First two COVID-19 cases at DePaul, Student move-out date accelerated
And what professors are doing to make finals week a little better
Hello everyone,
I hope you are staying safe and finding small moments of happiness during this uncertain time. I’m Marissa Nelson, the editor-in-chief of 14 East, DePaul’s online magazine. Since DePaul announced its move to online courses, we’ve been covering the COVID-19 pandemic and how it’s affecting DePaul around the clock.
Every minute (or every second?) the news and circumstances surrounding the virus are changing. And suddenly the next three months look drastically different than they did just last week. While Spring Quarter may not occur on campus, and instead most of us will be taking our courses from our living rooms, it’s still important to stay informed about and connected with the DePaul community.
So, we’re launching a project to make everything feel a little less weird, or at least a little less disconnected.
Today, we’re starting this twice-weekly (on Monday and Thursdays) newsletter to help keep you up to date on what’s happening in the DePaul community. We’ll share the latest COVID-19 updates and relevant resources. And we’ll share information that isn’t so, well, sad. We’ll profile professors who are making online courses particularly interesting (we’ll ask you to point us in their direction). And we’ll share what DePaul community members are reading, listening to and watching to get their minds off the coronavirus pandemic.
Here’s our first issue of our twice-weekly update. Once you’ve read it, let us know what you think.
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?
Things are moving very quickly. On Wednesday, DePaul confirmed two COVID-19 cases related to the university. The first is a faculty member in the Department of Art, Media and Design. They were last on campus on Sunday, March 15 and last with students on Wednesday, March 11. The faculty member thinks they contracted COVID-19 after class. So, that’s good. What’s not so good? On Sunday, the faculty member was in the building at 1150 W. Fullerton Ave. — the early voting polling place for the 43rd Ward and a polling place on election day on Tuesday. There haven’t been any reports of subsequent problems, though.
The other case isn’t technically at DePaul. A resident at Ion (formerly known as 1237 West) tested positive for COVID-19 and has self quarantined since Friday, according to an email sent to residents by the building’s general manager on Tuesday afternoon. Though the building isn’t owned or operated by the university, it’s mostly DePaul students who live there. The resident hasn’t been in any communal spaces in the building since Saturday, March 14, according to the email.
Not sure what the symptoms are? Here’s what to look for. Feeling sick? Here’s what to do.
In other news, if it feels like nearly every building at DePaul is closing indefinitely, it’s not just you. It’s really happening. As conditions continue to change, the university has closed all libraries, The Ray and computer labs until further notice. The Lincoln Park Student Center is still open, though only DePaul students, faculty and staff can enter with university IDs.
Last week (which feels more like last year), after DePaul announced university changes — including moving finals and Spring Quarter online — student workers grew concerned about the fate of their employment. An email on Tuesday from DePaul Human Resources said that if a student’s work can’t be done remotely, they should apply to other job opportunities. They’ll be paid the difference between their actual hours worked and their regularly scheduled hours up to Friday, May 1, when the process will be re-evaluated.
Right now, students are preparing to move off campus, and DePaul just accelerated their move-out date. Originally, students had to move out by Sunday, March 22. On Wednesday night, students received an email from DePaul’s housing department moving that date up to Saturday, March 21, at 5 p.m.
Tell us how COVID-19 and DePaul’s changes have affected you.
Okay, what’s the latest in Chicago?
Well, the numbers of cases in the city and around the state are rising quickly. While that’s scary, it’s also expected. Now that more testing is being done, more cases are being identified. Illinois announced on Thursday that the total confirmed cases in the state have grown to 422, up from 288 on Wednesday. And four people have died in Illinois.
This morning, Oak Park (a suburb of Chicago, reachable by the Green Line) issued a shelter-in-place order, which will go into effect at midnight. That means that residents can pick up food, go to the doctor and take care of basic needs. Otherwise, they should stay home.
Other headlines in Chicago
School Canceled Through April 20 For CPS Students As COVID-19 Crisis Continues, Block Club Chicago
Chicago Police Department Confirms Case of COVID-19, NBC5 Chicago
Pritzker Activates Illinois National Guard to Assist With Coronavirus Response, NBC Chicago
Sign up for Block Club Chicago’s daily coronavirus newsletter for comprehensive Chicago coverage.
If you don’t want to watch the news, here are the headlines to know
On to better news, here’s how some professors are helping students
After this week, we all should have ample examples of problem solving for our next interview. As students have adjusted with university and state-wide changes in response to the pandemic, they’ve also had to… complete their finals online (great timing, huh). Some teachers have been particularly understanding.
Freshman Deyni Venta said Alec Brownlow, a geography professor, canceled the final in his class. Venta had already begun working on the project; however, there was an art portion that she hadn’t started, and she didn’t have the supplies for.
“It was also relieving because I was moving out from Corcoran and I’m an out of state student,” Venta said.
Geography professor (and department chair) Winifred Curran was also understanding to students. Sophomore Mara Gayle Morgan was juggling a lot of personal things — she’s from out of state and was concerned about how the virus would affect her employment. Curran listened to Morgan’s situation and allowed her to turn in her paper whenever she could get around to doing it.
Has a professor gone above and beyond for you? Let us know.
Looking to get your mind off of COVID-19?
Here’s what media students are consuming.
📚Delaney is reading “We’re Going to Need More Wine” by Gabrielle Union
🍿Bobby is watching Rififi and 3:10 to Yuma
📺Grace has been watching Ink Master with her family, available on Amazon Video
📺Tiffany has been watching High Fidelity on Hulu
📺Maritza has been watching Scrubs and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
🎧Michelle is listening to NPR’s Hidden Brain podcast
🤔Daelen and Sally have been working on puzzles
What have you been consuming/doing to pass the time? Let us know and we’ll include it next time.
How can I help?
Most importantly, practice social distancing. This is one of the best ways you can protect yourself and others.
Donate to your fav bar and/or restaurant’s GoFundMe pages to support the staff. Here’s a spreadsheet of over one hundred.
Order delivery from a local restaurant — that’s the only way they can do business right now (try ordering with them, before ordering on an app. Some have employees delivering).
Don’t want to order food? Buy a gift card.
Buy online — some stores have moved to selling online.
Know of another way people can help? Let us know and we’ll include it next time.
What resources are there to help?
Lost your main source of income?
Need financial assistance?
Need food or supplies?
Need more information on COVID-19?
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading. Let us know what you thought, including what you’d like to see more of. And share this with your friends if you liked it.
Until Monday, stay safe, stay healthy,
Marissa Nelson
Editor-in-Chief, 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.