The DePaulia 2.27.23

TheDePaulia

Still RUNNING, Still HIDING, Still FIGHTING

Despite continued school shootings, protocols remain unchanged

ART BY MAYA OCLASSEN

tinued to increase since 2018.

By Samantha Moilanen Asst. News Editor

About 10 years ago, DePaul adopted the active shooter safety protocol — run, hide, fight.

In 2013, the university changed its emergency operations plan to align with the guidelines released by the National Incident Management System (NIMS), an organization developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), according to Cheryl Hover, associate director of emergency management for DePaul.

Thirteen years after NIMS released the recommended “run, hide, fight” active shooter safety protocol based on research from the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, school shootings continue to increase.

2018 had the highest number of active shooter incidents in schools since 1970, according to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. In 2018, they recorded 11 active shooter incidents, with another spike in 2021 recording nine shootings. The data shows the number of nonactive school shootings has also con -

“One of the sad things about the active shooter is, again, they’re actively looking for victims,” said Tom Henkey, director of emergency management at Titan Security Group and an adjunct faculty member for DePaul’s School of Public Service. “The best thing you can do is put distance between you and the bad guy, and that’s really what ‘run, hide, fight’ comes down to.”

DePaul freshman criminology student Amanda Operana said some of her professors go over safety protocols at the start of each quarter, however, The DePaulia found this is not the case for most students.

“I thought it was effective when my professors went over the safety protocol in class at the beginning of each quarter,” she said. “In my opinion, the lesson wouldn’t have been as valuable if they had just shown a video in class since it can be tempting for students to zone out during these presentations.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines an active shooter as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.”

There have been 71 active shooter incidents on K-12 and secondary school campuses since 2008, according to data compiled from the Violence Project and the Center for Homeland Defence and Security. This does not include the recent shooting at Michigan State University on Feb. 13.

The FBI’s most recent report on active shooter scenarios in the United States found there were 61 in 2021.

“The 61 is truly things like you see at MSU, where it’s somebody who’s mobile, they’re actively shooting off in more than one location,” Henkey said. “And the only way that they’re going to be stopped is essentially [by] law enforcement or armed security, something of that sort. So that’s really concerning.”

According to the “active shooter” section of DePaul’s emergency plan website, “run, hide, fight” entails running from the threat if those endangered have a clear exit, hiding or securing their area to delay the attacker if they are unable to escape and fighting the attacker as a last resort.

Haley Pennington, DePaul’s Student Government Association’s (SGA) senator for the College of Law, said her biggest concern is that the university’s buildings are open to the public.

See SAFETY, page 9

Gov. Pritzker proposes increased education spending

By Olivia Zimmerman Staff Writer

On February 15, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced his 2024 budget proposal with increased spending for all education levels, ranging from early childhood to university level institutions.

“When we talk about early childhood and K-12 education, what we're really talking about is preparing them for what comes next, which can be a post-secondary degree or a job. But unless we're making it affordable to attend the institutions and programs that provide the necessary 21st century degrees and skills, we're not fulfilling on our promise of cradle to career opportunity,” Pritzker said in the press release.

The proposed budget also includes more funding for higher education including public institutions and community colleges.

Among the sweeping proposals includes a $440 million increase for early childhood programs and a more than $350 million increase for K-12 schools.

Pritzker’s budget seeks to add over $22 million in Illinois community college investments, such as dual-credit and noncredit programs, English language services, curriculum development supporting trades and technology upgrades.

According to DePaul’s division of enrollment management, the university enrolled 1,085 transfer students in 2019, 65% of which came from Illinois community colleges.

While the money going to help increase school operating costs currently does not appear to include private institutions, such as DePaul, some students will still be impacted should this budget pass.

“The reason why I went [to DePaul] initially was because of scholarships,” junior and animation major Grace Kuhn said. “Unfortunately in [regard] to art programs, there aren’t exactly many affordable ones.”

DePaul is an approved school for students who receive MAP grants, as well as students who receive the Minority Teacher Scholar-

$440 million is going toward early childhood programs $350 million increase in funding for K-12 schools

$100 million increase for the Monetary Award Program (MAP)

ship. Should this budget be passed, students who receive them may see their scholarships increase, or more students may have access to scholarships.

The budget proposal allocates a $100 million (16%) increase for the Monetary Award Program (MAP). This program provides grants for eligible Illinois residents who demonstrate financial need. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) estimates that more than 40% of public university students at or below the median income level and more than 95% of community college students of the same demographic would have their tuition and fees fully covered through a combination of MAP and pell grant funding, according to Pritzker’s budget proposal.

Pritzker proposed a $2.8 million increase for the Minority Teacher Scholarship, more than doubling the number of students covered. The program provides scholarships to

40% of public university students at or below the median income level

More than 95% of community college students would have fees covered through MAP and pell grant funding

students who commit to teaching in minority schools in Illinois.

A $100 million (7%) increase in funding was proposed for Illinois public universities and community colleges for operating costs. However, this proposal does not currently indicate whether the increases will apply to private institutions, such as DePaul.

With the U.S. National Student debt totaling $1.757 trillion, for some students, cost is more important than ever. Each year, DePaul gives out $52 million in new freshman scholarships and an additional $5 million for transfer scholarships with even more for need-based scholarships.

“[Money] was definitely a reason that I [chose] DePaul,” sophomore Madi Lambert said. “[Kentucky] gives you money for your grades to go to community colleges and things like that, but even though I had pretty good grades, I still got more money out of state [at DePaul] than in-state.”

$2.8 million increase planned for the Minority Teacher Scholarship

$22 million added to Illinois community college investments

The average federal student loan debt balance is $35,574, and there are more than 43 million people who have student loan debt.

“If it were up to me, [community college is] completely what I would do,” Kuhn said.

Free education from early childhood through college was a key part of Pritzker’s second inaugural address on Jan. 9.

“It’s [our] obligation to make college more affordable by removing financial barriers,”Pritzker said in his inaugural address. “That’s why we need to bring down the cost of higher education. Since I took office, we’ve increased scholarships by more than 50%. Now, let’s focus on making tuition free for every working- class family in Illinois.”

“For me, the scholarship I got [at DePaul] was for academics, and that was more than any [other schools],” junior Eva Walsh said.

The current proposal will be debated by the state general assembly and needs to be approved by June 30, 2023.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivers his combined budget and State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Feb. 15 at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.

BRIAN CASSELLA | CHICAGO TRIBUNE VIA AP, POOL

SOURCE | GOV. PRITZKER'S PRESS RELEASE

Meet the 18th District Police Council candidates

By Jonah Weber Asst. Arts & Life Editor

With the 2023 election right around the corner, a forum for the 18th District Police Council was held. This is the first time three candidates will be voted into the council by

Chicago residents.

Five of the candidates running for the 18th District Police Council gathered at DePaul’s Student Center in Lincoln Park for a forum, moderated by DePaul criminology professor Xavier Perez. Amy Cross was not present, but is running for the Council.

The forum occurred on Feb. 22, where the candidates answered questions and informed voters on their professional backgrounds.

Robert Johnson originally worked in Ohio. He is on the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) and has been on the 18th District Advisory Committee for six years. He is also the chairman of Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR).

“I've been a police officer for seven years

Candidates speak on their campaign platforms at police council forum

By Jonah Weber Asst. Arts & Life Editor

During the 18th District Police Council on Feb. 22, candidates were asked by DePaul criminology professor, Xavier Perez, who moderated the forum, a variety of questions on their thoughts on the current crime rate, what they plan to do about it, and how they plan to work with police.

The 18th Police District includes Lincoln Park, the Gold Coast, Streeterville, and the Near North Side area.

The first question candidates were asked was why voters should care about the District Police Council and for candidates to pick the top reason they were running.

Those elected for the Police Council will play in key roles. They are to build a strong connection between police and residents within a district, as well as collaborate to implement strong community policing. They will also get community input on Police practices and policies. Along with ensuring that accountability is held on public safety.

Robert Johnson reiterated his experience working with police and explained what the role means.

“The big thing is, we’re your voice,” Johnson said. “We're excited. I'm excited. We're going to be your voice for the liaison to the police department.”

Brad Kessler explained more in depth why he is running.

“It was not any surprise any of us in this room that we've become afraid for good reason, of carjackings, and of walking to dinner or being robbed at night,” Kessler said.

With his background in law, Kessler explained his perspective.

“I understand that we've gotten very bad at preventing crime, and we've become even worse at solving crime,” Kessler said.

Kessler explained that he wants more police in the neighborhoods, as do the other candidates.

“I'm advocating for more community police in our neighborhoods, so that we actually can have police officers that are extended members of our family, and we can actually bring them into our communities and actually get to know them,” Kessler said.

Bowman spoke on working with the 18th District police and security in her

neighborhood over the summer when crime was an issue in her area.

“We work together to create a safety committee, and we brought in the officers that typically work the Mariano Park triangle and the State Street areas, and we got their input,” Bowman said.

Kane shared that her background in the business world and nonprofit management can be used. She has experience managing large budgets and plans to advocate for the police budget.

“I really want to work on advocating for the budget of the police department to be adequately funded and that the 18th District does in fact, get enough resources in order to replenish our number of police officers that is down 20% from several years ago,” Kane said.

Kane also hopes to increase the technology police use.

Seigneur wants to use her role on the council to bring data on crime rates to the community.

“It's important to understand that this council has the opportunity to actually bring you the trends and results and demystify some of the information for you,” Seigneur said.

Seigneur went on to share data that she has collected on her own, so she can highlight her data collection skills.

“Carjackings have been a hot topic, but I will tell you that we have a significantly low rate of auto theft compared to citywide, and that in the last 28 days, our crime rate has actually reduced compared to citywide, and actually our top indicator right now is actually robbery,” Seigneur said.

Seigneur shared what she found to be the largest crime concern. “Robbery is our biggest concern, up 43% year over year.”

Candidates went on to share their personal experiences of seeing police work in communities.

Johnson shared his time working on the “Walk and Talk Program” from this past summer.

“It started with the commander Hind, Sergeant Shank, and then whatever officers he was able to get that were available, usually like four to five additional, we would walk the business districts,” Johnson said. These business districts included Streeterville and

in Ohio, transitioned to the fire department and ended up spending 33 years in the fire service retiring as a fire chief.”

Brad Kessler was born and raised in Chicago. He graduated from Northwestern Law School. A milestone in his career was leading a CPS anti-gang unit in which he said he “focused on putting $60 million towards 10,000 kids that were most at risk of becoming shooters in Chicago.”

Kessler co-runs an organization called Academic Approach. He explained that he is active in his neighbors association within Lincoln Park, overseeing safety and security. He is on the Lincoln Park High School council and a part of the Old Town Triangle Association’s safety committee.

Magnificent Mile.

“We actually stopped the businesses, checked on their well being and the problems that they might have, then introduced those officers,” Johnson said.

Kessler shared his experience of police re-introducing monthly meetings with school leaders.

“I found that very effective because ultimately, if we all see what's happening in the city, it's a children's problem,” Kessler said. “It's a young adult problem. Our carjackings are being caused 70% of time by young adults by kids who are supposed to be in school, largely preparing for school the next day. What we've done at Lincoln Park High School, I think, is a really great example of what can happen when there's better collaboration between CPD and CPS.”

Since COVID-19 started impacting CPSPublic Schools in 2019, there have been major drops in school attendances and absences have been consistently high, at nearly 45% in 2022.

Kessler explained some of the investments he helped make being on the school board.

“What we did was keep regular communication with the CPD,” Kessler said. “We invested in alarms for the school doors. We did that about two years ago, we created a detention policy this year, and we created an in school suspension policy, so that we kept kids inside of the building and didn't push them out.”

Bowman wanted to focus on the business angle of work with police.

“What I see that's really effective is the police getting involved with businesses, knowing who the bouncers are at the door at night, who the business owners are,” Bowman said.

Bowman said that business owners near Division Street and in River North were starting to get well acquainted with police. She believes getting to know the police and increasing community policing will have effective change.

“We're starting to see a lot of positive change, and some of the problems in the area reduced because of that,” Bowman said.

Kane talked about her work with the Clark and Division Collaborative, a Facebook group that shares and focuses on crimes happening in the Gold Coast.

There was recurring shoplifting. She said that gangs were sending people into a store to shoplift and the store wouldn’t re-

Kimberly Bowman grew up in Arlington Heights. She is a former teacher and was part of implementing professional learning communities.

“We call them PLCs, where you look at curriculum, implement and create measurable goals. Similar to what we're trying to do here on the police District Council, implement policy, talk about what's working, and work together in professional learning communities.”

Bowman currently is president of the Newberry Plaza condo association and works in real estate.

Karen Kane is a lifelong Chicagoan. Currently on the board of trustees for the Anixter Center Foundation. She is involved with Marillac St. Vincent. Professionally Kane is a CPA and CFO for a variety of organizations with Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits.

“I want to be part of the solution of solving crime, and working with the police and the local communities in order to do that,” Kane said.

Lisa Seigneur is a lifelong Chicagoland resident. She has professionally worked with big tech companies and startups, such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Samsung. She has experience working with large datasets, which she plans to use in her role on the Police Council. Seigneur is on the safety team for the River North Residents Association. She is also a graduate of the Citizens Police Academy.

port the crime, since it was easy not to and let it be a part of their “shrinkage.”

“So the Clark and Division Collaborative, along with the residents, and along with the police department, worked in order to get the businesses in to report the crime,” Kane said.

Kane said there was resistance from the business owner. Aftering involving the community, police, and the Chicago Department of Business Affairs, they eventually reported the crime. She believes this involvement is the most effective way to reduce crime.

“If you're going to run a business in our neighborhood, you have the responsibility to report crime, and then to go to court in order to prosecute the crime,” Kane said.

Seigneur shared three different ways that she believes has helped build trust between the community and the police.

The first has to do with the 18th Police District hosting a toy drive this past holiday season.

“They utilized the community center and the Near North Precinct here in the 18th district, and literally filled it with toys, unwrapped gifts,” Seigneur said. “They created a literal Winter Wonderland for the children of our 18th district.”

Seigneur went on to share another aspect of policing she likes to see in her neighborhood, which is the police having their watch meetings outside.

“It has this huge show of force,” Seigneur said. “When you see like 30 cops outside rallying, getting ready to start the day. It just makes me feel really comfortable as an individual. Like, we're about to get started. I feel much safer right now.”

The third thing police have done that she found effective was releasing their Community-Driven Approach to Crime Reduction for 2023. The police are required to release this yearly.

“There's a three point plan to address drug sales, robberies and violent crimes.” Seigneur said.

“That's the motor vehicle threat, that's it lists the issues, the opportunities, the affiliate organizations, which include everyone's organization here that they're going to partner with, and their resolution and plan for mitigation.”

Seigneur believes police being transparent with the community, releasing strategies to the public, will be an effective way to reduce crime.

(From left) Robert Johnson, Brad Kessler, Kimberly Bowman, Karen Kane and Lisa Seigneur are candidates for the 18th District Police Council.

WILL LONG | THE DEPAULIA

A guide to last-minute voting in Chicago

By Jake Cox Opinions Editor

The Chicago consolidated election is upon us. Tuesday is voters' last chance to do their civic duty and cast a ballot. Here is a comprehensive guide to voting in Chicago.

How do I register to vote?

Same-day registration is available at every voting site in the state. To register and vote on the same day you’ll need to bring two forms of identification. One of which must include your proof of residency.

These forms of ID include: Passport or Military ID, Driver's License or State ID card, College/University/School/ Work ID, vehicle registration card, lease, mortgage or deed to your home, credit or debit card, Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid card, insurance card, civic, union or professional membership card, LINK/Public Aid/Department of Human Services card, Illinois FOID card

The form of ID with proof of residency include: a Bill, Transcript or Report Card from School, Bank Statement, Pay Stub or Pension Statement, Utility, Medical, or Insurance Bill, Official mail from any government agency.

If you cannot provide two forms of ID at the time of voting you are entitled to fill out a provisional ballot. In this case, you have seven days to provide your ID to the Chicago Election Board located at 69 W. Washington St., Suite 600, Chicago IL 60602.

I’m registered to vote in my home state, can I vote here?

As long as you have lived in Chicago for at least 30 days before election day, you are entitled to vote in the city. Remember if you voted at home, you cannot vote in Chicago or vice versa. Voting in two places in one election is considered election fraud.

What do I do if I experience voter suppression?

If you feel you are experiencing voter suppression you can contact the Chicago election central at 312-269-7870.

Another option is to call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OURVOTE, via ACLU.

Where can I vote?

To find your voting site, enter your address on the Chicago elections website. There are also universal voting sites that anyone can vote at regardless of where in the city you live. The full list of sites can be found here. For DePaul students, the closest voting site to the Lincoln Park campus is the Lincoln Park Public Library located at 1150 N Fullerton Ave.

Where can I find information about the candidates?

On the My Voter Information page you can find a sample ballot that lists all the candidates you’ll be able to vote for.

Block Club Chicago has a tool to compare candidates.

What do I need to bring to vote?

If you are already registered to vote in Illinois you do not need to bring any forms of identification. However, election judges have the right to challenge anyone’s attempt to vote and if they’re successful you will have to present one form of ID, so It’s recommended that you bring a form of identification just in case.

If your vote is challenged, you still have the right to vote. You will be asked to fill out a provisional ballot. In that case, you will have to provide ID to the Chicago Election Board, 69 W. Washington St., Suite 600, Chicago IL 60602. You’re also able to bring in printed or written notes into the polling booth.

What should I not bring?

You cannot enter a polling site wearing any campaign related clothing or material. You will be asked to leave and remove or cover the material before you are able to vote. Any pamphlets/ candidate materials must also be concealed. Polling sites are intended to be non-partisan, bringing campaign materials infringes on voters' access to a free and fair election.

You may not have your phone or any other electronic devices out in the polling site. If you wish to bring notes they need to be printed or written out.

What if I already voted by mail?

If you’ve already decided to vote by mail you have a few options, if you decided to vote in person after all. If you have already received your mail ballot, take it with you to the polling place and surrender it to an election judge. They will void the ballot and allow you to vote as usual.

If you have not yet received the ballot, you will be asked to sign an affidavit certifying that you have not received the ballot. The judge will then issue a ballot and you will be able to vote as usual.

If you have received your ballot but lost it, you may sign an affidavit certifying that you have not voted in the election. You will then be able to vote with a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot will be counted as usual as long as they do not also receive the mail-in ballot.

What are the hours of polling sites?

All polling sites are open from 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. However, if it is 7 p.m. and you haven’t voted but are still in line, you are legally entitled to vote. Stay in line. It is illegal for election judges to not allow you to vote if you are already in line.

Voting for local races ends on Feb. 28. The Lincoln Park Branch of the Chicago Public Library is the closest voting location to the DePaul Lincoln Park campus.

PHOTO BY AMBER STOUTENBOROUGH | THE DEPAULIA

JAKE COX | THE DEPAULIA

JAKE COX | THE DEPAULIA

'We all learn from and with each other' Leo High School embraces DePaul partnership with poetry showcase

By Rose O’Keeffe Staff Writer

Students from Titus Redmond’s English classes at Leo High School promoted love and self-expression at a poetry showcase in collaboration with Jennifer Finstrom’s mentoring youth in community writing groups class, Tuesday, Feb. 14.

Leo High School is an all-boys Catholic high school on the South Side with a predominantly Black student population.

10 seniors and 11 sophomores from Redmond’s English 2 and English 4 classes were chosen to perform their poems before the entire school in a display of growth and pride for students and faculty alike.

Shaka Rawls, principal of Leo High School, applauded DePaul for making “a really concerted effort to support Leo High School academically and culturally.”

Rawls was impressed that many of the students who performed had done spoken word before. He is proud that the partnership provides an artistic platform for young Black men.

“Giving voice to young, urban African American males is huge,” Rawls said. “A population that feels disenfranchised or unheard has a stage and a platform in order to express themselves. That's what you want society to be.”

Redmond called the relationship between DePaul and Leo a “godsend” because it gives students a chance to explore different mediums of academic engagement.

He recalled a particular student who came out of his shell after being exposed to poetry performance.

“He's a shy kid, but when he was able to write his own poem and give the message he wanted to give, he was a star on the stage,” Redmond said. “It allowed him to get into an element where he was comfortable.”

DePaul’s partnership with Leo is through the Egan Office of Urban Education and Community Partnerships (UECP). The Egan Office works to advance DePaul’s engagement with public agencies, nonprofits, community-based organizations and schools.

“We connect our university partners, meaning faculty, and students, with our urban school partners,” said Monica Ramos, associate director of the Egan Office.

In this case, Ramos said that Finstrom’s class paired with Redmond’s English classes because the timing and content of each class matched.

“[The class] has been partnering with Leo High School since 2021,” Finstrom said. “My class meets with Leo seniors and sophomores on Zoom approximately once a week.”

Redmond noted that writing a Mother's Day poem was the first assignment facilitated with Finstrom’s class back in 2021.

"One of the projects coming out of this was a Mother's Day poem, given that it's been a tradition here at Leo that graduation is held on Mother's Day,” Redmond said.

The two-school collaboration has since expanded to include more assignments and events.

Since the partnership began during the pandemic, Finstrom said students have been building towards in-person

events like the one on Feb. 14 for nearly three years

“The first year that we partnered, we met only on Zoom,” Finstrom said. “Last year, we traveled to Leo [High School] for an open mic, and this year, we welcomed Leo to DePaul for mini-writing workshops.”

Ramos believes this timing was meaningful. She said when the pandemic was raging, writing poetry gave students an outlet to express their thoughts.

“The impact was really enriching for both DePaul and Leo High School students,” Ramos said. “Through poetry and spoken word, they were able, to a certain extent, articulate what was going on at that moment.”

Finstrom said her class works through lessons and supports Leo students as they write poems for the showcase. Her class is also a resource for Leo students to learn more about the college experience.

“We all learn from and with each oth -

Mentor opportunities on campus

Success Coaching

Multicultural Student Success

Transfer Peer Mentors

International Student Support

Peer Career Coaching Students Together Are Reaching Success (STARS)

Student Success

Coaching

Chicago Quarter Mentor

Health Education Action Team (HEAT)

Mentoring Youth in Community Writing Groups (WRD 371)

Catholic and Public Schools Internship Program Coordinators

The School Community Organizer (SCO)

Developing long-term partnerships, Ramos said, is key to fostering lasting commitments in urban communities.

Finstrom agreed and said she and Redmond are “committed to growing the partnership every year by adding new elements and additional visits and events.”

Redmond said the all-school performances work to recruit new students to his English classes.

er,” Finstrom said.

Redmond echoed this sentiment and said he has seen growth on all sides.

“Working with Professor Finstrom has taught me a lot,” Redmond said. “I'm going to look at becoming an adjunct professor now. It hasn't only been a collaboration for the children.”

All parties involved wish to expand the connection between DePaul and Leo.

“I've had a number of freshmen come up to me and say, ‘I can't wait to be in your class next year,’” Redmond said. “My goal is to expose the whole school to Professor Finstrom and her writing crew.”

10 Leo students will make encore poetry performances at DePaul’s Student Center on March 10. Redmond encouraged DePaul students to stop by and see this supportive, artistic partnership at work.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAKA RAWLS

Molly Zajac-Clark, an English teacher at Leo High School, introduces DePaul student mentors to Leo high schoolers.

Rickey Williams, Leo High School sophomore, presents his poem to the class.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAKA RAWLS

“Giving voice to young, urban African American males is huge.”

Shaka Rawls

Principal of Leo High School

New SGA College of Communication senator brings diverse perspective

Senior

By Claire Tweedie SGA Beat Writer

Entering the room to thunderous applause from the Student Government Association (SGA) general body, it was clear to senior Paria Ghanderia that she had been appointed the new senator for the College of Communication. After a brief speech by Ghanderia to the general body introducing herself and expressing interest in the senator role, SGA held a closed door discussion to determine her future in the organization, one that ended in Ghanderia’s favor.

“I [was] interested in student government before, but I wasn’t sure what it would be like,” Ghanderia said. “Today’s meeting really reassured me that I’m going to like it here.”

SGA appointed Ghanderia for the senator role after it was left vacant by the previous College of Communication senator, sophomore Avery Schoenhals, who is now the SGA executive vice president for facility operations.

“[Ghanderia] was the first person who came to mind when I was thinking through College of Communication students I know who would be able to really serve as an effective representative,” Schoenhals said.

Ghanderia believes her involvement in the College of Communication, most notably as the vice president of DePaul’s Public Relations Student Society of America, gives her a unique advantage in her senator role.

“I know the ins and outs of the College of Communication,” Ghanderia said. “That also means I know where the issues lie, and I have sources to help me navigate those issues.”

However, this is not Ghanderia’s first time being involved in SGA. While she may not have been a general member, Ghanderia is involved in multiple ad hoc committees spearheaded by SGA, includ-

ing the academic affairs ad hoc and the College of Communication ad hoc.

“She just came into the committee with such an energy and enthusiasm for new ideas, and it really impressed me,” Schoenhals said. “I’m really happy to have her in SGA, and I think she’s going to do a great job at representing the College of Communication for the rest of the school year.”

Ghanderia’s goals for her senator position focus on promoting individual majors within the College of Communication. As a public relations major, she hopes to uplift the advertising section of the public relations and advertising program by coming up with initiatives to keep students involved in the college.

She also hopes her background as a Persian student born and raised in Iran will help bring more representation to the community of Middle Eastern students within the College of Communication.

“There have been a couple of Iranian

students where when I meet them, I’m the first person to approach them and say that I’m Persian too,” Ghanderia said. “I really want to meet a lot more Persian students here at DePaul and while I can’t directly change that, maybe I can help bring some perspective.”

Sophomore Parveen Mundi, SGA executive vice president of student affairs, met Ghanderia during their first year on the DePaul mock trial team and said she is a good fit for the senator role based on her constant ideas and creativity.

“She’s one of those people who can bring solutions to the issues she's presenting,” Mundi said. “She’s very familiar with the student body she’s trying to support, and I really couldn't have thought of anyone better for the position. I’m kind of jealous [that] I didn’t think of her first.”

Mundi believes the action she has seen Ghanderia put behind her initiatives in other organizations and extracurriculars is exactly what SGA needs to help build

Parveen Mundi

SGA executive vice president of student affairs and sophomore

connections with the students they represent. Even joining SGA halfway through the school year, Mundi is not worried about any challenges Ghanderia will face in the upcoming months.

“She definitely strikes me as someone who will hit the ground running,” Mundi said. “She already has all of these ideas and is eager to work on other senators’ projects so I don't think starting late will be a concern for her.”

Like Mundi, Ghanderia is not worried about any challenges she may face during her time in SGA and is simply ready to start making changes for the college she loves.

“I was born and raised around challenges all of my life, so I like to take them head on,” Ghanderia said. “I feel like I'm part of the school. I get to know what the rules are and what we can vote on and that's a really nice feeling, that feeling like you belong in the college.”

KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA

Paria Ghanderia was appointed as Student Government Association (SGA) College of Communication senator at last week's SGA meeting on Thursday, Feb. 23.

“[Paria Ghanderia] is very familiar with the student body she’s trying to support and I really couldn't have thought of anyone better for the position. I’m kind of jealous [that] I didn’t think of her first.”

Avery Schoenhals, Executive Vice President of Facility Operations, suggested Ghanderia apply for the role. He said she was a great candidate due to her involvement on campus.

KIERSTEN RIEDFORD | THE DEPAULIA

25th Ward Race: Byron Sigcho-López vs. Aida Flores

Candidates prepare for elections amid voter division

By Santiago Posada-Jaramillo

La DePaulia Managing Editor

Reducing violence, resisting gentrification, rising property taxes and improving access to education…the issues facing the 25th Ward are clear to most, and many of the proposed solutions seem similar. The main question that the voters of the ward will answer this Tuesday, Feb. 28 is who will be the best person to fill the role of Alderperson and face these problems together with the community: Byron Sigcho-Lopez or Aida Flores?

Recently, there have been changes on the map of the wards in the city of Chicago. The 25th Ward — located in the West Loop — is made up of Pilsen, Chinatown and Little Village, among other neighborhoods. Although the adjustment means new responsibilities for whoever takes office, the overarching challenges remain the same.

Daniel Flores, a Latino student and resident of Pilsen, spoke about the current situation in the neighborhood.

“There was one of the highest property tax increases. It's getting harder and harder to live here," he said.

Flores also said that "people do not feel safe" and that "it is a difficult time for Pilsen."

Byron Sigcho-López has been the 25th ward Alderperson since 2019 when he replaced Daniel Solis. Solis was involved in several scandals that led to him backing out of the race for reelection. That race was characterized by an intention on the part of the voters to seek an alderperson who would focus on affordable housing.

Sigcho-Lopez, an Ecuadorian immigrant and educator in Pilsen, was recognized in his neighborhood since before his appointment for his experience as an organizer and activist. His start in activism was linked to his opposition to school closures and other actions proposed by then-mayor, Rahm Emanuel and Ald. Solis. Later, he became the Executive Director of Pilsen Alliance and began his attempts to become an alderman. He is a mathematician and business administrator from Cumberland University, has a master's in economics from the University of Illinois Chicago and is a PhD candidate in Urban Education Policy.

Aida Flores, born in Pilsen and an influential educator in the neighborhood, is recognized for her experience as a school administrator and teacher of public schools. Her experience as a mother and as a member of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system brought her closer to community issues, as she shared in an interview with Block Club Chicago. She has a bachelor’s from Georgetown University, a master’s in teaching from National-Louis University and a master's in education from Harvard University.

This will be the second time that Sigcho-López and Aida Flores have competed for this position. In the previous race, Aida Flores finished fourth, while Sigcho-López passed and won the runoff against Alexander Acevedo. On this occasion, only Sigcho-López and Aida Flores are candidates in the race.

The platforms of both candidates are progressive, as both propose to seek solutions to violence from the community and oppose the increase in property taxes to combat the gentrification that affects their ward.

Aida Flores said that one of her main

strengths is her type of leadership, inspired by her experience as an elementary assistant principal. In this role, she said she has had to see how policy and practice interact, allowing her to have a unique and up-close point of view that will help her on the Council.

“I have been a part of it. And I bring the same spirit," she said.

Her endorsement from mayoral candidate Jesús 'Chuy' García has also attracted a lot of attention.

Sigcho-López’s strengths come from his management over the last four years and the activism he did in the past. He opposed property tax increases and has helped community members to appeal them. He also promoted solutions from the community to the safety problems in the ward while also fighting for police accountability.

“We are executing the community plans,” he said.

But not all that is being said is positive.

Among other accusations, Aida Flores said that Sigcho-López has “an inefficient and harmful type of leadership,” with two main accusations to support this: “He did not submit the applications for the 'Menu Money'” in his four years as alderman, and that the 25th Ward during his administration was "one of the wards with the most 311 unsatisfied requests."

The ‘Menu Money’ is a $1.5 million annual budget “allocated per ward and dedicated to addressing specific local needs.” This is invested by the Chicago mayor's office, according to what each alderperson requests for their ward. If an alderperson does not indicate where this budget should be spent, the city would decide without necessarily taking into account the specific needs of the ward.

No evidence was found to support this accusation, since there is a budget requested for each year in the record from the city. An independent investigation led by Bike Lane Uprising, a group of advocates for the rights of cyclists, did not show the 25th Ward as one with the least unsolicited budgets. A video on Facebook shows the planning of how the proposals of the community were going to be collected and the form to make them.

3-1-1 is a number called “to find information, request non-emergency services or report non-emergency issues.”

This accusation regarding the 3-1-1 line is more difficult to verify. Since the requests are categorized by the appropriate city department and not the ward from which the call was made, it is impossible to know which requests would be relevant to the 25th Ward. In addition, as these requests are in charge of the departments, their status is not controlled by the Alderman's office.

For his part, Sigcho-López said that choosing Aida Flores would be “returning to the ghosts of the past.” His main criticism is directed at the politicians who support her campaign and the organizations that help finance it. For this, he accused her of not being independent.

The first of these connections mentioned is with former Alderman Solis. In the 2019 election, Aida Flores was a candidate against Solis, in the same way that Sigcho-López was too. Despite the fact that the Aida Flores campaign said that "there are no connections," after Solis backed out of his reelection campaign, Sol Solis, daughter of the former

councilor, gave Aida Flores her support and thanked Flores in a Facebook post. Also, Jackson Chiu, a former Solis staffer, went on to work with the Aida Flores campaign. These two connections are from the 2019 campaign, not the present one.

The other connection mentioned by Sigcho-López is the one Aida Flores has with current mayoral candidate Jesús 'Chuy' García. Recently, he has been the target of scandals linked to his presumed relationships with the CEO of FTX and Michael Madigan.

Finally, Get Stuff Done PAC, connected to Kyrsten Sinema, has been helping Aida Flores campaign against Sigcho-Lopez, especially attacking his position against more police involvement in the ward.

The Aida Flores campaign mentioned

that some of the donors for the Sigcho-López campaign were – at the time – donors to the Solis campaign. This is true as in the case of Ivy Garden Learning Center and 21st Century US - Sino Services, Inc, among others, who also donated to the 25th ward Regular Democratic Organization, whose president is Daniel Solis.

Both candidates have received donations from organizations and individuals who have also donated to Lori Lightfoot's mayoral re-election campaign, despite the fact that neither Sigcho-Lopez, nor Aida Flores, support her as a candidate. Despite everything, some believe that participating is the best option for things to improve.

Voting is the first step. It is easy to think that things are not going to change, but the truth is that we do have a voice,” Flores said.

JACQUELINE CARDENAS | THE DEPAULIA Byron Sigcho-Lopez, the current Alderman for the 25th Ward and a candidate in the upcoming aldermanic race, sits at a city council meeting in January.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AIDA FLORES' INSTAGRAM

Aida Flores, a candidate in the 25th Ward race, walks neighborhoods in her ward to ask constituents what issues they care about most.

“My biggest issue is our buildings are public buildings, and the only way to prohibit someone from coming in is if they had a prior infraction with someone inside,” Pennington said. “There needs to be a way to monitor the people coming in, and elevator logistics and lobby congestion cannot get in the way of finding solutions to keeping students, faculty and staff safe.”

Hover said “run, hide, fight” will continue to be DePaul’s primary active shooter response protocol because it is still recommended by the FBI, FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“‘Run, hide, fight’ continues to be the recommended response from FBI/FEMA/ DHS and has been for many years,” Hover said. “While we do not have any immediate changes planned at this time, we constantly look to the federal organizations and other experts for the latest advice on best protocol.”

However, Hover said the university has made changes in how they alert the community in the event of an emergency.

So far, she said the university upgraded the system used to launch messages through speakers in all of DePaul’s buildings, allowing them to activate announcements from either campus, and also changed the technology platform used to launch DPU alert messages.

Hover said DePaul also created a threat assessment team prompted by an after-action report following the Virginia Tech shooting. The team meets weekly to review reports of concerning behavior on campus, she said.

“The goal of this team is to prevent an incident from happening,” she said. “In the case at Virginia Tech, there was no inter-

disciplinary team and [there were] multiple reports of concerning signs from the perpetrator [that] were not connected until after the fact.”

Henkey urges students to be aware of their surroundings at all times and to actively look for possible exits when entering a building because an active shooting incident could happen at any time, at any moment.

“The assailants, like the guy at MSU, are thinking about these things, they are having these thoughts, and they are putting planning and preparedness into the intent to cause harm,” Henkey said. “The people who are good folks, who don't have those kinds of ideas in their head or would never consider doing something like that, still have to think about this stuff in advance.”

Hover said the university also has door barricade devices installed in each classroom so students and faculty can lock the doors if a shooting breaks out during class times.

The emergency response team attends each college’s meetings at DePaul to train faculty and staff in the event there is an active shooter incident, Hover said.

“We've been pretty successful at getting into even small departmental meetings, but also on a larger scale per college,” she said.

However, Hover said training students is more difficult, and while they try to educate students at orientation, training is not mandatory.

According to DePaul’s public safety director, Bob Wachowski, all active shooter incidents should be immediately reported to 911 first, before public safety.

“The first call should almost always go to 911 in serious situations, especially if it's an active shooter, and the reason for that is we are not a sworn police department,” Wachowski said.

In the case there is an active shooter on

DePaul’s campus, Wachowski said Public Safety’s responsibilities would be to get the notices out to the campus community and to assist the first responders like the Chicago Police Department (CPD) or the Fire Department.

“We give them, you know, all the information that they need so that they can safely secure the scene, and then we will assist them in whatever else that they direct us to,” Wachowski said.

According to Wachowski, DePaul has a close-working relationship with CPD to ensure students safety on both campuses.

“We're in constant communication with them,” he said. “If there's any type of threat that they perceive is real to the Chicagoland area or to college campuses, they make sure and update us on that information.”

According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report, nearly 40% of private universities and over 90% of public universities have sworn police officers with full arrest powers. In the Chicago area, the University of Chicago has the largest armed campus police force with approximately 100 sworn officers, according to the campus website.

Unlike other Chicago area universities, DePaul does not have a sworn police department.

Earlier this year, President Robert L. Manuel told The DePaulia he does not plan on this happening under his leadership.

“I think our practices may be better in the Public Safety Group,” Manuel said.

Operana said she mostly feels safe on campus with DePaul’s current safety measures in place, however, she said it is difficult to feel safe all the time living in a city like Chicago.

“We can't get obsessed about it, we can't let it take over our lives, but we do need to give it some thought,” Henkey said.

61 active shooter incidents in 2021

9 active shooter incidents recorded in schools in 2021

11 active shooter incidents recorded in schools in 2018

71 active shooter incidents on K-12 and secondary school campuses since 2008

SOURCE | FBI, CENTER FOR HOMELAND DEFENSE AND SECURITY

Nation & World

Proposed ‘Latino’ category on U.S. Census raises questions of who is truly represented

By Alexa Bañuelos Contributing Writer

The Biden administration stirred up discussions across the Latino community after proposing to combine the race and ethnicity question on the 2030 census last month, allowing people to checkmark Latino or Hispanic.

While currently the census accounts for both ethnicity and race, the race category is limited to white, Black, American Indian, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and a final category of “some other race.”

A study conducted by the Pew Research Center showed that in the 2020 census, 42% of Latinos did not identify as white and marked “some other race.”

Evidence from a group of experts who have been “studying the federal government’s 1997 race and ethnicity standards” shows that asking people to check mark their ethnicity and race is confusing for many people who do not see a difference in ethnicity and race, according to an article in NBC News.

The proposal from the Biden administration seeks to reformat the question of race and ethnicity into the same category, according to PBS News Hour.

The public has about 40 more days to submit their own comments about the proposal, titled OMB-2023-0001, on a federal website.

These comments will be used to draft the final proposal.

DePaul junior Vanesa León said that though she sees benefits to including Hispanic/Latino as a race category, she feels the census does not account for the fact that the

Latino community is a diverse community.

“It does divide the community,” León said. “In general the census does not take into consideration that Latinos are not a homogenous community and we do come in a variety of shades.”

This proposal will go into effect in the 2030 census, and it is intended to redefine the concept of race and ethnicity to account for people of Hispanic descent.

However, it has posed a lot of questions concerning the recognition and representation of AfroLatinidad, the identity of individuals with Latin American and African roots.

This brings up conflicting ideas on whether the proposal fosters inclusion, or promotes a disregard of intersecting racial and ethnic identities in the Latinx community.

“I think that a lot of the Latin community fails to recognize that you can be Black and Latino,” DePaul junior and co-president of student group Movimiento Estudiantes de Solidaridad y Apoyo (MESA) Emily Vallejo said. Columbia University graduate and Af-

ro-Latina journalist Jenay Ciara felt a lack of representation for Afro-Latinas growing up, which left her feeling out of place and questioning where she belonged.

“So often it was like I’m not Black enough or I’m not Latina enough, but within the Latinx culture it was a lot of internalized racism passed down through generations and also the lack of representation,” Ciara said.

In 2015, Ciara founded #IAMENOUGH, a digital storytelling platform, dedicated to creating a space oriented towards amplifying Afro-Latina narratives and recognizing diversity within the Latinx community.

Contributing to the threats of the lack of recognition of intersecting racial and ethnic identities is the pervasiveness of colorism and racism.

According to the Pew Research Center, colorism entails the discrimination of individuals with a dark skin tone which can manifest itself from within the same ethnic or racial group.

While racism is the discrimination of individuals for their ethnic or racial identity.

Ciara recognizes how confining Latinos to a single identity can be very invalidating and promote internalized colorism and racism.

“We spend too much time trying to check people into a box, or trying to check people into a nationality,” Ciara said. “I feel like there is so much emphasis on it that people feel within their own community they have to put down other people based on the color of their skin.”

In a national survey conducted in 2021 by the Pew Research Center, they found that, of the people surveyed, 41% of Hispanics with a darker complexion reported to have been discriminated against by someone who is also Hispanic.

According to Duke University, “Hispanic” refers to someone with ancestry from a predominantly Spanish-speaking country, and “Latino” refers to a person with origins from anywhere in Latin America.

“I have experienced colorism within my own community, [with phrases such as] ‘don’t go into the sun, you’re going to get too dark,’” León said.

Consequently, many Latinos have been emphasizing the need for promoting representation of Latinos with intersecting racial and ethnic identities from within the Latinx community to combat the invalidation of many Latinos.

“It really starts with us within our community creating spaces for people like us,” Ciara said. “We can’t just rely on politics and the government to understand because they’re not always in our shoes.”

MAYA OCLASSEN | THE DEPAULIA

“It really starts with us within our community creating spaces for people like us. We can’t just rely on politics and the government to understand because they’re not always in our shoes.”

Jenay Ciara

Afro-Latina Journalist

U.K. transgender teen killed in suspected hate crime

By Siona Chibber Staff Writer

On Feb. 11, Brianna Ghey, a 16-yearold transgender girl, was allegedly stabbed to death by two teenagers in the United Kingdom. Those suspected in this case were charged with her murder and are set to have their trial on July 10. While legal debate over whether this was truly an anti-trans attack or not, her story caused public outcry and this incident sparked conversations globally about the safety and protection of trans youth worldwide.

According to Everytown for Gun Safety, murders of transgender people nearly doubled from 2017 to 2021 in the U.S. alone, an overall 93% increase over four years.

Ghey’s story, similar to the stories of other transgender victims, is brushed off in the media and not given proper awareness too. When looking up articles about her murder, scarce information is shared with the public. Josh Helfgott, a popular LGBTQ TikTok influencer frequently shares news stories regarding LGBTQ people.

“Brianna was getting bullied frequently for her gender identity in school leading up to this incident. Five days before she passed, Ghey posted a video on this same platform talking about the exclusion she was facing,” Helfgott said(@joshhelfgott).

Despite the evidence online, police in the U.K. are still telling the public that they are unclear as to whether or not this was truly a hate crime.

“I hadn’t even heard of this story until this past Monday; trans issues definitely aren’t being talked about enough. In this case, it might also be because of lack of immediate action by the local community to raise money and charge this murder as a hate crime,” said Awiyn Lucido,pronouns, a transgender student in the communication graduate program.

On top of that, when the U.K. press shared information with the public on this story, they referred to her using her deadname.

A deadname refers to a name that transgender people were assigned at birth with and no longer associate with when being addressed. Deadnames hold negative weight and can be very dehumanizing for these individuals.

“[They] are oftentimes intensely personal,” Lucido said. “When these names become common knowledge in the media, it can be weaponized. It is a constant reminder the world does not see you as who you are, that living life that is true to oneself is a fight. It can also elicit a sense of dysphoria. It can be very similar or even more intense than being misgendered.”

This public statement caused a lot of shock and anger towards both members of and allies of the LGBTQ community. Many felt this was betraying the community and showing lack of support for their issues.

While there are certain acts and provisions put in place in countries such as the U.K. or the U.S. to protect trans youth. How critically these actions are put in place and adhered to is another story. Schools, both public and private, have some freedom to decide what to allow amongst their students. It could encompass anything between restrooms, changing facilities, pronoun usage and uniforms. This is where the ongoing issue lies in lack of protection of trans youth. They are not given adequate resources and support through their institutions from a young age, and this causes ongoing issues of discrimination and bullying.

In terms of results, the two 15-year-olds have been charged and arrested. They will go to court in July to be formally tried and punished accordingly. Even still, the response from the U.K. public and the police force caused quite a commotion due to lack of outward support for the LGBT+ community and trans youth.

Non-white and gender non-conforming persons are put more at risk because of both their gender identity and their skin color. While Ghey’s tragedy was able to get in the public eye and enhance conversations on this issue, crimes and violence against transgender people of color often do not make headlines the way that Ghey’s killing did.

“I’m, always torn in two, because each story like Brianna’s is a person’s entire life, and the importance of that demands so many

emotions, but at the same time, these events are so frequent that one gets desensitized to the horror of it,” said Reane Kelly, a transgender DePaul alum.

“We’re just living our lives, trying to find stability and happiness, and we’re regularly thrown into collective mourning,” Kelly said. “It’s so hard to be hopeful, because it feels like mainstream society is becoming complacent, while laws that limit our existence keep being passed.”

Stories such as Ghey’s can be damaging and disheartening to learn about in the news, especially for transgender people and transgender youth.

“This is something we hear about in the queer community but others remain unmoved,” said Kai Merren, a transmasculine political science major at DePaul. “Ghey’s story is felt throughout the trans community not only because it was a tragedy in itself, but

because it’s another reminder that this is an ongoing issue and a product of cultural feelings around trans youth in the public eye.”

“The future of trans issues and protections for those in this community are unpredictable,” Merren said. “We are in a climate where people in power get to decide how important our rights are, how important our lives are.”

If you are a trans or genderqueer person who is struggling or need some further support there are hotlines, organizations, and other resources listed below:

Trans Lifeline: https://translifeline.org/ US 877.565.8860

Canada 877.330.6366

The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/ US +1 866.488.7386

TransEDU: https://www.trans.ac.uk/ UK 0300.330.0630

Mississippi House proposes to change capital city’s court system

majority Black neighborhoods would be more skirted, according to The New York Times.

The Mississippi House approved a new court system in the state’s capital city Jackson in which all judges and prosecutors of the majority Black city will be appointed by the all white Republican state officials.

The bill was passed through the Mississippi House, despite opposition from Black and Democratic legislators. In order for it to be passed into law, the bill would have to go through the Senate and the governor.

According to the U.S. Census, Jackson’s Black population comprises almost 83% of the city’s total population, making it a city with one of the largest Black populations per capita in the country.

The new courts and police patrols will serve neighborhoods that host the majority of Jackson’s white population. The

If the bill is passed by the governor, the white Mississippi Supreme Court chief justice will be appointed Jackson’s judges and clerk. Prosecutors will be appointed by the white attorney general.

Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Jackson’s mayor, did not hold back in his criticism of the new bill.

“Some of the other legislators, I was surprised that they came half-dressed, because they forgot to wear their hoods,” Lumumba told The New York Times.

According to CNBC, Lumumba reportedly said that the new bill reminds him of the South African apartheid.

Mississippi has a long history with racism and race-based segregation since before the Civil War. Black residents of Jackson experience poverty at three times the rate of white residents, accord -

ing to Mississippi Free Press. Republican Rep. Trey Lamar, who wrote the bill, claims that the bill has no racist bias and the main goal is to reduce crime.

On Thursday, the Senate passed an amended version of the bill that removed the proposed new court system and would appoint five new temporary judges alongside the four elected judges.

@JASONREIDUK | TWITTER

Outrage over Brianna Ghey’s killing has evoked outrage across the globe from from members of the LGBTQ community and allies.

The controversial Mississippi House Bill 1020 established a new court system for Jackson.

More than 1,000 people attended a vigil for Brianna Ghey in East London on Feb. 15.

KEN LUND | CREATIVE COMMONS

By Ruchi Nawathe Nation & World Editor

@ELMFORKJBGC | TWITTER

Opinions

DePaul is underprepared for an active shooter situation

By Siona ChiBBer Staff Writer

America has been riddled with gun violence increasingly every year, according to the FBI. Incidences happening in churches, universities, concerts or even in schools. Regardless of its frequency, no one can truly be prepared for such a tragedy to occur. When and where it will happen next will always be unclear and the sense of panic people face is everlasting.

After hearing of the most recent mass shooting that made headlines on Feb.16, at Michigan State University (MSU), concerns were once again raised for college students in terms of their safety and apprehensions in if their school would be next. What’s even more worrisome, is that whenever there is a new shooting that comes into light in the media, many more follow en suite in a domino effect.

“I’m from a city an hour away from East Lansing called Grand Rapids and during the times I visited the MSU campus I never felt threatened, it felt like home,” said Bella Kamp, a DePaul International Studies freshmen.

She aired her concerns over the recent news, having friends and fellow high school alumni who are currently studying in MSU or attended the university in the past.

“Despite feeling safe at DePaul, hearing the news of this recent incident further proves that we can never really truly prepare for these types of things because they’re so prevalent and unexpected,” Kamp said.

Many Americans, with focus on youth education and children’s well-being nationwide, have an increasing anxiety surrounding lockdowns or active shooters

arising out of the blue at their school at any given moment. Students remain wondering if they will get there and back home safely everyday.

Both in high school and with my time as a DePaul student, whenever I walk to class and sit in a classroom, I always check the exits and how many windows there are. I never go anywhere without my phone and make sure my location is on.

When I am not paying attention to the lecture or class discussion, I am worrying about the ways -I could escape the location I am in on campus and what that would look like. This thought process of an immediate unknown danger is something many other students think heavily about.

When taking a look at DePaul’s official website and going to the official emergency plan, the three main takeaways from this section are “run, hide, and fight.” Is this enough?

“Even if there were more established guidelines or drills I still wouldn’t feel ready or prepared,” said senior Clare Brady.

There are phone numbers and resources listed for students and faculty should they need to get outside help immediately. The practicality and physicality of dealing with an abrupt threat remains imminent. Another concern here is that there are no maps of the exits in the university’s buildings in this section on safety.

What’s more, having drills or even having each professor announce exits and strategies before each class could help ease stress and provide helpful information should something unlikely happen in the duration of a class.

When it comes to mental health issues and resources for students with disabilities and mental health issues, DePaul has

struggled to obtain a good standing. The university is unable to give its students the adequate support they need to succeed in an educational sense. Many college students find themselves struggling with depression, loneliness and suicidal ideation. Accommodations, counseling, check-ins with faculty members, or even time-off are some of the most needed requirements to help students stay afloat during troubling times.

After reports of yet another mass shoting, it is dire that schools like DePaul not only make a statement about the event with simple ‘thoughts and prayers,’ but rather through physical action, physical changes. They must be implemented to help strengthen the relationships and atmosphere of members of both campuses in order to consistently ensure safety. Students should not have to worry about what ‘Exits’ to look for and take time away from their education to guarantee protection of themselves and their peers.

It is necessary for an institution such as this Catholic school, to show support for every young adult to the fullest extent. Once college students begin to feel like they are not being taken care of in the place where they are paying generous amounts of tuition for a great education, they begin to break away and experience severe isolation and mistrust.

This, mixed with a miniscule and futile plan for an active shooter emergency, serves as a catalyst for disaster.

“I don’t think I’m the only one with this looming fear walking around campus that a shooting could happen here at DePaul, or anywhere else I go,” Brady said. Now, this doesn’t mean this is the indefinite future for this university or any other. If more attention is put on this

problem and action is taken to help protect students, faculty and staff at all costs from an on campus shooting, the outcome could change tremendously and the DePaul community could begin to feel a greater sense of comfort in walking to and from both campuses. Hotlines should be present on a board in each classroom and in each syllabus for every class as well for easy access to outside resources.

Wellness Wednesdays must be further advertised to members of this institution. Other resources are present on DePaul’s official website under ‘Health & Wellness,’ and require increased attention upon having on-site, physical security could help as well.

“Safety could be magnified by having security guards in each building on campus. It would be beneficial for students to be more aware of the emergency protocols too,” Kamp said.

Emergency buttons are dispersed over the campus grounds already along with immediate alerts from DPU in emails and through text messages.

Procedures for this unlikely event are currently superficial and lack substance. Many students are unaware that the above resources are even available at all. These are just some ways that DePaul could help prevent a tragedy as staggering as the one that occurred at MSU from ever happening in this school.

Our love and support goes out to the students and families of MSU. These mass shootings should not be a reoccurring or unexpected threat to communities, especially universities such as DePaul.

MAYA OCLASSEN I THE DEPAULIA

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT THE ALDERMAN

By a lexa BanueloS Contributing Writer

As aldermanic candidates campaign for the elections on Feb. 28, there is increased emphasis throughout Chicago on local civic engagement. With the elections around the corner, it is essential that college students engage with their alderman to maintain recognition for their concerns. Whereas it is throughout their four-year term that each alderman serves on city council, which amends local laws that approve or deny the mayor’s proposed annual budget for the city.

Demographics on voter turnout rates over time indicate a significant age-based civic engagement gap in both local and national politics. According to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement only 27% of eligible young voters voted in the 2022 midterm elections. While various factors influence this engagement gap, it is evident that a significant portion of eligible student voters fail to participate in local and national elections. Thus, posing the question, do college students care about their alderman?

Chicago’s diverse student population is a contributing factor for the student engagement gap in the aldermanic elections, whereas there is a significant portion of out of state or commuter students from the suburbs for the academic year. This issue often influences students' engagement with their alderman as they may not be as inclined to participate in the City’s local political climate. Students may feel they lack influence or hold no stake outside of their hometowns and opt out of participating in local politics.

“I think that a lot of people have their opinions on their respective aldermen, but in general, I feel that they are not always viewed positively. Being from outside the city and its general area, it has definitely shaped the way that I see Chicago politics,” said DePaul senior and economics major, Connor Schmidt.

Even so, all college students in Chicago are directly — and indirectly — impacted by their alderman’s decisions as they ensure that their community is taken care of on a daily basis. Whether it be repaving sidewalks, cleaning garbage, addressing noise

complaints or facilitating permits, every Chicago resident’s daily life is influenced by their alderman.

Additionally, aldermen ensure that each citizen is proportionally represented on a local scale. Chicago is divided into 50 wards (a division of the city) and each alderman is elected by their constituency into a ward that represents a specific community of residents.

“Local politics can be much closer to the people than national politics,” said DePaul political science professor Eric Tillman. “Chicago's 50 ward offices are responsible for implementing a wide range of services, and the City government has major responsibilities for policies like education, policing, and housing. So, voting, volunteering or interning in local government is a great way to learn more about politics and to make a difference.”

Apart from the city budget, aldermen also concern themselves with legislation as it pertains to their constituent's needs. Alder-

men represent their constituent’s needs by curating policies and programs to address constituent's concerns.

“As local city officials we have the power to increase rent, to increase your tuition (not directly), we are able to control the roads, and public transit that you use to get to school,” said Nathan Bean, undergraduate student, and Aldermanic Candidate for the 44th Ward. “We control that in your local elections, and you need to be voting on those people.”

However, the lack of student civic participation in local elections impacts the democratic recognition of young constituent's concerns. This disregard for student’s sentiments is often reflected in elected officials' campaigns, whereas most elected officials are seeking to optimize their votes. Thus, candidates often pay minimal regard for college students because they typically do not cast their vote.

“We have a lot of elected officials who don’t care about the college voices and so the

college youth’s voices are not heard,” Bean said.

When students fail to voice their concerns through civic engagement, it hinders their ability to make a lasting impact on their communities politically. College students must immerse themselves in local political culture such as the engagement with their aldermen to ensure their concerns are addressed. Engaging with city officials is crucial to achieving proportionate representation of students and holding elect-

Column: The lessons I learned through eating disorder recovery

By lilly K eller Arts & Life Editor

When I recall my past struggle and eventual recovery from anorexia nervosa, it is difficult not to feel embarrassed or ashamed.

Although five years have passed since my treatment team deemed me recovered, I’ve been reflecting on what eating disorder recovery means and, more importantly, what I’ve learned.

As we enter into the 36th annual Eating Disorder Awareness Week — a campaign focused on educating the public on eating disorders — I’m reminded of the significance of sharing stories of hope and healing amid such a tumultuous and triggering time.

With over 28.8 million Americans affected by eating disorders, you likely know somebody — if not yourself — struggling with this illness.

Though my experience is far from unique, my eating disorder forced me to confront my past, present and future. Either I swallowed my fears of judgment and advocated for myself or lived a miserable life confined to the back of cereal boxes and measuring cups.

However, asking for help has never been my strong suit, not because I think I know better, but rather out of fear of be-

coming a burden. Money was always tight growing up, and more often than not, I felt like one extra mouth to feed rather than deserving a spot at the table.

For me, recovery was more than asking for help. It was realizing my worth. I spent so much of my life trying to disappear, to trick myself into believing I needed less and that I wasn’t supposed to want more. By reducing my need for food, love and affection, I told myself that a life lived on empty was better than being seen asking for anything.

But that’s not true.

For so long, I believed the only way I could prove my pain was to preserve my suffering. I thought I would only be worthy of healing when others could see that I was hurting.

Unsurprisingly, the validation I was so desperately searching for could not be found in concerned comments or pitied looks of my friends and family. If I were to climb out of the hole I had dug into, I would need more than my own hands to get out.

When I first entered recovery, I remember thinking there was no way I could ever

be who I once was. But I wanted my life back, which was enough to put me on the right path.

Yet, recovering from an eating disorder is far from a linear journey. Nobody can force you to want to get better or see beyond the illness’s tantalizing grip. Choosing recovery requires a kind of courage that isn’t always visible. It is a fortitude you must embrace to make seemingly inconsequential choices over and over until you look back and realize how far you’ve come.

While it felt far from heroic, recovery taught me that no number could define the quality of my character or dictate the amount of space I was allowed to fill. Although it may sound silly, regaining my body and peace of mind allowed me to see that life is not characterized by hardships or losses but rather by what we choose to do with our limited time here.

Despite allowing me a fleeting sense of purpose, my eating disorder could not coexist with the life I wanted to live. While recovery was one of the hardest challenges I’ve had to overcome, I know I have become a better version of myself for it.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, call or text (800) 931-2237 to reach the National Eating Disorder helpline or go to NationalEatingDisorderAssociation.org for additional resources.

AIDEN HANSEN I THE DEPAULIA

By Jacqueline

For husband and wife Angelo Villagomez and Edith Galvan, opening up La Michoacana Plus in Little Village brings them a sense of joy because it became a place where youth can laugh with friends, do homework or enjoy some ice cream.

“Some kids come in here for half an hour, eat one thing and then just hang out…It’s turned into a way of giving back to the community,” Villagomez said.

La Michoacana Plus franchise opened this month and offers a variety of treats such as paletas (ice cream bars), michelaguas (fruit flavored drinks), esquites (a corn dish), and more. The history of the franchise stems from California and is separate from other Michoacana ice cream shops across Chicago, Villagomez said.

For customer Jose Antonio Reynaga, he said visiting La Michoacana with his family is a tradition and a way to reconnect with his cultural roots.

“It’s a way to return to Mexico,” Reynaga said. Little Village residents are 81% Latino and 75% Mexican and Mexican American according to Enlace Chicago and around 18% of businesses are restaurants according to a 2012 market analysis done by the

Little Village Special Service Area.

As the first Michoacana Plus on 26th street, Villagomez said he wanted to create a restaurant that is different from the rest of businesses in Little Village by giving it a “twist” with its bright colors, food and vivid ambiance.

“It’s important because most of us like to try new things, having something that’s out of the ordinary is definitely something that is really good for us,” said Liz Gonzalez, La Michoacana Plus employee.

With a mix of younger and older employees, Gonzales said she enjoys the environment and the people she works with.

“Most of us are pretty young and we get along pretty well,” Gonzalez said. “The elder people treat us like their own kids.”

The Little Village Academy, a local elementary school on 26th street, brings to the restaurant people from all ages, from students showing them their report cards to 30-year-old parents who want to get something to drink, Villagomez said.

Villagomez and his wife started planning their grand opening around two years ago, though it hasn’t been easy.

Villagomez said he balances general contracting, construction, the franchise and being a father to his 18 month old daughter. Since opening up the franchise, Villagomez said younger clientele have asked him for business advice through social media.

La Michoacana a community

He said he is always happy to help because growing up, he didn’t have anyone to guide him on how to run a business and believes it’s easier said than done.

“I wish I had someone when I was younger,” he said.

Hispanic-owned businesses grew about 8.2%, from 346,836 in 2019 to 375,256 in 202, and made up about 6.5% of all businesses, according to 2020 U.S. Census data.

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions and show up…put yourself out there,” Villagomez said to advise young Latino entrepreneurs. Beyond a business opportunity Villagomez gets excited and finds joy in seeing kids come into the restaurant.

“My heart was like damn this makes me happy,” Villagomez said. The couple plans to open up three more locations in the Chicago area in the future.

La Michoacana Plus (a sorbet ice cream),

La Michoacana employee Liz Gonzalez something out of the ordinary for Gonzalez.

cardenas & una cleary

La DePaulia Editor-in-Cheif and Focus Editor

The California-based franchise opened its first Midwestern branch this month in Little Village on 26 St. Hours are 10 a.m.- 10 p.m., seven days a week.

UNA CLEARY | THE DEPAULIA

”Some kids come in here for half an hour eat one thing and then just hang out...It’s turned into a way of giving back to the community,”

Angelo Villagomez

YÙ YÙ BLUE | THE DEPAULIA

UNA CLEARY | THE DEPAULIA

La DePaulia

Elecciones del Distrito 25:

Byron Sigcho-López vs Aida Flores

Los candidatos se preparan para las elecciones ante división entre votantes

área.

“He sido parte de ello. Y traigo el mismo espíritu”, dijo Aida Flores.

Reducir la violencia, resistir el desplazamiento y el aumento de los impuestos a la propiedad, son algunos de los problemas que enfrenta el Distrito 25.

Los votantes de las comunidades en el distrito 25 tendrán que elegir entre Byron Sigcho-Lopez y Aida Flores para cumplir el rol de Concejal y quien será responsable de afrontar estos problemas.

De acuerdo a los recientes cambios en el mapa de los distritos en la ciudad de Chicago, el Distrito 25 ahora está compuesto por Pilsen, una parte de Chinatown, parte de La Villita, entre otros barrios.

A pesar de que esto conlleva nuevas responsabilidades para quien asuma el cargo en estas elecciones, los desafíos principales en el área siguen siendo los mismos.

Daniel Flores, un joven profesional latino y residente de Pilsen dijo que la situación del barrio actualmente “es un tiempo difícil”.

“Hubo uno de los aumentos en impuestos a la propiedad más altos. Se está volviendo cada vez más difícil vivir aquí”, dijo Daniel Flores. Sumado a esto, también comentó que “la gente no se siente segura”.

Byron Sigcho-López es el actual Concejal desde el 2019, reemplazando al entonces Concejal Daniel Solis, quien fue involucrado en varios escándalos que lo llevaron a retirarse de la carrera para reelegirse ese mismo año.

Esta será la segunda vez que SigchoLópez y Aida Flores se enfrenten por este puesto. En la ocasión anterior, Aida Flores quedó en cuarto lugar, mientras que SigchoLópez pasó y ganó la segunda vuelta contra Alexander Acevedo.

En esta ocasión, solo están Sigcho-López y Aida Flores como candidatos.

Byron Sigcho-López, es un inmigrante ecuatoriano y educador en Pilsen. Su inicio en el activismo estuvo ligado con su oposición a diferentes acciones propuestas por el entonces alcalde Rahm Emanuel y el Concejal Solis.

Luego, se convirtió en el Director Ejecutivo de Pilsen Alliance, organización comunitaria que lucha por la justicia social, e inició sus intentos para convertirse en concejal.

Por su lado, Aida Flores es reconocida por su experiencia como rectora y profesora de escuelas públicas en Pilsen, donde ella nació.

Su experiencia como madre y como miembra del sistema de Escuelas Públicas de Chicago (CPS por sus siglas en inglés) la acercó a los problemas de la comunidad, como compartió en una entrevista con Block Club Chicago.

Ambos candidatos se proclaman como progresistas, buscan soluciones a la violencia y se oponen al aumento de impuestos a la propiedad para combatir el desplazamiento que afecta a su distrito.

Aida Flores dice que uno de sus principales fuertes es su tipo de liderazgo, inspirado en su experiencia como rectora. En este rol, dice, le permitirá tener un punto de vista único dentro del concejo porque ha visto cómo la política y la práctica interactúan y cómo afectan la vida de los residentes del

Sigcho-López, por su lado, apunta a su gestión de los últimos cuatro años y por lo que ha luchado incluso desde antes. Se ha opuesto a los aumentos de impuestos a la propiedad y ha ayudado a miembros de la comunidad a apelar sus impuestos.

También ha promovido soluciones basadas en la comunidad para los problemas de seguridad mientras lucha en contra de la impunidad en la policía.

“Estamos ejecutando los planes de la comunidad”, dijo.

Pero no todo lo que se dice es positivo.

Entre otras acusaciones, Aida Flores dijo que Sigcho-López tiene “un tipo de liderazgo ineficiente y dañino”.

“No presentó las solicitudes para el ‘Menu Money’ en sus cuatro años como concejal y el Distrito 25 durante su administración fue uno de los distritos con más solicitudes 311 insatisfechas”, dijo Flores.

El ‘Menu Money’ es un presupuesto de 1.5 millones de dólares anual asignado por distrito y dedicado a abordar necesidades locales específicas. Si un concejal no indica en qué se debe invertir este presupuesto, la ciudad decidiría cómo asignar los fondos sin tener en cuenta sus necesidades específicas.

No se encontró evidencia para sostener esta acusación ya que el presupuesto solicitado por la administración de SigchoLópez para cada año fue encontrado en el registro de la ciudad.

También, una investigación llevada a cabo por el Bike Lane Uprising, que es un grupo de defensores de los derechos de los ciclistas independiente de los candidatos, mostró que Distrito 25 no se encuentra entre los distritos que menos presupuesto dejaron sin solicitar.

Incluso, se encontró un video en el grupo de Facebook del Distrito 25 que muestra la planeación de cómo se solicitaban las propuestas de la comunidad y el formulario para hacer su petición.

Por su lado, el 311 es un número al que se llama “para encontrar información, solicitar servicios que no sean de emergencia o informar problemas que no sean de emergencia”.

Esta acusación es difícil de verificar, dado que las solicitudes son categorizadas según el departamento correspondiente de la ciudad y no de acuerdo al distrito del que se hizo la llamada. Sumado a esto, la oficina del concejal no está a cargo de las solicitudes porque son los diferentes departamentos de la ciudad quienes se encargan.

Por su lado, Sigcho-López dijo que elegir a Aida Flores sería “volver a los fantasmas del pasado”.

Su principal crítica contra Aida Flores está dirigida hacia los políticos que respaldan su campaña y a las organizaciones que la financian. Por esta razón la acusa de no ser independiente.

La primera de estas conexiones es con el anterior Concejal del Distrito 25, Daniel Solis.

En las elecciones del 2019 Aida Flores fue candidata en contra de Solis, del mismo modo que lo fue Sigcho-López. A pesar de

que la campaña de Aida Flores dijo que “no hay conexiones”, en 2019, la hija del exconcejal dió su apoyo y Aida Flores se lo agradeció en un post en Facebook.

También, Jackson Chiu, un miembro del personal de Solis cuando fue concejal, pasó a trabajar con la campaña de Aida Flores en las elecciones de ese mismo año.

La otra conexión mencionada por Sigcho-López es la que Aida Flores tiene con el actual candidato a la alcaldía Jesús ‘Chuy’ García. Este ha sido el objetivo de los recientes escándalos ligados a su presunta cercanía con el CEO de FTX y con Michael Madigan, ambos con investigaciones en curso sobre corrupción.

Finalmente, Get Stuff Done PAC vinculado a Kyrsten Sinema, ha estado ayudando a la campaña de Aida Flores y en contra de Sigcho-López, especialmente atacando la posición de Sigcho-López sobre la policía.

Por su lado, la campaña de Aida Flores mencionó que algunos de los donantes para la campaña de Sigcho-López fueron en su momento donantes a la campaña de Solis. Esto es cierto como en el caso de Ivy Garden Learning Center y 21st Century US - Sino Services, Inc, entre otros, que donaron a la Organización Democrática Regular del Distrito 25, cuyo presidente es Daniel Solis.

Aunque, para dar perspectiva a qué tan extrañas pueden ser las donaciones, ambos

candidatos han recibido donaciones de organizaciones y personas que también han donado a la campaña de reelección de Lori Lighfoot como alcaldesa, a pesar de que ni Sigcho-López, ni Aida Flores, la apoyan a ella como candidata.

A pesar de todo, algunos sugieren que participar es la mejor opción para que las cosas mejoren, como Daniel Flores. “Votar es el primer paso. Es fácil pensar que las cosas no van a cambiar, pero la verdad es que sí tenemos una voz”, dijo.

Escanee aquí para ver los lugares de votación anticipada

JACQUELINE CARDENAS | LA DEPAULIA

Aida Flores recogiendo firmas de petición en Agosto 2022.

FOTO CORTESÍA | TWITTER @ADELANTECONAIDA

Concejal del distrito 25, Byron Sigcho-Lopez en una reunión del consejo de la ciudad.

Santiago PoSada-jaramillo Gerente Editorial, La DePaulia

La Michoacana Plus ofrece dulce conexiones en La Villita

By jacqueline cardenaS y una cleary Jefa de Redacción y Editora de Focus, La DePaulia

Para Angelo Villagomez y Edith Galvan, abrir La Michoacana Plus les causó una sensación de alegría porque poco a poco se ha convertido en un lugar donde los jóvenes pueden divertirse con amigos, hacer la tarea o disfrutar de un helado en el barrio donde ellos crecieron.

“Algunos niños vienen aquí durante media hora, comen una cosa y luego pasan el rato… Se ha convertido en una forma de retribuir a la comunidad”, dijo Villagomez.

La franquicia La Michoacana Plus en 3701 W. 26th St., abrió este mes y ofrece una variedad de delicias como paletas, michelaguas, esquites, helados y más.

El cliente José Antonio Reynaga, dijo que visitar La Michoacana con su familia es una tradición y una forma de reconectarse con sus raíces étnicas.

“Es una manera de regresar a México”, dijo Reynaga.

Los residentes de La Villita son 81 por ciento latinos y 75 por ciento mexicanos/ mexicoamericanos, según Enlace Chicago. Alrededor del 18 por ciento de los negocios son restaurantes, según un análisis de mercado realizado por el Área de Servicio Especial de La Villita hace poco más de una década.

Así que al establecer la primera La Michoacana Plus en la calle 26, Villagomez dijo que quería crear un restaurante que fuera diferente al resto de los negocios en el barrio, dándole un “giro” con colores brillantes, comida y un ambiente vívido.

Aunque la franquicia ‘La Michoacana’ proviene de California originalmente, ‘La Michoacana Plus’ funciona de forma separada de otras heladerías en Chicago, agrego Villagomez.

Una de sus empleadas, Liz González, dijo: “Creo que es importante porque a la mayoría de nosotros nos gusta probar cosas nuevas, tener algo fuera de lo común es definitivamente algo que es realmente bueno

para nosotros”.

González dijo que disfruta del ambiente y de la gente con la que trabaja.

Aunque la mayoría de los empleados son jóvenes, “Las personas mayores nos tratan como a sus propios hijos”, dijo González.

Little Village Academy, una escuela primaria local, atrae a personas de todas las edades, desde estudiantes que les muestran sus boletas de calificaciones hasta padres de 30 años que quieren beber algo, dijo Villagomez.

Villagomez y su esposa comenzaron a planear su gran inauguración hace aproximadamente dos años, pero no ha sido fácil.

La pareja tiene una hija de 18 meses y ha tenido que balancear la construcción de su negocio.

Desde que abrió la franquicia, Villagomez dijo que personas más jóvenes le han pedido asesoramiento comercial a través de las redes sociales para comenzar su propio negocio.

Dijo que siempre está feliz de ayudar porque el mientras crecía, no tenía a nadie que lo guiara sobre cómo administrar un negocio.

“Ojalá hubiera tenido a alguien cuando era más joven”, dijo.

Según datos del censo de EE. UU., del 2020, las empresas con dueños hispanos crecieron aproximadamente un 8.2 por ciento, de casi 3500,0006 en 2019 a casi 400,000 en 2020, y representaron aproximadamente el 6.5 por ciento de todas las empresas.

Villagómez aconseja a los jóvenes empresarios latinos: “No tengan miedo de hacer preguntas y presentarse… expónganse”.

Más allá de una oportunidad de negocio, Villagomez se emociona y siente alegría al ver entrar a los niños al restaurante.

“Mi corazón estaba como ‘maldita sea, esto me hace feliz’”, dijo Villagomez.

La pareja planea abrir tres ubicaciones más en el área de Chicago en el futuro.

Alexa Bañuelos

El mes pasado, la administración del presidente Joe Biden suscitó debates en la comunidad latina después de su propuesta para agregar las categoría ‘latino’ en el censo 2030 y así combinar su pregunta sobre raza y etnicidad.

Aunque el censo tiene en cuenta tanto el origen étnico como la raza, la categoría de raza se limita a los blancos, negros, indios americanos, asiáticos, nativos de Hawái u otras islas del Pacífico, y una categoría final de “alguna otra raza”.

Un estudio realizado por el Centro de Investigación Pew mostró que en el censo de 2020, el 42 por ciento de los latinos no se identificaron como blancos y marcaron “alguna otra raza”.

La evidencia de un grupo de expertos que ha estado “estudiando los estándares de raza y etnicidad del gobierno federal de 1997” muestra que pedirles a las personas que marquen su etnia y raza es confuso para muchas personas que no ven una diferencia entre etnicidad y raza, según un artículo de noticias de NBC.

La propuesta de la Administración Biden busca reformatear la cuestión de la raza y el origen étnico en la misma categoría, según el reporte.

Los ciudadanos tienen alrededor de 40 días más para enviar sus propios comentarios sobre la propuesta, titulada OMB-2023-0001, en un sitio web. Estos comentarios se utilizarán para redactar la propuesta final.

Vanesa León, estudiante de tercer año de DePaul, dijo que aunque ve

Posada-Jaramillo

beneficios en incluir hispano/latino como una categoría racial, siente que el censo no tiene en cuenta el hecho de que la comunidad latina es una comunidad diversa.

“Divide a la comunidad”, dijo León.“El censo no toma en consideración que los latinos no son una comunidad homogénea y venimos en una variedad de tonos”.

Esta propuesta entraría en vigencia en el censo de 2030 y tiene como objetivo redefinir el concepto de raza y etnicidad para dar cuenta de las personas de ascendencia hispana. Sin embargo, algunas personas cuestionan el reconocimiento y la representación de la afrolatinidad, la identidad de los individuos con raíces latinoamericanas y africanas.

Lo cual plantea ideas contradictorias sobre si la propuesta fomenta la inclusión o promueve el desprecio por la intersección de las identidades raciales y étnicas en la comunidad latina.

“Creo que gran parte de la comunidad latina no reconoce que puedes ser negro y latino”, dijo Emily Vallejo, una estudiante de tercer año en DePaul y co-presidente del grupo estudiantil MESA.

Por su parte, Jenay Ciara, una periodista afrolatina graduada de la Universidad de Columbia sintió falta de representación de afrolatinas al ir creciendo, lo que la hizo sentirse fuera de lugar y cuestionar a dónde pertenecía.

“Muy a menudo era como si no fuera lo suficientemente negra o latina, pero dentro de la cultura latinx había mucho racismo internalizado que se transmitía de generación en generación y también la falta de representación”, dijo Ciara.

En 2015 fundó #YO SOY SUFICIENTE, una plataforma de narración digital, dedicada a crear un espacio orientado a amplificar las narrativas afrolatinas y reconocer la diversidad dentro de la comunidad latina.

La omnipresencia del colorismo y el racismo contribuye a las amenazas de la falta de reconocimiento de las identidades raciales y étnicas que se entrecruzan. De acuerdo con el Centro de Investigación Pew, el colorismo implica la discriminación de personas con un tono de piel oscuro que puede manifestarse dentro del mismo grupo étnico o racial. Mientras que el racismo es la discriminación de los individuos por su identidad étnica o racial.

Ciara reconoce cómo confinar a los latinos en una sola identidad puede ser muy invalidante y promover colorismo interiorizado y racismo.

“Pasamos demasiado tiempo tratando de clasificar a las personas en una casilla, o tratando de clasificar a las personas en una nacionalidad. Siento que hay tanto énfasis en eso que las personas sienten que dentro de su propia comunidad tienen que menospreciar a otras personas en función del color de su piel”, dijo Ciara.

En una encuesta nacional realizada en 2021 por el Centro de Investigación Pew,

encontraron que el 41 por ciento de los hispanos de tez más oscura informaron haber sido discriminados por alguien que también es hispano.

“He experimentado el colorismo dentro de mi propia comunidad, [con frases como] ‘no salgas al sol que te vas a oscurecer demasiado’”, dijo León.

En consecuencia, algunos latinos han estado enfatizando la necesidad de promover la representación de latinos con identidades raciales y étnicas entrecruzadas dentro de la comunidad latina para combatir la invalidación.

“Realmente comienza con nosotros, dentro de nuestra comunidad creando espacios para personas como nosotros. No podemos simplemente confiar en que la política y el gobierno entienda porque no siempre están en nuestro lugar”, dijo Ciara.

Por

y Santiago

Escritora Contribuyente y Gerente Editorial, La DePaulia

UNA CLEARY | LA DEPAULIA

La Michocana Plus vende una variedad de antojitos como michelaguas y tostilocos.

Unos de los dueños, Angelo Villagomez prepara un vaso de elote con Hot Cheetos.

JACQUELINE CARDENAS | LA DEPAULIA

MAYA OCLASSEN | LA DEPAULIA

JACQUELINE CARDENAS | LA DEPAULIA

Adentro de La Michoacana Plus ubicado en 3701 W. 26th St. en La Villita

Propuesta de agregar categoría en censo plantea dudas sobre representación de afrolatinos

Arts & Life

SZA LIVES UP TO THE HYPE

R&B star sells out United Center on her first world tour

By Vanessa Lopez Asst. Social Media Editor

The West Loop was flooded with both heartbreak and excitement for SZA's “SOS” tour. On Feb. 22, SZA performed in front of a sold-out United Center. It was SZA’s second stop of her tour, following her performance the night before at The Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. SZA's released her sophomore album, “SOS,” in December 2022. The album features 23 songs and runs just over an hour. Throughout the album, SZA experiments with rap, R&B and punk rock. “SOS” is an album complete with a Morse code distress call and an emotional pendulum, swinging from bad bitch to sad energy.

“SOS” is her second studio album released since “Ctrl” in 2017, however, many fans felt the tour was long overdue.

Andro Jacobs, 31, of Avondale, says he has dreamt of seeing SZA live since “Ctrl” came out.“She is the queen of R&B,” Jacobs said. “I knew I had to be here. When the tour was announced, I didn't care how much it cost. I was going to be here baby.”

Omar Apollo kicked off the night with vibrancy and swagger. Apollo is a 25-year-old Mexican-American artist who pumped up the United Center for SZA. During his set, he said, “this is the biggest crowd I've ever performed in front of,” as well as “this shit is packed.” After a 30-minute intermission, SZA took the stage, beginning her performance on the edge of an elevated platform, surrounded by blue water. She sang an unreleased single “PSA” before leaping off the platform into the sea of water.

“Her singing ‘PSA’ was slay,” Jacobs said. “It was beautiful, she is beautiful, and I will never forget it.”

At the beginning of the show, SZA paused mid-singing to say "night two, my first arena tour ever.”

Throughout the night, SZA and four dancers performed choreographed dances. "SOS" on the other hand had its own discography, taking fans through many emotional experiences.

Jasmine Occasio, 25, of Humboldt Park, described seeing her as a whirlwind of emotions.

“Listening to her just does something to my soul, it's healing," Occasio said. “I listened to this album over and over, and seeing her live made me want to cry.”

The show featured multiple set designs and outfit changes. SZA also performed several songs from her album "Ctrl," including "Love Galore" and "Broken Clocks."

“After hearing Broken Clocks live, I felt like I got my money's worth,” Jacobs said.

SZA continued her show with a shipwreck-like theme where she revealed a large boat where she performed "All The Stars" and "Low.”

Shortly after, a raft appeared on the side of the stage, followed by SZA, who had changed into a large yellow dress. The raft was then lifted into the air and floated above the audience. SZA performed some of her more emotional songs, including “Supermodel” and “Special,” while tossing flower petals off her raft.

Kenna Husain, 23, of Indianapolis, said SZA floating on the raft caught her off guard.

“It was fabulous,” Husain said. “She put so much effort into her performance that it felt like the entire arena was connected when she was up there.”

SZA eventually floated back down to the stage and completed her performance with “Good Days.” She sang in her final wardrobe change, a red dress, on a platform above the stage while the visuals moved from day to nightfall over the sea of water. SZA ended the night by saying, "thank you very much Chicago, I am so grateful," before disappearing behind the screen.

However, as fans began to leave, a snippet of “Low” unreleased music video was played, and SZA came out to thank the audience once again.

"This is my first time doing something like this," SZA said to the audience. "I can't thank you enough for your time and attention ... I hope you had a great time, I really love you guys.”

Despite SZA’s tour being long awaited by many fans, Husain was not disappointed.

“SZA is my favorite artist, and in my opinion, this is one of the best concerts I've ever experienced,” Husain said. “Everything was amazing.”

JACK DOMBRO | THE DEPAULIA

SZA performs "Seek & Destroy" from her latest album, "SOS", at the United Center on Wednesday Feb. 22, marking the second stop of her international tour.

JACK DOMBRO | THE DEPAULIA Performing to a sold-out crowd, SZA embarks on her first ever arena tour.

JACK DOMBRO | THE DEPAULIA

For the opening act, Omar Apollo performed his hits "Useless" and "Want U Around."

Group hopes to instill the universal language of the game among students

By Jonah WeBer Asst. Arts & Life Editor

Chess clubs can presumably be intense, competitive and intimidating. DePaul’s chess club is different, though. The idea behind the chess club is to bring folks together for pure fun, to learn the game and be able to play it with anyone.

“It’s a universal language, for anyone who knows how to play,” Nick said.

The Chess Club meets every few weeks, usually in the Arts and Letters building. During this meeting, there were nine members present.

Across the room two students play, speaking a foreign language, laughing and gasping as each one makes a strategic move.

There is a welcoming ambience created in the room. Players decipher each other's moves, they swap jokes amongst each other, give move recommendations and make quick Google searches based on previously made moves.

One of the founding members of the DePaul Chess Club, Nick, who asked to keep his last name private, sat down to tell the story of how the group came to be.

“I started the club my sophomore year of college, because I was teaching children how to play as a job for a company called Chess Wizards, where I dressed up as a wizard and taught them how to play, like an after school program,” Nick said.

This job provided him with the resources to start a chess club here at DePaul.

“They gave 16 chess boards, so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone” Nick said, “I had the chess boards and I’m always looking for people to play with.” And so Nick started the chess club.

His relationship with the game of chess started not long before they started college.

After a breakup in high school, Nick was taken under the wings of a new group of friends. At this school, they had half days. One of their new friends taught them how to play. Eventually, they’d join a chess club in high school.

“What struck me was going to the chess club.” Nick said, “I was kind of an asshole, a bully a little bit. I saw these kids in the chess club who I’d normally bully, like they had rolly backpacks and they were anime kids. I wouldn’t even bully them, but I wouldn’t give them the time of day.” Nick said.

Nick continued on about how he was impacted by joining his high school chess club.

“Then I saw them in the chess club and I saw what they were capable of, and it changed my mind and my life completely. Because I was like, oh everyone has their thing that they are good at, and I feared them.”

Now, those kids that they wouldn’t have given a second thought to once are some of their closest friends still.

To sophomore James Yeh, chess club is a sanctuary to hone his chess skills and have a great time.

“Chess club is a place to have fun, but it’s also a really good learning experience,” Yeh said. “You can learn many different things, different strategies, different openings. I want the club to stay welcoming, but I also want a

competitive side, some form of chess team so there can be a really good amount of chess players here at DePaul.”

As Yeh explained, chess club officer, David Kalat and member, Charles Timeyer bantered with each other over an intense game of chess.

Veteran member Omar Majzoub, who graduated in 2021, comes back for meetings.. He recollected when DePaul competed against UIC in an online chess tournament.

“We scheduled with UIC first, to see if they would allow it,” Majzoub said. “We found out when they were free, and we did it on Chess.com, and it’s a timed tournament, and you’d be assigned to a random opponent.”

He explained how the rules in the UIC tournament worked. His opponent had to follow his rule, which was keeping your camera on during the game. Majzoub said, “Like, turning off the camera will result in disqualification. It immediately seems like you’re using a cheat sheet or something.”

Majzoub explained how the tournament ended.

“I was running low on time and I had to make some moves,” Mazjoub said. “I lost a piece towards the end of the game, and I got destroyed by my opponent.”

Majzoub confirmed that he would definitely compete in a tournament again. He has a history of competing in chess tournaments, even going to nationals, getting fifth place.

“I dominated it, then lost one game,” Majzoub said.

JONAH WEBER | THE DEPAULIA

James Yeh (right) observes the moves of a fellow Chess Club member during a Feb. meeting.

JONAH WEBER | THE DEPAULIA Freshman David Kalat (middle) participates in a heated match against sophomore Charles Timeyer (right) while members watch.

JONAH WEBER | THE DEPAULIA

The chess club meets every few weeks, usually in the Arts and Letters building.

NOT YOUR OLD FASHIONED DONUTS

By nadia CaroLina hernandez & LiLLy K eLLer Print Managing Editor & Arts & Life Editor

Tucked away on Fullerton Avenue, Mochinut brings a taste of Asia to Chicago with its Japanese style donuts, Korean corn dogs and colorful assortment of bubble tea.

Discreetly opening last December, Mochinut offers daily fresh baked curated selection of its own style of mochi fusion between an American doughnut and Japanese mochi which originated in Hawaii. However, unlike other bakeries, Mochinut uses rice flour, leaving the dough stretchy yet crunchy. Additionally, the mochi donuts are formed from eight separate balls of dough, creating a floral pattern in the place of a traditional circle.

Mochinut is a national chain, but this is the second location to open in Chicago, and the first on the North Side.

While only six flavors are offered, they are swapped daily, allowing for a brand new experience with each visit. On Wednesday, following Fat Tuesday, flavors ranged from king cake, to caramel praline and beignets.

Lilly’s snack time

Starting with the caramel praline, I was surprised at how similar the mochi donut tasted to the funnel cakes served at the county fair. Sweet, light and airy, the caramelized dough seemed to melt in my mouth, pairing perfectly with the caramel icing and culinary nuts.

I told myself I was going to only eat half since I hadn’t eaten dinner yet, but that plan went out the window after taking my second bite. If you’re in the mood for something sweet yet not overpowering, I

could not recommend this flavor more.

I’m rating the caramel praline 10/10.

Nadia’s meal

Now getting into the thick of it, I had the basic Korean corn dog, with no extra toppings, with mozzarella cheese and plain coating. I wanted to get a feel of what the basic flavors would be and how they could be amplified with toppings.

This was my first time trying a Korean

corn dog, which differs from an American dog. They are deep fried with a hot dog, cheese, rice cake or fish cake, dipped with french fry bits and panko bread crumbs or ramen, instead of a pancake-like coating. I've been dying to get my hand on one for ages. But now, thanks to Mochinut, I can go after class anytime since it’s so close to campus.

For about $5, this was the best thing to

happen to me on a rainy day. My corn dog was warm, well-seasoned and filling. I got the cheese only dog, and it reminded me of a large mozzarella stick. I had some chipotle mayo on the side, but I wish I would have made myself try the Hot Cheeto option instead. A little extra spice probably would have made this meal a thousand times better, but for the first time, I chose to play it safe.

Corn dog: 9/10

Finally, I had a king cake donut which came with a small plastic baby on top, not inside where I could potentially choke. I would eat these over Dunkin’ any day. They were so light and fluffy, and the unique shape made it easier for a tear and share type of deal. This was such a perfect social media opportunity because all I wanted to do was take pictures of my food. I also love how the flavors will change either daily or weekly. It excites me to know I could show up whenever, and have a completely new menu to try! There was also a box where guests could add which flavors they would like to see in the future. I hope my choice of a matcha donut becomes available soon.

I give Mochinut: 9/10

I am all for out-of-the-box snacks. I believe the food around Lincoln Park can be minimal, but Mochinut just might be my new go-to. Everything there seems like the perfect snack for $5-8 each.

The seating options fit perfectly for a group up to eight or a small pair. The staff was super friendly and helped us when we asked for what they recommended.

Mochinut will definitely see us again soon.

CREDIT TO @ MOCHINUT_LINCOLNPARK ON INSTAGRAM

Mochinut has served Asian and American dessert to Lincoln Park since December 2022.

BEST EATS ON CAMPUS

By LoGan sriharatsa Contributing Writer

Many students eat all three meals a day on-campus while others may drop in for a quick breakfast or lunch. Everyone has different schedules that they eat around. Busy or not, here are the best breakfast, lunch and dinner options available through DePaul’s dining services.

DePaul has many different dining services available to students on their two campuses. A combination of rotating menus and staple meals help make the on-campus eats feel fresh and new, while maintaining an air of familiarity through its staple meals like the Demon Melt at the 312 Diner or the penne with marinara at the Blue Demon Dining Hall.

The Demon Melt at the 312 Diner is a must- try. It is an improvement on the classic patty melt that features beef, gouda cheese, Thousand Island dressing, honey and a handful of spices. All of these great flavors combine on the grill to become an iconic sandwich at DePaul. The beef can also be substituted with a black bean patty.

“I’d say I eat on-campus about three times a day,” DePaul freshman Patrick McIntee said. “My go-to option is at the 312 Diner, The Demon Melt, which is just a great sandwich, just great. I had this white fish at the dining hall in the Stu, and I just thought, I can’t eat this again. My favorite coffee spot is definitely the Brownstones at the Stu.”

BREAKFAST

My go-to breakfast that DePaul has to offer is easily the omelet bar at the Blue De-

mon Dining Hall in the Stu. You can’t expect a perfectly flipped omelet every time, but you can almost always expect a decent — at worst— meal that you can make your own. Personally, I love almost everything the bar has to offer on my omelet except broccoli. A consistent meal that you can make to suit your own diet or change depending on what you want to taste is wonderful. Flexibility is nice when it comes to food, especially for breakfast, the most important meal of the day. You can make your omelet as simple or complicated as you like.

LUNCH

For lunch, Sushi with Gusto provides an easy and quick option when you’re busy midday in-between classes. Sure, the sushi is not of high quality like many of the other places around Chicago, but nonetheless, I always pick the crispy tempura roll or anything with shrimp or crab since those tend to come cooked or pre-made. The crispy tempura roll hits every flavor profile, sweet, salty, spicy and savory. A combination of the soy sauce, wasabi and eel sauce make this sushi roll worth it.

“I would say Sushi with Gusto is my goto on-campus meal,” said DePaul senior Sahar Din. “I think the dining service is doing better these days when it comes to catering to a variety of diets. I know they have gluten-free options, vegetarian options, halal options, but there can always be more done for those with dietary needs.”

If sushi isn’t your thing, the 312 Diner provides a variety of dietary options that are usually served moderately quickly, if it isn’t super busy. Featuring a variety of skillets, burgers, sandwiches and sides, the 312

Diner has plenty of American diner classics to fit your needs, many students choose this as their go-to lunch meal due to its variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.

DINNER

Even though the 312 Diner has been used as an example a lot, it is a DePaul staple, it’s almost always busy, especially for lunch and early dinners. For dinner, despite the variety of classic American food they serve, I always get any of their chicken sandwiches. Recently, their California chicken sandwich has been their best choice. It feels a little healthier and lighter due to the avocado and sundried tomato aioli, yet still holds the iconic taste and juiciness of a fried chicken sandwich. Almost everything at the 312 Diner can be made to

suit your taste buds since they have many different sauces and toppings that can be added to whatever meal you choose. Sometimes some caramelized onions, cheese or honey sriracha can really make a tasty impact on your meal.

“I used to eat on-campus every day,” said DePaul freshman Joseph Alemu. “The food options … I feel like they’re a bit bland. If I don’t like what they have in the meal plan, I usually go to the 312 diner and get a spicy chicken sandwich. It’s always my go-to, most of the time it’s pretty good. Some of the Stu food, there isn’t that much variety. As a person who can’t eat pork and some other foods, it’s a bit lacking.”

What students are giving up for

By sam Gutterman

cuse for me to help get into better shape, and then another way that I’m going to try and get better with this Lenten season is try and exercise more while also giving up junk food, For other students like DePaul junior Niles Arrington, Lent is an opportunity to give up

Arrington said. “I think I’m going to give up video games, I’m gonna give up sweets, prob ably going out and partying. I feel like things that I like to do, I’m going to sacrifice those things. Instead of doing something that’s just something I don’t do or that would be counter productive, I’ll do something that’s both pro

for himself during this season of Lent, but also

decisions based on religious thoughts. DePaul graduate student Kate Polucha said she wants to make decisions that make her more produc

usage time in half,” Polucha said. “The rea son for this is I feel like I mindlessly swipe for hours each day when I could be doing things far more productive and healthy for myself. I have a lot of school projects coming up and with the quarter quickly coming to an end, this is a great time to limit my phone use as much

Lenten season can be one of hard choices and decisions to make. It is important for people and students at DePaul to balance giving up what they want and also weighing what is necessary for them to live with or without.

How To Observe Lent

Lent is a 40-day period of reflection, repentance, and renewal leading up to Easter

Many Christians observe Lent through the practices of prayer fasting and almsgiving

Here are some suggestions for how you can prepare for and observe Lent

Prayer

Spend time each day in prayer This can be a few minutes in the morning or evening or longer periods of time for deeper reflection

Fasting

It is common for people to fast during Lent by giving up a particular food or activity for the 40-day period

Choose a fast that is meaningful and challenging for you but also realist c and sustainable You can fast from activities or habits that distract you from your time with God, such as social media or gossip

Almsgiving

This is the practice of giving to those n need whether through donations or acts of service

Consider giving to organizations that support the poor the sick or other vulnerable populat ons

It is not just about giving money or time, but also about g ving of yourself Be open to the ways in which God may be calling you to serve others and to be a presence of love and compassion n the world

Commentary: 'Gymtimidation' is real

By JaCqueLine BLeadon Contributing Writer

One of the many privileges we have as DePaul students is unlimited access to The Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center. Walking into this gym, you are greeted with a bright and open lobby with ping pong tables and cafe with snacks and smoothies. It all seems very inviting. However, the second you walk up the stairs into the main gym space, you immediately face buff and sweaty gym bros who look like they have infinite knowledge about working out. Here is a little secret: they definitely do not.

The world of musty gym mats and weight machines working muscles you have never even heard of can be extremely intimidating.

One thing that almost everyone experiences at least once throughout their gym journey is gym anxiety. The common fear of messing up in day to day life is still present in the gym, even if you have been a regular at your favorite stairmaster for years.

When the world shut down in 2020 due to COVID-19, DePaul sophomore Naomi Greene decided to try some new exercises from the comfort of her own home with her dad’s gym equipment. She did not have to worry about being judged by gym enthusiasts. Once she came to DePaul she decided to take advantage of the gym and continue her workout journey. However, she quickly realized how overwhelming a public gym can be compared to your home basement.

“I feel like I’m acting,” Greene said. “It feels like I know people are looking at me and there’s more added pressure to look good all the time as well as doing every exercise perfectly.”

Despite visiting the gym three to four times a week, Greene's anxiety persisted each time she walked through the revolving

door. The environment is what makes her nervous, not the lack of experience.

DePaul student and Ray employee, Nicho Rodgers, has been an athlete since he was 7 years old yet he still experiences anxiety to some extent when working out.

“Being new to something can be difficult, but I try to remind myself that no one at the gym is there to judge me,” Rodgers said.

Even with years of experience, Rodgers still does not find simplicity in trying a new workout. No one does. It seems to be a “fake it till you make it” game with most people.

However, experience can create a routine that helps you develop ways to push through the common anxiety you might feel. Both Rodgers and Greene said that bringing headphones and playing music that makes them feel good inevitably makes the entire workout feel good as well.

“Playing music that helps me escape reality also helps me escape the anxiety I feel at the gym, at least for a little while,” Greene said.

Being in college after quitting sports from your childhood can add a whole new level of gym anxiety. The pressure to uphold your old fitness standards is never easy. We expect ourselves to maintain the same body that we had when we were sixteen throughout our adulthood, but that is just not an obtainable reality.

I grew up participating in multiple sports throughout my entire childhood up until sophomore year of high school. Seeing my body change throughout the past few years from not exercising at least five days a week at practices was hard to comprehend.

I would get nervous at the gym thinking everyone was judging my lack of heavy weight lifting and horrible mile time on the treadmill, as if they knew my fitness standards before. I had to restructure what my

mind deemed a successful workout. Sometimes that itself was more nerve-wracking than the actual act of exercising.

No matter how many times someone tells you that people at the gym are not there to judge you, it is still insanely hard to make your mind actually understand that. The fear of being judged is entirely where gym anxiety stems from.

It can be even more difficult for people whose only fitness journey was their high

Funnies off Jackson

school P.E. class.

Taking up an interest in anything that you have little to no experience in is rough, but that is not to say that it is impossible. Especially when it comes to the gym, everyone starts somewhere. Whether that is when you are 7 years old or in your senior year of college, it is never too late to try something. Everyone is experiencing the same anxiety. Everyone starts somewhere.

The Ray allows full-time undergrad students unlimited access to its atheletic facilities. ALICIA

GALE STEWART | NEWSLINE

What’s Fresh

'Cocaine Bear' killed her lines

By LiLy LoW ndes Social Media Editor

A wildly bizarre yet true story is the inspiration for director Elizabeth Banks’ newest movie “Cocaine Bear.”

According to the exposition text, in 1985, a large amount of cocaine was dropped from a drug smuggler’s plane into the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia.

Before humans could find all of the drugs, a black bear ingested a large amount of the white powder and was hence christened “Cocaine Bear.”

The real bear died shortly after the incident without causing any harm. However, following the new trend of genre-bending pop culture icons — think “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” or Santa Clause in “Violent Night” — the cocaine fuels the bear into a murderous rampage.

Violence is not the only element driving this movie. This is a comedy, which the movie clues viewers into from the beginning.

The text that rolls out after the opening sequence gives facts about black bears sourced from Wikipedia. How did I know that immediately in the theater? Because the text read “Source: Wikipedia.”

Quips and jokes stemming from a similar type of humor were peppered throughout the 95-minute runtime.

After the initial mauling of an innocent tourist in the opening scene, cocaine bear was noticeably absent from a good chunk of the movie. Instead, the audience is introduced to six different groups that are unknowingly in the forest with Cocaine Bear.

There are two children playing hooky

to paint a waterfall (Brooklynn Prince, Christian Convery), the girl’s mom chasing after her (Keri Russel), a park ranger and a wildlife expert (Margo Martindale, Jesse Tyler Ferguson), a group of

delinquent teens (Leo Hanna, J.B. Moore, Aaron Holliday), drug dealers (Ray Liotta, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich) trying to locate the missing cocaine and a law enforcement officer (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) who’s trying to do the same thing.

During the background-building scenes, I found my attention drifting a little. However, as soon as people started dropping, I couldn’t look away.

“Cocaine Bear” does not shy away from gore. No two injury or death scenes are the same. They each have their own unique moment that is either humorous or bone-chilling.

The cocaine-fueled bear attacks are so surprising that I found myself watching the movie through my fingers, unable to look away, yet also wanting to block some of the blood and guts from my view.

There was a sequence that was so violent and shocking that the entire theater was stunned into silence. It was like everyone let out a collective gasp and held their breath for two minutes afterwards. The room was pin-drop silent.

Every time you thought you knew what would happen, the Cocaine Bear caused something even crazier to take place.

Now, I’m not critiquing the violence. This is what viewers are signing up for with “Cocaine Bear.”

If anything, it had me on the edge of my seat, hoping that my favorite characters would survive.

The other half of this horror-comedy is, of course, the comedy. I was giggling along with the rest of the audience at the offbeat humor. Jackson Jr. and Ehrenreich play a great comedic duo of goodcop bad-cop drug dealers and child actor Convery does a surprisingly authentic rendition of a child fascinated and horrified by a bear doing cocaine.

The comedic timing of the movie is pretty spot-on. A few scenes could have been cut a little tighter, but almost every joke got a laugh from at least one person in the audience.

Comedy helped cleanse my palate in between the horror and blood. The two genres were evenly mixed in the film. Where the tone shifts went wrong were the attempts at serious moments in the film. As a viewer, I did not want to see characters resolving their mommy and daddy issues in the third act.

The characters having epiphany moments about their family life felt out of place in the film. I understood that the characters had conflict with each other, but I felt it was too awkward and drawn out. They seemed to be over-explaining what we could already tell about the characters just from watching the movie. Shallow or not, I didn’t want to see people resolving family trauma, I wanted to see what would happen to the bear that did cocaine.

Sitting back and watching what happens is how this movie is meant to be consumed. It’s not meant to be a serious film. It’s meant to be a fun time for everyone enamored with the crazy story that is “Cocaine Bear.”

And for that reason, it’s definitely worth the watch.

AIDAN HANSEN | THE DEPAULIA

St.Vincent’s

D e JAMZ

“Spinning freSh beatS Since 1581”

By nadia CaroLina hernandez & LiLLy K eLLer

Print Managing Editor & Arts & Life Editor

Talented, gorgeous and ethereal are a few adjectives that come to mind when one thinks of their Pisces friends. Well, maybe we’re just biased. Whether you love or hate Pisces season, you can’t deny the number of iconic individuals born under this sign. From Simone Biles to Olivia Rodrigo and Bad Bunny, it's clear that Pisces exemplify creativity, empathy and curiosity, which is exactly what we hope to illustrate through our carefully curated playlist.

“I Know the End” by Phoebe Bridgers – Lilly

Pisces intuition is no joke! While I’m no stranger to bouts of correctly predicting the most useless information, such as my therapist coming down with a head cold or the exact time my dad’s friend would stop by, my wildest brush with intuition came a week

or so after I graduated high school. To summarize, I was awarded a scholarship named after a former student who passed away in a car crash. The evening following my brief outing with the student’s mom to learn more about her, I dreamed I was with her at her former place of work and we were laughing together. Nearly three years later and I still remember every detail of the dream. A weird yet comforting experience, if I do say so myself.

“Tearjerker” by Small Forward – Lilly We’ve all heard the saying that Pisces cry a lot, and I am here to confirm. Maybe I’m just extra sensitive, but I cannot tell you all of the silly little things that usually end up in tears. Some of my personal favorites are Instagram edits, sunrises, my cat sleeping on the bed with me and risotto.

"Ivy" by Frank Ocean – Nadia Ocean may be a Scorpio, but, it’s all about water sign solidarity this month. When I first listened to this song, I was just getting over a friend-

Crossword

ship that ended at the start of high school. Listening to Ocean while riding the bus to school and feeling that everything was going to change uprooted my reality. Yeah, I wasn’t a kid anymore.

"Telepatia" by Kali Uchis – Nadia Uchis, a Cancer, is always on my playlist, no matter what the mood or vibe is. When I think of being a Pisces, I always think of dancing on the border between dream and reality. I am endlessly hopeful and thinking of the weirdest things. However, I find my thoughts being disrupted and pulled back into the material world. Anyways, if I am going to classify my vibe, I’d point to this song and this whole album.

“You’ve Got the Love” by Florence and the Machine – Lilly & Nadia Wrapping up our Pisces playlist with none other than the queen herself, Florence Welch. I don’t know about you but this album defined our formative years. From working out to doing manual labor around my yard, “Lungs” was on repeat no matter

ACROSS

1) Wrap of old Rome

5) Kind of knife or sandwich

10) Exiled Iranian ruler

14) Homecoming attender

15) Lily type

16) Volcano outpouring

17) What Italians used to spend

18) Kwanzaa principle

19) "The Dukes of Hazzard" character

20) Three for the "back" pack

23) Invisible emanations

24) Feed livestock

25) Hardly firm, as a waist

28) Tract of wet ground

30) Muddy up, as water

31) Bring happiness to

33) Teary-eyed

36) Three for the "back" pack

40) It gives golfers a little lift

41) Tastelessly showy

42) Poetic foot

43) Curved doorway

44) Wall-to-wall installation

46) Certain Arabian

49) Unsolicited manuscripts, to a publisher

51) Three for the "back" pack

57) Fleshy seed covering

58) Grayish-violet

59) Top-of-the-line

60) Hitchhiker's quest

61) Some cartography dots

62) Patronize a fine restaurant

63) Hurdle for a wannabe driver

64) Running score

65) Constellation unit

where or what we were doing. Anyways, we can guarantee you we will never grow tired of this upbeat yet elegant melody no matter how many times we hear it.

DOWN

1) Post-natal care powder

2) Collection of miscellaneous pieces

3) Wise advice-giver

4) Obedient

5) Move like a squirrel

6) Country music's Tucker

7) Omit in pronunciation

8) Type of saxophone

9) Slugger's decisive win

10) Arctic transport

11) Vietnam's capital

12) Admits bluntly

13) Word before "got a clue"

21) Movie popcorn unit

22) More difficult to collect

25) Fingerboard feature

26) Like Tonto's masked friend

27) Teacher's helper

28) A good number

29) "Addams Family" member

31) Make an impression, in a way

32) Albanian currency

33) Sound of a stick breaking

34) Highest stage

35) Overcharging condition?

37) "Take_ down memory lane"

38) _ fly (RBI method)

39) Space cadets

43) It's just above a foot

44) Schmaltzy

45) Viper variety

46) Abstract painting style

47) Ill-fated Antoinette

48) Some corrosives

49) Jolly Roger flag depiction

50) Palindromic tool

52) Opposite of include

53) Spanish abode

54) Nike's "Just" conclusion?

55) Tolstoy's "_ Karenina"

56) Sneering look

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WIKI

Demons nearly pull off upset over No. 4 Huskies on senior day

By Preston Zbroszczyk Asst. Sports Editor

What could have been.

Intercepting the inbound pass down 7069 eight seconds left, sophomore All-American Aneesah Morrow had every DePaul fan in Wintrust Arena on their feet. DePaul was 40 feet away from making the game winning shot and finally defeating No. 4 UConn for the first time in 22 games.

Instead, the possession ended quickly. Morrow got to the elbow and was met by three Huskies fighting for the ball. As the referee’s whistle blew, fans lifted their heads only to see the possession arrow favoring UConn, and quickly, the only people clapping were those behind the UConn bench.

DePaul fell 72-69 and, for the second time in back-to-back seasons, walked off the floor after losing to UConn by one possession, possibly thinking to themselves what could have been.

“It’s hard to win our league,” head coach Geno Auriemma said. “Especially when you’re UConn, you know, it’s a national championship for everybody when they beat us.”

Nearing the conclusion of his 37th season at the helm of DePaul women’s basketball, Hall of Fame head coach Doug Bruno has yet to defeat Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies.

As the first quarter ended and the Blue Demons had a 21-19 advantage, the thought of having what it takes to keep up with UConn for four quarters started to loom.

Defensively, DePaul forced 18 turnovers.

Senior Anaya Peoples had a game-high five steals and was active from the start.

DePaul shot over 40% in the entire game and matched UConn nearly every possession.

The Huskies made more timely baskets. When they went on multiple scoring droughts, the three ball got them back into the game every time. Six-foot-five graduate student, Dorka Juhasz, made her size known.

Juhasz had 10 points in the first quarter with two three-pointers, but DePaul was not fazed.

The Demons matched the Huskies with 26 points in the paint and were only outrebounded 42-31.

In DePaul’s final home game of the season, senior Keke Rimmer, along with Nazlah Morrow, were the only two to walk on senior day.

Rimmer was announced as a starter for her final home game, filling the role for injured Jorie Allen. Rimmer had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, leaving it all on the floor Saturday afternoon.

Tied at 37 at halftime, junior Darrione Rogers was hitting on all levels. Rogers finished the game with 15-points but gave the Blue Demons sparks from three as she hit multiple 25-plus foot shots.

Wintrust Arena had possibly its largest showing for a women’s game on Saturday. Concourses were unwalkable and courtside seats were filled with well-known Chicagoans, including DePaul alum Allie Quigley.

As the fourth quarter was gearing up to begin and “Is You Ready” by Migos began to play, the energy in the arena was ready to explode with anticipation that DePaul could finally get the job done.

Continuing to exchange leads, the clock neared triple zeroes. Midway through the fourth, Morrow took a shoulder to chest and exited. After a timeout, she reentered and was right back to work.

Reminiscent to her jersey number 24, Morrow backed down her defender and faded away similar to Kobe Bryant’s signature shot, making the basket and getting fouled. DePaul led by five and was in prime position with just under three minutes to play.

With defensive breakouts and empty DePaul possessions, UConn regained the lead and took control.

UConn’s star Aaliyah Edwards fouled out after picking up her fifth foul against Morrow. As Edwards left, she exchanged words with DePaul fans, having to be separated.

The emotion and intensity was evident throughout the game and elevated into the final seconds.

“The players played hard, and they are supposed to play hard,” Bruno said. “You’re not supposed to get any stars on your forward for playing hard. We competed, but we didn’t execute in the fourth quarter on both sides of the ball.”

Bruno and the squad will conclude the season at Marquette, Monday, Feb. 27, looking to avoid falling below .500 to finish the season.

The Big East conference tournament begins March 3, with the Demons’ eyeing a seven or eight seed in the first round of the tournament.

“We can still turn this thing around,” Bruno said. “We still have a chance to turn this thing around.”

Women’s Tennis rides five-game win streak

By Max Rayman Contributing

After starting the season 1-5, DePaul women’s tennis finds itself 6-5 and riding a five-game win streak that included a 3-0 week against No. 40 Iowa, Omaha and Creighton.

Heading into their first match of the week Tuesday against Iowa, the Blue Demons were full of confidence. The squad was unable to sustain its recent success early on, but was able to regain its composure and shocked the Hawkeyes with a walk-off 4-3 win.

In the doubles portion, Iowa struck first with the duo of freshman Pia Kranholdt and fifth-year senior Samantha Mannix, beating DePaul junior Greta Carbone and graduate student Maddie Yergler 6-2.

In a back-and-forth affair with multiple games tied 40-40, freshman Hannah Smith and senior Yuliya KIzelbasheva fell just short by a score of 6-4.

Graduate student Lenka Antonijevic and sophomore Eleanor Nobbs were up 5-3 and tied 40-40 in their ninth set and did not finish the match because Iowa was already in front 2-0.

“Before singles started, I reminded them about the controllables,” head coach Marisa Arce said. “All the non-tennis stuff, we need to make sure we’re doing to the best of our abilities. This allows our tennis to shine.”

In the singles competition, Carbone (6-3), Smith (6-4) and Nobbs (7-5) all won their first sets for DePaul. Carbone did not stop there, winning the second set in a dominant 6-0 fashion to put the Blue Demons on the board. Nobbs also won her match in straight sets (7-5, 6-2).

For the Hawkeyes, freshman Daianne Hayashida responded dominantly, beating DePaul graduate student Valentina Martin in straight sets (6-2, 6-0).

One of the most impressive matches of the day was on the first court. Kizelbasheva lost the first set 6-2 but immediately responded, taking the second set 6-2. In the third set, she outlasted her opponent to win 6-2 and secured the match.

“After the first set, I went behind the tarp to get my thoughts together,” Kizelbasheva said. “I told myself to just forget [it] and start over. The score was now 0-0, and I just needed to win two sets in a row.”

As DePaul and Iowa were tied 3-3, everything came down to the final match between Antonijevic and sophomore Barbora Pokorna. Antonijevic lost the first set 7-6, before coming back to win the second set 6-4.

The third set came down to the wire, with both players giving it their all. Halfway through Antonijevic’s third set, every other match had ended, and all eyes were on her and her adversary. Yet, the extra

pressure did not faze Antonijevic.

“I love the feeling of everyone trusting and believing that I can win,” Antonijevic said. “I love playing for the public and audience. The best comes out of me.”

Neither was able to fully pull away from the other, but in the end, Antonijevic was able to outlast her opponent, winning 7-5. After letting out a loud roar of excitement, Antonijevic was mobbed by her teammates as they celebrated the walk-off victory.

After a hard-earned Blue Demons point, chants of “all day” could be heard, rejuvenating the players.

“I feel so supported,” Antonijevic said. “Our opponents were getting so annoyed at our cheers and if we can get in their heads with just our chants, then we have the advantage.”

Kizelbasheva echoed her sentiments.

“Please keep talking and speaking to me,” Kizelbasheva said. “It makes my thoughts more focused. Coach always tells us if we are feeling nervous, just be loud and cheer for others and give energy. If it’s

loud it means everyone is fighting.”

The Blue Demons carried Tuesday’s success into the weekend, beating Omaha on the road Saturday afternoon, 6-1. In the doubles competition, the Blue Demons earned the point thanks to a quick 2-0 win. Carbone and Smith beat their opponents 6-3, while Kizelbasheva and Yergler won 6-0.

Omaha struck first in the singles competition, with graduate student Jessica Aragon taking down Kizelbasheva in straight sets (6-3, 6-1). Undeterred, the Blue Demons rallied to win the next five singles matches. Graduate students Valentina Martin, Smith, Yergler and Carbone all beat their respective opponents in straight sets. Nobbs lost her first set 6-3, but was able to bounce back, winning her next two sets to secure the point.

On Sunday in an afternoon road matchup against Creighton, the Blue Demons were able to extend their winning streak to five, beating the Blue Jays 5-2. DePaul was able to outlast Creighton in the doubles competition, winning 2-1. The duos of Carbone and Smith (6-4) and Antonijevic and Nobbs (7-6) were able to win their matches.

The singles competition saw Yergler make quick work of her opponent in straight sets (6-1, 6-1). Junior’s Bianca Rademacher (6-4, 5-7, 2-0) and Malvika Shulka (7-6, 4-6, 6-2) were able to win their respective matches for Creighton, but it wasn’t enough. Martin (3-6, 6-3, 6-1), Nobbs (2-6, 6-1, 6-3) and Smith (63, 4-6, 6-1) were able to outlast their opponents and help secure the Blue Demons the win.

DePaul (6-5) will be back in action on Friday, March 3 as they host Drake (5-3) at the XS Tennis Village at 1:30 p.m.

JACK DOMBRO | THE DEPAULIA

Sophomore forward Aneesah Morrow looks to attempt a three-point shot against a Huskies defender during Saturday’s 72-69 loss to UConn. Morrow scored 25 points and eight rebounds.

DEPAUL ATHLETICS

Graduate Valentina Martin serves with her front hand during Sunday’s win over Creighton.

Writer

MMA national champion Valerie Sanchez lends her talents at the Ray

By Joe Martinez

What do the titles student, teacher and national champion all have in common?

They all belong to a martial artist from Maywood, Valerie Sanchez.

Sanchez, 21, from Humboldt Park is a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter majoring in public relations and entrepreneurship at DePaul.

“I really enjoyed judo, just because it’s really cool to be able to throw grown men,” Sanchez said.

She has also been crowned a national champion in taekwondo and Muay Thai.

“I just wanted to [get back into] martial arts because one of my friends, my childhood friends, she actually committed suicide and it was a really hard time for me and I wasn’t really doing much,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez found her peace in a Muay Thai kickboxing gym after 12 years of taekwondo

“I realized that me just sweating and getting in there made me feel so much better… I realized I wanted to compete because I was just getting better every single day, and I just wanted to challenge myself,” Sanchez said. “It kind of makes me feel like a superhero sometimes because when you’re competing, you’re not really in your body. It’s kind of like an out of body experience.”

Sanchez enjoys sharing her passions with the world through teaching.She started teaching classes on Jan. 20 at the Ray Meyer Fitness Center.

The class is held every Friday at 2 p.m. for women, while the next hour is open to all DePaul students.

The classes are inspired by her taekwondo teacher, Master Han, who focused on teaching women basic self-defense techniques. Sanchez used to aid Han in these classes as a child.

“I wanted to bring that to DePaul just because I thought it’d be a great way to get to know other women, share my passion for martial arts, and kind of give back to the community because I have the ability to do so,” Sanchez said. “So, I feel pretty honored to even have the job here because it’s a lot of fun. I really enjoy it.”

During a class, Sanchez began by pairing her 10 students into groups.

Latin music booms through the speakers and cultivates a casual and fun atmosphere.

Every Friday, the class focuses on ground kicking, elbow striking and technical break falls.

Sanchez’s class, made-up of all women during the first hour, starts with practice elbow strikes on hand-held cushions held by each woman’s assigned partner.

Then, in a line, they performed technical break falls onto a floor mat.

The students, dressed in sweats and athletic wear, performed disciplined drops away from an imagined assailant; they are careful to have their bottom hit the floor first and then prevent their head and wrists from smacking the padded ground.

Sanchez showed how to kick an assailant from the ground and then her students perform the motion on her; a foam pad being the only thing between her and a bruised femur.

Despite the simulated violence being practiced, the demeanor in the room was lax.

“Even though I might be an MMA fighter and they don’t know anything about MMA, we can relate on the fact that everyone starts at square one… It’s not about getting mad at them if they do it wrong. It’s just kind of guiding them and nurturing them. Kind of like children, you know?”

Everyone, including Sanchez, filled the room with laughs and encouragement.

“I come here every week, so I really like it. Makes me feel empowered,” said V Derrick, one of Sanchez’s students. “I love Valerie. She’s great. She’s like one of the reasons I keep coming is because she’s such a cool instructor.”

The class ended with a traditional martial arts bow after students demonstrated one thing they learned from today’s class.

After class, students exited the room excitedly talking amongst themselves.

“I feel like I could really work on what we just did right now. But I feel proud of myself for learning something new that could help me… I’m really excited to keep learning more,” said Adela Diaz, another one of Sanchez’s students.

Sanchez said she is excited to share her passion for martial arts.

“I think my favorite part is just knowing that I got to expose martial arts to someone that probably didn’t know too much about it before,” she said. “Hopefully, it exposes women to martial arts in a way that isn’t scary or intimidating but a safe welcoming space where we can all learn to be powerful.”

AMBER STOUTENBOROUGH | THE DEPAULIA

Valerie Sanchez, 21, is a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter majoring in public relations and entrepreneurship at DePaul. She was crowned a national champion in taekwondo and Muay Thai.

Contributing Writer

AMBER STOUTENBOROUGH | THE DEPAULIA Sanchez found her peace in a Muay Thai kickboxing gym after 12 years of taekwondo.

Demons’ late game miscues lead to 10th straight loss

59-58

By Tom Gorski Sports Editor

In a week filled with a heartbreaking, last-second loss and a second half comeback bid falling just short, the Blue Demons found themselves in the midst of a 10-game losing streak.

The Big East tournament is less than two weeks away, and the team sits with a 9-20 overall record with a conference record of 3-15. DePaul is in position to finish the season as the 10th seed, which will result in an opening round matchup against Villanova on March 8.

DePaul looked to stop its losing streak in Milwaukee on Saturday night, but a 17-point second half comeback bid fell just short against Marquette in a 90-84 loss. The Blue Demons came within six points with under two minutes remaining, but the Golden Eagles clinched the game at the free throw line.

Senior center Nick Ongenda had a career-night, which included his first career double-double and a personal best 12 rebounds. Ongenda finished the night recording a season-high 16 points to go with five blocks and three steals.

Ongenda’s five-block night moved him into sixth place all-time at DePaul with 123 career blocks.

After Marquette went into halftime with a 48-27 lead, the Blue Demons showed a glimpse of hope in the second half, going on a 6-0 run.

Later on in the half, DePaul went on a 18-4 run that lasted nearly five minutes, shrinking Marquette’s lead to 78-72. Marquette sophomore guard Tyler Kolek then closed out the game scoring 11 points, nine of which came from the free throw line.

DePaul’s 84 points, led by graduate guard Umoja Gibson scoring 20, was its highest total against a conference opponent this season.

The team saw its most efficient shooting performance of the season as well, making 52% from the field. This is also its highest percentage against a Big East opponent.

Earlier in the week, the Blue Demons had a chance to win on the last shot and put the eight-game losing streak to rest, but a blocked final attempt resulted in a heartbreaking 5958 home loss to Butler on Wednesday night.

“It’s definitely a tough game,” head coach Tony Stubblefield said. “I thought we played solid the last 12 minutes of the first half, and I thought we came out strong in the second half to give ourselves a 12 point lead. Then, I thought we got very loose, and we took a lot of questionable shots and thought we had some careless turnovers that allowed them to get back in the game.”

DePaul dug themselves into a hole early after Butler went on a 7-0 run, holding the Blue Demons scoreless for 2:43. Butler senior guard Ali Ali had an early impact, connecting with a mid-range followed by a corner three, just minutes into the game.

The team made adjustments in the final 11 minutes of the half, which included bringing in junior guard Caleb Murphy off the bench. Once he entered, the team’s offense started to run more smoothly, going on a 7-0 run to match Butler’s from just a few minutes prior.

Murphy finished the game with two points, two rebounds and four assists, while also having a plus-minus of 11 during his 16 minutes of court action.

The Blue Demons started to get in sync as a team halfway through the half, highlighted by a 14-2 run that lasted for 5:22.

Gibson’s offensive presence was made known early on, as he finished the half scoring 15 points, with nine coming from beyond the arc. He ended the night scoring a game-high 25 points, with two assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Beyond Gibson, the Blue Demons did not see much contribution offensively. Not a single player hit double-digits in the scoring column.

“It’s very frustrating,” Gibson said of the team’s lack of offense. “Twenty-five points … I don’t care if I shot five or six, as long as we get a dub at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. We’ve got to find a way to win these regular season games and find our chemistry before we get to New York.”

DePaul held Butler without a field goal for nearly six minutes and only allowed the Bulldogs to shoot 1-for-14 from the field to conclude the half.

The Blue Demons held Butler to just 59 points on Wednesday night, which was the team’s lowest amount of points given up this season. Ongenda has provided added depth and length to the interior defense since his return to the lineup..

“I definitely thought we came out and played amazing defense,” Ongenda said. “We had them at like 60% initially, and then we brought them down at 30% from the field.”

DePaul opened up the half and picked up a 12-point lead after both Gibson and senior guard Philmon Gebrewhit connected on back-to-back three-pointers.

Butler was not going down without a fight and bounced back offensively, starting off the second half going five-for-five from the field, which resulted in a 9-0 Bulldogs run.

Senior forward Jalen Thomas led the way for the Bulldogs during the run, scoring six points and throwing down a dunk to ignite the Butler bench.

The final 90 seconds of the game was crucial for both sides. With 1:22 left on the clock, Javan Johnson lost the ball after being stripped by Ali, which led Ali to score a basket to put the Bulldogs up by three. Moments later, Gibson was fouled while driving up court and given two free throws. He made

both to bring it to a one-point game.

With less than 15 seconds remaining, Butler drove in for an attempt to score, but Ongenda had a ferocious block to ignite the Wintrust Arena crowd, giving DePaul the ball trailing by one. DePaul had a chance for the final shot to win.

Stubblefield elected not to call a timeout, knowing he had one remaining if needed to come up with a play design.

Instead, he trusted the experienced Johnson, who called for an ISO and held the ball for the final seconds then drove to the lane for the potential game-winning score. Johnson was blocked by Butler sophomore guard Jayden Taylor as time expired. Wintrust Arena erupted in disbelief as the heartbreak sunk in, knowing DePaul lost another close game in heartbreaking fashion.

“Calling a timeout was something I’d thought about, but we didn’t want to give them an opportunity to set their defense,” Stubblefield said.

Johnson’s final shot was heavily contested by Butler and Stubblefield had few choice of words postgame about Johnson’s decision to take it himself.

Stubblefield said losing games in close fashion does not make it any better, and the team needs to find a way to come out on the other end of close games.

“I’m not into moral wins,” Stubblefield said. “There’s not much I can take away from this. We must get the job done, so I’m not going to sit here and say I’m happy about how we played. We either win or we lose.”

DePaul (9-20, 3-15) will travel to Storrs, Connecticut on Wednesday night to take on No. 18 UConn (22-7, 7-11) at the XL Center with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on the CBS Sports Network.

Graduate guard Umoja Gibson hangs his head after Wednesday’s 59-58 loss to the Bulldogs.

@DEPAULHOOPS | TWITTER

Senior center Nick Ongenda attempts a contested shot during Saturday’s 90-84 loss to Marquette.

LUCAS PARADES | THE DEPAULIA

Sports

By Preston Zbroszczyk

Asst. Sports Editor

In anticipation, junior Shourya Verma took a breath and awaited the match point serve. As the ball made its way over the net, Verma returned it, swiping his front hand swing to win the point.

Flailing his hand in the air, Verma dropped his racket and bowed to his teammates as they stormed the court to celebrate the win.

“It means a lot,” Verma said. “You think about these times when you go to bed, and you don’t know what exact celebration to do. It was a good sigh of relief.”

Verma’s win not only gave the Blue Demons the win over Army, but it was his first singles win in the DePaul invite, after losing against Eastern Kentucky and Cleveland State.

The Blue Demons returned home from the HEB tournament to host the DePaul Invite, Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18, looking to erase a six-game losing streak. With three matches in two days, the players had their work cut out for themselves.

First on the slate was Eastern Kentucky, on Thursday, Feb. 23. DePaul came out with early aggression and stuck to it throughout the match.

Senior Leon Huck and freshman Pablo Torres Almeida, along with freshman Elias Anwar and his duo partner sophomore Jona Gitschel, got the Blue Demons its first point of the match, with both duos winning their

doubles matches.

Head coach Matt Brothers and his team continued the dominance into the singles matches.

The Demons No. 1 and No. 3 ranked singles players, Huck and sophomore Matteo Laquinto, made quick work of their opponents, adding two more points for DePaul.

Not going away without a fight, the Colonels picked up back-to-back singles wins, making the score 3-2 and placing pressure on DePaul.

Anwar, from Dubai, picked up the winning points, securing the win, ending the long six game skid.

“It’s great for their confidence,” Brothers said. “Especially for those guys that are coming in getting experience.”

The results from Thursday did not translate to Friday’s noon match against Cleveland State.

DePaul fell behind early, losing the doubles matches and had a hard time recovering from that

point on.

DePaul made up some ground in the singles matches by winning two out of the six that were in progress.

The Cougars came away with the 4-2 win, but with no time to really reflect on the loss, DePaul was back in action three hours later against Army West Point.

Brothers emphasized that his players stay on top of their recovering processes throughout these long days and through the season.

“It’s been a topic of conversation the last couple weeks,” Brothers said. “It’s something, you know, I still think that we can do a better job of just hydrating and sleeping. There are so many different factors that go into it. Nutrition, stretching.”

The matchup with the Black Knights looked similar to the Cleveland State match in the early going.

Army took care of the doubles matches in less than 30 minutes, setting the team up in a good position.

Early in the singles matches, it did not look like things were going to change for DePaul. Anwar, who was ranked this week as the Blue Demons’ No. 5, was the first one to drop his match, as Army picked up another point to go up 2-0.

Gitschel proceeded to also drop his singles match in two sets, as Army West Point was just one singles match win away from sweeping the Blue Demons Friday night.

With just three matches left, the Blue Demons had no other choice but win out in order to win the match.

Iaquinto clinched his match in two sets and was full of emotion throughout.

As he returned the serve on match point, he yelled in excitement and lifted his shirt.

Huck battled his emotions through the ups and downs of his match. Dropping his first set 6-3, Huck came back winning two-straight sets and winning another point in dramatic fashion.

“It was a tough challenge for us, but we managed,” Huck said. “I’ll do anything for this team, it’s just not about me, it’s about the team … In the end, it’s in my control for me to step up and be a team leader to get the win.”

With one match left on court three, teammates and coaches gathered as everyone watched the final third set that would decide the match’s result.

Verma, who was vocal throughout his match, played with his emotions on his sleeve. He was given a warning for words that were exchanged between him and his opponent, but he still jawed throughout the match as it continued to accelerate.

Up 5-3, Verma was just one rally away from accomplishing the comeback and giving his teammates a confidence boost in their return home.

“Yeah it’s definitely tough,” Verma said. “I mean two weeks ago, I was in the same situation, and I lost. I just tried to learn from it really, to handle my emotions better.”

After Verma secured the win, DePaul came away with two out of three matches, improving the team’s record to 7-9 on the season.

DePaul will travel to Milwaukee and get to play its second Big East match of the season against Marquette, on Friday, March 3.

Sophomore Matteo Iaquinto celebrates after defeating Army sophomore Vishnu Bodavula Friday night in two sets as he gave DePaul its first point of the match. DePaul improved to 7-9 on the season.