DePaulia
The
Volume #105 | Issue #6 | Oct. 12, 2020 | depauliaonline.com
Community remembers life, legacy of Cathy May News Editor & Print Managing Editor
C
athy May, a DePaul political science professor and alumna of the university, passed away on Sept. 23 after a hard fought battle with pancreatic cancer. Her unwavering dedication to not only her craft, but her students, is something all of her colleagues remember about her. The majority of May’s adult life was spent at DePaul. She first came to the university as an undergraduate student studying political science in the 1980s. P r o f e s s o r emeritus Michael Mezey and his wife Susan were two of May’s undergraduate professors — and lifelong friends. He said May was not an “ordinary” student. “There were relatively few political science majors and Cathy stood out,” Mezey said. “I remember her back then always b e i n g inquisitive, smart, did the work, t a l k e d a great deal in class and raised questions. And so many of us encouraged her to go do graduate work in political science.” And May did just that. Following her time at DePaul, she went on to receive her doctorate in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Like Mezey, professor emeritus Larry Bennett first met May as an undergraduate student when she took his urban politics class and ended up being lifelong friends. He described her as an “enthusiastic” and “smart” individual in the classroom, and in detailing the work of her dissertation. “She wrote a doctoral dissertation on the concept of home and its opposite homelessness,” Bennett said. “So she was initially a student in American politics but she ended up doing a dissertation that probably put her a little closer to political theory than American politics.” Bennett said May had a series of teaching jobs before she returned to DePaul — including University of Wisconsin Parkside and Triton College. “Cathy was a very opinionated person and not one to keep her misgivings about things to herself,” Bennett said. “And I think that at Triton things happened... but as a
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political science at DePaul, agreed that May’s animation in the classroom made her stand out among students and faculty. He peer reviewed her class once, too, and said that in an effort to help her students understand the topic they were discussing, she pulled in pop culture — ultimately breaking into song. “I’m just laughing that, yeah, here she is, in the middle class breaking out in song,” Hibbard said. “And, you know, of course, the flip side is I would never do that. But this is kind of Cathy, I mean, there’s just no inhibitions. When she was there, she was there.” But what made May a great teacher as opposed to a good one was her commitment to her students outside of the classroom. Muhammad Ramadan, a DePaul alum, wrote in a Facebook tribute that she saved his life. Ramadan, who grew up on the South Side, wrote in his tribute that he felt as if he didn’t fit in at DePaul — that he “wasn’t E TH good enough” — and was planning on A| K SZ dropping out. But May told him otherwise. U L GO “I’ll never forget when she said to ALICIA me, ‘Listen kiddo, you’re smart and talented. You can go places. But you’re very rough around the edges (lol) if you listen and work hard I can help you get to where you want May’s former student to be,’” he wrote.
By Nadia Hernandez Asst. News Editor
Ramadan now has his own legal practice and remained close with May until she died. He wrote in the tribute that the two cried together in her office when he was accepted to Michigan State University’s law school, after he was rejected from a number of other law schools. May attended his wedding and “danced as if she was family.” “These, and plenty more, are lessons I will always carry with me,” Ramadan wrote in his Facebook tribute. “She helped shape the foundation of my life as a man, both personally and professionally. For that, I am forever grateful. I hope and pray I can always live up to the standard she set out for me.” While she cared deeply about her students, she also loved what she taught. “She loved ideas. And she loved politics. And she loved intellectual engagement. And if you’re a good teacher, you know, part of it is being able to share that,” Hibbard said. “A good teacher can present material in a way that their enthusiasm
See MAY, page 3
See VOTING, page 12
“She helped shape the foundation of my life as a man, both personally and professionally. For that, I am forever grateful.”
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Muhammad Ramadan
faculty member there at some point she felt that she needed to speak out about some of the decisions that were being made.” When she did return to DePaul, this time as a professor of political science and eventually as head of the department’s internship program for over 20 years, May brought the same fiery spirit she had in her undergrad days. Her colleagues remember her as a professor completely dedicated to her students. “You know, by now the faculty members you go to see [during office hours] and they can define attendance that they want you gone,” Mezey said. “That wasn’t Cathy. Cathy would spend as much time as you needed with her. She was asking about you, about your personal life, about your academic goals, and work with you.” Mezey recalled a time towards the end of his career at DePaul when he performed a peer-evaluation of May in the classroom. “It was exhausting watching her,” Mezey said. “She had so much energy.” Scott Hibbard, department chair of
Two generations’ first vote My grandmother has been a citizen for 21 years, yet she has never voted before. She personally never felt like there was urgency to vote in the primaries or general elections. I, on the other hand, have always wanted to vote. I knew that voting could be one of the only ways I could have my voice directly counted on a national level. It means so much to me that my grandmother and I will be casting our first votes in this upcoming election. We often underestimate how powerful a vote can be, but I believe this high-stakes election has reminded us how a single vote will impact the next four years. It’s vital that we encourage every single person to go to the polls. I’m ecstatic that my grandmother now sees the value of civic engagement and can make voting a habit. I also find our first voting experience powerful because we are Latinas. The Latino community faced discrimination when trying to vote, and it feels so empowering to exercise the rights my ancestors fought for. Our vote is more than just who we want to be president, it’s our voice. I’m excited to be a part of another generation of Latinas who will be civically engaged. However, political topics are taboo in some families. It can make family members uncomfortable or lead to angry conversations. Powerful outcomes can occur when we bring up these topics with our family. We can learn that we have more in common, or we can have an opportunity to educate each other. We need to start normalizing having political conversations with our family members. We had never discussed candidates and policies before, but I’m glad we did. It was awkward at first, but it transitioned into a conversation about our beliefs. If my grandmother was unfamiliar with a topic, I’d share with her facts and my opinion. It was an intimate, necessary conversation for both of us. I feel closer to my grandmother, and excited that we can share this experience together. I’m hoping that her newfound excitement will spread to her friends. Members of her generation aren’t immersed in political exposure like myself. I am following candidates on Twitter, listening to political podcasts and watching the political news. She gets a narrow version of that, but nonetheless, she was able to inform herself through watching the debates and watching the news. This can spread to her friends and get them to the polls as well. This could be the first step in integrating politics to our conversations more often. It doesn’t have to be restricted to the election, but to policies. I want to start
DE PA ULI A
By Cailey Gleeson & Ella Lee
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