The DePaulia 2.26.2024

TheDePaulia

More Venezuelan migrants in Chicago take English classes with hopes of improving their employability

LA DEPAULIA

By Rodolfo Zagal La DePaulia News Editor

Gabriel Jose DeJuane only had a high school education before coming to the U.S. two months ago from Venezuela. He thinks that learning English is “more important” than clothing and food, he said.

“It’s hard [to navigate life] when one is on the street,” said DeJuane, who is 22 and living at a shelter in Calumet City, a south suburb of Chicago.

He wants to learn English to communicate better. It would “make everything easier” to get a better job and find a way out of the shelter into a permanent home, he said.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, DeJuane is one of many Latine adult students who leave their labor-intensive jobs to meet in high school classrooms in Little Village to learn English. Some students are recent migrants, and say they hope to better their chances of employment and cultural integration in their new home country.

DeJuane already commutes for about one hour and 45 minutes to get from Calumet City to Little Village by train and bus to attend the classes.

He does not mind the long trip though, because he said the trip is worth it. He will take “as many classes as necessary to learn.”

on Feb. 8, 2024. He hopes to improve his English skills for his new position working in tech. ed to learn English because he was recently promoted to the IT department at his manufacturing job despite the language barrier and only having a high school diploma.

The classes are hosted for free by Instituto del Progreso Latino, a non-profit organization in Little Village that also provides other immigration support to the low-income Latine community. The programs are funded by the state and federal grants.

But the participation in English classes has skyrocketed over the last year, said Laura Guerrero, the ESL coordinator at the Instituto.

“There’s been a big increase in Venezuelan migrants — as well as Colombians, but mostly Venezuelan — who’ve required support of all the programs that we have here,” Guerrero said in Spanish.

Graduates of the English language course at the Instituto receive a certificate of completion that can be used for employment.

The classes, she said, empower the new arrivals in many aspects of everyday life.

Students benefit from “the confidence they gain to be able to speak well and better communicate with their employers or the teachers of their children,” Guerrero said.

Kenny Curbelo, a 34-year-old migrant from Caracas, Venezuela, said that he decid-

Learning English would expand his opportunity to further his career which he built through teaching himself and hard work. He plans to complete the course in June.

Curbelo has been in Chicago for about a year. His journey north, first from Venezuela to Ecuador in 2015 fleeing an economic crisis caused by political turmoil and then to Chicago in 2022, had been traumatic, he said.

But he is eager to foster a new life.

The majority of migrant students using services at the Instituto have little to no education. There are very few that have college education and most look for jobs in construction, house cleaning and food service, according to Guerrero.

“This will make their new lives in the U.S. difficult because they’ll have labor intensive jobs with little pay,” Guerrero said.

Most migrant students prioritize work, said Guerrero, which means that once they find a job, they may stop attending class.

“They stop coming to class because maybe their job is far away, or their housing has

changed,” Guerrero said. “And the priority for them is to eat, work, and we’ve seen them drop out regularly.”

That may be the case for DeJuane because he is unsure of where he’ll find a permanent home and if he will be able to continue attending classes or not.

Over the past months he’s been able to work shoveling snow, driving and delivering food while waiting for his work permit.

He plans to work in Chicago for a few years and send money back to his family in Venezuela. He also has hopes of moving back home and starting a business there.

For now, he said, he will do his best to start on his dream by learning the language that could lead him to success.

Though Guerrero said that the classes support DeJuane’s dreams, the organization needs a permanent building of their own to ensure that more migrants get the same opportunities. Right now, they host the classes at Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy, a high school that lends them the space.

If they had more space, she said, they could add more classes and instructors.

RYAN

RODOLFO ZAGAL |

Kenny Curbelo attends ESL classes in Little Village

The

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ADVISER | Martha Irvine mirvine5@depaul.edu

Lincoln Park Campus Crimes: Feb. 14

1)

Feb. 18

2)

Illegal Consumption of Alcohol report was filed outside University Hall. Subject was transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital.

Loop Campus Crimes: Feb. 14

1) Graffiti was discovered on the exterior of the CDM building.

Feb. 16

2) A Theft by Deception report was filed for an incident near Jackson and Wabash. A Safety Alert was issued regarding recent financial thefts by solicitors.

Feb. 16

3) A Criminal Trespass report was filed in the DePaul Center.

JEFA DE REDACCIÓN | Alyssa Salcedo eicladepaulia@depauliaonline.com

GERENTE EDITORIAL | Rodolfo Zagal managingladepaulia@depauliaonline.com

EDITORA DE NOTICIAS | Cary Robbins crobbi10@depaul.edu

ASESORA | Laura Rodriguez Presa larodriguez@chicagotribune.com

‘We are still open:’ A Latina mother’s strength and resilience shine through

gentrification at Little Village Discount Mall

M. CASTAÑEDA | LA DEPAULIA

By Alondra M. Castañeda La DePaulia Contributing Writer

The floor-to-ceiling Mexican flag that once adorned the exterior of the once emblematic Little Village Discount Mall in Chicago’s Southwest Side neighborhood is no longer there. There are fewer street vendors selling corn, fresh water and cotton candy outside of the plaza that now sports an industrial gray and yellow look.

Inside the mall - now half the size it used to be- rows of intricately woven children’s clothing and traditional religious accessories adorn the small store that Marta Veronica Ramirez owns.

She named it ‘Vero’s Kids and Hulama,’ which includes her name and the name of her husband’s store. They wanted to honor their dreams and accomplishments when they opened it 26 years ago.

“Puede ver sin compromiso amiga, tenemos todo tipo de vestimentos para sus fiestas y comuniones,” Ramirez tells people as they walk by, inviting them to take a look at the merchandise “for your parties and communions.”

Today, she still patiently waits for customers to come into the store while overlooking the endless rows of clothes and a close replica of tianguis, a street market in Mexico.

Except, it’s more quiet now. There are much fewer stores and less clientele.

Despite the changes to the mall that forced many immigrant business owners out over the past year when the new owners announced inevitable renovations -and with that higher rents, she opted to keep her store open.

For her, this resilience meant honoring the dream that led her to become a woman entrepreneur and her commitment as a mother, she said.

Ramirez, 47, moved to Chicago from her childhood home in Guanajuato, Mexico at the age of 18.

“I came with lots of hopes and dreams when I left my country to come and work, and that’s what motivated me to have my own business,” Ramirez said.

But the changes to the mall and the plaza surrounding it in Little Village, she said, have been drastic.

Sometimes heavy and even heartbreaking.

She recalled the weekends when the rows inside the mall were full of shoppers and their chatter intertwined with Mexican music playing in the background.

That all began to change in 2020 when Novak Construction announced that it bought The Little Village Plaza, the shopping center adjacent to the arch that often characterizes the Mexican community in Chicago.

For nearly three years, immigrant business owners and community activists fought to preserve the mall and other businesses at the plaza, but their efforts failed.

In March 2023, nearly 50 vendors were forced to vacate their shops for renovations to begin. More than 60 vendors, including Ramirez, managed to stay, according to reports.

That’s because the mall was divided into two parts and managed by two leasing companies. Only one of them agreed to the new owner’s deal upon renovations.

PK Mall was the leasing company that did not renew its contract with Novak. Pilsen Plaza Corp., owned by Kyunhee Park, signed a new 10-year lease with Novak to continue renting space to vendors that operate at the mall.

However, the new deal meant higher rents and smaller rental spaces for the vendors.

Ramirez’s store was located inside the part of the mall that was demolished but found a way to stay. When she moved her store to the remaining mall space, she had to go from 40-square-feet to only 20-squarefeet.

The gentrification of the mall and the loss of space have caused her to lose customers and money, she said.

In recent months, she said she had to lay off two of her sales associates because sales were low. Her husband Armando Porras, who also manages a soccer merchandise store inside the mall, has the help of only one sales associate.

That means that the two work seven days a week away from their children.

“It saddens me to leave all four of my children at home and not be able to provide them with my undivided attention, all while trying to stay on top of my business,” says Ramirez. “Thank God I’ve had the support of my sisters and family members who have encouraged me to pursue my entrepreneurship dreams.”

This is the reality for several immigrant-working mothers all over the United States. The 2021 Center for American Progress report about immigrant women in the workforce explores how their participation is essential for the livelihood and well-being of their families.

The report also shows that 33.6 percent of immigrant mothers are the primary breadwinners for their families, either as single working mothers or as married women who earn as much or more than their husbands. This number jumps to 36.3 percent for Latina immigrant mothers like Ramirez.

Despite these challenges that Ramirez has faced over the past years, she encourages women to step into entrepreneurship.

“Entrepreneurship and working hard is beautiful, especially being able to spend your

own money,” Ramirez said. “Whether you’re in this country or wherever you’re at, women must work hard to not depend on anyone.”

Some of her customers appreciate Ramirez’s amiability and resiliency to keep the store open.

Alma Ramirez has been going to the store since 2004 when she became a Godmother and baptized several family and friends’ children.

“Marta Veronica has a way of tending to her customers in such an amicable way. That’s why I love her service and continue returning to her store,” Alma Ramirez said.

While Ramirez eagerly waits for customers to drop by, she fluffs out her shop’s dresses and dust off the white bibles and candles inside boxes.

She remains filled with hope.

DePaul Center

Hand Tossed

NY Style Pizza

From scratch

333 South State St.

Store Hours

Mon - Thurs. 8 am - 5 pm

Friday: 8am - 2 pm

ALONDRA

Marta Veronica Ramirez hangs a dress in her shop Vero’s Kids and Hulama Feb. 4, 2024. Ramirez has seen a decease in clients after gentrification renovations at the Little Village Discount Mall.

By Lucia Preziosi News Editor

The ongoing immigration battle between the Texas government andBiden administration has been characterized by Supreme Court cases, new congressional bills and thousands of miles of razor wire along the border.

In the months preceding the 2024 presidential election, immigration has ignited significant tensions between Texas Gov. Greg Abbot and the Biden administration, as lawmakers failed to ratify comprehensive immigration policy.

Abbott’s Operation Lone Star has been a point of contention between the state and federal governments.

Created in March 2021, Abbott, a Republican, launched the operation in response to the increase in “illegal immigration” at the Texas-Mexico border.

Under Operation Lone Star, Abbott has ordered state police to arrest migrants suspected of trespassing, placed 1,000-foot buoys in the middle of the Rio Grande River, and has spent millions of dollars to install 70,000 rolls of concertina wire.

Brad Jones, professor of political science at the University of California, Davis and media liaison for Humane Borders, calls Abbott’s actions “theatrics,” especially in the context of an election year where immigration is at the forefront of political debate.

“First and foremost, what’s going on is a little bit of theatrics, but theatrics that involve human lives,” Jones said.

The U.S. Border Patrol and the Biden Administration came under scrutiny from the Republican governor when they obstructed the razor wire installed on the border.

The case was brought to the Supreme Court, which in a 5-4 decision, ruled in favor of the Biden administration and gave Border Patrol the authority to alter the barrier.

Andrew Mahaleris, spokesperson for

Abbott, said the absence of razor wire “encourages migrants to make unsafe and illegal crossings between ports of entry” and that Abbott will continue “fighting to defend Texas’ property and its constitutional authority to secure the border.”

The Supreme Court order did not explain the justices’ decisions, still giving Texas the authority to erect these barriers along the border, according to Joe Tafoya, a DePaul political science professor.

“The Supreme Court ruled the federal government has the right to remove the razor wire, but that’s all they said, so Texas double-downed and added more razor wire,” Tafoya said.

The latest point of debate comes as the Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Texas Feb. 14 over Senate Bill 4 (S.B. 4), a law signed by Abbott in December and poised to take effect in March.

S.B. 4 rules illegally crossing the border, such as crossing through the Rio Grande, as a state crime.

Any migrant seen by police crossing the border not through ports of entry can be charged with a Class B misdemeanor, resulting in deportation back to Mexico or up to six months in jail. “Repeat offenders” could face a second-degree penalty, with a threat of jail time up to 20 years.

Kathleen Arnold, another DePaul political science professor and director of forced immigration and refugee studies, expresses concerns about what S.B. 4 would mean for asylum seekers and refugees.

“I think they’re concerns that it will destroy the refugee or asylum system, that it’s going to criminalize anyone arriving at the border, and not give them time to express that they have a well-founded fear of persecution,” Arnold said.

As the country gears up for a presidential election year, immigration is quickly emerging as a top issue.

As 2.5 million migrants and asylum-seekers crossed the border in 2023, many are sent on buses to cities like Chicago and New York, further fueling the

I think our policies are really bad...They don’t match the realities on the ground and have much more to do with appeasing public sympathy rather than actual migration flows.”

Kathleen Arnold

DePaul polical science professor, director of forced immigration and refugee studies

partisan divide over immigration policy, according to Tafoya.

“I think the immigration debate is a very real fight over the future character of the country,” Tafoya said.

The U.S. Department of Justice and notfor-profit organizations argue that only the federal government has the authority to enforce immigration laws, a long-standing precedent in American policy.

Arnold says this is the main aspect that she would change about immigration policy, and that current policies do not align with what is truly happening at the border.

“I think our policies are really bad,” Arnold said. “They don’t match the realities on the ground and have much more to do with appeasing public sympathy rather than actual migration flows.”

Abbott, along with the 25 other Southern governors standing in support of Texas, claim that Texas has a “right to defend itself” as they say the Biden administration has not done enough to secure the border.

Abbott continues to depict the situation at the border as an “invasion,” which Jones says heightens the immigration debate.

“Pitting this as a state’s rights issue, pitting this as an issue of a state being invaded

to justify not adhering to a Supreme Court ruling, I think it’s all part of this big, awful game of political theater,” Jones said.

Tafoya says this use of “natural disaster” metaphors to describe the high volumes of people crossing the southern border further dehumanizes migrants, many of whom are children.

“If we say it’s an invasion, we forget that two-year-olds are crossing the desert,” Tafoya said. “By the time they arrive at the U.S. border, they are tired, they are traumatized.”

Misinformation is extremely prevalent in the immigration debate, according to Arnold.

“I would change the discourse, the discourse has really infected people and it’s misinformed the public, so they think even refugee seekers, particularly Venezuelans are criminals, and the government knows that’s not true,” Arnold said.

As Abbott and the Biden administration continue to publicly display harsh disagreements, Jones says that Abbott is “seeking to up the ante with the Biden administration” ahead of the election.

“In years past you wouldn’t say this out loud, these days we say it out loud, and

what is he saying? ‘I want Biden to take the blame for this,’” Jones said.

Jones said that even if border policies comply more with Conservative-aligned “hyper enforcement policies,” this would not stop migrants and asylum seekers from crossing the border.

“In Arizona, that means entering or getting dropped off in very remote parts of the desert, far away from water,” Jones said. “That increases the likelihood of suffering, injury, or even death.”

The International Organization for Migration reported 686 deaths and disappearances of migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022. This figure makes the U.S.-Mexico border the deadliest land route for migrants on record.

As these conditions continue at the border, Arnold believes that this is an example of human rights violations.

“I think a lot of (the policies) are highly performative and militarized, and really don’t match human rights concerns or any sort of democratic rights claims,” Arnold said.

Organizations like Humane Borders offer resources, such as water stations in the desert for people making the journey to cross the border.

But as the number of migrants and asylum-seekers at the border continues to grow, Jones said Humane Borders have even begun placing water stations right at the border to offer this valuable resource to migrants.

“We’re prepared for the heat, but dealing with high, soaring temperatures and hundreds and hundreds of people is not something we’ve had to deal with,” Jones said. “The real scary moments are about to come because the summer months are coming.”

Tafoya said that the practices at the border reflect the character of the country.

“We’re looking at people as expendable,” Tafoya said. “If we’re subjecting people to those conditions, who are we?”

Mayor Johnson backs decision to remove police from Chicago Public Schools

By Xadarri Nevels Contributing Writer

Chicago Public Schools could see police officers removed from high school campuses as soon as next fall.

Last month, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced his support for the Chicago Board of Education’s decision to terminate its $10.3 million contract with the Chicago Police Department. That contract calls for placing uniformed officers in 39 of the city’s public high schools.

During a joint interview with the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ, Johnson stated his views on the agreement between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department.

“To end that agreement,” Johnson said, “I have no qualms.”

Critics have long argued that stationing officers in educational institutions negatively impacts Black students and students with disabilities. Last year, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin organized a first-ever hearing on the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

“For many young people, our schools are increasingly a gateway to the criminal justice system,” Durbin told the subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “This phenomenon is a consequence of a culture of zero-tolerance that is widespread in our schools and is depriving many children of their fundamental right to an education.”

Rochelle Brewster, a local business owner and grandmother of three students attending Chicago public schools, echoes these concerns, highlighting the deeper systemic issues that contribute to school violence.

“We’re not addressing the root causes,” Brewster said. “It’s not just about having police in schools; it’s about why these kids are getting into trouble in the first place… most lack economic and emotional wellness resources.”

According to the Chicago Tribune,

there is no evidence that adding officers for a greater police presence increases safety in schools, adding fuel to the calls for their removal.

This debate gained significant momentum in 2018 surrounding an incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were murdered and more than a dozen others were wounded.

Scot Peterson, the armed school resource officer, who was on duty at the school during the time of the shooting was later acquitted of charges for failing to confront the gunman. This sparked nationwide debates over school safety, gun control and the role officers play in schools.

Following recent shootings near Chicago high schools, debates continue to add renewed fears about the safety of students both on and around campus.

Mo Canady, the executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers with over 25 years of experience as an officer, stresses the need for thorough training and that the role of a school officer is not suited for every professional of the field.

“It is perhaps the most unique assignment in law enforcement. It requires individuals who are sincerely committed to the well-being of students,” he said.

Canady believes removing school officers creates a potential risk to school safety.

“Critics often overlook the significant decline in juvenile arrest rates across the country, which have dropped by 74% from 1996 to present,” Canady said. “This isn’t just outside of schools; it’s within them as well.”

Local Chicago School Councils have voted annually on police presence in their schools, leading to a reduction in the number of officers. While 39 high schools still have at least one or two officers, there are no

officers assigned to the rest of CPS district-run high schools, according to Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ.

“The Averted School Violence database contains numerous instances of potential violence that were stopped by school resource officers— incidents that often go unreported. Removing officers risks losing this critical arrest filter and the deep, preventative relationships that officers build with students,” Canady said.

Demetrius, a 15-year-old student and basketball player at a Chicago public high school, shares the officer’s sentiment. Demetrius said the visible presence of officers is reassuring.

“I feel safe when police officers are present at school,” he said. “I know they are there to make sure we aren’t being bullied.”

Demetrius recalls a tense encounter, highlighting the uncomfortable nature of school rivalries.

“I’m a freshman and I didn’t even know who my enemies were. Suddenly, students showed up, looking to start trouble with some of us and the police were there to stop it,” he said.

Alternative safety plans have gained momentum, with some schools using additional funding to explore alternatives to police-based discipline. Social-emotional learning and restorative justice initiatives, including peer-to-peer intervention at some high schools, are aimed at reducing conflict before it escalates.

Brewster is among those who think money spent on placing officers in schools should be used differently.

“That money could make a difference if we put it into educational resources, mental health support and after-school programs,” she said. “We need to address the real issues behind student behavior and make our schools safer as a community.”

XADARRI NEVELS | THE DEPAULIA

Demetrius Franklin stands in front his Chicago public school Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.

JAKE COX | THE DEPAULIA FROM AP

Opinions

Column: Why eating disorder recovery never truly ends

By Lilly Keller Print Managing Editor

Editor’s Note: This story contains content warning of eating disorders.

Can one fully recover from an eating disorder? In the initial phases of my anorexia nervosa recovery, if asked this question, I might have reluctantly answered yes, fueled by hopeful optimism. However, it would have been a lie.

Six years later, my answer remains a lie.

As we enter the 37th annual Eating Disorder Awareness Week, a campaign aimed at educating the public on eating disorders, I'm reminded of the importance of keeping the conversation about eating disorders and their lifelong impact relevant. Achieving this goal, however, requires normalizing the perpetual challenges associated with grappling with a mental disorder.

While I've come a long way from the skeletal and dead-eyed 16-yearold willing to sacrifice food for a sense of control, the truth is, I still grapple with my eating disorder. Despite no longer actively engaging in harmful behaviors, most days remain a battle for control, manifested through a rigid lack of variety in my meals and a persistent fear of gaining weight.

The transition from recovery to being officially "recovered" in therapy is hazy in my memory. Once I appeared outwardly healthy, conversations shifted away from food and my body, focusing on more pressing matters like preparing for college and other stressors. Soon, my eating disorder became a distant, albeit embarrassing memory, something I avoided discussing for fear of being persistently perceived as sick or a

The

failure.

Whenever my parents or therapist inquired about my recovery progress, I would smile and assure them that I was doing well — healthier and happier. For a while, it was the truth; however, old habits die hard.

It's not that I've given up on trying to regain the sense of being able to eat whatever I want whenever or breaking free from the strict workout regimen I created for myself. Rather, I cannot rewire myself to forget the worth I put in my weight or the peace I find when all other problems take a back seat to starvation.

No words encapsulate how badly I want to move on with this chapter of my life. However, it feels impossible to actively move toward my desired utopia of not caring about how I look or what I eat when I’ve been conditioned to think that I’m no longer sick because I’m at a healthy weight.

For those who've experienced eating disorder recovery or witnessed a loved one's journey, it's like building a castle one grain of sand at a time. Naively, when I began recovery, I believed that regaining my health would quiet the voice inside my head urging me to restrict and life would return to how it once was.

Unsurprisingly, time has never rewound itself, and I've come to accept that there's no need to rediscover the person I used to be. Despite learning to live with my eating disorder, I can't shake the question of whether life encompasses more than the simple act of surviving.

I’m not looking for someone to shoulder the blame for my inability to heal; rather, why nobody discusses the perpetual nature of recovery. While being actively sick was the most isolating experience, ongoing recovery feels almost equally lonely.

Anyone who has faced an eating

disorder knows recovery isn't a linear path, yet I wish someone had told me it never truly ends.

I long to confidently state that in a few years, I'll have moved on from my eating disorder, but that would be untrue. The battle doesn't truly end. Yet, something beautiful emerges from consistently choos-

ing to live instead of letting the disorder win.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, call or text 1 (866) 662-1235 to reach the National Eating Disorder help line or go to nationaleatingdisorders.org for additional resources.

MAYA OCLASSEN | THE DEPAULIA

YU YU BLUE | THE DEPAULIA

How to navigate a world where diet culture seems inescapable

By Nadine DeCero Opinions Editor

Editor’s note: This story contains discussion of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors.

The pandemic was a special time for a lot of us, to say the least. Maybe you learned how to make your own bread from scratch or binge-watched a new Netflix original TV show that, if you weren’t forced to stay inside, you would’ve never watched.

For many, it was a time of growth and reflection.

For me, the first few months of quarantine were not the times people are now romanticizing on social media.

I have always struggled with body image issues, especially growing up as a dancer, being forced to stare at my body in a skin-tight leotard for hours on end. In my experience, quarantine was just a time to hone in on my insecurities and attempt to “fix” them.

I’ll spare you the details, but long story short, my attempts to “fix” my body landed me in a residential treatment facility for 42 days.

Despite being away from my friends and family, and the only movies to watch were “Maleficent” and “Over the Hedge,” I’m grateful for my time there and what it taught me.

But even though the program I was in prides itself in being one of the top treatment programs in the country for addiction, eating disorders and mental health disorders, I was never taught how to cope with what was going to happen once I stepped foot into the real

world.

I got used to being just another girl among 25 others for weeks on end, but eventually, I had to remember how to be a real person and deal with everyday challenges.

I was in for a rude awakening when I realized how normalized diet culture and even some eating disorder behaviors are in society.

Diet culture is hidden everywhere. Companies sell “meal supplement” protein bars that simply don’t provide enough nutrients to be considered a meal. Celebrities promote weight loss supplements and diet plans so they can make a quick buck but don’t really care about the effect they have on the consumer. The thousands of fitness influencers on social media are telling us what to eat and what not to eat, and they all contradict each other.

Since there was no crash course on living in a world that is obsessed and contaminated with diet culture, I had to teach myself.

If you’ve ever read any of my stories or talked to me about anything for more than an hour, you’ll know how I like to solve my problems — delete social media.

In all seriousness, social media is a major source of disordered eating content, and as users, we’re consuming harmful content without even realizing it.

Marika Tiggeman, a professor at Flinders University, conducted a study to better understand the reasons adolescent girls desire to look a certain way, the media was the most influential factor in encouraging thinness.

“Social media is the holy grail of promoting ED culture and if someone is struggling with those misconceptions, then it is extremely easy to run into toxic mindsets.” said DePaul junior Abbi Swietlik.

As sad as it is to admit, I’ve been on Instagram since 2012, and I can confidently say that if I did not start using social media at 9 years old, I would not have the body image issues I have today, especially not to the severity it was four years ago.

After recognizing that social media is one of the many problems, we must take action to ensure that social media is a safe place to be and learn to recognize what is enforcing diet culture or disordered eating.

“The first thing to do is to clean your feed,” said Amy Goldsmith, founder of Kindred Nutrition, a private practice of dieticians and therapists who specialize in eating disorders and sports nutrition. “We can control our own feeds by unfollowing anything diet culture or removing ourselves from blogs or newsletter that auto send to us.”

Still, it’s important to be wary of the influencers you follow who promote body positivity and food freedom because they can even be doing more harm than good.

For example, when I got out of treatment, I followed dozens of eating disorder recovery pages, hoping that it would provide a better community than I had known before. However, these accounts post tons of body checking, assuming that it will be relatable but only serves as a comparison for their

audience. Also, these accounts would talk about the behaviors they used in the depths of their eating disorder, which only adds more fuel to the fire by giving inspiration and tips to those who haven’t made it to their recovery stage quite yet.

Regardless of it being my favorite piece of advice to hand out, deleting social media won’t stop the problems we face in the real world. I’m still trying to figure out how to make my way through this life without ending up where I was four years ago. But if I could say my advice, it would be to communicate.

Not everyone is going to know what you don’t want to hear. Imagine my frustration when I got out of treatment, where no one was allowed to even talk about food, and thrown back into a world where it seems like food is the only thing people want to talk about. But, if you don’t want to talk about something, like food or triggering behaviors, you have a right to say so.

“It’s okay to reject diet culture and ED propaganda and to hold your boundaries,” Goldsmith said “The more you show your boundaries with what you will allow into conversations, the more people will respect your stance.”

Navigating this world can be terrifying, and the societal pressures to look or live a certain way don’t make the load upon our shoulders any lighter. That’s why it’s important to put our health first before listening to the eating disorder propaganda that plagues our world.

La DePaulia

La resiliencia de una madre latina reluce a través de la gentrificación en el Little Village Discount Mall: ‘Seguimos abiertos’

ALONDRA M. CASTAÑEDA | LA DEPAULIA

Marta Verónica Ramírez junto a su mercancía en su tienda Vero’s Kids y Hulama el 4 de febrero de 2024. Mantuvo una sonrisa, con la esperanza de que los clientes pasaran

Por Alondra M. Castañeda

Escritora Colaboradora, La DePaulia

La bandera mexicana que una vez adornó de techo a suelo el exterior del emblemático Little Village Discount Mall en La Villita ya no está. Tambien hay menos vendedores ambulantes vendiendo elotes, aguas frescas y algodónes de azúcar afuera de la plaza que ahora luce un aspecto gris y amarillo industrial.

Dentro del centro comercial, ahora la mitad del tamaño que solía ser, filas de ropa infantil intrincadamente tejida y accesorios religiosos tradicionales adornan la pequeña tienda de Marta Verónica Ramírez.

Le puso como nombre ‘Vero’s Kids and Hulama’, que incluye su nombre y el nombre de la tienda de su esposo. Querían honrar sus sueños y logros cuando las abrieron hace 26 años.

“Puede ver sin compromiso amiga, tenemos todo tipo de vestimentas para sus fiestas y comuniones”, les dice Ramírez a las personas mientras pasan.

Hoy en día, todavía espera pacientemente que los clientes entren a su tienda mientras observa las interminables filas de ropa en el centro comercial que es una réplica de un tianguis en México.

Excepto que ahora es más callado. Hay menos tiendas y menos clientela.

A pesar de los cambios en el centro comercial que obligaron a muchos dueños de negocios inmigrantes a salir cuando los nuevos propietarios anunciaron renovaciones inevitables, y con ello alquileres más altos, Ramirez optó por mantener su tienda abierta.

Para ella, esta resistencia significa honrar el sueño que la llevó a convertirse en una empresaria y su compromiso como madre, dijo.

Ramírez, de 47 años, se mudó a Chicago de Guanajuato, México, a los 18 años.

“Vine con muchas esperanzas y sueños cuando dejé mi país para venir a trabajar, y eso es lo que me motivó a tener mi propio negocio”, dijo Ramírez.

Pero los cambios en el centro comercial y la plaza que lo rodea en La Villita han sido drásticos.

A veces pesados y hasta desgarradores.

Recordaba los fines de semana cuando las filas dentro del centro comercial estaban llenas de compradores y sus charlas se entrelazaban con la música mexicana que sonaba de fondo.

Todo eso comenzó a cambiar en 2020 cuando Novak Construction anunció que había comprado The Little Village Plaza, el centro comercial adyacente al arco que a menudo caracteriza a la comunidad mexicana en Chicago.

Durante casi tres años, los dueños de negocios inmigrantes y los activistas comunitarios lucharon por preservar el centro comercial y otros negocios en la plaza, pero sus esfuerzos fracasaron.

En marzo de 2023, casi 50 vendedores se vieron obligados a abandonar sus tiendas para que comenzaran las renovaciones. Pero otros 60 vendedores, incluida Ramírez, lograron quedarse, según informes.

Esto se debió a que el centro comercial se dividía en dos partes y era gestionado por dos compañías de arrendamiento. Solo una de ellas aceptó el acuerdo con el nuevo propietario tras las renovaciones.

PK Mall fue la compañía de arrendamiento que no renovó su contrato con Novak. Pilsen Plaza Corp., propiedad de Kyunhee Park, firmó un nuevo contrato de arrendamiento de 10 años para continuar alquilando espacios a los vendedores que operan en el centro comercial.

Sin embargo, el nuevo trato significaba alquileres más altos y espacios de alquiler más pequeños para los vendedores.

La tienda de Ramírez estaba ubicada dentro de la parte del centro comercial que fue demolida, pero encontró una manera de quedarse. Cuando trasladó su tienda al espacio restante del centro comercial, tuvo que pasar de 40 pies cuadrados a solo 20 pies cuadrados.

La gentrificación del centro comercial y la pérdida de espacio la han hecho perder clientes y dinero, dijo.

En los últimos meses, tuvo que despedir a dos de sus asociados de ventas porque las ventas son bajas, dijo Ramirez. Su esposo Armando Porras, quien también

ALONDRA M. CASTAÑEDA | LA DEPAULIA

Marta Verónica Ramírez cuelga un vestido en su tienda Vero’s Kids and Hulama el 4 de febrero de 2024. Ramírez ha visto una disminución en clientes después de las renovaciones de gentrificación en el Little Village Discount Mall.

administra una tienda de artículos de fútbol dentro del centro comercial, cuenta con la ayuda de solo un asociado de ventas.

Eso significa que los dos trabajan los siete días de la semana lejos de sus hijos.

“Me entristece dejar a mis cuatro hijos en casa y no poder proporcionarles toda mi atención, todo mientras trato de mantenerme al tanto de mi negocio”, dice Ramírez. “Gracias a Dios, he tenido el apoyo de mis hermanas y familiares que me han alentado a perseguir mis sueños empresariales”.

Esta es la realidad para varias madres trabajadoras inmigrantes en todo Estados Unidos. El informe de 2021 del Center for American Progress sobre las mujeres inmigrantes en la fuerza laboral explora cómo su participación es esencial para la subsistencia y el bienestar de sus familias.

El informe también muestra que el 33.6 por ciento de las madres inmigrantes son los principales sostenedores de sus familias, ya sea como madres solteras que trabajan o como mujeres casadas que ganan tanto o más que sus esposos. Este número aumenta al 36.3 por ciento para las madres inmigrantes latinas como Ramírez.

A pesar de estos desafíos que Ramírez ha enfrentado en los últimos años, ella anima a las mujeres a adentrarse en el mundo empresarial.

“El emprendimiento y el trabajar duro es hermoso, especialmente poder gastar tu propio dinero”, dijo Ramírez. “Ya sea que estés en este país o donde estés, las mujeres deben trabajar duro para no depender de nadie”.

Algunos de sus clientes aprecian la amabilidad y la resiliencia de Ramírez por mantener la tienda abierta.

Alma Ramírez ha estado yendo a la tienda desde 2004 cuando se convirtió en madrina y bautizó a varios hijos de familiares y amigos.

“Marta Verónica tiene una forma de atender a sus clientes de una manera tan amigable. Por eso amo su servicio y sigo volviendo a su tienda”, dijo Alma Ramírez.

Mientras Ramírez espera ansiosamente que los clientes pasen, sacude los vestidos de su tienda y quita el polvo de las biblias blancas y las velas dentro de las cajas.

Permanece llena de esperanza.

Un espectáculo de burlesque basado en West Side Story promueve el amor y el sexo seguro a

Por Emily Diaz

Escritora Colaboradora, La DePaulia

Girando con faldas y chaquetas de piel, un conjunto de bailarines rindió homenaje al musical clásico de Broadway “West Side Story” el pasado 17 de febrero en el Harris Theater de Chicago, en el centro de la ciudad. Entre los números musicales tradicionales se entrelazaron actuaciones de burlesque que relacionaban el cuento clásico de amor con la educación de salud sexual y la liberación queer.

“Un espectáculo de burlesque de West Side Story” cobró vida gracias a el AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). Fue traído a Chicago desde la ciudad de Nueva York en colaboración con Comprensión y Apoyo a Latinos en Oposición al Retrovirus (CALOR), una organización que brinda recursos gratuitos de salud sexual para latinos en Chicago.

El objetivo principal del espectáculo era fomentar la protección de la salud sexual y crear conciencia sobre los recursos de enfermedades de transmisión sexual para personas negras y latinas.

“La idea surgió para educar a las personas y abogar por prácticas de sexo más seguro”, dijo Max Álvarez, director de eventos de AHF y creador del espectáculo. “Nos enfocamos realmente en la parte de la defensa, pero también en que [West Side Story] es una historia de amor con la que la gente puede identificarse”.

Adaptado en torno a “Romeo y Julieta” de Shakespeare, “West Side Story” sigue a dos pandillas rivales, los Sharks puertorriqueños y los Jets gringos, en la ciudad de Nueva York de la década de 1950. El líder de los Sharks tiene una hermana, María, que se enamora de un miembro de los Jets, Tony. Su romance prohibido genera una tensión violenta entre las dos culturas diferentes.

Para la interpretación burlesca, los giros creativos incluyeron cambiar el icónico “Jet Song” en un número cómico sobre pruebas de enfermedades de transmisión sexual. En uno de los números de burlesque bailaron la oda a “María” y luego se quitaron el vestido en una transición hacia la versión más sensual, “Maria Maria” de Santana. Este baile reflejaba el enfoque del espectáculo en tender un puente entre el amor y el sexo.

Álvarez dijo que el musical original de Broadway ofrece muchas posibilidades para adaptaciones modernas, y así pudo honrar la historia original con la que los latinos mayores están familiarizados mientras agregaba temas sociales contemporáneos.

“La novedad es que tenemos bailarines homosexuales, lesbianas, no binarios y trans”, dijo.

Danzas íntimas que representan relaciones sexuales diversas y queer crearon un ambiente cómico y sensual.

Sharon Ferguson, una de las tres bailarinas de burlesque que interpretó al personaje “Pussy Control”, hizo un número usando tacones de aguja, lencería de cuero rojo y un látigo largo.

“Ser parte de esta producción y saber que el grupo demográfico de más rápido crecimiento para el SIDA y el VIH está entre personas negras y latinos es muy importante para mí para entender el concepto educativo de sexo seguro en cada comunidad”, dijo.

Ferguson dijo que su afinidad y experiencia de toda la vida en la danza encaja perfectamente con las causas de justicia social para esta actuación en particular.

“Siempre estoy dispuesta a apoyar una causa en la que pueda prestar mi cuerpo, mi espíritu y mi alma a algo que va a traer salud”, dijo Ferguson.

Junto a Ferguson, estaban los bailarines Armando Eleazar, conocido por interpretar a Bernardo, el hermano de María en la versión de Broadway 2020 de West Side Story, y Katie McCluskey, quien actuó en el espectáculo el año pasado en Los Ángeles.

través de baile erótico

Bailarines burlescos se inclinan en el escenario después de la presentación de “A West Side Story Burlesque Show” en el Harris Theater de Chicago el 17 de febrero de 2024. La actuación promovió la liberación sexual a través de escenas musicales subidas de tono y ropa reveladora.

Bernardo generalmente se retrata como un personaje masculino tóxico, algo que Eleazar yuxtapone con movimientos más femeninos en la recreación del show.

“Lo que me encanta del espectáculo es que puedo ser tanto femenino como masculino en ciertas partes del espectáculo”, dijo Eleazar. “Como hombre latino, eso es muy liberador”.

McCluskey admira el espectáculo porque normaliza las discusiones sobre la salud sexual, una modalidad que encontró tanto divertida como educativa. Dijo que la representación queer encapsula el objetivo de fomentar conversaciones en una variedad de comunidades también.

“El objetivo de ir a estos [espectáculos] es tener una conversación al respecto más tarde”, dijo. “Permite que las personas se conecten de diferentes maneras... se relaciona con todos los que ven el espectáculo y creo que eso es súper importante”.

Kalyd Odeh, el director creativo de maquillaje del show, adoptó un enfoque llamativo para el maquillaje de los bailarines. Adorno toda la boca de Ferguson con joyas mientras decoraba a otros bailarines de burlesque con mucho brillo y llamativas sombras de ojos.

“Queríamos hacer algo realmente espectacular para mostrar la ilusión de intimidad y fantasía”, dijo.

Erica Young, que asistió al show en apoyo de un amigo, dijo que disfrutó del enfoque en la educación en salud sexual.

“Me gustó cómo eliminaron todas las excusas [para no usar protección sexual] durante el espectáculo de una manera que no te hace sentir culpable”, dijo Young. “Lo incorporaron de una manera interesante que fue como, ‘todavía puedes ser sexy y divertirte’”.

Jumana Odeh, quien también asistió al espectáculo, dijo que resonó con la diversión y el entusiasmo del show.

“Soy muy fanático de West Side Story y del burlesque”, dijo. “Amo el teatro, así que tuve que venir a verlo [el espectáculo] y fue absolutamente increíble”.

Álvarez dijo que asociarse con CALOR, un afiliado de AHF, fue un proceso fácil dado sus valores alineados. Aprecia profundamente las asociaciones que AHF puede hacer con

Sharon Ferguson (centro) se encuentra con otros dos artistas burlescos después de “A West Side Story Burlesque Show” en el Harris Theater de Chicago el 17 de febrero de 2024.

otras organizaciones educativas. El baile es una forma efectiva de expresar amor, dijo Ferguson.

“Creo que el tema común que expresamos a través del baile es que todo amor es correcto”, dijo Ferguson. “Si amas a

alguien, quieres tratar de protegerlo, y ¿qué mejor manera de protegerlo que evitar que contraiga enfermedades”?

ARIANA VARGAS | LA DEPAULIA

ARIANA VARGAS | LA DEPAULIA

Artistas burlescos bailan durante la actuación de “A West Side Story Burlesque Show” en el Harris Theater de Chicago el 17 de febrero de 2024.

ARIANA VARGAS | LA DEPAULIA

Arts & Life

DePaul Graduate Student Celebrates The Success Of His Documentary

By Zachary Klein Contributing Writer

Vishaal Desai adores cinema. In 2009, he graduated from the prestigious London Film School. He worked for years in the film industry in India before coming to DePaul for his graduate degree. His affinity for film is only matched by his love of yoga.

“Yoga is not just about the physical benefits, it’s about the mental benefits,” Desai said. “It gives you a sense of calmness and puts you in a place where you’re helping your spirit.”

Despite potential ridicule, Desai still holds true to his connection to the exercise through his love of film in his documentary “B.K.S. Iyengar: Uniting Through Yoga”.

“To some people, (yoga) might sound a bit corny, but it’s your soul, for lack of a better word, that needs healing as much as your body does,” Desai said.

In 2018, Desai was living in Mumbai when he was approached by his friend and producer, Mrinal Kapadia. Kapadia had pitched a documentary covering the life of B.K.S. Iyengar to Gaia, an Indian-American streaming service focused on spiritual media. Iyengar, the author who popularized the use of yoga as an exercise in the West in the 1950s, had died four years prior and was prime for a cinematic telling of his life. Kapadia quickly received the greenlight for the project — he just needed a director. Desai was the pick.

Kapadia was one of Iyengar’s students and he referred to Iyengar as “Guruji,” a term for a type of spiritual teacher.

“I remember having met Guruji only on a handful of occasions in his advanced age, and having remembered what it felt like to be in his presence,” Kapadia said. “It struck me that future generations would never know about him and his impact except through audiovisual teachings or writings.”

Desai was happy to take on the project as he had prior experience in the field. His aunt was a yoga teacher, and he had been taking her classes for years.

Desai wasn’t interested in making a straight portrayal of Iyengar’s life; there were already documentaries about Iyengar’s per-

sonal history.

“The thought process was to look into his legacy and his impact on the world instead,” Desai said. “We approached this focusing on how the world saw him, rather than looking at it from his perspective.”

Janit Mahadevia, the assistant director of the film, was approached by Desai soon after the documentary process began. Mahadevia, who was in between jobs then, was excited to come on the project.

“I took the opportunity because I’d never done it before,” Mahadevia said.

The filming process mostly consisted of collecting footage from Iyengar’s pupils within India. From there, the scope widened to conduct interviews with his students from around the world: from Germany to Italy to the United States, it was a project that required an international scope.

Of course, that level of filmmaking intro-

duces a lot of challenges.

“We had footage from all over the world,” Desai said. “I don’t speak all those languages, so watching the footage was not of any help unless I understood it right. I had to send it to different people to get it translated.”

Production spanned 14 months, four of which were dedicated to the actual interview process. The rest were spent in the editing room, crafting a story from the gathered footage.

“We ended up with a good two or three hundred hours of footage of interviews, stuff that I shot, and then archival stuff,” Desai said. “Once I got all of that, it was a couple of months of just watching footage to build a narrative. In essence, I wrote the film while watching it.”

Phillip Palmer, screenwriter and former professor of Desai’s at the London Film

Academy, said he is proud of his pupil’s work.

“I’ve been teaching screenwriting for nearly thirty years and I’m privileged to have had Desai as one of my students,” Palmer said. “He is imaginative, bold, entrepreneurial and a wonderful collaborator.”

“B.K.S. Iyengar: Uniting Through Yoga” is now available via Amazon Prime through a Gaia subscription. Desai hopes the film will inspire other filmmakers to create despite the obstacles of time.

“You can make a documentary where you have no plan,” Desai said. “You have to stitch stuff together, but you can do it.”

Featuring exclusive interviews from Iyengar’s close collaborators and family, “Uniting Through Yoga” captures the uniqueness of his teachings and how the mastering of the physical can lead to a breakthrough of the spiritual.

GIA CLARKE | THE DEPAULIA

Vishaal Desai, right, grades his student on how well they set up the light fixtures in the sets at Cinespace on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Desai and his students had a test during their weekly film lab. GIA CLARKE

Vishaal Desai edits a music video in the Cinespace editing booths on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. The music video was directed by Desai.

St.Vincent’s

D e JAMZ

“Spinning freSh beatS Since 1581”

By Lilly Keller and Nadia Carolina Hernandez Print Managing Editor and Editor-In-Cheif

There simply aren’t enough words in the English language to describe a girl’s 22nd birthday. Although we are still incredibly young, it feels like a finale of sorts, the last birthday in college, the last birthday before the horrors of the real world threaten to swallow us whole. Anyways, as we, The DePaulia’s fearless leaders, enter our final birthday at DePaul, we leave you, our beloved listener, with some tracks we hope to characterize the indescribable melancholy and excitement of turning 22.

“Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires” by Cocteau Twins - Lilly Keller

Could I tell you any of the lyrics in this song? Absolutely not? However, every time this song comes on, I am undertaken with a sense of resilience and purpose. Turning 22 brings the anticipation of stepping off the well-worn path and taking authority over your life. As some-

one who lived much of my life on the whims of gut feelings and a general sense of doing what I think is right, I am fully prepared to welcome whatever challenges and opportunities lie ahead as I step into this new chapter with a profound sense of vigor and excitement.

“Sun Bleached Flies” by Ethel Cain - Lilly Keller

It wouldn’t be a Lilly Keller DeJamz if I didn’t include Ethel Cain. From the first time I heard this song back in 2022 to this very moment, it has ingrained itself as one of my favorite songs of all time. A narrative of forgiveness and acceptance, “Sun Bleached Flies” is the epitome of finding peace amidst the trauma and turmoil of life. While it might sound silly, I sincerely hope this new phase of life will provide me with a sense of reconciliation and the resilience to move forward from the things I cannot change.

Crossword

“Karma” by Taylor Swift- Nadia Carolina Hernandez

Unlike my birthday sister, I am not a DeJamz master. I am an expert on worrying and overthinking. Maybe this will finally be the year I will let things go, and hope they come back around. Lately, I find myself screaming the bridge of this song no matter where I am. 22 should focus on me, myself, and I. If I have haters (which I know I do), I’ll ket karma get to them. What better way to relax than to enter my karma era.

“Igual que un Angel” by Kali Uchis feat. Peso Pluma - Nadia Carolina Hernandez

Kali Uchis songs tend to become TikTok famous, but don’t let that stop you from the vast discography. A mix of pop and R&B, english and Spanish, there is nothing this song doesn’t have. This song gives the happiest and chillest vibes. I think pink, sparkly, and baddie Latina

ACROSS

I) Certain informal parent

6) Wooded valleys

11) Female pronoun

14)_ of expertise

15) Bye-bye, in Burgundy

16) Pin number?

17) Object on Israel’s flag

19) Interject

20) Burning

21) Suitable material?

23) Annoying inconvenience

26) Professed

28) FBI employee, briefly

29) Eve’s mate

31) Jacob’s twin

32) Unedited version

34) Petticoat junction?

36) Blueprint detail, in short

39) Most spooky

41) Brandy cocktail

43) Words with “precedent”

44) Senate helper

46) Having an irregular edge

4 7) Spot in the

vibes. And the Peso Pluma feature? Literally I have been saved. When I think my hopes for 22, I hope I can

distance

49) Point to the right

51) Harden

52) Barnum and Bailey’s business

55) Home for an old king

57) Guiding beliefs of a group

58) In a lively manner

60) Doctor in a 1964 movie

61) Campus VIP

66) Nightmare street of film

67) Down provider

68) Barbecue leftover

69) “Sayonara!”

70) Run-down in appearance, as a motel

71) Furry weasel cousin

DOWN

I) _ de deux

2) Dinner scrap

3) Ammo in a harmless shooter

4) Legal aides, informally

5) Recently

6) Baby’s word for 1-Across

7) Japanese protein source

8) Cats have nine of them

9) Welcoming garland

10) Makes soapy bubbles

11) Business seed money

12) Steeplechase obstacle

13) Called off

18) Left the scene

22) Desk drawer item

23) Hellish place

24) See things the same way

25) First base?

27) Prefix for “circle”

30)_ spumante (Italian wine)

33) Total disaster

35) Sailing the Atlantic

37) Renoir’s prop

38) Minotaur’s home

40) Verb for Simon

42) Unfastens

45) Longed for

48) Boot-wearing felines?

50) Sing “shooby-doo” and such

52) Paparazzi target, briefly

53) Venice setting

54) Dodge

56) Historical Alabama march site

59) Results may do this, in commercials

62) Make a sheepshank

63) Flow back

64) Business card no.

65) Prior, to poets

COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA

embody both the lyrics and music for this year.

Prom with an animation twist: 50/50 Club hosts Prom Jam event

By Claire Tweedie Arts and Life Editor

Lucy Njaramba’s senior prom was an excuse to dress up and show off after Covid-19 in 2022. Her dress was a vibrant shade of purple, a family member did her makeup and her hair was adorned with butterfly clips.

While the recently lifted pandemic restrictions meant fewer students attended, Njaramba could barely tell from the glamorous decorations, packed photo booth and music blasting from the DJ. Beyond that, she felt confident — a feeling Njaramba wants other students to have at Prom Jam.

The 50/50 Club, a branch of the Women in Animation Student Collective at DePaul, will host Prom Jam March 1. The first-of-itskind event advertises the traditional details of a prom — a suggested prom attire dress code, music, a Polaroid photo booth and plenty of food — with an animation spin.

Njaramba, now a sophomore and secretary of the 50/50 club, said bringing the high energy associated with animation jams was just as important as the prom theme. Animation jams are community-building events where artists challenge themselves to create an animation within a set amount of time. For Prom Jam, the event will be from 5 p.m to 10 p.m..

“I want people to feel empowered and have fun,” Njaramba said. “Most importantly, I want them to make cool stuff for the animation jam.”

Attendees are encouraged to create 1-3 second animation loops that will be screened at the club’s end-of-the-year showcase. The loops will be played in between longer-form senior projects to showcase talent across grade levels in the animation program.

“The animation loops means someone who is new to animation can look at their

stuff on the big screen at the end of the year and think ‘I made that,’” said Stephanie Posey, freshman and treasurer of the 50/50 club. “I am that person right now who’s new to the animation world.”

The executive board members worked on the event for nearly a year after seniors in the club expressed interest in putting on a prom to regain the experience they lost in high school from Covid-19.

Ariana Kanchuger, senior and member of the 50/50 Club, said she cannot even remember what her high school did to make up for the prom she lost to the pandemic in 2020. Four years later, Kanchuger is now ready to dress up and see how her passion for animation can be creatively mixed into a traditional prom. Even her parents are excited about the event, looking forward to their daughter’s

prom photos they missed out on.

“This is a great opportunity to combine those traditions and rites of passage from highschool with the friends I’ve made here at DePaul who may not have had those experiences either,” Kanchuger said.

Women in Animation is a non-profit advocacy group that supports and promotes underrepresented gender identities in the animation industry. The 50/50 club, as a student sect of the larger organization, upholds these values by hosting events geared toward career readiness, like portfolio reviews, student-led workshops and guest speakers.

For Kanchuger, Prom Jam is still a way for the club to encourage industry equality through networking in a more relaxed social setting. She said events like these bring the DePaul animation community together

and facilitate industry connection through friendship.

“It’s about forming those friendships that will then carry you through your entire career,” Kanchuger said.

The 50/50 club was founded at DePaul last year. Jessica Correa, sophomore and vice president of the club, said Prom Jam is a chance to grow the club’s membership and create new events based on student interest rather than club tradition.

“We want students who are proud to say they’re part of the 50/50 club or have attended one of our events,” Correa said. “Hearing that always makes our day.”

Posey said her prom was not affected by Covid-19 but is still looking forward to something bigger and better than she experienced. Growing up in an area of Tennessee where she said being different was socially unacceptable, Posey said Prom Jam will be a more diverse and accepting version of the high school dance she had.

“I’m just excited for people to be themselves and feel safe being themselves,” Posey said.

Correa hopes the event shows students that animation — and animation events — are not always daunting. They said that working on an event combining two concepts turns a networking opportunity into something fun and accessible for students.

“There’s always opportunities to think outside the box,” Correa said. “If we can have two completely separate things become one idea, I think the event will be successful.”

Correa, along with other executive board members, hopes Prom Jam becomes an annual event that offers the animation community at DePaul another big celebration to look forward to.

“I’m ready to dance, or animate, the night away,” Kanchuger said.

The making of HystericDreamGirl

By Sarina Singh Contributing Writer

Katherine Guo’s career started with a degree in computer science and economics. It’s not a degree that generally leads to a career in fashion, but that’s where Guo landed — with a vintage luxury designer boutique called HystericDreamGirl.

“HystericDreamGirl is a physical and online manifestation of the things I love visually and would love to wear,” said Guo, a 25-year-old business owner.

The HystericDreamGirl shop is based in her West Loop studio apartment. It is a vintage designer shop/boutique consisting of pre-loved designer clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, vintage denim, and other unique vintage pieces. Guo spends hours on the internet, at markets, and in stores, hand-selecting items that she believes deserve more attention, leading her to resell them in her shop.

Since the shop opened about seven months ago, HystericDreamGirl on Instagram has gained over 7,000 followers. Guo said that in the first four months, she made over her goal amount in sales from both her online shop and private shopping.

DePaul freshman Molly McCarthy followed the shop on Instagram after coming across one of the posts. McCarthy has not shopped at HystericDreamGirl yet but plans to do so soon.

“I love vintage clothes, but I also thought the business idea was very unique,” McCarthy said. “There aren’t too many stores like this in Chicago.”

Guo’s neighbor introduced her to the world of curating and selling high-end vintage clothing last year. The neighbor brought her to her first vintage market in West Loop, where Guo got her first glimpse of Chicago’s vintage designer culture or lack thereof.

“That first market, it was so clear to me that Chicago had little to no physical ‘designer’ vintage presence,” Guo said. “So I dedicated my time to trying to build my business online and physically after a lot of encouragement and help from my neighbor friend.”

However, Guo’s love for fashion began well before she started her business.

“I knew I had a problem when I started buying shoes that were definitely not my size,” Guo said. “I had no intention of wearing those pieces out, but I desperately wanted them because I thought they were beautiful and would look incredible on somebody.”

Even so, Guo decided to pursue a degree that seemed much more “practical.” Before her senior year of college started, she had lined up a job in finance in Chicago. When the pandemic hit, she made the spontaneous decision to travel to Japan instead of pursuing her finance job. In Japan, Guo got a taste of the “unique consumer culture, merchandising, and brands.”

“Japanese brands I loved that were relatively expensive in the U.S. were now accessible in mass quantities in front of me,” Guo said.

In Japan, her business model and idea clicked. Without a job to come home to, she moved to Chicago.

“I decided it was time to get serious

about my online presence, which got me serious about my physical retail presence as well,” Guo said.

Olivia Sindler, a 21-year-old customer, shopped in person at Guo’s store after seeing someone wearing “a really cool pair of shorts” with designs she’d never seen before. She asked where the woman got them and checked out the HystericDreamGirl Instagram account.

“I then saw that the profile had a ton of vintage denim, which excited me as I had been looking for a pair of vintage denim for the longest time,” Sindler said. “I made a shopping appointment, went in, and Katherine helped me find my dream pair of denim.”

Guo said there is still much more she hopes to accomplish with this concept. She wants to make designer vintage shopping more accessible to people in Chicago by creating lower prices than at some high-end stores.

Guo said she considers herself living proof of what can happen when you “take the risky path instead of the safe path” by turning your dreams into reality.

“Working on my business (has) taught me so much about myself compared to the three years I spent at my first job,” Guo said. “It has challenged my own beliefs about what truly brings me joy and what I value.”

YÙ YÙ BLUE | THE DEPAULIA

YÙ YÙ BLUE| THE DEPAULIA

Men’s tennis serves early success through team chemistry

By Ryan Hinske Sports Editor

DePaul men’s tennis did not become a conference stalwart overnight; its culture, fueled by head coach Matt Brothers, is a product of experience and connectivity, 17 years in the making.

The Blue Demons’ schedule stays challenging, hitting the ground running in January against Big 10 teams in Michigan (No. 14) and Wisconsin, followed by conference challenger Creighton. Starting the season 4-4, their record seems underwhelming, but in the 2021-22 season, they went 12-12 overall but won the Big East Championship for the second straight season by finishing 8-0 in conference play.

On February 16 and 17, DePaul played matches against The University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Louisiana, splitting the matches but taking home several Big East weekly awards. The pair of DePaul graduate Leon Huck and junior Sven Moser won Doubles Team of the Week while Metteo Iaquinto won Singles Player of the Week, capping off an ultimately successful weekend that saw different players stepping up than earlier in the season.

“The award for me is not that import-

ant, as I want to get as many wins as possible during the season,” Iaquinto said, “but winning that match … (it) was one of the toughest matches that I’ve played in my career.”

Iaquinto, a junior in his third season at DePaul from Palermo, Italy, has quickly become one of the veteran leaders of the team, his experience leading him to victory last weekend.

“I’ve been on the other hand many times,” Iaquinto said, referring to close, competitive matches. “So I know how to deal with those moments now, more so than before, and having that experience helped me to overcome those tough moments.”

Iaquinto says he uses the experience he learned from veterans as a younger player at DePaul to share with the now younger players on the team. Their biggest advantage, he says, is their connection.

“Team chemistry I feel has been one of the best that it’s been during these three years,” Iaquinto said. “We’re in a good place, I feel.”

Senior Sourya Verma is another veteran leader who, paired with junior Jona Gitschel, makes up a doubles team that took home Big East Men’s Doubles Team of the Week Jan. 25 for their performance during DePaul’s first-ever win against the University of Wisconsin.

“It was a pretty good award to get to kick off the year,” Verma said. “It’s a lot of confidence it brings between us as a team … and we have to continue that confidence for the rest of the year.”

Joining the team as a junior last year, Verma’s Blue Demons finished 11-15 and lost to Butler in the first round of the Big East tournament.

“I honestly feel like we’re in a really better spot than we were last year, and I just think everyone’s gelled together well,” Verma said. “No one plays a bigger role than anyone else … and now all of us have a common goal and that’s to win the conference and go to the NCAA (tournament).”

Verma is no stranger to winning. At Binghamton University, he led his team in singles and doubles wins as a freshman and sophomore before transferring to DePaul. While he was succeeding at Binghamton, DePaul won the Big East Championship in back-to-back years. 2023 was a gap in that success during his first season as a Blue Demon, but Verma believes his team is in a good spot for his final undergraduate season.

“I’m just trying to enjoy every moment; every up, every down,” Verma said. “This is my last three months of college tennis, so I’m trying to cherish every moment that I can.”

At the center of the men’s tennis team is Matt Brothers, who has been coaching DePaul for 17 years, a running tenure that is only eclipsed at DePaul by 38th-year women’s basketball head coach Doug Bruno.

Brothers’s overall record was 202-198 going into this season, developing the program from the ground up. It took until 2016 to secure the No. 1 seed at the Big East tournament and until 2021 to win the coveted title.

The teams Brothers has built revolve around the players’ connection. A few years ago, his players began referring to themselves as “The Band of Brothers.”

“The biggest thing these guys have going is just really team chemistry and the brotherhood that they have,” Brothers said. “I tell them ‘we guys over me guys.’”

DePaul has responded well to challenges, flipping a 0-4 shutout loss to Boston College Feb. 3 into a dominant 4-1 win against Army the next day.

“With some of the injuries we’ve had, it’s been kind of this ‘next man up’ mentality and we’ve done pretty well,” Brothers said. “We’ve competed and beat some teams down a player … and still battling, so it just builds confidence throughout the team that anybody can jump in there and get the job done.”

DePaul is set to face conference rival Marquette Sunday, March 3 at XS Tennis Village in Chicago’s south side, the lack of travel proving a benefit to the Blue Demons.

“It’s tough being on the road,” Brothers said. “Our home courts, we’re comfortable there. We’re familiar with the facility and the court surface. We don’t call it home court advantage for nothing.”

As the schedule progresses, more conference matchups with greater significance will be played into March and April. Brothers says his team is ready.

“We’re at our best when everybody is competing and playing winnable tennis, and we’ve definitely had those moments already … and we’ve had a couple where some guys may have dropped below that level,” Brothers said. “(I’m) just looking for consistency from everybody, and I’m confident we’re gonna see that … the guys have been on a good, upward trajectory.”

RYAN HINSKE | THE DEPAULIA

Graduate Laurentiu Mandocescu, left, and sophomore Pablo Torres Almeida high-five Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness. The two teamed up for their doubles practice.

DePaul junior Sven Moser starts to serve at a team practice on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness in Lincoln Park. Moser and graduate student Leon Huck took home Big East Doubles Team of the Week after going undefeated as a duo on Feb. 16 and 17.

RYAN HINSKE | THE DEPAULIA