May 29, 2018

DePaulia

The

2017 Pacemaker Award Winner

Volume #102 | Issue #28 | May 29, 2018 | depauliaonline.com

Whose First Amendment ?

A free press challenged at DePaul

Athletics needs to stop hiding

By DePaulia Editorial Board

By Shane René Sports Editor

The playwright and author Arthur Miller once said, “A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself.”

DePaul is, in a sense, a nation in its own right, albeit a smaller one of about 28,000. And we, the students who collectively comprise The DePaulia, are speaking to you when we illuminate what is often misbehavior on the part of the university.

The investigative stories that we have written this year are of the utmost importance for the nation of DePaul. As patrons of this university and citizens of its community, it is critical to read beyond what Newsline, the public relations department’s “news” publication, injects into your email accounts.

At The DePaulia, we try our best to bring to light the stories that DePaul doesn’t often want students, staff and alumni to know about. But on almost every serious story we’ve reported on, we faced the towering roadblock that is the DePaul University Office of Public Relations and Communications.

We don’t back down when public relations officials flex their muscles. We persistently pester them until they inevitably give us a “decline to comment” or a brief, vague statement.

In the course of our pursuit of the truth, DePaul stands in our way at every juncture. It took more than seven months for us to be granted an interview with the new president of our university, and even then there was still a public relations official in the room.

When we recently reported on racist and insensitive tweets written by Director of University Events Jen Kramer, public relations officials gave us no more information than a written apology from Kramer. She wasn’t mediashy she had been interviewed the week before for a story about graduation See TRANSPARENCY, page 8 snafus, but when we

I would like to expel a somewhat popular myth.

Last week, a reader posted a commented on The DePaulia’s story about Romeo Weems’ stunning commitment to the Blue Demons last Tuesday afternoon that began, “And I’m sure the DePaulia folks are mad about this...” I’ve heard and seen this sentiment thrown around a number of times; as if The DePaulia has some age-old grudge against Jean Lenti Ponsetto and her athletic department.

This is categorically false, though I suppose I understand the confusion. The DePaulia’s coverage of Lenti Ponsetto’s athletic department and the men’s basketball program in particular hasn’t been flattering, but it’s not supposed to be.

That’s not why we’re here.

Student-led newsrooms are essential to the health and well-being of college campuses across the country. In most cases, student media represents the only source of objective campus news and, in the case of private schools like DePaul, they can be the only organization to hold university faculty and administrators accountable for their actions.

But criticism of university conduct and policy shouldn’t be interpreted as standing against the university. We raise questions and peel back the curtain because we, like any other rational, thinking person, believe that the only way to solve a problem is to first recognize that there is one. That’s why we’re here (see accompanying editorial for more on The DePaulia’s pursuit of transparency).

The DePaulia, just like every other campus newspaper in the country, is staffed with students — and that’s a bias we don’t hide. We report with a student perspective on issues that impact the people paying a high premium to better their lives moving forward.

Having an athletic department that acts as an effective front porch for the university is a student issue. Having a flagship men’s See ATHLETICS, page 26 basketball program GRAPHIC BY VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA

Major staff layoffs expected

By Jonathan Ballew News Editor

Serious layoffs are likely coming to DePaul. DePaul officials said that the process is “not yet finalized” and any staff reductions “would go into effect before July 1,” which is the beginning of the new fiscal year.

Several current DePaul employees described to The DePaulia a culture of fear and opacity on the part of the university regarding their employment. Almost all asked to remain anonymous for fear of job security.

“I’m hearing there are going to be at least 200 people laid off in June,” said an administrative assistant currently employed by DePaul.

The employee said that over the last six months, many of their duties have been “slowly stripped away” from them. They believe it is a calculated effort to make them disposable or subject to termination.

“If you take everyone’s work away, you can justify getting rid of them,” they said.

“Everybody around the university has been chatting about layoffs,” said one DePaul professor.

“Even the security guards are asking me if (my job is safe).”

In order to confirm the reality of layoffs, The

DePaulia contacted several key DePaul officials on Wednesday.

Instead, The DePaulia received a response on Thursday afternoon from Carol Hughes, from the Office of Public Relations and Communications (OPRC). Hughes referenced the university-approved budget from March that would invest in “strategic growth through major cost-saving measures and reductions in the (2019 fiscal year) budget.”

“From its earliest communications about the process, the university has noted that the review and centralization of key financial, administrative and technology functions could result in staffing reductions and that such restructuring changes would go into effect before July 1,” wrote Hughes in an email.

Hughes noted that faculty positions would not be a part of the restructuring process.

The DePaulia asked Hughes: how many staff members would be terminated, what departments would be affected, how much money would be saved from the staff cuts and how many days notice would be given to terminated staff.

“The process is nearing completion, but not yet finalized,” Hughes wrote.

“And, as a See LAYOFFS, page 6 result, we have

JOSH LEFF | THE DEPAULIA

Couldn’t make it to FEST this year? Check out our photos and recap on pages 16 & 17.

2 | News. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018

First Look The DePaulia is the official student-run newspaper of DePaul University and may not necessarily reflect the views of college administrators, faculty or staff.

ON A I

OW RN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | Amber Colón eic@depauliaonline.com

PAULIA THE DE

PAGE 29

Podcast

MANAGING EDITOR | Benjamin Conboy managing@depauliaonline.com NEWS EDITOR | Jonathan Ballew news@depauliaonline.com

Tune in to episode 25 of The DePaulia’s official podcast “Page 29,” available on Soundcloud and iTunes.

ASST. NEWS EDITOR | Timothy Duke news@depauliaonline.com NATION & WORLD EDITOR | Carina Smith nation@depauliaonline.com OPINIONS EDITOR | Mackenzie Murtaugh opinion@depauliaonline.com FOCUS EDITOR | Zoey Barnes 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 MULTIMEDIA EDITOR | Cody Corrall multimedia@depauliaonline.com DESIGN EDITOR | Victoria Williamson design@depauliaonline.com DESIGN EDITOR | Ally Zacek design@depauliaonline.com

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.

Check out The DePaulia’s content online at www.depauliaonline.com

THIS WEEK Monday - 5/28

Tuesday - 5/29

Wednesday - 5/30

Annual Ceremony and Dedication of the General John A. Logan Monument

Jazz Combos

End-of-Year Breakfast

893 S Michigan Ave.

Recital Hall

11 a.m.

7 p.m.

Thursday - 5/31

Schmitt Academic Center, rm. 570 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Friday - 6/1

Saturday - 6/2

Yoga in the Loop

DePaul Wind Symphony

Vocal Showcase

Miraculous Medal Chapel - 1st floor of Lewis Center

Concert Hall

Concert Hall

4:30 p.m.

8 p.m.

8 p.m.

PHOTO EDITOR | Josh Leff photo@depauliaonline.com ONLINE EDITORS | Yazmin Dominguez, Gracie Saucedo online@depauliaonline.com COPY EDITORS | Brian Pearlman, Nikki Roberts BUSINESS MANAGER | Kelsey Horvath business@depauliaonline.com ADVISOR | Marla Krause mkrause1@depaul.edu

CONTACT US depauliaonline.com GENERAL PHONE (773) 325-2285 OFFICE HOURS Thursday: 6-8 p.m.

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News. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018 | 3

BENJAMIN CONBOY | THE DEPAULIA

Patrick Murphy’s office designed his office to “enhance performance.” A student of organizational psychology, Murphy has built his career on examining the psychology of entrepreneurship.

Prolific professor leaving DePaul for greener pastures

By Benjamin Conboy Managing Editor

Patrick Murphy loves this place. He built his career here. He bought a condo that is only a three-minute walk from DePaul’s Loop campus so he could be there at a moment’s notice.

But now it’s time for him to move on. He’s been at DePaul for 15 years, since he was only 29-years-old. Murphy, now 44-years-old, just accepted a job as the Endowed Chair for Innovation in Entrepreneurship at University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB).

At DePaul, he’s developed programs and initiatives that have garnered him national acclaim. He proudly displays his baker’s dozen of “Teacher of the Year” awards in his office. Even though many of them were won almost 10 years ago, he can still rattle off how many nominees were put up for each one and which of his colleagues have also won each award.

During his time at DePaul, he helped pioneer a coding academy that taught students programming while intertwining it with relevant business skills. He also developed DePaul’s Social Enterprise Collaborative, which connects students with entrepreneurial ventures that incorporate some kind of social benefit into their business model.

But now he’s finally got what he’s been waiting for: the opportunity to lead.

“I haven’t really had an opportunity (at DePaul) to really lead this stuff,” Murphy said. “I will have the formal resources and structural support to do these things.”

DePaul never offered him the chance to lead. All of the programs he developed and the ventures he worked on weren’t required of him for his current job, but he did them anyway.

Eric Jack, the dean of the COLLAT

School of Business at UAB, said that he will he was one of the Navy’s youngest chief “have a big role to play” at the university. tugboat engineers at just 19-years-old. In a “We are very happy to attract such a testament to his truly academic mind, he talented person like Patrick Murphy and can still recite the firing order of those diesel we look forward to tugboat engines 25 working with him,” years later. He could Jack said. practically jump back The LinkedIn post in and change a head in which Murphy gasket if someone announced he would asked him to. be leaving DePaul Boot camp, which became something he calls “the great of a viral sensation. equalizer,” taught him Outpourings of the discipline that he support from students weaponizes during his and colleagues, routine 60 to 70-hour both current and work weeks at DePaul. future, flooded the His office is filled with comments section. ocean imagery and Entrepreneurship Professor “Big loss for engravings of ships.

DePaul. ... Your new His most position is well deserved. They should be successful book, “Mutiny and Its Bounty: ready for a great ride,” wrote Behice Ilhan, a Leadership Lessons from the Age of professor in the College of Computing and Discovery,” takes inspiration from his Digital Media. seafaring past. He began to notice how Being 1,000 miles away in Alabama burgeoning entrepreneurial ventures still isn’t enough distance to keep him would reach a certain “tipping point” from the DePaul community, though. The where the founding members of the relationships he has cultivated with his business become unable to effectively lead. students are near to him – and he’s not Others in the company want them out, so really ready to give that up yet. He says he’ll they coordinate their overthrow. still be available to all of his past students.

He and coauthor Ray Coye went back When remembering his students and through the log books from ships during the projects they’ve worked on together, he the age of discovery in the 1600s and speaks about them with genuine pride and found that the similarities between the sentiment. way modern entrepreneurs and sailors “I’m a big believer in this place,” he said. approached their business.

“I know firsthand that the culture here is He views entrepreneurship in much the like a strategic weapon. There’s something same way as those early explorers saw the about this urban outreach-slash-upwardly- great unknown that they set sail for. mobile smart kids who know how to roll up “The parameters, the risks, the their sleeves and do things.” uncertainty, the failure rates, had a lot more His interest in studying in common with each other than these entrepreneurship stems in part from large organizations do,” he said. his time in the Navy, where he claims Looking forward, he sees the next big

“I’m a big believer in this place. I know firsthand the culture here is like a strategic weapon.”

Patrick Murphy

moment in entrepreneurship as being strikingly similar to the great beyond that explorers began to traverse in the mid-20th century: outer space.

“If you really want a comparison to Magellan and Columbus, then look to the cutting-edge entrepreneurs of today,” Murphy said. “The most cutting-edge entrepreneurship is outer-space oriented, like Virgin Galactic and SpaceX. The way we view space today is very much the way they, 500 years ago, viewed the ocean.”

His approach to his entrepreneurial studies is one born of philosophy. As a Ph.D. student, he became engrossed with the philosopher Karl Popper, who studied how ideas grow, develop and compete with one another.

“At some point, a lightbulb went off in my head and I saw entrepreneurs as if they were scientists, and I saw their entrepreneurial projects as if they were scientific ideas or theories,” Murphy said.

“That was the first real research I did in the area but it’s led to a bunch of different articles, and it’s driven the way I teach entrepreneurship.”

Murphy has an entrepreneurial venture of his own. Along with a partner in New York, he breeds race horses. Right now, he has two, a male and a female.

Despite his business acumen, he doesn’t breed them for the financial gain – though he does love racing.

“I’m an animal lover,” he says. “I want to improve the way that all animals are treated, but in particular race horses. I’m not in it to make money, I’m in it for the experience and the welfare of the horses.”

Murphy, not unlike his horses, is a chaser. The next study. The next idea. The next challenge.

The next opportunity.

4| News. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018

How ‘Peter Rabbit’ teaches kids to save the planet

By Evan Sully Staff Writer

When DePaul environmental science professor Liam Heneghan’s children left home for college, he thought of how he had managed to raise such dedicated, concerned young adults who care deeply for the world around them. The answer — children’s books.

All of these books personify animals in order to tell a story, but they keep children focused on the text. Children’s literature can instruct kids on a variety of topics, and with the release of his new book “Beasts at Bedtime: Revealing the Environmental Wisdom in Children’s Literature,” Heneghan aims to show how they can teach children about their environmental surroundings too.

“I think there’s a general recognition that, in order to confront the problems of the future, kids need to have a firm education in environmental issues,” Heneghan said. “In terms of environmental literacy, I think the kind of most important thing is to ensure that children care.”

That includes books ranging from classics like “Peter Rabbit” and “Doctor Dolittle.” Far from being mere picture books, these works can actually have a vital impact on the way in which young minds understand the natural world around them.

Heneghan’s idea to write his book wasn’t a process that happened overnight. It took him 18 months in total to write, with five years of planning beforehand. In March 2013, Heneghan wrote an article for Aeon, a digital magazine covering culture and philosophy, titled “The ecology of Pooh,” which Heneghan described as being his “first meditation on the topic of how children’s literature embed environmental themes.”

Heneghan’s two biggest influences in publishing the book, he says, were his professional work as an environmental scientist and his two children leaving home for college.

“I’m kind of an environmental scientist that’s reaching out to children’s stories just providing kind of a road map to parents and guardians about … how much there is in that literature. That’s the idea,” Heneghan said. “Literature has always played this role in cultivating the minds of young people.”

Over the course of Heneghan’s career, he has mainly worked on issues surrounding biodiversity laws and conservation. On a local level, he partners with numerous area forest preserves and a variety of landowners to help them look at how they can better protect Chicago’s woodlands, wetlands and prairies. Heneghan has also been involved in issues related to invasive species and management.

Heneghan says that when his children left home, he began to reflect upon the effectiveness of the literary environment he had created for his two kids by way of the books he read to them as kids. Now adults, Heneghan described them as people who are “engaged in the world and interested and literate and empathetic and caring to animals and interested in the future.” As he reflected on his own children, he thought of how other children could similarly grow up to become well-rounded, environmentally responsible citizens who love the world and other people. He ultimately realized that literary reflection plays a vital role in developing those traits.

“The book really then aims to show that the books that kids are already gravitating towards have a lot of environmental literacy embedded in them, but embedded kind of an organic way — stories that kids actually want to hear rather than ... specialized books warning about the parallels of climate change (and) global warming,” Heneghan said.

While environmental literacy is portrayed in the book as being important to children gaining global awareness, child literacy itself serves as an important stepping stone in early childhood education, according to Roxanne Owens, department chair of teacher education and associate professor of elementary reading at DePaul.

JAMIE MONCRIEF | DEPAUL UNIVERSITY

Liam Heneghan examined children’s books’ role in teaching kids about environmentalism.

“Children’s literature is key to a child’s education,” Owens said in an email. “Books help with everything from child-parent bonding, to early language development, to learning simple concepts at an early age, shapes, numbers, letters, to more complex topics at later ages, history, science, mathematical concepts. Books also help children learn more about themselves as well as helping them learn about the world around them.”

Marie Donovan, director of DePaul’s Early Childhood Education Program, believes that Heneghan’s book adds another dimension to expanding how environmental education can be taught at a young age, and she hopes it will lead to more research in the future.

“Where I don’t see the literature moving just yet — and I think (Heneghan’s) research will go a long way in making this happen — is in incorporating environmentalism as yet another virtue one should aspire to owning,

something that’s attainable and part of living a good life,” Donovan said. “Children learn better when they can connect with a character, and can see how that character is living her or his life. We need more books that contain settings, characters, and life lessons that model for children how to be natural, authentic environmentalists.

Even though “Beasts at Bedtime” has only been on the market since May 15, Heneghan hopes that it will encourage not only parental-child conversations of environmental literacy, but also holistic conversations of literacy moving forward.

“Specifically what I want out of this is that parents will kind of recognize that the stories that they’re reading to children have a lot more important messages in them than perhaps they realized, and that it can hopefully promote conversations about favorite books that otherwise wouldn’t occur.”

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News. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018 | 5

35th Ward Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa spoke before voting against Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s cop academy. “Despite all of the harm that has been caused by that man three floors above us, here we are rising up.”

No Cop Academy and a thin blue line

Photos and Text by Cody Corrall

The second floor of City Hall was hotter than usual Friday afternoon. The air conditioning was shut off as hundreds of Chicago activists and organizers protested funding the $95 million cop academy in Garfield Park proposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The vote to give $28 million to the academy was initially scheduled for Wednesday, but the vote was delayed due to protests.

The #NoCopAcademy campaign, a movement dedicated to allocating that $95 million for community members rather than

stronger policing, hosted a press conference before the vote featuring members of Chicago community organizations like Black Lives Matter Chicago, Good Kids Maad City and Assata’s Daughters.

The press conference also featured 35th Ward Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, who was the only alderman who voted against giving the academy $10 million in November 2017. Ald. Rosa was joined by 22nd Ald. Ricardo Munoz and were the only no votes on Friday. “I decided to vote no in November of 2017 and cast that sole no vote

because organizers with Assata’s Daughters, organizers with #NoCopAcademy came to me and said stand with black youth,” Ald. Rosa said. “And I said I’m gonna do my job and I’m gonna vote no.”

Amidst the heat, there was joy in the demonstration - attendees of all ages sang chants, danced and even Swag Surfed in the chambers of City Hall. Residents of the South and West Sides of Chicago are advocating for mental health funding, public health initiatives, education and job training programs in their communities.

After a demonstrator is forced out of the chambers, fellow activists confront the on-duty police.

Amidst the heat in City Hall, demonstrators sing and dance for proper funding in their communities.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel listens to a range of speakers for and against the cop academy.

A member of Action Now helps chants “Ain’t no party like a no cop party ‘cause a no cop party don’t stop.”

6| News. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018 LAYOFFS continued from front no additional information to provide at this time.”

Terry Smith, law professor and chair of DePaul University’s Black Leadership Coalition (DPUBLC), sent a formal request for reduction in force data — among many other requests — to the university, on Feb. 26. Over the last four months Smith sent multiple follow up requests but never received the data he requested.

Finally, on March 26, the university told Smith that they needed more time to process his request.

But Smith is not satisfied with the university’s inability to fulfill his request in what he considers to be a timely manner.

“If the university, and specifically Dr. (Elizabeth) Ortiz and Associate Provost (Lawrence) Hamer, ever intended to respond substantively to DPUBLC’s requests, it could have done so weeks ago,” he told the DePaulia Wednesday.

On Tuesday, The DePaulia reached out to university officials, asking why Smith’s request for reduction in force data had not yet been met. On Wednesday, Hughes wrote that the university was still in the process of authoring a report that would be accurate.

“The information is being carefully vetted to ensure accuracy and expressly reviewed to ensure confidential personnel matters and/or competitive data remain so. The report will also outline efforts to strengthen diversity and inclusion across campus. Upon completion, the report will be shared with the campus community, including DPUBLC.”

grew extremely fast, and the way they set up the university doesn’t really match the growth.”

DePaul’s undergraduate enrollment peaked in 2012 at over 16,000 students. But lately enrollment has continued to decline.

From 2016 to 2017 enrollment declined from 15,407 to 14,816 students, according to the university website.

Several faculty members told The DePaulia that the faculty has been pushing hard to get data from the university on how staff cuts were made over the last few years. So far, their requests have been unsuccessful.

Some faculty members have grown so concerned with the current climate that they have decided to call a “Council of the Whole,” a tool available to faculty in order to garner attention and to help pass motions and initiatives. The last attempt at a council was in 2011, but it was unsuccessful.

Faculty have already secured more than the 50 faculty signatures needed to call such a meeting. Dr. Bamshad Mobasher, president of the faculty council, said that “obviously the individuals initiating the council have grievances” with the university.

“Part of the goal is to bring in faculty to center around a set of issues and get more participation,” he said. “Politically, it’s very significant.”

At a time when DePaul has raised tuition while also getting ready for staff cuts and restructuring, many of its top employees are collecting lucrative salaries. The average total compensation for DePaul’s key — or top paid — employees average at over $400,000 a year, according to data obtained via DePaul’s 990 form published on Guidestar.

Additionally, many key officials reported large increases in compensation from 2016 to 2017.

Provost denBoer reported a base pay of $227,231 in 2016, but in 2017 his base pay nearly doubled to $451,853.

“It’s increasingly apparent that this is a fishing expedition.

We need to consult before responding, if at all.”

Executive Vice President Jeff Bethke reported a base pay of $236,997 in 2016. In 2017, Bethke’s base pay rose to $392,211.

Out of the 21 key employees listed on both the 2016 and 2017 990 form, every single employee reported a higher compensation than the year prior. The average amount of increase in compensation was over $48,000 per key employee. Each key employee saw an 11.87 percent increase in total compensation.

DePaul has also recently launched its “first brand advertising campaign in over seven years,” according to DePaul Newsline, the university’s PR publication. Although the total cost of the advertising campaign is not public information, The DePaulia confirmed the cost of DePaul’s Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) advertising initiatives.

DePaul spent approximately $480,000 on CTA ads that run on trains, platforms and buses, according to the public relations department at Intersection, the CTA’s marketing agency.

In a March Newsline article, President A. Gabirel Esteban said that DePaul would “continue to invest” in its employees.

But with the upper level administration continuing to look for ways to save money, many DePaul staff members will be holding their breath — hoping they aren’t next on the chopping block.

Martin denBoer Provost

But Smith argues that “any suggestion that the information sought is proprietary or intrudes on the right of the confidentiality of individual employees is simply insupportable.”

On Thursday, two days after The DePaulia’s original inquiry, Smith received a response from the administration stating that the university hopes to have the report “completed by mid-June.”

On Saturday, Smith received an email from Provost Martin denBoer that, he believes, was not intended for him. Smith believes that denBoer hit “reply all” by accident. The email reads as follows: “It’s increasingly apparent that this is a fishing expedition,” wrote denBoer. “We need to consult before responding, if at all.”

The DePaulia reached out to denBoer asking him to clarify what he meant by a “fishing expedition,” but received no response by the time of publication.

Shannon Stone-Winding runs a consulting firm and has worked with DePaul in the past. She is also an ASK mentor and an adult student at DePaul. She said because enrollment is down, it makes sense that serious cuts will need to be made.

“You have to think about the history of the university,” she said. “(DePaul) used to be ‘the little school under the El,’ then they

VICTORIA WILLIAMSON| THE DEPAULIA

Despite a tightening budget, DePaul key employees saw increases in their total compensations.

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News. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018 | 7

Speaker illuminates religious foundations of KKK artifacts

By Brian Pearlman Staff Writer

Images of the Ku Klux Klan, its members clad in hooded white robes and standing alongside burning crosses, are often used as shorthand symbols for an almost otherworldly form of American white nationalism and white supremacy – and they shouldn’t be, according to Kelly Baker, an independent scholar, researcher, editor and author of the 2011 nonfiction book “Gospel According to the Klan: The KKK’s Appeal to Protestant America, 1915-1930.”

Drawing on the research she did for her book, Baker gave a lecture on the second floor of the Lincoln Park Student Center on Wednesday, as part of a speaker series sponsored by the Center for Religion, Culture and Community. It was the final lecture of the academic year and the final one under the leadership of associate professor Thomas O’Brien, who will be replaced as the Center’s director by associate professor Chris Tirres next year.

The talk, entitled “The Artifacts of White (Religious) Nationalism,” discussed how modern day white supremacist movements can be understood in the context of the Klan’s historical links to Protestantism, as well as through three of its most valued symbols: the white hood, the fiery cross and the American flag itself.

Baker began by explaining that her focus was on the second order of the Ku Klux Klan, which existed from 1915 to 1930 and was distinct from the violent first order that existed from 1865-1870.

The latter was the main inspiration for the adoring portrayals depicted in the controversial, but historically important 1915 silent film “The Birth of a Nation” directed by D.W. Griffiths.

The Klan’s second iteration was founded by William J. Simmons, an ex-Methodist minister and fraternal organizer. By 1924, the group had 4 million members across all 48 continental states while its auxiliary arm, “Women of the Klan,” had half a million members.

This included a wide cross-section of American society, from lawyers to bakers to political officials.

The group preached message of “popular nativism,” one that had a “desire for desire for white homogenous Protestant America, free from the corrupting influence of diversity, whether it was political, religious or racial,” according to Baker.

This new Klan looked to the past in order to craft its identity; they returned to the use of white robes, which originally represented the “ghosts of Confederate dead” who had died in the Civil War. But the meaning soon changed to incorporate religious connotations, Baker said, and the Klan began to view their robes as sacred objects. They saw themselves as “Christian knights” who were “beyond the violence of a previous order.” And the spectral nature of their visage weirded out members of the public, many of whom recognized the regalia as the tools of intimidation they were secretly meant to be.

Next Baker discussed the significance of the American flag to the Klan, which she said many people tend to forget.

To a hate group that was terrified of a rising Catholic voting bloc and increased immigration at the beginning of the 20th century, the flag was “a symbol of exclusion,” a constant reminder of the Klan’s belief that “God was a requirement for citizenship, and Protestantism (was)

BRIAN PEARLMAN | THE DEPAULIA

Kelly Baker says burning crosses has double symbolism, both that Christ is the light of the world, and as a warning to minorities or other religions.

essential to Americanism.”

As she projected a black-and-white archival photo of women members of the Klan, standing beside burning crosses in high heels and nylons, Baker explained that the burning cross was an invention of the early-20th century version of the Klan; it didn’t exist for the Klan during Reconstruction.

While many Protestants “saw the cross as a symbol of Romanism and Catholicism,” the Klan ironically made it one of their sacred symbols, drawing a line from the fire to the idea “that Christ was the light of the world.” Its double meaning was as a “warning to those who the order claimed were threats,” such as African-Americans, Catholics and other non-Protestant religious and ethnic minorities.

In the present day, Baker said, these artifacts of the Klan – robe, flag, burning cross – don’t have as much to do with Protestantism as they did in the early 20th century. The Klan’s numbers are also greatly diminished, with other white nationalist, white supremacist and white racialist groups rising in its stead; recent estimates suggest the modern-day Klan has about 3,000 to 5,000 members and 130 chapters across the U.S. “Only a few things connect the groups: The use of the Klan name, material culture and the continued defense of white supremacy,” Baker said.

She argued that white and Christian nationalism can be seen in American culture today, in part through the election of President Donald Trump. Efforts to “save the nation from multiculturalism” manifest in today’s cultural artifacts, such as the red “Make America Great Again” hat, she said.

When asked whether she was comfortable linking MAGA hats to ideas the Klan espoused a century ago, Baker said she was.

“I do think the caution to not lump all these groups together is important, though,” she said. “Because when we’re looking at something like the altright, for example, it’s a constellation of movements … it’s hard to throw them all together in a certain way.”

Patricia Hamey, a freshman, said she found the talk interesting. “I learned about how much branding and artifacts

affected the KKK’s movement and goals, which was something I never really thought about before,” she said.

Annie Scoltock, another freshman, said the event related to what she’s learning in her honors religion class.

“We’ve been talking about contemporary white supremacy and what that looks like,” she said. “I’m particularly interested

in recruitment and how young white men, recently in shootings, we see, have ties to neo-Nazi groups and white supremacy groups like the KKK, which she was able to speak on a little bit.”

Ultimately, “The Klan might be out of fashion,” Baker said, “but white supremacy is not.”

8| News. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018

Open-source, downloadable textbooks could relieve price strain

By Duaa Israr Contributing Writer

Students and professors at DePaul University may set a new policy — usurping expensive textbook-buying requirements with the option of downloading the material at a discount price.

Students and professors are now getting the survey via email. Their responses will determine whether the library will be able to grant PDF copies of textbooks that the survey respondents deem the most egregiously expensive.

The library could do so using Open Educational Resources (OERs) — books that have an open domain that lets people download, share and distribute legally.

“What we have noted so far is that this is truly a concern and a challenge for DePaul students as evidenced by the fact that we had over 100 responses in the first 10 minutes that the survey was open,” said DePaul librarian Terry Taylor.

Students at DePaul have been vocal about the high costs of textbooks and have taken advantage of the survey, voicing their concerns.

Sana Kadir, 19, is a public relations and advertising major. The average cost of her textbooks are around $250, forcing her to use outside resources to find cheaper options.

“The cost of textbooks is insane. Some textbooks, even if you rent them from Amazon, cost $100 and up. A lot of kids I know resort to asking their friends if they happen to have a copy or buy one off the DePaul Facebook page,” said Kadir, who is a freshman.

The survey was created to understand the impact the cost of textbooks have on students. Nationally, students struggle to pay for college as the price of tuition and other fees continues to go up.

Maham Mirza, 18, originally planned

JONATHAN BALLEW | THE DEPAULIA

A DePaul student conducts a transaction at DePaul’s Loop Campus bookstore. Many students have advocated for open source textbooks due to pricing.

on going to DePaul, but decided to attend community college for two years before transferring in order to save money.

“At Oakton Community College, the only costs I have to cover currently are textbooks.

If I attended DePaul right away, I’d be paying $45,000 just for tuition,” Mirza said. “When the cost of attending university is that high, I believe textbooks should be more available or partially covered under tuition,” Taylor helped create the survey after reading statistics about trends in college pricing on collegeboard.org. At private institutions, the cost of tuition and fees increases by 12 to 13 percent every four years.

While OERs lower the cost of books drastically, not all students feel that they will benefit from them. Freshman Chloe Theus is an English major and many of the required

readings for her classes are not from standard textbooks.

“As an English major, most of the material that I have to read are novels and short stories. These books aren’t pricey, but buying five novels per class can add up pretty quickly,” Theus said. “I usually try to borrow books from the library, but it doesn’t always work out and you’re not guaranteed a copy if 30 other kids want one as well.”

Amber Malik, a freshman and an Arabic and French major, agreed with Theus.

Textbooks for her major aren’t always available for rent or on loan.

“Languages are definitely one of the underrepresented majors. Students who are language majors end up buying textbooks for full price because they don’t always have options. That being said, I buy very few

textbooks compared to business majors who need one or two for every class,” said Malik, 18.

Taylor is aware of the lack of representation of subjects, but is unsure of how much the prices of textbooks will be lowered by OERs. “That is ultimately a faculty decision and dependent upon whether the available resources meet the needs of their courses.

Open educational resources by definition are freely available, but not every subject is equally represented at present,” said Taylor.

The survey will be open until June 8.

Students are encouraged by professors and librarians to voice their opinions.

“The survey is intended to gauge the impact of the textbook cost situation on our students.”

TRANSPARENCY continued from front approached her days later about her tweets, we were met with a response from public relations.

We wanted to know what employee at DePaul was responsible for hiring her in 2016, since a rudimentary Google search would have returned a 2015 article about the tweets.

In other words, we were seeking accountability. Instead, we got a statement saying: “DePaul does not comment on personnel matters.” For an institution that touts its diversity and inclusivity as attractants, the university should want to hold accountable the person responsible for hiring her when her nasty views were so public. They should want to investigate their hiring practices to make sure that they don’t continue to hire people who spout racist views, if not on principle alone, then so as not to offend the diverse student body they brag about in marketing materials.

Instead, they do their best to sweep the latest controversy under the rug by providing a cloudy, blameless statement. They think that students and staff will forget about their misbehavior, which could be dangerous for them. They underestimate the student body.

The Athletic Department also contributes to the overall opacity of the institution. It took our sports reporter weeks to get a sit-down with walk-on basketball player Pantelis Xidias for a fun feature story about his wacky antics.

In a recent story about safety on campus in the wake of an increase in crime in Lincoln Park, we requested an interview with Bob Wachowski, the director of public safety.

Instead, we were told Wachowski would only answer written questions, a journalism no-no. But it was the only way that we could get any answers, so we had to take it.

He flat-out ignored many of the questions.

In our story about Athletic Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto’s potential conflict of interest with Wintrust Bank and the naming rights for Wintrust Arena, DePaul purposely and knowingly disseminated incorrect and inaccurate information to us when we gave them every opportunity to be forthcoming and transparent. One time, our sports editor was denied an interview with Lenti Ponsetto by a Athletic Department employee when he was less than 25 feet away from her.

Employees of the Office of Public Relations and Communications think they can bully our writers and editors, and then come complaining to the dean of the College of Communication when they can’t back us into a corner.

DePaul is a private university, which means they are not legally required to release the same information that public institutions are. But just because the law does not compel them towards transparency, it doesn’t mean they should get a free pass on that front.

DePaul should know that when they try to shut down our stories, it only invigorates us to dig deeper. They should know that when they decline to comment, it only makes us more curious and gives the perception that they are hiding something.

It seems like every time we send out an email, regardless of what it is about, we are met with a reply from a public relations official, wondering what we’re writing about.

Not allowing us to talk to staff is undeniably a form of censorship, one that has harmful effects on the general well-being of the campus.

We will not apologize for the stories we write. We will not back down when DePaul attempts to roadblock our pursuit of the truth. And we will persist in being a thorn in the administration’s side for as long as they give us a reason to be.

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News. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018 | 9

10 | Nation & World. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018

Nation &World

Bill aims to teach LGBT history Illinois Senate passes legislation to change history courses

By Carina Smith Nation and World Editor

Currently there is a bill that was advanced into the Illinois House earlier this month that is waiting for approval to be pushed forward that would mandate the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual histories to be taught in classes across the state.

The bill would require that LGBT history be worked into the current curriculum for both American and state history courses throughout schools. The focus would largely be on the contributions of prominent LGBT people in American history.

State Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, was a leader in pushing the amended bill through Senate, saying in an interview with Illinois News Network that the bill aimed to get school curriculums to talk about LGBT histories “like it does for many other populations in this state.”

The bill has not been without its opponents. Many, including state Sen. Chuck Weaver, R-Peoria, have said that the bill could hinder “religious freedom” for students who may disagree with the topics that are discussed in the new curriculums.

Other groups have said that the new law would be able to take the choice for each local school board to decide what is taught within their schools and gives the power to the state – a controversial measure that has been hotly debated across the United States.

“We have a clear directive from our membership to oppose all curricular mandates that come before the General Assembly,” said Zach Messersmith, Director of Government Relations for the Illinois Association of School

Boards (IASB). “We believe that locally elected school boards should be able to determine curricula for their students as long as it meets Illinois Learning Standards.”

Kamila Zaremba is a DePaul student who is currently working as a high school history student

left in the classroom and teach predefined lessons.”

Zaramba also believes the new curriculums would place additional difficulties on teachers, who would have to incorporate the lessons into their already busy schedules without receiving any more in-class time in which to do so.

“There is also a worry of how to fit in the entire history of the United States into less than 180 days,” Zaramba said. “Most teachers barely get around to the Civil Rights Movement at the end of the year. It feels as if the requirements are never-ending, but the funding for proper resources is not there, nor is there then an extension of time.”

Illinois is not the first state to introduce a bill such as this one. California enacted a similar LGBT education law in 2017. The bill was followed by 10 textbooks being approved for use within public classrooms that would focus on LGBT and people with disabilities in K-8 history classes.

Should Illinois pass its own LGBT education bill, it will be only the second state to require LGBT history to be taught in public schools.

The bill is currently waiting to be approved by the House.

Regardless, many have used this as a catalyst to help promote private schools within the state. Zarambe said she has already witnessed a principal of a Chicago-area GRAPHICS BY VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA Catholic school trying to recruit teacher. She said that while LGBT Zaremba said. “What the passing new students using the bill.

“The purpose is to teach history needs to be taught, she of a specific curriculum usually tolerance and simply that the agrees with the IASB that the means is that teachers have to LGBTQIA+ community has also state shouldn’t be mandating teach the particular lessons that made an impact on American certain lessons. were required by the state. society and it should be elaborated “My hold up with this passing Ultimately, if there is a upon, ” Zaramba said. is mostly what it will mean as continuation of different curricula yet another mandate set forth by becoming mandated, teachers the state for teachers to teach,” lose any shred of autonomy

Influential LGBT people who changed U.S. history

Sally Ride was the first American woman in space in 1983. It wasn't until after the astronaut's death in 2012 that the world found out her partner of 27 years was a woman. While Ride was always known for being private, her family has said she was open with them about her relationship with Tam O'Shaughnessy.

Marsha P. Johnson was an AfricanAmerican activist who has been known for being one of the most prominent figures during the 1969 Stonewall uprising. Johnson was a well known gay rights advocate at the time and had selfidentified as a drag queen.

Barbara Gittings has been considered the "mother of the LGBT civil rights movement." She headed up America's first lesbian civil rights organization, and became a staple as an LGBT activist throughout the 1970's.

Audre Lorde was a prominent poet who spoke openly about being a black lesbian woman. Lorde's poetry, which was frequently published in the 1960's, was well-known for talking about her struggles and her sexuality. She even described herself once as a "black lesbian mother warrior poet."

Nation & World. May 29, 2018. The DePaulia | 11

Putting the meaning back into Memorial Day

LILI TRIFILIO | THE DEPAULIA Veteran Liaisons, Bridget M. Keane (left) and Daniel Eggensammer (right), members of the Office of Veteran Affairs, working the Memorial Day informational and games event.

education to eligible students.

The Student Veterans Union is another on-campus group that Contributing Writer aims to spread awareness about the importance of Memorial Day. It is run by DePaul students When we think of Memorial Day, and works both independently we often think of barbecues, parades, and collaboratively with other time off school and the beginning organizations to implement of summer. We also tend to forget programs and events that assist what exactly our nation is actually both veterans at DePaul and celebrating. throughout the United States.

“Memorial Day is a national day During Memorial Week, their where we get to spend time with our booth gave out yellow ribbon families, but we need to remember pins to students as a symbol of their sacrifice,” said Heather Duke, remembrance and mourning. member of the Office of Veteran Plastic poppy flowers, which Affairs at DePaul. “We enjoy the have been used to commemorate safety and freedom in our country veterans since World War I, were because of the veterans who have offered to those who donated to fallen to protect us.” the Student’s Veterans Union in Duke, a six-year Navy veteran, an effort to raise money for the joined the Office of Veteran Affairs organization. to connect with fellow veterans and “This is the first time we’ve LILI TRIFILIO | THE DEPAULIA help students to do the same. collected donations at a DePaul “We live in a peace time. It is Beanbag games at the Memorial Day informational and games event hosted by the Office of Veterans Affairs. fundraiser,” King said. easy to forget about the veterans,” King emphasized that the our country,” Duke said.

Duke said. “We don’t have the same Many students like Duke enter the military during Students Veterans Union’s goal is to help student veterans connection to them as we used to when the country was college. At DePaul, more than 600 students on campus on campus feel included at DePaul. The group currently under threat.” has 85 active members, and they are growing every year.

It’s this ethos that drives both of the main veteran currently use veteran benefits.

The organization aims to make changes on campus to The Office of Veteran Affairs also plays a large role advocacy groups on campus, the Office of Veteran Affairs and the Student Veterans Union, to foster a connection in aiding veterans on campus outside of Memorial Week. accommodate the large amount of veterans at DePaul.

“When I attended the College of DuPage there was a between veterans and the non-veteran study body year Part of their outreach includes hosting career events that student lounge where all of us could go and meet up,” said round. During Memorial Week, the groups collaborated offer jobs in fields where veterans can excel.

“Certain fields of employment prefer vets because of George Murad, member of the Students Veterans Union. to highlight the importance of those who serve and to their unique skill sets,” Duke said. “We try to make it easier “We are trying to make a veteran’s center, similar to the remember those who have passed.

“Memorial day and Veterans Day are two completely for veterans to find jobs in these areas by hosting career gaming lounge, where people can go and hang out.”

The Student Veterans Union attends conferences different holidays,” said Eric King, former president of the events throughout the school year.”

Additionally, the Office of Veteran Affairs puts on with different chapters of similar unions at universities Student Veterans Union. “The purpose of Memorial Day is not to honor the living, but to remember those that died Veterans Week each fall, which celebrates all those who nationwide. Through this outreach, they learn new have served and grants veterans a special graduation information that can help DePaul’s chapter in find ways to serving.” further support veterans on campus.

Events included an informational event with ceremony.

For veteran organizations at DePaul, building a DePaul was ranked as a top school in the 2015 Military interactive games, a Memorial Day luncheon and finally a service event where students traveled by bus to Lincoln Advanced Education Guide to Colleges and Universities community between veterans and non-veterans is a top Cemetery in Worth, Illinois for a flag ceremony. Students and as a top university serving veterans by the U.S. News priority.

“These events are not just for vets, (they’re) for placed more than 400 flags on veterans’ graves in honor of and World Report. The university boasts on the Admission and Aid section of its website that DePaul has never placed everyone,” Murad said. “Vets connect better with other the fallen soldiers.

“It is not just about the barbecues. It’s about limitations on the number of veterans that can enroll in veterans because of their shared experience, but it’s remembering the ultimate sacrifice veterans have made in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which provides tuition-free important we build an inclusive community for all DePaul Students.”

By Lili Trifilio

12 | Opinions. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018

Opinions Don't ask

Don't tell

GRAPHICS BY VICTORIA WILLIAMSON | THE DEPAULIA

The opioid crisis finds itself in Suburbia, USA, and the silence around it is deadly

By Mackenzie Murtaugh Opinions Editor

The truths of teenagers in suburban towns are often kept secret. In a suburbs – wealthy ones, in particular – there is a certain breed of truth that must remain hidden for teens to first save their friendships and then the reputation of themselves and their families. The truths of teenagers in suburban areas are often kept secret because many, including some from the high school I graduated from, are victims of the opioid epidemic.

I attended Hinsdale Central High School, located in the western suburbs of Chicago, from 2012 to 2016. In the past month, two Hinsdale Central alumni, Anthony Foderaro, 21, and Kevin Ryan, 19, have overdosed and died from alleged heroin use. Graduates like me find these headlines unsurprising, not because we know for certain that these young men were using, but because of the abundance of users who come from our community.

The deaths of these two individuals have taken a toll on the Hinsdale Central community, mobilizing many to think twice about how these two, who reportedly were previously clean, had gotten their hands on their last fatal dosage and how their friends, who were also using at the time of the overdoses, could have played a part in that exchange.

The thought that has been ruminating in my head since I first heard of their deaths is: Where does the responsibility of the user’s friends lie? For the enablers who supplied their friends with the fatal dose, should they be punished? And if so, how? The deeper we find ourselves in the midst of the opioid epidemic, the more instances there are of enablers of drug addicts – often family or friends – being charged with “overdose homicide” if a deadly overdose occurs. And for the friends who ceased talking with their addicted friends when they were using, are they also enablers? Then the question

becomes: How do you support someone who has consistently lied to you about their sobriety and tried to get money out of you to buy their next ticket to bliss?

“The ones who try to convince you they are clean are the biggest (liars),” said one Hinsdale Central graduate who wished to remain anonymous. “Lying about who they were with, why they were in the city (where the most drugs are sold), how much they did, how many days they’ve been clean.”

The student, a close friend of Foderaro before his overdose, described how transparent he was about his addiction: “(He) was always honest with me and his closest friends, but it was also because of how much he hated heroin and would clearly explain to me his addiction.”

This level of candidness is not often the case, though. Many addicts will keep their addiction a secret from those they care about, because they either do not want to hurt them, or, more likely, they want to continue their habit without consequences or judgement. “(The recent events have) emotionally taken a toll on me, through the loss of friends and also trying so hard to heal an addict who cannot be healed,” said another Hinsdale Central graduate, who was close friends with Ryan. “Since it’s so socially unacceptable, it’s like the addicts are these awful people when they’re not.”

We were told of the horrors of heroin at a ripe age, maybe nine- or 10-years-old.

They berated our hardly developed minds with images of users, and I remember how vile and disgusting they looked. One of the officers who presented the substance abuse program to us in fifth grade told us: “Heroin will kill you. No exceptions.”

At the time this rang true, because it was the only reality I knew. Today, with two individuals who desperately wanted to get clean sadly killed by their addiction, the ringing continues, and it gets louder as the minutes drag on.

We were privileged with this type

of education, and the privilege in my community does not end with education.

The Hinsdale community is almost depressing in its affluence. According to the town’s 2013 census, the average household income was $236,654. But the high school hallways paint the image better than the statistic. It was clear to me that my classmates came from affluence. Name-brand clothing, organic everything in their lunch boxes and a lack of awareness for the hardships of those less fortunate than them. With their parents’ credit card and a new Jeep, Hinsdale Central students were given the freedom dreamed up in the narratives of teen comedy films. What the rich kids of “Pretty in Pink” and “Ferris Bueller” left out was the pull hard drugs have on privileged, mostly white, suburban students.

When I asked one Hinsdale Central graduate why affluent teens are drawn to hard drugs, she said: “It was the money and the freedom given by the parents.”

Teens want to feel included, no matter their place in the high school social hierarchy. For some from my high school, many of whom might be described as the “outliers” and the “alternatives,” drug experimentation occurred earlier than others. With pockets full of cash and minds set on upping their “cool factor,” experimenting with drugs was almost inevitable.

My argument is not to say that drugs should be completely eradicated from society because of our powerlessness in the face of the drug industry and its influence, but the discourse should fall where it hasn’t before – around the addicts’ family friends and those who knew of their struggle but did and said nothing. How should those closest to the addicts, and the enablers, address their friend’s addiction?

“Nobody ever thinks about the long term effects or consequences,” said another Hinsdale Central graduate who

was a close friend to Foderaro. “Most people are just trying to have fun, but nobody thinks (overdosing) could happen to them.”

Heroin was introduced to the community long before my time at Hinsdale Central, but while I was there, rumors existed that much of the drugs pouring into the school were introduced around 2012 to 2013 by one individual, who was older than the rest of us by a few years. This person was said to have brought heroin to his friends telling them it was morphine. While the users later found out the truth, it was too late; the drug had been normalized by then. One student told me when she was offered heroin by another person and reacted negatively, the person who offered it said “I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

But, with the deaths of two alumni, who were sons, brothers, friends, intellectuals and, above all, simply good people with a bad addiction, it is the biggest issue currently haunting my hometown. And with tens of thousands dying from opioid misuse each year, it is one of the biggest issues haunting our generation. Caring for and loving someone who is an addict is a tough situation to be placed in, but we cannot give up on those friends, brothers, sisters and students who tell us: “I want to be clean, but I don’t know how.” Enabling an addict, by putting them in contact with a drug dealer or even supplying the drug, should always be looked at with the same disdain as cold-blooded murder. “(Enablers) should have this problem haunt them forever,” said another Hinsdale Central graduate who was a close friend to both Foderaro and Ryan, when asked about the consequences for enablers.

Truthfully, she is right. These enablers, which includes the friends who remain silent, are the killers of our friends and classmates.

The opinions in this section do not necessarily reflect those of The DePaulia staff.

Opinions. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018 | 13

Call me, maybe The case for why phone calls are better than text messages

By Rachel Fernandez DePaul Alumnae

GRAPHICS BY ALLY ZACEK | THE DEPAULIA

“Obviously.”

How did you read that? In your head, was it sarcastic? Monotone? Excited?

If you got that as a text message, how would you feel? Put-off? Ambivalent?

Would you laugh?

Obviously, that depends on the context of the text conversation: whether it was serious or playful, if the two people knew each other well enough to understand what it was supposed to mean. So how do you really know if you’re correctly interpreting someone’s message? And how might it have sounded if it was said verbally instead of digitally?

Long gone are the days when phone communication was just two people sitting on a bed talking over a rotary phone and twirling the chord between their fingers. The smartphones we carry around in our pockets today are meant for efficiency and more effective communication, and we now have a seemingly endless amount of text-based messaging platforms. But so much time and energy still goes into sending a text, and meanings constantly get misconstrued on the journey from our brains to our fingertips.

Texting can often be a stopgap for difficult conversations that we’re not ready to have in-person or over the phone. Text-message breakups still happen, and most people at some point in their lives have sent or received a long, emotional paragraph of text from someone avoiding a verbal confrontation.

“If you’re going to be sharing an empathetic message or some kind of emotional message, then I think it’s better to talk voice-to-voice than to text, so that there is no misinterpretation where somebody seems flippant or cold or unsympathetic or afraid or too busy to talk to you about something that’s important,” said Jacqueline Lambiase, the chair of strategic communication at Texas Christian University.

Arguably, typing out and editing a difficult or long text can help the sender process their emotions and think more about what they want to tell the other person before they say it. But sometimes, the simple act of sending a text can itself give off a particular message.

“In some ways people might not want to talk about it and they might find it easier to text, but I also see the downside in that as well. I’ve found that,

even though it’s harder to talk about in-person or over the phone, it’s preferable to show some respect to the person that you’re sharing that news with,” Lambiase said.

When speaking, a person can consciously and subconsciously use a whole range of nonverbal communication elements to get their point across, including vocal pitch, volume and frequency.

“Calling can be tricky because I feel like no one answers their phone,” said DePaul senior Mary Sowa. “But at the same time it’s easier because you can get cadence and hear the intention a lot (more) rather than a text, where I might send something that can be taken as negative when it’s not.”

When having an audible conversation, there is also a sense of sincerity because the speaker is not usually thinking about their exact tone – it just kind of happens. And while face-to-face exchanges can provide opportunities for an even greater amount of nonverbal communication, a simple phone call can reach almost anyone in any place at any time without the added worry of having to visually present yourself in a specific way (I have most of my best interviews in my pajamas).

Setting up interviews for this story was interesting because I found myself texting people to arrange a call for a specific time. The difference was that the initial text messages were unlikely to be misinterpreted since it was a straightforward and simple request, and they allowed the other people to respond at their own convenience since I didn’t need an immediate answer. For the more important conversations, however, I felt the need to minimize any potential miscommunication – a protocol I have found to be significantly more effective through verbal communication.

Type and text can be a very powerful form of communication, however. As technology has developed, we’ve had to create a certain visual way of communicating through text. “I luv u!” means something different from “ily” which means something different from “I love you.” There are 2,666 different emojis anyone with a phone can use to visually aid with text meanings. If we want to yell, WE TYPE IN ALL CAPS, and we use punctuation to show……….

suspense.

Hesitancy???? ~subliminal meanings~ !!!!!Emphasis!!!!! but every single time we type out a word or phrase, we have to ACTIVELY think about the “message” we are trying to convey and make sure that comes through since soooooo many layers of nonverbal communication are *totally* lost. And that can take a lot of time and effort.

Texting or messaging does have its place, though. You can’t send a bitmoji through a phone call or verbally describe a meme. Plus, being able to send short, non-committal messages can help us maintain several relationships at once.

“Text messaging is a nice way to fit in what we call interstices,” said Bree McEwan, a communications professor and coordinator for the new communication and technology major at DePaul. She specializes in looking at the ways in which interpersonal communication and communication technology work together.

McEwan explained that interstices “are the little pieces of your day where you wouldn't normally have time for communication with someone.” This could be in an elevator or on the train platform or even when you’re waiting for your friend to get out of the bathroom.

“We have these little interstices, and it’s enough time to check in on your messages and send a few messages out, but it isn’t enough time to engage in a long phone call,” McEwan said. “Text messaging allows us to use these little pieces of our day to maintain a variety of relationships.”

Phone calls seamlessly blend adequate nonverbal communication factors with convenience in many situations. You can make short phone calls to instantly confirm plans or longer calls for more emotional conversations.

It’s quicker to correct a misinterpretation in a spoken conversation rather than in a text, and a phone call is not nearly as intimidating or hard to coordinate as meeting someone face-to-face. And while both calls and text messages are useful forms of communication for different purposes, phone calls are just generally better. Obviously.

Focus

14 | Focus. The DePaulia. May 28, 2018

Food HalL Frenzy

PHOTOS BY WILLIAM SULLIVAN | THE DEPAULIA

Revival Food Hall (pictured above), located a couple blocks north of the DePaul Loop Campus at 125 S Clark St, has a variety of local restaurants, each serving different cuisines. Restaurants of note are Aloha Poke, Furious Spoon Ramen, Smoque BBQ, The Budlong hot chicken, and Union Squared Detroit style pizza. There is also a bookstore/record shop, a bakery, and a bar. They also do happy hour every night.

Designer fast casual restaurants in one place

By William Sullivan Contributing Writer

Going to the mall as a child was always a treat. Walking into the stores, window shopping, maybe even being able to buy something were always things to look forward to. Then, when you got hungry, there was the mall food court, filled with Auntie Anne’s, Sbarro, Dairy Queen, enjoyed at simple tables on tile floors.

Now a new trend has replaced the mall food court– the food hall. They are different with designer restaurants. But like the mall food court, they have lots of options.

“There’s a lot more food,” said DePaul sophomore Peter Wong at the Revival Food Hall. “I see Furious Spoon and Mindy’s Chocolate that is definitely better than [a] food mall.”

“I come during the school year about once a week, just while I am waiting for my train,” said DePaul philosophy PhD candidate Evan Edwards. “It is a great venue not only for trying out different foods but also having a communal space.”

Not everyone thinks Revival is perfect.

“I like the options for food, but a little more diverse options would be nice,” said DePaul sophomore Fern Visattanasak. But “I like it because it is quite modern here, very dynamic.”

“I am vegan, so the only place here that has an option for me is Furious Spoon,” said Edwards. “I had some ramen earlier today (…) it is great, I get it every time I come.”

In their April 2018 annual report on food halls, consulting firm Cushman Wakefield and their food hall expert Garrick Brown see a bright future for food halls.

“Food halls are popping up around the United States at a breakneck pace” the report says. “By 2020 the marketplace will have tripled in size in the span of just five years.” They also provide a different experience than mall food courts or individual restaurants. “The modern food hall is about the celebration of food itself. It is not an amenity for its consum-

ers, but the primary reason for their visit,” according to the report.

Chicago has seen an increasing number of food halls open since The Chicago French Market opened in 2009 and Eataly opened in 2010. Latinicity opened in late 2015, 3 Greens Market and Revival Food Hall opened in 2016.

Forum 55 opened in 2017. “Food halls offer experience and food halls are eCommerce-proof,” said the Cushman Wakefield report. “The food hall has emerged as the ultimate amenity for mixed-use, office, and multifamily projects.”

Food halls are different than a food court like the one in the mall or the one in the DePaul Student Center. These have well reviewed fast casual restaurants. Some, like Eataly and Latinicity have a single ethnic theme. Others are a hodgepodge of different cuisines and options.

Focus. The DePaulia. May 28, 2018 | 15

Eataly: 43 E Ohio St.

Eataly has a basic theme, as the name suggests, all the food is Italian. They are also a grocery store, with meat, cheese, wine, kitchen accessories and pasta for sale. They also have a microbrewery/restaurant, Birreria, which offers simple dishes. Each restaurant has a particular focus.

Ristorante Toscano sells dishes from the Tuscany region of Italy. La Pizza and La Pasta serves pizza and pasta dishes. Il Pesce serves seafood. La Piazza is inspired by Italian city squares and serves shared dishes and drinks. Osteria di Eataly serves full multiplecourse Italian dinners.

Chicago French Market: 131 N Clinton St The Chicago French Market is very large. The Chicago French Market has “over 30 local food and artisan purveyors under one roof,” according to their website. Located in the Ogilvie Metra station, it is very convenient for suburban commuters.

Even though the name suggests that the food would all be French, almost none of it is.

There are crepes at Flip Crepes, Le Cafe du Marche and The French Lunchbox offer French lunch options, and Vanille Patisserie sells French desserts and pastries.

Other, not French restaurants of note at the Chicago French Market are Da Lobsta, Lillie’s Q and Pastoral. It is a pretty long walk from the Loop Campus, but in a great spots for students who commute into Ogilvie Transportation Center from the suburbs.

Latinicity: 108 N State St., 3rd Floor

What Eataly is to Italian food, Latinicity is to Latin American cuisine. Inside Block 37, it is in a mall, which is different than the other food halls on the list. Latinicity has food stations, each with a certain kind of food. Mariscos has cooked and raw seafood, Machefe Taqueria has tacos and Tortas and Molletes serves sandwiches.

They also have fusion food stations, combining Latin influences with other styles of cuisine. Burguesa serves burgers, Chaufe Wok serves up stir-fry, and the Sushi and Ceviche bar serves sushi and ceviche. Each with a Latin inspired flair.

There is also one stand-alone restaurant, Pueblo, which focuses on Mexican cuisine specifically. They do Happy Hour Mondays through Saturdays and also have what they call bottomless brunch on Sundays. It is pretty close to the Loop Campus, but not as close as Revival or Forum 55.

3 Greens Market: 354 W Hubbard St. 3 Greens Market is smaller than the other food halls on the list. They have three vendors, plus hot and cold food buffets priced by the pound. The vendors are Small Cheval, Dillman’s Pastrami Shop and the Doughnut Vault. Small Cheval is the smaller offshoot of the famous and highly regarded restaurant Au Cheval. Small Cheval’s burgers are $1 cheaper than the ones at Au Cheval, and a little smaller.

Forum 55: 55 E Monroe St

Forum 55 stands out from the others by the way you pay. Other food halls have you go up to the restaurant you want to order from, and then order. At Forum 55 they have kiosks that you enter your order yourself, from any of the restaurants. Then when your order is ready, you get a message on your phone to come get your food. This also means that you can order any dish online through the Forum 55 website.

Vendors of note are Butcher and Larder, Friends Sushi and Ramen, Flo and Santos, Pork and Mindy’s and Sparrow Coffee. They also have two pop up vendors. An added bonus is that it is close to the Loop Campus.

Beatrix Food Mart: 23 E. Jackson Blvd.

Beatrix Food Mart just opened right next to the DePaul Loop campus, and is a great option if you are tired of Loop STU food. The modern mart offers everything one could want, from a coffee counter to a hot soup bar. The two-story food hall offers a wide arrange of anything you could ever want DIY yogurt parfait station, pizza, mexican food, and a coffee shop.

16 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018

Arts & Life

Ferg at FEST

Ferg smiles as he looks out over the crowd filling up DePaul's Quad. Throughout most of the show, Ferg was engaging with the audience whenever possible.

JOSH LEFF | THE DEPAULIA

An honest account from the concert

By Lacey Latch Arts & Life Editor

FEST is quintessentially DePaul. It’s a gathering of the wide variety of people that go here, all in one place. (Which is a much weirder experience than you’d think.)

The basketball boys mixed with all the relatively unathletic folk and the frat boys made their presence known, as they always do. The freshmen buzzed around the Quad, excited for what they likely believe will become an annual tradition for them over the next four years. Seniors, excited to finally graduate, tried to use their final FEST as a final send-off and bookend for their time at DePaul.

However, much like many other aspects of this institution, FEST also bends to the will of the school and city’s hierarchy. For example, it operates under the burden of Lincoln Park noise pollution policies that kept the concert’s volume to a minimum, prompting Ferg to repeatedly beg them to turn up his microphone.

I arrived at the Quad in what felt like a rush of stumbling DePaul students all anxiously presenting their tickets and going through security with their eyes set on the stage ahead. BJ The Chicago Kid was on stage playing to a crowd of half-distracted students spread out across the grass. Tents and food tables surrounded the event. I had had a few too many beverages at that point

The crowd was definitely different than Ferg’s normal fanbase, forcing him to cater his setlist to his mainstream hits in order to engage the audience. And it worked. to take much notice, but a few semi-adults in the crowd proudly displayed glittercovered temporary tattoos reminiscent of a childhood carnival.

The sky shifted to gray as the sun began to set when BJ exited the stage. The crowd was packed together in anticipation for Ferg’s arrival. Finally, it reached the point that every concert inevitably reaches, where so many people are squeezed together that the crush of humanity is felt in a way like no other. As a result, you inevitably lose your buzz and just get mad that the group of 6-foot-something athletes in front of you are blocking your view.

As I expected, the crowd was definitely different from Ferg’s normal fanbase, forcing him to cater his setlist to his more mainstream hits in order to engage the audience. And it worked. At one point,

five girls hopped up on the shoulders of their taller friends until they were towering over the crowd. In what felt like a choreographed act, all of them flashed the stage as Campus Catholic Ministry looked on from the sidelines.

This year’s FEST excelled when it came to that other staple of any concert where the majority of the crowd is intoxicated: being endlessly pushed and shoved around by people that are always somehow bigger than you are. Additionally, I am lucky enough to be friends with some wonderful people who choose to live their lives as pacifists, which made the battle for our comfort – and honor – in the pit my sole responsibility. It’s a journalist’s job to serve the people, and fighting your peers who are shoving your friends around is the greatest thing you can do to serve the greater

good... or something like that. Plus, the security officers on duty were much more preoccupied with the rowdier people in the crowd – and there were plenty – to care about what I was doing.

After I finished my shoving match, the concert began to wind down. Luckily, it ended with a bang, at least in my section of the crowd. As Ferg announced his final song of the night at 8:57 p.m., a male student came charging from the front of the crowd towards the back. As he ran, a look of sheer desperation in his eyes, he covered his mouth and then began vomiting. He splattered bile on some freshmen girls near me, much to their disgust. One of them, a true icon, casually began dancing before proceeding to wipe the throw-up off of her clothes onto an unwary concert goer nearby. A power move in the grandest of ways.

The exact second that the concert ended, it felt like the entire crowd left at once. In a mass exodus, repeated complaints were muttered including that “the concert was too short” and that “it wasn’t as good as expected.” So, in a final quintessential DePaul move to end the night, seemingly no one was pleased, just like after last year’s FEST (and likely next year’s).

I’m still looking forward to it, though.

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018| 17 Ferg was on stage for what felt like a blink of an eye. The freshmen around me were hardly done scrambling to find Ashley, who they're pretty sure was with Trent last time they saw her, before Ferg announced his final song.

Darn those Lincoln Park noise pollution laws for forcing a mass exodus of slightly inebriated students off the Quad at 9 p.m. on a Friday night. On the bright side, I'm sure the owners of Kelly's Pub and McGee's Tavern didn't mind.

Despite the fleeting nature of Ferg's time on campus, the concert felt much more well-recieved than last year, due in large part to the larger overlap in fans of the opener and the headliner.

LACEY LATCH | THE DEPAULIA

JOSH LEFF | THE DEPAULIA

Ferg and BJ The Chicago Kid light up Lincoln Park Ferg, perhaps best known for his status as part of A$AP Mob, performed on Friday May 25 on the DePaul Quad as this year's FEST headliner. As raindrops fell sporadically, Ferg played some of his well-known hits to an excited crowd including wildly popular songs"New Level," "Shabba" and "Plain Jane." Ferg also promised to drop new music soon before debuting a sneak peak of a song he's currently working on.

Ferg performs on stage at FEST. The opening act was local artist BJ The Chicago Kid.

JOSH LEFF | THE DEPAULIA

Repeatedly, Ferg requested that his microphone be turned up "for the people in the back" and a few excited crowd members began flashing the stage, prompting the DePaulia's tweet live from the show "BREASTS ARE OUT AT FEST."

LACEY LATCH | THE DEPAULIA

JOSH LEFF | THE DEPAULIA

Solo: A 'Meh' Story

18 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018

By Garret Neal Staff Writer

With “Solo,” we are now officially four years/movies into Disney’s reign over the “Star Wars” license. It started with a familiar, yet fun feeling in “Force Awakens.” “Rogue One” wasn’t groundbreaking as a film, but it was intriguing to see what the plan was for these stand-alone “Star Wars” films that are not part of any larger trilogies. Then, “Last Jedi” drove a hole in the fan base so large, the Sarlaac got jealous.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” is not the first spin off. It is not the thrilling conclusion to the third trilogy. It had multiple problems in production, including changing directors and editors.

Disney has achieved what some may have thought impossible. Despite bringing in IMAGE COURTESY OF IMDB stars like Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke Alden Ehrenreich stars as Han Solo years before he joins the Rebellion. and Woody Harrelson, they have made a “Star Wars” film that many people had Alden Ehrenreich (Air-in-rike) is put in come from its over reliance on connecting relatively low expectations for – myself the unfortunate position of trying to be everything to the original trilogy. Many of Harrison Ford. Unsurprisingly, he isn’t. the awkward moments come when the film included.

And hey, it surpassed my low I think Ehrenreich does a fine job in the pauses before and/or after Han says some role, though. His comedic timing is there, line that he is famous for in the originals expectations! Woo! To start with, Glover is great in his he has some funny facial expressions and (moments like “Trust me…” and “… portrayal of young Lando Calrissian. As he looks great when he strikes the classic Chewbacca? You’re gonna need a nickname much as Mr. Glover has been in the news “Han pose” towards the end of the film. Yet, because I’m not saying that every time”). lately, it is a credit to his performance that I never felt like this was the guy we met in These constant diversions often sidetrack I did not spend most of the film thinking, 1977’s “A New Hope.” I think it just boils from the rest of the film. We’re told why “Look, it’s Donald Glover!” It honestly down to that certain admirable cockiness Solo is Han’s last name (who cares?), watch surprised me when he first spoke how much Ford brought to roles like Solo and Indiana Chewy learn to play space chess and watch he reminded me of ol’ Billy Dee Williams. Jones. There was just something he had a certain character light up their lightsaber From his costuming to his dialogue and the that Ehrenreich doesn’t in this film. When for absolutely no reason. Any one of these perfect amount of cockiness he has, this I first saw “New Hope,” I relished every individually could have been okay, but it Lando felt like the guy Han runs into in moment Han was on screen; this version of is when the film repeatedly goes for these Cloud City so many years later in “Empire the character was not nearly as memorable. groaner references it just becomes a tad Although, I don’t think all of that much. I get it. I saw the other movie too.

Strikes Back.”

Ehrenreich’s fault. Many of this film’s Ha freakin’ ha.

I can’t really say the same about Han. problems, including those relating to Han, There are moments where the film

does manage to tie the nostalgia in with the plot, however. I liked the way Han’s “shoot first” mentality is introduced. The “Kessel run” is a set piece moment that works well, as do most of the other set pieces. I thought there are relatively few moments of fake tension and the focus is put on how things happened rather than if so-and-so is going to survive or not. There’s even a heist-like movie sequence towards the end of the film, as things we think we know get constantly switched around.

Overall, though, I can’t say any moment felt memorable. Yet I did enjoy it and I think that is because of where my expectations were set. The actions scenes are fun, the jokes made me laugh – though it’s hard to recall any – and the plot worked but wasn’t groundbreaking.. Hmm, a film that was entertain, but not super memorable…that sounds like an average blockbuster!

I get that the “Star Wars” name carries a lot of weight for some people, and I understand the hope that each edition will be a great film. That’s how I felt about the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, and I slowly died watching four terrible sequels.

Unfortunately, the fact is that “A New Hope” was a force on pop culture that wasn’t matched until “Harry Potter.

Something like that is rare and to expect that every time is only going to leave one disappointed. Especially as Disney drives down the one film per year path (for now), these things aren’t going to be once in a decade rarities anymore. Take a breath.

Enjoy the increased output, Who knows when it will happen again.

Are all the films great? No. But if they can at least be fun, isn’t that enough?

Steffan Argus, Shane get groovy at the Subterranean

By Cailey Gleeson Contributing Writer

The Subterranean transformed into Neverland — and then a funeral — all in one night, as Steffan Argus and Shane Niemi took the stage on May 22.

Embarking on his Funeral tour earlier this month, Niemi, a Los Angeles-based alternative musician, ended his series of processions in Chicago this past Friday.

Niemi found fame following the release of “Insecure” — with the song currently receiving five million streams on Spotify and 11 million views for its music video across the singer’s various social media platforms.

The show was special to Argus as well, with friends and family in attendance — as the musician calls Des Plaines home — and the show marked one year since the release of his debut EP “Lost At Sea.” Argus took the stage with his band, The Young Happy Hey Kids, for a performance that was straight out of Neverland.

Opening with “Leaving London,” Argus demonstrated his strong vocals and undeniable charisma as he passionately played an acoustic guitar. Following this, Argus channeled his inner Alex Schaaf with a cover of Yellow Ostrich’s “They’re Joining Hands.” Removing his microphone from its vine-covered stand, Argus danced around the stage — with moves reminiscent of The 1975’s Matty Healy — and encouraged audience members to literally join hands towards the end of his impassioned performance.

Grabbing his signature ukulele, Argus then brought out Giovanni Mazza — a 13-year-old violinist — to celebrate his birthday and accompany him for his performances of “Lost” and “Ship in a Bottle.” “Make Me Cry” — Argus’s 2015

Steffan Argus performing on stage at the Subterranean with his band on May 22. debut single — was up next. His connection to the song — and appreciation for his supporters — was evident as he put his entire heart and soul into the performance.

But what came next truly stole the show.

“We’re going to mosh now,” Argus said.

“Bet you weren’t expecting me to say that were you?”

While some fans stayed towards the sides, a mosh pit formed in the middle of the Subterranean as Argus performed “Abandon Ship.” Grabbing a plastic sword, Argus joined in the pit — and even crowd surfed following the end of his vocals as his band rocked out.

The anticipation for Niem’s performance was evident as the excited chatter overpowered Childish Gambino’s hit “This Is America” playing in the background as the crew set up the stage — which included a large poster

memorializing Niemi with a selfie that read “Play Good Music at My Funeral.”

To the delight of fans, Niemi took the stage soon after Argus departed.

Accompanied by his backup vocalists — clad in black funeral garb — and his band, Niemi quickly established a connection with the crowd through his strong vocals, intense charisma and funky dance moves.

Ditching his microphone for a megaphone, “Play Good Music at my Funeral” was one of the opening songs. The dark aesthetic of the show — especially the head-to-toe black wardrobe of everyone on stage — was completely contrasted by Niemi’s groovy dances and overall stage presence, yet it worked.

Clad in a varsity jacket, Niemi performed “Losers” next — his vocals and charisma never faltering throughout the entirety of the piece. It was almost as if his connection to his fans only increased as his

CAILEY GLEESON | THE DEPAULIA

set went on.

Niemi’s performance of “Carrie” was especially unusual — as he brought an adoring fan onstage to accompany him for the piece. The duo dance around stage together — with Niemi serenading her at several parts. “Dance” was up next.

Appropriately enough, Niemi danced his heart out throughout the entire performance — which caused everyone in the audience to do the same.

Niemi saved the best for last, though.

Breaking out his iconic moves from the video, fans completely lost it during his performance of “Insecure,” which closed out his set.

There are concerts, and then there are concerts like this. The undeniable charisma — and genuine talent — of these two performers made their night at the Subterranean unforgettable.

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018. | 19

'13 Reasons' gets graphic in season two

Katherine Langford stars as Hannah Baker in the widely controversial Netflix original "13 Reasons Why," based off the successful book by Jay Asher.

IMAGE COURTESY OF IMDB

By Emma Oxnevad Contributing Writer

Note: This article contains spoilers for Seasons 1 and 2 of “13 Reasons Why,” as well as potentially triggering content.

Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why” debuted its second season May 18, amongst much fan anticipation. The series, based on Jay Asher’s 2007 novel of the same name, was one of the most discussed shows of 2017, with some praising it as an honest depiction of the struggles of adolescence and others condemning it as an exploitative, irresponsible portrayal of potentially triggering issues. With the new season debuting in the midst of Mental Health Awareness Month, many are wondering if “13 Reasons Why” can portray its intense subject matter in a more responsible way.

For those unfamiliar with “13 Reasons Why,” here’s a quick recap: The show follows Clay Jensen, whose friend and crush Hannah Baker has commited suicide prior to the beginning of the series. As the show opens, Clay receives a box of 13 tapes, which contain recordings of Hannah explaining why she chose to end her life; according to Hannah, each recipient of the tapes contributed to her death in some way. Season one dealt not only with Clay learning Hannah’s reasons to end her life, but the other recipients of the tapes dealing with guilt and personal traumas of their own, and Hannah’s grief-stricken parents attempting to file a lawsuit against their daughter’s high school for not properly supporting her. The first season dealt with several difficult topics including rape, stalking, bullying, and, of course, teen suicide.

One of the largest criticisms against the show was its choice to portray both Hannah’s rape and suicide on screen, with both scenes being incredibly graphic and unflinching. Executive producer Brian Yorkey defended the decision to showcase the content in such a way in a 2017 interview with “Entertainment Weekly,” stating, “In the case of the more traumatic events of the show, we felt a real responsibility not to look away from them.”

Certain viewers share Yorkey’s view of the show being a tragic, raw depiction of teenage tragedy. “The reason Hannah's suicide is so tragic is because as an audience we realize how much she had to live for – everything and everyone outside of Liberty High that cared about her and

IMAGE COURTESY OF IMBD

Dylan Minnette stars as Clay Jensen, a close friend of Hannah's who becomes determined to find out what happened to her. the opportunities she had,” said 19-yearold film and television major Jon Knecht.

“Overall, it is a story – a marvelous, tragic story.”

While the choice to depict such actions in their entirety certainly left an impact on viewers, experts argue that perhaps the impressionable teen fanbase of the show are putting themselves at risk for self-harm and suicide by watching the show, especially those already suffering from mental illness.

According to “Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide,” a set of guidelines for depicting suicide in media created by suicide prevention experts, it is important to not sensationalize suicide, in order to prevent a string of “copycat suicides.” This rule coincides with another controversy plaguing the show: Many of the viewers see Hannah’s suicide as an act of calculated revenge, not a desperate attempt to escape a life she felt was not worth living.

“Hannah never went to anyone and said she was depressed and suicidal. Instead, she decided to have a princess complex and blame others for everything. She never directly asked for help,” said 18-year-old psychology major Risha Vaughn. “Suicide isn’t the solution and it isn’t the best way to get revenge on those that were mean to you, and the show paints it like it is.”

With all the controversy surrounding

the show, viewers and critics alike are anxiously awaiting to see how the show will handle these issues in the second season.

The first episode has promise, with select actors from the show appearing in a pre-recorded segment warning viewers of the show’s mature content, advising those who may be particularly impacted to either watch with a trusted adult or not watch all. The second season also attempts to paint a more human picture of Hannah, acknowledging flaws in her character and how her suicide and the tapes ultimately hurt those who cared about her. Season two emphasizes that suicide is never a solution, with Hannah being revealed to have made a “13 Reasons Why Not,” while deciding how to proceed with her life following her rape. The show attempts to portray solidarity between its characters, with much of the main cast banding together to bring school bully and serial rapist Bryce Walker to justice.

However, the show falls back into its old tricks, with an offscreen suicide attempt occurring in the second episode, and the final episode unexpectedly portraying the brutal beating and rape of school outcast Tyler. The season ends with his subsequent attempt at revenge by bringing a loaded gun to a school dance, before being stopped outside the school by Clay. The rape scene

in particular has garnered an intense backlash, with The Parents Television Council urging Netflix to cancel the show.

“I do believe that shows addressing sensitive topics need to treat the topic with respect and need to do extensive research into what exactly they are discussing,” said 20-year-old film and television major Mackenzie Costanzo. “If a show is centered around a particularly tough subject, the material needs to be as non-sensationalized as possible and should use the topic at hand as a platform for discussion and exploration rather than for exploitation and as a ploy for views.”

Despite an attempt to be more conscious of its impressionable audience, “13 Reasons Why” ultimately digs itself into a deeper hole than it began the season with. After showcasing graphic imagery to rival that of season one, the responses to the issues taken with the first season feel more like lip service to critics rather than a careful attempt for a more responsible program. With the second season’s critical response being as divisive as the first, there is no telling where “13 Reasons Why” is headed. If the show is to continue, hopefully it will be more considerate of its fans and create a program that does more help than harm.

20| Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018

'Jackass' and the evolution of comedy

By Amanda Krupp Contributing Writer

For as long as anyone can remember, comedy has been an ever-evolving, boundary pushing genre with varying tastes for audiences everywhere. Over time, it has morphed from politically charged humor (such as in the films of Charlie Chaplin), to positive explorations of feminism (like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”), almost always relying on crazy characters, plot and situations. These days, with new content being turned out by the minute and films such as the Johnny Knoxville-produced “Action Point” coming to theaters this summer, there are certain comedy franchises, like “Jackass,” that strive to stand the test of time by changing alongside the genre.

When comedy first began to gain popularity, it relied solely on humor and didn't necessarily borrow any material from the outside world. All that mattered was making people laugh, rather than engaging with anything that was popular in society. However, as time went on, pop culture references and political statements were interwoven into the media to attempt to reach audiences – and younger viewers, in particular.

This is true today in mainstream media, especially given the current IMAGE COURTESY OF IMDB political climate. In just the past year there has been an overabundance of movies, Johnny Knoxville rose to stardom as an integral member of the wild "Jackass" crew. television shows and late night sketches how the other half lives, with predictably prevalent today than ever before due to that have felt compelled to take some kind hilarious results. When that episode first the current political climate. Now more of stand on political issues, sometimes aired, the humor it brought forth was than ever, audiences want to watch content even revolving the entirety their narratives refreshing and engaging. After future solely for laughter. YouTube, the videoaround speaking up for those who are not shows copied that joke time and time again, sharing website founded in 2005, was one able to. While audiences are used to seeing however, it lost the impact that it once of the first outlets that emerged to coincide ideas such as the positive exploration of had. Certain comedic tropes, such as these, with this escapist ideal, giving visitors to feminism and women in leading roles on pushed boundaries for what audiences the site a chance to just laugh at whatever their screens today, this was not always considered normal and comical. But these it was they found funny without any kinds the case. Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, both days, seeing Lucy swap “traditional gender of strings attached. And that is something “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “I Love roles” with her husband Ricky Ricardo that the enormously successful “Jackass” Lucy” were seen as offering new and fresh (Desi Arnaz) isn't as impactful given the franchise has capitalized on. Like “Looney viewpoints on the modern woman. For social changes that have taken place in Tunes” and the wacky cartoons before it, instance, in the 1952 episode of “I Love American culture.

Johnny Knoxville and his crew continue to Lucy” called “Job Switching,” the husbands While there has always been some borrow from the slapstick form and update and wives decide to switch jobs to see type of escapism within comedy, it is more it for the modern day escapism crowd

who enjoy simplicity with their comedy.

They tend to rely on the idea of laughing at someone else's pain – such as the classic gag of someone falling down, only stretched out into hours-long productions – thereby moving away from tropes of comedy’s past while also returning to its base simplicity, all the while managing to push out “Jackass”-related content for over a decade.

"When you're on YouTube, the amount of compilations you'll find of people getting hurt is astounding. There will always be a market for this type of comedy if you have a site like YouTube," said DePaul student Jeffrey Lee. One of the things that makes the “Jackass” content stand out is that, like other comedies that are bold and groundbreaking, it has always unabashedly been itself, while knowing its audience and delivering exactly what they want. While some may find this kind of humor to be unsuitable for their tastes, the “Jackass” franchise is admirable because it is sure of what it is and it doesn't stray away from that. Spike Jonze, a frequent collaborator of Knoxville and company and a renowned filmmaker in his own right, told the New York Times in 2010 upon the release of “Jackass 3D” that the “Jackass” style, “Has no explanation for being. It just is."

It's amazing that Knoxville and his team have been able to take out a camera and film whatever it is they find funny and have the world see it – an ethos that looks like it will influence “Action Point” when it’s released in June. Although, without the previous content that paved the way and broke boundaries before them, the “Jackass” crew wouldn't have been able to put out the content that they have. Thanks to the likes of Chaplin, Lucille Ball and others, people like Knoxville are able to create work that they are passionate about, while catering to audiences who are just as excited to see their work. It shows that comedy still has the time to grow and change as the years go on – even if that means finding a fresh spin on classic slapstick tropes.

Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018. | 21

Think pink For many men, pink has become a wardrobe staple GRAPHICS BY ALLY ZACEK | THE DEPAULIA

By Isaac Carrasco Contributing Writer

Are you trying to switch up your sense of fashion? Trying to make your wardrobe exude confidence? Try the color pink.

To think that pink is solely for girls is clearly outdated, according to this spring and summer’s latest trends. The color pink on men used to signify strength and vigor, but somewhere down the line this vibrant color became emasculated. Pink became looked upon as a feminine color. But 2018 fashion will turn heads as trends are changing. Pink is making a comeback on men, and they aren’t afraid to show it.

One of Chicago’s most sought-out fashion consultants, Mark Gill, agrees that pink is certainly drawing attention.

Gill and his friend and business partner, Tina Kourasis, created the boutique shop VMR Chicago – which stands for Vintage, Modern, Resale – at 49 E. Oak St. Gill has become a well-known stylist with highprofile clients. His advice for women and men on fashion has made him the “go-to man” in changing the wardrobes of women across the country.

VMR stocks a mix of vintage and current items. When you walk into VMR, you will immediately notice its chic look with portable store racks that are based on a Danish design. There are private fitting areas where stylists and fitters work oneon-one with clients.

Gill’s successful journey in the fashion world has been a long but rewarding. With a degree in accounting and minor in opera studies from Webster University, he first developed an interest in fashion while he was working at Banana Republic. Gill spoke of an incident where a customer came in arguing about her life, her lifestyle and her closet. She finally asked Gill if he could help with her wardrobe; it.was the moment where fashion consulting became a part of Mark Gill’s life.

Gill wears pink himself and loves to create the best looking color combinations, like pink with gray or white. He also suggests that pink and red outfits are making quite the fashion statement this year.

“If you are a man of strength, then, yeah, pink is beautiful,” said Gill. “For me, it’s strong, it’s soft, it’s soothing. It lifts you up. I mean it’s a complement to anything.

You can put pink with anything: denim, navy, red. I love pink and red together. It’s gorgeous.”

Gill loves to mix things up; mixing and matching outfits comes easy to him.

ISAAC CARRASCO| THE DEPAULIA

David Froelich walking down the street wearing his pink blazer.

Gill's style is one of handsome, stylish elegance. As Gill puts it, ideas literally drop in his mind when he sees clothes. And extravagance is very much a part of that.

In order to understand why pink is trending, one has to understand color forecasting. That’s the process in which individuals or teams attempt to accurately forecast the colors of fabrics, garments and accessories that consumers will want to purchase in the near future; it is a fundamental part of trend prediction.

“Color forecasting actually derives from the manufacturers in Italy. They choose the colors. They choose what’s prominent for the season. Not the designers,” said Gill.

Pink is one of those prominent colors for the season, which rings true as the color is associated with spring.

“It’s a very important color. Pink is sexy.

It’s also the way you wear it. It’s about how

you wear it and what you pair it with,” said Gill.

A man who wears pink catches the eye of many. It defines a man in such a way that he looks more confident and comfortable with himself. In a sense, pink can be a masculine color. Although the color pink means unconditional love and nurturing, according to empower-yourself-withcolor-psychology.com, it is also a strong color that exhibits courage. It is additionally associated with charm and politeness.

“Number one: a man who wears pink is comfortable in his skin. I know so many males that actually like the color pink. If a gentleman is wearing pink, he is bold and assertive. For me, it’s taking the place of white. It’s an alternative for a white shirt.

It’s easier to pair and it’s neutral,” said Gill.

Being a fashion stylist and consultant, Gill is certainly busy. Having to make trips

to places like New York City, Miami and Paris, Gill makes sure his wardrobe is always on point.

“Right now I’m preparing my pink looks. Right now in my closet, I have pink, gray and ivory. What I wear depends on what I’m doing and where I’m flying to.

My next flight in June, I’m going to France for fashion week and I have my pink, gray and ivory ready,” said Gill.

You might spot a couple confident men wearing pink while strolling down Michigan Avenue this spring. Or you might see some guys on campus wearing pink while walking to your next class. Lots of men are wearing pink this season; it makes them look great and, they know it.

“I don’t think pink is any longer only a girl’s color,” said David Froelich, a Lincoln Park resident. “Men who wear pink are brave. My blazer is pinkish. It’s a pale shade of pink that isn’t too bright for my taste but still, I think it matches well with a lot of shirts in my closet. Either way, bright colors are in and dark is out because it’s spring. Everyone wants to dress with the seasons.”

“I agree that pink is definitely something I see around occasionally,” said Jonathan Karr, a DePaul senior. “Men wear pink. Little boys still think pink is for girls. Pink sort of represents power.

Football players wear pink in support of breast cancer. ” No matter how you look at it, pink is coming back as a masculine color. It doesn’t have to be a pink shirt or pink pants; Politicians are even sporting a pink tie on occasion. It represents a man’s strength and confidence.

“Wearing pink says so much about who you are. Not only that, but I love the duality between men and women. You’re like female and male. You’re like really joining the sexes and that’s powerful. That’s why I love it,” said Gill. “You’re not afraid to step in that zone. You’re not afraid of being part of the femininity and that is someone who is super happy with themselves. What it does for you, you actually have more respect for women; it can drive so many ways.”

Wearing pink can say a lot about a man. After all, Gill says, everything you wear helps to tell your story.

“When you can actually put something on your back, it says something about you. You are literally telling a story about yourself. Everything that you put on, it’s you,” said Gill.

Who knew a color could say so much?

22 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018

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Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018 | 23

what’s FRESH in Crime Documentaries

Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist

Wild Wild Country

For all true crime aficionados, there is nothing more satisfying than solving the crime faster than the documentary unfolds. Diving into “Evil Genius,” however, is unlike any other true crime series. In this original Netflix four-parter, the investigation into Erie, Pennsylvania’s most peculiar crime leaves you guessing at every turn.

After a successful premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, this sixpart documentary series has also found major success on Netflix.

The documentary follows controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneneesh, known by his dedicated followers as Osho.

In 2003, Brian Wells, a pizza delivery guy, walked into a PNC bank with a gun disguised as a cane and a note demanding a quarter of a million dollars. As the series unpacks each element of this increasingly bizarre crime, viewers are taken through the steps Pennsylvania police and investigators went through as they uncovered the truth behind Wells’ murder.

Osho’s claim to fame: being the leader of the alleged “sex cult” that swarmed mid-Oregon in the 1980s. Rajneneesh’s philosophy surrounds the pursuit of the “new man,” including radical views on sexual liberation and the institutions of marriage, religion and ideology. After moving to the United States, the tale of Rajneneesh and his compound begins, which the Duplass brothers follow using talking head interviews, newsreel footage and home videos.

One of the most recent releases from the Duplass brothers, the series is broken into four bite-sized hour-long segments. Whereas other true crime series may drag details and big reveals out too long, Evil Genius packs in all the plot twists and still wraps up the drama in a neatly tied bow; it’s both addictive and satisfying.

Unlike many other crime documentaries, “Wild Wild Country” presents various angles in which to view the acts and crimes of Rajneneesh, his personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela and the utopic commune. Viewers are asked to judge for themselves whether Rajneneesh and his followers were part of a New Age utopia that happened to be destroyed by corruption or if they were a brainwashed cult that operated as a cover for a widespread criminal enterprise.

ALLY ZACEK | THE DEPAULIA

ALLY ZACEK | THE DEPAULIA

In theaters & upcoming films May 18 “Deadpool 2” Wade Wilson must battle ninjas, the Yakuza, and a pack of sexually aggressive canines to regain his spice for life.

Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Gillian Jacobs

June 1 “Action Point” With help from his friends, a daredevil creates and operates his own theme park.

Stars: Johnny Knoxville

May 18 "Book Club" After reading "50 Shades of Grey" in their monthly book club, the lives of four lifelong friends are changed forever.

Stars: Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen

June 1 "Adrift" Based on a true story, a young couple must survive in the face of enormous odds as they battle one of the worst hurricanes ever.

Stars: Shailene Woodley, Sam Claflin

May 25 “Solo: A Star Wars Story” Han Solo meets his future copilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion.

June 8 “Ocean's 8” Debbie Ocean gathers a crew to attempt an impossible heist at New York City's yearly Met Gala.

24 | Arts & Life. The DePaulia. May 29, 2018

St.Vincent’s

D e JAMZ “Spinning fresh beats since 1581”

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Find this and all our DeJamz playlists on depauliaonline.com and on our spotify account

By Lacey Latch Arts &Life Editor

It’s finally the time for many of DePaul’s finest to pop on that flat, ill-fitting cap that marks the fact that you’ve finally finished spending money here. More importantly, the graduation ceremony denotes that, essentially, the real world is ready for you – whether you’re ready or not. Meanwhile, I’ll be emotionally sitting in a corner somewhere thinking about all the friends who are leaving me behind. In light of that harsh eyeopening realization, the DePaulia has compiled a few songs to guide all of us through this trying time.

1. “It's Time" - Imagine Dragons I thoroughly believe that Imagine Dragons wrote this song with graduations in mind, considering it has been used as an official class song by schools all over the world for what feels like forever. Whether or not that is the case, “It’s Time” is as catchy as they come, and the lyrics speak to all the feelings of a soonto-be graduate. Plus, it was one of Imagine Dragons’ hits before they got more mainstream, if that’s something you're into.

2. “Moment 4 Life” - Nicki Minaj An original Nicki Minaj bop, “Moment 4 Life” brings to life a Cinderella-esque fantasy beat with Minaj reminiscing about her rise to fame and her desire to never leave the moment she reached the top. Drake also lends his talents for an old-school Aubrey Graham verse in the middle that takes the nostalgia in this song to another level. If you find yourself looking back fondly at your own journey over the past few years, “Moment 4 Life” is part of the perfect soundtrack.

3. “Beat of my Drum” POWERS More of a pop-alternative take on a classic graduation tune, “Beat Of My Dream” has an upbeat tempo and catchy lyrics to match; it will make this the best song to have on repeat as you navigate your new postgrad life. Definitely an anthem for those who choose to embrace individuality, this song is perfect for those who are literally going to the beat of their own drum as they embrace the freedom that graduation promises.

4. “YOUTH” - Troye Sivan “YOUTH” is practically guaranteed to slide you directly into the most emotional state possible as Troye Sivan repeatedly sings about the loss of his naivety and youth. As you brace yourself for the semi-adulthood waiting for you on the other side of that graduation stage, keep “YOUTH” in the back of your mind as an example of the inevitability of adulthood. That sinking feeling may still suck, but at least it’ll feel universal.

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ACCROSS 1. One of the five W's 4. A little lower?

8. Container allowance 12. Jingle 13. Baby bassoon?

14. State with assurance 15. Clock std.

16. Item for a window shopper 17. Commend 18. Cause of many errors 20. Lucky strikes 21. Shuttle site 23. ___ Island, NY 25. Anesthetized 27. Appetite 28. Hardly Mr. Right 31. Tea shop treats 33. Grand tour setting 35. Witch's specialty 36. 50 Cent piece 38. Traffic stopper 39. Clear as a bell 41. Artful or alluring

42. Full to the hatches 45. Bridge authority 47. Checkup, for short 48. Waiter's offering 49. Andiron residue 52. Countertenor 53. Princes, e.g.

54. French way 55. "Giant" star 56. Punkie 57. Archery wood DOWN 1. Jokester 2. Not her 3. Ultraconservative 4. Reality TV program 5. Lessen in intensity 6. Missing people 7. Agent's cut 8. Fiesta fare 9. All fired up 10. Habit 11. Lady bighorns

19. "Absolutely!"

20. "Peanuts" character 21. Abounding in foliage 22. Auctioneer word 24. Filmmaker Spike 26. Encore showing 28. Kind of artery 29. Pinnacle 30. Say it ain't so 32. Midwest Indian 34. In abundance 37. Easy mark 39. Bar twist 40. Fashion's Karan 42. Pewter component 43. Auto shaft 44. Analyst's need 46. Iron deficiency?

48. "No ___" 50. Go a-courting?

51. Fell in the forest

Sports

Sports. May 29, 2018. The DePaulia | 25

DePaul crew club takes to the Chicago River

By Jonathan Ballew News Editor

While most college students are fast asleep after a night of studying — or, more likely, a night out at the bars — Hayes Kennedy can be found waking up at 5 a.m. to make it to a small blue boat house on the edge of the Chicago River.

He is a member of the DePaul Rowing Team, and together they practice each morning in order to compete with other rowing teams nationwide. The program has slowly grown at DePaul and now the club fields both a men’s and women’s varsity and novice team.

“Waking up early is definitely the worst part,” he said. “But I’ll probably suffer through it again next year because I love the team.”

Kennedy says that a nine-man rowing crew cannot function without working together, and each member is a vital part of the whole.

Christian Talbot is the coach of the men’s novice team and says that finding motivated college students willing to spend their mornings struggling up and down the river can be a real challenge.

“Recruitment is a key part of our offseason,” he said.

Talbot said that currently the team has exactly enough members to field a full crew, which is not what he was hoping for. Ideally, rowing teams have more members than necessary in order to have substitutes and to foster a higher level of competition.

“It really handcuffs us,” he said. “If one member is sick, or can’t make a race, we are basically just out of luck.”

Rowing at DePaul is still relatively new and this is only the program’s sixth year.

Talbot said that the goal is to establish a quality program to eventually attract a high level of interest and talent. He said that skill level and participation have continued to grow since the program’s inception.

“Right now, we have a lot of inexperienced guys,” he said. “But they have come a long way and are great

JONATHAN BALLEW | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul's six-year-old crew club gathers into their 60-foot boat and pushes off the dock for practice along the Chicago River. athletes and hard workers.”

One of the most important positions on a rowing team is the coxswain. The coxswain does not row the boat, but instead sits facing the rowers and helps to steer and motivate.

“Having a solid coxswain is everything,” Talbot said.

Kaartikeya Gupta, or “KK” as his teammates call him, is the team’s current coxswain. He had no experience before joining the DePaul team, but Talbot says the crew was lucky to find him.

“I’m the guy who yells at them,” Gupta said. “Or, at least, I’m supposed to yell at them.”

Gupta and his teammates laughed at the idea that he would be the kind of coxswain to constantly yell at his rowers.

“A great coxswain is able to find ways to motivate the rowers,” he said. “Yelling just isn’t really my style, but sometimes I have to.”

Currently the team is getting ready for their final race — or regatta — on Saturday. They have already faced a bit of adversity because their trailer wasn’t available. Teams need a trailer to load up the 60-foot-long boats in order to transport them to competitions.

On Wednesday, the team had practice as they usually did, only this time they rowed three miles north in order to solicit assistance from Northwestern University’s Rowing Team. Talbot said the team worked out an agreement for the clubs to share a trailer so that they would be able to row in the final regatta

of the year.

“We used to have to ask Northwestern or University of Chicago for a space on their trailer before every regatta,” he said.

“It’s nice that we have our own trailer now and this is just an isolated incident.”

Even after Saturday’s final race, Talbot said the season is “never really over.”

The team practices throughout the offseason, and when weather does not allow for rowing on the river, they practice at indoor facilities in Lincoln Park.

“We are always working, always recruiting and always trying to improve in order to build a better program,” Talbot said.

BLUE DEMON RUNDOWN TRACK AND FIELD

BRANDON CYRUS

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

In a season filled with broken records, more history was made Saturday when junior jumper Brian Mada advanced to the NCAA Championships with a jump of 15.63 meters.

Mada became the first jumper to accomplish that feat as a jumper since Chris Stafford did it for DePaul in 1998.

Mada entered the event as the 17th ranked jumper needing to jump his way into the top 12 to keep his season going. Mada, along with 23 other jumpers, will compete for the NCAA Championship on June 8 at Hayward Field.

TCU’s Scotty Newton was the top jumper in the West Preliminary with a jump of 16.17 meters.

Alexia Brooks and Jade Gates also competed on Friday and Saturday, but both of their bids to advance came up short.

Brooks finished 24th with a time of 14.16 seconds, while Gates placed 21st with a distance of 46.17 meters. Her throw of just over 46 meters was her second-best distance during the outdoor season.

Gates won the javelin throw in three meets, as well as winning the hammer throw in four meets.

Former DePaul guard Brandon Cyrus has found a home with UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) after transferring from DePaul in late March.

Cyrus joins JaQuori McLaughlin who also transferred from Oregon State. Both of them will sit out this upcoming year.

Cyrus picked the Gauchos after receiving heavy interest from San Diego, where he took a visit and received a visit from their head coach, according to Rivals’ Corey Evans.

Cyrus started 23 of 31 games a year ago for the Blue Demons and averaged 7.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, while becoming one of their best on-ball defenders.

As a freshman, Cyrus started all 32 games averaging just over six points per game.

Cyrus also scored a career-high 20 points against Xavier in DePaul’s final home game of the season.

After sitting out next season, Cyrus will have two years of eligibility remaining.

DePaul’s 2019 class welcomed a new member when Kayla Caudle committed to the Blue Demons on Friday.

The Vernon Hills native had about a dozen scholarship offers including from Loyola, Western Michigan, Alabama-Birmingham.

Caudle was named to the 2017-2018 News-Suns Girls Basketball All-Area team for the second straight season after averaging 15.3 points and 14.4 rebounds per game as a junior.

As a sophomore, the 6-footer averaged 12 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots.

Vernon Hills bowed out of the playoffs in the Regional Championship 46-38 to Lakes although Caudle finished with 13 points, 17 rebounds to go along with an assist and steal.

With Mart’e Grays heading into her senior year, the Blue Demons will add valuable size in Caudle to join Chante Stonewall as the lone six footers in the front court.

26 | Sports. May 29, 2018. The DePaulia SPORTS, continued from front page that makes the DePaul community proud and energetic (i.e. wins games) is a student issue. Having an athletic department that knows its potential value and how to maximize it is a student issue. When The DePaulia reports critically about the athletic department, we do it in the interest of students, not just to rake muck and wreak havoc. And Weems’ commitment, so long as it holds through signing day, is good for the student body — so why would it make us mad?

The truth is, DePaulia sportswriters — myself included — have been bubbling over with excitement about Weems all week. “Maybe I will get to see an NCAA tournament berth before I graduate,” I kept telling myself, before knocking my knuckles on the closest slab of wood I can find. Because if there is one thing I do have in common with Lenti Ponsetto, it’s that we’re both DePaul basketball fans.

But don’t be fooled, we haven’t abandoned our principles. None of this renewed hope and excitement invalidates or reverses any of the positions taken by this newspaper over the academic year.

To give credit where credit is due, the Blue Demon coaching staff — namely second-year assistant Tim Anderson — was able to convince Weems that Lincoln Park, Chicago is the ideal place for him to flower into a high-end NBA prospect. A few things to keep in mind: Wilson Chandler was DePaul’s last NBA draftee in 2007 (2016 graduate Myke Henry recently earned a two-way contract with Memphis the long way), DePaul is currently under NCAA investigation and public trust in the integrity of Division 1 men’s basketball could not be lower. But, assuming Weems doesn’t get cold feet like the last Blue Demon heartbreaker, Tyger Campbell, he could very well be the one big domino to make other top prospects fall in DePaul’s direction.

But it took over a decade for Lenti Ponsetto and company to knock down the first domino, and a sweeping overhaul of DePaul’s athletic department is still warranted, if not necessary for the future of men’s basketball in Lincoln Park.

Lenti Ponsetto’s leadership of DePaul’s athletic department would be commendable in a mid-major conference or Division 2, but for a major Division 1 basketball program, her priority list has been making an enemy out of her own fan base — even to the point of a GoFundMe campaign being launched with the aim of having her removed, which raised over $2,100.

“If DePaul wanted to be a Loyola, a UIC (or) a Chicago State, play in a lower-tier conference,

GRAPHIC BY VICTORIA WILLIAMSON

play most of their home games on campus and their sole goal was to graduate students and make great student-athletes, then I get it.

It doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad if that’s not the ultimate goal of the university,” 2012 DePaul graduate and face behind the “Remove JLP” GoFundMe campaign, Matt Martinez, said. “But from an outsider’s perspective, when you start making these big moves (namely transitioning into the Big East conference and building Wintrust) it sends the message that we care about basketball, we’re going to invest in it, and we want to have a great program. But to make the (coaching) moves that they have over the past 10 years, it just doesn’t make any sense.”

The trail of bold promises, odd actions, and scorching public hot takes coming out of the Sullivan Athletic Center (more aptly named the Lenti Family Compound) is enough to make your head spin. One minute she’s telling a room full of sports reporters that DePaul expects to win, and win now, and the next she’s telling every top-100 recruit in the country that DePaul probably isn’t the best place for them.

“I’m excited (for) what I hear from our longtime, loyal season ticket holders who come

to games because they want to support DePaul student-athletes,” she told the Chicago Tribune.

“They’re not coming to games expecting it to be the junior NBA.” I’ll tell you who is coming to games expecting it to be the junior NBA: everybody else in the entire world — especially those who

make a living within the junior NBA, commonly known as the NCAA. Good thing Weems didn’t listen.

The most glaring error in the Lenti Ponsetto formula over much of the last two decades has been coaching. Few people would disagree that after spending eight of the last 10 seasons in dead-last place, head coach Dave Leitao’s second stint with the Blue Demons should represent a poetic third strike for the embattled AD. Wainwright, Purnell, and Leitao, all making seven figures each year for just one total NIT appearance. You’re out.

DePaul won’t open their books to The DePaulia, so there are limits to what we can learn and report about all things Wintrust Arena without cooperation from the university.

However, Lenti Ponsetto can’t expect to just sit back and hide behind privacy claims. Even if the naming rights and banking agreements with Wintrust Bank and her sister-in-law Kandace Lenti were 100 percent kosher (which, again, as a student at DePaul, I hope is true), and absolutely zero tuition dollars were used to build the arena, Lenti Ponsetto still needs to answer for a spectacularly underwhelming first year at Wintrust. A first year that exposed so many misconceptions in the collective brain of the athletic department.

From poor attendance to poor hires to categorically bad management (and don’t forget potential nepotism and NCAA violations), Lenti Ponsetto’s record with the men’s basketball program is more than enough to force an overhaul. Even if the table is starting to turn in a positive direction, the window for patience has long past. Hopefully Romeo Weems gets an athletic director that will foster a culture in which he can truly bring back Blue Demon basketball.

Sports. May 29, 2018. The DePaulia | 27 ROMEO, continued from back Due to NCAA rules, active players and coaches cannot comment publicly about unsigned recruits. Weems will have his first chance to make his commitment official this November during the early signing period for 2019 recruits.

“I’ve had a good relationship with the coaches, me and coach Tim (Anderson) we talk a lot,” Weems said. “We have a good relationship, he’s worked with former pros, and I think he can take my game to the next level.”

What does taking his game to the next level entail for the best player in the state of Michigan?

2018-19 CLASS, continued from back page things. But a guy that can, on any given night, give you double figures and do it consistently is not something that comes along every day.”

Once Olujobi gets on campus this summer, Leitao said he will have a better idea of where he needs to improve. But for a player as offensively focused as Olujobi is, getting him in shape will be one of the biggest keys to help him be more effective on both ends.

Following his commitment, Olujobi also said being able to play harder and longer is among his biggest goals with the Blue Demons.

“Definitely conditioning," Olujobi said. "I just have to become better condition-wise. Just being able to exert my best effort. I (physically) couldn’t play harder, and I just want to make sure I give my all 100 percent, 110 percent, the whole 40 minutes of gameplay.”

George Maslennikov:

Olujobi will have company in the frontcourt from Maslennikov, who averaged 13 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal this past season. Leitao said the coaches were impressed with the 6-foot-10 forward’s hunger and desire to get better that fits well with his skillset.

“I love his attitude, I love the tools that he comes with,” Leitao said. “He’s not just a feel guy and an athletic guy but also the combination of post moves, and if he continues to grow and develop his game (that’s) something that we’ll hopefully utilize early and often.”

John Diener:

Along with Maslennikov, Leitao welcomed a familiar name in Cedarburg High School shooting guard John Diener.

Leitao coached Diener's cousin Drake at DePaul and also worked with his other cousin Drew at Virginia. He spoke highly of what Diener’s name means both to him and basketball in Wisconsin.

“John obviously, because of the last name, means so much to me, and it means so much to basketball in the state of Wisconsin and throughout the region,” Leitao said. “There is a certain level of basketball competitiveness and toughness that everyone has, their cousins, their sisters, their brothers, their uncles, their dads, they all are immersed and have their whole life in basketball.”

Diener led the North Shore league in scoring with 23.2 points per game last season and finished his career with 2,250 points. Diener’s ability to score caught the eye of many people around the state, as well as Leitao himself.

“I love his ability to score the basketball, and we're in an era right now where there is a high, high premium on shooting the basketball and knowing how to score,”

“He needs to work on his shot a little bit and he needs to work on his ball handling,” Detroit Free Press writer Perry Farrell said. “Those are the two major things, maybe a better 3-point shot. Work on his ball handling skills. But as far as his athleticism and being able to defend, he’s an elite player at that level.”

Although DePaul hasn’t had a player drafted into the NBA since 2007 when Wilson Chandler accomplished the feat, Myke Henry is a recent example of a former Blue Demon who went undrafted but has carved a role for himself in the NBA. Chandler, a Benton Harbor, Michigan resident, spurned both Michigan State and University of Michigan in favor of

DePaul, before leading the Blue Demons back to national relevance.

Weems is the first ESPN top 100 recruit DePaul has secured straight out of high school since 2013, when Billy Garrett Jr. decided to come to Chicago to play for the Blue Demons.

The surprise commitment also comes in the midst of an NCAA investigation into the Blue Demons. Neither DePaul nor NCAA have released any information about the investigation, but reports from the Chicago Tribune claim the matter involved a player and assistant coach who are no longer with the university.

The Blue Demons infamously missed out on two class of 2018 ESPN top 100

recruits this winter (No. 99 Bryan PennJohnson and No. 100 Tyger Campbell), but Weems is a nice consolation prize to say the least.

“One kid can’t do it,” Farrell said when asked whether Weems can turn DePaul around. “But the thing about him is, he’ll be a leader, he’ll work hard. Guys seem to respond to Romeo, he makes his team better. He won a state title as a sophomore, he got to the semifinals as a junior. He knows how to lead guys, but college is such a different animal.

He’ll be the guy who won’t be afraid to take the last shot or defend the other team’s best player.”

Leitao said. “He does that and actually he's had some momentous basketball games at his high school, he's had a celebrated career, broke some records.”

Flynn Cameron:

Some thought that when Cameron arrived on campus in early January he would be able to step in and help stabilize a point guard situation that struggled to deal with the loss of Devin Gage early in the year. Cameron, however, sat out and now will join a group that includes Gage, Justin Roberts and even Eli Cain, who filled in after Gage’s injury. Leitao said the competition at the point guard position should help bring the best out of everyone.

“We have an opportunity to develop something really strong and deep and consistent from that position,” Leitao said.

“It's going to be a key to how we try to be successful, because we think we have guys at other positions that have experience, and the ability to get the ball in the basket and getting those guys the ball is going to be really important.”

DePaul finished seventh in the Big East with just over 15 assists per game, an area Cameron may be able to help with given his emphasis on getting his teammates involved.

“I like to create, and most importantly I like to win,” Cameron said in January when he was still adjusting to the program.

“Maybe not now, but I reckon I can make an impact in a couple year’s time, maybe junior (or) senior year. I’m just trying to get as comfortable as I can with the team and fit in during practice.”

As the team looks for ways to improve next season, Leitao said he would like to utilize more players than he did a year ago, using different lineups depending on matchups. He believes all three players have a skillset that will allow them to contribute to this plan early on.

“I'm optimistic because I think they have a skill level that's usable, and if nothing else, putting the ball in the basket is a premium,” Leitao said. “Then going from last year to this year, my hope and desire is that we can play many more people that were able to play last year.”

Jalen Coleman-Lands:

One player Leitao also didn’t have at his disposal last season was Jalen ColemanLands, who sat out due to transfer rules.

Coleman-Lands was a consensus top 50 recruit coming out of high school, but he battled injuries during his first two seasons with the Illini including a stress fracture in his leg during his freshman year and a broken hand in his sophomore season. Now healthy, Leitao said adding his scoring ability will pair well with senior guards Cain and Max Strus.

“He was highly acclaimed, so getting him healthy is what this year off has been about and as he regains his confidence, he can get back to the player he was before he went to Illinois pre-injury,” Leitao said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FIBA

New Zealand native Flynn Cameron arrived on campus this winter but did not play.

“Then you have a dangerous potential combination of a guy that can really score from behind the arc, but can make some things happen with the ball in his hands and going downhill as well.”

Shooting & Athleticism a Priority:

Along with Diener and Maslennikov, plus with Coleman-Lands now in the fold too, DePaul figures to improve their 3-point shooting which ranked 10th in the conference at 30 percent a year ago.

Leitao cited the league the team plays in and the general trend in college basketball as a reason improvement is needed in this area.

“This league is really unique. You look at, with your eyes or statistically, it's a great offensive league, and we were certainly very challenged in that area,” Leitao said.

“Where if you needed a basket, or needed a 3-pointer, you knew it was going to go through Max in some kind of way, so we needed to expand ourselves and hopefully now as we finish this whole thing off.”

Moving forward, with improved outside shooters now on the roster, Leitao said the key will be for them to come together and learn to share the basketball.

If they can accomplish that, he feels they have the opportunity to be much better offensively.

One player DePaul also added late was Hall, who surprised many at Arkansas when he announced his decision to transfer after averaging 14.8 minutes per game as a freshman, including four points in 22 minutes in Butler’s NCAA Tournament loss to Butler. Leitao said as his staff looked to the future, one of their goals was to get more athletic, and Hall fits that mold.

“He’s a guy that is as athletic as they come, but another guy that is thirsty to get better,” Leitao said. “He played pretty significant minutes, about (15) minutes per game as a freshman which is good for any team and was able to score the ball,

PHOTO COURTESY OF 247 SPORTS

6-foot-10 inch Ukrainian forward George Maslennikov. but I think he was working off of raw talent and ability.”

Hall will sit out the 2018-19 season, which both Leitao and Hall said gives him the opportunity to become a more consistent player and improve all areas of his game. Leitao admitted sitting out a year can work to the disadvantage of a player if they miss basketball too much, but from what he’s seen with Hall he doesn’t foresee any issues.

“I think as long as you can handle it right psychologically and can handle the fact you're not playing basketball for a year, you can use it as an opportunity to get a whole lot better,” Leitao said. “I think he's resigned (himself) to the fact that he has to go through this process and actually looking forward to spending the year getting better.”

After opening the 2019 class with another big verbal commitment just over a year after landing Campbell, DePaul hopes Romeo Weems is here to stay – the first piece of a hopefully programchanging 2019 group.

Sports

Sports. May 29, 2018. The DePaulia | 28

Save us, Romeo

PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW HAVEN HIGH SCHOOL

Michigan native and four-star recruit Romeo Weems stunned the NCAA basketball world when he reached for the DePaul Blue Demon hat at Tuesday’s commitment ceremony.

DePaul lands top 2019 prospect over Michigan St., others

By Paul Steeno Staff Writer

The DePaul Blue Demon men’s basketball team last week received a verbal commitment from a potentially programchanging recruit.

On an Instagram live video taken in his high school gymnasium, class of 2019 four-star small forward Romeo Weems picked the Blue Demons over Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Oregon.

“It was a hard decision, but I feel the decision I made was the best decision for me and my family to carry on my career,” Weems said. “Without further ado, I’m taking my talents to DePaul.”

The New Haven, Michigan resident is graded out as an 89 overall and is rated as both the best player in Michigan in his class and the No. 30 overall player in the country in his class, according to ESPN. com.

“I know everybody is going to ask, why DePaul?” Weems said. “But why not DePaul? They asked me when I came to New Haven, why New Haven? I’ve always been different. I feel DePaul is rebuilding, but when I get there we are going to be successful.”

Last season at New Haven High School, Weems averaged 23.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 4.8 steals per game. He led the Rockets to a 26-1 record

and a trip to the semifinal of the Michigan High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Championships. He helped his high school team win the state championship his sophomore year, and his team had a 52-game winning streak stretching across both those seasons before a semifinal loss in the state tournament this spring.

Weems also won a gold medal in 2017 as part of the USA Basketball Men’s U16 National Team at the Americas Championship. He most recently played for “The Family,” a top-ranked AAU team based in Detroit.

In the press conference after his decision, Weems cited his connection

with Blue Demon assistant coach Tim Anderson as paramount in his decision to attend DePaul. Anderson used to coach for the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League MeanStreets AAU program, where Weems has played, and he was the founder of Ground Zero training.

There, Anderson has trained NBA players like Jabari Parker, Doug McDermott and Will Bynum. Weems noted the importance of going somewhere for college that would give him the best shot of making it to the NBA. The DePaul coaching staff even wrote down a detailed plan for Weems’ improvement, which appealed greatly to the teenager.

See ROMEO, page 27

The DePaulia’s 2018-19 recruiting class analysis

By Andrew Hattersley Asst. Sports Editor

“Mama there goes that man. Excited to announce my commitment to DePaul University.” With these 13 words from Tyger Campbell, DePaul believed they had finally landed their program-changing point guard similar to the jubilation felt this past week with the commitment of Romeo Weems.

In a heartbreaking series of announcements following that day, Campbell jumped ship, opting instead to take his game to UCLA over DePaul, Purdue and Maryland. Despite this blow, DePaul still ended up with the fifth ranked class in the Big East behind Villanova, Providence, Georgetown and Creighton, according to 247Sports.

Weems stunned the basketball world

committing to DePaul over offers from Michigan State, Michigan, Oregon and Ohio State. With that, the 2019 class has a similar feel of optimism to the 2018 one, the key will be holding onto the four-star forward from Michigan.

DePaul still got a point guard in Flynn Cameron, who joined the team in January and was immediately eligible, although he did not play during conference play.

Cameron joined fellow three-stars John Diener and George Maslennikov to make up the 2018 class.

Femi Olujobi:

DePaul head coach Dave Leitao rounded out the class with the additions of North Carolina A&T graduate transfer Femi Olujobi and Arkansas transfer Darious Hall in consecutive weeks.

Olujobi is eligible immediately, while Hall

will sit out the year.

With only Paul Reed and Jaylen Butz returning from last season in the frontcourt, Leitao knew they needed at least one or two players to play immediately and help fill the void left by the departure of Marin Maric.

“When you talk about fifth year guys the first thing that you have as an asset is the ability to have experience,” Leitao said.

“Because they’ve played a number of years of college basketball and in this case had both really good experiences and some challenging ones as well, so they learn what it takes to be successful.”

Olujobi averaged 16.3 points per game in his one year at NCAT. Leitao said his offensive skillset is unique for a big man that should help him stand out early on.

“It’s not often that you have guys at that position that can score the

NELSON CHENAULT | USA TODAY

Power forward Femi Olujobi. basketball,” Olujobi said. “They're either really good at defense, rim protection, running the floor, toughness, all those

See 2018-19 CLASS, page 27