DePaul launches web series, university issues new emails to students
And how a last-minute switch to Zoom went for PR campaign final presentations
Hello all,
Is Spring Quarter almost here already? It feels like we just finished Winter Quarter (wait, we did… gotta love the quarter system). We hope you all are staying healthy and occupied from six feet away amid the chaos of these times. We’re your Thursday COVID-19 crew here with more updates — Associate Editor Meredith Melland and Event Planners Justin Myers and Mikayla Rose Price.
If you’re new here, this is the third issue of the twice-weekly newsletter on all things DePaul/COVID-19 from 14 East, DePaul’s online magazine. You can check out previous editions of the newsletter here and read our full COVID-19 stories here.
In tonight’s letter, we’ll get into the university’s shifting policies (including fancy new student email accounts), the repercussions of Chicagoans flocking to the 606 and the wild world of Zoom presentations. And Mikayla made a dope playlist of community song recommendations for all your quarantining needs!
So, let’s get to it!
We do this because we think it's an important public service. But if you would like to support this work on Venmo @fourteeneastmag, or tell your friends to sign up for this newsletter — it'd be greatly appreciated.
What’s the latest at DePaul?
The first installment of “DePaul Connection,” a web series hosted by DePaul President Gabriel Esteban focused on maintaining a sense of a campus community amid COVID-19 isolations, was released on Wednesday.
Members of the university’s administration, including Executive Vice President Jeff Bethke and Vice President for Mission and Ministry Father Guillermo “Memo” Campuzano, appeared alongside Esteban to address questions from DePaul students. Though students have requested Spring Quarter tuition to be lowered because it will be online, Bethke reinforced what had already been communicated to students: it won’t be. Campuzan also encouraged students to think of social distancing as a form of community service amid the suspension of in-person campus community service programs.
All DePaul students will receive @depaul.edu email accounts. That means they can access tools such as Zoom Pro, Adobe Creative Cloud and the virtual lab environment Apporto. Additionally, Student Involvement announced the Digital Engagement Network (DEN), which is geared to provide a virtual platform for student organization events.
While the university encourages all students to avoid visiting the campus whenever possible, it announced the planned opening of three computer labs, which will be available to students during Spring Quarter:
Two will be in the Loop campus and can be found in room 105 of the Lewis Center (25 E. Jackson Blvd.) and on the first floor of the Daley Building (14 E. Jackson Blvd.). These locations will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturday and will be closed on Sunday.
The third is in Brownstones at the Lincoln Park Student Center (2250 N. Sheffield Ave.) and will be available everyday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
A DePaul ID is needed to gain access into all locations.
The library and its computer labs will remain closed for the entirety of Spring Quarter, though library staff will remain available to provide virtual support for the library’s digital resources and collections.
Okay, what’s the latest in Chicago?
Mayor Lori Lightfoot stuck to her word. Yesterday, during her daily press conference to the city, she threatened that there will be repercussions for those who do not follow Governor J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home mandate. Today, she ordered all parks and the entire lakefront trail to be closed. The shutdown includes all of the riverwalk and bike paths, green spaces and playgrounds adjacent to the lakefront. The 606 trail on the Northwest Side is also closed. The bike paths that are still open to the public can be found on the city’s transportation website. Although people are still allowed, and even encouraged, to take brief walks or jogs –– congregating is not allowed. This includes any type of contact sports, like basketball.
“This is a 24/7 order,” Interim Chicago Police Superintendent Charlie Beck said during the conference today. Mayor Lightfoot said that police will be patrolling these areas. First offenders will receive a warning, but repeated offenders could receive a ticket or even be arrested.
The Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, Dr. Allison Arwady, said that as of this morning there are 949 confirmed lab cases of COVID-19 in Chicago. Statewide, Illinois officials announced 673 new known coronavirus cases since Wednesday, and 7 new deaths, bringing the total to 2,538 cases and 26 deaths in the state.
Here are some of the top Chicago COVID19 headlines:
CPS approves emergency coronavirus fund, asks for outside help to provide computers to children who lack them: ‘The resources are finite,’ Chicago Tribune’s Hannah Leone
Is it safe to play golf during the coronavirus pandemic? Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein
If you don’t want to watch the news, here are the national headlines to know
Senate passes $2 trillion economic stimulus package, The Los Angeles Times’s Sarah D. Wire
Explainer: Hobbled IRS tax agency may need months to get cash to Americans, Reuters’s Andy Sullivan
Coronavirus: Prince Charles tests positive but 'remains in good health,’ BBC’s Nicholas Witchell
Tokyo 2020 Olympics officially postponed until 2021, ESPN’s Kelly Cohen
The coronavirus is exacerbating vulnerabilities Native communities already face, Vox’s Maria Givens
On to better news: a DePaul class successfully used Zoom for final presentations
Students in PRAD 377 presented their final public relations campaign recommendations to their client via Zoom on March 17, and PR professor Don Ingle said the results were “beyond my expectations.”
Three groups of four students prepared for the entire quarter to design and present a comprehensive PR campaign for Sargento Snack Bites to Sargento brand marketing representatives and Ogilvy, their Chicago PR agency.
“It was daunting at first trying to think of how we were going to do a group presentation over a video call, but in reality it was surprisingly easy,” said Cara Ward, one of the students who presented.
Sellars Huy, another student in the class, said she didn’t run into any audiovisual problems.
“It was my first time using it and I was my team's ‘technical lead’ and I had no issues getting it up and running,” Huy said.
Their 20-minute presentations were heavily involved, with 45-60 slides based on research and analysis and an additional five minutes for client questions, but they operated smoothly.
“While their slide presentation was on screen, we could see thumbnails when each was talking,” Ingle said. “The winning team even had short video clips and gifs of them tossing the Snack Bites into each other's mouth.”
Ingle received a later email from the Sargento brand manager commending the students on their work. For faculty and students planning to use Zoom in Spring Quarter, he recommends testing your webcam and microphone, conducting a practice meeting and avoiding presenting videos.
Looking to get your mind off of COVID-19?
Here’s what media students are consuming.
📚Christa is reading “The Witness Wore Red” by Rebecca Musser
📚Katie is reading “Trick Mirror” by Jia Tolentino
📚Cyd is reading “The Great Believers” by Rebecca Makkai
📺 Sophie is watching That 70’s show on Netflix
📺Syndey is watching The Good Place on Hulu
📺Kaanan is watching Shameless on Netflix
🎧Cami is listening to The Weekend
🎧Malik is listening to Frank Ocean
🎧Misael is listening to Taylor Swift
🎶We also created a playlist of the music that students and our staff have been listening to this week.🎶
What resources are there to help?
Lost your main source of income?
Jewel-Osco is looking for employees ASAP, as are Aldi, Kroger and Meijer.
Also, Papa John’s, Domino’s and Jet’s Pizza
And, Amazon is hiring over 100,000 people across the country
Need financial assistance?
Need food or supplies?
Here are Chicago Public Schools locations for food distribution
Here’s an easy place to ask for help (Chicago COVID-19 Hardship and Help)
Here’s how to apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Need more information on COVID-19?
Spreadsheet of COVID-19 resources for undocumented individuals, by UndocuScholars
Feeling overwhelmed?
Here are some tips from the CDC for how to take care of yourself
Drag personality Coco Peru is putting out uplifting daily videos on enjoying the little things in life amid quarantine
Looking for fun, tailored home workout programs that don’t require equipment? Visit Darebee to train like a Spartan or to complete quests like an RPG hero
Here are some free meditations, sleep and movement exercises from Headspace
Call 833-626-4244 for the NAMI Chicago Helpline or 833-TURN-123 for the Bright Star Community Outreach to speak to a mental health counselor
If it’s late at night: text HELLO to 741741. Crisis Text Line is a 24-hour hotline that serves anyone, in any type of crisis
The Chicago Recovery Alliance is offering “free phone-based harm-reduction-oriented therapy sessions” for at least the next week. Email Geoff Bathje at counseling@anypositivechange.org to be connected.
That's it for Thursday. Thank you for reading. Let us know what you thought, what you’d like to see more of, what we missed and what you liked.
From all three of us, take care of yourself. Stay safe and, again, wash your hands.
Until next Thursday,
Meredith Melland, Justin Myers, Mikayla Rose Price
Associate Editor, 14 East
Event Planners, 14 East
We do this because we think it's an important public service. But if you would like to support this work on Venmo @fourteeneastmag, or tell your friends to sign up for this newsletter — it'd be greatly appreciated.