First week of school, healthcare strike, West Coast wildfires
And a resource on the school-to-prison pipeline
Welcome to Fall Quarter, DePaul!
It’s wild to find ourselves six months later introducing this newsletter from right where we began: in the midst of online classes. But a lot has changed since then, including the newsletter team! We’re welcoming Bridget Killian, one of 14 East’s new staff illustrators, and Emmanuel Flores, Pueblo’s Social Media Editor, to your weekly entourage, alongside your regulars: Francesca, Justin and Grace. Without further ado, let’s get into the news this week.
Oh, and by the way, we’re still hiring! And we opened a new position! Due to an influx of applications, we decided to open up a staff writer position. If you want to write regularly for 14 East and get involved in staff projects throughout the quarter, we encourage you to apply to be a staff writer. Here’s the Google Form application with more info: https://forms.gle/WmBDnD4zwov4ZqDW8
If you’ve already applied for a different position and want to apply for staff writer instead, just reach out to Francesca Mathewes, Editor in Chief, at franmathewes98@gmail.com. Apps are due September 21 at midnight for staff writers and this Thursday, September 17, for all other positions.
What’s happening in Chicago?
Another day, another wave of Chicago protests. This morning, employees of the University of Illinois Hospital officially went on strike. The strike includes union members of SEIU Local 73 and Illinois Nurses United, who have been on strike since Saturday, and became official this morning. The strike was followed by a 12 p.m. rally in the Illinois Medical District.
Multiple elected officials and the Chicago Teachers Union, who went on strike last fall along with members of SEIU Local 73, have voiced their support for the union members.
The strike includes 4,000 employees and is expected to last up to seven days, or until the unions reach an agreement with the hospital and university.
On Friday evening, around 100 community members gathered in Washington Park to mourn and celebrate the lives of young Black and Brown people who have lost their lives to violence this year alone. The event, titled the Love Memorial, was organized by Nita Tennyson, creator of the Love Train and Love Marches.
The memorial included a march through Washington Park and culminated in front of a colorful and vibrant memorial, covered in photos of those who were killed in 2020, all of whom Tennyson said were under the age of 24.
Activists and family members spoke and afterwards, community members lit candles in honor of the lives that had been lost. At the end, they released lanterns into the air.
“This is a tear zone,” said Tennyson. “If you gotta cry, cry.”
Do you live on the South or West sides and have a project you want funded? Well, this may be your chance.
The city is now offering up to $250,000 in grants to entrepreneurs via the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund. You can visit the fund’s website to see if you qualify.
Other Headlines In Chicago
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a contact tracing program to work with 31 community organizations around Chicago. This plan was initially announced in May and should have been in effect with over 100 workers. The program will train people to “track the spread of the coronavirus and warn Chicagoans who’ve had contact with someone” who tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Chicago Tribune. The program calls for 30 contact tracers for every 100,000 people. Chicago would need an estimated 810 contact tracers.
In an effort to keep up with a surge of online orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon is going to be hiring 100,000 new employees, including 5,600 in just the Chicagoland area. The jobs are mostly in shipping and packing, with up to $500 signing bonuses. Other shipping-focused companies are doing the same, from the Chicago Tribune’s Joseph Pisani.
Chicago City Council is approving an affordable housing ordinance in Woodlawn, a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side and the future neighbor of the Obama Presidential Library. It’s “a step in the right direction,” from Block Club Chicago’s Maxwell Evans, published in the TRiiBe.
For the second time in two months, Wisconsin could be going back on Chicago’s 14-day mandatory quarantine list. The state just passed more than 15 per 100,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in a two-week period, from the Chicago Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman.
What’s happening at DePaul?
Classes are back underway at DePaul following the start of Autumn Quarter 2020. Around campus, the scattering of hand sanitizer stations, remote kiosks for ordering at the university’s dining services and university-wide requirements like facemasks and health check-ins through the #CampusClear app stand as icons of a new chapter in the lives of students, staff and faculty.
Despite these changes, many things are still familiar — albeit in a new way. On-campus dining has resumed in a limited and socially distanced capacity. Apart from the aforementioned kiosks, plexiglass partitions protect workers, while significantly reduced seating capacities and new sanitization procedures work to keep students safe.
Some in-person events and classes are still happening. The Office of Student Involvement’s annual Welcome Week, though mostly virtual, hosted some in-person opportunities last week like a virtual DJ for students. Extra precautions were taken to ensure that safe social distancing practices were adhered to. These included limited event capacities and social distancing markers placed on the floor for students to stand in to maintain a six-foot distance from each other. Additionally, in-person classes — both on-campus and abroad — are still taking place or planned for this quarter. Classes are taking place in over 40 classrooms this quarter and multiple computer labs across both campuses are open. A few study abroad programs are even still scheduled to take place.
However, not all is boding well with students upon their return. Worries have sprung up over the number of residents in student housing facilities and occurrences like an on-campus surprise party thrown by Chicago police officers with lax safety measures that went against DePaul’s guidelines.
Additionally, students are still calling for further measures to protect employees of Chartwells, DePaul’s food service provider, who have been laid off because of the pandemic. On September 9, a protest took place outside of the Lincoln Park Student Center calling for the university to promise further protections for workers who fear their benefits will soon run out.
If you don’t want to read the news, here’s the headlines to know.
More than 6.5 million people have been infected and 194,000 have died of COVID-19 in the United States, according to the New York Times. Cases are high in North Dakota, Missouri, Wisconsin and Oklahoma; they’re rising in Utah, Delaware, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company, announced Sunday that a COVID-19 vaccine may be available for nationwide distribution by the end of the year, pending FDA approval. Pfizer plans to expand its Phase 3 trial to 44,000 participants, including people with HIV and Hepatitis B and C. Even with FDA approval, it will not be available for everyone right away. According to CNBC, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine “released a draft proposal for distributing a vaccine in the U.S.” starting with health care workers and people with underlying conditions. Read the full drafted proposal here.
Tropical storm Sally has now been classified a hurricane as winds reach 85 mph. The hurricane is currently moving towards New Orleans. Sally is expected to hit the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, September 15. Winds are expected to increase between now and landfall and could reach 105 mph. The area from Morgan City, Louisiana, to the Mississippi/Alabama border is under a hurricane warning. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “it is too early to determine where Sally’s center will move onshore.”
With flu season quickly approaching, health experts are concerned about the stress it could have on the already-strained health care system. According to the New York Times, COVID-19 and the flu season could create another shortage of hospital beds and personal protective equipment (PPE). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said an increase in flu shots by 5 percent could prevent 483,000 flu infections. While flu shots cannot prevent COVID-19, by reducing the risk of contracting the flu hospitals will not be overwhelmed by combating two viruses at once.
Wildfires have ripped across the West Coast, causing widespread damage to the landscape and impacting the air quality up and down the coastline. As fires continue to burn, the smoke is creeping across the country, carried along by the jet stream, even making its way to Chicago.
Your Educational Resource of the Week
Each week we will be using this section to highlight a different educational resource on race. It may come in the form of literature, film, art or anything that Black scholars and activists are centering at this time.
As many of you start your second week of school, this week’s educational resource is Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique Morris. In her book, Morris chronicles the experiences of Black girls across the country with teachers, administrators and the justice system.
You can find this book online or in-person at a branch of the Chicago Public Library or at Semicolon Bookstore and Gallery, an independent Black-owned bookstore in Chicago.
Resources for Returning Students
773-325-7290 and deanofstudents@depaul.edu
The Dean of Students’ Office provides a variety of resources like the Student Emergency Assistance Fund (SEAF) and academic assistance.
Provides financial assistance to students. Please note, applications are currently not being accepted due to a large number of submissions but are projected to reopen by the end of this month.
Located in the Lincoln Park Student Center, the student food pantry is free and available to all students during limited hours. DePaul ID required for access.
Provides funding for projects led by faculty, staff and student groups.
An online portal linking students to all sorts of virtual events on campus.
A database created by the Illinois Department of Health of all testing centers in the state.
The Chicago Queer Exchange is a network of individuals across Chicago working in collective unity to help those within the LGBTQ+ community. It offers a wide variety of services from cheap furniture to emergency housing and more. Please note, it is unaffiliated with DePaul.
I-Share is a network between libraries across Illinois that allows for reciprocal lending of books and materials to students, even if they don’t attend the college or university they’re borrowing from. DePaul recently updated their I-Share protocol in light of the university physically reopening.
Mental Health Resources
This document is a resource for Black people experiencing racial trauma. This master list includes specific resources as well as protesting tips and donation links.
This link is a directory of Black therapists in Chicago
This link is a directory of Black therapists in Chicago who provide services for under $75
Here’s 7 virtual mental health resources supporting Black people right now, including Chicago-based community organization Sista Afya’s support groups
And the Trans Lifeline’s Peer Support Hotline is a resource operated by transgender and nonbinary staffers for the trans community: 877-565-8860.
The Center for Religion and Psychotherapy in Chicago is a nonprofit that provides affordable, sliding-scale counseling. Call (312) 263-4368 extension 9081 to schedule an intake appointment. Disclaimer: although this is a Christian-founded organization, religion is not incorporated into the counseling practice at the sliding-scale clinic.
Where to Access Food in Chicago
Brave Space Alliance has a crisis food pantry for Black and trans individuals in need. If you would like to request assistance from Brave Space Alliance, fill out this form.
This spreadsheet highlights businesses and locations providing food. There are also links to donate to these organizations.
Check out the Greater Chicago Food Depository for food banks or donate.
Free Resources for Non-Black Allies
The NPR podcast “Code Switch” tackles a diverse array of topics centered around racial identities and racism in America.
Reading guide of texts about race. All PDFs are free.
Here’s a guide to protest safely during the pandemic
Here’s the ACLU’s Right to Protest guide for Illinois
If you think someone you know has been arrested – call the Chicago Community bail fund at 773-309-1198 to locate them (you need to know their birthdate and full legal name)
Want to increase your awareness about environmental racism, racism in the medical field or another specific subject? Here’s a database by activist and artist Angelina Ruiz, which details reading lists over a range of subject matter pertaining to race.
As always, thanks for joining. If you know of any events, actions, resources or stories you want to see in the newsletter, please feel free to reach out via email or our socials @14eastmag – we’re all ears.
Francesca, Bridget, Emmanuel, Grace and Justin signing off for now, see ya next week!