The DePaulia 5.13.2024

TheDePaulia

The last encampment in the city has no plan to back down

By Lilly Keller, Claire Tweedie, Rose O’Keeffe & Lucia Preziosi Editor-in-Chief, Content Managing Editor, Asst. News Editor, & News Editor

DePaul University’s encampment stands alone as the city’s final remaining site, marking a somber milestone for pro-Palestinian activists across Chicago.

The “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” established last Tuesday by the DePaul Divestment Coalition and Students for Justice in Palestine, is determined to remain on the university’s Quad until its demands are met, according to organizers. Primary among these demands is that DePaul disclose investments and divest from companies with ties to Israel.

The milestone follows the clearing of the student encampment by the University of Chicago’s campus police at 5 a.m. May 7. According to The Chicago Maroon, less than an hour after encampment organizers finished their final rally of the evening, several dozen UCPD officers arrived at the site

to dismantle the pro-Palestine encampment on its ninth day.

No arrests were made, but encampment members received slips of paper instructing them to depart immediately. The note warned that failure to comply would result in arrest for criminal trespass under the Illinois Criminal Code.

About 11 miles north of the University of Chicago, Henna Ayesh, a sophomore and media liaison for the DePaul encampment, shared mixed emotions about the news.

“Honestly, you would think it would feel good, but it feels really sad,” Ayesh said. “… We’ve obviously worked with a lot of other organizers at other schools, a lot of them actually helped us put ours together.”

According to Ayesh, organizers of DePaul’s encampment have anticipated the possibility of a police raid or arrests. She said

that in any scenario, demonstrators want to embody what she calls the “resilience and resistance” of the Palestinian people.

“So far, (university officials) haven’t given us any indication that they want to shut down our encampment,” Ayesh said. “I think if they did call police, it would look bad on them.”

DePaul University did not respond to The DePaulia’s multiple requests for comment at the time of publication.

Despite the University of Chicago developments, Ayesh emphasized that the primary concern for encampment organizers remains President Robert Manuel’s May 6 email addressing the DePaul Divestment Coalition’s demands.

Within the email, Manuel said the administration hopes the DePaul community recognizes the “deliberation, thought and care invested” in responding to the Coalition’s requirements to end the encampment.

Out of the Coalition’s 10 updated de-

DePaul named a AANAPI serving institution, after two years. Page 4 I worked at Foxtrot.

Here is what I learned after it closed.

6

mands, the university accepted two, including calling for a cease-fire and opposing the doxing of “Palestinian students and their allies.”

Manuel firmly rejected the coalition’s demand to “remove individuals with ties to Israel from the Board of Trustees,” stating it conflicted with DePaul’s Vincentian values.

Furthermore, Manuel said the university would not grant “blanket amnesty” to all encampment participants. He pointed out that recent protests have resulted in misleading accusations about DePaul’s endowment, particularly concerning demands for divestment from companies profiting from Palestinian suffering and the occupation and disclosure of investments.

Although the university does not make direct investments in stocks and bonds, instead putting money into funds managed by outside experts, Manuel said DePaul ensures

Doug Bruno has been at DePaul 50 years and counting.

Masked pro-Palestinian demonstrators fly flags to pro-Israeli counter-protesters on the other side of a CPD wall while officers stand in front on Sunday, May 5, 2024. The demonstration lasted about three hours on Sunday.

ROSE O’KEEFFE | THE DEPAULIA

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

ONLINE MANAGING | Jake Cox online@depauliaonline.com

CONTENT MANAGING | Claire Tweedie content@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 | Sam Mroz artslife@depauliaonline.com

ASST. ARTS & LIFE EDITOR | Grace Logan artslife@depauliaonline.com

SPORTS EDITOR | Ryan Hinske sports@depauliaonline.com

ART EDITOR | Maya Oclassen art@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 NOTICAS | Nupur Bosmiya managingladepaulia@depauliaonline.com

ASESORA | Laura Rodriguez Presa larodriguez@chicagotribune.com

CAMPUS CRIME REPORT

LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS

May. 01 - May. 07, 2024

LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS

Drug & Alcohol Assault & Theft Other

Lincoln Park Campus Crimes:

May 01

1) A Threat by Electronic Means report was filed for someone receiving a threat via Instagram.

May 01

2) A Disorderly Conduct report was filed for an incident in the Quad. A student complained of the noise level and inappropriate chants.

May 02

3) A Disorderly Conduct report was filed for an incident in the Quad. A car drove by shooting fireworks into the Quad.

May 03

4) A Disorderly Conduct report was filed for an incident in the Quad. Complainant stated she was followed in the Quad and verbally harassed.

May 03

5) An Intimidation report was filed for an incident outside Art and Letters involving the labor protest on May 1st.

May 03

6) A Simple Battery report was filed regarding an incident in SAC. A Safety Alert was issued.

May 03

7) A Theft report was filed regarding a wallet that was stolen while the patron played basketball in the Ray Meyer Fitness Center.

May 04

8) A Disorderly Conduct report was filed for an incident in the Quad. A car drove by and tossed a smoke bomb near the entrance of the Quad.

May 04

9) An Intimidation report was filed regarding an incident on the social media app Discord.

May 04

10) A Marijuana Smell report was filed for Seton Hall.

May 05

11) A Simple Battery report was filed for an incident that occurred on Clifton and Fullerton.

May 05

12) A Harassment report was filed for an incident in the Quad.

May 06

13) A Harassment report was filed for an incident near the Quad.

LOOP CAMPUS

May 06

14) A Graffiti report was filed for markings found in a washroom on the 1st floor of Student Center.

May 06

15) A Simple Battery report was filed regarding an incident near the Quad on May 5th.

May 07

16) A Theft report was filed for a bicycle taken from the Clifton Garage bike rack.

May 07

17) A Theft report was filed for a jacket taken from the Student Center.

May 07

18) A Criminal Damage to Property report was filed for damage to a gate in the Quad.

Loop Campus Crimes: May 06

1) A Theft report was filed for a bicycle taken from the bike rack in front of the DePaul Center.

Reporting With Care During the Protest

By The DePaulia Staff

As DePaul’s encampment continues on the Quad, The DePaulia is committed to tirelessly reporting what is happening as it happens — without fear or favor. While we cannot stay on the Quad 24/7, we try our hardest to document the encampment thoroughly.

While we do not always get it right, we are committed to working as hard as possible to provide fair, balanced, and ethical coverage. If we make a mistake while reporting, we own up to it. If a factual error is discovered, a formal correction will be issued.

Even though we are student journalists, we are acutely aware that our reporting has real-world consequences. We are humbled by

our responsibility and are intently aware of the negative implications unethical coverage can have on people’s lives.

In our coverage of the encampment and related topics, we adhere to the Society for Professional Journalists Code of Ethics and our duty to our peers as DePaul students to report ethically and minimize harm.

Unless a photojournalist has gotten consent, The DePaulia editors have decided not to publish photos or videos of people’s faces if they are peacefully protesting at the encampment because of protesters’ concerns about safety. While photographs of people are the most compelling way to show what is happening on campus, safety is most important for our subjects and our staff.

Both in photo captions and reporting, we are willing to run only a first name or no name if there is a compelling reason to do so, such as legitimate fear of retaliation. However, we ask our subjects for names so that our reporters and our editors know who we’re talking to.

Regarding reporting, we understand that talking to the media can be intimidating. However, the staff would like to reiterate that our only goal is to report what is happening as it is happening. Our only goal is to serve DePaul’s community with fair, balanced and comprehensive coverage.

We respect everyone’s right to decline a request for an interview and understand that everyone is a human being deserving of respect.

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

NPR struggling to attract young listeners

By Ian Fondacabe Contributing Writer

When college students think about National Public Radio, the network’s popular “Tiny Desk” show, which features emerging and established music artists, might be the first thing that comes to mind. Could more content like this help save NPR?

A New York Times article published last month reported that there is turmoil within NPR, a radio network founded in 1970 that is funded by sponsors, listeners and the federal government.

The report noted that the nonprofit network is struggling to evolve with the ever-changing media landscape, including competition from podcasts. The NPR audience is still strong, with 42 million listeners a week, but that is a significant drop from the 60 million listeners it had in 2020.

As the audience has dwindled, more sponsors are leaving. According to the Times article, NPR sponsorships dropped 25% last year alone. The network also has been criticized for liberal bias, including an essay recently published by a former editor released in early April.

NPR’s local station in Chicago has also felt the loss of listeners. This graph done by Axios Chicago shows the decline in listen-

ers in March of this year. Just three years ago WBEZ was second in the radio market but now it has fallen to no. 18.

Daniel Makagon, DePaul’s program chair of communication studies, has created audio documentaries that have been broadcast on public radio. At his first job at Michigan Tech University, he produced a radio show with graduate students. He thinks it would help if NPR had more “stories that young people care about.”

“Having younger people’s voices on the air helps too,” Makagon said. “In other words, you want to hear someone who sounds like you.”

The rise of podcasts is also a danger to public radio. A Pew Research Center survey found that eight in 10 adults younger than age 30 who have a college degree have listened to a podcast within the last 12 months.

Jonah Elbaum, a junior and program director at Radio DePaul, has a show every Friday called “Jonah’s Discover Weekly.

Elbaum plays music he finds through Spotify-generated playlists such as Release Radar and Discover Weekly. He enlists friends to make sketches on his Instagram to promote his show.

“It’s just fun stuff like that,” Elbaum said. “That’s fun. That’s exciting.”

He thinks NPR should consider similar programming to hook younger audiences.

“The algorithm changes, and you have to change with it,” Elbaum said. “If what’s getting views is like a 10-second vertical clip you got to post a 10-second vertical clip. You got to figure out a way to keep their attention.”

Ariele Palmer, the on-air director for Radio DePaul, agrees that NPR needs to branch out and create “more programs that appeal to college students like me and other people in radio.”

“I know because I’ve grown up listening to NPR. My dad basically forced it upon me

and my brother, so I am very familiar with the content and what they put out,” Palmer said. “Even then, I was thinking there could be more shows that would appeal to younger audiences, not just college students.”

Palmer, a sophomore, would like to continue in radio and thinks it would be great if NPR had more workshops for college students to get them involved and interested in radio. NPR does have a Student Podcast Challenge, for instance.

“If this were to happen I’d personally attend and would find it beneficial for my future radio career,” Palmer said.

MAYA OCLASSEN | THE DEPAULIA

DePaul receives Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution status

By Isabella Salinas Contributing Writer

Last month, the U.S. Department of Education granted DePaul Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) status for the fiscal year 2024, effective immediately.

The Department of Education states that an eligible institution must have an undergraduate enrollment of at least 10% Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander students. DePaul currently exceeds that criteria by 2% with 2,329 students.

Receiving this designation has taken about two years starting with Elizabeth F. Ortiz, the previous vice president of the Office of Institutional Diversity & Equity, leaving the current interim vice president to take over and achieve this status.

Besides enrollment, there are other criteria an institution needs to meet to be part of the AANAPISI program.

“The other has to do with the cost of education,” said José Perales, the interim vice president of the Office of Institutional

Diversity & Equity. He and the previous vice president led the task force that oversaw the two-year process.

According to The U.S. Department of Education, to be considered for AAPI serving status, a school needs either half of its degree students to get financial aid based on need under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, or a significant portion of its students to receive Pell Grants.

The U.S. Department of Education also states that the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Program “provides grants and related assistance” to the institutions that identify as AANAPISI in hopes that it will allow them to provide the resources needed to better serve Asian Americans and Native American Pacific Islanders.

Some of the listed program opportunities include supporting faculty development, curriculum development, establishing community outreach programs and establishing partnerships with community-based organizations serving Asian Americans and Native American Pacific Islanders.

Perales said DePaul plans to seek other “funding opportunities” that would best help the community.

Tianyu Lu, student at DePaul, did not know much about DePaul’s newfound status, but said it made him feel like DePaul was recognizing Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander (AANAPI) students as “important figures” in the community.

“I think this is a good start for Asian Pacific Islander students at DePaul,” he said.

With this new title, he added that he hopes DePaul will keep its promises of supporting AANAPISI students, specifically “increased support services, academic programs and other culture initiatives to meet the needs of the student populations.”

“I hope maybe in future we can receive more funding on hosting events so that we can … achieve more,” said Lu.

Andrew Tran, president of the Asian Cultural Exchange at DePaul, also hopes that the new status will create more community for the organizations and agrees

that event funding is needed.

“We kind of have to justify a little bit more to try and get the funding, and it can get a bit annoying sometimes,” Tran said. “Funding organization events can get pretty pricey sometimes, so it’s more funding for cultural orgs as well as the cultural centers that support the orgs.”

Perales, the interim vice president, said one of the AANAPISI task force’s goals is to help attract the faculty and staff that can help better support the student populations. He also states that the task force wants to create a student focus group to get ideas and help create some momentum.

According to a DePaul leadership note last month, the number of faculty and staff who identify as AANAPISI is 6%, which is half the percentage of students.

This demographic does not go unnoticed by students like Tran.

“If more faculty were involved in orgs that would be really cool,” he said. “ It would really feel more like a community.”

MAYA OCLASSEN | THE DEPAULIA

ENCAMPMENT, continued from front: that these managers follow responsible investing guidelines set by the United Nations.

“As such, there is a comprehensive commitment to reviewing their investment practices and related portfolios across a variety of factors including environmental, social and corporate governance issues, among others,” the email said.

Despite not being responsible for the university’s investments, Manuel said he wants to involve the DePaul community in the conversation about where funds are directed and to provide “input to our Board of Trustees around concerns of the community.”

He also indicated that the university is considering establishing an advisory committee to address important concerns from all constituencies within the university community.

“It is important to note that we are establishing this advisory committee because we believe it is a thoughtful measure, consistent with shared governance,” the email said. “Further, though our endowment investment practices do not drive direct investments currently, the intent of this advisory committee is not to divest from Israel.”

Encampment media liaison and DePaul student Ayah Shaw said SJP and the DePaul Divestment Coalition do not believe the narrative that DePaul has no choice on where its endowment goes.

“I think that statement is total BS,” she said. “I think DePaul has more than enough say on where their money goes. It’s the money that we are paying them.”

John Paul Lederach, a professor of International Peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame, suggests that the current stalemate between encampment organizers and the administration reflects a lack of confidence between the two parties.

“If you have a fundamental distrust of who is controlling the (negotiation) process, or that it’s not well-defined or that it is

being manipulated, that then creates a lot of difficulty for people feeling that they can trust what the outcomes might eventually be,” Lederach said.

Additionally, he said that the absence of a clear leader within the encampment could further complicate efforts to establish common ground between organizers and the university, given the diverse range of perspectives and goals among the individuals involved.

Although encampment organizers are steadfast in their decision to remain on the Quad until their demands are met, Lederach remains optimistic that a resolution without violence is achievable.

“Violence is the choice where a person can imagine no other option,” Lederach said. “The real key is that we’re asking the question: How do we protect the dignity and the rights of people to express themselves and at the same time, diminish and

eliminate evermore the chances that that translates into violence.”

Steven Resnicoff, professor in the College of Law and Director of its Center for Jewish Law and Judaic Studies, said the coalition’s demand to divest from Israel would “constitute illegal discrimination.”

The repercussions of the demand for financial divestment are not the only ones he is worried about.

“By calling for a boycott of activities with Israeli academics and academic insti-

tutions, the encampment essentially also calls for an isolationist and discriminatory ‘intellectual divestment’ that would impoverish all of the faculty and students at DePaul,” Resnicoff said.

Resnicoff, who is an expert in the Boycott, Divest and Sanction Movement Against Israel, said divesting is not realistic and should not be further negotiated by the university engagement team and the coalition.

“The demand is unjust, unfair, impractical, and, as to (a) number of aspects, illegal,” Resnicoff said. “Incidentally, many Israeli companies have been responsible not only for major technological innovations that have made life easier and happier, but also for major health care advancements that have saved lives.”

Despite the complexities of the endowment and the challenges of DePaul using third-party financial managers to invest funds, according to Resnicoff, encampment organizers remain firm in pressing for the administration to address their demands.

“As long as they’ll keep listening to us, we’ll keep having these communications with them,” Shaw said.

However, she said that pro-Palestinian protesters are prepared to wait if the university declines to divest or address additional demands.

“If the university thinks they can wait us out, I promise we can wait longer,” Shaw said.

JAKE COX | THE DEPAULIA

Two protestors wrap their arms around each other as counter-protestors rally on Fullerton Avenue on Sunday, May 5, 2024. This is the second counter-protest the encampment has encountered.

JEREMY BATTLE | THE DEPAULIA

Chicago Police officers talk to each other while they hold the line between DePaul University’s encampment and counter protesters on Sunday, May 5, 2024.

Opinions

Personal Essay: Companies don’t care about you — My experience as a Foxtrot employee

By Anna Barth Contributing Writer

I’ve always found comfort in the constant chaos that comes with the life of a working student. The rigorous routine of going straight from school to work is my “normal,” and the ability to be independent while furthering my education is a blanket of familiarity.

That routine has provided stability during my college experience – the shoulder that life gives me to lean on.

That all changed last month when upscale grocers Foxtrot Market and Dom’s Kitchen & Market closed with no warning.

The night of April 22 was like any other closing shift at my part-time Foxtrot job. My coworker and I fixed the mess of a stocking job the higher-ups had done during their intermittent minimum-wage worker cosplay.

It’s no secret that the backbone of any store is lowest on the company hierarchy, and Foxtrot was no different. The company’s corporate side seemed detached from its working-class employees’ reality, minimizing the importance of their labor.

“See you tomorrow!” I yelled to my coworker as we locked up shop for the night,unaware that the words that had just spewed from my lips would turn out to be a lie.

I started the next morning like any other, scrambling to finish my schoolwork before a long day of classes and work. My expectations were soon reduced to shambles – all because of a text message.

“Team. I have the incredibly difficult job of telling everyone that Foxtrot has closed the business,” my assistant manager wrote at 10:02 a.m. April 23. “As of 12 p.m. today, we are closed down. I am just as frustrated as I’m sure the rest of you will be. This is all the information I have at this point.”

I double-checked the date, convinced it was a sick April Fool’s prank.

“So we’re all just jobless now?” asked my coworker Alice Herold. I wasn’t the only one who instinctively laughed at the supposed joke.

I tried to rationalize it as a dream, convinced it was all in my head, and fully prepared to walk into my shift later that day. But then came the statement on Foxtrot and Dom’s website:

“It is with a heavy heart that we must inform you of a difficult decision we have

had to make …” the statement began. “We explored many avenues to continue the business but found no viable option despite good faith and exhaustive efforts.”

I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that I was jobless, let alone the two hour notice I was given. My experience as a working student, the stability that my co-workers and I so greatly depended on, was reduced to an afterthought.

It felt like the company thought this news would be an inconvenience at most, with no concept of how devastating it would be for employees.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do now,” spilled from our mouths with each sobbing breath we took, most living paycheck to paycheck to survive. With only a moment’s notice, our lives were sent into a spiral of chaos.

“We’ll get through this, we have to get through this,” said Herold, who attempted to comfort me.

From district managers to baristas, we had no clue about the mismanagement of our company, running it $180 million in debt. The high-end convenience store had always failed its employees, slowly taking away benefits such as shift meals, but no one could fathom that the company would do this to us.

Let’s face it – CEOs don’t see their working-class employees as humans, but instead as miniscule pieces in the game of business. When it comes to bankruptcy, companies lay off thousands of employees, leaving them in the dust while CEOs continue to collect a solid paycheck.

Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market are now facing a class-action lawsuit, with hundreds of employees claiming the company violated the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). The WARN act requires companies to give workers at least 60 days notice before mass layoffs, including cases of bankruptcy, which the parent company Outfox failed to do.

Ex-employees are seeking 60 days of severance pay and benefits for laid-off workers, as most were completely blindsided by the business closing.

At 20 years old, my experience as a student worker completely shifted. I had to learn how to navigate the confusing world of unemployment and saw the hardships of my working-class coworkers first-hand.

Foxtrot was more than a part-time job to me, which is why losing it was such

a hardship. The bond I formed with my coworkers is more than I could ask for, and they have done more for me than any company or CEO could. Their ability to help others land on their feetwhile struggling to keep their own balance has been admirable.

The name Foxtrot has changed mean-

ing for me. It’s not a company. It’s not a group of corporate white collars who turned thousands of lives upside down. It’s a group of people, former employees, whose resilience and strength is beyond imaginable.

A sign reading “Thanks a lot!” posted outside a Foxtrot in Chicago informs customers of its closing on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Along with employees, customers were blindsided with the closing of the upscale grocer.

ANNA BARTH | THE DEPAULIA

Trend cycles are ruining the fashion industry and environment

By LiLi Jarvenpa Contributing Writer

I might not be the most fashionable person you will ever meet, but I have still fallen victim to “trendy” pieces of clothing.

I bought Birkenstocks when everyone else in my high school had them. I had skinny jeans and then swapped them all out for “mom jeans” a few years later. And I bought Lululemon leggings, even when my mom gave me an incredulous look when I asked for a pair.

All of these pieces of clothing were popular in the early 2010s and gradually faded into the past, but I have a feeling they won’t be gone for long.

Pop culture and clothing trends used to resurface every 20 years or so.

However, that 20-year cycle has collapsed and given way to a shorter cycle with rapid turnover, according to NewsNation.

I believe faster trend cycles are destroying the fashion industry and taking the environment down with it.

Alejandra Lopez, the owner of McShane’s Exchange Consignment, a second-hand clothing store in Lincoln Park, worked at the store in the 2000s when she was in high school. In 2020, she lost her job and bought McShane’s Exchange from the original owners when she saw a “store closing” sign on their door.

Lopez noticed the increasing speed of trend cycles while working in the fashion industry.

“Back then, within a year, there (were) seasons for trends, like summer, spring, fall,” Lopez said. “Now there’s mini cycles and mini seasons.”

According to Vogue Business, trend cycles used to start on the runway and trickle down to the general public.

Micro trends became popular on social media platforms such as TikTok, where one piece of clothing is popular for a very short period of time and becomes obsolete just as fast.

I understand the novelty of renewing your wardrobe every time another influencer shows off a new dress. However, I also find it exhausting, and I do not know what trend I should be paying attention to on social media.

Corissa Draper, a junior studying psychology at DePaul, said she sees trends go viral more frequently because of the internet.

“People are always wanting to be … on a trend before everybody else is able to identify that it’s a trend,” Draper said. “But if that’s everybody’s intention … they’re constantly moving on to new things.”

Lopez said with increasing trend cycles, “we’ve gotten away from individualism,” because so many people are trying to dress like each other.

When I go to class, I worry three other people will wear the same shirt. Not to say that is bad, but it is becoming increasingly harder to express one’s own individual style through fashion.

Andres Ramos-Miguez, a sophomore anthropology major at DePaul, noticed how trend cycles are affecting footwear. He said the speed at which new shoes are being released is “a little bit in excess.”

Ramos-Miguez worries about the quality of clothing as trend cycles speed up.

“I fear that fashion companies will view the demand for more as negative,” Ramos-Miguez said. “The way they produce the articles of clothing, I feel, is going to be a lot worse, and it’s going to make it to where stuff doesn’t last as long.”

To keep up with micro trends, fast fashion brands churn out new clothing at alarming rates. Zara has a design-to-retail timeline of about five weeks, releasing over 20 collections per year, according to Vox.

The increasing speed of fashion output has put stress on the environment, as people rush to buy more clothes and throw away pieces that are no longer “trendy.”

A clothing landfill in Chile has an estimated 30,000 tons of textile waste. Decomposing textiles emit greenhouse gasses and release toxic chemicals into waterways. Producing clothes also uses massive amounts of water. In 2015, the textile industry used 79 million cubic square meters of water, according to Forbes.

Draper said the amount of clothing in landfills is hurting the environment for many reasons.

“Anything that we just dump in the space that we have is going to take up

more space, spilling into oceans and spilling into like rivers and into indigenous lands,” Draper said.

One way people have tried to curb the environmental impact is through thrifting or consignment shopping — which, ironically, has become a trend as well.

In addition to consignment stores, websites such as Depop, ThreadUp and Poshmark have given clothes a second life.

However, packaging and delivering the items also emits greenhouse gasses. Overall, the fashion industry emits 10% of the world’s carbon emissions, according to the World Economic Forum, so thrifting at local shops may be ideal.

Lopez said it is smart to shop consignment instead of buying new products.

“I think giving your money to corporations that keep pumping out clothes and ruining your (expletive) earth is terrible, and you shouldn’t shop like that,” Lopez said. “And if you do, then you should keep those clothes in your closet for as long as you can.”

At this point I cannot keep up with all of the trends that I scroll through daily. I probably will never be as “trendy” as Gen Zers on TikTok, and I will never go back to wearing low-rise jeans.

But we need to stop ruining the fashion industry and environment with our consumerism and dump the faster-trend cycles.

YÙ YÙ BLUE | THE DEPAULIA

La DePaulia

Madres estudiantes comparten los desafíos que enfrentan para lograr graduarse

By Alondra M. Castañeda Contributing Writer

Mientras el sol se asoma por las persianas de la ventana de Ilse Arciniega. Arciniega, de 24 años,un viernes por la mañana, la estudiante de posgrado en DePaul y madre de una niña se preparan para comenzar su día. Arciniega que subirá al escenario este junio de 2024, después de cursar su maestría en Educación y Ciencias Sociales.

Se levanta a las 6 a.m. para prepararse ella y su hija de cuatro años, luego se dirige a la Escuela Secundaria George Washington para dar clases de 7:45 a.m. a 3:30 p.m. En ciertos días, asistirá a reuniones remotas en casa como asistente de posgrado para la Oficina de Éxito Multicultural de DePaul, donde ayuda a estudiantes indocumentados a navegar su educación.

Con su ajetreado horario girando en torno a su hija, el trabajo, terminar la escuela de posgrado y las largas horas de enseñanza, este año se olvidó del Día de la Madre, dijo.

Arciniega obtuvo su licenciatura en DePaul en 2022 en Estudios de Paz, Justicia y Conflictos. Cuando descubrió que estaba embarazada en 2019, su primer año en la universidad, enfrentó un conjunto completamente nuevo de desafíos.

“Al principio fue difícil equilibrarlo todo cuando tuve a mi hija, cuidando de mis responsabilidades maternales, todo mientras lidiaba con mis responsabilidades estudiantiles también”, dijo Arciniega.

Los horarios de clase complicados y los profesores que no proporcionaban extensiones debido a los días de enfermedad de su hija, fueron factores que pesaban mucho.

Una de las experiencias más desalentadoras de Arciniega como madre estudiante fue cuando un profesor de DePaul le dijo: “(Mi) clase es demasiado avanzada, podría ser mejor que encuentres una clase más adecuada para ti”, a lo que ella respondió cortésmente: “No, gracias, me quedaré en esta clase y lo resolveré”.

En un momento de su carrera universitaria, se abstuvo de divulgar su embarazo para que los profesores no pensaran que estaba buscando una excusa para librarse de las tareas, recordó.

Inicialmente, no estaba al tanto de que ciertas leyes, como el Título IX, que prote-

gen a los padres estudiantes contra la discriminación.

El “Título IX” de las Enmiendas Educativas de 1972 es una ley federal de derechos civiles que prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de sexo, embarazo y estado parental en programas y actividades educativas. La Oficina de Equidad de Género de DePaul informa a los padres estudiantes que los profesores o administradores no deben decirles a los estudiantes que abandonen sus clases, programas académicos o cambien sus planes educativos debido al embarazo.

Aún así, Arciniega sintió que algunos de sus profesores ignoraron la ley.

Enfrentar el aislamiento y la discriminación de género son solo algunos de los muchos conflictos que enfrentan los padres estudiantes durante su experiencia universitaria.

Amanda De León, de 40 años, casada desde hace varios años y madre desde 2007, trabajó durante cinco años para obtener su título de asociado en Historia del Arte.

“Aunque quería terminar mi grado, puse eso en un segundo plano, crié a mi hija y lentamente tomé una clase en línea a la vez”, dijo De León.

Está en camino de graduarse de DePaul con una licenciatura en Historia del Arte con una especialización en estudios de museos.

Los viajes a museos de De León con su hija de 16 años han inspirado a su hija a estudiar Antropología cuando vaya a la universidad.

Amanda de León y su hija Coco de León posan para una foto en septiembre de 2023 afuera de la casa de De León en el vecindario de Lincoln Park en Chicago, Illinois. De León es una estudiante de DePaul y madre en camino de obtener una licenciatura en Historia del Arte. (Cortesía de Amanda de León)

De León se dio cuenta rápidamente de que la sociedad tiene estándares poco realistas para las madres, pero especialmente para las madres estudiantes. Dar ejemplo a tus hijos en lugar de ser la “madre que sacrifica todo” es el consejo que suele dar a los demás.

Conociendo las presiones de estos estándares poco realistas para las madres, Arciniega dice que está en una misión para ayudar a otros padres estudiantes tanto

como sea posible.

Es la presidenta de Madres de Color Manejando la Academia (MOCHA) – un grupo de apoyo para padres estudiantes de DePaul comprometido a elevar y concienciar a los padres estudiantes.

Hace dos años, MOCHA en colaboración con el Centro de Necesidades Básicas de DePaul, comenzó a reunir suministros, incluyendo pañales, fórmula y toallitas húmedas para padres estudiantes de DePaul que lo necesiten. Los padres pueden solicitar suministros para sus hijos utilizando una lista de deseos de Amazon. La Universidad luego procesa las solicitudes y envía a los padres los suministros.

El año pasado, Arciniega comenzó a abogar con la Facultad de Educación para un servicio de guardería gratuito en el campus para padres estudiantes. La aplicación del Programa de Acceso al Cuidado Infantil Significa Padres en la Escuela (CCAMPIS) apoya la participación de padres estudiantes de bajos ingresos en la educación postsecundaria mediante la provisión de servicios de cuidado infantil en el campus.

El costo del cuidado infantil está en su punto más alto y las madres estudiantes en todo Estados Unidos dependen de familiares cercanos como medio de cuidado infantil, según la Oficina de la Mujer del Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos.

Hillary Magallón, de 25 años, de South Bend, Indiana, enfrentó sus propias luchas con el acceso al cuidado infantil siendo madre soltera. Esto contribuyó a su decisión de abandonar la universidad dos veces, pero luego se reinscribió en el Ivy Tech Community College, donde cursa una licenciatura en estudios generales.

“Soy madre soltera, no puedo pedirle a nadie que cuide a mi hijo, especialmente durante la pandemia donde estaba sola con él, haciendo clases en línea y lidiando con

el posparto. Fue un momento muy difícil”, dijo Magallón.

Magallón es una de los cuatro millones de padres estudiantes en la educación superior en Estados Unidos, el 43 por ciento de ellos son madres solteras, mientras que el 16 por ciento de ellos son de origen hispano.

Aunque ha pasado por varios altibajos a lo largo de su educación, no le ha impedido involucrarse en los clubes extracurriculares de su escuela, lo que la animó a completar su grado.

Es la oficial de asuntos públicos de la Unión de Estudiantes Latinos de su escuela y les da gracias por ser los más solidarios durante toda su carrera académica. A menudo llevaba a su hijo a sus reuniones y eventos. A veces, otros miembros del grupo la animaban a llevar a su hijo.

Aconseja a otras madres estudiantes que se involucren en actividades extracurriculares para mantenerse motivadas.

Ilse Arciniega y su hija Esli se sientan en un campo de calabazas en octubre de 2023. Arciniega es una estudiante graduada de DePaul que trabaja hacia una maestría en Educación y Ciencias Sociales. (Cortesía de Ilse Arciniega)

Magallón pasó este Día de la Madre mexicano el 10 de mayo cruzando el escenario en su ceremonia de graduación donde su hijo le aplaudió desde la multitud.

A finales de este mes, Arciniega está programada para graduarse también. Como muchas otras madres estudiantes, recuerda todo el arduo trabajo y los sacrificios que le costó llegar a donde está ahora.

“Recuerdo esas noches largas y la falta de sueño y preguntarme cuándo va a terminar esto; ahora que pronto terminará”, dijo Arciniega.

Agradece a su familia, su sistema de apoyo y a Ann Russo, la asesora de MOCHA, por ayudarla en su viaje.

Amanda de León y su hija Coco de León posan para una foto en septiembre de 2023 afuera de la casa de De León en el vecindario de Lincoln Park en Chicago, Illinois. De León es una estudiante de DePaul y madre en camino de obtener una licenciatura en Historia del Arte.

AMANDA DE LEÓN | LA DEPAULIA

Influencer indocumentada práctica

activismo promoviendo pequeños negocios latinos en Chicago

By Alyssa N. Salcedo

La DePaulia Editor-in-Chief

Rocío Villalva se inspiró para crear su propio contenido en redes sociales por YouTubers que viajan por todo el mundo. Esperaba vivir esa vida ella misma algún día. Pero, cuestionaba en construir su presencia en línea y crear una marca como influencer porque es indocumentada.

"Siempre sentí que quería crear algo... Así que pensé, '¿Sabes qué? Esto no tiene por qué detenerme'. Puedo hacerlo en mi vecindario, en mi ciudad o incluso viajar a diferentes estados", dijo Villava, quien está protegida de la deportación y recibe un permiso de trabajo bajo DACA, el programa de Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia de la era de Obama.

Esto llevó a Villalva a crear su propia marca, Chido Chicago, para convertirse en una "DACA Latina Influencer", dijo. Ahora tiene más de 30,000 seguidores en Facebook, más de 21,000 seguidores en Instagram y más de 13,000 seguidores en TikTok.

Su contenido consiste principalmente en recorrer la ciudad de Chicago y destacar eventos o restaurantes que ella encuentra interesantes. Mientras Villalva promueve eventos principales en la ciudad, también hace un esfuerzo por destacar pequeños negocios propiedad de latinos en toda la ciudad.

Cuando estaba creciendo sus seguidores por primera vez, Villalva visitó la cafetería Dulce de Leche Cafecito en Irving Park. Le preguntó al dueño de la tienda, Omar Contreras, si podía grabar un video promocional para compartir el restaurante con sus seguidores.

Contreras abrió su negocio por primera vez en 2020 en medio de la pandemia. Dijo que Villalva lo ayudó a ampliar su clientela a través de su seguimiento en redes sociales durante tiempos difíciles para pequeños negocios.

El video de Villalva fue su "patada de suerte", dijo Contreras. Personas de toda la ciudad entraban en su cafetería y le decían que habían visto su comida en la página de Instagram de Chido Chicago.

"Fue un gran impacto en mi negocio para crecer y exponernos", dijo Contreras. "Durante la pandemia, no tuve la oportunidad de hacer marketing para que la gente viniera a mi restaurante a probar la comida hasta que ella hizo el video. Así que la gente comenzó a venir y luego salió a contarle a otros lo buena que era".

Rocío Villalva crea contenido para redes sociales para Chido Chicago en Dulce de Leche Cafecito en Irving Park el 9 de mayo de 2023. Sonríe y saluda a la cámara mientras muestra la barra de café. (Alyssa N. Salcedo)

El éxito de Contreras inspiró a Villalva

a promover otros pequeños negocios en toda la ciudad.

"Cuando vi lo que pude hacer por su negocio, fue increíble", dijo Villalva. "Él también está ayudando a la comunidad, y otros negocios también ayudan mucho a la comunidad... Eso me impulsó a seguir adelante".

Villalva dijo que promover pequeños negocios latinos y ayudarlos a aumentar su clientela es su "forma de activismo".

Dijo que ya no tiene miedo a la exposición en redes sociales debido a su estatus. Pero eso es inusual para la mayoría de las personas indocumentadas.

Stephanie Alejandra Ortega, supervisora legal en la oficina de abogados de inmigración Kempster, Corcoran, Quiceno y Lenz-Calvo, dice que los beneficiarios de DACA, o aquellos que solicitan el estatus de DACA, a menudo se abstienen de participar en activismo a través de redes sociales porque puede tener un impacto negativo en su caso.

"La ley de inmigración es extremadamente compleja, y las cosas publicadas en internet, incluso de forma privada, pueden volver para perseguir a las personas", dijo Ortega. "Cualquiera que participe en llamados a la acción, llamados al cambio sistémico o activismo en línea, debe tener un abogado de inmigración o un Repre-

sentante Acreditado del DOJ evaluar su caso y aconsejarles cada vez que estén solicitando".

Aunque participar en activismo a través de redes sociales solo puede tener un impacto negativo si está vinculado a algo que pueda considerarse actividad criminal, dijo Ortega.

Pero aquellos que promueven negocios através de redes sociales, como Villalva, desempeñan un papel importante en la comunidad porque pueden hablar sobre "las dificultades de establecer el espíritu empresarial" dadas todas las dificultades que enfrentan muchos latinos inmigrantes, dijo Ortega.

"Las personas de DACA, y las personas indocumentadas en general, deberían poder ocupar espacio y ser visibles en las redes sociales apoyando a su comunidad", dijo. "Hace una gran diferencia para las personas ver a alguien que es como ellos haciendo algo positivo para la comunidad".

Villalva dice que ve su marca como una plataforma inclusiva donde puede apoyar e inspirar a la comunidad latina en Chicago, al mismo tiempo que les ayuda a sentirse aceptados.

"Le digo a la gente que a veces no se trata de esperar ser aceptado por otros, sino de aceptarse a uno mismo... que per-

teneces aquí", dijo Villalva. "Mereces sentirte en casa porque este es tu lugar y aquí es donde estás en este momento".

Ella hace un esfuerzo por promover una variedad de negocios en toda Chicago, más allá de los de las comunidades latinas. Dijo que quiere hacer que explorar la ciudad sea más accesible para sus seguidores, quienes son mayormente latinos y basados en Chicago.

"Ser inmigrante o ser visitante en otro país, a veces te sientes excluido. Si ves que todo está en inglés, sientes que no es para ti", dijo Villalva. "Si ven que está en español, y también me ven yendo a esos eventos, eso los hace sentir como 'oh, puedo ir allí'... Es como una invitación".

El amigo cercano de Villalva, Javier Ocampo, quien murió en 2018, la animó a crear su marca. Ella honra su memoria al alentar a sus seguidores a no tener miedo de probar cosas que les interesan y a crear su propio contenido.

"Simplemente comienza a crear contenido. No importa si tienes una idea. Simplemente comienza a crear contenido porque no sabes quién está viendo. No sabes a quién realmente le gusta lo que haces o está obteniendo un beneficio", dijo Villalva.

Rocío Villalva crea contenido para redes sociales para Chido Chicago en Dulce de Leche Cafecito en Irving Park el 9 de mayo de 2023. Sonríe y saluda a la cámara mientras muestra la barra de café.

ALYSSA N. SALCEDO | LA DEPAULIA

Quannah Chasinghorse attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” exhibition on Monday, May 6, 2024, in New York.

By Elizabeth Gregerson

Contributing Writer

For some of us, the Met Gala feels like an annual holiday party we’ll never be invited to. Falling on the first Monday in May every year, as attendees wear their designer custom made outfits, we watch it all from our couches at home praying to a legion of fashion gods that guests will understand the theme.

What began as a night for New York socialites to flaunt their financial donations in 1948 has become the invitation-only, livestreamed fashion event of the year. In reality, the Met Gala is a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

Hosted by Vogue magazine and overseen by editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, tickets for this year’s Met Gala were $75,000 per person and (at least) $350,000 per table.

Luxury fashion brands like Thom Browne, Schiaparelli, Givenchy and others use the Gala as an opportunity to invite celebrities to sit at their table, with the understanding that said celebrities will wear their brand down the carpet and up the iconic stairs of the Metropolitan Museum.

All the money raised goes to the Costume Institute, enabling the Gala to coincide with the debut of a new museum exhibit each year.

This year’s Met Gala theme, “Garden of Time,” saw celebrities in colorful florals, fairy tale fantasies and mythological motifs. The Costume Institute’s exhibit, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” inspired designers to reference and recreate iconic fashion moments from the past.

Here are some of my personal favorites from the event:

Zendaya in Maison Margiela

Designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela, this gown references a 1999 Galliano collection with Dior. Foregoing flowers, the peacock-colored dress incorporates leaves, grape vines, feathers and a hummingbird to offer a unique perspective of the “Garden of Time” theme.

Quannah Chasinghorse in H&M

I admit, I love anything in this shade of blue, but Chasinghorse’s H&M gown took my breath away the moment I saw it. The structural intricacy it takes to make satin fabric look like it’s floating, paired with the personal details from Chasinghorse’s cultural heritage, make this dress one of a kind.

Teyana Taylor in The Blonds

Both sumptuous and stunning, Taylor’s gown from The Blonds was an exquisite example of sticking to the theme while standing out in a look that exudes elegance. The velvet dress blended the perfect shades of rose-red. The silhouette and neckline gave us the exact amount of drama we’re looking for at the Met Gala. Taylor’s entire ensemble made me desperate to either spend an evening at the Opera or to sign up for tango lessons. Probably both.

Gigi Hadid in Thom Browne

Is it controversial to say: if I could wear any dress from the night, it would be this one? The Thom Browne gown was stark white with crisp black trim that served as the perfect backdrop for bright yellow floral accents. Paired with Hadid’s makeup and hair, the look reminded me of a sunny spring day! Vogue reported that “20 artisans spent 5,000 hours hand-embroidering 2.8 million micro bugle beads” to create the gown, so perhaps this fashion moment was not as effortlessly chic as Hadid made it seem.

Tyla in Balmain

You didn’t think I was going to forget the dress made of sand, did you? For her Met Gala debut, South African singer Tyla wore a custom Balmain gown that was so structured, it required her to be lifted and carried up the stairs — iconic. Even more iconic was the video of Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing cutting the bottom off the sandy creation, enabling Tyla to walk once she made it into the museum.

Zendaya in Givenchy

And finally, Zendaya and her stylist Law Roach made our fashion hearts flutter for a second time with a second look. It literally shut down the carpet. The all-black gown was another Galliano creation, this time from his 1996 collection with Givenchy. The look’s cherry on top — literally — was Zendaya’s headpiece: a bouquet of flowers by Philip Treacy for Givenchy.

Quannah Chasinghorse attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” exhibition on Monday, May 6, 2024, in New York.

EVAN AGOSTINI | INVISION/AP

Tyla attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” exhibition on Monday, May 6, 2024, in New York.

EVAN AGOSTINI | INVISION/AP

EVAN AGOSTINI | INVISION/AP Teyana Taylor attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” exhibition on Monday, May 6, 2024, in New York.

Zendaya attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” exhibition on Monday, May 6, 2024, in New York.

EVAN AGOSTINI | INVISION/AP

Tyla attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” exhibition on Monday, May 6, 2024, in New York.

EVAN AGOSTINI | INVISION/AP

Arts & Life

Bye-le: MESA’s ‘love letter’ to DePaul’s graduating Latine community

By Sophie DiBenedetto Contributing Writer

Looking around the room, guests are dressed from head to toe in sequins, fringe, florals, beads and masks. Groups huddle to the front, creating dance circles and cheering on friends, posing for selfies, playing games and munching on delicious food. New friends are made, old friends reunite and the community becomes one for this special night. Guests could expect this and more at Bye-le 2024, which took place the evening of Friday, May 3.

Bye-le is an annual event hosted by the Movimiento Estudiantil de Solidaridad y Apoyo, a DePaul club also known as MESA. The event’s name is a play on words that incorporates “bye” for the farewell to DePaul’s Latine graduates and is pronounced like the Spanish word “baile,” which means “dance.” Bye-le 2024’s theme was “carnaval,” and guests were encouraged to honor the theme

with “cultural cocktail” attire.

MESA is a student organization with 13 officers and over 100 members, according to their DeHUB page. The club was founded in 2022, having since hosted over 49 events while acting as a safe space for Latine students to find community and celebrate their roots, according to the page. Their mission statement says, “through facilitating events we will provide mental, social, academic and professional resources while emphasizing our cultural identities.”

“My biggest hope is that this event is a breath of fresh air and fun for everyone, so they feel properly celebrated for their academic achievements,” Flavio Diaz, MESA’s current president, said.

Diaz said that he was most excited for the food at Bye-le. Chartwells, DePaul’s official university caterer, cultivated a custom menu for the event that featured flavors from Latin culture. The menu was taste tested by MESA members before the event. The final menu included vegetable

empanadas, sweet plantains, chips and guacamole and Cuban cigars, which are spicy picadillo meat, wrapped in dough and deep fried.

The entertainment committee for the event chose Chicago native Eva Maria to DJ for Bye-le. Diaz said that they have chosen a DJ of Hispanic or Latin descent since last year. Chicago has a strong Latin music scene, and the committee found Maria through the Instagram’s of other performers they follow. Maria combined classic cultural pieces with recent pop beats to create what Diaz said was an unforgettable music experience.

One of the highlights of the evening was a Latin dance performance from Camila Guadalupe and Arelys Estrada. Guadalupe is president of Fuerza Latina Dance Club, DePaul’s official Latin dance club, with Estrada as treasurer. The club’s mission statement says that it aims to bring together students of different backgrounds by building community through Latin dance and expanding the Latine community at DePaul. Guadalupe said that the pair had met this year and put the routine together only a week and a half before the event.

Outside of the performances and food, attendees had a variety of activities to keep them entertained. Guests hit the dance floor, dancing to the DJ’s mixes. Extra large sets of the games Connect Four and Jenga allowed guests to challenge their friends. Face painting booths

were set up in the back, and patrons could decorate their faces with glitter. Photo ops were available with a tripod and balloon backdrop for guests to commemorate their night with a selfie.

“The event turned out better than we expected,” Diaz said. “We had such a great turnout and amazing energy. We even had to kick people out by the end, so we could clean up.”

Diaz said that the one takeaway he hopes that everyone knows about Byele is that it is an opportunity for Latina and Hispanic students to get together and get involved in a community that actively supports them. Joining MESA will make this support a year long experience. Diaz said they are always looking for new members, as it is the students, not the university, that create the support the club needs to continue.

Jarely Ruiz, a DePaul sophomore, was excited to find the event.

“I am a transfer student at DePaul this year, so I was so excited to meet people from my community at Bye-le,” Ruiz said.

Diaz said that Bye-le is MESA’s “magnum opus” and will carry on as they plan to bring back the curated menu and decorations from this year’s celebration. Hoping to include more performances for next year , the club seeks to highlight different artists in the community while continuing to make progress as a space for the Latine community.

PRECIOSA RÍOS | THE DEPAULIA

Hitting a ‘Grant Slam’: DePaul student organizes free DIY music festival to showcase local artists

By Linnea Cheng

Contributing Wrter

Tacking up posters in DePaul’s School of Music, Grant Lendvay’s smile emanates the excitement his DIY music festival is sure to bring.

Lendvay, a third-year sound recording technology student, is spreading the word about Grant Slam which will take place at Jonquil Park on May 18 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Grant Slam is set to be Lendvay’s biggest exhibition yet. And it’s free.

The largely student-run operation will host eight music acts, including local bands Daundry, DZ Riley, Intoner and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, as well as 25 vendors, which range from vintage clothing racks, coffee booths and oracle readings.

Lendvay’s annual music showcase began his senior year of high school when he hosted local bands for his graduation party in his dad’s basement.

In the same DIY spirit and in an effort to make this year’s festival accessible to as many people as possible, Lendvay made the decision to not charge tickets for entry.

Lendvay hopes to garner revenue through sponsorships, merch sales and

donations to cover out of pocket expenses.

“The satisfaction I know I will feel after the event is so high that it is worth all the work that we’re putting in,” Lendvay said. “And it’s not just myself, my team has been working very hard.”

Grant Slam’s 2024 production board was established in November 2023 and is comprised of DePaul students Dawn Elaine, Alexander Lehr, Maddie Voelkel and recent DePaul alum Catalina Torres Reyes, who was also a vendor at last year’s event.

“This is my love letter to Chicago’s local rock scene,” said Lehr, a third-year sound recording technology student and Grant Slam’s production manager.

Lendvay and Lehr started brainstorming for Grant Slam after last year’s inaugural Chicago festival — previously dubbed Grantchella but has since been rebranded due to trademark issues — which took place in the courtyard of Lendvay’s apartment.

Last year’s event hosted seven bands, six vendors and about 200 people, but it was prematurely shut down due to noise complaints.

Lendvay obtained a special event permit from the Chicago Park District to en-

‘The Fall Guy’ Review: Admirable passion buried under sloppy fi lmmaking

By Zachary Klein

Staff Writer

There’s an emotional beat in David Leitch’s “The Fall Guy” in which Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) mourns the failure of a romantic relationship from his past. He sits in his car, unable to access his emotions, until Leitch’s fondness for diegetic needle-drops kicks in and Seavers can let himself cry.

The song playing over this emotional montage is Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well.” I am not devoutly anti-Swift, but at this point in the film, I realized it was not for me.

It brings me no joy to report that “The Fall Guy” is an awkwardly paced pastiche of an action romance film. A reboot of the 1981 television series of the same name, the film aspires to be a low-stakes lark through the modern film industry but in its execution forgets to attach any emotional weight to itself. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt use the most of their natural charisma and surprising chemistry but cannot save a shallow, sterile script that dawdles on about so much that it forgets to be about anything in particular.

The film follows Cole Seavers (Gosling), a veteran stuntman who suffers a near-fatal injury after an accidental fall on a shoot ruins his career and his budding relationship with camera operator Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). A year afterward, he’s called back into action when producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) pleads with him to investigate the

sure the legitimacy of this year’s festival.

With the amped-up support and intensive planning process, Lendvay hopes to double this year’s attendance.

“It’s so beautiful to watch all these talented people come together and do something awesome and be passionate and driven about the same stuff you are,” said Gracie Lubisky, lead singer of DZ Riley.

Lubisky, whose five-person band is largely based in Columbia College’s music scene, was offered a spot on Grant Slam’s bill by Lehr after a performance at the DIY venue Bookclub in Lake View East.

“Any indie artists, especially people our age, are feeling kind of stuck because social media and streaming platforms are an abyss,” Lubisky said. “Labels are so parasitic. We have to be our own community that lifts each other up.”

The high cost of playing in festivals typically inhibits smaller bands from obtaining gigs for a larger audience.

“It puts a lot of power back into the artists’ hands,” Torres Reyes said, who works as a nursing assistant in addition to her small business selling jewelry. “It’s important for young artists to have a say in how their art is portrayed.”

Lendvay placed Torres Reyes in charge of PR after she staved off agitated neighbors at last year’s slam with some kind words and a slice of pizza.

“It’s the people that lead the project that the audience want to engage with,” Lehr said. “Grant is the most lovable person ever, he’s the person I want to lead the ship.”

Lendvay’s commitment to fostering an inclusive hub for local artists attracts not only those inside the DIY scene but also those willing to experience what’s happening in the underground.

“I’m just so excited to see all these bands and celebrate everyone being authentically themselves,” Lubisky said. “Watching people live their dreams is my favorite activity and the fact that we’re going to do a whole day of that is amazing to me.”

Before this year’s festival even comes to fruition, Lendvay is already looking forward to Grant Slam 2025.

“I saw a lot of smiling faces at last year’s festival,” Lendvay said. “That energy is highly contagious. I find this festival as something that does a lot of good, and I want to continue that community.”

disappearance of superstar Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) on the set of Jody’s new movie. As Cole uncovers a sinister conspiracy, he attempts to rekindle his relationship with Jody.

For something so clearly wanting to be a light summer romp, the story can get incredibly convoluted. Leitch re-teams with “Hobbs and Shaw” screenwriter Drew Pearce and in the process, we get a bunch of subplots that feel more like potential franchise set-ups than real stories.

Talented performers like Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke (whose action scenes pack the most punch out of any we see) and Teresa Palmer hardly get a chance to register because none of them are given much personality.

The same goes for Blunt’s character. Jody suffers from a terminal case of being “adorkable,” and that’s all she’s allowed to be as the filmmakers sacrifice potential character building for more aimless (yet admittedly fun) flirting with Gosling. These characters aren’t there to build a world but instead to interact with Cole Seavers on his quest to also be another unremarkable action protagonist.

Of all the film’s faults, the greatest shame are the stunts. Given Leitch’s years of experience as an actual stuntman and this movie’s heavy marketing push to honor stuntmen, it’s odd that the decision was made to paint over most of the impressive work with visual effects.

Bad face replacement (painting Gosling’s face over the stunt people’s work in post) erases the contributions of the stunt team. Pedantic movie fans may have found issue with seeing a stuntman on screen instead of Gosling, but if it worked for “Terminator 2” I see no reason why it wouldn’t work here. Computer generated imagery used to enhance scenes (like a particularly egregious car chase through Sydney) instead distracts from already poorly timed stunts, the sloppy filmmaking resulting in every fight feeling more lethargic than kinetic.

Leitch’s visual style is heavily informed by neon lights and bright colors (see “Atomic Blonde” and “Bullet Train”), so it’s disappointing to see his latest project fall prey to the unfortunately common trend to turn everything as gray as possible.

There’s no vibrancy to the images, the

electricity that a big summer action film like this needs is either fully absent or barely clinging to life. Everything feels safe. It leaves much of the romance (which the film does expect you to take somewhat seriously) in dire straits. Our actors aren’t very physical with one another, and despite both of their good looks, they can’t overpower an emotionless color palette.

“The Fall Guy” makes me more sad than upset. It’s clear Leitch cares deeply about the work that stunt people do. There’s a sizzle reel of behind-the-scenes footage of the stunts that plays over the end credits, and it’s such a sadness that they look more engaging in raw iPhone footage than they do in the final film. It held so much potential, but in its attempts to look “professional,” it erases the passion of its subject matter.

YÚYÚ BLUE | THE DEPAULIA

St.Vincent’s

D E JAMZ

“SPINNING FRESH BEATS SINCE 1581”

By Claire Tweedie Content Managing Editor

I am convinced that the only articles I write that my parents read are my DeJamz. I don’t mind; these are the crowning achievements of my time at The DePaulia and should be treated as such. It does, unfortunately, mean that my mom has been hounding me for months to make a DeJamz for her. She’s thrown out several suggestions, including an 80s new wave DeJamz and a musical theater DeJamz, but I’m incredibly skilled at not listening to her. In honor of Mother’s Day, though, I figured it was finally time to give her what she wanted. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. Here’s your DeJamz.

“Land of Lola” from Kinky Boots

My mom gave me a lot of things: a stubborn attitude, a tendency to clean when I’m stressed, and terrible insomnia. Most importantly, though, she gave me an enabled obsession with musical theatre. I must have been in seventh grade when she took me to see a production of “Kinky Boots” at the Music Hall at Fair Park, and while it wasn’t the first or last

show she took me to, it’s been stuck in my head ever since. Nowadays, I only listen to Broadway cast recordings when I’m with her. It doesn’t sound the same anywhere else.

“Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…)” by Panic! At the Disco

My mom likes to claim that she introduced me to Panic! At the Disco. While I personally have no recollection of this and therefore think she’s lying to me, I can’t deny it’s a great band. If she did put me onto them, I can’t be mad. It obviously means I think her music taste is elite. We both agree that “Vices and Virtues” is the best album, even though she can never remember the name and only refers to it as “the one with the two guys on the front.” Either way, it makes my mom cooler than yours.

“She’s a Lady” by Tom Jones

One of my favorite movies to watch with my mom is the 2000 classic “Miss Congeniality,” and it somehow gets better every time I see it. I memorized this song sometime between the first and the millionth re-watch but somehow, my mom

Crossword

was shocked when I started singing along word for word. There’s no better Sunday at home than watching a Sandra Bullock movie on the living room couch with my mom with treats from our favorite bakery. As you can tell, I’m so very cool and totally not a dork. Like mother like daughter, I suppose.

“Careless Whisper” by George Michael

I went back and forth between including this song or “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” but this one is so iconic that it ultimately won the George Michael battle. Before she says anything, yes, Mom, I know that “Wake Me Up Before You GoGo” was from Wham! and not just George Michael. You have Wham!’s “Make It Big”

ACROSS

1) “Great” beasts

5) ChapStick, e.g. 9) House of the lord 14) Parcel’s partner 15) “Got it” 16) Admiral Byrd book 17) “Clear the_!” 18) “Strawberry” horse 19) “Song of the South” uncle 20) Eggs, slangily 23) World’s record su x 24) Hold in high regard

25) Took the plunge 27) Stylist’s need 29) Patronizes, as a bistro

33) Badmouth

37) “Jake’s ing” author

39) “Aladdin” parrot

40) Past one’s prime 43)_ bene

44) Heroic exploit 45) Is short of 46) Aesopian characters

48) Don’t just sit there 50) “Full,” on B’way 51) Mount Hood’s state 56) Hunk’s asset

59) Sedentary type 63) “Gladiator” setting 65) Show approval, in a way

66) Primitive abodes 67)_ noodles (cheap meal)

68) Act the 59-Across 69) “A Death in the Family” author 70) Use the rehouse pole

71) Blown away 72) Uncool type

on vinyl and used it as a convoluted clue in an Easter scavenger hunt. It’s burned into my brain. To my poor, confused readers: Every other DeJamz is for you; let me have this very meta-conversation with my mom. Thank you.

“The Blues Are Still Blue” by Belle and Sebastian My family loves road trips, so whenever I’m home for an extended break, my mom drives 14 hours from Dallas to Chicago to pick me up. This song was playing through the car speakers when she came to pick me up after my freshman year. Being away from home sucks, but listening to this song and staring out the window while she’s in the driver’s seat made everything feel right again.

DOWN

1) At full speed

2) Legal aides, informally

3) At attention

4) Vampire’s undoing 5) Galley of yore

6) Starting on 7) King of tragedy

8) Chalkboard list, maybe 9) Weasel cousin 10) India pale_ 11) 1890s gold rush city

12) Heavy load

13) Break between notes

21) Cubism pioneer F emand

22) “If only!” 26) Clear in winter

28) Pool divisions

29) Formal decrees

30) Japanese rice wine

31) See 40-Across

32) Zillions

33) Paquin of “ e Piano”

34) Timely blessing

35) Source of bubbly

36) Bombards with e-junk

38) Classic British

sports cars

41) Hemispherical home

42) “101” class, for short

47) Understood by few

49) Agreed to, as a plea

52) Hawke of “Boyhood”

53) Get a feel for

54) Web-footed mammal

55) Barely beat, with “out”

56) Watering holes

57) Viva voce

58) “Skyscraper” singer Lovato

60) Daily Bruin sch.

61) Lobster part

62) “Purple _” (Hendrix classic)

64) Literary harpooner_ Land

COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA

Sports

Doug Bruno completes 50 years of coaching and is ready for more

By Samantha Davis Contributing Writer

With a decorated office filled with NCAA trophies catching perfect sunlight from the window, cut-down basketball nets, degrees mounted on the wall and photos of family members on shelves, Doug Bruno continues his monumental coaching career by keeping his inspirations close and his desire for more success even closer.

“Juiced, energized and can’t wait to get back on the court,” Bruno said immediately upon sitting down with The DePaulia.

After finishing an honorable milestone of 50 seasons coaching, 38 leading the DePaul women’s basketball team, Bruno only looks forward to the goals he still wants to achieve.

A Chicago native born and raised, the Hall of Fame coach, inducted in June 2022, has dedicated his life to his hometown and basketball. He went to Quigley South High School, played basketball at DePaul and followed his passion for the game to coaching.

“I don’t really look back and say, ‘That was my 50th year,’” Bruno said. “I’m just very excited. We’re already back working out, I just can’t wait to help our players help themselves get better.”

Bruno began his coaching career in 1973 as an assistant boy’s coach at Francis Parker High School, then became head coach at Saint Vincent DePaul High School for the 1974-75 season. He debuted as the DePaul women’s coach in 1976 for two seasons, then did a stint as the coach for the Chicago Hustle in the Women’s Basketball League (WBL) in 197879 before serving as an assistant for Loyola Chicago men’s basketball for eight seasons. Bruno returned to the Blue Demons in 1988 and hasn’t left since. He admitted he never thought he would stay at DePaul for so long.

“First of all, I was blessed to play for Coach (Ray) Meyer,” Bruno said. “Coach Meyer gave me the scholarship and the opportunity to play here.”

The DePaul alum played under the legendary Ray Meyer 1969-73 and alongside his son, Joey Meyer for two of those seasons. Bruno led the 1971-72 team in assists and made relationships during his time as an athlete that played a significant role in his stay at the university for years to come.

“Three of the people I have been influenced by — the Ray Meyer Center, the Sullivan Athletic Center, the McGrath Arena,” Bruno said. “I’ve been blessed to have had all of them in my life.”

The three buildings stand in Lincoln Park in honor of the Meyers, Gene Sullivan and Frank McGrath.

Sullivan was DePaul’s athletic director from 1975 to 1978.

“Gene Sullivan brought me back here,” Bruno said. “I didn’t know Sullivan and Sulli-

van didn’t know me. He hired me with us not knowing one another, and people don’t realize that.”

Sullivan and Bruno also coached together for eight seasons at Loyola.

McGrath once was a coach to Bruno as Ray’s assistant, then became DePaul’s assistant athletic director and director of facilities.

Another inspiration in Bruno’s career is English professor Patricia Ewers.

Bruno received his bachelor’s degree in 1973 and later got his master’s in 1988, both in English.

“I neglected my college scholarship here because I spent too much time on basketball and not enough time in the classroom. Dr. Ewers grabbed me back into the class,” Bruno said. “So, when I’m preaching about how good we do academically, it’s because I abused the system and didn’t maximize my opportunity academically. That’s what makes me so adamant that my players are not going to do what I did.”

Bruno’s phone rang with DePaul’s Blue Demon fight song as his wife, Patty, was calling him. The Brunos have six sons: Bradley, Patrick, Brendan, David, Kevin and Bryan. Bradley most recently joined his father on the court sidelines as an assistant coach last season.

“I’ve actually witnessed this here before, the father-son situation,” Bruno said, referencing Ray and Joey. “It was great to have him. I really have trouble talking about Bradley

without talking about my entire staff. … I feel like I am blessed to have a great, great staff.”

Bruno’s favorite memories are watching his players graduate and move on to the next chapter of their lives, whether that’s in or outside of basketball.

Diana Vines, who had her jersey retired at Wintrust Arena Feb. 25, played under Bruno for the 1988-89 season. She finished her DePaul career with 2,504 points, and still 40 years later, is Depaul’s all-time leader in steals, field goals, free throws and second in rebounds. The two finished that season first in the conference and won the Big East championship.

As Bruno stood in the back of Wintrust’s press conference room, watching his former player talk to the media after her ceremony and the game, he couldn’t help but smile and become a bit teary-eyed.

“Coach Bruno, he is a wizard of the game,” Vines said. “For me to think that he sees me as that, it makes me feel good. It makes me warm, it does. Thank you, coach Bruno.”

Jeanne Lenti Ponsetto, former director of athletics and another mentor to Bruno, helped him understand and become confident as a women’s sports leader.

“She was guidance through that world (of women’s basketball) because she was a very high level administrator, not just here at DePaul, but on NCAA committees,” Bruno said. “She became a mentor for me navigating what it is to be a women’s basketball coach.”

Current player Jorie Allen also has a special relationship with Bruno. Allen is a graduate student and will be entering her sixth year of college basketball and her fifth under Bruno. He helped her find passion for the game when she lost it at one point.

“I love the game and there was a time in my career where I didn’t,” Allen said. “Going through transferring, and then coming in and going through an injury, it takes a toll on your spirit and your passion for the game. My favorite thing about coach Bruno is he always emphasizes love of the game.”

Bruno has also competed at the highest level. With years of involvement with USA basketball, he added some gold medals to his resume and has coached some of the world’s best players. He helped Team USA reach the FIBA World Championships in 2010 and 2014, and he was on the coaching squad for the team’s fifth and sixth consecutive Olympic gold in 2012 and 2016. He currently serves as the chair of the selection committee for the U19 and U18 national teams.

“Coaching the USA teams at any level is always special,” Bruno said. “When you’re privileged to be able to represent the United States of America on a worldwide stage through basketball, it is always special.”

Bruno has coached, so far, 15 players that have gone onto the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

In addition to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Bruno is also named in the DePaul Athletics Hall of Fame, the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame, the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame and was named a nominee for the 2023 Naismith Hall of Fame.

“You don’t have time to think about what you’ve done in the past,” Bruno said. “I think about the players and their successes after basketball.”

DePaul has made it in the NCAA Tournament 25 times under Bruno, made four Sweet 16 appearances and claimed the Big East title nine times.

“We want to take this to another level, start moving the program toward getting to the Final Four,” Bruno said. “Right now, we have to get back to the NCAA tournament.”

With five decades of coaching under his belt and a current winning 786-405 overall record at DePaul, Bruno’s contract was extended in 2019 going through the 2024-25 season.

Bruno is not thinking about taking a break to look at the career he’s had.

“We still have many miles to go before we sleep,” Bruno said. “My mind is driven forward, not backwards. When the day comes and we’re done coaching, then there will be time to reflect. When it’s over.”

DEPAUL LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Doug Bruno (30), first row, 2nd from right, on DePaul’s basketball team, 1969-70 season.

Life after Kentucky Derby: What’s next for Mystik Dan?

By Ryan Hinske Sports Editor

As the gates drop on a warm Louisville, Kentucky day in early May, Mystik Dan does as he has been taught his entire life to do: run. The three-year-old Bay Colt bolts to the inside lane and continues his stride for the first mile. He remains patient, allowing seven horses to pass him while maintaining the interior. During the final quarter-mile, he seizes his opportunity on the last 180-degree turn and wins the race by, quite literally, a nose.

Mystik Dan doesn’t know it, but he has just made his owners $3.1 million by winning the 150th Kentucky Derby. He slows to a trot, relaxing his carefully bred, genetically altered muscles as he takes in the roar of the crowd, a noise he has become familiar with, though he doesn’t know why.

Ever since he was six months old, when thoroughbreds are separated from their mothers, Mystik Dan has only known racing. Bred in Kentucky by former college football player Lance Gasaway, expectations were not exorbitant for Mystik Dan, whose mother, Ma’am, didn’t “scream broodmare” and was bred for only $10,000. Though that may sound like quite the price tag, Mystik Dan was home bred. Most Kentucky Derby racehorses are sold from a powerhouse

breeding ranch to a powerhouse training ranch. Sierra Leone, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby behind Mystik Dan, was purchased by his trainers from his breeders for $2.3 million at a 2022 auction.

At around two years old, Mystik Dan began racing. A typical day for a racehorse starts at 5:00 a.m. with feeding and a morning walk, warming up at 6:00 a.m. and training at 9:00 a.m. at least four days a week. After around six hours of extended training, they are fed again and bathed, examined by veterinarians and fed dinner at around 5:00 p.m. Finally, they head to sleep at roughly 8:30 p.m.

Mystik Dan debuted Oct. 22, 2023, and he has run seven total races, culminating in the ultimate stage. Now, he has reached the pinnacle of horse racing: he is a Kentucky Derby champion. So, what’s next for him?

Mystik Dan will pursue a feat in which only 13 horses have ever completed: winning a Triple Crown. For a racehorse to do this, they must win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. He is expected to compete in the former in Baltimore May 18 and the latter in Saratoga Springs, New York, June 8 (though some Kentucky Derby trainers bypass one or both of these races out of

concern for the horse’s health).

After that, Mystik Dan may continue racing for a few months (like 2015 Triple Crown winner Pharoah) or be retired by his trainers (like the most recent Triple Crown winner, Justify). However, only three-year-olds can compete in Triple Crown races, meaning Mystik Dan can only go down in competition level. Regardless, most racehorses are retired at or around age four. He will likely be bred for

the next generation of Gasaway’s racehorses and live the rest of his life public horseback riding or sent to a pasture to graze for his remaining 22-25 years. Imagine Mystik Dan’s daily routine after he is involuntarily retired in the coming months. After two full years of regimented, intense, 10-hour training days, he will do what he has never been taught to do for the rest of his life: stop running.

Tracie Adix-Zins fired as DePaul Softball head coach after six seasons

By Tom Gorski Asst. Sports Editor

DePaul Athletics announced Tuesday afternoon that its softball team’s leadership has changed, with Tracie Adix-Zins being relieved of her duties.

“After evaluating the current state of our softball program, we decided to make a change in the head coaching position,” said DePaul Vice President and Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy in a statement. “I want to thank Coach Adix-Zins for her hard work and dedication to advancing our program. Unfortunately, we did not meet our competitive goals.”

Over her six years leading the Blue Demons, Adix-Zins recorded an overall record of 125-133, with a conference standing of 5349 in the Big East. She led the team to three winning seasons, but onlyone postseason appearance, during her tenure.

This past season proved challenging for the team, ultimately finishing with a 9-38 record. This marked the program’s lowest number of wins since 2020, a season shortened by

Covid-19, during which they managed only eight victories.

The program has experienced regression in the Big East standings throughout the last four seasons, consistently dropping each year.

The university will promptly commence a nationwide search for the next head coach of the softball team program. Karla Ross, prreviously associate head coach, has been appointed as interim head coach for the meantime.

Classified Ad:

MARA LOGAN | THE DEPAULIA

A catcher’s helmet rests in the batting cage before a DePaul vs Georgetown match March 9, 2024, at Cacciatore Stadium.

JAYDI VASQUEZ | THE DEPAULIA