Cinespace expansion, youth consumerism, and migrants report shortage of diapers and hygiene products
Plus, Oscar nominations you may have missed
Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! We’ve got a good one for you today. It’s your newsletter team — Alexandra, Gia, Meredith, Aidan, Sam, Annabelle, Elizabeth and Ella — back with another Monday night newsletter to start off your week!
First, 14 East Associate Editor Gia Clarke details how social media marketing can impact young consumers shopping habits, and how this can negatively impact the environment. Also, DePaul’s virtual production program is expanding with a new permanent studio for students to use. DePaul is the first university in the Midwest to have a program for virtual production which includes film techniques like CGI, motion capture and special effects. In other Chicago news, migrants staying in city-run shelters are reporting a shortage of diapers and hygiene products. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released statements denying any involvement in the diaper shortage.
Also, make sure to tune into the 96th Academy Awards this Sunday, March 10 and if you haven’t already, watch or rewatch some of the nominees!
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With that, let’s get into the news!
Do You Really Need That New Sweater?
The subtle effects of social media marketing on young consumers
By Gia Clarke
Social media has become one of the most cost-effective ways for brands to advertise, and with that comes many harmful spending habits and environmental consequences.
Shu-Chuan Chu, a professor and the Program Director of Public Relations and Advertising at DePaul University, said the technique most utilized in social media marketing is “word-of-mouth”.
She defines word-of-mouth as “any information shared among consumers online.” This could be product reviews, recommendations and other forms of communication pertaining to a product on online platforms.
“The word-of-mouth has become so popular because it’s a very cost effective way for marketers,” Chu said. “So long as you can generate positive word of mouth among your brands.”
According to Chu, personalized advertising is a technique where social media platforms cater content towards the individual consumer using the platform.
“Our social media, especially TikTok, track users’ behavior, and then they try to find what is more relevant to this specific customer,” Chu said.
Chu said social media is much more influential and targeted towards younger consumers. Especially social media influencers. She recalls her 10-year-old son watching Ryan’s World, a YouTube influencer with 36.5 million followers.
Ryan is a 12-year-old boy who makes a wide range of content and has his own toy collection, which indirectly influences his target audience to go out and buy his products. Ryan’s World’s primary demographic is young children.
“You see the toys with his [Ryan’s World] branding at Target or lots of other retailers,” Chu said. “And this is especially harmful among kids, because they aren’t aware that advertisers are trying to sell products to them.”
Harriette Murtland, A DePaul graduate student who is currently designing an app related to helping people upcycle clothes, agrees with Chu about younger generations being more influenced through social media marketing. Murtland said the main problem is that influencers who have a large following on social media present themselves to others as a relatable person, someone who younger people see in their everyday lives.
“But the way we do get captured is, more of these influencers run under the radar, which are people who look like everyday people,” Murtland said.
Both Chu and Murtland believe that there needs to be more regulations and more transparency with advertisers and consumers because 92 million tons of clothes end up in landfills.
To contribute to more transparency, Murtland said companies, in a world where they would be actually upfront, should be more transparent about the toxic working conditions and the amount of underpaid labor they use to make consumers think more about where their clothes are coming from. That way, “people would wear their clothes for five years.”
“I think then it would make people think about their choices, ‘cause it will be a clear label of look: this is what happens. This is the life of your clothing and this is how it got to you, in bulk, and is it really worth it?” Murtland said.
In order to make people less susceptible to the effects of influencer marketing, Chu said “It’s very important for all this influence to be authentic,” so people can know the content they’re seeing is an advertisement.
“If you are paid by advertisers, it’s important to disclose this relationship,” Chu said.
Murtland believes both brands and influencers need to do a better job at being upfront about brand deals because people’s current shopping habits are not sustainable, and the amount of times a clothing item is worn has declined by about 36% in the last 15 years.
“People need to be made more aware of what happens on the back end, but then also be made more uncomfortable,” Murtland said. “Because I think once you’re uncomfortable, you’ll start thinking harder.”
DePaul News
By Meredith Bach
DePaul’s virtual production program expands at Cinespace
DePaul’s School of the Cinematic Arts is expanding its virtual production space within Cinespace Studio on Chicago’s West Side to include a permanent studio for students to use. According to Associate Professor Brian Andrews, DePaul is the first university in the Midwest to have a program for virtual production, which utilizes newer film techniques such as CGI, motion capture and special effects. The new expansion will develop alongside a prototype system that the program has already been building at Cinespace for about two years. Programs like virtual production– along with animation, screenwriting, creative producing and directing, have made strides for DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts, which has seen a 38% enrollment increase since 2019. To learn more about DePaul’s virtual production courses, development and projects, you can watch a short documentary made about the program here.
DePaul Track and Field earns honors at BIG EAST Indoor Championships
DePaul Blue Demons won an impressive 26 medals from their performances at the 2024 BIG EAST indoor championship in Chicago on February 23 and February 24. On the second day of the conference alone, athletes broke four records and won three titles. Notably, DePaul’s Darius Brown set the conference’s indoor record for the men’s 60m hurdles and ended the championship with an award for Men’s Most Outstanding Performer in Track Events. The women’s team finished fourth overall and the men’s team placed fifth. The NCAA indoor championships will take place in Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday March 7 through Saturday March 9, where qualifying Blue Demons will compete. To read more of their accomplishments, visit the official DePaul sports page here.
DePaul professor leads program with students to help migrant and asylum seekers in Chicago
Kathleen Arnold, director of the Refugee and Forced Migration studies graduate program at DePaul, has assembled a team of students called the DePaul Sanctuary that works to complete necessary reports to secure migrants with asylum applications. Titled “Country Condition Reports,” these documents detail the context of a migrant’s persecution to earn them refugee status, legal asylum and work permits under the U.S. government. Additionally, Arnold and her students have organized peer mentoring for Afghan refugees and clothing drives for Venezuelan migrants. Originally powered by volunteers, the group has now received grants to pay students for their work. To view MSNBC’s recent coverage of the story, click here.
DePaul Athletics and Wintrust host an online library series for National Reading Month
Depaul student athletes, coaches and staff will be featured in the Wintrust Reads Virtual Kids library video series, reading a selection of memorable and informative children’s books. The effort is a part of the Wintrust Reads Program, which aims to promote healthy learning habits and fun education. The videos will be released each Friday of the month on YouTube and through the DePaul Athletics social media. To view pre-existing lessons online, click here.
Chicago Headlines
By Aidan Piñon
Thunderstorms and strong winds expected in the Chicago area - Despite the warmer-than-usual and sunny past couple of days of late winter, showers and scattered thunderstorms are expected to move into the Chicago area Monday evening, according to the National Weather Service. Storms will spread from west to east starting around 4 p.m. Monday and going until about 8 a.m. Tuesday. With wind gusts up to 40 mph and small hail possible, storms may be strong to severe, the weather service said. The National Weather Service is also planning a statewide tornado drill Wednesday, beginning at 10 a.m. Read the 10-day weather forecast for Chicago here.
Teen dead after large gathering in Chicago’s South Loop - Two teens were shot in the parking lot of a bank Saturday night in Chicago’s South Loop, leaving one dead. According to witnesses, a large crowd of hundreds of young people were gathered in the area when the shooting happened. Police said the two victims were taken to Stroger Hospital and were initially reported to be in critical condition. A 17-year-old, later identified as Jeremy Smith by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, was shot twice with wounds to the chest and neck and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Police said a 15-year-old boy was also shot in the leg and was listed in fair condition Saturday evening. Criminal charges have been filed against at least nine teens who attended the large gathering where the shooting happened. No charges have yet been filed related to the shooting, police said. For more information on the investigation, ABC7 Chicago’s Cate Cauguiran has the story here..
Mayor Brandon Johnson plans to revamp empty downtown buildings - Mayor Brandon Johnson has been working with developers to refine plans to repurpose buildings along and near LaSalle Street, once known as the Wall Street of Chicago, according to the city’s Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski. Initially estimated at $1 billion, the project has been delayed by high interest rates and a full announcement by Johnson is expected by summer, said Jaworski. Chicago, like many other cities in the U.S., has been struggling to fill empty offices downtown following the pandemic. Downtown Chicago’s vacancy rate soared to a high of 21.2% in the last month of 2023. “The mayor is committed to rejuvenating and encouraging the development of housing in the LaSalle Street corridor,” Quintin Primo III, founder of Capri Investment Group, said in an interview last month. To read more about the project, Bloomberg’s Shruti Singh and Miranda Davis have more here.
2024 Chicago Polar Plunge earns largest turnout in its history - Over 5,000 people jumped into Lake Michigan’s frigid waters on Sunday to benefit Special Olympics Chicago and Special Children’s Charities programs. Organizers said it was the largest attendance in the event’s 24-year history, raising $1.9 million. With temperatures in the low 60s, some longtime participants said it was one of the warmest plunges in the event's history. To read more about the event, Chicago Sun Times Kaitlin Washburn has more here.
National Headlines
By Sam Freeman
Nikki Haley wins the District of Columbia’s Republican primary and gets her first win – Nikki Haley won her first Republican primary in the District of Columbia. Her win disrupted Donald Trump’s sweep of the GOP voting contests, but he is likely to pick up many more delegates during Super Tuesday’s races. Haley said she will remain in the race through those contests. Haley won all 19 delegates at stake in the District of Columbia. After her win, the Trump campaign released a statement sarcastically congratulating Haley as the “Queen of the Swamp by the lobbyists and DC insiders that want to protect the failed status quo.” Haley held a rally in the nation’s capital on Friday before going back to North Carolina and states holding their primaries on Super Tuesday. “We’re trying to make sure that we touch every hand that we can and speak to every person,” Haley said. Meg Kinnard and Will Weissert from the Associated Press have more information.
North Carolina’s race for governor will be close – North Carolina’s race for governor will be one of the most closely watched elections this year. At the primaries on Tuesday, North Carolinians will get a choice between the level-headed state attorney general, Josh Stein, a Democrat, and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican who made his way into politics after defending gun rights in 2018. While Stein is trying to avoid culture war issues, Robinson is leaning into them, disparaging the LGBTQ community, posting comments that are understood to be anti semitic and calling Michelle Obama a man. Stein supports access to abortion and has been endorsed by abortion rights groups. Robinson, on the other hand, supports the so-called heartbeat law, which would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, when most women don’t know yet that they are pregnant. Robinson’s spokesperson said he supports exceptions of rape and incest or when the mother’s life is in danger, but he didn’t say how many weeks that would apply. Eduardo Medina from The New York Times has the story.
Trump executive faces new criminal charges, prosecutors say – Allen Weisselberg, the longtime top financial advisor to Donald Trump’s company, appeared in court Monday amidst new criminal charges, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Weisselberg previously pleaded guilty to more than 12 felonies, including charges of grand larceny and criminal tax fraud. He served several months in jail and was penalized $1 million. Weisselberg was the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization. The company and Weisselberg were indicted in 2021 and were accused of committing fraud meant to hide income taxes from authorities. The company was convicted in 2022 and ordered to pay $1.6 million in fines. The former president is facing four criminal cases – one of those cases is set to go to trial later this month. Mark Berman and El M. Calabrese of The Washington Post has more information.
Coverage mandates in question for Obamacare – A federal appeals court was scheduled to hear arguments on Monday about whether Obamacare requires full insurance coverage of certain types of preventative healthcare, such as HIV prevention and cancer screenings. Last year, a federal judge in Texas ruled that some of the preventative care requirements of the 2010 law are unconstitutional. If this ruling is upheld, it could affect coverage and costs for 100 to 150 million people, according to analyses by health care advocates. The Biden administration is appealing the ruling while plaintiffs filed a cross-appeal that could broaden the judge’s ruling and jeopardize more preventative care mandates, according to the United States of Care. Monday’s arguments mark the latest in the attempt to chip away at the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. Kevin McGill from the Associated Press has more information.
14 East Pueblo: Migrants in City-Run Shelters Report a Shortage in Diapers and Hygiene Products
By Annabelle Rivera
Migrants staying in city-run shelters are reporting a shortage in diapers, leading to some migrants reusing soiled diapers on babies. Some migrants have created support groups in shelters to ration remaining supplies.
A North Side volunteer said that city officials told them that they were unable to keep up with the demand for hygiene products, putting the responsibility on mutual aid groups to supply migrants with supplies like diapers and toilet paper. Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management handles the distribution of hygiene products. The city receives supplies from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and outside vendors.
On Monday, IEMA and FEMA released statements denying involvement in the diaper shortage. A city spokesperson told the Chicago Tribune that “supply shortages from IEMA and FEMA can result in temporary shortages of some supplies.” State officials said the responsibility ultimately falls on the city officials to get the supplies to migrants. An IEMA spokesperson said that the city requests supplies every other week.
Since the Tribune’s initial report about the diaper shortage, mutual aid group Southwest Collective has received dozens of boxes of diapers as donations. The city reportedly also received a large delivery from a city of Chicago vendor that included diapers last Friday.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Featured Columnist Elizabeth Gregerson
This week’s recommendation column wants you to celebrate friendship and all things cinema, by hosting (or attending) an Oscars party!
The 96th Academy Awards are taking place this Sunday, March 10, at 6 p.m. CST. The televised ceremony is the perfect excuse to get together with friends, even if you aren’t a movie buff.
The most fashion forward celebs, aka Zendaya, are sure to give viewers a fashion moment as the Oscars are the culmination of the entertainment industry’s awards season. Being held after the Golden Globes, the BAFTAS and the SAG Awards, celebrities have hopefully saved their best look for last.
One caveat – If you’ve ditched cable, be sure to figure out how you are going to watch the show before the party starts. The official Oscars website tells potential viewers to stream the show through “Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and FuboTV” or login to the ABC app with cable credentials for your (or a friend’s) TV provider.
Make the party as casual or formal as you like and ask each friend to bring their favorite snack or drink. Check out 14 Eats if you need some culinary inspiration.
For an added layer of fun, print out ballots for everyone to fill out before the awards start. If you’re feeling extra generous you can even give the winner a prize.
While it is always fun when someone who hasn’t seen any of the movies guesses the correct winner, here's a little background information to give you a sense of the frontrunners: Oppenheimer has 13 nominations, Poor Things has 11, Killers of the Flower Moon has 10 and Barbie has eight. Do with that information what you will!
Speaking of the Barbie movie, one highlight of the night is sure to be Ryan Gosling performing his Oscar nominated song “I’m Just Ken” from the Barbie movie. You don’t want to be the only person who misses that moment.
Grab your besties and tune in to the Oscars this Sunday at 6 p.m. on ABC!
Resources
Need resources regarding warming centers, rental assistance, abortion access, COVID-19 testing and vaccines or mental health? Check out our complete list here.
That’s it for today! See you next Monday.
The 14 East Newsletter Team