TheDePaulia
Chicago’s ‘One System Initiative’: A bold reform or a band-aid solution for unhoused communities?
Amy Colucio’s cat, Little Man, struts around the quiet tent community in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood next to the bustling Lakeshore Drive. But he never strays very far from his owner as the frigid winter temperatures set in.
Colucio has been living in a tent since Sept. 29, 2024, with her sister and cat after they were evicted from their apartment. They have not been able to find housing with their Social Security benefits since then.
“We just haven’t been able to find anything. We have Social Security but it’s just, you know, finding a place on $967 a month, it’s hard to find an apartment at that point,” she said.
Colucio, like thousands of other Chicagoans, was displaced from her home and ended up on the streets. According to the 2024 Chicago Point in Time Count of homeless people, 18,836 Chicagoans were
facing homelessness, which is triple the amount from 2023.
People experience homelessness for a number of reasons. According to the Chicago Coalition to end Homelessness, the primary reason is “lack of affordable housing coupled with economic precarity and an inadequate social safety net.”
Molly Brown, an associate professor of community psychology at DePaul, said the migrant population in Chicago has spiked over the last two years. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to send migrants to sanctuary cities, like Chicago, has added an estimated 51,649 migrants to the city’s population since 2022, according to city data.
“The numbers (of homeless individuals) that we’re seeing in Chicago are inflated right now due to the broader circumstance of new arrivals being bused into Chicago without a place to stay, a landing place,” Brown said. “That’s where that rapid increase in numbers came from.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson proposed the One System Initiative in October 2024. The initiative promotes a unified shelter system for all Chicagoans, by combining the current systems for unhoused individuals and migrants.
The system is a $40 million investment and would add 3,800 beds to the 3,000 beds already provided by the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS), according to the 2025 city budget presentation.
The One System Initiative was set to begin on Jan. 1 and was made in collaboration between the City of Chicago and the state of Illinois. Under the initiative, DFSS will continue to offer shelter services and lead the transition into the unified system. According to the 2025 Chicago Budget Recommendation, under the Homeless Services Fund, $13.7 million will be budgeted for the DFSS.
Daisy Contreras, an Illinois Department of Human Services spokesperson, told the Chicago Tribune that the initiative
aims to shift “permanent shelter management to the nonprofit workforce.”
Brown, the DePaul professor, said since the need for both migrant and homeless shelters was decreasing, the city of Chicago decided to combine the programs.
She said the city began the One System Initiative to be more efficient in delivering services to migrants and those experiencing homelessness.
However, the new initiative is raising concerns among those who are working to help these populations.
Danielle Walker, the volunteer coordinator at Lincoln Park Community Services, is concerned that under the city’s One System Initiative, unhoused people will be placed in shelters that lack the proper resources to support them.
“We have no say in who goes where. If somebody comes in, we may not be able to assist them in the best way that we can,” Walker said.
Amy Colucio stands by her tent in Uptown on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. Colucio and her sister have been living in a tent community since September 2024, after they were evicted from their apartment.
LUIS CARO | THE DEPAULIA
By Sarah Hendry, LiLi Jarvenpa, Mia Abraham and Luis Caro DePaul Journalism Investigative Report
The DePaulia is the official student-run newspaper of DePaul University and may not necessarily reflect the views of college administrators, faculty or staff.
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CAMPUS CRIME REPORT
LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS
Feb. 19 - Feb. 25, 2025
LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS
Drug & Alcohol Assault & Theft Other
Lincoln Park Campus Crimes: Feb. 19
1) A Harassment report was filed in the Sheffield Parking Garage.
Feb. 20
2) A Theft report was filed for a laptop stolen from the Richardson Library.
Feb. 21
3) A Possession of Drug Equipment and Illegal Possession of Alcohol by a Minor report was filed in Munroe Hall.
Feb. 21
4) Chicago Police contacted Public Safety on February 21 regarding an Aggravated Battery that occurred near the Fullerton CTA station on February 16 . An alert was not posted due to the information not being reported to Public Safety in a timely manner.
Feb. 23
5) An Illegal Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor report was filed in Ozanam Hall. The subject was transported to the hospital.
Feb. 24
6) A Possession of Cannabis report was filed in Corcoran Hall.
LOOP CAMPUS
Loop Campus Crimes: Feb. 20
1) A Disorderly Conduct report was filed for a false alarm fire pull station activation in the DePaul Center.
Feb. 23
2) A Graffiti report was filed for markings found on the DePaul Center statue and building.
She said that someone who does not speak English might be referred to any shelter with availability, even if there were no bilingual staff or translators at that location.
Her organization works with the city to provide interim housing with 48 beds and offer support services, such as showers, laundry facilities, case management and individualized support. However, under the One System Initiative, the roles of volunteers at the Lincoln Park shelter have changed.
Walker said the volunteers and workers there have to do jobs they were not trained for or expected to do. Without proper training and preparations to deal with specific migrants’ circumstances, their work has become more complicated.
Walker explained that when migrants are sent to her and her colleagues for housing, they often require more care in specific areas, such as Social Security.
“We sat for hours on the phone with Social Security, while the migrant shelters had people to do those jobs directly,” Walker said.
Migrant shelters are set up so that migrants receive services that cater to them directly. However, Chicago closed its last migrant landing center in December 2024. Lincoln Park Community Services and other homeless shelters are not set up to address the particular needs of the migrants, such as language services and asylum assistance.
Thresholds is another nonprofit orga-
nization that provides services for people with serious mental illnesses and those who are experiencing homelessness. Their outreach program provides primary and psychiatric care for these people and helps them find housing.
Thresholds did not reply to The DePaulia’s request for an interview.
Nemieka Horton, a woman without housing, has been working with Thresholds to find a home. She said she had been sleeping on trains and outside until she was arrested in 2023 for battery, according to Chicago police records.
“I lost my apartment. My family is no longer with me. No one is with me right now,” Horton said. “But I’ve been trying to get myself together a little bit, I’m feeling a little bit better.”
Horton is trying to find a job and is working with Thresholds to get back on track. She said she wants to show that she is trying to change her current situation in life.
Colucio says that, while the search for housing has been slow, the tent communities often receive resources from nonprofits, shelters and the city. She said she would like to see more resources to find housing.
“There’s a lot of community resources, though, because (the) Department of Family Services come out here, Night Ministries, Lincoln Park Community Services, and they feed us, they give us water,” Colucio said. “They do a lot for us.”
Chris Nash contributed to this report.
Tent houses sit pitched in a tent community in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. According to the 2024 Point in Time Count of homeless people, 18,836 Chicagoans were facing homelessness.
ONE SYSTEM INITIATIVE, cont. from front
‘A cause much greater than ourselves’: Global conference explores decolonization and mutual aid in the Russia-Ukraine conflict
By Riley Sommers Contributing Writer
Tetiana Tymkiv of the Ukrainian Catholic University’s counseling center painted a scene for attendees at DePaul’s Ukrainian-American Cultural Association’s global conference on Friday, Feb. 21.
“Let’s imagine you waking up at 5 a.m. to an air raid alarm. You spend the next two or three hours in the shelter or hallway scrolling through the newspapers trying to stay informed on if everything is okay,” Tymkiv said, describing what daily life is like for workers at the university’s counseling center in the Ukrainian city of Lviv as the three-year Russia-Ukraine war continues.
“By 8 a.m. you are already attending a lecture, preparing a conference report or studying different materials on trauma responses. This is a reality.”
The counseling center, known as “Poradnya,” was just one of the community services highlighted during the conference for both Zoom attendees and those in person on DePaul’s campus.
The event included other speakers from the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), including Volodymyr Sklokin, a history professor who gave a lecture on “The Ukrainian-Russian
Encounter: Challenges of Decolonization.” Students and faculty from the university also told the audience about their support programs and aid efforts during the war in Ukraine.
Sklokin’s lecture explored “the complex history and geopolitical implications of the “Great War,” putting the current conflict into context for conference attendees.
Russian President Vladimir Putin views Ukraine as an “integral part” of Russia and the region but doesn’t want Ukraine’s leaders to control its destiny, according to Sklokin
“Our experience for the last few days demonstrates how fragile and uncertain everything is,” Sklokin said, referring to recent talks suggesting the possibility of a ceasefire and temporary peace. “It might be more productive to talk not about Ukraine’s decolonization, but about restoring its … sovereignty” as an independent country.
Tymkiv said the Poradnya counseling center has assisted more than 300 people affected by the conflict.
“Each day represents a delicate balance between personal safety, professional growth and the responsibility to assist others in times of crisis,” Tymkiv
said, referring to students and other workers at Poradnya.
She also noted its personal impact on her own life.
“In retrospect, I realize how much this effort became my personal salvation, a way to channel my fear into something purposeful,” Tymkiv said.
The UCU Legal Clinic, presented by Anna-Maria Snahinsha and Yaroslav Ovcharuk, provides legal advice and representation to soldiers, victims and affected families. Some soldiers and civilian victims of war violence are seeking pensions from the government to accommodate their disabilities. The UCU Legal Clinic also advocates for the retrieval of remains for proper burial on behalf of the families of those who have died.
“The clinic’s work is deeply intertwined with values of human dignity, justice and human rights,” Snahinsha said. “Every day, we contribute to a cause much larger than ourselves.”
Ovcharuk added, “Over the past year, we have also begun to work intensively with civilians who have lost some of their health, family, friends and homes due to the war.” He said he finds inspiration in the resilience of the people he’s met at the legal clinic.
Maxym Danyliv and Anastasia
Ovcharenko, of the UCU Volunteer Lab, were the final presenters at the conference. The lab promotes community engagement and hosts events, including special dances and programs for those with disabilities.
Above all, Viktoriia Stelmakh and Anastasiia Volyk, student officers for the Ukrainian-American Cultural Association, a DePaul student group, said they hoped the conference could heighten awareness of what’s going on in Ukraine.
They said it’s their perception that many DePaul students and Chicagoans don’t know the war is still going on.
“We would like to highlight who started this war, and we want people to know who the villain of the story is, and that’s Russia,” Stelmakh, a DePaul sophomore, said. President Trump, however, has refused to blame Russia for the war.
Stelmakh and Volyk said they hope their organization and its events will help protect the sovereignty of Ukraine and the rights of its people.
“There should be no talks about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Stelmakh said.
Olya Glantsman, faculty advisor for the Ukrainian-American Cultural Association at DePaul, poses with the Ukrainian flag next to president Viktoriia Stelmakh and vice president Anastasiia Volyk at the global conference on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.
RILEY SOMMERS | THE DEPAULIA
‘Use humor more’: Former Irish president Mary Robinson donates literary collection to DePaul
By Rose O’Keeffe Content Managing Editor
Irish writer Eavan Boland once reflected, “I began writing in a country where the word ‘woman’ and the word ‘poet’ were almost magnetically opposed. One word was used to invoke collective nurture, the other to sketch out self-reflective individualism.”
Mary Robinson, Ireland’s first female president, likewise entered politics in a country where women are constitutionally prescribed to a domestic role in the home. But in the December 1990 elections, Robinson proclaimed that by electing her, Irish women, “instead of rocking the cradle, rocked the system.”
Robinson visited DePaul last Friday, Feb. 28, for a public discussion with Mary McCain, director of the university’s Irish Studies program. Held in McGowan South, the event marked the official transfer of Robinson’s personal literary collection to DePaul’s Library.
A large bulk of the literary materials include works by her longtime friend Eavan Boland, who died in 2020.
“I do want this to be the Eavan Boland collection, not the Mary Robinson collection, and we’ll work that out,” Robinson said to the crowd of awestruck Chicago Irish.
Robinson and Boland met while studying at Trinity College Dublin in the 1960s. They became fast friends who made their respective marks as trailblazing Irish women of a new era.
never stopped talking,” Robinson recalled. “The interesting thing is, I was the kind of dreamer and abstract and vague, and Eavan was so practical, so down to earth.” She treasured the friendship, especially during her tenure as president of Ireland, which Robinson remarked could be isolating.
After studying law at Trinity College, Robinson received a fellowship to continue her legal studies across the pond at Harvard University, earning her master’s in law in 1968.
“I really wanted to use law as an instrument for social change,” Robinson said. “I didn’t want to make money from law. I wanted to make change.”
Robinson certainly made change, becoming a member of the Irish Senate at just 25 years old and later becoming the first independent candidate and first female to secure the Irish presidency.
But Robinson’s efforts for progressive social change in a historically conservative nation did not come without significant obstacles.
As a young Irish senator in 1971, Robinson introduced legislation to make contraception accessible to Irish women. Back then, only married women with a doctor’s prescription could obtain contraception.
“This was ridiculous, stupid,” Robinson said during the discussion. “I mean, clearly, women needed reproductive health. They needed family planning.”
With the support of two male senators, Robinson proposed a bill to amend the criminalization of contraception.
“Little did I understand that I had tapped into something,” she said. “I was talking about sexuality. I was talking about relationships. It was hugely unpopular.”
At the time she introduced the bill, Robinson received swaths of hate mail and political backlash. It wasn’t until 1985 — nearly 15 years after Robinson’s initial proposal — that the Irish government fully legalized the sale of contraceptives.
Robinson served as President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997 and as United Nations high commissioner for human rights from 1997 to 2002.
gay rights, women’s rights and climate justice.
But even while carrying the weight of justice and truth, Robinson notably carries herself with humility, intelligence and a palpable sense of humor.
“I place extraordinary importance on humor,” Robinson said to the crowd still recovering from a clever quip she delivered just seconds earlier.
“When I joined the Elders that Nelson Mandela brought together in 2007, I can’t tell you how much fun we have talking about the most serious problems,” she said. “It sort of grounds you in a warmth of sharing joy, sharing humor, but also having a lot of empathy for pain and suffering.”
She said if she had any advice for young women it would be to “use humor more.”
Rich Goode, a fundraiser for DePaul, attended the Friday evening talk. He said he has long been inspired by Robinson’s life and mission.
“(The talk) was fun to be a part of, and just fun to have a connection with a great world leader and leading woman for the past 60 years in world politics,” Goode said.
He said as a former English teacher, he hopes students take advantage of the nearly 900 volumes of Robinson’s personal literary collection coming to DePaul.
grad to study Robinson’s collection.
“I have an Irish studies minor, and I hope to use that niche part of my career to move forward,” Shuff said.
At the end of the talk, Robinson reflected on the beauty of literature, particularly poetry. She said poetry does not always help her solve the world’s problems, but nevertheless the words and abstract ideas “lift me.”
She told the crowd one of her favorite poems is “From the Republic of Conscience” by Irish poet Seamus Heaney.
“It’s a lovely poem, because the person goes to the Republic of Conscience … and they have a sort of spiritual experience,” Robinson explained. “But when they come back, they become an ambassador of conscience. And the last line is, ‘no ambassador will ever be relieved.’”
As president, U.N. high commissioner and now as an elder statesperson, Robinson herself has become an ambassador of conscience, an ambassador for the rights of man, an emissary of hope and good humor.
Even at age 80, Robinson does not want to be relieved.
“Human rights are a struggle,” Robinson said. “Women’s rights are a struggle. We have to know that, but we have to keep hope in action,
ZOEY DUCHENE | THE DEPAULIA
Former Irish President Mary Robinson speaks with DePaul Irish Studies program director Mary McCain at McGowan South on Feb. 28, 2025. Robinson is donating her personal literary collection to DePaul.
The solitary world of chronic headphone users can feel pretty lonely
By Linnea Cheng Contributing Writer
For the first three years of college, I was one of those people that had my noise-cancelling headphones on everywhere I went. I slapped them on, headed out the door and ignored the world around me. It gave me entertainment, stimulation and, yeah, a way for me to romanticize (or stress about) my life.
It also got me in my head. I wasn’t tuning into the chatter of Chicago and ended up feeling more isolated than anything, while commuting in a city made up of more than 2.5 million people. Wired, wireless, over the ear — whatever it is, it’s more common than not to see commuters in Chicago listening to music (or other who-knows-what audial stimuli) while in public.
Sometimes when I ride public transit, I’ll calculate who has headphones on and often find that about 70% of commuters have their ears occupied. This is obviously based on my own lackluster and unscientific research, but the number stays consistently the same.
This prevalent behavior hooks technology into our daily lives, keeping our brains digitally stimulated when they
probably just need a break.
“I started wearing headphones while walking around because it was a clear signal that I didn’t want to be talked to,” said Dara Gami, a DePaul sophomore.
“It’s like having a big banner above my head saying, ‘Do not talk to me.’”
Some may say that having your headphones on as a pedestrian is the equivalent to listening to the radio in your car. Our legs are our transportation, the train our vehicle, the bus a glorified carpool. Transit in the city is rarely solitary, so we come up with a way to have alone time even when we’re surrounded. But at what cost?
I chatted with another student, Alara Stewart, whose phone was recently out of commission due to water damage. Forced to face the world without music, Stewart not only noticed phone withdrawals but also that “everything was much more still.”
“Not having access to listening to music while walking to class or riding the train was very odd,” said Stewart, a sophomore who is double majoring in international studies and public policy.
“It was an adjustment, but it also helped me think more clearly.”
I understand that headphones are a form of protection for many. Having your ears covered is a physical manifestation of minding your own business.
“Our school is based in Chicago, a lot is going on in the street,” said Lam Thai, a senior studying film. “Putting headphones on can distract us from a problem that’s going on. It’s a safety thing.”
I get it. I’ve had similar thoughts and have worn headphones for all these reasons.
But the more I observe the normative life around me, the more I’ve realized how even on a packed Red Line train, I’ve become part of a collective self-isolation. And it feels dystopian.
Sometimes I can’t help but think of the lost casual connections I could’ve made on transit had I not been enveloped in my own little world. So many times, I’d get on the same train car as a classmate and rather than striking up conversation, we’d both plug our ears and avoid eye contact.
I’m curious what our lives would be like if we unplugged in those opportune moments to connect with a familiar
face, exchange small talk with strangers or eavesdrop on the couple next to us (I totally have never done that).
Don’t get me wrong; I’m no purist. I still dig out the wired earbuds and plug them in from time to time when I just need to muffle the din of the city — or my own buzzing mind. The latter may be the biggest reason I do it.
“I think part of the reason people wear headphones constantly is because we cannot stand to be alone with our thoughts,” Gami said. “We need to be constantly occupied, especially in the mundane task of walking or taking the train somewhere.”
I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all answer here, but I do know that balance is key. There are days I want to shut the world out and others when I want to be an active participant.
Whatever that balance may be for you, I just hope, someday, we can all be more tuned into each other.
AVERY SCHOENHALS | THE DEPAULIA
A DePaul student with headphones checks his phone on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Richardson Library. Most students in the library wear headphones.
Tell the truth about lies: Using the ‘L word’ in mainstream media
By Brielle Kohlbeck
Opinion Editor
Falsehoods, mistruths or even “alternative facts” — as Kellyanne Conway would say — are some of the words used by public figures and news outlets to dance around what they may really mean: lie. While those words have their place in the media, “lie” has similarly found a foothold in the headlines.
Other than the occasional outlier, like CBS in 2012 putting together “infamous political lies,” news media does not often — and for some outlets, ever — call something a lie or call someone a liar. That was until President Donald Trump’s political appearance. Not long after his 2016 campaign did the phrase start popping up more frequently and accurately, changing this trend in a way that I believe to be for the better. Rick Pearson, the chief political reporter for the Chicago Tribune, believes this is because lying is credited as Trump’s strategy, which is often known for fearmongering, fueled by repeated lies.
“It was never part of a calculated political strategy until Trump elevated it that way,” Pearson said. “It’s a lie, it’s a political strategy. Repeat the lie so often that it dulls the senses of everybody and some people think those lies will become truth.”
As his strategy advanced, so did political reporting. Soon after, there was a conversation from many big media outlets regarding their opinions on the importance of the word or showing their support by using these labels. Many editors, professors and professionals have found themselves in the conversation, both agreeing and disagreeing with the word’s usage in the media.
David Greenberg, a contributing editor at Politico Magazine, writes that he thinks the trend shouldn’t continue. Greenberg believes editors are right to worry that calling Trump a liar is “overreaching” or “speculating” about his intent.
“Though it may seem fainthearted to use words like “falsehood” and “untruth,” in the long run the press will have more influence if it avoids insinuating more than it can confidently assert to be true,” Greenberg writes.
I, as well as retired journalism professor Jeff Cohen, disagree.
“It’s sort of a cover-up for those in power when you don’t call it a lie,” Cohen, producer of the documentary “All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone,” told the AP.
Trump has made it very clear he doesn’t like the media and doesn’t plan to start liking it anytime soon. If speech is restricted out
of fear, there’s no telling what will happen to the future of journalism. I also believe it’s a stretch to say the media is “overreaching” when it comes to referring specifically to Trump as a liar, as it’s been found pretty certain he spews purposefully misleading statements.
“Until the age and era of Trumpism, where it became a political strategy, I think that’s where it became the evolution of the journalist practice changed to flat out say ‘he lied about this, and this is why he is lying about this,’” Pearson said.
The “why” is important to Pearson, as it should be to any good journalist. In a mix of labels and accountability, the proof and reasoning is just as valid as calling something for what it is.
Mia Abraham, a DePaul journalism major with a political science minor, says
she has seen the word in media headlines surrounding Trump as well as referring to Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defence, after confirmation hearing controversies.
She also believes that the “why” is a big part of justifying labels like lie or liar, but believes their place in the media is important.
“Sometimes it is necessary to call it as it is, especially in our government,” Abraham said. “However, I do think these media outlets should be proceeding with caution as these claims could ultimately affect the credibility of their networks.”
She thinks the potential overuse of this vocabulary could ultimately lead to negative effects on the way society views media outlets. But, as a journalist herself, she says she would consider utilizing the terms.
“I would absolutely use the words in my news writing if it was necessary in the scenario,” Abraham said.
A bigger question to raise from all this goes farther than vocabulary and media controversy: Why does any of this matter when our country’s political “leader” has, intentionally or not, been found to have told 30,573 false or misleading statements over the course of four years — a number that was published in 2021 and doesn’t even include heinous statements about eating pets or the crowds of his opponent being faked with AI.
This is the “why” that deserves more attention. Whether our politicians are liars, crooks or criminals, it might be smart to not get caught up in the labels journalists use, but pay attention to why we’re using them.
PRECIOSA RIOS | THE DEPAULIA
La DePaulia
El restaurante Mahari en Hyde Park muestra los sabores vibrantes de la diáspora africana
Por Khadija Mujahid Escritora Colaboradora
Nacido y criado en el vecindario de Hyde Park en Chicago, Rahim Muhammad disfrutaba viajar por el mundo con su madre, Shawn Muhammad. Le encantaba experimentar nuevos lugares a través de sus diversas cocinas y valoraba la conexión que la comida generaba entre las personas.
Ahora, el dúo espera dar nueva vida a la escena gastronómica de su vecindario con Mahari, su nuevo restaurante que presenta platos inspirados en diferentes culturas que los dos aman.
“Cuando caminas por Hyde Park, ves mucha comida rápida”, dijo Shawn Muhammad. “(Queríamos) llegar a toda la diáspora... Negra, Caribeña... Hispana — todo nuestro ámbito”.
Durante sus visitas a diferentes ciudades, como la ciudad natal de su madre, Gonzales, Louisiana, Rahim Muhammad mostró un interés particular por los diferentes sabores y técnicas culinarias.
“La idea es llegar a la gente a través de la experiencia y la comida, la historia de la comida”, dijo Rahim Muhammad. A través de esta experiencia compartida, agregó, espera enseñar a las personas “sobre sí mismos y sobre los demás”.
Shawn Muhammad dijo que la crianza de su hijo despertó su interés por conectar a las personas a través de la cocina.
“Se dio cuenta de que al reunir comida, diferentes sabores... la gente se
reuniría, y te pone en una vibración completamente diferente cuando comes buena comida”, dijo Shawn Muhammad. Rahim Muhammad explicó que encarnar el lema de Mahari — “desde las raíces, a través de las raíces” — ha sido un enfoque principal para el restaurante. Obras de arte hechas a mano cubren las paredes, plantas ocupan mesas y estantes en cada rincón, y las cortinas hechas por la misma Shawn Muhammad cuelgan junto a las ventanas.
La comida de Mahari refleja este mismo nivel de detalle. Los chefs y bartenders llegan horas antes de que el restaurante abra para perfeccionar los platos y bebidas. Cortan a mano las verduras y preparan hierbas para los cócteles.
El menú de Mahari incluye platos como alitas picantes haitianas, plátanos rellenos y hamburguesas de cordero caribeñas.
“Podía notar que el menú ha sido curado a un nivel muy alto”, dijo Belynda Wesley, quien visitó el restaurante por primera vez. “Puedes notar que ha sido tocado por alguien que realmente se preocupa por lo que presenta a sus clientes”.
Aunque el objetivo del restaurante era traer la cocina de la diáspora negra a Hyde Park, su meta también es invertir y devolver algo a la comunidad, dijo Hanae Mauldin, directora de operaciones de Mahari.
“Nos encanta poder estar vinculados a nuestra comunidad, pero también ser un reflejo de nuestra comunidad, para que vean a personas geniales haciendo cosas geniales que también se parecen a ellos”, dijo Mauldin.
Mahari es el espacio de empleo y comunidad - especialmente para mujeres - que Shawn Muhammad siempre había querido proporcionar a Hyde Park, mencionó.
“Hablamos de esto por un tiempo y luego, a medida que... rezamos por ello, nuestros sueños comenzaron a hacerse realidad”, dijo. “Mahari ha ido más allá de la cocina y de ser un restaurante. Es como un espacio seguro para nosotras las mujeres... un espacio seguro de hermanas”.
Rahim Muhammad dijo que querían crear un lugar que representara la diversidad de Hyde Park y la suya. “Queríamos... apegarnos a lo que sabemos y crear algo único, de dónde somos y de dónde hemos estado”.
Para crear el menú, Rahim Muhammad hizo una investigación exhausta para encontrar similitudes en las técnicas agrícolas y culinarias y así fusionar alimentos que se complementan bien.
Como una mayor celebración de la cocina de la diáspora, Mahari organiza una serie llamada “Pasaporte” cada sábado. “Viajan” a un nuevo país, exper-
imentando con la comida, la música y la bebida de esa región. Los eventos pasados han destacado a Haití, la República Dominicana y Gambia.
El restaurante ha acogido a figuras notables, como la activista estadounidense Jacqueline Jackson, entre otros artistas, políticos y visitantes de todo el mundo. La familia dijo que la creciente base de clientes regulares de Mahari también refleja la diversidad de los residentes locales de Hyde Park y se ha convertido en un espacio comunitario.
“Mahari también surgió del deseo de que las personas realmente se alejen de la norma y puedan expresarse”, dijo Shawn Muhammad. “Cuando alejas a las personas de lo que hacen todos los días y las pones en un espacio seguro, realmente llegas a conocer a esa persona”.
Mauldin dijo que la inversión de Hyde Park en su comunidad lo convierte en uno de los mejores vecindarios de Chicago para abrir un negocio.
“La gente de Hyde Park está muy vinculada a su comunidad”, dijo Mauldin. “Cuando es algo nuevo y algo que disfrutan, se lo cuentan a todos los que conocen”.
Wesley dijo que esperaba que Hyde Park continúe invirtiendo en negocios como Mahari.
“Como mujer negra, quería empezar a ir a más restaurantes de propiedad negra, especialmente cuando están hechos específicamente con nosotros en mente”, dijo ella. “Es muy raro encontrar algo tan específico como esto; creo que esto es una joya”.
En el futuro, Shawn y Rahim Muhammad dijeron que esperan expandir Mahari a otros estados y seguir conectando a las personas a través de su ambiente familiar.
“El nombre ‘Mahari’, significa un regalo”, dijo Shawn Muhammad. “Y queríamos dar un regalo a Hyde Park”.
Shawn Muhammad se encuentra junto a las obras de arte en la barra de Mahari el sábado 22 de febrero.
Los clientes salen de Mahari el sábado 22 de febrero. Belynda Wesley, quien visitó el restaurante por primera vez, dijo, “Puedes notar que ha sido tocado por alguien que realmente se preocupa por lo que presenta a sus clientes”.
KHADIJA MUJAHID | LA DEPAULIA
KHADIJA MUJAHID | LA DEPAULIA
Vendedores ambulantes mexicanos en Brighton Park comparten cómo mantienen la esperanza a pesar de la incertidumbre
Por Alondra M. Castañeda & Nupur Bosmiya Jefa de Redacción & Gerente Editorial de La DePaulia
El cielo nublado de Chicago y el frío cortante del viento durante el fin de semana del Día de San Valentín inspiraron una acogedora celebración del amor y la amistad para muchos. Más no para los vendedores de flores y ositos de peluche en vecindario de Brighton Park. Los tonos rojos brillantes de los corazones que vendían contrastaban con el clima sombrío.
A pesar de que las carreteras estuvieran cubiertas de nieve, los vendedores caminaban de una ventana de carro a otra, mostrando sus arreglos de flores coloridas. Ramos con rosas, girasoles, gypsophilas y claveles decoraban las aceras, mientras que los ositos de peluche colgaban de rejas verticales improvisadas.
A pesar de las preocupaciones por los esfuerzos de deportaciónes masivas
llegó a EE. UU. hace solo dos años, viviendo en Denver, Colorado, la mayor parte de su tiempo en este país.
Durante años, mientras vivía en Tamaulipas, México, vendió juguetes y regalos para ocasiones especiales. Y este año comenzó su pequeño negocio vendiendo obsequios en Chicago.
Mari dijo que su hijo y su hija son su motivación para seguir adelante en los días lentos, el clima difícil y un clima político turbulento.
“Mi hijo mayor es ciudadano, pero mi niña pequeña tiene miedo, y ella no nació aquí”, dijo. “Iba a nacer aquí, pero se me rompió la fuente en México y no pude tenerla aquí”.
Mari dijo que encuentra consuelo en un posible milagro tocando el corazón del presidente Trump, como una amnistía nacional para todos los inmi -
NUPUR BOSMIYA | LA DEPAULIA
Regalos variados y artículos decorativos se alinean en los estantes de Margarita’s Creaciones el 15 de febrero. Christina, la dueña de la tienda, dijo que su madre la inspiró a crear una tienda como esta.
del presidente Donald Trump, los vendedores locales siguen soportando temperaturas frías en Chicago, trabajando para mantener a sus familias.
Mari, una comerciante mexicana que vende ositos de peluche y que prefiere usar su primer nombre en temor a su seguridad, dijo que trabajó en este día festivo por “necesidad deliberada.” Este es el sentimiento compartido por muchos vendedores en las calles.
“No he podido pagar el alquiler ni nada. Y por eso estoy aquí afuera en el frío, como ayer cuando la nieve me alcanzó y todo”, dijo Mari con lágrimas en los ojos.
Originaria de Guerrero, México, Mari
grantes que trabajan duro y contribuyen a la economía de EE. UU.
“Para Dios, nada es imposible”, dijo.
En South Pulaski Road, Cristina, quien también usa su primer nombre en temor a su seguridad, es la dueña de Margarita’s Creaciones. Ella también dijo que su fe en Dios la mantiene determinada a seguir trabajando.
“Si hay ventas, gracias a Dios. Y si no, entonces tenemos que seguir trabajando duro”, dijo.
Aunque su negocio está pasando por dificultades, no quiere cerrar su tienda. En parte, debido a la significativa pérdida de ingresos, pero más importante aún, no quiere perder algo que comenzó como
vende un oso panda a un cliente el 15 de febrero en el barrio de Brighton Park. Dijo que lo que lo motiva a vender flores es que los consejos de sus padres resuenan en su mente.
Mari sostiene un osito de peluche en su puesto, el 15 de febrero, ubicado en el vecindario de
Lleva dos años en Estados Unidos y pidió permanecer en el anonimato por temor a su seguridad.
una forma de honrar a su madre, ella dijo.
De manera similar, para Cástulo García, vender flores es una forma de continuar el legado de su madre. Ella tenía una pasión por la jardinería y mantenía un jardin en su casa en Chiapas, México.
“Me interesa mucho; [es] como si ella estuviera conmigo y eso me hace sentir feliz”, dijo García.
Este es el primer año de García en Chicago y aún está aprendiendo a hablar inglés. Dijo que hacerlo lo motiva a ir a su puesto y vender flores todos los días.
“Pongo mi corazón en el trabajo que hago”, dijo. García comentó que son las palabras de su padre las que mantienen
viva la positividad en él.
“Me dijo que si quiero salir adelante siempre tengo que mantener una mente positiva”, dijo García. “Si te pones negativo, aunque las cosas vayan bien, luego se van mal porque tu corazón no está dedicado a lo que haces”.
Los vendedores coinciden en que el idioma, el clima y la administracion de Trump no son excusas suficientes para detenerlos en mantener vivo el amor familiar y su fe.
Cástulo García
Brighton Park.
NUPUR BOSMIYA | LA DEPAULIA
NUPUR BOSMIYA | LA DEPAULIA
Arts & Life
‘Wicked’ star Marissa Bode enchants during visit to DePaul
A crowd of theater students and enthusiasts buzzed in DePaul’s Student Center in Lincoln Park on Feb. 20, 2025. Streaks of green and pink clothing stood out against the tan walls of the building with attendees sporting the primary colors of Elphaba and Glinda, the two lead characters in 2024’s “Wicked,” one of the biggest films of the year.
A film as ubiquitous as “Wicked” makes even supporting actors stars, and the guest of honor that evening made that clear. Actress Marissa Bode, who made her feature film debut as Elphaba’s sister Nessarose last autumn, soon rolled out onto stage to rapturous applause.
Jackson Field, a local theater enthusiast and DePaul student, has been a “Wicked” fan since childhood.
“My love of theater started with the show ‘Newsies.’ Grand Rapids had all these touring Broadway shows and as a theater kid it was super cool to go and see them professionally done,” Field said. “‘Wicked’ came and I went with my family. It was unreal — it’s like the story of ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ but so much more than that.”
Getting guests like Bode to DePaul is an event in itself. Courtney James, the Director of Student Involvement, has to wrangle up guests based on student interest.
“We’re constantly looking at what students are interested in, what they’re looking to do, any experience beyond the classroom,” James said. “It’s about getting speakers that do resonate with our students and that are of interest and that fit our space.”
Bode, who is a paraplegic due to a car accident at age 11, found a connection with her character Nessa due to their shared impairment.
“Staying true to who I am and obviously true to who (Nessa) is, I think that’s something I absolutely relate to,” Bode said. “Representation is important; it is to feel seen and heard. That’s something I felt with other people I’ve looked up to for years, like actress and model Jillian Mercado and Lauren Spencer, who’s also an incredible wheelchair actress ... seeing them do what they’re doing made me feel less alone.”
Nicole Kactioris, a DePaul student and avid Ariana Grande fan, shared Bode’s admiration for the film’s representation of marginalized groups.
“I think it’s wildly refreshing, especially to have it be authentic,” Kactioris said. “I’ve never consumed any of the books, but her character has consistently been incorrect.”
Bode’s performance marks the first time a disabled person has played the role of Nessarose since the stage show began in 2004. Karen Razal, a theatre student at DePaul, was engaged with Bode’s activism through her role.
“I’m really happy that Marissa got the chance to come to DePaul and talk about her experiences, especially as a disabled person,” Razal said. “For her to talk about issues like 17 states trying to abolish the 504 makes me feel more aware about what’s happening in the country right now. I never would’ve known otherwise.”
Bode is referring to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a piece of legislation which made discrimination against disabled people illegal and mandates certain accessibility options for those who cannot traverse as easily as able-bodied people.
In the past few weeks, 17 states have filed lawsuits against the federal government, arguing that former President Joe Biden’s addition of gender dysphoria to the act in 2021 makes the legislature un-
constitutional. The lawsuit would not just remove dysphoria from the list of protected disabilities, but repeal the act entirely.
“So many powerful disabled people fought so hard to get that to pass when it did, and now here we are again,” Bode said.
“Call your representatives, put pressure on them … reach out to your disabled peers and ask how you can make your spaces more accessible. Watch ‘Crip Camp.’ Organizing within your local spaces, in your local communities as well, is incredibly important.”
By April Klein
Asst. Arts & Life Editor
Actress Marissa Bode, left, and The Theater School Dean Martine Green-Rogers speak at an event on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. Bode answered a number of questions from Green-Rogers before taking questions from students in the audience.
AK SOARES | THE DEPAULIA
James Baldwin’s enduring legacy on display at DePaul
By Jake Cox Digital Managing Editor
“I think I’ve been heard, and I think I’ve frightened people,” James Baldwin told The DePaulia in 1986, his words both an indictment and a warning.
Nearly 40 years later, his fears — of racism’s endurance, of America’s failure to confront its history — still loom over the national discourse.
In an era where affirmative action is being dismantled and Black history is increasingly vilified, Baldwin’s words feel eerily prophetic. His voice still challenges the country today.
Baldwin’s legacy has carried on at DePaul through the play “Debate: Baldwin v. Buckley” held at Cortelyou Commons, in conjunction with Timeline Theatre and The Theatre School.
At the height of the civil rights movement, in the halls of Cambridge University, Baldwin stood across from William F. Buckley Jr., the towering voice of American conservatism. The debate: whether the American Dream was built at the expense of Black Americans.
The staging at Cortelyou Commons — originally built in 1929 in a style reminiscent of the halls of Cambridge — brought the audience back to that winter in 1965. The show ends with 30 minutes for conversation between the audience and moderators, many of which draw connections between the show’s premise and conversations around race and conservatism in modern-day America.
In some ways, the civility that “Debate” shows has been lost in political discourse.
“We still see some of the bullying and condescension, but in some ways, it feels more naked and exposed today,” Billy Johnson Gonzalez, an associate professor at DePaul, said.
“I’m not sure it’s a rhetorical strategy anymore to just flat-out tell lies or vilify certain groups,” Johnson Gonzalez said. “In some ways, it’s sad to see a degradation in the respect for debate, and in other ways, it’s an absolute continuation (of Buckley’s strategies).”
In the 1986 DePaulia interview, Baldwin spoke about the ways the civil rights movement was ineffective, “No one has really groped with the civil rights
situation,” Baldwin said. “Americans don’t know what to do. And I don’t think Americans will really be able to deal with anything until they deal with ‘us.’”
The arguments Baldwin dismantled in 1965 — the denial of systemic racism, the insistence that Black Americans had no claim to injustice — are not relics of the past. They have found new life in the rhetoric of the modern conservative movement, echoed in policies and court rulings that seek to undo or weaponize civil rights gains.
The second Trump administration, much like Buckley’s defense of the American Dream, is predicated on nostalgia for an era before the victories of the civil rights movement.
According to Johnson Gonzalez, who has been teaching about Baldwin since the early 2000s, the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement is when he believes Baldwin entered the larger cultural zeitgeist of this generation.
“Eric, Teagle (the actors playing Buckley and Baldwin) and I began working on this material in the summer of 2020, in
the wake of George Floyd’s murder and during the heated 2020 election cycle,” said Christopher McElroen, director of “Debate,” in a press release.
“After the George Floyd murder, people were really looking for someone that gave them the language to talk about some of these problems in American culture,” Johnson Gonzalez said. “Baldwin gave people that language. He had that vision, and the beautiful way in which he spoke and wrote was really compelling.”
In conjunction with “Debate: Baldwin v. Buckley,” The Theatre School collaborated with various academic units and Timeline Theatre to hold “James Baldwin at 100: A Symposium” at the Watts Theatre lobby in The Theatre School on DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus.
Amor Kohli, DePaul professor and chair of the Department of African and Black Diaspora studies, reflected on the importance of this kind of reflection in this cultural moment during his speech at the symposium.
“I don’t need to tell you all that we are in trying times,” Kohli said. “We’re at
a moment where the people who teach, study and write about things like Black artistic, political and intellectual traditions are under political and potentially physical attack.”
Despite the political moment, Kohli said we have to keep “recognizing the joy in life.”
Johnson Gonzalez, also pointed to the inspiration in Baldwin’s work, which was to “resist some of the negative things that are happening right now and find inspiration to work with one another.”
Baldwin died in France in 1987, less than a year after his DePaul visit. But his critiques of America — its racial contradictions and moral failings — continue to shape conversations on this campus today.
PAULA AREVALO | THE DEPAULIA
PHOTO BY BRETT BEINER PHOTOGRAPHY
Teagle F. Bougere as James Baldwin at Cortelyou Commons, in February 2025.
A May 2, 1986, issue of The DePaulia featuring an interview with James Baldwin. Baldwin as the first in a speaker series held at DePaul in 1986.
DEPAUL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES
From Kenyan Lands to Chicago’s Hands: Kikwetu Kenya Coffee Company
By Theresa Burchfield Contributing Writer
Martha Itulya-Omollo moved to the United States from Kenya for college when she was 18 years old. Inspired by her father’s efforts to improve the Kenyan coffee industry, she eventually created Kikwetu Kenya Coffee Company, a Chicago-based coffee business, alongside her husband Leecox Omollo.
“When we first started, I can't tell you how excited I would get when an order would come through,” Itulya-Omollo said. In 2014, they began by selling coffee at Hyde Park’s first farmers market on the city’s South Side."We would barely sell 10 cups of coffee, but from this first market we began to make big connections.”
Ten years later, Kikwetu Kenya Coffee Company found a home at SPF Chicago, an indoor pickleball facility in Lincoln Park where they run a cafe. The couple had met the owners at the Green City Market, a few blocks from DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus.
“When they decided to open SPF, they wanted to support local small businesses as much as possible,” Itulya-Omollo said.
Kikwetu also sells their coffee on their website and offers coffee gift boxes and digital gift cards in addition to their traditional blends. The word Kikwetu means “our language,” “our style” and “how we live” in Swahili.
Itulya-Omollo’s parents were both academics. She said her father worked to advance the state of agriculture in Kenya as a district and division officer within the country’s Ministry of Agriculture. Later, he worked as a researcher and an academic for over 40 years.
“I had noticed that he would bring bags of coffee in his suitcase every time he traveled to the U.S., giving them to anyone he made friends with who said they drank coffee,” Itulya-Omollo said. “He was on a mission to convert Americans to Kenyan coffee, one bag at a time.”
In the 1990s, Itulya-Omollo said U.S. laws restricted the import of Kenyan coffee, causing it to be primarily used in blends with other coffees, and not sold as a standalone product. In 2002, she said policy changes allowed Kenyan farmers more control over their sales and prices. The United States Agency for International Development says this removal of restrictions reduced the role of intermediaries and improved the economic conditions for many small-scale coffee producers in Kenya.
“We grew up in Kenya and these farmers are the cornerstones of our communities,” Itulya-Omollo said.
She noted that Kikwetu Kenya Coffee Company’s Arabica coffee is all single-sourced and grown from volcanic and red loam soils.
“We truly believe in the importance of
building human connections and coffee connects so many people,” Itulya-Omollo said.“You are sitting halfway across the world, and to think of how many hands this coffee has passed through speaks to how interconnected we are as a people.”
Abby Abuya, a Kikwetu employee, said she met one of the co-owners of the company in a WhatsApp group for Kenyans when she was a new college student in Chicago. She has been working at Kikwetu for four years.
“I was kind of tired of speaking English all the time, so I figured it would be a great way to meet other Kenyans and connect,” Abuya said. “Kenyans in the diaspora tend to be rather reserved, so knowing there are Kenyans here who might not have any connections with other Kenyans is always a bit sad.”
Abuya said customers are sometimes hesitant to buy the coffee because they’re not familiar with Kenyan varieties.
“Then once they try it, they are like, ‘Oh, this is really good coffee.’ So it speaks for itself,” Abuya said, also noting that the company is becoming known for its “ethical sourcing.”
“I think it is important to support small businesses in marginalized communities that are … very clear about ensuring that every single person down their food chain is fairly compensated,” Abuya said.
Brian Thompson, director of the undergraduate program for DePaul’s Department of Economics, teaches his students that businesses need to create value for consumers if they are going to be sustainable — and he sees Kikwetu doing that.
“Sometimes companies write mission and vision statements, but they're not really thinking about what they believe in,” Thompson said. “Kikwetu definitely has a story that connects to why they do what they do, and I think that tends to resonate well with consumers.”
Thompson argues that a strong mission statement can lead to opportunities within a community.
“Whether it's your location becoming a meeting place or a platform for events, it really is an opportunity to bring people together,” Thompson said.
Itulya-Omollo agrees. She has fond memories of going to the coffee houses in Kenya where people would come together to hang out, share ideas and talk politics.
“I can still hear the hum of grinders and smell coffee,” Itulya-Omollo said. “There was a sense of comfort and peace I felt sitting in the coffee houses. I was too young to understand the conversation most of the time, but I recall how it made me feel, which was grounded, connected and close to the people around me.”
Abby Abuya, barista at Kikwetu Coffee Company, finishes making a coffee for a customer on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, inside SPF Chicago. Abuya provided the pickleball club patrons with a unique cultural beverage in between matches.
BRAYDYN CYRANOWICZ | THE DEPAULIA
Abby Abuya brews a coffee at Kikwetu Coffee Company on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. The company’s mission is to build a bridge and connection between the Chicago community and Kenya.
BRAYDYN CYRANOWICZ | THE DEPAULIA
Music is the medicine: Families remember gun violence victims with songs
Songs with soulful lyrics, syncopated beats and sentimental strings filled the room with more than music. The wooden archways of the historic church were also filled with stories of those who have lost their lives to gun violence.
Family and friends gathered on Feb. 16 at the Notes for Peace Reunion at the Epiphany Center for the Arts, a shuttered place of worship on Chicago’s near West Side that has become a cultural hub. The event featured some of the original members of the Notes for Peace project, who shared songs they helped write about their departed loved ones. At the front of the room, a small orchestra with several singers took to the stage.
“August 4th, forever your day. Heavenly angels, let us pray. I know you’re at peace, what would I do? I’d give my life, I’m lost without you,” one singer sang.
Notes for Peace is a collective program between several groups and partnerships. The project was propelled by acclaimed Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who served as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s creative consultant from 2009 through 2019. Families from Purpose Over Pain work with songwriters and musicians from the Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO and the Irene Taylor Trust.
Together, the families and musicians write a song to honor what the group calls “their angels.” Sara Lee, the artistic director at the Irene Taylor Trust, spoke about the songwriting process that preceded the event.
“It is a real collaborative effort,” Lee said. “We sit with the families for the first time, and we just ask them to talk … about their family member they have lost.”
Lee said the musicians and composers write the music and work in each unique personality trait of those who have died.
“We don’t want to make it generic,” Lee said. “We speak to the family and say, ‘Look, what absolutely has to go into this song to make it personal?’”
Adrienne Swanigan-Williams knew exactly what had to be included in the song dedicated to her son, Tremayne Henderson, which she called “My Different Child.”
“Tremayne was number four of six …. He was my different child, so that is why I named my song,” Swanigan-Williams said. “He did not smile in pictures, only senior year.” She included that detail in the song.
As each song was introduced, a family member placed a picture of their loved one at the front of the room or took to the stage themselves. During some of the songs, mothers came forward to talk about those they have lost. Between tears, the audience encouraged the performers by yelling “Yes” and clapping to the beat.
Violinist Marian Mayuga from the Negaunee Music Institute said she must balance her emotions while performing.
“There was one song in particular — I was literally about to cry … ‘My Golden
Child,’” Mayuga said. “I would try to just focus on what I am doing … but it does not make the impact of it any less.”
The cellist on the project, J Holzen, agreed with that sentiment.
“Here is when I need to play a bass line and lay it down … and here is when I can let my heart sing out a little bit more,” Holzen said.
While Holzen and Mayuga played the instruments for Notes for Peace, they also helped compose songs with families. Although it was not performed at this event, Holzen and Mayuga said one of the best experiences was writing “El Nene de Momma” in remembrance of Isaiah Noel Rodriguez, who passed away in 2023.
“That was a really beautiful experience to share together … and to really be
there for each other emotionally,” Holzen said. “It is completely different when the music you are making is custom-made to the situation.”
The February event ended with a standing ovation for the musicians as the room slowly melted into hugs, catching up and words of support. Anyone can listen to the songs at any time in the “Tributes” section of the Notes for Peace website.
Swanigan-Williams, from Purpose over Pain, said that being a part of this project is empowering.
“It feels good because you can express yourself,” Swanigan-Williams said. “Things that you were holding inside — you can let them out through the song.”
Adrienne Swanigan-Williams, right, talks about involvement in Purpose Over Pain, in an embrace on Sun, Feb. 16, 2025. The Notes for Peace choir performed at Epiphany Center for the Arts, a former church turned music venue.
PROVIDED BY TODD ROSENBERG
St.Vincent’s
D e JAMZ
“Spinning freSh beatS Since 1581”
By April Klein
“Yeah, my music taste is pretty out there. I don’t really listen to ‘popular music.’ Do you know Anthony Fantano? No? Oh, he’s just this music critic I really like. Some pretty indie stuff. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m weird. I’m a weirdo. I don’t fit in.”
The above excerpt is what I probably sounded like as a freshman. Thank god I’ve learned I’m not special for liking Death Grips. Regardless, my former pretentiousness about music did expose me to some genuinely good artists. Here’s a few I still like.
“Waistline” by KAVARI, SALVALA
This transsexual UK DJ is primarily known for her ambient work, so her rare ventures into the realm of actual lyricism are always exciting. Still retaining her penchant for aggressive, bit-crushed production, the content of her lyrics literalizes what her music has been about all along: being choked until you throw up and getting punched in the stomach — in a good way! Since opening for Ethel Cain in London back in 2022, KAVARI has evolved her sound and fanbase while still remaining uniquely her own. Like many musicians, she’s living paycheck to paycheck.
As a reminder: streaming, while undeniably convenient, is terrible for artists! If you really want to support smaller artists, go buy their merch, download their albums and show up to their shows.
“DA” by Shay
The Belgian rapper came into my orbit around the end of my first semester here at DePaul. Despite my inability to actually speak French, Shay’s rhythm and performance transcend language. When she spits out some syllables with such palpable venom, it doesn’t matter that I can’t fully grasp what she’s saying — I feel what she’s saying. The pace at which she raps is what makes her a standout in a sea of artists bragging about their accomplishments. Nobody can keep up with her without losing themselves in the tempo or running out of breath. She’s clear and fast and never lets up. Shay goes hard.
“Hard” by SOPHIE
Speaking of hard (hyuk hyuk!), the late SOPHIE was one of our most forward thinking producers. Their work with Vince Staples, Charli xcx, Madonna and countless others has lent an untold amount of value to music history. For my money though, their solo
Crossword
work is where they really shine. Sampling the sound of rubber against styrofoam with their trademark ear-piercing industrial banging to the backdrop of a whimsical twinkle gives this track about BDSM a bubbly feel. Re-listening to a lot of SOPHIE for this made me realize a lot of their work was about exploring their identity through sex. It never felt gross or uncomfortable — just intimate.
“La nuit est une panthère (The night is a panther)” by Les Louanges
A Quebecois enby exposed me to Les Louanges the summer before college and I fell in love. With the artist, not the enby. Not that they weren’t attractive, they were (long blonde hair and a jawline so sharp it could cut diamond), they just totally embodied the first paragraph of this article in the worst way. Even for me they were a bit much. Anyways, Les Louanges, with a strum of the bass, colors an otherwise creepy story about a guy forming a parasocial relationship with a camgirl into a melancholic exploration of how isolat-
ACROSS
1. Honors instagram handle.
5. Annual conference held by the Honors Program that focuses on scholarship, research and celebrating academic achievement of Honor students: Honors _______ Conference.
9. Course code for honors classes.
10. Every Thursday Honors students meet in the Arts and Letters Hall to hear from the Program Director and eat this sweet breakfast food.
11. One of the common study abroad places that all students can go on, this place features the Eiffel Tower.
13. A language spoken through hands that can be learned at an intermediate level to fulfill the Honors language requirement.
14. An Honors science course requirement for
ing the internet can be. At some point he hits the stylophone in such a way that it sounds like a cat meowing. It’s so cute!
“Dancing with your eyes closed” by Jane Remover
Sugar rush in music form. This song came out five days ago as a single to Ms. Remover’s first album in two years, “Revengeseekerz,” “Ghostholding” notwithstanding as that’s technically a part of her Venturing persona. Not to be confused with her Leroy persona. Or her pre-transition work as dltzk (which I think she’s reclaimed?).
Anyways, Jane has been featured on every DeJamz I’ve done so far, and for good reason: her experimentation as an artist allows her to create music that migrates from genre to genre without losing her signature style. Some would say her work is overproduced. To my ADHD-addled brain, it hits all the right spots. Catch her at the Grammys in a few years — just watch.
students in an education major that focuses on the study of living organisms.
16. Students who are coming from a different university to DePaul and match all the requirements can partake in the ______ Honors Program.
18. Honors students must learn through an experience outside of the classroom for this hands-on learning domain.
20. Dorm where the Honors Living Learning Community is located.
DOWN
2. Name of the Honors quarterly newsletter that is ‘written by Honors students, for Honors students’.
3. One of the Honors Program fine arts elective options that involve clay modeling and carving to create
3D works of art.
4. Honors class student class cap size.
6. Abbreviation for the Honors program student administration, which Honors Students can run for office.
7. Honors student final project that encompasses what they have learned over the course of their academic career at DePaul: Senior _____.
8. Last name of the director of the Honors Program.
12. Honors ________ Mentor, an honors student mentor that helps incoming freshmen
adjust to life in Chicago through the Honors Chicago Discover/Explore Quarter classes.
15. The honors program is a ________ arts curriculum program.
17. What quarter does the annual Honors Research Conference take place during?
19. Seminar in ______ justice, an Honors course curriculum that focuses on systems of power, oppression and privilege.
Asst. Arts and Life Editor
CROSSWORD
ASTRID MYERS, DEPAUL DIGI LAB X DEPAUL HONORS PROGRAM
GISELLE CALDERON
Money talks: Addressing constantly changing NIL policies
By Ryan Hinske Sports Editor
While DePaul basketball goes full steam ahead for the postseason, they are splitting their consciousness.
Though much of the focus remains on the upcoming Big East men’s and women’s conference tournaments, a looming presence is altering the undivided attention of basketball coaches towards the game: name, image and likeness (NIL).
Recruiting the next season’s freshman class has always been a priority for coaching and development staffers during the season, but NIL has introduced a financial aspect that has its own complex sourcing and negotiation system.
To apply NIL to non-student-athletes, most people have autonomy over their brand. If a person goes viral or becomes an influencer for any reason, they are entitled to financial gain. They can partner with Gatorade, for example, to promote their product and get compensated in the process. For student-athletes, this reality has only existed for four years.
Before 2021, student-athletes fell under the “amateurism” category because of their status as students. They were only able to receive scholarships instead of any share in revenue, whereas in the NBA, players get around 50% of the league’s profits.
NCAA v. Alston changed this precedent. The unanimous Supreme Court decision dissolved the NCAA’s limitation of education-related payments, allowing players more autonomy over their name, image and likeness.
DePaul’s NIL initiative is called the Blue Grit Collective.
“The saying that is often shared amongst
Before NIL, schools could not sell merchandise featuring their players’ names.
(the athletic department) is we’re building the plane as we fly it,” said Brett Sible, DePaul associate athletic director for NIL strategy and innovation. “NIL is constantly evolving.”
Coaches across the Big East conference have discussed the rapid changes in college sports with The DePaulia throughout the course of the season.
“It’s very much the new dynamic in terms of college coaches and staff,” DePaul men’s basketball head coach Chris Holtmann said on Feb. 13. “So we’d be lying if we didn’t say that is something … that you’re constantly looking at and evaluating and saying … what do we want our roster next year to look like?”
Butler men’s basketball head coach Thad Matta referred to NIL as “a unique twist to college basketball” after Butler’s win against the Blue Demons Feb. 22.
Though players now have more control over their brand, not every school has the same batch of NIL funds.
DePaul does not have the brand that SEC schools have. The NCAA estimates the average SEC school’s revenue from sports at over $122 million. The top five conferences average just over $100 million, the next five average roughly $11.5 million and every other DI program averages $3.8 million. Big East schools fall into this tertiary category, and coaches say there are internal differences in NIL funding within the majority-private school conference.
St. John’s men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino explained the future of DePaul through the NIL perspective.
“DePaul is the largest Catholic school in the nation. We’re the second-largest Catholic school in the nation,” Pitino said on Feb. 19 after defeating the Blue Demons at Win-
trust Arena. “DePaul has a beautiful campus. They’re a good school scholastically. There’s no question about DePaul becoming a really good basketball program. The only thing, and I don’t know this, is how big is their NIL? If (Holtmann) has the same NIL as the rest of us, they’ll be back.”
Pitino, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, came to the small New York university ahead of the 2023-24 season and brought a buzz that encouraged billionaire alumni like Mike Repole to pledge seven figures to St. John’s NIL initiatives just three days after the team’s road victory against DePaul.
“We have a very strong NIL so you know, it’s like the Yankees, or the Dodgers,” Pitino said. “Why are the Dodgers winning? They have a very strong NIL. So if you have a strong budget, you have a better chance than others.”
DePaul men’s basketball has secured two recruits for next season, Kruz McClure and Isaiah Medina, who rank 147 and 96 by 247 Sports, respectively.
In this case, DePaul’s offers were more attractive than the competition — schools like Appalachian St., Cincinnati and Cal St. Fullerton — but other players such as No. 79-ranked Tre Singleton received offers from other schools with higher NIL budgets. In addition to DePaul, Singleton got offers from power conference schools like Northwestern (where he has since committed), Notre Dame and Purdue.
However, a great basketball culture can still outweigh financial precedent, as seen with Pitino’s turnaround at St. John’s.
“The big thing that sets us apart is being in the third-biggest media market,” Sible said. “There’s a lot of potential when it comes to marketing and branding. I don’t think we’ve gotten anywhere close to tapping that
potential quite yet with the branding yet, but … it only gets easier when your teams are succeeding.”
Similar to the WNBA, where players only make around 10% of the league’s profits compared to NBA players’ 50%, female NCAA athletes often get less.
A major difference between the WNBA and the NCAA is that there is no law forbidding an imbalance in pay between NBA and WNBA athletes, whereas Title IX regulates the NCAA’s policies on equal opportunity.
After this year’s March Madness tournaments, a final hearing for a new policy of direct payments to NCAA athletes will be held on April 7. In addition to NIL deals with advertising companies and the like, schools would distribute roughly 22% of their own profits across all athletes within the school.
The Department of Education issued a memo in January regulating these payments in accordance with Title IX, splitting them equally between men’s and women’s sports. The department walked back its regulation in February under the new administration, no longer applying Title IX to these payments.
According to the NCAA, the revenue sharing among 20 of the top power conference schools is estimated to be 77.3% for football, 16.5% for men’s basketball, 1.2% for women’s basketball and so on.
“Obviously, it’s a different calculation for us at DePaul, not having football involved there,” Sible said. “But I know that’s really been a project that DeWayne Peevy, President Rob (Manuel) and the leadership have kind of worked out, figuring out what exactly a budget would be that keeps our programs competitive and well-funded.”
Jorie Allen’s jersey hangs in DePaul’s NIL shop inside Wintrust Arena on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025.
LAURA VAZQUEZ DAVID | THE DEPAULIA
Women’s soccer looks to returning leadership, new talent for continued success in 2025
By Peter Jurich Contributing Writer
Following one of their best seasons in recent memory, the DePaul’s women’s soccer team is back on the field for spring ball. The 2024 season marked the first time the team made the Big East tournament since 2019, and they advanced to the semi-finals for the first time since 2016. They also picked up their first ranked win in five years thanks to a 1-0 home win versus No. 18 Georgetown in October.
Much of the program’s recent success can be attributed to head coach Michele O’Brien, who joined the coaching staff as an assistant in 2009 and was promoted to the top spot ahead of the 2021 season. Since taking over, O’Brien has found success by shaping the roster to her liking. DePaul Athletics rewarded her efforts and success by signing her to a contract extension that will keep her at DePaul through January 2028.
“I think that (the extension) really is the sign of being validated and valued,” O’Brien said. “When administrators believe in the process and see the vision that I have communicated to them, I think that just speaks highly of the program and the team.”
Veteran players have also given her a vote of confidence. Three key players, redshirt junior Briley Hill and seniors Grace Menser and Jen Devona, recently elected to return for the upcoming 2025 fall season and said O’Brien’s return was a chief factor.
“This fall was my first year here, and it was the most fun I’ve ever had playing soccer. I wasn’t ready to be done,” Hill, a forward who transferred from Nebraska ahead of the 2024 season, said.
Menser, a midfielder who transferred to DePaul as a sophomore from Xavier, said she also feels at home in the program. She cited a “tight-knit family” culture and “coaches coming back” as the main reasons she’ll return in the fall.
O’Brien expressed similar admiration for her returning players.
“They’re such good leaders, and they have a ton of respect for the culture and the program,” she said. “We have a really good relationship, and I trust them.”
Menser, a starting midfielder and team captain last year, said leadership on and off the field fuels strong communication in both the offensive and defensive aspects of the game.
“The leadership on the team is really great,” the rising fifth-year senior said. “As far as communication on the field, we always need someone talking and being that louder voice, and that’s something I don’t mind doing.”
As a forward, Hill sees her role as someone who leads by example by going “balls to the wall.”
“On the field, I’m kind of crazy. … I think tactically it’s our job (as forwards) to get the press going and just get every-
one going crazy,” Hill said. She noted the team’s ability to score against Northwestern in their first spring match was a strong sign that her energy helps the team’s offense.
As is the challenge with any collegiate program, O’Brien and staff are tasked with preparing their more experienced players for game day while ensuring that younger players are being developed to eventually take over.
The exhibition spring schedule poses a great opportunity for younger players to get more on-field experience than they would during the fall. These in-game reps are crucial, as players can work on the finer parts of their game without the pressure of a regular season contest.
Freshman goalkeeper Maddie Iro, one of the team’s newest additions, is one rising star who is gaining such experience this spring. After transferring to DePaul from High Point in February, Iro immediately has the chance to step into goal in spring ball to test her impact on the team’s backline.
“I was really happy with how we played, and I think we’ve got a really good team heading into the fall season,” said Iro, a native of New Zealand who has played on her home country’s U17 and U20 national teams.
Iro will be competing for the team’s starting keeper spot this fall. She said she has no worries that her newcomer status
contract as head coach was extended through January 2028.
will prevent her from being a vocal leader on the field, an essential responsibility for a goalie as they help set up the defensive front.
“I’ve always been the youngest. Back in New Zealand, I was the youngest, and (being vocal) is something I’ve always been working on, …” Iro said. “As I’ve gotten older and more experienced, I’ve gotten more assertive. A dominant voice and controlling the defense are my strengths now.”
O’Brien shared that her goals for the
team this fall are to “win the Big East,” “advance in the tournament” and generally “be better than we were last year.”
Last fall, O’Brien had her team just games away from a conference title.
Menser looks forward to the opportunity to avenge that post-season loss.
“Our team goal is to win the Big East,” she said. “We’re doing everything in our power to work up that ladder. … The standard is definitely higher, and we know that.”
WILL ROBSON | THE DEPAULIA
Michele O’Brien talks to her team before beginning practice at Wish Feld on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. O’Brien’s