The DePaulia 5/10/2021

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Volume #105 | Issue #8 | May 10, 2021 | depauliaonline.com

Men’s tennis records best-ever season

By Lawrence Kreymer Sports Editor

O

ver a year ago, college athletes in spring sports had their seasons cut short because of growing concerns surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.

For those seniors, at the time, it seemed like the end of their college careers, with no chance to compete for a championship one last time.

Unless the NCAA acted to pass a special exemption for seniors to have the opportunity to stay in school an extra y e a r,

PHOTO BY TRAVIS BELL | BIG EAST

the last memory for those athletes would have been finding out their 2020 season was ending prematurely.

Two weeks after the Big East canceled the remainder of its spring sports schedule, the NCAA announced on March 30, 2020 that it was granting an additional season of eligibility for all springsport athletes, including seniors.

That’s when Luke Wassenaar and his teammates on the DePaul men’s tennis team decided to give it one more ride.

“I remember like texting each other in the group after we heard we had an extra year of eligibility for the guys,” Wassenaar said. “From that moment on, everyone was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it, let’s ride, we are going to go for it [the Big East championship] one more time and see if we can do it together.’”

In total, four seniors from the 2020 team decided to accept the extra year of eligibility and return to DePaul for one more season: Christopher Casati, Boris Spanjaard, Fran Tonejc and Tamas Zador.

All four players were part of the 2018 squad that lost to Marquette in the Big East championship.

In 2019, D e P a u l lost in the semifinals, 4-0, against St. John’s.

B efore the 2020 season was cut short, the Blue Demons won three consecutive matches and were getting close to facing conference

opposition.

“I think we were very fortunate to come back and I think everyone was in the same line, we wanted to do it one more time because last year wasn’t really a season,” Spanjaard said. “We all felt great, but we couldn’t finish it. So, I think it was just amazing to hear that we were able to come back.”

Agreeing to come back for one more season was one side of the equation. The other side involved a process no athlete or coach had ever been a part of before: following strict Covid-19 protocols. That meant weekly testing, wearing masks, taking extra precautions and letting go of your normal routine.

Certain sacrifices had to be made in order to stay healthy and fit to play. For the men’s tennis team, certain bonding experiences were no longer deemed safe, especially when on the road.

“You just can’t do things that you want to do — you can’t hang out with your friends, you can’t go out for dinner,” DePaul head coach Matt Brothers said. “These guys really had to make a lot of sacrifices and maintain a bubble, weekly Covid testing. Things that really make us who we are — like time together on the road, in restaurants, in hotels — wasn’t really the norm for us.”

Most programs, if not all, around the country had to adhere to strict Covid-19 protocols throughout the past eight months.

For some teams, especially with a younger roster, there have been fewer chances to build chemistry.

DePaul, on the other hand, already had a roster filled with a majority of upperclassmen.

DePaul’s 2021 schedule featured numerous road trips and matches against either ranked teams or perennial NCAA Tournament programs. The Blue Demons went

See TENNIS, page 26

Vito Tonejc during the Big East tournament semi-finals on April 25 against Butler.

CMN addresses diversity, equity, inclusion criticisms

By Sonal Soni

T

Asst. News Editor

he College of Communication’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) task force conducted a yearlong research report in 2018-2019 interviewing students, faculty and staff to identify areas for potential improvement.

Based on the project’s findings, the college developed an action plan in September 2020 to address practices and policies throughout the college. Despite the college’s stated commitment to dismantling racism, numerous community members have condemned DePaul’s communication department for discrimination.

The College of Communication’s current action plan includes short and long-

term goals that will be modified as needed, according to the College of Communication website. The plan aims to meet the needs of communication members by offering a supportive, diverse and inclusive environment.

Communication professor Dustin Goltz took over as the college’s diversity advocate this past fall. Goltz leads the DEI advisory group of faculty, staff and students from the College of Communication.

“As Diversity Advocate, I am also connected to college advocates from around the university, although our focus is primarily at the college level,” Goltz said.

Professor Maria DeMoya preceded Goltz as the College of Communication diversity advocate. DeMoya is currently DePaul’s chair of public relations and advertising, the College of Communication’s

representative for the Faculty Council on DEI and a member of the President’s Diversity Council.

DeMoya conducted the college wide study on areas for improvement regarding DEI initiatives. She interviewed community members within the college and conducted focus groups consisting of students, faculty and administration. The studies’ findings informed the college’s current action plan.

“So this is definitely the beginning,” DeMoya said. “This is not like the cure all solution, not at all. And yes, it will be revised.”

The action plan has four primary goals, the first being to address structural racism, power, privilege and oppression within the College of Communication.

Some of the initiatives include hosting

ongoing anti-racist conversations with faculty, students and administrators. An anti-racist reading group is available for faculty and staff, and at least twice per quarter, there will be listening sessions available for students in the college. These programs were initiated last fall quarter and will be ongoing.

The second main point of the DEI action plan consists of strengthening existing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The College of Communication will continue to hold diversity training for search committees, and starting this spring, the college will also provide diversity training for leadership positions including those who conduct reviews.

Training and funding is also intended

See CMN, page 4

2 | News. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021

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News

News. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 | 3

‘His legacy will live on’ Michael Holmes, 22, died on April 20 after a month-long battle with a rare form of brain cancer called astrocytoma.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LANDON CAMPBELL

Remembering DePaul ‘20 alum Michael Holmes

By Emma Oxnevad & Ella Lee Online & Print Managing Editors

DePaul alum Michael Holmes had a mind that was overflowing with inventive ideas to make the world a better place.

Though just beginning his journey into postgraduate young adulthood, his close friends knew that he was going to leave a mark.

Holmes died on April 20 after a monthlong battle with a rare form of brain cancer called astrocytoma. He was 22 years old.

Holmes started at DePaul in 2016, rushing Phi Kappa Psi. He became the fraternity’s treasurer that same year — the youngest member to receive that title in the fraternity’s 27-year history — and formed a close bond with several of his fellow brothers. While in the role, Holmes raised over $100,000 for the chapter, helping to bring them out of existing debt. He graduated from DePaul in 2020 Summa Cum Laude.

“He wasn’t always the loudest person in the room, but he just like gave off this aura that people respected, people related to and people wanted to be around and listen to, also,” said Landon Campbell, Holmes’ friend and former roommate. “... I just find that so impressive, that you can have a freshman in college [be] able to like get 50 plus young men [and] put them in their place.”

When asked about Holmes’ character, his friends were in agreement: His unmatched work ethic and entrepreneurial mindset were defining features of Holmes’ personality. During his senior year of high school,

PHOTO COURTESY OF EDWIN AGUILAR

Holmes, center, poses for a picture with friends.

Holmes came up with a business pitch for a competition to turn leftover food into compost, sold for a discounted price. The pitch later won first place.

“Throughout all of high school, you know, he was working to support himself, just like I was. And he continued doing the same thing throughout all of college,” said Edwin Aguilar, a DePaul graduate and friend of Holmes. “... We were able to sort of get each other [and] value hard work and the things that come out of that, and it’s obviously shown in his work ethic.”

In addition to his ambition and drive, Holmes is remembered as having a great sense of humor — with a penchant for “dad

jokes.”

“The way that he would laugh afterwards, you know he would have kind of this unique, funny laugh when he’d crack a dad joke,” Aguilar said. “It was so unique, and his eyes would scrunch up.”

He was also described as an exceedingly kind, caring friend.

“He cared about how you were doing so much more than you probably would have thought,” said Jonathan Munroe, one of Holmes’ friends. “... When we were freshmen in our fraternity, it was like 100 people, I could tell that he cared about how the majority of those guys were doing.”

Holmes and Campbell were the founders

and co-hosts of the podcast “In Their 20s,” which centers around helping young professionals navigate their careers. The podcast has featured a series of notable guests, like former congressman Beto O’Rourke and retired NBA great and Olympic Gold Medalist Tim Hardaway.

Campbell said that he plans to continue on with the podcast in Holmes’ honor.

“I just feel like the impact of this was much larger than we could have realistically expected, but I mean, we always continued to work on this because we saw the power behind this,” he said. “I do want to keep this going, just to preserve Michael’s legacy and what we were building.”

Following Holmes’ death, Campbell launched a fundraiser in Holmes’ honor.

So far, 236 donations, amounting to over $16,500, have been made in Holmes’ name.

The fundraiser’s goal is $25,000 — which will go toward Holmes’ memorial expenses — but excess money may be used to establish a legacy scholarship in his name, according to the fundraising website.

Holmes’ fraternity, Phi Psi, will host its yearly philanthropy event in Holmes’ honor.

The event, dubbed “Cornhole For Cancer,” will take place on the DePaul Quad on May 22 from 12-4 p.m. All proceeds will be donated to Holmes’ family.

“He was a fighter – a frequently seen trait in Michael – no matter the outcome he gave everything his all,” the fundraiser website reads. “He may have lost his life to this incurable disease but his legacy will live on.”

4 | News. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021

Student cybersecurity team places second nationally

By Sonal Soni Asst. News Editor

DePaul’s student Cybersecurity team placed second in the 16th annual National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC), the largest cybersecurity competition in the nation. This year’s tournament brought together both graduate and undergraduate students from over 165 colleges and universities to compete for the annual cup.

The national championship was held virtually from April 23-25. DePaul came second to the University of Central Florida and beat George Mason University, who placed third.

The NCCDC is hosted by the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The competition assesses students’ understanding and competence when managing challenges inherent in protecting a corporate network infrastructure and business information

systems.

The event gives cybersecurity students from colleges across the country a chance to test their skills in information assurance or computer security in a controlled competitive environment.

The competition stages a simulated cyberattack against a fictional business network. The competition’s cyberattacks imitate real world threats by using white hat hackers intent on disrupting competitor systems. Teams must keep the day-to-day operations of their organization going by completing everyday tasks while fending off ongoing attacks.

Teams assume administrative and protective duties for their commercial network — typically a small company of 50 users, under 10 servers and common internet services like a web or mail server and e-commerce site. Students had to work together to develop solutions to the threat against their company’s “home office” and systems while protecting intellectual property, customer data and

CMN continued from front to expand the diversity and representation offered within course readings and materials. An ongoing assessment will identify course progress and areas that need improvement, with a focus on decolonizing course content throughout the college.

In order to foster more engagement as well as increase transparency on the progress of the college’s DEI initiatives, plans to implement a centralized webspace and social media are underway. The webspace will also operate as a student feedback system.

The third initiative under the action plan includes scrutinizing the practices, procedures and policies within the college that perpetuate racism in order to create new systems that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Starting last fall, mandatory quarterly meetings for faculty and staff were implemented to continually reaffirm the college’s DEI commitments.

The plan also institutes a policy where all faculty up for formal review will meet with the college diversity advocate one on one to identify any DEI-related concerns or questions. DePaul professor’s Lisa Calvente and Sydney Dillard, two Black professors within the college, both experienced formal reviews prior to filing discrimination lawsuits, which they described as irregular and unfair.

The final main component of the action plan includes continuously supporting and providing opportunities for an inclusive community within the college.

Such opportunities include hiring a student DEI fellow to assist in the college’s ongoing anti-racist work, among other initatives.

“One thing we are continually learning is that our students, staff, faculty and administrators bring unique perspectives and experiences to discussions of DE&I,” Goltz said. “Our goal is to foster a working space where each of these perspectives can better shape and extend the scope and reach of our action plan.”

On April 12, communication scholars from across the country and world signed a petition criticizing DePaul’s College of Communication for fostering a “toxic environment that threatens the health, wellbeing, livelihoods and lives of scholars of color.”

The petition was sent to the school’s communication deans and upper administration. Despite the college’s current action plan, the petition calls on DePaul’s communication department to take further steps to ensure an equitable work environment.

“Racism is a description of the failure of individuals and institutions to dismantle ideologies, systems, and structures - and by that definition DePaul’s College of Communication is racist,” the petition reads.

“In taking these anti-racist actions, DePaul will not only improve the institutional environment for Black and Brown faculty, but also for white faculty who will benefit from the increased transparency and equity.”

The petition includes three main requests, including acknowledging and addressing the racist structures that prevent faculty of color from advancing, as well as providing support for BIPOC staff. The petition also

employee records.

Each team begins the competition with an identical set of hardware and software and are scored on their ability to detect and respond to outside threats while maintaining their existing services.

They must also respond to business requests including adding or removing additional services and have to balance security and business needs.

An automated scoring engine is used throughout the competition to assess the progress of each team’s services.

Generators feed simulated user traffic into the competition network and provide the “external threat” real internet-based services face.

According to the official NCCDC site, the competition also lets students “foster a spirit of teamwork, ethical behavior, and effective communication both within and across teams and create interest and awareness among participating institutions and students.”

The competition is sponsored by numerous organizations, including the

CIA, Walmart Global Tech and Boeing, to name a few.

The competition was conceived in 2004 when a group of educators, students and government and industry representatives gathered to discuss establishing regular cyber security exercises for post-secondary level students.

The NCCDC is unique from other cyber defense competitions because it focuses on managing and protecting an existing network infrastructure. Many other competitions are long term and evaluate a team over the course of a semester.

While DePaul has participated in the NCDCC in the past, this is the highest the team has ever placed. Last year DePaul was among the top 10 finalists for the first time since 2017. DePaul placed in the top three teams for the first time in 2016 when they came in third place overall.

“That type of petition in academia is not only looking at Sydney or Lisa. It’s really a representation of how common problems like these are. It’s an outsider’s perspective and I don’t think they knew about our action plan because they mentioned some things that were already in there.”

Maria DeMoya

Former CMN diversity advocate, chair of public relations and advertising, professor calls for the resignation of both acting Communication Dean Alexandra Murphy and interim Provost Salma Ghanem, both of whom conducted Calvente and Dillard’s formal reviews.

DePaul’s Black affinity groups also released a university wide letter after the petition, calling on DePaul administration to follow up their stated anti-racist commitments with action. The letter also references Calvente and Dillard’s lawsuits and offers solutions to combat the university’s questionable racial climate, according to the letter.

“Faculty, staff, and students uniformly discussed a gap between DePaul’s stated DEI commitment and their actual record of accomplishment,” the letter reads. “They noted that the stated commitment was for marketing purposes and was in word only, and that DePaul did not do a good job of creating DEI metrics and goals to hold themselves accountable and measure progress.”

The letter from DePaul’s Black community includes similar requests regarding dismantling structural inequities and fostering greater opportunities for diverse students, faculty and staff college wide. The letter cites the disproportionately low percentage of Black students and faculty across campus.

According to DePaul’s Institutional Research and Market Analytics, around 16 percent of all instructional faculty are members from minority groups. Black faculty and staff occupy even fewer positions across campus.

Black staff members make up 9 percent of ‘Executive, Administrative, and Managerial’ and ‘Other Professional’ categories, while white staff occupy 64 percent of the same categories, according to the letter.

Both the petition and letter call on DePaul to do more regarding their DEI initiatives, most notably making substantial changes to DEI leadership and implementing a retention plan for faculty of color among other requests.

“Looking across the breadth of initiatives we have been able to institute, I do believe we have made some significant steps, and I encourage people to look at what we are doing,” Goltz said. “I do need to mark that no person in the college has been more committed and influential in supporting our initiatives than our acting dean.”

The petition requested an official response on be-

half of the university by April 26. As of Friday May 7, there has been no indication of a public response.

The letter from DePaul’s Black community also requested a meeting with President A. Gabriel Esteban and Gerald Beeson, chair of DePaul’s Board of Trustees, before May 12. On May 2, Esteban released a response, but has not stated if he will meet with community members as requested.

“I will discuss your concerns with my leadership team and the board leadership as part of our continuing strategic conversations on these topics,” Esteban said.

Both the former and current College of Communication diversity advocate, DeMoya and Goltz, told The DePaulia they agree that there is more work to be done to ensure DePaul is more equitable.

“I think as a faculty member of color, if you feel that you are being mistreated, or that you are being discriminated [against], having the support of other faculty, even outside your college, can be very comforting and powerful,” DeMoya said. “I think there’s always an opportunity for further reflection and for further learning.”

While DeMoya empathizes with the petition’s sentiments, she echoed Goltz’s support for acting dean Murphy.

“I definitely would not advocate for losing our dean since she’s been super supportive, or the provost, but I understand why they make demands that big,” she said.

“I think they want to communicate how serious of a problem they think this is.”

DeMoya and Goltz agree that the college’s DEI action plan is not a solution to the ongoing issues regarding racism and discrimination within the communication department; rather, it is a starting point for progress.

“I would not suggest the current plan is sufficient — there is much work we need to do,” Goltz said. “The college action plan is an ongoing process and project, not a fixed destination. The action plan invites, and is strengthened by, continual reflection, dialogue, accountability, diversity of perspectives and room for change. It details our current initiatives as well as making more visible our ongoing work in interrogating our systems, practices and processes.”

News. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 | 5

Incoming students prepare for post-pandemic ERIC HENRY | THE DEPAULIA

Two students walk on DePaul’s largely empty campus during the 2020-2021 schoolyear that was almost entirely remote because of the coronavirus pandemic.

By Rebecca Meluch

C

News Editor

ancelled proms, virtual graduation ceremonies and online classes have all been the norm for both college and high school students.

The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the way school, work and lifes accomplishments had to be conducted and celebrated this past year.

But one event that stayed in the calendar is National College Decision Day, which takes place annually on May 1.

The day is reserved for high school seniors to announce their commitment to the college where they will spend their next few years.

DePaul’s enrollment summary report shows the university enrolled 2,774 freshmen in the fall of 2020. The 2020 freshman class was the largest the university has welcomed –– 147 more students than the 2019 enrollment total.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the university consistently raised tuition costs across all its respective schools. In between the 2017, 2018 and 2019 academic years, annual tuition rates increased between $500 and $2000 across all 10 colleges.

As the pandemic halted in-person learning and offered a limited campus experience, DePaul did not raise annual tuition costs in the 2020-2021 school year for both incoming classes and students who were at a junior or senior standing –– the same year DePaul welcomed its largest freshman class.

“In recognition of the economic uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced into families’ lives, DePaul University today announced it will not increase tuition for 2020-21 for new and continuing students,” the university announced in April 2020.

DePaul spokesperson Russell Dorn told The DePaulia that 2021-2022 tuition figures are now updated and a letter should have gone out to students this past month.

The new figures show that tuition rates for the 2021-2022 school year will remain the same within DePaul’s Richard H. Driehaus College of Business, College of Computing and Digital Media, College of Science and Health, College of

“DePaul’s decision to require vaccinations for all students returning to campus gives me high hopes for what college will be like.”

Kevin Serrano

Incoming DePaul student Communication, College of Education and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The School of Music and the Theatre School both have raised annual tuition rates for the 2021-2022 school year by roughly $800. The College of Law also increased its annual tuition rates for the upcoming school year by approximately $900.

The university will soon have to finalize a new enrollment summary report for the 2021-2022 school year, after slightly raising tuition costs and a global pandemic.

Dorn told The DePaulia that it is too early to share any freshmen enrollment numbers for the upcoming fall at this time. But a quick browse on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram shows that many high school seniors have announced their commitment to enroll at the university.

Gracie Crone is from Dallas, Texas and is a graduating senior from the Ovation Academy of Performing Arts.

She will be coming to DePaul next fall as a playwriting major at the Theatre School.

“The playwriting program is so small and so selective that I thought it was a long shot,” Crone said. “As soon as I got my acceptance email, I knew I would be committing.”

Crone wasn’t aware that DePaul’s Theatre School tuition had increased, but she said she was prepared to take out loans.

“DePaul’s tuition is definitely a bit of a dent in the pocketbook,” Crone said. “I did get a scholarship from the Theatre School, but even if I didn’t, I have an amazing family that would help me to make it work anyway.”

Kevin Serrano is from the Southwest Side of Chicago and is graduating from Jones College Prep on June 13.

On National College Decision Day, he announced his commitment to DePaul in an Instagram post.

Serrano will be coming to DePaul in the fall quarter as an economics and finance double major on the pre-law track.

“DePaul has a strong business program, and given that it is in the heart of Chicago, I know there will be so many opportunities to meet professionals and gain work experience,” Serrano told The DePaulia.

Prior to enrolling at DePaul, Serrano was also considering going to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“I committed to DePaul for their generous financial aid,” Serrano said. In his Instagram post, Serrano shared that he received a four-year, full ride scholarship from the university.

Edwin Garduza is a senior at Morton East High School and is from Brighton Park –– a neighborhood near Chicago’s Little Village. Garduza also announced in an Instagram post on May 2, he will be coming to DePaul in the fall. He will be majoring in music performance and commuting to campus.

“I think what got my interest was the rigor of instruction at DePaul, the premier fine arts conservatory, [which] develops true professionals,” Garduza said.

Garduza shared that DePaul was his main school he wanted to attend.

“It was almost an automatic yes when I received the acceptance letter,” he said.

Similar to college students, high schoolers also lost a bit of academic experience during a year of online classes.

Sam Brick, a graduate of Grayslake North High School, will be coming to DePaul in the fall as a psychology major.

Brick shared that when the

opportunity arose at his high school to return in person, he didn’t have the option to since he wasn’t a student anymore.

“I didn’t get to experience a junior or senior year prom, really any of the fun stuff you experience during the final year of high school,” Brick said. “I just finished high school by closing my Chromebook and going to bed.”

Online classes aside, students themselves had to face the challenges of contracting Covid-19.

“I also missed my school’s winter formal because my whole family got Covid-19,” Crone said. “I’m just trying to hold out till the end of the year.”

Brick also said that the pandemic has changed his vision on college itself.

“It makes me wonder how many people will be there, how long we will be dealing with the long lasting effects and if it will be my whole college experience,” he said.

But as vaccines are becoming more available to high school and college students, some incoming freshmen are hopeful to return to school in person –– this time on a college campus.

“I expect my first year to be filled with tons of energetic students,” Serrano said.

“Especially freshmen that are happy to be on campus.”

On April 21, DePaul announced it will require students to be fully vaccinated before returning to campus in person.

“DePaul’s decision to require vaccinations for all students returning to campus gives me high hopes for what college will be like,” Serrano said. “I think that by the fall, the college experience will appear close to what I normally expected pre-Covid.”

While National College Decision Day has given a broad scope of how many incoming freshmen DePaul will welcome for the 2021-2022 school year, there still isn’t an exact number.

Expectations of whether or not DePaul will exceed its 2020 enrollment record is unclear, as is what the future of college experiences will entail, but many are still hopeful.

“I have absolutely no idea what to expect, even without the pandemic,” Brick said. “I’m really looking forward to just experiencing new things and starting this new chapter in our lives.”

6| News. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021

Vaccine mandate more complex for international students

By Josephine Stratman Staff Writer

After overcoming complicated visa statuses, dramatic time differences and WiFi issues, international students may be facing one more hurdle — vaccination status.

On April 21, President A. Gabriel Esteban announced via email that DePaul will require all undergraduate, graduate and professional students coming back in the fall to be vaccinated. While the university has yet to release more detailed information, it is likely that in order to attend in-person classes, live on campus or participate in student organizations, students will have to be vaccinated.

For students living in the U.S., the vaccination process is relatively easy.

Anyone aged 16 and over is eligible to get vaccinated at any city-run site. According to the City of Chicago, “the COVID-19 vaccine is free to everyone, regardless of insurance or immigration status.” DePaul also hosted a vaccine clinic to bring vaccine availability right on campus.

However, not all DePaul students have the same access to vaccines; for international students, getting the vaccine is potentially much more complicated.

International students make up close to 10 percent of DePaul’s enrollment, comprising 4.7 percent of undergraduates and 17.6 percent of graduate students. In total, 2,316 students from 126 countries were enrolled in the 2019-2020 school year, according to the Office of Global Engagement at DePaul.

Across those 126 countries, vaccine availability varies greatly. Unlike students in Chicago or the U.S., international students face vastly different vaccine avail-

BRETT COOMER/HOUSTON CHRONICLE VIA AP

In this Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021 file photo, pharmacy technician Sochi Evans fills a syringe with a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Texas Southern University. ability.

In Pakistan, free vaccines are currently only available for adults over the age of 40. If college students want to get vaccinated, they have to pay for a private one, said DePaul sophomore Sharjeel Sajjad, who is originally from Karachi, Pakistan and is a Global Ambassador for DePaul.

Right now, none of the three vaccines approved for use in the U.S. are available in Pakistan, adding a dose of uncertainty for Pakistani students at DePaul planning to return in the fall. Although it’s a little uncertain, he felt confident that things would work out by the fall.

Sajjad said he was still very supportive of the requirement, and that “it is necessary to get everyone vaccinated.” He received the vaccine in the U.S. upon his

recent return.

“As international students, we already have 8-10 vaccine requirements,” Sajjad said. “The Covid vaccine just adds to them.”

Juliana Zanubi, a DePaul sophomore from Colombia, said she doesn’t think she’ll be able to get vaccinated in Colombia, where she’s spent this academic year.

“I wish DePaul had vaccine clinics over the summer, because I’m sure not going to get it here,” she said.

Zanubi said her mother was scheduled to receive the second dose of the vaccine last Monday, but due to the protests and political upheaval in Colombia, all the roads were blocked and she couldn’t leave the house.

In Colombia, just 3.5 percent of the population has received the full vaccine sequence, according to the New York Times vaccine tracker.

China, India, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and South Korea — the top five countries of citizenship for DePaul’s international student population — all have significantly lower vaccination rates than the U.S. Even if students can get a vaccine, it’s still not confirmed if DePaul will count them toward the requirement to return this fall. The school has not yet decided on how to proceed with vaccines that have been approved abroad, but not in the U.S. “​DePaul is assessing how to handle COVID-19 vaccines not yet approved for use in the United States but taken by some of our students abroad,” the university said on an FAQ page for international students. “We will communicate with [students] as soon as possible after we receive further guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Chicago Department of Public Health.”

The Oxford-AstraZeneca, Gamaleya (Sputnik V), Sinopharm-Beijing, Sinovac, CanSino, Sinopharm-Wuhan and Bharat Biotech (Covaxin) vaccines are just some that are being offered in DePaul students’ home countries but have not been approved for use in the U.S. Although DePaul is holding off, other schools have made decisions. Columbia College will not require international students already vaccinated in another country with a vaccine not approved in the U.S. to be re-vaccinated. Boston University, a school with a large international student population, recently announced that any vaccine approved worldwide will count.

Chicago plans reopening as vaccination rates drop

By Kalia Butler Staff Writer

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced last week she hopes to fully reopen the city by July 4. As Chicago progresses toward being a city once again filled with baseball games, concerts and restaurant-going, some residents have pushed the vaccine to the side.

NBC 5 Chicago reported from April 12 to May 2, vaccination rates in Illinois have declined by 41 percent. The state is now reaching its lowest vaccination rate in over two months. The initial numbers rushing to get vaccinated have dwindled and state and city officials are trying to encourage residents to change their minds.

For those who originally planned to get vaccinated, many are opting out of receiving their second dose. ​ Craig Klugman, a professor of health sciences at DePaul, told The DePaulia in an email that 64 percent of Chicagoans have received at least the first dose of the vaccine, and about 36 percent are now fully vaccinated.

Klugman thinks individuals who are not getting the second dose are willing to take the risk of the virus with just one dose instead of having to relive their Covid-19-like side-effects from the shot.

“Some 5 million people have made the riskbenefit analysis that one dose is enough for them — scientifically that is not true,” Klugman said. “Others experienced side effects like the sore arm, fever, rash, headache and decided they don’t want to experience side effects again.”

Some DePaul students see refusal to receive a vaccine in the Chicago area as a selfish act.

Hannah Bender, a sophomore from Texas, where the Texas Tribune reports the vaccination supply exceeds the demand, believes some Chicagoans are taking advantage of those choosing to get the vaccine.

“Most of the people eager to get the vaccine did as

soon as possible, and now with places opening, antivaxxers are taking advantage of luxuries afforded to them because people have been unselfish,” Bender said.

Bender’s entire family has been vaccinated for Covid-19 and she encourages others to do the same.

“Most of my family is in the medical community, so I understand that not everyone comes from a background of being highly informed or trusting medical procedures, but it would be dangerous to encourage ignorance when it could cost people’s lives,” Bender said.

Another sophomore, Jack Matthews, from Denver, Colorado believes people are taking advantage of the fact the city will open with or without their vaccination.

“I think we may see a drop [in vaccination rates] because things are starting to open back up even for people without the vaccine,” Matthews said.

Matthews shared that about one-third of Colorado is fully vaccinated and he and his family members are all vaccinated. He received his first dose from the university and plans to go back for his second.

Though Chicago and Illinois find vaccination rates declining, they still have higher vaccination rates than the national average. Klugman said that national data shows 32 percent of people have been fully vaccinated and 45 percent have received their first dose, with Chicago being above both of these percentages.

The vaccination data from the CDC confirms Klugman’s observation. At the time of publication, 45.3 percent of the U.S. population has received their first dose while 33.4 percent are fully vaccinated.

“We are seeing a slowdown of people getting the vaccine and a number of people who do not get the second dose after receiving their first shot,” Klugman said. “The reasons include fear of needles, history of medicine and public health treating minority populations poorly, distrust of medicine and pharmaceutical companies, concerns about the

new technology behind these vaccines and most disturbingly people who have bought into a lot of misinformation. There is a lack of vaccine literacy across the nation.”

As we inch towards reopening, citywide Covid-19 cases have been down, maintaining a test positivity rate below 8 percent for 31 consecutive days.

“The numbers are down over the last few weeks — daily cases, hospitalizations, deaths and percent positivity are all down,” Klugman said.

For the cases that don’t seem to go away, there has been a rise in Covid-19 cases among 18- to 39-yearolds, despite being labeled as a low-risk demographic.

“Some of what we are seeing is an increase in the 18- to 39-year-old range,” Klugman said. “Experts posit that this group believes that it has a low risk of dying from Covid-19, which is true though low is not zero, and just wants to get on and live their lives.

We’ve only been vaccinating in this age range for a couple of weeks.”

ABC 7 reported Governor J.B. Pritzker will move Illinois into the Bridge Phase of reopening on May 14 and fully reopen by June 11. But there is still a clear demand to address vaccination rates in the state as well as acknowledging the death toll that has devastated countless families across the state.

Klugman urged those still skeptical about vaccines or those wanting more information to look at trusted sources such as The CDC, World Health Organization, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Chicago Department of Public Health.

He also encourages people to look past just the science and data.

“What convinces people to change their behavior isn’t always numbers, but stories,” Klugman said.

“Reach out to someone who has been vaccinated and see what their experience was like. Talk to someone who was hospitalized for Covid-19 and see what their experience was like. Talk to people who have been through these experiences.”

News. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021| 7

‘Matchacita’ sparks cultural appropriation discourse

By Nadia Hernandez Opinions Editor

Students are protesting a new business, Matchacita, because its owners, white non-Hisapanics, are using Latino culture as a marketing strategy.

Matchacita is a drink bar in Lincoln Park near DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus.

It opened earlier this year and sells matcha-based drinks. It’s known for its unique drinks and trendy decorations.

At the end of March, DePaul senior Arantxa Reyes asked the owners if they were Latino or had Latino representation through direct messages on Instagram.

“Looking at their menu, there are drinks like horchata and pitaya and I was thinking they were Latinos,” she said.

“There was no evidence saying otherwise in their Instagram.”

After a couple of days, Matchacita had not answered and blocked Reyes’s Instagram account.

The following day, Matchacita released a statement in their store and on social media regarding the way they’re utilizing Latino culture.

“Today, we received feedback from the community about our brand,” they said via Instagram. “We recognize the concerns from the Latinx/Hispanic community about our lack of representation. We want to foster an environment that will ensure inclusivity of all cultures.”

Matchacita also said that they will donate 10 percent of their profits to Latino charities every Tuesday beginning in May. In the post’s comments, customers are divided over the decision.

Reyes said that the donations are not enough to make up for their lack of Latino representation.

“Obviously, they had no consideration for the Latino community when creating [their brand],” she said. “They had no problem using images and words to promote themselves. It wasn’t until they were held accountable that they realized that they were, like, profiting off of other communities’ cultures.”

MADDEY MARTIN | THE DEPAULIA

Students are protesting Matchacita, a new Lincoln Park business, as some say its using Latino culture for marketing.

Reyes and other commenters said that Matchacita was contributing to cultural appropriation without Latino representation in their ownership.

Other Latino customers said that the business’s name had nothing to do with cultural appropriation.

“As a Latina, I am not offended by [Matchacita’s] name,” one woman said on Matchacita’s post.

Another customer commented, “there’s no real or purposeful cultural appropriation taking place.

Maria DeMoya, program chair of public relations and advertising at DePaul, said

“there’s no reason” for Matchacita to have their name without proper representation.

“It’s cherry picking parts of a culture,” DeMoya said. “There’s no logical connection.”

Sometimes, businesses use their culture as a marketing strategy. However, Matchacita has no Latino representation behind the scenes. That introduces a conflict in their use of Spanish and Latino foods like horchata and pitaya.

“It is absolutely 100 percent commercialization, appropriation of the language for no reason whatsoever,” DeMoya said.

The owners are white non-Hispanic.

“It seems to me in this case they’re making fun of it,” DeMoya said. “You’re really realizing that you are making a joke about us, in which we are not included or invited to practice with it.”

Matchacita did not respond to The DePaulia’s request for comment. Also, its owners have not announced on social media which charities they will be donating to.

However, Reyes said that she was confident in her decision to speak out against the business for the community.

“I think it’s important to call attention to this issue,” she said.

SGA covers elections, equity at weekly meeting

By Theodora Koulouvaris Staff Writer

DePaul’s Student Government Association went over plans for this week’s elections during Thursday’s general body meeting. Elections begin Monday at 9 a.m. and end Thursday at noon.

According to SGA’s website, several candidates are running for various positions within SGA, though some positions have no candidates running. To be on the ballot, candidates running for president and vice president must receive 50 student signatures, whereas 25 signatures are required for all other positions.

SGA Elections Coordinator Jane Pallos encouraged students that did not receive enough signatures to run as write-in candidates, but they must submit a letter of intent.

Not only will students vote for candidates, but they will also vote on two referendum questions related to the 25 percent tuition discount for the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and adding a green fee geared towards supporting sustainability initiatives at DePaul.

SGA will post the results of the election on Friday.

Open Letter from DePaul’s Black Community SGA passed a motion in favor of emailing DePaul President A. Gabriel Esteban to take action in response to a letter from members of DePaul’s Black community.

The DePaulia previously reported that the letter “addresses both statistical and cultural issues facing Black students, staff and faculty at DePaul,” and comes

after a town hall event that was “designed specifically to address issues faced by Black DePaul community members.”

The letter then moves on to offer recommendations on how to address these issues stating, “A hallmark of equity is the recognition that diverse communities have diverse needs and require diverse resources. Dismantling systemic inequities requires greater effort beyond slogans and statements. It necessitates dedicated and intentional action.”

The letter ends with a request to set up a meeting with Esteban and Gerald Beeson, the president of DePaul’s Board of Trustees, by May 21.

Constitutional Revisions SGA passed a measure adopting the university’s land acknowledgment statement into its constitution.

The statement recognizes that indigenous communities once resided on the land DePaul sits on.

The organization then passed a revision that would make the number of student signatures needed to qualify for the ballot to 50 for president and vice president and 25 for all other positions permanent after SGA changed its standing rules due to the pandemic.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic forcing SGA to move its meetings and other activities online, those running for president and vice president were required to receive 250 student signatures and 100 signatures for candidates running for other offices.

Vaccine Campaign Rollout Update

SGA Vice President Watfae Zayed said the university received a grant from Interfaith Youth Council to open a chapter to continue vaccine education work and to employ a group of students to continue this through the summer in an effort to encourage members of the DePaul community to get vaccinated. Zayed applied and received one of the positions to be a part of this initiative.

Robbie Merkel, SGA executive vice president of diversity and equity, recently appeared on NBC 5 News to talk about DePaul’s vaccine clinic and efforts to vaccinate the DePaul community.

Budget Report Update SGA decided to reallocate some of the funds from its committee funds to internal affairs towards its T-shirt drop. During a general body meeting last month, SGA passed a measure to sponsor a T-shirt drop.

President’s Report During this week’s president’s report, SGA President Alyssa Isberto said SGA’s last general body meeting of the quarter is this week and that the organization will hold an inauguration for new members and a senior send-off for SGA’s graduating seniors on May 20.

Vice President’s Report During this week’s vice president’s report, Zayed encouraged students to fill out a template to send to deans and professors across the university asking for accommodations for Eid al-Fitr.

8 | Politics. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021

Politics

ERIC GAY | AP

April 21, 2021, people opposed to Texas voter bills HB6 and SB7 hold signs during a news conference hosted by Texas Rising Action on the steps of the State Capitol in Austin, Texas.

Voter turnout for young people saw an 11 point increase in 2020, recent study shows

By Nika Schoonover Politics Editor Despite worries that the pandemic would hinder access to polls, the 2020 election had the largest increase in voter turnout between presidential elections on record. In the months following the election, more than 350 voter suppression bills have been introduced nationwide. These bills, which significantly restrict mail-in voting and absentee ballots, are especially impactful for college students.

Young voters, ages 18-29, saw an 11-point increase in voter turnout from 2016, according to a recent study

by Tufts University. According to the study, an estimated 50 percent of young people voted in the last election.

Campus Vote Project, a nonpartisan initiative created by the Fair Elections Center, aims to help college campuses distribute information about voting and create resources for students to further engage in politics.

Mike Burns, national director of Campus Vote Project, commented on the recent Tufts study in an email saying that the subsequent efforts to suppress voting directly impacts college students who should be celebrated instead of dissuaded from voting.

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of the ratification of the 26th Amendment, which expanded voting rights to youth over the age of 18,” Burns said in a statement. “Instead of celebrating the progress made in youth voter turnout over the course of the last half century, an alarming number of lawmakers are taking steps backwards.”

The implementation of these bills would be dangerous for college stu-

“And beyond that, I think a lot of people genuinely believed that the world was ending in 2020 because everything seemed so unprecedented and, you know, urgency works in getting people out there.”

Gabriel Smith

Campus Vote Project Florida, Democracy Fellow dents who are still getting used to the voting process.

“Over 350 voter suppression bills have been introduced in state legislatures since January, having a particularly detrimental impact on students, who face unique barriers to voting due to frequent moves, postal access, academic and work schedules, and general newness and unfamiliarity with the registration and voting process,” Burns added.

Gabriel Smith, a Campus Vote Project democracy fellow in Florida, said that one of the factors he thought contributed to the increase in voter turnout was the voter mobilization efforts from various campus groups leading up to the election.

“And beyond that, I think a lot of people genuinely believed that the world was ending in 2020 because everything seemed so unprecedented and, you know, urgency works in getting people out there,” Smith said.

As voter suppression bills continue to raise a level of uncertainty in state election laws, President Joe Biden’s For the People Act may regulate some of these imbalances. The legislation has been passed in the House and still awaits debate in the Senate.

“This bill would standardize some election laws across the country and nationally establish: automatic voter registration (AVR), online voter registration (OVR), same-day or Election-Day registration (SDR), early voting, no-excuse absentee voting, pre-registration and requirements for voter registration programming in high schools,” the analysis of the Tufts study reads.

Though the legislation would standardize these policies nationwide, some states have already implemented most of these provisions. The Tufts study looked at states that have implemented these policies prior to the 2020 election and found that states that had four or more of these provisions had a com-

bined youth turnout rate of 53 percent, compared to a 43 percent turnout from states with fewer than four policies.

If Biden’s For the People Act is signed into law, voter access and turnout rates would likely continue to increase. The study also found that voteby-mail, which was not included in the legislation, was essential in assessing youth voter turnout. In states that automatically mailed ballots to voters, youth voter turnout was the highest at 57 percent and had the largest increases from 2016.

Katrina Phidd, the communications and digital strategy manager at Chicago Votes, said that increased youth voter turnout may be attributed to a hyper-awareness of the underlying issues in the country. Phidd points to a growing awareness of racial injustice, former President Donald Trump’s presidency and newfound recognition of the fragility of our social safety nets.

“It was kind of a period where young people were extremely aware of everything kind of going on in the world and voting is one way to react to everything,” Phidd said.

“Illinois is a pretty good state in terms of legislation that has been passed to increase voter access,” she added. llinois’ current voter registration laws allow for same-day registration, grace period voting and early voting.

The election laws in place in Illinois are already similar to some of the policies in the For the People Act, but the passage of the legislation would standardize these procedures across the country. These laws expand accessibility for all voter demographics, but especially young people, who have seen an increase in voter turnout in recent years.

Politics. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 | 9

Jones v. Mississippi verdict ‘guts’ juvenile justice precedent

By Maddey Martin Contributing Writer On April 22, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling in the world of juvenile justice. In Jones v. Mississippi, the court ruled 6-3 that judges or juries don’t need to prove that a juvenile offender has “permanent incorrigibility” to sentence them to life without parole.

But once you cut through the legalese, what does that really mean?

In 2012’s Miller v. Alabama, the Court held that a juvenile’s crime must prove “permanent incorrigibility” and not “transient immaturity.” The latter would, in clearer terms, mean that the offender simply made a mistake. The court ruled similarly in 2016’s Montgomery v. Louisiana.

In these cases, courts have usually ruled that juveniles are generally “less culpable than adults,” said. Megan Alderden, the head of the Criminology department at DePaul, and that JLWOP “constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.”

“The challenge of this particular ruling is that it will make it more difficult for adolescents sentenced to life without parole to seek reprieve,” Alderden said.

“In my opinion, this ruling treats young persons as having little rehabilitative potential, the very premise that underlies the existence of the juvenile justice system.”

In Jones v. Mississippi, controversial Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion, saying that “a discretionary sentencing system is both constitutionally necessary and constitutionally sufficient to impose a sentence of life without parole on a defendant.”

Discretionary sentencing means something is a “fixed rule” based on a set of objective criteria.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan dissented.

“Today, the Court guts Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana,” Sotomayor said. “Contrary to explicit

ART BY ALICIA GOLUSZKA

holdings in both decisions, the majority claims that the Eighth Amendment permits juvenile offenders convicted of homicide to be sentenced to life without parole.”

To Alissa Rivera of the Restore Justice Foundation, an organization which focuses on “extreme sentences imposed on youth” in Illinois, the verdict in Jones v. Mississippi seems to disregard precedent.

“Courts have recognized that the minute you turn 18, you don’t become an adult,” Rivera said. “The brain is developing into the mid-20’s. The parts of the brain that control for risk and that allow people to reason--that is among one of the last parts of the brain to form.”

“Truthfully, on the state level, nothing has changed,” Rivera added. “This is not a red-state blue-state, democratic-republican issue. Twenty-five states and D.C. banned JLWOP. Illinois is real-

ly in the minority of states by continuing to have children sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.”

“It is also important that we acknowledge which individuals, families, and communities will be most impacted,” Alderden said. “This decision will disproportionately impact poor, Black and brown individuals, families, and communities as young persons from these communities are much more likely to be subject to these sentencing practices than similarly situated white youth.”

According to the Juvenile Law Center, based in Pennsylvania, “The United States is the only country in the world that permits youth to be sentenced to life without parole. Sentencing children to die in prison is condemned by international law.”

The American Civil Liberties Union estimates that approximately 2,570 children in the United States are sentenced

to JLWOP. “The question we should be asking is: ‘Does this make our communities safer, our society more just?’ I would argue that it does neither,” Alderden said. “It fails to acknowledge the ability of humans to change.”

Rivera adds that Jones v. Mississippi “puts the impetus and focus back on the states. States need to look at their systems and decide if they’re fair and decide if they’re moral.”

“When we are sentencing someone under the age of 21 to life in prison, we are doing so before that person can legally buy alcohol, can legally buy cigarettes, can legally rent a car, can legally drive a commercial vehicle across state lines. Yet we are condemning them to die in prison with no chance of review,” Rivera said.

“It is time for states to ban life without parole,” she added.

Prospects dim for passage of LGBTQ rights bill in Senate

By Mary Clare Jalonick and David Crary Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Controlling Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade, Democrats were hopeful that this would be the year they finally secured civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans.

Then came a new debate over women’s and girls sports.

Legislation that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is running aground in the Senate, partly knocked off course by the nationwide conservative push against transgender participation in girls and women’s athletics that has swept state legislatures and now spilled into the halls of Congress.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the House-passed legislation would “in effect repeal Title IX” by making it easier for transgender women to play on girls teams. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., said that allowing “male-bodied athletes” to compete against females would “totally undermine” girls basketball. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., said the bill would “decimate” female athletic competition.

Democrats are frustrated by the shift in the debate, saying there’s ample evidence that the Republican claims are

false and overblown.

The International Olympic Committee has allowed transgender athletes to compete for years under specific parameters, and, to date, there have been no known transgender women compete in the Olympics. Only one known transgender woman has competed at the Division I level in the NCAA. And though legislators in around 30 states have introduced legislation to ban or limit transgender athletes from competing on teams that align with their gender identity, few lawmakers have been able to cite specific cases in their home states where it became an issue.

“We are waiting for this avalanche of problems,” said the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, characterizing the Republicans’ argument. “They haven’t really surfaced.”

But Republicans are unyielding in their opposition to the legislation, spurred on by conservative groups who are pushing anti-transgender laws nationwide. With no Republicans signed on, for now, Democrats are unlikely to win the 60 votes needed to pass the Equality Act, potentially putting the issue in limbo indefinitely.

“It’s very discouraging, but in many ways not surprising, that Republicans are so focused on the trans community to build up opposition,” said Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I. He called the GOP arguments over sports a solution in search of a problem.

Sports are just the latest front in the decadeslong GOP culture war over LGBTQ rights that has focused increasingly on transgender Americans since 2015, when the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. Conservative groups including The Heritage Foundation, Family Policy Alliance and the Christian legal network Alliance Defending Freedom have been engaged for much of the past two decades in advocacy against the LGBTQ rights movement. An earlier push by those groups to enact laws requiring transgender people to use public bathrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate sputtered amid backlash.

Republicans contend the Equality Act would open the floodgates for transgender girls and women to play on female sports teams and hurt others’ chances to compete. While the bill does not explicitly mention sports or touch Title IX protections against sex-based discrimination, they say extending the protections to gender identity would eliminate “private spaces” for cisgender

women, including sports teams.

They have repeatedly pointed to one example in Connecticut, where two transgender high school runners in Connecticut won several championships. A lawsuit filed by the runners’ teammates was recently thrown out.

“I have to say, as the father of two young girls, that girls sports has had a profound impact in their lives,” Cruz said at a hearing on the bill.

“The discipline, the teamwork, the camaraderie, the competitiveness, that girls sports teaches, is effectively destroyed from this bill.”

Christiana Holcomb, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom, contends that the Equality Act would supersede Title IX “and force vulnerable girls to share intimate spaces with men who identify as female.”

GOP opposition to the bill goes beyond sports, however. Republicans have stalled earlier iterations of the legislation while making different arguments, including that it would infringe on religious freedom. ___ Crary reported from New York. Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City and Anne Peterson in Portland, Ore., contributed to this report.

10 | Nation & World. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021

Nation & World

Statehood or self-determination?

CARLOS GIUSTI | AP

Voters use booths to mark their ballots for the general election at a polling center set up at the Rafael Labra School in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.

Chicago Puerto Ricans consider territory’s future

By Erika Perez

T

La DePaulia Managing Editor

he future status of Puerto Rico has been an ongoing debate in Congress. Puerto Rico has conducted six non-binding referendums with the goal to address their political status. Puerto Rico has been a territorial property of the U.S. since the Spanish-American war in 1898.

In the 2020 referendum Puerto Ricans, who refer to themselves as “Boricuas,” voted on a non-binding referendum that asked the question, “should Puerto Rico be immediately admitted as a U.S state?”

“I think many people in power would like for a decision to be made soon,” said Xiomara Rodriguez, associate director of the digital presence initiative for Chicago’s Puerto Rican Cultural Center. “However, I hope that it won’t be made soon, because to me it signals a true lack of process to involve all voices.”

A bill seeking to address the future status of Puerto Rico was introduced by Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-NY., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY. The bill, The Self-Determination Act, is meant to facilitate and legitimize referenda regarding the island’s territorial status.

Some options that have been proposed include statehood, independence, and free association with the U.S. — an option in which Puerto Rico would become a sovereign nation while still relying on the U.S. for defense and some financial assistance.

Delegates elected by Puerto Rican voters will be responsible for coming up with long-term solutions for the proposed territorial status.

“The best path forward I see is the Puerto Rican Self Determination Act,” said Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, host of Paseo Podcast, a Chicago-based podcast that highlights the stories of the Puerto Rican community in the Chicago Diaspora and beyond. “It is more democratic, puts all options on the table other than Puerto Rico’s current status, and calls for a convention that would bring Boricuas from the island and the diaspora together to discuss the best path forward for la Isla (the island).”

Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., and Rep. Jenniffer González, Puerto Rico’s non-voting members of Congress, introduced another statehood of Puerto Rican statehood bill to Congress on March 2, 2021.

The bill was introduced as a response to a non-binding referendum that Puerto Ricans voted on in the gubernatorial elections of 2020.

“I think Democrats really want [Puerto Rico] to become a state, because they believe that will provide the party more political power,” Rodriguez said. “However, if Puerto Rico became a state this would also require the U.S. to take more responsibility in addressing the reality on the island.”

The territory suffers from widespread poverty, which has been exacerbated by the destruction from Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Similar to the statehood bill introduced for Puerto Rico, Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C, introduced a bill for the statehood of D.C. The only difference between both bills is that the D.C. statehood bill passed for the first time in Congress in January 2020.

Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S territory means that federal aid is limited, even as they continue to face the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

“The past few years have emphasized the sincere need to question the relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S,” Smyser-DeLeon said. “Recent examples include lack of proper aid after Hurricanes Maria and Irma and constant earthquakes.”

The Biden administration plans to release $1.3 billion in aid funding to help Puerto Rico with the devastation after Hurricane Maria. The administration is also starting to remove restrictions placed by the Trump administration on another $4.9 billion in aid for Puerto Rico, with former President Donald Trump claiming the island’s leadership was either too incompetent or too corrupt to spend it properly.

According to the State Elections Commission website, 52 percent of voters said they would like to be part of the U.S. as a state and the other 47 percent said they are against it.

“The referendum is not representative of the entire voter population of the island,” said Jessie Fuentes of The Puerto Rican Agenda, a Chicago organization made of Puerto Rican Leaders ensuring the self-determination of Puerto Ricans in Chicago and throughout the diaspora through policy and advocacy.

The voting turnout of Puerto Rico was 2,355,895 registered voters in the 2020 election, and from those voters

only about half voted on the referendum.

“The reality is that all people of Puerto Rico have not spoken,” Fuentes said. “There is a sizable number of Puerto Ricans who did not come out to vote for the referendum or do not fill out that part of the ballot because they are well aware that the referendum is non-binding.

So people have lost faith even giving their opinion of what the future of Puerto Rico should be.”

Despite the referendum suggesting a majority of Puerto Ricans support statehood, that has not necessarily been the case throughout the island’s history as a U.S. territory. To pass the referendum for statehood would be ignoring the attempt of independence known as the Puerto Rican Nationalist Revolts of the 1950s. The protests were led by President of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Don Pedro Albizu Campos.

The reason for protest was due to lack of inclusivity in the 1952 referendum that did not offer any option to vote in favor of independence or statehood. Instead the referendum proposed the option of the continuation of colonial status or the status of commonwealth. Similar issues are seen in the 2020 referendum that only gave a yes or no option if Puerto Rico should become a state.

In Chicago, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center has hosted multiple watch parties for the presenting of the bills at the ¡WEPA! Mercado del Pueblo and was a part of the Self Determination online rally.

“These events have gone over really well in the Chicago Puerto Rican community,” Rodriguez said. “I think largely because the bill does not call for any one status option.”

“The problem with the referendums is layered,” Smyser-DeLeon said. “Congress is not obligated to act out whatever the outcome of the vote is. Past referendums have failed to show true consensus on what Puerto Ricans view as the best to address Puerto Rico’s colonial status.”

Congress has stepped in to provide solutions in regards to the referendum by offering other bills, but another underlying factor is the colonial status of Puerto Rico.

“Puerto Ricans are dependent on aid from the United States,” Rodriguez said. “Out of fear, many Puerto Ricans favor statehood, because they are afraid to lose their citizenship.”

Nation & World. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 | 11

Job market for new grads: Much hiring but much competition

By Travis Loller & Chris Rugaber Associated Press

After a painful year of joblessness, the future has finally brightened for Alycia St. Germain, a 22-year-old college senior at the University of Minnesota.

Having lost a part-time gig at Barnes and Noble last March as the viral pandemic tore through the U.S. economy, she was left unemployed like tens of millions of other Americans. But now, St. Germain has a job lined up — with benefits — even before graduation and in her chosen field of developmental psychology. A family friend established a new child-care center in St. Paul, and St. Germain landed a job as an assistant in the infant room.

“This,” she said, “is probably the most positive thing that could happen.”

Not all new college grads will find a job so quickly. But collectively, this year’s graduating class is poised for better prospects than were the 2020 seniors, who had the misfortune to graduate into the depths of the brutal coronavirus recession. Though the competition will be stiff — this year’s graduates will have to compete, in many cases, with 2020 graduates who are still seeking their first full-time job — employers are ramping up hiring. And many are desperate for workers.

On Friday, the government reported that employers added just 266,000 jobs in April, a surprisingly sharp slowdown from the 770,000 that were added in March. Yet much of that lapse reflected a shortage of available workers, economists say. The economic rebound is strengthening so fast that many businesses are struggling to quickly attract enough applicants to fill jobs.

The pace of job openings, in fact, has fully recovered from the pandemic and is now far above pre-recession levels, including in professional occupations that college students are more likely to seek and that can typically be done from home.

“I don’t think this recession will be as bad for college graduates as previous recessions have been,” said Brad Hershbein, an economist at the Upjohn Institute in Kalamazoo, Michigan. “That segment of the labor market is going to recover faster than other segments where jobs can’t be done remotely.”

GREGORY BELL | AP

Lucius Giannini stands for a portrait Thursday, April 15, 2021, in San Diego.

Hershbein said he worries, though, that the pandemic will dim the economic prospects of young adults who were unable to complete, or even start, their educations during the pandemic. Data has shown sharp drops in enrollment at community and four-year colleges.

Even so, college seniors will be competing against a larger-than-usual universe of job seekers when you include last year’s crop of graduates.

“Because there is a large pool of unemployed workers, companies can pick exactly who they want and skip over people with less experience,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

Graduating into a recession has historically led to poor outcomes for many young people, with research showing that they sometimes bear long-running scars. Starting a career in a recession can lead to lower incomes for as long as a decade afterward for those graduates, compared with their peers who completed college just before or after a recession.

The sectors of the economy that face the most difficulty in regaining all their lost jobs are the service sectors that were hit hardest by the pandemic recession: Restaurants, bars, hotels, gyms, and entertainment venues. Though college graduates often take such jobs temporarily, they typically seek out careers in professional or technical fields, where

job losses were far less severe last year and are now recovering.

Sheila Jordan, chief digital technology office at Honeywell, said she’s recruiting more students and recent graduates for paid internships than she did last year — internships that often lead to permanent jobs. She is especially interested in students with a range of technical backgrounds, including software, data analytics and cybersecurity.

“We like to recruit once, hire twice,” Jordan said of the internships. “That’s a feeder group for us.”

Lucius Giannini, who graduated last summer from the University of California San Diego with a degree in political science and public policy, had hoped to find work with the Peace Corps or teaching English overseas. But when COVID-19 struck, the Peace Corps brought home all its volunteers. And no one was hiring for overseas teaching.

Giannini moved back in with his parents and broadened his job search for eight months. In March, he secured a paid marketing internship with a small pharmaceutical company.

It’s not his field of expertise, but, Giannini said, “They figure, ‘You’re young, you understand social media.’ So that’s what I do.”

The internship will be over by the end of summer, so he may be back on the job hunt. He is also applying to law school.

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For college grads who do find jobs, the “onboarding” process, through which they meet co-workers and become acclimated to their employer’s culture, has had to occur in an entirely new remote setting.

Still, that hasn’t always worked out so badly. Some companies have ramped up their efforts to make new employees feel welcome, even if they are working remotely.

Dominique Davis, a senior at Tennessee State University, interned with Toyota last summer from her family home in Danville, Illinois. Yet she said she met just as many people then as she did in the summer of 2019, when she interned at the company’s headquarters in Plano, Texas.

“I think I networked even more this term than being in the building,” she said. “It forces you to reach out. It’s less awkward, less intimidating. I would have conversations on a daily basis with the VP of my department. Normally, you can’t just go into his office and sit down and have a conversation.”

Davis plans to go straight into graduate school for her MBA. But as president of the student body, she is well-aware that some other seniors are struggling with their next steps.

“I have heard of multiple students who are having trouble getting interviews or internships,” Davis said. “Especially in the medical fields, some students are hesitant, afraid because of the virus.”

Natalie Naranjo-Morett, who will graduate in June with a history degree from UCSD, is looking for work in museums.

“But,” she said, “that’s become very difficult because of the pandemic.”

Museums have been clobbered over the past year. In a recent survey by the American Alliance of Museums, nearly one-third of museum directors said they either faced a significant risk of closing permanently by next fall or didn’t know if their institutions would survive.

Naranjo-Morett, who has applied unsuccessfully for some internships, says there appear to be few job openings.

She’d like to find work related to her history degree.

But “it’s so difficult at this point, I kind of would go for anything,” she said.

12 | Opinions. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021

Opinions

Immunity community

PAT NABONG/CHICAGO SUN-TIMES VIA AP)

Megan Dewitt inoculates Alice Collins with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a Walmart in the Austin neighborhood, of Chicago, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021.

Covid-19 vaccine mandate will keep community safe, education still needed

By Nadia Hernandez Opinions Editor

DePaul’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate ensures that all students will be safe from infecting themselves and others from both the virus and new strains. As a freshman student, I would not have considered returning to campus in the fall if DePaul had not mandated the vaccine. There is too much risk of exposure and infection if a majority of the campus is not vaccinated.

The CDC and Illinois Public Health Department have demonstrated that all three vaccines are highly effective in protecting against the virus. Moderna is 94.1 percent effective,Pfzier being 95 percent effective and Johnson & Johnson is 66.3 percent effective, according to the CDC. The vaccine is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when everyone over 16 is eligible to receive one in Illinois.

There is nothing more I want than to return to normal. DePaul made the wise choice in realizing we have to do it safely.

“I feel a lot more safe about coming on campus knowing that everyone will be vaccinated,” said incoming DePaul freshman Lauren Hunt. “I think DePaul made an excellent choice mandating it.”

Students are eager to do whatever it takes to get back after losing a year of school- especially when a majority of college and high school freshmen have never experienced on-campus life before. But students like Student Government Association (SGA) Senator for First Year Students Alik Schier realize that the benefits of the vaccine outweighs the low risk of deadly side effects.

“I really want to go to campus and I

want to have kind of a somewhat normal college experience,” he said. “That’s really important, but it has to be safe. The biggest step in that is making sure that everyone gets vaccinated and is doing everything they can to prevent the spread of the spread of Covid-19.”

However, DePaul needs to take the extra step and realize with such a controversial decision there still needs to be vaccine education.

We can’t take people who are reluctant to receive the vaccine at face value as being automatically anti-vaccine. DePaul needs to realize that students are going to be more hesitant and resistant if their genuine questions are met with dismissal or criticism.

We need to foster confidence in the vaccine.

Luckily, SGA Executive Vice President of Diversity and Equity Robbie Merkel knew this, and started a campaign to enhance understanding and trust in the vaccination process. SGA’s vaccine campaign included a town hall with the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness and Division of Student Affairs where students could get real time answers from professionals about Covid-19 and the vaccine.

“One reason why I chose to start this campaign is because I saw the necessity for easy access to educational materials and personal stories from folks who have already taken the vaccine,” Merkel said.

We have to foster confidence in the vaccine or else students are going to become resentful in DePaul’s decision.

Students will feel more secure if they personally know someone who advocates for the vaccine. The personal connection will fuel more trust rather than seeing

high-profile celebrities or public figures telling us it’s safe.

“I think that there is a lot of vaccine hesitancy and a lot of misinformation out there regarding the vaccine,” Schier said. “I think it’s really important for us as a prominent student organization to have someone that you know [get the vaccine].”

We also have to recognize that due to a variety of reasons, such as medical or religious, not everyone will get vaccinated.

However, that does not mean they should be overlooked.

“People get vaccinated to protect themselves but to protect their grandparents, parents, sisters and brothers, their siblings,” Merkel said.

When we get vaccinated, we don’t do it just for ourselves, but for others too. I got mine because I don’t want to infect my family members who are under the age of 16.

I want to be able to interact with my older family members who are at more risk.

So when people talk about their personal liberties being violated, I can’t help but wonder why they don’t consider the safety of others as well. The refusal to not get the Covid-19 vaccine based on the argument of personal liberties only shows that some people think their lives and choices are the only ones that matter -- and that their choices don’t have consequences.

“Public health is entirely more important than personal liberty,” Hunt said.

“While the death toll is slowing, people are still dying and 576,000 people have already died in the United States alone.”

There are going to be medical and religious exempted students in the fall, they deserve our protection.

“I think so many people think that that’s all about individual freedom instead of collective freedom,” Schier said.

I don’t think we can neglect that fact that people who claimed personal freedom also prolonged the pandemic in the U.S. by refusing to wear masks, social distance and follow guidelines. If you are tired of it, get vaccinated so we no longer have to do it. We can’t continue to complain about the pandemic if we are not taking the steps to prevent it as well.

“This expands freedom because later on, cities like Chicago and other venues, like concerts, will require folks to be vaccinated,” Merkel said. “So really this is expanding your freedom to be able to help get things back to normal, our daily lives back to normal, without worrying about being infected by Covid-19.”

Several vaccines, such as measles and tetanus, have always been required to attend DePaul as well. Students who are highly uncomfortable with this mandate can either opt to stay remote or chose not to attend DePaul at all. DePaul, as a private institution, is within its rights to mandate vaccines.

I’m excited to finally be on campus and have a genuine college experience. As I meet new people, go to class and explore Chicago, I know it will be worth receiving the vaccine. However, I hope DePaul will continue to foster education about Covid-19 and vaccines throughout the summer before fall quarter.

DePaul must continue to do what must be done.

Opinions. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 |13

Pandemic is far from over in India, despite Chicago reopening

By Sonal Soni Asst. News Editor

Every morning, I check the news in India to monitor the Covid-19 crisis abroad. I talk to my mom to see how our loved ones are doing, and I reach out to my friends and family that live there to make sure they are safe.

For the past few weeks, I’ve started my mornings this way to account for the over 10-hour time difference between Chicago and Mumbai. While many of my loved ones abroad are fortunate enough to stay safe, that isn’t always the case.

Over the past month, I’ve learned about family members and friends in India who have passed away from Covid-19 complications, most of which resulted from the country’s inadequate health care system. While I physically live in Chicago, my mind is 8,000 miles away.

Chicago officials announced the city will be moving into its Bridge Phase, which precedes Phase Five — the full reopening of all businesses and a removal of nearly all Covid-19 mitigations. The city could return to normal as early as July 4, according to Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

I recognize that this is good news considering the decreasing infection rates and increased amount of vaccinations, but I cannot comprehend what returning to normal means. For me, going back to bars, restaurants and concerts is the last thing on my mind, because the pandemic is far from over.

As of Saturday, May 8, more people in India are dying from Covid-19 than during any other stage of the pandemic, including my very own family.

Learning that a loved one has died is difficult in itself. The distance between us and the restrictions prohibiting me from being there makes it all the more devastating.

Most of these deaths aren’t quick either, in fact, a lot of people in India are dying slowly and painfully as they struggle to breathe due to the oxygen shortage and insufficient hospital beds. Not only are the deaths often slow and excruciating, people cannot properly say goodbye to the deceased as many states are under lockdown.

Usually in India, people are cremated, and

ART BY ALICIA GOLUSZKA

oftentimes their families will gather to scatter the ashes. The Covid-19 crisis has overwhelmed funeral establishments, and funeral pyres are in place across the country where the deceased are burned en masse to account for the rapidly increasing death toll. What is supposed to be an intimate ritual has become a public display of trauma and grief.

It is disheartening knowing that so many Indians, myself included, must miss out on such an integral part of the grieving experience. Some residents may even be unaware if their loved ones are alive or not. Death itself is not the worst part of the Covid-19 crisis in India; instead, it is the events preceding and following death.

While the country’s current condition affects most Indians, Covid-19 disproportionately affects lower caste Indians such as Dalits, Muslims and indigenous peoples. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist administration has exacerbated the persistence of masked oppression-based violence.

According to Induja Kumar’s paper on inherited prejudices, Hinduism itself is an imperial-based construct, resulting in the upper-caste appropriation of culture and spirituality. Many members of the South Asian Western diaspora are complicit in perpetuating Hindutva-based ideas, resulting in problematic narratives that cater to the homogenization of what India is.

“Brown folk are not just Hindu cishet Hindi-speaking Indians, and the diasporic imaginary pushes out marginalized people, whether they are Indo-Caribbean, South Indian, non-Hindu, etc,” Kumar wrote.

“Nuanced understandings of movements themselves cannot happen with a two-dimensional understanding of South Asia.”

As the situation abroad worsens, I have witnessed many Desi celebrities turn a blind eye to India’s current state. Many Indians profit off discussions of cultural appropriation or identity politics, yet they feel sufficient in making a single donation or repost, if at all, instead of engaging in ongoing mutual aid efforts that could greatly benefit from such traction.

The most notable Indian figure that comes to mind is Vice President Kamala Harris. On May 7, Harris announced her support to help India and relayed her personal ties to her family abroad.

While the Biden administration is now providing aid to India, including shipping essential medical supplies, they previously denied waiving the protections that would allow India and other countries the patents to boost vaccine production. On May 5, they agreed to waive the intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines.

Although the U.S. continues to offer India much needed aid, too many Indians have

died waiting for the administration to make a decision — one that concerns basic human rights.

While I recognize the importance in diversity, Harris is a prime example of how representation is not always a good thing.

Harris highlighted her cultural background throughout her campaign, yet she turned her back on those she supposedly represents.

It is just as frustrating to watch Indian residents continuously be silenced for trying to speak on the issues they face. Rana Ayyub, a Mumbai-based journalist, described the relationship between journalism in India and Modi’s administration, who has a history of trying to censor the country’s media by issuing content restrictions, threats and in some cases, physical violence.

“Journalism is happening in India, but the gatekeepers are not allowing the truth to kind of get on the front pages,” she said.

“Everything has been taken over by the Modi government.”

Modi and Hindu nationalists alike have exacerbated their media censoring tactics in the face of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis in an attempt to skew the narrative in their favor.

The limitations imposed by the Indian government, the general inaction from prominent officials and the constant influx of negative news is mind-numbing for me at times. Every day, I feel helpless as I await potentially tragic updates. Some of the most integral actions other nonresidential Indians and allies can take is to follow and amplify reputable organizations that work directly with those who are most affected by the country’s current climate. It is equally important to self educate, reflect and raise awareness to the Covid-19 crisis as well as the persistence of caste-based violence in India and abroad.

As Chicago and other places around the U.S. lift coronavirus restrictions, it is not lost on me that India and other countries continue to struggle. Soon, bars will reopen, indoor dining will return and concerts will resume once again. However, my life will only return to some semblance of normalcy once I no longer fear for the lives and well-being of my loved ones, when I can safely hold them in my arms and give proper goodbyes to those I’ve lost.

COLUMN: Getting the vaccine is one step closer to normalcy

By Bailey Donovan Contributing Writer

Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson — when given the opportunity to get vaccinated, I wasn’t picky about which vaccine I received because I was just thrilled to have the chance to protect myself as well as those around me.

Now that the opportunity to get vaccinated is becoming widely available, there are so many different aspects of life that I am looking forward to as well as relieved about.

Like many others, the first thought that ran through my mind when I found out that I was getting vaccinated was, “Oh my god, are things finally going to go back to being normal again?” I know that I cannot be the only person with this thought, and the idea of having some notion of normalcy in my life and routine again was absolutely thrilling.

The next thing that ran through my mind was a little more personal: I can finally keep my grandparents a little safer now that I’m vaccinated. Ever since students, including myself, left campus over a year ago, I have been living with my grandparents, simply because it allows me to be able to keep my job in the city and not spend even more of my time in rush hour traffic trying to get to and from work. But with this arrangement came the fear of bringing the virus home after every shift. No matter what precautions I took, there

was always the lingering thought of making my grandparents deathly sick with Covid-19.

Now that both my grandparents and I are vaccinated, I can breathe a little easier.

The vaccine has also let me sigh in relief when it comes to my job. I have been working a majority of the pandemic in a retail store interacting with clients trying to find them the perfect outfit for all their Zoom events. The key component of my job is to interact with the public and with a pandemic happening all around us, it was nerve-wracking. It was particularly nerve-wracking when you would get clients who didn’t acknowledge that there was a pandemic happening; whether it be refusing to wear a mask properly or standing just a bit too close, it made me nervous to say the least.

All of this is exactly why when given the opportunity to get vaccinated, I leaped at the chance. At this point, where we’ve been completely disrupted from business as usual because of the pandemic, it seems only logical to get the vaccine and do my part to prevent the spread of the virus.

At this point, it felt like my duty to get the vaccine to protect myself and others from the virus. At the time that I got vaccinated, we all had been living in the pandemic for over a year. I never could have imagined living in a time when the entire world just stopped and shut down, but now I’ve seen just that and the effects the pandemic has had on small

businesses and individual lives. Getting the vaccine seemed like a small price to pay so that the world could resume normalcy once again and let people get back on their feet.

It also dawned on me that in the future the vaccine would probably be required to get into various events and places, so I figured better to get it sooner rather than later. Little did I know that soon after I got vaccinated, DePaul would announce its vaccine requirement to be on campus next year, so essentially, I felt like I was a step ahead of the game.

That, alongside being able to protect my family and the chance at normalcy once again, made getting the vaccine a total no-brainer.

I took the first appointment I could find, not minding the long drive and knowing that once I was vaccinated, going back to what life once was may not be as far as previously believed.

I highly encourage others to get vaccinated if they can. I understand people’s hesitancy, and people need to do what they believe is right for them, but I encourage people to think about those beyond themselves. We all have been through a lot in the past year, and I think that we all just want to get back to normal as soon as possible and getting vaccinated seems to be one way to reach that goal.

I like to imagine that we are on the brink of reaching normal routines and some sort of sanity because of the vaccine. As restrictions

COURTESY OF BAILEY DONOVAN Writer Bailey Donovan poses with her Covid-19 vaccination card.

are lifted, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but still know and acknowledge that the virus is still around, and precautions still need to be taken. But the ability to protect my family and myself made getting the vaccine 100 percent worth it.

14 | Focus. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021

Focus

An artist’s afterlife

By Lauren Ulrich Staff Writer

The mere mention of Pop Smoke, a Brooklyn rapper who was killed in February of 2020 in a home-invasion robbery, brings both nostalgia and the reminiscence of a young life cut short. Pop Smoke’s death at 20 years old came at the beginning of his push into popularity. He had only just begun a career that can now be categorized as impactful and full of success.

Pop Smoke, born Bashar Barakah Jackson, only began his rap career toward the end of 2018. But he quickly gained traction with singles “Welcome to the Party” and “Dior,” which both became hits in 2019.

Pop Smoke was set to release music and tour in 2020 before his death cut that timeline short.

Steven Victor, a record executive and Pop Smoke’s manager, was determined to continue the legacy that Pop Smoke had only begun creating. Victor worked with 50 Cent, one of Pop Smoke’s hip-hop idols, to complete and release an album that Pop Smoke had begun working on before his death.

The subsequent release of his posthumous album “Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon,” was immensely successful. After its No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 in July of 2020, the album’s four most-streamed songs on the album received more than 1.12 billion combined on-demand streams in the United States as of October 2020, according to Billboard.

After the immense success of Pop Smoke’s first posthumous album, another release was announced on May 1, 2021 by Rico Beats, another manager of Pop Smoke.

Victor had also previously confirmed that another project was on the way.

The success of posthumous album releases has been a consistent phenomenon in the music industry.

“When they pass away, we become a bit more nostalgic about an artist,” said Daniel Makagon, a professor of communication at DePaul University. “We think about when they were alive, we think about what they meant to us, and we want to engage with those artists in that way through our own memories of them. When they pass away, that gives a different kind of narrative about who they were and what they meant; this brings some level of press and attention to an artist that didn’t exist before.”

For someone like Pop Smoke, whose brand has grown exponentially since his death, there is a sense of longing for what their career as an artist may have looked like in full bloom. Mac Miller is another artist who died before his artistic vision and potential could be fully realized.

There is a greater sadness associated with the death of young artists and the deprivation of their fulfillment of potential, especially for other young adults. It has a greater effect on young people because it acts as a reminder that our lives can be over before we’ve ever really achieved anything.

When analyzing posthumous albums, it is important to make the distinction between planned posthumous albums and unplanned posthumous albums, as this is where the ethical dilemma lies.

“Sometimes, as an artist, you just want to be heard regardless, so it’s good that they are paying tribute to you and releasing your work,” said Johnson Huynh, a sophomore

ERIC HENRY | THE DEPAULIA

A member of the custodial staff cleans a classroom in the DePaul Center Concopurse ahead of the return of students starting Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020.

“I think it is still hard to get an accurate depiction of exactly what these artists wanted. It feels a little inaccurate to me personally because it was posthumous, and these artists weren’t able to listen to their finished albums before they were released.”

Johnson Huynh

Music student at New York University studying music at New York University.

“But to some artists, it is against their values to release something after death.”

Planned posthumous albums are releases that were facilitated before the death of an artist and are unique to older artists or artists with health issues, with the songs on the project hand-picked by the artists themselves. Unplanned posthumous albums are releases that were picked by management or the artist’s estate after an unexpected death of an artist. The songs released are chosen based off of recordings or ideas the artist had before their death but the album in its entirety was not actually approved by the artist.

Queen’s album “Made in Heaven” was a planned posthumous album; Freddie Mercury knew that his death was imminent, and “Made in Heaven” was created with the vision that it would be the last Queen album ever to be released. After Mercury’s death in 1991, it took the other members of Queen four years of grieving before being able to release the album in 1995.

Unplanned posthumous albums are a more common occurrence. “Milk and Honey” by John Lennon and Yoko One is considered to be one of the more ethically sound unplanned posthumous albums because Lennon had been working on the album with his wife, Ono, up until his death.

As Ono was the one who compiled the recordings and created the final album, she had the best possible knowledge of what Lennon would have wanted.

“I think that it is important to release [a

posthumous album], especially if it was in the ending stages,” said Jesse Smerechniak, a senior at DePaul studying media and cinema studies. “If there was plenty of work still to be done, and then the artist died, I feel like that is unethical because the artist was not there for the full creative process.”

A few other notable posthumous album releases include “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory” by Tupac Shakur (released under the alias Makaveli), “Mystery Girl”

by Roy Orbison, “Pearl” by Janis Joplin, “Closer” by Joy Division, “Genius Loves Company” by Ray Charles, “Dreaming Of You” by Selena and “Lioness: Hidden Treasures” by Amy Winehouse.

While many are simply happy to have access to more music by these artists, the discourse surrounding the ethics of posthumous releases is bound to arise at the mention of any one of these releases.

“I think it is still hard to get an accurate depiction of exactly what these artists wanted,” Huynh said. “It feels a little inaccurate to me personally because it was posthumous, and these artists weren’t able to listen to their finished albums before they were released.”

One of the most heavily debated artists when it comes to posthumous album releases is Prince. Prince’s estate has continued to seemingly go against his wishes of how to proceed with his music and his legacy after his death in 2016.

“Prince is rumored to have vaults of recordings because he owned his own studio and he was a prolific writer, but he

was unwilling to release those,” Makagon said. “His estate is pumping this stuff out like crazy, I’m sure primarily to capitalize in terms of income, but also because they may have a different sense of what Prince’s legacy should mean compared to what he had when he was alive.”

Along with the release of songs that Prince had previously been hesitant to release, Prince’s estate has made decisions that impact his legacy.

“Prince fought against streaming services for the last several years of his life, he just hated them,” said H. Peter Steeves, a professor of philosophy at DePaul. “And then a few months after Prince’s death, all of his stuff was on Spotify. Clearly, he didn’t want that.”

Ethically, these are clear violations of what Prince wanted for himself. But simply recognizing this may not be enough to deter us from listening to albums or consuming content that has been released posthumously.

“There is a complication in that works of art, once they are put out into the world, are public things; they don’t belong to the artist,” Steeves said. “And capitalism is partly to blame for that; capitalism tells you that if you have money to get something, then it’s yours to get. We think that if we can pay for it, we have a right to it; people want to consume that because they think they have a right to consume everything.”

Focus. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 | 15

Famous posthumous chart-toppers: Released just two weeks after his death by gunshot at just 24 years old, Christopher George Latore Wallace (Biggie) released what would become the most successful album of his career. Certified platinum 10 times over, “Life After Death”contained some of the best hip-hop hits of the era with “Mo Money Mo Problems” leading the way and becoming an instant classic.

“Life After Death,” The Notorious B.I.G.

Very few people in history have compared to Selena in terms of her devoted following, both before and after her death. Each year her birth and death days are commemorated and her immense talent is celebrated at every turn. Four months after her murder at age 23, “Dreaming of You” became the first Latin album to ever debut at the top of the Billboard 200 chart.

“Dreaming of You,” Selena

Released almost a year after the death of Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain, this album proves that one of the best rock bands in recent memory can put together a similarly stellar acoustic album. A mix between acoustic covers of their own songs and of new ones, including David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World,” this album remains at the top of posthumous album lists everywhere.

“MTV Unplugged in New York,” Nirvana

A young singer with the voice, style and soul of a bygone era, Amy Winehouse was truly a genre-buster during her time in the music industry.

Much of her music touched on her struggles with substance abuse and this album released just six months afters her death followed suit. The album also features a beautiful duet with Tony Bennett as they cover Billie Holiday’s “Body And Soul.”

“Lioness: Hidden Treasures,” Amy Winehouse

With over 200 unreleased songs left behind following his death in a drive-by shooting at age 25, Tupac Shakur was able to mantain a presence in the music industry even without a physical presence on Earth. Shakur’s mother Afeni released the first collection of songs as this album, less a connected narrative and more a little of all the things that made the artist so lovable.

“R U Still Down?,” Tupac Shakur

Instead of a more traditional album, “An American Prayer” pays homage to another aspect of Jim Morrison’s asrtistic sensibilities.

Recorded 7 years after Morrison’s death, the remaining band members provided a soundtrack for Morrison’s spoken word material. Although the album recieved mixed reviews upon its release in 1978, it has since become a classic.

“An American Prayer,” The Doors

Bob Marley was no stranger to hits by the time he died from melanoma at the age of 36 but his final album only further cemented his legacy as one of reggae’s all-time greats. Compiled by his loved ones, 1983’s “Confrontation” is a collection of Marley’s singles and unreleased songs that summarize why he was in a league all his own. The album also brought the world “Buffalo Soldier,” a reggae staple today.

“Confrontation,” Bob Marley & The Wailers

Widely considered to be one of the greatest singers of all time, Janis Joplin was set to record tracks for her upcoming album the day after she was found dead from an accidental drug overdose in 1970. As a result, an instrumental version of “Buried Alive in the Blues” made it onto the album missing Joplin’s one-of-a-kind vocals.

“Pearl,” Janis Joplin

16 | La DePaulia, The DePaulia. el 10 de mayo de 2021

La DePaulia

¿Estadidad o autodeterminación?

@PR51ST | INSTAGRAM

El Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act, presentado por el Congreso, considera Puerto Rico como un estado.

Organizaciones puertorriqueñas en Chicago piden la autodeterminación de Puerto Rico

By Erika Pérez La DePaulia Managing Editor

El debate sobre el futuro de Puerto Rico ha sido una conversación que continúa en el Congreso desde 1950. Puerto Rico ha realizado seis referendos con el objetivo de modificar su estatus político. Puerto Rico ha sido una propiedad territorial de los Estados Unidos (EE.UU) desde la guerra entre España y EE.UU en 1898.

En el referéndum del 2020, los puertorriqueños votaron en un referéndum no vinculante que plantea la pregunta: ¿Debería admitirse Puerto Rico inmediatamente como un estado de los Estados Unidos?

“Creo que hay muchas personas en poder que les gustaría que se tomará una decisión pronto,’’ dijo Xiomara Rodríguez, directora asociada de la iniciativa de presencia digital del Centro Cultural Puertorriqueño en Chicago.

“Sin embargo, espero que no se haga pronto, porque para mí es una señal de una verdadera falta de proceso para involucrar las voces de todos.”

La representante Nydia Velázquez, demócrata de Nueva York, y la representante Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, demócrata de Nueva York presentaron un proyecto de ley que busca abordar el estado futuro de Puerto Rico.

La Ley de Autodeterminación, está destinada a facilitar y legitimar referendos sobre el estado territorial de la isla. Algunas opciones que se han propuesto incluyen la estadidad, la independencia y la relación libre con los EE. UU. Una relación libre significa que el estatus territorial de Puerto Rico terminaría y traería un nuevo país soberano del Caribe a la ONU. Los delegados elegidos por los votantes puertorriqueños serán responsables de proponer soluciones para el estatuto territorial propuesto.

Los puertorriqueños se refieren a sí mismos como Boricuas, que deriva de la palabra Boriken que significa “la gran tierra del valiente y noble señor.” Los indígenas Taínos se

referían a sí mismos como Borinken.

“La mejor decisión que veo es la Ley de Autodeterminación de Puerto Rico,” dijo Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, ex alumno de DePaul y presentador de Paseo Podcast, un podcast en Chicago que destaca las historias de la comunidad puertorriqueña.

“Es más democrático, presenta todas las opciones aparte del estado actual de Puerto Rico, y pide una convención que uniría a los boricuas de la isla y la diáspora para discutir el mejor camino a seguir para la isla,” dijo Smyser-DeLeon.

El representante Darren Soto, demócrata de Florida, y la representante Jenniffer González, miembros del Congreso sin derecho a voto de Puerto Rico, presentaron la Ley de Admisiones a la Estadidad al Congreso el 2 de marzo de 2021.

El proyecto de ley fue presentado como respuesta a un referéndum no vinculante que votaron los puertorriqueños en las elecciones para gobernador de 2020.

“Creo que los demócratas realmente quieren que [Puerto Rico] se convierta en un estado, porque creen que eso le dará al partido más poder político,” dijo Rodríguez. “Sin embargo, si Puerto Rico se convirtiera en un estado, esto también requeriría que los Estados Unidos asumiera una mayor responsabilidad al abordar la realidad en la isla.”

Similar al proyecto de ley de estadidad presentado para Puerto Rico, la representante Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C. presentó un proyecto de ley para la estadidad de D.C La única diferencia entre ambos proyectos de ley es que el proyecto de ley de estadidad de D.C fue aprobado por primera vez en el Congreso en enero de 2020.

El estatus de Puerto Rico como territorio de los EE. UU. significa que la ayuda federal es limitada, incluso continúan enfrentando las secuelas del huracán María en 2017.

“Los últimos años han enfatizado la sincera necesidad de cuestionar la relación entre Puerto Rico y los Estados Unidos,” dijo Smy-

ser-DeLeon. “Los ejemplos recientes incluyen la falta de ayuda adecuada después de los huracanes María e Irma y constantes terremotos.”

La administración de Biden planea liberar $1.3 mil millones en fondos de ayuda para ayudar a Puerto Rico con la devastación después del huracán María. La administración también está comenzando a eliminar las restricciones a los límites impuestos por la administración Trump a otros $4.9 mil millones en ayuda para Puerto Rico.

La administración del ex presidente Donald Trump agregó restricciones a los $4.9 mil millones en ayuda justo antes de dejar el cargo.

Argumentó que el pueblo de Puerto Rico no sabría cómo distribuir adecuadamente el dinero de la ayuda, alegando que Puerto Rico es corrupto.

Según el sitio web de la Comisión Estatal de Elecciones, el 52 por ciento de los votantes dijeron que les gustaría ser parte de los EE. UU. como estado y el otro 47 por ciento dijo que están en contra.

“El referéndum no es representativo de toda la población de votantes de la isla,” dijo Jessie Fuentes, copresidente de de liderazgo educativo de The Puerto Rican Agenda, una organización de Chicago formada por líderes puertorriqueños que garantizan la autodeterminación de los puertorriqueños en Chicago y en toda la diáspora a través de la política y defensa.

Aproximadamente la mitad de los puertorriqueños votaron en el referéndum. La participación electoral de Puerto Rico fue de 2,355,894 votantes registrados.

“La realidad es que toda la gente de Puerto Rico no ha hablado,” dijo Fuentes. “Hay un número considerable de puertorriqueños que no salió a votar por el referéndum o no llenó esa parte de la boleta porque saben muy bien que el referéndum no es vinculante. Así que la gente ha perdido la fe incluso al dar su opinión de cómo debería ser el futuro de Puerto Rico.”

El Congreso ha intervenido para brindar soluciones con respecto al referéndum ofre-

ciendo proyectos de ley, pero otro factor subyacente es el estatus colonial de Puerto Rico.

Debido al colonialismo, “los puertorriqueños dependen de la ayuda de los Estados Unidos por eso muchos puertorriqueños están a favor de la estadidad, porque temen perder su ciudadanía,” dijo Rodríguez.

A pesar del referéndum que mostró que los puertorriqueños están a favor de la estadidad, esto no ha sido el caso en la historia de Puerto Rico. Aprobar el referéndum para la estadidad ignorará el intento de independencia conocido como las revueltas nacionalistas puertorriqueñas de la década de 1950, argumentan algunos. Las protestas fueron encabezadas por Don Pedro Albizu Campos, presidente del Partido Nacionalista Puertorriqueño.

Las protestas se produjeron en respuesta a la falta de inclusión en el referéndum de 1952 que no ofreció ninguna opción para votar a favor de la independencia o la estadidad. En cambio, el referéndum propuso la opción de la continuación del estatus colonial o el estatus de mancomunidad. Se ven problemas similares en el referéndum de 2020 que solo dio una opción de sí o no en cuanto a si Puerto Rico debería convertirse en un estado.

En Chicago, el Centro Cultural Puertorriqueño ha organizado múltiples fiestas de vigilancia para la presentación de los proyectos de ley en ¡WEPA! Mercado del Pueblo y fue parte de la manifestación de autodeterminación que se llevó a cabo virtualmente.

“Estos eventos han ido muy bien en la comunidad puertorriqueña de Chicago. Creo que en gran parte porque el proyecto de ley no exige ninguna opción de estatus,” dijo Rodríguez.

“El problema con los referendos tiene varias capas,” dijo Smyser-DeLeon. “El Congreso no está obligado a actuar cualquiera que sea el resultado de la votación. Los referéndums pasados ​​no han logrado mostrar un verdadero consenso sobre lo que los puertorriqueños ven como la mejor decisión para dirigir el estatus colonial de Puerto Rico.”

La DePaulia, The DePaulia. el 10 de mayo de 2021 | 17

OPINIÓN: El negocio Matchacita le falta el respeto a la comunidad latina por aprovecharse de la cultura

By Nadia Hernandez The DePaulia Opinions Editor

Los estudiantes de la Universidad DePaul protestaron contra el negocio local Matchacita, ya que los propietarios usaron el español para marcar el nombre, pero fallan de representar la cultura latina.

Ubicado en el vecindario Lincoln Park, Matchacita abrió sus puertas al público vendiendo bebidas como matcha a comienzos del 2021. El café es conocido por sus bebidas y diseños estéticos.

Arantxa Reyes, una estudiante de la Universidad DePaul, le preguntó a los propietarios si eran latinos o si tenían representación latina a través de un mensaje directo en Instagram.

“Mirando su menú, hay bebidas de horchata y pitaya y yo pienso que ellos son latino”, Reyes dijo. “No había evidencia para probar lo contrario en su Instagram”.

Después de un par de días, la cuenta de Instagram de Matchacita nunca respondió a Reyes y la bloquearon en Instagram.

Al día siguiente, Matchacita publicó una declaración en su tienda y redes sociales sobre su representación.

“Hoy, recibimos comentarios del público sobre nuestra marca”, Matchacita dijo a través de su cuenta en Instagram. “Reconocemos las preocupaciones de la comunidad Latina/Hispana sobre nuestra falta de representación. Queremos promover un ambiente que asegure la inclusión de todas las culturas”.

Matchacita también dijo que ellos donarán el 10 por ciento de su ganancias a organizaciones latinas cada martes comenzado en mayo. Pero no han informado a través de sus redes sociales a cuáles organizaciones latinas estarán donando.

Los comentarios sobre la decisión de

Matchcita, han causado diferentes reacciones.

Reyes y sus amigas dijeron que las donaciones no son suficientes por la falta de representación latina en el negocio.

“Obviamente, no tuvieron consideración por la comunidad latina mientras creaban [su marca]”, Reyes dijo. “No tuvieron problema en usar imágenes y frases latinas para promocionarse. No fue hasta que se les hizo responsables que se dieron cuenta de que eran formas de sacar provecho de las culturas de otras comunidades”.

Reyes y otros en los comentarios dicen que Matchacita está contribuyendo a la apropiación cultural sin la representación latina adecuada.

Otros clientes latinos opinan algo diferente y dicen que el nombre del negocio no es parte de la apropiación cultural.

“Como una latina, no me ofende del nombre Matchacita”, escribió una usuaria de instagram en la página de Matchacita Maria DeMoya, presidenta del programa de relaciones públicas y publicidad en la Universidad DePaul, dijo que “no hay razón” por la cual Matchacita tiene ese nombre sin representación. Ella dice que es parte de la apropiación cultural.

“No hay una conexión lógica”, DeMoya dijo.

A veces, los negocios usan nuestra cultura como estrategia de marketing, pero Matchacita no tiene derecho a usar la cultura latina especialmente usar el español y contener comida latina en su menú como horchata y pitaya.

“Es absolutamente una apropiación comercial del idioma al 100 por ciento sin ningún motivo”, DeMoya dijo.

Los propietarios son blancos y seleccionar ciertos aspectos de la cultura latina po-

MADDEY MARTIN | THE DEPAULIA

Matchacita, el nuevo restaurante en Lincoln Park, es conocido por sus cafés y postres especiales. voz para su comunidad latina. dría reforzar estereotipos dañinos.

“Pienso que era importante llamar “A veces me parece que se están buratención a este tema”, Reyes dijo. lando de [las frases latinas]”, DeMoya dijo.

Matchacita nunca respondió a La De“Realmente te das cuenta que están hacienPaulia para un comentario. do una broma”.

Reyes piensa que fue importante alzar su

Ex-futbolista continúa inspirando a la juventud con el lanzamiento de su propia academia deportiva

By Erika Pérez

La DePaulia Managing Editor

El fútbol americano corre en la familia de Omar Ureña Jiménez. De niño él pudo presenciar la energía contagiosa de los estadios de la ciudad de México.

Ahora, como ex jugador de los Cóndores de la Universidad de México, Jiménez espera compartir su experiencia con la juventud de Chicago a través de su academia deportiva.

Jiménez está lanzando una academia deportiva llamada Chicago Tochito Academy (CTA) que abrirá en el Windy City Fieldhouse en mayo. CTA quiere que más jóvenes, especialmente los jóvenes latinos, aprendan los fundamentos del fútbol americano. Este programa se deriva de la carrera de Jiménez en el fútbol americano.

La carrera de Jiménez comenzó en la Ciudad de México donde su papá jugó fútbol universitario en la Ciudad de México para el Politécnico Cheyennes nacional y fue campeón nacional. El amor de su padre por el deporte inspiró la carrera de Jiménez.

Jiménez siguió siendo un jugador de futbol americano, lo que le valió un lugar en el Salón de la Fama del Fútbol de México.

“Siempre estuve rodeado por el equipo de mi papá y cuando él comenzó a entrenar yo también estaba allí, me inspiré para jugar al fútbol”, dijo Jiménez.

Además de jugar para los Cóndores de la Universidad de México de 1992 a 1996, Jiménez también jugó para el equipo Hord Dorada de México de 2006 a 2008. Su trayectoria en el deporte lo llevó a ser in-

FOTO: OMAR UREÑA JIMENEZ

El ex-futbolista americano Omar Ureña Jimenez, lanza un campamento deportivo para la juventud de Chicago. cluido en el Salón de la Fama del Fútbol de México en 2015.

Ahora, Jiménez se prepara para abrir la academia de fútbol americano que se enfocará en brindar un espacio para los jóvenes.

Esto les permitirá a los jóvenes participar en una actividad proactiva y divertida.

Jiménez también quiere brindar un espacio para que los jóvenes aprendan la historia del fútbol americano en México.

Quiere que otros sepan que el fútbol americano no es solo un deporte popular en los Estados Unidos, sino también en otras partes de Latinoamérica.

Su misión es informar a otros que el fútbol americano no es un deporte desconocido en la cultura latina.

Como periodista deportivo, su academia deportiva también incluirá lecciones de periodismo como cómo entrevistar y escribir reportajes.

Jiménez no solo es un atleta, sino también editor de GraficosSport.com y Emisor de radio “Es un espacio que permitirá a los jóvenes aprender sobre la vida, el fútbol y lo que es ser periodista … y hazles saber que ellos también pueden ser la próxima per-

sona que entreviste a Tom Brady”, él dijo.

“Quiero que los niños jueguen el papel de ser periodista y entrevisten a los jugadores”.

Además de aprender sobre periodismo, Jiménez también entrevistará a jóvenes de la academia en su programa de radio en Lumpen Radio, WLPN LP 105.5 FM. “Se siente como si estuviera ofreciendo un programa que incluye todos los aspectos de mi carrera. Estoy tratando de transmitir ese legado a los niños, pero más allá de lo que he vivido”, dijo Jiménez.

Jiménez mencionó que el fútbol americano es un deporte que ha ido rompiendo barreras y quiere seguir rompiendo barreras dando la bienvenida a las mujeres a la academia.

“Queremos empoderar a las niñas y brindarles un espacio donde ellas también puedan jugar fútbol americano y continuar persiguiendo sus sueños en el deporte”, él dijo.

La academia será una fuente positiva para ayudar a los jóvenes a utilizar su energía en una actividad que impactará sus vidas.

“Estoy encantado de servir a la comunidad Latinx para que crean en sí mismos.

La meta es ayudarlos a ser mejores individuos como estudiantes atletas”, dijo Jiménez.

Jiménez dice que CTA ha sido un sueño hecho realidad que le ha enseñado mucho sobre la resiliencia que, según él, viene de su familia y su cultura.

“Cada experiencia que he tenido hasta el día de hoy ha sido un trabajo en progreso que está destinado a ser devuelto a mi comunidad”, dijo.

Arts & Life

18 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021

Dragged out burnout

Pandemic ‘languishing’ leaves students, staff pining for better days

ART BY ALICIA GOLUSZKA

By Hayley DeSilva Staff Writer

Spring can be a stressful time for many students and staff members. With summer on the horizon and months of work behind them, it can be difficult to keep the stamina of meeting deadlines and the same level of excitement as before.

In a typical year, “burnout,” or exhaustion brought on by overworking oneself, is no stranger for this community.

However, the usual burnout has been heightened by the seemingly never-ending pandemic. It’s led a new variant of burnout to trend — languishing.

Languishing takes burnout to a whole new level. It’s more than just exhaustion; it’s an overwhelming feeling of emptiness and stagnation.

Many people have described their quarantine as a “Groundhog Day” experience — mundane to the extreme.

While students are advancing in school and employees are making headway in their jobs, it all still feels like the same thing over and over.

With burnout in the past, there were things to look forward to at the end of the tunnel. But with this new feeling, brought on by life in a pandemic, many believe it’s difficult to find any motivation.

A Pew Research Study found that 42 percent of young adults in the U.S. say they’ve lost motivation since the pandemic.

“The pandemic has exacerbated this feeling of burnout because many of the typical markers of enjoyment and motivation are unavailable or unattainable,” said DePaul psychology professor Jocelyn Smith Carter. “At this point in the pandemic, we also don’t have many reserves of energy to draw on ...We have been in survival mode, which is exhausting over such a long period of time.”

“In addition, during the pandemic, there are even more stressors than usual, including virtual learning, Covid-19 health disparities, increased racial tensions, grief, unemployment and uncertainty surrounding the future.”

Autumn L. Cabell

DePaul Counseling Professor In normal life, people had the opportunity to unwind by socializing at the end of a long week — or, especially for seniors this year, the reward of an in-person graduation ceremony. With these motivators becoming a non-option, even with the possibility of Covid-19 vaccines, many are left to wonder what’s the use.

DePaul senior Grace Ulch has had a profound relationship with these feelings.

“To me, burnout is a type of exhaustion that you can feel in your bones,” Ulch said. “It’s like all the energy you have for things that are typically your source of revival or the things you look forward to just continue to make you feel completely spent.”

Ulch feels the pandemic has made her less likely to take necessary breaks and time to recenter, only worsening her feelings.

“Because I had a job and stayed pretty healthy through this last year of the pandemic, it felt silly to ask for a break, or feel like I needed one ... [But] the longer people suppress things, the stronger they will show up later down the road,” Ulch said.

Ulch adds that it’s gotten to a point

where even things she once enjoyed feels like “an expenditure of energy.” With her passions upended by the pandemic, she struggles to find things that reinvigorate her — and she’s in good company.

“Many students and staff have experienced increased financial strain, familial responsibilities ... and work demands,” said Autumn L. Cabell, a DePaul counseling professor. “In addition, during the pandemic, there are even more stressors than usual, including virtual learning, Covid-19 health disparities, increased racial tensions, grief, unemployment and uncertainty surrounding the future.”

Cabell explains that this time of year is already notorious for stress, but the difficult circumstances presented by the pandemic has exacerbated the issue for all involved.

But Cabell also describes how people can combat this overwhelming feeling. “[Set] boundaries and [use] your core values to help you prioritize what is important to you during this time,” Cabell said. “Then, using those boundaries you’ve established to say ‘no’ to things that are just not manageable and don’t align with your values at this time.”

Cabell also speaks to the value of

asking for what you need from others, breaking up tasks to make them more manageable and paying close attention to stress and fatigue. She stresses that unless these emotional and physical struggles are dealt with, nothing else can be.

Additionally, Cabell points out that in a time when it seems like hardly anything matters besides being safe, it’s more important now than ever to keep purpose in mind.

“Remember your ‘why’ — write it out, read it out loud to yourself as a reminder of your purpose,” Cabell said.

“I give myself the time to lay in bed, time to read or a night to be with friends,” Ulch said. “I will just focus on the one thing that is proving positive energy, because I know that in the long run something that will help my mentality — and is just as important as all the other work I put towards my school work and advancement of my work professionally.”

Carter explains the first step to dealing with these challenges is accepting they exist.

“Call it what it is and know that it’s a completely adaptive response to the stressors and traumas of life,” Carter said. “Try not to compare yourself to others if they seem like they have been able to ‘flip a switch’ and come back to normal — that’s not how recovery happens.”

With vaccinations rolling out and safety restrictions lifting, it seems as though society is on its path back to normalcy.

The hope is that with this return to life as it was, languish will be a thing of the past. But until that day comes, it seems it will be a continued obstacle for many.

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 | 19

The rise of the cycling community in Chicago

By Rebecca Meluch News Editor

After paying her second traffic ticket off Lindsay Bayley looked at her car and said to herself, “Wow this is kind of a burden.”

In her first week of living in Washington D.C., Bayley got two traffic tickets, one of which she wasn’t the one driving at the time, her friend was driving her car. The ticket was during rush hour, if she didn’t pay it within a week, the $100 ticket would turn into $200.

“Oh my god this is so much money” Bayley said after seeing the fines doubled. This was back in 2007, when Bayley was working her first job at the Federal Highway Administration. After the second ticket, Bayley decided to sell her car.

She has been living car-less since 2007 and has taken up biking as her main means of transportation.

“It [biking] wasn’t something that I felt was a part of my identity until I was in D.C. and it just was the best way to get anywhere and it felt like pure freedom. It was the way to feel connected to your surroundings,” Bayley said. “I always knew I’d be somewhere on time if I rode my bike, and it was just really fun.”

After moving back to Chicago where she grew up, she met her husband Drew and together they have been car-less for 15 years and living in the Wicker Park neighborhood.

Bayley knew that the person she wanted to marry had to be someone who shared her love for biking. “When we met, I had moved to Chicago and we were on a soccer team together,” she said. “It was kind of funny, he was like, ‘I just want to date somebody who has a car’ and I said, ‘ugh whatever.’”

Bayley is a transportation planner with a focus on parking policy and equitable transportation at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) where she has been working for about 13 years.

“I think it’s because I study a lot about traffic safety, crashes and fatalities, I’m so aware about how dangerous driving is,” Bayley said.

Lindsay and her husband very rarely will

drive a car but when they need to, they rent or borrow a car about four times a year. “I hate it, I hate it. And my daughter hates it too,” she said. “Shh, shh, some people need cars,” Bayley often reminds her six-year-old daughter –– who she describes as an “anti-car” advocate –– after she points fun at drivers on the road.

In the latest INRIX report from 2019, Chicago is the second worst city in terms of vehicle congestion. In 2019 alone, Chicagoans wasted at least 145 hours in traffic which has cost the city nearly $7.6 billion.

While vehicle congestion has increased, the Active Transportation Alliance reported in 2018 that Chicago has seen an increase in bicycle use as the main means of transportation. The report noted that there’s been a dramatic increase in bicycle commuting, from around 2,000 commuters in 1980 to over 22,000 in 2016. This trend has been increasing while motor vehicle commuting has been steadily decreasing.

While living carless in Chicago and starting a family, Bayley has taken to the use of a cargo bike as her main source of transportation for her family’s everyday tasks. The Bayley’s’ have used their Tern Cargo E-bike to travel to work, drop their daughter off at school, take camping trips and do their weekly chores.

Cargo bikes are sturdy bikes that are built to carry heavy loads and sometimes two or more people. They vary in size and model and come with detachable racks for extra storage.

Depending on the person and family, some models have two or three wheels and an extra-long wheelbase than a standard bicycle to provide a sturdier form and avoid tipping over.

The use of cargo bikes has grown tremendously over the last couple of years especially in urban areas. Environmental factors, the rates of vehicle congestion and financial costs have all played into the growth of cargo-bikes.

In a recent study from the Transparency Market Report, the cargo bike market is expected to surpass the U.S. $6.3 billion dollar mark by the end of 2030. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, cargo bikes have emerged as one of the safest means of transportation and the de-

ERIC HENRY | THE DEPAULIA

Bikers head down the Lakefront Trail over the winter, biking has increased in Chicago. mand has increased since last March.

Bayley has shared since she and her husband bought their first cargo bike about five and a half years ago, they have been seeing more families on the road with similar bikes.

“My husband always jokes about how there was a point in time where he knew everyone who was riding a bike in Chicago. Then there was a point in time where he knew every parent who was riding a bike with a kid. So, all of the cargo bike families, we knew each other,” she said. “And now, it’s like there are so many.

There are so many people on bikes, so many families who are on bikes that we don’t know them anymore.”

Matt Martin, the alderman of the 47th ward has also joined the cargo bike family.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Martin and his wife bought an Urban Arrow cargo bike and have loved it since.

“When I was thinking about the bike I thought ‘well this is a very family-friendly activity,’” Martin said. “It could be a great way to spend time with them [family], good exercise of course and good for the environment. And there are also ways in which you could just run errands with it and do grocery shopping.”

Similarly to the Bayley’s, cargo biking al-

lows Martin to experience and get to know his community a little bit better. “We have a very active biking community in the 47th ward, including a very active family biking community,” he said.

It also provides a sense of excitement and adventure for his kindergartener son, “I think it’s a bit of an adventure. I would say that he finds it more exciting going somewhere. He finds it more of an event,” Martin said. “It’s a way for him to experience our community and adjacent communities in a new way.

The community as we’re passing through it, is more visible for him.”

The cargo bike community is still growing here in Chicago, but it’s a tight knit community that welcomes more family’s every year.

“Hey so, tell me about your bike.” Bayley said to a cargo bike rider a few years back, in one of the many Chicago bike lanes.

“When we were like ‘cargo bike curious’ I used to talk to people in the bike lane,” she said. “There are families that I hang out with till this day from just starting up a chat in the bike lane. Once you’re in this group you just get to know more people.”

A deeper look at Best Picture winner ‘Nomadland’

By Sofia Leal Contributing Writer

Over the course of the 2020-2021 award season, “Nomadland” racked up over 100 film awards including, most recently, the Academy Award for best actress, best picture and best director. Hence, it is recognized as one of the greatest films this year.

With the abundance of positive reviews and the recent critical acclaim it received, “Nomadland” gained the attention of thousands of people across the globe. This begs the question — what makes “Nomadland” so special?

Based on the nonfiction book of the same name, “Nomadland” blends documentary and independent filmmaking to create a compelling fictional story. What makes this film fascinating to watch is that aside from a handful of seasoned actors, “Nomadland” used real people to play fictionalized versions of themselves.

“Nomadland” is a character-driven story about the phenomenon of older Americans taking on a nomadic lifestyle as a result of the 2008 Great Recession. Chloe Zhao, writer, director and editor, has a knack for using nonfiction stories and their participants as a source of inspiration for her films.

Prior to writing the screenplay for “Nomadland,” Zhao told CNN that she embarked on a road trip of her very own to connect with real-life nomads like Linda May, Charlene Swankie and van-dwelling guru Bob Wells, all of whom starred in the film. Zhao’s script evolved with the nomads and workers

IMDB

Frances McDormand and Charlene Swankie in “Nomadland” which won Best Picture cast and hired for roles in the movie.

“She really dives into people, interviews them and gets to know who they are,” said James Choi, a film professor at DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts. “If you really dig into people, there’s a lot of compelling elements to each individual.”

Zhao is not the first director to use non-professional actors in her films.

“The Florida Project” (2017), a tale of poverty juxtaposed with childhood fantasy, is a recent example of another film using non-actors to convey a sense of authenticity to a story.

Director Sean Baker used Instagram, Target — yes, the retail store — and motels to find the cast.

Though “The Florida Project” was well-re-

ceived among critics, it was only nominated for one Oscar — best supporting actor.

In contrast, the success of “Nomadland” can be accredited to two things. First, it had the advantage of award-winning actress Francis McDormand playing the lead role. Second, Zhao’s dedication to portraying a truthful account of life on the road imbued the film with a sense of authenticity.

Over the course of the four-month filming period, members of the cast and crew lived out of vans, just like characters in the film.

“That alone tells me that this particular filmmaker had felt a sense of responsibility to the fact that the story she was telling was based on real people’s lives,” said Susanne Suffredin, professor of documentary film at DePaul Uni-

versity. “She recognized that that mattered.”

Suffredin feels as though documentary films can easily be skewed to fit a filmmaker’s agenda making subjects of the film incredibly easy to exploit. “At their core, [documentaries are] films, and films are about connecting emotionally,” she said. “Where it gets trickier with documentary is, how are you eliciting that emotion?”

With “Nomadland,” you don’t get the feeling of exploitation — but then again, it’s not a documentary; it just has documentarian characteristics.

“I don’t have the guts to make documentaries,” Zhao said to CNN. “I find the best way to convey truth is through poetry.”

“At one time, we kept all of these modes of filmmaking very separate from each other,” Suffredin said. “This idea of sort of blending kinds of filmmaking is a lot more accepted today than it probably was even 15 years ago.”

The blending of genres, in general, is much more accepted today than it was in the past. “Nomadland” reimagines the traditional Western genre combining it with entirely unique themes that make for a more character-driven, emotional experience. “[Zhao] is a filmmaker who does not follow typical traditional Hollywood patterns,” said Jessica King, professor of screenwriting and cinema production at DePaul University.

“She takes these mythical genres that are all about like individuality, and, you know, conquering and extraction and power and finding yourself and freedom — and she completely turns them on their head.”

20 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021

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Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 | 21

J Balvin film dives deep into how artists use their platforms

By Lauren Coates Staff Writer

Maybe it was the lockdown-induced solitude that did it, but in the first half of 2021, it already feels like every musical artist and their mother has a documentary coming out this year.

From Billie Eilish to Demi Lovato to Charli XCX to Questlove’s “Summer of Soul,” we’re seeing all sorts of artists bare themselves to both a camera crew and the world. But the latest documentary to come from a musician is J Balvin’s “The Boy from Medellín,” which stands apart from the rest of the pack. Though it may begin as your standard, run-of-the-mill celebrity portrait, the film quickly shrugs the traditional documentary style and instead opts to tell a story of a country in intense political turmoil seen through the eyes of one of its most successful exports.

“The Boy from Medellín” follows a week in the life of José Álvaro Osorio Balvin, aka J Balvin — the reggaeton superstar whose accolades include five Latin Grammys, three Grammy nominations, the title of most streamed artist on Spotify in 2018 and a whopping 47 million Instagram followers.

Balvin returns to his hometown of Medellín, Colombia to play what he describes as the “most important” performance of his career — his first solo stadium show.

When the tour was planned, the return to Colombia was supposed to be a celebratory homecoming for the beloved artist — nicknamed by fans “The Boy from Medellín.” But by the time Balvin finally arrives in Colombia, the country is embroiled in intense political turmoil with protests and strikes filling the streets.

As the days count down towards Balvin’s sold-out show, his jitters about the concert begin to manifest as he grapples with whether or not to use his platform to acknowledge the unrest in Colombia, or keep the peace and remain silent. What’s fascinating about the structure of “The Boy from Medellín” is that although at begins as a typical documentary, it very quickly shirks the idea that it’s a totally raw, vulnerable look at an artist’s life, and

IMDB

José Álvaro Osorio Balvin, aka J Balvin, sitting in a room before a performance in the documentary “The Boy From Medellin.” instead doubles down on the significance of Colombia’s unrest, and how Balvin struggles with what to do about it.

At first, I admittedly found myself jarred by the narration — which almost felt so onthe-nose I assume it must have been scripted — the heavy direction, and the lack of authenticity the film initially presented. But as the film progressed, I began to realize I had headed into the film with the wrong idea of what it would be — because once you stop looking at “The Boy from Medellín” as a documentary about a celebrity, and begin viewing it as a portrait of protest through the lens of an artist, the film really does soar.

Suddenly, the “peace and love” mantras that Balvin keeps repeating feel less grating and more genuine — because we’re seeing his internal struggle play out in real time — to speak, or not to speak? Balvin makes it clear very early on in the film that he considers himself someone that stays out of politics — that he wants to remain an artist who brings positivity and energy into the world and who

doesn’t get tangled up in political issues. But this rose-tinted worldview is challenged not only when he witnesses the protests first hand, but also when a Colombian rap duo makes a track calling him out for his silence on the issue.

By his own admission, Balvin is a chronic people pleaser — he built his career by never saying “no” to a gig — even if it was at a school, or a practically empty club. Now, even with his global fame, he stops to take pictures with anyone who asks for one — even in the middle of trying to get a workout in at the gym. So, what’s a type-A, people-pleasing Colombian reggaeton superstar to do when someone makes a diss track calling him out?

Invite them to his concert, of course, so they can meet in person and talk things out face to face.

It’s a remarkable moment that gives insight to who Balvin truly is, because for all the glitz and glamor that surround his career and lifestyle, he truly does just want to be loved and understood as he loves and understands

his fans and his home. If he speaks up on the issue, he risks causing an uproar. If he stays silent, he loses the love and respect of his people and does the country an injustice.

It’s an interesting take on the idea that celebrities should “shut up and dribble,” that they should stay out of politics entirely and stick to whatever they do best. At first, Balvin himself seems to subscribe partially to this idea, but the film is also exploring the journey he takes to build up the courage to speak up, which he finally does, giving an impassioned speech at his concert imploring the Colombian government to listen to the country’s young people.

While it may not be an entirely raw or unproduced look at the inner workings of an artist, “The Boy from Medellín” is an incredibly effective narrative on its own merit — using the starpower of J Balvin to tackle political unrest in Colombia, and examine the duty (or lack thereof) of celebrities to use their platforms to address sociopolitical issues.

Theatre business looks to recoup after drastic drop in 2020

By Bailey Donovan Staff Writer

Buttery popcorn, dimmed lights and supposedly silenced cell phones: These are all key elements of the movie theater experience, and trying to recreate the experience at home just doesn’t compare, no matter how hard you try.

It’s no secret that the movie theater industry has changed drastically in the past year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. When stayat-home orders were implemented last year, movie theaters were deemed nonessential and closed until further notice, pressing pause on the latest blockbuster releases. In 2020, domestic box office total gross income was $2 billion, which is minuscule compared to 2019’s $11 billion.

Substantial minimizing of income has led a number of big-name chain theaters to permanently close their doors to the public, including brands such as Pacific Theaters and Chicago’s own Arclight Cinemas.

Filming holds have increased due to the pandemic, making it so that film releases have either been slowly delayed or completely put on hold.

“They are anticipating a huge influx of film and television to be shot later this year, that there’s going to be a mad rush to cast and crew people to try and at least somewhat catch up on how far behind the studios and networks are,” said Christopher Parrish, professor at DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts.

With movie theaters closed for such a large portion of 2020, movie makers had to

STATISTA AND BOX OFFICE MOJO

The drastic drop in box office revenue due to nationwide shutdowns in 2020. get creative with releasing films. Disney+ users have had access to movies such as the live action “Mulan” remake, as well as “Raya and the Last Dragon,” with Disney+ Premier. This service allows for Disney+ subscribers to have access to select movies at the same time as the theater release, for an additional cost. This service began with the “Mulan” remake, which was supposed to have a large theater release before the pandemic took hold.

This new movie release method most like-

ly will not replace the traditional theater setting. Movie theaters nationwide are opening their doors once again to draw back crowds.

Theaters have adapted in the midst of the pandemic to cater to its crowds while also adhering to social distancing guideline and state regulations.

Besides social distancing and being required to wear a mask, the movie theater experience is quite similar to pre-pandemic times. .

Concessions constitute the majority of a movie

theater’s revenue.

At Chicago’s Music Box Theatre, business is being maintained by those customers who know and trust the theater.

“For us to draw people back in, we’re doing the same that we’ve been doing the entire pandemic,” said Ryan Oestreich, the general manager of the music Box Theatre. “We’re keeping a safe, clean, risk-mitigated environment; we’re enforcing our policies and procedures to make sure there is not a single spread of Covid, and there has not been under our watch at our theater the entire time.”

Oestreich says that by keeping his audience safe and comfortable, as well as playing new films alongside repertory films that the Music Box is known for, it draws customers back to the theater experience.

“It’s a social experience,” said Hari Chutturi, a film and television major at DePaul.

“There’s an action and reaction to the things that are happening on screen. You don’t get that experience when it comes to streaming service. Sure, you could be watching it with a group of friends, but it’s not the same as [having] an audience of say 50 people in the same room.”

This year’s blockbusters are slowly getting the movie theater business back to what it was pre-pandemic.

“A lot of places in the country are slowly rebounding, and I mean slowly,” Oestreich said. “But people are getting vaccinated, and feeling more comfortable going back to the theaters.”

22 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021

Q&A with DePaul alum and filmmaker Ty Yamamoto

By Lily Lowndes Contributing Writer

“Face Me” is an experimental film created and directed by DePaul alum Ty Yamamoto. The film uses a montage of projected visuals to explore Hollywood’s dark history of casting non-Asian actors to play Asian roles.

I sat down with the 2020 graduate to talk about “Face Me,” the CineYouth Film Festival (all films are available to stream here until May 13th) and advice for current DePaul filmmakers.

Q: How did you come up with the title of the film?

A: I really wanted this video to feel like a call to action in some ways, and “Face Me” sounds very much like a command. Once I typed it out, it just felt right, and I stuck with it.

Can you tell me a little bit about the inspiration behind the concept of “Face Me”?

I was in an experimental film class during winter quarter last year, right before the shutdown. I was feeling really frustrated, specifically because COVID was just starting to break out back then and there were all these reports of different Asian Americans getting attacked around the country.

I had this pent-up energy, and I didn’t really know how to put it into my work. I came up with the concept really quickly while sitting in class. I knew I wanted to use old footage and repurpose it from all these movies that depicted white people as Asian people. It was definitely something I’d been sitting on for a long time, but the actual creation process was super quick.

As you were looking through the footage for the projection, were there any specific scenes that you were looking for?

How did you filter through that and what were the emotions of that process?

I actually haven’t thought about it since, but it was a very angry process; it was a lot of anger.

The main thing I wanted to emphasize was that [yellowface is] not something that has really stopped. I tried to pull a couple [of clips] from each decade.

I didn’t want it to feel like this was something that’s from a long time ago. I wanted to make sure that there were some more contemporary examples, which are obviously a little bit harder to find, but they still exist and it’s still worth talking about.

It was a very upsetting process in some ways. I have seen a lot of these things growing up or in the media, but to see it all in one list and all at once was pretty intense.

In contrast to these negative depictions and the yellowface, are there any positive representations of Asian-Americans in film or great casting choices that you want to shout out?

My opinions on representation are pretty complicated, but I was very happy at the time when movies like “Crazy Rich Asians” came out to at least see Asians in blockbuster roles. It was a big moment for sure, and to see that spawn so many new projects made me very happy.

There was a movie from the early 2000s called “Saving Face” that I really liked that I feel like not that people have seen. With the Oscars this year, there were some high-profile names – “Minari” was a big one, “Nomad Land,” which was directed by Chinese American director Chloe Zhao. It is nice to see more Asian-Americans entering the mainstream film conversation

COURTESY OF TY YAMAMOTO

Ty Yamamoto, DePaul alumni and filmmaker who’s short experimental film “Face Me” released at the CineYouth festival.

It’s just important for us not to end it at just East Asians. It’s not just Korean, Chinese and Japanese; it’s also South Asian and all these other communities that don’t get represented that need to be.

It’s very easy to see the conversation as being over just because we have seen a huge amount of Asians in the media lately. There’s a lot more that has to be done, especially which Asians are being represented – which ethnicities and how they’re being represented.

The category that your film is in is called “The Cinemas of Chicago.” The description says that these films portray what the future holds for Chicago cinema.

What’s next for you as a filmmaker – any current projects you’re working on?

I’m really happy to be a part of this category. I’m not from here originally, but Chicago really has become my home, especially as an artist.

I do film work primarily, but I am kind of all over the place. I do a lot of drawing. I had some of my art showcased at a coffee shop earlier this year.

I also have ongoing origami classes that I teach.

Currently, I am working on a music video for a friend and later this year I will be shooting a short horror movie. [I am] very excited to go out and get back into filmmaking after film and the world was on pause this past year.

You said that this was for an experimental film class. What does experimental filmmaking or experimental cinema mean to you?

Experimental film is super important to me. I work on a mix of narrative and experimental projects, but experimental.

I feel like it’s where my heart is and I try to bring it to my narrative work.

Film can be super rigid with roles.

You have an editor, cinematographer, director, etc. and everybody is doing their part, which I love. But with experimental, I feel like I can really control every aspect of what I’m doing. And even if it’s on a smaller scale, just out of necessity, I feel like I’m able to convey things more clearly or at least how I want to do it.

Experimental film can be a lot of things. It can be collaborative, it can be more of an endeavor, more of a crew. But for me it’s a very personal thing where

COURTESY OF CINEYOUTH

A still from “Face Me,” an official selection of the CineYouth festival in 2021.

COURTESY OF CINEYOUTH

Another still from “Face Me,” a film about yellowface and Asian representation. usually I have a concept, I take some footage of whatever I’m able to get and then I put it together in a way that means something to me, usually with some kind of message behind it.

Is there anything else that you want to mention?

Anyone at DePaul who is studying film, I cannot emphasize enough, use the resources that you have. Everything that I’ve gotten since graduating has been from all those amazing people I met, from the connections I made and even from the projects that I’ve done.

I said before that “Face Me” was just a class project, essentially, even though it’s a lot more than that now. Most of the gigs that I’ve gotten since graduating have been people coming across the film and

saying that they liked it and they wanted me to work on projects with them.

You never know what’s going to come next, and even though the pandemic is still going on, there’s so much that you can do.

Again, [for] “Face Me,” I did utilize some of the school resources, but I shot it on camera that I’ve got right here. I didn’t use anything fancy; it was all in one room with a projector and some friends.

So really, just go for it. Do whatever you want to do, especially for people who feel like their voices aren’t being heard or you’re not getting the opportunities you should. Just go out and do something, even if it’s just for yourself, it’s something.

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 | 23

What makes an industry plant an industry plant?

By Jackson Healy Contributing Writer

On April 9, a Nashville-based poppunk girl group by the name of Tramp Stamps released their third and latest single, “I’d Rather Die.” Containing lyrics such as “I can’t recall a memory/Of someone driving me home and not asking for a b***job/I’d rather die/ Than hook up with another straight white guy,” the song epitomizes the band’s image: a “girls rule, boys drool” trio of self-made, independent rag-tag women unafraid to call it like they see it.

Within a matter of days, however, the band was flooded with accusations of inauthenticity and claims that they were capitalizing on a trendy aesthetic in the hopes of financial success. Their image was quickly stained, and the Internet collectively dismissed the group as industry plants.

But what is an industry plant, anyway?

“The definition gets looser and looser every year,” said Michael Johnson, studio musician, MBET program director at University of the Arts and co-founder of music label Boiled Records. “My personal view on it would be an artist with all the backing of [a major label] who’s presented as if they’re some sort of independent artist who got there on their own effort.”

For the past decade, a litany of musicians have received online accusations of being industry plants, from Billie Eilish to Clairo to Chance the Rapper. While it’s pretty much impossible to confirm whether an artist is an industry plant, that doesn’t stop people with access to Google from trying.

However, Johnson suggests that this definition is far too broad.

“If you were to define it by somebody whose career is shaped and their image is shaped by their label, then you’d have to define 90 percent of the major label music industry as industry plants,” Johnson said.

While the term “industry plant” only came into existence during the 2010s, the phenomenon it describes has been around for much longer. Magic Ian, musician and owner of independent label Maximum Pelt Records, notes that industry plants have been a staple of the music industry as long as the music industry has existed.

“It’s certainly not a new phenomenon or anything like that,” Ian said. “For the entire history of recorded music, people with money have been looking at somebody and saying ‘Hey, this person is very attractive, and I could put them on the face of this record and sell a million copies, and it doesn’t matter what it sounds like.’”

Ian also points out that the term =is applied most frequently in genres predominately comprised of Black artists, suggesting that racial bias may influence the distribution of industry plant accusations.

“I guess I see it mostly in hip-hop, and new R&B, and rap and stuff like that,” Ian said. “It seems to me like, why are we scrutinizing and questioning so aggressively these artists who are largely people of color, whereas white artists for decades have largely done the same thing and just been given a pass, and nobody blinks an eye at it?”

While Ian notes the nuance of the industry plant phenomenon, he stops short of championing those who take that path, calling into question their artistry.

“If it’s going as far as creating a fake backstory to make somebody look good or give you street cred or anything like that, then it’s like, are you an artist or are you just part of an advertising ploy?” Ian said. “I guess that would be what I think of as my concept of an industry plant. Like, you’re not really an artist. You’re just a piece of marketing.”

Not everybody turns their nose up at artists who go the route of the industry plant, however. Jonny Cummings, a local musician and senior at DePaul, said that if the music is good and the artists aren’t

TRAMP STAMPS ON YOUTUBE

A still from Tramp Stamps music video for single “1-800-miss-ur-guts.” depraved, the label’s involvement is of little importance.

“I personally have no problems with industry plants, because for a lot of them, I do like their music,” Cummings said.

“They tend to be more in the pop realm, and I tend to like pop. The music’s good, and it’s not like they’re necessarily bad people. There’s no problem, really.”

Almost immediately following the release of “I’d Rather Die,” internet sleuths on TikTok quickly discovered a series of connections between the band members and the commercial music industry, calling into question the integrity of the band’s aesthetic. One user in particular discovered that lead singer Marisa Maino attempted a solo pop career for years prior to Tramp Stamps’ formation, that drummer Paige Blue has had a long history in commercial music production, and that the band’s heavily professionalized digital image doesn’t match their supposed grassroots origins.

As others began rummaging for dirt, a Redditor eventually discovered that the band’s guitarist, Caroline Baker, is signed

to publishing company Prescription Songs, and that the band itself is signed to Kobalt Music Group. Prescription Songs and Kobalt Music Group are partially and fully owned, respectively, by Lukasz Gottwald — the same Lukasz Gottwald that Kesha sued for alleged sexual assault and emotional abuse in 2014. These ties have led many to question the band’s alleged commitment to feminist ideals and punk counterculture — defining aspects of their brand.

“Clearly those are not punk riot grrrls,” Johnson said. “I mean, if you’ve ever been a part of any subculture or any sort of punk counterculture, those are clearly not members of it. Authenticity is a rare commodity. Everyone wants to sort of capitalize, and [many] don’t realize that you can’t invent authenticity. You have to be what you say you are.”

Yet, Johnson’s simply chosen not to worry about the group.

“Who cares?” Johnson said. “I’ll just ignore Tramp Stamps now that I know who they are. Good luck to them. I hope they find a way to pay rent like everybody else.”

St.Vincent’s

D e JAMZ “Spinning fresh beats since 1581”

By Emma Oxnevad Online Managing Editor

It certainly has been a while! The DePaulia’s official return to print also signifies the return of DeJamz — and it means that I’ll have to start cooking up themes that tie these songs together once more. Since it’s the first DeJamz in what feels like forever and I am admittedly not operating in top form on the theme side of things, this week I’ll share my favorite songs of the season.

“The Other Side of the Door” (Taylor’s Version)- Taylor Swift “Fearless” has been my favorite Taylor Swift album for over a decade. When listening to Swift’s re-recorded version -– the first album from her back catalog that she gained full ownership of — this song immediately jumped out to me. While I was always a bit lukewarm to the original recording, largely in part to Swift’s less-than-stellar vocal delivery, the added maturity and strength to her voice makes a world of difference. The outro is something that was designed to be repeated

over and over again, and you can bet that I do that every time.

“Scott Street” - Phoebe Bridgers It goes without saying that last summer, like the rest of 2020, was a big letdown. While I didn’t get to have a big-city adventure like I originally anticipated, I found myself utilizing new ways to entertain myself, like taking long, aimless walks around my neighborhood. On said walks, I would typically listen to “Scott Street,” with the wistful tone and beautiful instrumentation making the days feel less mundane. When I listen to the song now, however, I can appreciate those walks I previously found boring, and I make an effort to incorporate both into my current routine.

“Favourite Colour” - Carly Rae Jepsen I cannot believe how long it took me to discover that “Emotion,” Carly Rae Jepsen’s third studio album, is pop perfection. Having heard nothing but amazing things about the album for years, I’m not sure why it took me so long to come around to it, but better late than never. While all of the songs are great

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in their own right, the album’s closer is my current favorite. The combination of evocative lyrics and ‘80s-inspired production gives the song a serene, cinematic quality to it that I can’t get enough of.

“Sleep to Dream” - Fiona Apple After I got my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, this was the first song that played when I shuffled my library. Despite not matching my decidedly happy mood at all, I listened to it in its entirety, immersing myself in the song’s moody ambiance and razor-sharp wordplay. Written when Apple was 14 and one of her first commercial successes, “Sleep to Dream” is the kind of song most artists would be proud to have as their artistic peak; the fact that it was only a taste of what she could offer makes it all the more impressive.

“Emmylou” - First Aid Kit This song has been a favorite of mine since high school, but I recently rekindled my love for it was rekindled when it unexpectedly played during an episode of “Love

PHOTOS FROM WIKI

Island.” When worlds collide! “Emmylou” is a gorgeous tribute to authentic country music, with an inspired production and perfect harmonies. Even if you don’t like country, “Emmylou” has a sincerity that can’t be denied, which I think transcends genre.

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Black caller 4. Cause of trembling 8. Groundless 12. Ram’s ma’am 13. Tie up 14. Junk in the box?

15. Provided 17. Color for the tickled 18. Kind of ad 19. Isn’t serious 20. “Cast Away” setting 23. Rope fiber 25. Labors 27. Knave 28. Chem class 31. Ready for shipping 33. Academic’s achievement 35. Any boat 36. Celebrity, briefly 38. Alphabetizes, e.g.

39. Fragrant wood 41. Grant 42. Loser to Lewis 45. Domestic 47. Foreign dignitary 48. Medal contender 52. Adolescent development 53. Cartoonist’s supplies 54. Pro 55. ___ to riches 56. Function 57. Hardly extroverted

1. Pricing word 2. What borrowers do 3. Gymnastics ideal 4. Hopper 5. Takes in 6. Sour 7. Danger signal 8. Drive forward 9. Keynoter’s spot 10. It’s picked from pockets 11. Lodge fellows 16. Live in the past?

19. Wears out 20. Yen 21. Miffed 22. Make-up artist?

24. Emulated Jack Horner 26. Evening hour 28. Angler’s attachment 29. Liberal pursuits 30. Top 32. “___ not!”

34. Romance, e.g.

37. Copper finish 39. Hearts 40. Military standings 42. Eye drop?

43. Pantomimed disco title 44. Do a number 46. Halloween purchase 48. In shape 49. Possibilities 50. Mi, fah, ___, lah 51. Really test

Sports

Sports. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 | 25

Regular season champs

AUDREY CHAMPELLI | THE DEPAULIA

The DePaul softball outfield celebrates together after defeating UIC on Saturday. With the victory, the Blue Demons secured their fourth straight Big East regular season title.

DePaul sweeps UIC, secures seventh Big East title

By Ernesto Hernendez Asst. Sports Editor

The DePaul Blue Demons softball team capped off Senior Day weekend in style by sweeping a three-game set against UIC. With the sweep, DePaul not only sent off their seniors in style, but were also crowned the Big East regular season champions in the process.

The festivities kicked off in the opener on Friday with a 4-3 win that included some late inning heroics by DePaul’s seniors.

Both teams traded runs in the first and third innings. The score remained tied after seven so they went into extra innings.

Down by one with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, Kate Polucha was hit by a pitch. Senior Jessica Cothern singled to right center, which allowed Polucha to reach third. Cothern ended up at second with some heads-up baserunning.

UIC intentionally walked Brooke Johnson to get to Tori Meyer. Meyer made the Flames pay as she singled to left field for her second RBI of the game, scoring Polucha.

In the 11th, with one away, senior Pearl Barroso lined a single to left. She advanced to second after Maranda Gutierrez was hit by a pitch.

Up stepped Grace Frazier with a chance to be a hero.

A hero she was as she singled to left, just out of the reach of the leaping UIC shortstop, to knock in pinch-runner Nicole Sullivan and walk the game off.

On Saturday, before the first game of a doubleheader, DePaul honored its four seniors: Barroso, Dalgarn, Cothern and

Angela Scalzitti. All four, in one way or another, played significant roles in both games.

UIC jumped out to an early lead, plating a run in the first inning. The Flames would hold on to that lead until DePaul’s bats woke up.

Barroso led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk before being replaced by pinchrunner Erin Hocker. She moved to second base on Frazier’s sacrifice bunt and came around to score after Scalzitti’s shot up the middle caromed off the pitcher and ended up in center field.

The line kept moving as Polucha walked to put runners on first and second. Cothern put the exclamation point on a four-run inning as she belted a three-run home run to center to break the deadlock and give DePaul a 4-1 lead and, ultimately, the win.

Dalgarn threw seven innings of one-run baseball and picked up her 13th win of the season.

As opposed to the previous games, the second game of the doubleheader was more by the numbers for the Blue Demons, as they completed the sweep with a 4-0 victory.

In the bottom of the fourth, Barroso launched a no-doubter over the left field wall to make it a 3-0 game. The Blue Demons then pulled out some two-out magic as Polucha’s second RBI of the game drove in Frazier to make it a 4-0 lead.

Julyana Gomez struck out the last batter of the game to put a bow on a perfect weekend for DePaul. She threw a complete game shutout for her third win of the season, striking out two and scattering four hits.

Not only did DePaul complete the sweep

AUDREY CHAMPELLI | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul senior outfielder Angela Scalzitti prepares to hit the ball against UIC at Cacciatore Stadium on Saturday. The Blue Demons won all three games in the series. and claim bragging rights over their city rivals, but they closed out the season on a nine-game winning streak.

More importantly, however, the Blue Demons were crowned the Big East regular season champions for the seventh time in program history — and the fourth time in a row, considering the 2019-20 season was cut short.

The series sweep against UIC meant DePaul finished out the regular season with a 25-9 record, 13-1 in conference play. It also saw them go undefeated, 10-0, at Cacciatore Stadium.

DePaul’s next challenge will be the Big East Tournament, in which they will be the No. 1 seed.

“We’re excited for the upcoming Big East Tournament,” said head coach Tracie AdixZins in a statement to DePaul Athletics. “It’s going to be a challenge since we have already played each team three times, but we’re ready to go and know if we play our softball we’ll put ourselves in a good position.”

The tournament is set to kick off on May 13 in Storrs, Connecticut with DePaul taking on No. 4 Butler.

26 | Sports. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021

TRAVIS BELL/BIG EAST

The DePaul men’s tennis team takes a picture together after winning the Big East championship on April 16. The victory was the Blue Demons’ first men’s tennis title.

TENNIS, continued from front page 12-6 in the regular season, including a 3-1 record against the Big East.

But the big test came in the conference tournament and whether this group of players could get past the final hurdle.

“We all felt that last year was going to be our year, that’s what was so disappointing about having the [2020] season cut short,” Brothers said.

“That confidence has been there for a long time, [it was] just about when we were going to get the opportunity to compete for it again.”

Brothers’ team and those four returning seniors got one more chance to make history by winning DePaul’s first Big East men’s championship. The first two rounds went by smoothly for DePaul, who defeated Georgetown and Butler without losing a single point.

The championship round, however, was a stiff test. DePaul, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, received St. John’s strongest effort — which almost led to heartbreak for Brothers’ team.

In the final match, Wassenaar was down three match points before he stormed back to clinch the championship point for the Blue Demons.

“I won my serve on 4-5, with four huge serves, and from that moment on you felt like the momentum switching a lot, their players were a lot calmer on the sidelines,” Wassenaar said.

“After, I saw they were with their hands on their heads and they were like, ‘What was this.’ And our guys were just going crazy, and that’s kind of what helped me through it as well. I still get goosebumps thinking about that.”

DePaul’s victory over St. John’s secured them a spot in the NCAA Tournament, the program’s first appereance.

The Blue Demons didn’t have to make a long treck as they were slotted to face the University of Illinois in the first round.

It was never going to be an easy match against the Illini, who haven’t missed the NCAA Tournament since 1995.

The Blue Demons jumped off to a good start by winning both doubles matches to secure the first point. But Illinois dominated singles play, winning all four matches to secure the first round victory.

DePaul’s regular season set them up for the challenge that they might face in cruical moments in April and May. They faced several teams who were either ranked or had a history of making the NCAA Tournament.

In some of those matches, DePaul didn’t fare too well, losing 7-0 to thenNo. 35 Middle Tennesee State. But those tough moments gave them the confidence to win in the Big East Tournament.

Fourteen months ago, it seemed like this group of players played their final match together — a 7-0 victory over Wright State on March 8, 2020. At the time, it didn’t seem possible that they would be standing as Big East champions and NCAA Tournament qualifiers a year later.

But a group that came up short in 2018 got its chance again three years later. This time, DePaul seized the opportunity.

“We did it,” Spanjaard said. “It’s just amazing.”

TRAVIS BELL/BIG EAST

DePaul senior Tripp Tuff hits the ball during the Blue Demons’ April 25 Big East semifinal against Butler. DePaul won the match, 5-0.

Sports. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 | 27

Men’s tennis falls to Illinois in first round of NCAA Tournament

By Lawrence Kreymer Sports Editor

The DePaul men’s tennis team lost to University of Illinois, 4-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

The Blue Demons were making their first ever appearance in the tournament, while the Illini have qualified for the tournament every year since 1996. Illinois’ experience in the tournament was on full display.

DePaul got off to a good start by winning the doubles point. Junior Vito Tonejc and senior Luke Wassenaar secured the point for the Blue Demons, defeating Illinois’ Siphosothando Montsi and Noe Khlif.

In order to win the only doubles point, one team has to win two of three doubles matches. DePaul’s Fran Tonejc and Tripp Tuff won the first doubles match, setting it up for Wassenaar and Vito Tonejc to win the second match.

The singles matches, however, went in Illinois’ favor. Out of the six singles matches, the Illini won four and the other two went unfinished. Hunter Heck won the first singles match for Illinois, which gave the hosts the momentum.

Illinois took a 2-1 lead in the match after Montsi defeated Christopher Casati in two sets. Then, nationally ranked Zeke Clark put Illinois one point away

PHOTO COURTESY OF DELLE PERRONE

DePaul senior Luke Wassenaar gets ready to hit the tennis ball during a match against Illinois on Friday. The Blue Demons lost 4-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. from defeating DePaul after he also won his match against Tamas Zador.

The final hope for the Blue Demons lay in Wassenaar’s hands, who won the crucial point in the Big East Tournament to send DePaul to the NCAA Tournament. But he came up short in his match against Khlif: 7-5, 6-2. With

Illinois’ victory, it advanced to the second round to face.

DePaul’s season concludes with a 15-7 record and the school’s first ever Big East championship. The Blue Demons defeated St. John’s, 4-3, in the title game on April 26. It was a back-andforth match between the two conference

rivals, with DePaul facing three match points before Wassenaar stormed back to win the third set.

“I felt the pressure, but I think the reason why it was so comfortable is that I stuck to my basics, to my game plan, to something we have been talking about a lot, it’s just competing,” Wassenaar told The DePaulia last week.

“I wasn’t really thinking about the result and winning, I was just thinking about me competing and that is kind of what kept me calm during those times.”

For head coach Matt Brothers, this was also his first Big East championship after losing in the finals in 2008, 2014 and 2018.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Brothers said following the Blue Demons’ Big East championship victory. “Fourteen years and four finals, so well worth the wait. It’s been an amazing couple of days.

I’m just really happy for this group — I mean, not that I obviously would have been happy for our other teams in the past.

“But these guys worked so hard and overcame so much adversity, and just high-character, high-quality guys that truly deserve this, and [I’m] happy that we just get two more weeks together on a tennis court.”

SOFTBALL, continued from back page the team comes with added pressure, Halvorson said she and Dalgarn are used to it — both because they’re comfortable with the inherent pressure that comes with pitching and because they’ve done it together before. Just a couple of seasons ago they were in this same situation, Halvorson said.

“Knowing that we’ve already done this, like I have faith that we are more than capable of doing it again,” Halvorson said.

“We’ve had time to train and get better and I’m confident in that. When it gets to the end of the day or towards the end of the game, you’ve got to just dig deep and make it work. It might not look perfect, but you just have to make it happen and trust that other people will pick you up.”

Any kinks in the roster that would have traditionally been worked out by the start of the regular season, including development of younger players, were complicated this season after the lowstakes fall games were cancelled.

Without them, the team wasn’t able to experiment with different lineups and pitchers in games that wouldn’t impact their record. Next year, Adix-Zins hopes to take advantage of that time once again.

“It’s hard when you’re a pitcher and your first game in college is a game that counts,” Adix-Zins said. “No matter what, you put that pressure on yourself, that crap, this game is for a win loss that will go towards our record, which will go towards a potential at large bid at the end of the year. Having those fall games just gives a lot of people that time to at least get collegiate innings against somebody other than our pitchers throwing to them during the day.”

For most starting pitchers in the conference, breaks come in the form of midweek games — if any break comes at all. Most teams, Adix-Zins said, will try to throw their third and fourth string pitchers during the midweek games to provide some rest time to the starters

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS

DePaul senior pitcher Natalie Halvorson throws a pitch during a game this season. In 12 appereances this season, she is 9-3. who are coming off a weekend series.

But, she said, that’s sometimes better in theory than in practice.

“I would love to have more [pitchers]

just because it keeps your one and two fresher as you get further,” Adix-Zins said. “If I could give Krista and Natalie that reprieve where somebody else can

throw a game or try to throw the midweeks, I would love to. But I’m also trying to strategize, ‘how am I going to win games?’”

Sports

Sports. The DePaulia. May 10, 2021 | 28

Era of the pitcher

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS

DePaul senior pitcher Krista Dalgarn winds up for a pitch during a game this season. In 13 appearances, Dalgran is 11-2 and has two saves with a 3.02 ERA.

From the mound: softball being led by dyanmic duo

By Lacey Latch

dependability often win out. With a developing group of pitchers behind them, including freshman Julyana Gomez who has shown serious potential the few times she’s stepped on the field at the collegiate level, Halvorson and Dalgarn are tried and true defensive tools to earn wins for the Blue Demons.

Editor-in-Chief

At any given time this season, DePaul’s softball team is most likely split perfectly in half — two complete teams who could each feasibly take the field should Covid-19 strike the other and disqualify half the roster. They ride in separate buses, practice and lift weights separately and sit apart on airplanes.

Because of that, starting pitchers Natalie Halvorson and Krista Dalgarn, both seniors, are most often kept apart outside of game days.

As the two most reliable and experienced pitchers on the team, Halvorson and Dalgarn are leading almost every inning defensively.

In a season consisting mostly of weekend tournaments including threegame series and double-headers, the pitcher’s job only becomes more important and more challenging as the weekend wears on.

Most weekends end with the two veteran pitchers splitting most of the games, one starting and the other relieving and then turning around and doing it again for the next game. During the series against Creighton on April 17 and 18, Dalgarn threw a total of 162 pitches over the course of three games, including a shut-out in the first outing. Naturally, fatigue manifests further with each new pitch.

“I get a little bit tired, but you just kind have got to push through it,” Dalgarn said. “They always say, ‘You have to

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS

DePaul softball head coach Tracie Adix-Zins meets with pitcher Krista Dalgarn and catcher Jessica Cothern during a game this season. The Blue Demons are 22-9. be comfortable with being uncomfortable.’ And I’ve really learned to just be like, you know what, I’m sore and that’s okay. But as long as I’m able to go out there and keep form and just spin it, then I can hopefully help us win a game

because that’s what I’m out there to do.

I just go out there and say ‘Just win the game, it doesn’t have to be pretty.’”

Ideally a team’s roster will have three or four pitchers in active rotation, but at the end of the day, experience and

“If we had more ability to put more out there, it would be great because then everyone’s going to be fresher when we get to the conference tournament and they’ll be fresher when you get hopefully to the NCAA tournament,” said head coach Tracie Adix-Zins. “But it worked out how it did. And I mean, I’m not going to complain about it, Natalie and Krista know what they need to do and I know they’re willing to do whatever they need to do to win us games.”

The high pitch count can obviously weigh on a pitcher throughout the tournaments, especially as the season goes on. While Halvorson and Dalgarn play invaluable roles each game, AdixZins said that she’s realistic about what to expect in the later innings of a long weekend.

“And I think I’ve talked to them enough about, look, game three, give me what you got,” Adix-Zins said. “Whoever is the starter, give me three or four innings. If you can do that, then we’ll bring the next person in and they’ll finish out the game.”

While one might think this role on

See SOFTBALL, page 27