OUT WITH THE OLD Season finales leave viewers frustrated pg. 19
SEASON OF THE BIKES After a long and terrible winter, it’s time to ride pg. 14-15
Volume #98 | Issue #19 | April 7, 2014 | depauliaonline.com
Gordon Tech alum fight DePaul name change By Jasmine Armand Staff Writer
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn speaks about MAP grants at DePaul Thursday, April 3.
jamie moncrief | depaul university
Gov. Quinn talks MAP grants at DePaul By Kevin Gross & Nathan Weisman
Opinions Editor & Asst. News Editor
Amid the annual furor over budget balancing and the possibilities of further cuts to the Monetary Aid Program (MAP) grant, DePaul University hosted a discussion April 3 with Gov. Pat Quinn to help address the issue. “Instead of cutting (MAP) by $50 million… we would like to increase this worthy investment by $50 million,” Quinn said. “This would give more Illinoisans the opportunity that we have had – the opportunity to further our education and attend college,” Casey Clemmons,
the Student Government Association’s president, said. The MAP grant is an educational aid program that assists low-income Illinois students with attending college. The program has existed for decades; however, since the recession, the program has not received funding increases to match tuition price inflation and faces the threat of further cuts each year. “To meet the need of all MAPeligible Illinois students would require an investment of $1 billion,” Clemons said. “Since the program is currently only funded at $373 million, funds are provided on a first-come, first-served basis until funding has been depleted, with funds running out earlier and earlier.
This means that more than 100,000 MAPeligible students are not receiving the funding they need to pursue a college degree.” Quinn said the program is a matter of utmost importance. The DePaul event was only one of a number of stops by the governor Thursday. He was scheduled to speak at other Illinois schools about the topic. In order to help achieve the goal of diverting state resources to the grant, Quinn addressed those in the audience to take action. “We’ve got to summon the energy to convince our legislators to support my
See QUINN, page 7
The switch at Wish
Cacciatore Stadium created from soccer field each season By Ben Gartland Asst. Sports Editor
The athletic facilities that are home to DePaul’s soccer and softball programs go through many changes throughout the year, big and small, to allow the different sports to play on the field during their respective seasons. In the fall, the field surface at Cacciatore Stadium is built for the men’s and women’s soccer programs to play. Following the conclusion of those two seasons, the field undergoes a transformation, using the multi-purpose turf that the University employs to
make it playable for the spring softball season. Simply put, the turf gets changed out twice a year, once for softball and once for soccer. The first process in the upkeep of the softball field is to change what is called the “trays.” Using the FieldTurf system, the trays for the softball field are laid down right after the soccer season ends. The trays sit there over the winter so that when the season starts for softball, all the teams have to do is lay down the dirt that makes up the infield. The green turf that still has the permanent soccer lines on it make up the
OLIVIA JEPSON | THE DEPAULIA
Cacciatore Stadium, the spring iteration of Wish Field for softball season. outfield. In cases like this year, sometimes excess snow will have to be plowed off the field before they lay down the dirt. Another big part of the transformation is putting up
the fences. The stadium itself provides a natural boundary to enclose the playing field so the only fences that need to go up
See FIELDS, page 27
A house divided is what stands on the corner of California Avenue and Addison Street, the location of the former Gordon Tech High School now called DePaul College Prep High School at the Fr. Gordon Campus starting this summer. Gordon Tech’s Board of Directors made the announcement March 12 following a vote the previous night. The name change was a suggestion from the Rebranding Task Force, which was put in place in response to a 2013 survey that focused on the Gordon brand, according to Robert Karpinski director of DePaul Catholic School relations and Rebranding Task Force liaison. According to a letter inviting alumni to a Jan. 29 meeting to discuss the possible name change and garner their opinions, the study found a few major problems with the brand: the name Gordon Tech did not imply that it was a catholic or college preparatory school, the facilities were outdated, and the academic reputation of the school had become tarnished. Even with the finalization of the name change, the study on which it’s based remains disputed by many. “The reasons are deeper than they’re saying,” Mark Scibor said, Gordon Tech alum from the class of 1973. “None of it makes any sense. They could have made the necessary changes without changing the name.” Scibor said alumni protested the name change at the meeting and offered to help fix aspects of the school and raise funds but they were never given an answer. “Alumni worked very hard to organize and reach out to the school to offer our support and help,” Scibor said. “We offered ongoing, substantial financial support and service support like volunteering to fix windows, the roof, paint, and fix things. We said ‘here we are; we’re here to help’ and received nothing.” However, Rebranding Task Force chair and Gordon Tech Board of Directors vice chair Mary Dempsey recounts it differently. “The alumni made no uniform effort to step in,” Dempsey said. “Many of these alumni have not been engaged in years.” “It would be very nice if they wanted to offer help,” she said. “We have established the endowed [Fr. Francis Gordon Scholarship] fund to keep alumni involved. It would be terrific if they wanted to contribute to that. They can help us out in many ways.” Exactly six weeks after the school’s only alumni meeting, the decision to change the name was approved.
See GORDON TECH, page 6