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Volume #102 | Issue #11 | Jan. 16, 2018 | depauliaonline.com
DePaul in drag: a celebration of inclusivity
PHOTOS BY RACHEL FERNANDEZ | THE DEPAULIA
By Mackenzie murtaugh Copy Editor
The student drag show kicked off on Friday, with dollar bills and cheers filling the Student Center. Presented by Act Out DePaul, an LGBTQ+ activist organization, the show succeeded in exhibiting a night of high drag, day drag, queens, kings and everything in between. With the seats filled to capacity, the student queens and kings performed songs from various artists like Carly Rae Jepsen, a drag cultural icon, to Panic! At The Disco, a nostalgia-bringer. This year’s show celebrated a multitude of drag art forms by including “Kings, Queens and In-Betweens,” according to the show’s Facebook event page. DePaul queens like Sapphire Feliciano donned full drag
and danced their faces (and wigs) off, and kings like Sick Boy brought in tips by tearing their pants and bringing an audience member on stage to dance. Two Chicago drag scene heavy hitters Bambi Banks and Aunty Chan hosted the evening that included their own miniperformances. Aunty Chan began the night with a hilarious performance of a traditional-sounding song, complete with a blue and pink kimono. After an intermission, the two queens pranced the stage to a “High School Musical” song, original choreography perfected. “I didn’t know I needed that in my life, but I did,” said Meghan Magats, Columbia College student and audience member. Performances varied by drag style, and this medley of both queens and kings led to plenty of unexpected moments. Audience memb ers Continued on page 17
See ARTS & LIFE, page 17
Top: Drag queen Lolita Gray (Grason Clark) accepts dollar bills from a fellow student. Bottom: Drag king Tye Jones (Jacquie Siegel) serves up Panic! At The Disco Vibes.
Former player accepts “dream” job with men’s soccer program By Andrew Hattersley Asst. Sports Editor
When DePaul men’s soccer’s new head coach Mark Plotkin left for Colgate after the 2013 season, he hoped at some point he would be able to return to Chicago to be closer to family. What he didn’t know is it would be just a couple years later, and that opportunity would be to coach at his alma mater. “I was honestly speechless,” Plotkin said. “I couldn’t say a word because it was like every dream you’ve ever had came true in one phone call and I had nothing to say, it was unbelievable.” Plotkin was a midfielder for the Blue Demons from 2006-09 and an assistant coach during the 2012 and 2013 seasons before becoming an assistant at Colgate. Since the news came shortly before Christmas, DePaul’s new coach was able to share the news with his
MARK PLOTKIN Photo courtesy of DePaul Athletics
family over the holidays. Plotkin and his wife’s family live just outside the city in Naperville and it was always the plan for them to eventually get back to Chicago. “Going home and being able to tell my mom, my dad and my sister I was going to be coming back it was huge because they all live in Chicago,” Plotkin said. “It was great to be able to come back and see them more often.” Plotkin met with the team last Monday for the first time and just a couple days later they were on the field for their first workout of the winter quarter. Plotkin’s message to the team was centered around what a special place this was for him and his hope to provide an even better experience for them. “I talked to them a lot about just how special this place is for me and how it was the best four years of my life when I was a student athlete here,” Plotkin said. “It’s my goal to give them a better experience than I did.” Junior midfielder Zach El-Shafei said the team has enjoyed getting to know their new coach and been impressed with See PLOTKIN, page 26
2 | News. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
First Look OW RN
ON A I
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 | Amber Colón eic@depauliaonline.com
PAULIA THE DE
PAGE 29
Podcast
MANAGING EDITOR | Rachel Fernandez managing@depauliaonline.com NEWS EDITOR | Benjamin Conboy news@depauliaonline.com ASST. NEWS EDITOR | Jonathan Ballew news@depauliaonline.com
Tune in to Episode 11 of The DePaulia’s official podcast “Page 29,” available on Soundcloud and iTunes.
NATION & WORLD EDITOR | Carina Smith nation@depauliaonline.com OPINIONS EDITOR | Sabrina Miresse opinion@depauliaonline.com FOCUS EDITOR | Ashley Fedha focus@depauliaonline.com ARTS & LIFE EDITOR | Lacey Latch artslife@depauliaonline.com SPORTS EDITOR | Shane René sports@depauliaonline.com ASST. SPORTS EDITOR | Andrew Hattersley sports@depauliaonline.com
THIS WEEK Tuesday - 1/16
Check out our campus crime database, Crime Watch. This map is updated on a weekly basis with data made available to The DePaulia from the City of Chicago data portal and DePaul’s Office of Crime Prevention.
Correction: An article titled “Student debt at DePaul surpasses Illinois average” that appeared on page 3 inaccurately stated that Loyola University’s rate of student indebtedness is lower than DePaul’s. It is actually higher.
Wednesday - 1/17
Thursday - 1/18
Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast w/Jesse Jackson Student Center
GirlUp Winter Kickoff Meeting John T. Richardson Library
Your Teacher is Also your Dungeon Master: Incorporating RPG Elements John T. Richardson Library
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Saturday - 1/20
Sunday - 1/21
Friday - 1/19
DESIGN EDITOR | Victoria Williamson design@depauliaonline.com
Global Coffee Hour: Survive a Chicago Winter 11th Floor North Cafe, 1 E. Jackson Blvd.
DePaul Investment Group: ‘16 Alum in Global Derivative Markets: Ben Friedman DePaul Center, Room 8005
Faculty Artist Series: Alexander Hanna, performing on bass Concert Hall
DESIGN EDITOR | Ally Zacek design@depauliaonline.com
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
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You’re going on winter break — and so is The DePaulia. We will not be publishing hard copies of the paper, but you can keep up with stories on our website and social media. We appreciate your readership and interest in the paper! We will resume publication on January 8, 2018.
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News. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018 | 3
Chicago’s sidewalk laws in need of repair By Jonathan Ballew Asst. News Editor
Last week Chicago property owners eagerly signed up to help pay for sidewalk repair that, depending on who you ask, may or may not be their responsibility. Chicago’s Shared Cost Sidewalk Program is a voluntary program started to entice property owners to split the cost of sidewalk repair with the city. The program is immensely popular — so popular, that property owners are encouraged by their aldermaen to sign up the exact minute the program opens because it can fill up so quickly. But just why are so many property owners willing to pay anywhere between $600 and $1,500 to repair what some consider to be city property? Who owns sidewalk space and who is responsible for fixing it, especially when it becomes a safety hazard? The short answer is that the city shirks the responsibility and property owners are tired of waiting to have their sidewalks fixed. But the city’s sidewalk policies aren’t exactly clear. In many ways, they are in as much need of repair as the crumbling sidewalks in question. In a 2015 case that made its way to the Illinois Supreme Court decision, a private citizen sued the city of Chicago for injuries sustained after falling on an unrepaired sidewalk. In the case, both the property owner and the city denied responsibility for the sidewalk repair. Paul Sajovec, chief of staff for Alderman Scott Waguespack of the 32nd Ward, admits that when it comes to sidewalk repair, it isn’t always clear who bears the responsibility to fix an unmaintained sidewalk. “It’s very Chicago,” he said. Sajovec said that in the eyes of the city, not all sidewalks are created equal. He said that a sidewalk in front of church is much more likely to be repaired than a sidewalk in front of privately owned buildings. This disparity in repair has more to do with liability than anything else. Sajovec said that even though the city does not take responsibility for sidewalk repair, they
VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA
Chicago’s sidewalk laws are vague and often create confusion about who’s responsible for them.
will step in when the sidewalk is deemed a significant liability. So who determines which sidewalks are repaired at the city’s expense? The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) plays a hand in deciding which sidewalks are hazardous enough to warrant a repair on the city’s dime. Sue Hofer, a representative for CDOT, said that “it just depends.” According to Hofer, a sidewalk is only repaired at the cost of the city if it is deemed to be especially dangerous, according to Hofer. When asked how that determination is made, Hofer said that it is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, aldermen step in to fix unmaintained sidewalks. Each alderman has a discretionary fund that can be used for repairs within their ward. According to Sajovec, the majority of that fund goes toward repaving the roads. With such little funding left over, sidewalk repair is often put on the backburner. That’s where the Shared Cost Sidewalk Program comes in. Property owners have continued to sign up for the program
because it seems to be the fastest way to fix their sidewalks. It’s no secret that Chicago is in a budgetary crisis. Each year, the city struggles to allocate funds that aren’t available to finance projects that it can’t afford. While having property owners help foot the bill may seem like a great way to save money, it may set a precedent that hurts more than it helps. Property owners in less affluent
“We go after both (the city and the property owner) and let them point fingers at each other. In many cases, they both share the responsibility.”
Michael Friedman
communities may not have the funds to participate in the program. While they can make requests to Chicago’s 311 line, it can often take years for the city to come and repair sidewalks. A broken sidewalk isn’t just unsightly, it’s dangerous. A small crack hidden beneath snowy conditions can pose a serious hazard to children on bikes, joggers and the elderly. At night, even an able bodied individual can fall victim to an suffer a fall on an unmaintained sidewalk. Michael Friedman, a personal injury lawyer with Michael T. Friedman & Associates PC, said that in many cases it isn’t always clear who is responsible. “We go after both (the city and the property owner) and let them point fingers at each other,” he said. “In many cases, they both share the responsibility.” The municipal ordinance on sidewalks only muddies the water. It fails to outline exactly who is in charge of a sidewalk in total disrepair. “Sometimes these ordinances are purposely vague,” Friedman said. When property owners and the city begin to point fingers at each other, ultimately the public ends up suffering the consequences. Property owners that play chicken with the city allow their sidewalks to fall into total disrepair in hopes that CDOT will fix the problem. But negligence isn’t always to blame. Property owners in Chicago’s low-income neighborhoods often don’t have the funds to participate in the Shared Cost Sidewalk Program. For some property owners, waiting for the city to repair the sidewalk is often their only course of action. When asked if this can lead to more cases of personal injury, Friedman said, “absolutely.” While the city touts the Shared Cost Sidewalk Program as a win for all, Sajovec believes that it may be time for Chicago to take a hard look at sidewalk repair.
Personal injury lawyer
End of holiday season, bitter cold causes shakeups at retailers By Caitlyn Bilow Contributing Writer
Single-digit temperatures are keeping shoppers in their homes and out of stores, causing cuts to retail employees’ shifts, and in extreme situations, termination. As expected after the holiday rush, brick-and-mortar retail stores typically see a dramatic drop in sales. Throw bone-chilling temperatures into the consumers’ shopped-out mindset and Michigan Ave. resembles a ghost town. Unfortunately, employee shift cuts are just the beginning. Athleta, a Gap subsidiary, experienced such an unforeseeable drop in sales this season at their Southport Avenue location that they terminated three employees, according to DePaul student Marisa Barnett, who was also let go. Barnett, who has worked at the location since July and had been employed with the Gap for over two years, was terminated on the grounds that she was a “seasonal holiday” hire. Barnett is now left unemployed with no help wanted signs to be seen. “I came into work yesterday as if it was just another shift,
not knowing it would be my last,” Barnett said. “The whole thing was so unexpected because I was hired as part-time, not seasonal. Last week I was only scheduled for three hours, but at least I had a job.” Southport Avenue has been recently revitalized for its residents. As a store marketed toward and in a perfect location for mothers, Athleta’s major sales decline is no shock when most mothers do not want to brave the cold themselves, let alone with children. “The negative temperatures definitely had an impact on us,” said Lakeview mother Kristina Wolfe. “My son was on a winter break all week, so I had planned to get out of the house, but instead stayed in all week and ordered groceries and toiletries from Instacart. The temperature was not just miserable, but dangerous.” Online shopping is the perfect antidote for not wanting to venture into cold temperatures for the necessities. “Post-Christmas shopping is always a slow time for retail,” Barnett continued. “I think the really cold temperatures was just the straw that broke the camel’s back for Athleta Southport.” “I suspect it probably won’t have too much of a lingering
impact,” said senior US economist at Societe Generale Omair Sharif. He said retail sales data could take a small blow, but that should get made up quickly. Madewell sales associate Sarah Crain says, “While the front of the store may be slow and empty, there are always a ton of back of house is projects like processing shipment and online orders that keeps the store profitable and fully staffed.” Realizing just how much cold weather affects retail, giant winter-wear outfitter Canada Goose has pulled away from its traditional sales platform of relying solely on sales through retailers like Macy’s and have moved to a direct-to-consumer structure. With only four stores, the majority of sales come from online. This e-commerce focus helped increase margins so much so that in November 2017, the Toronto-based company raised its earnings prediction for the year after quarterly sales beat estimates. Luckily, tolerable temperatures aren’t too far in the future. A shopping experiencewhere customers can see, feel and try on clothes before purchasing will never go out style, maybe just out of season.
4| News. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
Three women counter-protest while holding signs that champion women’s reproductive rights.
A young girl piggybacks on her father, holding a sign that reads “Defund Planned Parenthood.”
Photos by: Carolyn McCabe
A counter-protester holds up a sign accusing the rally attendees of being “Christian fascists.”
March for Life rally attracts protesters of all ages and values
A family of six holds pro-life signs while attending the March For Life Rally. Despite the cold temperatures, there were many children in attendance. The crowd spanned multiple generations.
News. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018 | 5
DePaul pro-lifers speak out at March for Life rally By Jonathan Ballew Asst. News Editor
The pro-life minority felt like the majority on Sunday. On a cold afternoon, thousands gathered at The Federal Plaza to give a voice to those, that they say, can’t speak for themselves. Though many see the annual March For Life rally as an anti-abortion rally, those in attendance consider it a celebration of life. The age of attendance spanned from the smallest newborn, to the oldest volunteers in their 80s. Daft Punk’s “One More Time” and other arena rock jams played over loudspeakers as families gathered and children danced while holding signs that read, “one-third of my generation is missing” or “abortion is not healthcare.” A child piggybacked on her dad’s shoulders while holding a “defund planned parenthood” sign. The theme of the rally was love saves lives. Not everyone considered the event to be a celebration. Across a wall of police officers on Dearborn St., hundreds of counter protesters gathered to voice their dissent. Signs read “Abortion on demand and without an apology” or “My body. My choice.” Other signs weren’t so family friendly. Ramona Treviño, a former employee at Planned Parenthood, was one of the keynote speakers. “Planned Parenthood’s days are numbered,” she said to an emotionally charged crowd. Treviño told her story of her days at Planned Parenthood and how she has completely changed her tune. She criticized her former agency and said that she has made it her mission to change people’s minds who were once like her. “Women do not need abortion,” she said before exiting the stage. Across the street, the counter protesters grew louder chanting, “Our bodies! Our choice!” Kaila Peterson was one of the final
speakers at the rally. Peterson is one of DePaul’s newest students. She has only been attending DePaul for a couple of weeks. “It has been an interesting but exciting experience so far,” she said. Peterson told her story of finding out she was pregnant with her second child. They bounced around without a place to live. “I was scared, but I didn’t want to give up my baby,” she said. Peterson credited the agency Aid For Women both for helping her through her pregnancy and getting her a scholarship to attend DePaul. DePaul is the largest Catholic school in the United States, but tell that to the student body. Most students tend to have liberal viewpoints on most issues. When it comes to abortion laws, it is safe to say that many consider themselves to be pro-choice. It’s not just the students either. The faculty are known for being left-leaning. In 2015, DePaul came under fire for promoting volunteer opportunities with Planned Parenthood. Justine Carlson is a senior at DePaul and former president of DePaul Students For Life. She said that being pro-life at DePaul isn’t always easy. “It’s definitely difficult,” she said. Carlson said that sometimes it can feel isolating if your beliefs don’t align strongly enough with one side. She said that she has been called out by both liberals and conservatives on campus. “I’ve been told, you aren’t pro-life enough,” she said. Current president of Students For Life, Nick Sansone agreed with Carlson. “DePaul is not a very friendly place to be pro-life,” he said. He thinks that DePaul students could stand to be a little more open-minded. He said that when it comes to views on abortion, there are probably many pro-life students that don’t feel comfortable voicing their beliefs. “It’s almost a group-think mentality,” he said. Sansone said that while people often
VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA
Public opinion on abortion has remained fairly consistent, apart from a drop in favorability in 2009.
assume he must be conservative on every issue, that is not the case. He said that he is very supportive of LGBTQ+ rights, immigrants rights, and many other civil rights issues. Sansone is not wrong either. While it might often feel like DePaul is overwhelmingly pro-choice, statistics show that society really hasn’t moved the needle on abortion in over a decade. For the most part, those that favor a pro-choice stance have hovered at around 55 percent, while those opposed to abortion around 40 percent. Sansone voiced his displeasure with Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office. “He betrayed everybody,” he said. When asked if he would be voting for a
different candidate in the upcoming election, he said, “absolutely.” At the Sunday rally, other politicians weren’t afraid to take shots at the governor’s office either. Jeanne Ives, state representative of the 42nd district, addressed the crowd. “Your political leaders have betrayed you,” she said amidst an echo of applause. Ives referenced Rauner’s signing of HB 40 as one of his biggest failures. Next week is the annual Women’s March, and a crowd of a quarter million is expected. It will be another day of chanting and colorful signs, and America’s war over abortion laws will continue to march on.
Deep Games Lab builds video games to treat mental illness By Benjamin Conboy News Editor
On the fifth floor of the Daley Center, Associate Professor Doris Rusch and her game design students in the Deep Games Lab toil away, trying to find new ways to use video games as a tool for good, defying the stereotype often ascribed to them that they are just a method for wasting time. Rusch and her team of students focus mainly on designing video games that “explore the human experience” in a productive way. But in order to effectively treat a mental illness, you must first understand the illness itself. In addition to doing her post-doctorate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology GAMBIT Game Lab and being full-time faculty, Rusch is enrolled in a master’s program for clinical mental health counseling at DePaul to better understand the illnesses she seeks to treat. Past products of the Deep Games Lab include “Walking With,” in which two players, a nurse and a patient, collaboratively explore environments and complete puzzles. The game aims to teach mental health practitioners how to compassionately communicate with their patients. A team is currently working on a game called “Of a Feather,” about two friends, one with bipolar disorder and one with borderline personality disorder, and their struggle to maintain their friendship. Cori Winter, one of the game’s designers, said the game was inspired by her own struggles with bipolar and her friend with borderline personality disorder.
“It’s a personal story of how our relationship developed,” Winter said. “She was my best friend for years, and when everything started to fall apart and these disorders got more intense, (I started to wonder) how the relationship would survive. It didn’t survive very well, let’s put it like that.” In designing “Of a Feather,” Winter and one of her development partners, David Iacono, said they wanted to keep the thematic message of the game metaphorical rather than an explicit nod to the game being about coping with mental illness. “Everyone can relate to having a close friend, but not everyone could relate to the feelings of having lost control, of not understanding what is going on in their own mind,” Winter said. “But everyone could understand losing a friend after moving away to college.” When Iacono became a gaming student, he anticipated making traditional video games like Call of Duty, but instead became enraptured by the idea of using video games for spurring social good. Designing a game that is fun and engaging, but also accomplishes the goal of treating mental health issues is like walking a tightrope, Rusch said. “(It is difficult) to find the balance between making something that is appealing as a game and also really speaks to the heart of the issue you want the game to be about,” Rusch said. Video games are experiencing a paradigm shift at the moment, moving closer every day towards full virtual reality gaming experiences. As to how games can be useful in this application, Rusch
said it can be a bit tricky. “We get to make choices in games and own the consequences of these choices,” Rusch said. “Games facilitate exploring new ways of being and acting. All of that helps us get ‘unstuck.’ But once a game is done, it doesn’t really talk back. While it offers a possibility space, it’s still a space that is relatively fixed once its design is finished.” She recognizes that video games will not be a cure-all for mental health problems. There are too many variables that still cannot be controlled, and thinks that there is no replacement for therapy. “There is something to be said about the relationship that is built in therapy and being able to fully customize treatment to the (individual) needs of the patient,” Rusch said. “You can’t do that with a game that you design for a target audience, which is by definition more than one person.” It may be difficult for someone who does not experience the same reality as their “target audience” to ease symptoms they’ve never experienced. She says you have to look deep and get out of your own head and into theirs to be effective. “Very often, it’s all about getting as far away from the obvious as possible,” Rusch said. “What’s behind it all? What’s below the surface, invisible? I rely a lot on a mythical understanding of the world, finding archetypal patterns and energy, because they are what connect all of human experience.” “But I also talk a lot to people with lived experience, subject matter experts, and I practice self-reflection and selfinquiry,” she continued. “I trust in the wisdom of stories and the power of storytelling.”
6| News. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
Students take to making memes to air grievances about university By Rachel Fernandez Managing Editor
Students are making memes and posting them to Facebook groups specific to DePaul memes. Although the meme pages started as a tongue-in-cheek way to make jokes about DePaul life and culture, they have become a forum for students to comment on and express frustrations with different aspects of the university including the new Wintrust Arena. One of the Facebook groups posting these memes is called DePaul Setonposting. It is a closed group that anyone can apply to be a part of, pending approval from an administrator. Junior Alex Bednar is an administrator for DePaul Setonposting group which currently has 345 members. Facebook group administrators oversee the content that gets published in the group and manage the group’s settings. They also regulate the posts and comments to make sure that the group members are acting appropriately so the page can avoid any content that is “just distasteful and seeks to bait a reaction” according to Bednar. This does not mean, however, that the administrators shy away from controversial topics in their memes. “I personally like to make memes about things that DePaul students are thinking about, but don’t necessarily say,” Bednar said. Along with regulating content for DePaul Setonposting, Bednar also contributes his own content to the Facebook group. Many of the most recent posts in the page have been memes criticizing and trivializing the new Wintrust arena.
“To me, and many DePaul students, the Wintrust Arena is a waste of money that should be used to benefit DePaul programs,” Bednar said. “The fact that the school and the city have wasted so much money on a shiny new arena for a failing basketball team really says a lot about higher education and thus has become a fantastic subject to meme about.” Junior Cooper Gelb is also an active member in DePaul Facebook meme groups. He appreciates the “top quality meme content and seeing how creative people can be.” Like many of the other students who are a part of these groups, he is also critical of the new arena and believes the memes surrounding the topic do a good job fulfilling at least one of the intentions of meme creation. “I like the critical memes because they are what memes should be: subversive, powerful and too confusing for adults to understand,” Gelb said. The objective or expected outcome of creating and posting these memes is unique to the creator, but there is an element of connection that comes with sharing these frustrations online and in a humorous way. Paul Booth is an associate professor in the Media and Cinema Studies program who specializes in digital communication and studies of popular culture including social media. “Memes like this (and new media) are really effective at spreading the word about something, and about directing the shape of conversations, although this requires that everyone be aware and available on the platforms,” Booth said. According to Booth, students creating content, finding ways to make it public and
PHOTO COURTESY OF PATRICK KUNST
An example of one of the memes shared, using the Vincentian question to mock the arena.
reaching other students is nothing new. The way in which people go about doing so may be changing, but the sentiment remains the same. “To me, these memes are a newer media form of traditional student activities,” Booth said. “That they are about new additions to DePaul (the arena) and DePaul’s Vincentian Values indicate that these are topics important to students at DePaul, and reflect issues that students feel strongly about.” Although these topics are relevant to students, Booth finds that the specific method of expressing these frustrations through memes may not be the most effective way to actively enact change. “Memes are by definition fleeting,
and in a week no one will remember these particular memes. Also, they tend to be shared and experienced by those of a similar mindset – the social media bubble we all inhabit,” Booth said. “Effective protest happens at a level of communication that everyone acknowledges.” That does not mean, however, that this kind of content is not rooted with the intention or ability to inspire change or a movement of some sort. “Humor, especially satire and parody, can be incredibly effective at making political and social issues come into the light,” Booth said “They are stepping stones to making protest, petitions and demonstrations happen.”
“To me, and many DePaul students, the Wintrust Arena is a waste of money that should be used to benefit DePaul programs. The fact that the school and the city have wasted so much money on a shiny new arena for a failing basketball team really says a lot about higher education and has thus become a fantastic subject to meme about.”
Cooper Gelb DePaul meme enthusiast
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News. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018| 7
Report: Illinois’ aging nuclear reactors have been ignoring regulators By Benjamin Conboy News Editor
There is an invisible, looming threat lurking alongside Illinois’ rivers and lakes. Nuclear power plants that have outdated backup power systems and are vulnerable to flooding, but the state’s nuclear reactors have been ignoring years of warnings, according to a Better Government Association (BGA) investigation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the federal agency that oversees the nation’s nuclear power plants, have ordered Exelon to test systems which are critical to the safe operations of their plants, Nuclear power plants provide clean energy, with no emissions apart from the discarded nuclear material. This, coupled with the cheap electricity they provide, make them a desirable power source. But they can be extremely volatile and prone to catastrophic malfunctions. Illinois has the most nuclear power plants of any state in the country, and ignoring regulators’ warnings has the potential to lead the state, and the nation, into a disaster if a mishap occurs. Nuclear power plants use the energy from nuclear material to boil water, similar to the way a coal plant works. They also need water to keep the reactors cool, so this large appetite for water means the plants have to be near abundant fresh water, like rivers or lakes. Yuki Miyamoto, a DePaul professor who specializes in nuclear ethics, said that it is critical for the owners of these plants to follow safety regulations because they are aging and require more attention. “Nuclear power plants originally have a life of 40 years,” Miyamoto said. “But now we
f
are extending the limit, as we have not built any new ones since the Three Mile Island accident.” Two reactors the NRC found problematic were in Byron, IL and Braidwood, IL, which is only 53 miles southeast of Chicago. The NRC found faulty valve systems that are designed relieve water pressure in the event of an accident, according to the BGA’s report. These faulty valve systems, and the dismissal of their critical conditions, were what led to the nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island in 1979. If a reactor floods, radiation could seep into the rivers and lakes that the power plants use to keep the reactors cool. But people also depend on those water sources for drinking water, and contamination could cause a national emergency. “Not knowing the magnitude of the flood, it is extremely hard to know what to expect and how far it would reach,” Miyamoto said. “I do know even as the spilled radiation would affect the lives of residents of Chicago, the authorities would assure people, ‘It’s not dangerous.’” Laura Hood is a DePaul student who is from Dresden, IL – where there is a nuclear power plant the NRC has deemed vulnerable to floods along the Illinois River. She said growing up that close to a nuclear reactor didn’t cross her mind until she was in high school and the Fukushima reactor melted down in Japan. “It was always one of those things that you never really noticed,” Hood said. “Just another weird building in the middle of nowhere. But they are really dangerous and knowing my family still lives so close to one makes me nervous.” Hood’s family is in the agriculture business, growing soybeans on their farm
VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA
The Dresden and Braidwood reactors are two that the NRC noted as susceptible to flooding.
about 8 miles away from the Dresden reactor. If an incident occurs, it could contaminate farmland for thousands of years. Depending on the severity of the accident, it could leave farming communities with radiation-laden soil. When told the reactor near her family’s home is susceptible to flooding, she said she “can’t believe no one is doing anything about
it.”
Michael Serrano, a chemical engineering student, believes that nuclear power is effective if used properly, but should not be put near any community’s drinking water. “The risk-reward for having a reactor on Lake Michigan is extremely low,” Serrano said. “Millions of people would be out of drinking water (if an incident occurred).”
CAMPUS CRIME REPORT: January 3- January 9, 2017 LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS
LOOP CAMPUS
University Hall 4
5
5
3
Corcoran Hall 3
Courtside Apartments 6
1
Belden-Racine Hall
DePaul Center 9
Student Center 3 8
2
6 4
LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS
Assault & Theft
Drug & Alcohol
Other
JANUARY 3 JANUARY 6 JANUARY 8 1) A possesion of cannabis report was filed at 4) A possession of cannabis report was filed in 7) A burglary report was filed for a break in at Courtside Apartments.
University Hall.
JANUARY 7 JANUARY 4 2) A verbal assault report was filed against an 5) A possession of cannabis report was filed individual in the Student Center.
in University Hall.
3)
6) A possession of cannabis report was filed in
A smell of marijuana report was filed in Corcoran Hall. No drugs were found.
Belden-Racine Hall.
St. Vincent Church.
8) A criminal damage to property report was filed for a broken window at 990 West Fullerton Ave.
LOOP CAMPUS JANUARY 5 9) A theft report was filed for a stolen wallet and cellphone at the DePaul Center.
8| News. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
State senator draws high numbers for weed symposium By Hector Cervantes Contributing Writer
Recreational marijuana legalization was center stage in the Levan Center during Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s (SSDP) jam-packed symposium in which they hosted Heather Steans, one of the state senators who cosponsored the senate bill that would, if passed, legalize recreational marijuana in Illinois. Joining Steans for the panel and Q&A session was Bret Bender of the Medical Marijuana Project and Stevie Valles of the non-partisan voter engagement group Chicago Votes. On Jan. 4, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he would be rescinding the Obama-era “Cole Memo,” which was an executive instruction to federal law enforcement agencies to allow marijuana retailers and growers in states where it has been legalized to continue their business unencumbered. With the memo gone, federal agents are now free to raid dispensaries and arrest anyone selling marijuana, even if it is legal in their state. Steans does not anticipate the Justice Department’s actions will cause any difficulties in the rollout of recreational weed in Illinois, if the time ever comes. Steans pointed to the difficulty of passing recreational legalization legislatively, rather than through a public referendum, as states like California and Colorado have done.
“Every state has legalized marijuana by public referendum,” Steans said. “We are not a public referendum state, but we are trying to do it in a legislative way.” “I know we are inching closer in legalizing it, and we want to prioritize this situation with young people across America,” Bender said. “We know we have the numbers and support.” Senior Amy Hildebrand is an Illinois state policy intern for SSDP and the president of the group’s DePaul chapter. She has been active in the cannabis industry for a few years, so attracting these speakers was just a matter of. “I work directly with Senator Steans’ office for the cannabis legalization effort,” Hildebrand said. “Milking the connections I have, we were able to fill this room tonight.” One criticism of marijuana prohibition is the way it disproportionately affects black and Hispanic people. Steans said she has two lobbyists working with the black and Hispanic caucuses to make sure their interests are heard and represented in the bill. “Our focus isn’t so much trying to convince people that marijuana should be legalized but showing them there are candidates who support marijuana,” Valles said. Another tip that was mentioned is endorse the candidates who support legalizing marijuana. “What you can do is making sure that the candidates get elected who support legalizing marijuana because that is what we are going
BENJAMIN CONBOY | THE DEPAULIA
There weren’t enough seats in Levan 100 for everyone who came to discuss marijuana legalization.
to need,” Bender said. Illinois already has a medical marijuana program that was implemented in 2013. But the program has a strict list of applicable conditions, and bureaucratic backlog means patients have to wait as much as four months for their medical cards to arrive. “Like what state senator Steans said, it won’t affect the way we are doing this policy or the medical policy the major and all of our state attorneys have come out and said that they won’t back if we make enforcements
later,” Hildebrand said. “Also, this legalization effort is going slowly for a reason to work out all the kinks and have all the discussions like we had today. It has not changed anything.” Steans has already held three public forums on recreational legalization, and is holding another on Monday, Jan. 22 in the Bilandic Building at 160 N. LaSalle Street.
News. The DePaulia Jan. 16, 2018
10 | Nation & World. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
Nation &World b a c p k e w t s a e rd n O ALLY ZACEK | THE DEPAULIA
New environmental policy will have real effects By Evan Sully Contributing Writer
The outlook of this country’s involvement in environmental policy in 2018 seems very bleak. In 2017, environmental policies took a step backward on past progress that shaped policies protecting the environment on both a domestic and international level. Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) administrator, changed the climate of the EPA in 2017 with a new agenda that focuses on shifting away from overseeing clean air and water. Notably, in October the Trump administration announced that the EPA would be rolling back the Clean Power Plan, an Obama administration policy that established individual state targets for reducing carbon emissions. The final version of the plan would reduce the national electricity sector emissions by 32 percent by 2030, which is relative to levels in 2005. Mark Potosnak, an associate professor in the Environmental Science and Studies department at DePaul, doesn’t agree with the roll back the decision to push plan. “Delaying the Clean Power Plan is a problem for several reasons,” Potosnak said. “First, there was a carefully crafted international agreement that voluntarily asked countries to meet emission targets. By sending a signal that the U.S. is walking away from its commitment, we
are opening the door for other countries to do the same.” Potosnak believes that delaying the Clean Power Plan is problematic for economic reasons, too. “Alternative energy sources like solar and wind energy are competitive economically with coal, but to compete with existing coal plants, there needs to be certainty on economic conditions,” Potosnak said. Kelly Tzoumis, a professor of public policy studies at DePaul who was a civil servant at the U.S. Department of Energy and worked on Capitol Hill writing about environmental studies, also isn’t too fond of the economics behind this decision. “The Trump administration wants to reinvigorate coal and fossil fuels as energy sources,” Tzoumis said. “Economically, it’s a very backwards policy,” because “coal and fossil fuels is a market that has been declining.” Another move that caused the U.S. to take a step backwards came in June of last year when President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would be pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Also referred to as the Paris Climate Accord and the Paris Agreement, the Paris Climate Agreement was drafted in December 2015 at the United Nations Climate Conference in Paris, France. It went into effect in November 2016, with 55 countries representing roughly 55 percent of the world’s global emissions ratified it. The universal goal of the agreement is to bring in countries
around the globe to fight against climate change. Concerning the universal goal, the agreement has numerous other goals that lie behind the broad phrase of climate change. For example, nations that signed had agreed to limit global average temperatures to not exceed 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Christie Klimas, an assistant professor in DePaul’s Environmental Science and Studies department, isn’t pleased with the decision of pushing out the Paris Climate Agreement. “I am disappointed with the Trump administration’s response,” Klimas said. “I think that true shared sacrifice (globally, nationally and individually) for the common good is the right way to move forward.” Not to mention, Klimas stated that “as one of the primary emitters of greenhouse gases (both historically and currently), we have a moral responsibility to accept that actions that benefited our development are negatively affecting others.” Every nation that signed has an individual plan to tackle its greenhouse gas emissions. Given that the mission of the agreement has such an enormous global effect, Tzoumis expressed disappointment in the president’s idea to withdraw and believes that it puts a dent in the U.S. being a global power in terms of policy. “We’re a leader in the policy world,” and “it hurts our leadership in terms of policy,” Tzoumis said. “We were making progress,” but now “it puts us in a very terrible position.”
Reinforcing Tzoumis, Potosnak states that “the U.S. is losing its leadership position.” On top of the U.S. losing ground in policy and leadership, Tzoumis believes that this withdrawal has scientific losses as well, mentioning that the U.S. is already one of the top polluters in the world. Another controversial environmental deal came last March when the Trump administration approved a permit that was blocked by former President Barack Obama to build the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline runs for 2,687 miles, stretching from Hardisty, Alberta in Canada to Nebraska and then splits, with one section going to Texas and the other going to Nebraska. If it’s built, roughly 830,000 barrels of heavy crude oil could flow from Alberta, according to National Geographic. As economically efficient as that may sound at a first glance, the consequences of actual construction could be brutal. For example, on Nov. 17, 2017, 210,000 gallons of oil leaked in South Dakota. “It helps economic growth at a very high cost,” Tzoumis said. “The ecological costs don’t outweigh the economic benefits.” On the other hand, Klimas stated that the pipeline might not be an unwise decision. “If the Keystone XL replaces offshore oil drilling, I might favor a land pipeline due to the vulnerability of coastal ecosystems to oil spills. The coastal counties within the Coastal Zone
Management Program account for almost half the U.S. GDP,” Klimas said. “These are irreplaceable environments valuable far beyond their economic contribution. So, for me, the alternative matters in the Keystone XL discussion.” While a handful of environmental policies have been scaled back as of late, national parks have begun to fall into this trend as well. In early December, Trump signed two presidential proclamations to shrink the size of national monuments in Utah. The Bears Ears National Monument will be shrunk from 1.35 million acres to 228,337 acres and will be split into two separate sections. Additionally, the Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument will be shrunk from 1.9 million acres to around 1 million acres. Whether or not these decisions regarding environmental policy have been influenced by Trump and his administration, his “egocentric” personality along with “his competitiveness” plays a part in the decision making, according to Tzoumis. “He’s undoing what the Obama administration did.” Tzoumis believes that the Trump administration is simply “not listening to the public.” As of now, chances of progress for environmental policy seem slim to none as the year moves on. Arguably, this is a year to doubt the environmental progression that the U.S. is taking. 2018 is looking like the year for deregulation and cutting back on solving the climate change dilemma from a partisan view.
ALLY ZACEK | THE DEPAULIA
Nation & World. Jan. 16, 2018. The DePaulia | 11
Iran protests send shockwaves around the world By Neil Sengupta Contributing Writer
Tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets in massive protests on Dec. 28 against the Iranian regime that lasted all the way into last week. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, called for two separate U.N. emergency sessions to discuss the situation. The demonstrations occurred across Iran, and by Jan. 2 protests had been recorded in nearly every province in the country, according to the Associated Press. The protests seem to have begun as economic unrest against a sagging economy, high price of goods and corruption in the government after a leaked government budget showed vast sums of money siphoned to the clergy and the military, while cutting subsidies for the poor. This budget lead to widespread anger, first directed at President Hassan Rouhani, who was elected on promises of economic development and growth. However, the protests shifted to broader demonstrations criticizing the theocratic government of Iran and Iranian intervention in neighboring Middle Eastern countries. The intentions of the protesters were varied, some chanting slogans like “leave Syria alone, think about us” in the city of Najafabad, others chanting “we don’t want an Islamic Republic” and “death to the dictator” in towns like Khoramabad. In essence, the social and
economic foundations of the protests have now connected with a deeper political dissatisfaction with a regime that has failed to improve the lives of everyday Iranians. "The people there are frustrated by the inability of the government to create any meaningful change, politically and economically," said senior Shourouk Abdalla, president of DePaul's Middle Eastern Poltical Association (MEPA). "As we are soon approaching the seventh anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution (and Arab Spring overall) their outcries sound way too familiar." The last major protests in Iran were in 2009 after a disputed presidential election that saw mass demonstrations against the disputed election of hardline conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Political unrest is not an uncommon issue in the region. "The Iranian identity is unique to the Middle East, but they are just like every other middle eastern who are willing to die to see progression and change in their homeland," Abdalla said. "As long as they keep fighting, ignoring conspiracies, breaking social taboos, demanding change and pushing forward, I am sure Iran’s future will become promising." Scott Hibbard, a professor at DePaul in the political science department, pointed out that these protests were “different from the 2009 uprising. The protesters
in 2009 were mainly middle class and urban. The recent protests seem to have started in rural poor areas.” Hibbard also pointed to reports that “some protests were spurred by conservative hard-liners.” This theory does hold some water, as there FRANK AUGSTEIN | AP are reports from Iran In this Jan. 4 photo, supporters of Iran's democratic opposition joined together in London to show that former solidarity for the anti-regime protests taking place in Iran. President administration has offered Center for Middle East Policy, Ahmadinejad has been arrested much more direct support of said in an interview with Vox. for inciting anti-government the protesters, President Donald “You can’t tell Iranians that protests. Trump tweeted several times you have their back when they If true, this could point to the about the protests, and Haley confront the regime if you’re Rouhani faction in Iran using said at an emergency meeting of not willing to let them in your the protests to crack down on the UN Security Council that the country, if you’re uncertain about conservative opposition. While Iranian regime is “now on notice” going to the streets, knowing this crackdown will no doubt and offering full-throated support that you have somewhere to go is be brutal, it may lead to an of the protesters and their right to possibly a small encouragement. increasing liberalisation of Iran, protest and assembly. Many Iranians came here after as Rouhani’s reformist policies are There is some disagreement 2009.” less obstructed by the orthodox on how effective the support of Despite its vitriol and passion, old guard. the Trump administration will be the debate in the West on these During the 2009 protests, in encouraging protests in Iran. issues is academic. At most, the there was a serious debate in One issue several experts have U.S. can draw attention to the Washington over whether the pointed to is that of the travel injustices the Iranian people face. United States should align itself ban, which places tight controls Whatever small power the U.S. with the protesters. The Obama on Iranian citizens entering and other powers have in Iran, administration declined to do so, the United States, reduces the these protests stand for a larger arguing that American support credibility of U.S. support. conflict between the Iranian would make the protesters easier “It’s an affront to all Iranians,” people and their government. to paint as U.S. instruments. Suzanne Maloney, a senior fellow The outcome will be decided in In contrast, the Trump in the Brookings Institution’s Iran itself.
Cryptocurrency is changing the financial world By Lauren Hightower Contributing Writer
If you haven’t been paying attention to cryptocurrencies, now is the time to start. Digital currencies are becoming more popular and causing a stir across America. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to emerge in America in 2010 and has become the most popular. Other currencies have followed suit, but they have not flourished with the same success. With cryptocurrency, investors can use their physical dollar bills to receive digital coins. Despite cryptocurrency's popularity on the rise, the system’s fluctuating growth and difficulty retrieving information makes it a risky investment in the eyes of the government and financial businesses. The government is fearful of cryptocurrency for two main reasons: the possibility of money laundering and the threat to America’s banks and currency system. United States regulators
are worried the system will promote illicit activities and money laundering. The system is decentralized, not controlled by one party and all of the information is encrypted. These conditions make it difficult to track transactions and the people behind them. The main draw for cryptocurrency users is the fact that the system is decentralized. The digital currency has introduced a complete change in how people can conduct business and make transactions. People who were not able to do business with banks found a way with the digital currency. Users rely on peer-topeer networks for the system to work. They enjoy using a system not controlled by the government, banks or third parties. American banks are heavily regulated and monitored by the
government. They follow strict laws when it comes to money laundering. Noncompliance can be devastating financially for banks. Because of this, banks are wary of jumping on the digital currency train. Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin is “too much of a risk” for investors. Financial advisers were not allowed to pitch the offer to any clients, offer investments or makes trades for clients. The decision comes after Bitcoin's value decreased since the start of the new year. U.S. regulators are informing users about the risks that come with using virtual currency. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) posted guidelines on their website for those interested in investing to think about. Some points include investors asking what their money will be used for and what to ALLY ZACEK | THE DEPAULIA watch for in case of fraud. bypass anti-money laundering The guidelines also state that regulations. there are limited recovery options On Jan. 3, the Wall Street if investors do become victims of Journal reported that Bank of fraud. America Merrill Lynch decided In December 2017, SEC’s to ban clients from taking part Chairman Jay Clayton said in a in the Bitcoin Investment Trust press conference that there will by Grayscale Investments. In a be more law enforcement against memo sent to financial advisers, internet coin sponsors if they Merrill Lynch explains that continued to ignore security laws.
This comes after the SEC froze an asset of a repeat violator from the company PlexCorps. Even with knowing the risks, investors aren’t deterred from wanting to dabble in the digital currency world. “It’s high-risk kind of thing,” said Erick Ovalle, Illinois State University graduate. He started on BitCoin about two months ago after watching videos on it. But he recognizes it’s a risk. “Once you put the money in, you have to think of it as gone and you’re not getting it back.” There are some businesses that have started to embrace the move to digital currency as well. Microsoft, Subway and Expedia are some places accepting Bitcoin as a valid form of payment. “The entire industry is just growing really fast,” Erik Vorhees, ShapeShift CEO, said in an interview with CoinDesk. “I think it proves the point that I’ve been arguing a long time that cryptocurrencies are not exclusive. They don’t grow by just competing with each other. The entire industry is growing by competing with traditional finance.”
12 | Opinions. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
Opinions
Use your platform
Men at the Golden Globes pass up an opportunity to speak on the #metoo movement
ALLY ZACEK | DEPAULIA
By Brenden Welper Contributing Writer
Silence is a lot of things. But in the case of last Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, silence was anything but golden. For the men of Hollywood, it was their first chance to denounce a dark secret that had finally been unearthed. Harvey Weinstein, Russell Simmons, Louis C.K. and so many others had used their status to sexually harass, humiliate, and assault hundreds of women throughout their careers. Yet despite wearing all black, and promptly displaying their “Time’s Up” pins, not a single male winner from the 75th Golden Globes addressed that very issue. Their collective silence wasn’t golden. It was gutless. “I’m not surprised,” said Ryan Witry, 20, a junior at DePaul, “but I am somewhat disappointed. Don’t wear pins if you’re not willing to speak out. Don’t be a bystander.” Witry watched the entire ceremony and believed that the “Time’s Up” coalition was well represented. But he’s worried about people taking advantage of the movement. “It’s one thing to say you believe in it, but it’s another to actually do something about it," Witry said. "People like James Franco don’t deserve to be viewed as altruistic if they’re also abusing others. That distracts from the movement as a whole.” Four days after the Golden Globes, the Los Angeles Times reported that five women had accused Franco of “inappropriate or sexually exploitative behavior. The actor has since denied the allegations, but he supported their decision to speak out. Franco wore all black during the ceremony. Wearing a solid color of clothing is hardly showing solidarity to begin with. Let’s get that straight. It’s doing
PHOTOS FROM AP NEWSROOM
the bare-minimum. The same goes for donning a plastic pin or using a particular hashtag on Twitter. That doesn’t absolve anyone (or in this case any man) from using their platform to speak about against injustice. Especially when that platform comes in front of a nationally televised audience. Nobody is asking Gary Oldman, Aziz Ansari or Ewan McGregor to undo decades of sickening misconduct. That’s impossible. But identifying a problem is the first step towards finding a solution. Failing to do so suggests that there isn’t a problem. “I’m not surprised at all,” said Sam Breedlove,
19, a sophomore at DePaul, “This movement is more complicated than it may seem. Not everything is black and white, and not a lot of people are educated on the whole thing thing.” Breedlove cautioned against condemning those who avoided the subject during their speeches. Even with the best intentions, she argued that they could’ve inadvertently said the wrong thing. That’s especially true if the individual isn’t well informed. “This just tells me that people need to actively go out of their way to listen and learn more about this movement, as well as for people within to leave some room for growth,” Breedlove said. When referring to discussions of race back in the fall, San Antonio Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich had this to say. “Well, it’s because it’s uncomfortable and there has to be an uncomfortable element in the discourse for anything to change.” Racism and sexism are not the same, but they do intersect. They’re uncomfortable to talk about. But that doesn’t mean conversations involving those concepts shouldn’t be had. Would it have been uncomfortable to make a statement regarding sexual harassment on live television? Absolutely. But for millions of women in this country, those same feelings of uneasiness are what they endure in the workplace every day. Voicing support for a movement for change in front of a camera is the least a man should be willing to do. And it doesn’t stop there. In fact, the fight against sexual assault will never stop. It shouldn’t take a monster like Weinstein to spark public outrage. This isn’t a new phenomenon – just ask your mother, sister, daughter or girlfriend. Better yet, listen to what they have to say. Pay attention to organizations like DePaul’s Feminist Front and their message. Take claims of sexual abuse very seriously. If you see something, say something.
Opinions. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018 | 13
Letter to the Editor:
University leadership must uphold the legacy of St. Vincent de Paul "In the past five years, the school that I came into has lost that sense of community with others. It has become more about being ahead than helping lift others up. It has become more about building barriers than breaking them." Thomas Patrick Hughes DePaul alumnus
Dear Mr. President Esteban and Dean Caltabiano, My name is Thomas Patrick Hughes and I am a graduate of the School of Music class of 2017. As an alumni of DePaul University, there have been things that I’ve taken with me since departing: my education, my passion to my craft and my strong unwavering belief in upholding the Vincentian values of kindness, charity, support and a sense of humility (although, as an artist, the last of these can sometimes be a challenge). Since leaving DePaul and embarking on the next chapter of life, I’ve had time to reflect on my time at DePaul. I’ve also had the opportunity to look at the school from the outside and reflect on how it has changed in a mere five years. It doesn’t seem like a huge amount of time on the grand scale of things, and yet the school is completely different than when I first arrived. The first thing I’ve noticed is how DePaul didn’t teach me Vincentian values that I didn’t already have: I’ve always tried to show compassion and kindness to others, I’ve always carried myself humbly before others, I’ve always supported my colleagues and my community, and I’ve tried to set an example. We all fall short of the buck at times and I’m no exemption. I’m not perfect but I don’t like to make mistakes repeatedly. DePaul, however, did reinforce these values in me. There were several staff members who went above and beyond the call of duty: Phil Verpil (my academic advisor), Assistant dean Dr. Kurt Westerberg, former voice faculty Jane Bunnell, former voice faculty Michael and Michele Sylvester and vocal coach Linda Hirt. Every single one of these individuals made the hell that was moving to a new city, transferring to an incredibly expensive school, the struggle of not being able to afford food or always have a roof over my head, the struggle to succeed in school (...) they made it easier. There was a time even when the students didn’t form cliques: where students from different musical backgrounds, instruments, or even majors would support one another and would befriend one another. And that’s where I noticed the second thing: there are fewer students, especially within the School of Music, who strive to uphold these same values that were instilled in me at a young age. The values of St. Vincent de Paul aren’t just words written into a university’s mission statement or in the welcome packet. They shouldn’t be simply something that sounds good when spoken. The values of St. Vincent de Paul are something that every student and faculty should not merely adhere to rather that should strive to uphold them within every inch of their being. In the past five years, the school that I came into has lost that sense of community with others. It has become more about being ahead than helping lift others up. It has become more about building barriers than breaking them. It has become more about financially draining the student than encouraging not only the best minds but encourage the best characters to strive to do their best in a competitive world, have the humility to seek help when it is needed and to provide help and support when they are in a position to do so. DePaul has become a community (from where I sit) that is more focused on pushing others down to get to the top rather than picking someone up to finish the race together. And, it’s not something I’ve seen in students alone: in faculty, I’ve witnessed people abusing the small amount of power that they have in order to gain or keep a competitively political edge over others. Within a school of fine and performing arts, you cannot attract a world class student body and talent if you do not have a world class faculty, and you’ll never keep a world class faculty if they are never taken care of. In five years, I’ve watched the entire voice department be replaced. Some were let go for reasons beyond my understanding to which I will never ask nor assume why. However, several left because they were not given the job security that so many of their colleagues were being offered. My own voice professor felt as though they had very little say in events that happened with their own students or opera productions; (...) they felt as though they rarely had a seat at the table, and when they did, their voice was never appreciated. It’s not just them. Every voice faculty member that I’ve talked to (extensively) has made the same remark: the power dynamics within the School of Music and university as a whole does not care about their adjunct faculty (adjunct faculty who do just as much as a full-time staff without the job security). Although this has become the norm within universities, it does not have to be so within DePaul University itself. This university can be the example of what it truly means to be Vincentian: treat others with the dignity and respect that we ourselves would want and should demand, to value those who uphold these values and reward them for such. As for the students, I know it is difficult to screen students for character. It’s not something I’m saying the university can change. I am merely pointing out that my time at DePaul didn’t get better over time. It became increasingly worse as the atmosphere changed from that of a close-knit community to that where politics within the staff and poor quality of character within the students were allowed to destroy the name and purpose of St. Vincent de Paul. Although there is much more I could say, this letter would run rather long. So, I will leave with this: does the world need another graduating student body of “artists” where their main focus in life isn’t about giving? Do we need more individuals in the world driven by greed and selfishness? Does the world need more nasty politics? From my point of view, what the world needs now is artists who create art for the sake of adding to the community. The world needs leaders who are willing to help others, build communities, live and display kindness, charity, compassion and humility just as St. Vincent de Paul did. The world needs more Vincentians ... Let DePaul University be the institution that makes that possible. Sincerely, Thomas Patrick Hughes
The opinions in this section do not necessarily reflect those of The DePaulia staff.
14 | Focus. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
Focus
By Isabella Valdes Contributing Writer
The start of the new year brings many new faces to gyms and athletic clubs across the country. Fortunately, DePaul students looking to become more fit this year don’t have to look far for a state of the art facility. The Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center is one of the highest rated fitness centers in the area, based on Yelp and Google reviews. The range of activities offered attracts a diverse community of both students and residents in the area. The Ray offers group fitness classes that are free for students. The classes include Zumba, yoga, and cycling, each are offered several times a day. Maggie Collins, a DePaul sophomore, says she attends her favorite class, yoga, at the Ray often because it is easy to find a class that fits into her schedule with so many offerings.“The amount of people in each class varies based on time of day. Usually they’re busier in late afternoons and evenings,” Collins said. As Collins mentioned, the afternoon and evenings at the Ray tends to be busy and it is likely students will have to wait to use equipment. The full group fitness schedule for the winter quarter can be
found on the DePaul University Campus Recreation website. Some DePaul students wish they were better able to take advantage of all the amenities offered. DePaul also has a campus in the Loop, which means the Ray is not conveniently located for everyone. DePaul student, Nick Krause, who lives near the Loop Campus where all of his classes are. Krause said he had to seek out an additional gym membership that is more conveniently located for him in the Loop. DePaul’s Loop Campus does have a gym facility in the basement of the CDM building, but according to Krause, it is almost unusable. “The Loop gym has an assortment of cardio machines, a handful of weight machines, a pull up bar and some resistance bands. There are no free weights at all. No dumbbells or bars,” Krause said. For students who live near the Lincoln Park campus and have more flexibility in their schedule, the Ray has everything needed to relieve the stress of academic life. “I usually head to the gym in the morning before my classes,” Maya Richardson, a junior at DePaul said “This makes it so easy to
just pac N weeken be rent website minimu edge ca
ck a change of clothes, shower, and head to class.� Nature lovers can find everything they need at the Ray for a nd away camping. Backpacks, tents and sleeping bags can all ted at the Ray for a discounted rate. The campus recreation e states any rentals needed now through March require a mum notice of 48 hours. Students who have a more competitive an join a club sport at DePaul.
Focus. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018 | 15
DePaul has over 40 club sports to choose from and the majority of them call the Ray home. If a club sport is not yet part of DePaul, contact the Office of Student Involvement to begin the process. The Ray also offers various workshops for students who are looking for wellness education or activities. Some past workshop topics have included meditation and nutrition. The wellness workshops, just like group fitness classes, are free for DePaul students. The abundance of activities offered attracts a diverse community of both students and residents in the area. The Ray has everything students need to care for all aspects of their health while attending DePaul.
GRAPHICS BY VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA
16 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
Arts & Life
DPAM puts focus on Chicago
PHOTO BY CAROLYN MCCABE | THE DEPAULIA
The DePaul Art Museum's newest exhibitions, in collaboration with Art Design Chicago, highlight Chicago artists and community activism and runs until March 25.
By Lacey Latch Arts & Life Editor
Art is a reflection of self and, by extension the society in which we live. That was clearer than ever before at the most recent art opening at the DePaul Art Museum on Jan. 11. The event was free and open to the public and featured two exhibitions from influential Chicago artists Barbara Jones-Hogu from the South Side and Jose Guerrero from the Pilsen neighborhood as well as a third exhibition from lithographers Clinton Adams and June Wayne. The museum’s Director and Chief Curator Julie Rodrigues Widholm discussed the decision to highlight these artists and their work. “The exhibitions we choose to present are relevant to life today and the conversations we are having around the dinner table, while also considering how art can be transformational,” she said. “The U.S. feels very divided today, and some of the challenges from the civil rights era continue to this day so we felt Barbara Jones-Hogu’s work from 1968 was important to revisit in a new context in 2018.” In part a celebration of Barbara JonesHogu’s work on Chicago’s famous Wall of Respect, this is her first solo museum exhibition. A year and a half in the making, her colorful prints sought to inspire the black community on the South Side in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. Featuring bright works of art detailing the struggles of the black community, JonesHogu’s work is that of empowerment and strength. Jose Guerrero is an artist best known for inspiring the Mexican community in the Pilsen neighborhood. His studio and workshop were a hot spot for art classes and political organizing in the 60s. Coming
PHOTO BY CAROLYN MCCABE | THE DEPAULIA
All exhibitions at the DePaul Art Museum are free and open to the public and museum hours can be found on their website. from a neighborhood known for its extensive and powerful murals, Guerrero’s influence is vast. Each exhibition is exclusively print, but the techniques used on those prints varies. The work from Clinton Adams and June Wayne is interestingly unique. Their lithographs were made by drawing a design on a stone or metal surface using a waxy, oily substance that repels water but absorbs ink, allowing the image to be transferred to paper. This technique is
complex and costly and has lost popularity over time because of that. The Tamarind Institute, a lithography center based in New Mexico that they founded, has sought to reinvigorate the medium. The DePaul Art Museum, located on DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus, is the perfect stop for students looking for reallife inspiration through art. “I hope the exhibitions connect with DePaul students who are interested in how artists often address their own life
and struggles while reflecting the world we live in,” Rodrigues Widholm said. “The current exhibitions have so much content about Chicago, history, literature, community activism, Civil Rights, race, identity, genetic science, etc, so there is a lot to explore.” The exhibitions promote community activism and social justice and are just a short trip across campus. These exhibitions will be up and available for viewing until March 25.
Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018| 17
Continued from front page
ALL PHOTOS BY RACHEL FERNANDEZ | THE DEPAULIA
A tip left on the runway at the annual Drag Show hosted by LGBTQ+ activist organization Act Out DePaul that took place on Friday, Jan. 12. probably expected queens in full drag, death dropping and twisting around the stage, but the drag kings kept up the energy of the queens with their own fiery style of performing. One drag king, Sick Boy, paraded the stage a cutoff T-shirt and sweatpants, only to rip them down the middle at the beginning of their set. “I choose what kind of look I do based on whatever makes me laugh and have fun,” said Christian Borkey (Sick Boy). Christian felt this year’s show was more personal with the performers and the audience members. An addition of a runway received acclaim from the queens and kings. The runway allows the performers to connect with the audience in a deeper, more personal manner. “Last year’s show felt a little more packed than this year, but this year we had a catwalk and I really think that gave a lot more people the chance to be up close and involved,” said Grason Clark (Lolita Gray), another performer. Act Out DePaul works with the DePaul and Chicago community to discuss current issues regarding gender and sexuality. They have organized the student drag show for the past eight years as interest has grown due to shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race. Last year’s show was the first show on the stage of room 120 of the Student Center because of the huge turnout. Before, it was located
in the Student Center Atrium. This year’s student drag show aligns with the premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season three, airing Jan. 24. Many young queens and kings’ curiosity with drag begins with the show. Set up much like America’s Next Top Model, queens compete to gain the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar. The show is unlike any before it because of its diverse representation of LGBTQ+ culture, and it is an excitable and binge-worthy stride in the right direction for the community. The downside is that it’s only representative of drag queens, and there has yet to be similar exposure to the kings like the jubilee of queens in pop culture since the show premiered in 2009. More varied forms of drag are gaining more visibility in pop culture, with the show “Boulet Brothers’ Dragula” where horror drag queens compete for the title of America’s next Drag Supermonster. With the school’s inclusive drag show, the voices of the drag arts that deviate from the norm are not silenced in such a loud and extensive culture. The biggest takeaway from the show, many performers agreed, is that drag is about expressing yourself, art and society, free of judgement. “It lets me express myself in ways that I might not be able to out of drag,” said Omar Cruz (Omani Cross), a performer.
Above and below: Some of the queens performing in this year's show.
Recap: 75th Golden Globes
18 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
By Isabella Brock Contributing Writer
The Golden Globes took place over the past weekend, and this year brought heavy competition and many memorable moments as Hollywood celebrated another year of great entertainment and incredible social movements that have changed the industry. Stars saluted women in film by wearing black and discussing the “Time’s Up” and “#MeToo” movements, supporting the end of abuse and harassment towards women in Hollywood and beyond. The Globes were a sea of black as celebrities showed their support towards the many women who had shared their stories of abuse in the past year. Seth Meyers hosted the show and was quick to address what he called “the elephant not in the room,” comedically commenting on Harvey Weinstein's absence from the ceremony. Oprah Winfrey was awarded the annual Cecil B. DeMille award for her outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment. Touching on her own experiences as a woman of color in the industry, Winfrey delivered a message of hope and perseverance in line with the overlying issues of the night. Her emotional speech quickly became the most talked about moment of the night. Attendee and "A Wrinkle In Time" director Ava DuVernay tweeted shortly after the speech “Let me tell you this room is still vibrating like electricity from that speech.” Television Awards This year in television, we saw a new wave of powerhouse shows emerge and old favorites return to once again steal our hearts. Shows like "Game of Thrones" and "Will and Grace" added another nomination onto their long history of success, while shows such as "SMILF" and "Big Little Lies" celebrated their first nominations. "The Handmaid's Tale" took home the award for Best Television Series - Drama and gathered a second Golden Globe for Elisabeth Moss, who has been dominating this awards season for her role in the series. "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" won Best Television Series - Drama, and brought Rachel Brosnahan her first Golden Globe as the title character. "Big Little Lies" won almost every category for a limited series including Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series (Nicole Kidman), Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series (Laura Dern), Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series (Alexander Skarsgård). Other winners included Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy for Aziz Ansari in "Master of None," Sterling K. Brown as Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama for This Is Us and Ewan McGregor as Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television in "Fargo." Film Awards
Films from top directors including Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Christopher Nolan and Guillermo Del Toro hit cinemas in 2017 with much anticipation, leaving audiences wondering which films would triumph over the others for the prestigious Golden Globe. "The Post" (Spielberg), "All The Money In The World" (Scott) and "Dunkirk" (Nolan) failed to take home any awards despite numerous nominations. Guillermo Del Toro’s surprise hit "The Shape of Water" took home two awards of its seven nominations: Best Director (Del Toro) and Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat). The biggest winner of the night was Martin McDonagh’s breakout hit "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" which won four of it’s six nominations: Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture - Drama (Frances McDormand), Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role (Sam Rockwell) and Best Screenplay (McDonagh). Greta Gerwig took home the award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for her semi autobiographical film "Lady Bird", despite not receiving a directing nomination. The Hollywood Foreign Press was criticized for few women being nominated in unisex categories such as directing, leading presenter Natalie Portman to introduce the Best Director category with “and here are the all male nominees." This awards season has also brought heated competition to the acting categories among newcomers and familiar faces. Gary Oldman took home the highly competitive Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for his performance as Winston Churchill in "Darkest Hour". Frances McDormand won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for "Three Billboards." Despite many years in the industry, this was the first Golden Globe win for both actors. Saoirse Ronan also won her first Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for "Lady Bird." James Franco and Allison Janney were rewarded Globes for their performances of real figures. Franco was awarded Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for his role as Tommy Wiseau in "The Disaster Artist." Janney won Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture as LaVona Golden in "I, Tonya." The Golden Globes surprised fans and critics alike in its memorable moments and memorable awards. Amidst a year of incredible controversy, Hollywood came together to show support for an incredible cause and to better the industry through example. With the Oscars on the horizon, The Golden Globes paved the road for the 2018 awards season to be a source of incredible achievement and inspiration. A full list of Golden Globes winners and nominees can be found at https:// www.goldenglobes.com.
GRAPHICS BY VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA
Arts & Life. Jan. 16, 2018. The DePaulia. | 19
"The Post" powerfully preaches the Free Press
COURTESY OF IMDB
Tom Hanks stars alonside Meryl Streep in this historical drama directed by Steven Speilberg. It has been predicted to pick up a Best Picture Oscar nomination this year.
By Lacey Latch Arts & Life Editor
Everyone has heard the phrase “History repeats itself ” and today, I tend to agree with that. We are currently in the midst of a battle between the government and the free press, an almost identical situation to the hard fought battle in 1971 between the country’s largest publications and the Nixon White House. “The Post” is a masterful retelling of the New York Times and The Washington Post’s battle to publish the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War. And it could not have come at a more appropriate time. The film expertly documents the chaos that ensued among the press as the secret Pentagon Papers came to light. The realization that the government had misled the public about American involvement in Vietnam for nearly four decades was a bombshell that caused public outrage and unrest. But this only served as a taste of
what was to come with The Post’s coverage of the Watergate scandal. As well as being a story of exceptional journalism, it is also the story of the Post’s publisher Kay Graham, played brilliantly by Meryl Streep, as she navigates her place as the head of the Washington Post Company. She struggles to find her footing as a businesswoman in a predominantly male environment. Throughout the film you see her grow into her position at the company as well as take charge of what she referred to as a paper made up of “prestige journalism” as they try to lift up the profile of the paper by becoming a publicly traded company. This decision further complicates the position of the Post as the worlds of business and journalism intersect. With the fear of investors abandoning the paper, the decision of whether or not to publish such a controversial story becomes all the more difficult. Tom Hanks plays the prolific executive editor of the Post, Ben Bradlee, as he
struggles to compete with the New York Times as well as transform The Washington Post from a family-owned local paper to a journalistic institution on a national level. The seamless chemistry between Streep and Hanks makes their scenes a treat to watch as two of the most beloved actors of our time grace the screen together for the first time. With Steven Speilberg at the helm, “The Post” is solid in almost every aspect as the ensemble cast comes together effortlessly and the massive printing presses at the Post and the rollout of the papers to the masses are both visually stunning and narratively powerful. Throughout “The Post”, the struggle between conflicts of interest and journalistic integrity are at the core. At a time when it was not uncommon for the most influential people in the press to be close friends with those in positions of power, the issue of whether or not to publish the truth or cover for their friends arose. Bradlee had ties to the Kennedy administration, and Graham
was close friends with Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense that was in charge of having the Pentagon Papers written up. Graham’s decision to either publish the story or protect her friend provides a background look at the moral obligations of the press as journalists as well as regular people, and where the conflict arises between the two. In a present day that shows so many parallels to the 1970s America when this all unfolded, it’s hard to ignore the importance of the message that this film is telling. The importance of a free and entirely independent press forms the foundation of our democracy and serves to check the power of our governing bodies. Perhaps the film said it best when it declared, “The Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its role in our democracy. The press is to serve the governed, not the governing.”
If you're interested in "The Post" you may also like: ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN NOBODY SPEAK SPOTLIGHT VOYEUR
Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman star in this drama as the famous journalists that broke the Watergate story at The Washington Post. The film inspired an entire generation of journalists and remains one of thre greatest journalism films of all time.
"Spotlight" documents the groundbreaking story of pedophilia in the Catholic Church that The Boston Globe broke in the late 90s. The film won for Best Picture at the 2015 Academy Awards. It features stars Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, and Michael Keaton.
This documentary follows the trial between professional wrestler Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea and Gawker Media that eventually led to Gawker’s demise. The documentary brings into question who is considered a private or public figure and the role of the “free press”.
Reporter Gay Talese profiles a man named Gerald Foos who managed a hotel in which he peeped and spied on all of the guests. Conflicts revolve around the dangers of getting information from a single source and dealing with conflicting information within a story.
20| Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
Wendy Davis is a sophomore studying Film and Television. She is available to hire for events and individual sessions and rates can be found on her website.
STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT:WENDY DAVIS By Lacey Latch Arts & Life Editor
DePaul is home to a variety of what the world has to offer. This university contains some of the brightest and boldest in Chicago. We also have some great creative minds walking this campus. Sophomore photographer Wendy Davis fits that description. Originally from the northwest suburb Arlington Heights, she has been involved with photography for over a decade.
Initially being introduced to the craft by her stepfather, she realized her love for the art in high school and has only been improving her skills since. Looking past her time here at DePaul, Davis hopes to one day make this passion a career. Whether it be working for a company or starting her own business, she is excited at the prospect of where photography can take her. A sampling of Davis’ work is featured here, but you can check out more of her photos on her website wdavisphoto.com.
Above: Davis offers headhsots and individual sessions. Right: Photo edits are done by Davis and are no extra charge. ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF WENDY DAVIS
Arts & Life. Jan. 16, 2018. The DePaulia. | 21
Liam Neeson proves age is just a number By Garret Neal Contributing Writer
Liam Neeson continues his originally surprising, but now well-worn, run as an aging action star in "The Commuter". Neeson takes the role of Michael MacCauley (who is but a modest 60 years of age, compared to Neeson’s age of 65), an insurance salesman who quit his job as a police officer 10 years ago to stay with his family. At least, I think that’s how the movie briefly explained it. Regardless, MacCauley is suddenly fired from his job and is left wondering how he will make ends meet for his family, especially with his son going off to college. Fortunately, a random person on his train ride home offers him $100,000 to find someone on the train or else his family dies. And so the mystery ensues. With Neeson and action film vet Jaume Collet-Serra at the helm, the film follows similar beats to another of their team ups, Non-Stop. With a group of people stuck in a confined space and Neeson trying to prevent his family from getting the ax by finding the mystery person, it was hard not to feel like I’d seen the same film before, only this time it was on a train, not a plane. Fortunately, Serra uses his experienced hand to bring to light the new mystery in an interesting way. In the enclosed space of the train car, there is plenty of time to get to know important players, all of whom were at least moderately interesting. Serra nicely distracts the focus from what ends up allowing MacCauley to solve the mystery, but the answers are there for the audience to see, should they remember them. Like Non-Stop though, so much of the tension of the film is built up in trying to frantically find who MacCauley is looking for, that the film holds little rewatchability.
COURTESY IMDB
Liam Neeson stars alonside Vera Farmiga in this action-packed mystery thriller set on a commuter train. As far as the action part of this action/ was totally ok. Granted, when the main and if you have seen some of the other mystery film goes, there is not too much. character is 60, realism is probably not the Serra directed films, then you will know This is not a Taken, where Neeson will hop most crucial factor. what you are going to get. It does about on a yacht in the end and rack up a doubleAfter the initial mystery is solved, the an average job accomplishing its rerun digit body count with the subtlety of a film drags on for about 20 more minutes as task, adding a rushed ending that probably Michael Bay action star. There are only four an additional question must be answered, was the result of the film trying to jam or five action moments in the whole film though this one is far less interesting some extra tension into the final minutes. and in each one Serra does his best to make because it is brought up so late. The January is never a good time for films and a fight with a 60-year-old protagonist be result is what feels like a rushed ending, if you want to satisfy your action kick, this both interesting and somewhat believable. with a ridiculous "Spartacus" moment should do a satisfactory job considering The editing does get hectic at times and it that was probably the funniest part of the what’s out right now. But if you want can be near impossible to tell who’s hitting film. Immediatley after that, suddenly something with some depth, try catching what at times. When Neeson’s face smashed everything else wraps up into a neat bow in up on some of the Oscar films that have through the window for the fourth time in the final five minutes of the movie. gotten recent expansions. a fight, it was a bit head scratching how he This film breaks almost no new ground
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22 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
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Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018 | 23
on HBO
Crashing
Get Out
Luckily for on-campus students, an HBO Go subscription is included in the housing costs, which makes it so much easier to tune into one of the freshest comedies this year.
Probably the most talked about film last year, Jordan Peele's directorial debut is finally streaming on HBO. Despite being passed over at the Golden Globes last week, "Get Out" still has a very real chance of earning a Best Picture nomination for this year's Academy Awards.
"Crashing" is a semi-autobiographical look at series creator and star, Pete Holmes' character Pete, a sheltered man who pursues a stand-up comedy career after his wife cheats on him, in turn leaving him homeless. With recurring appearances from well-known comedians Artie Lange, T.J. Miller and Sarah Silverman as fictional versions of themselves, this show is an homage to the current era of stand-up comedy. With guidance from veteran producer Judd Apatow, this show is a fresh take on starting over and reinventing yourself after hitting rock bottom. It accurately portrays the New York comedy scene while also deftly depicting the life of a man at a major crossroad in life.
Throughout 2017, "Get Out" was praised for shining a light on race relations in America as well as brilliantly reinventing the horror genre. This might come as a surprise from writer/director Peele who is best known for his work on the irreverant sketch comedy show "Key & Peele". Daniel Kaluuya stars as Chris Washington, a young man planning to spend the weekend meeting his white girlfirend's family for the first time at their woodland estate. However, he realizes very quickly that something is not right.
Season one premiered in Feb. of 2017 receiving rave reviews from critics and viewers alike and the second season is slated to premiere Jan. 14, so there are plenty of episodes for you to dive into. As 2018 gets going, settle in and enjoy this wildly underappreciated comedy.
Premiering almost a year ago, "Get Out" may have left the public discourse for now but that doesn't mean the themes it explores are any less relevant. If you want to sit down and relax on movie night, this film might not be the one for you. But if you want a dynamic and thrilling take on race in America, "Get Out" fits the bill.
LACEY LATCH | THE DEPAULIA
LACEY LATCH | THE DEPAULIA
In theaters and upcoming film releases Jan. 5 “The Post” Journalists at The Washington Post work together to expose Vietnam-era government secrets. Stars: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks
Jan. 12 “Proud Mary” After trying to save a 12-year-old-boy from the streets, a professional assassin causes a turf war. Stars: Taraji P. Henson
Jan. 12 "The Commuter” A businessman stumbles into a stranger's conspiracy while he is on his daily commute. Stars: Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga
Jan. 12 “Acts of Violence” After his fiancee is kidnapped, a man and his ex-military brothers must save her from human traffickers. Stars: Bruce Willis, Cole Hauser, Sophia Bush
Jan. 12 “Paddington 2” Paddington's gift for Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday is stolen after he is finally happily settled with the Brown family.
Jan. 19 "12 Strong" In the days following 9/11, a Special Forces team is sent into Afghanistan for a dangerous mission.
24 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. Jan. 16, 2018
St.Vincent’s
DeJAMZ
“Spinning fresh beats since 1581”
1 4 1
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Find this and all our DeJamz playlists on depauliaonline.com and on our spotify account By Sabrina Miresse Staff Writer
Females have been uniting now more than ever, as recently seen at the Golden Globes last week. Women came together to raise awareness and promote change through the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. Another underrepresented group of talented females are those in the music industry. In light of this, The DePaulia has put together a list of a few female artists to listen to and be inspired by throughout your week.
1. "Just Dancing" - Sylvan Esso Sylvan Esso is an electronic pop duo made up of singer Amelia Meath and her husband and producer Nick Sanborn. This track from 2017 album “What Now” is the perfect song to listen to when getting ready for class or trying to stay awake during the low point of the day. The track is bound to enhance your mood and remind you not to take every day so seriously. Meath’s side project, Mountain Man, is also worth checking out.
Crossword
2."Gimme All Your Love" Alabama Shakes Alabama Shakes' incredible female lead singer, Brittany Howard, has one of the strongest voices in the business. Howard’s power and passion is notable in this song, “Gimme All Your Love” off of 2015 album “Sound & Color.” The song has blues riffs and an overall soulful composure. Howard also has a solo project, Thunderbitch, which is a great female project that showcases heavy rock and doesn’t hold back.
Across 1. Tools for duels 6. Louisville Sluggers, e.g. 10. Public relations need 14. Brother of Moses 15. Bone ___ (study) 16. Orchestral “tuning fork” 17. They have supporting parts 20. Arctic plain 21. Wearable wares 21. Kind of node or gland 25. Prefix with “violet” 26. Miss America’s accessory 30. Toward sunrise 32. “To tell the truth..” 35. Wobbly, e.g. 41. Diplomatic official 43. Medium-sized sofa 44. Suppress, in a way 45. Farm storage unit 47. Tramp’s companion 48. Oscar or Tony 53. Four-door model
3. "I Feel It All" - Feist One of my favorite solo female artists, Feist, has been a part of the pop rock scene since 2004. An all-time favorite of mine, “I Feel It All,” is a summercentric, foot tapping tune from her 2007 album “The Reminder.” The album ended 2007 as the best-selling album on iTunes. Canadian singer-songwriter Leslie Feist has also been known for performing in indie rock group Broken Social Scene, but her soprano voice shines in her solo project.
56. Common sight in Arizona 58. ___ out at (reproved harshly) 63. Put one in the win column 66. Move like floor mud 67. Performances for one 68. Synthetic fiber 69. ___ the line (behaved) 70. Ball-shaped cheese 71. Clear the chalkboard Down 1. Verifiable statement 2. Diamond Head locale 3. Persia, now 4. “Little ___ Fauntleroy” 5. Doberman’s warning 6. “__ seriously, folks...” 7. Barbary beast
4. "Diddy Bop" - Noname Fatimah Nyeema Warner, or Noname, is the leading female hip-hop artist in the city of Chicago by a mile. She’s a rapper and poet from the Bronzeville neighborhood, where she’s been performing slam poetry since 2010. She has collaborated with Chance the Rapper on his wildly successful mixtapes "Acid Rap" and "Coloring Book". Her latest album “Telefone” is where song “Diddy Bop” resides. This strong female artist is one that every Chicago student can vibe to.
8. Synagogue scrolls 9. Click the fingers 10. “___ Recall” (Scifi film) 11. Cancel, to NASA 12. Apple gizmo 13. Electric auto brand 18. Cartographic speck 19. “Brain” of a PC 23. Pinochle term 24. Due 26. Some flies or bunts, for short 27. Muscle malady 28. “Immediately!” in the OR 29. Wound 31. Dense clump of trees or bushes 33. Questionnaire datum 34. Harper and Stan 36. ___ King Cole 37. It’s under the window 38. Length times width, often 39. Long-running conflict
40. TV sports prize 42. It’s sometimes “junk” 46. Certain crustacean 48. English horse race 49. “Yippee!” 50. Like curious onlookers 51. Wore the crown 52. N. or S. state, briefly 54. Kentucky boxing legend 55. Oyster shell interior 57. Ticky play, e.g. 59. Rigel or Vega, e.g. 60. Georgetown athlete 61. Winged god of love 62. Force of physics 64. Chicken ___ king 65. ___ and vigor
Sports. Jan. 16, 2018. The DePaulia | 25
Sports
FS1 All-Access game review By Shane Rene Sports Editor
COMMENTARY If you’re a sports fan like me and you appreciate everything that happens off the field as much as — if not more than — what happens on it, FS1’s first-ever “All-Access” broadcast of DePaul hosting Providence was awesome. In fact, it was nearly perfect. Growing up as an avid athlete, I watched sports every moment I wasn’t playing them, but the one thing that always bothered me about the broadcasts that glued me to my couch on game day was that the “journalist” calling the games never seem to know what they are talking about. You’ve seen them and you’ve heard them. Pencil-neck geeks and bowling-ballshaped intellectuals with deep, booming voices tailor-made for television, spewing cliches and partially informed analysis. Those broadcasters generally have limited experience — and certainly not recent, if any — playing the games they are paid lavishly to call, which is why ESPN, ABC, NBC and every other network pays washed-up athletes and coaches to butcher the english language on live TV. Every broadcast needs an expert source —
STEPHAN SAVIOA | AP
Providence head coach Ed Cooley. journalism 101. FS1’s “all access” format did the KONRAD MARKOWSKI | THE DEPAULIA unthinkable and solved all my beefs with FS1's "All-Access" broadcast gave fans a unique look at the player-coach dynamic that sports media. often gets overlooked in traditional broadcast formats. I didn’t need the color commentator to give me insight on the coach’s thinking, him say it, watch him say it and watch his and yelling constantly, chirping at refs and I could see it on his face and hear what team react to him. I had all the insight I commanding his players like a general. “I think both (Leitao) and I want to give he had to say in real time, directed at the needed, no questions about authenticity, no thunderous, misinformed voice in the our fan (and) our alumni an inside look at players. I didn’t need a broadcaster to background and the backstage pass I always how hard (our job) is,” Cooley said. speculate on what the coach was saying to Cooley created some buzz on social his players in the huddle, down 10 points wanted. The coaches — the most firsthand, expert source you can get — called media when he yelled, “nobody bleeds for with two minutes to play, I could hear the game. It was an unmatched TV viewer no reason, unless you’re a vampire,” at a experience for the diehard sports fan. referee. These are the golden moments FS1 Unfortunately, however, I don’t get to and viewers were looking for, but it wasn’t decide how sports are broadcast on live always so light hearted and friendly. TV, so the future of “all-access” broadcast “(The all-access broadcast was) positive like this one have an uncertain future. from your end,” Cooley said to reporters Although, change in this direction is after the game. But he added that in very inevitable. tense parts of the game it was easy to forget Ed Sherman, a former sports writer at you are mic’d up and everyone at home can the Chicago Tribune who spent 25 years hear you. covering sports media says this is all part of Because sports are generally considered TENNIS the media evolution as we have more and “family friendly” programing, coaches more screens and means of access available. have to be aware of their language and leave “I think we will see more (broadcasts) the “locker-room” talk at home. Albeit, like this,” Sherman said. “(But) I don’t know Sherman doesn’t think many viewers exactly what it is going to be, same way I would be too surprised if they caught an didn’t know you would be able to watch a expletive coming from the mouth of their football game on your phone.” favorite college coach. If there’s one thing we learned for sure “(Cooley) and I were a little wary of about this “all-access” style of broadcasting a few things because of the ‘access part,’” it’s that some coaches were born for it, and Leitao said, citing concerns over exposing Dave Leitao probably isn’t one of those play calls to other opponents and needing PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS coaches. to watch his language. DePaul freshman Marija Jovicic. Now, that’s not a knock on Leitao as a FS1’s all-access broadcast won’t take coach or person. He simply doesn’t have over the NCAA this year and probably The men's and women’s tennis teams the in-your-face personality that can draw not next. These kind of broadcasts will returned to the court this past weekend for a crowd. Providence head coach Ed Cooley, be reserved for programs like DePaul that their first meets since the fall. on the other hand, has it in spades. are aiming for publicity, so coach K isn’t The women’s team competed in the From the tip, Cooley was visual and getting mic’d up in a primetime Duke game IU Winter Invitational and got off to a audible treat for viewers. He was animated anytime soon. fast start on Saturday with a 4-2 record on the first day of competition thanks to wins from Marija Jovicic, Patricia Lancranjan, Alina Kuzmenkova and Milica Tesic. This was an area of weakness for the Blue Demons after they finished the fall season with a 24-35 overall record in singles. Tesic and Jovicic also picked up a doubles victory, while the Blue Demons other two doubles tandems fell in their matchups. The men’s team returned to action Monday with matches against Eastern Kentucky and Purdue looking to improve on their 35-27 singles record and 13-10 mark during doubles play. Sophomore Tamas Zador is currently KONRAD MARKOWSKI | THE DEPAULIA on a four-match winning streak and leads Instead of commercials, viewers were welcomed into the huddle with players and both squads with a record of 6-1. coaches at game breaks.
BLUE DEMON RUNDOWN TRACK AND FIELD
PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS
DePaul's women's hurdler Alexia Brooks. The Track and Field team returned to action this past weekend for their first meet since the first week of December. One of the standouts of the meet was Alexia Brooks who tied a school record in the 60M hurdles prelims and then broke it just a while later, clocking in at 8.51 seconds, breaking the previous record of 8.56. On the men's side, Kyle Decker took home third in the 60M hurdles with a time of 8.30 seconds, while Evan Lowry was just behind him with a time of 8.50 seconds. In his first indoor meet, freshman Charlie MacIntyre took home fifth place. The meet marked the debut for seven Blue Demons and was the second meet for freshmen Terece Brown, Jade Gates and Alex Murray. Overall, the Blue Demons rounded out ninth on the women’s side with 32 points and fourth on the men’s side with 50 points. Both teams will return to action later this week for the Notre Dame invitational beginning Jan. 20
26 | Sports. Jan. 16, 2018. The DePaulia POINT GAURD, continued from back page The assist to turnover ratio over that stretch (which works out to 1.131) is problematic, as the ideal is to have at least a 2.0 assist/ turnover ratio. At times, the Blue Demons offense has looked lost with Cain at the point guard (admittedly not all of his fault) such as during the second halves of the Northwestern and Xavier games. To his credit though, Cain has developed some synergy, passing it to Max Strus in places where he can score and has shown the ability to dish out the highlightreel pass on occasion. Regardless, Cain’s value is as a scorer, and having to worry about distributing the ball while running the offense mitigates some of that value. Four of his five most efficient scoring nights (based on field goal percentage) came before he had to assume point guard duties. Unfortunately, continuing to play him at point guard is more of a necessity than anything else at this point. “We have no choice, obviously, with Devin going down,” Leitao said. “He’s growing in that position, and it’s a work in progress. It’s not something that he anticipated, nor did I, so it’s a work in progress.”
Justin Roberts
This freshman has all the talent in the world. Blessed with first-step quickness that can’t be taught and a fairly reliable 3-point shot (31.8 percent from deep) that makes his offensive game far from onedimensional, Roberts is going to be a key piece on this DePaul team. Consistency has eluded him.
PLOTKIN, continued from front page the way he has connected with them so far. “You can kind of tell he’s a really genuine guy, he really cares for us already,” El-Shafei said. “He just wants the best for us and he really cares about us, some of the guys who have knocks just to be fully recovered, don’t rush anything.” Senior defender Anton Sell also pointed out one positive is Plotkin’s alum status and how he is able to be a resource to them both on and off the field. “He’s a DePaul alum, so he really knows how everything works here and how it works as a player,” Sell said. ”I really think he can identify with us and relate and solve problems.” Plotkin took over for his former head coach Craig Blazer after a 5-11 season a year ago. Blazer spent 17 seasons as the head coach of the Blue Demons and both players were thankful for the opportunity he gave them, while noting they are ready to move forward and work hard for their new coach. “I’m just thankful I was given the opportunity here,” El-Shafei said. “I enjoyed my time the first few seasons.” It was a frustrating season a year ago for the Blue Demons, who lost eight games by one goal and tied two more in overtime, something El-Shafei said they are using as motivation for this season. “Last year was extremely frustrating,” El-Shafei said “In the sense, we lost all those games by one goal so we’re sort of using that as extra motivation, it’ll fuel us, make us hungrier.” Plotkin has been able to watch some film from a year ago and is optimistic about turning the team around with a couple of tweaks and making sure everyone is on the same page. “From film that I’ve watched, I know
He has his signature games: a 19-point, five rebound, five assist effort on Nov. 17 against the University of Illinois and a 16-point performance on 8-for-12 from the field on Dec. 30 against Xavier. But he’s also had dud games. He’s had nine games this season where he failed to score more than two points and has had nine games where he failed to dish out more than one assist. His minutes have fluctuated throughout the season because of some issues defensively, particularly in the game against UIC where he played just nine minutes and at one point, was pulled one possession after coming back into the game due to a defensive mistake. “I’m trying to raise the bar very quickly for him as a young guy,” Leitao of about Roberts after a win against Alabama A&M on Dec. 11. “Play with a little intensity, (be) a little more vocal, bounce around a little bit more. Sometimes even making a mistake or two but making an aggressive mistake. As he grows I’m sure he’ll understand that a little bit better.” Much to the chagrin of some fans, when Roberts has shared the floor with Cain, the former has frequently deferred to the latter in terms of who runs the offense. Roberts has played 17.5 minutes per game since Gage’s injury (averaged 16.4 minutes per game prior to Gage’s injury) and hasn’t earned a start, as Leitao seems uncomfortable with giving the inexperienced freshman keys to the offense. “Justin has to continue to grow so that we can trust that his minutes will be increased, and there’s no drop off when we go to the bench,” Leitao said after the UIC game. Former associate head coach Rick Carter says handing new responsibilities to young players can backfire. there is a lot of talent on this team and just being around them the last couple of days they seem like a special group of guys,” Plotkin said. “I think if we can just get everyone together, get guys on the right track and make a few tweaks here and there, we can really turn this thing around.” Plotkin believes one of his strengths is being able to relate each player and have a good balance on how to treat each player individually. Given the nature of soccer, however, Plotkin said his focus is on making sure his 11 players on the field are connected and communicating with each other. “When you’re out on the field, you’re just working for each other (...) that’s the fun part—you get out on the field, I can’t talk to you for 45 minutes,” Plotkin said commenting on the unique role of coaches. “I can scream things from the side, but (that doesn’t) really have that big an impact (...) so for me it’s just making sure they’re bought into each other, will do anything for each other, and that’s where the success will come.” For a team that was in the Big East tournament as recently as 2016, Plotkin said the first step is getting back to that level and having a chance to advance further. “Immediately, I want to improve on last year’s season," Plotkin said. "I want to have a better year, I want us to focus on just getting into the Big East tournament and knowing that once you get into the Big East tournament, it’s just the game of socceranybody can beat anybody on any given day, so for us, the immediate part is just focusing on developing individually and collectively this offseason, not necessarily focusing on results.” Now that Plotkin is back, the Blue Demons hope history repeats itself and the four-year starter can return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007, the first and only time they’ve made it.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FIBA
Head coach Dave Leitao would not commit to a Flynn Cameron debut, saying he needs time to acclimate. "Sometimes I think what goes into it more than anything is you don’t want to hurt a freshmen’s confidence," Carter said. "You don’t want to just throw them to the wolves, and you’d much rather (say): ‘ok let’s keep you in your role, you’re having success, you’re going to keep coming off the bench, your minutes might go up, but I don’t want to throw you out there and have you lose your sense of being comfortable.' I think coaches look at it like that sometimes."
Flynn Cameron
The great unknown from the land of Kiwis, New Zealand-born point guard Flynn Cameron enrolled at DePaul at the semester break. But, he hasn’t played in a Blue Demon uniform yet this season. What Cameron lacks in first-step quickness, he makes up for with clever handles and an ability to create space for himself on drives. Cameron looks like a natural point guard with his passing ability and three-point shooting range. The New Zealand native is also a pickpocket defensively, punishing players who are careless with the ball.
Cameron comes in with experience having participated in several national basketball camps in the United States and also represented New Zealand in the 2017 FIBA U19 World Championships last summer in Cairo, Egypt (averaged 4.6 points per game on 54.5 percent from the field and 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game). Whether the international experience translates to a more seasoned freshman remains to be seen. The Blue Demons could have the 6-foot-3-inch Cameron assume the point guard duties once he arrives at DePaul, pushing Cain to his more natural shooting guard position. This would displace Brandon Cyrus back to a reserve role and Roberts would continue as backup point guard. However, Leitao could take the opposite approach and continue to defer to Cain’s experience (in his third year as a productive collegiate player) which is consistent with what he has been doing since Gage’s injury. With Cameron presumably entering the fray at some point this season, the drama with the point guard rotation could
Sports. Jan. 16, 2018. The DePaulia | 27
Friars bring more heartbreak to Wintrust By Paul Steeno Staff Writer
For 23 minutes of game time, it looked like the DePaul Blue Demons would leave Wintrust Arena with a second consecutive Big East victory to their name. But the Providence Friars (12-6; 3-2 Big East) had other plans. The Blue Demons (8-9; 1-4 Big East) found out the hard way that it’s difficult to win a game when an offensive drought extending over eight minutes of game time allows the opposition to go on a 22-point run in the second half that transformed a 12-point deficit into a ten-point lead. “When we’re good, it’s because we share,” Blue Demon head coach Dave Leitao said after the game. “We share and we move and we become harder to guard. By percentage (assists to made field goals), it wasn’t as many as we needed on offense which hurt our defense. In terms of our crispness of our execution, in terms of the slowness of our cuts and things like that and not sharing the basketball by virtue of moving around.” DePaul finished the game with 16 assists on 26 made field goals (61.5 percent assist rate) but only made one of every three shots they attempted in the second half as the offense stagnated for a long period of time in what’s becoming a disturbing second-half trend. To their credit, the Blue Demons fought back late, pulling to within eight points with 2:42 left in the game. Back-to-back 3-point field goals from juniors Eli Cain and Max Strus cut the deficit down to three points with 1:31 left to play. With 30 seconds remaining, the Blue Demons had
BIG EAST Woman's Basketball STANDINGS (1/14)
1.
13-5 (7-0)
2.
14-5 (6-1)
3.
12-7 (5-3)
4.
14-3 (4-3)
5.
10-7 (4-3)
6.
11-8 (3-4)
7.
11-8 (3-5)
8.
7-10 (2-5)
9.
8-10 (1-6)
10.
8-11 (1-6) (x-y) - Conference record
the ball down just three points. Strus fired up a tough, contested 3-point field goal early in the shot clock, and the Blue Demons didn’t get back on defense as Providence forward Rodney Bullock put the game out of reach with an uncontested dunk with 16 seconds remaining. “I’ve said from the start of the season that I like this team a lot as people and athletes,” Leitao said when asked about the late comeback from his team. “I think when I look inside their hearts and their minds there’s really good things about them. If that’s your foundation, things like (a late Blue Demons comeback) can happen. It’s not going to be perfect, but I like this group for the resiliency they have. They’ve shown it throughout the course of the year thus far, and we’ve had to learn some tough lessons.” In the first half, it appeared as if the Blue Demons would overwhelm the Friars in the paint and not have to worry about a late comeback. Graduate senior center Marin Maric and freshman Jaylen Butz had a combined 18 points on 7-for-8 from the field, and senior Peter Ryckbosch chipped in four points as DePaul outscored the Friars 24-6 in the paint. But that advantage diminished in the second half as the Friars matched the Blue Demons with 14 points in the paint. Junior forward Max Strus was held scoreless up to the 12:58 mark in the first half but went on a personal 5-0 run after that to cut the deficit to 20-17. The Blue Demons finally pulled even with two minutes left in the first half on a free throw from Cain and then took the lead two possessions later on a Tre’Darius McCallum baby hook from the right block. The Blue Demons led 3534 at the break, but a lack of offense sunk them in the second half (29 points on 33.3 percent from the field). Providence keyed in on stopping Strus by bothering him with two defenders, and the Blue Demon’s leading scorer finished
the game with nine points on 3-for-13 from the field and 2-for-8 from behind the 3-point line. “Cross our fingers,” Providence head coach Ed Cooley said about his game plan against Strus. “He’s one of the best newcomers I’ve seen in the Big East in a long time. He’s a game changer. The minute he steps off the bus, you need to know where he is. I give my players a lot of credit, particularly Jalen (Lindsey) because it was a team effort, but Jalen took it personal and he’s supposed to (since) he’s a senior and he’s been around.” Fox Sports 1 provided an all-access (both head coaches were mic’d up and the telecast had no commercial breaks) view into the Blue Demon collapse, eliciting a mixed reaction from the head coaches. “I think both coaches were a little leery about a few things because of the access part and not just (watching) your language and who you say (things) to,” Leitao said after the game. “The exposure you give your opponents to play calls. But I think the good outweighs the bad in terms of exposure it give both programs.” Cooley was more blunt in his assessment. “Positive from your end (reporters and fans),” Cooley said. “Very tense, parts of the game you forget you are mic’d up. I’m glad we did that for the brand of DePaul, Providence and the Big East. It’s a trend setter if coaches have the courage to do it. But I think both Dave and I want to give our fans and alumni an inside look of how hard (coaching) really is. Because many of you, even in this audience, think what we do is easy. I hope we gave perspective today on how hard our job is. The Blue Demons return to action on Monday night when they travel to Marquette to take on the Golden Eagles (33; 12-6 Big East). Tipoff is at 8 p.m. CDT and FS1 will televise the game.”
WOMEN'S HOMESTAND, continued from back page
“I didn’t think the defense was where it needed to be.I think we left a few layups on the table (…) and the dirty underbelly of free-throws is when you miss two, it’s worse than a turnover.” It’s worse than a turnover, Bruno said, because you earn your right for those two points, and then you not only do not score but hand the ball to the other team. DePaul was just 3-of-8 from the free-throw line in the first half and 11-of-21 in the game. Not great for a team that averages 73 percent from the stripe. Things got going more in the second quarter with both teams scoring over twenty, Butler with 21 and DePaul with 23. It wasn’t until the third quarter though, when DePaul would really begin to pull away. DePaul outscored the Bulldogs by seven in the quarter, highlighted by two threes from Ashton Millender within 40 seconds of each other and Tanita Allen hitting a three, then a layup then an emphatic rejection of a shot from Butler’s Michelle Weaver with 30 seconds left in the quarter. Up 17 though, Bruno said the game was not over. “[The lead] was ten at halftime, I think they cut it to nine,” Bruno said. “We didn’t start to pull away until it was 17 in the third quarter. But it’s still just 17 and this team came back from 15 against Marquette the other night (…) that’s something I think our team is getting better at, is maintaining leads.” Maintain they would. Even better, they would get the lead up to 24 with three minutes left in the game. The Demons finished the game with six players in double figures (the seventh time they have
“I’m just trying to focus and finish,” Grays said. “My teammates are doing a great job helping me on post feeds or, if I read the screen right, getting me the ball on time and on target.” Xavier was lead by Kindell Fincher, who finished with ten points on 4-of-15 shots and just 1-of-7 from downtown. Xavier dropped its fifth in a row and fall to under .500 on the season (8-9). With Xavier down, DePaul set their sights on their next game, a Sunday matchup against the Butler Bulldogs. Butler fell to Marquette 69-67 on a buzzer beating layup of an inbounds pass in their last outing, bringing them to 3-3 in the Big East. “You can only control what’s in front of you and [the players] have done that in the three games since the Marquette game,” Bruno said. “Now we are going to have another tough game on Sunday against a really good Butler team.” DePaul had no qualms dispatching that good Butler team 87-65 in their final regular-season game at Wintrust Arena, although it wasn’t laughter the whole way. The first quarter was absolutely brutal in terms of scoring. Butler had eight turnovers and hit just three of 11 shots leading to seven total points. DePaul wasn’t fairing much better when they were up 9-6 with two minutes left, but two late threes from Lauren Prochaska and Chante Stonewall helped the Demons out. “I didn’t think we had a great edge in the beginning of the game,” Bruno said.
BIG EAST Men's Basketball STANDINGS (1/14)
1.
15-3 (4-1)
2.
16-1 (4-1)
3.
14-4 (4-2)
4.
16-3 (4-2)
5.
12-6 (3-2)
6.
12-6 (3-3)
7.
13-6 (3-3)
8.
12-5 (2-4)
9.
8-9 (1-4)
10.
10-8 (0-6) (x-y) - Conference record
PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS
Junior forward Mart'e Grays' big week earned her a second consecutive Big East Honor Roll designation. accomplished that feat this season) led by 20 from Greys and Millender. Whitney Jennings and Tori Scheckel led Butler with 18 and 17 points respectively. This game also marked the end of a stretch of four games in eight nights for DePaul. “We knew it was going to be tough, but at the same time, we just had to keep our edge on and focus on taking it one game in a row,” Grays said. “That’s what we did, and the outcome was great.” The Demons next game will be on the road against Villanova on Jan. 19 Villanova is 14-3 overall and 4-3 in conference.
Sports
Sports. Jan. 8, 2018. The DePaulia | 28
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEPAUL ATHLETICS
Who’s the Point? KONRAD MARKOWSKI | THE DEPAULIA
KONRAD MARKOWSKI | THE DEPAULIA
Ever since Devin Gage suffered an Achilles injury Dec. 6 against Central Connecticut, Eli Cain and Justin Roberts have taken over the ball handling duties with intermittent success.
Breaking down DePaul’s point guard problem By Paul Steeno Staff Writer
In the DePaul Blue Demon’s 91-74 win against the St. John’s Red Storm on Saturday afternoon, Blue Demon junior point guard Eli Cain scored 11 points to reach 1,000 points in his career. When Cain arrived in Lincoln Park prior to this season, he probably didn’t envision scoring his 1,000th career point while playing the point guard position. Second-year point guard Devin Gage seemed primed to take the next step in his development and incoming freshman point guard Justin Roberts was too talented not to garner minutes in his freshman season,
leaving Cain to play his familiar two-guard role. But when Gage ruptured his Achilles tendon against Central Connecticut on Dec. 6 and the Blue Demons found out he’d miss the rest of the season with those injuries, plans quickly changed. In a post-Gage world, how have the Blue Demons fared at the point guard position?
Eli Cain
Cain has had a Jekyll and Hyde experience since Gage’s injury first thrust him into the point guard role on Dec. 9 against the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
His season debut in the role was a raving success as he recorded a then career high with eight assists against UIC and then another eight assists against Alabama A&M two days later. But even as Cain qualified his seemingly seamless transition into the point guard role with the fact that he played this position in high school and in AAU ball, DePaul head coach Dave Leitao warned that having to play Cain at point wasn’t an ideal scenario for the Blue Demons. “Moving forward, we have to figure some things out because off the ball he (Cain) has great value and on the ball, not diminishing that value particularly as a scorer (but it’s not the same value),” Leitao
said. “There’s a very thin line between how you handle each possession when you’re on the ball and when you’re off the ball. We have to figure it out. But right now, it’s a next man up mentality.” The warning was ominously accurate. In the Blue Demons last seven games with Cain mostly continuing to run the point, Cain averaged 9.4 points on an inefficient 28.5 percent from the field (29.2 percent from 3-point land) and has averaged 4.3 assists per game to 3.8 turnovers. Regardless, Cain has started every game at point guard during that stretch and has averaged 32.6 minutes of playing time.
See POINT GUARD, page 26
Women’s basketball sweeps weekend homestand By Garret Neal Staff Writer
In DePaul’s first game of the weekend, the women took on the Xavier Musketeers, who came in 1-4 in the Big East and on a four-game losing streak. The Demons insured there would be no chance of an upset, taking care of business in a 79-48 throttling to give them their third straight win since the loss to Marquette. “I’m really proud that these players have stepped up since the Marquette game and didn’t just hang their heads and feel sorry for themselves,” head coach Doug Bruno said. Kelly Campbell helped DePaul build an early lead by
opening the scoring with back to back three pointers. She would later throw a gorgeous three quarters court pass over the Xavier defense for an easy Shontae Stonewall layup to put the Demons up 13-2 and forced a Xavier timeout. Xavier would bring it back in the second half of the quarter and would end it down just seven, 16-9. The second quarter would be back and forth as well, DePaul expanding their lead by just three. In the third quarter, DePaul put the game out of reach with a dominant third quarter. “I think our pressure really helped us blow the game open,” said Campbell, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. “Our defense lead layups and open shots.” The defense helped DePaul to a plus nine turnover
advantage, as well as seven blocks to Xavier’s one. DePaul would outscore the Musketeers 27-11 in the quarter. In the fourth quarter, Bruno looked to get the freshman some extra minutes with about seven minutes left in the game and the Demons would finish it out, never trailing in the game. The final score of 48 for the Musketeers marks DePaul’s second best defensive performance of the year, points wise. Campbell was one of DePaul’s two double digit scorers, the other being Mart’e Greys. Greys had a game high 18 on 6-of-13 shooting and 5-of-11 from deep. This marked Greys sixth consecutive game with double digit scoring.
See WOMEN’S HOMESTAND, page 27