The DePaulia 1/27/2020

Our writers went shopping at a cannabis dispensary for the first time so you don’t have to. Read about the trip in Arts & Life, page 19.

DePaulia

Dribble over to Focus to explore the legacy of free throw shooting.

See, pages 14-15.

The

Volume #104 | Issue #12 | Jan. 27, 2020 | depauliaonline.com

Wintrust attendance sees slight uptick, falls short of debut season

By Lawrence Kreymer Sports Editor

With DePaul now in its third season at Wintrust Arena, attendance numbers during the non-conference slate of games are up from last season, but still fell short of the marks set in their first season at Wintrust, according to documents obtained by The DePaulia via Freedom of Information Act. Through the Blue Demons’ nine non-conference games this season, De-

Paul averaged 4,409 in paid attendance — the amount of tickets printed, sold and distributed. But the real attendance, the amount of people that had their tickets scanned at the stadium, sits at 2,105 over the same stretch.

Both of those numbers are up from last season, when the Blue Demons only averaged 3,902 in paid attendance and 1,274 in real attendance. According to athletic department officials, revenue is

See ATTENDANCE, page 25

The cost of ambition

TIM HIATT | UNICEF USA

Bushra Amiwala, DePaul student and member of the Board of Education in Skokie School District 73.5, speaks at a humanitarian event hosted by UNICEF in October 2019.

Senior, elected official Bushra Amiwala talks burnout, pushing limits

By Mackenzie Murtaugh News Editor

She was driving her usual route when it happened. Her phone continued to vibrate and vibrate without stopping. She had been getting very little sleep the first week of January. She couldn’t look at her phone without some form of anxiety rising to the surface. The little red bubble on her phone reminded her of the 200plus text messages she hadn’t even looked at yet.

“That was it, like simple texts from my friends of, ‘Hey, how’s it going? Want to hang out?’” said Bushra Amiwala, a DePaul senior and the youngest Muslim woman to be elected as a public official.

“Even responding to that was just so (...) I didn’t have the energy. I couldn’t even respond to a message, and that was my breaking point.”

The messages she ignored consisted of her friends and col-

“People always ask how I do it all, and I’m upset that I lead people to believe that this is a healthy amount of work because it’s not.”

Bushra Amiwala

DePaul senior, Skokie Board of Education member leagues asking her for help. They wanted her to connect them with something or to look over their resume. She’s more than happy to do both of those things, but the sheer amount of messages coming in combined with her hectic work schedule and lifestyle led her to her breaking point.

In the car, Amiwala had what she described as a panic attack. She was drowning out her thoughts and the constant reminders of what she had to do with music playing loudly. She got home and told her parents that

she had a massive headache because these were the only words she could use to describe her pain.

“I didn’t want to be told that I was doing too much,” Amiwala said. “I wanted to push myself to see how much I could do.”

At the time, Amiwala was juggling an intense schedule for someone in their early 20s. Her hours at her administrative job (which she asked to remain unnamed in this article) had doubled from 15 to 30 hours a week.

She helped coach the debate team at Niles North High School. She

worked with the program I Cook After School, where she and a team of volunteers go to underfunded public schools in Chicago and teach the students how to make healthy meals at a low cost.

Her public speaking gigs and the three boards she currently serves on, including the Skokie Board of Education, did not cool down over winter break. Her days were all planned out, and her nights consisted of emails, looking over resumes and finding time to see her friends and family. None of it was working for her.

This is when she burned out.

Her drive fizzled, and she couldn’t complete the tasks she promised to finish. The administrative work she was doing drained her. Desk work doesn’t interest Amiwala — she thrives when she is out on the streets, canvassing in Chicago neighborhoods and addressing a large audience. Still, a full schedule like she had did not satisfy her — but rather drained her of all the momentum she had when she was flourishing. Only, she wasn’t always on top of things as she portrays on her social media. Soon after, Amiwala was taken to the hospital for professional analysis.

“People always ask how I do it all, and I’m upset that I led people to believe that this is a healthy amount of work because it’s not,” Amiwala said.

The pressure to do as much as she possibly can stems from her religion, Amiwala said. Women

See BURNOUT, page 4

2 | News. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020

First Look 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 | Shane René eic@depauliaonline.com MANAGING EDITOR | Lacey Latch managing@depauliaonline.com ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR | Bianca Cseke online@depauliaonline.com

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Contact our Editor-in-Chief, Shane Rene, to see your name in print and get real journalistic experience. Email eic@depauliaonline.com to get started.

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News

News. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 | 3

Blue Demons up the ante Blue Demon Challenge donations double initial goal of $1 million

By Maria Garcia Contributing Writer

DePaul hosted the Blue Demon Challenge on Thursday, Jan. 23 with a goal to raise $1 million. The challenge surpassed expectations and impressed students and faculty with $2,006,201 in total donations raised and 2,439 gifts in total, according to the Blue Demon Challenge website.

The event honors the seven years of tradition where giving to the students, faculty and staff. Many friends of DePaul come together with the hope of reaching this year’s goal of $1 million in a single day. These donations will support areas like the College of Communication, the Theatre School and athletics.

Donations came from all over the United States and every amount, no matter the size, toward any area of campus, was appreciated.

Donors could also choose to remain anonymous if they liked to.

“I am giving back because DePaul helped me to get to where I am at now, and I know where the money is going,” said Harolyn Cain, a DePaul alumna who graduated in 2018 with a degree in public service management.

If DePaul received a gift from all 50 states, a donor who wanted to remain anonymous would give $50,000 to create a scholarship.

Also, if 300 members of DePaul’s faculty and staff made a gift, then an anonymous College of Computing and Digital Media faculty member would give $20,000. The university met both of those challenges, according to a Newsline article.

A recent DePaulia article mentioned enrollment in higher education is declining nationally at about 4 percent – and Illinois is seeing a decline of nearly 17 percent.

This decline in enrollment is something DePaul President A. Gabriel Esteban’s administration knows well. In his State of the University address last October, Esteban discussed the school’s “Grounded in Mission” plan for 2024, in which he hopes to reverse the eight-year decline in enrollment trends.

Esteban said this goal is attainable, pointing to DePaul’s biggest freshman year class to date, which had 2,627 students this academic year.

He also cited the increase of Fulbright scholarship recipients and the new Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. The last time the university saw the type of enrollment increase that Esteban wants is when the university’s enrollment nearly doubled between the 1980s and early 2000s. It now has been on the decline — roughly 12 percent — since 2011.

In terms of average revenue, The DePaulia found that between 2003 and 2011, DePaul’s revenue grew by 5.7 percent and its expenses by 5.4 percent. In those same years, inflation increased by 2.6 percent. Between 2011 and 2019, though revenue has increased by only 1 percent, with expenses increasing by 1.5 percent and inflation by 1.6 percent.

The university already has several initiatives in place intended to jumpstart enrollment and revenue in areas like recruitment, retention and reinvention.

But declining enrollment and lack of campus culture did not discourage anyone’s school spirit in this year’s Blue Demon Challenge.

“We’re part of this community, especially as students,” said Joanna Talabani, a junior double-majoring in communications and media and Spanish. “I think what’s really cool is that if you do donate, you get to choose where you want your money to go. I think it’s kind of cool that, yes, you have so many options to donate to places, but here you can actually see your money makes a difference.”

The Blue Demon Challenge is also significant because DePaul relies on financial support from alumni, families, friends, faculty, staff, corporations and foundations to help support DePaul in areas where tuition does not cover all the costs.

“I think it’s awesome that we have all these challenges, so there’s really an opportunity to give to the area that means the most to you in the university, and I think it’s pretty cool and makes it personal,” said Effie Mores, director of alumni relations at DePaul.

4 | News. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 BURNOUT continued from front and people of color tend to have an innate desire to live up to their parents’ expectations of them. This desire can stem from being the child of an immigrant or a self-made Muslim. When children of immigrants hear their parents’ stories about making it in America, the pressure is heightened.

Cultural divides exist in every ethnicity and religion, but the phenomenon of denying oneself therapy and self-care persists in communities of color. Janice Gassam is a first generation Cameroonian-American and the owner and principal consultant of BWG Business Consultants.

“One of the most important and critical parts of self-care is setting boundaries,” Gassam said. “Part of the reason I was feeling overwhelmed and overworked was because I would say yes to every single opportunity without consideration for my own time. Now, I’m exercising the word ‘no’ quite often, and I am becoming more comfortable setting my boundaries with others.”

Women of color and people with diverse backgrounds tend to pile as much work onto their plates as possible to prove their worth to society. Gassam found solace in Shonda Rhimes’ book “The Year of Yes.” After reading the book, she realized her stress stems from her inability to say no to new opportunities. Amiwala found herself in the same position.

“I’ve learned to set boundaries in place, and I’ve learned to say ‘no,’” Amiwala said.

“I’ve learned to put myself on top of every to-do list.”

Some form of healing came from Islam itself. Amiwala wasn’t doing her five daily prayers as much as she used to because it didn’t always work with her schedule. She would first skip some, and then the amount she skipped continued to grow as she got more busy. After her burnout experience,

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY BUSHRA AMIWALA.

Bushra Amiwala is the youngest Muslim woman to be elected to public official. she began praying regularly again, and it satisfied her spiritually, which led to healing her physical body.

Nabia Hersi is an 18-year-old black Muslim activist from Portland. She, like Amiwala, spread herself too thin in an effort to expand her network and increase opportunities for herself. She burned out in a similar way to Amiwala —her schedule got the best of her.

“Growing up in an African household, we are often told to hide out emotions, and many black people I know don’t say when

things are becoming too much or too overwhelming.”

Despite common stereotypes, Amiwala’s family and friends were her best support system when she burned out. The doctors mostly talked to her parents, as to not stress her out even more.

Amiwala received national attention in Spring 2019 when she became the first Muslim woman to be elected to public offical as a Skokie Board of Education member. On campus, Amiwala is seen as an unmovable, but unstoppable force. She’s

everywhere — she’s done TED Talks, and she has a huge online presence.

On top of everything she’s been working on, she shared with The DePaulia that she is debuting The Amiwala Foundation, with the mission of “supporting, uplifting and inspiring young people.” Amiwala hopes the foundation will become a widespread network where students and young professionals can come to her for not only career advice, but to use her own inner career connections as well. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, Amiwala commented.

“I wanted to put more time into what I want to do and my own interests,” Amiwala said. “Those 30 to 40 hours a week, I could put into doing something better. I quit my job and immediately started working on The Amiwala Foundation.”

She’s taking this process slower than she would have in the past. The Amiwala Foundation, which will be fully staffed and hiring a paid intern in the coming months, hopes to relieve her of the biggest stressure she experienced during winter break.

When her phone wouldn’t stop vibrating, it was mostly people asking her to connect them to someone else. With a new plan set into place, Amiwala will have a whole network set into place to ensure everyone gets connected to the right person.

As for Amiwala’s mental health now, she says she’s taking everything day-byday. She now uses a planner, which she hasn’t done since high school. This way, she won’t forget anything and have to scramble to get it done. Now, she has more time to develop into the organized, busy and powerful image she presents online.

“Do not believe everything you see on social media. Social media is a facade. I use social media to best represent myself (...) everyone does. I don’t have it all together.

I’m flattered that people think I do, but — fake it until you make it.”

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News. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 | 5

Real-ID causes controversy over registration Automated voter registration allowed non-citzens to vote

By Patsy Newitt Asst. News Editor

After years of pleas by voting advocates for the Secretary of State’s office to improve implementation of Automatic Voter Registration, Secretary Jesse White revealed in a letter that over 500 of those who marked they were not U.S. citizens were accidentally registered to vote through AVR between July 2018 and Dec 2019.

Automatic Voter Registration was signed into law with unanimous and bipartisan support from Illinois lawmakers in 2017. The goal was to streamline the voter registration process in hopes to increase voter turnout.

These individuals had been applying for a non-Real-ID identification card which allows applicants to register through an opt-in process.

With correct AVR implementation, these individuals should have been screened out of the registration process after marking that they weren’t citizens. Due to what the Secretary of State’s office says was a programming error, their information was forwarded to the State Board of Elections.

The Secretary of State’s office said they have since corrected the error and the State Board of Elections is in contact with local election authorities to address the validity of the registrations.

Of the 574 applicants sent for registration, 545 were actually enrolled and 29 were rejected, which Matt Dietrich, spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Elections, thinks could have been because they were already registered.

“We don’t know what the true citizenship status of those individuals are,” Dietrich said. “It’s probable that some of the 29 may have been rejected because they were already registered.”

Only 15 of the 545 registered ended up voting. 135 were accidentally registered in Cook County, where five votes were cast by three accidental registrees.

Local election authorities have since found that three of the 15 voters were in fact eligible and had a decades-long voting history. Since Friday, roughly 200 of the 545 were removed from registration.

It’s unlikely that any of those accidentally registered are undocumented, Dietrich said. To get a driver’s license, an individual must provide a SSN. “The bottom line is that they shouldn’t have been forwarded to the State Board of Elections,” Druker said. “Secretary White feels terrible about it. We found the error. We fixed it. We have been ensured it would not happen

PATSY NEWITT | THE DEPAULIA

The Secretary of State’s office in downtown Chicago.

“Secretary of State [Jesse] White feels terrible about [the situation]. We found the error. We fixed it. We have been ensured it would not happen again.

Dave Druker

Spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

again.”

This comes at a woeful time for proponents of a more accessible automatic voter registration system. As previously reported by the DePaulia, advocates have been critical the Secretary of State’s office for delayed implementation and what they feel to be unnecessary obstacles.

They’ve recently been critical of the requirement of the second signature, which officials at the Secretary of State’s Office said was included to safeguard against noncitizen registration. This signature did not safeguard, as the letter from White says they were not able to access the signature process.

For many, this mishap by the Secretary of State’s office paints AVR in an unfair negative light.

“Automatic Voter Registration or AVR isn’t the problem – the Secretary of State’s office is the problem,” said a press release

by Just Democracy, a nonpartisan coalition of voting advocates.

“The agency’s massively delayed

and error-riddled implementation of AVR has undermined the law’s intended purpose to make Illinois’ voting rolls more fair, accurate and secure.”

Now, several Republication legislators are now calling for a hold on Automatic Voter Registration to ensure this won’t happen again.

“It’s so we can have a full audit and investigation as to why the programming error had been going on for seventeen months and what [assurances] they can give us that it’s not going to happen going forward,” said Joe Hackler, spokesperson for the Illinois Republican Party.

The Secretary of State’s office does not think halting AVR is necessary. The accidental registrees make up a small percentage of the 740,000 voters registered from Automatic Voter Registration since July 2018.

“We think this is a good program. We’re talking about less than 1 percent that signed up,” Druker said.

Voting advocates are frustrated, saying they’ve been asking the Secretary of State’s office for specific safeguards to protect non-citizen registration, including language assistance, employee training and a streamlined process. They said the Secretary of State’s office has dismissed repeated offers for help – including direct assistance, community forums and outside expertise.

Voting as a non-citizen is a felony that could call for deportation, even if the accidental registrees being here legally. The Secretary of State’s office has taken full responsibility for the mistake.

“The error was ours, not there’s,” he said, “and that’s why we’re encouraging people to keep the letters and use us as the bait.

We will be as supportive as possible.”

But it might not be enough.

There’s a provision built into the Automatic Voter Registration bill safeguarding consequence for those who accidentally registered to no fault of their own. But for

Secretary of State Jesse White. those who are not U.S. citizens that ended up voting, Dietruch and Druker say that it’s unclear whether or not they can ensure that the potential non-citizen voters aren’t deported.

Just Democracy said in their press release that this mistake could be a good opportunity to acknowledge and repair the problems in Illinois’s implementation of AVR. One thing all parties agree on – this shouldn’t have happened.

“This is very disappointing to us because there was so much put into the AVR,” Dietrich said. “The bill was redrafted [in 2016 after a veto by Bruce Rauner] specifically so this wouldn’t happen, and has now been maligned because of a simple programming error.”

6| News. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020

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News. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 | 7

Drug user advocacy event discussses decriminalization

Greg Scott, sociology professor, wanted to evaluate the recent legalization of cannabis in Illinois and how our perceptions of drug use might be affected.

PATSY NEWITT | THE DEPAULIA

By Patsy Newitt Asst. News Editor

Legalization of cannabis in Illinois after decades of criminalization has spurred many to rethink their perceptions of drug use.

DePaul University sociology professor Greg Scott offered a space for this evaluation in an open lecture on drug user advocacy this past Friday, Jan. 24.

His lecture, titled “They Talk, We Die: Drug user Advocacy as a Human Liberation Movement,” asked a room packed with students to question their understanding of drug use and users – how their perceptions formed and who controls the narrative.

Scott specializes in the study of drug-related issues and has been actively involved with ongoing drug user activism for over a decade.

He currently works as the director of drug checking for the Chicago Recovery Alliance and was influential in passing a 2019 bill that allows for testing of illicit drugs for specific contained ingredients – specifically fentanyl, a synthetic opioid most commonly involved in drug overdose death in the U.S., according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The talk aimed to highlight the work of drug users who Scott feel have been influential in shaping a changing societal response to drug use.

It’s those who have been demonized for their own drug use, Scott said, that have taken charge of liberating ideas and concepts from those in power to make them available for their own communities.

This liberation has saved lives.

Drug overdose is the leading cause of injury-death in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Control. There were 70,237 drug overdose deaths in 2017, up 9.6 percent from the previous year.

The Chicago Recovery Alliance helped pass a law in 2010 that made Naloxone, a drug that works instantly to reverse the effects of opioid overdose, free and legal without prescription in Illinois. Since its passage, the CRA has received over 20,000 reports of overdose

PATSY NEWITT | THE DEPAULIA

“They Talk, We Die: Drug User Advocacy as a Human Liberation Movement” took place on Friday, Jan. 24.

“American society is very moral-oriented.

Everybody wants to do waht’s right, but sometimes that makes you judge others too harshly.”

Martha Martinez-Firestone

Director of DePaul’s Honors Program

reversal.

“People who use drugs have been the true first responders to all health issues related to drug use,” he said, “and all criminal justice issues related to drug use” This year’s topic of DePaul’s Honors Speaker Series is the discussion of silent populations – giving a voice to populations who don’t traditionally receive one.

The silence of drug user communities comes from decades of America’s failed

and misguided War on Drugs that painted drugs as America’s number one enemy, Scott said.

The criminalization of drugs and the crafting of the issue into a moral dilemma built a society-wide aversion to drug users, Scott said. From there, users were isolated and ignored under the guise that they couldn’t, and shouldn’t, be helped.

“American society is very moraloriented,” said Martha MartinezFirestone, the director of DePaul’s

Honors Program. “Everybody wants to do what’s right but sometimes that makes you judge others too harshly.”

Scott and the Chicago Recovery Alliance practice a harm reduction approach in dealing with drug usage through providing clean syringes, making naloxone more accessible and letting drug users set their own treatment.

“It’s not about getting people to stop,” Scott said. “It’s about meeting people where they are.”

This rejection of abstinence, which the CRA found unsuccessful, resonated with audience members.

“A lot of of organizations focus on the cold turkey method of ‘just get off drugs’ as though it’s very simple,” freshman Cindy Hernandez said, “But [harm reduction] is more realistic.”

Scott is a proponent of drug advocacy beyond legalization, calling for empathy and understanding.

“Drug use is normal, and we shouldn’t be punishing normal human activity,” he said.

8 | News. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020

CAMPUS CRIME REPORT:

Jan. 15 - 21, 2020

LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS

LOOP CAMPUS

University Hall 4

Levan Belden-Racine Hall 2

5

Schmitt Academic Center 9

1

6

3

7

DePaul Center 10

8 2

report was filed for a laptop taken

from Levan.

JAN. 16 2) A Theft report was filed for items taken in Belden-Racine Hall.

JAN. 17 3) A Smell of Marijuana report was filed in the Student Center.

JAN. 18 4) An Illegal Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor

report was filed in University Hall. Person was taken to Illinois Masonic by Chicago EMS. 5) A Smell of Marijuana report was filed in Belden-Racine Hall. No drugs were found.

11

1

LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS JAN. 15 1) A Theft

10

Student Center

10

Assault & Theft

Drug & Alcohol

JAN. 20 6) An Illegal Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor

report was filed in the Student Center. Person was transported to Illinois Masonic by Chicago EMS. 7) An Illegal Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor report was filed in Belden-Racine Hall. Person was transported to Illinois Masonic by Chicago EMS. 8) A Theft report was filed for phone taken in the Student Center.

9) An Indecent Exposure report was filed for a person exposing themselves in the Schmitt Academic Center.

Other

LOOP CAMPUS JAN. 15 10) A Criminal Trespass Warning was given to

a person sleeping on the 10th floor of the DePaul Center.

11) A Criminal Trespass report was filed for a person drinking in the DePaul Center.

Campus mental health services don’t impress

By Taylor Johnson Contributing Writer

Many students suffer from mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and so on. However, over the years it has been common that many students struggle with these issues alone.

Most of these issues start at home, or as a child and developed into bigger problems throughout adulthood. Statistics have shown that the amount of students seeking professional help, and nationwide public awareness for mental health has skyrocketed over the past years. Mental health awareness has now become much more significant to students, and is now being taken more seriously.

Mental health has caused some students to drop out of school. Some find it too hard to manage while balancing everything else in their life.

DePaul University has a counseling service that strictly offers help to students battling with mental health issues. There are about six total therapists and psychiatrists between both the Loop and Lincoln Park campuses. Although these resources are available to students, there has still been concerns.

Many students have expressed concerns regarding the amount of resources available on campus, stating they believe DePaul’s University Counseling Services (UCS) is understaffed. “I was once told that I needed to wait 6-8 weeks to make an appointment with the UCS” said Miyah, a DePaul student. “I had expected to be able to be seen sooner.”

The students interviewed for this story asked for their last names to be omitted for anonymity due to the sensitivity of this story.

These complaints have gotten back to the UCS, and some changes have already been implemented. Jeffrey Lanfear, director of university counseling services stated “the counseling center is doing more training of staff members, including resident advisors, academic success coaches, orientation

News. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020| 9

leaders and other student leaders to help identify and refer distressed students.” He also mentions that their goal is to connect students to resources so they can succeed academically and personally.

“The number of clients and total number of sessions increased by 16% from fall quarter 2018 to fall quarter 2019” Lanfear said.

Last year, the UCS began offering a workshop called “Feel Better Fast” twice a week. Students do not have to wait to access this workshop. It is meant for students to learn different skills and tools on how to cope with heavy thoughts, feelings, personal and outside relationships. This gives students some recommendations within a short time frame, while they may be waiting for other services.

Although one-on-one counseling is much preferred in most cases, the UCS also offers group counseling. Group counseling has been very well received, as it permits students to receive support from their peers.

This also allows students the ability to learn from others, limit the sense of isolation and provide them with reassurance that these are common issues.

“I thought group counseling was going to make me feel uncomfortable, but it was more satisfying than I thought. I felt better knowing I wasn’t the only one going through what I was going through,” said DePaul junior Christian.

It is DePaul’s goal to build a stronger community and sense of care on campus, providing students with resources such as counseling services, student affairs and other social support groups. “Research indicates that fostering engagement and social support results in better academic and personal outcomes”.

It is important that students utilize all the resources offered on campus and continue to spread the word. College students are one of the main groups of people that suffer from mental health issues. Alongside getting professional help, here are a few things students can do in the meantime to keep yourself balanced.

State’s Attorney Kim Foxx talks decriminalization

By Mackenzie Murtaugh News Editor

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx came to the Loop campus on Tuesday, Jan. 21 to speak with law students and professors alike about the decriminalization of cannabis in Illinois.

The law that legalized recreational cannabis for adults over the age of 21 was put into place on Jan. 1. The flower’s legalization has sparked debate among lawmakers on whether or not people who have cannabis-related crimes on their record should have it expunged.

Foxx stated that about 40,000 felony drug cases come through the State’s Attorney’s office each year. The number of misdemeanors is about 250,000, also according to Foxx. The number of misdemeanors on drug offenses in New York and Los Angeles combined do not equate to the number in Cook County.

“When you think of 250,000 misdemeanors and 40,000 felonies, you’re talking about 300,000 cases that we have every year in a county that is plagued by gun violence,” Foxx said.

“So we have to talk about our priorities.

What we know, looking at all the cases that come through (...) about 40 percent are drug-related. Sixty percent of that 40 are drug possession.”

Foxx went on to express her dismay in how Cook County has treated the city’s drug issue as a criminal issue and not a mental health issue.

“We were using the rhetoric, we were using the buzz words,” she said.

“But in our practice, in our actions, the continual processing of people for minor drug offenses or low-level drug offenses was the order of the day.”

The prosecution of low-level drug offenses persisted even after early 2016 when Foxx’s predecessor, Anita Alvarez, decided the county would cease processing most minor drug-related offenses. In reality, the office simply slowed down the process over time, but the practice still took place, and black Chicagoans were the most affected.

“African Americans were severely overrepresented [in that group] and prosecuted, followed quickly by Latinos,” Foxx said. “What we realized, and what the data showed us, is that marijuana usage does not vary among racial groups.”

Despite that fact, black citizens were prosecuted the most and the harshest.

Foxx hopes to repair the damage that has already been done. Now, those in Cook County who have been charged will have their charges vacated, only

with amounts that are assumed to be legal.

“If we in Cook County start vacating convictions, then the state should soon follow,” she said.

Her office partnered with a company based out of California for Code for America to help them devise a plan that would fairly execute the expungements. They helped develop the plan for any conviction under 30 grams will be automatically expunged and their conviction will be vacated.

There are no fees or lawyers associated with the vacation, but Foxx asks for those who are waiting for expungement to be patient. They will soon receive a letter in the mail notifying them of their expungement. Those who have been charged with a low-level drug offense can still go the traditional route and apply for expungement on their own time.

Ester Franco-Payne, executive director of Cabrini-Green Legal Aid, helps those in need of legal assistance when the State’s Attorney’s office might be giving pushback.

“We’ve been able to participate in the landscape [of the cannabis bill] and see how we are moving, given the understanding of how this bill is supposed to work and what we see as the

gap in our clients,” Franco-Payne said.

“We want to speak up and be a voice for them.”

Cabrini-Green Legal Aid is the only organization in the state that gives legal aid to those with a criminal background. Since the cannabis bill, Cabrini-Green Legal Aid has been flooded with clients who are looking to get their record expunged as soon as possible so they can find work or put a down payment on a car or home. Their main goal, according to Franco-Payne, is to meet 100 percent of the client’s needs and ensuring the outcome is positive.

They currently perform about 70 percent of the expungements in Cook County and about 20 percent in the state of Illinois. After a successful expungement, their legal aids attempt to ensure their clients are successfully integrated back into the community. They work directly with the State’s Attorney’s office to give representation to about 2,000 clients annually.

As of Jan. 21, there are about 800,000 records that are eligible for expungement.

About one-third of all expungements will be automatically expunged over time. Another third (11,017, as of today) have been pardoned by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The final third will require self-petition by the person who was charged.

Nation &World

10 | Nation & World. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020

Impeachment Inquiry week in review

By Cailey Gleeson Nation & World Editor

The impeachment trial against President Donald Trump officially kicked off in the Senate this week, with Republicans and Democrats clashing almost every step of the way.

MONDAY, Jan. 20 – Trump’s legal team – led by Pat Cipollone – filed a legal brief that argued the two articles of impeachment against President Trump were “structurally deficient” and encouraged senators to acquit the president. The 171-page brief also accused House Democrats of trying to “interfere in the 2020 election” through their impeachment of Trump.

“Their fixation on damaging the President has trivialized the momentous act of impeachment, debased the standards of impeachable conduct, and perverted the power of impeachment by turning it into a partisan, election-year political tool,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

Dr. Wayne Steger, a political science professor at DePaul, said disparities between the

JULIO CORTEZ | AP two parties are apparent as proceedings occur.

“My main thought is that this is first and House Democratic impeachment managers, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., center, joined by (from left) Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, Rep. foremost about political power and highlights Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., the tremendous animus that party elites have during a press conference. toward each other,” Steger said. “Most of these Republican senators believe, sincerely I think, memos and other documents related to Presithat Democrats are brazenly attacking Trump dent Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine” just because they don’t like him, they don’t, was blocked in a 53-47 vote, citing that it was and most Democrats view Republicans as the House’s “responsibility” to obtain all evidence before passing along the articles of impoorly.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell peachment to the Senate.

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 22 – Trial rules presented a resolution that outlined the prowere approved in a 53-47 vote. Senate Miposed rules of the trial—after pressure from nority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed 11 Democrats the past three weeks. Witnesses amendments to the resolution, but the same role in the trial were at the forefront of the party-line vote rejected them. Schumer atresolution, with McConnell proposing that a tempted to subpoena records from the White decision be delayed until after opening arguHouse, State Department, Defense Departments and questioning. The Senate adjourned ment, acting White around 10 p.m., House Chief of Staff but procedural Mick Mulvaney, arguments went Mulvaney’s senior until nearly 2 advisor Robert Blair, a.m.

Michael Duffy and T U E S D A Y, former National SeJan. 21 – McCocurity Advisor John JULIO CORTEZ | AP nnell’s resolution Bolton. was debated.

Arguments from President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow, left, walks with White Democrats, and the House of Rep- House Counsel Pat Cipollone, right, as they arrive at the Capitol in Washington during some Repubresentatives pros- the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and licans accused ecutors began. In obstruction of Congress, Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. initial rules of atRep. Adam Schiff ’s tempting to “covopening statement, ceedings against the president. Schiff summa- vote once again, with Schiff pleading for Sener up” Trump’s the lead prosecutor rized the conduct between Trump and Zelen- ators to “give America a fair trial.” actions and rush “Americans get a fair trial. And so I ask spoke about how ac- sky during “three days in July.” through the trial.

“And then the third day in a row in you, I implore you, give America a fair trial.

House impeachment manager countability for fu- July, President Trump sought to ensure that Give America a fair trial. She’s worth it,” he Under the final ture leaders will be resolution, deimpacted if Trump is Ukraine had received his request and under- said. fense and prosestood it and would take the necessary steps to SATURDAY, Jan. 25 – In the shortest cution will have 24 hours spread across three acquitted. announce the investigations that he wanted. session thus far – lasting just two hours – “If not remedied by his conviction in the days to present their sides.

Three days in July, ” he said.

Trump’s legal team began their opening arguAfter these opening arguments, senators Senate and removal from office, President Trump’s knowledge of the communicaments.

Cipollone maintained the stance that will have 16 hours to question the informa- Trump’s abuse of his office and obstruction of tions with Ukraine was emphasized by Rep. “the president did nothing wrong” while retion in writing. Following the questioning Congress will permanently alter the balance Val Demings (D-FL) while Rep. Zoe Lofgren peating information filed in Monday’s brief as – and potential witness testification – both of power among our branches of government, (D-CA) recounted the General Accountability he emphasized beliefs that the electoral prosides will present final arguments and then a inviting future presidents to operate as if they Office report that found the U.S. violated the cess is at the heart of the charges. too are also beyond the reach of accountabilvote will occur. law when military aid to Ukraine was with“They’re asking you not only to overturn R. Craig Sautter, professor at DePaul’s ity, congressional oversight and the law,” he held. the results of the last election, but as I’ve said School of Continuing and Professional Stud- said.

“He could release the aid or break the law. before, they’re asking you to remove President Deliberations were briefly interrupted ies, said the disagreement surrounding the He chose to break the law, ” she said.

Trump from the ballot in an election that’s rules was present in the December proceed- when a protestor caused an outburst in the FRIDAY, Jan. 24 – Obstruction of Conoccurring in approximately nine months,” visitor gallery as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) ings against Trump. gress was the focus of the House’s arguments Cipollone said.

“They’re asking you to tear up “Democrats set the rules in the Impeach- presented evidence against Trump. The indi- as prosecutors wrapped up their opening re- all of the ballots across this country on your ment proceedings in the House of Represen- vidual – described as an older man with gray marks. House manager Jerry Nadler finished own initiative, take that decision away from tatives, disregarding Republican complaints hair – shouted “dismiss the charges” as he was his statements with some of the harshest lan- the American people.” against ‘unfairness,’” Sautter said. “Repub- led away in handcuffs by police.

THE WEEK AHEAD: Opening arguments THURSDAY, Jan. 23 – The charge accus- guage towards Trump yet. licans will set the rules of the trial in the “He is a dictator, ” Nadler said.

“This must from Trump’s legal team will continue MonSenate, disregarding Democrat complaints ing Trump of abuse of power was the focus not stand, and that is why another reason he day. After they conclude, the 16-hour period of Thursday’s proceedings. For the most part, against ‘unfairness.’” must be removed from office.” for written questioning will begin.

A subpoena of the White House’s “emails, Schiff ’s argument recounted evidence already Schumer and Schiff pushed for a witness presented in the House’s impeachment pro-

“He is a dictator, this must not stand, and that is why another reason he must be removed from office

Rep. Jerry Nadler

Nation & World. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 | 11

Xi calls situation grave as China scrambles to contain virus

By Ken Moritsugu Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — China’s leader on Saturday called the accelerating spread of a new virus a grave situation, as cities from the outbreak’s epicenter in central China to Hong Kong scrambled to contain an illness that has infected more than 1,200 people and killed 41.

President Xi Jinping’s remarks, reported by state broadcaster CCTV, came at a meeting of Communist Party leaders convened on Lunar New Year — the country’s biggest holiday whose celebrations have been muted — and underlined the government’s urgent, expanding efforts to control the outbreak.

Travel agencies have been told to halt all group tours, the state-owned English-language China Daily newspaper reported, citing the China Association of Travel Services.

Millions of people traveling during the holiday have fueled the spread of the outbreak nationwide and overseas after it began in the city of Wuhan in central China. The vast majority of the infections and all the deaths have been in mainland China, but fresh cases are popping up.

Australia and Malaysia reported their first cases Saturday — four each —and Japan, its third.

Canada reported its first case Saturday in Toronto. Officials said the man is his 50s and recently flew from Wuhan to Guangzhou, China and then on to Toronto on Jan. 23.

France confirmed three cases Friday, the first in Europe, and the U.S. identified its second, a woman in Chicago who had returned from China.

In the heart of the outbreak where 11 million residents are already on lockdown, Wuhan banned most vehicle use, including private cars, in downtown areas starting Sunday, state media reported. Only authorized vehicles would be permitted, the reports said.

The city will assign 6,000 taxis to neighborhoods, under the management of resident committees, to help people get around if they need to, China Daily said.

In Hong Kong, leader Carrie Lam said her government will raise its response level to emergency, the highest one, and close primary and secondary schools for two more weeks

UNCREDITED | AP

People walk past a checkpoint for temperature checks and mandatory face masks at the Qinhuai scenic zone in Nanjing in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. on top of next week’s Lunar New Year holiday.

They will reopen Feb. 17.

Lam said direct flights and trains from Wuhan would be blocked.

In a sign of the growing strain on Wuhan’s health care system, the official Xinhua news agency reported that the city planned to build a second makeshift hospital with about 1,000 beds. The city has said another hospital was expected to be completed Feb. 3.

The new virus comes from a large family of what are known as coronaviruses, some causing nothing worse than a cold. It causes cold and flu-like symptoms, including cough and fever, and in more severe cases, shortness of breath. It can worsen to pneumonia, which can be fatal.

China cut off trains, planes and other links to Wuhan on Wednesday, as well as public transportation within the city, and has steadily expanded a lockdown to 16 surrounding cities with a combined population of more than 50 million — greater than that of New York, London, Paris and Moscow combined.

China’s biggest holiday, Lunar New Year, unfolded Saturday in the shadow of the virus.

Authorities canceled a host of events, and closed major tourist destinations and movie theaters.

Temples locked their doors, Beijing’s Forbidden City and Shanghai Disneyland closed,

and people canceled restaurant reservations ahead of the holiday, normally a time of family reunions, sightseeing trips and other festivities in the country of 1.4 billion people.

“We originally planned to go back to my wife’s hometown and bought train tickets to depart this afternoon,” said Li Mengbin, who was on a stroll near the closed Forbidden City.

“We ended up canceling. But I’m still happy to celebrate the new year in Beijing, which I hadn’t for several years.”

Temples and parks were decorated with red streamers, paper lanterns and booths, but some places started dismantling the decor.

People in China wore medical masks to public places like grocery stores, where workers dispensed hand sanitizer to customers.

Some parts of the country had checkpoints for temperature readings and made masks mandatory.

The National Health Commission reported a jump in the number of infected people, to 1,287. The latest tally, from 29 provinces and cities across China, included 237 patients in serious condition.

Of the 41 deaths, 39 have been in Hubei province, where Wuhan is the capital city.

Most of the deaths have been older patients, though a 36-year-old man in Hubei died this week.

French automaker PSA Group says it will

evacuate its employees from Wuhan, quarantine them and then bring them to France.

The Foreign Ministry said it was working on “eventual options” to evacuate French citizens from Wuhan “who want to leave.” It didn’t elaborate.

The National Health Commission said it is bringing in medical teams to help handle the outbreak, a day after videos circulating online showed throngs of frantic people in masks lined up for examinations and complaints that family members had been turned away at hospitals that were at capacity.

The Chinese military dispatched 450 medical staff, some with experience in past outbreaks, including SARS and Ebola, who arrived in Wuhan late Friday to help treat many patients hospitalized with viral pneumonia, Xinhua reported.

Xinhua also said medical supplies are being rushed to the city, including 14,000 protective suits, 110,000 pairs of gloves and masks and goggles.

The rapid increase in reported deaths and illnesses does not necessarily mean the crisis is getting worse but could reflect better monitoring and reporting of the virus.

It is not clear how lethal the new coronavirus is or even whether it is as dangerous as the ordinary flu, which kills tens of thousands of people every year in the U.S. alone.

American-Iranian tensions complicated by Ukranian disaster

By Brita Hunegs Staff Writer

176 passengers died earlier this month when a Ukrainian airliner crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran. The Iranian government acknowledged their military had shot down the jet in a reactive response to the U.S. targeted killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and subsequently amplified tensions between the two countries.

Of the passengers, 82 were Iranian, 63 Canadian, 10 Swedishs, 11 Ukrainian, four Afghani, three German and three British nationals.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a series of tweets it was a mistake resulting from human error.

“Armed Forces’ internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane and death of 176 innocent people,” Rouhani said. “Investigations continue to identify & prosecute this great tragedy & unforgivable mistake.”

DePaul professor Kaveh Ehsani is from Iran and has expertise in Middle Eastern geopolitics. He said the Iranian people had indignation over the revelation that their

leadership had carried out this attack.

“There was a huge sense of outrage at the incompetence, at the lying, at the killing of civilians,” Ehsani said.“The government, the ministries the aviation, they had no idea what was going on.”

The flagrant miscommunication stems from the fact that Iran has a democratically elected President, but the military is controlled by the Supreme Leader and answers to his commands.

“It’s a confirmation that the government has no power,” Ehsani said. “That it’s been lied to and it lied to the public. And there’s anger at the military because they have been non-responsive and unaccountable for anything.”

Relations between the U.S. and Iran have been deteriorating since President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2018. Ehsani said the sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Iran have been debilitating for its people and that there is genuine anger towards the U.S. for this and the assassination of Soleimani.

The relationship between Iran and the U.S. is not the only increasingly tense situation as a result of the Trump administration. Relations between the U.S. and

Ukraine culminated in the withholding of military aid that is now at the center of Trump’s impeachment trial. The immediacy of this situation has made Ukraine very cautious in the aftermath of the downing of their aircraft.

“Trump has muddied the waters to the point where they don’t know what to say,” said DePaul professor Richard Farkas. “The government has been responding very carefully not to say anything because they just don’t know how it will get interpreted.”

Farkas said Ukraine is also unsure of U.S. policy towards Russia. Ukraine relies heavily on Russian oil and gas. In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula. If Russia were to increase its insurgency in Ukraine by cutting off their energy supply, Ukraine would need to turn to Iran as a supplier.

Farkas said Ukrainians empathize with the Iranian people’s anger towards the regime.

“The government and the public are both very sympathetic to the Iranian people who are protesting against the nature of their system, and it’s inclinations to do dramatic things like to shoot down a plane,” he said.

In December, protests erupted in Iran, precipitated by an increase in fuel prices.

Ehsani said the latest disillusionment with the government might cause a lack of turnout in this year’s upcoming election.

“There’s a lot more cynicism now,” Ehsani said. “A lot of people who voted are the ones that protested and have lost faith in the elected government of Rouhani. They see the whole political game as doctored and not responsive.”

But like the Ukrainians, Ehsani said Iranians too are confused by the foreign policy of the Trump administration.

“They are also angry at the U.S.,” Ehsani said. “There’s a sense of injustice.”

As for how Ukraine will move forward, Farkas said their greater concern is how the United States will curb Russian aggression against them.

“As tragic as the airliner shootdown was, the beginning and the end of the story is always ‘how do we get out of this mess?’”

Farkas said. “The U.S. is not contributing to the solution, clearly.”

12 | Opinions. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020

Opinions

Articles on impeachment

An impeachment proceeding is justified, but a political misstep

Even if Trump remains in office, Democrats will have the last laugh

By Shane René Editor-In-Chief

Shortly after House Democrats launched their impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, conservative political commentator and baseball superfan George F. Will described watching House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spar with the Trump administration as like watching baseball legend Omar Vizquel play shortstop. This was — from a man who fundamentally disagrees with many of her political persuasions — a glowing compliment.

And it’s a fair comparison. Vizquel is widely considered to be the greatest defensive shortstop of all time; and Pelosi, regardless of your politics, is among the most shrewd political leaders to ever walk the halls of Congress.

But here’s the problem: When a baseball player uses their brilliance to, say, end your favorite team’s playoff run, you would still find a way to applaud the greatness you just witnessed. In politics, however, that kind of recognition rarely crosses the aisle. In sports, moments of individual brilliance bring us together; in politics, they risk driving us further apart.

The impeachment proceedings, based solely on the actions of the president and his administration, are quite justified. But in an era of extreme polarization, the impeachment proceedings against Trump risk further damage to our civic culture, setting Democrats on an even more uncertain and treacherous path toward the 2020 elections.

Moments of polarization will always crop up in any society, but this modern rise of political polarization did not occur naturally.

Ever since the advent of cable television and the internet, the way we engage with politics has changed drastically — and fundamentally altered what we believe and why we believe it.

Ben Epstein, a political science professor at DePaul and political communication expert, says the very same media market that has democratized information for the masses has also contributed greatly to our increasing division.

“We call it the media, but the media is a lot of different things,” Epstein said. “And it has become increasingly diverse and fragmented in terms of sources of content, in terms of platforms and outlets — and there are a lot of good things as a result of that.”

But it’s not all sunshine and lollipops.

“We’ve always had partisan press — and what we have today is an extremely partisan time,” Epstein said. “But what is different today is that different outlets can not only send different messages, frame things differently and use entirely different vocabulary — but those can be entirely isolated for an audience to only get one thing, in a way that was harder to do in the past with older technology.”

Today the nation is increasingly split between those who believe traditional media and those who don’t — which is exactly how Trump wants it. A 2018 Quinnipiac poll published by FiveThirtyEight found that 75% of people who identify as Republican trust Trump to tell the truth more than the news.

Predictably, the same poll showed more than 80% of Democrats believe the exact opposite.

We can see this split manifest in Trump’s approval rating. Since Trump took office, the American public has not changed their opinion of the president — his ap-

GRAPHIC BY GINA RICARDS

proval rating has remained locked in the low 40s since the day he took office, with a brief dip into the mid 30s near the end of his first year. When Trump brokered a meeting with North Korea, nobody changed their mind.

When he put children in cages on the southern border and denied them basic medical services, the public still held strong to their convictions. No American president since the inception of approval polling has ever experienced this kind of remarkable consistency in public opinion.

“I go to FiveThirtyEight, I go to RealClearPolitics multiple times a week and I don’t know why I do sometimes,” Epstein said. “I’m interested in: are things moving a percentage or two one way or another and then three weeks later, things are going to bounce back. [That’s due to] a number of things, but I think fundamentally it’s the resiliency of his supporters. They are, overall, loyal to that brand and will stick with him.”

There is a common misconception in American politics that our representatives are out-of-touch with the electorate. In fact, the growing partisan divide among politicians is a reflection of the growing divide among the voters. In his book “The Polarized Public,” Emory University professor Alan I. Abramowitzs illustrates how moderate establishment Republicans were unseated by hyper-conservative candidates like Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sharron Angle in Nevada. Fans of the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a left-wing Democrat from New York’s 14th district, know that the same shift has happened across the aisle. In both cases, the party establishment not only disapproved of the shift, they actively fought it.

The impeachment of Donald Trump is justified from a legal standpoint and allowing his behavior to go unchecked is an uncomfortable thing to argue for. But our modern political environment is so polarized and enraged that there is likely no virtue in an impeachment effort that was destined to fail from the start. If opinions won’t be changed, an impeachment battle only promises to cement our already crippling divide.

By Kyle Asta Treasurer of DePaul Democrats

There will be many things that could decide the 2020 elections and whether President Donald Trump gets reelected or not. The economy could fall into a hole or war with Iran could heat up. Perhaps the most important factor, however, is the Senate’s decision whether to convict Trump of two impeachable offenses or not. It’s looking likely the Senate will acquit the President on both charges but the damage had already been done to this administration and it will show the people how corrupt he truly is heading into the upcoming election.

Already the process has become much more polarizing compared to Bill Clinton’s impeachment in early 1999. The Republican majority worked with the Democrat minority to make sure it was at least fair and even then the public was against impeachment from the start based on polling done by Gallup at the time. In today’s highly polarized climate there’s a slight majority (around 50-51 percent) in favor of it according to polling done by FiveThirtyEight. That majority sees that Trump’s offenses exposed this country to harm compared to a personal relationship Clinton had in the Oval Office. Abuse of power by withholding aid from Ukraine in exchange for information on 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden. The other being obstruction of Congress for trying to stall and fight impeachment by not having officials not comply with subpoenas and release information to committees.

Looking at it from a partisan lens, there aren’t enough votes in the Senate to convict the sitting President of either offense with Republicans holding 53 seats compared to Democrats with 47. With fears of backlash from the President and the conservative base it isn’t looking likely that there will be many crossover votes from the Republicans to convict him. Trump critics like Senators Bob Corker and Jeff Flake have left Congress because they weren’t being

well received by the people who voted them in. Some were even defeated in primary challenges like Rep. Mark Sanford who never embraced the administration.

This tells many GOP senators to vote no on both articles or face the threat of backlash from the President and party voters.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has been working to ensure that this trial gets done quickly, which is both good and bad. Good because the outcome is decided sooner rather than later, but bad because it’s unlikely this will be a fair trial. Calls for allowing additional witnesses are still up in the air but an emerging group of bi-partisan senators looks to continue the trial while providing some integrity to it.

While it’s likely President Trump will not be convicted, the Democrats will be the ones with the advantage in the end.

Yes, Trump supporters have been fired up over this issue, but the moderate-liberal left has been building upon its momentum since Trump was elected. Voters have been coming out and voting in unprecedented and historically high numbers. Those numbers translated to the Democrats capturing the House of Representatives and taking control of many state governments in the last three years.

The vote will put key senators in tough positions across many swing states. Only one Democrat is considered extremely vulnerable in 2020 – Doug Jones of ruby-red Alabama – while upwards of nine Republicans from Colorado to Maine will have to work extra hard to keep their seats. Democrats only need to pick up four seats to take control of the chamber (or three if they win the presidency.) So while it’s going to be a dead heat for who wins, the odds are looking much better for the Democrats compared to 2018 when they were defending more seats than the Republicans.

The upcoming 2020 election is even more important after the vote. If the vote ends with acquittal, there are still many months to go until the election and there are a lot of other issues that could crop up in voter’s minds. It could end up not mattering at all if the party sticks to its principles and keeps the heat on the President for his other policies that are seen as unpopular.

The Republicans’ defense of Trump has already put Democrats on the moral high ground when it comes to the long term.

Today a lot of people see this as just partisan bickering on both sides but history is the true judge of one’s legacy. The midterm elections of 1974 saw large gains for Democrats after Richard Nixon resigned amidst the Watergate investigation and that eventually culminated in the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976. Resignation meant to a lot of people he was guilty of his crimes and today most see Nixon as one of the worst Presidents in U.S. history.

The same will be said about Trump’s legacy who has already made many strides to become one of the most unpopular presidents ever. The impeachment trial will open people’s eyes to see him for what he truly is and will vote him out of office in 2020. While Trump will most likely celebrate his acquittal it will be the Democrats who will have the last laugh.

A soiled plan for attention

Stalker shared his insights on Kaitlin Bennett and her journalistic platform.

Focus Editor Stalker specializes in communication mechanisms and history as well as in Kaitlin Bennett, also known as the media ethics. While he believes Bennett “Kent State Gun Girl,” has been trending on social media after her infamous inter- can be considered a working and providing journalist, she lacks the presence and views have not gone her way. temperament of traditional journalists.

Bennett is a young far-right, Amer“I think she knows what she’s doing,” ican gun rights advocate, anti-abortion he said. “Maybe it’s not with good inactivist and social media personality. tention but it’s definitely with intent Bennett received her title as the Kent and that’s where one of the real State Gun Girl after a series of photos ethical dangers lie.” went viral of her in 2018 for openly carWhile she claims rying an AR-10 rifle around Kent State that the conservative University after her graduation. viewpoints are the correct Ever since her photos went viral, Bennett has launched a platform stricken and rational side of the political agenda, she enjoys fuelwith controversial political viewpoints, ing the anger of left-leaning people all debatable interviewing methods and a around the country, no matter how unsocial media presence that does not go comfortable and riled up it makes them. ignored. Recently, gun girl videos have Her style of journalism is not one that been trending on Twitter that portray should represent the work of all journalBennett getting trolled by interviewees ists- and is better off ignored. and observers of her actions.

Jessica Livingston, a junior at Kent Bennett’s controversial opinions are State University, shared her experiences not only centered around the topics of while she and Kaitlin Bennett shared a gun laws, gender and abortion, but they go far deeper as they are centered around college campus together.

“When I was a freshman she was a baiting angry reactions and debates out senior in my elementary Spanish I class,” of any citizen that is in her path. she said. “She was Although she claims quiet in class but she to be a working journalist did wear very offensive seeking out the diverse opinionated t-shirts. opinions of people that She was very vocal disagree with hers, it only outside of the classappears that she will not room and was active pass up the opportunity in Turning Point. She of getting a reaction out was often in the student of people, creating concenter asking students flicts and showing that questions about their she carries a gun with her beliefs. She came back at all times. after she graduated for DePaul communications professor, Jordan GRAPHICS BY ANNALISA BARANOWSKI her rallies and the

Opinions. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 | 13

By Rebecca Meluch

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Kaitlin Bennett interviews an unseen subject at Rutgers University. campus was shut down because the university was worried about our safety.”

Bennett often looks to film interviews at places that is highly populated with more left-leaning opinions: places like gay pride parades, women’s marches and college campuses are at the core of her intended interviews.

As Bennett hopes to capture the irrational anger of the left in hopes to entertain her far-right audience, she truly ends up embarrassing herself and often attempts to talk herself out of arguments.

While it is entertaining to watch Bennett get trolled in her videos and ultimately proved wrong on Twitter, it is also what she wants us to do. Our intensified attention to her only keeps the camera running and the microphone in her hand.

No matter what structured and sane arguments her opposers in her videos will have, Bennett will not change her views or her demeanor on camera – she is simply getting paid and funded by those who love to see her get a rise out of left-leaning interviewees and watchers.

The question is, how would DePaul students react if Bennett showed up on

our campus, would students offer her content? While there is a select group of right-leaning students, most students would likely disagree with Bennett’s viewpoints.

DePaul sophomore Amanda Janis offered her insights on how she would react and expect the campus to behave if Bennett urged us with her presence, “I would be bothered if she came to campus,” she said. “I think fellow students would tear her arguments and opinions apart.”

Livingston also shares the same belief that it is best to ignore Bennett. She said that although it is important to have conversations with people with opposing viewpoints, conversations are most effective when they are constructive and when they are not-interactions are pointless. She finds that Bennett only makes fun of thepeople she interviews and her conversations with interviewees are not constructive but are often one-sided.

Although Bennett is the type of journalist to raise controversy and open up arguments, trolling her platform and fueling her fire only puts money in her pocket that people should not fund.

Bringing light to the darkness

Eminem’s graphic music video highlights the helpless horror of the Las Vegas shooting

By Bianca Cseke Online Managing Editor

When Eminem released a song and music video, “Darkness,” from the perspective of the Las Vegas shooter Jan. 17, it brought about mixed feelings from survivors of the mass shooting.

The Oct. 1, 2017 shooting, known as 1 October, killed 58 and injured hundreds more, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.

The video goes through what presumably went through the shooter’s mind as he prepared to rain bullets down on an unsuspecting music festival crowd from a Las Vegas Strip hotel room. It’s complete with realistic bullets, screaming, a stockpile of guns and even blood when he shoots himself as police close in on him. Eminem and his creative team clearly did their research, as they even included the camera the shooter had propped up in the hotel’s hallway to warn when police were coming.

Different survivors told the Las Vegas Review-Journal they’re glad someone is at least talking about what happened, that people shouldn’t assume all survivors support gun control and that it was hard to watch and crossed a line but also didn’t because it reflects reality.

It’s a lot to take in.

At first glance, it’s easy for the video to feel like exploitation of an event that traumatized a city and the visitors and their

PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUTUBE

Eminem’s latest music video is set from the perspective of the Las Vegas shooter. families who were impacted. as news organizations with more resources As a native Las Vegan who covered the successfully sued to get them released. I shooting as editor-in-chief of the University talked about how emotionally exhausting of Nevada Las Vegas’ student paper, my the work was with my staff, with reporters initial reaction was frustration that somewho asked me what it was like to cover one would not only bring back details of something like this as a student journalist a week I usually wanted to forget, but also and, slowly, with more people I met after use it to benefit their music career. moving to Chicago for grad school. Yet I And yet. found myself numb. Numb, and finding on In the little over two years between many days that the work I had done felt less 1 October and my watching “Darkness,” and less meaningful the more time passed I never cried about what had happened and more communities experienced their to my hometown. I didn’t know how to own mass shootings. I felt helpless. handle intense breaking news every day for When I reached the end of “Darkness,” a week, and then figure out how a student when we see the back of someone’s head paper should cover something like this as they watch breaking news report after long-term. Like I had been led to believe breaking news report of mass shootings any “good” journalist should do, I compart- around the country, I finally felt something. mentalized my work and my own feelings.

Nothing else over the years truly emI didn’t have a hard time going to talks bodied the sense of helplessness and withabout the shooting, or reading long reports drawal I felt and how much I want to stop

seeing news of more of this shit happening every few months – sometimes even more often. I cried myself to sleep that night, and in my own way I feel like I’ve moved at least one small step forward because of it. I can live with someone making money off a video and song like this if it can help people in some way.

It’s also worth noting that the video ends with a call to action, saying, “When will this end? When enough people care.

Register to vote at vote.gov.” So it doesn’t look like the point of “Darkness” is only to create outrage, but to also turn whatever emotions it elicits into action. In a cycle where people talk about the need for solutions after each new mass shooting, then seem to stop for a while until the next one comes along – with few changes coming about as time passes by – it’s hard to take issue with an attempt to get people to care.

That doesn’t mean it’s a perfect song or music video. For example, the video did not need to include an actor that looks like the shooter; he does not deserve to have his appearance or name widely available. Even if Eminem’s video only has an actor and never mentions his name, it’s more than the shooter deserves.

“Darkness” isn’t a song I expect I’ll be able to listen to casually given its subject matter. Anyone who may be affected by it should keep in mind it’s difficult to watch.

But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have been made or even that it’s harmful.

14 | Focus. The DePaulia. Jan.27, 2020

Focus

Easy buckets

It’s called a free throw because it’s fre

By Nate Burleyson Asst. Sports Editor

When James Naismith invented the game of basketball in 1891, there were just 13 simple rules.

Among them, there was nothing that resembled the free throw of today. Rule no. 7 stated that “If either side makes consecutive fouls, it shall count a goal for the opponents.” Other than that, it took a few years for the framework of the free throw seen today to be established.

At first, every basket was one point for the scoring team. By that metric, allowing one point for a foul was too severe of a penalty. The rules were adjusted so that all baskets were worth two points and the fouls were worth one point.

The first edition of the free throw was introduced in the form of a 20-foot shot that would end up being worth the same as a field goal. In 1896, the free throw was moved to 15 feet and was worth one point to a normal field goal’s two points. From there, no scoring was changed until the introduction of the three-point line in different levels of basketball through the mid-1900s.

Teams were originally allowed to choose which player to send to the line, which was changed, as the point essentially became automatic. From 1924 on, the player that got fouled had to shoot the corresponding free throws. Since then, it’s been a 95-year unchanged relationship between fans, players and the free-throw line.

Throughout those rules, the free throw has spent its time in the spotlight in all levels of basketball. From Nick Anderson’s four missed free throws at the end of game one of the 1995 NBA Finals to Andre Drummond going 13-for-36 in

Left to right: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dr. James Naismith, Shaquille O’Neal and Andre Drummond.

one game, the free throw has defined its own little corner in basketball history.

Free throws can end up ruining careers, creating success stories and making a real difference in the outcomes of games.

It’s kind of like a field goal in football dilemma. How can games be decided by a play that isn’t a part of the normal flow of the game? Many criticized the rule for this very reason. Naismith, in his book titled “Basketball: Its Origin and Development,” stated: “I have often overheard some spectators express the opinion that a game was won by free throws. I have always taken the attitude that the game was lost by fouls.”

Overall, free throws don’t change outcomes of games based on volume that often. Games that come down to shooting free throws are a different

Free Throws by the Numbers Best Free Throw Percentage: Stephen Curry, 90.5 percent Worst Free Throw Percentage: Ben Wallace, 41.4 percent Average 2019-2020 NBA Free Throw Percentage: 76.9 percent DePaul 2019-2020 Free Throw Percentage: 65.7 percent

matter.

Outside of games, the free throw represents a great appreciation of form and repetition. There’s a reason the Guinness World Record holder is Tom Amberry, the late foot surgeon who made 2,750 consecutive shots in 1993 at the age of 71.

For over 12 hours, Amberry shot free throws in a California gym without missing. Amberry also gave pointers to the Chicago Bulls on free-throw shooting.

Free throws define players. Shaquille O’Neal was beaten up so badly during his career because teams knew sending him to the line was an easy way to get the ball back, as the dominant center shot just 52.7 percent from the line in his career.

Nick Anderson’s legacy is largely defined by his mistake. Four missed free throws in game 1

of the 1995 finals his Orlando Magic able to get back swinging the serie 1975 NBA ch known and belov oping the underha to a better percen throws aren’t atte makes you look According to MLi Detroit Pistons ce shot under 40 per first five seasons, a ceptive to that.

There’s certain throws. On Nov.

Focus. The DePaulia. Jan.27, 2020 | 15

s

ee points

s could have clinched a win for c, but the Houston Rockets were in the game after his blunder, es quickly in their favor. hampion Rick Barry is partially ved for his persistence in develand ‘granny’ shot that may lead ntage. Usually, underhand free empted because the technique like you can’t play basketball. ive.com, Barry offered to coach enter Andre Drummond, who rcent from the line in four of his and Drummond wasn’t quite re-

n showmanship to shooting free 23, 1991, Michael Jor-

dan attempted a free throw with his eyes closed, mocking Denver Nuggets’ star Dikembe Mutombo by saying “this one is for you Mutumbo,” before drilling a shot while blind.

Free throw routines are the time for players to shine. Routines can range from flashy to simple to bizarre. Steve Nash, one of the best free throw shooters of all time, would just dribble three times, look at his hand, and crouch and release.

Karl Malone, who attempted the most free throws in NBA history, would take nine seconds for each shot, exhausting everyone involved.

Sometimes, free throws are weird. On Dec. 4, 2019, the DePaul Blue Demons played the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Wintrust Arena. Late in the game with a chance to go up by four points, Tech guard Davide Moretti was up at the line. A little graphic on the FS1 broadcast popped up documenting how he hadn’t missed a free throw since March. Next thing you know, he missed the free throw and Tech lost in overtime.

Today, NBA players like James Harden and Luka Dončić orient their playstyles around getting to the line. A popular play in today’s world of basketball is to hook a defender’s arm and go up for a shot that gets called for an easy foul. Harden has led the league in free throw attempts for the past four years. In the past, centers were intentionally fouled. Now, guards like Dončić and Harden try their best to draw those fouls.

Perhaps the most culturally relevant free throw story is Rasheed Wallace’s “ball don’t lie” campaign. Simply, if something is called a foul that really isn’t, the free throw going in or not will determine the validity of the call. The ball really never lies.

ALEXA SANDLER | THE DEPAULIA The DePaul men’s basketball team has struggled from the free-throw line this season; in their Big East losses, the Blue Demons have only hit 68 percent of their free throws. The team is last in the conference in free-throw shooting percentage but is fourth in attempts and fifth in total makes

PHOTOS FROM FLICKR, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS AND ALEXA SANDLER | THE DEPAULIA GRAPHICS BY ANNALISA BARANOWSKI AND GINA RICARDS | THE DEPAULIA

Arts & Life

16 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020

Year of the Golden Rat

MACKENZIE MURTAUGH | THE DEPAULIA

Three women sit and laugh at the celebratory dragon passing by. DePaul’s Chinese New Year event featured networking, games and a buffet, in addition to performances.

DePaul celebrates Chinese New Year, embraces new beginnings

By Jessica Grekowicz & Mackenzie Murtaugh Contributing Writer & News Editor

The idea of celebrating a rat is lost upon many in Western culture. Rats are the scurrying figures you avoid on the subway, the hidden creatures in the walls of your apartment and what one DePaul student affectionately called: “garbage squirrels”.

DePaul University celebrated the year of the Golden Rat on Friday with the 12th annual Chinese Lunar New Year Gala. Located at the Lincoln Park Student Center, the gala was co-hosted by the DePaul Chinese Studies Program, the DePaul Chinese Students and Scholars Association and the DePaul Chinese Studies Association. The gala featured networking opportunities, cultural games, an authentic lunar buffet and cultural performances by DePaul students.

Through DePaul University’s Chinese and Asian community efforts, the value of the mystical rat became apparent, most notably for its promise of new beginnings.

The rat is the first animal of the Chinese zodiac and is seen as a sign of wealth and surplus in Chinese culture.

The rat represents the Earthly Branch Zi and midnight hours, 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. In terms of yin and yang, the rat is yang and symbolizes the beginning of a new day. Yin and yang is about how seem-

ingly opposite or contrary forces can be complementary.

It is fitting that the rat is to be celebrated in 2020 as DePaul students enter the new decade.

The director of DePaul’s Global Gateway Program and rat zodiac, Gretchen Frickx, says she is optimistic for the new year.

“You see DePaul putting on events like these, and the small details give me hope,” she said. “Like the placemats, plates and forks, they’re all compostable. I don’t know many schools that would take the time to do that while putting on a celebration like this.”

And the celebration has only grown larger. President of DePaul University, A. Gabriel Esteban, said during his speech at the event that DePaul is “a global university” with over 500 hundred Chinese students and 1,500 international students.

Joy Fang, president of DePaul Chinese Students and Scholars Association, stated that through events such as the celebration of the year of the Golden Rat, DePaul is providing a space for Chinese students to celebrate their traditions as well as bridge the gap between other Asian communities.

“As we grow, we’re excited to connect to other communities more,” Fang said. “For a while, the Chinese community has kept to themselves, but this year we worked with the International Student and Scholar Services to put on the event.”

The rat is considered to be the most quick-witted, resourceful and opportunistic animal of the Chinese zodiac. Not to mention the Golden Rat’s lucky color is blue just like DePaul’s pride colors.

“Chinese people are very ambitious, but they put their energy and enthusiasm into doing hard work,” said Daniel Brown,

MACKENZIE MURTAUGH | THE DEPAULIA

President A. Gabriel Esteban talks with an attendee of the Chinese New Year party. a business major. “You have that duality of the spicy and sweet flavored presented in their dishes. I really appreciate the positive attitude culture and the Chinese fun-slash-serious dynamic.”

While many around the world are concerned about the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, DePaul’s Chinese and Asian communities stood in solidarity Friday night. There was only support and sympathy within the crowd.

“Hysteria is like the new thing,” said Doug Williams, local resident and attendee. “People are so willing to be scared. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t shut down the event, but I’m glad they didn’t. My wife and I have been coming for so many years now.”

Fang expressed her support for those in Wuhan, China. “One major thing we are looking forward to and praying towards this year is to stay healthy,” she said.

The Chinese Lunar New Year Gala and celebration of the Golden Rat can be seen as a promising omen for the Chinese community and students of DePaul. The rat reminds us to be resourceful in a time of crisis and to make smart decisions during the beginning of the decade.

Facing the problems of 2020 can be daunting, but the Golden Rat might be the figure of hope that the Chinese and DePaul community need this year.

GRAPHICS BY ANNALISA BARANOWSKI

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 | 17

Viral fear

‘Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak’ teaches and terrifies

By Lacey Latch Print Managing Editor

As the first confirmed patient with newly discovered coronavirus in Chicago received treatment at Hoffman Estates Hospital in the Northwestern suburbs, I sat in my apartment and watched Netflix’s new docuseries “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak” and felt my anxiety quickly rise to new, previously unmatched levels. In the first five minutes, viewers are ominously reminded that “When we talk about another flu pandemic happening, it’s not a matter of if, but when.”

The timing of the show’s release could not be more frightening.

The opening frames of the series feature archival footage of overflowing hospitals and mass graves from the 1918 influenza pandemic that resulted in an estimated 50-100 million deaths worldwide, leaving the viewer left to wonder if history repeating itself is on the horizon.

While global efforts ramp up to prevent the continued spread of the coronavirus, a potentially deadly respiratory illness, “Pandemic” takes viewers inside the worldwide preventative effort against future viruses that evolve rapidly and for which humans have no prior immunity.

As the global population continues to increase, so too does the risk for an even more catastrophic pandemic with potential consequences that reach into the realm of the unfathomable. The series follows the work of Dr. Dennis Carroll, director of the Emerging Threats Unit within the U.S. Agency for International Development.

C ar ro l l estimates that if there were to be a pandemic similar to those in the past, the loss of life could potentially reach hundreds of millions.

The show takes care to highlight the overwhelming unpreparedness across the U.S. if a flu pandemic were to occur, focusing on a small, rural hospital in Waurika, Oklaho-

ma where one doctor is responsible for the whole community. If a pandemic were to ensue, this hospital and countless others like it would be woefully ill-equipped to fight the spread of the virus.

“Pandemic” also wades into the increasingly volatile debate surrounding vac-

cinations. The show follows a group of concerned parents in Oregon who very vocally oppose a proposed bill that would require their kids to receive certain vaccinations to attend public school and participate in many community sports and activities.

Like many other anti-vaxxers, these parents repeatedly argue that the legislation encroaches on their freedom of choice as Americans.

At the same time, the show documents the research journey of a group of independent scientists working to develop a universal influenza vaccine that both eradicates the effects of past strains, as well as protects against mutations of the virus that have not yet been discovered.

“Pandemic” focuses largely on the perspectives of those on the front line who are actively in charge of preventing and leading the response to a pandemic should one occur. Without exception, they are all resolute in the fact that the next pandemic is inevitable and it will be catastrophic.

While I now have more tangible information on the source, spread and impact of these viral outbreaks, I feel no more prepared myself or confident in the government, health care or public response as it stands.

And while it is mildly reassuring watching teams of brilliant scientists, researchers and public health officials actively work to trace, track and treat new viruses in the name of pandemic prevention, the level of certainty that they have when speaking of the inevitability of a viral outbreak is haunting.

A brief history of pandemics The Black Death (1346-1353)

Cause: Bubonic Plague Locale: Believed to have originated in Asia before spreading to Europe and Africa.

Death Toll: 75-200 million

Third Cholera Pandemic (18521860)

Cause: Cholera Locale: Originated in India, spread across Asia, Europe, North America Death Toll: 1 million

Flu Pandemic (1889-1890)

Cause: Influenza Locale: Three separate cases were discovered at once in Central Asia, Canada and Greenland before it spread across the globe Death Toll: 1 million

Sixth Cholera Pandemic (19101911)

Cause: Cholera Locale: Originated in India before spreading to the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia Death Toll: 800,000+

Flu Pandemic (1918)

Cause: Influenza Locale: Worldwide Death Toll: 20-50 million with estimates as high as 100 million

Asian Flu (1956-1958)

Cause: Influenza Locale: China, Singapore, Hong Kong, United States Death Toll: 2 million

Flu Pandemic (1968)

Cause: Influenza Locale: Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, India, Australia, Europe, The United States Death Toll: 1 million

HIV/AIDS Pandemic (Peaked around 2005-2012)

Cause: HIV/AIDS Locale: First discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976, quickly spread worldwide Death Toll: 36 million

PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS GRAPHIC BY ANNALISA BARANOWSKI

18 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020

Coddled for cannabis

A DePaulia writer went to a weed dispensary. Here’s what the process looked like.

By Rebecca Rogers Contributing Writer

On January 1st, 2020, recreational marijuana became legal in the state of Illinois. This new law legalizes the possession of 30 grams of cannabis flower, 5 grams of cannabis concentrate, and 500 milligrams of THC-infused edibles for Illinois residents who are 21 and up.

As one of those 21 and up people, I couldn’t wait to head to a dispensary and legally purchase weed. Like many, I had no idea what I was walking into, and no matter how much research I did, there was no way to know until I was standing in line. So, for those of you who have yet to stand in said lines, I will now be sharing with you my experience of purchase legal weed at Sunnyside Dispensary.

My alarm shocks me into consciousness at 6:30 a.m., bright and early. Time to get up and head to the dispensary!

Okay, I fell back asleep. At 7:30 a.m., it’s really time to go.

My Lyft driver has a lot of thoughts about all the chaos surrounding marijuana legalization. He doesn’t think the chaos will die down for at least a year. Oh boy. He wishes me luck as I get out of the car.

The dispensary doesn’t open until 9:00 a.m., so I join the line waiting outside around 8 a.m. I had decided to wait to brave the chaos until about two weeks after New Year’s, so I snagged the fifth place in line. Everyone is bundled up and shivering as we wait for the facility to open.

By 8:15 a.m., the security guards have shown up. One in particular goes down the line, which has started to grow, thanking people for their patience. I hear him mention the limitations of sales, and ask him more about it. He tells me that patrons are only allowed to purchase one of each product (flower, cartridges, prerolls, edibles, etc). This is because of the shortages of product that Sunnyside and many other dispensaries around the city are experiencing.

I strike up a conversation with the folks around me. One man tells me that this is his second time legally buying weed.

He showed up on January 1st at 4:00 in the morning. His early start paid off though, as he was the 135th person to buy weed that day. Another man tells me that he was also there on the first day, but he was 421st in line. He jokes that the person who got number 420 didn’t deserve it (420 is slang for marijuana). He says that he had to wait in line for 10 hours to get in, but that it was worth it to be a part of such a historic day.

By almost 9 a.m., the security guards tell us that we are going to head over to Aurelio’s, a pizza place across the street, to wait until the store is ready. We are told to stay in a single file line as we cross the street. As we start to snake around, it strikes me just how juvenile this is. We are walking in a single file line, snaking around, but the only two differences between this and kindergarten is that we are buying a drug and kindergarteners don’t know how to read. I ask the guy behind me if they have a rope we could all hold onto so we don’t get lost. He laughs.

I wasn’t kidding. There’s a lot of walking around and someone could get lost. Once we’ve arrived at Aurelio’s, we are given wishlists to fill out with what we want to buy from the dispensary. I am in the first group, so I only sit in the restaurant for a couple minutes.

6:30 a.m.

My alarm shocks me into consciousness bright and early.

Time to get up and head to the dispensary!

7:45 a.m.

My Lyft driver has a lot of thoughts about all the chaos surrounding marijuana legalization.

7:30 a.m.

Okay, I fell back asleep.

Now it’s really time to go.

8:55 a.m.

The security guards tell us that we are going to head over to Aurelio’s, a pizza place across the street, to wait until the store is ready.

8:05 a.m.

8:15 a.m.

The security guards have shown up.

One in particular goes down the line, which has started to grow, thanking people for their patience.

8:25 a.m.

I strike up a conversation with the folks around me.

The dispensary doesn’t open until 9:00 a.m., so I join the line waiting outside.

9:05 a.m.

Me and eleven other people are led back to the dispensary. When we get there, we are instructed to take out our IDs.

9:20 a.m.

9:10 a.m.

We are finally let into the store.

We are told to stand in line, and cashiers talk to us one at a time.

When it’s my turn at the cashier, I ask for the things I want, and ask a few product-related questions as well.

9:31 a.m.

I have my bright orange bag and am on my way out the door.

GRAPHICS BY ANNALISA BARANOWSKI

Me and eleven other people are led back to the dispensary. When we get there, we are instructed to take out our IDs. When we walk inside, we are stopped in a waiting room where our IDs are scanned for authenticity. I pass the test, and am feeling great. I’m so close.

We are finally let into the store ten minutes later, and what I see is not what I was expecting. Instead of a chillaxing weed store with cool music and low lighting, I am met with bright orange and white decor, pop music, and the brightest lighting I have ever seen. I mean, a doctor could perform a surgery in this lighting. I think the best way to paint this picture is to say that I felt like I was in a government-run Apple store, but instead of selling phones, they sell weed. What a strange place. We are told to stand in line, and cashiers talk to us one at a time.

Unfortunately, this takes a while, as there are only two cashiers working, even though there are five cash registers.

When it’s my turn at the cashier, I

ask for the things I want, and ask a few product-related questions as well. I am impressed with how knowledgeable the cashier is, and tell him so. I also thank him for being here during such a hectic time.

He smiles, and says that it’s all good, he’s stoned anyway. Okay, he doesn’t actually say that. What he really says is that he’s happy to be here helping people out, but that he’s hoping that there will be more employees joining the team in the next few months. According to him, there is an intense background screening required to work at a dispensary, and the state is dragging their feet in the process and slowing things down. I thank him again, and hand over my cash (this dispensary, and many others, are cash only, but Sunnyside does have an ATM).

At 9:30 a.m., I have my bright orange bag and am on my way out the door. I wave to the suckers that are still in line as I walk away, and in doing so, I miss my bus and have to wait 13 minutes for another one.

Okay karma, I see you.

All in all, I was incredibly impressed with the way that Sunnyside is being run.

The staff is knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly, and although it seems excessive, the use of several spaces to spread patrons out is very organized and keeps the process smooth. Their products are fresh and sustainably made, and well as regulated, which is a major pro for legal weed.

According to the Chicago Tribune, dispensaries around the state made almost $19.7 million in the first twelve days of sales, and the first day was one of the biggest days of legal weed sales in history.

Even with the shortages and long lines, it is clear that people are willing to wait to buy weed legally, and I am here to say that having been through it, it is absolutely worth it.

Next time, I’m going to bring a rope to hold on to; I really don’t want to get lost.

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 | 19

Laughing through the pain

Memes are more than comedic, often a coping mechanism

By Madi Garcia Contributing Writer

For years, memes have been the source of entertainment for many people, but for some, it has become something entirely new.

Recently, World War III memes have ruled the internet and jokes about a possible military draft went around. While it may seem odd, for those who rely on humor to deal with difficult emotions, memes have become an important coping mechanism.

The function of memes allows us to reflect on certain events and common emotions that connect people on a larger scale. Humorous jokes about Grumpy Cat and 4Chan ruled the early days of memes.

However, as the internet has evolved, so have the memes. While simple and harmless memes like the beloved Nyan Cat still exist, so do more complex memes like “Jeffery Epstein didn’t kill himself ” jokes.

A more recent example of this use of memes is the Iran conflict. When tensions between the U.S. and Iran began escalating earlier this month, memes about a possible World War III and a draft began spreading like wildfire across the internet. Social media seemed to have endless content of videos, pictures, and drawings of what it would feel like to fight a war.

“Someone shoot your shot before Iran does,” reads one post. “Nobody: Me in WW3: I’m in the ghetto ratatata” jokes another meme.

Using humor to discuss more serious topics is one of the many ways to process intense emotions. Before memes there were comedians. Standup comedy and satirical talk shows joked about serious topics such as racism and abuse. Many memes have assumed this role, and have transformed into a form of a coping mechanism.

“I think people have always used humor as a coping mechanism for a long time. There’s a lot of comedians who have committed suicide, but they used humor to cope with a traumatic past,” said 21-yearold DePaul University student Michael Zapata.

The popularity of memes can be attributed to two key reasons: they’re relatable and accessible. The internet and social media has made information available faster and easier than ever before. It’s conve-

nient and effortless to find content at the touch of a button.

Breanna McEwan, a professor of Communication Studies at DePaul University, says the availability and simplicity of memes make them easy to consume.

“Memes allow people to easily remix images and words to create short, easily consumed opinions,” said McEwan. “Me-

mes are what Henry Jenkins might call highly ‘spreadable’ media; the underlying format is simple to grasp, allows for personalization and editing and the way that they build upon each other allows us to understand them within our cultural context.”

Many people consume memes because of the ability to relate to the emotions conveyed in the media.

“The relatability of memes definitely connects people,” said Zapata. “It’s basically the whole purpose of them – it’s something that everyone can relate to and find funny.”

The connection of shared experiences that memes can build between people is why it has become a popular coping mechanism.

“Memes can be beneficial because they serve the functions of idiomatic communication – understanding a meme helps us know we have shared interpersonal understanding of someone else,” said McEwan.

Relating to someone else about a difficult emotion is why memes are sought out.

DePaul University student Su Nandar, 22, felt this way about World War III memes.

“People were really anxious about the possibility of a World War III, so they used memes to connect with other people through humor,” said Nandar.

This function of memes is generally perceived as harmless. However, there are some concerns over the consequences of using humorous media to discuss serious issues.

“One thing I worry about with memes is that when they are used to communicate a particular position on a political or social issue, they tend to be very low quality information,” said McEwan. “This low quality information can be perceived very differently by people on different sides of the debate and can cause negative attributions about the meme sharer from people who are on the other side of the debate.”

McEwan believes these possible miscommunications can lead to increased polarization on serious issues because assumptions about the lack of intelligence of the opposing side can be made.

Others don’t mind the use of memes to discuss serious issues. Nandar believes that of all the coping mechanisms, memes may be the most harmless.

“Memes can be helpful because it can be used as an outlet for negative feelings and things,” said Nandar. “They can use humor, rather than drugs or violence, to process things.”

Zapata believes coping memes can help a person build online connections.

“Maybe at school you’re the shy kid that no one talks to, but on Facebook you’re like the ‘meme king’ online,” said Zapata. “It really just depends on the person and how they want to use memes.”

Surviving the Super Bowl: Sports hater edition

By Keira Wingate Asst. Arts & Life Editor

Super Bowl Sunday is approaching and some of us are not as excited as most. For the most part, food is my main reasoning for going to a Super Bowl watch party. Last year, I made a homemade chip dip in a crockpot as a way to make it through the longest football game of the year. Here are some things to bring, look for or enjoy to make it through a party that you may be suckered into going to.

1. Food

Whether you bring food yourself or eat what’s there, food during the Super Bowl is the best distraction if you just don’t want to watch the game. Just con-

stantly stand by the table, piling your plate until it’s nothing but crumbs.

There will be plenty of delicious dips – hopefully buffalo chicken dip – pigs in a blanket, cheese boards, ribs and team colored cupcakes.

2. Alcohol

There will probably be an ice chest full of three types of beer at any Super Bowl party. On top of the beer, there is usually a mix of liquor being passed around the party – especially if your team is losing. Bring your own alcohol to the party to ensure the maximum level of (responsible) drunkenness can be reached.

3. Friends/family

Going to a party with friends or family will help keep you distracted

from the three-plus hours of constant yelling. Bringing friends, a significant other or being around family is bound to start a random conversation that is not strictly based on the game. It could be the best event to bring a new significant other to as well because getting a million questions from family is the perfect distraction.

4. Showing up late

Showing up late will allow those already there to get a little drunk and full. So, when you arrive at the party, the food that you see on the table is all yours. You’ll be far more entertained watching those around you slurring their words with Dorito crumbs in their beard than trying to keep up with the flying ball you see on the TV.

GRAPHIC BY ANNALISA BARANOWSKI

5. Find the household pet

There is bound to be some type of pet at one of these parties. As soon as you arrive, look for the closest thing that resembles a dog or cat toy and begin the search for the household pet.

There could even be a bird, a rat or reptile. Imagine, food in one hand and a pet in the other. Who cares about the field goals when you have “Bear” the dog on your lap.

20| Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020

Villain to victor

After decades of resistance, rap rises to the top

By Hannah Mitchell Multimedia Editor

The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards went live on Sunday with a heavy presence from American rappers like Tyler, the Creator, YG, Meek Mill and Lil Nas X. Rap dominates the American music industry, which surpassed rock in 2017, according to Nielsen’s year-end report on the music industry. Rap is mainstream now, but it was met with opposition as it rose in popularity through the 1980s and into the early 2000s.

Eminem has sold an estimated 220 million albums and is among the ranks of Pink Floyd, Rihanna and Taylor Swift. At the peak of his career, Eminem faced backlash from parents, who blamed him for mass shootings, sexual assaults and teen angst.

In an LA Times article published in 1995 about how rap music got a bad reputation, the author describes how images of Snoop Dogg in shackles reinforces the public’s association of rap and violence.

However, the author didn’t mention if the arrest of high-profile celebrities like Hugh Grant, Willie Nelson and Vernon Maxwell, which were all in 1995, reflect their respective industries.

In a 2007 article by The New York Times titled, “Colorado Police Link Rise in Violence to Music,” Colorado Police publicly condemned rap music and attributed shootings to “gangsta rap.” They also warned nightclub owners that their nightclubs might not be safe if they continue to play that music.

When Adan Figeuroa, DePaul alumni

and rap enthusiast, was growing up in the 1990s, he said he remembers rap artists being painted as villains.

“This led to censoring their music,” Figeuroa said. “An effort to smear their image and paint N.W.A and hip-hop as a whole, as anti-establishment.”

Daniel Makagon, a DePaul University professor that specializes in the music industry and urban communication, said that a part of rap’s rough beginnings can be attributed to its association as “black music”.

“That is due to systemic racism and racism inside the music industry,” Makagon said.

He said that “black music” was invested in differently than “white music.” Black artists would be given a single, while their counterparts were given albums.

“If they can’t keep up with the hits, it’s done,” he said.

Evan Moore, a Depaul University professor who specializes in Black history and Chicago hip-hop, bought his first album “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” by Public Enemy in 1988.

In the 1980s, rap would be found at the back of the music store. The taboo-nature of rap made him want to listen to it more.

“It’s basically like high school – when someone says ‘look at that person doing this, that and a third,’” he said.

“You get enough people to believe you, it becomes so.”

He believes that made it cool.

When asked why he thought rap was villainized by the public, he said, “be-

cause it’s a black art form.”

“People started standing up for themselves,” Moore said. “When black folk do it, it’s seen as a threat. You had N.W.A’s “F*** the Police,” and then you had “Fight the Power,’ and then you had Queen Latifia’s ‘Ladies First.’ You had all these different anthems.”

What was once seen as a fad became a Billboard Hot 100 hit, holding the number one spot for the first time in 1995, with Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.”

In the decade to follow, Makagon said that partnerships with pop artists like Rihanna helped the genre reach massive audiences.

“When rappers started working with pop artists they can have hooks and reach massive audiences,” he said.

Songs like “Umbrella,” “Crazy in Love”

and “Dilemma” started securing top spots in Billboard’s Hot 100, year after year.

In the 2000s rap became globalized.

Figueroa said that “it becomes incorporated in marketing campaigns and music’s most prominent figures are hip-hop artists, which adds a cool factor to the music industry and allows for it to be an accepted genre of music.”

According to Makagon, another reason could be consumer’s transition to streaming music instead of purchasing albums.

What originally may have oppressed black artists, now applies to every artist.

“Now everything is a singles-driven market,” he said.

Another reason that rap has grown, could be because “populations shift toward urban centers,” Makagon said. “There is more multiculturalism and audiences are more willing to support black artists.”

However, Makagon wants to make it clear he isn’t saying racism no longer exists.

Rap is now among the ranks of other mainstream genres like pop, rock and country. It can be heard at grocery stores, on the radio, and rap group Migos even performed at the 2019 Kids Choice Awards.

GRAPHIC BY GINA RICARDS

‘Mean Girls: The Musical’ closes curtains in Chicago

By Lauren Coates Contributing Writer

“Mean Girls: The Musical” is finishing its Chicago leg of its nationwide tour this weekend. Just days after the announcement that “Mean Girls: The Musical” would be turned into a film (a sort of reverse adaptation, given that the musical itself is based on a film of the same name).

As most musical adaptations of films do, the show’s announcement was met with some criticism – why does “Mean Girls,” of all movies need to be turned into a musical? Would it even make for a good adaptation? 12 Tony nominations and a handful of broken box office records later, and the numbers seem to speak for themselves. With a book penned by original writer Tina Fey and Broadway veteran Casey Nicholaw serving as both director and choreographer, “Mean Girls: The Musical” is an undeniable success.

It was inevitable that a national tour would follow, and after months on the road, the cast has finally made their way to the Nederlander Theatre for a monthlong run in Chicago. Although neither the source material nor the musical make any attempts to be much more than a lighthearted teen comedy with a message of self-acceptance, Danielle Wade manages to bring a surprising amount of depth to Cady Heron, a character whose portrayal in the original Broadway cast sometimes errs on the side of the stereotypical ingénue.

However, Wade’s take on Cady is a more sophisticated one. She lacks some of

JOAN MARCUS | BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

Cady Heron and the original mean girl trio look through their Burn Book. the innocence of the film’s portrayal of the protagonist, and she quickly adapts to the lifestyle that Regina (Mariah Rose Faith) introduces her to. Her voice is spectacular and well suited to the show’s material. That’s no surprise, though, considering Wade was a standby in the original Broadway cast.

Unfortunately, the same amount of depth can’t be found in her foil, Regina George. Although Mariah Rose Faith has a stunning voice, most noticeable during her performance of “World Burn,” her acting chops aren’t quite up to par with Wade’s.

Although Regina can be a difficult charac-

ter to capture, Faith’s portrayal leans a little too heavily on the comedic, but that could be partially blamed on the sheer amount of fat jokes the show manages to squeeze in due to Regina’s weight gain.

Offsetting Cady and Regina are their respective sidekicks – Cady’s friends are self-described “art freak” Janis Sarkisian (Mary Kate Morrissey) and Damian “too gay to function” Hubbard (Eric Huffman).

Both play their characters with the right amounts of humor and heart. While Janis may have the stronger vocals of the two, Damian gets the majority of the duo’s

funniest lines, and his tap dance number “Stop” was clearly a crowd favorite.

On the plastic side of things are the high-strung, heartbreakingly self-conscious Gretchen Wieners (Megan Masako Haley) and the “dumbest person you will ever meet,” Karen Smith (Jonalyn Saxer).

Haley was adequate but in the end forgettable, through no fault of her own. Gretchen has always been the weakest of the three plastics and it didn’t make matters better for her that Saxer’s Karen was the runaway favorite of the night- stealing the scene in practically every scene she’s in. All of her lines are delivered with an endearing sort of blankness that make the words coming out of her mouth that much more hysterical.

On the subject of being more hysterical, the show may not necessarily be funnier than the movie, but it is certainly raunchier. Many pop-culture related jokes have been given a 2019 update, but many of the show’s most memorable jokes are ones that weren’t present in the film, including a visual gag involving a mascot costume that was so lewd the audience spent half of the song afterwards in disbelieving laughter.

In the end, “Mean Girls: The Musical” may not be able to eclipse the pop culture staple that is the movie, the touring production’s razor sharp wit and impressive vocal performances make it a must-see for any Chicagoan looking to have a hell of a night out. Although it was short-lived, its presence at the Nederlander will be sorely missed.

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 | 21

‘Look what’s happening out in the streets’ Protest music shaped major movements. Where is it today?

By Emma Oxnevad Opinions Editor

The day after the 2016 Presidential Election was a day of mourning in my community. Following Donald Trump’s defeat over Hillary Clinton, my very liberal high school in my very liberal home town ceased to function, with nearly every class I went to dedicated to discussing the ramifications of the election results.

Amid the grim feelings suffocating the hallways, a friend of mine shrugged and said, “At least we’ll get some really good art out of this.”

She was referring to art – specifically music – born out of protest and civil unrest; music that permeated the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, with musicians using their medium as a channel to express disdain for the status quo.

Protest music continued into the birth of rap and hip hop, with groups like Public Enemy and N.W.A channeling their anger at the status quo into hit songs.

“Music speaks to people on a very basic level,” said Paul Booth, a professor in the College of Communication at DePaul University. “That’s not to say it’s simple, but we feel music... Music is something that moves us. And whenever we are having some sort of a cultural crisis, people latch onto things that make them feel, things that make them feel better, things that make them feel sympathetic, empathetic, that helps them identify in other people. We don’t reach for things that make us think, we reach for things that make us feel. And I think music is that ultimate feeling, it creates effect.”

Despite the wide variety of protests taking place following President Trump’s ascension into office, popular music has not taken on the same explicit political stance as the music of previous periods of civil unrest in American history.

That’s not to say that political consciousness has left the airwaves complete-

ly. Songs like Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” and Beyoncé’s “Formation” address the struggles and identity of black America, respectively.

What is becoming more common, however, are calculated gestures at political issues, with a lack of emotional connection making the music feel like a PR stunt rather than a call to action.

The most recent example of this is Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down,” a flashy pop anthem in which Swift compares facing “haters” on Twitter to the plight of the LGBTQ+ community.

“I don’t want to tear down Taylor Swift, but ‘You Need To Calm Down’ is a very lazy attempt at creating a political gesture,” said Madeliene Mason, a senior majoring in theatre arts. “The references to queer culture within it are so lazily placed.”

While preaching a message of inclusivity and tolerance, for many, the song rang less of a brave call to action against bigotry and more of a catch-up attempt for the notoriously apolitical Swift to align herself to a movement. What’s more is that Swift

over into a wide audience and the audience doesn’t want to hear those issues. They don’t want to hear about social justice, they don’t want to hear about immigration, they barely want to hear about sexual harassment and sexual assault.”

Given the polarized nature of American politics, it is very possible that something as easily consumable as music or other forms of art is enough to inspire change, whether personal or largely political.

“I think [art] still works very well for political commentary and for political protest,” Booth said.

“The trouble right now is that people are so polarized that they refuse to see another person’s point of view, both on both sides of the issues. So the reason art may seem like it’s less effective today is because people are less willing to change their minds. But I’m not sure that that has anything to do with GRAPHIC BY GINA RICARDS art’s efficacy. I think it has a lot more to do only chose to make a political statement with people’s stubbornness.” after her career took a hit when it was disNone of this means that change is imcovered she had a legion of fans on the farpossible or that art is meaningless when right, who dubbed her an “Aryan goddess.” it comes to inspiring protests or progress.

One of the most infamous instances While the lack of popular protest music of a musician speaking out politically ocmay leave a hole in both the charts and the curred in 2003 when the Dixie Chicks publarger political consciousness, this does not licly denounced President George W. Bush mean that protests themselves are meannine days before the invasion of Iraq while ingless or incapable of achieving change. performing in London.

“It’s hard to know what the extent of “We don’t want this war, this violence, something as amorphous as protest music and we’re ashamed that the President of the can be,” Booth said. “The Democratic wave United States is from Texas,” said lead singin the 2018 [midterm] election, where the er Natalie Maines.

Democrats took over the House [of RepreMaines’ comment received an enorsentatives], the huge groundswell support mous backlash from American country for many of the Democratic Candidates, listeners, resulting in mass destruction of the fact that a lot of the protests we’ve seen their CDs, death threats an eventual blackhave actually prevented some bills from belisting of their music. ing passed, there are some concrete things “You see people from Craig Hodges to that protests have achieved. Music is part of the Dixie Chicks to Colin Kaepernick, and that. Maybe music didn’t 100 percent create people who have spoken out and what’s something, but it’s part of a general spirit, happened to them,” said Evan Moore, an I think it has had some sort of effect. You adjunct professor in the College of Comcan’t separate it out.” munication. “And it’s money. When an artist wants to make it and they want to cross

MAKE YOUR SUMMER COUNT. GET ONE STEP CLOSER TO GRADUATION. REGISTER FOR SCPS ONLINE CLASSES AT GO.DEPAUL.EDU/SCPSSUMMER.

22 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020

No Mans Land ‘1917’: One-take film follows one-take mission

‘Like a Boss’: First girl boss comedy of the decade

By Kionnie Barrett Contributing Writer

IMAGE COURTESY OF IMDB

Lance Corporal Schofield, played by George MacKay, stands tall in a trench located in France in World War I.

By Rebecca Meluch Focus Editor

On April 6, 1917, the United States joined its allies, Britain, France, and Russia, to fight in the first world war.

The U.S. joined the war after Germany made the decision to target neutral shipping zones. Although the United States’ involvement in World War I was what most students were ever taught in history classes, no mention of U.S. involvement was acknowledged in the immersively historical film directed by Sam Mendes, “1917.”

The plot is straightforward and does not require historical knowledge to follow. The story begins on the day April 6, 1917, with two British soldiers: Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay). The two British soldiers are shown stationed in France where they await to receive new orders.

The young men are ordered to deliver a message to the British troops at the front line, who are preparing an assault on the Germans who have retreated from their nearby bases. British intelligence discovers the retreat is a German trap set to obliterate a troop of 1,600 British soldiers, including Blake’s brother. The two men are ordered to race against time across “No Mans Land” where they enter behind enemy lines trekking to find their fellow troops at the front.

It’s a classic wartime movie, from the nigh-impossible mission to the heroic underdogs fighting the suspenseful battles with odds stacked against them.

To fanatics of historical war movies, the

film may remind viewers of “Saving Private Ryan,” the iconic film portraying the search and rescue mission of U.S. soldiers from World War II. “1917” is packed with the popular wartime expectations of trenches, barbed wire, sandbags, rats, bunkers, explosions and brutal portrayals of wartime casualties.

As heavy and gruesome the story is, the film is not shy with playful humor for the audience to catch a break from stressful scenes, and it does not lack inspiring and captivating soft moments for the viewer to shed a tear or raise a grin.

As far as characterization, Lance Corporal Blake and Lance Corporal Schofield couldn’t be more strategically formed and starred. Blake jumps at the assignment, eager to save his brother and begin his mission right away, letting no risks or odds stand his path or prevent him from getting home. Schofield is portrayed more wary and cautious of their mission After receiving a medal after the Battle of the Somme; he is reluctant and fearful to face another battle, more aware of the risks and dangers that await them.

What captivates the audience the most is Mendes’ stylistic choice to portray the entire film as one continuous shot. The editing was so advanced that it was nearly obscured, only noticeable when the scene is orchestrated into a transition of black, night, an explosion, or a cloud of dust. The camera remains stable on the characters and each subject, and while the shot is not fixed on Blake or Schofield, it looks as though the camera is placed to be used as the characters’ point of view. When the camera

is following the two men, it’s leveled for one to believe that is a third character, following and racing alongside the two men on their mission through the mazey trenches and delirious nights. The oneshot film seems as though it makes a linear line from beginning to end, paralleling different scenes throughout the course.

The advanced camerawork and obscure editing captivates the audience during the arduous mission, following and staying close on track with the two soldiers as if to bring the scene closer to the audience and bring it to life. The viewer is able to feel the fear of the two characters and anticipate whatever they anticipated through the intense use of cinematography.

The lack of mentioning the announcement of the U.S. involvement on this day ensures that “1917” is a film directed and focused upon the commemorative British mission. The imperative focus on the British characters allows the audience to capture every recreated detail down to every uniform, every corner of every trench, bunker, corpse and wound. The film strikes a balance whereby it portrays the insanity and horror of the war, while not being too outrageously gruesome.

With steady camerawork, obscure editing and diverse characters with impeding agendas, the audience is taken on a historical adventure alongside two relentless soldiers as if the past from over 100 years ago was brought to them all in one room.

Director Miguel Arteta makes his first debut of the decade with the new comedy “Like a Boss.”

This film introduces us to two funny best friends, Mia and Mel who are played by Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne. These best friends will have you laughing from the beginning to the end of the film.

Mia and Mel have been best friends for 22 years who are entrepreneurs that created a struggling beauty company. These two balance each other out; Mia is the creative and outgoing one of the business, whereas Mel is the “responsible” one (and I mean responsible very loosely), who takes care of the finances.

The story unfolds when they are approached by business/makeup mogul Claire Luna who is played by Salma Hayek. She offers them a deal where she takes care of their current debt and owns 49 percent of their company, but the catch is that if one of them quits, she will own 51 percent and take creative control.

Little do Mia and Mel know that Claire’s motives is to break-up their friendship and take complete control of their company.

With the unwanted help of Claire, Mia and Mel’s friendship goes through many ups and downs. While I can say I saw more ups in the films then I saw downs, Mia and Mel’s friendship was very refreshing and fun to watch; Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne have great chemistry, and you would think that in real life they would have had been best friends.

While Haddish fits the role of Mia, she didn’t show much versatility in her acting. She has always played the fun, loud, outgoing and funny character in all of the films she’s been in which is not an issue, but I hope to see her in different roles in the future.

Although you can’t deny that the film has many funny moments and some entertaining drama, I did find that the film lacked depth.

I found myself throughout the film wanting to know more on what defined the characters personality traits. There are definitely moments of making past references that could have been defining moments, such as Mel having a mom that was a drug addict, which caused the start of Mel and Mia living together, or Mia losing her mother and Mel being a shoulder for her to cry on.

While these scenes did give some background into Mia and Mel’s relationship, I found them to be unbelievable – due to how they were presented and how short of a conversation the characters had – about these moments that were supposed to be defining who they are.

I found an even bigger issue with the lack of scenes with Barrett and Sydney who is played by Billy Porter and Jennifer Coolidge. Barrett and Sydney had some of the funniest moments in the film and each time they graced the screen, there was something hysterical happening or being said.

The film needed more of these characters and it would have been great to see how these two came into the picture. The same thing can be said about Claire in the film – I didn’t get enough of her craziness throughout the film and I wanted to know why her personality was so intense.

While the film wasn’t perfect, it had lots of light-hearted moments that created some loving and laugh until you cry moments. I loved seeing the genuine friendship between Mia and Mel, and I loved the girl boss moments even more.

It was great to see two women being shown as entrepreneurs, creating a business that they were truly passionate about. As a girl boss in the making, I left the film very motivated by seeing the entrepreneurship and the loving friendship.

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 | 23

Netflix: Repeat offender Crime docuseries are becoming repetitive, lazy

By Jessica Grekowicz Contributing Writer

It is not surprising to learn that Netflix has released yet another true crime series.

True crime has been wildly popular across all platforms since the release of “Making of a Murderer” in 2015. Entering the mindset of a killer is compelling to many, but the genre is starting to get repetitive.

This documentary investigates the life of Aaron Hernandez before his conviction of the first-degree murder of Odin Lloyd in 2015. It recounts Hernandez’s football career, starting from his high-pressure success in high school, to becoming an adored tight end on the New England Patriots. The main question begging to be answered was: what lead a successful man like Hernandez down the path of murder?

What is surprising, if not concerning, is how Netflix’s “Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez” uses homosexuality as its angle to separate itself from the crowd.

Through recordings of Hernandez in prison and interviews with key members of his life, the documentary attempts to piece together a story of a man who was raised in an environment dominated by toxic masculinity, to the point of the denial of his own sexuality.

During the investigation of Lloyd’s death, police tied Hernandez to a 2012

IMAGE COURTESY OF IMDB

Aaron Hernandez is the most recent focus of a Netflix true crime docu-series. drive-by shooting in Boston and conse- he was an early sexual partner of the footquently charged him with double murder. ball star and stated that they were in a “seHernandez was found not guilty of the cret relationship” in high school. SanSoucie shooting in 2017. Soon after this verdict, explained that as children they thought “If Hernandez’s sexuality became the topic we get caught, our parents are gonna disof speculation on a popular Boston radio own us.” sports show. Two days after the show ‘outHernandez’s father, at first presented ed’ him as a gay man, Aaron Hernandez as a man revered among his community, is killed himself in prison, burying the an- then revealed to have been aggressive and swer of his true motives with him. homophobic. As a consequence, HernanNetflix does not outright present sup- dez was said to have secretly grown inside pressed homosexuality as the leading fac- a household of domestic abuse and toxic tor in Hernandez’s crime. The limited series masculinity. explores the effects of, Chronic Traumatic The only other source within the docEncephalopathy, in football leading that umentary that spoke of Hernandez’s sexcan stunt mental health growth and uses uality was another teammate, who was it as a glorification of the gangster lifestyle. seemingly included only to offer more However, the series lingers on Hernandez’s speculation on how Hernandez was feeling sexuality for far longer than any other sub- as a closeted football player. ject with questionable sources.

Netflix then jumps to suggest that a Dennis SanSoucie, a childhood friend possible motive for Hernandez’s violent and teammate of Hernandez, claimed that crime was that Odin Lloyd knew of his sex-

uality, without providing any facts to back up that claim.

The fact is that Netflix only offers its audience theories and no concrete answers.

Normally that would be fine and the series would join the long list of mediocre true crime documentaries. But the way that Aaron Hernandez’s story is sensationalized to make homosexuality stand out as a reason for an otherwise motive-less crime, sets this documentary apart from the rest.

Jose Baez, Hernandez’s defense attorney, went on record with Entertainment Weekly News to say that he regrets participating in the documentary series after the producers “lied directly to [his] face.” Baez found multiple aspects of the documentary series to be offensive, with the emphasis on Hernandez’s sexuality being one of them.

To explore a man’s self-identity conflict is one thing, but Netflix made the assumption that suppressed homosexuality could lead to the violent crime Aaron Hernandez committed. It is not only damaging to Hernandez’s family, who have already suffered and lost, but to the LGBTQ+ community as well.

There was a clear narrative that “Killer Inside: The mind of Aaron Hernandez” was trying to tell. It’s a shame that a company that prides itself on inclusivity and representation within its leadership and content has resorted to sensationalizing sexuality for higher viewership.

Netflix’s newest true crime documentary series hardly feels like true crime at all, but a contrived story with little evidence to back up its claims.

Documentaries grow in popularity, profit

By Chinyere Ibeh Staff Writer

With Netflix dropping two now-trending documentary series, “Killer Mind: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez” and “Cheer,” documentaries seem to be getting more of the hype nowadays.

Documentaries serve as non-fiction, informational programs that tackle topics that many people may not fully understand. Documentaries have gained more popularity in the last several as they cover the wrongdoings of famous celebrities or big corporations.

DePaul University film professor Susanne Suffredin discusses in detail why the genre is experiencing a boost in popularity and why it’s important.

“Documentaries have adapted to the viewing tastes of people and people have become more sophisticated to their ability to view media beyond what is most middle of the road,” Suffredin said.

As someone with three decades of experience making documentaries, Suffredin enjoys working in the genre as it allows her into the life of someone that she might not know. She finds it appealing to tell someone’s story, especially that of someone who’s often marginalized or misrepresented.

James Choi, another film professor at DePaul, also enjoys documentaries as they are “a great way to learn.” Choi said that documentaries not only tell us stories that are broad, but they introduce us to cultures and ideas that are far and wide. He argued the fact that film is one of the most important art forms of the 21st century.

“If you want to say something, a documentary is a really great way to express your thoughts,” Choi said.

DePaul student Madison Chidster believes that documentaries are gaining popularity because the genre’s popularity among social media influencers. Chidster believes that documentaries get a similar amount of attention as reality television,

but are classier.

DePaul sophomore Esther Ayayi expresses the importance of documentaries: they tell the truth of people or events the general public doesn’t know.

According to a February 2019 article from NPR, documentaries were doing well in the box office. “Knock Down the House” – a documentary that follows the 2018 campaigns of four female congressional candidates – broke the Sundance Film Festival documentary sales record last year.

Within the same article, Sheila Nevins, who ran HBO Documentary Films for almost four decades, is quoted in saying how 2018 was the year for documentaries making money.

“RBG,” a documentary that serves as a portrait of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, not only earned $14 million at the box office, it was a front-runner for the documentary feature Oscar. “Free Solo,” a National Geographic documentary about a rock climber who intends to per-

form a free solo climb in Yosemite National Park, made more than $10 million at the box office, according to Digiday.

Even marketers are taking notice of the genre’s increasing popularity. Marketers are more interested in funding documentaries, which comes at a good time since filmmakers are pushed to produce high quality films. According to Digiday, Thalia Mavros, founder of documentary production studio The Front, states that getting a documentary produced “used to be a $200,000 to $300,000 proposition. Now you need $1 million to provide something competitive.”

Streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, along with regular television channels like Lifetime and A&E, have been churning out original documentaries that the general public actively enjoys. Documentaries, especially those that involve scandals, celebrities, or even injustices against a marginalized group of people have made people tune in to the genre in the last couple of years.

GRAPHIC BY ANNALISA BARANOWSKI

24 | Arts &Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020

St.Vincent’s D e JAMZ “Spinning fresh beats since 1581”

By Emma Oxnevad Opinion Editor

Tuesday marked the beginning of Aquarius season, and since I am a thorough stereotype of a 20-year-old, today marks the first Zodiac DeJamz! For each of the 12 zodiac signs, I will pick songs that are evocative of their traits and/or by some famous members of the sign. For reference, your average Aquarius prides themselves in their individuality: they are often contrarians, who spend a lot of time thinking about the state of the world and how they can make it better. They are deeply existential and follow their own paths and don’t care if you disagree with them!

Some famous Aquarius-born faces include Abraham Lincoln, Oprah Winfrey and our very own Nation and World Editor, Cailey Gleeson!

1. The Times They Are A-Changin’ - Bob Dylan As mentioned, your average Aquarius sends a lot of time thinking about all the ways in which they will change the world.

Bob Dylan may be a Gemini—a topic for another day— but this number is full of Aquarius energy, telling the listener that they better prepare for the new, better world, lest they want to be left behind. Released in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement, this song is synonymous with progress and thinking outside the box, the bread and butter of an Aquarius.

2. Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In - The 5th Dimension Aside from literally having the Aqaurius in the title, this physics pop magnum opus is filled to the brim with the dreamy energy of the air sign. This song was one of the most popular songs of 1969, which feels like the antithesis of the alternative Aquarius, but this feels like an appropriate song to go mainstream.

3. My Way - Frank Sinatra Francis Albert may have been a Sagittrius (duh), but his signature song exudes the aloof pride in keeping true to oneself. This song is an affirmation of pride for a life lived authentically, which appears to be the endgame for most born under Aquarius.

While the deep-seated nonconformists of

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the sign may be peeved that I picked an artist as beloved and mainstream as Sinatra, it is my own form of going against the grain and subverting expectations. Aquarius is my sister sign, after all.

4. Complicated - Avril Lavigne It goes without saying that Avril Lavigne was the coolest person alive in the 2000s. While I used to dream of embodying her pop-punk aesthetic as an adult, I unfortunately remain a big ole’ normie who listens to way too much Hilary Duff. Despite my perpetual uncoolness, this song’s message of how trying to be somebody else is one of the lamest things you can do. If you disagree with that message, I got one thing to say: life’s like this.

Uh-huh, uh-huh, that’s just the way it is.

5. Come As You Are - Nirvana And now we get to everyone’s favorite nonconformists: Nirvana! Even though Kurt Cobain was a Pisces, his music still captured that innovative Aqaurius spirit of doing things just because you like them, and not to impress anyone else. This song

41

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1. Director’s cry 4. Tropical root 8. Spike 12. Burning issue?

13. Breezed through 14. Surefooted goat 15. Nave bench 16. Guitar forerunner 17. Like driven snow 18. Mountain ridge 20. Ballplayers’ gear 21. ___ mortals 23. Castilian hero 25. Square dance group, e.g.

27. Far from strict 28. Ali volley 31. Tel Aviv coin 33. Knock down 35. Lay turf 36. Apply gently 38. Wines’ partner 39. Unplanned 41. Fiber shreds 42. Brindled cat 45. Modern factory sight 47. Beyond homely 48. Spanish boy 49. Brief missions 52. Entre ___

also embodies a little bit of that classic chaotic energy, with the refrain “No, I don’t have a gun,” not sounding entirely convincing. Had Cobain been an Aquarius, he probably would have included a lyric about how grunge is the past or some other contrarian nonsense, but the message in the song is good enough for me.

53. A string has two 54. Hip-hop element 55. Gets on 56. Analyst’s concerns 57. Foxy, so to speak

DOWN

1. Financial limit 2. Not waste 3. Stymied 4. Account 5. Critical, as a shortage 6. Pass along, as a story 7. “___ to Billie Joe” 8. Fat compound 9. Touch 10. Like some checks (abbr.)

11. Alimony receivers 19. Raise a stink 20. Unsorted 21. Bryologist’s study 22. Canyon effect 24. Dirty rotten scoundrel 26. Lingerie item 28. They clean up 29. Grace period?

30. Beat 32. ___-di-dah 34. Baklava pastry 37. Yawn-inducing

39. Depths 40. Complex unit 42. Sashimi selection 43. Eager plus 44. Babe’s color 46. One giving orders 48. Alumni magazine word 50. Huck, to Tom 51. Ludlum character

Sports

Sports. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 | 25

Former NBA star Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna among multiple people dead in Calabasas helicopter crash

By Greg Beacham Associated Press

Kobe Bryant, the 18-time NBA All-Star who won five championships and became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, died in a helicopter crash Sunday. He was 41.

Bryant died in the foggy hills above Calabasas, California, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. A different person familiar with the case confirmed Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna also was killed. Authorities said nine people were on the helicopter and that all were presumed dead. No names were released.

Both of the AP’s unnamed sources spoke on condition of anonymity because few details of the crash had been released publicly. The crash happened around 10 a.m.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the helicopter was a Sikorsky S-76, and it was not known what caused the crash.

Bryant lived south of Los Angeles in coastal Orange County for much of his adult life, and he often used helicopters to save time and avoid Southern California’s notorious traffic. He often traveled to practices and games by helicopter before his playing career ended in 2016, and he kept up the practice after retirement as he attended to his business ventures.

The crash occurred about 20 miles from Mamba Sports Academy, Bryant’s basketball training complex in Thousand Oaks, California.

Bryant, who had four daughters with his wife, Vanessa, dedicated himself to boosting women’s sports in recent years, coaching and mentoring basketball players. Gianna, better known as Gigi, was a talented basketball player.

Bryant retired nearly four years ago as the third-leading scorer in NBA history, finishing two decades with the Lakers as a prolific shooter with a sublime all-around game and a relentless competitive ethic. He held that spot in the league scoring ranks until Saturday night, when the Lakers’ LeBron James passed him during a game in Philadelphia, Bryant’s hometown.

“Continuing to move the game forward

(at)KingJames,” Bryant wrote in his last tweet.

“Much respect my brother.”

On Saturday night, James said he was “happy just to be in any conversation with Kobe Bean Bryant, one of the all-time greatest basketball player to ever play. One of the all-time greatest Lakers.”

News of Bryant’s death inspired an outpouring of grief around the sports world and beyond, but it was felt particularly painfully in Los Angeles, where Bryant was unquestionably the most popular athlete and one of the city’s most beloved public figures.

The Lakers’ next game isn’t until Tuesday night against the crosstown rival Clippers, but hundreds of fans — many in Bryant jerseys and Lakers gear — spontaneously gathered at Staples Center and in the surrounding LA Live entertainment complex on Sunday, weeping and staring at video boards with Bryant’s image before the Grammy awards ceremony.

“I thought he was going to live forever,” Lakers great Magic Johnson told KCBS-TV. “I thought he was invincible. ... There was nobody who took more pride in putting on that Laker uniform than Kobe. Nobody. He was just special. We will miss him and we’ll remember him for his greatness, but let’s not forget how he impacted the world, too.”

Bryant opened a production company and entered the entertainment field in retirement. He won an Academy Award in 2018 for his contributions to “Dear Basketball,” an animated short about his relationship to the game. He also produced content for ESPN. In 2003, Bryant was charged with attacking a 19-year-old employee at a Colorado resort. He had said the two had consensual sex, and the charge was eventually dropped. The woman later filed a civil suit against Bryant that was settled out of court. Bryant’s adulation remained strong in Los Angeles even during the sexual assault allegations.

Bryant had one of the greatest careers in recent NBA history and became one of the game’s most popular players as the face of the 16-time NBA champion Lakers franchise. He was the league MVP in 2008 and a two-time NBA scoring champion.

“There’s no words to express the pain I’m going through with this tragedy of loosing my niece Gigi & my brother (at)KobeBryant,” O’Neal wrote on Twitter. “I’m sick right now.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF @BARNAEDO ON INSTAGRAM

The Father John Egan statue at the north end of DePaul’s student center holds Kobe Bryant’s Los Angles Lakers’ jersey after Bryant passed away on Sunday.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AP

Vanessa Bryant, from left, Kobe Bryant, Natalia Bryant and Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant at the world premiere of “A Wrinkle in Time” in Los Angeles.

SWEEP, continued from front page “It’s just adjustments,” DePaul head coach Dave Leitao said after the game.

“Trying to figure out how and why you can get better. First, Don’t repeat some of the things that you did the first time and two, do some things better.”

DePaul did improve in some areas in the second matchup. The Blue Demons forced twice the amount of turnovers and committed six fewer themselves, while shooting better from the free-throw line.

Overall, DePaul’s offense continued to struggle, as they shot 30 percent from the field on Saturday and 4-for-25 from deep. With the contrast in shooting, where the Red Storm hit 40 percent of their threes, long runs ruined the Blue Demons in the second half where they had to start fighting from behind early.

St. John’s is known for its ‘40 minutes in hell’ approach to defense. Their four-

ALEXA SANDLER | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul junior guard Charlie Moore exchanges words with two St. John’s players. guard starting lineup presses teams and tries to disrupt them.

“They pick up 94 feet, and they come with a trap or two,” guard Charlie Moore

said. “Just a different type of pressure, they switch it up a lot.”

On top of the pressure on guards, there isn’t any breathing room in the

paint either. It seemed like each time junior forward Paul Reed touched the ball, he got doubled-teamed immediately.

He and fellow forward Jaylen Butz got a combined 17 free throw attempts as they were hounded in the paint. Reed’s five turnovers were a team-high.

Being able to disrupt teams with bigger players isn’t an easy thing. But St. John’s did a great job of forcing turnovers on every part of the court. There was no weakness in the Red Storm’s defense for DePaul to take advantage of.

In DePaul’s starting lineup, only Moore and Jalen Coleman-Lands took more than two three-pointers. Reed, Butz and Romeo Weems shot just three combined shots from deep. Not every player needs to shoot a high volume from deep, but when the threat of the 3-point shot isn’t present, the offense can get stagnant.

26 | Sports. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020

Make or miss: Men struggle to score from outside

By Lawrence Kreymer Sports Editor

For 40 minutes on Wednesday, DePaul had no answers for Creighton’s high-octane shooting – ultimately, it was their demise that turned into an 83-68 loss. But there was one possession in the second half that was about to end in a shot-clock violation for Creighton, but Mitch Ballock picked up the ball from near half-court and hooved a shot towards the basket, only for the attempt to hit off the backboard and nestle into the rim.

Game. Set. Match. The desperation 3-pointer gave Creighton a 73-51 lead with under seven minutes to play, and began the exodus from Wintrust Arena for DePaul fans. On the other hand, the shot also allowed Creighton supporters from behind the road bench to begin their chants.

If the name Ballock rings a bell in the heads of some DePaul fans, it’s because it should. The junior caused havoc when the teams met at the end of last season, in that game he set a Big East record by going 11of-12 from the 3-point line to help down the Blue Demons 91-78 and guarantee them another last-place finish.

That memo, however, didn’t get to DePaul’s coaching staff and players because Ballock had another stellar shooting night on Wednesday against the Blue Demons, as he finished with 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the 3-point line. In his last two games against DePaul, Ballock is 16-of-23 from behind the arc for 58 total points.

“Most anybody that can shoot makes open shoots,” DePaul head coach Dave Leitao said after Wednesday’s 83-68 loss. “He got too many open shots.”

As a team, Creighton shot 10-of-25 from the 3-point line and hit 23-of-31 free-throws.

DePaul, on the other hand, had another rough shooting night from the 3-point line, only hitting 18.8 percent of their shots from beyond the arc.

But that should not surprise anybody because the Blue Demons have been a poor 3-point shooting team all season. In six Big East games, the Blue Demons only shoot 30 percent from deep, which ranks eighth in the conference. The one game that DePaul did get hot in was against then-No.5 Butler on Jan. 18, hitting 10-of-17 shots that contributed to their first and only conference win of the season.

“Missed shots,” Leitao said on the difference between the Butler and Creighton games. “I think missed shots are a result of not getting rhythm shots.”

While DePaul has had trouble shooting from the perimeter at times this season, they have done a solid job this season of defending the 3-point line – at least before the start of conference play. In the country, the Blue Demons sit at 143rd in 3-point defense.

But that number was better during the non-conference portion of their schedule; since the start of league play, DePaul allows 8.5 3-pointers a game at 37 percent, which ranks ninth in the Big East.

“Our passion, when it’s at a high level, we play really well,” Leitao said after the Creighton game. “And it wasn’t that was as much [Wednesday], so it ended up being one step or two steps away from where you normally would be. So, our ball-screen coverages have been really good, but it wasn’t really good tonight. Our close-outs have been really good, wasn’t really good tonight and that happens when you don’t have your motor at the highest level.”

When DePaul played St. John’s earlier this season and the Red Storm went hot from deep, that can be deemed as an aberration because St. John’s only shot 25 percent from the 3-point line in Big East play. But against Creighton, the scouting report should have been filled with circles around their perimeter

ALEXA SANDLER | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul senior guard Jalen Coleman-Lands contests a shot against Creighton in the first half on Wednesday at Wintrust Arena.

Blue world

Creighton vs DePaul since 2015

10 52%

W/L FG%

0 42%

3 FG%

43%

30%

Margin of victory 16.4 points shooting. Not only because the Bluejays lead the Big East in 3-point shooting, but because in their last 10 straight wins over DePaul, Creighton averages 43 percent and over 10 makes from behind the arc.

“Well, we attempt to do that through recruiting,” Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said. “We try to bring in guys that our skilled enough to shoot the basketball and we try to play an unselfish brand of basketball where each player is willing to make that extra pass. And I think when you do that good things can happen. We were able to get a few things at the basket [against DePaul] early in the second half, and that loosened up the defense a little and opened up some 3-point shots. We’ve certainly recruited shooters on purpose and given them a lot of freedom to shoot the basketball.”

While Creighton’s offense revolves around good ball movement and having multiple players ready to knock down shots, Seton Hall’s – who is undefeated in the Big East this season – offense is predicated on their star senior guard: Myles Powell. Having a player like Powell forces the defense to rotate more, which leaves shooters open on the outside.

“I think the one thing that Myles does as good as anyone in the country is Myles picks his spots,” Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard said. “He’s gotten so mature with

ALEXA SANDLER | THE DEPAULIA

Coleman-Lands attempts a 3-pointer over two players in the first half against Creighton.

The senior finished the game with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting when and how he shoots the basketball. [On Wednesday], I thought he played one of his better games even though he only scored 14 points, just because the maturity he showed in the fact that other guys were open because the double-teams even the triple-teams he was facing. His maturity, growth as a player has allowed everybody to let everyone’s games grow and get better. It just shows what type of player he is and how good of a player he really is because he’s letting everyone grow

and has confidence in his teammates to make plays.”

When DePaul has been successful this season, as their 12-1 start showed, their defense has been locking other teams down.

But that has yet to translate on a consistent basis in league play. For the Blue Demons to get back to the NCAA Tournament their perimeter defense will need to improve – and hitting some more 3-pointers on offense won’t hurt either.

Sports. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020 | 27 ATTENDANCE, continued from front page up this season, even though attendance figures have yet to surpass the first season at Wintrust.

During the 2017-18 season, DePaul averaged 5,765 in paid attendance and 2,615 in real attendance. If you omit the first game against Notre Dame, which saw over 7,000 people show up, as an outlier from the rest of the non-conference games, Wintrust saw an average attendance of 1,820 in its first year.

“I think playing in the CBI and having a pretty exciting buzz around campus and among our season ticket holders, I think really launched us into a good start for this year,” DePaul Athletic Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto said. “And then I think with the men’s team getting off such a good start and the women’s team being ranked for almost the entire season, I think there’s a lot of energy and excitement about basketball. I also think that our marketing team and that our ticket office team, along with the athletes communications, I think all three of those departments have worked really cohesively.”

The first two games of the year saw a poor turnout against Alcorn State and the University of Chicago, with fewer than 1,000 people showing up for those games — but that is down from five instances in the 20182019 season.

But thanks to the team’s strong start and growing national buzz, attendance increased in December. For the Texas Tech game, which DePaul entered at 8-0, the reported attendance was 5,493.

“The energy is where I think a lot of folks are feeling it,” Associate Athletics Director of Ticket Sales and Operations Marty Murphy said. “Every game’s not sold out. There’s tickets still to be sold, but like the game against Butler it was one of our best crowds actually of all time there at Wintrust. But it started with the Texas Tech game. That’s where we could really start to feel momentum. Shift of the DePaul fans coming back out. Alumni getting excited. Faculty staff call on us to get their 10 percent off discount to come to a game. The student section was alive that night and the students were bringing friends to bring in their guest passes and stuff. That first game where you start to feel a shift of it’s a new atmosphere, Wintrust and people want to come because you are excited to see this team play.”

The biggest reported attendance this season came on Jan. 18 against Butler, which totaled 8,967 in paid attendance. Murphy said that game was DePaul’s third highest

GEORGETOWN, continued from back page the momentum going, leading 65-36 with 4:50 left in the third quarter.

Lexi Held shot 5-for-10 from deep for the Blue Demons and lead all scorers with 19 points. The sophomore has averaged 17.4 points per game in Big East play.

“A lot of it is my teammates, they are able to get me open or get me the ball when I am open,” the sophomore guard said. “So I think that’s a huge part of it and just working in the gym.”

With a 68-38 lead, all five starters headed to the bench. It’s one of the earliest incidents of sending the starters off of the season. Dee Bekelja and Nadege Jean scored 12 points combined as the Blue Demons held an 80-50 lead going into the final quarter.

“It’s great to see those girls because we are with them all the time, especially in practice and see how hard they work,” Stonewall said.

“I was very very proud of every single one of the girls, and then I’m excited as a senior because you get to see what you leave behind the years to come.”

Bekelja would score five quick points in the fourth quarter as the Blue Demons cruised through the rest of the game, winning 92-66.

Sunday’s game marked the halfway

RYAN GILROY | THE DEPAULIA

A section of the DePaul crowd during the Blue Demons’ 65-60 victory over Texas Tech on Dec. 4 at Wintrust Arena. paid attendance game and second highest real attendance. Butler has routinely been one of DePaul’s most well attended home games, thanks in large part to a well traveled Butler fan base, that often out-attends DePaul fans.

“Right after we won [the Texas Tech] game it was nonstop in here,” Murphy said.

“Alumni calling in, ‘hey, how can I get tickets to come to a game?’ and ‘is there any discounts for alumni?’ And we do have a 10 percent off alumni discount. We get to 10 percent on faculty staff discount. So we’re up in both those categories. Were up in attendance, were up in revenue. Student attendance is up.”

The increase in attendance can also be attributed to Wintrust’s improvement in parking and concessions, according to Lenti Ponsetto.

“I don’t want and I probably shouldn’t leave out the fact that we have worked out a lot of logistics issues that were kind of deterrents for fans,” Lenti Ponsetto said. “And actually just being much more communicative about where the bathrooms are a little thing like that. When you look at all the research that’s done, all the marketing research done, you know, parking and concessions are two main drivers and why fans will return.”

While the growth of attendance can be linked to the team’s success, Lenti Ponsetto downplays that factor as the main reason why people come back.

“And, you know, I think most people want to automatically think that it’s all about whether or not your team wins,” Lenti Ponsetto said. “It’s not necessarily that to be

the case, because there are a lot of programs throughout the country where teams don’t win all the time. But it’s a great experience for their fans. And then people who have affinity for the programs come back and support the program.”

The early success of the team also drove up sales for prorated season tickets, which allow fans to buy season tickets for the rest of the season even if they missed the first couple games of the season.

“We sold more prorated season tickets this year than any season in the past 10 for sure, and probably in the past fifteen for prorated,” Murphy said. “Which would mean after the season started you could buy up until about midway through [next] December.”

Murphy also acknowledged that DePaul’s mini-plan revenue is up this season, close to 30,000 more than last season. But the goal for DePaul since moving into Wintrust has been about growing their attendance each year.

“So our goals have been about growth,” Lenti Ponsetto said. “And we weren’t looking to skyrocket out of the place. That was never our plan. When we look to build the building, our goal was to eventually get to a place where we’re averaging an eight to nine thousand range every night. But that was, that’s like at the outset for that’s where we would be after eight, nine or 10 years, because you can’t go from where we were to doubling, tripling while doubling it would probably be more like it. So, I think we feel good we feel good about the trajectory that we’re on.”

Logan Simios, who has been attending

DePaul games since he was five, says the level of crowd interaction and attendance at Wintrust this season has been better and more exciting, but attendance is “nowhere it needs to be yet.”

Simios also mentioned that parking generally has been fine this season, but concessions remain “horrible” at Wintrust.

“Parking has been fine and it’s typically the same,” Simios said. “Concessions are horrible there. They are so slow, it’s unbelievable. And I went [on Saturday], and I don’t always go for concessions, but yesterday I went and we were in line waiting, waiting and waiting and it’s just horrible. I just think concessions are horrible, but parking has been similar.”

Simios mentioned that he has seen attendance go up this season with the team’s strong start, but says they still have a long way to go before reaching a good number.

“I think if they had more success, then fans would generally get on board,” he said.

“But I think DePaul is in such a deep hole with their program and it’s not going to take a slow building process. You can’t build it as slowly as Jeanne and Dave [Leitao] want to do right now. I think you need some splashes in there.

Splashes are going to be a new coach that can potentially be a splash coach, and I threw out Rick Pitino as someone. And I think we need to get more five-star local players. I think the local presence will generate Chicago fans to come back more, but they need to be four and five-star local talents.”

point in the Big East season for DePaul. The 9-0 start is the best start to conference play since realignment in 2013. No matter what it means historically, the team still has the same approach to everything. “[We] really just need to keep doing what we’re doing, focusing on one game at a time and really just keep executing what we are doing right now,” Campbell said.

Moving forward, DePaul still has their eyes on their next game. Yet there is a good feeling this season that the Blue Demons can make their 18th straight NCAA tournament, and every college basketball player’s goals go far beyond that.

“I think there’s a pretty solid focus here, even though there is a loss of focus sometimes,” Bruno said when asked what impressed him about this current team. “I still think there is a general understanding led

by Kelly and Chante that they’ve understood what the regular season has led to the first three years and what their regular season can lead to. But how they have to use the regular season to really prepare themselves for what they ultimately are striving for. And I just think there’s a more mature understanding [this year].”

The win marked the Blue Demons’ tenth straight victory and leaped them to 9-0 in the Big East and 19-2 on the season. At no. 11 in the AP top 25, the Blue Demons will stay at home for their next two games.

DePaul freshman Marisa Warren attempts a 3-pointer over a Georgetown defender on Sunday at McGrath-Phillips Arena. Warren finished the game with two points.

RYAN GILROY | THE DEPAULIA

Sports

Sports. The DePaulia. Jan. 27, 2020| 28

Remaining schedule Jan. 31 Feb. 2 Feb. 7 Feb. 9

RYAN GILROY | THE DEPAULIA

Feb. 14 Feb. 16 Feb. 21 Feb. 23 March 1

DePaul women’s basketball huddles together before their 92-66 win over Georgetown on Sunday at McGrath-Phillips Arena.

Halfway to perfect

Women defeat Georgetown in 92-66 drubbing

By Nate Burleyson Asst. Sports Editor

All five starters scored in double figures as DePaul lead by 30 midway through the third quarter en route to a 92-66 win over Georgetown. With the win, the Blue Demons improved to 19-2 and 9-0 in conference play.

The first quarter was lighting fast for the Blue Demons who after a close start, went on a tear. First, it was Deja Church who scored seven points in 44 seconds to force a Georgetown timeout, then it was Chante Stonewall and Lexi Held who poured on the pressure.

DePaul made six three-pointers in the

first quarter which helped them jump out to a 32-15 lead after just ten minutes. Held had eight points in the quarter to lead all scorers. Georgetown shot just 29 percent from the floor in the first quarter.

The Blue Demons’ pressure was suffocating. There is never any hesitation in taking shots as each teammate trusts one another’s ability.

In the second quarter, DePaul tried to build on its lead. Georgetown did a better job of holding onto the ball, but DePaul was able to contest shots and keep Georgetown down. Towards the end of the quarter, DePaul forced three quick turnovers that lead to them gaining a 50-26 lead on a Church three-pointer.

The Blue Demons closed the half on an 8-1 run that had them up 50-27 after two quarters.

Lexi Held led all scorers with 11 points but it was a balanced attack that saw Held joined by Church and Stonewall in doublefigures. Kelly Campbell added nine points, five rebounds and six assists in the half.

She would finish the game with 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

The Blue Demons picked right back up in the second half. Held, Morris and Campbell hit consecutive shots from deep to put the Blue Demons up 59-31 after just two minutes. The Blue Demons would keep

See GEORGETOWN, page 27

St. John’s frustrates DePaul through two game sweep

By Nate Burleyson Asst. Sports Editor

ALEXA SANDLER | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul head coach Dave Leitao watches his team give up 13 3-pointers against St. Johm’s on Saturday at Wintrust Arena. The Blue Demons lost the game 79-66.

In DePaul’s second meeting with St. John’s, things were different from the first.

Not the result, as DePaul fell to St. John’s for the second time this year after a 79-66 loss on Saturday. Instead, St. John’s nailed 13 three-pointers this time around and shot the lights out of Wintrust Arena.

Getting swept by St. John’s puts DePaul in the last place spot of the Big East with a game in hand. Sitting at 1-6 in conference play, it will be a steep climb to claim a higher seed prior to the Big East Tournament.

It was just two weeks ago on Jan. 11 that the Blue Demons dropped a 74-67 road game to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. In that game, St. John’s, who shot just 30 percent from deep as a team this season, hit 6-for-19 from beyond the arc.

On Saturday, it seemed like St. John’s was hellbent on shooting as much as pos-

sible. In the first matchup between the two teams, guards Mustapha Heron and LJ Figueroa both got into foul trouble, keeping them out of the picture. In Saturday’s rematch, the two were clinical on offense.

Figueroa made seven threes on a career day where he finished with 28 points. A few daggers in the second half helped shut DePaul down and keep the Wintrust crowd silent. When DePaul got within a couple of points late in the second half, Figueroa hit a corner 3-pointer that put his team back up eight and effectively ended any comeback hopes for the Blue Demons.

The change from game one to game two of the series was apparent for St. John’s. For DePaul, on the other hand, it was the same story of poor free-throw shooting and an inability to defend the 3-point shot.

See SWEEP, page 25