VOL. #95, ISSUE #9
What a rush
Lincoln Park undergoes redistricting
Blue Demons grab first Big East win, end home court losing streak
By KATIE KORMANN Contributing Writer
By DAVID BERRY Contributing Writer As the crowd rushed the court in a celebratory mob, a sense of relief and victory swept over Allstate Arena, and DePaul players had one general thing going through their minds. “I loved it, I loved every moment of it. I hope we get some more like that.” Sophomore guard Brandon Young said. “That was the best feeling of my life,” said sophomore forward Cleveland Melvin. “It was a great experience, I loved it.” Neither Young nor Melvin had experienced a rushed court in their two seasons at DePaul. DePaul’s thrilling 84-81 upset victory over Pittsburgh broke the Blue Demons’ 15-game home losing streak in Big East play. This win was also the first over the Panthers as a member of the Big East. With the students back on campus for the start of the winter quarter, the “Section 6” student section was as loud and crazy as it had been all season. It had an effect at the start of the game as the Blue Demons jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead. From there, Pittsburgh used a grind-it-out defense to slow the game down and cause turnovers, leading to easy Panthers bucket ‘“I thought it was a tale of two halves for us. We kind of just hung in there in the first half. We were close enough to where we could just see them. The second half I thought we were really, really good.” head
GRANT MYATT | The DePaulia
coach Oliver Purnell said. “Really, really good,” described freshman Derrell Robertson Jr. to start the
second half. Pitt’s Cameron Wright See RUSH, page 27
The proposed remapping of the 43rd ward has Lincoln Park residents worried as some may find themselves belonging to one of five different wards if the proposed remapping passes. Every ten years, Chicago’s City Council must redraw the ward maps to reflect population shifts, which are based on the latest census. The proposed remapping of the 43rd ward – which encompasses most of Lincoln Park -- including DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus -- caused an uproar with residents who may find themselves belonging to a different ward if City Hall passes the redistricting. If passed, the ordinance will take effect April 1, 2012. On Jan. 11, residents, Ald. Smith and 33rd ward alderman Richard Mell will hold a public forum at 6 p.m. in DePaul University’s Cortelyou Commons to discuss the issues residents have over the redistricting. The Black Caucus proposal, known as “Map For a Better Chicago,” will divide Lincoln Park into five wards: the 43rd, 44th, 32nd, 27th, and 2nd. This could cause big problems for 43rd ward residents, who now might be incorporated into a different ward, and for 43rd ward alderman, Michele Smith. Ald. Smith supports the See WARD, page 6
DePaul gears up for G8/NATO summit, moves law school graduation By HAILEY BEMILLER Senior Writer DePaul Law Students have to rethink their graduation plans after their ceremony was relocated in anticipation of two important summits in international diplomacy, and G8 and NATO summits, coming to Chicago in May. While holding such prominent leaders
from several countries to discuss current economic and foreign issues might make up for losing the bid to host the 2016 Olympic games, it caused a significant inconvenience for the law schools graduation. The college was forced to move the location of their graduation from the Lyric Opera House fifteen miles to the Rosemont Theater because of inevitable security and congestion According to Gregory Marks, Dean
of the Law School, the school—and the university--did not have a choice in the matter. “My job was to help the university find the best possible local alternative under the constraints,” Dean Mark saiaI did my level best to keep the students informed about the change,” Dean Mark said. According to Chastidy Burns, a third year law student and president of the Student Bar Association, students were unsure about the change.
“There was a lot of concern about it,” she said. “It’s always been at the Lyric Opera House.” Burns also noted that it was initially difficult to come up with a different location for such a large event. “They had a lot of trouble finding a location that was big enough,” she said. However, she also said that she was pleased the location isn’t “terribly far from See SUMMIT , page 6