150 DePaulia
The
Volume #105 | Issue #7 | Oct. 19, 2020 | depauliaonline.com
VOTERS
DePaul Votes works to register community By Nadia Hernandez & Cailey Gleeson Asst. News Editor & News Editor
DePaul Votes has successfully guided over 150 students to either register to vote or fill out a mail in ballots. “In this really important election year, we know that every DePaul student will want to vote. But we want to make sure that they have what they need to actually cast that ballot,” said education professor Nina Diamond. “If we can remove obstacles to DePaul students registering to vote and requesting a mail in ballot, then that’s what we need to do whatever it takes.” DePaul Votes trained five students to become Voter Registration Geniuses “VRGs” that will personally assist students in the registerating or requesting process. “We have to have these voter registration geniuses trained to help students register and request mail in ballots in many states. It’s taking students step by step through the process, and making sure that they get it done, and students generally welcome that,” Diamond said. One of the VRGS, junior Eddie Olewinski said he joined the program to encourage his peers to vote. “Not voting is giving up your voice,” Olewinski said. DePaul Votes has dropped into undergraduate classes via zoom to talk with the class about voting. “Dr. Diamond, and I, along with another professor, Dr. Leah Bryant has been also going into these dropping into zoom class sessions, letting students know about the project. We’re here to help you get registered and get a mail in the ballot, no matter what state you’re from, we have a genius who’s going to be an expert, and we’ll be able to find out the answers for you,” said professor Marie Donovan. VRGs get back to students within 48 hours once they fill out the google form on what the student needs help with. Diamond compared the disparity of voting rates between students who want to vote vs. when they’re registered. “We know that maybe 45 to 48 percent of college students actually cast a ballot in a general election. We know that it’s not because they’re not interested, it’s because in many instances, they’re not registered to vote. So once they’re registered, the proportion goes to 70 or so percent.
So that’s a huge difference,” Diamond said. Olewinski said his participation in the program has emphasized the barriers that voters experience — such as the law implemented by 36 states that require voters to provide a form of identification to vote. “This affects low-income voters, people of color, young people and individuals who have disabilities who may have trouble obtaining such information because of income, traveling distance or intimidated by barriers,” Olewinski said. “It is astonishing to think you can vote using a gun license but not a student ID in Texas.” Donovan reflects on how DePaul Votes upholds the Vincentian message. “At DePaul, we care about the individual. I think that’s part of why the project resonated with so many faculty, staff, and students,” Donovan said. “Let me work with you, as you. It’s a very informative, and very scaffolded kind of process that ensures by the end of it, not only will the student be able to become a registered voter, but equally importantly, now understands all this is how you do this.” DePaul Votes restructured their registering process despite Covid-19 limiting in person interaction. “We had a plan, and it all went to hell because Covid-19 made a lot of the things that we had planned impossible. But we said ‘there’s another way to do this’. We’re going to figure out what that way is and that’s how we ended up doing what we’re doing,” Diamond said. Registering to vote may seem difficult but DePaul Votes tries to reassure that the process can be easy according to Donovan. “Some people have said to us ‘I’m feeling you know, just so anxious right now’ is what one woman said to me, but having a genius in her life made all the difference,” Donovan
“Not voting is giving up your voice,” DePaul Votes VRG
See VOTING, page 3
Leftists look for leadership
Five months after George Floyd
Many progressives are hesitant to vote blue as Democrats court conservative voters.
We revisted the spot in Minneapolis where Floyd was killed, igniting months of prostests.
— page 8
Eddie Olewinski
— pages 14-15
Max on the mend Max Strus recounts his experience in the NBA and recovering from a torn ACL.
— page 25
2 | News. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
First Look
Aug. 7, 2020 - Oct. 16, 2020
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News. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020 | 3
Caroline McAteer joins SGA for Facebook event By Theodora Koulouvaris Staff Writer
SGA President Alyssa Isberto and Advisor Courtney James interviewed Caroline McAteer, the director of development at DePaul in the Office of Advancement. McAteer has worked at DePaul for 19 years primarily in the Career Center. In addition, McAteer has participated in many “social justice [and] action initiatives” over the past 20 years. In addition to working at DePaul, McAteer serves on the board of directors at the Danny Did Foundation, which is named after Danny, a four-year-old boy who died from a seizure. McAteer, who suffers from epilepsy, said the organization “brings me a lot of joy.” “What we do at this organization is really raise awareness [about] epilepsy, seizures [and] how to prevent deaths caused by seizures, but it’s a really joyful organization because we do a lot in the community,” McAteer said. “We do a lot to help people and really just raise awareness about a disease that oftentimes, people don’t talk about.” McAteer, got involved with the organization as a way of helping others like herself and those who are not as fortunate as she. “So I got involved with it when I heard about Danny and his death [and] I thought, ‘I am so lucky that despite having epilepsy, it’s controlled,’ and so I want to help this organization and help other families who aren’t as lucky as I am,” McAteer said. After serving as a volunteer, McAteer said she was asked to become a member on the Board of Directors and later became president of the Danny Did Foundation for three years. McAteer said she gained a passion for fundraising after serving in various roles which led her to apply for a job in the Office of Advancement. “To be able to combine my passion for DePaul and our mission with something I really like doing, fundraising, it’s sort of my dream job,” McAteer said. “And so, my day to day is reaching out to donors [and] people who have generously supported us in the past [and] thanking them [and] talking with them about other ways to get involved.” During the late 1990s and early 2000s, McAteer volunteered at Illinois Masonic Hospital. She also volunteered at soup kitchens, the Lincoln Park Community Shelter, and eventually for then Congressman Rahm Emanuel’s 2002 campaign. “[It] led me to kind of get this bug for
“I think it’s just giving yourself a little mini pep talk…and not letting yourself think people are judging you which is so much easier said than done.”
Caroline McAteer
Director of Development really loved door knocking, asking people for their support, talking to strangers about legislation like women’s issues, public education, childcare issues,” McAteer said. “To be able to volunteer on a political campaign [is] a unique opportunity to talk to strangers about issues that really impact them.” Volunteering for different campaigns inspired McAteer to run for Illinois State Senate. “I did a lot of volunteer work with campaigns and then I realized, I had this moment of thinking ‘I want to be on the other side where I’m the one writing legislation and making a direct impact in people’s lives not the one supporting a candidate, I want to be that person,’” McAteer said. McAteer met with elected officials to get their advice about running for office and to gain their support. “One piece of advice that really stuck with me was that you need to build your community,” McAteer said. “People needed to know who I was in the community. I needed to have people who would really vouch for me so when I ran for office, they would say ‘I know her, I know Caroline. She’s great.’” McAteer added that she applied for a program called “I Will” through the Illinois Institute for Women Leadership, which selects 12 Democratic women from across Illinois aspiring to run for public offices and helps train them in areas such as speech writing and fundraising. McAteer said she eventually decided to run after her state senator “got in trouble for doing some inappropriate things on Facebook.” While she ended up losing the election, McAteer enjoyed the experience but said she learned she would not run in the future. “It was an incredible experience,” McAteer said. “I won’t ever do it again I learned, but I had this dream of doing it for about 10 years and pursued it and learned that it’s just not something I want to do again.” When asked what advice she would give to students regarding having discus-
sions about politics with people who have differing opinions, McAteer said she would respect the other person’s opinion and “walk away” citing her experience working on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. “I was at Soldier Field walking around collecting signatures for her to get on the ballot… and this gentleman came up to me and he had very, very different views PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF CARRION | DEPAUL UNIVERSITY on certain issues than Hillary did and he Caroline McAteer, Director of Developwas… rude but the way I took it was just ment, Office of Advancement, DePaul that there’s people like that who are going to University, is pictured Sept. 19, 2019. disagree with me [and] I’m just going to say specifically when she ran against three men thank you and walk away,” McAteer said. for the Illinois State Senate, McAteer disWhile McAteer said she typically en- cussed her experience interviewing with joys having political discussions with oth- the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board. ers who have differing views, given today’s “I would say the most intimidating expolitical climate, she believes the best ap- perience I had was interviewing with the proach to handling these disagreements Chicago Tribune Editorial Board,” McAteer is “just to say ‘We have different views on said. “They interview all elected officials this.’” and candidates to endorse them and it’s a When asked how she found a mentor dark wooden large conference room [and] to help her in her experiences and the role very old school like men’s club kind of thing those relationships played, McAteer said and I knew it was going to be very difficult she reached out to elected officials. because most of the people on the editorial “I don’t have anyone in my family that’s board were not of the same political mind ever run for political office so I was starting frame that I am.” at square one,” McAteer said. “So I knew McAteer explained how she felt about that the only way that I was going to learn that situation and the way she approached how to really do this successfully was to it. talk to other elected officials.” “I just remember thinking… ‘I’ve got McAteer encouraged students to reach to do this. I have to do this,’ and [I] gave out to individuals working in a particular myself a little pep talk before I walked into career that they are interested in. that room and now I feel anytime I get ner“So the conversations are just reaching vous about something I think about ‘If I out and finding someone who’s in a posi- can walk into the Chicago Tribune Editotion you want to be in someday and not- rial Board Room and pull that off, I can do being afraid to reach out through an email anything,’” McAteer said. or phone call and saying ‘I’m a student at McAteer encouraged students to take DePaul and I would just love to learn about the approach she had when faced with a your role with the Board of Trustees’… or similar situation. whatever it might be ‘would you be willing “So honestly, I think it’s just giving to talk with me for 25 or 30 minutes about yourself a little mini pep talk… and not letyour career path and offer me advice,’” ting yourself think people are judging you McAteer said. “And people love giving ad- which is so much easier said than done,” vice especially if they love what they’re do- McAteer said. ing.” When asked about her experiences being the only woman in certain situations,
VOTING continued from front booth ready to help students. “We had a plan, and it all went to hell because Covid-19 made a lot of the things that we had planned impossible,” Diamond said. “But we said ‘there’s another way to do this.’ We’re going to figure out what that way is and that’s how we ended up doing what we’re doing.” Registering to vote may seem difficult, but DePaul Votes tries to reassure students that the process can be easy, Donovan said. “Some people have said to us ‘I’m feeling you know, just so anxious right now’ is what one woman said to me, but having a [Voter Registration] Genius in her life made all the difference,” Donovan said. “It was so easy. She said ‘I feel so much better. I feel like I can do other things now.’ So it really is a very liberatory experience for some people.” Voting can change students’ mind-
sets on how they influence our democracy , Diamond said. DePaul Votes wants to help students achieve that. “We want students to come to think of themselves as voters, as people who can affect what happens in their democracy and take responsibility for it,” Diamond said. “When you become a voter, you see yourself as a voter or regular voter. You think of yourself differently and you think about the world of things you can influence differently.”
ERIC HENRY | THE DEPAULIA
Voter casts their ballot early at Cook County Administration Building.
4 | News. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
Fair Tax fight heats up Illinois voters to decide on graduated tax income amendment By Nicole Shih Staff Writer
A major question will appear on the ballot in Illinois that could have an impact on how much you have to pay for the income tax. Illinois voters will be deciding whether to amend the current flat-rate income tax to a graduated-rate structure. The current income tax is a flat 4.95% for everyone, no matter how much you earn. Illinoisans will have the option to vote on whether or not the tax rate should be changed from flat to graduated. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has campaigned on a promise to tax the state’s wealthier individuals more. 60% of Illinois voters must vote yes for the amendment to go into effect. According to the Illinois Board of Election reports, Pritzker donated $5 million to Vote Yes for Fairness, a committee headed by Quentin Fulks, the governor’s former deputy campaign manager, to support the proposed graduated income tax amendment to the Illinois Constitution. This June, Pritzker donated another $51.5 million to Vote Yes for Fairness. Kenneth C. Griffin, another billionaire and the CEO of Chicago-based investment firm Citadel, on the other hand, donated $20 million and $26.7 million to Coalition to Stop the Proposed Tax Hike Amendment, in August and September respectively, to oppose Pritzker’s proposal of the graduated income tax amendment. Vote Yes for Fairness has raised $56.5 million in total, over 99.9 percent of which was donated by Pritzker, with some minor donations from Northern Trust, a financial services company headquartered in Chicago. Coalition to Stop the Proposed Tax Hike Amendment has raised $48.3 million in total, with Griffin’s donation accounting for 96.6 percent of all contributions. Pritzker said the state government faces a budget deficit due in large part to the Covid-19 pandemic. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton also warned the public on Sept. 24 that if Illinois voters reject the amendment of the graduated income tax proposal, Illinoisans could face a 20 percent income tax hike. “To adequately address the budget crisis under our current tax system, lawmakers will be forced to consider raising income taxes on all Illinois residents by at least 20 percent regardless of their level of income,” Stratton said during a virtual event organized by Vote Yes for Fairness. “We all know that our middle and lower-income families cannot withstand a 20 percent tax increase and it will only serve to deepen the dramatic inequities that we already see across the state,” she added. “It will drive out our residents and it will drive out investment in Illinois,” Stratton said. Fulks and Austin Berg, the Illinois Policy Institute’s vice president of marketing, who opposed the fair tax amendment, debated on the graduated income tax amendment on WGN Radio. Fulks said the current flat tax system is not working because it allows billionaires and millionaires to pay the same tax rate as middle-class and working families. “What the fair tax will do is lift the burden off of middle and lower-class families and simply update Illinois’ tax system to match that the federal government uses in the majority of other states in the United
Only nine states currently hold a flat income tax rate, as many adopt a graduated income tax. States,” Fulks said. “Right now in Illinois the bottom 20 percent of Illinoisans pay around 13 percent of their income in taxes, and the top 1 percent [of Illinoisans] pays around 7 percent,” he added. “So you know less than half or little under half the income that lower middle income class families pay, and that simply doesn’t work for us.” Berg said that the fair tax amendment has nothing to do with fairness but rather giving the political power to Springfield politicians. “You’re going to see that when you get a pamphlet in the mail that explains the question,” Berg said. “It doesn’t say fair in any part of the amendment or even the explanation of the amendment because if they put it in there, we get tossed off the ballot.” “The question is about power,” Berg continued. “It’s about giving Springfield power to tax people in different and new ways and in higher ways. It’s not about fairness whatsoever.” When asked, “is it fair that someone who’s making a million dollars pays the same percentage as someone who’s making $35 thousand?” Berg replied that the claim is a falsehood, but the more critical point is that middle classes are going to see taxes rise, and retirees are going to see the retirement tax in Illinois for the first time if the graduated income tax goes into effect. Berg added that proponents of the fair tax amendment have never talked about how every state with a progressive income tax taxes retirement income, despite the fact that Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said in an event this summer that the graduated income tax would make it easier to tax retirement income in Illinois. John McCarron, Chicago politics and local taxation expert and adjunct lecturer at DePaul University’s College of Communication, said it might double the income tax for those high earners, but it’s necessary to understand that Illinois is facing a budget deficit as Illinois does not tax retirement income, which represents a substantial amount of money. “If you are a retiree, because we don’t tax retirement income, whether it’s your Social Security check or your 401K balance that you built up for your entire career, I mean these are substantial amounts of
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF NICOLE SHIH
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF NICOLE SHIH
Campaigns for and against the Fair Tax Amendment have raised over $100 million.
“Under our current tax system, lawmakers will be forced to consider raising income taxes on all Illinois residents by at least 20 percent regardless of their level of income,
Juliana Stratton
Lieutent Governor of Illinois
money that we do not tax as a state income tax,” McCarron said. “I believe almost all states who have an income tax have graduated tax, so it’s kind of a good deal here in Illinois.” According to the Federation of Tax Administrators, only nine states apply a flat income tax, including Illinois. Most of the states have been changing to graduated income tax. Seven states have no income tax. For those states that do not apply any income tax, like Florida, Texas and Washington, McCarron pointed out that even though those states do not have income tax, they do have high sales taxes. “If you’re thinking of Florida, I believe they have no income tax but they have quite high sales taxes, so it’s something that one would have to sit down at the kitchen
table and figure out if it’s a bad deal here in Illinois or not,” McCarron said. “But my suspicion is that it wouldn’t really cause a great exodus of [wealthier] people.” Thomas Claxton, a 22-year-old software engineer, voted yes for the graduated income tax amendment. He explained that most other states in the U.S. have a graduated income tax system, and it allows them to better fund social programs, public schools and public transit. Additionally, the state will gain more revenue from taxing the very wealthy if the amendment passes. Other voters who supported the amendment who have responded to The DePaulia said either it would relieve budget pressures or facilitate a fairer system.
News. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020 | 5
‘Acts of Loving Kindness’ offers community positivity By Holly Jenvey Staff Writer
DePaul’s Acts of Loving Kindness have now taken on a virtual space through DePaul Newsline. What initially started off as a tight-knit community at DePaul’s Office of Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care, has evolved into a space where students, faculty and staff can continue to help the community and themselves through one homework prompt per week. The campaign was initially founded in 2016, when the office only had the title of Office of Religious Diversity. Rev. Diane Dardon, the director of pastoral care at DePaul and Matthew Charnay, DePaul’s Jewish Student Life coordinator came together to show some kindness after the result of an election that caused anger and animosity. Even though the Acts of Loving Kindness was developed through DePaul’s Division of Mission and Ministry, Dardon and Charnay opened it to the entire community for students who wanted a quick cookie to bite at their tablings and receive cards with positive messages regarding a call to action. “After a few weeks of tabling in the atrium and sharing Kindness Quotes, we had students looking for us every week,” Dardon said. Over the years, students from both inside and outside the ministry would either stop by for a cookie, a hug or just a space to talk about what’s going on with their day. However, because of the pandemic, these rituals have been taken away. Yet, with being apart, the Acts of Loving Kindness has now taken on a new platform through DePaul Newsline and social media. “This year, it’s grown into something new,” Charnay said. Coming into fall quarter, Dardon became inspired when she saw DePaul’s President A. Gabriel Esteban’s video interview with Linda Blakely on the school’s mission
SOPHIA IQBAL | THE DEPAULIA
and how he asked the university to do one homework act of kindness or charity each week. From there, she knew that the Acts of Loving Kindness was what Esteban was looking towards. With her desire to resurrect the campaign, Dardon contacted other colleagues, who jumped on the idea. Because of DePaul’s marketing Department, the Acts of Loving Kindness are now shown on a larger platform, showing contrast to its four-person base when it first arose. “The weekly kindness quotes provide inspiration, and the suggestion for offering a small act of kindness helps all of us take Dr. Esteban’s homework assignment seriously,” Dardon said. The pandemic has turned acts of kindness into a new light. Charnay said in order to do charitable and kind acts for the entire community, internal care takes priority. “Keep yourself fulfilled,” Charnay said. Charnay said transparency is key during these times. He said that professors
are better off hearing about a student’s bad week while it happens as opposed to further down the road. With that, he also said everyone should prioritize what gives them joy. Charnay said to schedule that into the day and add ten extra minutes since it’s a staple for helping internally. However, Charnay also added it’s also important to try new things. Through attending different virtual events, vulnerability in meeting others could still be shown, even in an easier way. “It’s just a face on the computer,” Charnay said. Dardon also said these virtual platforms give allowance for kindness to be spread beyond individual means. “The many ways people are seeing and posting about kindness is a great way to spread the kindness beyond individual moments,” Dardon said. She also said with the pandemic and with political unrest, this is a perfect time to be nice to the community.
“In a day when people are so tired from Covid, distancing, worries and struggles, and in a day when social and political unrest in our country and the world are so prevalent, I believe humanity is yearning for good,” Dardon said. Charnay added it’s alright to take a break from social media with all this unrest. He said even though it’s tempting to be an advocate, stepping back for a certain amount of time won’t hurt. Dardon said students, faculty and staff can be kind to themselves and others just through completing these homework assignments. She added studies have also proven that kindness, giving, receiving and witnessing kindness has physiological and emotional benefits, leading to a healthier and happier life. According to Dartmouth College, kindness produces oxytocin, otherwise known as the love hormone, which aids in lowering blood pressure and improves overall heart health. It also decreases cortisol, the stress hormone, which allows for aging at a slower rate. Kindness also increases lifespan, energy, pleasure and serotonin. It decreases anxiety, pain and depression. Grace Jacques, a senior at DePaul has always felt community with the Division of Mission and Ministry. Even though she wasn’t involved with the Acts of Loving Kindness campaign, she always was driven by Vincentian Personalism. “I’ve always felt cared for in a special way by the folks in DMM,” Jacques said. She said faculty from the Division of Mission and Ministry have been checking in through these periods of remote learning. Dardon said doing these assignments can help promote kindness in our overall lives. “We can be kind to ourselves by being kind to others,” Dardon said.
SGA adjusts elections process in light of Covid-19 By Theodora Koulouvaris & Corey Schmidt Staff Writers
The Covid-19 pandemic has altered many ways in which DePaul’s Student Government Association (SGA) functions — including how it holds its general body meetings. As SGA has adapted to the global health crisis, a key component of SGA will look different this quarter: its elections process. When classes transitioned online for spring quarter last year, SGA moved its elections to an online format. This quarter, SGA will once again hold elections online. Arantxa Reyes, SGA’s PR coordinator, served as the elections and community engagement coordinator last year and said she had experience with putting the elections online and that this year’s election “models” last year’s. “It’s a lot of using DeHUB as a way of outreach and just organizational things and managing candidate materials that way,” Reyes said. “DeHUB has really been a great tool to use for that.” In addition, SGA has changed the number of signatures needed to get on the ballot, a crucial part of running for SGA. The number was reduced to just 25 signatures, which is approximately a fourth of what is regularly required, depending on the position. “Getting on the ballot is hugely important, which means you have to get 25 signatures to run,” said Wesley Janicki, SGA’s executive vice president of facility operations. “This is normally 250 for President and VP [Vice President], and 100 for all other positions, but it was reduced due to Covid-19.” Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, on-campus campaigning has been an issue, so candidates and SGA have been communicating primarily through social media. In previous years, SGA would sit in the Student Center to encourage students to vote, something that they cannot do this year. Jane Pallos, SGA’s elections coordinator, explained how candidates have used social media to communicate their
message and that they must get approval from her before they post anything online. “I’ve seen blogs, websites, Instagrams, Facebooks, all kinds of graphics and videos,” Pallos said. “All the students, whatever they post, has to be sent to me for approval, and so, when I see that they’ve got like a blog and they put the DePaul logo on it … that’s not something that they can post because DePaul doesn’t endorse individual candidates.” Overall, Pallos said she has been “impressed” with the way candidates have organized and run their campaigns. “This is some of the coolest campaigns that I’ve seen, at least at DePaul from my end,” Pallos said. “Being a student is very different I guess from being in my position. Yes, I’m a student, but in my position, it’s a different perspective. It’s really cool that I get to see how they’re working with other people and how they’re getting their word out in a bunch of different ways.” Covid-19 could also impact voter turnout. Janicki’s estimate using voting totals from the two referenda in the spring is that roughly 3.9% of the student body voted in SGA elections — a number that is anticipated to be smaller this fall. To increase voter turnout this quarter, Pallos said SGA’s Elections Operations Board (EOB) has been helping her with the elections process and they have been connecting with professors and students to spread information about this quarter’s elections. “We are individually talking to our professors or reaching out to students that we normally wouldn’t talk to and we’re spreading … this news more out to DePaul students because we’re sending them through emails and I have created graphics that we’re posting all over,” Pallos said. Pallos added that they are “fortunate” to have their particular platforms to connect with others despite not being in-person. “I think that the communication, while we aren’t faceto-face, we are so fortunate enough to have the platforms that we do to reach out to people and hopefully we can see higher than 4% of DePaul students voting,” Pallos said. This Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., SGA will hold a “Meet the
ERIC HENRY | THE DEPAULIA
Candidates” event, allowing students to learn about those running for positions on SGA. Pallos will moderate the event, giving each candidate a chance to talk about themselves and their platform. “That’s kind of the candidates’ time to give their pitch and say why they believe that they’re the best candidate,” Pallos said. “Each candidate is going to have a couple of minutes to talk to the community that is present there and tell them a little about themselves and their initiatives.” In previous years, the event allowed students to speak directly with the candidates but that has changed, according to Jankicki. This is not ideal in the eyes of all. “Most students hear very little from the candidates about [their] platform, as opposed to during the non-Covid petitioning process which normally requires you to get 100 students to sign, each of which may ask you hard questions about policy,” Janicki said. “This means that accountability drops off significantly, as candidates and the winners of the election, are hardly held to anything. A debate or town hall could definitely do this, but that all is conjecture.” Voting begins Monday at 9 a.m. and will end on Thursday at 12 p.m. For more information on elections and about the candidate’s running, visit SGA’s website.
6| News. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
President’s Book Club to focus on antiracism By Sonal Soni Staff Writer
This fall quarter, the DePaul President’s Book Club will feature the book selection, “How to Be an Antiracist,” by Ibram X. Kendi. Registration for the book club ended on Oct. 7 and is only available to DePaul faculty and staff. “How to Be an Antiracist” explores concepts of racism, its harmful effects and how individual and systemic anti-racist actions can transform society. The President’s Book Club will hold ongoing events for members throughout the fall quarter, including weekly reflections in remote university-wide dialogue circles starting on Nov. 13. Horace Hall, associate professor in the departments of Teacher Education and Critical Ethnic Studies at DePaul, is one of the co-facilitators of the weekly book club reflections. “I believe that Kendi’s ‘How to Be an Antiracist’ was chosen as this quarter’s book selection as just one way that DePaul is recognizing the currently harsh social and political context in which we are all living in right now,” Hall told The DePaulia. “We have been for some time surrounded by racist acts, most recently from extreme police measures in Black communities to fascist and anti-Black rhetoric coming from the White House,” Hall added. “The selection of and campus-wide attention to Kendi’s book is critical as it fundamentally lays out very real notions and experiences of white existence as privileged, while Black peoples’ and other Peoples’ of Color as less privileged with greater societal barriers than whites.” As protests against police brutality and racism persist across the nation, multiple
ALICIA GOLUSZKA | THE DEPAULIA
books on race came to the top of many people’s reading lists. Kendi is a leading voice in the antiracist movement. “How to Be an Antiracist” became a New York Times #1 Best Seller this year and is Kendi’s most popular work to date. “Kendi’s book also compels us to identify and know power structures and how we can either abuse them unintentionally or fail to leverage them toward antiracism,” Hall said. “This is essential not only in the context of how universities function, but also U.S. society.” “How to Be an Antiracist,” explores antiracist ideas including basic concepts to visionary possibilities. These ideas help describe different forms of racism, their negative repercussions and ways to resist such ideas in both society and at the individual level. José Perales, director of Diversity Operations at DePaul, will also be facilitating the book club meetings. “Each week, we will have a list of definitions from the book so that we can attempt to have a common understanding
of the content,” Perales said. “We will also have reflection questions that will prompt dialogue.” “Reading about antiracism is not the same as practicing antiracism anymore than reading about swimming will teach you to swim,” he added. “You have to practice it to learn how to swim and to improve your skills. Our hope is that faculty and staff will have a better understanding of racism and antiracism so that we can help create a better environment at DePaul and in our communities.” The concept of antiracism is transformative because it reorients conversations about racism and introduces new ways of thinking about society. “We realize that is just the beginning,” Perales said. “Changing people’s minds and hearts requires continued efforts. Dr. Kendi discusses the importance of addressing policies, rules and practices. The work of antiracism can be challenging and becomes possible when more of us are engaged in this important endeavor.” Hall and Perales also help facilitate
the BUILD Diversity Certificate program, hosted by The Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, and offered to DePaul faculty and staff to help develop diversity competencies. DePaul’s Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Cynthia Pickett will be attending the President’s Book Club among other faculty and staff. This is Pickett’s first time attending the DePaul President’s Book Club since starting her new position on July 1. This is also Pickett’s first time reading “How to Be an Antiracist.” She emphasizes how important and relevant this quarter’s book selection is. “For many faculty, the concepts and ideas in the book are new,” Pickett said. “Some of them were new to me. It is wonderful that so many faculty and staff… will be able to come together to discuss actions that DePaul can take to become more anti-racist.” Pickett hopes that these dialogue circles for faculty and staff will carry over to the classroom. “It is my hope that the President’s Book Club discussion will inspire our faculty to bring the ideas in the book to their classrooms and that it will have a snowball effect,” she said. Pickett notes that the President’s Book Club selection has the potential to benefit the entire DePaul community. “Ultimately, DePaul is an institution of higher education that serves students,” Pickett said. “Having a faculty and staff that are more conscious and aware of how racism has historically impacted communities of color and how it continues to do so is critical to effectively serving the diverse, urban DePaul student body and fulfilling DePaul’s mission.”
SGA meeting tackles temporary committees By Theodora Koulouvaris Staff Writers
DePaul’s Student Government Association held its general body meeting on Thursday, discussing a variety of topics including several SGA ad hoc committees, the president’s and vice president’s reports, Courtney James’ advising report and this week’s upcoming elections. Sustainability Ad Hoc Committee Wesley Janicki, SGA’s executive vice president of facility operations, discussed the Sustainability Ad Hoc Committee’s first report. According to the report, SGA’s Sustainability Committee is tasked with “addressing and investigating sustainability at DePaul.” Janicki, who also serves as the chair of the committee, said he and Arantxa Reyes, SGA’s PR coordinator, spoke with George Brigandi, the new director of the MS in Sustainability Management program, in September regarding obtaining student feedback on sustainability. Following the meeting, they emailed Scott Tharp, the coordinator of the SGA-IRMA Data Group to develop a survey to get student feedback. “It was found that this option would take longer than the timeline that the Committee or George wanted to pursue, so Scott suggested creating a Student Pulse Survey,” the report read. Janicki then met with several individuals to discuss creating the survey. “That was one of the most successful Student Pulse Surveys that’s ever done,” Janicki said. “There was 1,726 votes which was more than the next highest one which was actually the Metra one which got 1,400. [The Student Pulse Surveys on sustainability] had the highest turnout [with a] response rate of 94.6% of people said they care about sustainability as opposed to the 5.4% but that was really good.” Janicki said this was the first Student Pulse Survey conducted on sustainability and he believes the other surveys will be conducted biweekly until all the questions on the report have been answered. Janicki added that the surveys are on several different platforms and encouraged others to participate in the surveys.
Janicki then discussed the other contents in the report including integrating sustainability into DePaul’s mission, goals for implementing sustainability at the university and a contact list of those mentioned in the report. Mental Health Ad Hoc Committee Update Francesca La Rocca, SGA’s senator for transfer students, gave SGA members an update on the Mental Health Ad Hoc Committee. La Rocca said last year, SGA had a Mental Health Ad Hoc Committee that attempted to get free mental health care for all students. Previously, students were required to pay $5 per session but in light of covid-19, the fee has been waived. La Rocca added that the committee is looking into improving DePaul’s mental health facilities. La Rocca also said she believed it was important to start up this committee again this year. Initially Marcus Robertson, SGA’s executive vice president of student affairs, was going to chair the committee, but La Rocca will serve as chair “at least for the time being.” “I think its really important right now,” La Rocca said. “Covid-19 is a really stressful time for a lot of people no matter what is happening.” Undocumented Student Support Ad Hoc Committee SGA President Alyssa Isberto discussed the Resolution Concerning Undocumented Student Support Ad Hoc Committee which proposes creating an ad hoc committee to support undocumented students at DePaul. Isberto said there is currently a task force in place at the university to help these students. The task force includes “the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, the Office of Multicultural Student Success, the Office of General Council and the Student Government Association.” “We just wanted to make an ad hoc committee so that we can get more student input and make it one of our priorities here in student government,” Isberto said. Isberto added that one of the committee’s main goals is to make DePaul a sanctuary campus. Robbie Merkel, SGA’s executive vice president of diversity and equity, explained the function of the committee. “This committee is connected to the task force and kind of a third party, and it does allow for undocumented students and just students that are involved in this work
to have an input on the task force when Alyssa and I bring back information to the task force,” Merkel said. Merkel also explained the committee’s purpose. “The purpose of it is also to define what we mean by sanctuary campus and to do more research, get a better understanding of what it is that we need specifically for our undocumented folks and immigrant community,” Merkel said. Merkel added that they want to make the committee “as inclusive as possible” by getting “multicultural organizations” involved. President’s Report Isberto thanked the SGA members that participated in the Day of Action for undocumented students. Isberto then discussed SGA’s meeting with Rev. Guillermo Campuzano, C.M. and others from the Division of Mission and Ministry this week. They will discuss DePaul’s mission statement which is reviewed every five years by the Board of Trustees. Vice President’s Report Watfae Zayed, SGA’s vice president, discussed the G.B. retreat on Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for members of SGA. Zayed added that members of SGA must submit constitutional revisions, which were due Friday at 1 p.m., in order to allow SGA’s Constitutional Revisions Board to look over the revisions and present them during SGA’s general body meeting in the coming weeks. Afterwards, Zayed presented revisions to CRB’s bylaws to allow for the board to have “no less than three members and no more than five members, excluding the Chair and Chief Justice of the Judicial Board.” Previously, the bylaws only excluded the chair. Courtney James’ Advising Report SGA Advisor Courtney James thanked those that helped start up SGA’s new website on DeHUB. In addition, James said she would be emailing some members of SGA, “starting specifically with senators from academic colleges,” regarding a virtual version of DePaul’s tree lighting ceremony. James also asked SGA’s members to get feedback from students regarding how members of the university can support students through the 2020 presidential election cycle.
News. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020 | 7
Both names of the Boystown-North Halsted neighborhood can be seen throughout the area on various banners and signs adorning the streets.
ERIC HENRY | THE DEPAULIA
‘Boystown’ to be renamed following petition for inclusivity By Ava O’Malley Contributing Writer
A petition demanding for the name change of Chicago’s popular LGBTQ+ neighborhood, Boystown, concluded on Sept. 15. The petition, organized by non-binary activist Devlyn Camp, called out the exclusionary nature of the neighborhood’s well-known nickname. On Sept. 24, the Northalsted Business Alliance released a statement that announced that the name “Boystown” would be dropped, and further marketing campaigns would refer to this area as Northalsted. The new nickname that the Business Alliance has chosen is “Chicago’s Proudest Neighborhood.” “Systemic transphobia, racism and sexism have plagued our neighborhood for decades, and it begins at the top, with the all-male board of the Northalsted Business Alliance,” Camp wrote on the petition’s webpage. “(It) begins with the BOYSTOWN signs down our street announcing that this neighborhood is ‘for the boys.’”
Although 80 percent of the 7,890 survey respondents stated that they did not feel unwelcomed in the neighborhood because of it’s name, several members of DePaul’s queer community view this change as a step towards positive progress. “When I first moved to Chicago, I was so excited to find out about Boystown. I had never lived somewhere with an established queer community, so naturally I was drawn to it,” said graduate student Page Gilberg. “As I spent more time there though, it became apparent that the community was only inclusive of certain kinds of LGBTQ+ people — namely white gay men.” Gilberg wonders how effective this name change will be. The nickname has been used colloquially since the 1980s and first showed up in marketing campaigns in the 1990s. Complaints about the non-tolerant attitude towards women, people of color, non-binary and trans people, and poor people are well known but rarely acted upon by the community leaders. Many non-male members of the LGBT have fond memories of the neighborhood, regardless of its gendered name.
“I have a meaningful relationship with Boystown, as a person who came out in Chicago and had some of my first queer experiences there,” said DePaul alumni Raechel Anne Jolie. Jolie, who identifies as a queer femme woman, graduated from DePaul’s Masters program in 2009. “I feel like this is just a small step in the work that this community has to do more broadly.” Jolie, whose 2020 memoir Rust Belt Femme details a queer and working class experience, remembers attending her first pride parade in Northalsted. Although most of her associations with the neighborhood are positive, she acknowledges that there were certain experiences that made her feel unwelcome. “I don’t really mind it being called Boystown,” says Reese Craig, a junior attending the Theater School. Craig feels that this neighborhood is one of the only places in which he is accepted and understood as a non-binary individual. “I do notice that all of the bars, clubs, sex-shops and resource centers have an overall male-dominated feel.” Craig says. “There are no spaces for gender non-con-
forming, queer or lesbian women.” While the Chicago neighborhood Andersonville is known for several lesbian-friendly bars and businesses, it does not receive the attention, funding, or acknowledgement that the neighborhood formerly known as Boystown does. “Having the name of this neighborhood start with ‘boys’ does not make me feel any less accepted in these spaces.” Craig said. “The neighborhood is full of trans people, bisexual people, non-binary people. Even though establishes only market towards gay men, that is one of the only areas that I feel comfortable being my fullest self.” The general consensus is that the issue is not that the neighborhood’s moniker is gender-specific, but that the community itself has had a slow process in combating the racist, sexist, transphobic and classist sentiments that exist there. The Northalsted Business Alliance is removing the name from future marketing campaigns, but one must wonder, will calling this historically queer burough “Chicago’s Proudest Neighborhood” really fix all of the deeply rooted problems of intolerance?
Covid testing materials taken from ISU back to government By Nika Schoonover Politics Editor
After Illinois State University lost Covid-19 testing materials to government reallocation, the school had to reimagine strategies for student safety. Both Illinois State University and Loyola University were expecting Covid-19 testing materials from the manufacturer Quidel over the summer, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services utilized the Defense Production Act to enforce the priority of their order with Quidel above all others. In a statement by the HHS, the department did not reference the universities but instead emphasized their efforts to supply nursing homes with ample testing. “The federal efforts to supply nursing homes with rapid point-of-care antigen instruments and tests is our highest priority to save lives and the US Government will exert its full authority to complete this mission,” Assistant Secretary for Health Brett P. Giroir said in the statement. Sen. Dick Durbin later wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar expressing his concerns.
“While there are certainly other entities that are also in dire need of testing supplies, I am concerned that this action has diverted tests that schools had expected to arrive in time for the beginning of the school year, harming their efforts to keep their students, staff and communities safe,” Durbin wrote. Durbin continued to write that the situation reflects a broader lack of planning by the federal government and requested that the HHS provide an explanation for colleges and universities. According to ISU spokesperson Eric Jome, the school ordered three testing machines and 5,000 reagent testing kits. In July, ISU was informed that Quidel would no longer be able to fulfill their order because of the government procurement. Starting on Aug. 17, ISU has conducted almost 13,000 tests and more than 1,000 have tested positive. Out of the 442 test results received the previous day, there have been seven positive cases. Jome says that although the school still has testing, the order they didn’t receive from Quidel would have enhanced their testing abilities. Failure to receive the projected number of testing supplies resulted in the university’s decision to move more classes online, with
approximately 80 percent of classes online. Now the university is moving towards saliva testing in partnership with University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ben Taylor, spokesperson for UIUC, confirmed talks with ISU for distribution of saliva testing equipment. Jome said the university is in the process of developing a laboratory to accommodate the saliva testing by the end of the fall semester. The hope, Jome says, is to increase student capacity through increased testing capabilities. “The plan is to be able to increase the capacity where we can be testing more people and more frequently,” Jome said. Taylor says that UIUC is in conversations with multiple universities to deploy the saliva based testing to public and private schools across the state. w Most recently, ISU has mandated Covid-19 testing for students that are living on campus. The university offers two testing sites for asymptomatic students and one testing site with the Student Health Services clinic for symptomatic students.
8 | Politics. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
Politics
CAROLYN KASTER | AP
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at Michigan State Fairgrounds in Novi, Mich., Friday, Oct. 16, 2020.
Leftists struggle with voting ‘blue’ as Dems court moderates, conservatives By Ella Lee Managing Editor On Election Day, Ben Jaeger won’t head to the polls. He’s not voting early, and he hasn’t requested a ballot by mail — nor does he intend to. Jaeger, a member of DePaul Socialists, is not voting in the 2020 Election. He’s one of a number of leftists who believe neither party or candidate can fix the problems facing America today. “When push comes to shove, the line that separates a Republican and Democrat becomes awfully blurry,” he said. “The Democratic Party is more than willing to support anyone so long as they criticize Trump, whether it’s John Kasich, who undermined abortion access in Ohio, or Mike Bloomberg, who governed New York City as a Republican and created the racist ‘Stop and Frisk’ program. They even welcomed the support of Colin Powell, one of the main architects of the Iraq War, the most flagrant act of American imperialism this century. This is a party without principle, one whose sole purpose is to maintain the status quo at all costs.” At this year’s Democratic National Convention, held in August, the Democratic Party invited a number of conservatives to speak at the event, including Kasich and Powell. Many leftists felt it was an intentional snub of progressive views and an affirmation that the party has no intention of a substantive shift left. “It was infuriating to see conservatives speak at the DNC,” said Lucy Grundhauser, a recent DePaul alumna. “It’s infuriating to see the party repeat the same tactics they tried in 2016, which undeniably failed. It’s insulting that the Democratic Party treats leftists with the
“At this point, I am fairly disengaged from whatever ‘progress’ the Democratic Party makes, because I have my eyes set on a world they will never embrace.”
Lucy Grundhauser
DePaul University, alumna
same disregard that the Republicans do, which ultimately shows how committed Dems are to upholding the structures that endanger all of us.” “It only confirms that America is a one-party state with two faces, both representing the interests of the capitalist class,” Jaeger said. Craig Sautter, an adjunct professor at DePaul who’s produced political ads for candidates across the country, said that Democrats are banking on the left falling in line with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Election Day. “As vice president Biden said in the last debate, ‘I am the Democratic Party at this moment,’” he said. “And the people in the DNC are either professionals or Biden appointees. Their calculation is that the ‘Left’ will follow Sen. Sanders in his call to vote in large numbers against President Trump. Splinter politics most often fails, and ends up electing the opponent.” Biden wasn’t Arad Boxenbaum’s first pick in the primary election. The DePaul sophomore was a digital volunteer for former presidential candidate Pete Buttiegieg, and when the former South Bend
mayor dropped out and endorsed Biden, Boxenbaum followed in suit, founding the campus group “DePaul for Biden.” He said he suggests progressives who argue Biden’s policies aren’t progressive enough should do the same. “It’s understandable to be disappointed that a nominee isn’t 100 percent in line with your stances, [but] ideally the point of a primary is to create a dialogue on what the party’s priorities should be, and it’s clear that as the primary season has unfolded, the Biden campaign has moved left on a number of issues, since it’s clear Democrat voters are more progressive than 2016,” he said. That’s the decision Grundhauser, who will be voting for Biden, ultimately made. “I feel obligated from a harm reduction standpoint,” she said. “Revolutions don’t happen overnight. Although I’m upset about who I am voting for, I’m not upset about having to vote. I’m excited to have influence on a local level.” Boxenbaum said he disagrees that leftists have been ignored by the Democratic Party. “The reason why former and current
Republicans are being featured prominently by the Biden campaign is that this election has gone beyond party allegiance and towards the survival of our democracy,” he said. But Jaeger said survival isn’t enough. “When capital is in crisis, like it is right now, the ruling class has only two solutions: social democracy, the likes of which Bernie is proposing, and fascism, to which Trump is allied,” Jaeger said. “Simply returning to the status quo, like what Biden proposes, is foolish since it is a return to the policy that led to this crisis to begin with. This is why Clinton lost to Trump in 2016. A neoliberal White House and Congress can’t stop the rising tide of fascism, it will merely delay it by four years at the most.” Sautter said he thinks that leftists will always be on the outside of the country’s two parties, as both are ultimately centrist parties with different coalitions and rhetoric. “Neither is going to take radical action, and if they did, much of Congress would resist them, and the Supreme Court would overturn their laws,” Sautter said. “The best way for progressives to win is to change the culture, and the laws will follow, as with Civil Rights, Women’s rights, gay rights. Society changed, the legal system followed.” And that’s the problem, both Grundhauser and Jaeger said. Ultimately, no matter how much the Democratic Party is ‘pushed’ left, as long as we continue to uphold the dangerous two-party system, we continue to live in a dangerous society,” Grundhauser said. “At this point, I am fairly disengaged from whatever ‘progress’ the Democratic Party makes, because I have my eyes set on a world they will never embrace.”
Politics. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020 | 9
Gen Z voters bring new perspective to politics in the coming election By Nadia Hernandez Assistant News Editor Generation Z voters will be a significant demographic in the upcoming election. “There’s about 24 million Gen Z members who are eligible to vote so that’s about 10 percent of the electorate,” associate professor of political science Molly Andolina said. “They tend to be aligned also with millennials so if you throw them in with millennials, they’re over a third of the electorate.” Gen Z members are typically born after 1997. They are so far the most culturally diverse, comfortable with gender neutral language, and most similar to millennials in social views, according to associate professor of political science Molly Andolina. “They’re progressive, pro government, they want the government to solve problems. They see immigration as a strength of this country,” Andolina said. “They’re, they’re less likely to support an American first agenda, pro same sex marriage.” Gen Z will have a higher turnout rate for this election compared to other generations. About 60 percent of Gen Z reports they’re voting for democratic candidate Joe Biden, according to Andolina. “Gen Z is going to be motivated in many of the ways that other people have been motivated in the past. An election that really seems to matter is more likely to get everybody to vote, and this is no different for Gen Z in this election,” Andolina said. “Gen Z has a huge percentage of them who have said that this election made them realize that politics mattered.” Art, design and media major Natalie Lara compares Gen Z to the Baby Boomer generation on being passionate about politics. “I think that Gen Z takes politics much more personally, and I think that is for the better. We need to be able to have an open dialogue, not be passive and face the issues in this country head on,” Lara said. Gen Z makes an impression to be socially, economically, and politically liberal but is still diverse in its views. “I feel like it’s equal because even though I live in a very liberal city, there are still people who are conservative that we
JAY JANNER | AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN VIA AP
Deputy voter registrars Brandon Bradley, 19, left, and Jacob Turner, 20, helps students register to vote at a voter registration drive at the University of Texas at Austin on Monday Oct. 5, 2020. Monday is the deadline to register to vote in Texas in the Nov. 3 local and national elections, including the races for president; congressional and legislative seats; governor; lieutenant governor; and city and county government and judicial posts. don’t acknowledge,” political science major Vanesa Leon said. “We can have different ideologies as long as there are conversations between us. However, we do become more socially liberal because of all the changes we will see.” Social media highly impacted Gen Z becoming civically engaged. Social media platforms have added information on voter registration deadlines, where to vote and checking registration status. “95 percent of young people have access to a smartphone and 97 percent of them say they’re on YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat. This is definitely like a fully wired generation. So there’s a lot of effort to reach out and try to register Gen Z to vote,” Andolina said. Gen Z reflects on the significance of being civically engaged. This can include voting, protesting, or being aware of polit-
ical issues. “We are the ones that are going to be running for office in years’ time, we have a new perspective on things that just aren’t the same as people who have been alive for as long. we are innovating the political space,” Lara said. “I think young people should vote because we are a large group compared to the older generation and we should have more of a say in what happens in our government because soon we will be running it as we get older,” Leon added. Gen Z can still become more engaged through raising community involvement in their communities and neighborhoods. “As we normalize being more engaged in politics or neighborhood decision making a push for more involvement in our communities you will realize how important it is to be involved in government in
policy making,” Leon said. Andolina describes how Gen Z will create a new future for the U.S because Gen Z thinks differently than older generations. “The older generations have made such a mess of American politics and government. We’ve gotten involved in never ending wars, run up a deficit, destroyed the climate, created divisions in society,” Andolina said. “Frankly as a generation offers real hope because you’re willing to think about a different kind of future for us. You first have to start to wrestle the power away from the people who are making the rules and the, you know, the bottom line is even things like who can vote. It’s only by getting involved can you take back the power,” she added.
ALICIA GOLUSZKA | ART
10 | Nation & World. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
Nation &World
ALEX BRANDON | AP
President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Wisconsin on Saturday, Oct. 17.
CAROLYN KASTER | AP
Joe Biden speaks to media before boarding his campaign plane at New Castle Airport on Oct. 13.
Health care takes center stage heading into Election Day By Rebecca Meluch Opinions Editor
C
andidates’ policies on healthcare are usually emphasized in any presidential election. But as the 2020 presidential election takes the stage amid a global pandemic that has taken the lives of over 200,000 Americans, the topic of healthcare is front and center. And the two candidates, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have two very opposing outlooks on the matter. During and even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the topic of Medicare for All and affordable healthcare has been a key issue amongst the American public. Since March, the Covid-19 pandemic has made Americans question the current healthcare climate in the United States pertaining to access to treatments, high medical bills, accessible testing and affordable prescription drug prices – to name a few. President Trump’s handling of Covid-19 has made many also question what the Biden administration has in store for future healthcare policies. Richard Craig Sautter is a professor at DePaul University with expertise in American elections. In a brief summary, he broke down the different policies put forward by the two candidates. “First, Vice President Biden is a defender of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which he helped President Obama pass,” Sautter said. “At first, the public, the polls, said they oppose ACA. After a few years in existence, it is much more popular.” On Biden’s campaign website, some of the achievements of the ACA are brought to light. The ACA was created partly to ensure people no longer have to worry that an insurance company will deny coverage or charge higher premiums just because they have pre-existing conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, as well as mental illnesses. Meanwhile, President Trump and many other Republicans oppose government centralization of all services, which includes healthcare. Sautter said that Republicans favor a system that creates more competition among health care insurers in order to drive down the costs for consumers and aim to pass a law that mandates that all healthcare companies must insure those with pre-existing
“I want to see a candidate actually advocate for free universal healthcare. So many other countries have it and I don’t understand why a country that is as ‘rich’ as ours can’t grant us this one necessity,” Miranda Barajaras
Senior, Illinois State University conditions. Many Democrats and Biden supporters believe that President Trump doesn’t have a definitive healthcare plan. “Last time I checked, Trump doesn’t have a healthcare policy,” said Arad Boxenbaum, a DePaul sophomore and creator of the DePaul for Joe Biden Instagram page. When speaking about topics such as Medicare for All, or the ACA, Boxenbaum believes Trump uses these topics only in a way to attack Biden. “I don’t know how many people are supporting Trump because of healthcare,” Boxenbaum said. “That doesn’t seem to be something that Trump really talks about. It’s something he uses for attacking Joe Biden that he is going to behold to ‘the Left,’ fear-mongering about Medicare for All or the Affordable Care Act.” According to his campaign website, Trump “pledges to minimize the economic burden of the patient protection and Affordable Care Act,” as it’s currently pending repeal. The public has noticed that often when asked questions about healthcare policies, Trump doesn’t have clear answers. “It was especially shocking to see Donald Trump dodge the question so much during the debate when they asked him if he had a new plan or a plan at all,” said Miranda Barajaras, a senior at Illinois State University. While the topic of healthcare is a priority for the entire American public, it’s one that is especially important to college students — particularly with the fight for Medi-
care for All. “I want to see a candidate actually advocate for free universal healthcare,” Barajaras said. “So many other countries have it, and I don’t understand why a country that is as ‘rich’ as ours can’t grant us this one necessity.” Sautter said that the Republicans’ plan is to let privatized companies insure people, effectively keeping the “status quo” from before the ACA was ever in effect. “They say that to turn healthcare entirely over to the government (‘socialized medicine’) will result in less innovation, long lines to get healthcare service,” Sautter said. Biden’s positions on healthcare aim to protect the ACA from continued attacks. Instead of starting a new policy from scratch and eliminating private insurance, he plans to build on the ACA by “giving Americans more choice, reducing healthcare costs, and making our health care system less complex to navigate.” While Biden’s policies don’t represent the Medicare for All stance that many were hoping for, Boxenbaum said that it’s a step in the right direction. “It’s understandable that it’s nothing like Medicare for All, it’s nothing of the sort, but it’s absolutely a step towards that,” Boxenbaum said. “Having a public option means having a more affordable and higher-quality healthcare option that would ultimately be of similar quality for lower prices than a lot of the private insurances that we have currently.”
Nation & World. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020 | 11
Pandemic driving children back to work
EDUARDO VERDUGO | AP
Andres Gomez works inside an amber mine near the community of Jotolchen II in Chiapas state, Mexico, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020. Since his school closed in March he is spending entire days mining.
By Maria Verrza, Carlos Valdez & William Costa Associated Press
JOTOLCHEN, Mexico (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic is threatening the future of a generation of the world’s children, depriving them of schooling and sending them to work. Across the developing world, two decades of gains against child labor are eroding. With classrooms shuttered and parents losing their jobs, children are trading their ABC’s for the D of drudgery: Reading, writing and times tables are giving way to sweat, blisters and fading hopes for a better life. Instead of going to school, children in Kenya are grinding rocks in quarries. Tens of thousands of children in India have poured into farm fields and factories. Across Latin America, kids are making bricks, building furniture and clearing brush, once after-school jobs that are now full-time work. These children and adolescents are earning pennies or at best a few dollars a day to help put food on the table. “Child labor becomes a survival mechanism for many families.” says Astrid Hollander, UNICEF’s head of education in Mexico. Governments are still analyzing how many students have dropped out of their school systems, but with school closures affecting nearly 1.5 billion children around the world, UNICEF estimates the numbers could be in the millions. Experts say the longer their education is put on hold, the less likely children will return to school. The ramifications, especially for those already lagging, can be lifelong -- narrowed job opportunities, lower potential earnings and greater likelihood of poverty and early pregnancy. “The repercussions could be felt in economies and societies for decades to come,” Henrietta Fore, executive director of UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency, warned in August. For at least 463 million children whose schools closed, there is no possibility of remote learning. It is, she said, a “global education emergency.” The dark earth bricks produced by the rustic brickyards of the small town of Tobatí, 43 miles (70 km) from Asunción, are used to construct buildings
RONALD ZAK | AP
Cristian turns clay bricks on their sides as they sun dry before they are put in a kiln at a small brick factory in Tobati, Paraguay, Aug. 24, 2020.
across Paraguay. Large open kilns made from those very same mud bricks stand next to almost every home; row upon row of identical bricks dry in the open air. With the help of his 10-year-old son, Hugo Godoy shovels mounds of clay and sandy earth, preparing to make the next day’s bricks. As he leans on his spade, his son wanders off to sit with two infants by the house -- Godoy’s grandchildren. His son does more than help at home; since schools stopped operating in March, Godoy had also been sending him to work at a nearby larger factory. “I spoke to the owner and said that if he gave him light work — moving the raw materials and things like that — then I’d let him go,” Godoy said, speaking in his native Guarani language. “There are lots of children working.” Another of Godoy’s sons, who is 15, is working full time at the same factory, earning around $10 a day loading bricks onto tall trucks. Before the pandemic he worked just part time. “I don’t put the older ones to work here at home: I tell them to go and find some way to help with our situation,” Godoy said. In Paraguay, children from 12 to 14 can carry out only “light tasks” in family enterprises, while adolescents of 15 to 17 can hold jobs that do not appear on a list of the 26 “worst forms of child labor” -- as long as it does not interfere with their schooling. Members of brickmaking families
said school closures -- scheduled to last at least until December -- have led to many children and adolescents working longer hours. And these new schedules have made it difficult to complete their virtual schoolwork. Godoy said he had discovered that his son had missed exams, and “After that, I told him to let me know when he has exams so that he doesn’t have to go to work those days. Whatever happens, we’ll find a way to manage and make ends meet, I told him.” Paraguay’s government set up virtual classrooms for distance learning, but families cited a number of associated costs, including cell phone data plans as well as printing and copying for their children’s class work. A UNICEF report said that 22% of students were participating in the virtual classrooms while 52% were trying to keep up with assignments via WhatsApp. “I know lots of cases of 15-year-olds who have been doing well at school but haven’t been able to afford the costs,” said Godoy. “They stop studying and start working. Experts say in the past, most students who have missed class because of crises like the Ebola epidemic returned when schools reopened. But the longer the crisis drags on, the less likely they will go back. Yliana Merida, a researcher at the Autonomous University of Chiapas, Mexico, said that even more than before, the pandemic has turned education into
a luxury. “Many parents opt for ‘you’re going to work to help me at home because right now we really need it.’” In Nuevo Yibeljoj, another community in the mountains of Chiapas, 12-year-old Samuel Vázquez watches closely as his father, Agustín, writes syllables on scraps of paper and sticks them to the wall. He sits in a small chair beside his brother, using the bed as a desk as his father kneels between them. They had just returned from working in the fields, something the brothers used to do only on weekends. Since schools closed in March, they’ve worked weekdays, weeding and helping with the crops. Samuel enjoys farm work and one day wants to grow coffee and fruit trees like his father, but he misses school. He’s a good student and helps his younger siblings. “I like addition a lot and reading,” he says. Samuel is fortunate that his father makes time to help them study, though he himself has only an elementary school education. “I try, but it’s not the same as a teacher, because I’m a farmer,” says Agustín, 52. He has 12 children, four of whom are school age. He was sick with COVID-19 and recovered. What worries him is the future. “We aren’t afraid of the coronavirus,” he says. “What worries us a lot is education, which is being lost.”
12 | Opinions. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
Opinions
Voting isn’t a joke
Letter to the Editor:
Political Conservatives are not what they used to be By Stew Epstein Contributing Writer
Stew Epstein is a retired professor from West Virginia University, Slippery Rock University, and Keuka College of sociology, social work, and psychology
ART BY ALICIA GOLUSZKA
‘Write ins’ for Kanye West aren’t as funny as you think By Ava O’Malley Contributing Writer
As the 2020 presidential election looms just two weeks away, it is hard to avoid political discussions online and in person. No matter your political affiliation, you shouldn’t block out discussions about the upcoming election. This election is not only going to be historical, but crucial to the path that our nation will take, the futures of children and young adults entering the professional world, and to our survival as a species. Those who joke about the election and write-in candidates need to get serious about politics this November. A popular sentiment that I’ve noticed is that the two main candidates are less than desired options. On the right side of things, many Republicans regret voting for Trump. On the left-end of the spectrum, myself and many others are less-thanjazzed to cast a vote for Biden. Others refuse to vote at all, for reasons ranging from apolitical feelings to resentment towards imperialist and colonial structures that persistently oppress marginalized people. Some online users have reposted memes about writing in third-party candidate Kanye West. Another twitter user posted a photo of a ballot with Hilary Clinton written in, a sarcastic heart doodled beside her name. Sure, as Americans we have the right to vote for whoever we see fit to lead our country. However, in terms of human rights, the environment and affordable health care, being a team
player is important. The two party system is antiquated and limiting, churning out candidates with dark ties to corrupt funding or problematic pasts. But, does making jokes about writing-in candidates serve any sort of positive purpose? “Every election has some write-in candidates, especially if there is discontent with the major party choices,” said DePaul professor Richard Craig Sautter, an expert in elections and political media. “However, writeins make a marginal impact on the outcome, particularly in a national election.” In the 2016 election, millions of Americans were unhappy with the options both parties provided. This is a contributing factor to such poor voter-turnout and raised amounts of write-in candidates. According to The Washington Post, 100 million eligible voters did not turn in a ballot. Additionally, certain states like Kentucky noticed an increase in write-ins by seven times. Will posting memes about who you’re voting for effect the outcome of the election? Most likely not. But, the discussions that you do have surrounding voting just might. Many DePaul students, such as the Student Government Association chief of staff Miseal Alejandre, are keeping tabs on the political efforts that DePaul students are taking. “I think that DePaul students are taking this election very seriously. I think they know what exactly is at grabs. I think that the last four years have shown us that we need to be very
cautious with picking a presidential candidate,” Alejandre said. DePaul’s student organizations have made many efforts to increase political participation among students and faculty. Ignite DePaul, a student organization that aims to empower political action among women, hosts events and starts discussions about the upcoming election in order to encourage voter turnout. “Students voting in the upcoming election is vital because we are a voice that is often unheard. The ability to vote is an opportunity that we must use to make a difference in our future,” says Maureen Khoshaba, a member of Ignite DePaul’s executive board. While making and sharing memes about the election and who you’re casting your vote for can help relieve some stress, being serious about your political participation in the upcoming weeks is of utmost importance, especially after what American citizens have had to endure the past year. Alejandre brought up an important point: being serious about politics goes beyond voting. “In order to take the election really seriously, you can’t just vote, and just figure out what to do from there,” Alejandre said. “You have to figure out how to be more civically involved. How to ensure you’re fighting for issues that you’re very passionate about. How to support local communities. You need to sign petitions about issues going on in the country. Taking the election seriously goes beyond just voting.”
As a “liberal-Democrat,” I have tried to gain as much knowledge about the “conservative” political point of view as possible since 1980. I have come to some very disappointing conclusions which I want to share with you. First, the conservatives of 2020 — especially the ones who are members of the U.S. Congress — are, overall, more “conservative” than the ones I grew up with in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. When compared with today’s conservatives, Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon, for example, seem to be “crazy socialists,” “Marxists” and of the “radical-left.” Eisenhower wrote a letter to his brother saying that any Republican who wants to abolish Social Security is “stupid.” Ike signed social security disability into existence. Nixon signed supplemental security income into existence. Nixon also proposed a minimum guaranteed annual income federal government social program to cover every American. I would be shocked if any Republican in the U.S. Congress would be in favor of that. Surely, no one on Fox News would. What I also find to be very disappointing is what 12-time, award-winning and prize-winning journalist Jane Mayer points out in her award-winning book, “Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right” Mayer points out that many of today’s conservatives believe that their ends (including winning national elections) justify their use of any and all immoral and unethical means (including what are known as stealth tactics). To my knowledge, nothing in her book has ever been successfully refuted by anyone. This is why I have yet to see anyone challenge anything in her book. I have mentioned it in many of my previous letters, and no conservative has ever challenged it. Paul Krugman makes the same point overall by saying that many conservatives operate out of “bad faith.” What I find to be the most frustrating, irritating and immoral about today’s political “conservatives” is how many, but not all follow the lead of many of their biggest campaign donors and contributors. These donors contribute millions of dollars to conservative “thinktanks,” which are essentially fake and phony right-wing propaganda mills and factories disguised as objective and scientific research “institutes,” as well as are many “foundations,” political organizations and universities. They have the nerve to peddle their never-ending grievance about how they are in the minority when it comes to having their views heard by the American people and how they are “outnumbered” — none of which is true. But what insults my intelligence the most is how many of them try to hide the fact that many of them are extreme libertarians. More of them than the public realizes try to hide the fact that many of them are what I refer to as survival-of-the-fittest social darwinists who would love to abolish, not just cut, every single federal government social program that helps the lower-classes and middle-classes, especially Social Security which they hate the most.
13| Opinions. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
After the years, words that still stick
GRAPHIC BY GINA RICARDS
What my exes said will always be remembered – there are no expiration dates By Rebecca Meluch Opinions Editor
I’ve lied to my readers before. I told them to feel free to call me the Love Doctor. But in reality, I’m no expert on relationships and I never wish to portray myself as one. I’m simply someone who knows how to write from experiences and follow up with advice that is helpful to me, and could be helpful for others. That’s the point with giving advice: it’s meant to be taken with a grain of salt, and sometimes it’s not always suitable for a certain audience. Relationships are all different — there’s no textbook, there’s no definitive way to go about them. Nobody knows what truthfully goes on in relationships besides the people in them. There’s no right and wrong in terms of time and progress, there’s only right and wrong within communication and respect. So no, don’t call me a Love Doctor. Because I, too, slip into bad habits, disregard advice and struggle to come to terms with my own experiences. I’ve been in relationships that I’ve clung tightly to, sometimes for a little bit too long. I’ve had experiences, that to this day, I still hold in the back of my head, good and bad. I sit behind my computer, typing up these words confidently knowing that I’m finally in a relationship that is not only healthy for me, but knowingly healthy for me and my partner. And for me, that’s only because out of the years of growing mentally and bravely, I’ve been able to learn and come to terms with the relationships I’ve had in the past and get myself to where I am. There’s nothing wrong with thinking back to past relationships and knowing you can grow and learn from them for current and future ones. I’m fortunate for the intimate relationships I’ve had in the past, and no part of me wishes I never experienced them. But the harsh words said sit in the back of my mind and force me to continue on and build myself up every day. I’m not reflecting on these words in hopes to make my exes look like jackasses — even though they probably will —
“There’s nothing wrong with
thinking back to past relationships and knowing you can grow and learn from them for current and future ones.” but just to show how much words mean and how they have no expiration date. My first relationship started off as a hopeful one; it was the first of all firsts. In the glory of growing up and finally dating seriously, it took me a while to realize that many of the words that were said actually hurt. I dated an athlete in high school who had potential, real potential to play Division I college baseball. For the sake of his identity, I will refer to him as “Connor.” Connor’s potential wasn’t only seen by fellow athletes and coaches, but by the entire school, our friends and D1 coaches all around the country. Soon this type of realization got to Connor’s head. I was no longer invited to his games, he stopped communicating to me about when and where they were, and how they went. I learned of his successes from our friends, and when it came time for his signing decision and where he committed to, I found out from Twitter. When I approached Connor about how I felt about not being in the loop about his successes and progress and how badly I wished he told me about those things, he looked me in the eye and said, “You’re just jealous because I have a future and you don’t.” It was pretty bleak. I sat there, brain empty, with nothing but those words ringing in my head. I don’t remember what I said or how we left it. I only remember that that was the final strike, and our relationship was a losing game. I think he knew it too. It doesn’t matter how things ended, but things technically didn’t end while his words still sat in my mind, for weeks, months and years.
I knew I had a future — maybe it wasn’t to play D1 sports, but it was there. But the way he said it made me feel inferior, as if because I wasn’t on the same athletic level as him, I had to be jealous, I had no hope, I was going nowhere. Those 11 words still cling to my mind today, because they made me realize the importance of my own self-worth and how much potential I had to succeed and just how badly I wanted to get there. I didn’t need to prove him wrong, I just wanted to prove to myself that I can get myself places where I want to be. And every day where I find myself struggling, I think back to those words to just show myself how far I got, and how much further I can go. Since then, I’ve been in other relationships. I came to college my freshman year with a long-distance relationship attached to my side, this time with “Mason.” As far as those go, it proved to be a lot of work for me and Mason in terms of communication and seeing one another, and a lot of it didn’t work. Before coming home for Thanksgiving, we decided to take a break and wait to see each other in person to see how things would mend. We sat down together again to see if we could give it another go. Mason grabbed me by the hands and said something to the effect of “Becca, I’m worried that if we’re not dating, you’re not going to be able to do anything with your life. You need me. Without me I’m scared you’re going to grow old and alone and become a cat woman.” As absurd as these words come across, I can’t exaggerate enough how
wrong he was. I do want a cat though. While it’s more of the same put-downs, these words made me think a lot about codependency and independence. It made me sick to hear someone say that I needed them, when for months I was living on my own five hours away from them and doing just fine. Connor’s words stick because they drove and continue to drive me to my future. Mason’s words stick because they motivate me to realize that codependency in a relationship shouldn’t be used as a weakness or a weapon. They stick because they made me realize at the same time how independent I was and still strive to be. At the time, these words pained me and grabbed at me. Today, they only motivate me and make me admire so much about myself. I admire how far I’ve come, not for anyone else but myself. I admire the way I allow myself to be open and codependent with a partner, while still being able to be independent as a person, navigating myself through a new city, jobs, people and experiences. While past relationships are hard to think about and so many of us want to push them to the back of our minds, there are words that stick that we can learn from and motivate us. Words have no expiration dates, what’s been said was said, and there’s no going back. When they stick, even after years from first hearing them, we can do something with them. If there’s any advice I want to give, it’s that past relationships aren’t always meant to be forgotten — they’re meant to be learned from, and to allow us to build ourselves back up to get us where we want to. Not only as partners, lovers and friends, but just as someone only you like, someone only you have to admire and have love for. So now I’m signing off as Not the Love Doctor, because I don’t always have the answers, but can only learn from experiences.
14 | Focus. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
Focus
The aftermath of George Floyd’s death By Cole Bursch Contributing Writer
MINNEAPOLIS—Outside the Cup Foods next to where George Floyd was killed at the knee of former Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, a memorial for Floyd is still flourishing in the middle of the intersection of 38th and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis. Fresh flowers, words of grief and exquisite murals line the street. However, since July, the protests against police brutality have slowly been dwindling here in Minneapolis and throughout the country. As the noise of the looming election has picked up, some residents in Minneapolis have even felt a sense of apathy by officials and the general populous growing towards the movement for police reform and a more widespread racial equality for Black Americans. “The fact that there have not been any changes yet leaves me not very hopeful,” said Anna, a local middle school teacher who preferred to remain anonymous. “I teach middle school and I have been hoping that by the time my students are adults there will be changes, but without even Chauvin being held accountable, the fight for change seems bleak.” Nearly five months removed from the death of George Floyd, only 6 percent of Americans believe that policing does not need major changes, according to a recent Gallup Poll. Yet, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter, was released from police custody on Oct.7 after posting the $1 million bail. While all four of the officers involved in the death of George Floyd are still currently awaiting a trial scheduled for March 2021, they are also all appealing to the presiding judge to dismiss the charges because they claim the prosecution’s evidence lacks ‘probable cause.’ Additionally, on June 7 at an event put on by the grassroots organization Black Visions Collective, nine members of the Minneapolis City Council, a veto-proof majority, committed to voting to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department as it is currently known.
Yet, the city council vote on abolishing the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) was stalled in August by the Minneapolis Charter Commission and delayed until after the election this November, displaying how complicated the issue of abolishment is for some neighborhoods affected by high crime. “I think police reform would look like more resources allocated to mental health assistance in communities and schools and focusing on abolishing the school-to-prison pipeline,” Anna said. “By imprisoning people of color disproportionately the country is perpetuating systematic racism.” Most Americans believe that police brutality exists, yet they remain starkly divided on how to solve the issue, according to a study by Pew Research Center conducted following Floyd’s death. “About four-in-ten Americans (42%) say spending on policing in their area should stay about the same, while 31% say it should be increased and 25% say it should be decreased,” the study found. With no agreed-upon solution in regards to holding police accountable, and both the election and chillier winter months closing in on protesters and advocates, it is hard to see any drastic changes in policing in the near future. There are clear gaps between the widespread activism that occurred after Floyd was killed, and the changes in the law that would need to occur for tangible police reform. In spite of this, it has brought police reform to the forefront of national political conversations. “The protests led to city lawmakers, at least in Minneapolis, feeling pressured to put police reform on the agenda,” said Christina Rivers, a DePaul associate professor of political science “It also led to a lot more voters on local levels noticing the prominence of police brutality heading into a big election year.” Rivers highlighted how the sustained activism in Minneapolis that was seen after Floyd’s death was encouraging because of how it brought forth the issue of Black communities disproportionately experiencing police brutality right before voters, both locally and nationally, were thinking of the election.
DePaul political science professor Ben Epstein, who is proudly from Minneapolis, says that the term ‘defunding’ is not going to be an effective messaging model for activists to turn the tide toward widespread police reform. “Defunding would mean increasing counseling services and other community support, but framing the issue of police defunding is essential to creating change,” he said. “‘Defunding’ is not an effective widespread message. It is misleading because it doesn’t actually represent what defunding would entail for communities. Americans don’t necessarily want police to disappear, they want it to be better. Additionally, Congress is not going to nationally ‘defund’ the police anytime soon, so local governments would have to do that. In that way change will be spotty around the country if it occurs.” In the wake of George Floyd’s death and on the eve of a momentous election, the four officers involved in the death of Floyd await trial due to the mobilization of local grassroots activism in Minneapolis. The memorial outside of Cup Foods for Floyd expands every day and the Minneapolis City Council has plans to rethink policing after the election in November. Meanwhile, most other communities around the country are grappling with how to address the problem, if they believe it to be a problem, of police brutality. “In all these situations, local communities directly affected by police brutality have been calling out the police for decades but nobody paid any attention to them,” Rivers said. “It takes people who aren’t from that community, and the people who are from different communities that have more power and influence to notice and take action, for the laws to not only be changed but also enforced. One of the things we have to look out for moving forward is, for instance, say, George Floyd’s killing leads to meaningful changes in police practice both in Minneapolis and around the country. Then, you have to think about who is going to keep enforcing those practices.”
Focus. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020| 15
COLE BURSCH | THE DEPAULIA
Numerous memorials have sprung up around Minneapolis where Floyd lost his life under the knee of a Minnesota police officer. Protests continue across the country.
Arts & Life
16 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
Reality is not what it seems in ‘Great Pretender’ By Nate Burleyson Arts and Life Editor
Living through the lens of a swindler makes one realize life is not what it seems. The anime series “Great Pretender” demonstrates this beautifully through the eyes of small-time Japanese swindler Makoto Edamura who ends up working with international French trickster Laurent Thierry on a series of scams against various powerful celebrities. The show, which was picked up by Netflix, illustrates the blurred moral lines that exist among the wealthy and elite, and how the world runs differently from how we might think. “Great Pretender” released in July of this year, directed by Hiro Kaburagi and written by Ryōta Kosawa. The show blends a unique art style, suave characters and a fresh structure that makes it one of the best new shows on TV. Makoto Edamura is a compelling main character, who ends up working for Laurent as a way to get out of Japan, where he no longer has any family. Laurent takes him to the United States on a job trying to scam Hollywood producer Eddie Cassano into buying a fake Japanese party drug called “Sakura Magic.” Edamura finds out that his smalltime scams on unknowing elderly people and ignorant tourists pale in comparison to the multi-million dollar schemes being run by Laurent. Self-prescribing himself as “the greatest swindler in Japan” is not enough, as he has to pretend to be a Japanese doctor who created the fictional Sakura Magic drug. Through the scam, Edamura meets the rest of Laurent’s gang and has to maneuver around a new landscape and stomach the act of scamming a man out of his money. It’s a moral dilemma for Edamura, as the viewer finds out more and more about how he got to that point and his background with his parents. But the viewer should find Edamura to be an interesting vehicle traveling through the world of international crime. The show has to toe an odd, blurry ethical line. One wants to support Edamura and Laurent, as it seems the great lengths they go to are all working against people who have amassed their
PHOTO FROM IMDB
Laurent Thierry (Jun’ichi Suwabe) and Makoto Edamura (Chiaki Kobayashi) are two male stars of the crew in “Great Pretender.” fortunes through dodgy practices, but they still aren’t painted in a one-dimensional light. Instead, the show focuses on how Laurent and Edamura pull off their elaborate schemes, with the audience not seeing everything and everything they see not being 100 percent real to the senses. The structure of the show is extremely important. Of the 14 episodes on Netflix, they are separated into three different cases, with each acting like its own season. With each arc being just a few episodes, the pacing is quick and effective. The perspective of the characters is put front and center, and the audience sees the world through those eyes. There are three different settings for the story: Los Angeles, a Singapore air race and the underground art scene of London. All three of these settings ooze coolness and make for excellent variety in the show’s locations.
What results from this is a show that creates the rules of its world as it goes. Each character is hiding something, that the audience doesn’t get much of a look at until the time is right. The backgrounds of all the characters tie together and explain their positions and actions in the world of their scams. There are a few big “pull back the curtain” moments that will blow you away. These aren’t even cheesy twists though, or twists that seem vulgar or too quick. The show makes its plot decisions very quickly, and each direction an episode takes is different from what would be obvious or even logical. The animation style almost reminds me of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” with its choppy frames, sharp lines and bursts of color that make each location really pop into a fusion of reality and fiction. Each character is so distinct and fits into a group of mis-
fit toys that scam the shady elite of the world. The show blends comedy and action very well too. It’s got the quirkiness that comes from Edamura being a fish out of water and struggling to adapt to American culture and the life of an international swindler. This is amplified with the craziness of every scenario the crew gets themselves in. Overall, what sets the show apart from other anime that I’ve watched and other Netflix original shows is the creativity in story structure, voice acting and character design. “Great Pretender” has nine other episodes that have been made but are not available on Netflix in the United States, only in Japan. Hopefully we can get them soon.
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020 | 17
‘The Bachelorette’ Recap: Quarantine Edition By Jocelyn Soto Contributing Writer
Bachelor Nation, I am so excited to say that the time has finally come. After the postponement of ABC’s hit shows “Bachelor in Paradise” and “The Bachelorette” this summer, the man of the hour and host of the show, Chris Harrison, has outdone himself once again. He’s made everyone in the nation excited for yet another season filled with tears, drama, quarantine and romance as Clare Crawley begins her season of “The Bachelorette.” That being said, I admit it and have been admitting to it: I love watching “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” As much as I try to stay away, they just know how to keep pulling me in. It’s mainly due to the fashion and being able to live vicariously through the contestants as they go on some of the craziest trips and dates that anyone has ever seen. Meanwhile, I’m sitting on the couch and stuffing my face with Hot Cheetos and wishing that were me. Not only is this something that has continuously made me want to keep watching season after season, everyone knew that there is something different about this season that no one has seen before. Not only because Harrison said at the ending of the recap for the season, “Congratulations, you just blew up The Bachelorette,” and because there have been nonstop rumors that need to be answered. But it’s the fact that this specific season of “The Bachelorette” was filmed during
quarantine. Out of all the reality television shows out there, it’s safe to say “The Bachelorette” definitely features some of the least Covid-friendly interactions. If you look up PDA in the dictionary, you’ll see “The Bachelor” franchise right there. These contestants are also being flown in from all over the place, only to be gathered under the same roof and share all the same things. I could only imagine how much of a bummer it would be to test positive and get sent home very early on. Every “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” season has been filmed at a gorgeous Spanish-style mansion in Agoura Hills, California. It’s where all the love and heartbreak has gone down in the last 18 years. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, the producers had to find somewhere else to film where everyone could quarantine themselves in a proper manner. The cast and crew headed to La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, California. Where they lived in their own “Bachelor Bubble,” and once they’re in, there’s no going out. That being said, there will be no traveling on this season of “The Bachelorette” and quarantining for hometown dates is a must. “It took a lot of work, a lot of patience, and a whole lot of testing,” Harrison said. “Because you know if there is a way for our Bachelorette Clare, to find her soul mate, even during these most troubling times. Well, we’re going to do everything we can to make it happen.” And the producers did just that.
Clare Crowley is the star in an odd season of “The Bachelorette.” Safety and health are always a priority, and we’ve learned more about that in the last few months than we have in our entire lives. With a lot of shows putting their production on hold, “The Bachelorette” producers went above and beyond to show us what it was really like for the men to quarantine before they got to meet Clare for the first time. The men’s quarantines looked a whole lot like my own and everyone else’s experience, and it was great seeing them get frazzled over the thought of having to make actual conversation and flirt again for the first time since March. While hanging out in their separate hotel rooms, the men had to wait a full 24 hours after landing and ar-
COURTESY OF ABC
riving at Palm Springs to go through their first round of Covid-19 tests. “Clare, I’m doing this for you,” said contestant Dale with red, puffy and teary eyes after getting his required test for Covid-19. Ah, the things we do to find love. That being said, this season of “The Bachelorette” will be very different from past seasons to say the least. But perhaps they’re setting an example for how reality TV shows should move forward with proper precautions. Either way, I am all in for this season and cannot wait for the roller coaster of events to begin.
Trust and intimacy in relationships comes from personality types By Anita Valentin Contributing Writer
We all have the desire to feel needed and loved, right? But... what if we’re unable to trust in our romantic relationships due to the effects of negative childhood experiences? According to the CDC’s 2013 Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE study), nearly 35 million U.S. children have experienced one or more types of trauma. Experiences such as childhood neglect, sexual abuse, violence, or living in a home where drugs or alcohol were used can have devasting long-term emotional and psychological effects. According to Psychology Today, trust is the foundation for all human connections. The environments we grow-up in dictate our perception of the people and the world around us. So when they’re chaotic or unpredictable, guess what? We tend to look for those same experiences in adulthood. Why? Because they’re familiar to us. It’s called mirroring. We reflect what we’ve been taught. According to Psychologist and Sex Therapist Dr. Elizabeth Goschi, certain personality types can develop from our environments. Goschi, a believer in attachment theory, a coin termed in the 1950s by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby, is a theory based on how a child’s early relationship with their caregivers pre-determine their future relationships. Sound familiar? “People fall into four categories when in relationships: secure, anxious-preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant and fearful-avoidant,” Goschi says. Sounds complicated right? Stay with
me on this one. It gets interesting. She explains that very few people actually have secure attachments. This style comes from having all of your emotional and psychological needs met as a child. “Just look at the divorce rates, the conflict, the single-parent homes. It’s rare,” Goschi said. But secure attachments do exist. And, when we meet this type of person they can help us build trust, willingness and intimacy. Something we all want and need. The second and third attachment styles, anxious-preoccupied and dismissive avoidant, are more common. The anxious lover is someone whose parents are inconsistent with their parenting style often giving off
ALICIA GOLUSZKA | THE DEPAULIA
confusing emotional cues to their children. These adult lovers will normally exhibit signs of low self-esteem, question their self-worth in a relationship and can come off as needy. If you fail or reject these sensitive types, they tend to blame themselves or desire constant reassurance that you do love them. “They need, need, need. And that’s problematic for people,” Goschi says. The last two include the dismissive avoidant and the fearful avoidant. These personalities stem from a childhood where emotional needs were rarely ever met and the child’s safety was threatened. For the dismissive avoidant, “they are the ones who act like they don’t need any-
one. They are the fiercely independent people,” Goschi says. These lovers are hard to tie down. They come off emotionally aloof and tend to suppress or hide their feelings. These might be the folks who take days to text you back, neglect your feelings, or suddenly disappear on you. Last, but not least, is the fearful-avoidant lover. These are people that have been through the most challenging and traumatic upbringings where their sense of safety has been threatened routinely. For them building intimacy and trust can be nearly impossible. They fear people, and intimate encounters because they believe it will only result in hurt. However, despite the challenging reality of some of these patterns, healing is possible, Goshi assures. And even a secure person can have a relationship with an anxious person and create a loving bond based on mutual respect and trust. “It’s not about blame. It’s about responsibility. There comes a point in our lives were self-reflection comes and we need to ask ourselves, am I happy with these patterns?” Goschi said. So in essence, there is hope, people. Hell, there’s room for possibility and growth if we really want to stay positive. The opportunity to build trust and intimacy is the reason why we enter relationships into the first place, right? Which leaves me thinking of the famous quote by author Maya Angelo, “When we know better we do better.” For some additional insights and resources into attachment theory please feel free to take this quiz. Interested in going a little deeper? Dr. Goschi recommends reading “Hold me Tight” by Dr. Sue Johnson.
18 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020 | 19
‘S#!%house’: a wonderful debut from Cooper Raiff By Michael Brzezinski Chief Film Critic
There is always something distinctly exciting about going in to view a fresh filmmaker’s very critically acclaimed directorial debut. There’s always the lingering possibility that whoever this new filmmaker may be, they could possibly go on to be a new household name in the arthouse world or even in the mainstream zeitgeist. Never before have I been more confident that someone was going to go on to be something huge than I am with Cooper Raiff’s tough love portrait of freshmen year in college “Shithouse.” (or “S#!%house” as the poster says) “Shithouse” with it’s attention grabbing yet misleadingly vulgar and provocative title, first came on to the scene with this year’s South By Southwest Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize and was quickly snagged up for distribution by IFC Films. Not only did the 22-year-old Raiff write, direct, produce and co-edit the film but he also stars in it as Alex, an awkward and anxious college freshman. Alex moves far away from his home in Austin to go attend school in Los Angeles, where he fails to really find his footing and his only friend is his plush stuffed wolf (who gets hilarious asides in the form of subtitles). One fateful weekend though, Alex decides to step far out of his comfort zone and go to party with his loud-mouth roommate at the titular “Shithouse.” There Alex meets Maggie, his sophomore RA (played marvelously by upand-coming Indie Queen Dylan Gelula). The two, who couldn’t possibly be on more differ-
PHOTO FROM IMDB
Cooper Raiff directed, wrote and stars in the film “Shithouse” as a college freshmen who goes to a party with an older girl. ent pages when it comes to desires and emotional vulnerability, decide to spend the whole night together creating a sort of adventure with deep conversation, a spontaneous drunk baseball and the burying of a beloved dead pet. It all rings very true as a millenial-riff on Linklater’s “Before Sunrise.” With conversations aplenty about Alex and Maggie’s respective pasts and views on college, relationships, families, and fears. Raiff and Gelula have immaculate chemistry as well. Not only do they realistically embody their characters in the setting but they bounce off each other so naturally and always with a tinge of thorniness that
every scene feels lived in with a palpable sense of history. It’s in the final stretch of “Shithouse” where Raiff creates his own voice outside of the Linklater mold by truly reckoning with the crippling fear of leaving behind what is familiar in life for the sole potential of something better and more fulfilling. It’s a concept that most if not all college students reckon with in their lives and I genuinely haven’t ever seen someone handle with the ease, honesty, and tenderness that Raiff has with this film. If the future of American independent cinema is in the hands of filmmakers like Raiff
who fill their film to the brim with fearlessness and empathy, we’re all in very good hands. It’s just rough around the edges enough to feel painfully human with a script that is still airtight enough to make the film fly by. As a fellow 22-year-old person who is wild about film, it almost seems comically easy for me to resent the fact that Raiff made something this good but instead, I choose to be grateful that he was able to do it and now we all get to enjoy it. “Shithouse” is now play in Chicago’s own Music Box Theatre and will roll out onto all On Demand platforms.
‘Apolonio’ by Omar Apollo further cements his skill as an artist By Cole Bursch Contributing Writer
Multi-talented R&B artist Omar Apollo creates music that is effortless, emotive and uniquely his own. By blending Prince influenced funk-pop, rhythmic R&B, soulful crooning and his Mexican-American heritage, Apollo brings forth a visionary collection of songs with “Apolonio.” Born in Hobart, Indiana, Apollo splashed onto the scene after a run of impressive singles, with two critically acclaimed EP’s “Stereo” in 2018 and “Friends” in 2019. Subsequently, Apollo toured the world over the following years and returned with his most in-depth body of work challenging the listener to shed any past perceptions of what genre his music belongs in. Whether it is flawlessly wearing stylish skirts and glitter or adding rap bars and shimmering vocals to one of the latest Joji tracks, Apollo has created his own path within the music industry and in doing so immortalized a special bond with his fans. Always honest in his art, the music video for the EP’s lead single “Stayback” displayed Apollo’s most straightforward nod to his sexuality. The video features a male love interest and Apollo sharing gazes from across a party but Apollo must “stay back” because of the lover’s girlfriend. Publicly, Apollo explains nothing about his identity though, offering his support for the LGBTQ community, and then telling the Los Angles Times, “I’m chilling,” when asked what he might identify with personally. In this way, Apollo’s androgynous stage persona has become an enigma for fans of all different experiences and communities to rally around in acceptance.
The production of the song “Stayback” focuses on a melodic guitar, a funky reverberated bass and a consistent drumbeat all melting in behind the high falsetto of Apollo. The song feels like an even more angsty version of Prince’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover.” While lyrically it is also about a remorseful rumination on someone who just won’t leave the singer’s mind even though it’s over, “I can’t help that you been on my mind. See you around, cause I don’t care anymore.” Another highlight from the EP is the song “I’m Amazing” which sees Apollo using a free-flowing R&B to reminisce on the weight fame. Apollo already gets compared to a young Frank Ocean by critics, and on “I’m Amazing” Apollo exacts the beats of the song so confidently that it is tempting to say his new songs will land with the some of the same immortal gravity as Ocean’s. The track balances between a set of distant piano chords and a multifarious beat over soul-infused guitars, with Apollo singing and rapping in Spanglish, “Aqui me quedo, me voy temprano. Y que voy a estar tarde, soy Mexicano. When I needed money that I could borrow. Pick you up, then have a show up in Chicago. I’m makin’ M’s now, listenin’ to Stevie.” My favorite track on the EP right now is “Kamikaze” because of the way it uses a vibrant bassline to mesh with Apollo’s vocals. Lyrically, Apollo speaks on a failed relationship from his youth and cranks the bass and kick drum up to flow with an irresistible refrain of “Yeah, it really don’t feel good, does it? Pop shuv it. You don’t ever say, ‘My bad,’ you nothing, you nothing.” Both the first and last verse of the track lyrically revolves around the drives Apollo took before and after the relationship, and the song’s imagery
WIKIPEDIA
makes the listener feel like they’re driving solo on a midwestern highway, “I’m still driving all alone, it’s automatic. My eyes are tired, I’m drivin’ slow, no sign of traffic I pull over, go to sleep, listen to classics. Think of you, and you and me, ‘cause I’m an addict.” For an artist who once described that his songwriting process nearly always begins with heavy bass and drums, “Kamikaze” shows Apollo’s prominent skill in depicting vivid images lyrically. As “Apolonio” ends, the only disappointing part I found was its brief nature. At only nine tracks, Apollo still completes what many artists wish to accomplish in 20 tracks and it leaves the listener wanting much more. Fans of
Apollo should not have to wait too long for new content though, with the singer filming a documentary leading up to headlining the first show back, since covid-19 shutdown live music, at the historical Paisley Park, Prince’s former home studio in Minnesota. Whether it’s pushing off the misogynist labels of American society to make art on his own terms or shredding guitar and bass solos, Omar Apollo’s newest EP “Apolonio” further proves the artists’ ability to produce elegantly genre-defying music.
20 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
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Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020 | 21
‘Belushi’ captures the legacy of a Chicago legend By Lauren Coates Staff Writer
When the word “Chicago” is brought up in the entertainment industry, there are a number of famous faces that are immediately, intrinsically associated with the city - Bill Murray, Chance the Rapper, and - of course, John Belushi. The legendary actor, comedian, and musician, who died tragically at the tender age of 33, is the recipient of a new documentary film about his life, aptly titled “Belushi.” The opening night headline of the Chicago International Film Festival, “Belushi’ is an incredibly vibrant, unorthodox take on a documentary that captures the paradoxical life of the iconic comedian. Belushi lived his life wearing many hats - not only was he a founding member of “Saturday Night Live”, he also enjoyed a film career with box office hits like “Animal House”, and, of course, featured his musical talents (alongside lifelong friend and comedic partner Dan Akryod) in “The Blues Brothers”, which began as an SNL skit but went on to earn itself not only a film, but also a live album. With such a varied and acclaimed career, it’s only fitting that the documentary about his life is suitably all over the place - and in the best way possible. The film is structured, mainly, around a series of previously unreleased interviews conducted with some of Belushi’s closest friends, family, and coworkers - everyone from Chevy Chase to Carrie Fisher. Dotted around the interviews, though, are a number of other elements that punch up “Belushi” from standard documentary fare. There are large portions of the film in which interviews with Belushi himself come to life via highly stylized 2-D animation, during which Belushi appears almost like a mobster at times. The other key element to the film’s structure is a series of deeply vulnerable, honest letters Belushi wrote to his wife Judy - many of which are narrated by Bill Hader doing a pseudo-impression that comes of less comedic and more as a dedication to Belushi himself. At times, it does feel like you’re hearing Belushi read his own words, and what beautiful, vulnerable words they are. For a man who made a name for himself by playing character who (by has own admission) could barely master the power of speech, Belushi’s letters to Judy are incredibly heartfelt and poetic, and it’s incredibly tragic to read such sorrowful words knowing that as he was pouring his heart into these letters and telling his wife he didn’t know how to go on, he was putting on that silly Belushi face for the rest of the world and churning out movie after concert and tv show. From the getgo it’s very clear that everyone interviewed had a genuine, intense fondness for the man, who was once described as “America’s Neighbor”. He got the nickname, we learn, because he once traipsed off the set of “The Blues Brothers”, only to be found having walked into a random stranger’s house, saying “I’m John Belushi, please let me in”, and then proceeding to make himself a meal and sleep on their couch. The anecdote perfectly sums up what most of the people interviewed seemed to think of him - he had an uncanny humor and charm, but also a large ego, and a tendency for mischief-making that often got him in trouble and ultimately led to how spiral into depression and excessive drug use. That’s one of the
PHOTO FROM IMDB
“Blues Brothers” stars Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi in an iconic Chicago movie that is one of the most memorable Belushi films. film’s strongest qualities - Just like the man himself, “Belushi” is full of contradictions, and isn’t afraid to cast a critical eye on its late subject, unflinching in its portrayal of both the good and the bad. The interviews with his peers make or break the film, so it’s a good thing that those who knew him best were ready and willing to talk about every aspect of the man, and not just the most flattering one. Interviews with Lorne Michaels, Dan Aykroyd, and some of his other early SNL cohorts tell the story of a man deeply jealous of Chevy Chase, and whose massive ego which frequently clashed with Michaels almost got him kicked off the show for good - not to
mention a penchant for misogyny and a lack of respect for the show’s female cast. The documentary also never shies away from making it abundantly clear that Belushi struggled with substance abuse from the early days of his career - it seems like, other than his wife Judy, drugs (most commonly, cocaine) are the most significant thru-line in the film’s narrative - with Belushi in every step of his short but bright career. Although at this point the concept of comedians using comedy to mask a secret, depressive dark side is so common it’s almost a cliche, it’s unfortunately very applicable in Belushi’s life. Despite his successes in television and with films like “Animal House” and “Blues Broth-
ers”, Belushi never seemed satisfied with himself or with his work, and before those who knew him best could figure out what was going on when he needed them most, he died of a combination cocaine and heroin overdose. Despite his untimely and tragic death, though, John Belushi brought joy and levity to the lives of millions Americans, helped found one of the most influential comedy groups of all time, and established a storied film career all before he even turned 35. R.J. Cutler’s “Belushi” is a fitting and formidable documentary that captures the vibrant fierceness of the late great comedy and musical star.
22 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020
Light and Color: new Monet exhibit at Art Institute By Petya Georgiva Contributing Writer
If there must be one word to describe Claude Monet’s work, that word inevitably is light. The light in its all nuances is the main force that consciously or subconsciously catches the eye and takes it to a journey through sincere emotions and moods. In the midst of a pandemic, the Art Institute of Chicago is hosting an exhibition of Claude Monet (1840-1926), Monet and Chicago, Sept. 5 through Jan. 18, 2021. The exhibition is a result from a long relationship between Monet’s work and the Art Institute of Chicago, which, in the 1880s, was the first American museum that acquired a painting by the “Father of Impressionism.” In the following years the museum’s Monet collection has grown through generous donations. Among the 33 paintings and 13 drawings are canvases from the series of the famous “Stacks of Wheat,” the “Waterloo Bridge” in London, Monet’s favorite obsession — the “Water Lilies” series of caricatures from his early years as an artist. “Monet combined self-assertion, generalization, and escapism. In the process, he defined a new, powerful avant-garde,” wrote John Haber in his review of the Monet retrospective at the Art Institute in 1995, which was visited by millions and tickets were in great demand. A display from Chicago Tribune 1995 classifieds of tickets for sale are also part of this year’s Monet in Chicago exhibition. The museum offers free admission to all DePaul students, and the safety measures include a wait time to enter the show. But the social distancing is in the viewers’ favor because it gives you a space to observe Monet’s artwork in a particular view. The six-foot distance subconsciously makes you keep this distance with the paintings as well, and provides a unique view of what you can observe on the canvas. From the right spot, Monet’s work seems like a moment in time
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“Water Lilies” was done in 1906 by Monet, and is on display at the Art Institute.
“Monet is the one that chooses to use multiple times color above color to catch the light in its most possible diffused form.”
Kina Bagovska
Artist
that has been frozen for us to see — all its uniqueness resulting from a masterful use of light and colors that mimic photographic features with a precise exposure. “Monet is the one that chooses to use
multiple times color above color to catch the light in its most possible diffused form,” said artist Kina Bagovska. “He uses the brush in a masterful way, often using his memory and imagination.”
“Monet knew well that blue is supposed to be recessive: atmospheric perspective dictates that it signals depth,” Haber wrote. “He insisted on his experiments in light and color. Logic and evidence will always outweigh tradition.” And Haber couldn’t be more correct — looking at the “Waterloo Bridge” canvas is an experience that plays with your emotions. The skillful representation of the atmospheric condition in London in this particular day and moment when Monet observed it has the power to change your mood dramatically. Through the masterful use of blue and white, this painting takes us to a journey back to 1900, where, from his Savoy hotel room, Monet gives the following generations a subjective point of view of the dawn in 20th century London. In fact, the artist painted the scene over 40 times trying to catch the fog and the weather condition to its finest detail. And seeing this work in front of me had so much influence on my mood, which was initially a bit depressed and moody. Yet the emotions while observing his works change rapidly. As I moved through the room, my eyes were grabbed and literally imprisoned by the masterful representation of the water lily pond where each burst of light was so real that it felt as if I was hearing the water moving. No surprise that Monet was obsessed to paint lilies over 300 times so their simultaneous stillness and movement that intrigued viewers’ imaginations could be caught on the canvas. He must have been determined to find each possible nuance of their life and cold beauty. “Monet and Chicago” is a peaceful, personal and emotional encounter with the artwork of one of the greatest artists of all time. “It takes a great deal of work to succeed in rendering what I want to render…the same light diffuses over everything.”- Monet to Custave Geffroy, Giverny, October 1890.
Chicago restaurants brace for an uncertain winter By Charlie Carey Contributing Writer
As the days get colder and winter draws closer, many Chicago restaurants are faced with a looming question: what’s going to happen when it gets too cold to serve people outside? Currently, indoor dining is permitted at up to 40% capacity, but some people are still skeptical. “I’m still pretty cautious to go to restaurants,” said DePaul student Cat Garcia-Goetting. “I definitely prefer to get takeout right now.” Outdoor seating has been an option for more space so far, but that’s going to get trickier soon. Just last year, Chicago reached record lows in temperature, reaching up to negative 23 degrees in January. Losing that additional seating is going to hurt business, so local restaurants need to find ways to keep their doors open while also keeping people safe. Recently, the city of Chicago released guidelines for restaurants to follow regarding how to continue to provide outdoor seating when it gets colder. The document is broken into three parts: structures, heating devices and safety considerations. This document gives us an idea of what outdoor dining is going to look like in the coming months. The “structures” section of the document tells us that temporary outdoor structures like tents or bubbles will be allowed, with certain regulations. Anything restaurants are planning to hold multiple parties in must have 50% of the sides open for air flow and
must be secured to the ground. Any enclosed structures will only be allowed for individual parties and must have proper ventilation. If severe weather occurs, temporary structures may be prohibited if they become unsafe. Some local establishments like Kelly’s Pub near DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus have worries about these guidelines, though. “In December, January, February, it gets very, very cold oftentimes,” said Kelly’s employee Dustin Cardinal. “Even with a heater like ours out back going, that’s probably going to be not enough. You would still need to have on a winter coat. And when you’re trying to eat your food and all that, you don’t necessarily want to have your winter coat on.” Kelly’s currently has a back patio open with a tent and heater that they plan to keep open until late November, but they worry about what will happen after that. “Because our bar is really small, we will probably have to shut down,” Cardinal said. “We’ll only be allowed to have 22 people inside and at that point it’s kind of not even worth it. Yeah, we will probably have to shut down for at least a couple of months while it is very, very cold.” Homeslice, a pizza restaurant in Lincoln Park, is planning to keep its two back door patios open through the winter for people 21 years old or older. One of them is covered already and they are planning to cover the other if its permit continues. Their third sidewalk patio, which is available to people under 21 years old, will also be covered. The indoor capacity is also going to be limited, and will
change as the night goes on. “Before Covid, we had to reduce the max capacity to about 25%, so we had to send a lot of staff home early that day,” said Homeslice employee Nico Aoandy. “Now as the night goes on in general, we have to decrease our max capacity from 25%. It changes throughout.” As of July 24, nearly 16,000 restaurants have had to close permanently due to the pandemic, according to Yelp data. Having to reduce capacity is severely hurting their businesses, and on top of that, the CDC states that both indoor and outdoor dining in restaurants are high-risk activities. In fact, adults that have tested positive for Covid-19 are twice as likely to have reported going out to restaurants, bars, or coffee shops in the past 14 days than those who tested negative. While dining may not be the safest, there are ways to help local restaurants stay open. “We’ve already seen a ton of success from restaurants that have expanded their takeout and delivery options, some are even offering meal kits, drink kits, cooking classes and pivoting their use of technology,” Justin Norman, vice president of data science at Yelp told ABC News. Ordering food for delivery and getting takeout are great ways to support local businesses while keeping yourself and restaurant workers safe.
KEIRA WINGATE | THE DEPAULIA
Kelly’s Pub in Lincoln Park.
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Oct. 19, 2020 | 23
St.Vincent’s
D e JAMZ “Spinning fresh beats since 1581” By Emma Oxnevad Online Managing Editor
Spooky season is in full swing, so it makes sense that my playlist is skewing slightly more morose. In my experience, Halloween tends to be more fun in theory than in practice, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some spooky jams! My definition of “spooky” tends to be a bit more open-ended, so don’t count on seeing the Monster Mash here.
1. Halloween - Phoebe Bridgers
Most of Phoebe Bridgers’ discography could be described as “spooky,” but this track seemed like the most fitting choice. While not explicitly about anything scary, the concept of a toxic relationship is certainly enough to unsettle me. Featuring personal lyrics and a guest appearance from Conor Oberst (suspicious), this song is as beautiful as it is upsetting.
2. Barton Hollow - The Civil Wars
I often find myself upset that the Cvil Wars disbanded, since they were such an electric duo. The titular track off their 2011 album, this song spins the tale of a couple on the run for an unspecified crime; my guess is murder. This track boasts excellent vocals, great country-rock instrumentation and an overall vibe that trouble awaits. Perfect for Halloween.
3. Season of the Witch ovan
Don-
This is something of an obvious choice, but this song has endured for decades for a reason. While I considered listing Lana Del Rey’s recent cover, the vocals and overall feeling of the song read as more immersive. The song gradually becomes more chaotic as
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it proceeds, creating a supremely unsettling feel.
4. Where Did You Sleep Last Night - Nirvana If you haven’t watched the 1994 performance of this song, stop what you’re doing and right that wrong. A highlight off of Nirvana’s unplugged album, this cover is truly timeless. While starting off in a subdued, understated setting, the song jumps to an 11 with Kurt Cobain wailing out the last chorus. Even if you’re not a fan of Applachian murder ballads, there’s something for everyone to enjoy here.
5. In the Evening - Led Zeppelin
I often associate this song with Sharp Objects, the excellent 2018 murder-mystery miniseries. If you know, you know. While ostensibly about an alluring, troublesome
PHOTOS FROM WIKI
woman—typical Zeppelin fare— I’ve always read this song as being slightly more sinister. The unintelligible vocals and driving production create a sense of heightened urgency and always leaves me wondering what the hell they’re talking about. Nothing is more scary than the unknown!
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1. Grimalkin, for one 4. Barbed spear 8. Gallivants 12. “Yecch!” 13. Neighborhood 14. Dark doings 15. King supporter 17. Riviera city 18. Medical advice, often 19. ___ and abetted 20. Confined, with “up” 23. Spine-tingling 25. Be of help to 27. Dreamer’s activity, for short 28. Bikini component 31. Annul officially 33. Excusable 35. “Before,” in literature 36. Mercury or Mars, e.g. 38. Novelist Ephron 39. Rocker Bob 41. Brooding sorts 42. Candle lighter 45. Expert in futures? 47. On the sheltered side 48. Causes confusion 52. Friable soil 53. Fertilizer ingredient 54. It’s bottled in Cannes 55. Amazon zappers 56. Catches on 57. “I’m impressed!”
1. Hostile mutt 2. Way back when 3. Lord’s Prayer pronoun 4. Severe blow 5. Greet the dawn 6. “Addams Family” uncle 7. Dietitian’s concern 8. Aladdin’s friend 9. Hungry for more 10. Backgammon need 11. Alaskan transport 16. Bandsman Shaw 19. Used a scope 20. Remove, as a rind 21. “Did you ___?!” 22. Scruff 24. Accelerate sharply 26. Bar order 28. Ill humor 29. Picnic hamperer 30. Wistful word 32. Captain’s chronicle 34. India’s first P.M. 37. It’s often burning 39. Comes across as 40. Adjust the alarm 42. A fisherman may bring one home 43. Lotion additive 44. Toll 46. Timeline divisions 48. Went underground? 49. Baseball throw 50. ___ kwan do 51. Seek damages, say
24 | La DePaulia. The DePaulia. 19 de octubre de 2020
La DePaulia
AP PHOTO | JAE C. HONG
En esta foto de archivo del 26 de agosto, un estudiante del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Los Ángeles toma una clase en línea en el Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood en Los Ángeles.
Clases de CPS ‘dicicil’ por linea By johanna stephens, maria guerrero Reporteras
Las escuelas públicas de Chicago han regresado a clases en línea a medida que los maestros y los estudiantes se adaptan. Tanto los padres como los estudiantes han reportado el regreso a la escuela como “difícil”, pero sienten que es la ruta más segura en términos de salud. Diego Santoyo Ramirez, un estudiante de CPS de tercer año de la secundaria, dice que su horario escolar ahora consiste en asistir a clases por Zoom durante 7 horas al día. Hoy en día Ramirez pasa mucho de su tiempo sentado. Sus maestros han implementado otras formas de movimiento para los estudiantes. “Algunos de los maestros que he tenido hasta ahora han sido amables y han dejado que los niños hagan descansos”, dijo Ramirez. “Antes caminamos para actividades en clases, los levantamos para ir de una clase a otra, subir las escaleras y otras cosas así”. Ramírez, quien tiene un primo de primer grado en CPS y también está asistiendo a clases en línea, dijo que el proceso de aprendizaje para estudiantes en primaria es más desafiante. “Siento que es más estresante para mi primo. Los niños pequeños se distraen fácilmente y les resulta más difícil seguir las clases en línea”, Ramirez dijo.
“Siento que es más estresante para mi primo.
Los niños pequeños se distraen fácilmente y les resulta más difícil seguir las clases en línea”.
Diego Santoyo Ramirez
Un estudiante de CPS
VilIveth lalobos, una estudiante de universidad DePaul, dijo que aparte de sus estudios escolares ella es responsable de cuidar a su hermano de 11 años estudiante de CPS, Villalobos dice que a veces su horario de sueño se interpone en la forma de cuidar a su hermano. “Algunos días no puedo dormir en absoluto y esa falta de energía afecta al cuidado de mi hermano, ya que me puedo quedar dormida a la mitad del día”, Villalobos dijo. Como Villalobos, Veronica Medina madre de estudiantes de CPS, también tuvo que adaptarse a tener niños en casa. “Ha tenido que aprender a realizar múltiples tareas y completar mi trabajo mientras mantiene un ojo y un oído en el trabajo de los niños”, dijo Medina. Medina dijo que llega tarde a com-
pletar tareas y proyectos de su trabajo, pero su “empleador entiende y está dispuesto a trabajar con nosotros en estos tiempos únicos”. Según el sitio web de CDC, los latinos contraen el coronavirus tienen una tasa 2.8 veces mayor que la de los blancos. Esto se debe en gran parte a que los latinos son trabajadores esenciales y trabajan fuera del hogar debido a la pandemia. “Hay niños quizás no cuenten con el apoyo o que los padres no puedan estar presentes”, dijo Adrien Pedroza, Director Nacional de Abriendo Puertas. Abriendo Puertas es una organización que trabaja con niños y padres de familias latinas con el objetivo de “mejorar el bienestar y la preparación de los niños y el liderazgo de los padres”, según Pedroza.
Pedroza menciona que la escuela en línea no solo ha afectado los horarios de las familias, sino que también ha afectado a los distritos escolares. El cambio de escuelas en línea ha impactado la encriptación de la escuela. Los distritos escolares han enfrentado la disminución de la encriptación de escuela por el cambio en línea. Según la encuesta nacional de padres latinos de Abriendo Puertas, “al 83% de los cuidadores primarios les preocupa que sus hijos pasen demasiado tiempo fuera de la escuela o no aprendan lo suficiente de la educación en línea, y se quedarán atrás”. Los problemas de conectividad plantean otra preocupación, “El 26% informó que necesita un mejor acceso a Internet o la tecnología”, según otro estudio realizado por Abriendo Puertas sobre padres latinos. Medina y sus hijos notaron un problema de conexión con los libros cromados de la escuela. Después de comprarles computadoras nuevas, los niños dejaron de tener problemas de conexión. Pero ella no ha tenido otros problemas con el aprendizaje en línea y dice que la escuela está organizada y que va bien. “Tienen descansos entre clases para que salgan a tomar aire fresco y puedan comer bocadillos durante las clases”, dijo Medina.
La DePaulia. The DePaulia. 19 de octubre de 2020 | 25
KARINA MIREYA| LA DEPAULIA
Miles de manifestantes marchan para exigir el desfinanciamiento de la policía de Chicago y que los policías salgan de las escuelas publicas.
¿Qué significa desfinanciar a la policía? By Stephania Rodriguez Reportera
Este verano, tras la muerte de George Floyd en Minneapolis, hemos visto a miles de personas en Chicago marchar en reacción a los asesinatos de la comunidad afroamericana a manos de la policía y en apoyo del movimiento Black Lives Matter. Los estudiantes de las escuelas públicas de Chicago (CPS) se unieron junto a ellos exigiendo no sólo el desfinanciamiento de la policía pero también que saquen a los policías de las escuelas públicas de Chicago. “Les estamos entregando (a los políticos y líderes influyentes) datos y testimonios personales que expresan claramente lo destructivo que es la policía para nuestras vidas y muchos todavía se niegan a tomar medidas al respecto”, dijo Marlenne Garcia, una organizadora juvenil con #NoCopAcademy. Los jóvenes como García enfatizan que la ciudad de Chicago necesita reevaluar dónde están asignando sus fondos. El departamento de policía de Chicago históricamente tiene un presupuesto creciente y las escuelas enfrentan recortes presupuestarios. Ahora, en medio de una pandemia sin precedentes, los estudiantes exigen que la ciudad revalúe los recursos esenciales que necesitan. Pero, ¿qué significa exactamente quitar fondos a la policía? ¿Por qué retirar fondos y por qué los estudiantes quieren removerlos de sus escuelas? De acuerdo a un reportaje de CNN , la desfinanciación de la policía no significa eliminar a la policía, si no llevar los fondos invertidos al departamento de policía y asignarlos a más recursos
para las familias, como viviendas asequibles, programas de salud mental, educación y otros servicios sociales. Estudiantes de Chicago expresan sentirse inseguros con la policía. Discuten que los jóvenes no necesitan ser vigilados en sus escuelas, sino que necesitan más recursos de ayuda como consejeros. Jennifer Nava, una organizadora juvenil de Cops out of CPS, piensa que si los estudiantes tuvieran acceso a más recursos de ayuda, el crimen se reducirá significativamente y las tasas de graduación subirán . “En mi escuela secundaria, no teníamos una enfermera de tiempo completo”, dijo Nava. “Sin embargo, teníamos de tres a cuatro policías todos los días en el edificio. Pero si me enfermara, ¿a quién acudiría? ¿El tipo de la pistola? No”. De acuerdo con Nava, Garcia condena la forma en que la policía está capacitada para manejar los conflictos y agrega que son violentos con los individuos de la escuela. “Como estudiante de CPS, fui yo quien estuvo en clase durante ocho horas”, Garcia dijo. “Pasé junto a nuestros oficiales todos los días. Dos agentes que juntos tenían 52 denuncias en su contra. Incluso cuando temí por mi seguridad, nunca vi a la policía como un proveedor de eso”. Nava explica que el problema es que la policía tiene la autoridad para manejar un sinfín de problemas que no están capacitados o entrenados de manejar. Situaciones como las drogas, la falta de vivienda, la conducta de los estudiantes y el abuso sexual. Ella dice que la inversión masiva en la policía crea un desequilibrio y una financiación insuficiente para servicios
mejor equipados para manejar estos problemas. “No están ahí para los estudiantes”, Nava dijo. “Si nos fijamos en los estudios, está muy claro que arrojan lo peor de lo peor a nuestras escuelas. Si se les considera incompetentes como policías en las calles, simplemente los arrojan a las escuelas de CPS con estudiantes principalmente negros y morenos”. Dada toda esta información, muchos se quedan con una pregunta. ¿Cuál sería la alternativa de la policía, si son ellos quienes nos mantienen a salvo y a quienes llamamos para pedir ayuda? “Las comunidades son más seguras cuando están financiadas y llenas de recursos”, dijo Garcia. “Si queremos que los estudiantes estén seguros, siempre debe haber una enfermera en las escuelas. La cantidad de consejeros que tenemos debería ser abundante”. Cuando se trata de mantener a los estudiantes seguros cuando viajan hacia y desde la escuela, García se refirió al programa de paso seguro de la ciudad, que incluye el programa Safe Haven (refugio seguro), Parent Patrol (patrulla de padres) y Walking School Bus (autobús escolar a pie). Las ubicaciones de Safe Haven incluyen muchos restaurantes, tiendas de conveniencia, peluquerías y otros establecimientos minoristas identificados por un letrero colocado en la ventana de la ubicación. El letrero advierte al niño que puede encontrar un refugio amistoso en el interior y pedir ayuda. Nava dice que hemos sido adoctrinados a pensar que la policía mantiene a la gente a salvo. “Y eso no es cierto”, dijo Nava. “La policía no está aquí para desescalar y proteger, está aquí para agravar y arrestar”.
Las comunidades plantean varias preocupaciones sobre la prevención de tiroteos en las escuelas. Pero, Nava dice que esperar a que ocurra un tiroteo es una forma dañina de normalizar tales delitos. “En realidad, deberíamos estar financiando programas de prevención”, Nava dijo. “Un estudiante no se despierta un día y decide disparar y matar a sus amigos”. Durante el verano, 17 consejos escolares locales votaron para eliminar a sus agentes de policía, y 55 votaron para mantenerlos. Las escuelas que votaron para destituir a los oficiales tienen una mayor población de estudiantes blancos y latinos, y dos de esas escuelas son mayoritariamente afroamericanos Según un artículo de opinión del Chicago Sun Times escrito por seis miembros del Concejo Municipal a favor de la desinversión policial, el presupuesto del Departamento de Policía de Chicago ha crecido cada año desde 2012, mientras que los fondos para educación y servicios públicos se han reducido drásticamente. La Junta de Educación de Chicago, una junta de siete miembros nombrada por la alcaldesa Lori Lightfoot, votó el 24 de junio para mantener el contrato de $33 millones entre CPS y CPD, en una votación de 4-3. El 26 de agosto, la junta votó nuevamente para renovar el contrato de la ciudad con el Departamento de Policía de Chicago, en una votación de 4-2, con una abstención. La junta ha recortado el contrato de $33 millones a $12.1 millones, por un año.
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Sports
Sports. Oct. 19, 2020 The DePaulia | 26
Deja vu
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE AP
The White Sox fired manager Rick Renteria on Oct. 12 after he led them to their first postseason apperance since 2008. Rentira has now been fired by both the Cubs and Sox.
Sox begin managerial search after firing Renteria By Ernesto Hernandez Asst. Sports Editor
“Always a bridesmaid, never a bride” could be used to describe Rick Renteria’s managerial career so far. Let go by the Chicago Cubs in 2014, a season before the team became legitimate title contenders, the same thing has happened on the other side of town. The Chicago White Sox announced that they had mutually parted ways with Rick Renteria as well as pitching coach Don Cooper. The Sox now find themselves on the hunt for both a new manager and pitching coach. Renteria may have had his shortcomings but he was in charge of a Sox team who went to the playoffs for the first time since 2008. “I was very surprised they let go of Renteria and Cooper,” said Patrick Nolan, editor at Sox Machine. “Jerry Reinsdorf’s organizations have a history of sticking with managers and coaches worse than Renteria longer than warranted and it seemed like the team performed than expected this season.” Cooper had been with the organization for 33 years. But the writing may have been on the wall as soon as Renteria’s firing became official. “Once Renteria was gone, I knew Cooper would not be far behind,” said Jordan Lazowski, editor-in-chief at Sox On 35th and Diamond Digest. “I assumed that Cooper would last until the next time the White Sox changed their manager. More often than not, when a new manager comes to a team, he is given the opportunity to name members of his staff: usually his bench coach, pitching coach and hitting coach at the very least.” In his press conference, general manager Rick Hahn said Cooper’s departure was inde-
pendent of Renteria’s. He also said that there had been talks over the years with Cooper that led to him ultimately being let go. The Sox want to give whoever the new manager is the opportunity to bring in his own staff. Renteria joined the team as a bench coach under former manager Robin Ventura. When he was let go, Renteria then made the jump over to manager in 2016. Being in charge of a team in rebuild mode is difficult but Renteria did a fine job in implementing a new culture and nurturing the young talent. It’s what he brought to the team as well during his time as the Cubs manager during their rebuild. He seems to be a transitional manager. Someone who can be a guiding and steady hand for young players and then once these players start to mature, he’s no longer needed. Once his job is done, then it’s time to bring in someone proven who can take the team to that next step. “Players loved to play for him, were inspired to give their all on the field, and it was clear he kept an incredibly upbeat and positive clubhouse,” Lazowski said. “Those are all crucial qualities of a manager. However, where Renteria begins to falter is once he is given the opportunity to be the in-game tactician. Pitching changes, lineup construction, and general bullpen management have all led to consistently questionable decisions from Renteria.” The question now is who will be replacing Renteria. What type of manager would be the right fit for this team? “The White Sox need a manager that trusts analytical decision-making and can garner the respect of young players and veterans alike.” Nolan said. “Essentially, it needs to be someone who does no harm and lets the team play up to its potential.”
Some of the names linked to the job are Tony La Russa, A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora. Each comes with their own pros and cons. La Russa is viewed as an old-school manager whose approach is more traditional. In other words, a manager who still believes in things like the sacrifice bunt, left-handed relievers should face left-handed batters and in the unwritten rules of baseball. On the surface, it’s completely the opposite of the type of manager Rick Han would want. “La Russa would be a very poor fit, in my opinion,” Nolan said. “The game has changed a lot since he was last in a dugout, and old-school tendencies are being phased out. I imagine he’d be a respected figure initially, but think his attitude might be a poor fit with the demonstrative young players the team has today.” If hired, it would be La Russa’s second stint with the Sox. He took over from Don Kessinger back in 1979 and was with the team until 1986 when he was fired by the general manager at the time, Ken Harrelson. “Tony La Russa is an interesting one,” said Lazowski. “The White Sox have a storied history with their former manager, as Hawk Harrelson and Jerry Reinsdorf are both open about the fact that they consider their firing of La Russa back in 1986 to be among their worst decisions ever. I am not sure they decided the 76-year-old who has been out of the manager’s seat since 2011 is among the best candidates for the job, despite the reports regarding him as a front-runner for the job.” Indeed, La Russa appears to be the leading candidate with the Sox getting the okay from the Los Angeles Angels to speak to the former skipper, according to ESPN. The other two candidates, Hinch and Cora, bring their own baggage. Both were
implicated in the Houston Astros cheating scandal where the team was using technology to steal signs. Hinch was fired by Houston and Cora resigned from the Boston Red Sox. Both were suspended one year by Major League Baseball. “I would prefer the Sox not go with Cora or Hinch,” Nolan said. “The short reason is I believe that they don’t provide any notable extra advantage over any other forward-thinking candidates, and I think there’s probably a lot of names that haven’t surfaced who could do just as well. It concerns me that both either condoned what was going on or didn’t command enough respect to stop it.” One person who isn’t among the candidates is Ozzie Guillen. Hahn was asked about the possibility of the former Sox manager taking where he swiftly discarded that possibility. “I think it was to squash any rumors that could hinder another qualified candidate from stepping forward,” said Chrystal O’Keefe, contributor to South Side Hit Pen and South Side Sox. “I’m all for nostalgia but I don’t think taking a step back is the best idea.” As far as who the next pitching coach will be, the Sox are going to be looking inside the organization. According to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, assistant pitching coach Curt Hasler, pitching coordinator Everett Teaford and Triple-A Charlotte pitching coach Matt Zaleski are among the candidates. The organization clearly felt they needed someone with more postseason experience. The Sox have a team ready to compete for the next decade. The pieces are in place. They just need someone capable to put those pieces together.
Sports. Oct. 19, 2020 The DePaulia | 27
Every DePaul athlete registered to vote in Big East initiative By Lawrence Kreymer Sports Editor
DePaul became the first university in the Big East to reach 100 percent of its athletes registered to vote in the upcoming Nov. 3 election, the athletic department announced on Wednesday. All 11 institutions in the Big East are taking part in the Rise To Win voter registration challenge, with the Blue Demons becoming the first school to have every eligible student-athlete register to vote. “Congratulations on being the first school to reach the finish line,” said BIG EAST Senior Director of Compliance Michael Sainte in a statement on DePaul Athletics’ website. “It is much appreciated. This past summer, the BIG EAST Conference SAAC made it a point to raise awareness around the importance of civic engagement. The impending census and presidential election provided opportunities to do just that. DePaul took this challenge and ran with it, empowering its student-athletes along the way. It was a total team effort, and I want to extend a huge thank-you to the DePaul Athletics family for their urgency.” Every DePaul team has been putting out messages on their social media accounts encouraging people to register to vote during the last couple of months.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS
DePaul junior midfielder Patrick Watkins dribbles the ball a UIC defender in 2019. Watkins is part of the Blue Demons’ drive to have every athlete register to vote. As well as putting out messages on social media, teams have been having conversations about the importance of voting — which is another reason why the Blue Demons have been able to reach the 100 percent mark. “I was able to vote in the past elec-
tion, but even then when I was in high school it never was really talked about other than with my family and friends,” track and field senior Margaret Hastings said. “My sports environment then and the teachers it wasn’t necessarily something as talked about as it is now. DePaul
has made a lot of efforts to raise awareness on the importance of voting, with social media and emails, and making it kind of fun because they were trying to get everyone 100 percent registered to vote. I’m glad they are raising awareness on the importance of voting.” The men’s basketball team all registered to vote on the same day on Aug. 27 as part of the initiative to get more athletes to vote in November. The Big East also has the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s (SAAC) that is made up of two student-athletes, one male and one female, from all 11 even schools. Over the summer, the committee identified voter registration and civic engagement as two important topics of discussion for the 2020-21 academic year. With those two topics coming at the forefront, the conference has been encouraging each athletic department to work with their student-athletes to engage in these areas. Providence became the second team in the conference to have 100 percent eligible student-athletes register to vote. “We just have to continue plugging away at it, and to not give up,” men’s soccer midfielder Patrick Watkins said. “That’s what they want — they want our voices to be quiet, but we can’t. We have to be louder.”
STRUS, continued from back page you get to week 12 and you can start running again. You start marking down your calendar of what day and week you are going to be able to do something. It’s just little goals you set along the way and it helps you out. After playing at DePaul for three years, Strus graduated and entered the NBA Draft in 2019. But after two rounds and 60 picks, the 6-foot-5 forward went undrafted. He did sign with the Boston Celtics the very next day, but the team released him in October -paving the way for him to come back home. A native of Hickory Hills, Illinois, Strus was able to sign a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls, allowing him to be closer to his family and friends. That aspect of being with his family while recovering from the injury, especially during a pandemic, has been a welcome sight for Strus as he prepares for a new season. “I’m from here, grew up here, I never really left Chicago,” Strus said. “Going to DePaul was awesome, playing in the city, having my family at every game. I thought I was going to be in Boston at first, but things didn’t work out like I wanted to. Luckily, I came back home and got the opportunity to play for the Bulls, so that is great. I couldn’t ask for anything better. I have the best family in the world, so being around them and having them at every game has helped me along the way.” When Strus suffered the injury last December, he was starting to get his chance with the Bulls in the NBA, but also performing at a high level in the G League. In 13 games for the Windy City Bulls, Strus averaged 18.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game -- including a 31-point game against the College Park Skyhawks. Strus only got to play two games in the NBA before suffering his injury, but he had an impressive appearance in his debut against the Miami Heat on Nov. 22. In five minutes of game time, Strus scored five points in a 116108 loss. At the time of Strus’ injury other players on the Chicago Bulls were also getting hurt and missing extended time, which would
ALEXA SANDLER | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul head coach Dave Leitao and former Blue Demon Max Strus embrace each other during senior day on March 3, 2019. have given him a chance to get more opportunities in the NBA. “It was tough, I was just gearing up for a call-up at that point because a lot of the Bulls guys were hurt,” Strus said. “Right as I got hurt, the next couple of weeks after that I think I was going to get a call-up and get some time and some minutes playing with the NBA team. That was hard and frustrating, but in all things everything happens for a reason. So, I didn’t get too down on it. It hurt my family more than it hurt me, them seeing
me struggle to get to this point of my life and then have it taken away from me. But it’s part of being a professional, part of playing a game for a living there’s always a risk you can get hurt. But I’ll be better for it in the long run.” As Strus is now cleared to resume basketball activities, he will get that chance again to make an NBA roster. Currently, there’s no start date confirmed for the 2020-21 NBA season, but the expectation is it begins some time in January. But Strus is continuing to stay ready for whatever his next opportunity
will be. “I have worked my ass off to get here,” Strus said. “I’m ready for my next opportunity, I don’t know what this is going to be. Right now it’s a waiting game to see what next season is going to be like, and what opportunities I will have. The only thing I can keep doing right now is working out, keep strengthening everything, stay on top of my recovery and just keep improving my basketball skills.”
Sports
Sports. Oct.19, 2020 The DePaulia | 28
Road to recovery By Lawrence Kreymer Sports Editor
Nearly nine months after Max Strus tore his ACL in a G League game, Strus told The DePaulia that he has been fully cleared to resume normal basketball activities. Strus, who played at DePaul from 2017-19, suffered the injury while playing for the Windy City Bulls on Dec. 23. But almost nine months to the day of his injury, Strus has been given the thumbs up that he is fully healthy again. “I’m fully healed now, I’m basically 100 percent, so I’m back doing everything,” Strus said. “Obviously, with everything going on in the world, there’s not much 5-on-5 going on or me being able to do that in my recovery process. That’s kind of pushing me back a little bit, but other than that I’m cleared to play and ready to go. I’m feeling better than I have before.” Usually after someone suffers a torn ACL they would be
out for 8-12 months, which fits into Strus’ time frame of recovering. But it’s the road back from the injury that is the most gruelling part of the rehilabiton. The process of returning to action has multiple steps to it, including learning how to walk normally again and being able to get the swelling down in the knee. For Strus, he was back walking in a couple of days after surgery and beginning the long process of coming back to the court. “I was walking two days after surgery,” Strus said. “I was putting weight on it. Obviously, I’m on crutches a little bit, but I was out of my brace in a week or two weeks. My pain tolerance has helped me out a little bit -- I think I’m a tough guy in that region. It wasn’t too bad, but it’s a long process. You find the new things you haven’t done in a while and reach those goals and it makes it more feeling more accomplished when
See STRUS, page 27
ALEXA SANDLER | THE DEPAULIA
Former DePaul forward Max Strus has been fully cleared for contact after tearing his ACL during the 2019-2020 season. Strus played at DePaul from 2017-19.
NCAA grants an extra year of eligibility to winter sports By Lawrence Kreymer Sports Editor
The NCAA has granted all Division I winter sports athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the possibility of the season being impacted by Covid-19. A similar decision was made for fall sports athletes. According to Jeff Goodman of Stadium, if a player transfers, then their aid counts against the team’s scholarship limit. But if a returning senior doesn’t transfer, then their extra year does not count against the limit. When the returning seniors have left after the 2020-21 season, then teams have to get back to the 13 scholarship limit. For DePaul, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams have multiple seniors on the roster this season that could possibly return for another year. On the men’s team, the Blue Demons have five seniors on scholarship for the upcoming season: Charlie ALEXA SANDLER | THE DEPAULIA Moore, Jaylen Butz, Brian Patrick, Ray Salnave and Pauly Paulicap. DePaul senior guard Deja Church drives past a Marquette defender during the 2020 Big “While we are excited and anticipating East Tournament championship game. DePaul won the game 88-74. a full schedule of competition this season With the possibility of returning these we know the path will be abnormal,” men’s schedule is a challenge for all of us and especially our players. This opportunity for five seniors, DePaul already has five high basketball head coach Dave Leitao said in some flexibility in the future for the players school commits for the 2021 class, which a statement. “The anxiety and not knowprovides some relief amid all of the uncerwould expand their roster well beyond the ing what is going to happen in the next few tainty around us” normal 13 players. Currently, the Blue Demonths and how that will affect the season
mons have the No. 4 recruiting class for 2021, according to 247 Sports. The women’s team, on the other hand, has three seniors on this season’s roster: Deja Church, Dee Bekelja and Kiara Dallmann. All three players would be eligible to return for another season and give head coach Doug Bruno a boost to next year’s team. Last season, the Blue Demons won both the Big East regular season title and the conference tournament championship. But their season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the NCAA Tournament being canceled. “Whenever an NCAA decision benefits the student-athlete, it is a positive and constructive decision,” women’s basketball head coach Doug Bruno said in a statement. “Our 2019-20 DePaul women’s basketball team earned its way into the 2020 NCAA Tournament and then because of COVID-19, lost the opportunity to compete. A college athlete’s career is very short and finite. It is only fair that all student-athletes losing competitive opportunities to the coronavirus be granted an extra season of eligibility. My only regret is that last year’s seniors were not included in this ruling. I truly believe last year’s seniors should be included in this decision.”