DePaul mourns loss of 2 alumni in Highland Park shooting, access to new university mental health services
and Fall Quarter involvement fair registration
Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! The newsletter team — Kate, Mariah, Bridget, Eiman, Sam, Emily and Monique — is back with another newsletter.
It’s been one week since the mass shooting at the Highland Park 4th of July parade, leaving 7 dead and dozens more injured. Highland Park is one of several mass shootings across the United States this year, but this tragedy hits close to the DePaul community located just 25 miles north of DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus. We mourn the loss of DePaul alumni Kevin and Irina McCarthy, and victims Katherine Goldstein, Stephen Straus, Jacquelyn Sundheim, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza and Eduardo Uvaldo. As always, there is a list of mental health resources linked at the bottom of the newsletter.
Today, we’re providing our usual university, local and national headlines along with a breakdown of the university’s renamed counseling services and a music recommendation. Be sure to also check out 14 East’s most recent story “Living with a Rare Skin Condition” by Alexandra Murphy. We’re publishing new stories bi-weekly throughout the summer, so stay tuned for new stories next Friday!
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That’s all from the newsletter team. Now, onto the news!
How to Access DePaul’s Renamed Counseling Services
By Mariah Hernandez
On July 1, students gained access to DePaul's renamed University Counseling Services. Now going by University Counseling and Psychological Services, the service is set up to provide resources and assistance to students' mental health-related needs.
The rebrand comes after previous complaints from the DePaul community. A student expressed so much disdain for the program stating in The DePaulia that “I would argue that keeping UCS as it is would be the same as not having it at all.”
According to The DePaulia in April 2021, UCS had several employees leave and therefore to “fill the staffing gap, DePaul partnered with My SSP.” My Student Support Program is an app that gives 24/7 support to students. Many students felt unsatisfied with the app, and UCS’ reliance on My SSP led to students feeling neglected and frustrated.
Months after the complaints were voiced, a June 29 Newsline article shared that UCAPS had successfully hired six full time clinicians and they have two staff members joining later in the summer.
With a new service comes confusion on how to access everything, here is a how-to-guide on UCAPS:
What services are being promised by UCAPS?
Speaking to a therapist 24/7 by phone
Brief Screening and Consultation (on-campus, phone and telehealth)
Psychoeducational workshops
Individual and group counseling
Community-based referrals
Drop-in Emergent Care Services (M-F 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
How do I schedule an appointment?
To access a therapist 24/7 you can reach them by calling 773-325-2273 and pressing “1.”
For on-campus and telehealth Brief Screening and Consultation, you can call the same number M-F 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. and press “2.”
If you want to have a BSC appointment over the phone, you can schedule online during business hours (M-F 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) If you need assistance, here is a step by step guide on how to schedule online.
Who can register for services?
According to a statement released by Student Affairs for Newsline the services are available to any “registered, degree-seeking students enrolled for classes for the current quarter.”
Students can be full-time or part-time.
The services available for these students include individual/group counseling, referral services, etc.
Regardless of being currently registered in classes or not, any degree-seeking student can access the mental health phone line.
Where are the offices located?
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park Student Center at 2250 N. Sheffield Ave. Chicago, IL 60614.
Hours are M-F 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Loop
Lewis Center Suite 1465 at 25 E. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604.
Hours do differ during the summer at this location and they recommend calling for availability.
Common student concerns addressed to UCAPS listed on their website include depression, racial/cultural concerns, substance abuse, anxiety, life transitions/adjustments and more.
More information on UCAPS can be found here.
DePaul News
By Bridget Killian
DePaul mourns the loss of two alumni after Highland Park shooting
DePaul lost alumni Kevin and Irina McCarthy during the mass shooting in Highland Park during a July 4 parade. Their 2-year-old son was also at the parade but was not injured. A GoFundMe page has been started to support the now orphaned child. The university learned of their connection to DePaul last Tuesday and released a statement this Monday acknowledging the loss. Read the full statement on DePaul Newsline.
Former DePaul student signs deal with Chicago Bulls
DePaul alumnus Javon Freeman-Liberty, 22, signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls Thursday night for the 2022-2023 season. He will play for the Windy City Bulls at the G-League level and the Chicago Bulls at the NBA level. Tom Gorski of The DePaulia recounts Freeman-Liberty’s time at DePaul and the upcoming Bulls season.
Fall Quarter involvement fair registration
Registration for the Fall Quarter involvement fair begins today. The fair will take place in Lincoln Park on Friday, Sept. 9 and in the Loop on Tuesday, Sept. 13. Student organizations can register through DeHub. Groups must complete re-registration of their organization to be eligible to participate in the involvement fair.
Summer Session 2 begins next week
The second summer session begins July 17. The last day to add a summer class is next Tuesday, July 18. This session lasts 5 weeks, ending August 20. If you are currently enrolled in a summer session class, the last day to drop it is Friday, July 21.
Chicago Headlines
By Eiman Navaid
One Week Since Highland Park – A week after the Highland Park shooting on July 4 that killed seven people and left dozens injured, a crowd of around 450 people gathered in downtown Highland Park on Monday morning to reflect and pay a moment of silence during the same time the shooting occurred a week prior. Steve Sadin of the Tribune has more details.
Northwestern President-Elect Steps Down – Renowned economist Rebecca Blank has stepped down from becoming Northwestern University’s future president after being diagnosed with cancer. She would have replaced President Morton Schapiro to become Northwestern’s first female president. Nader Issa of the Sun-Times reports.
Chicago Hosts WNBA All-Star Game – Wintrust Arena, home of the Chicago Sky, hosted the WNBA All-Star game this past weekend. This comes at a time of political turmoil as WNBA star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for the past few months facing drug charges, which President Biden believes to be politically motivated. Calls to bring Griner home were expressed throughout the WNBA community during the weekend. Julia Poe, Shakeia Taylor and James Kay of the Tribune have the details.
National Headlines
By Sam Freeman
Elon Musk Wants Out of Twitter Deal - Elon Musk wrote a letter to Twitter backing out of his deal to buy the company. He claimsTwitter made “false and misleading” representations about the prevalence of fake accounts on its platform. According to Musk, Twitter did not share the necessary data and information that he would need to verify the number of bots on the platform. Twitter says they plan to sue Musk. Shannon Bond from NPR has more information.
The BA.5 Variant and a New Influx of Coronavirus Infections – Infectious-disease experts say the new variants of coronavirus, BA.4 and BA.5, could cause illness of “unpredictable severity.” They say the country isn’t doing enough to reduce transmission. According to the CDC, almost one-third of the U.S. population lives in counties with “high” transmission rates. New boosters will be developed by fall to combat BA.4 and BA.5., but there may already be more variants by then. Joel Achenbach from The Washington Post has the story.
Most Democrats Don’t Want Biden to Run for Re-Election – President Biden’s popularity is dwindling as midterms approach. According to a New York Times/Siena College poll from last week, 64 percent of Democratic voters would prefer a different 2024 presidential nominee than President Biden. Voters nationwide have given him a 33 percent job-approval rating. However, 92 percent of Democrats say they would stand by Biden if forced to choose between Biden and Trump. Shane Goldmacher from the New York Times has the story.
Will Google Be Used to Prosecute Abortion Seekers? – After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, privacy advocates are concerned that authorities will try to use Google to target people seeking abortions by requesting geofence and keyword warrants. Google software engineer Ashok Chandwaney wants Google to figure out the ways that people can be targeted “and then make it so that the data that could get people charged, or fined, or thrown in jail, or whatever, for seeking out healthcare, is not a thing that the company has to give to law enforcement.” Bobby Allyn of NPR has the story.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Featured Columnist Emily Soto
Hi everyone, I’ve got a music rec for you this week! I feel like I rarely do these as it takes the right artist for me to want to share — but I currently have this artist on repeat so they have to be good.
Bob Moses is an electronic music duo based in Vancouver. Back in March, they released their most recent album, The Silence in Between. This is their fifth album and my favorite yet. It features classic chill electronic synths and bass while including fiery guitar riffs that stand out from the beat. But this doesn’t stop them from taking moments to take in the simplicity of pure vocals.
This is best displayed in their song Love Brand New. This one is my absolute favorite — from the beat to the guitar to the lyrics, it sounds amazing through my headphones when I need to relax. It starts with the deep beat that will be what drives the momentum of the song and keeps you drawn in. The lyrics come in where they describe being in a convertible with the radio playing and looking for their next adventure, but if they never find it they will always have each other. Later when the bass drops out, you are left to dwell on the clear voice of lead singer Tom Howie.
Many of their songs follow that same pattern while finding a new way to do it. For me, the melody is usually enough to keep me listening to one of their songs on repeat. A few of those songs that I keep coming back to are Hanging On and Tearing Me Up.
If this interests you too, Bob Moses will be performing at Lollapalooza this year and also doing an aftershow at TAO Chicago! So if you are going, I think they are definitely worth watching!
Resources
Need resources regarding cooling 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