February 26, 2018

DePaulia

The

2017 Pacemaker Award Winner/Best Weekly College Newspaper-SPJ

Volume #102 | Issue #17 | Feb. 26, 2018 | depauliaonline.com

ANDREW HATTERSLEY | THE DEPAULIA A lone fan sits in the Demon Deck during DePaul’s men’s basketball game against St. John’s on Feb. 14.

THAT EMPTY FEELING

Despite move to city, men’s basketball attendance remains low

By DePaulia Investigation DePaul’s debut basketball season in the South Loop has been rough — the team is currently at risk of finishing dead last in the Big East standings for the eighth time in the last decade. But tough competition, injuries and streaky offense aren’t the only ghosts to follow the Blue Demons to Wintrust Arena.

Since moving from a cavernous 17,000 seats at Allstate to a cozy 10,000 at Wintrust, DePaul’s men’s basketball team is still struggling to fill the stands, continuing to rely heavily upon ranked opponents and traveling fans to draw sizable crowds.

Through DePaul’s home game against Creighton on Feb. 7, the Blue Demons had drawn an average of 2,993 people to their games, including two that saw fewer than 1,000 people, according to attendance numbers obtained by The DePaulia through a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) from the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (commonly known as “McPier”), the quasi-governmental agency that partnered with the university to build and operate Wintrust.

Despite expectations that bringing the Blue Demons into the city would attract more fans to home games, attendance at Wintrust has seen just a modest uptick with only three games eclipsing half capacity, including Saturday’s game against

Marquette (about 5,000). Last season at Allstate, DePaul saw some of the lowest attendance numbers in program history, averaging less than 2,000 in turnstile attendance.

Turnstile attendance refers to the number of people who actually show up to each game.

Attendance figures reported in the final box scores at DePaul games refer to paid attendance, which measures the number of people who bought or received free tickets whether or not they actually enter the arena on game day.

Through Creighton’s visit to Wintrust on Feb. 7, the Blue Demons are averaging just under 6,000 in paid attendance, another modest increase from Allstate where they averaged under 5,500 in paid attendance.

Early estimates calculated by HVS, a New York City based sports and entertainment consulting firm hired by McPier when the Wintrust project began, projected DePaul’s men’s basketball team would account for less than 50 percent of annual turnstile attendance at Wintrust. The firm projected an average attendance of 9,500 at 16 DePaul men’s basketball home games, totaling 152,000 of the arena’s 370,000 projected attendees.

DePaul’s athletic director, Jean Lenti Ponsetto, said DePaul had nothing to do

See WINTRUST, page 27

ALLY ZACEK | THE DEPAULIA

2 | News. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

First Look OW RN

ON A I

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

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | Amber Colón eic@depauliaonline.com

PAULIA THE DE

PAGE 29

Podcast

MANAGING EDITOR | Rachel Fernandez managing@depauliaonline.com NEWS EDITOR | Benjamin Conboy news@depauliaonline.com ASST. NEWS EDITOR | Jonathan Ballew news@depauliaonline.com

Tune in to episode 16 of The DePaulia’s official podcast “Page 29,” available on Soundcloud and iTunes.

NATION & WORLD EDITOR | Carina Smith nation@depauliaonline.com OPINIONS EDITOR | Mackenzie Murtaugh opinion@depauliaonline.com

THIS WEEK

Check out The DePaulia’s content online at www.depauliaonline.com

Tuesday - 2/27

Wednesday - 2/28

Panel: Why Would I Ever Work in HR?

Cookie Decorating and Hot Chocolate Bar

Blockchain Dev with Spaceman Dev w/ pizza and drinks

DePaul Center, Rm. 8005

Loop Commuter Lounge

DePaul Center, Rm. 11018

6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

5 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Friday - 3/2

Saturday - 3/3

Movie Screening in Lincoln Park “The Commuter”

Ice Skating at Maggie Daley Park

African Drum Ensemble

DESIGN EDITOR | Ally Zacek design@depauliaonline.com

Arts & Letters, Rm. 203

337 E. Randolph St.

Concert Hall

PHOTO EDITOR | Josh Leff photo@depauliaonline.com

4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

3 p.m. - 5 p.m.

FOCUS EDITOR | Zoey Barnes focus@depauliaonline.com ARTS & LIFE EDITOR | Lacey Latch artslife@depauliaonline.com SPORTS EDITOR | Shane René sports@depauliaonline.com ASST. SPORTS EDITOR | Andrew Hattersley sports@depauliaonline.com DESIGN EDITOR | Victoria Williamson design@depauliaonline.com

ONLINE EDITORS | Yazmin Dominguez, April Lane online@depauliaonline.com COPY EDITORS | Brian Pearlman, Nikki Roberts

Monday - 2/26

Check out our campus crime database, Crime Watch. This map is updated on a weekly basis with data made available to The DePaulia from the City of Chicago data portal and DePaul’s Office of Crime Prevention.

Thursday - 3/1

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News

that have made students uncomfortable,” she said.

Hashemian said that she didn’t have the specifics concerning Crowder, but ultimately the board felt Crowder “might not reflect well on what the university’s intentions are.” She said that it is never the board’s intention to deny a speaker and that they do everything possible to approve speakers.

Jorin Burkhart is the Chairman of DePaul Young America’s Foundation (YAF), a national organization with multiple chapters on college campuses around the country. YAF regularly helps university chapters locate and fund guest speakers. Although they are not exclusively conservative speakers, the majority of the recommended speakers listed on YAF’s website range from right of center to fringe right ideology.

VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA “Steven Crowder is not the type of person that should have been rejected by the board,” he said.

Burkhart believes that the administration’s personal feelings have played a role in the rejections. He said that it seems like conservative viewpoints at DePaul are under attack because they are unpopular document called the Guiding Principles for with the student and faculty majority.

Free Speech and Expression. The university “It’s really obvious at this point that also created the Speech and Expression conservative speakers and student groups are Advisory Committee (SEAC), a group that being discriminated against,” he said. advises the speaker review board as to how to Burkhart said that his group does not best uphold the Guiding Principles for Free invite hate speech to DePaul, but that it Speech and Expression. shouldn’t matter because free speech should Peggy Burke is the chair of the board and never be stifled on a college campus. said that the board made an administrative “In order to become more educated error concerning their recent decision to you have to experience disputes between deny YAF’s request to have Steven Crowder different points of view,” he said. speak on campus.

Burkhart mentioned that there are “The process wasn’t followed like it plenty of left-leaning groups on campus should have been,” she said. “(YAF) should that, he says, have been outright vulgar and have been invited to attend the disrespectful but are still allowed review board so that they could to operate with impunity. present their request.”

“You have the feminist Burke said that groups posting pictures because of this on social media error, YAF is being of them flipping granted the off Father opportunity to Holtschneider,” present their he said. “I case during c o mp l e t e l y the next believe they meeting of have the the speaker right to do review that, but it board in feels like March. a double Burke standard.” said that Y A F the decision has done made at nothing the March to incite hearing violence will be final. or promote There is no hate speech, appeal process according to for student Burkhart. He said organizations that organizations once their speaker is like FIRE have been denied. Burke said that instrumental in continuing when the guidelines were VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIAto champion the free drafted, it was deemed to be expression of ideas on college campuses. unnecessary.

Adam Steinbaugh, senior program “If there is no new information, it was officer at FIRE, said it was an easy decision not deemed valuable to have yet another set for his organization to choose DePaul as its of eyes on the same request,” she said. flagship university to receive the inaugural Burke said that the award from FIRE lifetime censorship award. was unfair and that DePaul has allowed “a “DePaul has been on our list for number of speakers on campus.” sometime,” he said. “At this point we felt that “I completely disagree with that DePaul deserved some greater recognition assessment,” she said. to the extent that it promises free speech but Nahal Hashemian is a student member fails to deliver on those promises.” on the board and said that denying Crowder Steinbaugh said that it isn’t just was “within the board’s rights” because the conservative groups being attacked at board followed their guidelines.

DePaul. He mentioned an incident in 2016 “There are prior things that have occurred when the university required the DePaul

DePaul administration defends free speech after denying Steven Crowder

By Jonathan Ballew Asst. News Editor

DePaul has found itself in the spotlight for receiving an award from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) — only this award isn’t the type most universities hope to win. FIRE awarded DePaul the inaugural “lifetime censorship award” for, what they say, is a pattern of attacking free speech on campus.

President Gabriel A. Esteban was asked Thursday if he thought it was fair that DePaul received the lifetime censorship award from FIRE. “I’m not familiar with the history of DePaul in that area, so it’s unfair for me to make comments on something that I am not familiar with,” he said.

Esteban said that there is a “clear process for speakers to be approved” and that he strongly believes in free speech.

Less than a week after receiving the undesirable award, the university denied DePaul’s chapter of the Young America’s Foundation (YAF) from bringing Steven Crowder on campus.

Crowder is a conservative political commentator who hosts a popular online show called “Louder with Crowder.” He is known for creating videos on college campuses where he engages students in dialogue over controversial topics. He calls the segment “Change my mind.” Topics range from denying male privilege, to stating that there are only two genders.

After repeated requests across multiple platforms, Crowder did not respond to requests for comment.

DePaul’s Student Organization Speaker Review Board denied YAF’s request to host Crowder.

“The Speaker Review Board denied this speaker request due to their research on Mr. Crowder and came to the conclusion that he creates videos to purposely rouse and provoke people by making fun of the opposing side. They didn’t see how this aligns with DePaul’s educational mission,” wrote the administration in a letter to YAF. The board was created in response to the infamous Milo Yiannopoulos incident of 2017, where Black Lives Matter protesters attacked the conservative provocateur on stage. Yiannopoulos was not allowed to be rescheduled to speak due to what DePaul cited as security concerns.

In response, the university drafted a

News. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018 | 3

Socialists to have security at a Marxist book discussion because of its potential to incite violence.

“While there is expression that you or I might agree is hateful, it’s not the university’s place to say that it is unacceptable,” he said.

“That is for the students to decide.”

Chris Bury is a Peabody and Emmy award-winning journalist and professor at DePaul. He said that freedom of expression is crucial at a university.

“I think that a university has got to uphold the first amendment in the purest way that it can,” he said.

Bury said that if speech has a reasonable chance of inciting violence, universities are well within their right to step in. But, that doesn’t mean banning hate speech, he added.

“I think that uncomfortable and even hateful speech has to be tolerated under our system,” he said.

Both Steinbaugh and Bury mentioned the University of Chicago as a university that has “done things the right way” when it comes to free speech on campus.

Recently, the University of Chicago (U of C) has come under fire for inviting former White House Chief Strategist, Steve Bannon, to speak on campus. No date has been set for Bannon to speak, but a group of alumni and community members have already penned letters of protest to the university.

U of C issued a statement that said they are “deeply committed to upholding the values of academic freedom, the free expression of ideas, and the ability of faculty and students to invite the speakers of their choice.”

The DePaul Journalism Department hosted esteemed journalist and national correspondent with “PBS NewsHour,” John Yang, on Thursday. At the luncheon, Yang said that he tends to believe that incendiary speakers should still be allowed to speak at college campuses.

“I was very bothered by the idea that protests could stop commencement speakers,” he said.

Although Yang said he couldn’t comment on the specifics regarding Crowder, he said he would “err on the side of allowing him to speak.” Yang did say that, lately, things have gotten more confusing regarding hate speech.

“I used to believe that good ideas drive bad ideas out of the marketplace, but I don’t know anymore,” he said.

Gracie Covarrubias, vice president of student government, said that hateful speakers shouldn’t always have a place at DePaul.

“At the end of the day hate speech is what goes against the Vincentian mission. Our No. 1 priority is that human dignity must be upheld at all costs,” she said.

John Minster is the president of the DePaul College Republicans and has been very active when it comes to promoting free speech at DePaul. He said the award comes as no surprise.

“I think it’s par for the course for DePaul,” he said. “It makes perfect sense.”

Minster said that DePaul has been violating student speech rights for over a decade, but it has “particularly accelerated” in the last two years.

“As a private university, (DePaul) is allowed to prevent speakers,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean that they should.”

At the next meeting of the Student Organization Speaker Review Board in March, DePaul will reevaluate whether Crowder will be allowed to speak. No matter the decision, the university will make a powerful statement on exactly where they stand when it comes to free speech.

4| News. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

DePaul alum challenges incumbent for Northwest suburban district

By April Lane Online Editor

Since graduating from DePaul in 2013, Kevin B. Morrison has put his studies in political and environmental science into action, gaining years of experience as a community activist and organizer for Chicagoland area politicians, including Ald. Mary O’Connor, State Rep. Robert Martwick and Hillary Clinton.

Now, he’s pounding the pavement for his own campaign and running as a Democrat for a seat on the Cook County Board of Commissioners against threeterm Republican Commissioner Timothy Schneider to represent the 15th District.

If elected, Morrison will become the first openly LGBT member to serve on the Cook County Board.

It was in early November, 2017 while serving as Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi’s special projects coordinator that Morrison decided to run for a Cook County Board seat. After listening to concerns from residents in his own district about the lack of representation from their city government, he decided to take matters into his own hands and run for office.

“This is a community that is worried about the fiscal situation, worried about the debt the county currently has,” Morrison said. “I want to make sure we’re strengthening my county moving forward, and that is something people in my district are passionate about as well.”

By the end of November, Morrison had secured over 1,100 signatures from constituents eager for a change in leadership.

The Cook County Board is the county’s legislative body that oversees decisions made in the nation’s second-largest county. The 17-member board crafts policy on public interests and is in charge of how county funds are appropriated. As district commissioner, Morrison would represent the northwest suburbs, which include Arlington Heights, Barrington and Elk Grove Village and would be responsible for nearly 300,000 constituents.

Morrison has a tough fight ahead of him. The 15th District has a history of securing Republican incumbents, with Schneider currently serving his third term as commissioner and Carl Hansen serving for eight terms before him. In the 2014 Cook County Board primary, Schneider collected 13,332 votes, easily beating his Democratic challenger Michael Urban who gathered 4,165.

According to Schneider, his contributions to the district over the years have been in the best interest of his constituents, listing off his sponsorship of the repeal of “burdensome” bills like the sweetened beverage tax and Todd Stroger’s sales taxes, his provision of county road projects and his work in maintaining a level playing field with counties neighboring Cook County to ensure the potential for more jobs and businesses for residents.

“I’ve also returned half a million dollars of my own budget to the county,” Schneider said, noting that only one other commissioner has accomplished that feat to date. “I think I’ve done a really good job representing the people of my district and the wishes of my district on the county board.”

Nonetheless, according to Morrison, some 15th District residents wish for more attention to be placed on their district.

“This is a very diverse area and one that doesn’t feel like it’s being adequately represented by the big, strong voices of Chicago,” he said. “We are Cook County, but we are the suburbs, so a lot of times I feel that the frustrations are that the focus is

PHOTO COURTESY OF KEVIN MORRISON

Morrison sports his DePaul beanie while canvassing the 15th District with Democratic congressional candidate Amanda Howland.

always on the city and not on the rest of the communities that border the city.”

Despite the district’s historically conservative slant, Morrison explained that this past election cycle is proof that residents of his district are opening up to the prospect of being led by a Democrat.

“This is also a district that Hillary Clinton won by 20 points,” he said. “So it has definitely been one of flux and one that has been shifting over the past couple decades.”

One unyielding fact about the 15th District is that its sizeable working class population is fed up with rising property taxes, a complaint that has reverberated throughout Cook County as the wealthy continue to take advantage of budget loopholes.

“I would like to deal with that head on and make sure they’re paying their fair share so that we’re not continuously disadvantaging the working class families of the county,” Morrison said. “This is a community that is worried about the fiscal situation and the debt the county currently has and how we can strengthen the economy we currently have so that we don’t have a fiscal collapse like Detroit.”

Increasing Cook County budget transparency is also a concern high on Morrison’s list. Given that Cook County is currently over $140 billion in debt, Morrison plans to find ways to stretch the taxpayer dollar to cover the needs of every resident in Cook County.

“I wish the taxpayer could see how or if their tax dollars are being spent appropriately and if we are receiving the best deals in each and every one of the purchases,” he said, mentioning his goals to fund the same vital services and maintain high quality, while “being smart” with how the money is spent.

Among his other campaign goals, to help boost the economy, Morrison would like to invest in a tax exemption geared toward helping new small businesses, thus creating jobs in Cook County. He also plans on protecting Illinois’ Forest Preserves and ensuring that Cook County Medical provides all residents, regardless of age, race or gender, with adequate healthcare.

“I want to make sure that once you seek a vital service that the county provides, that everyone gets an equitable treatment,” he said, referencing his plan to advocate for the fair treatment of Cook County’s LGBT residents while serving on the board.

“I think that every representative body should represent the (gamut of) constituents it’s seeking to represent,” he said. “Right now,

we have a huge LGBT community in Cook County that doesn’t have a voice on one of the most important boards.”

Given the cut-throat nature of campaigns, there is a high level of drive one must have while running in any political race. Despite having just recently turned 28 years old, and running up against a politically seasoned opponent, Morrison’s determination to represent the unheard voices in his district is what motivates him to continue to go door-to-door, braving cold

temperatures and shuffling through snowclad sidewalks to discuss with residents his progressive vision for Cook County.

“I’m going to push policies that are not only going to benefit the county now, but into the future as well, because I plan on living here,” Morrison said. “I have all of our futures in whatever decisions I would be making.”

The 15th District will decide who their candidate will be in the primary elections on March 20.

News. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018 | 5

Textbook publishers find new ways to squeeze students

By D.K. Schwartz Contributing Writer

Defying perceptions of a dying industry, one sector of the publishing world is still doing brisk business these days, and it’s all thanks to college students.

After raising the average college textbooks’ price nearly 200 percent since 1997—a surge outpaced only by hospital services — the corporate giants of educational publishing have set their sights on a new area for growth.

“The era of the textbook is now over” McGraw Hill CEO David Levin announced to the Financial Times in 2015. Levin’s proclamation would serve as public notice that while price gouging college students with ever-escalating textbook prices may have built their near monopolies, the college textbook industry was moving on. Heavy hitters like McGraw Hill and its rival Pearson were turning the page on the textbook era and doing so with with giddiness rather than trepidation.

As college goes digital, the publishers have devised an audacious and lucrative new revenue stream for themselves: having students pay them to do their homework.

They’re called “access codes” and as a business major, Nick Darlington has spent hundreds of dollars per quarter on them.

A recent marketing class required the DePaul sophomore to purchase two thirdparty access codes, $200 for a HitPlay.net homework module (similar to Pearson and McGraw Hill’s own MyLab and Connect digital programs) and even an additional $35 for an online test. Ultimately, Darlington would receive a grade deduction on the test because he lacked the money to submit his work.

Like a growing number of business and science classes in the access code era, you have to pay to play. No codes? No chance of passing the class.

Professor Paul Kessenich, who taught Darlington’s class, insists the access codes deliver better value.

“Rather than have to read a text they are getting live videos of each of the points by an…award winning marketing person,” he said. Students who balk at such access codes, he argues, ”don’t appreciate the value their getting.”

Kessenich isn’t alone among faculty in championing the new access code model as the inevitable successors to an obsolete “dead tree” model. Programs like Pearson’s

MyLab, they argue, offer class content in a more accessible way to students on the go, delivering instant test results and offering an alternative to the traditional “one size fits all” physical textbook. And to make this case, publishers like McGraw Hill have adopted sales tactics long associated with Big Pharma, often deploying an army of sales reps to sell professors like Kessenich on the benefits of moving their classes into their own access code-restricted digital futures.

Apparently, they’ve succeeded; 2016 saw a 12 percent jump in purchases for McGraw Hill’s Connect and LearnSmart programs.

But while many professors and lobbyists have positive things to say about this model, it’s hard to find the same enthusiasm among students who actually purchase the codes.

DePaul senior Tony Paoli is one of them.

“I pay $30,000 a year to learn from expert professors and access DePaul amenities,” Paoli said. “I don’t pay $30,000 a year to then pay an extra hundred dollars to have my professors pawn their work off to a third rate, for-profit company.”

A glance at tweets using the #AccessCodes hashtag suggests Paoli’s sentiments are not unique. One typical tweet reads, “You know ur a broke college kid when you’re willing to use the end piece of a loaf of bread on ur sandwich #AccessCodes&Rent.”

However, Marisa Bluestone, an industry spokesperson, argues these growing complaints ignore the reality that digital products are actually helping students to save money.”

“Students have spent less on their course materials since 2017 than they have in prior years,” she said.

The average cost of access codes, roughly $100, is less than an average new textbook — though unlike the latter, codes can’t be shared. But critics claim this factoid obscures a larger truth surrounding access codes which explains both what attracts Wall Street investors to them as engines of future profit—the fact that students have to buy them to pass classes—and what makes their rise so detrimental to the poorest college students.

The DePaul Student Government Association (SGA) is participating in a March 6 panel from 11:30 to 1 p.m. in room 115 of the Richardson Library on advancing free digital alternatives to access codes as part of an overall discussion on affordability.

More broadly, DePaul SGA president, Michael Lynch, assures students that access codes have and will increasingly be part of the organization’s agenda.

This may be the best those morally opposed to paying mega corporations to do homework can hope for.

“I pay $30,000 a year to learn from expert professors and access DePaul amenities.

I don’t pay $30,000 a year to then pay an extra $100 to have my professors pawn their work off to a third-rate, for profit company. ”

Tony Paoli DePaul senior

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE

College textbook prices have skyrocketed in the last 20 years, surpassed only by hospital services.

6| News. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

Chuy chomps the Machine

KONRAD MARKOWSKI | THE DEPAULIA

Veteran and amateur politicians alike showed up to support Garcia’s bid for the US House of Representatives. Garcia most recently took on Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the 2015 mayoral election and lost.

Bernie Sanders rallies progressives for Garcia’s congressional bid

By Sahi Padmanabhan Contributing Writer

The historic Apollo’s 2000 banquet hall in Little Village was lined with monitors.

The entire room seemed to be buzzing with anticipation of not only Bernie Sanders, but the Southwest Side’s own Jesús “Chuy” Garcia.

Garcia made another push forward in his congressional campaign with a rally on Thursday, Feb. 23, which included a visit from Sanders.

A mariachi band was on stage, singing jaunty tunes in Spanish. Most of the audience was Latino and a lot of them joined in by singing along before the band made way for the progressive slate of candidates lined up to speak that day.

“We are here today because we wanted to let Bernie Sanders know that the revolution is alive and well in Chicago,” Garcia said at the rally.

Garcia’s run for Congress is no surprise.

U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, whose seat Garcia is running for, endorsed Garcia after announcing his retirement in November.

Garcia famously challenged current mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2015, forcing him into a runoff election. Gutierrez backed Emanuel then, even as Emanuel sat on a potentially damaging video of the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was shot by a Chicago Police officer 16 times in 2014, until the runoff had already happened.

In the opinion of Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass, if these two things hadn’t happened, Garcia could very easily have been mayor of Chicago today.

With the 2019 mayoral election fast approaching, some speculated that Garcia may run again. Instead, Garcia is pushing for a seat in federal government, though he has been making very clear that Chicago, and particularly his old stomping grounds in the Southwest Side, are his priority.

“This afternoon, we should be so proud of what we have embarked on to transform Chicagoland politics,” Garcia said at the rally.

Garcia stressed that he was pushing to change the nature of politics in Chicago, especially by having people in office who

“When I ran for president, we talked about the need for a political revolution. We talked about the need for working people to get involved in politics.

Let me tell you, here in Chicago, you are doing just that.”

KONRAD MARKOWSKI | THE DEPAULIA

Bernie Sanders applauded Chicagoans for becoming civically engaged since the 2016 election.

Bernie Sanders work for the people they are representing, not the political machine.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was the last to speak, fully endorsing all candidates present at the rally. Much of what he said focused on politics on the national stage, but he stressed the importance of the congressional race here in Chicago.

“We need people willing to stand up to the billionaire class,” Sanders said.

Much like the rhetoric from his 2016 campaign trail, Sanders reiterated the idea of a political revolution and he stressed the importance of a grassroots campaign overtaking the status quo.

“When you have people like the Koch brothers, who are willing to spend $400 million in the coming election, that is not democracy,” Sanders said at the rally. “That is an oligarchy.”

Sanders, who gave a rousing speech in the same vein as many of his presidential stump speeches, made note of the same point.

“When I ran for president, we talked about the need for a political revolution,” Sanders said at the rally. “We talked about the

KONRAD MARKOWSKI | THE DEPAULIA

Garcia currently sits on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, representing the 7th District.

need for working people and young people to get involved in politics. Let me tell you, here in Chicago, you are doing just that.”

“We are fighting against the machine,” Ortiz said at the rally. “We are fighting against the Chicago machine.”

Much of what the other candidates said reflected this sentiment. They are looking for a political revolution—to “take back” the city of Chicago the wealthy and the corrupt.

The Nazi next door

News. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018| 7

White supremacist likely to be GOP nominee in Illinois’ 3rd District

By Brian Pearlman Copy Editor

Arthur Jones of Lyons, Illinois, is set to become the GOP nominee for Illinois’ 3rd congressional district, despite disapproval from Illinois Republicans, including Gov. Bruce Rauner.

“There is no room for neo-Nazis in American politics. I condemn this man in the strongest possible terms,” Rauner said in a statement on Feb. 5.

In a statement released on Feb. 8, seven members of the Illinois Republican Congressional delegation similarly condemned Jones’ candidacy.

“This is not who we are as a party or as a country and we urge civic-minded citizens to get involved in the political process to prevent non-party extremists like Jones from hijacking nominations,” they said.

Despite the condemnations from Illinois Republicans, Jones was still able to get on the party’s ballot due to a lack of diligence from establishment Republicans.

Republicans are typically apathetic about running in the predominantly-Democratic district, they had no one else primed to run when Jones caught them off guard this year.

He secured more than 800 petition signatures (Illinois State Board of Elections rules require only 603 signatures for Republicans) and submitted them on Dec. 4., the last possible day to file.

Jones, a perennial candidate, has run for office almost 10 times.

In 1976, a then 28-year-old Jones ran for mayor in Milwaukee as a vocal member of 3

the National Socialist White People’s Party (NSWPP). According to reports from the Milwaukee Sentinel, his campaign focused in part on eliminating affirmative action for women and African-Americans, as well as opposing forced busing in the wake of the federally mandated desegregation of Milwaukee schools.

Jones later ran for 13th Ward alderman in 1987 and for Congress in the 3rd District on seven other occasions. He has lost by wide margins each time he has run, and a Republican has not held a seat in the district since 1975.

Despite his disdain for what he called the “two-party, Jew-party, queer-party” system, Jones, 70, told the DePaulia he is running on the Republican ticket because Illinois state laws “make it nearly impossible to run as a third-party candidate.”

He disfavors being labeled a Nazi, despite his past membership in the NSWPP and an incident in 2011 where a smoke bomb went off while he and other members of his current group, the America First Committee, were celebrating Hitler’s birthday at a Lyonsarea restaurant.

“Despite what the media says, I am not a National Socialist. I’m no longer… I’m an American patriot and a white racialist, okay?” he said.

“I define a white racialist this way: as someone who believes in the greatness of his people’s past and has faith in the destiny of his people’s future. That’s a white racialist, not a white racist.”

Shoshana Buchholz-Miller, the vice president of education and exhibitons at the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, said

PHOTO COURTESY OF ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jones has the GOP scrambling to distance themselves from the Holocaust-denying candidate.

that while the museum is “horrified” that Jones will likely be the Republican nominee, they are also confident he won’t win the seat.

“We have every belief that the people of the 3rd District won’t tolerate that kind of perspective and won’t choose someone with those racist and anti-semitic viewpoints to be their representative, but it’s a shame that it’s come to this,” she said.

Tom Hinshaw, mayor of Indian Head Park and one of 30 suburban mayors to endorse incumbent Democratic Congressman Dan Lipinski in the upcoming primary, also took issue with Jones’ Holocaust denial.

“I don’t know him, but his view (on the Holocaust) is certainly not mainstream, and it’s a little out there,” Hinshaw said. Regarding Jones’ white supremacy, Hinshaw said that it is hateful, and “there are better ways to work as a community.”

Lipinski and challenger Marie Newman

of LaGrange are currently in a tightly contested race for the Democratic primary.

Lipinski, who has represented the district since 2004, is widely seen as a moderate Democrat with conservative positions on abortion, gay marriage and healthcare.

He and Newman went head-to-head on Thursday during a political forum hosted by the League of Women Voters at Moraine Valley Community College. Jones attended the event as well, though he sat in the audience, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune.

Video captured after the event showed Jones and a small group of his supporters trading profanities with onlookers. Jones, wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap, shouted “America first!” and “No more Jew war,” at the gathered spectators.

fffff

CAMPUS CRIME REPORT: February 14 - February 20, 2018 LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS

LOOP CAMPUS Seton Hall 3

Corcoran Hall

5

4 3

Levan Center

Munroe Hall

6

2

DePaul Center

Student Center 3 8

8

5

10 2

Ray Meyer Fitness Center

6

1

4

LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS

Assault & Theft

Drug & Alcohol

Other

LOOP CAMPUS

FEBRUARY 14 4) A smell of marijuana report was filed for a FEBRUARY 14 1) A domestic battery report was filed for a room in Corcoran Hall. No drugs were found.

7) A criminal trespass person in the Ray Meyer Fitness Center.

FEBRUARY 15 2) A suspicion of marijuana report was filed for a room in Munroe Hall. Chicago police were called and issued a citation.

FEBRUARY 17 3) An illegal possession of alcohol by a minor report was filed for a room in Seton Hall

9

FEBRUARY 18 5) A retail theft

report was filed for items taken from the cafeteria in the Student Center

FEBRUARY 20 6) A criminal trespass warning was given to a person who was harassing students in Levan Center.

report was filed for a person on DePaul property that was told not to come back to the university.

8)

A theft report was filed for a backpack taken from Sbarro in DePaul Center.

FEBRUARY 16 9) A criminal trespass

report was filed for a person found in Lewis Center who was not dressed appropriately.

FEBRUARY 19 10) A criminal

trespass warning was givent to a person who was told not to be on DePaul property.

8| News. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

Bitcoin bubble is finally popping

By Lauren Hightower Contributing Writer

After ending 2017 with the market booming, Bitcoin crashed down January and is continuing to go down. Even with the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies going down, DePaul investors are not pulling out just yet.

The year 2017 was a good one for the cryptocurrency market. Investors were putting more into the market because it was holding steady for a while. In December, Bitcoin’s price was higher than it had been all 2017, almost at $20,000. The market fell slightly after that, though it was expected and seemed to hold steady.

And then it kept going down. By February the market dropped below $6,000. Michael Johannes, a finance student and investor, believes the crashes should be expected and the market is going to grow again.

Johannes is a long term investor with no plans of selling his Bitcoin anytime soon. He’s seen the market crash before and is confident that prices will stabilize again.

“I’m not worried about it,” Johannes said.

“I’m still investing 100 percent.”

“Speculators drove up the price to unrealistic levels,” said finance professor James Valentine.

When the numbers started going up, investors bought more. They were confident prices would continue to rise. The inflation pushed the bubble into motion.

James Valentine, executive director for the Driehaus Center for Behavioral Finance,

VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA

Since December, the volatile bitcoin market has seen the price of a single coin drop more than $8,000.

referred to the Bitcoin bubble as the “greater fool theory.”

A bubble is when an entire market is inflated with no sound foundation. When the market crashes, there’s nothing left.

Johannes says most people compare it to the Internet bubble in 2000.

Bitcoin’s market is unstable. Bubbles are not uncommon due to the rapidly changing market. In the past when there was a surge in the price of Bitcoin, there would be a point when the market would crash. There were many times investors were sure Bitcoin was going to end permanently after a crash. Soon after the market would stabilize and the price would increase slowly again. Since 2010, the market has had a series of highs and lows.

In 2011, Bitcoin was up to $1,000 and went down to $230. November, 2013 may have been the worst hit to the market; Bitcoin was up $30 and crashed to a startling $.25.

Bitcoin wasn’t the only market that crashed. Other cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and Eurtheum saw their markets dip as well and the cryptocurrency market as a whole experienced a sudden drop.

Johannes believes more people started investing because they felt encouraged; they came when the price was at an all time high. But these people also don’t know what they’re doing.

“You want to be very well versed in the technology you’re buying,” Johannes said.

New investors pour their money into

the market without understanding how the system works. They are not aware of how unstable the market is. Johannes suggests new investors follow better strategies, like dollar-cost averaging, instead of dumping all their money into the market at once.

“The buyer of the security (or Bitcoin) isn’t evaluating its intrinsic value but rather simply assuming someone will come along in the future and pay a higher price,” said Valentine.

Bitcoin had a long run of skyrocketing prices. However with an unstable market, it is bound to fall at some point.

“It’s healthy for markets to consolidate after long runs,” said Mark Shore, DePaul finance professor and research officer at Shore Capital Research. “It became overbought.”

Johannes believes it’s going to be a steady climb and there’s going to be continued growth. It took nine months for the price to go from a $1,000 to $4,000, then it jumped to $20,000 in a matter of days.

“This is purely speculation, but I believe it’s going to get as high as $40,000 to 45,000” said Johannes.

At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s price is rising again, albeit slowly, with prices currently hovering at $10,000. But cryptocurrency markets are volatile and things can change within a matter of days.

News. The DePaulia Feb. 26, 2018 | 9

DePaulia

The

The DePaulia is seeking passionate students to join our award-winning news team for Winter Quarter 2018.

A I L U A P E D E TH

Interviewing applicants now for the following unpaid positions: Sales Staff Staff Writers Social Media Managers Contributing Online Reporters Videographers

Interested in writing, social media, reporting or photography?

Apply on our website:

depauliaonline.com/editor-application/ Interested in business, advertising or sales?

Send us your resume:

business@depauliaonline.com

10 | Nation & World. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

Nation &World

Trump's new budget released Budget proposal includes increases and cuts

By Evan Sully Staff Writer

President Donald Trump has proven himself to be a president who spends lots of money that this country doesn’t have.

On Feb. 12, Trump sent Congress a $4.4 trillion budget proposal, the second of his presidency, that would add $7 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years beginning in 2019.

“The deficit is going to get larger and larger and larger. It was going to get larger and larger because of social security and Medicare… now this simply adds to that,” said Michael Miller, an economics professor. “There is no doubt that the president has bought into spending a ton of money.”

One of the most notable spending plans from the budget proposal is the infrastructure plan that entails spending $200 billion over the next decade, including $44.6 million in 2019, to improve this country’s collapsing roads and bridges. At first glance this idea sounds like it could be helpful, but that’s not actually the case when one considers that this country is already drowning in $20.6 trillion in debt and counting.

The infrastructure plan could hypothetically work out well if the Trump administration had dealt with Medicare and social security, “both of which are going to bankrupt us over the next 20 years,” Miller said. “If they could somehow deal with the other side with Medicare and social security, this would leave more money, for

example, for infrastructure and so forth.”

One part of the budget proposal Miller does agree with, however, is the military. The Trump administration proposed a 13 percent increase in funding for the Defense Department that adds $24 billion to modernize the nuclear infrastructure as a means of reinvigorating the military to be an even bigger powerhouse than it already is. The extra spending for the Defense Department allows the military to bring 16,400 new troops on board, and the military could end up being better equipped and prepared for potential global conflicts with Russia and China.

“I’m not as much upset that we would fund our military and make sure that our military has the best equipment so that they don’t die and so forth,” Miller said. “I think it’s a very dangerous world… one of the major goals of the federal government is to protect us from adversaries – foreign and domestic.”

Along the lines of national safety, the Department of Homeland Security would receive $47.5 billion in discretionary funding that sets up a structure for undocumented immigrants to be caught and sent back to their country of origin. Not to mention, $1.6 billion of the proposed funding would be used to construct 65 miles of the U.S.Mexico border wall in Texas that had been a huge aspect of

Trump’s campaign in 2016. The funding also adds $782 billion for both the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency.

But the proposal doesn’t just add funding — it cuts funding from a handful of prominent departments as well.

The most substantial cut of them all is to the State Department, which is the

Americans who receive $90 or more from SNAP each month— which accounts for over 80 percent of SNAP recipients— would receive roughly half of their benefits in a literal food box kit that’s similar to Blue Apron, a U.S. meal kit service.

“As far as federal programs go, SNAP is one of the most efficient and helpful programs we have, and it is often a vital tool for families working hard to get by,” said Doug Klain, secretary of the DePaul Democrats. “The idea of a ‘Blue Apron’ type shipping program seems incredibly contradictory to the common conservative refrain that the individual knows better than the federal government.”

A n o t h e r department where funding could be trimmed enormously is the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA’s current $8.2 billion budget would be cut down to $6.1 billion in 2019.

GRAPHIC BY VICTORIA WILLIAMSON “The rationale for the Trump administration’s proposed cuts federal department that advises to the EPA budget, amounting the president and represents the to approximately 23 percent of U.S. in handling foreign affairs. the current budget, is couched Under the budget proposal, the in the now-familiar rhetoric of State Department’s 2018 budget swamp-draining, governmental of $55.6 billion crumbles to $39.3 overreach and burdensome billion — a 29 percent cut. regulations reducing the Equally gruesome, the competitiveness of U.S. Supplemental Nutrition business,” said Michael Edwards, Assistance Program (SNAP), also assistant director for Academic widely known as food stamps, Administration. “If these cuts are would have its budget reduced enacted into law, the result will by $213 billion over the next 10 be the externalization of the real years. Notably, underprivileged cost of doing business. Instead

of corporations using resources efficiently and reducing waste, that burden will be shifted to the environment and the citizens.”

Specifically, several dozen EPA programs would see cuts including water restoration in the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay. “The proposed cuts to programs at the EPA show how little the White House cares about basic public necessities like clean air and water,” Klain said.

Klain pointed out that the Trump administration is seeking to cut a $72 million water restoration program in the Chesapeake Bay down to $7 million.

“To give up on a perfect example of how rejuvenating our environment injects new life into the economy—as it has in the Chesapeake Bay area under these programs—shows the Trump Administration’s prioritization of big corporations over local and state well-being,” Klain said. “The EPA and other federal agencies certainly have areas that need to be improved upon,” but “taking a cleaver to our government is not the solution.”

While the budget proposal counts as an accomplishment in the eyes of the Trump administration, it doesn’t count as one in the eyes of all American citizens.

The budget proposal “was political to get a deal done,” Miller said. “(Trump) just pretty much opened up the store and said ‘I’ll take a deal and I don’t care what it does to the budget deficit.’”

Consequently, “there is some concern that the budget deficit is going to just grow so much faster than it had to,” Miller said.

What's coming from new budget proposal

GRAPHICS BY VICTORIA WILLIAMSON

Nation & World. Feb. 26, 2018. The DePaulia | 11

BEN CURTIS | ASSOCIATED PRESS An election poster of former President Jacob Zuma is defaced in the downtown area of Johannesburg, South Africa in this May 2, 2014 photo. Zuma resigned after pressure from his party amid scandals that came up during his time in office.

"He owes all Africans an apology."

By Andrew Hattersley Asst. Sports Editor

After nearly 60 years of service in the South African government, Jacob Zuma resigned as president amid rising pressure from a party he helped build up.

His resignation comes amid yet another corruption scandal involving the home of a powerful and wealthy Gupta family. Zuma, a member of the African National Congress (ANC), has close ties to the Guptas, and both parties have been accused of financial wrongdoing. This development led the ANC to deliver a vote of no-confidence and to pressure the longtime leader to resign in the same fashion he was elected, just two weeks after corruption charges were dropped against him in 2009.

In October 2017, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled he must face 18 counts of corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering. African politics professor Clement Adibe believes these problems started when Zuma took advantage of a time period during which influential leader Nelson Mandela was struggling with his health and not able to be the face of South African politics as he once had been.

“Unfortunately Mandela was, in retrospect, in the early stages of his passing, so while his symbolism was important, he really wasn’t in charge anymore,” Adibe said. “Zuma used him as the pillar, in so far as ‘if Mandela doesn’t condemn me I’m good,’ and he rode on that to gain the presidency of the ANC. Everyone thought after that he was at least going to govern reasonably well.

Instead he got worse.”

As for how much damage has been done, Adibe said that remains to be seen, but he believes it to be sizable. Adibe said Zuma’s troubles began with accusations of rapeshortly before he became president, when he was accused of raping an HIV-positive woman. Zuma claimed the sex between him and the 31-year-old

was consensual, and he drew criticism for telling the court he had simply taken a shower to minimize the risk of infection rather than wear protection.

Zuma was ultimately acquitted, but the scandal followed him into office before he’d even started.

“Thankfully he’s out, and now South Africa can begin to repair the damage that he has done,” Adibe said. “I think he has actually done a lot of damage, but I always thought he did a lot of damage beginning with his trial.”

For years, the ANC has held power, its governorship going unchallenged from Mandela all the way to Cyril Ramaphosa, who took over from Zuma on Feb. 15. Adibe says that while the ANC has typically been able to provide winning, unchallenged candidates, Zuma has tested this theory.

“I think what Zuma did was to test the limit of that logic,” Adibe said. “The ANC members like to govern, but they also have some principles they want to maintain, and that came out clearly in this crisis. That is a very good thing.”

South African native Scott Morris said that while South Africans celebrated the resignation of Zuma, it was tempered due to the distrust of the ANC that still runs deep.

“There were celebrations, but the truth is the ANC is still in power, so most people are still worried they will act in their own interest again,” Morris said. “Our new president is an educated man, so hopefully he will bring change.”

Adibe agreed that the ANC now has to pick up the pieces, gaining back the trust of its citizens and influential leaders such as South African Anglican cleric Desmond Tutu.

Adibe is nonetheless optimistic for Ramaphosa’s leadership, especially after hearing some of Ramaphosa’s initial speeches.

“Ramaphosa has now said he wants to return the ANC to the Mandela principles, and that’s a very good thing,” Adibe said. “It’s not so much about winning, but it’s more about governing and doing

the right thing, and I think that is desperately needed. We saw Desmond (Tutu) was very critical of Zuma’s ANC. You have a lot of very important black politicians who were very, very critical of Zuma and the stuff he did.”

Adibe points out that Ramaphosa comes from a wealthy and successful background, which will also hopefully lessen his desire to steal.

“Ramaphosa is very sophisticated. He’s been there.

The modern history of South Africa has Ramaphosa all over the place: trade union leader, venture capitalist and politician,” Adibe said.

“Now he’s a good man, he’s accumulated a lot of wisdom, he’s been there, done that. He’s a politician, he’s rich — he has no incentive to steal.”

As the country and continent look to turn the page, Adibe, who is from Nigeria, said the rest of Africa needs South Africa to regain stability and become a model for other nations.

“All of Africa needs a successful South Africa. It’s a big chunk of the morality of what is good about Africa, to say nothing about just economic symbolism and power” Adibe said. “We need South Africa to be successful. That way it can deter some of this bad behavior elsewhere.”

John Kafarhire, a native of Congo and second-year masters student in International Studies, said the resignation of Zuma is also a good lesson for the rest of the continent.

“What happened in South Africa needs to be a lesson,” Kafarhire said. “That for all the other African leaders, we need to work for democracy.”

One of the first areas for potential change is the upcoming 2019 general election Adibe hopes the ANC will face a stiff challenger forcing them to select a qualified leader that will continue to address issues such as poverty, crime and the water crisis, where

GRAPHIC BY VICTORIA WILLIAMSON

current residents of Cape Town are limited to 50 liters per person per day.

“I do think the ANC needs a challenger,” Adibe said. “The ANC needs a formidable opposition to be able to govern properly. If they do not have (a challenger), the ANC is just going to be one more party that is more interested in power than governing.”

Though Zuma at one point stood side-by-side with Mandela during South Africa’s antiapartheid protests, Adibe says he

now needs to face the rest of the continent.

“Zuma was a staunch antiapartheid activist who went to jail with Mandela,” Adibe said. “He had all the bonafides, and to do what he did afterwards just sold, in my view, his resume. I think he owes all Africans an apology.”

Zuma has only addressed his citizens via a video message, but calls continue for him to face the public in person and deliver yet another apology.

12 | Opinions. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

Opinions

PhD students take a stand against the lack of affordable healthcare A group of DePaul's PhD students have released this statement, calling for adequate healthcare benefits as compensation for their dedication to the University

By DePaul PhD Students Contributing Writers

If you are someone who believes that healthcare is a right and not a privilege, you may have felt especially hopeless and helpless over the past year. Together, the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have worked relentlessly to jeopardize the already precarious and problematic healthcare system in this nation. Our country’s most vulnerable individuals — those living in poverty, those with disabilities, those with preexisting conditions, queer and trans people, women and people of color — continue to be ignored as they plead with leaders of the richest nation on Earth to use some of its vast resources to provide affordable healthcare to its citizens.

A similar battle for affordable healthcare is taking place with university administrators on this very campus.

Unlike the majority of large, private universities in this country — including those in the Chicago area like Northwestern, Loyola, and the University of Chicago — DePaul University does not provide its PhD students with a subsidized health insurance plan. To get health insurance during the 5-7 years (on average) that we are at DePaul, we have to either be under 26 and on a parent’s insurance plan, have a partner whose

"As an employer, and particularly as a Catholic employer, DePaul owes it to all workers - graduate studentworkers included to provide adequate healthcare."

DePaul PhD students

insurance plan we can join, or pay for it ourselves through the ACA marketplace (aka Obamacare).

Given the costs of healthcare, coupled with the low living stipend graduate students receive through their nine months of funding, many must choose to either go without healthcare, pay high amounts for decent insurance plans, or settle with “disaster” insurance which covers minimal procedures and appointments.

Graduate students conducted a healthcare survey, for example, in which 29 percent of those surveyed stated that they do not have full medical coverage, 64 percent said they lacked dental care, and 69 percent said they lacked vision care. With the looming uncertainty concerning the future of the ACA, these numbers are likely to increase soon. Add to this the fact that 42 percent of those surveyed have a chronic medical condition, and the situation looks even worse.

DePaul University’s PhD student-workers struggle immensely to access and afford healthcare, and they have been fighting for university-provided healthcare options for years with little success.

This year, a new team of graduate student-workers from DePaul’s three PhD-granting colleges (Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Science and Health, and Computing and Digital Media) have collectively organized to demand that the university provide all of its full-time PhD students with adequate healthcare.

We assert that healthcare is a human right and a workers’ right. All people, in the dignity of their personhood, carry a right to adequate healthcare.

Additionally, we assert, in conformity with CatholicVincentian values, the preferential option for the poor upon which Catholic Social Teaching grounds itself.

Graduate student-workers teach a vast number of undergraduate courses, conduct professional research, mentor students, publish their work, and move on to positions in the private sector and higher education which help to establish and solidify DePaul’s reputation as a prestigious institution of higher education. Despite these contributions, many graduate students are forced to live on extremely meager stipends, sometimes even qualifying for food stamps and Medicaid. As an employer, and particularly as a Catholic employer, DePaul owes it to all workers — graduate studentworkers included — to provide adequate health care.

While the university has cited budget cuts as a reason to evade its duty to provide all of its workers with proper healthcare, we find this reasoning inadequate.

GRAPHIC BY VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA

First, the cost of providing its graduate student-workers with healthcare is extremely low (less than $1 million per year) compared to other endeavors that have been approved by the university, such as its investment in the Wintrust Arena ($70 million) and the new School of Music building ($80 million). Second, this reasoning fails to acknowledge the immeasurable value that graduate students add to the university by graduate student-workers. We are asking the university to allocate some of its vast resources to provide affordable healthcare to its PhD students.

If you have felt helpless in the national healthcare battle, you can rest assured that you are not helpless at DePaul. If this university only cares about its bottom line, then you, a tuition-paying student, have the ultimate power. We urge anyone who supports our cause and believes that PhD studentworkers should be entitled to adequate healthcare to directly contact President Esteban’s office in order to voice their support. You can contact him at depaulpresidentsoffice@depaul.edu or via phone at 312-362-8850.

Read more about graduate students' fight for healthcare in the article by Benjamin Conboy entitled "Graduate students look to band together" on depauliaonline.com.

We thank you for your support.

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

Opinions. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018 | 13

The termination of textbooks

Let 2018 be the last year of money wasted on unused textbooks

GRAPHICS BY VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA

By Mackenzie Murtaugh Opinions Editor

It sits at my bedside table. The woodpanelling of my walls makes its blue and orange colors dance along with old receipts and gum wrappers drifting across my floor. The dust it has collected makes me reflect on simpler times, perhaps a time when this arrangement of paper didn’t sit beside my bed, plotting its revenge on me as I sleep. Why haven’t you opened me all quarter, it asks.

This is not the story of a tree-born monster or a horror novel I’ve been too scared to open. This is about my textbooks for winter quarter that I have yet to open. I’ve either not opened them because the instructor has not let us know which pages to read each week or because their content is so redundant that using my time to read it makes me feel foolish.

I had to buy three textbooks this quarter, amounting to $213.97. This hardly compares to the $406.67 most private non-profit college students spend on textbooks per quarter according to College Board’s average estimated undergraduate budgets of 2017-2018. But as a student who doesn’t receive financial

assistance from her parents, this amount is steep. The money I would have spent on rent, the Internet bill or the Chipotle I long for each day was thrown away when I bought these textbooks.

I won’t name the textbooks I have not used or the classes I have not read for, but I will say my grades in those classes have not been affected by not reading. How I’ve managed to not use these textbooks essentially relies on the class itself. Most of the textbook material is supplemental, as we learn most of what we need to get a good grade during class time. The exact moment I realize reading isn’t necessary in order to get an A in this class, my mindset on the class completely shifts; I study only what’s been taught in class and leave my textbook to collect dust.

But this doesn’t help you save any money if you have already bought the book. Make it a priority to check the class on Rate My Professor to read comments from past students and look for reviews that tell how often the textbook was used.

See if any of your friends or classmates have taken the class before you commit to buying a textbook, even if the instructor has said the textbook is required. Don’t buy your book before syllabus week because I’ve noticed, for whatever reason,

sometimes when the books show up as “required” online, the instructor will let us know, days too late, that the book is not required - commence a loud groan from the students who have already bought their books.

Much of the university’s source material can also be found online.

For one of my philosophy classes, the instructor required us to buy eight different books that we would only read a few stories from. Though the books were around $15 each, a feeling of disappointment from my frugal nature would have come over me if I wasted $120 on stories that are available as PDFs online.

Another option is to create alliances with classmates who bought the book and read every week, no matter if the reading is required or not. An alliance with them will usually allow you to borrow their textbook frequently. If it’s a rough week and reading 50 pages on the lack of Christian literature in the early Medieval west doesn’t fit in my busy schedule of procrastination and longing for motivation, an ally will give you their notes to at least get a B on your quiz.

In all seriousness, you shouldn’t always rely on not using a textbook.

Many instructors require reading each week, and if you don’t do this reading, you will fail. Reading check-in quizzes are a thing, and you will fail if you don’t read.

Relying on a class to not use a textbook is a risky game, and sometimes you don’t realize it until halfway through the quarter when the price of the necessary textbooks has tripled in price. At that point, you either fight for friends to let you use their book, or accept the low grade.

Instructors play a big role in the expenses of books. If the assigned readings in class aren’t worth the $90 price-matched book from Amazon in the bookstore, let the students know.

Students can’t waste $90 on 15 pages that could be scanned and uploaded to D2L when they’re eating ramen noodles for breakfast. Students should have the option to buy the book as supplemental material. Unless I’m getting my money's worth, I’m giving them a bad review on Rate My Professor, making sure future students know that lies that syllabus holds.

Read D.K. Schwartz 's article on how the expense of access codes for sites like D2L in classes are affecting student's grades on page 9 in the News section.

Defense wins championships, and now the NBA All Star game?

By Brenden Welper Contributing Writer

The 67th edition of the NBA’s annual All-Star Game concluded the same way it began — in unfamiliar territory. Unlike the previous 66 contests, which pitted the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference, these rosters were determined by an entirely new process: an All-Star draft. A strong defensive possession on the game’s final play gave Team LeBron a 148-145 victory over Team Stephen. What had recently become a stale exhibition should now be considered must-see television. And the best part? This new format is only the beginning.

“It was a move that was needed to generate fans’ interests back in the game,” said graduate student Gavriel Wilkins. “I think that it helped raise the ante for the players in the process. Which made the game that much more competitive on Sunday night.”

The usual 24-roster spots still featured 12 players from each conference. Once the voting concluded, the top vote getter in the East (James) and the West (Curry) were designated as team captains. Behind closed doors, those two players then “drafted” the remaining 22 All Stars.

The next step for the NBA would be to televise the draft. Adam Silver, the league’s commissioner, told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that’ll likely happen in 2019.

“I personally liked the changes,” senior Meghan Waldron said. “Both teams seemed like they wanted to win, which is great for entertainment. There is nothing better than watching the best in the world compete against each other.”

Much like the NFL Pro Bowl, the NBA All-Star Game has diminished in relevancy as of late. Aside from the honor of being selected, there’s very little incentive when it comes to playing in the actual game. It’s a glorified exhibition, and the quality of play tends to be mediocre.

But the fact that a change even had to be implemented in the first place has turned some viewers off.

“Because of the quality and effort — or lack thereof — in the All-Star game, I have stopped watching the event. I didn’t even see one play or highlight,” Phil Meyers said.

Meyers is an adjunct political science professor at DePaul University and a basketball analyst with over a decade of experience at Synergy Sports Technology.

“I guess the biggest take-away from my actions is that I find it sad (being a child of the 1980’s) that professional players don’t have the drive to give a full effort on the biggest stage — one that is aimed to celebrate the best of their sport,” he said.

This absence of effort was the main reason the NBA decided to make some drastic changes to their mid-

PHOTO COURTESY OF AP NEWSROOM

Two players, Team Stephen's James Harden, left, from the Houston Rockets and Team LeBron's Andre Drummond form the Oklahoma City Thunder, go for a rebound in the second half of the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 18.

season classic. Last year, the 2017 game set a record with 374 total points scored between the East and West.

Defense was virtually non-existent that night.

And that’s what makes this month’s game so encouraging. Not only was there a noticeable rise in competition, but the scoring was much more reasonable.

Both teams combined for 293 points in a regulation basketball game. That’s plenty of offense, with the right amount of defense mixed in for good measure.

14 | Focus. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

Focus

Reduce Reuse Replace Commonly used wasteful products and they can be easily replaced

THE PRODUCTS

S W A R T S

PLASTIC BAGS

PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES

Straws are a supe and all 500 million o straws super easily w every straw not thro

Plastic bags are a frequently used in gr second, and each pla helped cut down on t

Another plastic i United States alone t actually in it. Althou end up landfills and

By Zoey Barnes

While more and more people are starting to become environmentally conscious by going vegetarian or vegan, using public transportation and even cutting back on paper usage, there are still many things that can be done. Every day there is a way to cut back on waste and help the planet grow in such a consumerist society. The global climate continues to grow alongside the human footprint on the earth. The United States alone, which is only 4 percent of the world population, produces 246 million tons of waste in a year. The effects of global climate change have started to show with the three major hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, as well as droughts and flooding throughout the globe. Making simple conscious changes when you go into a coffee shop or grocery store can have a huge impact on the globe. Here’s a list of the most wasteful products used in everyday life and ways you can replace them, on a budget, of course.

Focus Editor

K- CUP S

COFFEE CUPS

PAPER S L TOWE PAPER LU NCH BAGS

PLASTIC CUTLERY

GRAPHICS BY ALLY ZACEK

Keurigs are so co one pod and two min K-Cups are also one 8.3 billion single bre Those are all plastic fee fix, though.

Going along with also fill up landfills. be avoided. Starbuck every discount matte

Cooking and clea to require another sh contributes to global to clean up, however

The paper lunch are paper and thougt since they have food though, so a more su

You know those cutlery is a luxury w contributes to climat for 6 million tons of trash.

Focus. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018 | 15

THE PROBLEMS

THE REPLACEMENTS

er simple way to cut back on waste for a tiny price. The United States use 500 million straws a day, of these items end up in the oceans and beaches, since straws can’t be recycled. You can replace with greener and cleaner options. And don’t be hesitant to carry around a reusable straw, just know own in the trash can keep an ocean critter alive.

Bamboo straws are on the pricey side, but you can get a pack of 10 for $10. Cheaper but not quite as eco friendly alternatives are paper straws for $8 or biodegradable straws for $10. If you want to be even greener, invest in steel or glass reusable straws for $5. For no straw waste at all, ask for no straw.

another big ticket item in the increase of global temperatures and the polluting of oceans. They’re rocery store produce aisles and clothing stores. It is estimated that 160,000 plastic bags are used each astic bag takes 1,000 years to degrade. Chicago and other cities and states in the United States have the use of plastic bags by charging a disposable bag tax.

For a dollar per bag, it is crazy easy to purchase a few reusable bags and carry them around with you.

Reusable produce bags can be bought in a pack of $9 for four bags, and Target and Whole Foods offer 5-10 cents back for using resuable bags. If you forget, which we all do, ask for a paper bag that can be recycled.

item that creates issues for the globe is plastic water bottles. It takes 17 million barrels of oil in the to make plastic water bottles, which is three times more water to produce the bottle than the water ugh you can recycle these bottles, only one in five bottles are recycled. The other four of five bottles take at least 400 years to decompose.

Reusable water bottle are available for as low as $7.

Fancier stainless-steel and temperature-controlled can go up to $30, but they last a long time. There are all sorts of funky bottles in different shapes and sizes, and you can even give your water bottle an individualized touch by covering it with stickers.

onvenient and one of those amazing inventions that can help you get out of bed in the morning. With nutes, you have a fresh, hot cup of coffee for your morning, afternoon and night classes. But those of those really wasteful everyday products. “In 2013, the coffee maker, Green Mountain, produced ew coffee pods … that’s enough to circle the earth 10.5 times,” Kate Good said on onegreenplanet.org. pods that can take hundreds of years to decompse. There are always alternative ways to get your cof-

It might be a little more work, but you can purchase a pack of four reusable single-brew coffee pods for $10 and use your own coffee grounds. Although it might add to the coffee brewing time in the morning, at least you would be saving the planet.

h the coffee trend, a wasteful yet necessary industry for the college life, single-use coffee or tea cups If you buy one cup of coffee or tea a day for a year, you produce 23 pounds of waste that could easily ks even offers you a small discount if you bring your own cup and as a college student living in a city, ers.

The best way to get away from those wasteful cups they hand you at Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts is to bring your own and have them fill it up. So purchase a $10 reusable coffee cup from almost anywhere, and carry it around for the next time you need a caffeine fix.

aning in a kitchen can sometimes require too many paper towels. Every spill or splash may seem heet of Bounty, but that does not always have to be the case. Paper is the third largest industry that l warming, and paper towels themselves create 254 million tons of trash a year. There are other ways r.

Instead of using paper towels to clean up waste, invest in reusable washcloths to clean up spills or to use after washing your hands. And when in public, use hand dryers or simply air dry your hands.

bag. The classic middle school lunch pail or The Ranch’s go-to to-go bag. Even though these bags t to be decomposable, they still create 28 pounds of waste a week. Many of them end up in the trash d contamination, thus making them not recyclable. They’re the most convenient way to transport food, ustainable solution is necessary.

To avoid this waste, buy a lunch box for the next time you take your lunch somewhere. If you enjoy the paper bag aesthetic, they sell reusable and insulated paper-bag designed lunch boxes, so you can alway relive your pre-college days and save the planet at the same time.

plastic forks, spoons and knives they have out at parties or that come with to-go food? That plastic we can all easily cut back on. They even have plastic cutlery that looks like stainless stee, which still te change, but, hey, at least you look classy at your family dinner. Single-use plastic cutlery accounts waste a year since they end up in garbage cans, but stainless steel forks almost never end up in the

To cut back on this waste, you can purchase biodegradable, single-use cutlery for only $10. The best way, however, is just to use the stainless steel silverware you use at home. If you’re feeling extra eco-friendly, you can even carry around a fork and a spoon with you.

16 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

Arts & Life

Women's work

For DePaul female comics, the personal is both political and hilarious

PHOTO COURTESY OF NATHAN ZIMMERER

Performer Christian Borkey on stage during a performance. They are a part of DePaul Improv and Sketch Comedy (DISC) and the comedy group 2002 Chicago Bulls.

By Kate Graham Contributing Writer

Emerging from the January chill in her overalls and pink knit hat, Kristi Durkin rushes to sit down, rummages in her pockets for a scrap piece of paper and a pen, and begins to write a sketch idea on the back of a receipt. It’s an idea for a character based on the guy in her previous film class who began a conversation with her with “a few questions” he had about Aziz Ansari.

“He’s definitely going on my shit list.” she said. “My shit list isn’t necessarily people who have wronged me, just people who have had some kind of effect on my life.”

Along with the mansplaining, bespeckled, flannel wearing, “BoJack Horseman” fanatics that comprise her majority male film and television classes, her shit list also includes, but is not limited to; her grammar school teacher who was “a little slut shamey,” old friends from high school, Trump supporters from her hometown, and at the very top, death.

Following the death of her brother in her senior year of high school Durkin, a comic who uses her life as the primary inspiration for her work, had to find a way to make death funny.

It’s not that hard, she argues.

“Death is funny on its own”, she said.

“People go nuts for it just because it’s so uncomfortable and relatable.”

And as a young woman in today’s comedy sphere, Kristi Durkin and other female comedians are definitely not afraid to make people uncomfortable.

“What’s funniest about femininity is what is kept secret,” said Christian Borkey, a DePaul student and member of both the DePaul Improv and Sketch Comedy Group (DISC) and the comedy group 2002 Chicago Bulls. “I try to not have a lot of traditionally masculine traits in my

characters, because a lot of people think that if I’m a gross woman—and gross is usually associated with masculinity—the grosser a woman is, the funnier she is.”

For female comedians, navigating the world of what has traditionally been seen as funny in comedy is difficult, “There’s always a Jimmy, a John or a Steve.” said Durkin. “Late Night and most comedy has always been not just a guy but a super, khaki wearing, Jimmy Fallon type who, believe it or not, is actually kind of shitty.”

But as narratives around identity, diversity and inclusion in the improv and sketch comedy worlds are changing, so are how they express themselves.

“Having women in comedy gives comedy another perspective on the human experience that it doesn’t typically get with (exclusively) men,” said stand-up comedian and DePaul student Sydney Florsheim.

“I would rather have my own voice than play a mom,” Durkin said.

“The go-to in improv is ‘honey I’m home.’ The only time I’ll ever break an ascent is when I’ll say ‘dinner? I just got home from being the CEO of McDonalds.’”

Borkey agrees. “A lot of men will give themselves the power in the scene,” she said. She added that even though improv is supposedly built on a free flowing and democratic creative structure, the underlying patriarchal power dynamics are not lost on the women performing in scenes.

Playing the mom or the girlfriend is not the only thing that Durkin and many other women have come to expect when entering an improv sketch.

“I was called a bitch at the DePaul improv auditions… (a man) called me a ‘stupid bitch’ and that happens a lot," Durkin said.

“A lot of men will give themselves the power by saying ‘hey babe’ or ‘fuck you’ and start conflict scenes … no one in the Bulls has ever called me a bitch and we’ve sold out shows. You don’t need to call

PHOTO COURTESY OF KNOWLTAN HOLLAND

Kristi Durkin during one of her performances. She often uses her life as inspiration. someone a bitch to be funny,” said Borkey.

As Borkey said, so much of womanhood is funny—even the parts that can sometimes be violating. When Durkin was called a bitch during her audition she said she turned it around and made it funnier, getting a bigger laugh than her partner.

Whether it’s Durkin talking about the unsolicited naked pictures women often receive from men, Borkey reliving the trauma of puberty in middle school or Florsheim talking about guys that have ghosted her, these women use comedy to show women in the audience that they are not alone.

“The more personal and vulnerable the material, the more relatable and funny it is,” said Florsheim. “I personally definitely get more laughs with a larger female audience.”

This catharsis of female camaraderie found between the audience and the performer is felt on both sides. “It definitely helps boost my self-confidence,” said Florsheim, even when she’s talking about her negative encounters with men.

“So often we say ‘wouldn’t it be cool if we did this’ and then everyone says ‘yeah’ and then no one ever does it,” said Borkey.

“Just to go out and do it … do it even if it’s something you’re afraid of.”

Florsheim agreed that it was definitely worth the nerves. “I have had friends and strangers telling me I should give comedy a go for years, so I stuck my leg out, and I did it.”

The fearlessness Borkey and Florsheim want to instill in women looking to enter comedy is one that women hear often, to lean in and make sure they prioritize their voices. In a society that dictates to women how much space they are allotted, how much time they are afforded and which words they can say, taking up so much space and being so loud can be a radical act, especially in a male-dominated space.

“Everything we do is political, because politics is just who gets what and why do they get it and those things are time and money and energy, which is connected to comedy,” said Borkey, who added that the radical act of making people laugh is “universal.”

“It’s the best way to get across a message,” she said.

Finding the confidence to make sure their voices are heard or the ability to be radical doesn’t seem to be a problem for this new generation of female comedians.

“I want anyone who doesn’t agree with me to fight me,” said Durkin.

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018| 17

Teen love with a twist shines in "Every Day"

PHOTO COURTESY OF ORION PICTURES

Angourie Rice stars as Rhiannon, a teen who falls in love with A, a person that wakes up in a different body each day. Based off of the acclaimed YA bestseller "Every Day."

By Lacey Latch Arts & Life Editor

Some days you might wake up and wish you were someone else. Perhaps you wish you were more successful, more intelligent or just plain different. Maybe you even wish you woke up as who you truly see yourself as rather than what others see. What would happen if that wish actually came true?

That exact quandary is explored in depth in the new film “Every Day” based off of the wildly successful Young Adult novel of the same name. It’s a refreshing look at teen romance with an entirely unique perspective.

“Every Day” follows A, the person living out that wish. They wake up every day in a new body, always around the same age, and never the same person twice. They go through each day carefully, making sure to be conscious of the body that they are inhabiting and to be as cautious as possible to not disrupt anything. That is, until A meets Rhiannon.

When A wakes up in the body of Justin, the distant and often apathetic boyfriend of Rhiannon, they spend a day together in Baltimore and their connection is undeniable. From then on, A is determined to follow this feeling and take a risk to reveal the truth to her.

What follows is an unconventional and entirely unique love story. Far from the common teenage love stories of today, “Every Day” adds a level of depth that is refreshing. David Levithan, the author and creative mind behind this story, explains the themes as being much more than just young love.

“The more that I wrote the more I realized that really I was writing a book about choosing your own identity separate from the way that people look at you or that people perceive you or the preconceptions or biases they have against your physical form,” he said.

The theme of identity runs deep throughout this story. A is the manifestation of someone who has an everchanging physical form; therefore their entire identity is formed from the soul.

This allows for an exploration of identity

PHOTO COURTESY OF ORION PICTURES

Rice and Owen Teague in "Every Day," which premiered on Feb 23.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ORION PICTURES

"Every Day" features a handful of actors playing the same role of A. and appearance in a new and interesting way. That is just one of the reasons that the book is a bestseller with so many adoring fans. Many readers have taken important messages away from this story.

“There are two reactions [to the book], which again, the movie embraces. The first is the notion of self-determination.

You can actually come up with an identity that is contrary to what your biology is. A lot of times we talk about that in terms of gender but I think it’s also very powerful in other ways that our bodies define us,” he said. “There’s also the notion that love isn’t

just about affection and intimacy; it's really about seeing the person you love for who they are.”

Fans of the book, like myself, are going to be extremely pleased with the on-screen adaptation. Watching a plethora of diverse actors and actresses play one role was an entirely new experience and was incredibly well done. It brings a visual aspect that adds dimension to the book while staying true to the story.

“The concept of changing bodies every day and not being defined by your body, it's one thing to read about it on the page but

then to see 16 different actors playing the same role really gets it across in a way that I think the book can't,” he said.

In addition to the paranormal conceit of the storyline, the film also lacks an antagonist which strays from what viewers are traditionally used to seeing. Instead, the lack of an antagonist allows for A and Rhiannon’s relationship to be focused on further, much to the benefit of the story and the audience.

“It was much more interesting to have the conflict be about identity, about love and about whether two people can get together under extraordinary circumstances,” Levithan said.

In place of a traditional antagonist taking the form of a character, the conflict is derived from A’s particularly difficult situation and what that means for their future with Rhiannon and beyond. As a person who has no stability in life, what does that mean for the ability to form basic connections and bonds let alone to fall in love?

This structure allowed for further exploration of the themes of selfdetermination and identity leaving the viewer feeling more satisfied in the end, even if that means with more questions about these concepts than answers.

While A’s story delves into important ideas about identity, the film also tells the story of teen love and what that is actually like. Under these particular circumstances, it is obviously more complicated than usual, but the depiction of Rhiannon and A’s love story is also incredibly touching and relatable. Essentially, it speaks to the cliche “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

“The secret to love and the secret to caring about other people is to recognize them not by their body but by who they want to be,” Levithan said. “It's not just about physical attraction, it's actually about understanding each other and recognizing each other for who they are.”

If you’ve ever found yourself feeling as though the world doesn’t see you the same way you see yourself, “Every Day” might be perfect viewing. Set to an incredible soundtrack fit for teens and adults alike, its a faithful adaptation of a book that was great for the same reasons the movie is.

18 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

The Oscars disconnect

PHOTO COURTESY OF AP NEWSROOM

Comedian and host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Kimmel returns as host of the Academy Awards on Sunday March 4 on ABC. This year is the 90th anniversary of the show.

By Garret Neal Staff Writer

Ah, the Academy Awards. The awards show when movie buffs and casual fans alike come together to find out definitively what the pinnacle of the industry was over the past year. At least according to the 7,000 or so members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who vote.

There can certainly be no debate as to the type of films they favor. Ricky Gervais points it out in episode three of the show “Extras.” Kate Winslet decides to take on the role of a nun in the holocaust and Gervais’ character commends her for taking on a role to raise awareness for such a horrific event. Winslet laughs, “I’m doing it because I’ve noticed if you do a film about the Holocaust, you’re guaranteed an Oscar…Schindler’s bloody List, “The Pianist.” They’ve got Oscar’s coming out of their (butt).”

That is a bit of an exaggeration, but almost every year period pieces, threehour epics and a few indie dramas garner numerus nominations. But those are not art house films like “Lady Bird”; the only one not distributed by one of the Big Six (Universal, Fox, Disney, Warner Bros., Columbia or Paramount). They certainly are not money makers, as only “Dunkirk” and “Get Out” grossed over 100 million dollars domestically. It would be hard to definitively call any of the Best Picture nominees bad (usually), but what audience would rate them as the best films?

The Oscars seem caught in a strange middle ground were connoisseurs gape in horror at the glaring misses in nominations (No “Florida Project?” Egad!) while movie greenhorns stare in disinterest at eight nominated films they have never heard of. Perhaps this is part of why viewership dropped for the third straight year in 2017.

According to Deadline, the final count was 32.9 million viewers, a nine-year low.

Daniel Bashara, a teacher of media and culture theory, received his MA and PhD from Northwestern’s Screen Cultures program. Yet, despite his interest in film, he hasn’t kept up with the Oscars in almost a decade.

“You know, there’s no way I can have this conversation without sounding like a snob, so I might as well go all in,” Bashara said. “I feel like the kind of films nominated for Oscars are a little bit adventurous, but

not adventurous enough to actually be new or interesting.”

Hollywood seems to have developed a set of rules as to how to tell a story, he said: Mention key facts at least three times, show things that will come back in act three in the first act and so on. It is an intricate and well-oiled machine that is impressive, but still just a machine pumping out products.

Bashara said he would prefer things that “don’t play by that logic, confuse me and leave me wondering what I just watched.”

Meanwhile Steve Johnson, a graduate student at DePaul, said he is a huge superhero movie fan, a genre that is notably absent almost every year from the non-technical awards (yes, this disqualifies “Suicide Squad”). He said he has not paid serious to attention for a few years, but

such as actor, actress, supporting actor and supporting actress, nominations often serve as an indication of both the popularity of the performer and the voting members' perceived quality of the actual performance,” said Michael Deangelis, professor at DePaul and a heavily published film author.

“I think Hollywood is torn between art and profit because Hollywood exists to make a profit and then there is politics, by which I mean causes,” Peter Forster said, a screenwriter and former agent who teaches at DePaul. “And I think what ends up happening is they respond to things that have political traction…and the awards are distributed accordingly.”

Although the Academy has made it a focus to add more diversity to its voters in

“I think Hollywood is torn between art and profit ... and what ends up happening is they respond to things that have political traction…and the awards are distributed accordingly."

Peter Forster

Screenwriter and DePaul Professor takes notice when things like “Get Out” or “The Dark Knight” get awards buzz.

To him, many of the Oscar films felt like art films because you often have to go to independent theaters to find them and the Oscars could benefit by nominating more mainstream films.

Fellow DePaul student Ty Yamamoto said this is the first year he has paid close attention to the Oscars and he is excited because he now knows most of the nominees. In past years, when he did not watch as many movies, he said he was uninterested in them. Yamamoto said that he did not feel more mainstream films needed to be nominated, just a wider range in general.

It is a small sample, but they back up the falling viewers in saying that what the Oscars are doing now is not the greatest.

“Especially in major categories

recent years, it seems unlikely that the type of movies that get nominated will change.

Still, Johnson remained optimistic about the future of the awards.

“There are films like “Monster’s Ball” that I never would have seen without the buzz it got. It’s good that the Oscars do that, and I think they should continue to do that,” Johnson said. “I think there is a happy medium they can find.”

Bashara had a different hope.

“I think I am maybe even more of a jerk than most about this, but there is a lot of attempts to break into the Oscars and I think that is the wrong battle,” Bashara said. “I think the real battle is just to stop caring about the Oscars and eventually it will just be five old, white dudes giving themselves awards in the corner and nobody will care. That is my dream.”

GRAPHICS BY JACQUELINE LIN | THE DEPAULIA

Arts & Life. Feb. 26, 2018. The DePaulia. | 19

By Lacey Latch Arts & Life Editor

The Academy Awards are afoot and as such, The DePaulia has compiled some tools to kick off your viewing party and invigorate your Oscars experience. Whether you're looking for some snack ideas or ways to get a little tipsy, we've got you covered. You won't have to spend hours scrollling through Pinterest for inspiration, everything you need for the most iconic Oscars party is below. Before you know it, you'll be saying "I just want to thank the Academy and The DePaulia."

Drinking Game:

Award-worthy snacks:

Eat like a star with these nominee themed foods "Lady Bird" - Chicken

This one has nothing to do with the film but if you're trying to eat a bird, chicken is the way to go. Perhaps even a ~Lady~ Chicken…

"I, Tonya" - Ice

This is pretty clear, and it may seem like a throw away option. Still, imagine a party without ice. Just imagine the horror. Luckily “I, Tonya” is here to inspire this suggestion. For those of you like me who like to eat ice, this one’s for you.

"Call Me By Your Name" - Peaches

This is an ode to the viewers that have seen “Call Me By Your Name” and understand the role that this particular food plays. Enough said.

"Dunkirk" - Sausage and Sauerkraut

"Phantom Thread" - Bread

Perhaps I should say, Phantom Bread.This was just simple wordplay because in a film about Daniel Day-Lewis and fashion, there wasn’t much iconic food. So settle in with some biscuits or other bread products, and stare at a picture of Daniel Day-Lewis as you eat them.

The perfect meal for war time, sausage and sauerkraut will practically transport you to WWII-era Germany.

"The Post" - Black Coffee

Coming from a newsroom, black coffee fuels us and therefore is entirely necessary to have on hand to honor “The Post.”

"Darkest Hour" - Tea and Scones

The stereotypical English fare, tea and scones are a great way to honor this film which follows the life of UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill on the eve of WWII.

"Shape of Water" - Shrimp

A film about a love story centered on a water creature, it's only fitting to have corresponding food from the sea. Plus, shrimp is a multifaceted food that can take many delicious forms—perfect for a potentially 5 hour long broadcast.

GRAPHICS BY ALLY ZACEK | THE DEPAULIA

20| Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

Fifty50 Shows

Entrepreneur launches non-profit booking organization

PHOTO BY FUN HOUSE ENTERTAINMENT

Alicia Maciel in the crowd during Beach Bunny's headlining set t HVAC Pub on Dec. 22. Maciel has booked Beach Bunny at Dimo's and a Fifty50 show in the past.

By Nikki Roberts Copy Editor

When Alicia Maciel enters DePaul University’s John T. Richardson Library, the only signal she sends to confirm she’s seen me waiting for her is a slight nod.

She picks the worn blue armchair across from me, the one that matches the color palette of her faded, pastel jacket, and begins to unwrap herself. She shrugs her jacket halfway off her shoulders, tosses her backpack to the ground, and places a triangular cardboard box emblazoned with the Whole Foods logo onto the table in front of her.

“Sorry,” she says as she pulls a thin slice of pizza with monstrous pieces of pepperoni out of the box. “I was starving.”

The very last thing Maciel removes are her staple white earbuds; tiny electronic threads that can, in an instant, pull her back to her beloved world of everything music has to offer. However, Maciel seldom takes breaks from anything, let alone from things related to local music. The removal of her earbuds did not pause the music in her head; it simply transferred the music from her ears to our conversation.

As so often happens when you begin a conversation with the 20-year-old music business entrepreneur, we were suddenly caught up in an intense discussion about Chicago’s local music scene.

“I’ve always listened to a lot of music, and I’ve listened to independent artists for forever. Local involvement here started when I went to college … before school started, I decided to make a group on Facebook that was ‘DePaul University’s Music Community’ and I posted it on my graduating year class's [Facebook page].

Before school started, people already knew me as this ‘music girl,’” said Maciel, a junior public relations and advertising student at DePaul.

Maciel’s academic, social, and work lives all center around the songs and bands that bring her joy. Whether she’s learning how to write press statements for musicians in class, grabbing a slice of pizza before catching a garage rock show with

her friends, or sending out mass emails to book a local band’s next show, Maciel is constantly surrounded by music in every facet of her life.

“Alicia is the busiest person I know, and I've told her that so many times,” said Megan Boyles, a close friend and volunteer at Maciel’s booking organization, Fifty50 Shows. “She never stops, ever…one time I asked her to explain what her average day looks like and I was overwhelmed just hearing about it. She does a lot of multitasking, and in regard to music, she does it all: photography, writing, management, booking; and she's good at it all too.”

Maciel, a South Side Chicago native from Marquette Park, began attending DePaul in the fall of 2015. She immediately enrolled in Daniel Makagon’s Underground Culture Explore class, where she was introduced to local music, Chicago record stores and underground graffiti spots.

One of the first local house shows she experienced that year was at The Keep, a former DIY venue in Wicker Park.

“The bands that played were The Walters, Post Animal. I already knew the bands that were playing, so it was super cool. I’d been doing internships and street teaming for so long, and it just got to a point with the music business club that I was like, ‘how do I get more involved?’ And I came up with the Dimo’s idea,” said Maciel.

“The Dimo’s idea” was Maciel’s first stab at booking local shows. She reached out to the Dimo’s Pizza location in Wicker Park and offered to curate free local shows in exchange for a few of the pizza joint’s wacky flavored pizzas. The result was a show and interview series that spanned the spring and summer of 2017. Her shows featured local indie rock acts, along with band interviews over pizza after their sets.

Even though Maciel’s wildly successful shows often packed the small restaurant with listeners, she never received financial compensation for all her work. But, by listening to over 250 bands from Chicago and creating a color-coded database to chart them, she gained the experience in talent buying and booking that would

allow her to develop her own non-profit booking organization, Fifty50 Shows.

“Working with Alicia is awesome.

I consider her more of a friend than anything and I think that’s what really sets her apart from other people,” said Jesse Flores, bassist of Karma Wears White Ties, a band that Maciel has booked through Fifty50. “Rather than just communicating through the phone, she actually makes an effort to hang out with the bands she works with and I’ve even made some new friends in other bands because of that.”

Fifty50 shows launched in January 2018.

Rather than profit off local music, Maciel partnered with Lincoln Hall and Schuba’s Tavern to host shows that donate all profits to Chicago non-profit organizations. She cites her humble background as a lowclass, first-generation Honduran/Mexican citizen for giving her the idea of combining charity work with her passion for local music.

Maciel’s plan is to focus on donating to four main non-profit sectors: mental health awareness, education, animals and music.

The profits from her first Fifty50 show at Schuba’s Tavern—which featured The

Curls, Brisco Darling, Lovejoy and Faux Furrs—were given to Hope for the Day, a nonprofit that works to proactively prevent suicide through art and music outreach and education. It’s a Chicago-based nonprofit that seeks to achieve proactive suicide prevention by providing outreach and education through self-expression platforms, such as art and music. Donating to Hope for the Day allowed Maciel to complete her goal of aiding organizations that focus on mental health outreach.

“She’s great at putting together the perfect lineup. For example, the last show [at Schuba’s Tavern] was four indie acts and three of them used horns, and they all went really well together. I think everyone who went found at least one new band that they love,” said Boyles.

If you’d like to see Maciel in action, you can attend the next Fifty50 show on Saturday, April 16 at Subterranean in Wicker Park. The event was booked by Fifty50 and Biker Gang Booking and will feature Triathalon, L. Martin, Morgan Powers and more artists to be announced.

Arts & Life. Feb. 26, 2018. The DePaulia. | 21

Victory Royale

How "Fortnite" has taken the industry by storm

By Brian Pearlman Copy Editor

In the world of video games, military shooters used to be king. While some still are, the desire for a different kind of multiplayer experience has lately led gamers to look outside the latest installment of “Call of Duty.”

Games like "Fortnite" appear to be fitting the bill.

"Fortnite" has been a massive success since it released last year, with 40 million players flocking to the game by January 2018. The game is one of the most streamed games on Twitch, with over four and half million people following the game on the platform, and YouTube currently lists 14 million results for Fortnite-related videos.

The third-person sandbox survival game was created by Cary, N.C.-based studio Epic Games, who were previously best known for creating the popular "Gears of War" series.

It features two modes, “Save the World” and “Battle Royale.”

In “Save the World,” players band together in one of four unique worlds to scavenge for resources and survive amid ominous weather and an influx of zombies.

“The teamwork is bigger in 'Fortnite' than in other games,” said Cyrus Herbert, a 12-year-old gamer from Oak Park, Ill. “In 'Fortnite,' when you play with other people and work together as a team it’s a lot more fun.”

While “Save the World” covers the base game, it is “Battle Royale” that has proven to be the game’s runaway success. This mode, which was released as a standalone free-to-play download separate from the main game in September 2017, features 100 players fighting it out on an island to be the last man or woman standing.

It recently reached a peak 3.4 million concurrent players across all platforms on Super Bowl Sunday, and Chicago native Chance the Rapper even tweeted on Feb. 6 that he’d like to see a Nintendo Switch release for the title.

"Fortnite" isn’t the first battle royale game to take the industry by storm.

That honor goes to “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” a game developed by Korean studio Bluehole. Since March of last year, “PUBG” has sold over 24 million copies and racked up concurrent player numbers that "Fortnite" is only just now starting to achieve.

Still, battle royale games follow some established precedents in the world of multiplayer video games, according to to Samantha Close, an assistant professor in the DePaul College of Communications who specializes in fandom and digital media.

“The battle royale game is one of the founding genres of online multiplayer video games,” she said.

“You can look all the way back to id Software’s ‘Doom’ in 1993—the singleplayer mission was great, but what gave the game longevity was its co-op and deathmatch battle royale modes where people could play against their friends.

This in turn was preceded by multiplayer deathmatch modes in console games, from 'GoldenEye 007' to 'Mario Kart.'”

And the genre may even have influences from the world of film, according to Vincent Cicchirillo, an assistant public relations and advertising professor at

DePaul University.

“The popularity may, although not necessarily, be tied to various movies from the 'Hunger Games,' the 'Purge and Death Race,' to even a movie titled 'Battle Royale' where Japanese students are trapped on an island and forced to fight to death until

video game’s answer to ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000,’” she said.

And while there may be bumps in the road ahead, for it appears for now that "Fortnite" is keeping its player base satisfied.

“I think 'Fortnite' will last if they keep

putting effort into it and adding new levels to the game,” Herbert said. “I know that Epic Games really listens to their players. It won’t die if they keep on putting effort into their work.”

ARTWORK BY EPIC GAMES

only one person remains,” he said.

According to Herbert, the colorful, casual style of "Fortnite" makes it a game other kids his age are more likely to gravitate to.

“For kids my age, 'Fortnite' is a lot simpler and faster paced,” he said, adding that "Fortnite" is also free when compared with "PUBG’s" $29.99 asking price.

Streaming and sharing videos of the game on Twitch, YouTube, and similar platforms has also contributed to the game’s popularity among young people.

“Especially on YouTube, these games shine,” said Jef Burnham, an adjunct professor in the DePaul College of Communications and College of Computing and Digital Media.

He says long stretches of gameplay can be edited down to show just the highreward moments, like when a player gets a rare piece of loot or scores a challenging kill against another player. But even during longer stretches, which are unedited during live streams, the suspense keeps spectators watching.

And streaming "Fortnite" has other benefits, too—sometimes as much for the players as for the developers of the game.

Close says players who demonstrate the most skills and entertaining commentary might be showing off, but they’re also adding to the fabric of the game’s community. Through watching others play, newcomers can learn how to play better and “veterans learn about new weapons, unique exploits, and different battle strategies.”

“Many of these streams are hilarious; you can think about many Twitch streamers, like Dakotaz for 'Fortnite,' as the

22 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

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Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018 | 23

what’s FRESH in Stand-up

2 Dope Queens

Chris D'Elia: Man on Fire

"2 Dope Queens" is the onstage adaptation of Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams' wildly popular comedy podcast of the same name. As a part of their show, they bring out some of the greatest voices in stand-up for short sets.

Comedian Chris D'Elia is one of the most unusual voices in comedy today.

He is known for taking interesting and nonchalant angles on everyday topics.

In the first episode of the HBO series, they feature Michelle Buteau, Mark Normand and Baron Vaughn. Three very different comics all performing in the same episode keep the show fresh and entertaining.

Aparna Nancherla, Rhea Butcher and Sheng Wang make up the guests on the second episode. Once again, all three comics bring a unique perspective on life and comedy and provide a pleasing comedic variety.

The way in which "2 Dope Queens" is constructed allows for each episode to stand on its own while also making up a part of the show's catalog as a whole. The variety of talent that appears on the show gives it the most potential to attract a wide range of audiences.

If you're looking for fresh, modern stand-up, "2 Dope Queens" is perfect for you.

LACEY LATCH | THE DEPAULIA

One of the best parts of D'Elia's stand-up performances is the fact that he often laughs at his own jokes after he tells them, which often has the audience laughing even more.

You might recognize D'Elia from his prominent roles on NBC sitcoms "Whitney" and "Undateable" but his stand-up specials allow him to truly highlight his comedic perspective on stage. His past specials, "White Male.

Black Comic" and "Incorrigible" were praised by critics and fans alike but "Man on Fire" is D'Elia's best performance to date.

Amongst the crowded landscape of comedy specials on Netflix, D'Elia's work stands out.

If you're looking to relax for a bit this week, "Man on Fire" is a hilarious and easy to watch special.

LACEY LATCH | THE DEPAULIA

In theaters and upcoming film releases Feb. 9 "Peter Rabbit" Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor compete for the affections of a woman next door.

Stars: Domnhall Gleeson, James Corden, Rose Byrne

Feb. 23 "Game Night" A group of friends finds themselves solving a murder mystery on one of their regular game nights.

Stars: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler

Feb. 16 "Early Man" Dug, along with sidekick Hognob, unite ai tribe against Lord Nooth and his Bronze Age City to save their home.

Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston

Feb. 23 "Annihilation" The laws of nature don't apply in a dangerous secret expedition that a biologist signs up for.

Stars: Natalie Portman

Feb. 16 “Black Panther” Black Panther springs into action when the fate of his nation is threatened by an old enemy.

Feb. 23 “Every Day” A teen falls in love with a person who wakes up in a new body every day.

24 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Feb. 26, 2018

St.Vincent’s

D e JAMZ “Spinning fresh beats since 1581”

1 4 1

22

3

4

Find this and all our DeJamz playlists on depauliaonline.com and on our spotify account

By Carina Smith Nation & World Editor

Winter usually keeps people stuck inside, staying near the heating vent and praying for warm summer days. But every once in a while people break away and venture into the great outdoors to trek through the wet streets and bask in the gray skies of Chicago. Not everyone likes the sounds of honking cars so grab your headphones and listen to these smooth beats while you layer up. This playlist captures those quiet melodic moods that come with winter walks.

1. “Deadbeat Boy” - Avalon This song is the best pick-meup to start your walk. “Deadbeat Boy” features vocals that don’t overpower the interesting beat of the song, instead giving a little extra something to an otherwise electronic-heavy song. This song will get you hyped up and get your feet moving, while also matching the melancholy mood of the outside winter weather.

The consistency within the song will steady your pace as you wind through side streets and crosswalks.

Crossword

2. “Noise Pollution” Portugal. The Man Portugal. The Man took off with their hit song “Feel It Still,” but they offer up a wide array of songs featuring lead singer John Gourley’s unique voice over a catchy beat. “Noise Pollution” is no exception to the usual list of bops that Portugal plays. This song is great for a winter walk because of its simple beat that lines up well with the pace of boots-to-pavement, plus lyrics that will get stuck in your head as you make your way through the city.

Across 1. Increased 6. Person of action 10. Fairy-tale beast 14. Anklebones 15. “Cogito, __ sum” 16. Face-to-face exam 17. How some lay it on?

20. Tailor-made line 21. Sporty headgear 22. Pats down 23. Type of alcohol 25. Sugar bowl marchers 26. ___ von Bismarck 28. Matching audio to video 32. Zoo heavyweight, briefly 34. Goals 35. It’s on the streets 38. Tremendously, slangily 42. Bonanza find 43. Feature of 32-Across 44. Coach 45. Insomniac’s

3. “Me, You and Everybody” - Gomez This song says “I’ve got a timeless melody,” and it’s evident that it rests in this 2004 song from indie-rock group Gomez.

This song is slow enough to accompany winter vibes, while still fast enough to comfortably walk to. The lyrics itself are also interesting, intertwined with goodbyes to a lover with lines like, “I’ve got a hopeless memory/ That you’ll remember me.” This song is best enjoyed while walking through a park on a cold day.

symptom 48. ____ - European 49. London hoosegow, once 51. Class reminders 53. Resolve, as a dispute 55. “____ little spice to your life” 56. Word with “jam” or “roll” 59. It’s overwhelming 62. Very thin, as a line 63. Computer info 64. Dine at home 65. Perfect place 66. Use a coffee spoon 67. Brins about, biblical style Down 1. Ogden’s state 2. Blanched 3. Watchful hours?

4. Low or high end?

5. Abandon 6. With all one’s heart 7. Down bowl bits 8. It might need a

4. “Warm on a Cold Night”HONNE This is literally named to be enjoyed on a cold night. It starts off with a radio host announcing the next song, and the rest of the song is as interesting as the beginning. Beautifully crafted with metaphors sung by the electronic duo, this song is the perfect mix of romance and longing. While the beat matches the footfalls of a slow walk in the city, the lyrics are perfect for the simplicity of nature that comes during the long winter months.

boost 9. Good vantage point 10. Showing awe, perhaps 11. Matter for the mill 12. Sets up, as pool balls 13. Moose cousins 18. __ down a bunt (sacrifices) 19. Word with “mass or “rapid” 24. Vocal sound 26. About 27. God with a hammer 29. Mary Poppins was one 30. Oft-mooched item, briefly 31. “This tape will self distruct ...” org 33. Desdemona’s man 35. Exchange words?

36. Battery contents 37 Nevada city 39. Coal carrier

40. Anger 41. A Great Lake 45. Definitely not ripe 46. Ingratiate oneself 47. Creates an instant lawn 49. Ice cold 50. Pay reparations 52. Sealed as a package 53. Strongbox 54. Discontinues 55. Not backing 57. Name on elevators 58. Dapper fellow 60. Cereal morsel 61. Doctor in a 1964 movie

Sports

Sports. Feb. 26, 2018. The DePaulia | 25

1,300: Lenti has milestone moment

By Amber Colón Editor-in-Chief

Head softball coach Eugene Lenti’s office is full of plenty of trophies, sunbleached softballs and more recently, four large, metallic blue balloons to mark his 1,300th career win.

It’s a milestone that places him fifth alltime in and fourth among active coaches in NCAA history. The feat was reached last week during the Cougar Classic in South Carolina, when the team ended the tournament with a 3-2 record after closing out with a 1-0 victory against Presbyterian.

This year’s team has won eight of their first 10 games of this season so far, and after this weekend’s games at the UTA Maverick Tournament in Arlington, Texas, the team now has an 11-3 record.

“We think this is gonna be one of our better years as long as we stay healthy and everybody stays focused,” Lenti said.

“We're really encouraged by the way we're playing defense and pitching, and we know the offense is gonna come along. We're really excited about this team because it is a very talented team. It's a team with a lot of depth.”

Lenti said that the career accomplishment is definitely one that he is proud of, but he also stressed that it is largely due to the support the team has from the university.

“The attention is on me, but it's not about me. It's really about all the great players we have playing at DePaul,” Lenti said. “All the coaches we’ve had coach with me at DePaul and the support from our administration. You don’t get these things done without an administration like we have here.”

Lenti also credits his players over the

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS

DePaul improved to 11-3 overall with a 3-1 weekend at the UTA Maverick Tournament. years, as they are the ones bringing in the trains were running daily, but the Purple wins and performing at a level that allows Line hadn’t even been conceptualized. them to achieve so many victories.

Lenti first got involved with the DePaul “With having such a successful career softball team as a junior in college when he as a coach, his standards are very high for became a student manager. He was allowed us and he pushes us everyday so we can to coach third base and create the lineup achieve, as he would not say, not perfection, for his last two years at DePaul, where but excellence,” said junior infielder Alysia he studied English. After graduating, he Rodriguez. “He knows what we’re capable taught at St. Francis de Sales High School of achieving and tries to push us to that on Chicago’s East Side, where he also limit everyday.” coached football and boys basketball.

Just past the giant blue balloons The head coach at the time was an blocking Lenti’s windows sit both Wish administrator who didn’t know much Field and Cacciatore Stadium, where the about softball, he said, so his background DePaul soccer and softball teams practice in baseball proved to be a plus. and play their home games, respectively.

“But it wasn't a big deal,” Lenti said.

Lenti spoke of a time when the field was “I mean, softball collegiate sports was completely different from how it looks now. nothing like it is today. We shared uniforms According to Lenti, the space used to with some of the other teams on campus. be a parking lot with a small, grassy field We had just a couple of bats. We had very and several large trees. At that point the little equipment, and we didn't have a field.”

Fullerton CTA stop was functional and The team used to practice every

occasionally at Oz Park, on a small dirt infield covered with rocks on the southwest corner. Today the field sits on the northwest corner, but that’s not something the team has to worry about now that they have their own space.

Lenti acknowledged that the team could be doing much better offensively, and that he has been taking the time to address the parts of the game that are not physical.

“Being better as an offensive team isn't really about the physical part of the game so much as it is about the emotional and the mental (parts of the game),” Lenti said.

“We have in-depth conversations about where we feel we need to get better.”

Pitcher Megan Leyva said Lenti’s willingness to approach the tough mental and emotional sides of the game have helped her “take that toughness into my real life.”

In fact, a large part of Lenti’s coaching style includes checking in with athletes about their academics and personal lives. “(Lenti) is constantly checking in on how we are doing and requires us to take time to study on the road and meet weekly with the coaches to discuss our grades,” said outfielder Brianna Viles. “This has helped me to hold myself even more accountable with my academics.”

Throughout Lenti’s career, the DePaul softball alumni he’s coached have moved on to become accountants, doctors, realtors and more. He even coached his daughters here; one is now an accountant and the other is a student in medical school.

“The fact that they leave here better people and they’re going out to make their mark in the world is, to me, the most satisfying thing beyond all the wins,” Lenti said.

DePaul makes it five straight regular season titles

By Andrew Hattersley Asst. Sports Editor

For the fifth consecutive season, DePaul (23-7; 15-3 Big East), captured at least a share of the Big East regular season title with a 72-68 win over Seton Hall (1514; 7-11 Big East) Sunday afternoon.

This is the first time in the 44-year history of the program that the Blue Demons have won five league titles in a row. Marquette also clinched a share of the regular season title with a 76-57 win over St. John’s later in the day. DePaul and Marquette split their regular season matchups with each team winning on their home court.

Seton Hall made a late run, but two free throws from Kelly Campbell and three from Ashton Millender in the final 12.5 seconds preserved the win.

After entering the second quarter trailing by five, the Blue Demons made their move early in the second sparked by three-pointers from Millender and Lauren Prochaska.

Seton Hall jumped back ahead before back-to-back threes from Dee Bekelja and Tanita Allen sparked a 14-0 run that also featured threes from Millender and Chante Stonewall. This run helped the Blue Demons outscore Seton Hall 24-8 in the quarter to take an 11-point halftime lead.

The Pirates weren’t going away quietly, however. They closed within two late in the third quarter after a 3-point play by Shadeen Samuels.

The Blue Demons were in control during much of the second half, but they had to fend off a late rally from the Pirates who closed back within three as DePaul was held without a field goal for the final five and a half minutes after opening an 11-point lead on a Tanita Allen 3-pointer.

Millender led the scoring effort with 16 points, while Stonewall had a doubledouble with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The weekend started with a tough 67-54 victory over St. John’s Friday night at Carnesecca Arena to keep pace with Marquette who cruised to an 81-54 win over Seton Hall.

Leading by four at halftime, the Blue Demons used an 8-0 run sparked by backto-back Millender threes to give her team a 54-40 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Mart’e Grays led DePaul with a doubledouble of 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Campbell also had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

While it wasn’t a vintage offensive performance from DePaul, who finished with 21 turnovers while shooting just 43 percent, the Blue Demons were still able to hold St. Johns to only 54 points on just 38 percent shooting. The Red Storm were ice cold from beyond the arc, making just one

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS

DePaul faces off against the winner of Xavier and Seton Hall in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. of 20 three-point attempts.

It was the eighth win in nine games for DePaul, who set up a dramatic final day tied at the top of the standings with the Golden Eagles as they looked to secure their fifth

consecutive regular season title.

The Blue Demons are back in action next Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals at Wintrust Arena.

26 | Sports. Feb. 26, 2018. The DePaulia

Unheralded freshman shows late season promise

By Paul steeno Sports Reporter

Going from high school star to struggling to scratch out playing time at the beginning of his true freshman season in college hasn't been an easy transition for DePaul Blue Demon big man Paul Reed.

But guidance from Jaylen Butz, a fellow freshman big man, helped him get through that trying period and mature as both a player and as a person.

"It helped me (having Butz around)," Reed said. "At the beginning, he was handling situations better than I was handling them so at practice if the coaches were yelling he wouldn't get mad, he had better body language than me. Like I had bad body language and that's another reason. And I was just thinking negative because I wasn't playing. Watching him helped me learn how to react to what coaches were saying."

It's one element in an attitude makeover, as a more mature, disciplined and self-aware Reed has finally carved up an important role for himself by staying patient and trusting the process has paid off.

As Reed sat in one of the blue chairs in the Wintrust Arena press room while two reporters grilled him with questions after a 77-76 loss to the St. John's Red Storm on Feb. 14, there were two common threads that tied together the answers from the mild-mannered freshman.

For starters, it was his competitiveness.

Reed did a lot of winning in high school.

He guided Wekiva High School in Apopka, Fla. to a 26-6 regular-season record and a runner-up finish in the state final tournament in Florida last year. So, all the losing that DePaul is doing this season isn't sitting well with him.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat, I feel like we are doing bad this season from what we could be doing," Reed said. "We should be winning way more games. We are still connecting the pieces, and it's coming along; I can see it. You just need to get over the hump."

Reed's voice changes as he talks about this topic, more stern and determined, as he clearly holds himself at least partly accountable for turning around this Blue Demon basketball program. Reed is competitive (he said he tries to "kill" his teammates in practice; metaphorically of course), but that's almost a prerequisite for competing at the Division I level in basketball.

The more impressive takeaway from the 10-minute interview was his thoughtful and detail-oriented critiques of his own game as he focuses on the process of improvement. It's a hallmark of a freshman who is growing up quickly in his first season of Division I basketball.

"During the course of how the season has transpired, he has gotten more and more minutes because, more than anything, he has stayed the course," Leitao said. "He really has a strong desire to be a good player. He puts time and effort into it, he's in the office all the time watching film, he's in the gym extra. When a guy has the mindset like that and he's as long as a son of a gun and can get the ball when others can't and can finish with a real nice touch, it's only a matter of time."

To start the season, it looked like Reed wouldn't have an opportunity to meaningfully showcase his skillset.

Through the first 14 games of the season, he averaged 4.7 minutes per game and played less than three minutes in eight of

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW HATTERSLEY

Through hard work and film study, freshman Paul Reed has blossomed as the season has progressed. those 14 games. Ironically, an illness that sidelined Butz for two weeks opened the door for Reed to play more minutes, and he has thrived in this expanded role.

"It was easy for me (to integrate into the lineup) just because I had already been waiting on my moment to play," Reed said. "He (Butz) went down, I wasn't really expecting any difference because I wasn't really playing much so I wasn't expecting to play at all. Just because I thought the coach didn't like me so I wasn't expecting to play at all. He put me in and I just tried to play hard and make the most of my opportunity."

Reed has flashed high upside this season despite some predictable freshman mistakes. In a Jan. 24 game against the Georgetown Hoyas, he nearly dropped a double-double (11 points and nine rebounds) as DePaul stole the game on the road. Predictably, he said this was his favorite performance of the season.

Since Butz missed that first game in Milwaukee against Marquette due to his illness, Reed has averaged a modest, but effective, 5.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in 16 minutes of playing time.

With Butz as his model, the process of improving his body language and turning negativity into positive energy has been the successful formula for a hungry Reed who is just beginning to tap into his talent. That's good for DePaul and scary for the rest of the Big East Conference as his patience and commitment to trusting the process has begun to pay off.

"Everybody was telling me to be patient and be focused and that my time was coming," Reed said. "Stay positive, it was very easy for me to be negative about myself not playing as much so I tried to stay as positive as possible in every situation."

Reed had a lot to feel good about in DePaul's most recent win against Marquette, pulling down eight rebounds in 23 minutes of action.

Sports. Feb. 26, 2018. The DePaulia | 27 WINTRUST, cont. from front page with that projection, and it was never a target for the university. Thomas Hazinski, the managing director at HVS and author of the feasibility study, did not return the DePaulia’s request for interview.

“We have a game-by-game projection that we are looking at because we know that we are going to get a different number for Villanova than we would for Miami of Ohio,” Ponsetto said. “I would say in almost every circumstance, even in a good number of our non-conference games we exceeded the number we thought we were gonna get.”

Emails obtained by The DePaulia show that McPier employees, including Wintrust Arena’s Assistant General Manager for Entertainment David Kennedy, took those projections seriously.

One email from a senior analyst, responding to an assistant controller who was requesting attendance numbers to give McPier’s insurance provider, carried a document outlining projected month-bymonth attendance numbers for Wintrust.

The address line of all related emails included Kennedy.

According to that document, McPier projected 38,000 in turnstile attendance at DePaul men’s basketball home games in the months of November, December, January and February and 9,500 in March (only one game).

DePaul only played three games in November (including one exhibition game) and February — hitting 38,000 monthly fans would require all three to exceed capacity. The six games across December would need an average of 6,333 and four games in January would need to match HVS’s projection of 9,500.

McPier’s FOIA office told The DePaulia that because Wintrust is currently in its first year of operation, those projections were made without the benefit of historical data. However, at that time, the Blue Demons were still active at Allstate Arena, where low attendance highlighted a waning interest in the program.

“Since opening in October, the new, state-of-the-art Wintrust Arena has hosted a wide range of public, corporate sports and entertainment events, and has hosted more than 50,000 visitors into the South Loop neighborhood” Kennedy said. “(...) We are very pleased with the arena’s performance to date.”

Fortunately for DePaul, the anchor tenant agreement between Wintrust and McPier takes much of the financial burden

ALLY ZACEK | THE DEPAULIA

off of the university. The school will receive 100 percent of attendance revenues and pay none of the operating costs associated with the arena. So, as of now, it doesn’t look like the school will be fighting to break even each year.

In an interview with the DePaulia, Ponsetto said the university made sure that the project would not fall on the back of student tuition. Instead, the money used to pay for DePaul’s share of the arena — which includes $82.5 million in building costs and $445,000 in annual rent — was generated by the Athletic Department through corporate sponsorships, naming rights, fundraising and paid attendance, she said.

When DePaul’s lump-sum payment of $82.5 million was due in June 2016, the university funneled money from the School of Music’s project to build new facilities.

“I am really proud to say that as we are now into year one, we’ve met our fundraising goal, we’ve met our corporate sponsorship goal (and) we’re probably going to exceed that,” Ponsetto said. “We are probably going to exceed our fundraising goal because we are continuing to fundraise.”

Ponsetto says the school has exceeded the ticket sales revenue goals outlined in their budget. Last year Ponsetto told Because DePaul is a private school, it is under no obligation to release budgetary information.

While the financial implications of low attendance at Wintrust may be limited, that doesn’t mean attendance doesn’t matter. In fact, quality turnstile attendance figures have potentially big implications on the

success of Blue Demon basketball.

Former associate head coach Rick Carter, who resigned in June 2017 after two seasons with the team to pursue a private business venture, said some of DePaul’s low attendance woes can be traced to one thing: winning games.

Carter, who also coached at Xavier University, said Xavier’s elite status following NCAA tournament runs spurred “bandwagon fans” — people without a firm tie to the university that become fans after watching the teams rise to relevance — to consistently attend games. He says DePaul need to generate a bandwagon following in order to grow their average attendance.

“Almost every university has them,” Carter said. “The die-hards are there every single game.”

Likewise, former Chicago Tribune sports writer Mike Conklin, who covered DePaul from the late 70’s into the 80’s, says he believes DePaul made the same mistake with Wintrust as they did with Allstate, placing the arena in a relatively inaccessible location. An arena position outside of the city is only slightly improved by a new arena in a traffic heavy downtown Chicago, he said.

Carter also said fans have the ability to help teams turn games around, comparing fans — especially students — to a DJ in a nightclub.

“If you ever go out to a nightclub (and) they’re not playing music, no one is going to dance,” Carter said. “But when there is energy, it’s loud and the bass is bumping — everybody is having a great time.

“I think a lot of fan bases sit in the

MBB, continued from back page The Blue Demons escaped a 30.3 percent shooting first half, down just five points at halftime. At the 16:43 mark in the second half, Maric nailed one of his two free throws to tie the game at 37 apiece.

Shortly after, DePaul exploded on a 15-3 run fueled by Strus, Maric and Brandon Cyrus and went up by 12 points with 7:36 to play.

The Golden Eagles small-ball lineups that featured 6-foot-8-inch guard Sam Hauser at center backfired.

After abandoning the small-ball lineups, Marquette reinserted 6-foot-10-inch big man Matt Heldt into the lineup and began to chip into the lead as Hauser and Rowsey both began to find their 3-point shooting stroke.

Fittingly, two plays on the offensive boards helped the Blue Demons seal their fourth conference win of the season. Strus collected his own rebound, got fouled and poured in two free throws to increase the lead to seven points with 1:58 left. On the next possession, Maric tipped the ball

MASON RIPPEL | THE DEPAULIA

Eli Cain, Marin Maric and Tre'Darius McCallum celebrate their first home win of 2018. into the basket through traffic off a miss to balloon the Blue Demons lead to nine points. All afternoon, the Blue Demons

dominated the Golden Eagles on the offensive boards, finishing with 19 offensive rebounds and 15 second-chance points.

crowd and complain about what they don’t have or what (the coaches) should be doing. I think that if they find a way to just cheer their team on, they will be in a much better place — everyone involved will be in a much better place.”

In theory Wintrust could serve as a recruiting magnet; giving the coaches some bling to flash at starry-eyed, top-tier recruits — the key ingredient to a successful rebuild.

“Wintrust gives us something to sell to recruits,” Carter said. “You can take a kid through the arena and he can imagine his jersey in the rafters.”

It looked like Wintrust might pay off in a big way when Tyger Campbell stunned the NCAA basketball community last May with a verbal commitment to DePaul.

Then, this past September, Campbell reopened his recruitment and eventually found his way to UCLA over DePaul.

Ponsetto says the program has seen more recruiting offers turn into official visits — which is a step in the right direction, but far from evidence that the recruits will stick to Wintrust.

According to Carter, the biggest selling point on DePaul for Campbell is the city — top-tier recruits want national exposure, which Campbell could get at both DePaul and UCLA. The deciding factor, he says, is simple: UCLA has a recent history of winning.

Written by Shane René, with contributions from Conner McEleney, Ryan Witry, Wahaj Khan and Demarco Trammell Marquette guard Andrew Rowsey hit a 3-point field goal with 57.3 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 64-57, but the Blue Demons’ lead was too large, as they hit free throws late to ice the game.

"It's a conscious effort I think," Leitao said about closing out tight games late.

"Those guys (the players), not me, were the ones who reminded themselves of that.

This is where we're at, this is what we have to do. Don't let yesterday happen again (not being able to execute down the stretch) and they went out and did it."

Strus led the way for the Blue Demons with 20 points as Maric (13), Cyrus (13), and Cain (14) also finished with double digits in scoring. Strus also had a seasonhigh 11 rebounds and his second doubledouble of the season, and three other Blue Demons had at least seven boards (Maric, Cain, and freshman Paul Reed).

The Blue Demons will look to carry this momentum over to Tuesday when they travel to Omaha, Neb. to battle with the Creighton Bluejays. The game is at 8 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.

Sports

Sports. Feb. 26, 2018. The DePaulia | 28

Welcome to WIN-trust

DePaul’s previous two home losses came by a combined two points prior to beating Marquette on Saturday for DePaul’s annual Blue Demon Week game

MASON RIPPEL | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul gets first Big East win in new home

By Paul Steeno Staff Writer

Winning conference games at home is fun.

In front of a canvas of fans wearing yellow, blue and red, the DePaul Blue Demons (11-17; 4-12 Big East) and Marquette Golden Eagles (16-14; 7-9 Big East) traded blows down the stretch as the contingents of fans with conflicting rooting interests packed into a rocking Wintrust Arena and traded shouts of elation as each basket for their team fell. When the dust

settled, the Blue Demons prevailed 70-62, earning their first home win in Big East Conference play since Jan. 10, 2017 against Providence.

"I think it's a testament to our character," said junior guard Max Strus.

"All year we've been battling every game, one-point losses, overtime (losses); every game has been close except for a couple.

Today, we just decided to take that next step and keep fighting and finish this one out for our team."

The scene at Wintrust was emblematic of an idealized Division I college basketball game.

An occupied Demon Deck (the student section), senior big man Marin Maric raising his arms up and down in unison in the down time between free throws to implore the student section to make noise, fans waving cardboard cutouts of the players and a loud, engaged, and most importantly, happy crowd. This was the way that the DePaul athletic department probably envisioned it when they invested millions of dollars into the Wintrust Arena project.

"I think the ability to get over the hump in the kind of game we played today was really important," said a happy Blue

Demon head coach Dave Leitao after the game. "I think it teaches the guys in the locker room a valuable lesson about how to get better. The biggest job we have right now is understanding what it takes to win when you aren't used to winning. And this can teach a valuable lesson in that way. I desperately want to win for our fans so that they can feel a sense of pride in walking into this building and knowing that we have a great opportunity to protect home court."

The game had all the dramatics of an underdog story.

See MBB, page 27

Big East programs implicated in FBI probe into NCAA hoops

By Andrew Hattersley & Shane Rene Asst. Sports Editor & Sports Editor

Just before the 2017-18 college basketball season tipped off, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York broke headlines when they charged four active assistant basketball coaches with fraud and corruption charges for their role in paying athletes and influencing their college decision.

Friday morning, the second hammer dropped when Yahoo News released federal documents implicating high profile schools, players and coaches including Arizona, Kentucky, Duke, Texas, Michigan State and three Big East schools; Seton Hall, Xavier and Villanova.

Among the Big East players implicated, was former Seton Hall player Isaiah Whitehead, who was with the team for two seasons through the 2016 season. The report alleges Whitehead received $26,136 from ASM sports according to the documents, while the “Pina” document says Whitehead received $37,657 and was setting up a payment plan.

Seton Hall responded to the allegations by saying they plan to conduct an internal review.

“We are aware of Yahoo! Sports report. We have taken steps proactively to reach out to the NCAA and the Big East Conference, and while we have not been contacted by investigators, we will be conducting our own internal review.”

DePaul president A. Gabriel Esteban, who held the same position at Seton Hall when Whitehead was recruited through the time he left for the NBA, told the DePaulia because this is a Seton Hall matter, he would defer comment to them.

Former Xavier star Edward Sumner and his father were named in the report for allegedly receiving $7,000 in advances while Sumner was still in school.

Former Villanova players Kyle Lowry, Antonio Pena and Maalik Wayans also appeared in the balance sheets. Pena, Lowry and Wayans allegedly received $5,000, $5,927 and $1,180 respectively.

Stan Van Gundy, who coached Wisconsin during the 1994-1995 season, before moving on to the NBA was critical of not only the coaches, but also college presidents.

“Coaches aren’t blameless, but it starts higher than that. Start with the college presidents," Van Gundy said to the Charlotte Observer. "They have said it (with their actions): It’s all about money. And if they say anything else, they’re being hypocritical."

NCAA President Mark Emmert admitted his organization was in serious need of changes and said during an interview with CBS he hopes to have those changes implemented by the beginning of next season.

“These allegations, if true, point to systematic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college sports in America. Simply put, people who engage in this kind of behavior have no place in college sports. They are an affront to all those who play by the rules,” Mark Emmert’s statement read. “Following the Southern District of New York’s indictments last year, the NCAA Board of Governors and I formed the independent Commission on College Basketball, chaired by Condoleezza Rice, to provide recommendations on how to clean up the sport. With these latest allegations, it’s clear this work is more important now than ever. The Board and I are completely committed to making transformational changes to the game and ensuring all involved in college basketball do so with integrity. We also will continue to cooperate with the efforts of federal prosecutors to identify and punish the unscrupulous parties seeking to exploit the system through criminal acts.”

That was only the start for some schools, as Friday night ESPN reported Arizona head coach Sean Miller was caught on FBI wiretap discussing a $100,000 payment for star freshman center DeAndre Ayton with Christian Dawkins, one of the key figures in the probe. Miller released a statement Saturday afternoon announcing he would not coach in Saturday night’s road contest against Oregon.

“I believe it is in the best interest of our team that I not coach our team tonight,” Miller said in a statement. “I continue to fully support the University’s efforts to fully investigate this matter and am confident that I will be vindicated. For now, my thoughts are with our team. They are a great group of young men that will support each other and continue their pursuit of winning a Pac-12 championship.”

This is the first known instance where a head coach has been directly implicated in the investigation.