The DePaulia 4.15.2024

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

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | Lilly Keller eic@depauliaonline.com

ONLINE MANAGING | Jake Cox online@depauliaonline.com

NEWS EDITOR | Lucia Preziosi news@depauliaonline.com

ASST. NEWS EDITOR | Rose O’Keeffe news@depauliaonline.com

OPINIONS EDITOR | Nadine DeCero opinion@depauliaonline.com

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR | Claire Tweedie artslife@depauliaonline.com

ASST. ARTS & LIFE EDITOR | Sam Mroz artslife@depauliaonline.com

SPORTS EDITOR | Ryan Hinske sports@depauliaonline.com

ART EDITOR | Maya Oclassen art@depauliaonline.com

DESIGN EDITOR | Jake Cox design@depauliaonline.com

DESIGN EDITOR | Zoë Hanna design@depauliaonline.com

PHOTO EDITOR | Kit Wiberg photo@depauliaonline.com

ASST. PHOTO EDITOR | Erin Henze photo@depauliaonline.com

CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER | Quentin Blais photo@depauliaonline.com

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR| Ariana Vargas multimedia@depauliaonline.com

COPY EDITOR | Amber Corkey copydesk@depauliaonline.com

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR | Vanessa Lopez social@depauliaonline.com

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EDITOR | Ruchi Nawathe community@depauliaonline.com

ADVISER | Martha Irvine mirvine5@depaul.edu

La DePaulia es el noticiero oficial estudiantil en español de la Universidad DePaul, enfocado en proveer una voz para la comunidad latinx. Nuestras opiniones no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones de la administración, facultad o personal de la universidad.

JEFA DE REDACCIÓN | Alyssa Salcedo eicladepaulia@depauliaonline.com

GERENTE EDITORIAL | Rodolfo Zagal managingladepaulia@depauliaonline.com

EDITORA DE NOTICIAS | Cary Robbins crobbi10@depaul.edu

ASESORA | Laura Rodriguez Presa larodriguez@chicagotribune.com

CAMPUS CRIME REPORT

LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS

LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS

Drug & Alcohol Assault & Theft Other

Lincoln Park Campus Crimes:

Apr. 03

1) A Criminal Damage to Vehicle was reported in the Clifton Parking Garage.

Apr. 08

2) A Graffiti report was filed for markings in stairwell of Sheffield Parking Garage.

Apr. 08

3) A Marijuana Smell was reported in Seton Hall.

Apr. 08

4) A Criminal Trespass report was filed for Richardson Library.

Apr. 09

5) A Criminal Damage report was filed regarding stickers placed on vending machines in SAC.

LOOP CAMPUS

Loop Campus Crimes:

Apr. 03

1) A Graffiti report was filed for markings found on a parking sign by Merle Reskin.

Apr. 06

2) A Graffiti report was filed for markings found on loading dock of DePaul Center.

Apr. 08

3) A Graffiti report was filed for markings found on concrete bumper in Lewis Center alley.

'United DePaul:' Fighting for fairness in wages and benefits

By Lucia Preziosi News Editor

John Gould, a DePaul Ph.D. philosophy student, teaches four classes a year in his department while being required to be enrolled in two seminar classes per quarter.

Making a salary of about $25,000 a year while not receiving benefits from the university such as health insurance, Gould started unionization efforts a year and a half ago.

DePaul administration, meanwhile, says it is taking a deeper look at its pay structure for graduate students, adjunct faculty and others.

“At DePaul, we are a community that values everyone’s contributions, including the vital work of our adjunct faculty and graduate assistants. We appreciate the role adjunct faculty have in bringing academic excellence and real-world experiences into the classroom,” said DePaul Provost Salma Ghanem in a statement to the DePaulia.

United DePaul was started by Gould in order to advocate for the rights of not only graduate student workers but student employees and adjunct faculty.

“It all started because we all work extremely hard, and felt, and continue to feel underappreciated,” Gould said.

Gould continued to explain the stress that he and his peers face when they can’t afford to seek health care because of their lack of health insurance and lower yearly salary.

“We have no health insurance, none at all…I know many people from doing this now that can’t afford to go to the doctor,” Gould said. “It’s really, really hard.”

United DePaul cites the MIT living wage calculator to show that an adult with no children must make an hourly wage of $22.86 to be considered a liveable wage in Chicago.

Most student workers at DePaul make an average of $16/hour, motivating United DePaul to fight for “a better work environment, higher wages, transparency and affordable/ free health care.”

Along with demands for health insurance plans, United DePaul wants to push the university to be more transparent with its investment portfolio so students can “see what DePaul spends (our) tuition money on.”.

Neighboring Chicago universities, such as Northwestern and Loyola University, have had similar unionization pushes for non-tenured faculty that have proven successful.

“We’re not asking for something that hasn’t already been in place at other universities in Chicago,” Gould said.

Northwestern graduate workers recently saw a significant win in their unionization efforts, ratifying a contract which includes full dental and vision health insurance coverage, visa support for international workers, along with yearly salary increases over the next two years.

Gould believes that DePaul has not implemented similar programs to neighboring Chicago universities because the university has not felt “real, substantial, internal pressure,” which Gould says he is trying to execute

through United DePaul.

Northwestern graduate alumna and DePaul adjunct professor in the environmental studies program, Imeña Valdes, expressed concern in the instability that the adjunct position at DePaul creates.

“I’m not even sure what ‘normal’ is for an adjunct because of how unstable that job is, just because of how they reach out and ask if you want to teach a class for a particular quarter,” Valdes said. “It’s just kinda whenever they reach out.”

Adjunct faculty are hired on a contract basis, which is quarter by quarter, and don’t have any guarantee of continued employment.

DePaul English professor and American Association of University Professors (AAUP) liaison Marcy Dinius explains the high concentration of adjunct faculty that DePaul employs.

“Currently in this academic year adjunct faculty are teaching 45% of credit hours at the university, just shy of half,” Dinius said.

This data is available through the university’s Institutional Research and Market Analytics database.

Dinius also believes that being adjunct faculty at DePaul threatens stability in comparison to tenured faculty, who only teach 37% of the credit hours at the university.

“It’s incredible instability for some people who rely on teaching at DePaul for basically their entire livelihood,” Dinius said.

Receiving tenure from the university means “job security and protections of academic freedom”, says Dinius.

Union organizing can also directly align with DePaul’s founding Vincentian mission and Catholic affiliation, according to Dinius.

“It would be a contradiction for DePaul to be at odds with that,” Dinius said.

Catholicism has a long history with unionization and social tradition, dating back

to Pope Leo’s XIII’s Rerum novarum in 1891 which “...called for the state to protect the poor and workers. It called for just wages, and insisted that workers should be able to form labor unions that could bargain on their behalf,” according to Commonweal Magazine.

Former DePaul President, Dennis Holtschneider, significantly opposed adjunct unionization, which he expressed in his 2016 Op-Ed.

Holtschneider cited Supreme Court cases such as NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago (1979) which ruled unanimously to reject the National Labor Relations Board “attempt to expand its jurisdiction to include religious educational institutions,” according Holtschneider.

This ruling does not apply to adjunct or term faculty, which has allowed neighboring universities, such as Loyola, to unionize.

In addition to the ties to Catholic and Vincentian teachings that can be seen through unions according to Dinius, Gould, the Ph.D. student, believes that DePaul has the money to meet the demands of United DePaul.

Gould said the efforts of United DePaul to show the discrepancies between the salaries of non-tenured faculty in comparison to those such as DePaul’s basketball coach and administrative staff.

“It goes to show that the money is there, DePaul has the money,” Gould said. “It’s about whether or not they think you’re worth the money.”

Adjunct faculty has a history of attempting to unionize at DePaul, but former President Holtschneider expressed that “the university would prefer if contingent faculty did not unionize,” according to a DePaulia article from 2016.

Dinius believes that President Manuel offers a more “open-door” and “friendly” approach to conversation, and expresses hope that the administration “would listen to the

faculty and the students about this.”

But Gould says this will not come without pressure from the community that has been created in United DePaul.

The organization is made up of solely DePaul community members, and does not have affiliation with outside labor organizations, says Gould.

“By DePaul, for DePaul,” Gould said about the organization.

As United DePaul continues to organize and express their demands, Dinius expresses gratitude in the fight for unionization.

“Demanding what they need to live is wonderful, and I hope they are successful,” Dinius said.

DePaul Provost Salma Ghanem released a statement to the DePaulia regarding graduate and adjunct faculty:

“At DePaul, we are a community that values everyone’s contributions, including the vital work of our adjunct faculty and graduate assistants. We appreciate the role adjunct faculty have in bringing academic excellence and real-world experiences into the classroom. We stay connected to the needs of this important group through adjunct faculty representation on Faculty Council, as well as the Adjunct Faculty Advisory Committee, which includes representatives from all the colleges and schools. DePaul is engaged in a faculty composition study, and adjunct faculty are part of the committee that is evaluating the best mix of faculty to support our students and programs. In addition, adjunct faculty at DePaul receive competitive pay, including course cancellation fees and compensation for university-level service. They are eligible to participate in various benefit plans, including the retirement plan and the university’s tuition waiver program. DePaul also offers health insurance benefits to qualified adjunct faculty.”

MAYA OCLASSEN | THE DEPAULIA

Undocumented parents skeptical to submit FAFSA form

By Rodolfo Zagal Managing Editor

Christy Ramos, a sophomore at DePaul, might not be able to enroll for her junior year in college. Her future plans are contingent on her submission of her latest application for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

Ramos, a Guatemalan-American studying health sciences, is the first in her family to attend college, and she hopes to honor her parents’ immigrating to Chicago by completing her degree.

She first heard about problems with FAFSA earlier this year, when The Department of Education rolled out a relaunch of the website that had multiple glitches and left students with undocumented parents unable to submit a form for the 2024-2025 school year.

Ramos is one of the students affected. She was born to immigrants residing in Chicago without any documentation and depends on financial aid from the government to fund her tuition at DePaul. However, she’s unsure about submitting her application because she worries that the discrepancy in the system could affect her parents.

Ramos says that she is hesitant to tell her mother about the issues with the form.

“I don’t want her to go through the difficult process of not getting verified. I really haven’t said anything except [that I’m] thinking of a gap year. I just like to keep it to myself until everything kind of mellows down,” Ramos said.

Previously, students who had not listed a Social Security number or their parent’s Social Security number, could not submit an application and it would be marked as incomplete. The Department of Education had to manually resolve the issue for the applications to be considered for financial aid.

The Department of Education has now made “technical updates” to allow students and their parents to successfully submit the form without a Social Security number, according to a March 2024 announcement from the Federal Student Aid website.

Many students and their parents, however, are now alarmed over TransUnion, a credit reporting agency, now in charge of identity verification for the new FAFSA system. TransUnion has a contract with U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Their contract with ICE may make some students hesitant to submit their FAFSA forms due to privacy concerns, said Miranda Quinn, a retention specialist for the Student Sup -

port Services (SSS) at DePaul who helps students file FAFSA every year.

Melanie Lopez, a Mexican-American DePaul senior whose mother is undocumented, says that she fears that her forms will not be properly processed due to a lack of transparency from the Department of Education.

“I don’t think they care. If they would have [put] more thought into this, or if decisions were made with people of color in the room, it would have been a completely different process,” Lopez said.

Lopez said that the partnership between TransUnion and ICE has created fear among students. She has concerns about how this information is going to be processed, stored, and secured, and she is frustrated by the lack of transparency from the Department of Education.

Around 31 percent of all college students in 2021 are immigrants or have immigrant parents, according to a Migration Policy Institute-produced report. Many of these students are from low-income backgrounds and rely on the FAFSA form to apply for financial aid to pay for college.

“This ‘Better FAFSA,’ for me at this point, is not any better because it provides students and their families with more barriers,” Quinn said.

Quinn doesn’t expect students in this situation to receive a financial aid package until May 2024 at the earliest and the form processing timeline is unpredictable.

“It doesn’t leave enough time for students and their parents to make an informed decision about financing their education because you don’t currently know what you’re eligible or could be eligible for,” Quinn said.

Quinn registered for a webinar in January 2024 with the Department of Education to discuss when financial aid forms would be processed following the submission deadline, but the webinar was canceled.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) Events

Supportive Survey Events

April 12 and 24

Students are welcome to attend an in-person Supportive Survey Event where Health Promotions & Wellness staff and peers will be present

Help raise awareness about sexual violence and challenge the myths surrounding sexual assault University Counseling & Psychological Services will distribute denim ribbons Denim Day

April 24

Clothesline Project

April 25

after an incident of sexual misconduct

Those who complete the survey will be entered in a special drawing for a number of giveaways, including Cubs tickets

Take the survey here →

The Clothesline Project gives voice to the experiences and impact of sexual violence on survivors and their loved ones We invite all those impacted by sexual violence to decorate a t-shirt speaking to their experiences and impact.

Visit https://go depaul edu/SAAM for more info about these events

Miranda Quinn, a retention specialist for Student Social Services, works at her office on the Lincoln Park campus, March 6, 2024.

RODOLFO ZAGAL | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul athletics modifies plans for new practice facility

By Rose O’Keeffe Asst. News Editor

DePaul Athletics will modify its plans for DePaul’s new basketball practice facility, according to an email from Vice President and Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy.

News of the updates emerged Wednesday following a meeting between DePaul Athletics and the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC) whereDePaul formally presented their revised design plans.

“To help offset the necessary loss of buildings on Sheffield Avenue, DePaul will historically preserve and restore several iconic campus buildings to benefit the entire community,” Peevy said in the email.

These efforts include:

Land marking of the Cortelyou Commons exterior on Fremont Street.

Working with the Vincentian Order to landmark the jointly owned Byrne Hall building on Kenmore Ave.

Repairing O’Connell Hall’s exterior.

Installing solar panels on the roof of the proposed facility, decreasing emissions by 10%.

tiations about the forthcoming construction.

“Alderman Knudsen appreciates DePaul addressing a number of community concerns that were voiced at prior community meetings. We are looking forward to the opportunity for neighbors to hear and weigh in on this updated plan at the next community meeting. The Alderman looks forward to continuing the discussion on the proposed DePaul practice facility,” read a statement to The DePaulia from Eli Stone, Knudsen’s spokesperson.

DePaul’s modified plan is said to be a compromise to address disapproval from some community members about the forthcoming demolition of several historic buildings on Sheffield Avenue.

Decreasing the facility footprint to allow for wider sidewalks and more landscaping. Peevy said these efforts address concerns from community members in Lincoln Park about the planned demolition of several historic buildings on Sheffield Avenue to make way for the new $60 million facility.

concerns, the committee requested design enhancements to ensure the practice facility’s proposed façade more closely matches the aesthetic of the neighborhood and included more emphasis on sustainability,” Peevy said.

“In addition to voicing preservation

Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) represents Lincoln Park residents amid nego-

“At least DePaul is trying to keep the neighborhood happy,” DePaul student Lilly Praete said. “I am sad they are still tearing down some buildings on Sheffield because I feel like they just kind of add to the campus vibe. It’s definitely gonna be a disruption.”

Peevy said the NAC “was receptive” to the new plans. DePaul Athletics will share more information about historic preservation efforts and specifics on the new plans at a public meeting on April 29, according to the email.

| THE DEPAULIA

This photo taken, April 13, 2024, shows a row of historic buildings on Sheffield Avenue that will be torn down to make way for the new athletics facility. Athletic Director DeWayne Peevy said DePaul is committing to historic preservation on other parts of campus.

Opinions

ScreenSwaddled: The pros and cons of the 'iPad Baby'

By Nadine DeCero Opinions Editor

Whether you grew up calling it a binky, nu-nu or, if you’re normal, just a pacifier, our parents all had unique ways of distracting us and helping us calm down.

But children can’t stay distracted forever, and parents have to adapt and learn what activities can hold their children’s attention.

The ways in which parenting techniques have evolved have gone unnoticed—until now.

Depending on the person, maybe you grew up playing with LeapFrog gadgets, or maybe your parents were oldschool and just gave you some colored pencils and paper.

However, nowadays, it seems that there is one device that outshines the rest – the iPad.

It’s no surprise that parents are using their personal devices as a parenting tool. And really, can you blame them?

The iPad offers endless entertainment and lessens the stress on parents to keep their kids occupied constantly.

Of course, I have no idea what it’s like to be a parent and the struggle they must endure when they want to sit down for a meal at a restaurant for a few hours or just get some work done at home while simultaneously trying to keep their children busy.

In that sense, I can see the obvious advantages of using iPads and iPhones

to keep children engaged in one activity for hours on end.

However, I am shocked by how this practice appears in the real world, which seems oddly dystopian.

I work at a restaurant, and while it’s not the type of place most parents would bring their kids, I find that when they do, their children are fully immersed in whatever is on their screen.

In this case, I use the term “iPad baby” loosely when referring to the ages of these children.

While I’ve seen children as young as three-years-old holding an iPhone and scrolling through TikTok, I can say the same for nine-year-olds and 13-yearolds.

What’s upsetting is that sometimes, it’s the parents overusing technology, too. In that case, I have to assume it’s just a sign of the times and accept that this is how the world will be from now on. But it’s hard to ignore when the consequences are so apparent.

“Both adult-child face to face interactions, and interactive exchanges, whether verbal, gestural, and physical, all are absolutely elemental in building the healthy foundations of social emotional as well as cognitive development in the child,” said author and professor at DePaul’s College of Education, Mojdeh Bayat.

Smartphones and tablets have the special capability to glue us to the screens, causing us to become unaware

of our surroundings, which is especially dangerous when it comes to parents and caregivers redirecting their attention from their children to their screens.

“Even the smaller facial gestures and adults’ affective and emotional reaction can play important roles in development of emotional recognition, attention, awareness, behavioral inhibition, and learning – including logical thinking and problem-solving.”

My negative outlook on giving children access to tablets and smartphones stems from my own experience using technology at such a young age.

I got my first iPod when I was nine years old, and a lot of my late childhood was spent on that iPod.

I wish it wasn’t that way, which is why I’m passionate about preventing the new generation from a lifetime spent looking at a screen.

But as things look now, it might be unavoidable.

Technology as a learning tool is inevitable, and more traditional tools are on their way out.

For example, the idea of a “paperless classroom” has become more favorable since 2014. So, unlucky for me and my pursuit of trying to pry children away from technology, it really is no use.

However, it doesn’t have to be so bleak.

I was obviously very anti-children using iPads until I heard a unique perspective from Gayle Mendes, a former

professor of early childhood education at DePaul.

“I think that there are people who think that we should turn the clock back and not have any electronics with children … However, technology is a tool of our time. It provides early exposure to language in a way that facilitates cognitive development and some use of the tools of our era.” Mendes said.

Admittedly, the people Mendes was referring to included myself.

I have claimed rules for my future children that I have now taken back because I can truthfully see the benefits of introducing technology into children’s’ lives early on.

For example, a news report from the National Skills Coalition found that more than 90% of jobs in Illinois require digital skills.

But as with all things in life, there has to be a balance between “work” and play.

“Duration of technology use should be limited based on age (e.g. for infants and toddlers no more than an hour a day, for older children- school age, up to two hours. And as children get older, the screen time can increase a bit with parental discretion.” Bayat said. “The types of apps, their purpose and their benefits must be examined carefully before they are installed on the device for children.”

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

YU YU BLUE | THE DEPAULIA

La DePaulia

Estudiantes con padres indocumentados dudan de enviar el formulario de FAFSA

By Rodolfo Zagal La DePaulia Managing Editor

Christy Ramos, una estudiante de segundo año en DePaul, corre el riesgo de no poder inscribirse para su tercer año en la universidad. Sus planes futuros dependen de su última solicitud de el formulario de Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Ramos, una estudiante guatemalteca americana que estudia ciencias de la salud, es la primera en su familia en asistir a la universidad, y espera enorgullecer a sus padres al completar su carrera. Sin embargo, no está segura de enviar su solicitud de FAFSA porque le preocupa que la discrepancia en el sistema pueda afectar a sus padres indocumentados al compartir su información personal con agencias de inmigración.

A principios de año, cuando el Departamento de Educación lanzó una nueva versión del sitio web, tenía múltiples fallos y no permitía a los estudiantes con padres indocumentados enviar un formulario para el año escolar 2024-2025.

Aunque el departamento realizó "actualizaciones técnicas" para resolver el sistema, Ramos dice que duda en contarle a su madre sobre los problemas con el formulario.

"No quiero que pase por el difícil pro -

ceso de no ser verificada. Realmente no he dicho nada excepto [que estoy] pensando en tomar un año sabático. Prefiero guardarmelo para mí misma hasta que todo se calme un poco", dijo Ramos.

Anteriormente, los estudiantes que no habían proporcionado un número de Seguro Social o el número de Seguro Social de sus padres no podían enviar una solicitud y esta sería marcada como incompleta. El Departamento de Educación tenía que resolver manualmente el problema para que las solicitudes fueran consideradas para ayuda financiera.

A pesar de que el Departamento de Educación reconoció el fallo en el sistema y los estudiantes pueden envíar el formulario sin un número de seguro social, muchos estudiantes y sus padres están alarmados por TransUnion, una agencia de informes de crédito, ahora a cargo de la verificación de identidad para el nuevo sistema FAFSA.

TransUnion tiene un contrato con el U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Su contrato con ICE puede hacer que algunos estudiantes duden en enviar sus formularios FAFSA debido a preocupaciones de privacidad, dijo Miranda Quinn, especialista en retención para los Servicios de Apoyo Estudiantil (SSS) en DePaul, quien ayuda a los estudiantes a presentar FAFSA cada año.

Melanie

ascendencia mexicano-estadounidense cuya madre es indocumentada, dice que teme que sus formularios no sean procesados correctamente debido a la falta de transparencia por parte del Departamento de Educación.

"No creo que les importe. Si hubieran pensado más en esto, o si las decisiones se hubieran tomado con personas de colo, habría sido un proceso completamente diferente", dijo López.

López dijo que la asociación entre TransUnion e ICE ha creado temor entre los estudiantes sobre cómo se procesará, almacenará y se asegurará la  información de sus padres. López dice estar frustrada por la falta de transparencia por parte del Departamento de Educación.

Alrededor del 31 por ciento de todos los estudiantes universitarios en 2021 son inmigrantes o tienen padres inmigrantes, según un informe producido por el Instituto de Política Migratoria. Muchos de estos estudiantes son de familias de bajos

ingresos y dependen del formulario FAFSA para solicitar ayuda financiera para pagar la universidad.

"Este 'Mejor FAFSA', para mí en este punto, no es mejor en absoluto porque proporciona a los estudiantes y sus familias más barreras", dijo Quinn.

Quinn no espera que los estudiantes en esta situación reciban un paquete de ayuda financiera hasta mayo de 2024 como pronto y el cronograma de procesamiento del formulario es impredecible.

"No deja suficiente tiempo para que los estudiantes y sus padres tomen una decisión informada sobre la financiación de su educación porque actualmente no sabes lo que eres elegible o podrías ser elegible", dijo Quinn.

Quinn se inscribió en un seminario web en enero de 2024 con el Departamento de Educación para discutir cuándo se procesarán los formularios de ayuda financiera después de la fecha límite de presentación, pero el seminario web fue cancelado.

Lopez, una estudiante de último año de DePaul de

RODOLFO ZAGAL | THE DEPAULIA Miranda Quinn, una especialista en retención para los Servicios Sociales Estudiantiles, trabaja en su oficina el 6 de marzo de 2024. Ella dijo que guía a los estudiantes a través del proceso de solicitud de FAFSA.

From Chicago, to Terre Haute, viewing

By Quentin Blais, Madelyn Chapman &

Chief Photographer, Contributing Videographer, Contributing

People all over the United States gathered Monday, April, 8 to witness total solar eclipse, across the United States from Texas to Maine.

"(The eclipse) is a special alignment between the sun, the moon earth all lined up in a row,” said Laura Trouille, Vice President for Engagement at Adler Planetarium. “What's happening is just the blocking all of the sun's light and it is casting a shadow onto the surface.”

In Chicago, people came together outside across the city, including Adler Planetarium. Eclipse viewers in the city saw 93.9% coverage sun, peaking at 2:07 p.m. CST. In Terre Haute, Indiana, the sun covered, also known as “totality.” The eclipse peaked there at 3:04

“For an astronomer, the eclipse is like the Super Bowl'," Laura Vice President for Science Engagement at Adler Planetarium said.

The next total solar eclipse of this scale in the continental United will be Aug. 12, 2044 — stretching from California to Florida.

Benedict Lu stares at the eclipse through his glasses on Monday, April 8, 2024, in the Quad. The peak for the eclipse in Chicago hit at 2:07 p.m.

MORGAN KIRSCH | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul students congregate at DePaul's eclipse watch party on Monday, April 8, 2024. Hundreds of students and faculty came together to witness the celestial event.

MORGAN KIRSCH | THE DEPAULIA

MORGAN KIRSCH | THE DEPAULIA

Cienna Kirk admires the eclipse through her glasses on Monday, April 8, 2024, at DePaul. While not in the path of totality, Chicago had nearly 95 percent coverage of the sun.

Morgan Kirsch

Photographer

Watch this video by Madelyn Chapman shot Chicago's Adler Planetarium during the eclipse.

MADELYN CHAPMAN |

parties celebrate the 2024 solar eclipse

QUENTIN BLAIS | THE DEPAULIA

The solar eclipse reaches totality at 3:04 ET in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Monday, April 8, 2024. The eclipse was the last to make landfall in the United States for the next twenty years.

QUENTIN BLAIS | THE DEPAULIA LEFT — Charlie Ash, left, and his mother, Christina Ash, observe the solar eclipse from Fairbanks Park in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Monday, April 8, 2024. Similar to many Midwesterners, the pair traveled across state lines to witness the eclipse in totality. Left Photo

QUENTIN BLAIS | THE DEPAULIA RIGHT— Elizabeth Miller and Sophie Young take a photo of the sun on their phone as they experience totality during the solar eclipse from Fairbanks Park in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Monday, April 8, 2024. For three minutes, the park was cloaked in darkness as the moon blocked the sun. witness the moon and our for Science the moon is the earth's including at coverage of the was 100% p.m. ET. Laura Trouille, said. United States Kirsch Photographer shot at eclipse.

THE DEPAULIA

Arts & Life

Shabloop Ms. Gaggy lifts her leg during her performance for a dinner crowd at LIPS on Sunday, April 7, 2024. When asked about who Shabloop is, she said that “She is rambunctious, she is chaotic good -- chaotic good for sure. She’s definitely, she’s like disorganized, organized if that makes sense. She’s such an experience that it’s not something you can put into words, but when you hang out with her for one night, that will be a night you remember for years and years and years.”

a water steamer

top-bun

bobby pins on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at LIPS. “Doing drag puts your body through so much pain,” Shabloop said. “The constriction from your tights, to your wig being on too tight, the headaches, to your eyes drying out because your lashes are too heavy -- they have been on for so long.”

The art of local drag queen, Shabloop Ms. Gaggy

By Grace Logan Contributing Writer

Feb. 11, 2013: “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season five, episode two rerun – Thirteen queens remain competing for the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar” and a grand prize of $200,000. After completing this episode’s challenges, Monica Beverly Hillz and Serena ChaCha were up for elimination. The two lip-synched “Only Girl (In the World)” by Rihanna. Serena ChaCha was eliminated and the episode ended, quickly fading to commercial.

Local Chicago drag queen Shabloop Ms. Gaggy was in seventh grade then. She sat in front of her television screen, eyes wide, trying to make sure she remembered it all: the makeup, the theatrics, the gaudiness of the garments and the queens — especially the queens. Shabloop said there were aspects of herself that she always wanted to explore growing up.

In elementary school, Shabloop wore lip gloss; a teacher’s aide wiped it off. She wore a clear coat of nail polish; other students asked her why her nails were shiny. Shabloop hoped she could openly express this part of herself, but she was immediately shot down again and again.

Shabloop vividly remembers the day she first saw season five, episode two. It was a Monday morning with all the makings of a typical Chicago winter’s day. She stayed home from school and haphazardly scrolled the channels to pass the time.

But that day, when she saw the episode rerun, something changed. Jinkx Monsoon, Detox, Roxxxy Andrews, Alaska, Alyssa Edwards and other cast members of season five

of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” led by example and permitted her to explore.

That same day, Shabloop made a promise to herself.

“I always would tell myself, ‘I’m going to do this,’ ‘this is what I want to do,’ ‘that’s going to be my calling,” Shabloop said.

It’s been years since she first discovered drag. Shabloop, now 23, works as a resident house queen at LIPS, Chicago Drag Show Palace nightspot in the South Loop.

Rhinestones, diamonds, feathers. A headto-toe sewn gown isn’t complete without a big headpiece to top it off and, for Shabloop, more can always be more. Sunday, April 7 she took to the stage in a neon green rhinestone encrusted bodysuit and white stiletto thighhigh boots — never will Ms. Gaggy be caught in a little one-two church heel.

Head held high, she twirls around the LIPS dining room and puts on a show for each and every table. She’s tipped a dollar here, a dollar there. She does a cartwheel here and a cartwheel there.

“Shabloop is high energy, dancing-diva-down,” fellow resident LIPS queen Princess Janelza said. “Without a doubt, she’s going to turn the party every single time she’s on stage.”

Before exiting the stage, she presses both hands to her lips, blows a kiss to her audience and flashes them her thousand-watt smile.

A pageant-inspired queen through and through, Shabloop practiced each performance to perfection.

“Shabloop is the type that has never met a stranger because when she meets you, she’s going to talk your ear off,” fellow resident LIPS queen Kenya J. Sanchez said. Shabloop performs about seven shows

a week at different bars throughout the city: LIPS every Wednesday night, Charlie’s every other Thursday night and, again, LIPS every Saturday brunch, Saturday night, Sunday brunch and Sunday night.

“She’s probably one of the hardest working people I know, genuinely, and I can say that,” Janelza said. “Knowing her and seeing her work ethic, what she strives to do, it’s inspiring honestly. I really appreciate her as a friend, more than she knows.”

And with each performance, she carries that young girl from years ago.

The same girl who spent all her Christmas money on makeup from Walgreens, hiding it from her parents in a drawstring bag under her bed. The same girl who spent most of her afternoons in the public library, not wanting to be home. The same girl who dropped out of high school and spent her days studying black and white photos, trying to learn to contour.

And, especially, the same girl who was the cousin of the late Veronica Lopez.

Back in 2016, Veronica was on the corner of North Shore Drive near Fullerton Avenue. She was a freshman at North-Grand High School. She was 15, and on May 28, 2016, she was fatally shot.

Shabloop and her cousin were the same age back then. They grew up together.

Shabloop remembers: It was a Saturday and her parents woke her up at 5 a.m. to tell her the news. She went to debate club that morning anyways because she told herself she would be fine. She thought she would be fine.

Instead, she spent the next few hours in the bathroom of her school, trying to calm herself down.

Veronica was popular, so the funeral was big. It lasted three days: two for the wake and one for the burial. There, they played “Dreaming of You” by Selena on repeat.

For a long while, Shabloop couldn’t hear that song without breaking down.

‘Late at night when all the world is sleeping,

I stay up and think of you

and I wish on a star that somewhere you are thinking of me too,’ the song goes.

Later on, Shabloop did a memorial performance for her cousin in drag. She wore a big, dramatic quinceañera dress and held a candle, lip-syncing Selena’s lyrics to a crowd in Milwaukee. This performance, which honored her cousin and provided her with closure — that is her proudest moment in drag.

Every time Shabloop travels along North Shore Drive, passing Fullerton Avenue, she thinks of Veronica.

“I feel like I’m always going to a show with her with me,” Shabloop said. “That’s what’s really important to me. The one thing I’d love to do — I can only imagine getting on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ — is to have this big platform and be able to shed light on Chicago gun violence.”

The purpose drag provided Shabloop has changed. When she first began to explore it, Shabloop felt displaced within herself, with who she was and what she was. Drag helped her find a path and focus her energy.

“Now, drag is not only living for me, but it’s also…” she takes a long pause and a deep breath. “They say, when you do work, it isn’t work if you enjoy it. That’s very much how I feel drag is for me.”

GRACE LOGAN | THE DEPAULIA

GRACE LOGAN | THE DEPAULIA Shabloop Ms. Gaggy uses

to help detangle her wig, before securing it on her

with

FEST date announcement paints hopeful picture for annual concert

By Claire Tweedie Arts & Life Editor

With a mocktail in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, freshman Ella McCoy began painting vibrant flowers and cascading vines on a black vinyl record. The Student Center atrium on DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus was transformed into an artist’s studio, with paint-splattered smocks on the backs of unoccupied chairs, pop music blaring over the speakers, plastic sheets on the floor to deter paint stains, and a colorful array of paint bottles for students to choose from.

Drawn to the paint-and-sip event hosted by the DePaul Activities Board April 8, McCoy was simply there for a relaxing activity after a meal with friends at the nearby dining hall. DAB had a different goal with the music-themed celebration — creatively announcing the date of this year’s FEST.

FEST will be held May 17 on the Quad, but the headlining artist has not been revealed. The paint-and-sip event encouraged participants to decorate vinyls with popular music artists, like Harry Styles, Beyoncé and SZA, pre-traced onto the plastic. McCoy hoped the big-name musicians painted during the event might be a clue for the

FEST artist, but Carina Risiglione, senior and co-concert chair of DAB, denied that theory.

“It is a bigger known artist this year, but the people painted on the vinyl are people who headline Coachella and Lollapalooza,” Risiglione said. “Though FEST is the best music festival in Chicago.”

The event was hosted in partnership with Museica’s Art Studio, a sip-and-paint venue and classroom in Bucktown. Jessica Rodriguez, an art instructor with Museica, led students through the vinyl painting while offering tips and tricks to help make each artwork unique.

“It’s a mix between entertainment and creativity at our studio,” Rodriguez said. “All the different artists and diversity here is kind of what we’re all about. We want to make sure that everyone feels welcome and seen while enjoying their creative side and relaxing.”

Risiglione said the paint and sip event was meant to give students a creative way to interact with FEST before the actual concert. The idea of painting vinyl, and consequently having a physical piece of art to walk away with, became a way students could keep the long-term memory of FEST-related events instead of simply seeing the date written on

Junior Lindsay Brisley enjoyed the event and is looking forward to FEST but was not thrilled by the date announced“It doesn’t really feel like the end of the school year as much,” Brisley said. “It’s not really a finale even.”

During the event, students shared their guesses for this year’s FEST artists including The Driver Era, Ruel and Phoebe Bridgers. The most sought-after artist this year is DePaul alumni Joe Keery, also known by his musician name Djo.

However, not all the potential artists

were mentioned positively.

“I swear, if it’s the Blue Man Group, I’m not going,” McCoy said. “ I don’t know what sort of ties they seem to have with DePaul, but I’ve only been here for almost one year and I’m sick of them.”

The FEST artist reveal will be April 24 after the Battle of the Bands event hosted by DAB and the DePaul Music Business Organization. Students at this event will also decide the student opener for the annual end-of-year celebration.

CLAIRE TWEEDIE | THE DEPAULIA Carina Risiglione, senior and co-concert chair of DePaul Activities Board, paints a vinyl record at the paint-and-sip event hosted in the Student Center on Monday, April 8, 2024. a poster.

By Claire Tweedie Arts & Life Editor

I am yet another victim of the theater kid to DePaul film bro pipeline, and it’s a fate I do not wish upon anyone. Whenever the “Hamilton” soundtrack starts playing, it’s like a sleeper agent is activated as I involuntarily sing along word for word. Simultaneously, any mention of an A24 movie can start a ramble so long it requires a podcast just to spare bystanders from the torture. Ever since I began this lifestyle, I’ve been trying to find a way to merge my two dueling identities into one peak form. Here is where the grandeur and glory of movie musicals fall into play. Without further adieu, the show must go on and your ears must be blessed.

“Sweet Transvestite” from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”

Are you even a DePaul film bro or theater kid if you haven’t seen a screening of

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with a shadow cast at the Music Box Theatre? Not only will it become a core memory from your freshman year of college, but it’ll also become your go-to conversation starter to sound more educated on cult classics than you actually are. While some of the movie’s tropes definitely don’t hold up today, it still reigns supreme as one of the most iconic movie musicals ever made.

“I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” from “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

My high school history teacher made the mistake of playing this movie in class, not knowing it has one of the most contagious earworm songs ever recorded. For the rest of the school year, every time I entered that classroom, I subconsciously began humming it under my breath, simply because it was too catchy to forget. The soundtrack might honestly be more popular than the movie it came from, which is impressive considering “O Brother, Where

Art Thou?” has what I believe is George Clooney’s best performance.

“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets”

You know that commentary piece from America’s finest news source, The Onion, about the collector trying to buy a CD of the Muppet Movie soundtrack during an eBay bidding war? No? Just me? I think about that satirical article every single goddamn day. To the credit of The Onion, I do appreciate The Muppets on a much deeper level than you. This, my dear reader, is why I must spread the whimsy and joy I feel from this song.

“Would You?” from “Singin’ in the Rain”

I can’t make a movie musical DeJamz without including at least one movie from the golden age. “Singin’ in the Rain” is easily my favorite movie from this time period, and listening to this soundtrack is the only thing getting me through the gloomy

spring weather. While I could be boring and put the film’s titular song on the playlist, “Would You?” is simply too beautiful to resist. With its wonderful orchestral intro, gorgeous vocals from Betty Noyes, and its inherent classic feel, this is the pinnacle of what a perfect movie musical can be.

“I’m So Sad, So Very, Very, Sad” from “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”

I created the rules on what qualifies as a movie musical, so I’m technically not wrong. This soundtrack is so undeniably fantastic that my dad actually bought it for me on vinyl and I listen to it more frequently than I care to admit. While “I’m So Sad, So Very, Very, Sad” isn’t actually a good example of what this movie musical has to offer, it sure is the funniest choice I could’ve made. If you don’t listen to anything else from this playlist, waste 13 seconds of your time for this one in my honor.

of salvation

6) Abstract artist Paul

7) Extra-wide, on a shoebox

8) Dispenser candy

9) Emetic drug

10) Cowpoke’s pal

11) Trendy berry

12) French city on the Moselle

14) Myanmar, formerly

COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA

New coaches, top recruits and high hopes for DePaul basketball

By Tom Gorski Contributing Writter

In his first offseason as head coach, Chris Holtmann is actively reshaping DePaul’s men’s basketball team, bringing in three new recruits from the transfer portal and welcoming Bryan Mullins and Jack Owens to the coaching staff while also retaining assistant coach Paris Parham.

Holtmann is expected to bring John McCausland and Tyler Hicks onto the staff as well, with McCausland serving as Director of Basketball Operations and Hicks as Director of Men’s Basketball Recruiting.

Over the last week, the team officially signed three players: freshman guard David Thomas from Mercer, senior guard Isaiah Rivera from the University of Illinois Chicago, and freshman guard Jacob Meyer from Coastal Carolina.

Thomas wrapped up his freshman season after appearing in 31 games, eight of which he started. He averaged 11 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and shot 40.2% from deep. Following his standout performance at Mercer, Thomas transfers to DePaul with three more years of eligibility.

“David (Thomas) is a young, athletic guard who has the ability to shoot the ball at a high level,” Holtmann said in a statement. “He can guard multiple positions due to his strength. While he had a good first year at Mercer, I know David is excited about competing for DePaul and continuing to grow his game here.”

Rivera began his college career at Colorado State, where he spent three years before transferring to UIC in 2023. Now, with only one year of eligibility remaining, his experience could set him up for a pivotal role with the Blue Demons for next season.

“Isaiah (Rivera) is a gifted scorer who really possesses a good feel for the game,” Holtmann said in a statement. “He has shown the ability to shoot the ball off the catch and bounce. In talking with him, he expressed a real desire to continue to grow as a player on both ends of the court. He can play either wing position and has been really well coached during his collegiate career. We are excited about his impact and continued growth as a player here at DePaul.”

The 6-foot-5 guard was a two-year player for the Flames and appeared in 33 games this past season. He averaged 15.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 46% from the field and 41.6% from three. Rivera, a standout at Geneseo High School, was ranked as a top 100 ESPN small forward and seventh

overall among high school prospects in Illinois.

Meyer officially signed with DePaul after his freshman season at Coastal Carolina and will have three years of eligibility remaining. The former Chanticleer finished his freshman season appearing in 31 games, all in which he started, averaging 15.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, while shooting 45% from the field and 40.2% from beyond the arc.

“Jacob is a talented scorer who had an outstanding prep career in Kentucky and a very good freshman year at Coastal Carolina,” Holtmann said in a statement. “He’s confident and aggressive and has the ability to play on and off the ball. He understands the challenges that come with the BIG EAST and is looking forward to getting to work and growing his game to help DePaul. We are excited about the addition of Jacob to our team.”

Meyer is from Covington, Kentucky, and attended Holy Cross High School, where he became one of the top all-time leading scorers in Kentucky high school basketball history. He finished his career with 3,280 points, a record for his region.

As Holtmann focuses on recruiting players for the 2024 season, he’s also building his coaching staff. One of his first moves was adding his former Ohio State assistant coach, Jack Owens.

“After working with Jack (Owens) over the last several years I know first-

hand how much he adds to a coaching staff,” Holtmann said in a statement. “His background in leading his own program as well as his experience as an assistant makes him an incredibly well-rounded coach. Jack has experience in all aspects of the game and is a tremendous talent developer, coach and recruiter. We are excited for him and his family to join us in Chicago.”

Owens is one of several assistants on Holtmann’s staff who bring past head coaching experience. He previously served as the head coach of Miami (OH) from 2017 to 2022 and as an assistant coach on Matt Painter’s staff at Purdue for nine seasons.

In addition to Owens, Holtmann will hire former Southern Illinois head coach Bryan Mullins to his staff. Over his five-season tenure at SIU, Mullins compiled an 86-68 record, with his best season coming in 2022-23 when he led the Saulkies to a 23-10 record. Returning to Chicago, Mullins brings familiarity as a native of Downers Grove, Illinois. He began his coaching journey at Loyola Chicago, where he served six seasons on Porter Moser’s staff.

“Bryan is a talented coach and someone who has deep connections in the state of Illinois,” Holtmann said in a statement. “His success as an assistant on Loyola’s Final Four run speaks for itself. The Mullins name has been an important part of bas-

ketball in this state for many years. Bryan has earned a reputation as an incredibly bright basketball mind, tireless worker and excellent player developer. We are thrilled to add Bryan and his family to the DePaul family.”

In addition to Owens and Mullins, Holtmann is also expected to retain assistant coach Paris Parham, who recently served in the same role on former DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield’s staff. Parham will be the only coach returning from the previous regime as of now.

“Paris is someone I have known and respected for several years,” Holtmann said in a statement. “He has great recruiting contacts and experience working in both Chicago and the state of Illinois. Paris has worked for some coaches I know and respect. He loves DePaul and is committed to bringing success to this program. We are excited to have Paris a part of our coaching staff.”

Holtmann’s offseason remains active as he navigates the recruitment process. Six players have been officially signed from the transfer portal, and commitments have been secured from three-star forward Chris Riddle of Kenwood Academy and Sekou Konneh of St. Thomas More.

This leaves the program with five scholarships yet to be filled for the 2024 recruiting class.

DANIEL LIN | DAILY NEWS-RECORD VIA AP

Coastal Carolina guard Jacob Meyer (12) loses control of the ball against James Madison forward Raekwon Horton during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Harrisonburg, Virginia., Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024.

‘No Excuses:’ Despite construction, DePaul volleyball rallies for spring season

By Ryan Hinske Sports Editor

An immense, temporary white sheet that splits McGrath-Phillips Arena exudes the aroma of a carpenter’s workshop as DePaul’s volleyball team attempts to run a team practice.

On the other side of this sheet is a construction project that is part of DePaul Athletics’ 5-year Strategic Plan, specifically the “refurbishment of the Sullivan Athletic Center,” which houses the arena.

During this transition period, DePaul volleyball still has a spring season to play. Spring season is an opportunity for the players to tune their individual games, with much more one-on-one time and small group practice to target specific tactics and skills.

One would expect the construction in McGrath-Phillips Arena to hinder this growth, as DePaul is used to practicing on two courts. Head coach Marie Zidek, however, sees it as a blessing in disguise because of the closeness of her players.

“We have the mantra, ‘no excuses,’ so whether we have one court for practice or two courts, or whether the game is sold out or five people are in the stands, there’s no excuses. We want to go out and we want to win matches.”

On April 6, DePaul played a round-robin competition in Fort Wayne, Indiana, against Michigan, Toledo and Michigan State after facing Loyola Chicago and Illi-

COMMENTARY

nois in previous weeks. Senior libero Rachel Krasowski said the day reminded her of club volleyball, where five to six hours of games were often played in one day, but the experience enriched the team’s chemistry and future success.

“I think it was really necessary for our team to grow and build and see what type of competition we match up against,” Krasowski said. “I thought that was eye-opening in a way that just makes us want to continue to grow and get better for the season.”

Freshman defensive specialist and libero Nora Mannion, who said last fall season was like being thrown into the fire, saw the round-robin as a way to showcase this individual growth.

“It tested our bodies a lot and our stamina, but we ended up finishing really strong, which was good,” she said. “I think it was a good experience for all of us.”

Zidek leads a program that has steadily improved over the last four years. After finishing third in the fall season standings, the team is near the top of the food chain in the Big East. She said the spring season allows DePaul to play high-level competition that challenges them more than ever without the factor of wins and losses counting towards conference standings.

“There’s this element right now where you go from 11th to seventh and seventh

Clingan etches his name into Connecticut history

By Ryan Hinske Sports Editor

Connecticut native Donovan Clingan has done the unimaginable: He went from high school basketball royalty to world champion, all in his home state. But that’s not the unimaginable part.

Connecticut isn’t California or New York; it’s the third-smallest state in the U.S. with a middling population, rarely producing a top recruit, and when they do, those players typically elect for University of Massachusetts or Providence College.

For those that do elect to go to the University of Connecticut, the local stars aren’t the ones winning championships. Connecticut high school phenom Andre Drummond didn’t win a single NCAA

JAYDI VASQUEZ | THE DEPAULIA

Tournament game in his career at UConn, only one season removed from the Huskies’ national championship, led by The Bronx’s Kemba Walker.

Donovan Clingan has broken through this barrier with two national championships as a husky. Not only was Clingan a contributor to the team, he was arguably the best husky in the tournament. When UConn needed a player to turn to, it was Clingan.

Though he only played 22.6 minutes per game this season, Clingan’s rebounding and defensive abilities shone through in the most important moments, making him the focal point of this team when it mattered most, especially against twotime Associated Press Player of the Year Zach Edey in the national championship. Adding to Clingan’s prestige, he did it

to fifth and fifth to third,” Zidek said. “Now, to go from third to first, it’s a totally different level of game needed, so we’ve wanted to challenge them with teams like Michigan and Illinois that were in Final Fours not too long ago.”

DePaul found their game fast, returning from the week off for spring break with only a week of practice before the round-robin. Zidek said she has been stressing physicality at the net and that her team showed up after a week off and executed.

“The team did a really nice job finding the game, finding out ball control, finding our attacks, all the things that we had been working on in the spring really bled into those competitions,” Zidek said. “Volleyball is a sport played above the net, and we really wanted to test our attackers and also our setters in our offense at being able to score around physical blockers.”

Zidek wants her team to show they are as good as any team in the country as they continue their climb to the NCAA tournament — a competition they haven’t quali-

all in a tiny state where UConn basketball is the sport epicenter. Hailing from Bristol and standing at 7-feet-2-inches, as a high school senior, Clingan averaged 30.3 points, 18.4 rebounds and an astounding 6.2 blocks per game, earning him 2022

Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year, an award that dates back to 1985. Clingan was no stranger to this award at that point, however. He won it in his junior year, when he “only” averaged 27.3 points per game.

Clingan is the first player in state history to win this award and the national championship for a school in Connecticut since Rashamel Jones and Edmund Saunders joined forces to help UConn win the 1999 national championship. However, neither of these players averaged more than six points per game that season, whereas Clingan was UConn’s vocal leader and defensive anchor. Perhaps more importantly, Clingan won the Gatorade Player of the Year twice and the national championship twice. It’s safe to say he’s state royalty, and it will be interesting to see how his legend progress-

fied for since 2001.

Though players like Krasowski have seen the loud noises from the construction as an irritant at times, the players have used it as an opportunity to be loud and practice hearing each other in loud environments.

“It’s just very interesting. We’ve practiced on one court before, but not like this,” Krasowski said. “It kind of replicates playing in an actual match. It’s really cool.”

Mannion, a freshman, has adjusted to the change and is excited to see the finished product as she enters her second season, which will begin in the fall when the players return after summer break.

“An important thing that volleyball teams need is the ability to adapt, and we really adapted with our limited gym space,” Mannion said. “We usually practice on two courts, but I think practicing with one actually has helped us come together even more. … I honestly think it might pay off and it’s just gonna be cool to see the entire transition of the entire gym when we come back in the fall.”

es.

Clingan’s loyalty to his state is a huge reason for UConn’s success. We’re in a world where Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) catapults players to new schools every season with no slowing down in sight. Clingan’s story is as old-fashioned as the legend of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, two college superstars facing off in the national championship while representing not only their schools but also their home states.

So, what’s next for Clingan? As of April 10, NBADraft.net has the big man going to Philadelphia at the 14th pick in the NBA Draft. If this were the case, Connecticut would sit at the edge of 76er territory, making it not too difficult to support Clingan’s team, even if most Connecticuters are Celtics fans. Wherever he lands, and whether he is picked in the lottery or not, Clingan will always have a huge and loyal fanbase, and people may not realize this now. Still, Connecticuters may be talking about the legend of Donovan Clingan and the 2020 Connecticut Huskies for all eternity.

DePaul volleyball’s front-line practices blocking at a team practice Thursday, April 11, 2024, at McGrath-Phillips Arena.