The DePaulia 5.27.2024

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

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

May. 08 - May. 14, 2024

LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS

Lincoln Park Campus Crimes:

May 8

1) A Criminal Damage to Property report was filed for graffiti found in the 1st floor men’s restroom in Student Center.

May 9

2) A Theft report was filed for a scooter taken from the bike rack near Holtschneider Performance Center.

May 9

3) A Battery report was filed for a person who stated while walking through the Quad he was the victim of a simple battery. A CPD report was filed, and a Safety Alert was issued.

May 9

4) A Disturbance report was filed for an individual on top of the Link platform near Levan /O’Connell, attaching a sign to the building.

May 10

5) A Threat report was filed regarding a staff member who received a telephone threat regarding the encampment.

May 10

6) A Threat report was filed regarding a staff member who received a telephone threat regarding the

encampment.

May 10

7) A Cannabis Control Act report was filed for Seton Hall.

May 11

8) A Criminal Damage to Property report was filed for graffiti found in the 1st floor women’s restroom in Richardson library.

May 11

9) A Theft report was filed for laundry taken from dryer in Munroe Hall

May 12

10) A Criminal Damage to Property report was filed for graffiti found on the Belden side of O’Connell.

May 12

11) A Criminal Damage to Property report was filed for graffiti markings on the Clifton side exterior wall of McGowan North.

May 12

12) A Reckless Conduct report was filed regarding doors at Kelly Hall being locked. The southeast entrance and west door entrance doors were found chained with a U Lock and the other with a padlock.

May 13

13) A Criminal Damage to Vehicle report was filed for damage to a vehicle window that was parked on Fullerton Ave.

May 14

14) A Deceptive Practices report was filed regarding an individual soliciting gift cards for medicine in the Quad.

Loop Campus Crimes:

May 12

1) A Weapons Violation report was filed for a person with a sword walking down the alley near Jackson. CPD was called.

May 13

2) A Simple Battery report was filed for a student who stated an individual threw an unknown liquid at her as she walked on Jackson and Wabash. Student was advised to file CPD report.

May 14

3) A Theft report was filed for a case of pop that was taken from Chipotle delivery service vehicle. CPD was called and offender was gone on arrival.

Trump’s trials explained: A run-down of the state and federal cases

By LiLi Jarvenpa Contributing Writer

Former President Donald Trump is facing 88 felony counts in four different trials as his likely rematch with President Biden in the November election approaches.

Trump faces state indictments in New York and Georgia and federal indictments in Washington, D.C., and Florida.

Trump is the first ex-president to face criminal charges.

Gregory Mark, a law professor at DePaul, said the actions of Trump’s administration were “very unusual.”

“One of the great virtues of American politics is that whatever administration comes in doesn’t immediately indict … and prosecute everybody in the prior administration,” Mark said.

Trying to keep up with Trump’s legal battles and packed court schedule can be confusing. Here are some highlights of his four criminal court cases.

Manhattan: Hush money trial

In March 2023, Trump was indicted for allegedly obscuring reimbursements to Michael Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer.

Cohen allegedly paid $130,000 in 2016 to adult film star Stephanie Clifford, more widely known as Stormy Daniels. The hush money was paid in exchange for her silence about an

alleged affair with Trump.

Cohen allegedly was reimbursed by Trump in payments that were portrayed as legal expenses.

The trial began April 15, 2024, at the Supreme Court of the State of New York and is expected to last six to eight weeks.

Key witnesses include Stormy Daniels, who testified May 7 and May 9, and Michael Cohen whose testimony began last week.

Fulton County, Georgia: Election interference

Trump and 18 others were indicted in August 2023 in Fulton County, Georgia, for violating 16 Georgia statutes, including violations of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO.

They have been accused of trying to steal the 2020 election in a phone call where Trump told Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that he wanted to “find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.”

Lead prosecutor, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis proposed a trial date in August 2024, but an official date has not been set.

Additionally, the trial was delayed after Willis confirmed a romantic relationship she had with Nathan Wade, the lawyer she initially appointed to lead the prosecution of Trump.

May 16, 2024.

Federal Indictment: 2020 election interference

In 2023, Trump was charged with four felonies accusing him of interfering with the transfer of power after losing the 2020 election.

The indictment also accuses Trump of spreading lies that there was “fraud in the election.” These comments, federal prosecutors claim, led to the attacks on the Capitol Jan. 6, 2021.

The initial trial date was March 4, 2024. However, the date was postponed while Trump appealed a claim of “presidential immunity” to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump claims he should have absolute immunity from any criminal prosecution for any alleged acts during his presidency.

Federal Indictment: Mar-a-Lago documents

A special council in the U.S. Justice Department charged Trump with 37 felonies in June 2023 after he allegedly removed documents from the White House after he left office.

According to the indictment, he stored the documents “in various locations” at The Mara-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump also was accused of concealing the documents and refusing to return them.

Judge Aileen Cannon announced that the trial will be postponed due to preliminary issues concerning pre-trial motions and classified issues.

So what?

If Trump is reelected, he will have the ability to appoint an attorney general who is willing to drop federal charges against him, according to Forbes.

However, he will not have the power to stop the state charges from proceeding.

Hans Anderson, Minnesota assistant attorney general, said he believes Trump still has strong voter support throughout the trials.

“I don’t think there’s anything that he could do in a negative way, such as being convicted of a crime, that would change (his supporters’) willingness to vote for him,” said Anderson, who noted that his viewpoints do

not necessarily reflect those of the Minnesota attorney general.

Benjamin Epstein, a political science professor at DePaul, also believes it is likely that Trump, if re-elected, will go after those who have brought charges against him.

“I think that there would be at least more of a push on both parties to use these levers to try to keep people in line,” Epstein said. “Trump, like so many other things, shattered not just the way that it had been, but sort of norms around what is acceptable.”

Trump will have no power to pardon anyone or stop proceedings until he is inaugurated.

Mark, the DePaul law professor, said the courts could stay the proceedings through the election and inauguration.

“They might act as if nothing is going on and for the purposes of creating a factual record (and) continue right up until the moment the pardon takes place,” Mark said. “But a pardon can take place at any point.”

Trump is currently halfway through the expected timeline for the Manhattan “hush money” case, which Epstein said will be the only trial to happen before the November election.

Either way, Anderson said he thinks the judges in both the state and federal cases will do the best they can to come to the right decision, if the cases proceed.

“I have full faith in judges and justices at all levels of our system to do what is right … without letting partisan politics influence their decisions in any way,” Anderson said.

Classified Ad:

ANGELA WEISS | AP

Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Thursday,

Child care access grant vital for student parent mental health on campus, advocates say

By Lilly Keller Editor-In-Chief

When junior Savanna Williams first stepped foot on Northern Illinois University’s campus, her stomach was knotted with nerves. Leaving her infant daughter with relatives she didn’t fully trust and worrying about her ability to support them both, Williams struggled to concentrate on her studies.

However, her stress eased upon learning that she qualified for child care assistance at NIU, funded by a recent federal program.

“I was isolated as a new parent,” said Williams, who noted that the support wasn’t just financial. “They made sure I had access to housing. They made sure I had access to transportation and food – and to mental health services.’

It’s the support many parent college students dream of – a service that can make pursuing a degree possible. The added pressures on student parents can harm mental health, academic performance and overall life.

Unlike Chicago area universities such as Northwestern, University of Illinois at Chicago and Loyola, DePaul does not have on-campus child care centers, affiliated child care or child care subsidies for staff and students. Columbia College also does not have a child care center.

In fact, at Columbia, employees and students can only bring their children to work or class in the case of an emergency or with prior approval. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Columbia banned children on campus. Faculty and students protested, and the college formed a working group to review the decision. It was ultimately overturned and a new, less restrictive policy was put in place.

As of 2023, only 38% of public institutions and a mere 7% of nonprofit institutions reported offering on-campus child care services.

The federal program funded by the U.S. Department of Education is called CCAMPIS, which stands for Child Care Means Parents in School. It provides financial support to cover daycare and after-school program expenses.

In addition to providing financial assistance to students, CCAMPIS allocates funds to universities like NIU to support student parents’ overall well-being. This includes covering the cost of family and program coordinators who meet with CCAMPIS students to ensure they’re on track academically and have access to resources such as food, transportation, medical services and mental health referrals.

Kristin Schulz, who oversees the child care services at Northern Illinois, said that the grant facilitated parent engagement at NIU through monthly events such as parent cafés, providing opportunities for student parents to interact and connect.

“It really is supportive,” Williams said, who’s also found community with other parents in the program. “We’re also learning from each other, we’re also improving, we’re

addressing anything that we might be struggling with … and we’re really supporting each other.”

At DePaul University, over 60 miles east of DeKalb, a contrasting narrative unfolds with graduate student and parent Ilse Arciniega feeling abandoned as the university resumed in-person learning post-Covid-19.

As a mother of a then 2-year-old, Arciniega said attending classes from home while simultaneously taking care of her daughter made her feel like she finally had enough time in the day to balance being a student parent.

“I can honestly say that if DePaul had not shifted to a fully online platform, I would not have made it that year,” Arciniega said.

But four years later, she said she feels forgotten on campus as she juggles the demands of being a full-time student, an employee and a mother.

With no on-campus child care and just two scholarships for student parents, which are currently not visible on the university’s scholarship portal, Arciniega described every day as a mental and physical struggle to balance her grades, finances and caring for her daughter.

“Over the past couple of years, my sleep deprivation has been intense and my anxiety has been really bad,” Arciniega said. “I feel like I’m not being a mom the way I want to be.”

As the president of Mothers of Color Handling Academia, she remains steadfast in advocating for resources and support for fellow student-parents on and off campus.

Recently, Arciniega and Ariel Sylvester, a project mentor in DePaul’s College of Education, are also working to get a CCAMPIS grant to bring child care to DePaul for low-income parents and their children.

Students like Arciniega, who cannot afford Chicago’s average child care costs that range from $1,000 to $2,500 a month, do their best to organize their schedules around whatever child care they can find.

To qualify for the CCAMPIS grant, uni-

Aspen Institute. However, they are more susceptible to mental health issues compared to non-parenting students.

Of the more than 45,000 surveyed student parents, significant percentages reported ongoing stress (43%), feeling overwhelmed (40%), struggling with emotional regulation (29%), experiencing depression (28%), and feeling socially isolated (28%). More than a third (38%) said they had considered dropping out of school within the previous 30 days, compared with 25% of non-parenting students.

Other than MOCHA, Sylvester sees a shortage of support systems for student parents at DePaul. Although the university mentions two private foundations providing external scholarships for students with children on its website, Sylvester emphasized the need for more resources to welcome and retain more student parents.

versities must adhere to specific federal regulations, including meeting all Title IV requirements and having awarded at least $250,000 in Pell Grants to students the preceding year if CCAMPIS funding exceeds $20 million, qualifications Sylvester said DePaul meets.

Sylvester serves as DePaul’s Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity project mentor, where she aims to address the shortage of qualified early childhood educators. However, having been raised by a single mother in the North Lawndale area, advocating for resources and the visibility of student-parents remains one of her top priorities.

She said the university’s failure to recognize student-parents and their unique challenges in obtaining their degree negatively impacts their mental health.

“A lot of student parents feel isolated on campus because there’s not a huge support system for student parents,” Sylvester said. “It’s a lot of feeling like they’re unwanted on campus.”

College campuses’ insufficient mental health resources have long been a topic of discussion, according to the American Psychological Association. Yet, students who are also parents, such as Arciniega, say they feel overlooked when it comes to their mental health needs both on campus and in the classroom.

Shortly after the birth of her daughter during her sophomore year, Arciniega recalls emailing one of her professors to inform them of her status as a parent, emphasizing the unpredictability of parenthood and the potential need for extra support in completing her assignments.

Years later, Arciniega still feels the sting of frustration from his response, where he stated that his class was fast-paced and not suitable for her circumstances.

“I wasn’t asking for anything,” she said. “I was just letting him know.”

Only 20% of the total undergraduate population across the country are student-parents, according to a survey by The

The university also doesn’t track the number of student parents when collecting its own census data.

“We don’t even know how many student parents are on campus. So we don’t know how to accommodate … them,” Sylvester said.

Federal funding from CCAMPIS could help change that. According to a 2019 Government Accountability Office report, CCAMPIS helped over 3,300 student-parents pay for child care.

If DePaul could get funding for child care, even for night classes, “I feel like we’re gonna get a huge influx of students,” Sylvester said.

DePaul sophomore Nicolette Bautista, who has only had brief interactions with MOCHA, described her experience as a student parent on campus as isolating. The lack of child care has further compounded that feeling.

“I don’t know anybody who has a child,” Bautista said. “I just wish there was more of a community for other people in my shoes.”

Bautista, who works the night shift at an Amazon warehouse, emphasized how the absence of child care services at DePaul heightens her stress, forcing her to prioritize remote and shorter classes and preventing her attendance at career fairs to establish professional connections.

“I feel like I’m getting the school experience while I’m getting my grades, but not really the sense of belonging,” Bautista said.

Though no one knows if or when DePaul might get federal funding for child care, Arciniega said there are other things the university can do to support student parents in the meantime.

That includes supporting mental health and creating a greater sense of belonging.

“These aren’t initiatives student parents should be asking for. These are initiatives a department at DePaul should be handling,” Arciniega said. “I’ve thought about this countless times, but it’s like, who do I take that to?

“And who’s gonna listen?”

This story was cross-published in The Columbia Chronicle

Ilse Arciniega and her daughter, Esli, sit together in a pumpkin patch in October of 2023. The family has made it a tradition to go to a pumpkin patch every year and had to go on a day where Esli had a day off of school.

ILSE ARCINIEGA | THE DEPAULIA

Congradulations

Editorial Staff 2024 Graduates

Lilly Keller

Vanessa Lopez

Erin Henze

Maya Oclassen

Tom Gorski

Ariana Vargas

Editor in Chief

Social Media Editor

Assistant Photo Editor

Illustration Editor

Men’s Basketball Beat Reporter

Multimedia Editor

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

The DePaulia

By Jake Cox Online Managing Editor

is cutting back our weekly print, but we aren’t going anywhere

With few exceptions, The DePaulia has been printing weekly during the academic year since 1923. Through the Great Depression, two world wars and the Covid-19 pandemic, student journalists have worked tirelessly to produce a weekly paper for DePaul and Chicago’s community. But after 101 years, it is time for a change. The writing has been on the wall for over a decade; print journalism is not viable in its current form. Advertising revenue can no longer sustain The DePaulia’s print model. Do not fret. We are not going anywhere. Starting in fall 2024, under the leadership of new editor-in-chief Claire Tweedie, The DePaulia will switch to a biweekly print model. Every other Monday, we will bring you the most important stories you need with more frequent updates to our website and social media

channels. In the last five years, we have already drastically decreased the number of print editions of the paper distributed on campus. Although we fondly remember the days when print newspapers were widely read, nearly all of our audience now engages with us exclusively through digital platforms, including our weekly email newsletter — subscribe to have all the stories you need delivered to your inbox.

We know that our most loyal DePaulians love picking up the paper for the weekly crossword (we love it, too). Also starting in the fall, the crossword will be moved to digital. You will find a crossword in the biweekly print edition, but there will also be a new one every week on the website. We also hope to explore more games, more digital exclusives and everything else that will bring more readers to our content.

While this may feel like a goodbye, it marks a new beginning. Our only goal

is to produce high-quality, timely and fair and balanced reporting to inform DePaul’s community. Our hope is that, with this reduction in print, we will have more resources and bandwidth to report more with the highest quality for another century to come.

And with these changing times, we want to hear from you, our readers. Do you have a story idea? Do you want to contribute to your student paper? Let us know. If you are hankering for the print edition you know and love, check out the back issues from 1923 to present at the DePaul Library’s special collections and archives. Here is to new beginnings and even better reporting. We will see you in the fall.

-30-

MAYA

One of the first editions of The DePaulia, when it was called the ‘DePaul Poll Parrot’. DEPAUL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES

‘BookTok’ is ruining literature

By Nadine DeCero Opinions Editor

When I was younger, I was a huge bookworm. So much so, that it often got me in trouble in class because I would be reading instead of working on assignments.

Eventually, my interest in books faded away, and I traded books for an iPhone.

About two years ago, however, I got the urge to read a book — crazy, right? Really, it was. It had been countless years since I read a book for leisure, and any book that was assigned to me for school was nothing more than a chore. So, the fact that I wanted to spend my free time reading was something I had not considered since I was 8 years old.

The book that got me back into reading was “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway. After that, the love I once had for reading was reborn.

For book recommendations, I turned to TikTok, which had an up-and-coming community of book lovers calling itself “BookTok.” There was a lot of buzz around one author, in particular, Colleen Hoover. I decided to take everyone’s recommendations and I picked up one of her most popular novels, “It Ends With Us.”

I sped through the book in two days. It was fast-paced, easy to read and it hooked me from the beginning. But when I went to the Goodreads app to share my thoughts with all of my three followers, I realized that

Influencers drive sales, and sales keep companies, including publishers, in business.”

Julianne Buonocore President, The Literary Lifestyle

while it was captivating, it was delivering a harmful message.

I won’t give anything away, but it tells the story of a woman who falls for a guy and he ends up being abusive. The worst part is that she forgives him time and time again.

This seems to be a common trope in many popular BookTok books. I admit I haven’t given many others of the genre a chance after reading “It Ends With Us,” but these books are targeted at a young adult audience, and they are teaching the wrong lessons.

When Joan Didion said, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live,” I don’t think she meant the tropes that these BookTok authors are playing into. Literature is just not what it used to be.

I’m positive there were books before

the popularization of BookTok that spread the wrong message. As time passes, we realize that some of the classics in literature are outdated and promote harmful stereotypes. But I would have hoped that in the present day, there wouldn’t be a whole community of book lovers recommending books with damaging storylines.

I think there are far better books out there that are educational and entertaining and also do not promote abuse and toxic relationships.

Julianne Buonocore, president of The Literary Lifestyle, believes that authors like Colleen Hoover have to play into these tropes because that’s what will be the most successful in sales.

“Over time, we as an economy have become increasingly sales and product driven, and social media plays a large role

in this,” Buonocore said. “Influencers drive sales, and sales keep companies, including publishers, in business.”

When thinking about it from a sales perspective, it makes sense to do what sells the best. But that’s exactly why I think literature nowadays lacks depth. If these authors are really only writing these books for profit and not out of enjoyment, then is it really an art anymore?

This sales-driven mindset is nothing new with the rise of BookTok.

“The world of literature has certainly changed over the years. While online communities are certainly a factor in that, they simply help push trends stronger,” said Graeme McGaw, founder of Book Notification. “The Jack Reacher series became increasingly popular in the 1990s for example. This led to more and more writers producing books in a series, featuring characters similar to Jack Reacher.”

Surprisingly, I am not a full-blown BookTok hater. I owe it to the community for showing me some of my current favorite books and authors, and it’s still where I turn to sometimes when I need a new recommendation.

As with all things, it boils down to personal preference, and personally, I’m nostalgic for a time when the arts such as music, fashion, and literature weren’t driven by profit and meant more than just money. But did a time like that ever really exist?

La DePaulia

‘Ella es una luchadora’:

Joven boxeadora

Afro-Latina se corona campeona en categoría exclusivamente femenina en Washington Park

By Alonso Vidal

La DePaulia Contributing Writer

Cuando Ángel Ocasio comenzó a entrenar boxeo en Simon’s Park hace ocho meses, Ivy Jones, 11, fue era la única chica registrada.

A pesar de que Jones estaba involucrada en un deporte rodeado principalmente de hombres, salió campeona en su categoría. Su victoria ejemplifica que las chicas pueden tener éxito en el boxeo a pesar de su corta edad.

“Ella [Jones] sabe ahora que puede competir con los chicos. Tuvo que hacer sparring, no tenía otra opción, y no todos los chicos lo tomaron fácil porque sabían que no podían,” dijo Ocasio. “Ella es enérgica. Es una luchadora… tenían que tomarla en serio.”

Ocasio, el entrenador principal de boxeo en Simon’s Park y el nuevo coordinador de programas y eventos en el Distrito de Parques de Chicago, dijo que quería ayudar a crear un espacio donde las chicas pudieran participar en el boxeo para demostrar que pueden tener éxito en un deporte dominado por hombres.

A fines de marzo, Ocasio ayudó a organizar un torneo de boxeo del Distrito de Parques de Chicago que incluyó un día dedicado exclusivamente al boxeo femenino. Dijo que el evento resaltó cómo las jóvenes a las que entrena son “tan entretenidas como los chicos”, y espera continuar organizando eventos similares en el futuro.

Jones se destacó durante los tres días del torneo, la comunidad presenció más de 70 combates protagonizados por atletas de los 22 gimnasios de boxeo del distrito, dijo. El 27 de marzo, emergió como campeona en su categoría.

Hace tres años y medio, Jones pisó por primera vez un gimnasio, pero su camino pugilístico se remonta a mucho antes. Fueron los juegos de ida y vuelta con su padre, los golpes de juguete a muy corta edad, los que sentaron las bases para el sueño en el que está ahora embarcada.

Jones no siempre fue una campeona.

Según sus padres, inicialmente la animaron a probar el deporte después de que su timidez se tradujera en problemas en la escuela. Sus padres pensaron que el boxeo ayudaría con su confianza y autoestima, dijeron.

Y así fue.

“Siempre resaltaba entre los demás en mi clase. Me llamaban llorona

porque no podía controlar mi temperamento o mi tristeza”, dijo Jones. “Entonces, cuando empecé a boxear, pude controlarme. Pensé, ‘oye, ¿por qué siempre estoy llorando y triste cuando podría desahogar toda mi ira aquí?’”

Marisol Vargas, madre de Jones, dijo que su hija estaba nerviosa en su primer día de entrenamiento. Estaba intimidada por ser la única chica en la habitación, pero ahora no teme entrenar con los chicos.

“De alguna manera rompió su caparazón desde que empezó a boxear”, dijo Vargas.

Ponerse los guantes de boxeo les da a las chicas que participan en el programa la oportunidad de levantar la cabeza y decir “Estoy haciendo algo que otras chicas no hacen”, dijo Vargas. “Y al final del día, también aprenden a protegerse a sí mismas.”

A lo largo de su camino en el boxeo, Jones ha tenido múltiples victorias y derrotas, pero eso no le importa. Lo

que cuenta son las lecciones que puede aprender de sus pasos en el ring, dijo Jones.

Ocasio dijo que está esperanzado por el futuro de Jones en el boxeo debido a que a su corta edad ya muestra mucho potencial.

“Estoy emocionado de ver cómo será en uno o dos años. Espero que se convierta en un nombre conocido en el boxeo amateur, no solo en Chicago, sino a nivel nacional”, dijo Ocasio.

El panorama pugilístico ha ido cambiando en los últimos años, según Ocasio. Durante su periodo a cargo de Simon’s Park, el boxeo femenino ha crecido y dice que espera que siga expandiéndose en los próximos años.

“El hierro afila el hierro. Y no quiero que nadie en el parque piense: ‘Oh, no podemos trabajar con ellas porque son chicas o chicos’”, dijo Ocasio. “Cuando estás listo, estás listo. Cuando eres hábil, eres hábil.”

La temporada de primavera

comenzó con siete chicas nuevas inscritas en el programa de boxeo de Ocasio.

“Ahora, con algunas chicas llegando, y tienen casi la misma edad que ella [Jones], podrá crecer y desarrollarse con ellas”, dijo Ocasio. “Pero aún quiero que trabaje con los muchachos porque no entiende cuánto también los estaba ayudando a ellos.”

A partir del 30 de mayo, volverá a comenzar el circuito de peleas de la ciudad. Todos los jueves por la noche, los luchadores inscritos en un gimnasio de boxeo del Distrito de Parques de Chicago podrán mostrar su determinación en el ring. La próxima noche de boxeo exclusivamente femenino se llevará a cabo el 11 de julio.

Los eventos también variarán en ubicación, organizados en distritos de parques de toda la ciudad, y están abiertos a cualquier persona que quiera apoyar o disfrutar del boxeo local de forma gratuita.

Ivy Jones espera el próximo movimiento de su oponente durante su combate en el evento de boxeo de la ciudad en Washington Park

ALONSO VIDAL | LA DEPAULIA

TheDePaulia CLASS 2024

DePaulia CLASS OF 2024

Arts & Life

Student-led festival hits a ‘Grant Slam’ in the park

By Anna Barth Contributing Writer

A stampede of feet sends mountains of dirt into the air, each dancing kick an expression of undeniable joy. Friends hold each other as their hair develops a mind of its own, unable to help itself from rocking to a beat that echoes across the crowd.

At Grant Slam, a student-led music festival that took place Saturday, May 18, faces of all kinds made an appearance. From thrift store vendors to teenage boy bands, locals met at Jonquil Park for this year’s set of performances, with free entry for the public.

“Just looking around and seeing so

many people that I don’t recognize, that’s really cool,” Aval Zaucha said, a DePaul junior and member of local band Any Two Words. “It’s bringing so many people into this niche little scene, which is a beautiful thing in music.

Eight music artists took the stage, all of which were local indie-rock bands. Many were DePaul students. In addition to music, the festival hosted 25 vendors, who were selling everything from freshly grilled hot dogs to curated vintage clothing pieces.

Staying true to its foundation, the festival highlighted up-and-coming local creatives.

Founder Grant Lendvay began put -

sound, sending waves of dance throughout the park.

Sophomore Jack Riley, a guitarist for performing band My Sister the Heron, felt “really blessed to be in an amazing community.”

“The Chicago scene is amazing,” Riley said. “And this is by far one of the best things I’ve participated in to bring people together.”

Bandmate Judah Gartzke, drummer for Any Two Words, said he likes that the festival stays “very true to its roots.”

“All the bands are friends with each other, and we play together in living

rooms all the time,” Gartzke said.

Lendvay wanted Grant Slam to be a space of inclusivity and bonding for others, while showcasing the inspiring creativity of his community.

“I started out doing this because I just wanted to get all my friends that are really creative and talented and bring them to the same place because they’re awesome,” Lendvay said. “Going through social media and seeing all the awful things that are happening in the world, we wanna have something nice out here if we can create it.”

ting on an annual music showcase in his senior year of high school, bringing together local bands to jam out in his basement. This year’s Grant Slam is his biggest undertaking yet, with double the attendance and venue space from his previous festivals.

Gabby Potempa, co-founder of secondhand clothing business Jules and Gabby, is a first-time vendor and used

the festival to introduce her store.

“This is kind of our first try, so it’s really fun to see what people are interested in and what people like,” Potempa said. “A lot of these clothes I love so deeply, and someone else needs to have them.”

The sun shone high and bright all day, pouring onto a crowd of smiles. Sweat glistened as both musicians and listeners alike poured passion into the

Rain Garden, band member Harley Reid, strums chords in Jonquil Park on Saturday, May 18, 2024. She was one of many rockers who played at Grant Slam festival.

MARY RICHARDS | THE DEPAULIA

The crowd kicks up dirt as they dance to music at Grant Slam in Chicago on Saturday, May 18, 2024. The alternative indie music festival inspired music lovers to mosh together in the field.

MARY RICHARDS | THE DEPAULIA

Jack Riley, guitarist of My Sister the Heron, plays a tune as their hair blows in the wind in Jonquil Park on Saturday, May 18, 2024. They said they felt awesome while playing.

ANNA BARTH | THE DEPAULIA

Go For Broke: Sketch comedy groups trusts the process and each other

By Claire Tweedie Content Managing Editor

“Cash Cab” — that was the winning idea DePaul junior Elissa Bartkowski brought to her first rehearsal for the sketch comedy group Go For Broke. It came weeks after re-watching old videos of the trivia game show and learning its history before using it as a starting point for a comedy sketch.

Over the course of multiple rehearsals and plenty of improvisation, “Cash Cab” evolved from a two-word idea into a full comedy sketch complete with a wife in labor, a husband far too invested in trivia and a questionable cabdriver.

Regarding the weird ideas thrown around in live show rehearsals, Bartkowski said anything can happen when you have a room full of great improvisers.

“There’s just so much you can do with little, random ideas,” Bartkowski said. “A couple of our sketches started out as just an improvised scene, but I trust my (cast mates) to pull something funny out of their back pocket, even if we really don’t have much of an idea to start with.”

The sketch comedy group started nearly two-and-a-half years ago, originally composed

of DePaul students Mitchell Apse, Tanner Sells and Zach Schnitzer. Now, the group consists of Bartkowski, Apse, Sells, George Murphy and Caia Cammie.

The group’s first creative endeavor wasn’t a small one, as they recently finished their first live show at the Bughouse Theater May 12 and 19. The show, which included the “Cash Cab” skit, was entirely written, produced and directed by the members of Go For Broke. Group members said, even with weeks of rehearsals, they pulled off the live show without doing a full run of it before its debut performance.

“We always trusted the process and trusted each other,” Sells said. “Through writing and performing the five of us just had a really good trust in each other’s instincts that made for a really cool and unique show.”

Apse said he remembers bringing in four scripts to the first rehearsal, which he had written with no one particular actor in mind. As time passed and everyone began bringing in their own unique style to the scripts, sketches became more targeted toward members’ strengths and senses of humor.

“What’s cool with that is each of these live shows is so much a reflection of just the people who are in it,” Apse said.

While some of the current members had live comedy experiences before their live

show, most of their content is digital shorts on their YouTube channel.

“As we kind of moved into wanting to produce more content and wanting to take this comedy to the stage, it totally shifted forms,” Sells said. “Now writing this show and trying out a stage medium, it’s been fun to try new things.”

For DePaul students like Go For Broke who are interested in comedy, Chicago’s comedy scene offers opportunities and lessons from the best. Theaters like The Second City, Annoyance Theatre & Bar and Laugh House have seen comedians such as Tina Fey, Bill Murray and Bernie Mac.

Apse said the decision to create a live show after only doing digital shorts with the group

was because of the chance to flex their “creative muscles” throughout the process.

“This is the first live show I’ve been a part of actually producing,” Apse said. “One of the coolest things about the Chicago comedy scene is there are so many sketch and improv shows where performers and writers are synonymous.”

After their live show, the members of Go For Broke said they’ll continue working on their digital content, even with a Google Drive full of unused sketches. Sells said working on their shorts will help them gain an online presence and platform to promote any future live performances.

“I heard the kids are into YouTube these days,” Apse joked.

Korean beauty store expanding, as K-Pop craze grows in Chicago

By Olivia Waletzke Contributing Writer

Korean beauty, or simply known as “K-beauty,” is a skincare concept originating in Korea that emphasizes hydrating and brightening the skin. As the “clean girl aesthetic” and natural makeup have become increasingly popular in the U.S., the trend made way for K-beauty brands to make headway.

Choc Choc, a Korean beauty store, sits in the heart of the Lakeview East neighborhood. Owner Leah Kim says the space is designed to break down the art of a personalized skincare routine.

“It seems that lately, everyone has been wanting to try K-beauty but don’t know how to get started,” Kim said. “I want people to be able to talk about their skin concerns with my staff and purchase the most effective products for them.”

Many of Choc Choc’s customers are neighborhood residents who’ve become repeat customers, Kim said.

“I realized how much my skin was benefiting from K-Beauty after I tried it,” shopper Bella McAlhaney said. “I found Choc Choc on TikTok when I moved here and decided to check them out.”

Chicago has many small specialty stores, but Kim, who studied and curated the items she sells, said the layout and personal assistance make her store unique.

Choc Choc’s store layout is broken into 10 sections, offering skincare products in the order that a customer could use them.

“The ‘10-step’ process is known throughout Korean skincare lines,” Kim said. “I want to be able to navigate them through their routine and find where they may be struggling so we can recommend products that they may

In addition to the rise in popularity of K-Pop music, Korean makeup brands have also found success in the United States. TikTok celebrity Alix Earle and actress Sydney Sweeney have, for instance, endorsed Korean brands such as Laneige and COSRX.

Some Korean brands have become so popular that bigger beauty retailers now sell them, from lip masks to snail mucin serums, with the products often selling out.

“The product will be the same and the

price will be similar,” Kim said, referencing the Laneige brand. “But we are listening to our customers, and if they are looking for a certain product, I may curate a product that Sephora doesn’t have.”

Unique offerings include Kim’s very own “Rice Power Essence” serum.

“It was Leah’s first product in the store,” store manager Ella Quijas said. “She manufactured the product in Korea, and it’s cool to see how well it’s been selling here in the store.”

Choc Choc recently celebrated its eightyear anniversary, and with that, Kim announced the opening of a sister store on Broadway, a few blocks from the original location. The store, which opened May 11, is an extension of Choc Choc, Kim said and focuses on merchandise aimed at the rising popularity of Korean culture in the United States.

“Expanding the business has been a very proud moment for me,” Kim said. “A lot of K-beauty fans also like K-pop. I see the relationship between the two.”

Quijas, who’s worked at the store for almost four years, said Choc Choc is not only an interesting store but also a great place to work.

“The environment here is much more supportive,” Quijas said. “You feel very invited here.”

Members of the comedy sketch group “Go for Broke” begin their show with a skit about finding the board game that shares their name in an old, cluttered attic on Sunday, May 19, 2024. This was the group’s last show at the Bughouse Theater.

GRACE LOGAN | THE DEPAULIA

Shoppers visit the Choc Choc cosmetics store in Lakeview on Friday, May 3, 2024. Choc Choc sells Korean skincare products as well as accessories and other small items from Korea.

JESSICA GOSKA | THE DEPAULIA need.”

“Spinning

St.Vincent’s

D e JAMZ

freSh beatS Since 1581”

By Lilly Keller Editor-In-Chief

So, my dedicated readers, we’ve officially reached the end of the line. For my swan song, I wanted to reflect on my four wonderful, tumultuous and, at times, downright grizzly years at DePaul, and how I’ve grown. As I embark on my final DeJamz, which has become a diary for me, as my dedicated readers know, I want to thank each of you for witnessing my best and worst through these silly song collections. My love to you.

Freshman year: “Everyday is Like Sunday” by Morrissey F*ck Morrissey. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, few songs were played as much as this one during my freshman year. While it seems like a distant memory to some, I don’t think I’ll ever forget my freshman year, which I completed from my childhood bedroom. Without a doubt, this was one of the lowest points in my life, as I was quite literally living the same day on repeat. Fortunately, even the bleakest situations improve! Shout out to my parents for putting up with me that year; you deserve financial compensation.

Sophomore year: “The Running Kind” by Johnny Cash

Fun fact: the first time I set foot on campus was my sophomore year, which was also my first time in Chicago! Coming from rural Vermont, “overwhelmed” is an understatement for those first few weeks in the city. However, this was my first taste of true independence and I loved it. While not every second was perfect, this was the year I found some of my best friends and also joined The DePaulia! In honor of my first-ever DeJamz being Johnny Cash-themed, I thought it fitting to do a callback, as this song was on repeat all sophomore year.

Junior year: “Sun Bleached Flies” by Ethel Cain

Ethel Cain defined my junior year — a time filled with feeling like I was falling behind, yet somehow putting 110% into everything I did. However, as you all know, I’m like a rubber band; I always bounce back! Like this song of resilience, last year taught me perseverance and not to doubt myself and my life choices, even when I desperately wanted to.

Crossword

Senior year: “September” by Chestnut Bakery

This year has taught me to live alongside the best and worst moments’ life has to offer. Without getting too cheesy, these past few weeks, and those ahead, will be the most challenging yet exciting of my life, and I’ve been struggling to cope. Days after graduation, I’ll be moving an additional 1,000 miles from home to start a job at a daily paper in Bozeman, Montana, a place I’ve dreamed of living.

ACROSS

1) And so forth 4) Blue-ribbon position

9) Flat-topped flower cluster 14) “Bingo!” 15) Chilling 16) Ankle bones

17) Drilling apparatus 18) Open to bribery 19) About to explode 20) Novel delays?

23) Stress, in a way 24) Took five

27) Greek sandwich

28) Discontinue

31) Unit of loudness

32) Kind of meeting, briefly

35) Archer on Olympus

37) Santa

38) Classroom favorite 41) “Hold_ second ... “ 43) Decorated, as a cake

44) Ring bearer, maybe 45) Auto parts giant 47) About 49) Warning in the jungle

53) Certain Greek letters

55) Give less than one’s all

58) “Get plenty of bed rest,” e.g. 61) Sealskin wearer, maybe 63) Petrol unit 64) Auction offering 65) Odd-numbered page 66) Foe 67) “Dear” one 68) “_ Care of Business” (BTO hit) 69) Gumbo vegetables 70) In-flight info, for short

However, back in Vermont, my mom—my biggest supporter, confidant and cheerleader—will begin cancer treatment. Change has always been difficult for me. Being so far from home makes me feel like a child longing for my mother’s embrace, but that’s no longer possible. As I step into an unknown future, I must trust that life will be okay, even if it is different. I will make the most of each moment, treating each as a tiny miracle.

DOWN

1) Strawberry-patch bane

2) “End of story,” to a journalist

3) More crafty

4) Best vision spot

5) Dead to the world

6) Washed soap off 7) Coagulated wound 8) Be a snitch

9) Carthage neighbor

10) What’s added to cost

11) High-ranking military officer, slangily

12) “To the max” indicator

13) Deception

21) Figure of speech

22) Counter

25) Forever and a day

26) Some forensic evidence

29) Marsh growths

30) “Ni m’s Island”

author Wendy

33)_ chi chu’an

34) Approach angrily

36) Mudbath locale

38) Eight-track player

39) Self starter?

40) Blew it

41) Lennon’s bride

42) ‘60s war spot, briefly

46) Rabbitlike rodent

48) The heave-ho

50) End of a threat

51) Canny

52) Platforms

54) Respond to, as an opportunity

56) Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard”

57) Squirrels’ nests 59) Blue Bonnet, e.g.

60) Rollerskating area

61) Gallery display

62) Grassland

COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA

Basketball head coach Chris Holtmann embracing Lincoln Park, clean slate Sports

By Ryan Hinske Sports Editor

Two months into his tenure as DePaul’s men’s basketball head coach, Chris Holtmann has been preparing for life in Chicago.

“It’s been great,” Holtmann said. “It’s different than what I’ve been used to over the course of my coaching career. I haven’t lived in a city as big as Chicago.”

After coaching in Columbus at Ohio State University for six full seasons and in Indianapolis at Butler University for three, Holtmann, his wife Lori and daughter Nora will be moving to Lincoln Park in July, close to campus, so they can have players over for meals.

“That was something that he and Lori talked about in the recruitment process,” DeWayne Peevy, director of athletics, said, adding that the neighborhood’s walkability was another advantage Holtmann mentioned. “He didn’t know much about Lincoln Park at all … and I think once he came to campus and got to walking around Lincoln Park, that became very appealing to him.”

Holtmann said he has learned the most about what the university means to Chicago from DePaul alumni.

“The pride they have, the hunger and motivation they have for DePaul to be relevant in college basketball,” Holtmann said. “I think that’s really exciting … I continue to learn what makes this place unique and special, and there have been a lot of really great conversations I’ve had around that here these past two months.”

Though he knows DePaul has been a struggling program, mentioning they have the longest postseason drought of any power conference men’s basketball program, Holtmann believes he has plenty of resources at his disposal.

“I think there is a real understanding that Wintrust (Arena) has been a really good addition for DePaul.”

DePaul does not have space on campus for a basketball arena, but Holtmann believes Wintrst has the perfect size and setup to make up for it.

“It is a great facility and a great size, and it has the basketball amenities there that make it a terrific home environment,” Holtmann said. “Would you like to have

it a little bit closer to where your students could get there and all those things easier? Yes, but this has been a really good change from those of us that back in the day remember playing DePaul in what was considered back then Allstate Arena.”

Holtmann found himself in a unique position upon taking the DePaul job, starting with zero players on the roster.

“It was a lot of fun to think about – how did we want to build a roster in this new era?” he said. “Who was going to jump on board and say, ‘Hey, we want to be a part of the rebirth of DePaul basketball?’”

Though going from zero players to 14 in just a few months was a challenge, Holtmann is excited about the group he has constructed.

“You never know for sure exactly what it’s gonna look like because you’re in a situation where you can know a lot about players, but there’s still some things you have to address here,” he said. “But it’s a really exciting group.”

While some expected Holtmann to secure transfers from Ohio State, Holtmann did not. He talked to all of the Buckeye players, but in most cases, it just was not the right fit for both parties.

“All those guys, I love them,” Holtmann said, referring to these former players. “When you’re in my situation, you look at it almost like a parent in those situations where you’re like, ‘this is one of my sons.’”

Along with a completely new roster, Holtmann has constructed an almost entirely new coaching staff. Despite the turnover, Holtmann’s group possesses a unique statistic: they are the only college basketball staff with five coaches with D1 or NBA G-League head coaching experience.

“There’s all kinds of connections throughout the staff even if we haven’t all

worked together, so it feels like we have (worked together),” said assistant coach Lavall Jordan, who replaced Holtmann as head coach when he went to Ohio State. Jordan named all the connections of the coaching staff and how they all came together, from coaching in the same conference against each other to mutual connections through the likes of another Butler coach: Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens.

Fans don’t know what to expect from Holtmann’s completely new roster and coaching staff, but he has a simple plan for year one: get the fans to expect competitiveness.

“What I believe we’ll do is establish a way in which we want to play and compete on a night-in, night-out basis,” Holtmann said. “If we do that, whatever comes out of that will be something we’ll feel really good about.”

Peevy said he and Holtmann are on the same page when it comes to the goals of the program.

“I want to know our identity,” Peevy said. “I want to know who we are. I want to establish the culture that we’re putting in place so that we can add to it and take steps forward, and I think there’s been some synergy in that.”

Peevy expects that with a month remaining in the 2024-25 season, DePaul will still have a chance to be playing in the postseason, which would be the NCAA Tournament, National Invitation Tournament or Fox Sports & AEG’s new College Basketball Crown. The season begins in early November, but Holtmann and his family will first join the Lincoln Park community for their first summer in the Windy City.

DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann, right, talks to DIBS with DeWayne Peevy on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Wintrust Arena during his welcoming press conference. Holtmann’s plans for the team’s future were the main topic of discussion at the press conference.

RYAN HINSKE | THE DEPAULIA

The stagnation of the Chicago Bulls should be studied

By Ryan Hinske Sports Editor

In a league that has seen more player movement in recent years than ever before, the Chicago Bulls have strategically elected to go back in time, operating like a 1960s1960’s powerhouse focused on loyalty and consistency. There’s only one problem: their only consistency is mediocrity. Will they do anything about this?

At the beginning of the decade, the Bulls sat near the bottom of the Eastern conference standings alongside the Indiana Pacers, their small market neighbor that hadn’t been relevant since their beloved superstar Paul George packed his bags for Oklahoma City in 2017. Both teams were rebuilding, but the Bulls, who finished three games behind the Pacers, had a star in Zach Lavine and traded for Nikola Vucevic midseason. Meanwhile, the Pacers’ star Domantas Sabonis wasn’t bringing enough wins to the team.

In the 2021 offseason, Chicago made two blockbuster moves in August by trading for Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan. In offloading all but one first round pick until 2024, the Bulls had fully bought in to winning an NBA championship. After a great start, however, injuries to Ball, Coby White and Patrick Williams caused the Bulls to fall to the sixth seed in the conference, losing in

the first round to the Milwaukee Bucks in just five games.

The next season, they ran it back without Ball (who has not played since 2021) but finished with a losing record despite having two top-15 scorers and the league’s top rebounder in Vucevic. After falling to the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament, fans believed the team would make some moves to improve their chances for the 2023-24 season. Despite these beliefs, the team decided to run it back, and yet again, fell to the

Heat in the tournament, missing the playoffs for the second straight year. We come to today, where the Bulls have not made a trade involving a player since 2022, something that is unheard of even for the league’s best teams, which the Bulls are not.

Let’s go back to the Pacers, a struggling franchise that indicated change needed to be made toin order to begin competing. After a rough start in 2021-22 that saw another plateauing season, they traded for their star,: Tyrese Haliburton. They then shipped off

the aging Malcolm Brogdon for assets they would use for a blockbuster of their own and a diamond-in-the-rough player in Aaron Nesmith. However, they still stalled out, only improving from 13th in the conference to 11th.

Unlike the Bulls, however, Indiana recognized they needed a few more pieces to make it to the top toin order to not stagnate. They got those pieces by trading just two second-roundsecond round picks for the New York Knicks’ Obi Toppin and snagging former All-Star Pascal Siakam from Toronto. They immediately reaped the benefits from these trades, improving to the sixth seed in the conference and defeating the Bucks and Knicks in the playoffs to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pacers and their neighbors, the Bulls, were in very similar situations moving into the 2020s, but when things weren’t working for the Pacers, they adjusted before they could get caught in a Chicago-like situation that I personally believed Indiana would end up in before the Haliburton trade. There is some optimism the Bulls will finally move on from one of their two clashing offensive stars,stars Zach Lavine, in the offseason, but the front office will have to get out of their comfort zone and do something they haven’t in two years: pull the trigger.

MAYA OCLASSEN | THE DEPAULIA