DePaulia
The
Volume #106 | Issue #5 | Oct. 11 2021 | depauliaonline.com
‘Dreaming big’
PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS
DePaul athletic director DeWayne Peevy during his introductory press conference in August of 2020. Peevy is now in his second year at DePaul after coming over from Kentucky.
Peevy reflects on first year, looks to continue building DePaul’s brand By Lawrence Kreymer Editor-in-Chief
When DeWayne Peevy arrived in Chicago a year ago to take over as DePaul’s newest athletic director, the Lincoln Park campus was virtually a ghost town. Most students and faculty were at home since DePaul held a majority of online courses during the 2020-21 academic year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. So, when Peevy and his family moved to Chicago, they were among the few DePaul people on campus. “I waited till the weekend to come to the offices because I didn’t have a way to get in [inside the Sullivan Athletic Center],” Peevy said during an interview with The
DePaulia. “I was staying across the street on Belden, 20 steps from the front door, but couldn’t get in and nobody was really on campus and didn’t know who to really call to get in the building.” Peevy had his first day all pictured out: how he wanted his opening press conference to go and who he wanted to be there. But because of the pandemic, not all of those dreams were able to come to fruition. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get any of those things that I pictured because of what was just going on in the world,” he said. “It really focused me to get down to the work. I got a chance to [do] the best we could with a press conference, with my immediate family present. But when I really look back on how thankful we are, the students really
helped get me through that.” Those first couple of days on the job were just a microcosm of Peevy’s first year at DePaul, which included plenty of Zoom sessions, empty stadiums and arenas and not being able to meet all the student athletes right away. But there were still a lot of tasks that needed to be accomplished even with a mostly empty campus. “The thing I thought would be the biggest challenge was really getting integrated into the campus community, especially because school was almost out,” Peevy said. Part of the early process for Peevy was to meet with alumni, donors and people that can help grow DePaul’s brand. Throughout the first couple of months, Peevy was doing about 6-8 to Zoom meetings every day.
In addition, he had to help guide the athletic department through the pandemic, which forced traditional fall sports to move to the spring and saw the men’s basketball team face a rocky start to its season because of positive tests. The first year also forced Peevy to make some tough decisions, including firing men’s basketball head coach Dave Leitao and then hiring Tony Stubblefield to replace him. DePaul has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2004 and has only recorded one winning season since 2007. Peevy said that he isn’t putting a win threshold that the team needs to reach this upcoming season in order to call this year
See PEEVY, page 26
Chartwells negotiations drawn out, students rally support By Josephine Stratman Asst. News Editor
A two-year long effort to negotiate a new contract for DePaul dining workers has been drawn out even further. As Chartwells workers rally for campus unity, Compass Group, Chartwells’ parent company, strives to split the food service workers in two groups. Chartwells and representatives of the workers’ union, Unite Here Local 1, took to the bargaining table on Wednesday, Oct. 6, when Compass Group lawyers proposed raises on a sliding scale for workers.
DePaul dining employees are trying to establish a $19.88 minimum hourly pay for all workers and consistent insurance coverage. The Compass Group’s proposal fell short of this demand. Under the proposal, employees who receive higher pay already would not receive equal raises — a decision union shop steward Isabel Avila said may aim to divide the DePaul employees. Avila, a Lincoln Park Chartwells employee, is one of the key negotiators between Chartwells and the union, which represents 101 subcontracted DePaul dining workers.
“[The Compass Group] moved a little bit,” Avila said. “But we’re still waiting.” Unite Here Local 1 does not plan on accepting the Compass Group’s proposal when the two groups reconvene on Oct. 25. As negotiations get pushed back further, the strike is becoming increasingly real to dining workers. “They have to meet us,” Avila said, adding that she’d be willing to negotiate further with The Compass Group, but the current proposal is unacceptable. “If we have to [strike], we have to.”
See CHARTWELLS page 6
JOSEPHINE STRATMAN | THE DEPAULIA
DePaul dining employees Glynis Donaldson, 58, holds a card outlining her rights to wear her Unite Here Local 1 union pin.