Last newsletter of 2023-24 school year, encampment updates and Mexico’s first female president
Plus, an new novel recommendation
Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! We’ve got a good one for you today. It’s your newsletter team — Alexandra, Gia, Chinyere, Sam, Annabelle, Elizabeth and Audrey — back with the last Monday night edition of the school year!
For the last newsletter of the school year, we bring you a special edition of ‘In the Loop.’ Starting with a farewell from the newsletter editor. It has been a pleasure to bring all of you new editions each week and while I will miss the team at 14 East dearly, I can’t wait to see this publication grow next year. Also, the Office of the President issued a new statement this afternoon regarding the DPU coalition and in Chicago news, a new multimedia development will bring affordable housing and three new restaurants to Garfield park.
If you want to show support for 14 East and ‘In the Loop,’ we invite you to donate directly to our newsroom. Whether it’s a one-time contribution or a monthly gift, every cent helps us build a newsroom that serves you, our readers, and we get 100% of your donation.
We will be back with new Monday night editions in a few weeks, with and entirely new management team! For now, happy graduation to those walking in the commencement ceremony and the newsletter team wishes you luck nearing finals week.
With that, let’s get into tonight's news!
Letter From the Editor: Farewell, ‘In the Loop’
By Alexandra Murphy
This newsletter, ‘In the Loop,’ first began as a resource to answer questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The DePaul community was fearful of what COVID-19 could mean and needed more resources in a time that felt lonely and unfamiliar for everyone. During my time with each edition, I have been given the unique opportunity to grow along with this publication. It has been an honor to play even a small role in running this key resource for the DePaul community.
‘In the Loop’, however, would not be where it is today without the outstanding management team and staff who helped this newsletter start from the ground up. Marissa Nelson, Cam Rodriguez, Grace Del Vecchio, Mikayla Rose Price, Chris Silber, Meredith Melland and, of course, 14 East advisor Amy Merrick deserve all of the praise for the hard work that went into starting this on-campus resource and leading by example. I also want to thank former Engagement Editor Claire Malon who revamped the publication to where it is today and to former Special Projects Editor Kate Linderman who has been an amazing mentor and has set the bar for me stepping into this position.
Although this year came with new challenges, the newsletter’s purpose remained all the same; to help keep the DePaul community informed on what is going on around campus, in the Chicago area and nationally. With the encampment that was set up on DePaul’s campus and on college campuses across the country, 14 East reporters were challenged in unexpected ways. Balancing the need for accurate reporting with sensitivity to the privacy of others is something that has taken careful consideration by the entire 14 East team. However, despite some of these obstacles, our reporter's have maintained dedication to uncovering the truth and have been able to amplify the voices of the DePaul community during this difficult time. I am proud that the newsletter has stood as a resource for the DePaul community to keep up to date on the encampment. An addition from this last year I am also especially proud of is the incorporation of Pueblo into the newsletter, 14 East’s bilingual platform, which has helped keep the community more up to date on news within the Latinx community.
As I leave my legacy with this newsletter, my hope is that for editions to come, ‘In the Loop’ will continue providing readers with essential coverage and resources for years to follow.
To all of the readers who stay tuned every Monday night, we would not be here without you. I appreciate all of the support and trust you have given the newsletter team to deliver your DePaul, Chicago, and National news each week. I also want to thank you for the support given to special projects like “The B-Side” podcast produced by Senior Associate Editor Audrey Leib and “The Chicago Minute” documentary team led by Multimedia Editor Kiernan Sullivan. This team’s hard work has not gone unnoticed and without you, our subscribers, the newsletter would not be where it is today.
To the outstanding newsletter team, thank you for all of the late nights and the hard work you have put into every edition. Your factual, informed reporting is what has made this newsletter a key resource for the DePaul community. Being able to review and publish all of your work each week has been one of the greatest gifts and I cannot wait to see what you accomplish next year. To the 14 East management team and staff, thank you for your constant support this past year, it has been an absolute honor to report alongside some of the most talented group of journalists I have ever had the opportunity to work with.
While this is a bittersweet goodbye, I will forever be grateful for the skills I gained running 'In the Loop' and from 14 East Magazine. I cannot wait to see this newsletter grow as I head off into my career.
Farewell, ‘In the Loop.’
DePaul News
By Gia Clarke
The President's office issued a new statement regarding the DePaul Divestment Coalition’s demands
At 11:51 a.m., the DePaul Office of the President made another statement saying that they will not make their investment portfolio public and they were not going to divest from companies doing business in Israel. Before this email was sent out, a large majority of students participating in the Student Government Association’s election voted in favor of the SGA referendum “calling for the university to make its investment portfolio public and to divest from companies doing business in Israel.” Of the 21,348 students enrolled, 1,970 students voted in the SGA election. Of those 1,970 students, 1,785 voted in favor of the referendum, 107 voted no and 78 did not pick an answer according to the email. Read the full statement here.
A timeline of events leading up to the dismantling of DePaul’s encampment
Last Friday, 14 East Deputy Managing Editor Sam Freeman wrote a timeline that shows the correspondence between President Robert Manuel and the Chicago Police Department and their plans leading up to the removal of the encampment on Thursday, May 16. According to the emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, Manuel agrees to the terms put out by the CPD Chief John Hein, and affirms the request for CPD assistance at the encampment. Read the timeline here.
DePaul Global Learning Experience celebrates 10th anniversary
DePaul’s Global Learning Experience (GLE) celebrates its 10th anniversary of using technologies to connect DePaul students to other students around the world. DePaul has also helped other places around the world develop and expand their own global virtual exchange programs, as DePaul is one of the founding institutions of the International Virtual Exchange Consortium, an organization that holds conferences bringing scholars from all over the world together. Emily Diaz from the DePaul Newsline has more.
DePaul Premiere Film Festival
DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts held their 18th annual Premiere Film Festival last Friday at the Music Box Theatre. The Premiere Film Festival is a showcase of student produced films. A jury made up of festival programmers, filmmakers and industry insiders decide which films showcase at the festival win awards. To learn more about the different student films that were showcased, Hayla C. Brooks from The DePaulia has more.
Chicago Headlines
By Chinyere Ibeh
A multimedia development will bring affordable housing and three restaurants to East Garfield Park – An undeveloped piece of land sits on West Jackson Boulevard and South Homan Avenue, and will be used to build 50 affordable apartment units. Harvest Homes II serves as the follow-up to Harvest Homes I, a project completed in 2017 with 36 apartment units. The development will include The Soul Food Lounge, Oooh Wee It Is and the Breakfast and Lunch Nook. Mayor Brandon Johnson said the development will receive federal low-income housing tax credits under the city’s 2023 Qualified Allocation Plan. Francia Garcia Hernandez has the story for Block Club Chicago.
Lion cub euthanized at Lincoln Park Zoo due to spinal cord deformity – The 17-month-old cub, named Lomelok, had a deformity in his lower spine, which caused abnormal movement. Lincoln Park Zoo staff closely monitored the cub and diagnosed him with a condition that caused nerve channels to narrow, which affected mobility in his back legs. Lomelok previously had spinal surgery and zoo staff hoped it would bring relief to the cub. For the full story, Mary Norkol of the Chicago-Sun Times has more.
Chicago Sports Network to broadcast Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox games in the Fall – The Chicago Sports Network will launch in October, delivering more than 300 live Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox games throughout the year. Pregame and postgame coverage as well as 24/7 multisport programming will be included. The first White Sox game will be broadcast in 2025 as Blackhawks and Bulls preseason games will begin broadcasting in October. The broadcast will reach most of Illinois and parts of Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. Michael Johnson for WGN-TV has the story.
Members of a would-be union representing House Speaker staffers sue due to ongoing unionization conflict – Staffers in House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office filed a suit against their boss on Friday. The suit calls for a Cook County judge to force the recognition of the union. The Illinois Legislative Staff Association, formed in the Fall of 2022, claims Welch’s refusal to engage in bargaining is a violation of the Workers’ Rights Amendment. Hanna Meisel of WTTW has the story.
National Headlines
By Sam Freeman
Wildfire scorches acres east of San Francisco – A wind-driven wildfire east of San Francisco injured two firefighters and burned 22 square miles of land, including a home. As of Monday, the fire was significantly surrounded and 75% contained. Residents were forced to flee the area near the central California city of Tracy, but evacuation orders were lifted when the weather allowed firefighters to make progress against the flames. Corral Fire, California’s largest wildfire so far this year, began at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, one of the country’s largest centers for nuclear weapons and technology. The cause is currently under investigation. Progress against the fire comes just before a predicted major heat wave, according to the National Weather Service. Melina Walling and John Antczak from the Associated Press have more information.
Jury selection begins for Hunter Biden’s firearms case – A federal gun case against President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden began Monday with a jury selection. First Lady Jill Biden sat in the front row of the courtroom to show her support for her son. Hunter Biden has been charged in Delaware with three felonies stemming from a 2018 gun purchase when he was in the midst of a crack addiction, according to his memoir. He’s been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making false claims on the application used to screen firearm applicants and illegally having the gun for 11 days. The jury selection for his case began today. Potential jurors were asked questions ranging from their knowledge of the case to their thoughts about gun ownership. “I am the President, but I am also a Dad,” President Biden said in a statement about the case. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today.” The trial comes just days after Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in New York City, showing how criminal court cases have taken the spotlight in the 2024 campaign. Claudia Lauer, Michael Kunzelman, Colleen Long and Randall Chase from the Associated Press have more information.
1 person was killed and 24 injured after a mass shooting in Akron, Ohio – One 27-year-old male was killed and 24 others were injured at an overnight shooting at a birthday party in Akron, Ohio, according to local police. The Akron police department said it received reports of a shooting just after midnight on Sunday morning. Two handguns were recovered at the scene, but police say there may have been more weapons involved. Evidence points to a drive-by shooting, and people at the party may have returned fire, according to Akron Police Chief Brian Harding. Gunshot victims were taken to several local hospitals; at least two are in critical condition. The victims range in age from 19 to 43 years old. “My heart goes out to the young man whose life was senselessly cut short and to everyone who was injured," Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said at Sunday's press conference. “Here the sheer number of victims is shocking and deeply concerning.” Juliana Kim from NPR has more information.
Biden expected to sign executive order restricting asylum – On Tuesday, President Biden is expected to sign an executive order that would temporarily seal the border between Mexico and the U.S. This move would suspend longtime protections for asylum seekers in the United States. Although this would be the most restrictive border policy implemented by Biden or a modern Democrat, Biden faces intense political pressure to address illegal migration, which is a top concern for voters heading into the 2024 presidential election. The order would prevent migrants from claiming asylum, and it would turn them away if border crossing exceeded a certain threshold. Earlier this year, government officials said the threshold would be 5,000 border crossings in a week, or 8,500 in one day. Those involved in negotiations said those numbers could change. The decision comes after a failed bipartisan bill from earlier this year that included some of the strictest border controls Congress had considered in years. The bill was thwarted by Republicans, who said the restrictions weren’t strong enough. Hamed Aleaziz and Zolan Kanno-Youngs of The New York Times have more information.
14 East Pueblo: Claudia Sheinbaum becomes Mexico’s first female president
By Annabelle Rivera
Former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum won Mexico’s presidential election on Sunday.
Sheinbaum is the first woman to win a general election in North America and the first person of a Jewish background to lead Mexico. She won 58.8% of the vote with 82% of the ballots counted, the highest vote percentage in the history of Mexico’s democracy.
“As I have said on other occasions, I do not arrive alone,” Sheinbaum said shortly after winning. “We all arrived, with our heroines who gave us our homeland, with our mothers, our daughters and our granddaughters.”
Prior to politics, Sheinbaum worked as a physicist on a United Nations panel that won a Nobel Prize in 2007. As Mexico City’s mayor, she promoted masking and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic while Mexico’s president downplayed its seriousness. She will begin her 6-year term on October 1.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Featured Columnist Elizabeth Gregerson
The words, “Witch Trials,” often make us think of Salem, Massachusetts. So much so, the town has become a tourist destination for curious history lovers.
Perhaps some of us think of the Scottish King James VI who eventually became England’s King James I after Queen Elizabeth I’s death. James’ had what some would describe as a personal vendetta against witchcraft. He wrote of his experience during the 1590s North Berwick witch trials in a dissertation of sorts, Daemonologie, which influenced witch hunts and trials against women all over Scotland. This is the same King James who commissioned and sponsored the creation of the King James bible, still popularly used by Christians today.
James’ beliefs sparked the ideas that led to the Salem Witch Trials, but they also influenced countries closer to James himself. One of those countries was Norway.
That is where Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s novel, The Mercies, takes place. Though the novel is inspired by real events, it does not explicitly or solely cover the history of witch trials. Hargrave instead uses The Mercies to bring readers into the hypothetical minds of women who found themselves swept up in the spread of a dangerous ideological movement.
It is hard to describe The Mercies without giving too much of the story away. Taking place on a small Norwegian fishing island called Vardø, the novel begins in 1617 with an event that will change the lives of every woman on who calls Vardø home. The women will first need to survive the winter, then they will need to survive a man who comes to their island to “save” them.
Available to purchase on Kindle or in hard and paperback formats, the audiobook might be the best way to read The Mercies as it is performed expertly by Irish actress Jessie Buckley, who you may recognize from her roles in Chernobyl and Women Talking.
Hargrave’s writing proves that, much like in real life, moments of female friendship and love often weave beautifully between the gut wrenching moments of fear and confusion. The Mercies will remind readers that tenderness and quiet longing can often be found when and where we least expect it.
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