The DePaulia 4/4/2022

Check who took out the biggest awards at this year’s Oscars on pages 1819.

Pressure grows from Merrick Garland to prosecute former president Donald Trump on page 10.

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Volume #106 | Issue #19 | April 4, 2022 | depauliaonline.com

On board

Students happy with new shuttle between campuses

By Nadia Hernandez & Kiersten Riedford News Editor & Asst. News Editor

For the first time in DePaul’s history, the university is piloting an intercampus shuttle bus program between the Lincoln Park campus and the Loop campus.

There are three shuttle buses available to students, two of which are handicap accessible, according to Newsline. Students must show their student ID when boarding the bus.

The shuttle bus program runs Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. until the end of the quarter on June 10, according to Newsline.

Student Government Association (SGA) and Facility Operations worked together to implement the program following the Public Safety Town Hall on March 2, said SGA Executive Vice President of Operations Kellen Brown.

Director of Public Safety Bob Wachowski said at the town hall that he “did not have the resources” to create a shuttle bus program for students.

“The university and Facility Operations were given the resources to do [this],” Brown said.

Students spoke at the town hall on March 2 about safety concerns after crime at the Jackson Red Line stop and commuting in the evening. “[The facility operations staff] probably recognized the need for [the shuttle buses] already, but the student concerns definitely really pushed it forward,” Brown said.

The shuttle buses run approximately every 30 minutes, according to SGA Vice President Kevin Holechko. There is no exact timetable that is available to students, but the bus drivers have a general timetable they follow, Holechko said.

Students have experienced crime at the Jackson stop, but many did not report their experiences to authorities, According to previous reporting, Lenin Plazas, SGA Senator for Commuter Affairs, said he wanted students to have a safer commuting option when going to their classes.

SOFIA LEAL | THE DEPAULIA

Bus driver Aaron Halliday checks student IDs as they board DePaul’s new shuttle bus between the Loop and Lincoln Park campuses.

“Of course, it’s always a priority to make sure that [transportation is] accessible to all students, make sure that all students feel comfortable, and they feel like they’re not a burden or that they have the liberty to go on these buses with no hesitation,” Plazas said.

The buses run directly between both campuses, whereas the CTA could experience delays. “[The CTA] have their delays, they have their fair share [of] signal clearances, and they get [people] to classes late,” Plazas said. “Whereas the shuttle buses hopefully don’t have a lot of signal clearance issues. So it’s mainly for the entire student body, but in my mind, it’s also for commuter students who are just tired of

See SHUTTLE, page 9

SOFIA LEAL | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul’s shuttle bus makes its way back to the campus in the Loop. There are three buses running between both campuses, stopping at The DePaul Center and the Ray Meyer Center.

DePaul receives largest donation in school history

By Erik Uebelacker Opinions Editor

DePaul University received the largest donation in school history to benefit the College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM).

The donors, Eugene Jarvis and his wife Sasha Gerritson, have rich ties to the university. Jarvis is an arcade game designer, who was also named the first game designer in residence at CDM in 2008. Gerritson, a DePaul trustee and music school alumnus, teaches musical theater and opera at Northeastern Illinois University.

The donation’s precise amount was undisclosed, as per the donors’ wishes.

DePaul’s previous largest donation was $30 million from philanthropist Richard Driehaus in 2012 for the university’s College of Commerce.

When discussing the couple’s motivation to give back to DePaul, Gerritson recalled her time as a student.

“My experience in the School of Music was the best time of my life,” Gerritson told The DePaulia. “I see the impact that DePaul University is having on our society through offering such a wonderful educational experience, and I want to be part of

that. DePaul has given me so much, and it’s only right and just that I give back as much as I can.

“Eugene has also had such a lovely and meaningful experience at DePaul through his work, specifically in CDM and otherwise. He felt that this was the right thing to do as well, because DePaul has changed our lives in a way that has been so impactful, that we’re happy to do our part.”

The CDM college will be renamed the Eugene P. Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media in honor of the gift, according to Newsline. The funds will go towards an endowed scholarship and a research

collaboration with the Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness housed at DePaul.

“It is my hope that being able to offer scholarships, being able to offer a place and a space for creativity and innovation, will afford DePaul students of today and tomorrow the opportunity to live into their dreams,” Gerritson said. “To be able to recognize and realize their creative visions, [and] an opportunity to come to one of the best programs in the world without financial barrier.”

Jarvis discussed the reasoning behind the record-breaking gift.

See DONORS, page 8

2 | News. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

First Look

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News. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 3

Students want improved relations with new president

By Patrick Sloan-Turner Faculty Council Beat Writer

As President A. Gabriel Esteban’s tenure nears its end, DePaul students are considering what they’d like to see from the next president, with hope that the next person to fill the seat shows more interaction with the student body.

On Thursday, March 17, it was announced that three finalists had been selected to fill the role of university president by DePaul’s Search Advisory Committee. The candidates have yet to be named, but the committee disclosed that final interviews would conclude by April 4.

While the committee evaluates the qualities of the three finalists, many students hope to see improved relations with the student body from the new president — an area in which many felt Esteban fell short.

“As for a connection, I think it’s been pretty lackluster,” freshman Ellie Shelton said. “The only interaction I had with [President Esteban] was at my freshman orientation, and I think it was a pre-recorded message.”

Many associate a private school education with a close-knit environment between students, faculty and administrators. DePaul’s website boasts a 16:1 faculty to student ratio and states, “faculty will know your name.”

Shelton believes that although DePaul is relatively large for a private school, students still expect a familiarity between students and administrators.

“We’re still smaller than state schools, so there should be this sense of closeness,” Shelton said. “That’s what draws a lot of people to private schools, and I don’t think we necessarily have that.”

Much of the search has been kept under wraps, as the committee hasn’t named a single candidate throughout the nine-month search, and the university has twice declined The DePaulia’s requests to interview committee chair

Judy Greffin. While the search process has been less than transparent, the prospect of a new president could allow the DePaul administration to be more forthright with students.

In October 2021, students were concerned to learn that DePaul quietly outsourced the university’s counseling services to a third-party app. Esteban had the opportunity to inform students and staff of this change in an address in September, but did not do so. The move outraged both students and faculty more when they found that DePaul had no on-campus counselors during a period where symptoms of mental strain were at an all-time high.

An increase in attention and care to students’ health needs from the practices of Esteban’s term is an aspect many DePaul students feel is crucial from DePaul’s next president.

“Bare minimum, a president should care,” sophomore Skyler Peppo said. “I’d like the new president to take a more hands-on approach with the counseling department and improve the support it provides to DePaul students. . . it’s obviously majorly lacking.”

Esteban had previous experience in higher education before his time at DePaul, serving as Seton Hall University’s president from 2011 to 2017. Still, much of Esteban’s discipline is in business; he holds a doctorate in business administration and a master’s in Japanese business studies.

As credentialed as Esteban is in terms of institutional administration and business, DePaul Student Government Association President Watfae Zayed sees other areas of experience as more important for a university president.

“Experience in the classroom is always preferred,” Zayed said. “Administrative experience is not that important to me.”

Zayed, a student representative on the 15-person search committee, thinks a candidate’s practical background in-

teracting with students is a much more important quality.

“Most administrators seldom interact with students, so they don’t really understand what life is like on campus,” Zayed said. “Students should be a priority over the budget, the board or any of the other administrative procedures.”

The strive for improvement — especially for an educational body — is a core part of an organization’s existence.

For DePaul’s upcoming transition period, students feel that building a better connection between students and DePaul’s next president is paramount.

“I think a university president’s main responsibility to their student body is to show up,” Zayed said. “To be present not just physically, but emotionally and mentally for their students.”

Preceding Esteban, Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider was DePaul’s president from 2004-2017. Some faculty members employed during Holtschneider’s era believe he excelled in student outreach and had a well-maintained presence among the DePaul community.

“He was very personable,” said Ed Lawler, an adjunct professor at DePaul.

“I thought he had a nice touch with students.”

It was common to see Holtschneider walking around campus and engaging with students, according to Lawler.

“He’s 6-foot-4, so he’s hard to miss,” Lawler said. “He had a presence.”

A presence on campus and a strong focus on student connection may serve DePaul’s next president well, just as some believe it did for Holtschneider.

For Peppo, the key to an improved bond between students and Esteban’s successor is an increase in meaningful dialogue between the two parties — a dialogue she feels is a university president’s primary responsibility.

“How are you going to know what students need if you don’t even know your students?” Peppo said.

NADIA HERNANDEZ | THE DEPAULIA

Former DePaul President John T. Richardson dies at 98

By Lawrence Kreymer Editor in Chief

JAMIE MONCRIEF | DEPAUL UNIVERSITY VIA NEWSLINE

The Rev. John. T. Richardson, C.M. (center) and the Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M. (left) at the inauguration ceremony of A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D. (right), president of DePaul University, on Nov. 19, 2017.

Former DePaul President Rev. John T. Richardson died on March 29, according to a release from the university.

Richardson was 98 years old.

“Fr. Richardson’s leadership of DePaul resulted in growing our national reputation, while expanding our engagement in the city of Chicago and deepening our commitment to the university’s Catholic, Vincentian, and urban mission,” DePaul President A. Gabriel Esteban said in a statement on Wednesday.

“He was a visionary leader, whose impact on our university will endure, and he will be missed by all in the DePaul family.

Richardson joined DePaul in 1954 as dean of the Graduate School, later becoming the university’s ninth president in 1981, in which he served 12 years in that role. Afterwards, he was DePaul’s chancellor for 24 years.

One of the biggest projects during Richardson’s time as president was the $100 million Cornerstone Campaign from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, which helped to lead to major expansions of DePaul’s Loop and Lincoln Park campuses.

Also during his tenure, DePaul’s enrollment increased significantly -- reaching 16,500 by the end of his presidency -- and the school became the largest catholic university in the country.

“Fr. Richardson was a dedicated Vincentian, priest, educator and missionary,” said Rev. Patrick McDevitt, provincial superior

of the Congregation of the Mission Western Province. “He was passionate about improving the lives of others and working for a more just and fair society.”

Richardson presided over the transformation of DePaul from a small, Catholic commuter school to the diverse, urban university it is today. Three new residence halls were built during his time as president and DePaul’s reputation grew as the university began attracting students from out of state.

Richardson returned to DePaul in 2010 as chancellor by former DePaul President Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M. Richardson said he felt “he still had something to offer the university,” according to Newsline.

He also helped introduce the International Human Rights Law Institute, the Institute for Business Ethics and the Center for Urban Education.

In 1992, DePaul began construction on the university’s first free-standing library on the Lincoln Park Campus, made possible by a major donation from the family of DePaul alumnus Richard Heise. The family also asked that the library be named after Richardson.

Richardson spent his last few years living in Perryville, Missouri.

Funeral services will be held Monday April 4, at 5 p.m. at Apostle of Charity Residence, Mother of God Chapel at 1701 W. Saint Joseph St., Perryville, MO, according to Newsline. Community members can also make a memorial donation.

4 | News. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

Chicago officials struggle to curb years-long carjacking

By Jackson Healy Nation & World Editor

There’s more than just potholes to look out for on Chicago’s roads.

Since the turn of the decade, Chicago has been marred with a growing carjacking crisis. In 2020, Chicago police reported 1,413 carjacking attempts — a 135 percent increase from the previous year, according to Chicago Police Department (CPD) via the Chicago data portal. In 2021, that number increased to 1,852. And if current trends hold, the city could see 1,755 carjackings by the end of 2022.

Carjackings haven’t just become more prevalent, they’ve also become more violent.

Aggravated vehicular hijackings comprised 72.7 percent of all carjackings in Chicago during 2021, up from 66 percent in 2020, according to CPD via the Chicago data portal. That percentage has also increased so far in 2022 — 75.7 percent of all Chicago carjackings this year have either involved violence or the threat of violence, according to CPD via the Chicago data portal.

“It’s the violence with which they’re taken that makes them so dangerous,” said Geneva Brown, a DePaul criminology professor.

“You’re going about your day, leaving work or coming to work, and someone pulls up beside you with a gun and tells you to get out.”

Former DePaul student Jayme Gede experienced an attempted carjacking at gunpoint in November 2020. While she was able to successfully fend off the attackers while retaining her car, the experience still left an impact on her.

“I definitely drive way less than I used to,”

she said. “After that, I just stopped driving for a good six months.”

Since then, Gede feels the city has not appropriately responded to the carjacking crisis.

“I’ve seen posters being put in workplace break rooms on tips for how to prevent carjackings,” she said. “Other than that, I haven’t really seen any sort of attempt to curb it, so I wouldn’t say I feel any safer than I did in 2020.”

In response to the continued slew of carjacking incidents, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown announced Feb. 7 that Chicago would begin staffing its carjacking task force 24 hours a day.

Robert Stokes, DePaul associate public

JACKSON HEALY | THE DEPAULIA

service professor, notes how several other U.S. cities have taken a “tough-on-crime” approach to the nationwide uptick in carjackings.

“Like most crime problems, a spike and related publicity leads to a more intense political focus and additional resources thrown at the problem, such as a better staffed regional task force, more undercover shifts, police overtime, political pressure on prosecutors to pursue tougher charges and legal changes that enhance punishments,” he said. “This sort of multi-pronged response tends to lead to more arrests and tougher punishments that, considering a set of rational crime actors, would make the crime less attractive.”

However, one complicating factor in addressing Chicago’s carjacking crisis is the ages

of its offenders: about half of all arrests made in relation to stolen vehicles are of children under 18, according to CPD. Brown suggests that much of this influx of young carjackers stems from the uprooting of social structures as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. “[Many children weren’t] receiving an education, community centers were shut down — at some points, they even took basketball hoops down and locked the grounds where you could play basketball,” Brown said. “So you had thousands of children and teenagers developing without any structure, without any education — eventually they got some sort of online version of the classroom, but there are many children that have checked out. We have to talk about how we failed these kids and how they lack the structure that they desperately need.”

Furthermore, Brown suggests while increasing sentencing penalties for juvenile carjackers would take offenders off the street for longer, doing so may actually cause greater issues in the long run.

“You can lock kids up, you can institutionalize them, you can prepare them for the adult criminal justice system, [but that’s] not going to help the underlying issues,” she said. “Generally, most teenagers who commit offenses age out — unfortunately, if you institutionalize them, they will not age out. So we have to be careful with how we handle these kids, even under the most violent circumstances. We can’t just throw away the key — you’re going to pay for it, one way or another.”

CAMPUS CRIME REPORT: March 23, 2022 - March 29, 2022 LOOP CAMPUS

LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS

School Of Music 1 5

Sheffield Garage 4

Jackson & State 7

DePaul Center Student Center

College of Education

3

LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS

March 23 1) An Illegal Possession of Alcohol by a Minor report was filed in the School of Music.

March 24 2) A Criminal Damage to Property report was filed for graffiti on the College of Education.

March 25 3) A Harassment report was filed for a person who was being harassed outside the Student Center.

March 29 4) A Criminal Damage to Vehicle report was filed regarding damage to a vehicle in the Sheffield Garage.

2

Assault & Theft

Drug & Alcohol

Other

5 6

LOOP CAMPUS

March 23 5) An Assault report was filed in the DePaul Center Dunkin Donuts.

March 24 6) A Criminal Trespass warning was issued to a person in the DePaul Center Dunkin Donuts.

March 29 7) A Battery was reported at Jackson and State. Offender was taken into custody by Chicago Police.

SGA provides updates about new scholarship, celebrations

By Audrey Leib SGA Beat Writer

At the first Student Government Association (SGA) meeting of the spring quarter, the administration provided updates for the first-generation scholarship, more annual celebrations and Loop student engagement.

SGA has named their scholarship for first-generation students as the “Student Government Association Academic Resource Scholarship.” Final steps still need to be taken to register the scholarship with the proper outlets.

“We are on track to have this start to be distributed by the start of Fall quarter next year,” said SGA Vice President Kevin Holechko.

SGA announced they are recognizing and celebrating Arab American Heritage month in April. The resolution was released on their Instagram.

“In our current society, Arab Americans remain defaced and unsafe due to misconceptions, bigotry, and racism; and throughout history, Arab Americans have contributed significantly to society through their familial values, strong work ethic, dedication to education, and religious diversity,” the resolution states.

“I was asked by the Arab American Action Network to release a proclamation acknowledging Arabic Heritage month,” SGA President Watfae Zayed said.

The Lincoln Park Student Center is celebrating its 20-year anniversary on

News. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 5

“We are on track to have [the scholarship] start to be distributed by the start of Fall quarter.”

Kevin Holechko

SGA Vice President

AUDREY LEIB | THE DEPAULIA

SGA has elections coming up in mid-April. They passed a resolution Marxh 31 to recognize Arabic Heritage Month during April.

April 28 from 2 to 8 p.m. DePaul clubs and organizations will be hosting festivities, including a concert from a DePaul student band. SGA will help with funding limited edition T-shirts. The event will include a birthday cake, balloon animal artist and plushie stuffing.

“We’re working to hopefully make the [Student Center] birthday an annual recurring event,” SGA advisor Courtney James said.

SGA will be gathering feedback about student experience in the Loop and ways to improve student engagement. They will also be pushing out more information about the shuttle pilot program, as they claim that few students know about the service.

“Apparently, it is still not widely known by students,” James said.

DEPAUL ACTIVITIES BOARD | INSTAGRAM

6 | News. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

News. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 7

MADELYN GARCIA | THE DEPAULIA

Zoryana Smozhanyk stands with her family at the Sunday March 6 afternoon for Ukraine held at the Daley Plaza. There was about 2,000 people in attendance.

Chicago Ukrainians reflect about Russian invasion at rally

By Madelyne Garcia Contributing Writer

Six-year-old Andriy Lankov stood tall with both his hands raised high above his head to help carry a large Ukrainian flag many times larger than himself. Beside him, his sister and mother hugged and chanted, “Close the skies,” along with the rest of the crowd.

Thousands gathered together at the Daley Plaza on March 6 ,afternoon to demand that the Ukrainian skies be established as a “no-fly zone” to protect civilians from Russia’s constant attacks.

Rally organizers called for the boycotting of companies who have not pulled business out of Russia yet, such as McDonald’s and Starbucks. Both businesses joined a corporate exodus by March 8, according to NPR. Friends, family and children came together bearing blue and yellow flags, flowers and pictures of their loved ones in Ukraine.

As speakers took turns sharing their condolences and demands, the atmosphere grew more united on that chilly Chicago afternoon.

A 26-year-old Eadim Flaks stood with his friend looking somber.

“I’m indirectly impacted,” Flaks said. “I’m from Russia, and I have friends that are from Ukraine. I know people on both sides of this mess.”

Flaks was one of many who were thinking about their loved ones. Thirty-eight-year-old Zoryana Smozhanyk has family in Ukraine who are preparing to flee the country after the loss of her uncle.

Smozhanyk settled in Chicago with her parents when she was young and grew up visiting her family in Ukraine during the summer. When news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reached her, she felt like the worst case scenario had come.

“I felt immediate dread,” Smozhanyk said. “My chest felt heavy and I started to shake. Tensions have existed between Russia and Ukraine for years, and I always worried that one day Putin would take action. The morning I received that phone call from my mom, I knew that my fears had come true.”

As news of the conflict traveled around the world, Ukraine became a topic of concern for both individual people and entire nations alike. Many say that the rising awareness has resulted in the spread of Ukrainian culture

MADELYN GARCIA | THE DEPAULIA

Protestors crowd together to carry the Ukrainian flag. They demand more support from NATO for the Ukrainian skies.

MADELYN GARCIA | THE DEPAULIA

A woman chants “Close the skies!” while marching down Michigan Ave with a Ukrainian flag wrapped around her. (Left). A prayer and a moment of silence is held at the Daley Plaza on Sunday in support of Ukrainian citizens and their families. (Right) and history.“I’ve had people, who never even knew what the Ukrainian flag colors were, learn more about it and have been talking to me about the culture and stuff,” said 17-yearold Thomas Boss. “Everyone is googling about Ukraine and trying to figure out what our culture is, what our history is and trying to learn about it more.”

Boss and his mom, Alicia Shalayska, attended the march to show support for their cousins in Ukraine.

“I think a great number of people came out today and it’s great that we’re all coming together,” Shalayska said. “We’ve been so divided as a country and this is bringing us together, hopefully. We have the common goal of trying to fight this dictator.”

After the speakers finished sharing, the group of roughly 2,000 protestors marched down the streets of Chicago towards Millenium Park. The streets rang with the chants of the marchers and the supporting honks of

nearby cars.

“At the very least, I hope we’re able to spread some awareness because you don’t know who you’re going to encounter at these protests,” Flaks said. “Some of these people might have real pull with monetary donations and political figures. At the most, I hope we can raise money and send it back home to Ukraine so we can support our people, because we’re in a very tight situation.”

8 | News. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL UNIVERSITY

Game design faculty member Allen Turner works with a student in CDM. Students, faculty and the community will come together in the new Jarvis Student Center for Innovation and Collaboration which will be located in the DePaul Center concourse. Construction will be complete by the end of Spring Quarter.

DONORS, continued from front page “Sasha and I are thrilled to help one of DePaul’s most exciting, vital colleges expand its innovative, collaborative, hands-on programs,” Jarvis said in his statement to Newsline.

The gift will also establish the Jarvis Student Center for Innovation and Collaboration, a space designed to “will connect students with industry professionals, creators and experts-in-residence,” according to Newsline.

“It’s an amazing new idea,” said DePaul CDM junior Jess Newlin of the Jarvis Student Center. “I love how, especially me, as a game design major, will have the opportunity to meet with professionals in the industry and connect on a personal level.”

David Miller, dean of DePaul’s CDM college, told The DePaulia that the Jarvis Student Center for Innovation and Collaboration will be located in the concourse of the DePaul Center at 1 E. Jackson Blvd. It’s currently being constructed next to the basement floor of the Barnes & Noble bookstore, and is slated to be opened by the end of the Spring quarter.

Miller says that the space is nearly 10,000 square feet, and hopes that it will attract students and encourage innovative collaboration.

“Hopefully, the Jarvis Center will be brimming with students, but they’ll also be spilling out into the surrounding space,” Miller told The DePaulia. “It’ll just be a place where people want to be.

Bringing people together and having those opportunities to meet, discuss and collaborate is what this space is about.”

A portion of the donation will also go towards research at the Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness, a joint initiative of DePaul and DePaul International driving a global movement to end street homelessness. Gerritson explained how thrilled she was to contribute to an organization encouraging students to make an impact.

“Another hope of Eugene’s, and I

PHOTO COURTESY FROM DEPAUL UNIVERSITY

Sasha Gerritson (MUS ’99) and Eugene P. Jarvis made a legacy gift to the College of Computing and Digital Media. share this, is that this type of work can serve to break down silos in higher education, not just at DePaul, but in all places,” she told The DePaulia. “It isn’t just students studying the problems of housing insecurity. It is all students working together to try to make a difference in our world, because that is who we are as students at DePaul.”

Jarvis and Gerritsonn have a history of generosity when it comes to DePaul University. In 2020, the couple made another gift to revamp the former School of Music concert hall. It was renamed the Sasha and Eugene Jarvis Opera Hall in honor of the couple.

Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., president of DePaul University, thanked the couple for their generous gift in a statement.

“Eugene and Sasha’s legacy gift en-

sures CDM will continue to empower generations of student leaders and innovators for years to come, helping build a brighter collective future,” said Esteban via Newsline. “On behalf of our students and the entire DePaul family, I thank them for this transformative act of generosity that will have a profound impact on our students, as well as the Chicago community and industries nationwide.”

The renaming of DePaul’s CDM college and the opening of the Jarvis Student Center for Innovation and Collaboration will both take place on May 20, according to Miller.

PHOTO COURTESY FROM DEPAUL UNIVERSITY

The Eugene P. Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media offers hands-on, innovative programs.

News. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 9

SOFIA LEAL | THE DEPAULIA

One of DePaul’s shuttle buses waits in front of DePaul Center, its designated pick-up location on the Loop campus. This is the only Loop pick up location, other than the CTA.

SHUTTLE, continued from front page the CTA. If they want to take a safer, maybe more direct approach, make sure they’d be there on time.”

There has been an increase in student demand for safer modes of transportation to the Loop campus since early March at the SGA Public Safety Town Hall. The administration’s implementation of safer transportation through the shuttle buses made students pleasantly surprised, Plazas said. “[A friend of mine] said [the shuttle bus] was really convenient and he was almost kind of surprised like ‘Wow, it’s like DePaul is really starting to invest in these things,’” Plazas said. “He was really happy that DePaul took notice and I think he’s still kind of in shock [at] how convenient it is now that he could reduce that long walk.”

The buses all have free Wi-Fi and students can do homework while commuting.

“If you’re really running behind on an assignment, you can now do it on the bus going down, or back and forth between campuses,” Holechko said.

Brown, Plazas and Holechko have received overall positive feedback about the buses.

Junior Beemnet Desta rode the bus on Wednesday afternoon. “[The shuttle buses are] a good idea, especially for freshmen and taking classes at night,” Desta said.

Senior Aya Hajissa said the experience of riding the shuttle bus was more relaxing than the CTA. “[The shuttle buses are] way better than taking any of the trains,” Hajissa said.

Holechko said students were concerned that there was no DePaul affiliation labeled on the buses.

“I’ve talked with [students and] the two big complaints I’ve gotten was that the bus itself doesn’t say anything DePaul related,” Holechko said. “So I know a lot of the students that were getting on [the bus] were like, ‘Is this that DePaul bus?’ And the bus driver was like, ‘Yes, this is me.’”

As of Wednesday night, Facility Operations staff members were made aware of the concern, Brown said. There is now DePaul affiliated signage on the shuttle buses, according to Brown.

Although it is a pilot program, there could be room for expansion into the fall quarter. However, Plazas said SGA wants to be conscious of other factors

SOFIA LEAL | THE DEPAULIA

Students wait for the DePaul shuttle bus to depart from the Loop campus. The ride between campuses takes less than 30 minutes.

SHUTTLE FAQs

“[The shuttle buses] are a good idea for freshmen and evening classes.”

Pick-up Locations: 1. Lot H behind the DePaul Student Center in Lincoln Park.

2. In front of the DePaul Center in the Loop.

Beemnett Desta

DePaul junior

such as environmental sustainability.

“I don’t want there to be excess in buses because I know that that’s been an issue,” Plazas said. “The senator for sustainability, [Lameka Hayes], has mentioned that she wants to make sure that our safety alternatives are also environmentally friendly. We want to make sure that all of our shuttle buses don’t disrupt the Lincoln Park community and downtown [community].”

If students are using the shuttle service more than the CTA, they could opt out of the U-Pass.

“I was riding with one of my friends on the bus that day and he was like, ‘I might consider canceling my U-pass, because all my classes are in the evening,’” Holechko said. “He’s like the shuttle service runs in the evening, there’s really no need for me to have my Ventra card now because I can just take the shuttle service.”

SGA administration said that they want to provide more accurate timetables to match shuttle trips with when

SOFIA LEAL | THE DEPAULIA

A DePaul shuttle bus drops students off in front of the DePaul Student Center. classes get out.

“For the first few weeks, it’s going to be tweaking the system here and there on what’s the most effective way to pick up students,” Holechko said. “[The bus driver] was telling me that the [timetables] were giving them too much time [at one stop] and then sometimes too little because they would be sitting for 25 minutes to 30 minutes, and no one was on the bus at all.”

Schedule: Buses run Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. every 30 minutes. The last bus leaves from the DePaul Center at 10 p.m.

Accessibility: There are 2 of the 3 buses that are handicap accessible.

The shuttles will run until June 10 but will not run on Memorial Day.

10 | Nation & World. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

Nation & World

Lock him up?

DOJ faces growing pressure to prosecute Trump, associates

HYOSUB SHIN | ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION VIA AP

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally for Georgia GOP candidates at Banks County Dragway in Commerce, Ga., Saturday, March 26, 2022.

By Jackson Healy Nation & World Editor

Since Merrick Garland was first sworn in as attorney general in March 2021, the ongoing investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol has largely come to define his tenure as chief lawyer of the United States.

Just over a year later, a series of recent developments have placed great new pressures on him to act against high-ranking officials — including former President Donald Trump.

On March 28, U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter wrote in a court ruling that Trump “more likely than not” attempted to illegally obstruct Congress as part of a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

While this ruling marks likely the most accusatory statement by a federal judge against the former president, it is by no means a criminal ruling — the opinion came as a result of the judge ordering Trump affiliate John Eastman to turn over 101 documents to the House Select Committee investigating the events of Jan. 6.

“It really is a different kind of case than one that could be eventually brought against Trump on criminal grounds,” said David Canon, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Judge Carter even emphasized this in his ruling, noting that his opinion does not equate to a guilty verdict for Trump or Eastman.

“The Court is tasked only with deciding a dispute over a handful of emails,” he said in the ruling. “This is not a criminal prosecution; this is not even a civil liability suit. At most, this case is a warning about the dangers of ‘legal theories’ gone wrong, the powerful abusing public platforms, and desperation to win at all costs. If Dr. Eastman and President Trump’s plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution.”

Even though Judge Carter’s ruling does not explicitly pertain to the conviction of Trump or any Trump affiliates, it’s come during a week that’s

“If Dr. Eastman and President Trump’s plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution.”

David O. Carter

District Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California seen a series of significant developments regarding the inquiries into Jan. 6.

On Tuesday, members of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack publicly voiced frustrations over the Justice Department’s slow movement in bringing forward criminal charges against those noncooperative with the committee’s investigation. Specifically, committee members criticized Garland’s lack of action against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows — whom the committee referred to the DOJ for criminal charges months ago after he defied subpoenas and refused to answer questions from the committee.

The committee also announced a day earlier that they will recommend contempt of congress charges against former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and former Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino after their refusals to testify.

On Thursday, the Justice Department announced it had expanded its criminal investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack to include Trump’s “Save America” rally immediately preceding the attack as well as members of Congress who may have been involved in the “planning or execution of any rally or any attempt to obstruct, influence, impede or delay” congressional certification of election results.

As the House committee continues its investigation into the Jan. 6 attack, the Justice Depart-

ment’s degree of cooperation with the committee’s wishes will continue to be of immense importance.

Not only does the committee rely on the Attorney General to prosecute anyone noncompliant with the investigation, but the committee itself is also unable to prosecute Trump — or anyone, for that matter —following the investigation, regardless of their findings.

“They don’t have the power, independently, to [charge anybody with a crime],” Canon said.

“They depend on the DOJ for ultimate legal actions. They can raise the public profile, they can bring attention, they can gather evidence as they’re doing, but ultimately, the actual legal proceedings are going to come from the DOJ.” While Garland has yet to indicate any intention to criminally prosecute former President Trump or his associates regarding involvement in the Jan. 6 attack, any possible future litigation against Trump would require particularly incriminating evidence to be successful. “[To prove] any kind of criminal case against Trump, you need to prove criminal intent state of mind,” Canon said. “And so if President Trump truly believed that the election was stolen from him — truly believed everything he was saying — then criminal intent is really hard to prove.”

Internal White House records from Jan. 6, 2021 released by the Washington Post show a gap in Trump’s phone logs during the attack on the Capitol, despite a number of widely reported calls

between Trump and other notable Republican figures occurring during this period. Canon notes that while the content of these calls remain unknown, they may ultimately provide the most crucial information in building a case against Trump.

“That’s why everyone wants to get access to those communications that happened in those critical seven hours on Jan. 6,” Canon said. “That could be where someone said, ‘You know that this is a legitimate outcome here. Joe Biden won the election, you told me that last week yourself!’ If we know he went ahead still trying to get people to overturn the results of the election and we have documented proof somewhere that he himself knew that Biden won the election, then you’ve got a case. But short of something like that, it’s difficult to prove that obstruction case.”

Still, not everyone believes criminal prosecution of former President Trump would constitute the best course of action, regardless of whether his actions broke the law. Craig Sautter, author and visiting professor at DePaul, notes that doing so may actually cause the U.S. more harm than good, arguing instead for constituents to determine Trump’s future role in U.S. politics.

“Generally, I think that it is a very bad idea to try any past U.S. president in a court of law unless he murders someone,” he said. “If we want to see the bitter political divide of our nation uncontrollably explode, then we should prosecute former President Trump. The voters should decide his fate.”

As both the House committee’s and the Justice Department’s investigations into Jan. 6 attack continue, Sautter argues that the highly politicized nature of both the attack and its aftermath will continue to create tense polarization over how best to handle criminal charges surrounding the insurrection.

“The idea of compromise — which is essential to democracy since there are always at least two sides to every issue — has vanished,” he said.

“I doubt that either party is going to let up on this divide since it can help each side get re-elected in their own conclaves.”

Nation & World. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 11

Biden oil move aims to cut gas prices ‘fairly significantly’

By Zeke Miller & Josh Boak Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday ordered the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve for six months, a bid to control energy prices that have spiked after the United States and allies imposed steep sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The president said it was not known how much gasoline prices could decline as a result of his move, but he suggested it might be “anything from 10 cents to 35 cents a gallon.” Gas is averaging about $4.23 a gallon, compared with $2.87 a year ago, according to AAA. “The bottom line is if we want lower gas prices we need to have more oil supply right now,” Biden said. “This is a moment of consequence and peril for the world, and pain at the pump for American families.”

The president also wants Congress to impose financial penalties on oil and gas companies that lease public lands but are not producing. He said he will invoke the Defense Production Act to encourage the mining of critical minerals for batteries in electric vehicles, part of a broader push to shift toward cleaner energy sources and reduce the use of fossil fuels.

The actions show that oil remains a vulnerability for the U.S. Higher prices have hurt Biden’s approval domestically and added billions of oil-export dollars to the Russian government as it wages war on Ukraine.

Tapping the stockpile would create pressures that could reduce oil prices, though Biden has twice ordered releases from the reserves without causing a meaningful shift in oil markets. Biden said Thursday he expects gasoline prices could drop “fairly significantly.”

Part of Biden’s concern is that high prices

PATRICK SEMANSKY | ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Joe Biden speaks about his administration’s plans to combat rising gas prices on the White House campus, Thursday, March 31, 2022, in Washington.

have not so far coaxed a meaningful jump in oil production. The planned release is a way to increase supplies as a bridge until oil companies ramp up their own production, with administration officials estimating that domestic production will grow by 1 million barrels daily this year and an additional 700,000 barrels daily in 2023.

The markets reacted quickly with crude oil prices dropping about 6% in Thursday trading to roughly $101 a barrel. Still, oil is up from roughly $60 a year ago, with supplies failing to keep up with demand as the world economy has begun to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic. That inflationary problem was compounded by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which created new uncertainties about oil and natural gas supplies and led to retaliatory sanctions from the U.S. and its allies.

Stewart Glickman, an oil analyst for CFRA

Research, said the release would bring shortterm relief on prices and would be akin to “taking some Advil for a headache.” But markets would ultimately look to see whether, after the releases stop, the underlying problems that led to Biden’s decisions remain.

“The root cause of the headache is probably still going to be there after the medicine wears off,” Glickman said.

Biden has been in talks with allies and partners to join in additional releases of oil, such that the world market will get more than the 180 million barrels total being pledged by the U.S. Americans on average use about 21 million barrels of oil daily, with about 40% of that devoted to gasoline, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That total accounts for about one-fifth of total global consumption of oil.

Domestic oil production is equal to more

than half of U.S. usage, but high prices have not led companies to return to their pre-pandemic levels of output. The U.S. is producing on average 11.7 million barrels daily, down from 13 million barrels in early 2020.

Republican lawmakers have said the problem results from the administration being hostile to oil permits and the construction of new pipelines such as the Keystone XL. Democrats say the country needs to move to renewable energy such as wind and solar that could reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and Putin’s leverage.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., blasted Biden’s action to tap the reserve without first taking steps to increase American energy production, calling it “a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.”

Daines called Biden’s actions “desperate moves” that avoid what he called the real solution: ”investing in American energy production,” and getting “oil and gas leases going again.”

The administration says increasing oil output is a gradual process and the release would provide time to ramp up production. It also wants to incentivize greater production by putting fees on unused leases on government lands, something that would require congressional approval.

Oil producers have been more focused on meeting the needs of investors than consumers, according to a survey released last week by the Dallas Federal Reserve. About 59% of the executives surveyed said investor pressure to preserve “capital discipline” amid high prices was the reason they weren’t pumping more, while fewer than 10% blamed government regulation.

According to the Department of Energy, which manages it, more than 568 million barrels of oil were held in the reserve as of March 25. After the release, the government would begin to replenish the reserve once prices have sufficiently fallen.

Ukraine accuses Russia of massacre, city strewn with bodies

By Oleksander Stashevskyi & Nebi Qena

Associated Press

BUCHA, Ukraine (AP) — Bodies with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds and signs of torture lay scattered in a city on the outskirts of Kyiv after Russian soldiers withdrew from the area. Ukrainian authorities accused the departing forces on Sunday of committing war crimes and leaving behind a “scene from a horror movie.”

As images of the bodies — of people whom residents said were killed indiscriminately — began to emerge from Bucha, a slew of European leaders condemned the atrocities and called for tougher sanctions against Moscow. In a sign of how the horrific reports shook many leaders, Germany’s defense minister even suggested that the European Union consider banning Russian gas imports.

So far, the bodies of 410 civilians have been found in Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian forces, Ukraine’s prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova, said.

Associated Press journalists saw the bodies of at least 21 people in various spots around Bucha, northwest of the capital. One group of nine, all in civilian clothes, were scattered around a site that residents said Russian troops used as a base. They appeared to have been killed at close range. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs, one was shot in the head, and another’s legs were bound.

Ukrainian officials laid the blame for the killings in Bucha and other Kyiv suburbs squarely at the feet of Russian troops, with the president calling them evidence of genocide. But Russia’s Defense Ministry rejected the accusations as “provocation.”

The discoveries followed the Russian retreat from the area around the capital, territory that has seen heavy fighting since troops invaded

Ukraine from three directions on Feb. 24. Troops who swept in from Belarus to the north spent weeks trying to clear a path to Kyiv, but their advance stalled in the face of resolute defense from Ukraine’s forces.

Moscow now says it is focusing its offensive on the country’s east, but it also pressed a siege on a city in the north and continued to strike cities elsewhere in a war that has left thousands dead and forced more than 4 million Ukrainians to flee their country.

Russian troops rolled into Bucha in the early days of the invasion and stayed up to March 30.

With those forces gone, residents gave harrowing accounts Sunday, saying soldiers shot and killed civilians without any apparent reason.

One resident, who refused to give his name out of fear for his safety, said that Russian troops went building to building and took people out of the basements where they were hiding, checking their phones for any evidence of anti-Russian activity and taking them away or shooting them.

Hanna Herega, another resident, said Russian troops started shooting at a neighbor who had gone out to gather wood for heating.

“They hit him a bit above the heel, crushing the bone, and he fell down,” Herega said. “Then they shot off his left leg completely, with the boot.

Then they shot him all over (the chest). And another shot went slightly below the temple. It was a controlled shot to the head.”

The AP also saw two bodies, that of a man and a woman, wrapped in plastic that residents said they had covered and placed in a shaft until a proper funeral could be arranged.

The resident who refused to be identified said the man was killed as he left a home.

“He put his hands up, and they shot him,” he said.

Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described bodies lying the streets of the suburbs of Irpin and Hos-

RODRIGO ABD | ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Joe Biden speaks about his administration’s plans to combat rising gas prices on the White House campus, Thursday, March 31, 2022, in Washington. tomel as well as Bucha as a “scene from a horror had slept. Inside the pit, AP journalists saw four movie.” He alleged that some of the women found bodies of people who appeared to have been shot dead had been raped before being killed and the at close range. The mayor’s husband had his hands Russians then burned the bodies. behind his back, with a piece of rope nearby, and “This is genocide,” Zelenskyy told CBS’ “Face a piece of plastic wrapped around his eyes like a the Nation” on Sunday. blindfold.

But Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a stateUkrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna ment that the photos and videos of dead bodies Vereshchuk confirmed that the mayor was killed “have been stage managed by the Kyiv regime for while being held by Russian forces. the Western media.” It noted that Bucha’s mayor Some European leaders said the killings in the did not mention any abuses a day after Russian Kyiv area amounted to war crimes. The U.S. has troops left. previously said that it believes Russia has commitThe ministry said “not a single civilian has ted war crimes, and Secretary of State Anthony faced any violent action by the Russian military” Blinken called images of what happened near Kyiv in Bucha. “a punch to the gut” on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

In Motyzhyn, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) “It is a brutality against civilians we haven’t seen west of Kyiv, residents told AP on Sunday that Rus- in Europe for decades,” NATO Secretary-General sian troops killed the town’s mayor, her husband Jens Stoltenberg said on the same show. and her son and threw their bodies into a pit in a pine forest behind houses where Russian forces

12 | Opinions. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

Opinions

Let’s keep gender-affirming health care unrestricted

SPENCER HEAPS | ASSOCIATED PRESS Misy Sifre, 17, and others protest against HB11 outside the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 25, 2022. On Wednesday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signs bill outlawing gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

By Audrey Parkes Contributing Writer

With the looming threat of new legislation such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, it is more crucial than ever for the LGBTQ+ community to stand together against hateful attempts at regulating our identites.

Currently, 20 states are waging a war against the rights of transgender youth to life-saving, gender-affirming treatment. Each of these 17 states has filed at least one anti-transgender medical care ban, most concerning the treatment of youth.

Some of the bills would penalize medical providers for delivering gender-affirming care, while others would criminalize parents seeking gender-affirming care for their children. These bills are based on unsupported, uninformed arguments concerning the risks of and general procedure of gender-affirming care for those under the age of 21.

As someone who has personally experienced the difficulties that are already presented to transitioning youth seeking gender-affirming care, and as someone who understands the importance of said affirming care, I oppose any state bill prohibiting or restricting gender-affirming treatment for transgender youth.

Upon a review of the many proposed bills, there appears to be a general misunderstanding by policymakers of the procedures already in place regarding gender-affirming care. Given the

assumption that we as a society can and should trust highly trained medical professionals and well-established medical associations, the latter have already put into place sufficient guidelines for providing gender-affirming care.

A very popular counter-argument to my position against restrictive bills is the moral concern and criticism of the young age at which people mistakenly believe youth to be accessing irreversible treatment, lest they might regret it when they are older.

This, however, is not based on the reality of medical practice. According to the Endocrine Society’s 2017 guidelines, which are widely accepted in the medical community, hormone treatment is not recommended for pre-pubertal persons.

After puberty does begin, blockers are the first non-permanent step available for youth. Further, the care of youth is always managed by an expert multi-disciplinary team comprised of medical professionals and mental health professionals).

All of the procedures currently in place have been purposely curated for the safety and well-being of the person undergoing treatment, and that includes an extensive examination by mental health professionals to ensure that treatment is the best option.

Many of the proposed bills, however, threaten that option. Puberty blockers in particular are a wonderful option, as they can halt the physical changes that come along with puberty, giving the individual a chance to further explore

their gender identity without the mental anguish of a body developing physical traits that don’t align with the way they feel inside.

In fact, a 2020 study found that transgender adolescents showed poorer psychological well-being before treatment, but showed a similar or better psychological functioning compared with their cisgender peers after the start of specialized care involving puberty suppression.

Another study conducted in 2020 concluded that depression scores and suicidal ideation declined in transgender youth after endocrine (hormone) intervention, while the quality of life scores showed an increase with intervention.

Other studies have come to similar conclusions. With a population so at risk of depression and suicide, legislative interference between individuals and life-saving healthcare is incredibly unjust.

Many trusted medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association, have all made statements showing similar concern for the intervention of policymakers in gender-affirming health care.

It is widely asserted by such associations that the involvement of uninformed state policymakers is unnecessary and that the administration of gender-affirming treatment for youth need only concern the individual in need, their guardians and the providing professionals.

The American Medical Association called the proposed bills “a dangerous legislative intrusion into the practice of medicine.” The American Psychiatric Association wrote: “patients and their physicians, not policymakers, should be the ones to make decisions together about what care is best for them.”

I know that it may not be in the nature of all people to put their trust into medical professionals, associations or relatively small studies, but it is clear that many proponents of restrictive bills are motivated by a concern for the well-being of our country’s youth.

If this is the case, legislators and their backers need to fully understand the weight of their potential decisions, as well as have an informed understanding of what gender-affirming treatment for youth actually means. For those who have not personally navigated the process of accessing gender-affirming treatment in their youth, or supported a loved one through it, it is difficult to grasp just how extensive and reliable it is.

Associations like the Endocrine Society have put into place guidelines that are researched and specifically for the benefit of those receiving treatment.

Ultimately, rather than spending time and effort attempting to place restrictions on necessary health care for some individuals, policymakers should be focusing on making it more accessible to everyone.

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

Opinions. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 13

We need to be wary of online ADHD services

By Lucas Madlangbayan Contributing Writer

Being impatient. Struggling to concentrate on conversations. Not being good at time management. Being bored easily.

While scrolling down the endless TikTok “For You” page, one TikTtok stood out to me: one that listed the above issues as “ADHD symptoms that I didn’t realized [sic] until I got diagnosed.”

As someone that struggles with all of those symptoms, this TikTok (and plenty of others talking about the symptoms of ADHD) left me wondering if I needed to take an assessment.

Going to TikTok’sto the TikTok’s profile pulled up dozens of other videos set to popular sounds, with young people that looked like me making shorts about their experiences with ADHD: videos listing things that could be symptoms, anecdotes about living with ADHD, and even a video listing the “benefits of ADHD.” Looking at the profile made things much clearer: the TikTok profile was run

by Done, a California-based telehealth company offering “personalized online treatment for ADHD.” Their profile promised fast appointments and provided a link to their website, which offered an assessment to get started —– a six-question assessment which took me 45 seconds to complete.

These companies and advertisements have their issues, however. Done and other online mental health startups such as Cerebral made headlines whenas watchdog group Media Matters found the advertisements on TikTok to be “predatory.”

With ads featuring young people and using popular sounds and TikTok formats, Media Matters found that Done would “specifically gear its advertisements toward young users.”

Professor Geoffrey Durso covers ethics in marketing in his classes on consumer behavior at DePaul.

“In general, a lot of people that take

ads and want to sponsor content want something to sell,” Durso said. “Sometimes that’s as simple as a click through, you know, they’re generating interest, and once you’re on the website or on the media posts, you can direct their attention in other ways to get to the thing that you’re really most interested in, if it’s a sale, if it’s a sign- up, if it’s some kind of other subscription basis.,” Durso said.

Durso also notes that algorithms play a part in how advertisers create content.

“They’re very targeted, also, of course, so the algorithms are a major issue with regards to how marketers determine what they generate, and what they invest money in, is oftentimes trying to please the algorithm,” Durso said.

Additionally, medical professionals are skeptical about advertising ADHD treatments on social media.

Dr. Peter Jaksa is the founder and clinical director of ADHD Center Chicago, which provides support services for those with ADHD. “Advertising ADHD treatments on any form of media is a bad idea because it

ALICIA GOLUSZKA | THE DEPAULIA

likely reinforces people’s stereotypes about ADHD and might convince them to seek treatments, including medication treatment, that they don’t necessarily need,” Jaksa wrote in an email.

Instead, Jaksa encourages those with concerns about ADHD to consult with qualified health care professionals.

“Any person with concerns about ADHD should consult with a qualified health care professional who can provide an accurate assessment about whether ADHD is indeed an issue for that person,” Jaksa wrote. “Treatment recommendations, if they are necessary, should come from the health care professional and not some advertisement.”

Seeing videos and ads on TikTok for mental health support services may raise questions and concerns: questions like “do I have ADHD?” or “do I need to be assessed?” It’s may be tempting to visit the sites being advertised for their quick assessments and online services, but it may be better to consult with a qualified professional instead.

IMAGES OBTAINED VIA TIKTOK.

Awards shows should focus on the arts, not ratings

By Isabelle Earl Contributing Writer

Just a quick scroll through Twitter will show that awards shows like the Oscars and the Grammys are losing both ratings and respect. But as these once-iconic events scramble to try and make their broadcasts more friendly to viewers, they’re sacrificing their main purpose of honoring the nominees’ achievements in their industries.

This year’s 94th Academy Awards were the first Oscars to present the awards in two separate ceremonies.

Instead of being shown in the main broadcast, eight of the 24 awards were given out in a separate pre-show, where the winners were announced over social media with their acceptance speeches later edited into the main broadcast.

The categories that did not make the cut for the main show included awards for short films, makeup and hairstyling, production design, editing, original score and sound.

“What not televising those awards means to me as a filmmaker is that the Oscars are not necessarily respecting film as a whole,” said Kylie Ramirez, president of the DePaul Film Fatales, a student organization devoted to supporting women and nonbinary filmmakers.

While Ramirez said that the Oscars

can be aspirational, the conversations she’s had with other DePaul students have shown that filmmakers are losing respect for the awards.

Rob Steel is an associate professor in DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts, teaching classes in sound design and mixing — fields that were excluded from the Oscars’ main ceremony this year. He feels a similar disdain for awards shows.

“They’re popularity contests, they’re political, they’re not about the best work,” Steel said. “And actually, why should anyone be asking what the best work is?”

Steel pointed out that this year, the Oscars also combined the categories for sound editing and sound mixing, two separate elements of filmmaking.

As “invisible arts,” Steel said he’s used to categories like sound and editing being overlooked. But just because audiences might not be as interested in these awards doesn’t mean they can be swept to the side for the sake of time — in fact, it demonstrates a need for the opposite.

“I do think it has a negative impact in terms of narrowing the masses’ minds about filmmaking itself,” Ramirez said about giving less time to certain categories.

The Oscars isn’t the only award show struggling with relevancy. Last year’s Grammy Awards saw less than 9 million

viewers, a 52 percent drop in ratings from the year before, according to the New York Times.

The Grammys usually separate their awards into a pre-show and the main ceremony. With 70 categories this year, nobody is asking them to fit them all into one broadcast.

As a result, whole genres can be delegated to a YouTube livestream instead of the primetime show. Last year, rock, jazz, classical, R&B and other styles of music didn’t see a single award given away on the main stage.

The Grammys differ in that the focus is on creating more time for live performances during the show. As a composer himself, Steel said he’d be happy if they simply announced the awards with a ticker on the bottom of the screen if it meant bringing in more performers.

But Steel also noted that awards shows are an incredible sales tool.

2021’s Song of the Year “I Can’t Breathe” by H.E.R. saw a sales increase of 6,771 percent the day of the Grammys, as reported by Rolling Stone. Chris Rock even saw an increase in ticket sales for his upcoming comedy tour after Will Smith slapped him at the Oscars, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Every winner goes home with the same trophy, but artists in the pre-cere-

mony aren’t awarded the same exposure.

To the Academy’s credit, it’s a difficult, perhaps impossible, job to figure out how to fit everything in while still producing an engaging show.

“And coming out of a pandemic, we’re all kind of on shaky ground,” Steel added.

“Nobody in the arts has a really great road map about how to recover.”

But currently, both the general public and members of the industry are dissatisfied with awards shows. If these awards are trying to reimagine their broadcasts, they need to take care of those in the arts community first.

“I feel like the Oscars are missing this feeling of family,” Ramirez said. “[They’re missing] this community, this collaboration that happens where it’s not just one person who takes all the credit for the film.”

Being more inclusive in which awards are televised certainly won’t solve the Oscars’ or Grammys’ laundry list of issues.

But at the very least it could help them to recover some of their reputation and put their focus back on celebrating the arts.

14 | Focus. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

Focus

NEW KID ON THE (DRAG) BLOCK Text and photos by Sofia Leal

Confident, charismatic and courageous — Aaron Lopez’s friends always knew he had what it takes to be a drag queen.

Four months ago, Lopez finally took the plunge himself. Now, he’s taking Chicago’s drag scene by storm.

“I’ve got the drag bug,” Lopez said.

Lopez performed his first drag show in Lombard, on Halloween. His drag persona, Flicky Fourloko, is new to the game and hungry for more.

“I really fell in love with this dream and I can’t wait to see where it takes me,” Lopez said.

Though confident, Lopez is still figuring out how to navigate this new reality.

“I’m still not used to people calling me Flicky Fourloko when I’m in drag,” he said. “I still respond to Aaron.”

Lopez grew up in Brooklyn with a supportive family and has never been one to shy away from his lively personality. He is a self-proclaimed “attention seeker” who has always loved shoes, makeup and fashion.

“I remember when we were younger and he would be walking around the house in my mom’s heels,” said Angel Lopez, Aaron’s older brother.

“He’s always loved these kinds of things.”

Angel said Lopez is confident, charismatic, funny, incredibly courageous and has a profound ability to take risks — everything needed to be a successful drag performer.

“He’s always shown the world exactly who he is,” Angel Lopez said. “I think [drag] is the perfect career for him.”

Though Lopez would eventually like to make drag his full-time career, in the meantime he’s absorbing all the tips, tricks and wisdom the Chicago drag scene has to offer.

“I was inspired by ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ to start doing drag, now I’m inspired by Chicago’s drag queens, by the community I’m now a part of,” Lopez said.

In Chicagoland, Lopez met queens who inspired him to take drag more seriously. After thinking about starting drag for a while, a conversation with a friend gave him the push he needed to go for it. About a month before his first drag show, Lopez talked to his good friend and seasoned drag professional O’laysia.

“We really just talked about drag and how he just had to go for it,” O’laysia said. “You can’t be afraid to try.”

Lopez’s drag mom, Aleyna Couture, was also a crucial part of his drag journey, helping him book and prepare his first performance at Brauer House in Lombard.

In February, Lopez returned to Brauer House to perform at a drag brunch alongside three other performers, including O’laysia. The event was hosted by Aleyna Couture.

“At the start, he was so worried about the padding, that it wouldn’t look right,” Couture said. “He didn’t trust that my nylon trick would work, and look at him now.”

The “nylon trick” requires Lopez to put on five to six nylon tights over his hip padding to smooth it out and to eventually make it look shapely. The material in the padding is far from pliable, so it’s a process that can take months of wear before it starts to look natural.

“I didn’t think it would work, but it did,” Lopez said.

Although Lopez gladly absorbs everything he can, as a newcomer he faces the challenge of finding a balance between tradition and the ever-evolving art form that is drag. He also must

ve n o f From

m

Focus. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 15

DRAG SPOTS AROUND TOWN navigate preconceived notions of what drag performers are supposed to act and look like.

“I like ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ but I feel like it’s ruined people’s perceptions of what they think drag is supposed to be,” Lopez said.

Contrary to popular belief, not all drag queens perform for crowds with flips, jumps and death drops as made famous by “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” For performers like Lopez, drag is about keeping up a persona and maintaining an illusion.

The further Lopez

Berlin, 954 W Belmont Ave. Fantasy Nightclub, 3641 N Halsted St. Kit Kat Lounge, 3700 N Halsted St. Lips, 2229 S Michigan Ave. Roscoe’s, 3356 N Halsted St. Scarlet Bar, 3320 N Halsted St. Sidetrack, 3349 N Halsted St. Untitled Supper Club, 111 W Kinzie St.

GRAPHIC: JOSIE STRATMAN

immerses himself within the local Chicago drag scene, the more things he learns. At each ue, seasoned drag performers fer advice of all kinds to Lopez. how to break in new material using their own tips and tricks, to sharing intel on the best venues to perform at, or ones to avoid, to sharing personal experiences and stories, it seems everyone in the community has something to offer newcomers.

Lopez is grateful for the strong community ready to help him figure it all out. From the queens offering advice to his best friend who mixes his songs together, to his roommate who helps him perfect his eye shadow, Lopez has plenty of support.

“I’m really still like a baby in this world, I still have a lot to learn about the kind of performer I want to be,” he said.

Top right: Aleyna Couture poses for a photo before she introduces Flicky Fourloko.

Bottom right: O’laysia collects tips and talks with audience members as they take her photo. This was the first time O’laysia and Flicky Fourloko performed at the same venue despite them being good friends.

Top left: After two hours, Aaron Lopez puts the finishing touches on his makeup. “It’s a long process but I love doing this,” he said.

Center left: A collection of Lopez’s wigs sit under his makeup desk.

Bottom left: Aaron Lopez has his eye makeup done by Jovan Perez, his roommate. Lopez recently moved into their apartment in Roscoe Village.

Center: Flicky Fourloko lip syncs and performs Ariana Grande songs for her first set at the drag brunch.

16 | La DePaulia. The DePaulia. April. 4, 2022

La DePaulia

Pintora puertorriqueña brinda una nueva representación a la mujer latina

By María Marta Guzmán Jefa de Redacción, La DePaulia

Bibian Suárez, una artista visual y profesora de arte en la Universidad DePaul, investiga y explora la representación de la mujer latina en los productos de comida latina a través de su nueva exhibición ‘De:Lata (What gives Us Away)’ en el Museo Nacional de Arte y Cultura Puertorriqueña.

Según Suárez, el nombre de la exhibición viene de un juego de palabras.

Ella explica cómo el juego en palabras viene del verbo delatar que significa decir o revelar, el sustantivo lata y la frase dar lata, que significa molestar.

El nombre de la exposición se inspiró en las narrativas que las etiquetas de alimentos latinos usan cuando retratan a la mujer latina.

“El trabajo viene de un interés que yo he tenido por los últimos años para investigar cómo la cultura latina de los Estados Unidos se mercadea”, dijo Suárez. “Ya sea desde el punto de vista de los latinos o el punto de vista de la corriente cultural”.

Suárez explica que ninguna imagen es inocente y todas tienen un mensaje.

Al examinar las etiquetas, ella vio FOTO CORTESIA DE VANESSA RAMOS | LA DEPAULIA que la mayoría de las compañías latinas La artista Bibiana Suárez en el Museo Nacional de Arte y Cultura Puertorriqueña el miércoles 30 de marzo. usan palabras y nombres femeninos más de Suárez.’ En este, Suárez usó la etiqueta de Pero el largo proceso no es nada nuevo una imagen que representa ‘dicha mujer’. a diferentes mujeres y pintarlas para vida de caminos mensaje propio diferentes su comunicar para lata la para ella.

Nombres de etiquetas como ‘la costeña’, comunidad. leyendo “Gandulera Rubia” – el nombre “Este es el proceso y el modo que yo ‘la preferida’ y ‘la criada’ le llamaron la mostrar la diversidad de la un grupo de inspirado por el típico plato puertorriqueño trabajo, no es inusual para mí”, dijo Suárez. hacer en interesé “Me atención. que yo Arroz con Gandules.

“Trabajo mucho pero es mi pasión”.

“Yo comencé a preguntarme, ¿por qué el mujeres latinas reales, actuales, contribuciones haciendo más están son que arte de conocía, obras estas Suárez, Para Suárez explica que ella comenzó este mensaje, por qué ese tipo de imagen?”, dijo dijo Suárez. que un diseño o un entretenimiento, son proyecto primero investigando y dibujando sociedad”, la a importantes muy Suárez.

El grupo de mujeres que son retratadas una manera de comunicarse visualmente. sus ideas.

“Todas esas imágenes que las compañías las obras de arte son de variadas en “El arte es un modo importante que la Ella trabajó en la mayoría de las pinturas usan, esos nombres son estereotipos de la profesora, poeta, de ese — dejado ha y ocupaciones comunicado ha humanidad desde 2017, tomando un total de cinco años mujer latinx que ya no somos”. otros. muchos y en servicios de eran quién de trabajadoras documento un como arte para completar antes de comenzar a trabajar A través de sus díez obras de arte en la sociedades, distintas de obras “Las “Mujeres dijo. historia”, la de momento un en la exposición. exhibición, Suárez espera que sus imágenes nacionalidades, y de arte son testimonios de lo que somos”.

“Me siento muy bien, por eso me tomo puedan promover una narrativa más realista distintos grupos sociales y dijo. pintura”, una una espera cada a Suárez hice le arte, de obras sus con Y mi tiempo haciendo mi obra porque no me sobre la mujeres latinas que las empodere. dedicado está pintura cada de título El mismo. lo hacer gusta mostrar obras hasta que yo siento que Por eso ella ha titulado las obras como La que cualidades y en años características llevan las a Suárez de pinturas Las he llegado al punto de lo mejor de lo mejor”, Fajona, La Fiera y Pilar Noble. mujer. tema cada a el estudiar representa a comenzó Ella proceso.

Suárez dijo.

“Hay una generación nueva de latinx”, Además de visibilizar a otras mujeres, sobre la representación de la mujer en las Pero el proceso de su exposición no dijo. ella a representarse pudo El 2013. también el en Suárez latina comida de etiquetas se para aquí, ella está planeando llevar la Para reforzar un nuevo mensaje de ‘La llamado autorretrato su con misma años. diez casi llevó le proceso exposición a Puerto Rico — su tierra natal. quién es la mujer latina, Suárez invitó

FOTO CORTESIA DE BIBIANA SUÁREZ

FOTO CORTESIA DE VANESSA RAMOS| LA DEPAULIA

La exposición de arte ‘De: Lata (What Gives Us Away)’ de Bibiana Suárez.

La Suárez es unas de las obras de arte parte de la exhibición.

La DePaulia. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 17

Aprobación de nuevo hospital en La Villita trae temores frente a la gentrificación

FOTO CORTESIA DE SANTIAGO POSADA-JARAMILLO | LA DEPAULIA

(A la esqerenda) El arco de La Villita ubicado en la calle 26. (A la derecha) El Concilio Municipal de Chicago aprobó que el terreno ubicado sea desarrollado como un nueva hospital.

By Santiago Posada-Jaramillo Gerente Editorial, La DePaulia

Este mes el Congreso aprobó una inversión de $930,000 de fondos federales para la reubicación del Hospital St. Anthony en la Calle 31 con Avenida Kedzie, en La Villita, con el fin de buscar invertir en el desarrollo del barrio y proveer a la población un centro de salud más accesible.

La reubicación de este hospital es solo una parte del megaproyecto pensado para esta zona, llamado Focal Point. Entre lo planeado, se dice que incluirá restaurantes, campos deportivos, un teatro, vivienda asequible, entre otras, además del hospital antes mencionado.

Las respuestas de la comunidad frente a este proyecto son divididas. Hablé con

una antigua residente de La Villita y que trabaja como asistente médica, que quiso ser identificada por sus iniciales, LT. Ella nos contó que a pesar de que siente que el proyecto puede traer incluso más tráfico a la Calle 31, que ya presenta mucho tráfico en su opinión.

“Traerá más personas a los locales en La Villita”, dijo LT. “Creo que beneficiará a la comunidad trayendo más empleos”.

Pero no todo el mundo está feliz sobre las posibles consecuencias de este proyecto.

Existe cierto temor de que esto pueda generar gentrificación en el barrio. hablar con el profesor Euan Hague, Director de la Escuela de Servicio Público, en el College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences de DePaul University, quien tiene muchos años

de experiencia investigando la gentrificación.

“La palabra gentrificación fue inventada por una socióloga llamada Ruth Glass [...] que la definió como cuando personas de clase media y alta se mudan a un barrio de clase baja hasta el punto en que los residentes de clase baja son desplazados y las características del barrio han sido completamente cambiadas.”

En La Villita, hablé con Carolina Ayala, dueña de una floristería y un mall comercial, sobre las consecuencias que este proyecto puede traer al sector.

“Depende. Si estás rentando o si eres dueño de la propiedad. [...] Si no hacen cosas como esas, inyectar proyectos multimillonarios como un servicio para la comunidad, entonces cómo te sigues quejando de que no hay hospitales o que no tenemos una comunidad

bonita o que no hay parques o cosas así, si no estás permitiendo que la gente lo haga. Con eso, inyectar dinero en la comunidad viene cambio y tienes que aceptarlo.”

El dilema que parece tener que enfrentar la población de La Villita es este: ¿Es mejor aceptar el desarrollo con el riesgo de que llegue con gentrificación o tratar de conservar el barrio intacto pero en un estado de desinversión?

“Esto es lo que ha pasado. Como la comunidad no ha recibido un millón de dólares del Congreso antes, por muchos años ha estado en desinversión, cuando este tipo de dinero llega a la comunidad trae tanto oportunidades como desafíos”, dijo el profesor Hague.

La cultura de las telenovelas latinoamericanas: Lo bueno y lo malo

OPINIÓN: Telenovelas empujan estereotipos en la comunidad latina.

By Andrea Juarez Editora de Opiniones, La DePaulia

Las historias de amor interpretadas en la pantalla chica cautivan y encantan a los televidentes, y hacen estrellas a los que las protagonizan.

Yo fui introducida al mundo de las telenovelas a una edad pequeña.

La primera telenovela que vi fue “Rebelde”, un programa sobre un grupo de estudiantes que asisten a la secundaria Elite Way y son parte de una banda de música llamada RBD. La telenovela lleva a la audiencia a través de su juventud.

Esta telenovela y muchas más fueron importantes creciendo en mi hogar.

Viendo Rebelde púde unir a todos mis familiares a sentarse a ver un programa juntos.

Aunque posiblemente la telenovela no era apropiada para nuestra edad, de igual manera tuvimos la experiencia de ver televisión como familia.

Como yo, Alejandra Flores, comenzó a ver telenovelas a una temprana edad.

“Yo creo que fue una parte de mi infancia donde realmente fui influenciada a ser quien soy ahora”, dijo Flores. “Especialmente aprendiendo a ser una mujer con carácter como Esmeralda en “La Gata”.

Aunque telenovelas tuvieron un impacto positivo en su infancia, Flores piensa que

varias cosas que ocurrieron en las novelas eran inapropiadas para edades de siete a diez años “Me sorprende que los adultos en nuestra familia nos dejaban ver estas series con ellos”, dijo Flores.

Las telenovelas definitivamente nos unían como familia pero también empujan estereotipos en la comunidad latina.

Telenovelas que han popularizado una imagen negativa sobre la comunidad latina han sido, por ejemplo, series enfocadas en narcotraficantes y la violencia que existe en latinoamérica.

“La Reina del Sur” y “Pablo Escobar” han creado estereotipos sobre qué tipo de personas hay en latinoamérica.

Estas series, aunque son interesantes, también han lastimado a la comunidad latina.

“Aunque amo la serie de Narcos creo que esta serie solo se concentra en lo negativo de lo que pasa en Colombia y en verdad FOTO CORTESIA DE NETFLIX no enseña la cultura que ofrece Colombia,” La serie de Narcos se centra en el tráfico de cocaína en Colombia. dijo Emily Guzman, una estudiante de la Universidad Depaul sobre los estereotipos visto recientemente es el colorismo — la trabajar para mejorar la representación en en telenovelas. discriminación contra las personas de piel la televisión hispana pero también hay otras “También se puede notar en varias más oscura dentro de su mismo grupo cosas positivas que resultan de ser expuestos telenovelas el problema conocido como el étnico. a las telenovelas. colorismo”, dijo Guzman.

Este acecha en lo más profundo de Varias telenovelas ayudan a otras En los últimos años, tanto las series casi todas las comunidades con diferentes personas que hablan español a exponerse a como las películas han tratado de ser más niveles de melanina. diferentes culturas de latinoamérica. incluyentes y representar la diversidad Definitivamente hay mucho por que en sus producciones, algo que se ha

18 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

Arts & Life Slap heard around the

And the winner is....

Cod

world

By Lilly K eller Asst. Arts & Life Editor

It was a moment that left viewers stunned and social media in a frenzy: actor Will Smith abandoned his front-row seat and slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face after making numerous jokes about actress Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27.

Leading up to this shocking gesture, Smith seemed amused by Rock’s antics as the comedian expressed his excitement to see Pinkett Smith in “G.I. Jane 2,” referencing the 1997 film “G.I. Jane,” which follows actress Demi Moore, whose character shaves her head after joining the navy.

After the initial joke, Pinkett Smith could be seen rolling her eyes. Since 2018, she has suffered from alopecia, a condition that refers to any form of hair loss, according to the New York Times.

Once Smith returned to his seat, he shouted, “keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth.”

The seemingly shocked Rock responded, “wow dude, it was a ‘G.I. Jane’ joke.”

While Rock declined to press charges, it is evident that the incident has left mixed responses.

DePaul freshman Daniel Kennedy felt shock and confusion after seeing the incident.

“My initial reaction to the slap was that it was fake,” Kennedy said. “I think most people’s first instinct when they see something like that on live television is to assume it was staged.”

Looking back on the history of the Oscars, it’s easy to understand why viewers assumed the bizarre sequence could have been a ploy to raise the view count.

Over the 94 years since the award show commenced, coordinated acts range from Marlon Brando declining his Academy Award in 1973 in protest of Hollywood’s depiction of Native Americans in film, according to History.com.

Recently, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s staged romance in 2019 had social media buzzing in anticipation of a possible romance, which ultimately turned out to be nothing more than a publicity stunt, according to Elle.

One-sided, non-consensual acts are not unheard of at award shows like the Oscars. In 2003, actor Adrien Brody kissed award presenter Halle Berry on the lips after winning Best Actor, despite Berry not sanctioning the gesture, according to She Knows.

As for the slap itself, Kennedy describes his feelings as mixed.

“While I was always taught that vi-

olence is wrong in any situation, and I think the slap may have been a step too far, I don’t believe Smith was wrong for defending his wife,” he said.

DePaul sophomore Maya Cochran believes that no matter the context leading up to the altercation, violence cannot be excused, especially on live television.

“I don’t know the backstory between Rock and Smith but I’m assuming there is more than meets the eye,” Cochran said.

“However, I don’t believe it justifies any act of violence, especially over a tasteless joke.”

In response to the incident, the Academy came out with a statement through Twitter, announcing that “the Academy does not condone violence of any form.”

Despite not explicitly mentioning the names of either Smith or Rock, the implications stood clear. However, this gesture has generated backlash. Many have criticized the Academy’s acknowledgment of this incident while convicted sex offenders such as disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein — who personally won two Academy Awards, while his production company worked on films that racked up 81 — have faced no repercussions from the Academy.

“While I feel like there should be some sort of punishment for Smith’s actions, they shouldn’t take away his award while men like Weinstein haven’t faced any penalties,” Cochran said.

DePaul junior Jonathan Gardner, director of social events of the university’s Black Student Union, explained how his perspective of the incident shifted.

“As both an actor and Black man, I have always held admiration for Smith,” Gardner said. “Initially I was trying to play devil’s advocate and write the situation off as Smith going through a lot and merely lashing out in defense of his wife,but now I feel anger, mostly at how this act of violence is being celebrated and encouraged within my community.

How many kids are going to see this video and think this behavior is acceptable?”

Since the video’s upload to YouTube

by The Guardian, it has received over 84 million views.

“Honestly, I think the incident is a clear demonstration of toxic masculinity,” Gardner said. “I don’t think it had to do with his wife as it did with his pride; he felt humiliated by Rock and had to defend his manhood.”

While Smith’s future remains clouded, it is evident that the inherent controversy has rekindled the public’s interest in the award show, whose viewership increased by over 56% from 2021, according to Variety.

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Arts & Life. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 19

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da PHOTO BY IMDB

Will Smith hits Chris Rock across the faces at the 2022 Oscars after a joke.

Will Smith is human like the rest of us

e mpion

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Ariana DeBose

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By Donald Crocker Staff Photographer

COMMENTARY During the 2022 Oscars, Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, regarding her hair. Pinkett Smith has alopecia, a condition that leads to hair loss, and in turn, Smith slapped Rock.

After seeing the slap originally, I thought it was hilarious. People on social media were making memes and I genuinely enjoyed scrolling through Twitter on March 27.

As someone who grew up around Black women, I understand the importance of a Black woman's hair and how touchy of a subject it can be.

It felt a little distasteful to make fun of a Black woman's hair in a white-dominated space with few people of color and even fewer Black women. I could see why Smith might be offended.

Nevertheless, Rock told a targeted joke, Smith took offense and acted on that emotion. I thought that was it.

I didn’t feel the need to try to take a deep dive into why I thought he slapped Rock, because besides what is available on the internet, I know absolutely nothing about them.I grew up watching Smith and Rock.

I loved their movies and TV shows, and I would like to think most people do.

I’ve never had a conversation with either of them or even met them. What happens in their day-to-day life doesn’t affect me and vice versa.

So, I didn’t really think anything of it when I saw Smith slap Rock. I just browsed Twitter and laughed as I prepped for the first day of the spring quarter.

I began to see a problem as I continued to scroll. People began to project the situation to Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s relationship controversy from the summer of 2020, regarding Jada’s “entanglement” with singer August Alsina.

Jada hosted Will on her Facebook video series, Red Table Talk, to discuss what happened, and soon after, all hell broke loose.

The memes that followed were funny, but at the end of the day, what they had going on behind closed doors was none of my business.

Regardless, I couldn’t wrap my head around the connection between this and what happened with Chris Rock because to me, there was no clear indication that the two situations are related in any way.

It seemed like everyone thought Smith acted because Jada gave him a look that indicated she was upset and he slapped Rock after that. People can’t understand that maybe, just maybe, Will acted on his own.

Yes, I do believe that men can have emotions when it’s not completely based around their partner. Especially when it comes to Black men, we are not allowed to express the breadth of profound emotions that our counterparts are permitted to.

There is an unspoken pressure on Black men to stay composed at all times. If they express their emotions at all, they are often seen as weak or inferior. If they are too expressive, they are described as angry and aggressive.

This leads to Black men bottling up their emotions without fully dealing with their issues. Those emotions eventually overflow and it’s not irregular for an outburst to occur.

We often put celebrities like Smith on this high pedestal because we see them as a perfect person. And when these “perfect” people finally make some mistake, people on social media look for any reason to justify their actions.

This might be a crazy idea, but hear me out. Maybe Smith is human. A human with emotions. Maybe his emotions were amplified in that moment and maybe for just a second, he wasn’t perfect.

Maybe it was built-up anger from the past two years of jokes and criticism. Maybe he and his wife had in-depth conversations about her medical condition, and Rock’s joke made Will want to defend her. Maybe he saw his wife in disgust and acted because of that.

Maybe it has to do with Rock throwing shade at Will and Jada back at the 2016 Oscars and Will was just waiting for Rock to step out of line again.

Maybe it's a combination of all these things, or it’s none of these things. Only Will Smith knows why he reacted the way he did.

It wasn’t right for Smith to slap Rock. He should’ve stayed composed and handled it in a more cordial fashion.

But he acted on his emotions, as humans do. Just think about a time you did something hastily because of how you were feeling. Everybody has had that type of moment.

Only difference is there isn’t room for people like Smith to make mistakes because of the spotlight he is in.

It’s a shame that this took away the spotlight from the other award winners, but at the end of the day, it was just a slap.

Nobody died. Nobody was seriously hurt. Nobody is pressing charges. The Academy might dish out some sort of punishment, but I doubt it will be anything extreme.

Smith went on to win Best Actor at the Oscars, and during his acceptance speech, he said something that was very intriguing and insightful to how he was feeling.

“I know to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse,” he said. “You gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you.

In this business, you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you and you gotta smile and you pretend like that’s ok.”

The next time you go on social media to criticize someone, think about whether or not you even have the right to.

Think about whether or not you are informed enough to speak on it. Think about how it could affect them if they saw it.

Try to put yourself in their shoes.

Lauer 's

20 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 21

Freefalling with Jae Valdez

JACK JOHNSON | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul sophomore Jae Valdez looks around her loft as she points out all the decorations she's most proud of. In an artists paradise, Valdez's apartment is decked out art pieces.

DePaul student shares love of longboarding art

By Jack Johnson Contributing Writer

The glow of neon lights and bright signs illuminate the loft apartment that could have been pulled straight out of iCarly. The walls are covered in artwork, from Brassai portraits, to album covers, to original works, it is within these walls that artist and DePaul sophomore Jae Valdez creates her work, and builds her business.

Valdez has owned and operated Freefall Skate Co. since she was a junior in high school in Dallas, transforming it from a hobby to a thriving business with a bright future. Having worked in a skate shop in the Dallas-Fort Worth area from the age of 16, Valdez immediately made a connection from her artistic background- both parents were painters- and her newfound passion for skating. She began painting the decks of boards for friends, and gradually grew obsessed with the new medium she’d discovered, so much so that she started Freefall as a skateboard and related apparel company with the help of lifelong friend Hailee Wolfgramm.

Though they’ve proven to be the most profitable medium, Valdez is not limited to skateboards when it comes to artistic expression. She can use just about anything to express her creativity. Whether it be watercolors, pastel, pen on paper, sculpting, or more conceptual work, Valdez is down to try.

Freefall apparel has appeared in numerous skating competitions throughout the United States and the world, with a signature Freefall smiley board being featured in a competition in Uruguay. Valdez creative energy, love for her craft, and drive to succeed should serve to inspire any young person with big dreams to simply start creating.

“Anything I can possibly make, I’ll do” says Valdez, having recently grown fond of conceptual art, (That is, art that challenges the typical definition of painting and sculpture) Valdez enjoys creating mobiles of tinted and stained glass that reflect light off of each other to produce a mural of light in whatever room it is hung in. One particular aspect of conceptual art that has attracted Valdez’s creative energy is the temporary nature of it all, as most of it gets damaged or destroyed after just a short while. “If you get the chance to see it

JACK JOHNSON | THE DEPAULIA

Valdez sits proudly in her studio among all of her artwork in her own basement studio.

JACK JOHNSON | THE DEPAULIA

A series of colorful designed Freefall boards Valdez is releasing in the spring. while it’s here, you’re lucky. If not, all you have is a photo of the piece, which is a new work of art entirely.”

As a full-time student on top of being a creative professional, it can some-

times be difficult to find a balance in it all. Valdez has gotten to the point where inspiration is a non-factor, if she needs to create but isn’t particularly inspired by any one thing, nearly a decade's worth

of journal entries and artistic muscles that have been developing since she was a toddler help push her to create. "She's got notebooks laying around all over the apartment" says roommate and friend, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Christian. According to Christian, Valdez is, "always sketching or doodling, even if we're just watching T.V." As a young creative, it can be discouraging when people aren’t willing to pay prices on par with the quality of work, but those around Valdez know that the passion for creating goes deeper than recognition of profit margins. “If someone even shows interest, you can see her eyes light up” says longtime friend and helper Hailee Wolfgramm. Whether it be a canvas print, a sketch, a custom board, or freefall clothing, Valdez puts 100% her unfiltered self into every work of art she creates.

After taking much of the last two years to focus on establishing herself in the Chicago area, Valdez is ready to look towards the future. Going forward, she is currently in the midst of opening her own studio, which would double as an artists’ collective. Valdez enjoys the environment in her apartment, but feels as though getting out of the house to “go to work” would drive her to work even harder. Valdez knows she is a unique talent with limitless ambition and wants to use that to help other young creatives in the DePaul and Chicago community at large to achieve their dreams.

Valdez being a source of inspiration for others is nothing new, as her longtime friend and collaborator Samuel Canul recalls, "I was immediately inspired, and 5 years later she is still one of the great artists I look up to." Her drive, passion, and pure skill are obvious to anyone that knows her well, but Valdez doesn't get caught up in all the praise, she keeps her eyes set on the future, always looking for new opportunities to create art.

Valdez continues to curate an online presence to help bolster her profile. She can be found on Instagram @jaedenvaldez and @freefallskateco, as well as the official website for her business, www.freefallskateco.com.

22 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

Sketching Chicago

LESLIE WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA

Chicago Urban Sketchers administrators Alex Zonis and Mary Jo Ernst flip through their colorful filled sketchbooks, filled with memories from places they've visited to draw.

How the Chicago Urban Sketchers draw their way across the city

By Leslie Williamson Contributing Writer

In the Chicago Urban Sketchers group, hundreds of people are recreating scenes of the Chicagoland area in pencil, ink and watercolor.

Urban sketching is the practice of drawing the scene in front of you, on-location and in real-time. Whether drawing a mundane scene or a famous landmark, both seasoned artists and total beginners have found creativity and community in the Urban Sketchers groups.

In 2007, a news artist for The Seattle Times started an online photo forum as a place to share the artwork he made while documenting different scenes in his city.

Today, Urban Sketchers is a global organization with more than 300 chapters in cities worldwide.

Alex Zonis founded the Chicago chapter of Urban Sketchers in 2012. She had heard about the group, and after discovering there wasn’t yet a chapter in Chicago, she took it upon herself to start one. Today, Zonis says Chicago is the second largest chapter in North America, with about 1,700 members in their Facebook group.

The very first meeting had an attendance of only five people, but now Zonis said a group sketch can draw a crowd of 70-90.

Zonis is an administrator for the group’s official Facebook page along with nine other people, all volunteers, who help maintain the group and coordinate large sketching meetups once a month.

The group has sketched places like the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Shedd Aquarium and the Chicago Cultural Center. The possibilities are endless, with the only criteria being that the location is free to attend.

Currently, the larger meetings have been on hold due to the pandemic. But even during the the worst restrictions, the group found a way to keep its signature camaraderie and on-location drawing focus.

The administrators decided to take turns coming up with drawing prompts each week that people could do on their own, and the members would share their finished works on the Facebook page.

“We got very familiar with each other’s closets and kitchens and bathrooms,” Zonis said.

The group is still using this online format, but members will also meet up on their own in smaller groups. They’ll sketch their local cafés, shopping malls or Metra stations, leaving friendly comments praising each other’s work online.

The group is made up of many people with creative professions, including a good number of architects and graphic designers, and a few professional artists who’ve even displayed their sketches in galleries. But part of the charm of urban sketching is how accessible it is.

“We have professionals …and then we have somebody who started yesterday,” Zonis said. “They have their wobbly lines and naive figures, or no figures at all, and that’s fine.”

The goal of urban sketching to simply capture the moment instead of making a detailed work of art means it’s incredibly welcoming to newcomers. And while many members love to collect fountain pens and high-quality notebooks, all you really need to sketch is paper and a pencil.

One member, Sherry Smith, had no previous experience in art, even as a hobby. But after finding urban sketching through a workshop in early 2020, she’s immersed herself in the art world.

“It was like a light bulb went off,” Smith said.

Sherry Smith sketches the cafe at Revive Coffee Roasters in Evanston, Ill. on February 25, 2022. She's retired, but after falling in love with sketching in 2020, she joked that it may be her new career path.

The members all seem to agree that there’s something special about drawing on-location.

“There’s something kind of zen about it,” Smith said. “From the very first day that I tried it, I loved the spontaneity of it. I loved trying to capture the moment.”

After they’ve captured a space, the sketchers’ notebooks serve almost as a visual diary, capturing the energy and feeling of a space in a way the click of an iPhone simply can’t.

“It’s better than a photograph,” said Mary Jo Ernst, another administrator.

As Zonis and Ernsts sat together and

LESLIE WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA

Sherry Smith sketches the cafe at Revive Coffee Roasters in during Sketcher meetup.

LESLIE WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA

Tina Tang (right), a data analyst, sketches in the Revival Food Hall with Robert Cordero.

flipped through their filled sketchbook pages, they reminisced on the stories behind each one. Whether it was a beautiful scene from Zonis’ trip to Amsterdam or a simple drawing of her husband cooking dinner, each page brought them back to that unique space.

Sometimes, Ernst said she’s more

focused on the people instead of the art itself.

“We have the most amazing connections,” she said.

With the Chicago winter finally melting away, the group hopes to start up its large meetings in-person again in the next couple of months.

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 23

Journey through Rodrigo's heartbreak and healing

By K iersten Rieford Asst. News Editor

Road trip revelations: Driving home 2 u serenades and unpacks lessons Olivia Rodrigo learned through SOUR Heartbreak can make a person crumble, but singer Olivia Rodrigo took the shattered pieces of her heart and sewed them back together through her album “SOUR.” The documentary “driving home 2 u” is an inside look at the journey through Rodrigo’s experience with heartbreak and her healing process.

It's set up like a road trip, not only to align with the explosion of her song “driver’s license,” but to show the important places between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles where the album was put together.

There was a balanced blend of information about the behind the scenes of making the album and songs being performed, but the part of the documentary that caught my attention was how the songs were played differently than the versions that appeared on “SOUR.” The songs were rewritten to have slight differences, whether it be in the spaces of breath between words or adding completely new instruments like electric guitar riffs and string ensembles.

“I really loved the new versions of the songs sung in the documentary,” freshman Parin Sensenbrenner said. “The string elements in ‘good 4 you’ allowed for her crisp vocals to really shine and gave an extra dramatic effect that I really liked hearing. The electric guitar was always really cool to see the diversity in her sound.”

The evolution of her songs in the documentary showed how despite her having the album “SOUR” solidified, she is still growing as a musician.

“To me, [her music maturing in the documentary] makes me think that she’s growing as an artist,” sophomore Mia Vallejo said.

“I enjoyed most of the songs when they were revamped, she definitely made the documentary unique in my opinion by changing every song's delivery.”

Aside from the music evolving, there was a deeper level of understanding between the audience and Rodrigo in how Rodrigo felt while creating the album. The performances of each song were in the environment which she created the song in or inspired her most.

She performed in bedrooms, forests, planes and a variety of other settings.

“I think the new environments gave each song a new energy,” Sensenbrenner said. “For example, I would have never imagined ‘enough for you’ being in a forest, but I like how it connects her feelings of isolation internally and externally in that environment. I think it was really smart to have the environments enforce the feelings the songs portrayed, even if the audience didn’t consciously notice it.”

But, many people preferred seeing the behind the scenes action more than the music because it added a new level of connection to Rodrigo than through her lyrics.

“I loved seeing the behind the scenes of the making of the songs, especially the making of brutal and how carefree it was,” sophomore Alik Schier said. “I think they give more emotion to the songs and allow the story to get developed more.”

Another aspect of the documentary I loved was the addition of lessons Rodrigo learned as she wrote the album. Forgiving not only the person who hurt her, but also forgiving herself was a part of the journey she learned about. Rodrigo said the song “favorite crime” helped her forgive her-

PHOTO BY IMDB

Olivia Rodrigo poses for her front poster of 'Driving home 2 u', released on March 25.

self for letting other people take advantage of her.

Though many people expected there to be more tea with the documentary, I believe the journey that was presented to viewers was ultimately more important. Not only did the viewers learn lessons about expression and heartbreak, but they got to see an inside look at how Rodrigo went about writing the album.

At the end of the documentary, viewers were also given a sneak peek of a new song at the end of the documentary, potentially being a part of a new album. But there is no specificity of when the song or potential new album will be released.

24 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

St.Vincent’s

D e JAMZ

“Spinning fresh beats since 1581”

By DePaulia Staff It’s Aries season finally which means this week's DeJamz will be collections of songs from your very own Aries on the DePaulia staff. While I’m sure there's a joke somewhere in the correlation of too many Aries becoming journalists, this is just a nice bonus with the high quality music taste this zodiac sign has.

Amber Stoutenborough - “Oh no!” by Marina and the Diamonds While not one herself, Marina’s music has always reminded me of the bold and slightly stubborn zodiac, Aries. This song in particular sounds like affirmations right before I leave for the day, only to further solidify the illusion of a determined and hard-headed Aries. “I know exactly what I want and who I want to be.” reminds me of most of the fire signs in my life. While Marina’s music has changed (some say for the worse) since her

album “The Family Jewels,” her music is an anthem to my personality as a fellow aries.

Nika Schoonover - “Things will be fine”

by Metronomy If there’s anything that Aries needs, it’s to relax. This Metronomy song is an assurance of that. As the artist leads into the chorus, he sings, “I might save the day, I might change the world, but things will be fine.” As Aries go forth in the world with their determination and fiery spirits, this song is a great reminder that things will, in fact, be fine.

Darcy Waskiewicz - Red (Taylor’s version), Taylor Swift To me, Red (Taylor’s version) screams Aries. Aries are known to be impulsive and feel their emotions strongly. As a fellow fire sign, Taylor Swift knows exactly what it’s like to feel like this. The song highlights jumping into love and loving so strongly that every color brings up memories of them.

Corey Schmidt - “Chun Swae” by Nicki

Crossword

Minaj feat. Swae Lee An Aries is simply not an Aries without their competitive, fiery ambition. However, this ambition doesn’t come without the nerve-wracking job interviews, performances and presentations. The consistent background of “Chun Shae” allows the perfect aesthetic to install some sense of confidence when headed there. At the same time, the song’s slow tempo allows the listener to control their heart rate which will help with nerves. While this song isn’t a “banger,” the thin counterpoint allows it to be the perfect background hype music while focusing on something important.

Jackson Healy- “All I Do” by Stevie Wonder I don’t know that much about astrology or star signs, but I do know that Aries are supposedly particularly passionate people.

Stevie Wonder’s “All I Do” perfectly reflects that passion — as Stevie belts out every line

with fervor, it’s clear as day that his whole world has been taken over by a love interest.

No matter what, his mind is preoccupied with this love. Between Michael Jackson’s smooth background vocals and Stevie’s impassioned singing, this is an unforgettable song about being completely overcome with emotion.

Across 1. Groundwork 6. Churchill’s symbol of triumph 11. Chesapeake in Maryland 14. Without substance 15. Place for the highborn?

16. Finished food 17. Financing 19. Words starting many park signs 20. Pauline’s woes 21. Stew server 23. Like fillets 26. Aquamarines and emeralds 27. Makes joyful 28. Bygone Toyota model 30. Charged atoms 31. Lapwing 32. Mentalist’s claim 35. Luxury hotel feature 36. Small upright pianos 38. Sticky stuff 39. Royal flush necessity 40. Elbow to the ribs, perhaps 41. Fever and shivers

Down 1. Lobster-house wear 2. Collected sayings 3. Diego’s start 4. Calligrapher’s containers 5. Composed 6. Sound, as reasoning 7. Successfully pitch 8. Eye part containing the pupil 9. Martini component 10. Overlooks 11. Curving outward at the knees 12. Ring-shaped reef 13. Some invitation replies 18. Smelters’ raw materials 22. Art, today 23. Believer of a sort 24. Become one on the run?

25. Slippery peels 26. Londoner 28. Guiding principle 29. Fancy

42. If everything goes right 44. Most congenial 46. Mix of two songs into one 48. Noisy insects 49. Printing press part 50. Produced, as a play 52. What one dots?

53. Ostracisms 58. “Fat ___ and Little Boy” (1989) 59. Not for minors 60. Like some Pennsylvania buggy drivers 61. “__ no use” 62. To the manor born 63. Maiden of mythology

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WIKI

washstand vessel 31. Sloppy critters 33. Big name in marches 34. Erato is their Muse 36. Beyond the city limits 37. Type of school 41. West Point or Annapolis 43. Fill in ___ blank 44. Near in time or place 45. Pat of an O’Neill title 46. Florida city 47. Small Highland village 48. Society division 50. Give the cold shoulder 51. Cashier’s responsibility 54. Ruckus 55. Mathstickremoving game 56. One-sixth of a fl. oz.

57. Finger-to-lips sound

Sports

Sports. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 25

Softball shortstop is determined to leave her mark

By Darcy Waskiewicz Sports Editor

If there is one word to describe Maranda Gutierrez, it’s determined.

Whether it’s on the field with her teammates or in the classroom, the DePaul softball shortstop is determined to have an impact on those around her.

As a fifth year senior, Gutierrez has spent her entire career as a Blue Demon. She serves as a leader both on and off the field and has experienced a lot during her time at DePaul. Between Big East championships and the pandemic, Gutierrez’s time as a Blue Demon never saw a dull moment.

“There’s just so many small moments, like traveling and the jokes in the dugout or inside jokes or little rivalries between infielders and outfielders,” Gutierrez said of her time at DePaul.

“Thos little things are really big, but of course, the Big East Championships and coming back and winning games are all really exciting.”

Gutierrez knew she wanted to play softball in college, but she wasn’t sure where. The Southern California native wanted to go far from her home and fell in love with Chicago — and how DePaul felt like family to her.

Softball has always been a big part of her family and her life. She began playing the sport when she was four, and her sister played as well, while her brother, father and grandfather all played baseball.

“I felt like it was in my blood to play,” Gutierrez said.

Once at DePaul, she had an immediate impact. In her freshman season, she started all 52 games, where she had 42 hits and 20 runs. In that year, the Blue Demons finished as the 2018 Big East champions after defeating Creighton.

Her sophomore year, Gutierrez started in all 51 games and led the team with 40 runs. She was also named the 2019 Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

That year, the Blue Demons were the Big East champions again with an 11-10 win over Villanova.

However, while her first two seasons were filled with action and success, it took Gutierrez a bit of time to build up her confidence transitioning into the role of a collegiate athlete.

“Some of the biggest challenges I think as a young player, if I look back on my freshman year, is having the confidence and believing in myself,” Gutierrez said. “I had done all the preparation, I played softball for so many years.”

With the pandemic putting a pause on her junior year season and affecting her senior season, Gutierrez came back to DePaul for a fifth year, where she returned with a determination to have an impact and enjoy her final season.

So far this season, Gutierrez has 31 hits and 12 runs batted in, with a .935 fielding percentage.

“She’s determined to field every ball, she’s determined to hit every ball, she’s determined to do everything she can for our team to get the win, to help us in any way, shape or form, especially this year too, being a much more vocal leader with our team,” head coach Tracie Adix-Zins said. “She’s very determined in wanting to get us back to that championship game.”

Off the field, Gutierrez is studying elementary education with two minors

SOFIA LEAL | THE DEPAULIA

Graduate student shortstop Maranda Gutierrez warms up with members of the team before the game against Villanova on Friday.

Upcoming Schedule

Softball

-April 6 at UIC, 4 p.m.

-April 8 at Seton Hall, 2 p.m.

-April 9 at Seton Hall, 12 p.m.

-April 10 at Seton Hall, 1:15 p.m.

Women’s Tennis SOFIA LEAL | THE DEPAULIA

Gutierrez runs towards the outfield to back up her teammate as she chases a fly ball. in special education and teaching English as a second language. Her open and friendly personality has helped her connect with her teammates at DePaul and helps as she prepares to work with kids.

“She’s the person that’s always really upbeat even if their schedule is really hard, she’ll always bring a smiling face, she likes to pick people up,” graduate student second basewoman Skylor Hilger said. “I don’t know, I think she’s just like the sunshine that you know the team needs on hard days and she’s just there for everyone.”

Her teammates mean a lot to Gutierrez and some of her favorite memories at DePaul are the small moments that she had with her teammates while traveling

and in the dugout.

Now, as her collegiate career wraps up, Gutierrez serves as a mentor for the younger members of the team. She remembers the challenges she faced with her confidence in her early college years, and is able to use that experience to help her teammates step up once she graduates.

“My advice to freshmen would be just believe in yourself, trust your training and just get after it,” Gutierrez said.

“I think it took me a while in my freshman year to realize that but once I did, I felt I was comfortable.”

-April 8 at Seton Hall, 3:30 p.m.

-April 10 at St. John’s, TBA

Men’s Tennis -April 10 vs. Butler, 1:15 p.m.

Track and Field

-April 9 at Illini Twilight, all day

26 | Sports. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022

CHGO creates new opportunities for sports coverage in Chicago

By Ryan Taylor Staff Writer

There’s a new sports media company knocking on the door of one of the largest media markets in the country.

CHGO, pronounced as it’s spelled “C-H-G-O,” is the third sports media market opened up by ALLCITY Network after its first location, Denver (DNVR), and its most recent – Phoenix (PHNX).

Through written content, frequent podcasts, Discord lounges and merchandise, CHGO is attempting to create an open community of sports fans in Chicago.

“We’re a little bit different,” head of content, Kevin Kaduk, said in an interview with the DePaulia. “There are some outlets that just do fan stuff and there’s some that just do journalism and I think we have a good mixture of the two.”

The company’s third campaign launch introduced the newest personalities of Chicago sports. Some, however, were not that new to Chicago sports fans.

CHGO acquired Vinnie Duber, former White Sox beat reporter for NBC, Herb Lawrence, a producer from 670 the Score and, Will Gottlieb, former beat reporter for Bleacher Report and The Athletic, just to name a few.

Most notably, CHGO hired Adam Hoge, one of Chicago’s most familiar faces covering the Chicago Bears, and Olin Kreutz, former Bears offensive lineman and frequent on NBC Sports and 670 the Score.

“I think everyone here buys into the vision,” Kaduk said. “They understand that it’s not just about working for an RSN anymore or a newspaper. It’s about starting different platforms. I think people were attracted to being able to have their names in the cornerstone here and building from the ground up.”

At their studio in the West loop, each beat sits around, laptops in laps, to discuss their team in a modern, brick-wall aesthetic. CHGO is more of a hangout space for their daily podcast shows. Nonetheless, their reporting and content are professional.

“Think about some of the podcasts you like,” Kaduk said. “Do they do it every day Monday through Friday?

Twice a week? If it’s twice a week, you probably want to hang out with them on the other three days. I think with us, you always know you can plugin and it will be three of your favorite Cubs personalities talking about the Cubs.”

One of the podcasters is DePaul University graduate school alum, Nicholas Moreano, who ran the podcast that was bought out by CHGO, the Chicago Audible, with his friend Will DeWitt.

Moreano started the podcast as a junior at the University of Iowa, doing post-game reactions after every Bears game. With no journalism classes under his belt and recording the episodes in his dorm room, Moreano and DeWitt built up their reputation to score credentials to cover Bears games at Soldier Field.

As they continued to grow their channel, they fielded two buyout offers simultaneously. CHGO called as the pair was about to sign a contract with a different media entity. In the end, the pair agreed to the buyout offer from CHGO. “I’d never heard of ALLCITY network and how does it line up with the day we’re supposed to sign another contract?” Moreano said. “The Chicago Audible was our resume. They liked

PHOTO COURTESY OF NICHOLAS MOREANO

Members of CHGO sit in the studio and prepare for their show. CHGO is the newest media outlet that covers sports in Chicago. what they saw and they made us an offer and that’s how we ended up with CHGO. I always think what if they didn’t call us on that Friday? Things happen for a reason.”

Each team has a veteran journalist(s) paired with an up-and-comer. Moreano is considered the wunderkind of the Bears beat and he’s been learning from more experienced reporters. . Whether it’s from watching film, doing his homework or going live on the show, he’s always ready. Kreutz even taught him how to effectively pass block at the studio.

“Once I hit him, I was like ‘Man, that guy’s still a wall,’” Moreano said.

Jon Greenberg, a professor at DePaul and Lake Forest College, taught Moreano in graduate school. Greenberg is also one of the founding writers of The Athletic, which recently sold for $550 million to the New York Times.

Greenberg can relate to being part of a sports media company’s journey from the ground up, as he witnessed it firsthand with The Athletic. He wrote an article about CHGO and gave them some wise advice to “remain flexible” with their identity and how they produce content.

“The Cubs won in our first year and we weren’t prepared for it,” Greenberg said. “We didn’t really know how to monetize it. Now, it would be huge for us. We were just winging it back then.”

Launch timing is important, according to Greenberg from his experience watching The Athletic grow into the media monster that it is today.

ALLCITY network’s CEO, Brandon Spano, claims to be an expert at monetizing sports media businesses.

Through advertising podcasts, subscriptions to written content and merchandise sales, Spano has the blueprint for a lucrative media company.

He’s already established his success in Denver, the founding location.

“We use these buzzwords like ‘community’ and ‘culture,’” Kaduk said.

“If you look at Denver, they’ve gotten so big that they have their own bar now. People have ‘DNVR’ tattoos. Some

people have met through DNVR, gotten married.”

ALLCITY Network will be expanding to other cities this year. But, Chicago is their main focus at the moment, according to Greenberg.

“Chicago’s really their first big market,” Greenberg said. “Chicago’s a different animal. Passionate fans for five teams. This is their big play, their owner told me. He’s really putting his chips into Chicago. He put a lot of money into this.”

CHGO’s hook is the podcasts, as the crew shoots them every single day.

Kaduk mentioned they have a saying around the studio that the “fourth person on the show is the fan.”

“We want this to be a place where everyone can feel like they can come to,” Moreano said. “Whether you’re another professional entity, a casual fan, or a fanatic. We’re all about community and just building it up to make it where you want to be a part of it.”

DePaul Center 333 South State St. Welcome Back DePaul Students Hand Tossed

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Mon - Fri 10 am – 5:30 pm

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Sports. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 27 ATTUCKS, continued from back page was like, ‘He’s done, he has it,’” Colaire said. “‘It’s all over’. I was excited.”

Winning first place was exciting, but for Attucks, this degree of success is just part of the job. “[Winning the event] was not a surprise,” Attucks said. “We just needed to go out and execute. Preparing for it we put the work in practice, stay patient, and trust the process.”

Outdoor season is now approaching, and there are expectations within DePaul’s program that Attucks can take his game to the next level. One of those expectations is by breaking the 100-meter dash record, which was set by Kyle Mastrangeli last season with a 10.38 time.

Williams believes that it is possible due to Attucks’ improvements from last season in the leadership department.

“The main difference I see between this year and last year is that Attucks is more vocal,” Williams said. “I stress communication with all of my athletes, and I feel like he is already bought in.

The level of communication and feedback has increased.”

Attucks is known to be a quiet guy.

When Colaire met him, he acknowledged his relation to Attuck’s personal-

ity as someone who is soft-spoken. But Colaire is glad that Attucks is starting to come out of his shell.

“When I first met him, people did not see the value and the other good characteristics that he brings to the table,” Colaire said. “He was so quiet, but now he is starting to vocalize more.

Having this focus around and about him is unappreciated because no one sees it.”

There’s another reason people believe Attucks has a unique chance to set a new 100-meter record: his focus.

“He just comes in and handles business,” Williams said. “He just does what he needs to do. He’s very easy to work with but definitely always focused on the task at hand, whether it is the workouts or the meet. He just knows what he needs to do.”

Attucks is prepared to take on the challenge of breaking the 100-meter dash record, but at the same time he is centered on the team’s success, expecting the team to continue its efforts from indoor season and carry it over to outdoor season.

“I just have to keep going,” Attucks said. “Use that energy and momentum that we had from indoor [season] to keep it going with outdoor season. Achieve not just the same result, but better.”

BEN ZEBROWSKI | THE DEPAULIA

Cameron Attucks sprints ahead of the competition at the Big East Championship.

SOFTBALL, continued from back page entire time. The only time she looked unsteady was in the fifth inning, where she let up two hits in a row, but she didn’t let that phase her and finished out the game.

“It was a really good team effort,” Hocker said. “We came out, we came to play, despite adversity we’ve been coming off hot on top of everything and trying to work back.”

The win snapped the Blue Demons’ four-game losing streak and opened up the weekend series for the Blue Demons.

“I just want to see the same team come tomorrow,” Adix-Zins said. “We’ve hit a rough patch in the beginning of our conference play, and I think we can easily get out of it this weekend and continue to carry that momentum.”

The Blue Demons did that in the second game with a 7-1 win over Villanova on a rainy Saturday morning. Graduate student Sarah Lehman was in the pitching circle for DePaul and she played in all seven innings, striking out eight batters.

Graduate student shortstop Maranda Gutierrez opened the scoring for the Blue Demons in the first inning. Polucha lined out, but when Villanova turned to make the double play, the player at second base fumbled the ball, and Gutierrez was able to score on the error from third.

The bases were loaded for the Blue Demons in the third inning, and they were able to capitalize. With Meyer up to bat, Hilger took off from third base and stole home to give DePaul a two-run lead. Meyer followed that with a single that brought home Polucha to make the score 3-0.

The offense continued for DePaul while Villanova’s struggles worsened as a sacrifice fly by Cosgrove brought home Meyer from third, and the inning ended with the Blue Demons up by five.

Cosgrove soared a home run to center field in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend DePaul’s lead to six. It was her second home run of the series and her third of the season.

Lehman had a no-hitter entering the sixth inning, but Villanova snapped that with a home run that soared over Meyer’s head in right field, putting Villanova on the board to make the score 6-1.

The Blue Demons tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth when

DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA

Baylee Cosgrove swings through a hit for a home run, her second of the series. She had three hits and five RBIs against Villanova. freshman infielder Carly Alvers scored all the way from first on a double by Wohlers.

Wearing their pink uniforms in support of cancer awareness onSunday, DePaul could not bring out the brooms to complete their sweep of their conference series against Villanova.

Against sophmore pitcher Julyana Gomez, Villanova’s bats were struggling to get hits until their offense rapidly caught fire with back-to-back hits that included a 2-run home run at the top of the fourth inning. The surge forced Adix-Zins to replace Gomez with Hocker.

But the lineup change did not slow down Villanova’s attack. DePaul gave up 6 straight runs in the fourth inning while their offensive woes continued. After Pool broke the ice by giving DePaul its first hit with a single in the bottom of

the second inning, DePaul did not have another hit until the fourth inning.

It was there where Meyer and third baseman Nicole Sullivan took it upon themselves to give the team a spark, bringing some life into the team with back-to-back doubles that led to DePaul scoring their first runs of the game. DePaul was down 6-2.

After three straight walks by Villanova, Alvers hit a deep fly with the bases loaded to bring in a run, cutting the deficit 6-3. But Villanova responded with an explosive five-run inning that featured a 2-run double and a 3-run home run to extend Depaul’s deficit 11-3.

“We had a lot of hard balls hit but we have to execute in those tough moments,” Meyer said. “We had bases loaded a few times and we did not do anything with that so we have to produce and execute.”

DePaul hit .174 in the game, only hitting the ball four times while Villanova had 14 hits that included two home runs and numerous plays to bring in multiple RBI’s.

“I know the game did not go the way that I liked but I’m so proud of the fact that we came in and took care of business in the first two games,” Adix-Zins said. “I wish we could take the sweep but there is a lot we can learn from this game too. You just have to keep learning from series to series.”

The team’s next game will be a crosstown rivalry at UIC on Wednesday at 4 pm.

Sports

Sports. The DePaulia. April 4, 2022 | 28

Track and field runner is ready to reach new heights in outdoor season

By Joshua M. Hicks Asst. Sports Editor

Sophomore track and field star Cameron Attucks helped DePaul’s men’s team finish second in the Big East indoor championships.

Breaking records along the way, Attucks set a new bar for the standard of success within the program. With the team now heading into the outdoor season, Attucks still has a lot more to display on the track with the goal of improving on his big performance — and he is ready for the challenge.

Attucks’ love for track is built on competition. Growing up, he played the sport alongside football and discovered his love for competition and beating personal records. This passion drove him to commit to track full time and it has paid dividends since his arrival at DePaul.

“Talking to Cameron, I realized he’s someone that I want to work with,” assistant coach Stephanie Williams said regarding Attucks’ recruitment to DePaul. “He’s very straightforward, but he puts in the work.”

Attucks’ work ethic has been evident throughout his collegiate career, but he did face some setbacks due to injuries.

Last season, he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for a little over a month during the outdoor season.

“I hate having injuries,” Attucks said.

“I hate being out and not being able to run.”

Attucks’ inability to perform drove him to improve his health. His focus throughout the offseason was set on taking care of his body to get the times he wanted on the track.

“This year mostly I have been focused on taking care of my body,” Attucks said. “I want to stay healthy so that I can compete and be able to run the times that I want to run.”

Coming into this season, he was able to capitalize on the work he put in on a high note, leading the way with a 6.88 time in the 60-meter dash. His time led DePaul to first place in the event at the Big East Indoor Track and Field Championship, sweeping the event with his teammates freshman Dominic Cole and sophomore Myles Marshall finishing in the top five.

Senior Ashton Coliare witnessed Attucks’ historic event. He admitted that he had discussions with Attucks and other teammates about making the idea of a clean sweep in the sprinter events a reality. The ideal scenario did not come to fruition, but Colaire knew right off the bat Attucks had the race in his hands.

“After Attucks got off the blocks, I

See ATTUCKS, page 27

BEN ZEBROWSKI | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul track and field sophomore Cameron Attucks runs at the Big East Indoor Track and Field Championship. He placed first in the 60m race on Feb. 26 and had a time of 6.88.

Softball wins series but falls short of sweep against Villanova

By Darcy Waskiewicz and Joshua M. Hicks Sports Editor and Asst. Sports Editor

DONALD CROCKER | THE DEPAULIA

Sarah Lehmen pitches in their 7-1 win over Villanova. She struck out eight batters.

The DePaul softball team dominated in the first two games of their weekend series against Villanova, but failed to complete the sweep when the offense struggled on Sunday. They finished the series 2-1 with a 3-6 record in conference play and 13-18 record overall.

After three losses against UConn, the Blue Demons needed a strong game to bounce back. And they did just that against Villanova on Friday at Cacciatore Stadium in the first of their threegame weekend series with a walk-off 9-1 win in five innings.

With senior pitcher Erin Hocker on the mound and sophomore catcher Riley Pool behind the plate, the Blue Demons looked like a brand new team and dominated from the very beginning. The team had the life and the energy that has been lacking in past games.

“Top to bottom, everybody executed, everybody was calm, everybody was energized,” head coach Tracie Adix-Zins said. “I mean, you really can’t ask for a better game than that for us.”

Junior first baseman Brooke Johnson opened the hitting for DePaul with

a double that dropped as the Villanova center fielder battled the sun. In the next at bat, a single by graduate student left fielder Kate Polucha dropped in the same spot in the outfield, bringing in Johnson and giving DePaul a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats tied up the game in the next inning. The Blue Demons did not let that phase them, however, and bounced back with a double by Pool that brought home junior right fielder Tori Meyer to give DePaul their second run.

However, it was freshman designated hitter Baylee Cosgrove who broke open the scoring with a 3-run home run that cleared the bases. The hit over the fence brought home freshman third baseman Anna Wohlers and Pool, making the score 5-1.

A single by Pool brought home two more runs, and Wohlers ended the game in the fifth inning with a 2-run home run that soared over right field and bounced off the dorms. Wohlers finished the game going three-for-three in hits.

“It felt great to get it done for my team,” Wohlers said. “I knew all I needed to do was get one little hit but it happened to just go over, so I was glad.”

Hocker played the entire game and looked comfortable on the mound the

See SOFTBALL, page 27