Erika Sánchez’s term faculty contract not renewed, Narcan vending machine, and Palestinian homes raided by Israeli army
Plus, this week’s Designing DePaul event
Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! It’s your newsletter team — Kate, Richie, Emily, Billie, Jahlynn, Cary, Lauren, Monique, Bridget and Sela — back with another newsletter.
DePaul’s budget deficit has been the top topic on campus this past week. The university’s $56.5 million projected deficit has affected six term faculty contracts this far. We spoke with Erika Sánchez, a professor at DePaul who was one of those six who learned that their contract would not be renewed for the next school year.
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Today, we have the details on the final Designing DePaul event for students this week. Over the weekend, large gatherings of young people downtown led to the arrest of 16 people, and 3 people were shot at one of the gatherings. In Sudan, violence between the military and paramilitary killed at least 185. Keep reading to get the details you need on the biggest headlines today.
With that, let’s get to the news.
Erika Sánchez contract not renewed ‘I will never set foot on DePaul's campus ever, ever, ever again’
By Richie Requena and Emily Figueroa
Junior Ori Duque, said one of the reasons they transferred to DePaul from the University of Denver was because of the heavier Latine presence on campus. They took a class with Erika Sánchez, and piled on literature classes taught by her in the year because they felt a connection with Sánchez where they could relate to one another.
Duque said they did not take it well when Sánchez emailed her class on April 10 to say that her contract with the university would not be renewed because of cuts the university said it had to make due to a projected $56.5 million projected budget deficit.
“It was very upsetting. It really was. I don't know, it's hard to describe,” Duque said.
Of the 240 term faculty that are at DePaul, six were told last week that their contracts would not be renewed at the end of the school year. The renewal of the contracts were decided by each individual college and the deans.
Sánchez told 14 East the news was “demoralizing” and said it was ridiculous and insensitive of the university to expect her to continue to teach her Latinx poetry class as if nothing had happened. As a form of protest, Sánchez said she would not come back to campus to teach the class.
Sánchez arrived at the university in 2019 and was quickly named to the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Chair, a yearly position that was held before by writers Ana Castillo and Achy Obejas, and before Sánchez, Pulitzer prize winner Maria Hinojosa. Sánchez has an upcoming Netflix adaptation of her book “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter,” a book that also put her on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
“Lessons on Expulsion: Poems” gets intimate about Sánchez’s life as a daughter of undocumented Mexican immigrants. Her poetry explores race, sex, and shame in America and how her life compared to living on both sides of the border. In her most recent work, “Crying in the Bathroom: A Memoir”, Sánchez further explains her self-awareness and how she created a path unique to her needs.
The chair position is appointed by the Latino American and Latino Studies Department and the chair is supposed to be held by a public intellectual whose contract is up for renewal every year.
Guillermo Vasquez de Velasco, the dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, did not make himself available to speak to 14 East but released a statement to student media saying, “a difficult decision was made to discontinue a short-term faculty appointment starting next academic year. The short-term faculty appointment was an attempt to implement a growth strategy to increase enrollment. Change was necessary to make sure the program has the right components to ensure the continued success of this academic program that is deeply rooted in the university’s mission.”
Sánchez said the dean’s letter she received was “insulting.”
”Let me just say right here, I will never set foot on DePaul's campus ever, ever, ever again,” Sánchez said
In her time at the university, Sánchez held multiple book reading and signing events including for her memoir “Crying in the Bathroom.” The Cicero-born author was previously invited to speak at the upcoming Latinx Graduation, which she says she will no longer be a part of.
Director of the Center for Latino Research Bill Johnson González invited Sánchez to be the keynote speaker for the graduation months before the news broke that there were going to be cut. He said, “It's terrible that we don't have any power over whether or not her contract gets renewed.”
The university has also started taking initiatives aiming to boost the Hispanic student population on campus so that DePaul can become a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), a designation that means 25 percent of students are Hispanic and will make DePaul eligible for additional federal grants.
“I think that it is really terrible that the university has to make decisions so quickly. That maybe they're not thinking as carefully as they need in order to get us to that kind of comprehensive plan to become an HSI,” said Johnson González. “This does not look right.”
Sánchez says her removal from DePaul was shortsighted and contradictory to everything she was doing and what she was able to provide. “I think that brown women, so often, are invisible. They underestimate us. They don't see us. And so I don't think that it even crossed their minds that so many people would be outraged about this.”
Want more on DePaul’s budget? Check out last week’s newsletter and stay tuned for more on Friday at www.fourteeneastmag.com.
DePaul News
By Billie Rollason
Designing DePaul: Student Session
On Thursday, April 20, President Robert Manuel is hosting an in-person Designing DePaul session that allows students to “participate in transforming DePaul into the national model for higher education.” The event does require registration and will be held in the Lincoln Park Student Center, Room 120 A&B from 6 to 8 p.m. Click here to register before the April 19 deadline, and here to learn more about the event.
Gnome Hunt 2023
The annual gnome hunt is back! From today, April 17 until April 21 students are invited to hunt down painted gnomes sponsored by different university organizations, offices and departments. Find and return a gnome to the OSI office for a chance to win a prize pack! Keep up-to-date with the gnomes’ whereabouts here, and learn more about the event here.
DePaul Urban Gardeners (DUG) Spring Hours
This quarter DUG meets Mondays from 3 to 5 p.m. and Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. With weather warming up here and there, DUG has been able to reopen their outdoor gardens. Though, with Chicago’s unpredictable weather, meetings are still sometimes held in the greenhouse. Follow DUG’s Instagram for weather and meeting updates!
Lastly, here is your weekend sports update (April 14-16):
DePaul’s men’s soccer match against Michigan State was canceled on Saturday.
DePaul’s women’s soccer team lost 3-0 against Northwestern on Saturday.
DePaul’s softball team lost 9-1 against Seton Hall on Friday.
DePaul’s softball team lost 9-4 against Seton Hall on Saturday.
DePaul’s softball team lost 13-11 against Seton Hall on Sunday.
DePaul’s women’s tennis team lost 4-3 against UIC on Friday.
Over the weekend, four track and field members broke program records:
Olivia Borowiak beat her own school record in the women’s 5000m at the Mt. SAC Relays on Friday with 16:19.58.
Darius Brown beat his own school record in the men’s 110m hurdles at the Jim Freeman Invitational on Saturday with a final time of 13.62.
Shane Knanishu and Damian Rodriguez both broke the 1500m dash program record at the Jim Freeman Invitational on Saturday. Knanishu finished with a time of 3:47.49, and Rodriguez finished with a time of 3:46.38.
DePaul’s track and field team also finished the weekend with multiple top-three finishes! Read more about the team’s weekend wins, here
Chicago Headlines
By Jahlynn Hancock
Large gatherings addressed by Mayor Lightfoot and Mayor-Elect Johnson — Following the large gatherings of young people that took place in Chicago’s downtown over the weekend, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson issued statements after these events led to law enforcement’s response. Late Saturday night, hundreds of young people gathered near Millenium Park and engaged in “disruptive and reckless behavior” according to police, leading to the arrest of 16 people. At least 3 teens were shot near State and Madison in the middle of large crowds. Mayor-elect Johnson made an initiative during his campaign to impose better public safety measures in Chicago’s neighborhoods and included this in his statement. Shanzeh Ahmad and Laura Rodríguez Presa from the Chicago Tribune have the story.
Demolition of General Services building — After it was deemed unsafe, crews began demolition of Chicago’s General Services Building Friday. Standing for more than a century, the federal building is considered a safety hazard because it is at risk to collapse. Though preservationists fought to save the building. The building has been vacant, however, preservationists submitted a proposal to turn the building into a historical site, as an archive and research center for religious organizations. Nick Blumberg of WTTW has the story.
Narcan vending machine coming to Chicago’s South Side — After years of push from a mother who lost her son to opioid overdose, the city has approved the pilot vending machine for free Narcan. The free Narcan vending machine is coming to the 95th Street Red Line station to help people experiencing drug overdoses on CTA trains. This is the first of its kind in the city and will be installed this summer and stocked with other harm-reduction tool kits. Mack Liederman has more on this story for Block Club Chicago.
National Headlines
By Cary Robbins
The stories of the four victims killed in Alabama over the weekend — Four people were killed during a shooting at a birthday party that took place in a dance studio in Dadeville, Alabama on April 15. Their names are Corbin Dahmontrey, 23, Philstavious Dowdell, 18, Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19, and Shaunkivia Nicole Smith, 17. An additional 28 people were injured during the shooting. While there are no suspects so far or disclosed motives, Joe Hernandez and Susanna Capelouto wrote a brief article for NPR, about the victims who were killed. Read their story here.
Four Palestinians’ stories of facing violent house raids by the Israeli army — The Israeli army has been breaking into Palestinian homes across the West Bank to East Jerusalem between midnight and 5 a.m. Anywhere from 10 to over 100 soldiers force their way into people’s homes, where families have been held at gunpoint, interrogated, beaten, photographed and searched. Palestinians have been killed or injured during these raids, and families, especially children, are left traumatized. Today is Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, and Al Jazeera published an article that tells four Palestinians’ stories of home invasions and military detention. Read the full story written by Zena Al Than.
At least 185 killed in Sudan’s battle — In Sudan, at least 185 people have been killed and over 1,800 other people have been wounded in the battle between the two most powerful generals in the country. Today marks the third day of battle in the country. Tensions between armed forces chief, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the head of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, have been rising for weeks. Over the weekend, a battle erupted, with both generals hoping to take control of Sudan and the country’s rich resources. Both generals have stated that they will not negotiate or cease-fire, despite receiving much pressure from global diplomacy. To read more about what sparked the violence, read Samy Magdy’s article for the Associated Press. To read more about the effects the violence is having on families and individuals in Sudan, read this story in AP News by Jack Jeffery and Samy Magdy.
Mexico’s president said he will shut down Notimex, a national publication — On Friday, Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he will shut down one of the country’s national news publications, Notimex. The publication was founded in 1968 as “a service that mainly sent news reporters from Mexicos’s 32 states.” This publication was seen as vital for the country because almost all of the country’s national newspapers are based in Mexico City. The president claimed that Notimex was not needed anymore because his morning news briefings were “enough to keep the country informed.” Many people are saying that this is another way for the president to control the media. Read more about the effects of closing Notimex in this article, written by Mark Stevenson for AP News.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Featured Columnist Lauren Sheperd
Hello everyone! This week, I have a recipe (kind of) to suggest to you. I found this recipe while scrolling through TikTok, and knew I had to make it. I love this for a few reasons: it’s delicious, it will give you leftovers and you can choose what you want to add.
I constantly find myself craving Chipotle or some other takeout, which is not cost or time effective, so I decided to make myself my own Chipotle bowl. This recipe – which can make enough ingredients for four to six bowls depending on how hungry you are – doesn’t cost much more than one bowl from Chipotle. You need rice, cilantro and lime for the base, chicken thighs, and whatever assortment of peppers and onions you choose. You can also add homemade pico di gallo, cheese and guacamole. To season the chicken, I used adobo seasoning and taco mix, but there are several different ways to do this. Check out this TikTok for more detailed instructions.
If you’re looking to save money but also eat healthy and delicious food, this is one recipe to consider. While it can be a bit time-consuming, it can provide you with several meals over the course of the week with a bit of planning.
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