The DePaulia - DePaul's Student Newspaper

02/20/2025

DePaul University's proposed new basketball facility will be delayed at least one year after it was unable to secure a spot on the city council's agenda for zoning permits despite 43rd Ald. Timmy Knudsen’s approval.

The earliest DePaul would be able to break ground on the proposed new facility would be June 2026, and the facility would then open in Fall 2027.

DePaul’s decision to delay the project by a full year will allow the housing, which would have been demolished for the new facility, to remain open for students during the 2025-26 school year

DePaul said in the email that they have secured $11 million in donor funding for the facility, thus far.

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com or click the link in our bio.
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02/20/2025

On Thursday, Feb. 13, DePaul’s LGBTQIA+ Resource Center had its fourth annual Q***r Prom. In the Lincoln Park Student Center, the check-in table is stacked with goodie bags and mini pride flags for guests to take in with them. On the right is the coat check. On the left, a large spread of food and drink, from egg rolls to buffalo wings and horchata to fruit punch.

The event offers people in the LGBTQ+, or q***r, community to “have that prom experience that they may not have had in high school,” Camila Guadalupe, programming assistant for the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center, said. Guadalupe describes the LGBTQIA+ Center as a great space for students to have a sense of community on campus and “just be,” she said.

The theme “Frozen in Time” aimed to commemorate those who made sacrifices that led to q***r freedom today. Robert Davis Jr., programming assistant and host for Q***r Prom, finds it important to host the event right now, because with the “changing policies in our presidential administration, it’s important to show just society that … what you do or say cannot change who we are,” they said.

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com or click the link in our bio.
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📝: .retzlaff
📷: .blais

02/19/2025

A moment of silence for victims set a somber but powerful tone at The Parents Circle-Families Forum dialogue, hosted at DePaul by the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy and the Dialogue Collaborative Steering Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Arab Aramin and Guy Elhanan are two members of The Parents Circle-Families Forum, a grassroots organization made up of Israelis and Palestinians who have lost family members to the conflict and have chosen reconciliation over retaliation. Its mission is to foster dialogue and understanding between both sides, believing in the power of human connection over violence.

Aramin, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem, lost his sister, Abir Aramin, who was shot by an Israeli soldier outside her school. Elhanan, an Israeli actor and doctoral student, also lost his sister, Smadar Elhanan, in 1997. She was killed by a Palestinian su***de bomber as she walked to school.

The two hosts emphasized the importance of recognizing each other’s suffering rather than competing over who has lost more.

“We are not here to compare pain,” Elhanan said. “We are here to meet around it.”

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com or click the link in our bio.
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📷: Sebastian Alarcon

02/18/2025

In spite of rain, snow, and intense winds, hundreds gathered under the Little Village Arch on Saturday, Feb. 8 to protest President Donald Trump’s promises of deportations and more ICE raids in the Chicago area.

Following his inauguration three weeks ago, President Donald Trump mobilized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with concerted deportation efforts in Chicago. Since then, the Trump administration has sued the state of Illinois, the city of Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson, Governor J.B. Pritzker and others for its status as a ‘sanctuary city.’

“Chicago is a sanctuary city and I’m proud to be one,” said Ald. Byron Sigcho-López (25th). “It’s a shame that we live in terror of dehumanization and fascism and that our migrant communities are the first target.”

ICE has arrested about 8000 people nationwide since targeted operations began, with the Trump administration revoking policies that prevented immigration arrests at schools, churches and colleges.

“These are federal instructions, not laws,” Sigcho-López said. “I think it’s important that a faith-based institution like DePaul that serves a lot of Latine students doesn’t comply with these instructions that are going to intimidate and take away trans and immigrant rights.”

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com or click the link in our bio.
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📝: | La DePaulia

02/15/2025

‘T4T,’ or ‘trans for trans,’ originated on Craigslist personal ads in the early 2000s. A simple way to find one another when transsexuality was more taboo has become a show of solidarity in the trans community both in terms of relationship styles and mutual aid.

Last week when this article was set up, we made plans to get photographs for the piece from a T4T Valentine’s Market hosted by Trans Chicago on Sat. Feb 8.

Within the week, federal funds for Trans Chicago, a BIPOC- Trans Led initiative, were cut and dozens of its members were laid off. While the organization plans to fulfill all existing commitments to events and appointments for medical/legal aid, their future is on shaky ground.

Tichike Tumalan, the former Health Educator at Trans Chicago, intends to keep the center running via volunteer work.

“As Black and Brown Trans and Q***r folk we are actively being erased by the administration. We understand that these are not just our jobs, but our ability to just exist,” Tumalan said. “We need everybody to be hands on deck to loudly advocate for their Trans siblings, and check in with one another, creating these connections are important!”

To read more, head to depaualiaonline.com or click the link in our bio.
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02/14/2025

Happy Valentine’s Day, Blue Demons! 💙❤️

Share these Valentine’s with your friends, partner, or that one person in your class you’ve been trying an excuse to talk to.

Make sure to pick up a copy of our paper on either the Loop or Lincoln Park campus or head to depauliaonline.com for more Valentine’s Day stories!

02/14/2025

Literature over lovers, stories over sweethearts or, if we want to throw it back to 2013, books over baes. Whatever alliteration you choose, I think there’s a great value in picking words over worries this Valentine’s Day.

I’m targeting the people who, like (the old) me, are juggling entirely delusional relationships with current crushes yet simultaneously hoping their old fling will realize they can’t live without them. I promise, I am healing from my past delusion. And I mean that! One of the ways I’m doing so is by incessantly consuming literature, whether that be in a novel, short story or poem.

“Just getting to pretend I’m someone else, or somewhere else, for a couple hours a day is wonderful; I love it,” said Ashley Edmunds, an employee at The Last Chapter Book Shop. “It’s a good escape and then I’m back in the real world where men just aren’t the same, they’re not as good.”

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com, or click the link on our bio.
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📷: Giacomo Cain | The DePaulia

02/12/2025

The highs and lows of being a college student call for a companion, one whose love is unwavering, simple and free from the complications that come with human relationships.

Whether it's a dog, cat, hamster, or even a rat, DePaul students have found love and loyalty from their feline friends.

"I love them as if they are my children and I am their mother,” junior Jocelyn Gray said about her two rats, Socks and Boots. “I feel as if I gave birth to them.”

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com or click the link in our bio.
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02/12/2025

Transgender students and their allies gathered at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC)'s West Campus on Thursday, Feb. 6 to protest President Donald Trump's recent executive order banning gender-affirming care for people under the age of 19.

The protest followed a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Feb. 5 by an Illinois mother whose transgender son was on track to receive a gender-affirming chest operation only for the appointment to be cancelled by UI Health the day after Trump signed the executive order. The suit and six others claim that federal funds cannot be blocked after having already been allocated to certain medical procedures.

"Every child deserves access to the lifesaving health care that they need. They deserve peace and they deserve happiness," said Jane Webb, a junior at UIC. "I'm here with all of you today to demand that UI Health not keep these kids in the dark, that UI helps not submit to the fascist ideology of a billionaire who would have every trans child grow up in a world where they can never be authentic to who they are."

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com, or click the link in our bio
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02/11/2025

DePaul employs 57 students as resident advisers across the university's 12 dorm and apartment-style residence halls on the Lincoln Park Campus. With Chicago now under perpetual threat of immigration raids, these students face uncertainty and worry that they will be the first point of contact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers if they attempt to enter "limited access, nonpublic areas" on DePaul's campus.

Resident advisers say they have been given a "confusing" set of instructions from their supervisors in the Office of Housing and Residence Life (HRL) that contradict original directions to contact Public Safety and the university's general council if confronted by ICE.

"I've heard, like some of my coworkers ... say it's kind of a crazy expectation to have for the RA role, which I agree," said a freshman residence hall RA.

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com or click the link in our bio.
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02/07/2025

More than 40 years ago, Francisco Espinoza opened a Mexican grocery store that sells meat and other produce. With no experience as a business owner, he knew he had to learn a lot to have a thriving carniceria, now known as La Alteña.

“Para seguir adelante” was Espinoza’s mentality and goal throughout his life. “To keep moving forward.”

Espinoza came to the United States from Guanajuato, Mexico, at the age of 16. Inspired by his friends’ success in California, he decided to do the same.

Decades later, La Alteña is particularly important to this neighborhood in South Chicago. The community is home to many Black and Latine families who might not have access to grocery store chains nearby with affordable fruits, vegetables and other essential Latine household items.

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com or click the link in our bio.
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📷 & 📝: .xc

02/06/2025

02/04/2025

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02/04/2025

President Trump has had a busy couple weeks back in office, signing dozens of executive orders impacting everything from immigration and citizenship to climate change and health care.

On Monday, Jan. 20, just after being officially sworn in, Trump signed 26 executive orders, including renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America” and withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization.

He also rescinded 78 executive orders approved by former President Joe Biden, including scrapping Biden’s executive order that was in place to lower the cost of prescription drugs in America. In Trump’s inaugural address, he said his actions would lead to the “complete restoration of America.”

In another executive order, Trump rescinded diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the federal government and encouraged those in the private sector to do the same. Large companies like Target have already scaled back their DEI programs in response to the executive order, saying it would end the three-year-long DEI goals it had set.

“(DEI) efforts … have been shown to increase educational outcomes, increase economic outcomes, and help focus on historically proven institutional, discrimination to try to create more equity,” said Benjamin Epstein, a political science professor at DePaul.

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com or click the link in our bio.
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📷: Evan Vucci | AP Photo
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01/31/2025

Chicago community members gathered Jan. 17 in the Old Town neighborhood at the Marshall Field Garden Apartments and Art on Sedgwick space to watch “The Amazing Story Machine" at the Chicago Puppet Fest.

The shows ran from Jan. 15-26 offered theatrical performances, workshops and exhibitions. “The Amazing Story Machine,” along with other free programs, made several stops in surrounding neighborhoods.

Shoshana Bass, a puppeteer in “The Amazing Story Machine” program, said that her favorite part of performing in the neighborhood tour is getting to travel throughout Chicago.

“I think we are in the most privileged position as visiting puppeteers to this festival because we get to see parts of Chicago that are not central,” Bass said. “It is really special to humbly step into that role and feel we are welcomed into all these little corners of Chicago.”

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com or click the link in our bio.
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🎥 & ✍: .mcf

01/29/2025

Blue Demon Challenge is almost here, and our reporters from The DePaulia and La DePaulia are asking for your help.

Thanks to your previous donations, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot this year, including sending our reporters to the DNC for four days and Washington D.C. for the inauguration. We want to continue covering events like these, but it wouldn’t be possible without your support.

The challenge kicks off on Thursday, Jan. 30, and you can donate by clicking the link in our bio or heading to depauliaonline.com/BDC.

01/28/2025

In a memo released Monday night, the White House Office of Management and Budget announced that it was pausing federal grants and loans effective 4 p.m. CST on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after it was signed.

The Education Department has said the pause does not apply to most federal student loans or federal Pell grants, including Title I and IDEA, but the department is still reviewing the effects of the memo.

DePaul, like most universities, receives many grants from the federal government that provide funds for research and student programs. It's still unclear how this order will impact these programs.

In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, DePaul president Robert Manuel released an email assuring the DePaul community that the order is not expected to disrupt Pell grants, individual student loans, or federal work work-study programs.

“Together, we will navigate these challenges and remain steadfast in our mission,” Manuel said.
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📸: AP

01/27/2025

Tom Homan — Trump’s new ‘border czar’ — made plans for “immigrant raids” in Chicago, according to leaked reports. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported last week that Homan planned to send 150-200 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to the city as soon as January 21.

Just one day after Trump’s inauguration, the Department of Homeland Security announced it was ending a policy that restricted ICE agents’ ability to arrest undocumented people at or near “sensitive” locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals. Under past administrations, ICE agents were barred from entering “sensitive” spaces.

DePaul has students from many backgrounds — including undocumented students and international students. Student Affairs reaffirmed its support of all students on Monday, Jan. 21.

“In keeping with that mission, we welcome all students and are dedicated to supporting you throughout your time here, regardless of citizenship status,” read an email from DePaul’s Division of Student Affairs.

To read more, head to depauliaonline.com or click the link in our bio.
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