staff are now required to receive a booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine and upload proof to Loyola Health by Monday, February 21.”
Tate Maurer, a junior at Loyola, said students are divided on how far to go with regulations. “I don’t think there’s any real way to please everybody,” Maurer said. “A lot of people want the restrictions rolled back and a lot of people want them in place. I think they’re doing a good job of making it safe. The booster mandate rubbed a few people the wrong way, but overall, it’s the right thing to do.” Following the SGA resolution, DePaul sent an email to the student body officially announcing a booster requirement on Jan. 13, near the end of the two-week online period at the start of winter quarter. “In the spirit of caring for each other and for our surrounding community, DePaul is requiring vaccinations for COVID-19, including the booster. This requirement applies to students, faculty and staff,” said the statement on the DePaul Covid-19 Updates and Guidance page. “Everyone in the community will be required to provide proof of a booster by Tuesday, March 1.” Students will need to provide proof that they received the booster shot before registering for in-person spring quarter classes. According to the DePaul Dashboard, failure to provide evidence of the booster will make students unable “to register for spring term in-person courses, until they have complied with this requirement.” ‘I mean, it can’t be right’ Now that DePaul has joined the ranks of other Chicago area schools in mandating Covid-19 booster vaccines, some faculty appreciate the new requirement, but remain concerned over the March deadline. “Even against omicron, the booster, you have 20 times more neutralizing antibodies compared to two shots,” said Sarah Connolly, associate professor in the College of Science and Health. “I’m glad DePaul is requiring the booster; kinda wish they required it earlier instead of March 1.” Often, changing mask and quarantine policies lead to confusion about the best way to stay safe. According to a CDC statement released Dec. 27, guidance for isolation and masking procedures changed with new information regarding the now-dominant omicron Covid-19 variant. “The CDC guidelines are five days of isolation followed by five days of diligent masking, with a well-fitted mask, not taking that mask off in front of anyone,” Connolly said. “I think that that additional five days of masking sometimes gets lost.” The change in quarantine procedure stemmed from CDC evidence that showed
SAM PAINTER | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul distributes KN95 masks indoors. the window for becoming contagious, developing symptoms and recovering from the infection has shrunk, largely due to being vaccinated. The omicron variant “showed after seven days [after exposure to the virus] there’s virtually no risk of transmission at this point. And in that five-to-seven-day window, there’s some depending on whether people have been vaccinated, but the risk…is very low,” Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady said in an interview with NBC5 Chicago. While the science of the variants continues to develop, critics of the sudden change in policy argue that the shrinking quarantine period has less to do with science than getting essential workers back at work to keep supply chains, stores and our economic engines moving. “[The change in CDC policies] reflects rather the pressing needs of our society at large,” Connolly said. “I’m a little concerned about the reduction of isolation time to five days, but I understand the logic behind it.” When essential workers and staff are out of the job for two weeks or more at a time due to strict Covid-19 guidelines, it costs for the rest of the supply chain. At DePaul, the logic appears similar. With ever-changing information to build effective policy, DePaul has to weigh the pros and cons of their measures. “As far as the university making the call to come back in person, without metrics that tell us what is safe, I think they’re doing the best they can,” Connolly said. Nonetheless, critics argue that genuine flaws in the Covid-19 positivity cases on campus hindered effective communication to the students and staff at DePaul about the severity of the recent outbreak.
News. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022 | 7 According to DePaul’s Covid-19 Dashboard, from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4, 30 cases were reported. To put that in perspective, Cook County’s Covid-19 case numbers ranged from 4,528 on Jan. 28 to 2,085 on Feb. 4. DePaul requests students and faculty report positive Covid-19 tests, but there is no way of knowing how many comply. Some faculty members questioned the accuracy of the university’s data. “I mean, it can’t be right,” said Jay Baglia, an associate professor in the College of Communication. “I think… it’s just one of those things where, when something like that flies in the face of what we are experiencing and seeing and hearing, it seems that that’s an opportunity for the administration to offer a correction or a reminder or some encouragement.” For Baglia, the responsibility for more accurate reporting of Covid-19 data is not the administration’s alone; students and the university need to work together to provide information for better assessments of the state of the pandemic on DePaul’s campus. Stigma surrounding contracting Covid-19 this far into the pandemic may be a part of the problem, Baglia said. “It’s almost like shame. Like, ‘I made it this far. I did so well and I still got it. I’m so disappointed with myself.’ I think that’s a human response,” Baglia said. “I think it suggests that’s also an opportunity to communicate: ‘We understand that testing positive for Covid two years into the pandemic is probably really disappointing and disheartening. Nonetheless, we still need you to report it so that we can have a better grasp of what’s happening in our community.’” For Baglia, the return to the classroom after two weeks online felt like a top-down decision that didn’t necessarily serve the best interests of the university as a whole. While administrators mandated a return to online learning for the first two weeks of winter quarter, professors had to follow through, despite reservations. “When they made that announcement, I said [it] seems to be premature,” Baglia said. “There was quite a bit of disappointment… That decision seemed incredibly irresponsible given the rate of infection and that if we were at the peak, we had just barely made it over the peak.” During DePaul Health committee meetings, Baglia saw hypocrisy in how university leaders conducted their meetings from home. “I just couldn’t help but notice that most of the administrators that I was in committee meetings with were at home,” Baglia said. “I mean, a similar risk was not undertaken by
KIERSTEN RIEDFORD| THE DEPAULIA
Students in the Levan Center social distance and wear masks, per DePaul’s guidelines during the SGA general body meeting. a good number of people who made the decision to put us back in the classroom. That’s unfortunate.” Despite the confusion among policies, DePaul reports that the overwhelming majority of students and faculty are in favor of the vaccination requirement. Over 90 percent of DePaul students, faculty and staff had received or were planning on receiving a Covid-19 vaccination, according to a survey sent out by the university in March 2021. ‘Not too much of a hassle’ Although DePaul “highly recommends using medical grade masks such as KN95 or N95 masks,” there are three ways to opt out of the vaccination requirement. Students can apply for a medical, religious or age exemption. According to Michael Wright, the assistant vice president of the Office of the University Registrar, there have been 528 exemptions distributed to students for medical or religious reasons. Wright says all other students enrolled in an in-person or flex class, “are vaccinated in compliance with the original vaccine requirement.” Students who receive exemptions and are on campus are required to be tested once a week if attending in-person classes. If this requirement is not met, the exemption may be revoked, and further action such as removal from in-person classes with no tuition refund may be taken. Faculty members face potential termination if they do not comply with these regulations. Some students say the religious belief exemption is an easily navigated loophole in the
DePaul vaccine mandate. DePaul sophomore Marcello Maussimo Mauro chose to remain unvaccinated. “This vaccine was rushed,” Mauro said. “It normally takes 8-10 years for a vaccination to go to market; animal testing was skipped. And with the several booster shots that have been rolled out, and the whole recall with Moderna’s vaccine, I’m even more skeptical.” When asked about the process of obtaining an exemption, Mauro described it as “not too much of a hassle,” using the Bible verse “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?” quoted in Corinthians as his religious reasoning. Students who received a religious or medical exemption are able to attend in-person classes. According to DePaul policy, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, faculty and staff are not allowed to ask the vaccination status of students. Some students expressed concern about being in classes with unvaccinated people without their knowledge. “I feel like we should be notified. If anybody is going to almost go outside of the realm of health, I kind of would want to know,” Walzer said. “Maybe not who, maybe that’s a breach of privacy, but I would definitely want to know if somebody in my class had [an exemption].” ‘I think we’re going to have a real summer’ Despite the confusion and concern among faculty and staff, Connolly and Baglia
maintain their optimism for the rest of the year. Last June, cases began to decline, and people saw hope for an end to the harshness experienced during the pandemic. According to the New York Times Covid-19 map and case count, there were an average of 73 cases per day in late-June, a trend correlating with increased vaccination rates. Several scientific articles support the claim that warmer weather creates more opportunities for social distancing and other practices that mitigate the spread of Covid-19. “I’ve been wrong about predictions before, but I have hopes the rest of the school year will be getting better and better,” Connolly said. “Omicron will have infected a lot of people and that will give them some temporary immunity. That additional infection should boost immunity.” Baglia hopes the pandemic will continue to retreat as the temperature rises. “I’m super optimistic,” Baglia said. “I’ve always been an optimist, and I think we’re going to have a real summer.” However, his optimism is mediated by potentially permanent changes to social practices. “I think life will change,” Baglia said. “We’ll see people on trains and planes with masks at a disproportionate rate than we ever saw in the past. Being near people still is, um, is something we’ll have to ease back into. Hugging! I don’t know that we’re going to resort back to that.”
8 | News. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
‘It’s a free-for-all out there’
As CTA crimes surge, DePaul students feel increased anxiety in public transportation By Patrick Sloan-Turner Contributing Writer
“Dread. Panic. What [is he] going to do next?” This is what ran through DePaul freshman Hailey Bosek’s mind on an October morning this past fall. Bosek stood on the Fullerton platform for the late-arriving Red Line train when a middle-aged male turned his attention to her, approached, and began to spew vulgar remarks. “He was getting really close to me,” Bosek said. “I could smell his breath. He was [standing] over me, asking where I was going, what I was doing, saying I should come join him … It was pretty uncomfortable.” Luckily, Bosek’s roommate soon arrived at the platform, understood the situation and immediately came over to try and help. Although the threatening man followed her onto the train and remained close, Bosek and her roommate were able to escape at the Jackson stop and get to class safely. Bosek says that it could’ve gone much worse, but stories like hers are all too familiar to DePaul commuters who regularly rely on Chicago’s CTA trains. If DePaul students feel as though there have been increasing incidents like Bosek’s and other criminal activity on CTA recently, they’re not wrong. Over the two-month period between Dec. 1, 2021, and Jan. 31, 2022, 285 instances of assault, battery, robbery or theft have occurred on CTA trains, stations or platforms, according to statistical analysis of the Chicago Data Portal. This indicates a 35 percent increase from the 211 crimes of the same category reported in 2020 through 2021. Further findings discovered that 45 of these 285 crimes occurred in the immediate vicinity of DePaul campuses, taking place on the Fullerton platform, Jackson station and platforms and trains at either location. The 45 occurrences at these locations are up 165 percent from the 17 reported during this period in 2020. This surge comes as no surprise to DePaul students who regularly feel uneasy commuting aboard the CTA. “There’s always something going on,” said sophomore Gabby Iwanska. “I’m a girl in the city, and [safety] is always on our minds. I know a lot of my female friends refuse to even ride the Red Line.” Although the Covid-19 pandemic has curbed ridership, the CTA’s crime rate per passenger has increased, according to the Chicago Tribune in December 2020. While ridership numbers increased in 2021 from 2020, as Chicagoans returned to their daily lives, the uptick of the past two months is met with concern to commuters. “I did not know [the crime rate] was up that high, but honestly I’m not surprised,” Iwanska said. “It’s a free-for-all out there.” In an emailed response, CTA’s media relations office said that in the scope of overall ridership, these crimes represent a “very low percentage.” Still, the transit organization acknowledged that they are constantly working to lower transit crime. “Serious crime on the CTA represents just a very small percentage of ridership… That said, the CTA is always
ALISON SCHULTZ | THE DEPAULIA
The Jackson Red Line stop is notoriously known for being the most dangerous stop in the city. DePaul students frequent this stop.
“I’m a girl in the city, and [safety] is always on our minds. I know a lot of my female friends refuse to even ride the Red Line.”
Gabby Iwanska
DePaul sophomore
working with CPD to bring that number down even further.” At a public safety forum held by Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) on Feb. 3, CPD Commander Jon Hein told DePaul students that being observant is vital to transit safety. “The most important factor with train safety is being aware and alert of your surroundings,” Hein said. “Looking down at the phone and watching a video is extremely dangerous.” As for Bosek, who now carries mace with her while riding the train, she too advises that remaining attentive is a good safety practice. “Be aware, no matter your gender, and travel with people,” Bosek said. Whether from CPD, CTA or university offices like DePaul Public Safety, DePaul students would like to see increased efforts implemented to decrease the number of transit-related incidents. Kellen Brown, DePaul Student Government Association’s senator for community and government relations, said that SGA is aware of these trends and shares the same concerns as the general student body. “We were discussing rising crime trends and public safety during fall quarter general body meetings,” Brown said. “And those conversations have only intensified.” While students might not always witness police presence when they ride Chicago trains, CTA claims that in recent years, additional resources have been implemented in partnership with CPD to boost transit safety. CPD added 50 more officers and a detective unit to focus exclusively on CTA. CPD also launched its
Strategic Decision Support Center later that year in June, dedicated to solving crimes committed on CTA and in the Central District according to the CTA media relations statement. Even with these added resources, crime is still increasing, and riders would like to see more action taken to ensure safety. Brown believes that increased officer presence could help curb rider anxiety regarding safety. “For me personally, it’s never made sense why there isn’t a police officer on every CTA train… [adding an officer] would go a long way for our students and the city,” Brown said. “We know that CPD is drastically understaffed, and that’s reflected in response times and unanswered 911 calls. But I think we’ve all seen city vehicles just sitting at the entrance to L stations.” “If you see something, say something,” the CTA media team added. In lieu of the recent surge and accompanying worry among DePaul students, SGA has announced they will be holding a public safety town hall on March 1. SGA also had tips for students worried about their safety while commuting. Brown encouraged students to take advantage of DePaul’s campus escort service between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. and for students to try to ride CTA with friends whenever possible. “We’re trying to brainstorm the best methods for expanding DePaul’s current practices and [to make] students feel safer,” Brown said. “We’d all like to feel safer on both campuses and during the commute.”
DEPAUL SGA | INSTAGRAM
NADIA HERNANDEZ | THE DEPAULIA
9 | News. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
10 | Nation & World. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
Nation & World
‘Alt-tech’ houses far-right netizens exiled from Facebook, Twitter
JACKSON HEALY | THE DEPAULIA
Parler, an alt-tech social media service similar to Twitter, has amassed between 700,000 and one million active users as of January 2022.
By Jackson Healy Nation & World Editor
When sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube ban users for violating their terms of service, those individuals often don’t leave social media altogether. Instead, many of these digital deportees flock to alternative sites to meet their online social demands. Known broadly as “alt-tech,” sites like Gab, Parler and Rumble are best known as harbors for far-right netizens, providing more lax content moderation than their mainstream counterparts. To supporters of these sites, the platforms are seen as bastions of free speech in an online environment dominated by a handful of suppressive corporations. To critics, they willingly house bigotry, antisemitism and white supremacy — with Gab’s founder even openly expressing such views online. Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci, a research fellow at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure, notes that the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing misinformation regarding safety protocols and vaccines created increased political and public pressure on mainstream platforms to moderate their sites’ content more aggressively. Coupled with pressure to remove content supporting or spreading misinformation about the Jan. 6 insurrection, sites like Facebook and Twitter removed heaps of predominantly right-wing users, many of whom have since found refuge in alt-tech platforms. “It’s basically just a supply and demand problem at the end of the day,” Rajendra-Nicolucci said. “As mainstream platforms have more restrictive policies or are more aggressive about enforcing them, there are more people that are kicked off of them, and those people need places to go.” Even though alt-tech users frequently oppose what they perceive as unfair content moderation by Facebook and Twitter, Rajendra-Nicolucci notes that individuals with fringe or extremist beliefs often self-censor on these platforms, hoping to remain under the radar of mainstream platforms’ moderation in order to reach a larger audience.
“Once they’re kicked off and they have their own space, they really can kind of do as they see fit. And a lot of times for people who’ve been kicked off, that means they’re going to be more extreme.”
Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci
Research fellow, University of Massachusetts Amherst Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructurte “There’s an inherent moderating influence in that way,” he said. “But once they’re kicked off and they have their own space, they really can kind of do as they see fit. And a lot of times for people who’ve been kicked off, that means that they’re going to be more extreme.” Indeed, research suggests that while deplatforming individuals and communities deemed toxic significantly decreases their reach, the resulting communities formed on alt-tech sites tend to be even more vitriolic than on the original platforms. While these alt-tech platforms have seen significant growth in recent years, farright online gathering spaces have existed for decades. Often cited as the internet’s first hate site, Stormfront was launched November 1996 as an online forum for and in support of neo-Nazis. “Stormfront.org existed far before alt-whatever,” said Paige Treebridge, associate professor and co-director of Divergent Design Lab at DePaul. “Stormfront has been online forever, and it’s been a safe place to be an outright Nazi or a Klansperson and chat with other people just like that. This is not a new thing.” Alt-tech expands far beyond online social gathering spaces. GiveSendGo, a crowdfunding site founded in 2014 as a response to GoFundMe removing controversial fundraisers, has hosted campaigns to fund Kyle Rittenhouse’s legal defense, the legal defenses of several individuals
indicted in the Jan. 6 insurrection and recently for Canadian protesters opposing the nation’s Covid-19 mandates even as other crowdfunding sites removed these fundraisers from their platforms. Most importantly for the alt-tech ecosystem, the phenomenon has expanded into web hosting. As mainstream domain registrars and web hosting services have begun shutting their doors to platforms consisting of predominantly far-right users, one company, Epik, has provided services for a litany of alt-tech sites. Epik has partnered with Gab, Parler, 8chan, BitChute, Patriots.win (formerly TheDonald.win) and The Daily Stormer, registering their domains and hosting the sites even as similar companies have increasingly closed their doors to the platforms. Rajendra-Nicolucci notes how reliant the alt-tech sphere is on services provided by companies like Epik. “It’s crucial for these alt-tech platforms, because without a web host, they’re not able to be on the internet itself,” he said. “It’s providing that crucial infrastructure service of just being able to put things on the internet.” With services like Epik’s available to alttech platforms and the First Amendment providing the right to free speech in the U.S., detractors of these online communities are unable to eliminate these sites. “Once they have an alternative site,
[critics] can’t go to a Facebook or a Twitter and say, ‘hey kick this person or this group off,’” Rajendra-Nicolucci said. “That’s when they start going to the infrastructure providers like AWS or Cloudflare and say ‘hey, you need to stop providing services for these people.’ But if that works, then these sites just turn to their own alternative infrastructure providers. So at that point, it’s really difficult for people who want to see people removed from the internet to do anything about it.” Still, while alt-tech platforms are often able to remain online, their success continues to pale in comparison to their mainstream counterparts and their growth has significantly slowed in the last year. Darren Linvill, lead researcher at Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub, suggests that alt-tech’s traditionally low moderation policies — a core tenet of the online ecosystem — bears some responsibility for the companies’ slow growth. “Most Americans, they might not say it out loud, but they want the rules,” he said. “The rules mean that there’s all kinds of stuff you don’t have to engage with — you’re not going to get attacked and screamed at with profanity. It’s like, you may complain about the speed limit, but do you really want to live in a world without speed limits?” Donald Trump — who has been on Rumble since June 2021 — is set to release Truth Social, his own social media platform, on Monday. While Trump has claimed Truth Social will be able to compete with the likes of Facebook and Twitter, Linvill suggests the site’s inherent partisan nature is likely to significantly restrict the platform’s success. “It’s entering an already crowded space,” Linvill said. “There’s only so many devoted conservative social media users that only want to talk about conservative politics. Most social media users want cat memes and funny video clips as 90 percent of their media consumption, and politics is 10 percent. The percent that just want to sit around and talk about conservative politics is really small. I think it’ll be about as successful as Trump Steaks.”
Nation & World. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022 | 11
Russia extends troop drills; Ukraine appeals for cease-fire By Lori Hinnant & Jim Heintz Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia extended military drills near Ukraine’s northern borders Sunday amid increased fears that two days of sustained shelling along the contact line between soldiers and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine could spark an invasion. Ukraine’s president appealed for a cease-fire. The exercises were originally set to end Sunday and brought a sizable contingent of Russian forces to Belarus. The presence of the Russian troops raised concern that they could be used to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, a city of about 3 million people less than a three-hour drive away. Western leaders warned that Russia was poised to attack its neighbor, which is surrounded on three sides by about 150,000 Russian soldiers, warplanes and equipment. Russia held nuclear drills Saturday as well as the conventional exercises in Belarus, and has ongoing naval drills off the coast in the Black Sea. The United States and many European countries have charged for months that Russia is trying to create pretexts to invade. They have threatened massive, immediate sanctions if it does. “We’re talking about the potential for war in Europe,” U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said Sunday at a security conference in Munich, Germany. “It’s been over 70 years, and through those 70 years ... there has been peace and security.” “We cannot forever offer an olive branch while Russia conducts missile tests and continues to amass troops,” said Charles Michel, the president of the European Council. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Saturday on Russian President Vladimir Putin to choose a place where the two leaders could meet to try to resolve the crisis and on Sunday appealed for a cease-fire on Twitter. Russia has denied plans to invade, but the Kremlin had not responded to Zelenskyy’s offer to meet by Sunday. It was Belarus — not Russia — that announced the extension of the drills. NATO has estimated there are 30,000 Russian troops in Belarus. After a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Putin blamed Ukraine for the escalation at the contact line and NATO for “pumping modern weapons and ammunition” into Ukraine. The Kremlin statement
EFREM LUKATSKY | ASSOCIATED PRESS
A boy plays with a weapon as members of a Ukrainian far-right group train, Feb. 20, 2022. mentioned a cease-fire only in passing and made no mention of Zelenskyy’s call for a meeting. In Lugansk and Donetsk, separatist leaders ordered a full military mobilization and sent more civilians to Russia, which has issued about 700,000 passports to residents of the rebel-held territories. Claims that Russian citizens are being endangered might be used as justification for military action. Officials in the separatist territories claimed Ukrainian forces launched several artillery attacks over the past day and that two civilians were killed during an unsuccessful assault on a village near the Russian border. Ukraine’s military said two soldiers died in firing from the separatist side on Saturday. Ukraine’s leader criticized the U.S. and other Western nations for holding back on new sanctions for Russia. Zelenskyy, in comments before the conference, also questioned the West’s refusal to allow Ukraine to join NATO immediately. Putin has demanded that NATO reject Ukraine as a member. U.S. President Joe Biden said late Friday that based on the latest American intelligence, he was now “convinced” that Putin has decided to invade Ukraine in coming days and assault the capital. Biden was to meet with his national security team later Sunday in Washington. A U.S. military official said an estimated 40% to 50% of the ground forces surround-
ing Ukraine had moved into attack positions closer to the border. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal U.S. assessments, said the change had been underway for about a week and did not necessarily mean Putin was committed to an invasion. Lines of communication between Moscow and the West remain open: Macron spoke with Putin on Sunday for nearly two hours before a 30-minute call with the Ukrainian president. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to meet next week. Blinken said Sunday the U.S. was still working every lever possible to try to dissuade Putin from invading Ukraine but said recent events, including the extension of the troops in Belarus and the increase in shelling along the contact line, showed Putin well underway in laying the pretexts and groundwork for invasion, in line with findings of U.S. intelligence and previous Russian territorial grabs. “He is following the script almost to the letter,” Blinken told CNN. “Up to the last minute, there is still an option for him to pull back,” Blinken told NBC’s Meet the Press. He said his offer to meet Lavrov in Europe in the coming days was conditioned on Russia not rolling into Ukraine beforehand. Macron’s office said both the Ukrainian and Russian leaders had agreed to work toward a diplomatic solution “in coming days and coming weeks.”
Immediate worries focused on eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting the pro-Russia rebels since 2014 in a conflict that has killed some 14,000 people. Ukraine and the separatist leaders traded accusations of escalation. Russia on Saturday said at least two shells fired from a government-held part of eastern Ukraine landed across the border, but Ukraine’s foreign minister dismissed that claim as “a fake statement.” “When tension is escalated to the maximum, as it is now, for example, on the line of contact, then any spark, any unplanned incident or any minor planned provocation can lead to irreparable consequences,” Putin’ spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview that aired Sunday on Russian state television. On the front lines, Ukrainian soldiers said they were under orders not to return fire. Zahar Leshushun, peering into the distance with a periscope, had followed the news all day from a trench where he is posted near the town of Zolote. “Right now, we don’t respond to their fire because ...” the soldier said before being interrupted by the sound of an incoming shell. “Oh! They are shooting at us now. They are aiming at the command post.” Sporadic violence has broken out for years along the line separating Ukrainian forces from the Russia-backed separatists, but the spike in recent days is orders of magnitude higher than anything recently recorded by international monitors: nearly 1,500 explosions in 24 hours. Denis Pushilin, the head of the pro-Russia separatist government in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, cited an “immediate threat of aggression” from Ukrainian forces in his announcement of a call to arms. Ukrainian officials vehemently denied having plans to take rebel-controlled areas by force. A similar statement followed from his counterpart in the Luhansk region. On Friday, the rebels began evacuating civilians to Russia with an announcement that appeared to be part of efforts to paint Ukraine as the aggressor. Metadata from two videos posted by the separatists announcing the evacuations showed the files were created two days ago, the AP confirmed. U.S. authorities have alleged the Kremlin’s effort to come up with an invasion pretext could include staged, prerecorded videos.
Estimated 73% of US now immune to omicron: Is that enough? By Carla K. Johnson Associated Press
The omicron wave that assaulted the United States this winter also bolstered its defenses, leaving enough protection against the coronavirus that future spikes will likely require much less — if any — dramatic disruption to society. About half of eligible Americans have received booster shots, there have been nearly 80 million confirmed infections overall and many more infections have never been reported. One influential model uses those factors and others to estimate that 73% of Americans are, for now, immune to omicron, the dominant variant, and that could rise to 80% by mid-March. This will prevent or shorten new illnesses in protected people and reduce the amount of virus circulating overall, likely tamping down new waves. Hospitals will get a break from overwhelmed ICUs, experts agree. “We have changed,” said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. “We have been exposed to this virus and we know how to deal with it.”
The coronavirus — the current variant or future ones that are sure to pop up — remains a dangerous germ. It is still infecting more than 130,000 Americans and killing more than 2,000 every day. Tens of millions of people remain vulnerable. And there will be future outbreaks. The notion of a “herd immunity” that could stop the virus has slipped away under the harsh reality of new variants, waning immunity, and the rejection of vaccines by some Americans. But the coronavirus is no longer new. Two years ago it arrived in a nation where nobody’s immune system had seen it before. The entire population — 330 million people — were immunologically naive, that is, susceptible to infection. “I am optimistic even if we have a surge in summer, cases will go up, but hospitalizations and deaths will not,” said Mokdad, who works on the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model, which calculated the 73% figure for The Associated Press. Still, Andrew Pekosz, a virus researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is concerned that people — particularly unvaccinated omi-
MATT ROURKE | ASSOCIATED PRESS
Students receive KN95 masks at Camden High School in Camden, N.J., Feb. 9, 2022. cron survivors — may have a false sense of security. “In an ideal world, unvaccinated individuals infected with omicron would be lining up for a vaccine shot,” he said. Also, estimating protection is far from an exact science. It’s a moving target, as immunity wanes and new variants circulate. Protection varies widely from person to person. And it’s impossible to know for
sure how many people are protected at all. The IHME model estimates a wide range — from 63% to 81% of Americans. “We’ve reached a much better position for the coming months, but with waning immunity we shouldn’t take it for granted,” Mokdad said.
12 | Opinions. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
Opinions
CTA promises safety, but does it deliver? By Bella Enkhtuvshin Contributing Writer
Everyone deserves the right to a safe and comfortable travel environment and experience, according to the CTA. But with the current trend in CTA crime, not everyone is getting this. On Jan. 13, a 29-year-old man was standing on the platform in the 200 block of South State Street around 9:15 p.m., as two unidentified individuals held him at knife point, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. After surrendering his backpack and watch, the robbers stabbed him in the back of the ear. As the robbers fled the scene, two other people were stabbed in the process. Just several hours later, on the platform at the Blue Line station at Washington in the first block of N. Dearborn Street, another man was unfortunately stabbed with a pair of scissors. No arrests have been made. In 2021 alone, there were 216 attacks on buses and 360 on trains, totalling 567 violent crimes including murders, aggravated assaults, non-fatal shootings, robberies and sex assaults on the CTA, according to CBS News Chicago. Consequently, violent crime on CTA has hit a six-year high. Mass Transit Unit Deputy Chief Matthew Cline said that getting those numbers down is a goal and priority city leaders share. The CTA security department heavily depends on roughly 32,000 cameras to aid in the fight against crime, according to their website. Through live camera feeds from every rail station and access to recorded videos, the Office of Emergency Management (OEMC) and the Chicago Police Department’s Public Transit Unit also have direct access to live camera feeds. While video technology may be important, it seems not to be the only solution as the crime on the CTA has only increased. The rise in crimes is concerning for members of the DePaul community, like professor Roberta Garner, because it makes the city “less livable,” especially for people who soley rely on public transportation to make their way around the city. “That includes many young people and old people, as well as people with limited financial means,” Garner said. “As for DePaul, it is important for staff, administrators, and faculty to be open to conversations with students and to suggest realistic ways of coping with this.” Undoubtedly, reducing crime will cost money. “A lot of people do not want to spend it on anything in the public sector. ‘Lower taxes’ is their mantra,” Garner said. “Training police in new ways of policing, creating housing for homeless and disturbed people so that they don’t sleep on trains, hiring security guards [are] all measures to build an attractive, safe, modern public transportation system, and some political forces will block that, preferring to let public transportation deteriorate.” In New York City, transit officials
EMILY SOTO | THE DEPAULIA
The Monroe red line CTA station. DePaul University campuses are directly off of the Fullerton stop in Lincoln Park and the Jackson stop in the Loop.
are trying to lure back riders by requiring police officers to conduct frequent sweeps of the subway system and work with homeless outreach teams to reassure current riders. New York City mayor and former cop, Eric Adams, has vowed to put an end to gun violence through reinstating the controversial plainclothes police unit, a special street unit dressed as everyday civilians. It was dismantled in 2020 after controversy of aggressive policing and discrimination against people of color. Sociology professor Noel Barker advises students and faculty that random violence is not avoided by driving your own car. Vehicular hijacking in Chicago has already reached 249 total victimizations. Compared to 2019, all violent crime victimizations were up almost 11 percent. Mayor Lori Lightfoot ties the upsurge in carjackings to remote teaching for carjackings conducted by juveniles. At a news conference to promote the progress of a specialized carjacking task force, Lightfoot said at least half of those arrested in recent carjackings are under 18-years-old and drew a “direct correlation to the start of remote learning.” Whenever you bring together people in time and space, you have the potential for crime. Crime hot spots along
public transportation is not a new issue, according to Director and Associate Professor of Criminology Megan Alderden. “The question is whether we can use a combination of strategies to suppress crime as much as possible with the goal of using less intensive and less costly, but effective solutions whenever possible before adding officers,” Alderden said. The ASU Center for Problem-Oriented Policing believes that situational crime prevention provides a framework for intervention and claims there are five main ways in which we can modify crime. First, increase the effort the offender must give to carry out the crime. Second, increase the risk the offender must face upon completing the crime. Third, reduce the rewards or benefits the offender expects to acquire from the crime. Fourth, remove excuses that offenders may use to justify their actions. Last but not least, avoid provocations that may incite offenders into criminal acts. “The reality is that even after implementing these strategies, some sites may still require additional officer presence. Again, that should involve an in-depth analysis of the problem location. I think the one caution here is that not all
people may feel safer having more police around. So that type of strategy needs to be done thoughtfully and ideally with community input,” Alderden said. Sophomore Olivia Sullivan shared that she chose DePaul to have a full city college experience so she views taking the train to class as a plus rather than a concern. “I do find it concerning because there is a lack of accountability,” Sullivan said. “It scares me a bit that if something did happen where I felt unsafe, there is nothing I can really do to stop it from happening in the moment.” When riding the CTA, there are several precautions one can take to enable a safe ride. As a general policy, Professor Alderden stresses only using public transportation during times when you expect large quantities of people to be using it as well. “Pay attention. People are more vulnerable when they are distracted,” Aderden said. “This means not engaging in activities that prevent you from being fully aware of what is going on. Create a plan for what to do if someone does try to victimize you. The key is to have thought it through in advance and to select the plan that is the safest.”
The opinions in this section do not necessarially reflect those of The DePaulia staff.
13 | Opinions. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
Who is writing pro-war columns? Corporate money is corrupting our news institutions and slyly affecting public opinion on foreign policy. By Erik Uebelacker Opinions Editor
The tension between Russia and Ukraine has dominated the news cycle this month. Depending on what cable news channel you watch or what newspapers you read, you may be convinced that we are in the beginning stages of a third World War. When you look at who is producing this content, however, it becomes clear why this is. The Wall Street Journal ran an opinion piece on Feb. 7 titled “Time to Increase Defense Spending.” I was shocked when I read the headline. The United States already spends more than $778 billion on defense annually — that’s more than China, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the next seven highest spenders combined. The article, written by Walter Russell Mead, argued that the current defense vertisement? But the Wall Street Journal not spending was too small a percentage of even disclosing these ties is simply irresponour overall GDP. Mead also claimed that a sible and damaging to public discourse. friendship between Russian President VladThis is a common ethical problem mir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping across many corporate media platforms, would be detrimental for the United States. from newspapers to cable news. Channels “The longer the U.S. waits to build a like CNN and FOX News have received national defense adequate to the challenges criticism in the past for interviewing guests it faces, the greater the danger and expense tied to defense firms like Beacon Global ultimately will be,” Mead wrote. Strategies and General Dynamics, without Increasing our already enormous indicating their ties to these organizations. defense budget seems like a crude overreMore often than not, these guests unsuraction, even with a potential invasion of prisingly downplay diplomatic solutions to Ukraine by the Russians looming. But when foreign policy issues, I looked into who and advocate for Mead actually was, interventionism and things became very conflict escalation. clear. Not only does this Mead is a practice affect public paid fellow at the opinion domestically, Hudson Institute, but it has real foreign a conservative policy consequences, American think too. On Feb. 15, the tank specializing head of a prominent in security and Ukrainian parliameneconomic issues. tary faction said that Some of their bigWestern media panic gest donors include has damaged Ukraine’s defense contractors economy more than Lockheed Martin, the prospect of the acNorthrop Grumtual Russian invasion man, General has. Atomics and Bell “This hysteria Textron. is now costing the This explains country $2-3 billion the paranoia Mead DePaul University Journalism every month,” said expresses in his Program Chair David Arakhamia, article. He has a head of the Servant of vested interest in the People faction. promoting uncertainty around U.S. national Don’t get me wrong — Russia may security with his ties to the defense industry. still invade Ukraine. But it would be much But if you were a casual reader of the Wall more reliable hearing this from an organiStreet Journal’s opinion pages, you wouldn’t zation that won’t make billions if it happens. know this. Mead’s background isn’t disMainstream outlets concealing the industry closed anywhere in the story. ties of foreign policy “experts,” whether on According to DePaul University compurpose or through negligence, isn’t helping munication ethics professor and journalism the abysmal public trust of our media instiprogram chair Jason Martin, this practice tutions. isn’t uncommon. “Many people don’t mind somebody’s “Op-ed pages are often filled with opinion if they know where that opinion is people with a vested interest in the position coming from,” Martin said. “They like when they’re taking,” Martin told The DePaulia. bias is revealed. So, if you make it really “They’re not often completely disclosed. clear and easy to find what position this They obviously have a name on it, but it person has, I think a lot of people find that doesn’t typically have a big statement of more credible than if it’s obfuscated.” conflict of interest, or anything like that News media needs to do better with attached.” this. Tell us who is really writing these It could be debated whether somebody op-eds. Tell us who the cable news experts like Mead should even have the ability to really are. As a young journalist entering the publish a story like this at all, considering industry, I want to trust these sacred media his financial ties to the defense industry. Is institutions. This pattern is making it hard his opinion on this newsworthy, or an ad-
ART BY KIERSTEN RIEDFORD
“Many people don’t mind somebody’s opinion if they know where that opinion is coming from. They like it when bias is revealed.”
Jason Martin
VADIM GHIRDA | AP PHOTO
A Ukrainian serviceman provides area security in Eastern Ukraine Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022.
VADIM GHIRDA | AP PHOTO
Ukrainian servicemen walk on armored fighting vehicle during an exercise in eastern Ukraine
14 | Focus. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
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An essential part of the DePaul experience is taking the CTA across the city. For classes or for fun, students pile into cramped train cars, avoid eye contact,
Felicia Lemmon, a third-year student, had gone to a half-marathon downtown last May, when she saw a homeless man get verbally harassed by a couple. “It was sometime in May last year. It was really warm out, like one of the hottest days last spring. I was coming back from the half-marathon that my friend had run and [the] celebration breakfast for it. The train was really crowded. It was about midday. Then, a homeless man walked through asking for any donations or food. I gave him the granola bar I had, and I think other people gave him either a couple dollars or other non-perishable foods. [The homeless man] gets to one unmasked couple… The woman had the mask below the nose or chin, and the man didn’t have a mask on at all. The couple offers them one of the doughnuts they have, and the homeless person very politely declines. No one thought to say anything about it, and the man moved to the next car. Then, the unmasked man starts to loudly mansplain to his girlfriend that if the person was actually homeless, he would have taken his doughnut. It was just really insensitive and pissed me off. Homeless people are constantly given junk food to eat, and it probably makes them feel just awful. As soon as they decline, people always automatically assume that they aren’t actually homeless or that they are ungrateful.”
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Carolina Correa is a senior at DePaul, and time had to take the Red Line to a Target in the L On her way back, she became very uncomfor with a man’s advances. “This happened in early January, when [wi quarter was about to start. I needed to go to the L to buy something at Target. I took the Red Lin the way down there, and I got off at Jackson. I class, so I was in a rush getting back. I went d the steps and got on the train. I sat down and no a dude staring at me, so I stared straight ahead paying attention. I saw through the window th turned his face to stare at me. I could only think we go again.’ He was asking about me: my name, do I do, where do I live, and just being very cree was very uncomfortable, and I just lied about it didn’t want to deal with him all the way to Fulle so I got off at Chicago, and then I waited for ano train. I said ‘I gotta go,’ and left.”
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Zoie Daugherty, a senior at DePaul was taking the Brown Line at Quincy when something quite unusual occurred. “I was going home from the airport, from Midway. I transferred from the Orange to the Brown Line. It was that old-school stop, Quincy! [The train] was pulling up to Quincy, and this guy decides that now is the best time to just pee on the door, on the inside, while it’s moving. Everyone is like ‘what is going on?’ Thirty seconds later, this is about midday, and it’s getting chilly. He just pees right there, and he gets off at Quincy, and he walks off. It’s a little perplexing, since he could’ve gotten off the train and then peed. I had to move my suitcase, so the pee stream wouldn’t affect my suitcase.”
people laugh, gag or cry from embarrassment, CTA riders can bond through their shared struggles. A business major and a theater arts major may not have much in common on the surface, but both could point to a time when they wished they hadn’t been in that train car.
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Contributing Writers
and hurry off the platform to their next destination. Rusted platforms that make students question the stability of the structures. Slush is tracked into the train car, the floors are salt-caked and questionable substances are all over the seats. DePaul students have at least one gross, bizarre or unusual experience aboard Chicago transit. While some stories make
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Lauren Sheperd is a first-year student who takes the CTA from Lincoln Park to the Loop for classes every week. She had someone try to sell her a stolen sex toy. “Somewhere on the Red Line between Clark/Division and Grand, a stranger tried to sell me a stolen vibrator. The dude was also trying to sell me an air fryer. I think he raided a store and then was trying to pawn off the stolen items because he was going up to everyone on the train. We obviously said no. Honestly, I thought it was kind of funny. I was with another person, but if I had been alone, I would have been more freaked out.”
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Elvira Hadzhieva is a first-year student who commutes via the Red Line to and from DePaul’s twin campuses. On her way back from the Loop, she saw a drug deal occur. “So basically, I was going back to Lincoln Park from my class in the Loop. I decided to take the Red Line, since the Jackson stop is literally right outside the DePaul building. The train comes, and I sit down. A few stops pass by, and two young men walk into the train car. They sit down, and they’re blasting music very loud. And then all of a sudden, I just see one of the guys take out crack cocaine, and the other guy takes out money. They exchange, and I thought it was the most bizarre thing ever. According to my friend who works for the CTA, he says that’s typical stuff.”
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Nicole Von Drasek is a senior who works at a restaurant in River North. On the way to work, she and the other train’s passengers took a whiff of a foul smell coming from the man next to her. “One of the grossest things that ever happened to me happened on the Red Line. It was about 2 o’clock, and the car was pretty full. At Fullerton, I was sitting next to this guy, and he had this lunch box that was dividing the two of us. He was an older gentleman, maybe in his fifties or sixties. He was on the phone, and honestly the train smelled really bad. On the phone, this guy tells this other person: ‘oh man, I just pissed myself, and this is terrible and the last thing I need.’ I am in my work clothes, and I cannot get these dirty, especially with that. And that is when everyone realized he just pissed himself. Luckily, my clothes were fine, but [the train] just smelled so strongly of piss.”
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Edith Leonard is a second-year student living on campus. Little did she know that she and her roommates would be accosted on the Brown Line, on the way back from an early-afternoon brunch. “Back in January, when the Brown Line wasn’t getting off at Belmont, my friends and I were heading back from brunch at Belmont. It was probably 1 or 2 p.m., coming back from brunch at Ann Sather’s, and we were at Diversey. A guy transferred from another train car, and he was talking to some other college-age girls. We were minding our business, but he came over to us and started dancing, throwing air punches, and laughing at us. I made the mistake of making eye contact with him, and he was like ‘did you just call me a bitch?’ I didn’t say anything. He kept going on and started calling me Cheryl. My roommate noticed he had started lifting his shirt up and messing with his pants. We were all worried he would start flashing us. Then, this other guy came up and was like ‘you need to leave her alone.’ And the guy who accosted us shoved the other guy into my roommate’s lap. The man’s grocery bag split, and everything dropped to the floor. The guy who was pushed into my roommate’s lap gets up and punches the guy who accosted us right in the face. You just hear ‘pow!’ And then a girl gets up and is like ‘get off the train, get off this car!’ At this point, my friends and I went to the other side of the car and just ran off at the Fullerton stop.”
16 | La DePaulia. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
La DePaulia
“Si necesita reggaeton dale”
Festival de reggaeton Sueños llega a Chicago, atrayendo fans a nivel nacional By Santiago Posada-Jaramillo Editor de Opiniones, La DePaulia
Nuevo festival de Reggaeton promete dar una experiencia inigualable de la cultura latina. Sueños, un festival de música de reggaeton, traerá a artistas reconocidos internacionalmente como Ozuna, J Balvin, Mike Towers y Wisin y Yandel a Chicago este verano. El evento será realizado el fin de semana del 28 de mayo de 2022 en Grant Park, justo antes del Memorial Day, para recibir el verano con perreo y sabor latino. Aylen Ibarra, de 25 años y de Denver, CO, es una fanática del reggaeton quien vendrá a Chicago para asistir al festival. “Realmente estoy muy emocionada de atender a Sueños, tanto que estaba en la página web esperando la preventa, minutos antes de que salieran, y yo seguía refrescando el navegador”, dijo Ibarra. Ella siente que el festival será una locura. Sueños ha despertado grandes expectativas, en parte por los artistas invitados, pero también porque es de los mismos organizadores de Lollapalooza y Baja Beach Fest — festivales anuales de música que ocurren en Chicago y México. Aunque no todo el mundo está emocionado por esto. “Creo que están tratando fuertemente de hacerlo que sea como Lollapalooza, cuando no tiene que serlo” nos comentó una fuente que prefirió mantenerse anónima quien trabaja en la industria musical y podría trabajar en Sueño. Ella pidió mantenerse anónima para no ser afectada. “Estoy emocionada de que vaya a suceder, pero eso es todo.” Aunque los números de contagios están bajando tanto en Chicago como en Illinois, aún es muy temprano para saber cómo estará la situación a finales de mayo. La página oficial del festival dice que “los detalles sobre cualquier medida de seguridad necesaria serán comunicados tan temprano como sea posible y serán compartidos a través de la página web y redes sociales oficiales.” La población latina en Chicago viene subiendo desde hace varios años, convirtiéndo se en un gran mercado para el festival. Según el Censo del 2020, latinos e hispanos son la segunda población más grande en Chicago — superando a la comunidad afroamericana por primera vez. “Creo que Chicago siempre ha sido un gran mercado y obviamente tenemos una enorme población latina”, como nos dijo nuestra fuente anónima. Así que no es sorpresa el interés del gobierno local en promover este tipo de eventos. El festival musical está atrayendo a fanáticos del reggaeton de todas partes del país, y no solo de la ciudad donde se
FOTO CORTESIA DE @SUENOSFESTIVAL | INSTAGRAM
El festival Sueños vendrá a Chicago en Mayo con una variedad de artistas latinos.
“Estoy muy emocionada de atender a Sueños”.
Aylen Ibarra
Fan del reggaeton organiza. Julio Bucio, de 28 años y residente de San José, CA, el festival lo tentó a visitar Chicago por primera vez. “Honestamente, ¡me sorprendió el evento!”, dijo Bucio. “No tenía ni idea hasta cuando vi el anuncio.” A los aficionados y seguidores de la música, los artistas que más les interesan son Wisin y Yandel, Jowell & Randy, Jhay Cortez, Mike Towers, Ozuna, J Balvin, Sech y Tokischa. Pero para Bucio, él desea que el festival
haya incluido a más mujeres artistas. Frente a las opiniones que ha suscitado Sueños, han sido divididas. Nuestra fuente anónima comentó que “desearía que [los organizadores] se concentraran más en la música y menos en el resto. Y, también, con esos precios (especialmente las de mayor nivel) hacen que sea menos accesible a personas que crecieron escuchando Reggaetón y puede que no tengan cómo pagarlas. Creo que en Platinum/VIP van a estar del 1% y seguramente no va a haber personas de
color…” Por su lado, Bucio estaba entusiasmado por el evento y siente que tiene el potencial de ser incluso mejor en los próximos años. Con el anuncio de otros festivales de música, Bucio tuvo que elegir uno al otro. “No ayudó que también anunciaron otro festival, con incluso más artistas, en Las Vegas. Así que terminé eligiendo ese,” dijo Bucio. Pero para otros como Ibarra, ella logró conseguir y comprar dos boletas para el nivel dos de admisión general, justo en el instante de que habían salido para preventa y que anunciaron que ya se habían acabado minutos después. “Tengo grandes expectativas de ver a Jhay Cortez, es la mayor razón porque estoy asistiendo,” dijo Ibarra. Si quieren saber más del evento, revisen la página oficial y sus redes sociales.
La DePaulia. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022 | 17
Ucranianos en Chicago nerviosos por una posible invasión de Rusia By Stephania Rodriguez Escritora, La DePaulia
En algún lugar de Londres, el ex alumno de la Universidad DePaul, Julian Hayda, de 29 años, se sienta y espera ansiosamente el día en que podrá regresar a Ucrania, su patria y el país en el que él y su esposa, Summer, recientemente convirtieron en su nuevo hogar temporal. Hayda, con la intención de convertirse en sacerdote, y su esposa planearon vivir allí durante los próximos cuatro años mientras él completaba su seminario y ambos hacían trabajo periodístico. Sus planes ahora se han detenido debido a que décadas de agitación entre Rusia y Ucrania y ahora Rusia ha rodeado las fronteras de Ucrania con decenas de miles de tropas, listas para invadir el país en cualquier momento. El Departamento de Estado de EE. UU. aconsejó a los estadounidenses a fines de diciembre que no viajaran a Ucrania, citando “aumentos de amenazas” del ejército ruso. El presidente Joe Biden afirmó el viernes que Estados Unidos tiene información de que el presidente ruso, Vladimir Putin, tomó la decisión final de invadir Ucrania “en la próxima semana o en los próximos días”. Hayda, nacido en el vecindario ucraniano en Chicago. Creció en un hogar con fuertes lazos con su herencia ucraniana. Sus padres eran inmigrantes de este país, de segunda generación, pero recuerda que no aprendió a hablar inglés hasta la escuela primaria porque sus padres querían enseñarle a hablar ucraniano. Hayda se graduó de DePaul en 2015 con una licenciatura con especialización en producción de cine digital. Después de estar involucrado en varios proyectos de periodismo y cubrir las protestas en la cumbre de la OTAN de 2012, decidió hacer una doble carrera y agregó el periodismo a su repertorio. “Cada vez quedó más claro que, en lugar de películas narrativas, documentales narrativos, Ucrania necesita más que solo historias”, dijo Hayda. “Ucrania necesita más cobertura veraz ”. Hayda, cuyo padre era sacerdote en la iglesia católica ucraniana, dijo que su familia a menudo se mudaba y vivía “donde la iglesia
nos necesitara”. Ahora continúa el linaje de 400 años de sacerdotes en su familia, completando su seminario con la Diócesis Ucraniana de Chicago. Hayda y Summer, de 27 años, se casaron en septiembre pasado antes de viajar a su nuevo hogar en Ucrania y permanecer allí hasta diciembre. Cuando salieron de Ucrania para visitar Chicago durante las vacaciones de Navidad, no sabían que no iban a poder regresar. Durante los últimos dos meses, Hayda ha estado luchando contra la culpa por no estar en Ucrania, afirmando que podría ir hoy, pero que se pondría en mucho en riesgo si lo hiciera. Viajar al país significa perder muchos de sus beneficios, como su cobertura de seguro médico y de vida, y no recibir servicios consulares de la Embajada de EE. UU. en Kiev. “Lo que me hace sentir muy mal porque hay 45 millones de personas viviendo en Ucrania que no pueden irse”, dijo Hayda. “Estoy en un pequeño aprieto en ese sentido porque quiero estar con ellos. Creo que debería estar con ellos, sirviéndolos en un momento de gran miedo y provocación y manipulación psicológica”. “La iglesia y las personas comprometidas con la verdad, como los periodistas, deberían estar ahí’’, dijo Hayda. El aviso sobre viajes del Departamento de Estado de EE. UU. para Ucrania, que incluye al país en una restricción de Nivel 4, establece que el Departamento de Estado ha suspendido los servicios consulares en la Embajada de EE. UU. en Kiev a partir del 13 de febrero. El gobierno de los EE. UU. no podrá evacuar a los ciudadanos estadounidenses en caso de una acción militar rusa en cualquier lugar de Ucrania. Hayda dice que solo regresará permanentemente a Ucrania si todas las tropas rusas abandonan las fronteras ucranianas y/o se llega a una solución diplomática. El historiador de Yale, Timothy Snyder, escribió en el Washington Post que Putin promueve la idea de que Ucrania histórica y legítimamente pertenece a Rusia. “Si Ucrania es una nación o no, es una pregunta para los ucranianos de hoy, no para los rusos imaginarios en un pasado imaginario”, escribió Snyder. “Sin embargo,
FOTO CORTESIA DE STEPHANIA RODRIGUEZ| LA DEPAULIA
Banderas de EE.UU y Ucrania en el vecinadario de Ukrainian Village. en la presentación de Putin, Occidente tiene la culpa de que los ucranianos no responden a la pregunta de la manera que a él le gustaría. Parece creer que los ucranianos compartirán su punto de vista sobre la ‘unidad histórica’, si tan solo Occidente se quitara del camino”. Los informes han demostrado que los sentimientos de los estadounidenses de origen ucraniano sobre la crisis han sido generalmente inestables: muchos se sienten esperanzados, temerosos e impotentes. Chicago tiene una de las mayores poblaciones de ucranianos en los EE. UU. Aproximadamente 10,000 residentes viven en el vecindario de la aldea ucraniana de la ciudad. Oksana Adaskavych, residente de un pueblo ucraniano, se siente impotente para ayudar a su familia en Ucrania. “Solo tenemos que esperar”, dijo. “¿Qué más podemos hacer? Tal vez todo estará bien, creo que todo estará bien”. El Comité de Salud y Relaciones Humanas de Chicago respondió a la crisis entre Rusia y Ucrania aprobando una resolución que declaraba el apoyo de la ciudad a la “independencia, soberanía e
independencia territorial de Ucrania”. “Algunos pueden preguntarse, ‘¿Por qué esta administración? ¿Por qué la ciudad está adoptando una postura oficial? Y la realidad es que somos una comunidad global y hemos visto, una y otra vez, cómo la agitación en lugares lejanos nos afecta a todos”, dijo Nubia Willman, directora de la Oficina de Nuevos Estadounidenses de la ciudad. “Esta resolución no se trata solo de quienes viven actualmente en Ucrania”, dijo Willman. “Se trata de mostrar a nuestras propias comunidades que estamos unidos con ellas… [Chicago] se enorgullece de ser el hogar de una comunidad ucraniana vibrante y fuerte.” Sin saber qué esperar, Hayda espera regresar para al menos atar los cabos sueltos. “Si EE. UU., por ejemplo, no está dispuesto a brindar los servicios que, constitucionalmente, se supone que deben brindar a los ciudadanos estadounidenses, al menos espero ir a buscar mis cosas, despedirme y esperar en algún lugar”, Hayda dijo.
OPINIÓN: La falta de representación apaga los sueños de estudiantes deportistas latinos By Vanessa Ramos Escritora, La DePaulia
La educación y el atletismo para los latinos en la enseñanza superior se convierte en un tema muy complicado. Hay varias opiniones y puntos de vista que usualmente se convierten en debates. Viendo los datos de la Universidad de DePaul, podemos ver la falta de representación y la forma en que los estudiantes ven a latinos en la educación superior. Damian Rodriguez, un estudiante de segundo año de la Universidad de Depaul, es parte del equipo de campo traviesa en DePaul. Él dice que en su equipo solo hay dos latinos y entre el resto de atletas de DePaul solo hay un pequeño porcentaje que lo son. “Como no hay suficiente representación de latinos en los deportes, los atletas más jóvenes que sueñan con llegar al nivel universitario sienten que no hay muchas posibilidades”, dijo Rodriguez. “Es posible que tampoco lo intenten y paren de correr el riesgo porque sienten que no hay oportunidades para ellos”. La idea de participar en un deporte en sus colegios se ve como algo difícil para muchos estudiantes que viven en lugares
con menos recursos, para los niños que no saben cómo buscar ayuda o para los padres que no saben que los deportes podrían ayudar a sus hijos a avanzar en lo académico Diego Mikeal Galloza, un estudiante de primer año en la Universidad de DePaul, es ex jugador de fútbol. “Veo la falta de jugadores latinos dentro de la selección nacional de los Estados Unidos, y la razón es que llama la atención y hay más posibilidades para los que juegan al fútbol universitario”, dijo Mikeal Galloza. “El fútbol universitario cuesta miles de dólares al año y es mucho para la clase baja de los Estados Unidos”. Cuando yo jugaba fútbol no sabía que había equipos académicos o que había niños que comenzaron a jugar desde que podían caminar. El fútbol y los deportes para mí eran una competencia divertida y un lugar que siempre me ayudaba entenderme y sentirme feliz en lo que hacía. Esto sólo cambió cuando llegué a secundaria y estos deportes eran más serios definidos para quienes iban a jugar en el colegio y que invertía todo el tiempo y su vida practicando para mejorar. Yo sentía que no tenía la oportunidad de llegar a su nivel de juego porque ellos pagaban $4,000 cada temporada para practicar y jugar con otros equipos más conocidos. No me di cuenta de qué
FOTO CORTESÍA DE DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
La falta de diversidad en equipos deportivos limita las oportunidades para jugadores en comunidades de color. tan común es este fenómeno hasta que comencé a ver de lejos y entender que el mundo deportivo es competencia y los que tienen dinero van a avanzar más rápidamente. Aunque ya hay muchos recursos que buscan maneras de ayudar a los que en verdad aman el deporte.
Por esa razón Corbin McGuire de NCAA dice que la misión de La CAASA es “animar, inspirar y empoderar a los estudiantesatletas y administradores latinos/hispanos para perseguir oportunidades en el atletismo universitario”.
18 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
Arts & Life
KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA
The Cloud Gate also known as the Bean is one of the many popular Chicago attractions for tourists and Chicagians alike no matter the season.
Do's and don'ts of Chicago living By Milan Opsenica Contributing Writer
Chicago is a city with deeply rooted traditions. Some are a little odd while others just make sense, like not putting ketchup on your hotdog. Although Chicago’s traditions can make the transition into the city a little daunting for newcomers, it is important to understand Chicago’s storied traditions and staples for a seamless transition into the Windy City The first Chicago tradition is probably the most famous, and that’s never putting ketchup on a Chicago hot dog. Former President Barack Obama himself even publicly stated that ketchup does not belong on a hot dog after you’re eight years old. According to Tastes of Chicago, the perfect Chicago style hot dog consists of steamed poppy seed bun and all-beef hot dog (preferably Vienna), finished off with yellow mustard, green relish, chopped onions, tomato slices, a pickle spear, some sport peppers and celery salt. Due to the amount of toppings, adding ketchup to this already perfect concoction seems unnecessary and disrespectful to the legendary Chicago hot dog. Now, most Chicago hot dog stands won’t deny you ketchup, but they might give you trouble if you ask for it. Thirty-Fifth Street Red Hots, located down the street from Guaranteed Rate Field, was the first place in Chicago to feature a “Ketchup Bell of Shame.” Thirty-fifth Street requires you to ring a bell if you want ketchup for anything, in hopes of making those who use the outlawed substance think twice. Second, if you’re a Chicago native,
you will never refer to the Sears Tower as the Willis Tower. In 2009, along with the leasing rights, the naming rights of the Sears Tower were sold to the Willis Group, a London-based insurance brokerage, who decided to change the building’s name. Over the 1970s and 1980s, the Sears Tower became a staple of Chicago’s identity and culture. Sears was founded and headquartered in Chicago and had firmly entrenched itself in that identity. This name change to the Willis Tower has gone completely unrecognized by almost, if not all, Chicagoans. Surp r i s i n g l y, this is just one of many things that Chicagoans legal refuse to call by their name. One of the big ones is a structure that you most likely all know, “The Bean,” or is that what it’s actually called? The name given to “The Bean” by its artist is actually the “Cloud Gate.” Yes, that shiny bean next to the giant faces that spit water is a cloud. When the nickname first popped up, Anish Kapoor, the sculptor of “The Bean,” called the name “completely stupid.” But over time, as the name has become more commonplace throughout the city, and country, he has also warmed up to it. “It’s great for it to have a colloquial
name, its own lingo,” Kapoor said. “I call it ‘The Bean,’ too.” Now, Chicago has an entire naming system of their own for all of their expressways. Instead of the numerical system that the US Department of Transportation assigned to all roadways on the federal interstate highway system, Chicago uses names. I-290 is the Eisenhower, I-55 is the Stevenson, I-94 is the Edens, I-90 is the Ke n n e d y, the I-90/94 is the Dan Ryan, I-88 is the Reagan, I-294 is the Tri-State and I-94 South is the Bishop Ford. These name differences serve as a key signifier as to whether you are from Chicago or not. “Telling drivers to take the Outer Drive or the Dan Ryan is still baffling to outsiders,” Chicago native and DePaul history professor Colleen Doody said. Doody also alludes to another name change with “Inner Drive” and “Outer Drive,” which refers to the colloquial names of Lake Shore Drive’s two different lanes. “Inner Drive” is used for more local traffic and is much smaller in scale than “Outer Drive” is. “Outer Drive” is what most of us think of when we think of Lake Shore Drive, and goes a much longer distance than “Inner Drive” was. This resistance to name changes, while a key part of Chicago culture,
is not unique to Chicago. DePaul Senior and Buffalo native Hallie Long found that Buffalo has a very similar tradition in their city. “In Buffalo, our arena gets bought by a new company every ten years and it gets changed all the time, and I still call it the name that it was when I was in 3rd grade,” Long said. Long also describes Chicago as a “bigger Buffalo,” which shows how these parallels can make people like Long feel more at home in the city. These similarities also don’t make Chicago anyless unique, but show the melting pot of culture within the city. Chicago traditions don’t just entail the way they do things, but also the celebrations that take place here. Chicago native and DePaul Junior Krystal Diaz says that her favorite Chicago traditions are the holiday celebrations. “Two of my favorite traditions are the Christmas tree lighting and the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade,” Diaz said. The holiday celebrations have become firmly ingrained in Chicago culture, and the city has found ways to make their celebrations unique. The St. Patrick’s Day parade is one of th e city’s biggest events, thanks to the city’s famous river dyeing which turns the Chicago River green. These traditions and colloquialisms are what give Chicago the flavor that has caused so many to fall in love with the city. While it may look a little scary from the outside, you will rarely find a friendlier and more connected place than Chicago. ART BY KIERSTEN RIEDFORD
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022 | 19
College students love dating apps, but is it worth it? By Sam Moilanen Contributing Writer
College students love dating apps, but social media and the digitization of the modern world has made finding sexual partners as easy as the click of a button. Now, dating apps have become one of the most popular avenues for single people in the United States, whether they are used for casual hookups or finding a romantic partner. There were 44.2 million online dating users in the United States in 2020 according to Statista, and this number is expected to grow to 53.3 million by 2025. Some of the more popular dating apps among college students are Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, or Grinder for LGBTQ+ students. An GBT student at DePaul University, Adin, said he uses Tinder, Bumble, and Grinder to meet potential partners because it is easier than meeting people in person, especially since the pandemic. “Ideally, I’d like to meet someone in class or at a party, but usually I resort to dating apps because it is easier and convenient,” Adin said. With increased use of online dating apps for finding potential partners, Health experts question whether online dating could be contributing to the rise in Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI). “Especially during a time like Covid and [social] isolation, a lot of people were looking for a quick connection, and that paired with spontaneous hooking up isn’t always the safest,” Psychology professor at DePaul, Dr. Susan Markunas said. The most recent data, published by the CDC in April 2021 found there were
more than 2.5 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis reported in 2019. In 2019, reported STDs in the U.S reached an all-time high for the sixth consecutive year, according to the CDC, and the most common age group for contracting STDs is people 15 to 24 years old. Adin said he was recently tested for STDs because he was concerned about one of his sexual partner’s history and wanted to make sure his own health was not at risk from someone he met on a dating app. According to Jordan McCann, chair of the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) Sexual Health Coalition, “The rise in STIs and continuation of positive cases is because there is still just a lack of sex education, and not understanding how severe an STI can be,” she said. “College students have this invincibility complex, or [think] it’s not going to happen to [them].” McCann believes the pandemic may have contributed to the rise in STIs because people were not only isolated, but getting tested for STDs was no longer a primary concern for people. “There has been less sex happening, but STIs still continue to increase because weve been in a pandemic [dealing] with a very serious health concern, and people may not be getting tested as much as they were,” she said. In addition to the use of dating apps during the pandemic, experts believe misinformation is the primary cause of the high rate of STIs in the United States. “Sex education is the only topic in schools that is not regulated by some kind of mandate of what you teach,”
Markunas said. “That kind of misinformation is dangerous.” McCann said young people are unaware of the risk contracting an STI poses, causing them to be unconcerned with using a protective barrier during sex. “The young people don’t want to be told what to do, and that is often the message that is sent when it comes to STI prevention,” she said. For some students, dating apps come with a lot of risk and oftentimes, little reward. Adin believes, while dating apps may be entertaining, they can be detrimental to a person’s mental health. “Using these apps affects my mental health because when I am not getting a lot of likes or matches, I tend to question my worth,” Adin said. “Even though I know I don’t need a male’s validation to boost my confidence, the apps still hurt my self esteem.” Markunas said even though dating apps gave people a forum to connect with others during the pandemic, they have contributed to the increase in mental health issues and lower self-esteem. lot of online dating leads to more shallow relationships because they’re based on initial attraction, and that is why we don’t see a high percentage of long-term lasting relationships,” Markunas said. McCann said wearing a mask is the same as wearing a condom to prevent an STI, and both are protective barriers against contracting an infection that is detrimental to the health and safety of others.
Dating apps 50.8 million users on dating apps
7.86 million
5.03 million
1.79 million
1.64 million
1.21 million AMBER STOUTENBOROUGH | THE DEPAULIA
20 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
JOSEPHINE STRATMAN | THE DEPAULIA
Fefu, played by DePaul student Neysha Mendoza, practices a speech for a charity fundraiser she is preparing. Also pictured: Fiona Rae Warburton as Cecila and Lauren Skelton as Julia.
Fefu and Her Friends is an intimate look at femininity By Josephine Stratman Asst. News Editor
Early in the play, Fefu picks up a gun, cocks it, and shoots her husband. The gun is not loaded. Probably. Offstage, her husband falls. The DePaul Theatre School’s production of “Fefu and Her Friends” explores unanswerable questions of trauma, femininity, desire, pain and, disability. The 1977 drama is by María Irene Fornés, and is considered a key work of avant-garde theater. It’s disorienting (at times almost incoherent), uncomfortable, abstract. It challenges the audience to see from multiple different points of view, literally. It’s well-acted and nicely -designed, with a beautiful set and costumes. The play ran Feb. 11 - 20 in the Watts Theater. At the start of the play, all of this is only hinted at. The play, set in 1935, takes place over three separate acts. The first part shows Fefu (Neysha Mendoza) welcoming seven of her college friends to her country home to catch up and prepare for an upcoming charity fundraiser for education they are planning. It’s set in an ornate drawing room, with a sofa, chairs, coffee table and piano. The audience is introduced to each character, getting a glimpse of their personality and of how they interact with each other. Fefu’s opening line “My husband married me to have a constant reminder of how loathsome women are” is a shocking slap in the face to both the audience and the group of women she’s addressing. While the characters talk about men, they never appear onstage. Even her husband (who is only pretending to be shot, although Fefu says she’s never sure). The second part is a nearly hour-long section of interactive theater. Audience members were divided into four groups based on colored stickers on their tickets. The audience is ushered into more intimate spaces: Backstage, in Julia’s bedroom, in the kitchen, in the garden outside (in the Theatre School lobby, a corner of the original stage, now a study. It brings the audience into the inner workings of both the play and the characters. Going backstage in itself feels a little forbidden — seeing crew members sit at sound design tables and seeing the back of the set feels like lifting the curtain and seeing something we’re not supposed to. The four audience groups watched the scenes play out in a different order, learning how the scenes interact with each other and play out. In one room, audience members can hear yelling, argument and play-fighting in another, and Fefu — the tie that brings this play together — runs across most of
the scenes. As a member of the blue group, I started with a kitchen scene where Paula (Taylor Santos) shares with Sue (Adelaide Leonard) the results of her calculations on the duration of love: (seven years and three months). Sue leaves the room and Cecilia (Fiona Rae Warburton) enters. It becomes clear that she and Paula are ex-lovers. Next was a scene on the lawn, where Fefu and Emma (Savannah Youngblood) pick vegetables. The third scene in the set was Christina (Emilie Maureen Hanson) and Cindy (Jamie Herb) in a study, where one studied French and read jokes from a magazine. (What do you call an unfaithful husband? A “cheetah.”) And last, Julia (Lauren Skelton), who uses a wheelchair, lays close to the audience in bed. She hallucinates scenes of death and pain, repeating a prayer The set of scenes work in concert with each other and play with each other. Fefu runs throughacross the different scenes, spilling a pitcher of water and rounding up the characters for a game of croquet, which we never see. As an audience member, it feels like you’re eavesdropping on different conversations at a stranger’s house party. It feels almost awkward, unhelped by the few chairs available to sit and watch the 10-minute mini scenes. It may be designed to make you feel self-conscious. As soon as I thought I processed what was going on, perfect timing by the actors and some great stage management during the five minutes in between each scene interrupted whatever cohesive thoughts I might have developed and forced me to start fresh in a new scene. The second act reveals more about the characters and their relationships, showing who they are when no one else is around or when their boundaries are lifted with people they’re close to. The mini-scenes offer explanations for the way each character speaks to others, interacts with new people, chooses her words or even sits or stands. In the third act, we are able to view the characters on a deeper level, feeling fully introduced to each of them, even when they resume their social performances. The play is about discovering the many realities and relationships that exist between eight different women and what happens when they overlap and crash in each other. Fornés waffled about whether she considered the play feminist, but she did say, above all else, “The play is about women.” It’s also hard to address the play without also addressing the way disability is portrayed. In one moment, Julia, who is confined to a wheelchair, speaks about how sometimes, she wishes she were in a hospital
with other people. “I wish I was surrounded by other nuts,” she said. The other characters look at her, unsure of how to respond. “No, no you can laugh,” she said. For audience members who’ve experienced any kind of disability, mental or physical, this moment would ring true. Despite being slightly surreal, the play realistically shows the different dynamics between women. The characters are serious with each other, but they’re also playful — they run and scream during a water fight while doing the dishes. They sit near each other quietly, bring coffee and food to each other, coach each other. They argue and criticize each other, but are never petty or catty.
Fornés’ play captures how women behave when they’re not performing for anyone. When they’re alone — as with Julia’s scene — or when they're with people who let them be themselves. It lays out the raw, complex and sometimes conflicting emotions of the different characters, but doesn’t leave you with any one takeaway message, resolution or main point. The disorienting moments of the play, like Fefu’s anti-feminist opening lines or the shotgun, are meant to provoke. Fornés doesn’t tell the audience what to think of the play. The meaning is up to us. Fornés points a gun at her audience, cocks it, and shoots. The audience processes the rest off-stage.
Audience members are all required to be masked and show proof of vaccination. For the latest health and safety procedures and guidelines visit BroadwayInChicago.com/COVID19.
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022 | 21
22 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
College cuisine — tasty food on a tight budget By Vanessa Lopez Contributing Writer
Nothing compares to living in Chicago on a college student's tight budget. Many students have found themselves unable to cook due to a lack of time or energy, and the dining hall becomes repetitive throughout the year. Even if you aren't a student, you can rely on college campuses to have a variety of terrific restaurants with menus that aren't outrageously priced. Given the high cost of living in Chicago, where can you find great meals at a reasonable price? Students at DePaul University reveal their favorite restaurants and why they eat out: DePaul sophomore Emily Figueroa finds it difficult to make an effort to cook after long days. “I'm not a big fan of cooking, even though living on my own has forced me to put in more effort,” Figueroa said. “Going out to eat is convenient when my days are busy with getting to work right after class or after attending a class after a stressful week.” As a college student, you will find yourself spending more time making decisions rather than overspending when you are on a budget. However, being a student comes with perks, and Chicago offers discounted meals that you should take advantage of. “The Little Meatball is my favorite because not only is the food tasty, but they also provide student discounts,” Figueroa said. “They also have weekly specials, their meals are filling and they have excellent customer service.” The Little Meatball The Little Meatball Pizzeria in Lincoln Park is a restaurant that serves fresh and premium Italian food for lunch and dinner. Their menu offers a vast variety of options, including pizzas, pastas, calzones and sandwiches. Their prices range from $4 to $28, with the little meatball deep dish being the most expensive. Their restaurant provides a clean and fresh environment with a friendly face every time you visit, as well as a weekly special board inside the restaurant. But don't forget to bring your student ID to receive a
vice to keep it from being thrown away. This means you get high-quality food at a low cost while also helping the environment. This app is available on the app store as well as Google Play. These meals are all suited for a quick grab-and-go meal, but what about a group of friends on a budget who want to try something new together? We've got your back! Sushi Payce Sushi Payce is a new restaurant in Lincoln Park that offers a premium all-youcan-eat sushi menu for lunch and dinner. All customers have a two-hour limit for allyou-can-eat service, and the entire group must purchase the same menu for $22.99 per person. They offer a large range of appetizers, soups and salads, poke, sushi and many other items to list. They are currently available for dine-in, take-out and no-contact delivery. “Sushi Payce offers an all-you-can-eat lunch, which makes it appealing to visit with a group of friends,” Figueroa said. “They're new to Lincoln Park, and their sushi boat is excellent.” Trying new things is what college is all about. Each of these locations offers a unique atmosphere with wonderful affordable food, why wouldn't you want to check it out? DePaul sophomore Jaylen Johnson is a VANESSA LOPEZ | THE DEPAULIA commuter student and eats out almost five One of the multiple restaurants close to Lincoln Park campus available students on a budget times a week because the dining hall can feel I'm not the type 15 percent discount on your meal. In ad- go: Gold Coast, Fulton Market and Lincoln tiresome. “I eat out because the same thing eat to wants who person of dition, they provide dine-in, take-out and Park. Velvet Taco offers a diverse selection foods, so I new trying enjoy I time; the all of tacos, including vegetarian alternatives. no-contact delivery. to do opportunity every of advantage take DePaul freshman Parin Sensenbrenner They serve chicken, pork, shrimp and a said. Johnson ” so, finds herself going out to eat when she needs number of other options, as well as a tasty Being in college might be overwhelma change of pace in the dining hall. “Most weekly taco feature (WTF). Their prices are on its own, but don't feel as if you can't ing of the time when I go out to eat it is to try relatively affordable, with each taco costing out from the dining hall or your usubranch something new,” Sensenbrenner said. “I between $4 to $5. Velvet taco offers a vibrant because Chicago has many affordroutine al love Velvet Taco, they have the most deli- and colorful setting, plenty of seating and a It is possible to be a college stuoptions. able cious tacos in the neighborhood and if you fantastic atmosphere. They provide dine-in, and enjoy some delicious budget a on dent have the TooGoodToGo app, you can get a take-out and no-contact delivery options. it is normal to reward and city, the in meals TooGoodToGo App surprise dinner bag worth up to $18 for $5 week of hard work. stressful a after yourself The TooGoodToGo is a free app that at the end of the night.” allows you to buy unsold food from top Velvet Taco Velvet Taco has three locations in Chica- restaurants at lunchtime or the end of ser-
Hollywood's lazy portrayal of the Black American experience Chinyere Ibeh Music and Film Critic
The film industry has a history of portraying the experience of Black Americans in a problematic way. Hollywood tends to make films specifically about the trauma of Black people and profits by exploiting that pain. Hollywood has a business mindset and it flocks to the tropes or stories that make the most money. The film industry wants to celebrate Black History Month by amplifying Black voices, both onscreen and behind the camera. Sometimes, it all feels like a cheap marketing tool for a quick cash grab. Hollywood knows people are trying to be more in tune with Black history, especially during the month of February, and they want to capitalize on the moment. It’s easy to see a scarcity of films and television shows centered around Black people just living their lives. People don’t want another film about police brutality or slavery — what about a group of friends growing through life in the city? When can we get another show like “Girlfriends”? “In the 2000s, we actually didn’t see a great deal of Black films, or specifically Black stories,” said Raphael Nash, an adjunct professor at the School of Cinematic Arts at DePaul and an independent film producer. “And probably a good chunk of that first decade, we would see romantic comedies…But for a while, it was pretty scarce.”
A resurgence in cinema surrounding the experience of Black people in America has been happening for the past few years. Jordan Peele creates these masterpieces that tackle tough topics in a tasteful, meaningful way. His cinematic debut with “Get Out” addressed the issue of racism so beautifully and it didn’t rely on overused tropes. Nash says that Peele’s approach to his films changed the way people viewed the horror genre. He explains that Peele’s films opened the doors for Black narratives to be explored in different ways, especially in more supernatural spaces. Nash mentioned that Peele’s films have opened the doors for television and films like “Lovecraft Country.” There comes a bad side to Peele’s innovative ways of approaching Black horror and stories: the knockoffs. When something is done as immaculately as Peele’s films, there tend to be other people who want to imitate the success. Peele’s “Us’ features a Black family of four — two parents, a daughter, and a son — who they are terrorized by their “evil” doppelgangers. Everyone has a doppelganger and they’ve been kept hidden in an underground facility. The main character, Adelaide, was kidnapped into this underworld and she was trapped there until she led all of the doppelgangers to terrorize their real-life counterparts. “Us” had a complex storyline and it was a beautiful work of cinema. Many peo-
ple drew comparisons to Little Marvin’s “Them,” an Amazon Prime Video series that centered around a Black family moving to a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Based on the trailer, the family deals with a white family who didn’t like the family moving to their neighborhood. Sometimes, people make such films and television shows to ride the current wave and they may not have the audience in mind. Instead of thinking of the Black audience, whom their story centers around, their films pander to the mainstream white audience. Many filmmakers may have the trauma as the selling point of the film and it becomes clear that they just want to shock their audience. “[Trauma] can’t be the selling point,” said Lazarus Howell, a student at The Theatre School at DePaul. “You know, it has to be for a different reason… ‘Selma’ is not Black trauma…it’s the story of Martin Luther King Jr…and that’s the interesting part about it.” Howell says that the intentions behind the making of films about Black trauma are important, as well as who’s making these films. There are many factors regarding these films, but Howell himself doesn’t seek them out. Hollywood hangs on to movies about Black trauma because they know that will sell, especially to white audiences. From personal experiences, Black audiences want to see Black superheroes or
PHOTOS BY IMDB
coming-of-age movies featuring Black teens and young adults. Some audiences are just emotionally exhausted as the movies aren’t a place to escape the already harsh realities they face on a regular basis. The film industry as a whole needs to let go of the new Black trauma genre that has an undue influence on Black representation in cinema. Rather than continuously focus on the traumatic experiences of the Black community, the film industry should allow for positive Black experiences.
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022 | 23
Should you watch 'Marry Me?' I say yes By Lily Lowndes Social Media Editor
I love cheesy rom-coms where a dramatic incident forms an unlikely couple. No matter how often it’s done, the “we’re from different worlds” trope gets me every time. It’s entertaining to see a new couple trying to fit into each other’s lives. “Marry Me,” starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson takes this plot device to the extreme. In “Marry Me,” Kat Valdez, a pop superstar, and Charlie Gilbert, a middle school math teacher, are thrown into each other’s words after Valdez makes an impulsive decision at one of her concerts. Before going on stage for her final number, Kat finds out that her fiancée – played by Maluma – cheated on her. Heartbroken, she looks out into the crowd and sees Charlie holding up a sign that says “Marry Me!,” the title of Kat’s new song. In a spontaneous and powerful display of independence, she decides to say yes. Yes, she will marry this random man in the crowd. And thus, Kat and Charlie’s love story begins. After watching the trailer for “Marry Me,” I knew that this was not a movie I wanted to miss. I was surprised when I found out that Lopez and Wilson were releasing a
rom-com together, but it was a more giddy and delighted surprise than anything else. The odd couple appeared to have genuine chemistry and the premise gave me Adam Sandler vibes, but in a good way. Like romcom genre Adam Sandler in “50 First Dates.” The movie was very sweet. It was a story about two people scarred by love looking for something new. As an audience member, it was very easy to root for the main characters and their relationship. Although, it did seem like there were some random side plots that did not need to be included. As a viewer, I felt like Owen Wilson’s character could have been edited down. In the movie, Charlie Gilbert is a single father struggling to connect to his daughter. The people around him constantly remind him that he isn’t a “cool dad.” For as much as they reference how uncool and boring Charlie is – he doesn’t like to go out, he carries a flip phone and can’t compare to his ex-wife’s new husband – you would expect him to have some kind of epiphany or character growth. Spoiler alert – he doesn’t, which made the berating seem pointless. The movie would not have changed if Charlie wasn’t a single dad and his daughter was instead just another kid in his math class. I kept waiting for the stepfather to show up and have
Photos by Imdb
a confrontation with Charlie, but it never happened. On the other hand, I loved Lopez’s character. While Charlie doesn’t change, Kat goes on a beautiful character arc of self-acceptance. Aside from randomly agreeing to marry Charlie, all of her actions are rational and level-headed. She handles all interactions with her unfaithful ex-fiancée with grace and takes the time to get to know her new husband Charlie. I applaud Lopez’s performance because plot aside, she took the opportunity to let people know that she can sing. Hardcore fans may disagree, but I saw this as Lopez’s redemption arc. Sure, she’s had lip-synch controversies in the past, and no, she isn’t the vocalist of a generation, but Lopez proved that she can hold a note and she can
entertain! “Marry Me” viewers will enjoy a mini J. Lo concert as in the movie, Lopez performs on stage with elaborate costumes and dazzling choreography. The “Marry Me” soundtrack, featuring songs sung by Lopez and Maluma, feels like a poppy throwback to mid-2010’s pop and is sure to put listeners in a good mood. Should you watch “Marry Me?” I say yes! The movie will satisfy any rom-com enthusiast’s need for goofy, cheesy and feelgood entertainment. “Marry Me” was released in theaters on Valentine’s Day and is available to stream on Peacock.
A Super Bowl halftime show to remember By Lilly K eller Staff Writer
The Super Bowl halftime show invites both sport fanatics and everybody in-between to witness the over-the-top performance guaranteed to divide America more so than the football game itself. Since the custom first kicked off alongside the Super Bowl in 1967, the halftime show has transformed from a low-level performance conducted by college marching bands to a cultural phenomenon, allowing the world’s most outstanding stars a stage that surpasses both time and place. This year’s spotlight was held by none other than Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and a surprise cameo from 50 Cent, highlighting the West Coast’s iconic sounds while also characterizing an era of blissful nostalgia. Some highlights of the jam-packed 15 minutes include Snoop’s iconic performance of “The Next Episode,” 50 Cent’s nostalgic recreation of his 2003 hit “In Da Club,” and Eminem’s gesture of protest against racial discrimation and police brutality. This year’s show marked the beginning of a new era with its first-ever hip-hop centric performance. The genre first appeared in the 1970s, an age of economic struggle and timeless protests, ushering in a sound encased in both truth and power, according to the Academy of Music and Sound. This year’s Super Bowl concert remained faithful to this message in both aesthetic and lyrics. DePaul sophomore Ellie Meier enjoyed the aspect of numerous performers sharing the stage in contrast to the typical one or two in the Super Bowl’s past. “I thought having five performers was actually really cool,” Meier said. “I was intrigued the whole time because there were smaller performances within the entire half-
Photo from Imdb
time show itself.” A unique facet that separates the Super Bowl from other televised sporting events is the unprecedented audience it reaches every year. With over 101.1 million viewers tuning in on Sunday, according to the Chicago Tribune, halftime performers possess the unique opportunity to bring awareness or make a statement regarding what they see fit. Most notably, rapper Eminem took a knee of solidarity, alluding to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who, in 2016, kneeled during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial injustice. “I think the halftime show this year highlighted and showcased Black culture in a way I personally haven’t seen in any halftime show so far,” Meier said. “I don’t know if this was the NFL’s way of trying to help their image after continually using Black bodies to make a profit, while ignoring or blatantly not caring about the racism and oppression Black people face in everyday life, but also in the NFL.” In recent months, the National Football
League has come under fire for having only three men of color as head coach compared to the other 24 white men who hold the position, according to NBC News. However, with the late firing of Brian Flores, who led the Miami Dolphins to their second winning season in a row, the league has made it more evident than ever that when hiring Black head coaches, they will be held to an unrealistic margin of error compared to their white counterparts. Many individuals, including DePaul senior Claire Hawk, felt that this year’s halftime show surpassed the traditional bounds imposed on performers. “I personally feel that it was more than a performance,” Hawk said. “I know that there had been some previous backlash for Jay-Z partnering with the NFL on bringing social justice issues to light. Especially this year there was a highlight on this, and I feel that it really highlighted hip-hop and people of color and their influence on pop culture.” Hawk believes the NFL’s decision to showcase the genre made the performance more memorable compared to those of the past.
“I thought that this show in particular highlighted hip-hop and everything that hip-hop has done for the music industry,” Hawk said. “It was full of classic songs as well as a bit of new songs from Kendrick Lamar. Again, hip-hop in particular has never been the main focus of the halftime show so this year was a special performance.” Nevertheless, not all believe the show needs to be anything more than an act of entertainment. DePaul sophomore Henri Bresson took a more straightforward approach. “I think it was very nostalgic for many… people,” Bresson said. “All the artists are music icons and pioneers so besides the Eminem knee I don’t really think [the halftime show was more than a mere performance], but I’m just a football enthusiast.” Since its creation, the halftime show has become a yearly formality that unites both football fans and commercial consumers in the perfect blend of pop culture and athletics. No matter the performer or genre, it is an event guaranteed to enthrall millions and leave behind a long-lasting legacy of stardom and controversy.
24 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
St.Vincent’s
D e JAMZ
“Spinning fresh beats since 1581” By Nadia Hernandez News Editor
Pisces season is upon us! Represented by two fish swimming in opposite directions, this spans from Feb. 19 to March 20. We are known to be split between dream and reality. Our hearts are on our sleeves and we easily get swayed by our emotions. Our ruling sign is Neptune and is the last constellation of the Zodiac. Most people laugh at me when I say I am a Pisces, but I feel no shame at all. For my Pisces DeJamz, I compiled a mix of famous Pisces artists and songs I love. Enjoy and remember to feel your emotions this season. Wait a minute – Willow Willow’s musical journey from “Whip My Hair” all the way to “Transparent Soul” represents the range of emotions felt
by Pisces. Smith explores the blurred lines between reality and dreams in one of her most popular songs, “I left my conscience in the sixth dimension/ left my soul in his vision.” Fue mejor – Kali Uchis ft. SZA Both SZA and Uchis are water signs! They may not be Pisces, but this Scorpio and Cancer duo kill it with a remix to Uchi’s “Fue Mejor.” I adore this song more than the original with SZA’s beautiful vocals complimenting Uchis. They point out how love can stay long after someone leaves, something Pisces knows too well. “Hay cosas que se tatúan sin tinta.” Ivy – Frank Ocean Another Scorpio highlight, but it’s fine because it's Frank Ocean. There is something so unbelievably vulnerable about his music. Emotions are extremely important to Pisces and water signs in general. I
Crossword
Bits and Pieces by Alejandro Arakelian
chose “Ivy” because it’s honest about love. “I thought that I was dreamin' when you said you love me.” Diamonds – Rihanna If you know me well, you know that I have no choice but to bust out the beginning lyrics of this infamous Rihanna song. Rihanna’s birthday is Feb. 20. Although repetitive, this song is poetic and dreamy. It takes a water sign to compare your love to rocks. “You're a shooting star I see/ A vision of ecstasy.” 9/11/Mr. Lonely – Tyler, The Creator Another Pisces! I specifically wanted to shout out to one of my favorite artists. This song doesn’t highlight the more dreamy sign of Pisces, but this is just a fun song overall. “Mirror, mirror on the wall (who)/ The loneliest of them all (me)/ Cupid actin' stupid/ Do you got another number I could call?”
ACROSS 1 Rapper Kid ___ known for “Man on the Moon” and frequent collabs with Kanye 5 Taxi 8 Plays in a play 12 Wound 13 ___ Carte 14 Lacking strength 15 Have a make-out sesh 17 Grocery store chain 18 Suffix with honor 19 Listen to on Spotify or Apple Music 21 Soothing song 25 Commercials 26 Insurance company for vets 27 Feels sick 29 Genre alongside jazz and ballet 32 Classic Nintendo console 33 Squeaky floor sound 34 Hockey pitch 35 Summer drink 36 University or Corcoran, for example 37 Puppy pleasers 38 Actor Stephen 40 Tiktok star Charli 42 Foolish pride 45 “Hamilton” creator ___-Manuel Miranda 46 Field of expertise Compton, according to Kendrick Lamar 52 Some TV spots, briefly 53 Have 54 Slurpee cousin 55 Equal 56 Diploma alternative 57 Opulence
PHOTOS COURTESY OF WIKI
DOWN 1 Ruler divisions, abbr. 2 Motor city union 3 24 horas 4 Tame ___: band with the album “Currents” 5 Big rodent (very cute) 6 Boxing legend 7 Takes a plate appearance 8 Prize 9 Pertaining to planets 10 “Voilà!” 11 Milk choice 16 Spanish Mrs. 20 Job at hand 21 Large green moth whose name is Latin for “moon” 22 Not new 23 Light show light 24 Return 28 2016 movie musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone 30 Start of a play 31 Money in Mexico 33 Spiced latte 37 Note-takers tool 39 Create a clean slate 41 In between trash and fire 42 Occurrences 43 ___ Major 44 City haze 48 Dazzle 49 Hosp. ward 50 San Antonio state, abbr. 51 “___-haw!”
Sports
Sports. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022 | 25
Morrow’s historic night ruined with loss to Villanova 73-64 By Joshua M. Hicks Asst. Sports Editor
Freshman forward Aneesah Morrow set the school record for the most rebounds in a single season, but it wasn’t enough to defeat Villanova. The 73-68 loss puts the team at 13-5 in conference play and 21-8 overall. The team was playing without senior guard Sonya Morris due to an ankle injury, but the offense did not miss a beat to start the game. Graduate guard Deja Church got the team on board with an assist to Morrow for a layup. Next, sophomore guard Darrione Rogers hit a step back 3-point shot to help DePaul get the 5-2 lead. Morrow followed through on the next offensive possession, grabbing the offensive rebound and scoring off Held’s missed shot to give them a 7-4 lead. Church hit a three to extend the lead to six. After a Villanova score, Rogers drove to the basket for the layup, keeping the lead 12-8. The following possession, Morrow forced her way to the basket from the free throw line to score the basket. DePaul went on a stretch hitting five of their last seven field goals, but Villanova went on a 6-0 run to end the first quarter. The game was tied at 22, with DePaul shooting 56 percent from the field and 42 percent from the three point line. DePaul’s offense slowed down in the second quarter. Villanova’s defense intensified and struck the scoreboard first.
But Church stepped up, scoring on a step through jump shot to cut their deficit to two. On the next possession, Rogers hit a jump shot to maintain the deficit at two points. DePaul went on a two minute scoring stretch before Rogers hit the 3-point field goal to cut their deficit back down to two. Morrow followed up on the next possession with a running layup to tie the game at 31. Morrow drew a foul and completed the “And-1” play to help DePaul take the lead 34-33. The defense stood strong, holding Villanova in the final two minutes on a scoring drought, ending the half with the 36-35 lead. Offensively, Rogers led the way with 13 points. Church had 12 points while Morrow finished the first half with her 20th consecutive double-double, chipping in 11 points and 11 rebounds. The team shot 50 percent from the field and 33 percent from the 3-point line. Villanova also shot over 50 percent from the field. However, defensively, the team held Villanova to 29 percent from the three point stripe while also forcing six turnovers. After Villanova scored first, Church started the third quarter just like she did with the first; getting the steal and taking it coast to coast with a euro-step layup to get DePaul on the board, tying the game at 38. Senior guard Lexi Held scored her first points after drawing a foul and hitting both free throws to tie the game at 40. But as Held struggled, so did DePaul’s offense, going on a scoring drought for the next three minutes without hitting a field goal over the next five minutes. During that stretch, Villanova slowly
DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA
Forward Aneesah Morrow reached 401 rebounds to break a program record on Feb. 20. extended their lead, going on a 7-0 run and hitting five of their next six field goals. DePaul’s offensive struggles continued, but the team was able to bounce back within the final minute to cut their deficit to five. Here are the records that DePaul continued to fight, coming out Aneesah Morrow has broken: of the fourth quarter swinging. but DePaul shooting struggles were not enough to -Program single-season reovercome and seal the deal. bound record (401) Morrow finished the game with 23 -Big East single-game rebound points and 15 rebounds. Rogers had 18 record (27) points, while Church had 17 points. The -Leads the Big East in rebounds team shot 38 percent from the field and 20 percent from the 3-point line, while against conference opponents in committing 17 turnovers. a season (272) The team’s next game is DePaul’s Senior -First to earn Big East Player Night, scheduled for Friday against Seton and Freshman of the Week three Hall.
Records are meant to be broken
times in one season
DePaul track and field trends upwards with record-breaking performances By Leslie Williamson Contributing Writer
DePaul’s track and field team has been setting both personal bests and school records left and right this indoor season, but instead of being content with the team’s performance so far, it’s only propelling them towards further success. “That’s the thing about track — we’re never satisfied,” senior mid-distance runner Lorie Cashdollar said. On Feb. 11, Cashdollar broke the school record in the women’s 600-meter run with a time of 1:31.83. Cashdollar traveled to the Grand Valley State University Big Meet with the specific goal of breaking the school record. She normally runs the 800-meter race but had been running the 600 to improve her speed. After looking at the school’s records “just for fun,” she spoke with her coach and decided to go for it. She broke the record that had stood since 2008 by just under two seconds after running the race for the fourth time in her career. Mid-distance races aren’t every athlete’s cup of tea — they’re much longer than a sprint, but short enough that runners have to keep up their speed for the whole distance. Cashdollar said it requires a lot of resilience, but that doesn’t deter her. “I love the challenge of it,” she said. Alexa Havon, a junior studying health science, is another mid-distance runner who specializes in the 800-meter run. She’s been consistently shaving seconds off her time, setting a personal record at the Meyo Invitational on Feb. 4-5 and a second personal record at the GVSU meet with a time of
KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA
Alexa Havon set a personal best time in the 800m race at the GVSU Big Meet on Feb. 11. 2:15.42. After setting a record, these athletes don’t just call it a day, and they don’t need any help staying motivated to keep improving. “I feel like setting a personal record is like motivation in itself,” she said. After she crosses the finish line for her best race ever, among all the celebration she’s already wishing for a faster time. Noelle Malkamaki also set a personal record in the last meet with a distance of 15.81 meters in the weight throw. As a weight thrower, she’s only competing for mere seconds compared to a runner’s minutes, but she still expects herself to make progress with every meet. “It feels validating to get a new personal
best,” she said. “It really reinforces the idea that all the hard work you’re putting into this and all the time that you dedicate to this craft is really paying off.” Along with getting to see themselves grow over a season, athletes face a lot of pressure to always run faster, throw further and jump higher. But not every meet will be recordsetting, and part of competing means dealing with that disappointment while continuing to progress. For these three athletes, the key is to stay positive and level-headed. “It comes with maturity in your training,” Cashdollar said. To deal with off days, she focuses on readjusting her strategy, reflecting on her week
and sometimes adding more time for recovery. Malkamaki said that when you focus on the same event for a whole season, it can be frustrating to not see improvement, but she reminds herself that progress isn’t linear. “That’s so hard to remember in this kind of event where you’re always competing against yourself,” she said. After a disappointing meet earlier in the season, Malkamaki was speaking with her coach when he asked her a question: “do you expect success, or do you just desire it?” “I think about that a lot,” she said. Instead of just hoping to do well, her new mindset is to focus on trusting herself and the preparation she’s put in all season. For the DePaul team, that preparation will be all coming together at the Big East Conference Championships on Feb. 25-26. “Everybody pretty much PRs at Conference because it’s such a high-energy meet,” Havon said. More than their training, Malkamaki said she thinks the team’s success this season has been due to the high energy and team spirit everyone has put forth. At the conference championships, the extra excitement and the ability to earn points and contribute to the team as a whole helps athletes to perform at their best at the indoor season’s finale. This year, the indoor Big East Conference Championships are in Chicago. With even more of the team’s friends and family at the home meet, the athletes are already looking forward to their performances there. “The amount of hard work that we put in as a team, and especially being a senior, just seeing it all be able to come together in my last year here is just so, so rewarding,” Cashdollar said.
26 | Sports. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022
Senior guard’s recent production rejuvinizes struggling offense By Zach Elliott Contribuiting Writer
With 4:04 remaining in the first half of the men’s basketball game against Butler on Tuesday, DePaul sophomore guard Jalen Terry stood on the right baseline, waiting for senior guard Courvoisier McCauley to run off a pair of screens into the right corner. It’s not uncommon to run off of a dead ball; getting a man free on an inbounds can set up the rest of the possession or, when done well, it can spring a shooter for a shot — albeit with a trailing defender bearing down on them. Well, defender be damned, he made it. “He is good at just making tough shots,” graduate forward Brandon Johnson said. “Just shots that you don’t think have a chance. He could be losing the ball, falling out of bounds, and somehow he just manages to make the toughest shots.” McCauley took advantage of his increased playing time and an expanded role last week, scoring 21 points against Xavier, 14 against Georgetown and 10 against Providence en route to being named to the Big East Honor Roll. “Voss has been very consistent with his effort and ability to score the basketball,” head coach Tony Stubblefield said. “It’s a long year obviously, and starting the year Voss probably wasn’t playing as much as he’d like, but he’s earned himself more minutes and taken advantage of the opportunity.” Seizing control of a role that has grown recently with injuries to teammates like senior guard Javon Freedom-Liberty, McCauley hasn’t shied away from the increased responsibilities that comes from being a rotational staple — something he wasn’t always at the start of the season. “The thing that just kept me going is my approach to the game,” McCauley said. “Just trusting the process. I had a couple early DNPs this season where I didn’t play or played five minutes, I just stuck with it and never changed my approach, kept my head up and it obviously showed.” Having a smaller bench role heading into the season isn’t unfamiliar to McCauley, who was in a similar situation last year. It is, however, a significant departure from the 20 points per game he was averaging for the 32-1 Division II Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters during the 2019-2020 campaign. Similarly, McCauley starred in high school, averaging 26.8 points per game at Manual High School in Indianapolis. “[While at Lincoln Memorial] I was at my peak in college basketball,” McCauley said. “We were winning basketball games, then the pandemic hit and that’s how I ended up here. I had the opportunity to play higher in Division I basketball, I had been getting a lot of interest from big schools, so I made the jump.” McCauley is one of many college basketball players to make use of the transfer portal during the pandemic and going forward, with NCAA lightening its rules on transfer eligibility in April 2021. Climbing to the top rung of collegiate competition is appetizing for any athlete, and DePaul stuck out the most as a destination. “DePaul specifically, there’s a lot that went into it,” McCauley said. “I live about two and a half hours from here, I’m from Indianapolis so I wanted to be closer to home. Also, I wanted to play
DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul senior guard Courvoisier McCauley stepped up off the bench and scored a season-high 21 points against Xavier on Feb. 5. for a Black-lead coach. My first year I was under [head coach] Josh Schertz at Lincoln Memorial and I just wanted to play with somebody that could relate to me more, and the timing played into it, too.” As McCauley’s last two seasons have proven however, transferring doesn’t guarantee playing time, you’ve got to work for it. “He’s earned this opportunity,” Stubblefield said. “And his role is only going to continue to increase as long as he keeps doing what he’s supposed to do.” In the face of a lack of playing time, hard work can get a player into the rotation, but bringing the right mindset can keep you there — something McCauley has proven by accepting his role with the Blue Demons. “The biggest difference is just sacrificing and being a star in your role,” McCauley said. “I went from being ‘the guy’ at my old school to coming here and just being a shooter and perfecting that shot. That’s really been the biggest difference here and the adjustment that I’ve had to make, and now I’m becoming more comfortable playing around a lot of other good players.” McCauley’s commitment towards that role and what’s best for the team hasn’t gone unnoticed. “As of late, he’s really been talking,” Johnson said. “Been really focused on us being better as a whole. As time went on, even though he didn’t get minutes in certain games, he would stay positive. He stuck with it, that’s why he’s getting the recognition he’s getting now.” With just a handful of games remaining in the season, the Blue Demons look to head into the Big East tournament with momentum, with McCauley undoubtedly doing everything in his power — in his role — to make that happen. And what’s next for DePaul’s dynamic scoring guard?
“I obviously have a year left to come back thanks to Covid, but I’m looking to go pro after this year,” McCauley said. “Test the waters, wherever I go overseas, the draft, I’m really just looking to get to the next level at this point.” Regardless of what the rest of this season holds, how much time he gets, or what’s to come after DePaul there’s
one thing you can guarantee ‘Voss’ McCauley will be — a star in his role. “It wasn’t that I couldn’t ever do it, I just didn’t have the opportunity,” McCauley said. “Now I do, and it feels good.”
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Sports. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022 | 27
SPIRIT TEAMS, continued from back page role they have in pumping up the fans. The dance team works with the cheer team to energize the crowd, while also performing at different breaks during the games, most notably at halftime where they have more time to choreograph routines and dances. “The whole dance team was kind of in the shadows of all the other athletic teams, and I just feel like we didn’t get enough recognition,” DePaul dance team alumna Madeline Kretschmer said at the men’s basketball Alumni Game on Jan. 29. “I feel like the dance team now, even just being here, really stands out and they’re doing a really good job, and I feel like more people are starting to pay attention to them, which is really cool to see. I wish we all got to experience that.” Additionally, the dance team recently performed at the Universal Dance Associations College Nationals on Jan. 14-16, where they placed 20th. Last season, the team went to Nationals for the first time in years and finished fifth. However, this year was the first time that the current members of the team participated at the competition while also performing at every DePaul basketball home game. “Just a step of getting out there and competing on that stage with teams that have done that year after year,” DePaul athletic director DeWayne Peevy said.
DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA
The DePaul dance team competed at the UDA Nationals on Jan. 14-16 and placed 20th. “You got to do it the first time in a long time once, right, and I think that’ll just propel them to better heights and what they can accomplish, but it was a heck of an achievement, in my opinion.” The addition of Peevy to the athletic department staff in 2020 has boosted the recognition and involvement of the spirit teams at DePaul. Before coming to DePaul, Peevy was the deputy director of
athletics at the University of Kentucky, which is known for its large dance and cheer programs. At Kentucky, the cheer team receives Nike products, certain scholarships for every member of the teams and the athletes do not have to worry about fees, according to their website. To compare Kentucky to a Big East school, St. John’s offers some scholarships to their dance
MEN’S BASKETBALL, continued from back page McCauley then scored a jumper and another free throw to get the Blue Demons within a point of the Pirates seven minutes into the game. Seton Hall countered with a jumper and the first 3-point shot of the game. The Pirates continued with another 3-point basket, free throw and a dunk to increase their lead to 11. Meanwhile, the Blue Demons struggled with turnovers early, having five in the first ten minutes of the half, while going give minutes before two free throws by Freeman-Liberty snapped their scoring drought. Sophomore guard Jalen Terry gave the Blue Demons their second field goal of the game to cut the deficit and make the score 17-9 but Seton Hall answered with a dunk to push the point difference to 10 points. Graduate student forward Brandon Johnson scored two free throws, but the Pirates scored a layup of their own to ensure that the lead remained at 10. Terry banked the Blue Demon’s first 3-point shot off the glass to cut down Seton Hall’s lead. Seton Hall countered with a basket of their own but a 3-point basket by Courvoisier cut the Pirates’ lead to six points. Brandon Johnson added to that with two free throws to make the score 23-19. Seton Hall got their lead right back with a 3-point basket of their own and a jumper to increase the difference to nine points. Neither team scored a basket in a minute and a half before Johnson scored a jumper late in the half. However, Seton Hall finished the half with a dunk to make the score 30-21. McCauley finished the first half leading the team with seven points, while Johnson had six and Terry had five. Terry opened the second half with a jumper, followed by a layup from McCauley, but Seton Hall countered immediately after with a layup and a dunk. Ongenda scored a dunk of his own and Freeman-Liberty cut the lead more with an over-the-shoulder layup to make the score 34-29. However, that did not last long as a 3-point basket by Seton Hall
team and grants to their cheer team that increases after every year, according to their websites. When Peevy joined the Blue Demon staff, his goal was to bring over what he saw at Kentucky and apply it to the spirit teams to help raise the teams to the level of recognition that they deserve. And in the year and a half that Peevy has been at DePaul, he has already started to make some changes. “What we tried to do in my short period of time is, for the first time, integrating the spirit squad coaches into some of our larger all-staff coaches meetings,” Peevy said. “I didn’t know they weren’t a part of them before, so those are things we did.” Peevy, a cheer and dance dad himself, has been working with Lersch to grow the programs even more and build their presence in athletics and across campus in a way that DePaul hasn’t seen before. With the initiatives of the athletic department, the spirit teams have moved more into the spotlight and are gaining recognition as a key component of DePaul. “We’re not just girls in sparkly uniforms, we’re athletes as well,” Allen said. “We put in the same amount of hours as every other athletic team. And just to understand that when we go out there, we’ve been practicing and putting in the work.”
Upcoming Events Men’s Basketball: -Feb. 24 at Georgetown, 7 p.m. -Feb. 27 vs. St. John’s, 4 p.m.
Women’s Basketball:
-Feb. 25 vs. Seton Hall, 7 p.m. -Feb. 27 at Creighton, 11 a.m.
Track and Field DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA
Forward Brandon Johnson had 15 points and 8 rebounds against Creighton on Feb. 19. made DePaul’s deficit eight points. Freeman-Liberty scored a jumper in response and the Pirates countered with a 3-point basket, but Freeman-Liberty answered right back with a jumper and a free throw as DePaul cut the deficit to six. Freeman-Liberty’s dominance continued with a layup and a 3-point shot to cut the lead to one point. Seton Hall responded with a 3-point basket of their own, but Johnson scored a 3-point jumper right after to cut the lead to one again. Free throws by the Pirates extended their lead to three points, but Freeman-Liberty cut it back to two with a free throw of his own. Two free throws by the Pirates extended their lead again, but a 3-point jumper by Freeman Liberty decreased the lead again. Seton Hall responded with a dunk to make the score 49-46, but two free throws by Johnson cut the Blue Demons’ deficit to one point. However, a 3-pointer by Seton Hall extended their lead to four points, but Johnson scored three more free throws to cut the lead to one again, making him nine-for-nine at the free throw line. Two free throws by Ongenda gave the
Blue Demons their first lead of the game, and a layup by Freeman-Liberty second later made the score 55-52. Freeman-Liberty follows that with two free throws to give him 22 points in the game. Seton Hall countered with a 3-point jumper to snap DePaul’s 9-0 scoring run and then tied the game at 57 points before a dunk by senior forward Yor Anei gave the Blue Demons the lead again. However, free throws by the Pirates gave Seton Hall the lead again. Johnson scored a free throw of his own, but missed the next one, snapping his perfect free throw streak. A layup by McCauley then gave the Blue Demons the lead again to make the score 62-61. In a game that has been determined by free throws, Seton Hall took the lead from the foul line, but McCauley countered with a layup. However, the Pirates scored a layup of their own to take a onepoint lead and then added on another free throw to close out the game. The Blue Demons have a chance to bounce back when they take on Georgetown on Thursday before St. John’s comes into town on Sunday.
-Feb. 25-26 at Big East Indoor Championships
Women’s Tennis -Feb. 26 vs. Georgetown, 1:15 p.m.
Men’s Tennis -Feb. 26 vs. Georgetown, 4:15 p.m.
Men’s Golf: -Feb. 20-22 at Loyola Maryland Intercollegiate
Softball:
-Feb. 25 vs. Oakland, 2:30 p.m. -Feb. 25 vs. Florida, 7:30 p.m. -Feb. 26 vs. Ole Miss, 10 a.m. -Feb. 26 at Central Florida, 3 p.m. -Feb. 27 vs. Ole Miss, 8 a.m.
Sports
Sports. The DePaulia. Feb. 21, 2022 | 28
The spotlight grows brighter on the DePaul spirit teams By Darcy Waskiewicz & Amber Stoutenborough Sports Editor & Arts & Life Editor
They are at every game, win or lose. They raise up the team, perform in front of hundreds and dedicate time and effort to lift the spirits of the students and fans at DePaul. While sometimes lost in the shadows of DePaul’s different athletics teams, the DePaul spirit teams play a crucial role for the athletic department -- and the school as a whole. Made up of the dance and cheer teams, every one of their performances shows the passion the team has for the
sport and the time they invest in the team to be the best. Dance and cheer teams may not be considered teams under the qualifications of the NCAA, but the effort that the students put into their teams matches that of the Division I athletes at DePaul. The teams dedicate hours upon hours to practicing, supporting the school at different events and performing at every DePaul basketball game. Between the dance and cheer teams performing at breaks and throughout the games, the teams have a large impact on the energy at Wintrust Arena. The spirit team members put their all into their sport
and their roles as the energy for DePaul Athletics. And their efforts all stem from their love for their sport. “I’ve been doing cheerleading since the fifth grade,” said junior cheer team member Alysia Haywood. “So, I was doing it in high school as well, and getting the opportunity to do it in college is something that I really wanted to do. And I love it here, it has helped me work out of my shell. I’m a really shy person, so this is something that really helped me.” The dance and cheer teams, led by head coach Shannon Lersch, spend three to four hours a day practicing for three days a week, along with regular
weekly workouts. They are required to attend every basketball home game, as well as support the school and athletic department at events such as Demon Day. “Growing up, I was always involved in dance,” junior dance team member Nikkia Allen said. “It allowed me to harness my communication skills and time management and things you need in the real world. And dance is something that I’ve always enjoyed.” Allen carried her love for dancing over into DePaul. She likes how involved the dance team was at home games and the
See SPIRIT TEAMS, page 27 BEN ZEBROWSKI | THE DEPAULIA
The DePaul dance and cheer teams attend every DePaul men’s and women’s basketball games, while also performing in competitions during the season, such as Nationals.
Blue Demons fall to Seton Hall despite Freeman-Liberty’s electric second half
66-64 By Darcy Waskiewicz Sports Editor
Free throws and fouls were the ultimate decider when the DePaul men’s basketball team took on Seton Hall on Saturday, and Seton Hall came out on top as the Blue Demons fell 66-64. The Blue Demons are now 12-14 overall and 3-13 in Big East play. The Blue Demons had a busy week, playing against Providence on Feb. 12, Butler on Tuesday and Creighton on Thursday. Recent top point-producer sophomore forward David Jones sat out with an ankle injury, which meant that it was senior guard Javon Freeman-Liberty’s
time to step up. And Freeman-Liberty did just that, scoring 22 points, with 20 coming in the second half, but it was not enough to stop the Pirates. Seton Hall got on the board first but the Blue Demons countered with a free throw by senior center Nick Ongenda. The score remained 2-1 for a minute and a half before Seton Hall increased their lead with two free throws. The Blue Demons struggled to make a shot after their free throw in the first two minutes of the game, going over four minutes before senior guard Courvoisier McCauley scored the team’s next basket four minutes after their first with a free throw.
See MEN’S BASKETBALL, page 27
DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA
Javon Freeman-Liberty had 20 points in the second half against Seton Hall on Feb. 19.