Lofi music, Brandon Johnson and the CTU, and more aid to Ukraine
plus how to sign up for DPU Alerts
Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! It’s your newsletter team — Kate, Emily S., Grace, Cary, Emily F., Isabella, Lauren, Mariah, Monique and Bridget.
Last week, tragedy struck Michigan State’s campus leaving many DePaul students wondering what DePaul’s response would be if an active shooter were to be on campus. Continue reading to learn more about DePaul’s response and how to sign up for alerts.
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Today’s lineup includes a dive into lofi music, upcoming educational events at DePaul and more on the upcoming Chicago Municipal Election on February 28.
Pay Mind to Lofi
By Grace Vaughn
A devoted online audience, consisting of anyone from stressed out college students to remote workers, has gathered with one common goal in mind: to chill out. Lofi music stations and 24 hour streams promise to fulfill that need.
Short for low fidelity, this subgenre of electronic music consists of songs with repetitive musical beats and an unobtrusive soundtrack. Audio elements like these help to create a calming ambiance and elicit strong reactions from listeners as some credit it with increased productivity and relaxation.
The science behind this phenomenon lies in psychoacoustics, a branch of psychology focused on how humans perceive sound. Peter Xinya Zhang, PhD is a professor in the acoustic program at Columbia College Chicago who works to better understand these senses through studies on pitch and spatial perception.
"Psychologically, you don’t want too many surprises,” Zhang said. “Otherwise, you really get excited about the content of the music rather than focusing on what you’re studying.”
Tracks' use of intentional imperfections through low hums, drum loops and environmental noise enhances the nostalgic feel of the genre.
“If you listen to some older recordings, they didn’t have the high frequency components simply because the recording technology wasn't good at the time … You don't feel those kinds of very crispy, very sharp, very harsh [sounds] right? You don't have those. [In lofi], it's going to be very smooth, almost like the analog recording era.”
Lofi music can hold enough power to stimulate a listener's parasympathetic nervous system, a network of nerves that controls the body’s ability to relax. Similar to the mind’s reaction when deep breathing or laughing with a friend, stress hormone levels begin to lower and the brain is triggered into a calmer state.
Even large companies have joined in on the new music industry trend. Walt Disney Records released an album titled “Disney Lofi Minnie: Chill” in March 2022. It compiled ten lofi instrumental covers of classic Disney songs. Just this month, Nissan created a four hour long electric car advertisement on YouTube mimicking the style of popular lofi videos.
This genre won't be a universal fix for everyone looking to focus on school or work. As Zhang explains, people hear things differently due to varying pinna, or ear shapes. It allows individuals to be subjective toward soundwaves and decipher what works best for their own cognitive functions.
"If one student feels this helps with their study, then do it. I don't see a potential or known danger there. If someone else feels it's distracting, then intuitively you just study … in a relatively quiet environment,” Zhang said.
DePaul News
By Cary Robbins
Information on DePaul Emergency Protocols
Following the Michigan State University school shooting last week, DePaul Public Safety shared protocols the school will follow to ensure students’ safety if a similar incident were to occur at the university. DPU Alert, which is the direct emergency notification system for the university, will deliver a message to students’ email, phone, and/or text-messaging devices. Students and faculty are encouraged to update their contact information if their numbers have changed or if they are not already connected with DPU Alert. Read this to see how you can sign up to get DPU Alerts and get more information about what to do if there is an active shooter on campus. The university does periodic tests to make sure the system is working, and the next test will take place on Thursday, February 23.
DePaul event with Daniel Greene about reckoning with violent histories
DePaul Humanities Center will host an event with Dr. Daniel Greene, the president of Chicago’s Newberry Library, on Wednesday, February 22. The event will be held at the Lincoln Park Student Center in Room 120 A/B at 6 p.m. and will be in conversation with College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences professors Anna Souchuk and Matthew Girson. Greene acted as a contributing historian on Ken Burns’s documentary series “The U.S. and the Holocaust.” He also helped to curate an exhibition for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. titled “Americans and the Holocaust.” Read more about how to access the documentary and about the event here.
DePaul will be hosting a conference about preventing and reducing homelessness
This March, DePaul will be hosting a conference with international experts who are working to address homelessness. Organizers are seeking volunteers from the university and want to spread the word about the event. The Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness and the International Journal on Homelessness are jointly hosting the conference. About 300 policymakers, practitioners, academics and people who have lived experiences of homelessness will be at the conference, and their agenda is posted online. Lydia Stazen, director of the Institute of Global Homelessness, is recruiting about 50 volunteers to act as hosts for in-person and virtual breakout rooms during the conference. If you are interested in volunteering, you can email lstazen@depaul.edu. You can read here for more information about the conference.
DePaul’s Portrait Days for faculty and staff
DePaul’s Visual Services is hosting Portrait Days where faculty and staff are able to have professional headshots taken on the Lincoln Park Campus on March 2 and 3. The event will take place at the Lincoln Park Campus Student Center in room 316 on Thursday, March 2, from 1-4 p.m. and Friday, March 3, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The UMC Visual Services will keep a digital copy of the photos in a photo database, and all photos are property of the university.
Lastly, here is your weekend sports update (Feb. 17-19):
DePaul’s softball team lost 7-3 against Weber State on Friday afternoon.
DePaul women’s tennis team won 4-0 against Kansas State on Friday night.
DePaul men’s tennis team lost 4-2 against Oral Roberts during their 59th annual H-E-B Tournament of Champions on Saturday morning.
DePaul women’s basketball team won 86-64 against Providence on Saturday.
DePaul men’s basketball lost 82-68 against Xavier on Saturday.
DePaul’s softball team lost 13-7 against BYU on Saturday.
DePaul women’s tennis team won 7-0 against Butler on Sunday.
Chicago Headlines
By Emily Figueroa
Chicago Teachers Union spends over $2.3 million on Brandon Johnson’s campaign — The Chicago Teachers Union is counting on mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson to win the upcoming election. CTU has consistently fought against Mayor Lori Lightfoot with multiple walkouts and leaving students wondering when school is canceled, but the relationship with Johnson could bring a different attitude. Johnson is the legislative coordinator for CTU, according to CTU documents filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. His win could accelerate CTU’s agenda and bring one of their own to the mayor’s office. Visit the Chicago Tribune where Sarah Macraeg, A.D. Quig and Alice Yin have more on the story.
New paid leave legislation— The new paid leave legislation will require Illinois employers to give time off based on the hours completed by their employees. The requested time off can be used under any circumstance and employees are not required to explain the reason for their absence. The guidelines are minimal and require workers to notify their employers within the standards set by the company. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he is willing to sign the legislation which would take effect on January 1, 2024. Claire Savage has the details for AP News.
Babysitter charged with first-degree murder of a four-month-old infant — On Saturday, a report of an unresponsive baby was made from the home of Norma Chagnama, 29. Chagnama was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after prosecutors suspected she forcefully threw the infant over her shoulders. Chagnama is accused of not having a license to run a daycare and she had been babysitting for the family since late 2022. Chagnama offered the family an apology and $2,000 towards the funeral. Andy Koval reports on the story from WGN9.
National Headlines
By Isabella Ali
Over 300,000 bottles of Starbucks bottled Frappuccinos recalled — According to the Food and Drug Administration, more than 25,000 cases of Starbucks vanilla Frappuccino bottles have been recalled because they may have glass fragments in them. According to a notification released in late January, each of the cases contains 12 bottles, bringing the total number to 302,400. The product is offered at a number of merchants across the country, such as Target, Amazon and Walmart. Drinks with expiration dates of March 8, 2023, May 29, 2023, June 4 and June 10, 2023 are impacted. are impacted. The FDA website states the recall is a class II, which means exposure to the recalled product "may cause transitory or medically reversible adverse health consequences.” For more information, Ayana Archie from NPR has the news.
U.S. military completes Chinese balloon recovery, debris now under analysis — The United States announced on Friday that it completed its recovery of sensors and other debris from a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon. The object, which Beijing denies was a spy vessel, spent a week flying over the U.S. and Canada before it was shot down on February 4. Investigators are now examining the balloon's "guts" and the last of the debris is being sent to a Virginia FBI laboratory for analysis. The balloon caused an uproar in D.C. and led the military to search for and shoot down other sky objects. U.S. and Canadian authorities declared they suspended search efforts for three other unexplained objects which were shot down the previous weekend after failing to find any debris. The other three items, according to President Biden, were likely balloons connected to leisure rather than China's spy operations. Phil Stewart from Reuters has the story.
Second and third earthquakes hit Turkey two weeks after massive quake — Two earthquakes, one measuring 6.4 and the other 5.8, have struck southern Turkey on Monday. This is the same area where 7.8 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck two weeks ago, killing more than 44,000 people in both Turkey and Syria. Turkey's interior minister, Süleyman Soylu, stated that at least three people were killed and 213 injured by the latest quakes. The Guardian’s Ruth Michaelson, reporting from Istanbul, has more.
Biden makes unannounced visit to Ukraine, pledges $500 million in aid — Almost one year after Russia's invasion, U.S. President Joseph Biden paid a surprise visit to Kyiv and pledged $500 million in military aid to Ukraine. Biden also promised additional sanctions on Russia. The assistance package will include air surveillance radars, anti-armor systems, and artillery ammunition. According to a White House statement, the visit was to “reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.” For more information, visit Al Jazeera.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Featured Columnist Lauren Sheperd
Hello everyone, and welcome back to In the Loop! A couple of weeks ago, I went to see “Cabaret” for the first time at the Porchlight Music Theatre, and I was blown away. For those who don’t know, “Cabaret” is set in a Berlin cabaret in the late 1920s and early 1930s. A cabaret was a sort of nightclub with a show, which is a key element of the musical. The musical follows a young American author who traveled to Berlin to write and a dancer from the Cabaret as the Nazi party begins taking over the country.
According to a review written for the Chicago Tribune by Chris Jones, this production of “Cabaret” is “the best Chicago show so far in 2023, there will be little you have seen before.” I absolutely agree. All of the actors were incredible, but Erica Stephan who played the female lead – Sally Bowles – stuck out. Sally is a character whois lost despite her reputation as promiscuous and confident. However, she uses this as a mask for how lost and depressed she really feels. Stephan acts out these feelings perfectly and makes it hard to remember that the character and the actress are separate. Aside from Stephan’s incredible performance, the diverse cast also created a modern viewing experience by using their own race and culture to show the growth of the Nazi party and the growth of their influence.
The show will run until March 19 and will close after an almost two-month run. Porchlight is located at 1016 N. Dearborn St. and is easily accessible by the Brown and Red Lines. Make sure to set aside enough time to enjoy the show, however, as it has a run time of two hours and 30 minutes. Get tickets here: https://porchlightmusictheatre.org/cabaret/
Resources
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That’s it for today! See you next Monday.
The 14 East Newsletter Team