Early library closing sparks student petition See OPINION, page 12
DePaulia
The
See FOCUS, page 14
2016 Pacemaker award Finalist/ Best Weekly College Newspaper-SPJ
“No human being is illegal” Volume #102 | Issue #2 | Sept. 18, 2017 | depauliaonline.com
DePaul students respond to DACA repeal By Amber Colón Editor-in-Chief
When President Trump announced on Tuesday, Sept. 5 that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) would be rescinded, sophomore Brenda González decided that she couldn’t stand by as her life became even more threatened than it already is — so she decided to do what she knows best: organize. DACA, passed via executive order by former president Barack Obama, allows undocumented students who wish to seek higher education and work authorization must apply for DACA. The Trump administration intends to delay the repeal for six months, which means that the future is up in the air for a lot students. This is exactly why González decided to march on Daley Plaza that Tuesday. “It gives us more exposure, and it gives us more momentum to the undocumented movement right now,” González said. “Being vocal and having the Latinx Students group on Facebook is helpful. What’s missing on this campus is the voice — we have the numbers, but we don’t have the rallies and the actions.” González said she is going to be focusing on organizing at DePaul for the next year. Her goals include making undocumented students visible and the opportunity to feel safe on campus. “The past two weeks have really been testing me, but what I’m trying to do is organize an action to show (administration) that we are here,” González said. “I want to be humanized.” González is just one of DePaul’s unknown number of undocumented students. Because DePaul’s application does not ask for citizenship status, the impact that undocumented students have on the university is virtually impossible to tell. This does not mean that DePaul’s undocumented student population has been overlooked — last spring, undergraduate students voted yes or no on a Student Government Association (SGA) referendum that would add $2 to the quarterly Student Activity Fee. The referendum, which was introduced by
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRENDA GONZÁLEZ
Student, artist and activist, sophomore Brenda González joined protesters in Daley Plaza on Sept. 5th to protest the Trump Administration’s decision to repeal DACA.
“I want to be humanized.” Brenda González Sophomore Undocumented Vincentians and Allies (UVA), passed after spring elections. Eventually, each additional $2 per quarter will make out to be $6 per student, and the extra money will go into a pot of money for scholarships for undocumented students.
“I think the hardest part of this process is dealing with organizations that weren’t too welcoming (of the referendum),” said Larissa Aranda, president of UVA. “We had the College Republicans, you know, and everyone has a different opinion and different mentality, but degrading someone’s humanity is not a good thing. No human being is illegal.” “We were told we weren’t going to have to fear deportation,” Aranda said. “Last week was like another slap in the face. I haven’t even been active in UVA because I don’t even know what to do,” Aranda said. I cannot tell students that we’re going to be fine if I’m not fine myself.” Arand said that they are trying to keep an ongoing relationship with SGA, especially president Michael Lynch. Lynch said that SGA will have an official liaison to work with UVA throughout the year, who will have direct contact to him. “SGA is going to stay connected with
See DACA, page 5
New president looks forward 125 years By Amber Colón Editor-in-Chief
On his 77 th day as president of the university, Dr. A. Gabriel Esteban held the first State of the University address in DePaul’s history. Nearly 1,000 staff and faculty members filled the south end of 10,000-seat Wintrust Arena for Friday morning’s presentation. Much of Esteban’s presentation focused primarily on retention rates, enrollment and revenue from fiscal year 2017. DePaul’s Strategic Plan, which is to be implemented over the next six years — but Esteban wants to look to the next 125. Esteban allowed for questions and comments at the end of his presentation, which made the atmosphere of the already-chilly arena become tense. The Strategic Planning Process will include four teams made up of university staff who will respectively focus on different areas: strengthening DePaul’s mission, improving enrollment and retention rates, academic programming and faculty development, and financial stability and sustainability. Co-chairs include Gene Zdziarski, vice president of student affairs, and Jacqui Lazú, DR. A. GABRIEL ESTEBAN associate dean to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Esteban followed up with information collected from Student Climate Surveys as early as 2012. In the first study, 54 percent of students said they agree that the value of the degree they were seeking outweighs the cost of attendance. When the same study was conducted in 2015, less than half of students surveyed (48 percent) aid that they agree with that statement, down six percent from three years prior. “How do we convince potential students that it’s worth it to attend DePaul?” Esteban asked. Esteban reiterated that he hoped that the university could reach a successful future by continuing to follow and execute the Vincentian mission. He also noted that much of DePaul’s financial future is in the hands of the state of Illinois, which has a budget after two years and which will provide MAP grant funding to students in need. Esteban said that “diversity will be woven into all aspects of the strategic plan, reflecting the commitment to our Vincentian and Catholic mission.” After the presentation, Esteban opened up the floor for faculty and staff members to share comments or ask questions. Most questions were geared toward in staff involvement and representation, Faculty Council’s
See ADDRESS, page 8