DePaulia
The
2016 Pacemaker award winner/ Best Weekly College Newspaper-SPJ
Volume #101 | Issue #14 | Jan. 30, 2017 | depauliaonline.com
University spends $35,195 on door barricades
Where do we go from here?
By Jessica Villagomez and Sam Johnson Editor-in-Chief and Contributing Writer
sparks flied. But for the most part, thought bubbles went unpenetrated, mirroring a country bitterly divided on its direction and place in the world. I had been to D.C. twice before, first in 2011 for my grandfather’s funeral at Arlington National Cemetery and more recently, to cover Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to the United States. So I was no D.C. novice, though it still took me a few minutes to once again grasp the frustrating Metro system. Armed with my makeshift DePaulia press pass, pen, notebook and cell phone (which doubles as my recording device), I set out to talk to folks in town for the history-making events. Thursday, I arrived on the National Mall around 11 a.m. Workers diligently performed final tasks as people wandered around, weaving around fencing and other security perimeters not yet in effect. It was sparse and getting close to the Capitol was effortless. Folks snapped pictures, vendors sold pro-Trump and anti-Hillary Clinton merchandise, and it all seemed surprisingly quiet for the day before a presidential inauguration. Having just witnessed the
The university ordered 800 door barricade devices to be installed on the Lincoln Park and Loop campus classrooms in order to secure doors from outside threats, like active shooter situations. The university paid $35,195 in a quantity order, according to a Nightlock representative. In an email to the DePaul community, Director of Public Safety Bob Wachowski said the installations may be used if gunshots are heard or if speakers and message boards declare a lockdown situation. He added that Facilities Operations will be working throughout the quarter to complete the project. The barricades were ordered in October 2016, according to a representative from Nightlock door security devices. But the installations were not announced to the DePaul community via email until Jan. 11, 2017. Each barricade retails for $59.95 but the university received a discount in a quantity order according to a Nightlock representative. In a statement given to The DePaulia, Wachowski said the installations are now being added to security measures because the university is always looking for ways to improve safety. “We identified door barricades as a method to improve our current measures and we are putting them in place,” Wachowski said. Vice President of Facilities Operations Robert Janis said the university plans to install door barricades in every classroom and that all other spaces including conference rooms and offices already have locks. According to the Public Safety video released, the devices will be located on the side of a professor’s desk and are in a small plastic container marked, “for emergency lockdown use only.” The actual piece used to “barricade” is a piece of metal, and will slip into the bottom corner of a classroom door. The device, when locked in place by a steel plated hole in the floor, can prevent a shooter from entering. DePaul professors will be able to use their own judgment when an emergency should arise. “As far as I have been instructed, it’s my judgment,” associate professor Paul Booth said. “The safety videos that we watch kind of give instructions saying, ‘here’s what you should do’, ‘here’s the recommendation’, but in a real scenario you don’t know how you would react.” Booth said that the idea seems like a good one, but that it really gets away
See AMERICA, page 10
See BARRICADES, page 6
It was American carnage vs. hope and change as two countries showed up in Washington, D.C. last week By Brenden Moore Political Editor
COMMENTARY In a sense, the events of Washington D.C. are one continuous house party. With an open invitation, folks from across the country and around the world arrive, stay awhile — perhaps even indulge in the pleasures of This Town — and eventually go home. Margie Purkerson and friend Diane Krumel, of Pensacola, Fla., arrived early. And like any guests who show up to a party early, it was awkward and at times terrifying — their friends had not yet arrived and they were surrounded by strangers who all seemed to be focusing in on them, some with a ferocious rage. The middle-aged women were not intentionally soliciting conflict, but among a sea of people proudly wearing their red ‘Make America Great Again’ hats, they stuck out like sore thumbs with their ‘Stronger Together’ buttons and shirts featuring President Barack Obama’s likeness. It was just one day before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, and I’m
interviewing Krumel in front of the U.S. Capitol Building. She, in town mainly for the women’s march, is in the middle of telling me how she believes “Barack Obama will go down as one of the greatest presidents we’ve ever had,” when a man, wearing a leather garb with ‘Biker for Trump’ written on the back, approaches. Overhearing our conversation, the biker, who would not give his name, tells Purkerson smirkingly that she does not know what she’s talking about. “Are you here to support our (new) president?” he asked. “No, I am not,” Purkerson said defiantly. “You know how this man got here?” the biker said. “I don’t know, the Russians?” Purkerson snaps back. “We the people,” the biker said before walking away. This confrontation was just a sneak peek of the stark contrasts I would encounter over the three days I spent in the nation’s capital covering Trump’s inauguration and the women’s march. Basically, I went to Washington, D.C. and found two different countries within one. When these came into conflict, as Purkerson and the biker illustrated,