9-26

By Kiersten Riedford News Editor

For many new students, walking into the Schmitt Academic Center (SAC) can give them a flashback of walking into mid dle school on the first day of sixth grade.

The halls all look relatively the same. Getting to the right floor of the three build ings can be daunting with the mix of es calators, random staircases and elevators being everywhere, not to mention the chal lenge of making sure the student is in the appropriate building, whether it be O’Con nell, Levan or the SAC.

The sound of rattling keys followed by the sight of a man in a blue DePaul jump suit with a beaming smile is like a beacon of light for these students. Not only be cause this is an opportunity for them to ask where they are going, but because this man will ask them first if they are lost.

The first time DePaul alum Sameer Khan met Danny Cruz, head custodian of the SAC, Khan said he was lost. It was

the first month of Khan starting as an IT support student worker and he was try ing to find a classroom in the SAC. Cruz approached him to see if he needed di rections, mainly because of the concerned look Khan gave as he was wandering the halls. Instead of explaining the directions to Khan, Cruz walked Khan to the room while taking the time to ask Khan ques tions about himself.

“[Cruz] is one of those staff members who doesn’t brush [people] off,” Khan said. “I have met many staff members who tend to brush off people and treat their job as homework. He actually goes out of the way to help out students and goes above and beyond.”

Alumni like Khan, current students, fac ulty and staff members think highly of Cruz. He was recently named as one of the 125 Fac es of DePaul. In honor of the 125th anniver sary of DePaul University, students, alumni, faculty and staff nominated members of the DePaul community to be recognized as the people that best represent DePaul’s values.

‘I don’t feel worthy of it’ SAC head custodian Danny Cruz named as one of 125 Faces of DePaul Systems aligned

ERIN HENZE | THE DEPAULIA

SAC head custodian Danny Cruz, to-do list in pocket, walks across DePaul’s Lincoln Park quad.

For two weeks every year around the spring and fall equinox, the sunset and sunrise line up perfectly with the east-west streets in the city. Taken on Randolph and Dearborn. See Arts & Life story Page 22.

ERIN HENZE | THE DEPAULIA

First

The DePaulia is the official student-run newspaper of DePaul University and may not necessarily reflect the views of college administrators, faculty or staff.

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CAMPUS CRIME REPORT

La DePaulia es el noticiero oficial estudiantil en español de la Universidad DePaul, enfocado en proveer una voz para la comunidad latinx. Nuestras opiniones no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones de la administración, o de la universidad.

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LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS

Drug & AlcoholAssault & Theft Other CAMPUS

Lincoln Park Campus Crimes: Sept. 14

1) A Burglary report was filed in Centennial Hall.

2) A Bicycle Theft report was filed for a bike taken from the rack at Kenmore and Belden.

3) A Disturbance was reported on the 1000 W. Block of Fullerton.

4) A Possession of Cannabis report was filed in Sheffield Square.

5) A Criminal Damage report was filed regarding a computer damage in Corcoran Hall.

Sept. 15

6) A Motor Vehicle Theft was reported on the 1000 W. block of Belden.

Sept. 16

7) A Theft report was filed for money taken from the Bean Café in SAC.

Sept. 17

8) A Criminal Damage report was filed regarding graffiti on the 1150 W. Fullerton building.

Sept. 20 9) A Deceptive Practices report was filed regarding a student who was the victim of a phishing scam.

Loop Campus Crimes: Sept. 15

1) A Liquor Law Violation was reported in University Center. Sept. 17

2) A Drug Law Violation was reported in University Center. Sept. 19

3) A Graffiti report was filed for markings on the CDM building. Sept. 20

4) A Theft report was filed regarding a wallet theft that took place in the DePaul Center Barnes and Noble.

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DePaul offers free at-home rapid tests

By Lily Lowndes Social Media Editor

Senior Samantha Harris pushed through the rotating doors of the DePaul Center and followed the signs pointing to DePaul’s free Covid-19 PCR testing site. Once she got to the bottom of the escala tors, she was greeted by DePaul student workers running the site.

This was not Harris’ first time using DePaul’s testing site. She used the service multiple times last school year in both Lin coln Park and the Loop.

When Harris walked into the DePaul Center concourse to get tested over sum mer break, she did not know that she would be one of the last DePaul community mem bers to get a free PCR test from DePaul.

June 30, the day Harris got tested, was the last day the Covid-19 testing site was open.

DePaul began offering free saliva-based PCR tests in January to DePaul students, faculty and staff. PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, tests are highly accurate in diag nosing infectious diseases like Covid-19.

Harris went with her roommate to get a PCR test. She was shocked that the service was ending.

“When we got to the testing site, the staff let us know that today was the last day of testing,” Harris wrote in an email to The DePaulia. “When we asked if they would be returning for the fall, they said they weren’t sure.”

This was answered on Aug. 18, less than a month before the start of Fall Quar ter when DePaul released its Fall Campus Health Update. The update unveiled De Paul’s new Covid-19 safety response, in cluding the discontinuation of free on-cam pus PCR testing in favor of rapid tests.

DePaul adapts its COVID response “as the circumstances of the pandemic change,” according to the update.

“DePaul bases its COVID-19 response on state and local requirements, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, and input from the university’s Community Health Team and medical ad visor from AMITA Health,” the university update said. “We adapt our measures as the circumstances of the pandemic change.”

Harris however wrote that staff told her it was the last day of testing “due to a cut in funding.”

When asked about the financial claims, DePaul said that federal funding was one of the many factors in choosing rapid tests instead of continuing PCR testing.

“Due to the increased availability of athome tests, changing guidance on surveil lance testing from the CDC, and the end of federal funding through the CARES Act for COVID response, DePaul opted to offer at-home tests instead of on-campus, PCR testing,” said Mary Hansen, a university spokesperson.

Over the pandemic, DePaul received federal funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act. A part of the CARES Act was the Higher Education Economic Relief fund, HEERF, which allocates funds on an institutional and student level.

DePaul received over $76.2 million from the CARES Act for institutional and student relief, according to the U.S. Depart ment of Education.

In the spirit of Take Care DePaul, the university has offered an alternative free testing method for students. DePaul is pro viding rapid tests to replace the PCR test ing sites, due to the end of the CARES Act.

Students can pick up rapid tests at the Lincoln Park campus in the Health Promo

tion and Wellness (HPW) office located in suite 302 of the Student Center. Rapid tests can be picked up in the Loop campus in the Student Affairs office located on the 14th floor of the Lewis Center.

Students can take up to two rapid tests per visit, according to Tyler Wurst, the director of Health, Promotion and Wellness (HPW).

“HPW has a supply of tests intended to assist students who may not have the resources available to them to purchase tests kits or access testing from medical providers,” Wurst wrote in an email to The DePaulia.

Despite the university offering free rapid tests, Wurst recommends that stu dents seek out PCR tests instead as rapid tests are less accurate.

“We also encourage students to seek out their medical provider or local phar macy, Walgreens or CVS, to get a PCR test when possible,” Wurst wrote. “The rapid test is less accurate and there is a greater chance of a false negative.”

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends testing for Covid-19 right away if you have symptoms. Those who are exposed to Covid-19 but do not show symptoms should wait at least five full days after exposure before test ing. Chicago is at a low-risk COVID-19 spread level with 372 average daily re ported cases.

The World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press conference earlier this month that the end of the pandemic is near. He encouraged every one to keep up their efforts to combat the virus.

“We are not there yet, but the end is in sight,” said Ghebreyesus. “Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap the rewards of all our hard work.”

A student worker grabs one of the free rapid tests that is offered in the Dean of Students office. There is always a stack of the tests for students to take in both the Dean of Students office and the Health Promotion and Wellness (HPW) office, according to Tyler Wurst, director of HPW.

QUENTIN BLAIS | THE DEPAULIA

By Kiersten Riedford News Editor

In the spring 2021 Student Government Association (SGA) election, 595 students vot ed for the presidential race. In the spring 2022 election, the number of students who voted in the presidential race reduced to 351.

At the SGA meeting on Sept. 22, SGA sen ator for fourth and fifth-year students David Hupp presented these statistics to the mem bers during a presentation on the effectiveness and student awareness of SGA. Lots of faces in the rooms had either a look of shock or dis appointment at these low numbers of engage ment with SGA.

According to the DePaul Institutional Research & Market Analytics (IRMA) enroll ment statistics, spring 2021 enrollment was 19,008 students total, and spring 2022 enroll ment was 18,663 students total. Meaning that the turnout for the spring 2021 SGA presiden tial race was 3.13% and that turnout for the spring 2022 SGA presidential race was 1.88%.

The turnout in Spring 2022 was 40% lower than in Spring 2021.

“For comparison, according to outside research, typical student government election turnout at other universities is around 1520%,” Hupp said. “So the turnout at DePaul is absolutely abysmal.”

The low voter turnout can mean a lot of thngs, but most notably is students’ lack of knowledge of SGA. To combat this, SGA members are working towards being more in volved this year, beginning with the Blue De mon Welcome during Welcome Week. Mem bers and senators are aiming to be at larger events and making an increased presence on campus, according to Kevin Holechko, SGA president and senior.

But in terms of the decline of the number of voters SGA already had, Hupp said it “was

“Having a contested presidential race is generally considered by outside research to be a strong determinant of turnout,” Hupp said.

But while the voting numbers seem drasti cally low, this was also a “convenience sample” collection of data, Hupp said. He said SGA needs to and will continue to perform research on SGA effectiveness and awareness on an on going, regular basis.

“SGA needs to survey its constituents at regular intervals, first to establish a statistical baseline and then to track changes over time in constituent sentiment and behavior,” Hupp said. “One of the core goals of the ad hoc committee will be developing a sustainable framework for SGA to indefinitely continue this ongoing constituent engagement research, eventually enabling analysis of longer-term constituent engagement trends.”

When continuing research, Hupp said SGA will be negotiating with the university administration to run the survey again, this time with an appropriate representative subset of the student body.

Hupp said the committee designated to re search would most likely partner with IRMA to conduct the survey with a better sample. IRMA is the division that conducts that kind of research for the university along with IRMA having the necessary access to conduct a statis tically representative sample.

Following Hupp’s presentation, Avery Schoenhals, senator for the College of Com munication and sophomore, motioned for a new committee composed of student leaders from the college to be created.

Schoenhals said this committee would be a bridge between SGA, the students in the College of Communication and the university leadership.

“College of Communication students should know that this committee is an exten sion of the representation they already have

SGA research, committee approved never-before-seen

staff and will be able to clearly advocate for the best interests of all students. Being on the committee allows members to ensure that the voices of their peers and their organizations are being echoed to the leadership of the col lege and of the university.”

Aside from benefiting students with uni versity leadership connections to get more done within the college, Schoenhals said the committee will focus on other subjects such as working towards open-source textbooks in classes and hosting more networking event opportunities for students within the college.

“I think that there are opportunities to network, but many students still feel that the college is disjointed,” Schoenhals said. “I want to work with our college’s leaders on not only continuing to create events that allow students to network but also communicating these op portunities frequently and well in advance to give students a chance to plan to attend. The college-wide D2L page is a great start, and I hope that students take advantage of this re source to find events and programs within the college that are available to them.”

Schoenhals said his biggest goal for this committee is to build unity in the College of Communication.

“My biggest goal with this committee is to bring more unity to our student population,” Schoenhals said. “With two campuses, a large

number of commuter students, and a variety of programs, it can be challenging to create a sense of community. I hope that by the end of this year, myself and the committee will be able to honestly say that we brought a heightened sense of community to the college.”

As SGA works to build more bridges with the student body and increase engagement with the organization, creating committees like the College of Communication Advisory Ad Hoc Committee is a great start. But SGA does not plan to stop with this committee, Schoenhals said.

“Our General Body was eager to approve this committee during Thursday’s meeting, and I know that they’ll be supportive of the committee and the initiatives that we come up with as we move further into the year.”

Throughout the school year, senators for colleges other than the College of Communi cation will be creating ad hoc committees to allow students to reach university leadership and improve their college.

To join the College of Communication Advisory Ad Hoc Committee, Schoenhals said student leaders can email him with an introduction of themselves and why they are interested in joining the committee. He can be reached at aschoe11@depaul.edu.

KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA Kevin Holechko (right), SGA president and senior, and Magoli Garcia (left), SGA vice president and junior, were an uncontested match for the 2022 spring presidential election.

Timmy Knudsen appointed new alderman for 43rd Ward

By Erik Uebelacker Editor-in-Chief

Freshly appointed Ald. Timmy Knud sen (43rd) was confirmed by the Chicago City Council on Wednesday, putting him in charge of the ward he has called home since 2015. The 32-year-old is now Chicago’s youngest alderperson, the seventh member of the LGBTQ caucus and the first openly gay alderperson of the 43rd Ward.

Knudsen was previously the chair of the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals. He was ap pointed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to fill the seat left by former 43rd Ward Ald. Michele Smith, who retired in August.

“I’m grateful for the faith put into me by the 43rd Ward Selection Committee, the council and Mayor Lightfoot,” Knudsen told The DePaulia. “I get to go to work fast, you know, and that’s a big responsibility.”

Chicago’s 43rd Ward is home to DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus, and extends from Old Town to Diversey Parkway. It’s an affluent area of the city, with a median annual in come of over $150,000.

Improving public safety and schools were two of the issues that Knudsen iden tified as points of emphasis for his constitu ents. He has already floated the installation of new security cameras throughout Lincoln Park, Gold Coast and Old Town in an effort to reduce the rising crime in the 43rd Ward.

“Public safety is definitely at the top of my list,” Knudsen said. “Other lakefront al dermen use their [aldermanic] menu dollars for things like stationary cameras… those cameras, we’ve been hearing, are a deter rent.”

So far in 2022, the 43rd Ward has seen a 66% increase in robberies from last year and a 36% increase in carjackings.

For longtime ward resident Eric Dulkin, these public safety concerns have gone un answered for far too long. Dulkin has lived

in Lincoln Park for 34 years and helped start the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Watch Pro gram in an attempt to address these issues, himself.

“We have had a lot of issues with our safety, and I think it’s imperative that we deal with it,” Dulkin said. “I knew Ald. Smith for 10 years, but I don’t feel she did much for the neighborhood at all, in regard to that.”

Dulkin, who called for more police pres ence in Lincoln Park, hopes that Knudsen will be more accepting towards the requests of 43rd Ward residents like him.

“I want him to be receptive to the needs of others, to accommodate people when they ask for it,” he said. “My mom is 75 years old, and she struggles with her health, and I struggle being permanently disabled and need accommodation in this neighborhood. You can’t get it.”

Knudsen said his time spent living in the ward, as well as his aldermanic campaign, has familiarized him with the issues of those in the area.

“It’s a very engaged group of residents,” Knudsen said. “Their concerns are my con cerns, and their creativity and solutions are also my creativity and solutions… We share these issues that the 43rd Ward is facing with public safety. And everyone wants the strongest public schools here and, and we can get there, it just takes work.”

Prior to being appointed as the alder man of the 43rd Ward, Knudsen was part of Mayor Lightfoot’s 2019 campaign finance team. He also worked as a lawyer at Croke Fairchild Morgan & Beres, where he is a partner.

“In private practice, he counseled en trepreneurs to grow their businesses, and founded the firm’s pro bono services which represents LGBTQ asylum seekers,” said Ce sar Toledo, political director of the LGBTQ Victory Fund.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund is a political

action committee that aims to increase the number of openly LGBTQ public officials in the U.S. The PAC backed Knudsen’s alder manic aspirations, encouraged by his past work as a lawyer and community leader in the 43rd Ward.

“We are excited, and we look forward to his leadership, which is now more im portant than ever,” Toledo said. “Not only is Timmy a millennial out gay man, but he will also bring a humble lens to support the hun dreds of asylum seekers bused from Texas.”

Knudsen is one of several alderpersons now collecting donations to support mi grants being transported from Texas. So far, over 800 migrants have been bused from Texas to Chicago. This comes amid an ongo ing battle over immigration policy between Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration, which prompted Ab bott to send thousands of migrants to cities

with Democratic leadership like New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago.

“Greg Abbott’s treatment of migrants is totally inhumane,” Knudsen said. “All Chi cagoans are really feeling a call to action on this... So for my first project, to really mobi lize the ward members, let’s donate food and goods that you can. Let’s really give back.”

After representing LGBTQ asylum ap plicants during his law career, Knudsen sees this new migration challenge as a way to unite his constituents around a common good.

“Let’s welcome people,” he said. “I think it will be a great way to engage the commu nity, as well as show the things that are really important to me.”

Knudsen will serve the rest of former Ald. Smith’s term until February of 2023, where he will have to run for election to retain the seat.

COURTESY OF TIMMY KNUDSEN’S FACEBOOK | PHOTO

Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) was sworn into the Chicago City Council at a City Council meeting on Sept. 21. Knudson is the first openly gay alderman for the 43rd Ward.

Knudson was appointed to the role by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. He is the third alderman Lightfoot has appointed this year and is currently the youngest alderman, being 32 years old.

COURTESY OF TIMMY KNUDSEN’S FACEBOOK | PHOTO

Basic Needs Hub opens downtown location

By Kiersten Riedford News Editor

The Basic Needs Hub, a food pantry and career closet for students on DePaul’s campus, has opened a new location on the Loop cam pus.

This is the second location the hub has opened. The hub now operates in the Lincoln Park Student Center in Room 107 and in the DePaul Center in the Loop in Room 9700.

The food pantry and the career closet combined efforts last year to create a central location for students in need of profession al clothing that cannot afford it or for those who may be food insecure to receive canned and non-perishable foods. Over the summer, the staff recognized students’ basic needs go beyond food and clothing. Through feedback they received from students and research they did on other schools’ support programs, they came up with the idea of The Basic Needs Hub over the summer, according to Sydney Breed love, Basic Needs Hub student assistant and sophomore.

As of now, the hub offers students a vari ety of food options available from the pantry section—not just non-perishable foods. It also has a fair amount of office clothes from the career closet and toiletries, including products like tampons and maxi pads. Breedlove said the hub can also offer students towels and bed sheets upon request.

Jen Fox, the associate director of the De partment of Housing, Dining and Student Centers, said the adjustments to what the hub now provides, as well as offering a second loca

tion, is innovating how students can thrive on and off-campus.

“In order for students to be successful in the classroom, they need to feel secure in their day-to-day lives,” Fox said in Newsline. “The Basic Needs Hub will not only supply them with the necessities but give them the support they need while achieving their personal and professional goals. Now, students can access resources on both campuses, which is excit ing.”

Junior Katie Holloway said she has used the hub on a couple of occasions. She said she usually uses it when times are tough or when the weather is bad because she has physical limitations and cannot always go to the store, especially in the winter.

“The best part of the food pantry/career closet is that everything is free and there is no charge whatsoever,” she said. “I also like how they accept donations such as gently used clothing or shoes.”

Holloway mentioned the hub also offers clothing that is not just professional clothing so students who are in need of basic clothing are able to use it too.

“One of my friends came to my dorm be cause it was downpouring out and they didn’t want to commute in the rain,” Holloway said. “Their clothes were wet from the rain, and they needed some clothes to wear. I didn’t have any that would fit them, so I took them to the career closet and they were so grateful that they had clothes to wear. That made my heart happy because I was able to help them when they didn’t have anything.”

Breedlove said Combatting short and

Vote DePaul members register students on National Voter Registration Day

By Grace Slagle Contributing Writer

In honor of National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 20, Vote DePaul encouraged and informed students about voting access and how to get registered in the Loop and LPC. Students could register, check to see if they were already registered or request an absentee ballot through Vote DePaul.

Some students were excited as they passed by the Vote DePaul table, others indifferent; howev er, graduate student Hannah Waters was ready to answer any questions students had. Waters serves as a voter registration genius, or VRG for short.

“We help students register to vote, get reg istered, answer any voting related questions,” Waters said. “We’re just here to assist people in registering to vote because honestly, a lot of states make it as hard as possible.”

Senior Rita Ismayl, a volunteer with Vote DePaul, said the organization has been working over the past week to register students, with an emphasis on brand new Blue Demons.

“I think the freshmen are the ones who aren’t registered yet, so we get them to register,” Ismayl said.

Advocacy for registration for young voters is necessary; according to Census.gov, only 55.8 percent of voters aged 18-24 were registered for the 2020 election.

“One of the main goals of Vote DePaul is to get as many kids registered as possible because youth are notorious for not voting,” Waters said. “Less than half of 18-25 turned out to vote, and for many, the 2016 election was a big deal, and the reason why a certain candidate won is be cause certain people didn’t vote.”

Freshman Beka Underhill approached the Vote DePaul table and was excited to finally reg ister.

“I’ve been needing to vote for a long time, but

right when I was turning 18 is when I was tran sitioning to college and moving here,” Underhill said. “So it was kind of hard to do that while I was doing everything else, so this was a perfect con venient setup.”

Underhill has had an underlying passion for voting rights for several years.

“I was part of the Young Democrats Club so we actually had an event that I helped organize where we went out through the entire cafeteria and asked people, ‘Are you 18? Do you want to register to vote right now?’ It was really cool be cause both the Young Democrats and the Young Republicans did it together, so we made sure that one group wasn’t feeling outcast and not wanting to register to vote,” Underhill said

That’s something that’s incredibly important to Vote DePaul, as Waters emphasizes.

“We are a nonpartisan organization,” Waters said. “We try our best to be very neutral when trying to get people registered, most people that come up to get registered tend to be more liber al but it’s important to be nonpartisan… A lot of kids are excited about getting registered to vote and they’re like, ‘thank you!’ because it is hard to register, and that’s one of the main barriers.”

For Underhill, the aggravation is in people thinking their vote is meaningless.

“It’s frustrating to see that people don’t think it matters, but I understand where it comes from, and that makes me a little bit sad,” Underhill said.

“It’s still important to still go out there, because we do have a voice, even if it is minute, it can still make a change. Having those hard conversations is really important because they may not realize something that is important, or you may not understand their point of view, so it’s tough and it’s really scary, but having hard conversations is really, really important.”

Many of the students working with Vote De Paul have experiences that served as catalysts for their passion for voting. Several mentioned voter

long-term food insecurity has always been im portant to her. She said she has volunteered at both the Lincoln Park and the Loop pantries as well as short-term disaster relief food drives.

“Having the opportunity to continue bringing awareness and fight food insecurity directly on campus is so fulfilling, and really plays into the core Vincentian values of Pub lic Service and Community Collaboration,” Breedlove said.

Breedlove said volunteering at the hub and being able to help those in the DePaul commu nity has brought her a personal community that she is grateful for. She said she is always happy when she gets to see those in need get what they need, especially for free.

“The best interactions are always with students using the Career Closet,” Breedlove said. “I always try to hype them up, and we sometimes make a fashion show out of it while trying on c clothes for a job interview or in

ternship.”

While the hub has already experienced so many changes in the past year, Breedlove said the hub will continue to change for the better.

Holloway suggested one way to continue to improve the hub is to offer a delivery ser vice. She said an app or general call-in service would be beneficial so that if a person is bound to their dorm or home they can have basic items delivered to them instead of having to go out and get them.

Breedlove said students can expect to see more items like winter coats and school sup plies soon. Students should also anticipate a bigger hub space on the Lincoln Park campus to have more shelving space and changing rooms.

To see what hours the hub is open in both locations, as well as find additional informa tion about the hub, students can look on De Paul’s website under the Student Centers page.

turnout in the 2016 election as a reason they be gan to pursue activism.

“That was a scary election and it really had me scared for America, so it was really sad that I couldn’t vote and it was upsetting knowing that the people that could vote, the younger genera tion that could vote at that time, didn’t go out and vote,” Ismayl said. “That’s what inspires me to push people to register to vote and to go vote myself in all the things I can vote in, so, primaries, midterms and main elections.”

DePaul’s student body, which is largely made up of members of Generation Z (ages 17-25, in this case) according to College Factual, is partic ularly well-suited to handle political challenges.

“I feel like our generation is almost, like, the activist generation, so we’ve seen all of these things happen in our lives, we saw Covid, and some of us saw 9/11,” Underhill said. “I mean, we’ve experienced so much history in such a short amount of time, and we see what needs to happen.”

Gen Z’s experiences throughout the past de cade have meant they’ve harnessed an untamed passion for social and political justice.

“Our climate is being destroyed, and so it

can make us hopeless but I also think it makes us fight harder, and so I think it’s so important [to vote]. With the Black Lives Matter movement, our entire generation stood up and led that, so I think it’s really important for us to get that into legislation as well, because then we can make change from the inside as well as doing it from the outside,” Underhill said.

At the end of the day, Underhill’s passion for voting rights lies in personal experience.

“As a gay individual, seeing different legis lations come about, and that I was only legally allowed to marry in 2015, and seeing how im portant that change was and how it’s still happen ing today, especially because we’re a democratic country, so voting matters,” Underhill said. “And even if you think you’re just one grain in a million grains of sand, it does matter.”

To Underhill, a real, tangible difference exists in voting.

“It’s not only just a debate, it’s my life and my existence, it’s other people’s lives and their exis tence, this is super super important,” Underhill said.

COURTESY OF SYDNEY BREEDLOVE | PHOTO

The Basic Needs Hub that is available in the Loop is located in the DePaul Center on the seventh floor. Students have access to the food pantry, hygenic products and a career closet.

KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA

Second-year graduate student Hannah Waters hands an envelope and stamps to a student who is registering to vote. Waters said some states require someone to mail in their forms.

Dean of School of Music steps down; students, faculty critical of leadership

By Stephania Rodriguez Staff Writer

School of Music (SOM) Dean Ron ald Caltabiano stepped down from his role on Sept. 16 for personal reasons, but many are not grieving the loss of Calta biano.

“It is with great sadness that I step aside from my role as dean of the School of Music,” Caltabiano said. “It’s been an honor of a lifetime to work with such talented students, faculty, and staff. I will forever be grateful to the extended DePaul community for helping us build state-of-the-art music facilities that truly showcase the talents of our faculty, staff, and students, and are as impressive as any country house on a college campus. I look forward to watching the school grow and thrive in the coming years.”

Katherine Brucher, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of music, will serve as acting interim dean.

Nominations for interim dean of the SOM have already begun being solicited the week after Caltabiano stepped down, according to DePaul Newsline. For those who accept the nomination, feedback will be requested from faculty and staff in the school.

The university will share more in formation regarding the search for the school’s next dean when it is available.

Caltabiano joined DePaul in July 2016 and oversaw the SOM’s move into the state-of-the-art Holtschneider Per formance Center and the Sasha and Eu gene Jarvis Opera Hall. He is also cred ited with expanding the school’s degree offerings, bringing new students and faculty to the school and increasing the number of degrees offered to 16.

He also cultivated relationships with donors, raising nearly $25 million in funding for student scholarships and de gree programs.

Though Caltabiano has received praise for his achievements as dean, his tenure has also been open to criticism, with students even calling for his dis missal in 2020.

As for what students hope to see in the SOM’s next leader, some hope that Caltabiano’s financial savviness will be repeated in their next leader, but not pri oritized.

Drummer and senior jazz studies student and senior Alejandro Salazar believes the SOM needs a Black leader, preferably a woman.

“We just need someone different,” Salazar said. “This school has been run by all white men, so let’s just do the com plete opposite. I mean, the Black woman is the most underrepresented person in this school, so why not have one be our leader?”

“On top of that, it’s disgraceful that the School of Music only has one Black professor, Dana Hall,” Salazar said. “It’s absolutely disgusting, actually.”

Generally, Salazar said, the SOM should have more leaders and professors representing the students they teach, as well as teaching the music born from their respective demographic.

“We need Latinos teaching Central and South American and Caribbean mu sic,” he said. “To me, it’s logical. So many other schools get it, but for some reason, this school just doesn’t.”

There are many talented students of

color coming in and out of DePaul, Sala zar continued.

“For us to look up to and be like, ‘yeah you like us, I’ve seen people like you all of my life, and you’re doing this thing at such a high level,’” he said. “That’s so in spiring for people of color, to see some one like them do the thing, be the leader.”

Connor Sullivan, bass player and first-year jazz studies student, echoed Salazar’s sentiments and hopes to see more representation in the SOM’s faculty.

“We have no world music degrees either,” Sullivan said. “We have a small number of classes for world music and African music which is super influential on what we’re listening to today.”

SOM alumnus J Holzen’s first in-per son academic year at DePaul was in the 2021-2022 school year, the year they graduated. Upon arriving to the SOM, they faced issues that made it difficult and uncomfortable for them to be trans gender.

Holzen said they raised a concern to then Dean Caltabiano via email about a lack of gen der-neutral bathrooms in the new Holtschnei der Performance Center and the Sasha and Eugene Jarvis Opera Hall buildings.

Caltabiano acknowledged Holzen’s concern and said that there were in fact three gender neutral bathrooms. Holzen said these bathrooms were either spread far apart on opposite ends of the build ing, had no specification of gender neu trality, or were always locked.

After speaking with the SOM’s Di versity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, Holzen’s concern manifested into one of the single-use bathrooms receiving a laminated-sign specifying gender-neu trality.

“I eventually decided that it wasn’t my job to make the entirety of the School of Music more accommodating to trans people in the most minimal ways, and the most basic ways,” Holzen said.

Holzen hopes the SOM’s future ad ministrators have a “healthy awareness for what they can and cannot do.”

COURTESY OF MARCO SANCHEZ | PHOTO

School of Music Dean Ronald Caltabiano announced on Sept. 9 that he would step down from his role effective Sept. 16 for personal reasons.

ERIN HENZE | THE DEPAULIA School of Music students practice in one of the rehearsal rooms. Drummer and jazz studies student Alejandro Salazar believes the school needs a Black leader, preferably a woman.

COURTESY OF THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC | PHOTO Katherine Brucher, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of music, will serve as acting interim dean.

“This school has been run by all white men, so let’s just do the complete opposite.”

Alejandro Salazar Drummer and jazz studies student and senior

SAFE-T SLANDER

Misinformation surrounds Illinois new criminal justice reform law

By Erik Uebelacker & Patrick Sloan-Turner Editor-in-Chief & Online Managing Editor

Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the high ly publicized SAFE-T Act into law last year. In recent weeks, the act has been the subject of countless headlines and a major talking point amongst Illinois politicians, with some calling it a “Purge” law.

“I think it’s brazenly political propagan da,” said Carlos Ballesteros, a reporter at the non-profit journalism organization Injus tice Watch. “[SAFE-T is] being pushed by not only elected officials on the right here in Chicago and Illinois, but also by fake news papers.”

Ballesteros recently took part in the con versation himself, writing that the dialogue surrounding the new law is a “misinforma tion campaign.”

The act, which will take effect in Jan. 2023, reforms several criminal justice prac tices in Illinois, but the part that has spurred much conversation is the subset of the bill known as the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA).

The PFA effectively abolishes cash bail in Illinois. Once in effect, a defendant may only be detained before a trial if they are charged with specific violent felonies like murder or sexual assault. While the law will increase the amount of those granted pretrial release, it still gives courts the ability to hold defen dants of which they deem are safety or flight risks.

Getting rid of cash bail for non-violent offenses is seen as an important step towards equality for many whose life work is cen tered towards criminal justice reform.

“It’s definitely a huge step in a positive direction,” said Kareem Butler, a Pretri al Justice Fellow at Chicago Appleseed, an

organization centered on achieving equity within the Illinois criminal justice system. “The fundamental values behind it are really racial equity and racial justice.”

Cook County Jail, one of the largest detention centers in the country, currently holds a disproportionate number of Black detainees. Almost three-quarters of Cook County Jail’s population is Black.

“We’re excited about the PFA because the reality is, the majority of people who are affected by the cash bail system in Illinois, are poor and Black or Brown and come from lower income communities,” Butler said.

While those working in criminal jus tice reform may be excited about what the act, which is the country’s first statewide legislation that abolishes cash bail, does for low-income detainees, others have taken the act and used it for political messaging.

“We must not allow this law to stand as passed,” said Keith Pekau, Orland Park May or and Republican candidate running for congress in Illinois’ 6th district, at a village board meeting on Sept 6. “Someone could decide to live in your shed, and all we could do is give them a ticket... This is a massive threat to residents of Orland Park, Cook County, and Illinois.”

It is claims like this that numerous fact-checking outlets are categorizing as patently untrue. Ballesteros’ own Injustice Watch, Snopes.com and Politico have all dispelled claims like Pekau’s, explaining that the language in the act still awards police discretion to arrest anyone they determine is a threat to public safety, no matter the charge.

It’s not just politicians using the act to incite fear.

Earlier this month, many Illinois resi dents received a fake newspaper, “Chicago

City Wire” in their mailboxes. The racial ly charged mailer, which was published by right-wing radio personality Dan Proft, made claims that under the PFA, masses of detainees will be released into Chicago streets. This claim has also been debunked, and another example of what some see as fear-mongering that hurts the perception of Chicago.

“Narratives about violence in the city have a pretty good stronghold across the country,” Ballesteros said. “When you com bine that with a law that purports to free criminals from jail and let loose these wild murderers or whatever, then it’s, kind of the match that lights the gasoline, if you will.”

Supporters of the new law see the finan cial burden of the state’s current bail system as unjust, as those from low-income com munities are detained and remain in jail pre trial simply because they cannot afford bail.

In January, the U.S. Commission on

Civil Rights released a report detailing that more than 60% of U.S. inmates are detained prior to trial because of an inability to afford bail. The commission also found that pretri al detention leads to several negative conse quences like an increased likelihood to be convicted, future lack of access to housing, negative effects on employment status and a greater likelihood that a detainee will be charged with a crime in the future.

Demetrius Jordan, a DePaul marketing professor with criminal justice reform ex pertise, says there’s also a financial incentive to the state abolishing cash bail.

“It’s [going to] save the state an incredi ble amount of money,” Jordan said. “They’re [paying] to house these people in jail.”

According to Jordan, the new law that many conservatives are spreading misinfor mation about, is actually something that will save taxpayers money, a major ideology of conservative government.

“That conservative base that wants smaller government, this is actually a law that serves them and takes less money out of the taxpayer’s pocket,” Jordan said.

Now that the act is passed and will go into effect in January , supporters like Butler are now focusing on fighting back against the misinformation surrounding the law, and making sure that it is ex ecuted as it is written. He and his col leagues expect the false rhetoric to con tinue as Illinois gets closer to seeing the law put into action.

“You have folks around the state so dedicated to undermining the PFA,” Butler said. “If that’s any indication of what’s to come, I think we can assume that there will be people trying to real ly undermine its effectiveness after it’s been implemented.“

“[SAFE-T is] being pushed by not only elected officials on the right here in Chicago and Illinois, but also by fake newspapers.”

Carlos Ballesteros Reporter for Injustice Watch

PAT NABONG | CHICAGO SUN-TIMES VIA AP

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he is in support of the SAFE-T act, a law that features sweeping criminal justice reform and ending the cash bail in Illinois on Jan. 1, 2023. Proponents of the law say this law will help end systemic racism in the criminal justice system in Illinois. There is a large of response to this act as a result of propaganda from political groups.

“Cruz definitely deserves this award,” Khan said. “He shows that De Paul can be an open and inviting edu cational community. By welcoming the students and going out of the way to ask how they are doing throughout the day he makes DePaul [an] inclusive environ ment for all of the students.”

Rich Wiltse, Director of Facility Op erations, said Cruz “absolutely” deserves this recognition.

“Danny is a faith-driven individu al who walks his talk, works hard and uplifts those around him,” Wiltse said. “Danny loves being a member of this community and that love shines through every day.”

Outside of working at the university, Cruz said he spends time with his wife and two children and avidly works at Chicago Dream Center Manna for Life, a food pantry located at 2704 W. North Ave. Cruz said he sets aside every Sat urday morning from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to help out at the pantry. Cruz said it is important to him to be living out the Vincentian mission at work and also in his daily life.

While plenty of people in DePaul’s community, like Wiltse and Khan, think Cruz is a great person to be one of the faces of DePaul, Cruz said he doesn’t feel the same.

“Being one of the 125 Faces — I don’t feel worthy of it,” Cruz said. “There’s so many people contributing at a high er level, right? This is my job. This is what I do. This is what I chose to do. And I know that [what] comes with it, is to take care of the kids. . . My job is to serve people with a smile.”

Cruz said he is grateful people see him as someone who should be recog nized as one of the faces of DePaul. He is also thankful for the people who inspire him to be a better person and a better custodian. Cruz said Bob Janis, vice president of Facility Operations, is one of those inspiring people. But, Cruz says he is most grateful for the students and the opportunities DePaul has given him.

“My favorite part is this,” Cruz said while gesturing to the students laying around on the quad ,. “This is the life of the university. Without you guys, there is no life. But once you guys come on campus, you make things happen.”

In regards to the opportunities De Paul gave him, Cruz spoke highly about how the university was willing to pay for his wife and students to earn their de grees for free here, nonetheless how the university treated him and the rest of the janitorial staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, most univer sities were cutting their janitorial staff, Cruz said.

“The whole Kenmore street,” Cruz said with a pause and a saddened look in his eyes. “Not one stinking car. There was nobody here on campus, yet DePaul kept us.”

Cruz has worked for DePaul for the past 28 years and he said he plans to continue working at the university until he retires.

Until he retires, Khan said Cruz should never stop being that beaming light for people who need it.

“I never want him to stop being passionate about helping out students,” Khan said.

Wiltse said Cruz has always been reassuring and motivating, even when Wiltse was a freshman at DePaul. Wil tse said he hopes Cruz’s ability to lift the spirits of those around him never changes.

Rich Wiltse Director of Facility Operations

“Danny has undoubtedly brought a smile or a bit of reassurance to many hundreds of students over the years,” Wiltse said. “Danny serves as an excel lent reminder and example of the fact that we all have the power to uplift those around us. While nobody can help ev eryone, we can all help brighten the day for someone.”

ERIN HENZE | PHOTO

Cruz reaches into the dirt of the flowers to see if it is damp. Cruz said there are small jobs within his job that make his work incredibly important to making the university what it is.

ERIN HENZE | PHOTO

Danny Cruz, head custodian of the Schmitt Academic Center (SAC), points to a stamp of his face from 20 years ago. Cruz said this student-made mural of Saint Vincent de Paul was made out of stamps faces of people in the DePaul community.

“Danny serves as an excellent reminder and example of the fact that we all have the power to uplift those around us. While nobody can help everyone, we can all help brighten the day for someone.”

Nation & World

Governer Newsom passes new legislation for California’s fast food industry

By Yazen Barakat Contributing Writer

California welcomed a new law that brought a significant amount of contro versy this past Labor Day. Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed new legislation A.B. 257 that he believes will empower more than half a million workers across the state. For as much praise as Newsom and the bill have received from fast food workers, he is getting equally as much criticism by business owners across the nation.

The legislation will create a new 10 member fast food council composed of business, labor and government repre sentatives who are appointed by the gov ernor. These representatives will carry the responsibility of setting wages and assuring safe and healthy working con ditions within California. For members of this council to issue a law, 10,000 Cal ifornia fast food workers must approve a petition.

California’s current minimum wage is set at $15 per hour. In the next calen dar year, that will increase to up to $22 per hour with the ability to grow in sync with the consumer price index (CPI) up to 3.5% a year.

Fast food workers in California have shown approval of the decision on social media and are envisioning the future of the fast food industry and the impact the bill will have on fast food workers.

California’s proposal is good news for those who live in the state, but fast food employees across the nation strug gle to make ends meet. Ana Israelson, a DePaul student, currently employed in a restaurant in Chicago, spoke on the ef fect of A.B. 257 and its potential impact on college students who double as fast food workers.

“Hopefully, working part-time in fast food will provide a more livable wage for students who have to balance school and work. It is hard to work and have school simultaneously, but unfortunately, it is a necessity when you are on your own,” Israelson said. “With better hours and wages, the work and school balance will benefit many students.”

Poor working conditions and wages have been of significant concern for em ployees within the fast food industry for decades. California is the first state to act on the conditions of workers in the industry at this level.

52% of the families of front-line fast food workers are enrolled in one or more public programs to meet their ba sic needs, compared to 25% of the rest of the workforce, according to the Uni versity of California at Berkeley Labor Center.

Another study by the UCLA Labor Center found that half of all fast food workers in the state have reported expe riencing verbal abuse. It also has shown that more than two in five say they have experienced injury or illness in the workplace in the last year.

The passing of A.B. 257 is not only viewed from a positive perspective; the legislation was passed on Sept. 5 with minimal margin, and is already being contested.

The law and its presence have not been limited to California alone. Me dia and fast food industry members in other major cities and states, including Illinois, have shared strong opinions on the law.

“The law is controversial,” said Chris Bury, DePaul journalism professor. “These owners are not going to want the government to tell their franchises what wages to pay and what their working conditions should be.”

The International Franchise Asso ciation (IFA), a membership organiza tion for over 1,400 franchise brands and 775,000 small franchise businesses na tionwide, released a statement after the act was signed into law.

“The law singles out the quick-ser vice restaurant industry and the fran chise business model and stands to in crease prices at impacted restaurants across the state, harming local business es without improving existing worker protections in the state,” IFA wrote.

Amid the intense struggle in the United States with inflation, the pass ing of this bill conflicts with the strategy of numerous business owners trying to stay open. Still feeling the effects of the pandemic, many local business owners fear the new legislation in California, passing along to other states across the nation.

Abraham Rahman is the proud own er of three Seafood Junction restaurants across the Chicagoland area and voiced his opinion on California’s new legisla tion.

“We are in trouble,” Rahman said. “The cost of food is already high, and this will continue to raise our prices.”

Business owners like Rahman are struggling to stay competitive with prices and have continuously found themselves in limbo regarding staff maintenance. Though improved health conditions and livable wages are prom ising ways of living, the fear for owners

such as Rahman continues to rise.

“You can’t continue to raise your prices on your customers. Small busi

nesses won’t be around much longer,” Rahmen said.

JULIA NIKHINSON| ASSOCIATED PRESS

Governer Newsom has passed legislation in recent months, including bills regarding fast food labor, prison and climate reform.

Puerto Ricans desperate for water after Fiona’s rampage

By Dánica Coto Associated Press

Pakistan battles disease surge as flood deaths surpass 1,600

By Munir Ahmed Associated Press

Pakistan deployed thousands more doctors and medics to battle the outbreak of disease as the death toll from the unprece dented floods that have gripped the country this monsoon season surpassed 1,600 on Friday, offi

cials said.

The disaster management agency said 10 more people had died from the floods in the past 24 hours — four in Sindh, the worsthit province in the deluge, and six in Baluchistan province — bring ing the overall number of fatalities to 1,606 across Pakistan.

Storm damages space center in Japan, 130K still lack power

By Mari Yamaguchi Associated Press

A tropical storm that dumped heavy rain as it cut across Japan moved into the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday after killing two and in juring more than 100, paralyzing traffic and leaving thousands of homes without power.

New damage was reported in southern Japan, where Typhoon Nanmadol hit over the weekend before weakening as it moved north.

ALEJANDRO GRANADILLO | ASSOCIATED PRESS

A man collects spring water from a mountain in Cayey, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, September 20, 2022.

Pakistani patients suffering from dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, are treated in

K.M. CHAUDARY | ASSOCIATED PRESS

More than a half million people in Puerto Rico remained without water service three days after Hurricane Fiona slammed into the U.S. territory, and many spent hours in lines Wednesday to fill jugs from water trucks while others scooped water from mountain runoff.

A collapsed road is seen following a typhoon in Morotsuka, Miyazaki prefecture, Tues day, Sept. 20, 2022.

CREATIVE COMMONS

CREATIVE COMMONS

Opinions

Legal protection for cannabis needs to be extended to hiring practices

By Michael Boland Contributing Writer

While many states have legalized rec reational cannabis use, most states still allow employers to discriminate against employees for their choice to use.

In the U.S., 19 states along with Washington D.C. allow recreational cannabis use for adults, yet only six states have imposed limitations on employers’ ability to discriminate in hiring practices based on recreational cannabis use.

This discrepancy highlights one of the major problems with cannabis laws being determined on a state-by-state basis, rather than the federal government taking a stance in favor of recreational use.

“Federal cannabis is still illegal, so there’s a contradiction here,” said Xavier Perez, a criminology professor at DePaul. “Once, or if, it becomes legal at a federal level, we’d have more grounds to end drug testing by employers. I believe that this issue is an extension of civil rights but at this point it is difficult for us to make grounds on this matter.”

For many cannabis activists, includ ing Xavier Perez, the discriminatory his tory of cannabis is justification enough to fight for the end of testing from employers in recreational states.

“Drug testing is absolutely an exten sion of the War on Drugs,” Xavier Perez said. “It is an extension of the morality that our country has about drugs, and by extension, about people of color. Drugs are racial.”

The demonization of cannabis, and other drugs, was a calculated strategy by politicians to criminalize minority populations. According to Xavier Perez, cannabis was associated with Mexicans in the west, and Black Americans in urban settings, and then criminalized to outlaw racial minorities by-proxy.

“Random marijuana testing in the workplace, such as pre-employment drug screening, has never been an evi dence-based policy,” said Paul Armen tano, deputy director of the NORML Foundation, a nonprofit established to

educate the public about cannabis.

“Rather, this discriminatory practice is a holdover from the zeitgeist of the 1980s ‘War on Drugs.”

Discrimination based on recreation al cannabis use in states becomes even more problematic when looking at the history of alcohol in the United States. Prohibition occurred in part due to the association of alcohol with European ethnic groups that are now viewed as “white.” The transition from alcohol being a demonized drug to a widely accepted drug is characterized by this transition to whiteness.

Compared to alcohol, the effects of cannabis on society are trivial. According to the Cannabis Policy Project, canna bis use does not contribute to overdose deaths, long-term health problems, violent crimes or serious injuries – all of which can not be said about alcohol.

While it is now widely understood

Paul Armentano Deputy Director of the NORML Foundation

that marijuana is significantly less wharmful than alcohol to health, and can actually be used for medicinal purposes, alcohol continues to be an acceptable drug for employees to consume.

“Disqualifying potential employees for cannabis use is both outdated and bad for business,” Violet Cavendish said, communications manager at Marijua na Policy Project. “It simply does not make sense for responsible, law-abiding citizens to be denied employment or risk losing their jobs for using canna bis outside of the workplace, especially considering workers can’t be fired for using far-more dangerous substances like tobacco and alcohol.”

While the abolishment of cannabis drug testing by employers may seem like a radical idea to many, there is a middle ground.

While Xavier Perez is passionate in his belief that ending cannabis testing is a civil rights issue, he does believe that it can still be utilized as a reaction to bad performance in the workplace.

“If there seems to be interference with what you’re doing in the workplace, then there needs to be some action taken,” Xavier Perez said. “But when I think of drug use, it is medicinal. We have people taking all types of prescribed medication, and they’re fine. For people

who take it medicinally, they’re self-med icating.”

The medicinal qualities of cannabis are recognized by most states, yet many of those same states, including Illinois, allow employment discrimination based on use.

“People shouldn’t face discrimination for legal activities they engage in offthe-clock,” Maritza Perez said, director of the Office of Federal Affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance. “This is especially true for marijuana patients who should not be penalized for using medicine they have the legal right to in states that have medical programs.”

Americans have seen a gradual movement towards recreational use, but even states that seem to be progressive in their attitudes have a long way to go to reckon with the destructive history of the criminalization of cannabis.

Cannabis testing needs to be removed as a barrier for hiring in states that have legalized recreational use in order to leave the discriminatory history of the drug in the past. While the ideal route would be to legalize cannabis on a federal level, recreational users in legal states should not have their job security threat ened due to outdated and discriminatory practices.

The opinions in this section do not necessarially reflect those of The DePaulia

“Random marijuana testing in the workplace...has never been an evidence-based policy,”

The Minneapolis May Day Parade in 2017, organized by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, marches along Bloomington Ave., MN

TONY WEBSTER | CREATIVE COMMONS

SAMANTHA MOILANEN | THE DEPAULIA

True crime podcasts: stop treating exploitation as entertainment

By lilly K eller

Arts and Life Editor

It is no secret that America loves true crime. No, seriously, one in three Amer icans admit to consuming any form of true-crime-related media at least once a week and one in four confess to interacting with the genre at least four times a week.

It is difficult not to question the morality and unavoidable profiteering that coincides when victims of violent crime become a synonym for pleasure and profit.

I myself, am no saint. During the pandemic, the true crime genre offered me a sense of much-needed control as my world was flipped upside down. Over an episodic blur of female suffering, I gained an awareness of my resilience and validation of humanity’s cruelty.

My indulgence has always discomfort ed me, yet I find myself returning to the genre like clockwork. It is harmful and I feel dirty;however, it begs the question of just how damaging consuming true crime can be.

While the genre has existed since the Victorian era, it is difficult not to notice just how profoundly true crime has saturated the entertainment industry. From books to podcasts to documentaries and everything in between, true crime’s ubiquity has proven to be almost inescapable.

DePaul criminology professor Rhonda DeLong explains why the genre is irresistible to consumers.

“It seems to be so entrenched in our cul ture, at least historically, looking back at all of the things that have happened, like the Civil War, brother against brother type of thing,” DeLong said.

While I do not believe individuals should be condemned for giving in to the world of true crime, my problem lingers with how the

genre not only profits off victims and their families but also constructs a false narrative of victimhood and promotes unhealthy patterns of thought.

“It’s about what sells, what makes money, and it’s sad, and that’s you know what many of them [producers of true crime] are look ing at,” DeLong said.

True crime has made it disturbingly easy for viewers to overlook that the victims, whose accounts they hear, are real people, not merely characters in a novel. Coupled alongside the genre’s accessibility to take in story after story, it becomes painfully avail able for the worst day in an individual’s life to become nothing more than a momentary fix of entertainment.

“When do you get to that point of ex ploitation?” DeLong said. “I see that in our news media, you know it’s like let’s throw in some pictures of gross dead bodies and de struction and all that. To me that’s exploita tion, not making us aware and eventually we will become numb to it.”

Yet, beyond gory imagery and drama tized reenactments, true crime holds power to bolster misleading notions of victimhood, reinforcing racist ideology within a justice system already plagued by injustices.

Although men of all races ages 16 to 24 undergo the highest violent crime rate, it has been proven that Black men are most likely to endure victimization by crime.

However, it is unlikely that faithful consumers of true crime would know this.

With 73% of true crime podcast consumers being women, it is not surprising that content creators mirror their audience within their production, relying on America’s fascination with missing and endangered white women.

“It gives us those preconceived ideas and we judge people a lot based on them and

what the media shows us,” DeLong said.

Not only does this ingrain a false percep tion of victimhood, but it encourages women to assume that every stranger holds the potential to murder them.

I am not saying that white female victims should be ignored. Rather, the same desire and attention audiences have to bring them to justice must be given to men and women of color.

DePaul criminology professor Geneva Brown explains the importance of under standing the reality of crime, and not relying on entertainment for news.

“If you look at the actual statistics of homicide victims, upper class white women are probably the least likely to suffer any sort of violent crime that there seems to be a fas cination with,” Brown said. “Again, because it happens so rarely within those circles of power and influence that’s what makes it a fascination.”

As seen most recently through the Gabby Petito case, the 22-year-old became a symbol

of innocence and purity, gaining national media attention overnight. Yet while Petito’s case got resolved, little changed for the 710 Indigenous people, mainly women and girls, who had vanished within Wyoming in the decade before and leading up to her death.

“We don’t cover missing women of color, and the population that is most victimized is Indigenous women and Mexican women, especially in Juarez,” Brown said. “There have been a number of ritual killings and we don’t talk about them.”

It is unlikely that true crime will ever fall out of fashion and even more unfortunate that the genre will ever place morality and justice above profit and viewership. So, what can we do?

In short, stop consuming this media. If it does not bring justice to the victim and their family or combat harmful stereotypes of victimhood and racist archetypes, then what is the purpose of this genre besides grotesque entertainment that idolizes an even corrupter justice system?

Can you really be real on BeReal?

By ruchi nawathe Nation and World Editor

Social media first started as a way to connect with people and share aspects of everyday life with friends. Most of Gen eration Z probably remember the days when our Instagram feeds were filled with duck-face selfies and restaurant food from regular users and celebrities alike.

Now, it feels as though every post that on Instagram needs to be a carefully curated photo or series of photos where people, especially women, consistently appear attractive and jovial to the com mon viewer.

The French app, BeReal was launched in 2020 as a way to combat the artificial content that has taken over social media apps such as Instagram. The app sends everyone in a given area a notification at the exact same time. The users are then given two minutes to take a photo of themselves and what they are doing at that moment, and the photo is then posted on the app for others to see.

According to Time Magazine, BeReal downloads have skyrocketed in the last couple months, and there are several reasons as to why that might be happen ing now.

“Part of it could be people getting back to life, and wanting something new and something different,” said Jacqueline Kuehl, executive director of the digital marketing program at DePaul.

As pandemic restrictions have been lifted, people have been spending less time at home in their pajamas and more time socializing.

“During the pandemic, we weren’t really going anywhere [or] doing any thing,” Kuehl said. “I think that now, as people are moving and doing things and

getting dressed up again and doing their hair… even though that’s not the goal, I think people might feel more comfort able about all that.”

In theory, the app should show peo ple’s authentic lives, since the notification to post on BeReal pops up at a different time every day so the users have no time to prepare. In practice, however, this might not be the case. The two minute window that is given to users is not the only time they are allowed to post. Users can post their BeReal hours after the notification is sent out.

“I think, for sure, that’s how BeReal started, to show that transparency,” Kue hl said. “With anything, people are going to find ways around it.”

Even on an app like BeReal, many us ers try to craft their posts to some extent.

“I do post what I am doing in those two minutes, but I sometimes really hate the angles, like how my face looks or something like that, so I do take them a couple times,” said DePaul freshman

Fajar Malik.

Many people, like myself, do not post in the two minutes the app allots at all, and instead wait until they are doing something interesting to post.

“I knew a lot of people who had BeReal who would wait until they knew they were doing something important in the day to wait on it to post,” said Alexandra Murphy, a DePaul journalism student.

The feature where users are allowed to post whenever they like completely takes away from the app’s original goal: to authentically post what the user is doing at the moment of the BeReal noti fication.

“Taking away that option to post later would push people more to actually post themselves in their most normal state,” Malik said.

Influencers are a large part of social media apps such as Instagram and Tik Tok, and have faced criticism for their unrealistic portrayal of their looks and

their lives. Celebrities like the Kar dashians have been exposed numerous times for heavily altering their bodies in photos into something so unrealistic that not even plastic surgery can replicate it.

“Even in that two minute span, I’ve seen people clean up and tidy up and make themselves look better, so for influencers to do it is basically on their fingertips,” Malik said.

Kuehl believes that it might be a little more difficult to falsify posts on BeReal than it is on other social media plat forms.

“If someone is not themselves on BeReal… and changing how they look on BeReal, and they get caught, there’s going to be a backlash,” Kuehl said.

People who post on social media tend to glamorize their lives, only posting the best pictures and the best moments. This likely contributes to the usability of the platform, since it is easier to spend more time on an app with better content.

“I think the reason we’re sort of in this weird sort of dynamic where we want to post the best moments of our lives on social media is because it’s fun to see others do the same as well,” Malik said.

Other social media apps are seeing the potential that BeReal has and trying to emulate aspects of the app. TikTok has launched TikTok now, which has the exact same concept as BeReal, except the users have three minutes to take their photo instead of two.

BeReal was a much more interesting app in theory than in reality. The main purpose of social media is to entertain, and while it is fun to scroll through and see what your friends are up to every now and then, the traditional, “fake” social media apps are here to stay.

MAYA OCLASSEN | THE DEPAULIA

RUCHI NAWATHE | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul freshman Labrini Brastos takes a BeReal in the Lincoln Park campus after class ends.

Books behind

By Una Cleary Focus Editor

Censorship of books has been debated at record high amounts from Facebook groups to local government forums. Forty years after the beginning of Banned Books Week, The American Li brary Association (ALA) found that 1,597 books were banned in 2021, the highest annual amount to date. Sept. 18 through 24 marked Banned Books Week which started for the purpose of drawing attention to the harms of censorship, according to ALA. The first amendment and cen sorship have been debated together in these forums and groups.

“All over the country people routinely challenge the existence or availability of books that they do

not like,” DePaul adjunct instruc tor Michael Raleigh said. PEN America, a nonprofit organization working to defend free expression, has documented challenges on books in 32 states with Texas and Florida having the most books that are more likely to be censored.

“Why is it threatening?” said Michelle Mirando, professor and chair of the English department.

Reasons for book banning ranges from content to author and location.

“What could possibly be threatening about how LGBTQ folks exist, or that our country is founded on a system of slavery that enabled economic develop ment. I don’t understand,” Miran do said.

“Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe was the number one topbanned book of 2021. “Gender Queer”, a graphic novel memoir that explores gender identity and sexuality, was banned due to the LGBTQIA+ content and was con sidered to have sexually explicit images.

“One thing that has happened in the last 20 or 30 years, is pub lishers feel free to publish books that they were not comfortable publishing more particularly about sexuality,” Raleigh said.

“So in a short period of time, we have a lot of books about non-binary sexuality, and sexual freedom. People who are still trou bled by that really object to these books.”

According to PEN America,

22% of banned books contain sexual content, including stories of sexual assault and abortion, as well as informational books about sex and puberty.

“There is this push to stop giving everyone rights. And that parents should have a right to dic tate what their kids are learning,” Mirando said.

No Left Turn in Education is a national political group fighting to ban books on a state level. One of their goals include: “Support par ents in their action in their local schools in eliminating all school learning and activities intended to politicize and indoctrinate stu dents.” No Left Turn In Education is one of many groups that are fighting to ban books by support ing parents in local schools.

“To put the toothpaste back in the tube in terms of things like LGTBQ awareness and Black Lives Matter,” Marando said.

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, De Paul’s library hosted City Lit The ater for “Books on the Chopping Block,” a performance of selections from some of the most popular banned books of 2021.

Selected book titles included readings from the ALA, top ten most challenged books such as “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, and “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas. The performance was followed by a Q&A session led by the CityLit’s actors.

“[CityLit] have been doing this for 17 years,” performer Noreen

McGrath said. “We partner with a bunch of different libraries around the area. With the pandemic, we have been doing a lot more digital productions.”

CityLit performed at several local libraries around Chicago during Banned Books Week and videos of their performances can be found on their website.

At least 50 groups involved in pushing for book bans have played an instrumental role in banning at least half of the books around the country in the 2021-2022 school year, according to PEN America. Of these 50 groups, a number are identified as different religious, conservative political groups. Many include local Facebook parent groups that take action at a local, state and national level.

“They are coming from orga nized groups that are intentionally targeting books,” DePaul Librarian Jill King said. “It kind of mirrors the polarization of politics in this country.”

Individuals can advocate against book banning by staying informed, speaking out, writing letters to the editor, organizing a Banned Books Week program, and helping spread the word, according to ALA.

“Probably one of the most im portant things we can do is vote,” King said. “Educate ourselves about the candidates, especially in local elections. Vote for candidates that are going to make the deci sions that we want to see.”

LGBTQ+ content, race, and sexuality are three of the main topics present in banned books. The classic book series “Harry Potter’’ has been challenged due to its themes of “witchcraft and wizardry.”

“Usually when people challenge a book, they are not challenging it just for their own sake, they want to make it unavailable for other people.”

Micael Raleigh Adjuct Instructor

La DePaulia

OPINIÓN: El baile entre activismo y política se llama democracia

By Santiago PoSada-Jaramillo Gerente Editorial, La DePaulia

Caminando por la calle 18 en Pilsen, me quedo mirando un mural. Además del arte, pienso en cómo la pared fue planeada y aprobada oficialmente, mientras que el mural funciona por fuera de la norma, por fuera del sistema. Pero ambos trabajan para lograr crear algo hermoso, desde procesos muy diferentes.

La lucha por crear un mundo justo se ha visto diferente en cada sociedad en la que se ha intentado. La gente no tiende a organizarse del mismo modo en diferentes culturas o en diferentes sistemas de gobierno.

En la Revolución Francesa, la desesperación, el hambre y la indiferencia de la monarquía llevó a la gente a organizarse, armarse y cambiar el orden social en Francia por completo.

Mientras que, durante la Revolución de Terciopelo en Checoslovaquia, actual República Checa, los estudiantes de Praga salieron a manifestarse de forma pacífica por la falta de representación política y terminaron logrando su independencia contra la Unión Soviética.

¿Pero cómo funciona una pelea por derechos en una sociedad como la nuestra?

“[Yo era] Una agitadora externa y alguien que creía que teníamos que unirnos, pero siempre terminaba con: ‘Oye, sea cual sea el político, tienes que implementar este cambio’. Y ahora soy ese político.” Dijo la congresista estadounidense Ilhan Omar en el podcast Rep.

Allí, junto a su hija, Isra Hirsi, hablaron acerca de sus visiones opuestas sobre el mejor método para buscar un cambio en la sociedad. Isra Hirsi hablaba de activismo y de revolución, mientras que Ilhan Omar proponía la votación y representación.

Claramente, sus posiciones son más complejas que solo esto, pero nos dan la oportunidad de ver una relación interesante en nuestra sociedad: aquella entre activistas y políticos. ¿Son estas fuerzas opuestas o complementarias?

Rosa Esquivel, miembro de Pilsen Alliance y activista en el barrio Pilsen que ha luchado durante muchos años en contra de los efectos de la gentrificación en la comunidad latina del barrio habló sobre la diferencia entre la pelea por derechos desde el activismo y desde la política.

“Cuando se trata de los problemas, el político puede decir ‘responsabilidad policial’ mientras que el activista puede decir ‘abolir la policía’”, dijo Esquivel. “Y a veces al político le aterroriza decir algo como ‘abolir la policía’ o ‘abolir el ICE’, porque busca un punto medio.”

Las posiciones del activista y el político tienen una diferencia clara en este punto, pues para ser elegido para un cargo basado en votación popular, pocos políticos triunfan con ideas extremadamente radicales. Entre más extremista sea la ideología de una persona, menos probable es que vaya a encontrar votantes.

Yo creo que esto nos dice que solo los políticos más moderados llegan a posiciones de poder o que la política ‘modera’ a las personas. Personalmente, me voy por la primera opción, ya tenemos suficientes ejemplos de extremistas con poder político para dudar seriamente de la segunda.

También miembro de Pilsen Alliance,

Javier Ruiz, organizador por los derechos de propiedad y por la educación de calidad en las escuelas públicas, entre otros, habló de cómo se dan las mismas luchas de forma paralela, entre activismo y política.

“Te daré un ejemplo con Black Lives Matter. Ahora, se podría decir políticamente que están tratando de luchar por la reforma policial y la inmunidad calificada. Pero los activistas en la calle quieren justicia para las personas que fueron asesinadas, quiero decir, es el mismo mensaje, pero es como un enfoque diferente”.

Aquí se ve una característica extra de esta dinámica activismo-política. Se marca una diferencia en el modo y en el enfoque, pero no tanto en el núcleo. Tanto en las calles con activismo como en una oficina de un concejal, se puede luchar por los mismos valores, pero se vería de formas muy diferentes.

Pero acá entra una nueva diferencia a analizar: ¿Es el activismo más cercano a la gente, pero más lejano al poder; mientras que la política está más lejos de la gente, pero más cercana al poder?

Parece algo fácil de responder en un inicio, pues un activista puede luchar por décadas por algo que un político puede lograr con firmar un papel, pero no nos apresuremos a dar esta respuesta de forma tan contundente aún.

El concejal del distrito 25, Byron Sigcho-Lopez, que ha sido muy activo en la comunidad de Pilsen desde hace muchos años y que tiene un punto de vista único sobre la dinámica activismo-política, comentó su perspectiva sobre esta dualidad.

“Creo que tenemos que tener claro que nuestra democracia, la democracia liberal, está en crisis”, dijo Sigcho-López. “Y que lo que necesitamos es democracia real, principios democráticos reales, que guíen nuestras elecciones”.

Él siente que esta crisis está especialmente ligada a la forma en como los intereses privados, particularmente de grandes empresas y multimillonarios, han secuestrado al sistema democrático para auto-beneficiarse económicamente.

Para ‘curar’ la democracia, es necesario restringir el poder que tienen los poderosos

sectores económicos y lograr que sea la gente y sus necesidades la que dirija la toma de decisiones.

Y aquí se nota donde su propuesta responde nuestra duda. El activismo y la política, en una democracia saludable, son dos partes del mismo mecanismo. El activismo se encarga de hacer evidentes los problemas de la gente, mientras que el político, bajo la presión de la gente y el activismo, usa su poder para lograr cambios sistemáticos.

“Entonces creo que cuando tenemos un sistema que no funciona, nuestras prioridades también están quebrantadas. Para que podamos retomarlo, creo que no puede ser electoralmente, necesitamos organizarnos a nivel de base para que podamos tener representantes que nos rindan cuentas a nosotros y no a los grupos de intereses especiales”, dijo Sigcho-Lopez.

Al igual que el mural en la pared de un edificio en Pilsen, el activismo y la política son quienes juntas construyen algo hermoso que ninguna lograría por su cuenta. Ahora, es nuestra responsabilidad crear una sociedad donde esto se pueda lograr.

FRANKIE PEREZ | LA DEPAULIA

Un mural en Pilsen, cerca a la intersection de la calle 18 con la Ashland, celebra la diversidad que es una parte fundamental de la lucha por los derechos en la comunidad latina.

“Creo que tenemos que tener claro que nuestra democracia, la democracia liberal, está en crisis”,

Byron Sigcho-Lopez

Concejal del distrito 25

FRANKIE PEREZ | LA DEPAULIA

El mural termina siendo una parte esencial de la estética de la pared, a pesar de no haber sido parte del plan original durante su contruction.

Locutora usa la radio para disipar prejuicios dentro la comunidad

By Santiago gonzalez tiJerina Editor de Deportes, La DePaulia

Mientras se acomodaba los lentes, Catalina Maria Johnson dijo: “Podría ponerme mis anteojos estadounidenses o mis anteojos mexicanos y mirar el mundo de una manera diferente.” Habiendo crecido tanto en St. Louis, Missouri, como en San Luis Potosí, México; Johnson es la presentadora de radio de Beat Latino, un programa de radio bilingüe en Vocalo Chicago enfocado en diferentes estilos de música latina.

La música que presenta Johnson en Beat Latino siempre ha sido fiel a su nombre. Si bien no todo es estrictamente de países latinoamericanos, siempre proviene de una escena musical latina o adyacentes, como Portugal y España.

A través de recomendaciones y solicitudes, Johnson también presenta la música de artistas menos conocidos si ella cree que encaja bien en su show. Ella espera que Beat Latino pueda ser una forma de que estos músicos latinos consigan más aficionados. Expresó que el “punto dulce” para esto es cuando los descubre “antes del hype, pero más allá de estar emergiendo”.

Johnson ha estado involucrada en la escena de radio durante más de 15 años. No forma parte del personal de Vocalo, sino que es una productora independiente, lo que permite que otras estaciones de radio también recojan su programa. Beat Latino se transmite en Alaska, Evansville, Miami y en Nueva York.

Segmentos especiales de Beat Latino también se transmitían en la Ciudad de México anteriormente, sin embargo, debido a la pandemia de COVID-19, esta colaboración llegó a su fin en 2020.

Johnson explicó que su programa no solo está destinado a los oyentes en México, sino que también tiene como objetivo llegar a los diferentes lados de los EE. UU. Señalando que esta es la razón por la que presenta su programa tanto en inglés como en español.

Johnson dijo que los dos idiomas permiten que los latinos nacidos en los EE.UU. puedan escuchar varios tipos de música latina. Su programa también le da la oportunidad, a personas latinas que no hablan español, de escuchar la música de su cultura porque “es posible que ni siquiera conozcan su propia herencia”, dijo Johnson.

Agregando a esto, dijo que otra parte de la audiencia de los EE. UU. que espera alcanzar es el “estadounidense anglosajón” con el objetivo de “disipar los prejuicios”. Explicó que muchos de los géneros musicales a los que los estadounidenses están acostumbrados, como el R&B y el Rock and Roll, están presentes en las escenas musicales

latinas. Johnson cree que todos, independientemente de su herencia, pueden encontrar algo para disfrutar en la música latina.

“[Algunos] realmente no tienen idea de que tan rico es este mundo, y también hay algo para ti. Encontrarás algo, no todo, pero encontrarás algo”, dijo Johnson.

Al crecer en ambos países, Johnson entendió que las perspectivas son diferentes entre las personas que han experimentado diferentes culturas, y citó su experiencia al enterarse de que el Álamo era recordado de manera diferente por sus pares de México que por los de los EE.UU.

“Cruzaba la frontera y llevaba ropa diferente, literalmente, y me sujetaban a

estándares diferentes. Las expectativas siempre fueron altas, pero eran diferentes”, dijo Johnson.

Johnson enfrentó muchas dificultades al ir y venir de México a los Estados Unidos, como ajustarse al nuevo lenguaje. Ella recuerda que a veces se le olvidaban ciertas palabras y su boca se sentía rara al hablar inglés en sus primeros días en Estados Unidos.

A través de su experiencia como inmigrante de México y su profundo conocimiento de las diferentes artes musicales latinas, Johnson dijo el valor real que ella considera que tiene la música y cómo es un “regalo” que los inmigrantes traen a los Estados Unidos.

Johsnon cree que en EE. UU. se valoran más las habilidades comercializables en la gente y es por esto que cuando los inmigrantes llegan a este país, miden su éxito ante estos valores.

“Por eso no valoramos el arte, [ni] la música, ni lo precioso que es para la existencia humana y lo rico que es tener inmigrantes de todo tipo, no solo latinos, que traen eso dentro de ellos, mucho más allá de su productividad y cuántos centavos y dólares le agregan a la economía de los Estados Unidos, traen eso y se convierte en algo de este país”.

Johnson le dice a las personas latinas que no subestimen su valor y de lo que llevan dentro de ellos, cómo su arte, música, y cultura.

“Está realmente infravalorado y, todo lo contrario, debe ser atesorado,”dijo.

Johnson cree que la gente latina y demás inmigrantes no deben basar su éxito enteramente en estos valores monetizables que hay en los Estados Unidos.

“No se midan solo por esa regla; y por otro lado, es un gran error subestimar los regalos de nuestros inmigrantes a este país”.

Beat Latino se transmite por Vocalo Chicago todos los domingos a las 11 am, también puedes escuchar el archivo de Beat Latino y sus playlists en beatlatino. com.

By Rodrigo Melgarejo Editor de Copias, La DePaulia

Cuando llegué a Chicago desde Perú, como estudiante internacional, recuerdo sentir emoción, nervios e incertidumbre al mismo tiempo por cómo cambiarían todas mis actividades en mi nuevo entorno. A pesar de ser una ciudad tan grande y con tanto para explorar, al inicio se me hizo muy complicado encontrar lo que tenía para of recer.

Como estudiante latinoamericano, a veces busco sitios donde sentirme en casa.

En esta ocasión presentaré los lugares, ac tividades y algunas comunidades que me ayudaron en el proceso, y que estoy muy se guro te pueden ayudar también.

The Urban Football League

En mi país de origen, el fútbol era una de mis actividades diarias, por lo que fue de las primeras cosas que busqué en Chicago.

The Urban Football League es una co munidad organizada por varios amantes del fútbol que ofrece partidos amistosos de libre acceso a todos los aficionados de este deporte.

Allí la comunidad latina también se hace presente, por lo que se pueden encon trar diversos estilos de juego. Se organizan partidos todos los domingos, usualmente de 10 a.m. a 12 p.m. en Kenwood Park. 1330 E 50th St

Saturdays for Football

Al igual que la anterior, esta es una co munidad que ofrece partidos amistosos de libre acceso a todo aquel que quiera pasar un buen sábado por la mañana jugando fútbol. La variedad de estilos de juego también se hace presente, y el juego latino nunca hace falta. El ambiente es muy agradable y todos te reciben con una cálidad bienvenida. Los horarios se encuentran de 9 a.m. a 11 a.m. o de 11 a.m. a 1 p.m. localizado en Fleet Fields.

1397 W. Wabansia

Frente del Lago

Si te gusta dar un paseo tranquilo por la ciudad escuchando tus bandas favoritas, esta es la mejor opción. Con un recorrido al frente del lago, este sitio ofrece una de las mejores vistas de la ciudad y los mejores caminos para un recorrido en bicicleta, skateboard o para un simple paseo.

Pilsen

Pilsen es el lugar ideal para cualquier latino en Chicago. De acuerdo al Censo de Estados Unidos y la encuesta de la comuni dad estado unidense en 2017, la población latina representa aproximadamente el 52% de la población total en Pilsen. Desde la variedad de restaurantes hasta su propia in fraestructura, Pilsen te hará sentir como si hubieras tomado un vuelo de regreso a casa. El Museo de Arte de México, decoraciones como las del frente del Guadalupano Family Center, la música y todos los murales hacen

que Pilsen sea definitivamente un portal a casa. Siempre hay eventos o festivales en los que participar, y como dato extra, todos los martes a las 6pm, en Harrison Park, se ofrecen partidos amistosos de fútbol para el público en general.

Al igual que la ciudad, DePaul también ofrece varios espacios para estudiantes in ternacionales.

Tepeyac

Tepeyac es una organización estudian til destinada a representar a la comunidad latina en DePaul. A veces ser estudiante in ternacional carga con la idea de ser incom prendido, pero en Tepeyac puedes encontrar a varios estudiantes latinos con experiencias

similares con quienes puedes compartir mo mentos y pasar un buen rato. Durante el año escolar, se reúnen todos los jueves de 3 p.m. a 4 p.m. en el Lincoln Park Student Center.

Global DePaul

Global DePaul es una comunidad de estudiantes, profesores y personal destina da a dar una cálida bienvenida a estudiantes de todo el mundo. Los viernes se ofrecen los Global Depaul talks donde estudiantes internacionales se reúnen para hacer dis tintas actividades y conocerse entre ellos. Personalmente, aquí conocí a mis mejores amigos de DePaul. Los miembros se reunen en Loop Student Center.

SANTIAGO WEKSLER | CATALINA MARIA JOHNSON

RODRIGO MELGAREJO | LA DEPAULIA tu

Harrison Park esta localizado en Pilsen y es un lugar donde personas se reúnen a jugar futbol

Catalina Maria Johnson grabando un episodio de su programa de radio ‘Beat Latino.’

Arts & Life

THE WEIGHT OF PARTITION

Chicago-based artist "Anti-Memorializes” the division of India

By R anena Bents Contributing Writer

Iron tongues rusted over, cholis hang ing from the ceiling without bodies inside, a chess game played on a map of Northern India; these are the narrative-rich pieces sit ting on display within the sleek walls of the South Asia Institute of Chicago.

The institute, which officially opened in 2019 in Chicago’s Chinatown, recently installed an exhibit entitled “Unbearable Memories, Unspeakable Histories” by so cio-political feminist artist Pritika Chow dhry.

The installation is an anti-memorial project commemorating the 75th anniver sary of the Partition of India and reflecting on the experiences of the millions of people affected by the partition.

lonial rule in India came to an end, Britain divided India into two separate dominions: India and Pakistan.

exhibits that memorialize the past,” said co-founder of the South Asia Institute Afzal Ahmad.

been erected that are permanent,” said sec ond co-founder Shireen Ahmad..

oversimplify the partition, but rather legit imizes it and makes it more tangible.

from the Liberation War Museum in Dha ka made from latex panels. It also displays a cast of the back of a mural wall from the Jalladkhana Memorial in Mirpur.

“[Chowdhry] has documented thousands of stories” within the details of each piece.

porary Pakistan, India and eventually Ban gladesh. While the Partition meant inde pendence for India from the British, it also subjected millions of people to mass vio lence and political turmoil.

it was done without consultation within three months and very secretively,” said Shailja Sharma, chair of the department of International Studies at DePaul. India was “divided into two political parts, but three geographical parts,” she said.

the west of India and one to the east.

ulation transfer and displacement of peo ple,” Sharma said.

caust of South Asia, millions of people died in the migration and placement that followed the cre of the India-Pakistan border.

emotional weight that this event and its modern implications carry. That bur den, for many years, was not widely shared.

event, as a historical event, but not as an ex perience,” Sharma said.

into the effects of the partition as part of the reason the partition has not, until recently, been a common topic of discourse.

twin,” Afzal Ahmad said. “People want to talk about the good twin.”

independence for India. The bad twin: the

CHICAGO'S DISGRACE: R.KELLY'S FALL FROM FAME

By Jonah WeBeR Asst. Arts & Life Editor

In 1992, Robert Sylvester Kelly debuted his first album titled “Born into the 90s.” Only two years later in 1994, Kelly, aged 27, report edly married 15-year-old Aaliyah Haughton. This was only the start of the controversies circulating around the R&B icon.

Kelly was born and raised in Chicago and grew up in the Douglas neighborhood. His music career began in the early 1990s. Regardless of where he recorded his music or toured, he always returned to his hometown. Despite the controversy of his first marriage, his fame continued. It was not until 1996 that his legal troubles took root.

In 1996, Tiffany Hawkins, who was in a relationship with Kelly, filed a lawsuit against him, his manager and his record label. The claims were for personal injuries and emo tional damage, as well as an alleged sexual relationship with Kelly, which she said began when she was 15 and ended when she was 18. It was then reported that the case was settled outside court. Even with these allegations and lawsuits, Kelly released his song “I Believe I can Fly,” which was then used in the iconic basketball movie, “Space Jam.”

It was not until the early 2000s that Kel ly was in headlines for his relationships with minors.

At the time, Chicago Police tried to in vestigate the allegations, but ultimately they were dropped due to lack of cooperation. As Kelly made headlines for his crimes, he was not arrested and continued to release music, making deals for his songs to be in films, such as “Ice Age: The Meltdown,” “Pitch Perfect 3,” and even “Magic Mike XXL.”

In 2002, Kelly was arrested after being indicted on 21 charges after a tape of him having intercourse with a minor circulated, but was released on bail and maintained his innocence.Sitting in front of the Chicago Pi casso on Dearborn street, a Chicago resident, who preferred to stay anonymous, shared some of their insights on Kelly, especially from his time in the ‘90s. According to this resident, Kelly was not afraid to interact with his community. Going back to play basketball where he grew up, talking to his old neigh borhood friends.

“I used to watch him play basketball on Stony Island,” they said. “I was probably in 8th grade and I remember, he always brought

a crowd.”

“Chicago is a real gangster city, you know? And R. Kelly really brought that to the table,” they said.

They described the Chicago music scene in the 1990s as a sort of competition, and Kelly did not shy away from competing for fame.

“One thing that I admired about him, but also didn’t like, was that he could have any girl he wanted, but he still went for the younger girls.”

“And the families knew for years too. Personally, I think they should be arrested too! It’s terrible.”

It wasn’t until 2017 when multiple alle gations against Kelly started to pile up from Jerhonda Johnson Pace and Kitti Jones, claiming he had sexually harrassed and as saulted them.

In 2018, Time’s Up, a non-profit organi zation which raises money to support vic

tims of sexual harassment, began to aim their focus on Kelly. This brought new attention to the entirety of the allegations that were being made towards Kelly.

Wayne Kuan, a Chicago local, shared his thoughts on R.Kelly as well.

“In terms of R.Kelly, I don’t really listen to him. Not because of all the charges against him, I just don’t actively listen to him,” Kuan said. “I think there’s certain cases where you can separate the art from the artist, but I can’t really think of an instance where I’m not gonna partake of this thing someone made because of the shit they did.” The concept of separating the art from the artist can be com plicated, and often leaves people divided. A listener can feel as though they are just lis tening to the artist and not supporting their actions or opinions, but simply consuming the art still gives the artist support, because streaming an artist provides them funds and shareability.

Take Steven Patrick Morrissey, or Mor rissey, for example. He was the lead singer of the 1980s indie band, The Smiths. Despite their popularity, Morrissey has made quite a few controversial comments that have divid ed his fan base.

In an interview in 2014, Morrissey said “I see no difference between eating animals and pedophilia. They are both rape, violence, murder.”

Kelly did not say controversial things, he committed heinous crimes. For listeners, it could be significantly harder to separate Kel ly’s art from who he is, knowing what he has done.

Kwabena Folí, a born-and-raised Chica go artist, provided some opinion on Kelly.

“R.Kelly being charged with all these crimes, is one of the biggest losses in Chicago history,” Folí said. “R.Kelly made being sen sual, intimate and passionate, cool. It wasn’t about being intense, it was about being soft and loving.”

Kelly was once considered “The king of R&B.” His music would play at weddings, school dances, barbeques and graduations regularly. Despite what was going on behind the scenes, he remained incredibly popular.

“We all knew him to be into young wom en. I mean he’d wait by high school and we’d see girls get into his car. It just didn’t get the kind of attention it would’ve because he wasn’t kidnapping them.” Folí said. “His pri vate morals became public.”

What's next for Kelly? How much prison, if he is getting more charges/trials.

On June 30, 2022, R.Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for racketeering, sexu al explotation of children, and forced labor. Recently, more charges have come forward about him being involved with human traf ficking.

The crimes of Kelly impacted the victims and families, but for some Chicago locals, Kelly's offenses meant the fall of a role model.

R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison on June 30 for a number of crimes, including racketeering and sex trafficking.

PHOTO FROM IMDB

PHOTO FROM IMDB

R. Kelly preforms "I Believe I Can Fly" alongside Melanie Amaro on The X Factor in 2011.

What to watch: English Royalty edition

By LiLLy K eLeR Arts & Life Editor

"Spencer"

Kristen Stewart redefines the genre of biopics as she portrays the tragic life and legacy of

Princess Diana Spencer within "Spencer." Chronicling Diana's trou bled relationship within the royal family over three days at Sandringham House, "Spencer," offers a profoundly anguished glimpse into the late princess's world six years before her death.

Not only does Stewart prove herself

as an actor, but she crafts an exquisite portrait of female suffering that human izes Diana in the face of the monarchy's mechanized cruelty.

Incredibly moving and heartbreak ing, "Spencer" encapsulates a life not lived and the psychological aftermath of being treated like a captive in your own home.

Allowing an intimate perspective into the isolating hardships of royalty, "Spen cer" is a must-watch for lovers of Princess Diana and all who want one more reason to despise the monarchy.

“Spencer” is now streaming on Hulu.

"The Crown"

Entering its sixth and final season, "The Crown" details the dramatized reign of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip from their 1947 wedding to the present day.

One unique aspect of this historical drama is the substitution of actors for every two-season accession, allowing viewers to feel as if they are witnessing the monarchy age in real time.

Few shows possess such introspec tiveness for lovers of petty and political drama while also crafting a compelling

historical account of England's role within the ebbing decades. From its nat uralistic portrayal of individuals who are often portrayed as being unknowable, "The Crown" confronts taboo topics from self-denial, scandals, and tradition alist conservatism to just how much the royal family depended on their abun dance of wealth.

If you are looking for a fresh, criti cally acclaimed look into England's most powerful family, look no further. “The Crown” can be watched on Netflix.

Where to get the best coffee

By Vanessa Lopez & Jonah WeBeR Asst. News Editor & Asst. Editor

Whether you need a weekend to catch up on homework or a new place to study with friends, a coffee shop is a place to go; however, given the high pricing in Chicago, which coffee shops are worth visiting?

If you are tired of Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, or bad coffee from the SAC, look no further than the suggestions on our list for high-quality coffee, a relaxing workspace, or a new atmosphere.

Cafe Deko

800 W Diversey Pkwy, Chicago

If you are looking for an Instagram-wor thy cafe to enjoy specialty blend coffees and organic teas, head to Cafe Deko for the per fect Instagram story and coffee.

This corner cafe has an Art Deco style and offers a "warm welcoming and creates an inviting environment." Enjoy a variety of specialty coffees or fresh pastries while feel ing at home. Prices range from $3 to $7.

Colectivo

2530 N Clark St, Chicago

This Wisconsin-born coffee roaster has five Chicago locations, including one in Lincoln Park. A 10-minute walk from the LPC, with a patio with plenty of seating and a partially heated and enclosed outdoor fire pit. There will be something for you to try,

whether it is a Windy Ci-Tea or a Pumpkin Spice Fluff Latte. Prices range between $4 and $10.

Doppio Coffee House

3054 N Greenview Ave, Chicago

Looking for a tasty sandwich to eat while studying? Doppio is the place to go if you prefer open-faced sandwiches. It will be a tummy-filling experience with coffee beans from all over the world and a variety of cof fee selections. Prices range from $4 and $12.

Heritage Bikes & Coffee

2959 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago

Whether you simply need a good cup of coffee or need a bike part, Heritage Bikes & Coffee has you covered. Heritage Bikes & Coffee serves Intelligentsia coffee, a local Chicago roaster, and also offers bike parts and repairs.

If you are someone who regularly bikes to campus or around the city, this is a spot for you. Coffee drink prices range from $3 and $7.

Jumping Bean

1439 W 18th St, Chicago

Jumping Bean is a local Chicago land mark. Located in the Pilsen neighborhood, Jumping Bean opened in 1994 to serve fantastic coffee and work as an art gallery. Whether you want a fantastic cup of coffee, a cubano, a fresh salad, or to see some lovely art, Jumping Bean is a great cafe choice, lo

cated in a historic neighborhood. Every thing on the menu is under $10.

Opsinium

1117 W Belmont Ave, Chicago

“Drink coffee, stay high.” That’s Dark Matter’s slogan. With locations all over the city, Opsinium is special. Right off the Bel

mont El stop, convenient for DePaul stu dents, they offer strong coffee and an even better workspace, as well as pastries pro vided by local Chicago bakeries. They take pride in their music choices and collabo rations with artists and musicians on their coffee roasts. Prices range from $3 to $6.

PHOTO FROM IMDB

PHOTO FROM IMDB

Kristen Stewart scored an Oscar nomination for her role as Princess Diana in "Spencer." DePaul alum Gillian Anderson shines as Margaret Thatcher in Netflix series"The Crown."

QUENTIN BLAIS | THE DEPAULIA

Heritage Bikes & Coffee is one of the best places to grab a coffee and study.

Is the box office rebounding?

By JacoB K aufman Contributing Writer

The millions of moviegoers who flocked to theaters to see protagonist Maverick in an F-16 Tomcat and hear the iconic call signs of pilots and their wingmen this summer were not disappointed.

Tom Cruise returned almost 30 years lat er to reprise the role of Maverick once again in the long-awaited sequel to 1986 film “Top Gun.” “Top Gun: Maverick” has now entered the top five atmosphere in highest grossing films of all time. Domestic box office num bers according to Variety currently show the film grossing over $700 million. Still, this same success and influx of revenue for the box office has not been seen elsewhere.

Before the pandemic, many enjoyed snacking on a large buttery popcorn and theater box candy while sitting in a packed theater to enjoy a new release film on the big screen.

Now, most theater owners are seeing less and less moviegoers packing the theater to catch the next big Hollywood blockbuster.

Many who were first introduced to streaming services during the pandemic out of necessity are now having a tough time choosing to return to theaters. In this new era of streaming, moviegoers would much rather wait to see the film once it is added to their streaming platform before paying for a ticket.

Jordan Stalker, an adjunct communica tions professor at DePaul, includes points in his lecture slides on how streaming plat forms have changed the movie going expe rience.

“Since the admin of streaming, there has been a loss in the shared experience or shared culture,”

Stalker said. “There is something im portant that gets lost when we see the same movies on television and radio stations. It is that they can’t talk about the film or experience certain things like clapping at the end of the movie.”

He also said that a film like “Top Gun” was built to be a Hollywood blockbuster film.

“Seeing F-16 Tomcat’s ... a great soundtrack… [this is what] movie specta cles are meant to be,”

Stalker said. “To have “Maverick” as a way to return to that kind of experience is still possible.”

Reid Janson, a Senior in DePaul’s theater school believes the reason behind the suc cess of “Top Gun: Maverick” is that many wanted to get out of the house and return to the theaters after the events of the pandemic.

“The biggest factor to its success I think is the resurgence of people coming back to theaters since the pandemic,” Janson said. “It seems the theater has seen a little more suc cess this year

with movies like ‘Minions: Rise of Gru’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’”

Kristine Graf, who first saw “Top Gun” when the film came out in 1986, was ex tremely excited to see the sequel. “Top Gun: Maverick” was able to keep the same feeling many fans like her first felt when they saw the original “Top Gun” and what initially led

to the success of the first film at the box of fice she said.

“The director and film makers were able to maintain the original ‘feeling’ of “Top Gun” by putting you in the driver’s seat, keeping the same theme song, and hav ing you ride down that airport strip again with Maverick on his motorcycle,”Graf said. “They also did a great job of reliving and go ing back to the original story.”

What they tied to the original story was connecting Maverick to his old wingman Goose who died in the original film. In the sequel, Maverick is tasked with training a new group ofgraduates, one of these graduates, Rooster, is the son of his former wingman Goose. Now he must face some of the ghosts from his past and lead this young new group through their training. Graf thought this small detail was a great tie back to the orig inal film.

“They also did a great job of reliving and going back to the original story,” Graf said. “Styling Rooster’s character after Goose, playing the infamous Jerry Lee Lewis song at the piano and wrapping up the storyline with Ice Man’s death made me feel very nos talgic.”

The box office was able to rebound by marketing more kid friendly movies accord ing to the Hollywood Reporter nine out of the top 10 films in the box office were kid friendly films. After a disastrous 2020 with many movie theaters closing due to public gathering restrictions brought on by the pandemic.

The box office was able to rebound somewhat in 2021 when these restrictions were uplifted. The United States box office revenue topped out at approximately $4.5 billion. This was a massive 81% increase in total revenue from the year prior, but the total was down a whopping 50% from preCovid-19.

Spiderman helped build this massive in crease in revenue with the release of its third filmThe movie grossed over $1.9 billion in the box office since the release. In the past few weeks, the studio decided to re-release the movie under the title “Spider-Man No Way Home: The More Fun Stuff Version.” This version of the film includes 11 minutes of bonus content to the original film.

This film brought together the first two takes on the roles of Spider-Man and brought back their iconic villains and the actors who played them in the different franchises.

Stalker believed the success of the film was based on it being like “Top Gun Mav erick.” Using what the studio created with the multiverse, they were able to bring back different versions of Spider-Man and some of his iconic villains he faced in the comics.

“Similar to ‘Top Gun’, we know who they are, we know they are going to help drive sales,”

Stalker said. “Fans know what the story

will bring from the different comic book sto rylines or from past events in the same film franchise.”

Based on the stats and numbers of the box office, many believe that the movie in dustry is starting to climb back from the events of the past few years; however, Janson thinks that the industry will not be able to recover after many movie fans found it eas ier to just stream the movies from the com fort of their own homes.

“I personally think the movie theater ex perience is still somewhat doomed without a reimagine of the core experience,” Janson said. “As home television and audio technology ad vance, the argument that certain movies have to be seen in theaters will diminish over time.”

Stalker might disagree with this com ment. He believes that even while we move into an era where there are many different streaming services, they will always be films made to be seen in the HANSEN | THE DEPAULIA

LILLY KELLER| THE DEPAULIA

Chicagohenge reaches the Loop

By LiLLy K eLLeR Arts & Life Editor

Thursday marked more than the be ginning of fall as individuals congregated

to the Loop, cameras in hand to view the "Chicagohenge.”

Occurring during the fall and spring equinoxes, the Chicagohenge occurs when the sun settles in perfect align

ment between buildings along east-west streets while it rises and sets. While the henge occurs in other cities such as Manhattan, Chicago’s unique street structure allows the event to

be viewed twice a year.

Didn’t know about the henge till now? No problem, the anomaly will continue to be visible for several days following the equinox.

ALICIA GOLUSZKA | THE DEPAULIA

The Chicagohenge happens twice a year on the fall and spring equinoxes.

The biannual sunset was visable between buildings along east-west streets

PHOTO FROM FLICKR

ERIN HENZE | THE DEPAULIA

Onlookers capture the beauty of the Chicagohenge sunset on Dearborn street.

What’s

'Don't watch it darling'

By JacoB costeLLo Film

Director Olivia Wilde set the bar high for herself after 2019’s “Booksmart.” “Booksmart” was a hit with critics and audiences alike, grossing a total of $25 million dollars. Her new movie, “Don’t Worry Darling,” is an am bitious thriller that falls flat. Following Alice and Jack Chambers, played by Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, a husband and wife living in a 1950s company town, a community cre ated by a corporation for their employees and families to live in. Everything in the town of Victory, seems to be as perfect as a Norman Rockwell painting; however, Alice begins to have strange visions and questions that their idyllic life is not what it seems.

Florence Pugh is easily one of the most talented actresses in Hollywood. Pugh has no Oscars, but was nominated for her sup porting role in Greta Gerwig’s “Little Wom en.” She has consistently delivered wonder ful performances, and despite “Don’t Worry Darling” not being a great movie, her acting is one of the high points. She brings a realness to her roles that I cannot look away from. The same can not be said for her costar, pop sen sation Harry Styles.

Harry Styles as Jack Chambers has to be one of the worst performances I have seen in a big-budget studio movie like this. Styles cer tainly has the look for a young ‘50s husband, and the scenes where he just has to stand around and look handsome are no problem; however, once he has to show some emotion, things fall apart. When his character needs to have scenes with any emotional weight, he loses any sort of believability. His anger and sadness scenes would feel at home in a middle school production of “Newsies,” and it is such a shame that his bad acting distracts from his scene partner acting her heart out.

Maybe his acting would be bet ter if he was being directed by someone other than his current fling, but I seriously doubt it. Styles is a ‘Wilde-ly’ talented entertainer, but this movie makes it clear that the silver screen is not his strong suit. This is made ever more troubling considering he is now a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and many other yet-to-be released movies.

I adored the production design and cos tumes of this movie. The company town of Victory is a 1950s dream. White picket fenc es, classic cars with vibrant colors, and beau tiful sunshine make the community have the Americana feel that I love. Additionally, the

costuming of the residents makes everything super squeaky clean. The environment and old school feeling of this movie was definitely one of few highpoints.

A major problem with “Don’t Worry Darling” is the scatteredness of the plot. This is a film with many interesting concepts, but it does not commit to any of them. There is teasing of a satire on ‘50s America, a feminist thriller and some horror adjacent ideas. All of these are ideas I like; however, there is not a strong enough focus on any one of these to strengthen the movie itself. I wanted to enjoy this story a lot more, but the bounc ing between concepts and lack of sticking to

one made the overall plot feel muddled and messy. If Wilde had picked one of these ideas and fully committed to it, we would have a much better movie.

Camerawork is not something I usually comment on in these reviews unless it is ex cellent or very bad. Any guesses on which one “Don’t Worry Darling” is? The camerawork in this movie is something that did not work at all for me. There is a party scene near the beginning of the movie where the husbands and wives of Victory are chatting in two dif ferent groups. The camera continuously cuts between the conversations while simultane ously panning to show every person in their respective group in a very disorienting fash ion. This might very well be what was intend ed for the scene, but it came off as trying too hard to be artsy and cool.

This was a very disappointing watch. My hype for this movie mainly came from the drama at Venice Film Festival, with Flor ence Pugh skipping the red carpet and Harry Styles spitting on Chris Pine. I had more fun keeping up with the drama surrounding this movie than I did sitting in the theater watch ing it. In the past few days even more clickbait articles about the troubled production have come out, but after seeing it, my interest has shriveled up.

“Don’t Worry Darling” can be best summed up in one word: ambitious. It is a movie that wants to do and say a lot, but ultimately fails. It is not a completely awful movie, Pugh’s performance and the look of the movie are fantastic. However, the good parts are outnumbered by many lackluster elements. I cannot say I recommend going to the theaters to see this movie, however, if it sounds interesting or you just want to see Harry Styles chew scenery, I would suggest waiting for it to be on HBO.

By cLaiR e tWeedie SGA BeAt Writer

As the second installment in Ti West’s “X” horror franchise, “Pearl” unfortunately falls short in living up to its predecessor’s ingenuity. Even with a stellar performance from Mia Goth as Pearl, the movie is noth ing more than lackluster. Simply put, “Pearl” is only salvageable when put next to “X.” Without the original, the prequel barely stands alone as a horror movie, much less one worth watching.

As the name suggests, the story sets up the titular character’s eventual decline into the murderous role she is destined to be come in “X.”

She is depicted in her prime, desperate to escape her family’s farm and live out her dreams of becoming the next great dancer in “the pictures.” The problem is that none of this information is new.

“X,” which follows Pearl’s killing spree when a group of young actors rent out her land to make an adult film, already set up this information.

Since it is a prequel, the audience al ready knows how this is going to play out for her, leaving us with a narrative devoid of stakes or twists.

While “X” gave us a moderately well-ex plained murderer, with motive and some bland humanity behind the creepiness, “Pearl” refuses to build on the character or live up to it’s possibilities. She remains stag nant, trapped between the previous movie’s characterization of her, and the overwhelm ing potential for her in the prequel, living up to neither and disappointing all.

That being said, Mia Goth once again

gives a phenomenal performance, fighting to craft a person rather than a two-dimen sional portrayal of one like the script sug gests. She truly is a powerhouse, proven by the only saving grace of the movie: an over five minute monologue that is as raw as it is intense.

The camera never cuts or pans away from Goth’s face as she reveals all the dark secrets and festering problems clouding her conscience to her sister-in-law. Each tear falls with a purpose and for once, the meandering plot seems to have found its meaning.

This moment forces the audience to confront the character’s reality in an over whelming way, as you are kept captive during this outward display of grief, pain and fear. Here, Goth turns a naive, selfish young girl into a true murderer that audi ences are able to sympathize with.

The script is what kills the suspension, with entirely predictable victims and stag nant - almost comical - dialogue that gives the audience nothing worthwhile to be hooked on.

It is painfully obvious when someone is about to die, and for a horror movie that is meant to be a slasher there is barely any gore until the very end. The supporting charac ters feel bland, the setting is only salvaged by “The Wizard of Oz” like cinematography and the motive is nonexistent. This disap pointment is the film’s true horror.

With its various faults, the movie is at least visually appealing. Both “Pearl” and “X” open on the same shot of a farmhouse. While “X” shows a rundown structure in muted colors against an ominous sky, “Pearl” opens as an idyllic All-American ru

ral home. Every scene feels picturesque and the symbolism throughout only heightens this.

The most noticeable example lies in Pearl’s costuming, done by Malgosia Tur zanska, which highlights the character’s dis sension into insanity with outfits that grad ually incorporate more vibrant shades of red. In one of her final costumes, the blood from Pearl’s most recent murder barely shows up on her cherry-red dress and in stead matches with the splatters staining her hands and face.

Either way, “Pearl” may have ironically killed any chance at turning the “X” trilogy into an impactful franchise in horror histo ry, instead leaving it to rot on the farm with our titular character.

An origin story with nothing new to say, the prequel can only be explained as a cheap attempt at profitability. With this disap point ment, hopeful viewers can now set their sights on the upcoming third installment to the franchise, “MaXXXine.” The sequel still has no release date but graced audiences with a teaser trailer at the end of “Pearl.” At best, the third and final movie will retrace its originality to the success of “X” and at worst, it will at least be another chance to see Goth’s talent on the big screen.

Mia Goth embraces her role as Pearl in the latest installment in the "X" franchise.

PHOTO FROM IMDB

PHOTO FROM IMDB

Florence Pugh and Kiki Layne portray 1950s housewives in Olivia Wilde's new thriller.

D e JAMZ

By LiLLy K eLLeR Arts & Life Editor

Before I divulge my songs for this week's DeJamz, I must disclose that I think Morrissey is a horrible human be ing who deserves to be remembered only for his vile and repugnant comments and behavior. He is a disgrace to music and the genre of new wave alternative.

Yet, with that being said, I ask wheth er or not it is possible to separate art from its artists. Perhaps this is not the right place to pose such inquiries, but go into any museum or search any playlist, and I guarantee you will find an artist whose personality and life are nothing short of abhorrent, yet their art still holds mean ing to you.

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now –The Smiths

Easily one of The Smith's most iconic songs; I have always loved the lyrics on

this track. From "I was looking for a job, and then I found a job and heaven knows I'm miserable now," to "what she asked of me at the end of the day, Caligula would have blushed," I would argue it's difficult to find a song with both more relatable and creative lyrics. Plus, the background instruments are incredibly catchy, mak ing this song a rare skip when it comes on.

Panic – The Smiths

My earliest memory of this song was when I was in third grade, and a girl sit ting next to me asked me what my favor ite song was. Growing up solely listening to my parent's music, the question was a no-brainer, and I said something along the lines of 'that song that goes hang the DJ, hang the DJ.' Unfortunately, she thought I was talking about Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love," and I being eightyears-old, didn't know how to explain that it was not, in fact, the song I was talking about, so I agreed.

Big Mouth Strikes Again – The Smiths

Another classic; I have always loved the imagery surrounding Joan of Arc burning with a Walkman; something about it is simply compelling. I would be a fool, not to mention how Johnny Marr, The Smith's guitarist, absolutely carries this song. This song always makes me want to get up and bust a move.

Girlfriend in a Coma – The Smiths

Contrary to popular belief, this song is about the AIDs crisis and the lasting effect of the insurmountable loss that accompanied the epidemic. Illustrated beneath a catchy melody is a narrative of grief and the sober reality that took al most 700,000 lives. Few pop songs por tray the authenticity of anguish quite like "Girlfriend in a Coma" does.

Last Night I Dreamt That Some body Loved Me – The Smiths

This wouldn't be a true Smith's themed DeJamz if I didn't include a clas

sic ballad of loneliness and heartache. While this song may not be underrated, it deserves more recognition. I've always been drawn to the lyrics, "The story is old - I know, but it goes on," maybe it's just my inner poet, but I love the concept of our lives existing in terms of interlock ing narratives, positively affecting all of those who cross our path.

“Spinning freSh beatS Since 1581”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WIKI

.

Hockey sweeps Northern Illinois with ease, improve to 4-0

By Tom Gorski Sports Editor

DePaul men’s hockey proved to everyone that they are legit this past weekend after taking care of Northern Illinois with a clean two-game sweep to improve to 4-0 on the season.

“We’ve been talking this whole year about having high expectations for our team,” said head coach Dan Wood. “Last year was a good stepping stone, but last year’s not good enough.

. We got a lot of new guys that are coming in and contributing and we have a lot of guys that have been here for a long time helping grow the pro gram.”

The Blue Demons picked up the win Friday night at Northern Illinois in DeKalb, making a statement on the road and winning by a lopsided score of 8-2.

DePaul’s offense, similar to their opening weekend series, exploded for 18 total goals and outscored the Huskies 18-5. DePaul picked up their fourth win of the season on Saturday finishing the sweep, winning 10-3 led by sophomore winger Danny Man narino and graduate student winger Brock Ash, scoring two goals each on Saturday.

“Today was great,” Wood said. “It was a weird kind of game, we couldn’t get into a flow from the second peri od on, there were a lot of penalties, but we were able to take advantage of

their penalties and kill off our own.”

The Blue Demons offense picked up right where they left off on Friday night, scoring four goals by three dif ferent players in the first period.

The first goal of the game was scored by sophomore Zander Plot kin in the left corner of the net, fol lowed moments later by Mannarino in the same spot. The last two goals for DePaul came from Ash, with his first coming off a slap shot at the 11:53 minute and his second at the 2:58 minute.

“It was honestly all on my line mates,” Ash said. “They just threw it over to me, and I just tapped it in.”

DePaul only allowed a goal off a power play and left the first period with a 4-1 lead.

The Blue Demons offense con trolled the entire second period, scoring three goals by three differ ent players. DePaul scored all three of their goals within a five-minute span, which were recorded by senior center Jackson Leptish (19:00), junior defenseman Josh Maloney (17:42) and sophomore winger Matt Newton (14:04).

“Our offense is our depth,” Wood said. “We’ve got four lines that can score and we just wear teams down, play fast, and get the puck in. Today, we were missing our leading scorer and still put up 10 [goals], so it just shows you our depth.”

Similar to the first two periods, DePaul controlled the entire third, scoring three goals which were re corded by senior winger Marco Presta (17:52), freshman forward Tyler Mar celletti (13:44) and Danny Mannari no (13:38.)

Similar to last week, senior goalie A.J. Grzbek played exceptionally well, only allowing three goals on the day and stayed strong under duress on multiple power plays.

“I’m just doing my job,” Grzbek said. “It’s a team effort, guys are block ing shots every single period, it was awesome to see. They made my job

easy for most of the game, making big saves is all I have to do, it doesn’t mat ter if it’s 10-3 or 1-1.”

DePaul (4-0) will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 30 for a road match up against University of Wiscon sin-Madison at the Ponds of Brook field Ice Arena with faceoff scheduled for 8:00 PM.

“It shows we’re legit this year,” said Ash. “A lot of confidence comes through that, we didn’t just beat them, we put 10 goals on them. It clear ly shows that we’re no joke here and we’re ready to go and make a run at Nationals.”

DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA

Sophomore winger Danny Mannarino celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during Saturday’s 10-3 victory against Northern Illinois.

DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA

Sophomore winger Matt Newman celebrates with his bench after scoring a goal in the second period on Saturday during DePaul’s 10-3 victory over Northern Illinois at Johnny’s Ice House.

Women come up short in 3-2 loss against Marquette

By Max Rayman Contributing Writer

Marquette’s women’s soccer team seems to have DePaul’s number, hav ing won three straight against their conference rivals heading into last Thursday’s matchup. Once again, Blue Demons came up short, fall ing 3-2 to the Golden Eagles in the team’s Big East opener.

From the jump, Marquette dom inated the time of possession, pep pering shot after shot on DePaul se nior goalkeeper Elena Milam. Milam and her defense stood stout early, denying any opportunity Marquette made for themselves.

“It was a rough beginning, but we just needed to stay calm, composed, and connect passes,” junior defender Grace Phillpotts said. “When we do that we are fine”.

DePaul’s ‘bend-but-don’t-break’ defensive attitude allowed their of fense to take over. At the 17:47 mark, DePaul took an early 1-0 lead thanks to some beautiful coordination. Af ter a throw-in, senior forward Kris tin Boos was able to feed sophomore forward Katie Godden who, after beating the defense, landed a perfect snipe top right corner of the net.

“It comes [from the] training ground,” Boos said. “Katie [Godden] and I have been connecting a lot over the last week. I told her even before the game that you and I are going to connect. I am going to find you and you’re going to score, and it hap pened.”

From there, DePaul regained its composure and slowly started to create more opportunities for themselves. Godden continued her momentum, once again beating the defense, but this time missing wide right.

Miscues were the name of the game for DePaul on Thursday, and their lead was short-lived. On a corner kick at the 29:35 mark, Mar quette’s sophomore midfielder Mia Haertle tied the game at one.

“It was a terrible corner kick to even give up in the first place,” De Paul head coach Michele O’Brien said. “A bad clearance from our back to give up a bad corner.”

Sometimes a blunder can wreck a team’s composure, but DePaul was able to shake it off and entered half

time tied 1-1 despite being outshot 6-2.

After an impressive first half, DePaul faltered in the second, with miscues once again being a factor. A penalty by junior defender Grace Phillpotts at the 55:18 mark led to a Marquette penalty shot. Junior mid fielder Isabella Cook was able to bury it to give the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead. But Marquette was not done, scoring their third and final goal at the 62:58 mark. This time thanks to sophomore midfielder Julia O’Neil.

Facing a two-goal deficit, DePaul was able to bring themselves within one at the 80:53 mark off the back of a penalty kick of their own. Fresh man defender Lina Dantes was able to draw a penalty against the Mar quette goalie, leading Boos to score

her first goal of the game. This was also her first two points of the sea son.

“As a senior player, it was great for Boos to get on the board with two points,” O’Brien said. “Then obvi ously stepping up and taking a PK in an important moment is critical for our team.”

Over the last nine minutes, De Paul was able to take their game to an extra gear, continually creating open looks for themselves. Unfortunately, Marquette’s sophomore goalkeeper Chloe Olson stood firm, crushing the Blue Demons’ last-ditch come back effort.

In the first Big East game of the year for the two teams, physicality was the theme of the evening, with tensions growing at times.

“Marquette is a big rivalry,” Boos said. “In my last three years, this is my fourth time playing them and it is definitely very chippy. Big East is very physical. Division One Soccer is very physical. That is what we expect going into Big East and especially against Marquette. It was definitely heightened because it was our home opener.”

DePaul (2-6, 0-1) will be back in action on Sunday, Sept. 25 for a road matchup against their conference rival Xavier (7-2-1, 1-0) with first touch set for noon CST.

“I have high expectations for my self and my teammates,” Boos said. “We scored two very good goals. We are dangerous. We just need to play a full 90-minutes together.”

Men’s offense falls flat in 3-0 loss to Penn

By Preston Zbroszczyk Asst. Sports Editor

The Blue Demons were held scoreless in Sunday’s game against Penn. The offense was nearly non-existent for 90 minutes in the 3-0 loss at Wish Field.

DePaul started off very promis ing, and 15 seconds into the match, they had the game’s first shot on goal that was stopped by Penn’s goalkeeper.

“If you can score an early goal that always sets the tone,” Head coach Mark Plotkin said. “It’s what coaches always hope for. But look, we tried to get the ball in the chan nels and service in, and I thought we got enough service to score goals. I like what our attack looked like, we just have to be hungrier in the box.

Coming off a comeback win against UIC, the Blue Demons came in prepared to battle against Penn to finish off their non-conference schedule before starting Big East play Saturday Oct. 1.

It seemed DePaul was never able to gain any consistency with the offense, and after the early scoring

chance, the Blue Demons never saw the opponent’s end of the field until the second half.

As the first half ended, the Blue Demons were only down one goal with victory still in reach.

That all changed when Penn scored two goals in four minutes. DePaul’s gameplan quickly shifted as they were forced to play a more aggressive and desperate style of play.

“We talked about a couple differ ent things offensively, but when you let up two goals pretty quickly in the second half, that kind of changes the momentum of everything,” Plotkin said. “At that point you have to go a little bit more direct and hope for something to happen.”

The Blue Demons had a good ap proach, but were hitting a wall that didn’t allow them to fully play the game they wanted to.

A 3-1-3 start and a tie against three top-25 ranked opponents is the preparation DePaul needed headed into the key part of their schedule.

The Blue Demons will have to go back and address these issues that

were presented against Penn, but they cannot dwell too much on this game as they host Providence on Saturday Oct. 1, and the intensity of the rest of the Big East.

“It’s a quick turnaround,” junior midfielder Omar Ramadan said. “I think it’s important to look at what went wrong today and just build off that. We’re excited going into con ference play, I think we have a lot to prove and we’re ready for it.”

When things aren’t going as planned, it is easy to fall apart and just give up, but DePaul kept its

head up and moved on to the next play.

At the end of the day the Blue Demons always want to walk away with a win, and with aspirations of making the NCAA Tournament, every game the rest of the season is critical.

“I think we are going to take this as a learning opportunity,’’ fresh man Diego Benitez said. “We have a week before Providence and we are going to take that week to get better as a team and get the win on Satur day.”

Senior Kristin Boos dribbles past Marquette defenders during Thursday’s 3-2 loss.

QUENTIN BLAIS |THE DEPAULIA

QUENTIN BLAIS | THE DEPAULIA DePaul defenders hang their head after giving up a second-half half goal against Penn on Sunday.

Butler in home-opener

need to just work together as a team, support one other and find that com petitive drive.”

DePaul did not get the result they were looking for in their Big East home opener Friday. Dropping the match three sets to one puts the Blue Demons winless to start the Big East.

The Blue Demons were able to salvage a third set win to steal some momentum from the Butler Bulldogs, but it was too little too late.

Head coach Marie Zidek explains her reasoning postgame for why the team got off to such a slow start.

“There was a little bit of a learning curve in the first two sets of what it was going to take to be competitive with a team that wins a lot through their block and defense,” Zidek said. “I just thought what Butler did was they came in and out competed us. They won the long rallys, and that’s what we were used to doing to [teams] and they did right back to us.”

From the start, it was evident But ler seemed to be playing a more fluid, fast paced game. The Bulldogs’ hits were splitting through the gaps left from the Blue Demons late block that they produced, which left a larger task for the defense.

Junior libero Rachel Krasowski had the most digs from either team on Friday, but said the team cannot get used to just playing complacent volleyball after putting together one good set. That needs to be shown throughout the whole match to re ceive the results they want.

“We are really young in a sense, but it is not an excuse whatsoever.” Krasowski said. “We need to get out of this mentality that we win a set and can roll over and just play complacent volleyball. So at the end of the day we

Coming into the season, DePaul was voted in the coaches preseason poll to finish third in the conference, making them eligible for the Big East tournament, but the team’s 4-10 start is worse than expected a month into the season.

Midway through the fourth set in a back-and-forth game, the Blue Demons trailed 11-12 and in a long rally were set up perfectly to even the score. After losing the point, Zidek threw her hands in frustration and proceeded to call a timeout to discuss an approach for the rest of the set.

“I just thought that at that point in time we were trying to play cute vol leyball and not just go for it,” Zidek said. “It was a fourth ball exchange in the rally and worked [our hitter] into a one-on-one and that is not a time to tip, that’s a time to rip it.”

Zidek said her team needs to un derstand the scenarios and the im portance of these matches to get the best result possible. She said these are the mistakes the team should be mak ing back in the middle of August, not near the end of September.

“What I told the team is if this happened on Aug. 23, I would be totally patient and I would educate,” Zidek said. “At this point in time, it is Big East play and everybody is out for everybody and at a whole different level of intensity.”

In the short time that the Blue De mons got the offense going and were successfully getting swings at the net, sophomore middle Aly Kindelbeger was second on the team with 10 kills, and got the Blue Demons on the right track.

Following the first set, Zidek made adjustments in the lineup and put in junior middle Sara Griffith to help move the block. Griffith immediately made an impact as she and Kindel berger both anchored the block.

“We need to get better at starting faster and jumping on teams that we should be beating,” Kindelberger said. “Sara brings more experience to the

court and a better look on the block.” DePaul will not have much time to think about the what-if’s of this game. Big East play continues on Friday Sept. 30 and Saturday Oct. 1, when the Blue Demons host Providence and UConn on back-to-back nights looking to get their first Big East win of the season.

KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA

Preston Zbroszczyk Sports

DePaul sophomore setter Maggie Jones stretches for the save during Friday night’s loss against Butler. The Blue Demons lost three sets to one in the Big East matchup with the Bulldogs.

History in the making

By Amber Stoutenborough Multimedia Managing Editor

A young Noelle Malkama ki sits down with her dad to watch ESPN on the TV. Running across the screen is Shaquem Griffin, a former linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks, who has amniotic band syndrome, just like Malkamaki.

“I remember the first time I saw him I was totally shocked, like, ‘Oh my gosh, peo ple who look like me are doing big things too,” Malkamaki said.

Ending her junior year strong as a De Paul thrower, Malkamaki’s track and field coach reached out about beginning a career in Paralympics. Malkamaki is now the first Paralympic Athlete at DePaul.

“He asked me, ‘Hey, have you ever con sidered Paralympics?’ And right off the bat I just said no, because I genuinely never thought I competed with able-bodied ath letes my entire life,” Malkamaki said. “And so I guess to an extent, I never embraced my identity as disabled athlete.”

Now, starting off her senior year, Malka maki comes back with a national title in Shot Put for the U.S Paralympic national champi onship. Malkamaki begins her training for the Paris 2024 Paralympics while balancing track and field and school at DePaul.

Malkamaki didn’t always have Olympic aspirations. 13-year-old Malkamaki played other sports beforehand, but started her middle school track and field team to sup port a friend.

“There was a girl that transferred to my school that was really good at track but didn’t want to join alone,” Malkamaki said. “So she and I were kind of like if you do it, I’ll do it. And we both joined the team.I only chose throwing because I knew I didn’t want to be a runner.”

From there, Malkamaki continued her career through high school and began her journey as an athlete.

“I was kind of good without necessari ly meaning to be if that makes sense, which is the huge difference between high school and colleges, with high school it’s a small

pool of people and once you get to col lege, it becomes real,” Malkamaki said. “I never necessarily expected to go to college for sports. My dad was the first to bring it up my sophomore year and I just never thought that that was a route that I would be able to take until it’s slowly happening. I just didn’t think I was one of those people.”

From small town Decauter to big city Chicago, Malkamaki chose DePaul after a phone call with the assistant track and field coach, Brandon Murer.

“Recruiting is normally just based on numbers on a list, but we want to see who you are besides athletics. And Noelle already passed the number test, but is she going to be a good fit for the program?” Murer said. “So you pick up the phone and you start talking to the people and seeing who they really are. And so a lot of what I did hear with Noelle through the phone was passion for the sport and the people, and you can see that developing throughout the years as she’s stepping into more leadership roles.”

Murer didn’t know prior to their con versation that Malkakmaki had amniotic band syndrome.

“Her score reflected a top athlete and

when I picked up the phone the first time I talked to her, I had no idea. I hadn’t been to a meet to see her, I just saw the num bers as black and white numbers and I was like, ‘Oh, this is somebody that can really shoot’,” Murer said. “There was no there’s no dissuading me from wanting her here. Being a paralympic athlete in Division I, in any division, is fairly uncommon, so we feel very special and privileged to be coaching her right now.”

At DePaul, Malkamaki continued to grow and inspired the team to champion ships. Billie Martin, a friend and fellow De Paul athlete, tells the DePaulia the connec tion between her and Malkamaki helped get through the difficult early Covid-19 years for the team.

“Noelle brings so much enthusiasm and positivity to the group that helps us become not only better athletes, but I also think better people,” Martin said. “For me personally, seeing Noelle reach her goals and push herself makes me want to do the same and I am sure our other teammates feel the same way.’

Malkamaki has had many accomplish ments over her career, such as finishing

fifth at the Big East Triangular with a dis tance of 14.73m on Feb. 26, 2021, her per sonal best. She also finished fourth and set a personal record in the shot put at Mar quette Invitational with a throw of 12.31m, along with finishing fifth in the discus at the Big East Outdoor Championship with a throw of 41.66m.

“When you talk to able-bodied versus Paralympic, we know how hard it is to do what we’re doing and she’s doing it with a disadvantage. Whether she thinks it is or not, she is and so there’s a little bit of I’m not going to complain, I’m just going to do this within the team that I think really brings a positive environment,” Murer said.

Outside of throwing, Noelle lives a full life after recently marrying her highschool sweetheart, Robert Malkamai, and pursu ing her major in English while working at the DePaul Writing Center.

“I would love to be a writer one day,” she said. “Whether I’m writing for internal communications at a business or I’m liter ally writing books, I would love to use that as a career. My husband and I both support each other so much in our goals and while being a Paralympic Athlete wasn’t what I had planned as my future when we got married he is very proud and supportive of this different route.”

Even with the future goal of being a writer, Malkamaki doesn’t want to stop her career with throwing anytime soon.

“You think your athletic career is going to end in high school and then if it doesn’t, it’s amazing that I get to continue through college and then it’ll be done. So the fact that I am looking into continuing past col lege and even past Paris 2024 is all new ter ritory for me,” Malkamaki said. “I’ve had conversations with myself personally like, okay I’m going to be completely all in on this for the next two years and then see where it takes me from there because this environment of being in this community of disabled athletes that I kind of didn’t know existed is something I never want to leave.”

Malkamaki attended Saint Teresa High School in Decauter Illinois before choosing DePaul.

COURTESY SAINT TERESA HS

AMBER STOUTENBOROUGH| THE DEPAULIA

Noelle Malkamaki bench presses during a track and field strength training practice. Malkamaki has begun training for the Paris 2024 Paralympics, while also competing for DePaul.