DRAG QUEENS AT DEPAUL News, page 3
Vol. # 97, Issue # 26
| May 28, 2013
Faculty speaks up
Some faculty unsatisfied with new arena plans
By NATHAN WEISMAN Staff Writer As DePaul president Dennis H. Holschneider prepared to announce DePaul’s plan to spend $70 million on a new stadium for DePaul’s basketball program last week, political science professor Larry Bennett was busy drafting a letter arguing against it. In the letter, which was co-signed by over 20 other faculty members, Bennett argues that the plan for the stadium didn’t fit with other polices that the administration has enacted recently including cuts, tuition hikes, and a sixmonth freeze on teacher salary raises. Bennett began by emailing a drafted letter for Holtschneider to faculty members who he knew to be involved with university governance with. As it turned out, dozens of other DePaul faculty members shared his sentiment. “By last Saturday morning when I sent the letter to Holtschneider, about two dozen individuals had indicated to me that they wanted to co-sign,” said Bennett. The letter urges Holtschneider to reconsider the commitment and authorize DePaul’s withdrawal from the project. “Many faculty colleagues I’ve spoken to in my department would like to see the brakes put on this project until we know more concrete details about what DePaul might be on the financial hook for,” said Craig Sirles, a DePaul English professor who co-signed the letter. “I think that the university should be held accountable for what it expects to make (from the stadium),” said Jim Block, a DePaul political science professor “There should be a realistic opening of books and projections so that the university community can assess the drain on resources.” Bennett conceded that it has been difficult for DePaul athletics to find a location for a stadium closer to campus; however, he believes that the university’s money could be spent in more worthy channels. “(A) commitment of $70 See FACULTY, page 6
Photo courtesy of Spencer Bagley
Tickets to spare, FEST still delivers
High-energy performances despite lower turnout, ticket sales
By DYLAN MCHUGH News Editor Two years ago, DePaul’s FEST concert sold out in a record 48 hours for headliners Chromeo and Wiz Khalifa. This year, FEST tickets were sold well after ticket sales were opened, and tickets were available on the day of the concert: raising questions about students’ enthusiasm to an annual DePaul institution, and potential frustration toward headliners Diplo, Minus the Bear and Yelawolf. Senior Joe Kosin, FEST’s coordinator for DePaul Activities Board (DAB), started planning for this year’s concert last July. DAB chose Diplo as the main act based on results from the FEST student survey, which had a record amount (2,500) of responses. “Diplo was by far the largest vote getter in the After Hours category, and when you compared his number of votes to those in the headliner category, he got as many as the top three,” said Kosin. “We made offers, and we were getting down to
the fifth and sixth options on the survey for headliners, and started comparing the votes that they got to what Diplo got.” The top three vote getters from the survey were Of Monsters and Men, ASAP Rocky, and Big Sean, all of which were touring internationally or had prior commitments. “Past years, we’ve stuck with hip hop, and this year we went with EDM, Minus the Bear, an indie rock band, and Yelawolf, who’s more hip hop,” said senior Megan Daley, DAB’s vice president of internal. “We tried to please as many people as we possibly could.” FEST is funded primarily through the $25 student activity fee, which every full-time undergraduate pays quarterly, and goes toward registered student organizations. “There’s always going to be that ten or so percent (of students) that absolutely love (the headliners), and on the other side you have that other ten percent that says ‘How dare you book these artists with my money?’ and were very dissatisfied,” said Kosin. “The other 80 percent maybe know the artists and are excited, or others who are like ‘Who cares? It’s a
Photo courtesy of Spencer Bagley
TOP: The crowd at FEST 2013 for headliner, Diplo, May 25. ABOVE: The view from the stage as Diplo gets the crowd going Friday night. party.’” Though Kosin acknowledged that this year’s FEST didn’t have “quite as good of a turnout” as years’ past, it still had more than 3,000 students at the event. By comparison, FEST 2011 sold out and had more than 4,000 attendees, and FEST 2012 came “pretty close” to selling out, according to Kosin. Kosin said that there were a
couple things that came into play regarding the lower attendance: the decision to only allow DePaul students to attend, and a number of weekend festivals occurring at the same time. One of the festivals, the Electronic Daisy Carnival, appealed to fans of electronic dance music (EDM), which may have drawn See FEST, page 8
FEST 2013 Review THE YOUNG LORDS Focus, pages 14-15
Despite slower ticket sales, Diplo got the crowd going at this year’s FEST. Arts & Life page 16