Students talk about the pros and cons of Greek life at DePaul; see Focus, page 14.
DePaulia
The
Volume #104 | Issue #3 | Sept. 30, 2019 | depauliaonline.com
Homegrown haymaker
NATE BURLEYSON | THE DEPAULIA
Summer Lynn takes notes from her coach Rick Ramos at Body Shop Boxing Club in Pilsen, where Lynn has been training since she started boxing.
DePaul student prepares for pro debut at Wintrust Arena By Nate Burleyson Asst. Sports Editor
Getting hit was never a problem for Summer Lynn. The DePaul freshman has been preparing for this moment for most of her life. With years of martial arts and combat sports experience under her belt, Lynn is no stranger to high-level competition, and said she’s ready for her professional career to begin at Wintrust Arena on Oct. 12. Lynn has trained at Body Shot Boxing Club in the Pilsen neighborhood since she started boxing five years ago. Growing up in the neighborhoods around Midway Airport, Lynn has competed in Jiu-Jitsu and Judo since she was 7. Participating in those martial arts gave her a set of skills and a mindset that provided a base for boxing – a base that has led to two junior national championships. The switch from martial arts to boxing was one based on personal needs – in a sense, a need for speed. Fast-paced and heavy, boxing was a tantalizing idea for
Treat yourself to some unpopular opinions from The DePaulia staff; see Opinions, page 13.
“You have to show your feminine side, look pretty and sell yourself. Boys don’t really have to show anything like that.”
Summer Lynn
DePaul freshman
Lynn. “I’ve always done contact sports, and when I was around 12, I decided I wanted something a little more fast-paced,” Lynn said. “I felt like [boxing] gave me that adrenaline.” One of Lynn’s first big victories was at the 2017 Junior Olympics in Charles-
ton, West Virginia. There, Lynn won the 145-pound division, taking home the top prize. Earlier this year, she won a second national title in Reno, Nevada. Those victories are not just a product of Lynn’s own skill, but also a little bit of the relationship she has with coach Rick Ramos and other members of her gym. Ramos, owner and coach at Body Shot Boxing Club, has been running a gym for 13 years, the past six of which have been in Pilsen. His gym’s walls are covered in photos of him and other boxing icons around the country, as well as paintings of older boxers in the middle of heated bouts. It gives off a welcoming, familial vibe, but the constant banging of fists into bags, bells during sparring sessions and the blaring hype music coming from a speaker lets you know it is all about training and competition. The bond between a coach and a fighter is built on mutual trust and confidence. That bond is part of what has gotten them
See LYNN, page 27
Advising model to change for LAS students By Ella Lee Arts & Life Editor
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ advising team at DePaul is in the process of changing how advising works within the college. The new model, which combines similar disciplines under a common adviser, is less about the number of departments advisers have and more about the number of advisees, as many smaller disciplines are being combined. “The model we had for many years was due to how large [the college was] in the early 2000s,” said Tania Rodriguez, director of advising for the Liberal Arts and Sciences Undergraduate College Office. “It used to be all one college, with Science and Health and Communications in LAS. [Those colleges] were set up, but we never changed the model, which is still a model of a largest system. Now, we are changing it to fit better to size.” The current model functions by having the largest departments, like English, with advising staff and three decentralized advisers in her office that were general advisers, who split the rest of the departments’ advising. Now, they’re shifting to what Rodriguez called a “collaborative model.” Rodriguez explained that what LAS is changing to is not widely different than what’s done in other colleges, like the College of Communication, but, instead of assigning students to advisers by last name, they’re doing it by department. “I could see how students may be freaked out [when seeing all those majors combined under one adviser], but each department varies,” she said. “There are maybe only 35 people in African diaspora studies, for example, so each adviser may still average from 225 to 260 advisees.” Students will still be assigned a faculty adviser in addition to a staff professional adviser. “All students should be assigned a department major field adviser,” she
See ADVISING, page 6
Sanders rallies Chicago Teachers Union, demands change in national priorities By Brita Hunegs Staff Writer
Autumn has arrived in Chicago. Michigan Avenue is patterned with fallen leaves. The temperature has begun to fall. And disputes over labor rights are in full swing. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) announced on Thursday that 94 percent of its 25,000 members voted in favor of authorizing a strike. The vote followed weeks of contract bargaining with the city. Two days before, CTU hosted a rally at their headquarters, where Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addressed teachers and staff of the third largest public school district in the country. The sea of union members in red shirts parted for Sanders to take his spot at the podium.
“I want you to know that you are doing some of the most important work that can possibly be done in our country,” Sanders said, addressing the crowd. “You are demanding and I am demanding a change in national priorities.” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that the contract the city offered at the end of August, which would include a 16 percent increase in teacher pay over the next five years, is “robust.” But teachers at the rally made it clear that higher wages are just the tip of the pencil. The official demands of the Union include smaller classroom sizes, fully-staffed schools and justice for students and families. “We all want our paychecks, but if cer-
See SANDERS, page 4
ASHLEE REZIN GARCIA | AP
Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at Chicago Teachers Union rally.