The DePaul Activities Board (DAB) announced during Battle of the Bands that Swae Lee will headline FEST 2024 on May 17. The rapper is most known for his work as Rae Sremmurd with his brother Slim Jxmmi and collaborations with artists like Post Malone, Gucci Mane and Jhené Aiko. “We wanted to reveal the headliner tonight because we knew Battle of the Bands was going to be grand and have a large attendance,” said Carina Risiglione, senior and co-concert chair of DAB. “We knew this had to be something epic.” DAB members took the stage at the end of Battle of the Bands on April 24 and encouraged a ..read more

Sunny weather and vintage vendors drew a crowd to DePaul’s Quad on Friday, April 19. This was the third flea market of the year, an event organized by Cat Barcy, signature events chair, and Sydney Secunda, art and amusement chair of the DePaul Activities Board. “This one was much larger, we had 33 [vendors],” Secunda said. “It just kind of blew up, and we had a lot more support.” Student vendors and local shops took over the Quad, offering deals on vintage clothing, jewelry and more. Vendors included Daily Dig Vintage and Prison City Vintage. “We do thrift stores, estate sales, rummage,” said ..read more

DePaul suffered a one-sided 7-0 loss in the opening game of a three-game series against Villanova, with the team’s offense only mustering one hit, while defensive lapses led to the Wildcats scoring seven runs on nine hits. “It’s obviously disappointing losing a game seven to zero and getting only one hit,” Graduate senior Brenna Smith said of the team’s performance. “But we’re going to keep working. We’ve seen what seems to be their best (pitcher) so it kind of changes the game plan.” The Blue Demons’ offense struggled early, unable to find an answer against senior pitcher Alyssa Seidler, who ..read more

I’d like to pay tribute to the trailer editors out there. A good trailer serves as a mood piece that occupies a non-linear narrative; it has immense value as an exercise in form. While definitely not art, the medium teases out the core emotional tenets of the film and can occasionally elicit a more potent emotional response than the film itself. This is all to say the trailer for “The First Omen” is excellent. The images from the film take on new life in this format, evoking a different sort of creepiness within the same thematic confines. As the footage plays in reverse, it symbolizes the wor ..read more

My friend doesn’t like Austin Butler. As an actor, she likes him fine, but as a person she’s a touch more critical; a few years ago, he and his longtime girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens, broke up. Months after they had split, the two were at the same event and crossed paths on the red carpet. My friend extrapolated that their relationship had clearly ended poorly because Austin waved at Vanessa during the event – and she did not reciprocate. Butler had clearly breached the boundaries of post-breakup rules, my friend inferred. She told me that space is necessary after a long breakup in order to sepa ..read more

The lineup for Lollapalooza, an annual Chicago music festival, caused a stir on social media after its announcement on March 19. Some DePaul students are criticizing the festival’s slippery slope towards popularized music, while others are ready to fork over $409 for a four-day general admission pass.  The lineup was released last month after much anticipation, as the event will be celebrating its 20th anniversary. “I do wish that (Lollapalooza) would choose a little bit more selectively, with more substance, but I also understand that that’s just not their model at this point,” sophomore ..read more

Most people in the United States have PFAS chemicals in their blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That includes Chicagoans who get their water from Lake Michigan.  To address this issue nationwide, the Biden administration and the Environmental Protection Agency announced on April 9 ground-breaking action to reduce six types of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) in drinking water within five years.  There are thousands of different PFAS chemicals, but the EPA’s new regulation targets six of the most common. Among those, Dr. Gail Prins, a UIC Medical ..read more

“The People’s Joker” is so incredibly bizarre that it almost overshadows its own brilliance. Using Batman villains as metaphors for queer identity, the unsuspecting coming-of-age film utilizes the parody genre to mask its true intent. The only issue is getting past the first 30 minutes for “The People’s Joker” to reveal the personality and intrigue that turn a silly satire into a truly unique experience. The film follows writer and director Vera Drew as Joker the Harlequin, an aspiring clown hoping to find their place and identity in Gotham City’s comedy scene. While struggling with her gender ..read more

Searchlight Pictures held a roundtable with the cast and crew of their new film “The Greatest Hits” on Monday, April 15. Stars Lucy Boynton, Justin H. Min, Austin Crute and writer/director Ned Benson were asked a series of questions by a number of college publications from across the US. Topics varied from how the actors found community with one another, what kinds of experiences informed the on-set environment, and how Benson tried to navigate the emotional core of each character.  “The Greatest Hits” is the story of Harriet (Boynton), an emotionally stunted music producer who is afflict ..read more

As Chicago prepares for a summer that may bring the hottest temperatures recorded in the city’s history, it joins a growing list of cities and states seeking financial compensation from the fossil fuel industry to hold them accountable for greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are warming the planet. In February, the city filed a lawsuit against six oil companies and the American Petroleum Institute, aiming to hold them accountable for their role in climate change and its effects on the local environment.  The complaint, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, details the case against ..read more