At DePaul, not only do students need to adjust to their class schedule, they need to adjust to train station schedules too. With DePaul having two campuses, one in Lincoln Park and the other in the Loop, learning how to find one’s way around the two is a challenge.

“It’s a lot to remember which trains I have to get off, which trains do I get on. It has been a struggle,” said Crystal Diaz-Molina, a DePaul freshman who is studying game design. For students at DePaul University, it is crucial to become familiar with both campuses, since many commute back and forth for classes.

DePaul’s website reports that the Lincoln Park campus is home to roughly 2,500 student residents, whereas the Loop campus only houses about 300. Even more of DePaul’s 21,000-plus students live off campus. With the Lincoln Park campus having a large majority of the school’s on campus residents, many spend more time there, especially when fulfilling freshman core classes.

“When I first got admitted here, I didn’t realize that I was going to have to have more classes in Lincoln Park than in the Loop,” Diaz-Molina said.

Confusion can also extend to resources on either campus. For example, a student primarily in the Loop may be unaware of the DePaul Art Museum on the Lincoln Park campus. On the other hand, the Loop campus has technological assets to offer that some students mainly in Lincoln Park do not know exist, or they’re not always sure of how to access them.

For Diaz-Molina, one of those assets is DePaul’s Esports Gaming Center on the lower level of the DePaul Center in the Loop. 

“Do I have to bring my own equipment, or is there equipment inside that I can use?” Diaz-Molina said. “I would like to go in there, and I would like to talk to people, other people who like playing video games and stuff, but I’m not really sure how.”

Freshmen on the Lincoln Park campus are not the only ones being affected by this split. Even after years on campus, some upperclassmen still feel the disconnect.

Leo Hermans, a DePaul senior studying game design who’s both lived and attended most of his classes on the Loop campus since his freshman year, discussed the flip side —  feeling separated from Lincoln Park.

“I don’t know it super well on that side, but I know where buildings are more or less, and how to get around,” Hermans said. “I do not find myself going over there too often if I don’t have to for anything — even though there is obviously cool stuff over there.”

Members of DePaul’s Student Government Association say they try to unite the two campuses, but it can be difficult.

“A lot of the time for student government, we just have the same events, one in Lincoln Park and one in the Loop,” SGA member Falisha Anwar said. “But I feel like that doesn’t bring the community together between the two.”

Some students are aware of these free events, since SGA and other groups advertise them on social media. Diaz-Molina has attended five or six events already.

“There’s a lot of Instagram pages, and I kind of follow like all of them, so I’m going to all of the events that I can,” said Diaz-Molina. “I’m pretty informed, and I walk around a lot, and if I see a pop-up, I’ll go there if I have time.”

But even Anwar, who’s a sophomore Business Analytics major that previously lived on campus in Lincoln Park her freshman year, sees room for improvement, especially for Loop offerings “because in people’s minds, everyone is in Lincoln Park.”

Some see another crucial difference between the two campuses that impacts events: communal space. Any large, open area where students can congregate helps to establish a more social atmosphere, but due to the Loop campus being in the middle of the city, it is a bit cramped for vacant space.

The Lincoln Park Quad provides this communal space for the campus. “I feel like everyone goes there to sit around and talk to each other,” said Diaz-Molina, who feels like that makes the Lincoln Park campus feel “more community-based” than the Loop. 

“I do think there are fewer spaces in the Loop campus, at least DePaul-owned, so naturally there is probably going to be less,” Hermans said. “At least for me, personally, I don’t find myself leaving my dorm room as much as I should, and I know that when I have gone to those spaces I only see a couple people, if anyone.”

While both campuses represent DePaul, they remain unique from one another.

“It’s important for people who go to the school to be educated about the capabilities of both campuses, even if there are a few crucial differences,” Hermans said.

Related Stories:

• DePaul must navigate financial strain and global challenges, Manuel says
• DePaul’s class of 2029 navigates the orientation process
• DePaul raises tuition for next academic year, introduces consolidated student fee