04.10.19

April 10, 2019 | 34st.com

PLANTBASED PENN what it means to be vegan on campus

April10 10,,2019 APRIL Annabelle Williams, Editor–in–Chief Dalton DeStefano, Managing Editor Daniel Bulpitt, Audience Engagement Director Lily Snider, Assignments Editor Ethan Wu, Media Director

3 WORD ON THE STREET Coming out into the Closet

Sophie Burkholder, Word on the Street Editor Katie Bontje, Ego Editor Sam Kesler, Music Editor Eliana Doft, Special Issues Editor Meerie Jesuthasan, Long–Term Features Editor Angie Lin, Developing Features Editor Bella Fertel, Style Editor Maryanne Koussa, Film & TV Editor Josephine Cheng, Arts Editor Emma Boey & Sophia Dai, Photo Editors Tahira Islam & Katie Steele, Copy Editors Dean Jones & Jackson Parli, Video Editors Ben Zhao, Print Director

4 EGO

EOTW: Luis Rosario, Arman Ramezani, Emily Cieslak

Ego Beats: Amanpreet Singh, Michelle Shen, Sophie Xi, Caroline Emma Moore, Chelsey Zhu, Sonali Deliwala

7 MUSIC

Lil Nas X, Drake Bell Interview, Conan Gray Concert, Deep House

LOL

12 FEATURE

Veganism at Penn

Music Beats: Beatrice Forman, Arjun Swaminathan, Teresa Xie, Melannie Jay, Johnny Vitale, Julia Davies, Paul Litwin Features Staff: Katrina Janco, Shinyoung Hailey Noh, Allison Wu, Srinidhi Ramakrishna, Caroline Riise, Paige Fishman, Chris Schiller

Film & TV Beats: Anna Collins, Shriya Beesam, Shannon Zhang, Zovinar Khrimian, Calista Lopez, Ana Hallman, Samantha Sanders Arts Beats: Jess Araten, Katie Farrell, Adeleke McMillan Design Editors: Gillian Diebold, Lucy Ferry, Alice Heyeh, Jess Tan, Tamsyn Brann Associates: Dannie Watson, Ian Ong, Jackie Lou, Isabel Liang, Christy Qiu, Nancy Kang Staff Writers: Liz Kim, Jordan Waschman, Anjalee Bhuyan, Shunmel Syau, Bebe Hodges, Emma Harris, Tara OʼBrien, Jessica Bao, Mehek Boparai, Zoe Young, Sophia Schulz-Rusnacko Illustrators: Anne Chen, Anne Marie Grudem, Brad Hong, Carly Ryan, Catherine Liang, Jake Lem, Reese Berman, Saranya Sampath, Jessi Olarsch, Christopher Kwok, Diane Lin, Jacqueline Lou, Sabrina Tian, Kathy Chang, Ben Joergens Staff Photographers: Sophia Zhu, Eleanor Shemtov, Alice Deng, Hoyt Gong, Sukhmani Kaur, Mona Lee, Sally Chen, Adiel Izilov, Christine Wu, Anran Fang Video Staff: Jean Chapiro, Christina Piasecki, Anab

Aidid, Deja Jackson, Megan Kyne Copy Deputies: Sarah Poss & Kira Horowitz Copy Associates: Kate Poole, Serena Miniter, Erin Liebenberg, Lexie Shah, Carmina Hachenburg, Luisa Healey, Agatha Advincula Audience Engagment Associates: Brittany Levy, McKay Norton, Kat Ulich, Emily Gelb, Ryan McLaughlin, Valentina Escudero, Samantha Lee, Nadeen Eltoukhy, Fiorentina Huang, Rachel Markowitz, Julia Zhu Cover by Jess Tan Contacting 34th Street Magazine: If you have questions, comments, complaints or letters to the editor, email Annabelle Williams, Editor–in–Chief, at williams@34st.com. You can also call us at (215) 422–4640. www.34st.com If you know anyone with a down-pointing penis, text me.

©2019 34th Street Magazine, The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc. No part may be reproduced in whole or in part without the express, written consent of the editors (but I bet we will give you the a–okay.) All rights reserved. 34th Street Magazine is published by The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc., 4015 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19104, every Wednesday.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR I

15 STYLE

Spring Events, Rumble Boxing Gym

LOL 18 FILM & TV

'Us', Movie Theaters Dying, Agnès Varda, 'Unplanned'

21 ARTS

PennYo, 'Graffiti & Ornament'

LOL 23 OVERHEARDS 2

Style Beats: Karin Hananel, Allie Shapiro, Jen Cullen, Alice Goulding, Diya Sethi, Hannah Yusuf

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t’s been a long week. If you know me, you know I say that every week. But this week, I mean it. For one thing, my favorite show, Crazy Ex–Girlfriend, wrapped on Friday. And also, I’ve been trying this emotional vulnerability thing, and it’s exhausting.

Much like the protagonist of Crazy Ex– Girlfriend, Rebecca Bunch, I spend a lot of time in my own head. Rebecca manifests this through her choreography of complex musical–theater numbers in her own head. I’m not musically inclined enough to do that, so mostly, I write. This week, I’ve been writing quite a bit—vignettes, fiction, essays. But I struggled with this letter from the editor. And I’m not sure why.

As I write it, I think I’m getting there. I’ve been spending so much time with my thoughts recently that I’m reluctant to put them on paper. I’m a little sad about my friends graduating soon, a little tired of my work this semester, and a little sick of hearing myself talk in the first person. The weather is warmer, everyone feels restless, and I'm feeling ready for summer. And for some reason, there were pigs on Locust this week. And even still, I feel this weird funk. And many of my friends feel it too.

Spring fever. Things are changing, growing.

And I can't stop thinking about how much I'm going to miss Crazy Ex–Girlfriend. It represented a flawed, weird, comic heroine who was unabashedly herself. Its songs soundtracked some of my happiest

moments. And it was a damn delightful show that revealed in the weird minutiae of everyday life, mental illness, and recovery. Since I’m doing this new emotional vulnerability thing, I guess I’ll admit that the finale made me cry. It felt like a loss of something.

The show ended—spoilers ahead—on Rebecca starting a song she wrote. It was hopeful, poignant, and ultimately unresolved, which is comforting, because that tells me it's not really over.

So, to paraphrase her, here is a letter I wrote. I’m working on how to end it.

Jessi Olarsch

WORD ON THE STREET

Coming Out Into the Closet Sometimes the lack of a label is more freeing.

LaKeisha Henley Jess Tan

I came out in a Facebook post on June 28, 2017, which was funny because June is Pride Month, but also made sense because June is Pride Month.

You might think that coming out makes life a little easier over time. I figured I’d no longer feel the need to hide at least the gay, or, more specifically, “not straight”—as I stated it—part of myself. But I came out right into another kind of closet, one that I never thought I was in in the first place.

Coming out made things harder. It wasn't because my mother first reacted by calling me a “disappointment” among other things, while my father quoted lines from the Bible (even though we never actually went to church or read the Bible growing up).

People congratulated me for expressing myself, which felt good in the moment, and I was extremely grateful for some people I’d gone to high school with coming to my defense in the comments of my post. But after not getting the attention and support I desperately craved from the people closest to me in the days following my post, I started to rethink this whole gay thing.

I came to college with the plan to reinvent myself, in a sense. Gone would be the shy and quiet girl of the past 17 years. I would start fresh, as a regular person who could engage in small talk and strike

up conversations with strangers. I knew that my only options were to do this or have no friends, because I was coming from Augusta, GA, and I wouldn’t know anyone in Philly. “…you see, I have anxiety.

More of the social variety…”

I did just that, I think. I made friends. During the first few weeks here, a group of us were hanging out late one night, but I got tired and went to bed earlier than everyone else. Little did I know that I would wake up to find out that one of our friends had come out during a game of truth or dare, and I hadn’t been there to let everyone know that I too was gay. So, I took it upon myself to create an intimate story time, during which I took forever (one of our friends fell asleep) to tell everyone—which at this point was only the four people still awake—the story of how I wrecked my father’s green 1993 Pontiac Bonneville. The gay part of the story was me trying to impress a girl I loved, but I don’t think I ever impressed her. “…but will whoever comes across these words after me understand the way I felt when the girl walked into the room dressed in that red sweater…”

I’m sure the story was poorly told, as I struggled

through many a long pause and felt my rapid heartbeat in response to the thought of anyone knowing the feelings I had and rejecting that part of me, but it was something I knew I needed to do if I really wanted these people to be my friends. I’d done the same thing over a phone call with my best friend in high school and she’d loved me just the same, so I went for it again.

Considering there’d been a coming out the night before, I didn’t have much of a fear of rejection because of my sexuality, but I’ve simply always been afraid of sharing parts of me because no one ever seems to stay for long.

This whole “coming out” session with my freshmen friends happened before the Facebook coming out, and in between the two there was at least one more coming out, or maybe a few. But those were more “I think I have a crush on this person and it’s affecting my concentration because I don’t know if I actually have a crush, or if I’m just becoming insecurely attached to them because I don’t know how friendship works.” This, unfortunately, happened several times.

Often, I catch myself wondering if I simply long for an unconventional life. I’ve always wanted to be different, to fight against the system (or maybe more so against my parents), and against what is expected of me. Life seems to

teach you that it’s not okay to be different, but at the same time, people who defy expectations and who act differently than others are the most successful and memorable.

When I’m sitting and reflecting on my actions, I wonder if I am attracted to women because I was taught not to be— “you like boys right?”— or if I only think that I’m attracted to men because it’s what society expects of me.

“He has a girlfriend, but where there’s a will there’s a way.

But I’m not sure I know the way and on top of that I’m gay, so is this real? How I feel? Or did society imply that it needed to be at a certain age and now I crave to be un-different and he’s the best man I know…”

I expected the whole coming out thing to make life easier for me. I thought I would no longer have to deal with arguments about gay characters in children’s shows between my father and sister, or sly homophobic comments made by friends or family around me, even if they didn’t mean any harm. I thought people close to me would be more conscious of it all. “Hey, LaKeisha’s gay, and she’s pretty cool. Maybe gay people are like us.” I don’t know why I expected that, really. But I didn’t expect that when I fangirled to my friend about Normani from Dancing with the Stars, telling her how I think the singer and dancer

is doing well with her career, it would mean that I automatically “have a crush"—which my friend freely tells another friend as we sit at the movie theatre about to watch Crazy Rich Asians.

“I live with a constant worry that I could have said something better, could have done something differently…”

So I decided maybe it’s not okay to talk about women in any way, shape, or form, because someone might think I’m into these women, and I don’t want anyone to think I’m gay—even though I came out to the internet (and, by extension, to the world) almost two years ago. But this made me wonder to myself, why am I suddenly developing this internalized homophobia? Has it always been there?

I can’t seem to call myself bisexual. The label doesn’t feel right. I won’t call myself a lesbian. It feels spiteful on my tongue. I really hate labels.

In a pinch, I’d go for gay, a safe umbrella word that even sounds okay. But I think fluid really fits best. I like to call myself water.

“A Gay Woman. A Black Woman. And Love is Fluid.

And Life is Fluid.”

LaKeisha Henley is a junior from Augusta, Georgia studying criminology in the College of Arts and Sciences.

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EGO

Ego of the Week:

Luis Rosario

Ethan Wu | Media Editor

34th Street: What was it like growing up in Newark?

Luis Rosario: Newark is really interesting. It's been listed as one of the least friendly cities, but I don't see it that way. But I also didn't go out much because my parents were really focused on getting me and my siblings focused on school and what was important. So when I think of Newark, I think of family. My grandparents are still there, so we go there for Thanksgiving. It's an interesting difference between what Newark is, or how people see it as so dangerous, and how I see it as family and where I really rooted my education.

Street: Why did you decide to come to Penn?

LR: Ever since we were kids— I have a twin brother so that’s why I’ll keep saying we. We were smart to begin with, and in a Latino household as soon as you’re smart, your parents are like, 'Well it's time to get good grades!'

They pushed us, but there was also this inner drive that wanted to keep learning, and actually being interested, which is rare to see kids in that area interested in learning. So actually, my top choice was not Penn, and I applied to a bunch of schools last minute. I hadn’t gotten into my first choice, and I freaked out, but then Penn extended their 4

Name: Luis Rosario Hometown: Newark, New Jersey Major: Cognitive Science with a concentration in Neuroscience Activities: previous president, artistic director, new member coordinator, and secretary of Onda Latina, Cipactli Latino Honor Society, Osiris Honor Society, CHOP Center for Autism Research assistant, Brannon Labs Cognitive Development research assistant deadline until January 5th, and I submitted it on January 5th at 11 p.m. But when I got into Penn, I was still really excited because it is a great school. And then coming to Quaker Days just changed everything for me. Being in Philly was awesome, all the people here were great, and I actually went to an Onda Quaker Days workshop. Just seeing the culture and everything Onda had and just how excited everyone was was also something that encouraged me to come to Penn.

Street: Why did you join Onda, and what is it like being a part of the dance group?

LR: I joined my freshman fall. When I came and they were hosting auditions, I wasn't sure I wanted to join because I've never actually danced before coming to Penn. But then there were people on Locust Walk who saw me when I was just walking back and forth like, 'Hey you're that kid from Quaker Days!' Just knowing that people remembered you and took the time out of their busy lives to remember you from months ago was enough for me to come and audition. And since then I've just improved so much in something I never thought

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Meet the Penn senior who is just as comfortable on the dance floor as he is in the lab

I would do. I did sports in high school but dancing is such a different experience and something I really, really care about. So Onda does this New York International Salsa Congress, and we're the only college group that gets to go each year. Over the summer we choreograph a new piece, and it's three couples, and we get to go and perform with a bunch of professional people. It's been awesome. I don't know if you've seen World of Dance, like Karen and Ricardo? Karen and Ricardo were two huge, huge salsa people that got second place in JLo’s show, and we got to see them perform in New York. They were just one of the big salsa names at the conference.

Street: What were some of the pieces you choreographed for Onda?

LR: I was artistic director for our 20th anniversary show. Being artistic director for that was just awesome. The theme we picked for that show was literally the history of Latin dance and Onda, so we got to explore everything from the roots of Latin dance to Afro–Caribbean dances, all the way through modern times like the salsa or bachata you’d hear on the radio now. I even reached out to a bunch of alums and made a video asking them, 'What does Onda mean to you?' I got to see 20 years of people who have put this at the heart of themselves and to see how Onda has grown and changed, but also stayed the

– Amanpreet Singh – same.

Street: So, what does Onda mean to you?

LR: The first thing that comes to mind is growth. I feel like I’ve really grown up just through Onda because it becomes more than just a dance group. It becomes almost a second family here at Penn. These are the people you practice with up to ten hours a week, so then afterwards we'll go get dinner or hangout in someone’s room. I remember my new member coordinator, we called him our 'dad.' Stephan was such a cool guy and he taught me how to dance. And then other guys taught me how to dance. And now I see I'm the guy teaching kids how to dance.

It's just a passing–of–the–baton growth experience.

Street: Why did you decide to major in Cognitive Science?

LR: All through high school I could never decide what to do. So, sometimes parents don't understand—well, they do understand, but they want you to know what you're doing before you get into college, and that was always stressful. I really had no idea what I wanted to do, but then I took AP Psych my senior year of high school. I really fell in love with the material and seeing how it could apply to a bigger picture because I've always wanted to do something with my life that I know will impact society and benefit other people. So then I got to Penn and realized that I wanted to do something a little bit more intricate than just psychology, because it can get kind of broad. I took BBB 109 sophomore fall, and people hated it, but I fell in love with the mate-

rial and all of its intricacies. And then, I was deciding between BBB and Cogsci, and I saw Cogsci as such an interdisciplinary major. You have to take a semester of CIS, a semester of Linguistics, and a bunch of other stuff.

And on top of it, the concentration of neuroscience included a bunch of BBB classes. So Cogsci allowed me to explore everything while still keeping it focused at the same time. I just think the brain is dope. We know so much and so little at the same time.

Street: Are you a morning bird or a night owl?

LR: I would say morning bird.

I would rather get up early and do stuff then. I’m always falling asleep even when I’m trying to stay up.

Street: What is your favorite number that Onda has done?

LR: Last semester, my girlfriend and I choreographed a piece dedicated to Hurricane Maria victims. We really pushed ourselves to make a difficult piece. It was also a song we were both waiting to do until we felt ready. It felt like we were able to grow choreographing that piece, especially with what it meant to us both as Puerto Ricans. It was really powerful.

Street: There are two types of people at Penn...

LR: Those who drink coffee every day and those who don’t.

Street: What is your drink order?

LR: I don’t drink coffee that often, but I do love coffee. When I do, I go to Dunkin' Donuts and get a medium coffee, light and sweet.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

EGO

MEET ARMAN RAMEZANI: A STUDENT LEADING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION REFORM AT PENN The External Chair of SCUE talks reforming education at Penn, embracing his Iranian roots, and all things luxury cars.

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Emma Moore g rap h er ot o h tP

Double counting sector requirements, pass/fail grading, getting into that exclusive seminar—no one understands the frustration of refreshing Penn InTouch during Advance Registration like Arman Ramezani (C, W '20).

As external chair of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, a branch of student government, Arman works as a liaison between administrators and students to address academic issues and suggest ways to improve the undergraduate educational experience.

Now, Arman’s time is fully devoted to the upcoming SCUE "White Paper," a comprehensive report published every five years on the state of undergraduate education at Penn. Past White Papers have been highly influential, implementing procedures such as pass/fail grading and four–credit semesters from the previous minimum of five credits. Back in the 1970s, SCUE even initiated co– education in the College.

Arman says the ability to make lasting change in Penn education first motivated him to join SCUE. He explains the White Paper as an "80–page document which is essentially ‘hot–takes’ on undergrad education."

"Did you know a SCUE White Paper started the writing seminar? God bless its heart— everyone hates it,” jokes Arman.

However, Arman emphasizes that outdated polices can be im-

proved or undone, even if that takes time. Modifying the College sector requirements system and easing freshman year academics are at the top of his priority list. Arman sees the sectors as a way to explore a range of academic interests, but he finds the current system limited.

“For example, for ‘Physical World’ [one of the sectors]—I loved Chemistry in high school but I’m hesitant to take CHEM 101 with all the other students when I can’t pass/ fail it,” Arman says.

He also wants to encourage freshmen to take academic risks and explore the full range of opportunities available.

“We’re also working on integrating students better their freshman year—for example, whether they could take more classes pass/fail to ease the pressure,” he adds.

He says the biggest challenge with SCUE is that change is slow to happen. “A lot of SCUE projects are on a much longer timeline than you would expect. You’re looking at a timeline of about five years for a major change. That takes away the tangibility of a project," Arman says.

He notes that he'll probably be 27 years old before the changes he is working on now may be implemented.

A member of SCUE since freshman year, Arman is passionate about his Penn education.

"I want to make the most of my education and I want to help other people make the most of their education," Arman says.

"I want to make Penn the best education environment and give people agency in their education.

People don’t always realize all the opportunities that are out there."

Arman says his study abroad experience shaped his appreciation for Penn. Whil e many of his classmates were looking to party in Barcelona, he was looking for more academic rigor.

When he came back for his junior fall, Arman channeled his experience into a SCUE project on study abroad to help students navigate the process and figure out what program is right for them. “Sometimes students go abroad and suddenly find one of their classes won’t count for their major or they’re on financial aid but then there’s a lot of miscellaneous extra costs like air travel.”

SCUE hopes to make study abroad more accessible for all students who want to do it but feel that academic requirements or finances are barriers for them.

In addition to his SCUE efforts, Arman has spent much of his time at Penn sharing his Iranian heritage with the student body. A Los Angeles native, both of Arman’s parents immigrated to the United States from Iran before the revolution. One thing he misses from home is Persian food, which he finds is lacking in Philadelphia.

“It’s so nerdy, but for my 20th birthday I invited ten of my closest friends over, and I cooked a full Persian dinner for them. I was on the phone with my mom

the whole time, trying to get her exact recipes,” Arman recalls.

Last year, he helped revive Penn Persian, a cultural club dedicated to all things Iranian.

On March 29, the club is putting on a city–wide Persian New Year Festival, inviting students, faculty, and members of the Philadelphia Iranian community to celebrate with food and music.

Arman treasures his Iranian culture. He has one other lesser–known passion: luxury cars.

Earlier in the week he presented his "most precious possession" to one of his classes. The possession: a silver Mercedes–Benz key chain in the shape of a steering wheel.

“The design and opulence of luxury cars is so fascinating. I have no eye for design, but I just love car design,” Arman says.

Reading about cars, researching, and visiting car shows are all ways Arman enjoys his "me time." He’s the one to go to for car advice.

"One of my aunts needed a new car and I did all the legwork.

Like, 'Tell me what you’re looking for in a car, not what type.'

So many people misjudge what

they want, thinking they need an SUV just as a status symbol," Arman says.

His dream vehicle? A Mercedes AMG S 65 Coupe. For him it is the “pinnacle of luxury and sport with a 12–cylinder engine.” He can’t help but gush when talking about it.

“As I much as I love cars, I would hate to commute. My grand scheme is Level 4/Level 5 automation—basically driverless cars, where I can sit back and read while it does the work,” Arman says.

While Arman daydreams about luxury cars, his main focus at Penn is his work with SCUE. “The chair [of SCUE] my freshman year told me: ‘When I wake up in the morning, I think of SCUE and when I go to bed at night, I think of SCUE.’ I remember thinking that is such a load of bullshit," Arman laughs.

“And now when I wake up, I think of SCUE, when I go to bed, I think of SCUE. When I’m in the middle of class, I get an email about SCUE. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

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EGO

EMILY CIESLAK: WRITER, STYLIST, FASHION CONNOISSEUR The Penn senior talks about her experience with The WALK, Penn fashion, and clothes as a form of self–expression.

Chelsey Zhu

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her eyes to the diversity of fashion.

“That was really monumental for us because we’d never really covered LGBTQ issues in the magazine,” she says. “One of my goals this year had really been to make our magazine and the stuff we write about more diverse.”

Showing students that there’s more to fashion than the most popular trend is Emily’s hope for The WALK. “As a fashion magazine, we want to say, ‘No you don’t all have to dress the same,’” she says. “That’s the beauty of fashion. You can experiment and have a different kind of style every day if you want. And especially at this age, when we’re young and at the pulse of everything, we shouldn’t feel like, ‘Oh, I can only wear black,’ or ‘I shouldn’t try something new.’ Now’s the time to try out crazy trends.”

Working for The WALK has taught Emily and her staff discipline. It has given them many opportunities to branch out into the working world. Emily praises her team for building a magazine from scratch only on their “own passion and interest.”

This independence has allowed them to improvise and gain experience as stylists and journalists, which has helped Emily herself gain internships working in the fashion industry.

In 2017, she even got to fly to L.A. to work for Brooklyn PR, a clothing showroom that celebrity stylists use to rent outfits for their clients. Emily recalls steaming a pantsuit

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had a fashion magazine, The WALK. “I always knew I really loved fashion and writing,” she says, “And this was kind of like the dream of a fashion magazine.”

It wasn’t long before Emily threw herself into the print magazine and website, becoming editor–in–chief by the fall of her senior year. Now she’s in charge of a whole team of fashion–focused writers and photographers, all of whom work to produce a print issue every semester revolving around a single theme.

The UNTAMED Issue, which was released at the beginning of the semester, features a drag queen in a flashy gold and nude–colored dress with deep purple blush and lipstick on the front cover.

Emily says their cover story on the Philly drag scene opened

he

mind while her mother was shopping. She recalls flipping through random issues with interesting covers and stumbling upon her future passion as she strolled by the magazine stands. In Wenatchee, where clothing was casual and all about convenience, Emily was amazed to see people wearing styles and bright colors she’d never imagined.

“I would read every fashion magazine I could get my hands on and keep all of them,” she says. “I still look back at them.”

In high school, she never got the chance to do anything with fashion, so it was critical to her that her future college had lots of opportunity. She wanted to live in a big city with an emphasis on style on the East Coast, and Penn was one of few schools that already

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When Emily Cieslak (C '19) first walks into Fisher–Bennett Hall, her outfit demands everyone’s attention. She’s wearing black pants with frayed edges that are ruffled like a skirt, a daring length above her bright red heels. Her top is a thick sweater that is all black except for two sequined roses, the motif of red completed by her lipstick.

As editor–in–chief of The WALK, Penn’s premier fashion magazine, Emily has a lot of experience staging photoshoots, writing about style, and being on the lookout for new, ever–changing trends.

But her appetite for fashion began far before Penn. The first time Emily discovered fashion was in the magazine aisle of a grocery store.

She was a kid in Wenatchee, Washington, bored out of her

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rented by Julia Roberts and helping Zendaya’s stylist pick outfits for the actress’s Spider–Man: Homecoming press tour.

Emily will be graduating with a BA in English in May, and she’s eager to pursue a career in fashion, especially as a writer. She says that fashion and writing are creative passions that complement each other well.

“What I like about fashion is that you can be someone different every day based on how you style yourself,” she says. “I like having different clothing items and finding different ways to put them together.”

In the same way, writing allows her to take different parts of a story, such as interviews, quotes, and her own impressions, and piece them together like a “puzzle.”

Emily believes that combining the two allows people wto have critical discussions on culture and identity, similar to the discussions she had with her staff when they covered the Philly drag scene.

“Fashion and the retail industry are not just about clothes,” she says. “It’s issues about politics and gender and economics.

Writing about fashion allows us to explore those issues.”

MUSIC

Lil Nas X and 'OLD TOWN ROAD':: Country Trap Deserves Respect The Atlanta artist’s viral hit is emblematic of growth in country and trap music.

Arjun Swaminathan

If you haven't heard of "Old Town Road," the hit single by Lil Nas X (real name Montero Hill) that came out in early December, it's been sparking headlines for the controversial treatment it's received as a country trap piece. After becoming a viral sensation through the video application TikTok, “Old Town Road” has spread everywhere, debuting on the Billboard Top 100 and being celebrated throughout social media.

"Old Town Road" is particularly unique—trap drums repeat constantly throughout the piece, but are matched with banjos that would sound strange in most situations, but work well here. Hill’s singing meshes rap with a classic southern country drawl, celebrating the cowboy lifestyle while reflecting on displeasure with luxury and laziness. The song's visualizer takes footage from popular western– based video game Red Dead Redemption 2, which further emphasizes the song’s country ties—it’s clear that the piece serves as a cross–genre blend that you can blast in the car.

The artist’s success comes just a few months after he dropped out of college to pursue music, during a time when he was sleeping little and hav-

ing his decisions questioned by family members. Hill pushed back against the doubts, reflected in the song’s chorus of “Can’t nobody tell me nothing/You can’t tell me nothing.”

Despite its success, however, “Old Town Road” was recently removed from the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart while remaining on its Hot 100 and Hot R&B/ Hip–Hop Songs. According to Billboard, the song “does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music.”

Frankly, that's ridiculous.

The song objectively includes various aforementioned aspects of country, from the instrumental, to the vocals, to the thematic content. Additionally, it’s worth noting that popular musicians such as Florida Georgia Line, Kacey Musgraves, and Sam Hunt have hybridized with other genres, yet they’ve maintained their status in the country sphere as white artists. It’s illogical to say that “Old Town Road” doesn’t belong.

Additionally, country trap itself has existed for a bit— just look at Young Thug’s “Family Don’t Matter,” which is replete with production and singing that merges styles and influences of both genres. The music video is even set in a

farm environment. Going further back, Nelly and Tim McGraw collaborated back in 2004 with “Over And Over,” so it’s not as if this is anything new. Rather, “Old Town Road” symbolizes a new development that fully combines the genres in a manner

that had yet to be perfected.

You can’t pigeonhole the track into one side or the other.

As for Hill, he responded to the situation in the slickest way—dropping a remix featuring legendary country star Billy Ray Cyrus. With Cyrus jumping on the cho-

rus and adding his own verse, perhaps Billboard can recognize the bona fide nature of “Old Town Road” as a piece that blends country and trap tropes. Perhaps that would allow it to return to the Hot Country Songs chart and reaffirm the growth of the genre.

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Drake Bell's Slow Burn THE MUSICIAN AND ACTOR IS STILL KEEPING IT HONEST. Sam Kesler Photo by Angelina Venturella // Provided by Advantage PR

Drake Bell has been an icon for so much of the past two decades, it’s hard to believe he’s managed to maintain such a steady following and keep his image so dynamic. Getting his first glimpses of the spotlight back in the nineties with minor roles in Seinfeld, Home Improvement, and Jerry Maguire, he got his first big break on Nickelodeon with regular appearances on The Amanda Show. That led to a role with his co–star Josh Peck on the hit show Drake and Josh, which earned him three Kids’ Choice Awards. On the show,

he portrays a rebellious teenager, Drake Parker, who plays against his more straight–laced step– brother Josh Nichols. Parker is also a popular musician, just like Bell in real life, who wrote the theme song.

Since Drake and Josh, Bell has gone on to release two full– length albums, It’s Only Time and Ready Steady Go!, the latter a medley of classic rock covers and Bell’s originals. He has also released several singles and EPs through the years, each with its own distinct flavor, veering from the rockabilly stylings of 2014’s

Ready Steady Go! to stronger pop influences, and even some Latin influence on his most recent single “Fuego Lento,” which was released with both a Spanish chorus version and a full Spanish version. Street spoke with Bell over the phone about his decision to record in Spanish, what goes into his image, and what he’s been up to since Drake and Josh.

34th Street Magazine: I want to talk about “Fuego Lento,” your most recent single. Previously, you’ve charted in Mexico

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and sold out tours there, too. I want to ask what you think is the reason behind your really strong Mexican fanbase?

Drake Bell: That’s a really common question, and I have absolutely no idea. You know, we put out It’s Only Time back in 2006, the show was really popular at the time, so when we went down to Latin America, it just took off. It was wild. We didn’t have any idea—we just got booked to go play in Mexico and Latin America. We were expecting to be playing the type of shows we were playing in the States: 3,000, 5,000, whatever.

Then, when we got down there, we were selling out 10, 20,000 seats, and it was just wild. We really had no idea why.

Before we even got to the first venue we were gonna play out there, we went to this radio station. It was kind of like their Ryan Seacrest—everyone was making a big deal out of this show. As we were in there, he was asking us to do liners. So he goes, “First of all, what we want you to do is please thank the audience for keeping your song at number one.” We were like, “Wait a minute, what did you say?” And he’s like, “Your song is number one.” I was like, “Oh you mean like number one in rotation on the station?”

He’s like, “No no no, your song is number one in Mexico right now.” I was like, “What in the world is going on right now?

We’re not in Kansas anymore.

Something’s a little different.”

When I got home and was in the studio, I was like, “Man,

we gotta do something Latin– flavored.” So we wrote “Fuego Lento,” which originally was “Slow Burn.” It was all in English, and then, as we were listening to it in the car, I was like, “We have to have Spanish in this, we have to do it in their language.” So I called a buddy of mine—he’s in a band called Los 5 from Mexico—and I was like, “Hey man, I need your help. Let’s collaborate on this.

See if you can come up with a Spanish part.” And he returned the song, we pressed play on the Spanish chorus for it, and literally, we just fell down in the studio. It just made it a thousand times better.

You know, I have taken Spanish, and I’ll speak in Spanish at my concerts, doing cover songs or just talking to the audience, but this is the first time we’ve got something original in their language. So it’s really popping off.

Street: Stylistically, you’ve gone from punk to rockabilly to this new pop star image. Can you explain what goes into picking your image? What inspired the change?

DB: Well, I’m really into fashion. Like, highly, highly, highly into fashion. And I think a lot of my inspiration musically or stylistically comes from what I first see in fashion. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but that’s what I think in my brain at least.

Like, [to] my friends, it’s funny because I’ll tell them something about fashion, like “look for these colors, look for this thing,” and then in like, a year and a half, two years, all of a sudden

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a concert, I was like, “You know, lemme play this, let’s see what people think,” and literally, everybody lost it.

Street: You’ve been releasing a lot of singles and EPs. I’m wondering why you’ve been skirting away from releasing a full album lately?

DB: It was just kind of like I was so stifled creatively for such a long time, that I just started spewing out all of this different kind of music. And I didn’t want to have to wait until every song was done to put it on an album, or go, “Wait a minute, does ‘Fuego Lento’ really go with this urban stuff and this pop stuff?”

And then, honestly, just being impatient, and not having music out for such a long time, I was like, “You know what? If it’s done, just put it out. It’s ready, it’s mixed and mastered—why do we have to for all these other songs? Put it out!”

I want my music out, like let’s go, come on. I was just, like, impatient. [Laughs].

Street: In preparing for this, talking with people about you, I think Drake and Josh has been really important to a lot of people’s lives, especially in my generation.

DB: I’m so sorry, we actually cannot talk about Drake and Josh right now. The only thing I can say about that is that we are in talks, and Josh came up with a cool idea, and hopefully something happens. It’s closer than it’s ever been, and we are talking.

But that’s really all I know.

Street: I understand you’ve been involved with the Thirst Project in the past. I’m wondering if you’re still involved, and if you’d like to say anything about that project.

DB: The Thirst Project’s amazing. I go to their gala every year. I was one of the first, I hate saying celebrity, but I was one of the first celebrities that started working with them. I was really close with Seth, the CEO and the person who created the Thirst Project. The cool thing about it is, when you donate, it’s not just done—you can actually

see where your five dollars goes, and you can see the well that it helps fill. I think when we first started, there were over a billion people on the planet that didn’t have access to safe water, and now, it’s really dropping. I mean now they’re at 800,000, they’re going to be at 700,000,

they’re going to be at 500,000.

It’s something that can really be solved in our lifetime.

Street: It sounds really amazing. Thank you for working with them and for speaking with me today.

DB: Yeah, for sure man, thank you so much!

Drake Bell will be performing at Kung Fu Necktie, Thursday, Apr.11. Dominy opens. More info can be found at Kung Fu Necktie's website. More info on The Thirst Project can be found at their website: www.thirstproject.org.

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Photo by Angelina Venturella // Provided by Advantage PR

it’ll be Gucci and Prada and everybody doing those patterns, and everybody will be like, “Wait, how did you know?”

Fashion is cyclical—there’s a way to predict what’s going to happen in fashion, and I’ve always thought that rock ‘n’ roll and fashion are intertwined. You can’t have rock ‘n’ roll without fashion, you can’t have fashion without rock ‘n’ roll.

Street: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, because if you’re paying attention, you can see the cycles and you can see what the trends are going to be, but you just need that eye and that ear to be able to pick it out.

DB: Yeah, and I mean, fashion’s already ahead of the public as it is. We already know what Gucci’s putting out in the fall and the winter, but if you watch those, you can literally foretell what is going to be the spring/ summer of the following year and the following year and the following year. Depending on who the designer is, and if that designer’s going to the same head designer in the next year or so, you can kind of navigate and just see where fashion is going to go. And so it helps to study that and incorporate that into your music and into your shows and into your imagery. You’re never really behind the gig, you’re kind of just always relevant.

Street: You mentioned Gucci a couple times. I have to ask about your cover of “Gucci Gang.” What inspired that?

DB: I had just hung out with [Lil] Pump, and I was at my friend’s house, and I was telling him about hanging with [Pump], and I had a guitar in my hand, and I was like, “Dude, I wonder if I could figure out a way to play ‘Gucci Gang’ acoustic?” So I was sitting with my guitar, and me and my buddy were sitting there, and we were strumming chords, and I was like, “Wait a minute, I think I got—I think I got it.” So then I started messing around with it, and it just became a joke.

So then I went home and really worked it out, and then at

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CONAN GRAY, Voice of 'Generation Why,' Performs at The Fillmore Gray's music is storytelling and songwriting all at once.

SAMANTHA SANDERS

On March 30 at 8 p.m., the Fillmore is brimming with teens wearing glitter and flannel. Save for a handful of parents, the bar is empty—this crowd is too young to drink. But even without the steady flow of alcohol, the space is full of energy and excitement.

When the star of the night, Conan Gray, walks up on stage, the crowd roars the type of roar only the young and unjaded can muster.

Leaning into the mic like a new

Dalton DeStefano

student on the first day of class, he says, “Hi, my name’s Conan Gray, and I’m gonna sing some songs for you.”

The crowd roars louder, and Conan Gray smiles. Gray, at 20 years old, is already leading the guard of emergent indie talent, a small town YouTuber turned bedroom–pop star. He giggles his way through the show, thumbing at his guitar as if he’s performing at an open mic night for a handful of friends. His all–girl band plays

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behind him, strumming in unison, uniformed in thrifted clothing. From the ambient lighting to the way he jumps and flips his hair onstage, everything about him screams attainable–teen–dream.

And yet, nothing about it feels disingenuous. His fans feel like they know him, because he lets them. They’ve watched him grow up. Gray holds nothing back: He sings love songs to his hometown, he makes videos about his college acceptance hardships, and he openly admits that he hasn’t had his first kiss.

Many of his fans did, in fact, find him through YouTube, which allowed them to feel closer to him as he ascended into mainstream fame. This is probably because both his music and his videos feel immensely personal. The singer–songwriter bares it all on tape with the sort of misty–eyed melodic pop only fit for dreamers and lovesick kids. He has a sort of overall dreaminess: a far–away look, a nostalgic presence.

Halfway through the show, he asks his band to leave the stage; he wants to take the next song

alone. He is awkward and sheepish. Raising his hands in the air, he proclaims:“Let’s get a cheer for loneliness!”

When the music for his unreleased single, “Comfort Crowd,” starts, his fans seem to know all the words. Conan, surprised, says, “Hey! You aren’t supposed to know this yet!” And that’s a testament to the time we live in: superfans will always find a way. And everyone here in this audience is a superfan. The room is filled with love. They laugh when he jokes, smile when he speaks.

He ends the set with a energetic rendition of "Crush Culture" that bemoans the pettiness of high school crushes. The crowd fills

with uproarious screams during the bridge. The energy is at an all–time high— even the parents seem to know the words.

Then, in under an hour, the show is over. Gray’s long–awaited EP only contains five songs. And yet, no one seems to mind. One girl’s mother even tells me that this was all her daughter wanted for her birthday. So, of course, they came. Many of the audience members leave the show a little dazed. Teen girls walk out side by side, clad in matching red "CONAN GRAY" t–shirts. In concert, you feel like his friend, as if he’s letting you in on a secret.

The concert isn’t about fanfare or showmanship. It’s about the music, which is really just Gray’s way of speaking to listeners. So when the show’s over and it’s time to go home, no one’s bothered at all.

They just got to speak with their favorite star.

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Yaeji (Photo by Micaiah Carter // Provided by Sacks & Co.)

Five Songs to Get You Into You don't need to be at a nightclub or pool party to enjoy this diverse subgenre.

PAUL LITWIN The deep house subgenre is growing more diverse by the day as artists are learning to experiment with new influences and sounds. However, it's not the most accessible genre for non–listeners, as it can come across as too “clubby” or electronic. In reality, there’s a wide range of sounds within deep house, and it’s a matter of determining which artists’ sounds appeal to each listener. One thing that often differentiates deep house from standard house music is the “beats per minute” and bass level, as deep house songs typically possess—as you might have guessed— deeper bass. Oftentimes, deep house is even further divided into two subdivisions, “future house” and “tropical house.”

In both cases, the songs themselves range from 110–124 BPM. From dark and unforgiving club beats to uplifting remixes, there’s something in deep house for everyone. For those unacquainted with deep house’s best tracks, here are a few recent standouts to get you into the genre.

"Raingurl" – Yaeji Yaeji’s “Raingurl” somehow perfectly captures the atmosphere of being in a crowd of people you don’t fully know after one too many drinks, but you’re also totally content to ride it out. From a catchy and memorable hook to a frantic bass beat, Yaeji is able to constantly toe the line between pop, house, and rap. Many

of the best deep house tracks aren’t overwhelming on lyrics, but rather, the lyrics themselves complement the ethereal or striking production of the track. In the case of “Raingurl,” the former is much more apparent, with Yaeji’s voice surrounded by a simple (but enchanting) bassline.

"Notorious" – Malaa “Notorious” is a perfect track for one of those jam– packed house clubs: easily recognizable and fast–paced.

With a near–flawless sample of The Notorious B.I.G., Malaa seamlessly blends the Brooklyn MC’s iconic voice into a dark, imposing deep house beat. Malaa’s identity is kept a secret, but many believe it to be the duo of electronic house DJs Tchami and DJ Snake. Regardless of the producer, "Notorious" is an excellent deep house track that will keep you coming back again and again.

"You Know You Like It" (Remix) – Tchami Arguably the song that got yours truly into deep house, Tchami’s remix of AlunaGeorge’s “You Know You Like It” is nothing short of a deep house masterpiece—one of those songs where despite how great the original is, the remix somehow blows it out of the water. Building up the pace and tone of the beat alongside AlunaGeorge’s beautiful voice, Tchami ramps up the energy of the song to an all– time peak before kicking in

the bass at AlunaGeorge's “I just want to have some fun.”

The deep house beat following the “drop” makes it near–impossible not to dance, as the electronic sounds come at the listener fast and hard. If there’s one deep house remix you need to jump–start a party, it’s this one.

"Jumanji" (Remix) – Shift K3Y Despite sounding very different from most other deep house songs, Shift K3Y’s remix of B Young’s song “Ju-

manji” is a great deep house track. Using a frenetic, ever– shifting background, Shift K3Y produces an excellent house background to carry B Young’s voice. Many deep house songs—even remixes—minimize the amount of vocals used on the track, but Shift K3Y’s remix doesn’t shy away from using vocals to complement the melodic bass.

"No One" – Golden Features Another deep house song with more of an atmospheric buildup than a hard–hitting

one, Golden Features’ “No One,” featuring Thelma Plum, adopts a much darker character as soon as the electronic bass truly kicks in.

“No One” also seems to be made for the dance floor, with an ominous and forbidding house beat. As Plum sings, “We just like to dance, makes us feel fine/Please just close your eyes and take you down, down, down”, the tone darkens as the energy picks up and the deep house sound shines through.

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plant-based what it means to be vegan on campus

BY PAIGE FISHMAN

S

urrounded by friends in the chilly Pocono forests, José Maciel (N ‘19) put down his burger and opted for a salad instead. “The world is so big, but here I am eating the life of another being,” he contemplated.

The burger “was once a cow that was doing its thing,” and now it’s contributing negatively to “cardiovascular health and cholesterol lipids.” At that moment in November of 2016, José decided to adopt a plant–based diet.

José, a Nursing and Nutrition Science double major and avid runner, promotes healthy living. After losing his father to a heart attack during a car accident—he attributes his passing to health problems stemming from heavy meat consumption—José sought to eliminate animal products from his diet. A weightlifter, he went from regularly eating sandwiches with half or a whole pack of deli meat or seven chicken breasts at a time to a whole–food, plant–based lifestyle. José hopes to influence the rest of his family members to “adopt a healthier road” as well.

Though José avoids meat and dairy, he refers to his diet as “plant–based” rather than “vegan.”

“When you hear the word ‘veganism,’ to me what comes to mind is a bunch of people running into a steakhouse with signs and shaming people for eating their steak,” says José. “They don’t deserve that ... I don’t appreciate when people are doing loud, in your face, ‘you’re wrong, we’re right’ protests.”

Veganism—a lifestyle without the use or consumption of animal products—has become an increasingly popular movement in the United States. As of 2016, 9 percent of U.S. adults follow strictly or mostly vegan or vegetarian diets. In 2018, the sales of plant–based alternatives to conventional animal products grew 17 percent, as opposed to a mere 2 percent growth in overall U.S. food sales. Even in Philadelphia, some restaurants have taken to vegan menus, such as Honest Toms, and 2018 marked the inaugural Philly Vegan Restaurant Week.

As veganism becomes more mainstream, some people have accused the movement of being aggressive, exclusionary, and elitist. With graphic scenes of slaugh-

terhouses and documentaries depicting underground footage from factory farms typically used as persuasion tactics, some feel that the vegan movement promotes a judgment and disdain for meat–eaters. But many vegans at Penn are working to dispel these attitudes, advocating for healthy, ethical, and environmentally conscious dietary habits while remaining cognizant of accessibility.

“I definitely think that graphic footage has a place,” says Jake Welde (E ’19), who became a vegan during the spring of his freshman year at Penn. “Graphic footage is associated with vegans in some sense, but the graphic footage really belongs to non–vegans, who are creating demand for these products and causing them to be produced in this way.”

Even as a vegetarian, Jake had “a lot of stereotypical views about vegans being preachy and loud.”

“Veganism as a ‘brand’ or in the public consciousness has been so damaged by that advocacy,” Jake says. “There’s a stereotype of a preachy loud vegan. Most vegans I know, they might be quiet, but they are proud to be vegan because it’s something that they care a lot about.”

Many Penn students strive to debunk these stereotypes by fostering open dialogue about the lifestyle. They characterize veganism as accessible and inclusive and promote positive discourse about plant–based eating. For many, “going vegan” means advocating for animal rights, environmental sustainability, or dietary health benefits. Instead of scare tactics and grotesque images, students focus on the benefits—environmental, ethical, and nutritional—of plant–based lifestyles.

“I have nothing against meat–eaters,” José says. “Never will I food–shame or say that what you are eating is bad for you. I will say that there are better options to consider. I promote the eating of healthier foods.”

José is not alone. Perren Carrillo (C '19) a former copy editor for 34th Street, for instance, has been vegan since August 2016 and focuses on being a role model for friends and family rather than engaging in activist groups.

“I understand why some vegans are very militant, but it is very alienating,” Perren says. “I believe in treating people who are not vegan with more compassion rather than criticizing them for eating meat. From what I see, there is more attacking than helping people to understand, which I don’t think helps anyone.”

Here on campus, Penn’s Vegan Society (PVS) brings attention to veganism by offering a space for conversation about the lifestyle, orchestrating educational talks with high–profile speakers, and hosting discussion–based events. PVS is a constituent of the Student Sustainability Association at Penn (SSAP) and consists of a general board that works to facilitate dialogue about veganism that intersects with other subjects like ecofeminism and food justice.

“One of the biggest problems I have with the mainstream veganism movement is that the activism is often engaged in this privileged way because it comes very much from the point of view that everyone is able to make this switch to veganism,” says outgoing co–chair of PVS Fiona Jensen–Hitch (C‘19). “You can’t make that assumption about anyone’s life without understanding what their position is first. At PVS, we try very hard to work outside of that dominant framework.”

PVS is a sponsor of “The Ivy League Future of Food Conference,” an annual conference on plant–based diets and bioethics. The 2018 Conference was held at Penn on October 12–14. Previously, the event was called “The Ivy League Vegan Conference.”

“We rebranded [the conference] because we didn’t want to exclude people who are not vegan,” says Bhairevi Aiyer, who received her Masters of Environmental Studies at Penn in 2018 and helped plan the conference. “There is no point in preaching to the choir. The point is to have a healthy discussion and to make the case from a business, science and health perspective.”

As the conference suggests, reasons for going vegan are rooted in concerns that range from ethics to personal health to the environment. Jake went vegan partly due to animal advocacy but also to act in alignment with his beliefs. “I don’t think

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F E AT U R E

"I believe in treating people who are not vegan with more compassion rather than criticizing them for eating meat.

From what I see, there is more attacking than helping people to understand, which I don’t think helps anyone.” — Perren Carrillo

there's a way to consume animal products ethically,” Jake continues, “because at the end of the day, as a unit of production, animals’ rights will never be respected.”

Similarly, Bhairevi felt compelled to remove dairy from her already–vegetarian diet after learning the role that agriculture plays in pollution. As an environmentalist, she felt “hypocritical to not make that change,” considering that animal farming takes up 83 percent of the world’s agricultural land.

Like Bhairevi, Fiona references environmentalism, rather than ethics, as her primary motivation to remove dairy from her then–vegetarian diet.

“It’s not that the ethics are not important to me—they are,” Fiona says. “I think because that has been the dominant angle within the word ‘vegan’ for a while. Personally, I don’t view it as the most useful way to get people to reduce meat consumption because a lot of it is centered on attacking people who do eat meat or who do consume animal products. It does not invite people to try something new.”

José, who cites health as his primary motivation, is also sympathetic to environmentalism and ethical views of animal abuse and agriculture.

“I don’t like talking about that [animal rights] because I don’t think its the driver that changes people’s views on veganism,” José says. “Ethical views are personal, but what you can’t deny is the science behind the health and environmental causes.”

While José chooses to call himself “plant–based,” other students who go by “vegan” worry about negative stereotypes. Apart from being pushy, Fiona says that vegans are also often perceived as elitist.

Still, she doesn’t “believe that veganism at its core is an elite thing, it is practiced in privileged ways.”

Being vegan can actually be economical, but it takes knowing how to cook at home and how to select filling foods, according to José.

When José chooses groceries, he buys per calorie and not per volume. Almost every day, he brings his favorite meal to class: a Japanese sweet potato. “You don’t need anything on it,” Jose continues, “for a potato, you need ketchup or hot sauce. For a yam, you need cinnamon or brown sugar. For a Japanese sweet potato, you can eat it on its own. For fifty cents, you can have a whole meal.”

Perren agrees that money is seldom the biggest obstacle to maintaining a vegan lifestyle. He explains that while vegan food in restaurants is sometimes unreasonably priced, cooking at home helps.

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Perren enjoys cooking for friends, making foods like babka and watermelon poké, to spark their interest in trying out a vegan diet.

Instead of focusing on the dietary restrictions that come with being vegan, many students call attention to the positive additions that come with instilling a plant–based diet.

“Everyone views being vegan as what you’re giving up,” Jake says. But he stresses that “there are a ton of different foods from different cultures or just from different places in the city that I hadn’t tried before I was vegan. I probably eat more interesting, healthier and varied foods now than before I became vegan.”

“Something people forget about vegans is that virtually every vegan used to not be a vegan,” says Jake.

“Basically, every vegan at some point in their life looked at what they were doing and new information they found and was like ‘this is wrong, I want to change what I am doing’ or ‘I could be better if I changed what I am doing.’ People think of the preachy vegan as arrogant in a sense, but I think veganism takes a certain level of humility where you’re like ‘I’ve been doing something wrong my whole and I’m going to change that.’”

Fiona hopes to inspire others to consider participating in the movement. She wishes for people to start thinking critically about their diets, even if they don’t totally go vegan.

“For me, it is about trying to become conscious and aware of the fact that of course, I can’t become an ethical consumer one hundred percent,” Fiona says. “It is just impossible with the way that our globalized world is set up.” However, she encourages people to talk with others who are passionate about these issues to get a broader perspective on the movement as a whole.

José, too, recognizes that veganism is practical only for some people. Still, he promotes taking small steps that can slowly help improve the world around us.

“I don't think everyone can be vegan, at least not now,” he says. “I’m not about being one hundred percent.

I’m about being ten percent or five percent better today, and let’s see where we get next week. Let’s see how we can keep improving.”

ST YLE

Celebrate Spring in Philadelphia: A Roundup of the Season's Best Warm Weather Events Enjoy the nice weather with these events around the City of Brotherly Love.

Tara O'Brien Reese Berman

Philadelphia Phillies Haven’t made it to a Phillies game yet? That’s okay—you still have time. Support the #1 ranked team in National League East at one of their many home games this spring. From April 5–7, the Phillies will host the Twins, and from April 8–10, the Nationals. And you won't want to miss the chance to watch the face–off between one of the biggest MLB rivalries on April 15–17, when the Phillies play the Mets.

Manayunk StrEAT Food Festival If you have been dying to try some of Philadelphia’s famous food trucks, StrEAT Food Festival is the place to start.

On Sunday, April 14, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., enjoy the historic Main Street as it fills with over 50 of Philly’s best food trucks and vendors. This year, certain dishes will highlight the featured spring ingredient: strawberries. The festival's farm stand will offer a variety of spices, fruits, vegetables, and oils. Various local businesses will also be featured at the festival along with live music.

South Street Spring Festival On Saturday, May 4, the annual South Street Spring Festival will cover about 12 blocks of Philadelphia. This event is free and open to all ages. There will be about 30 restaurants and 125 boutiques and businesses represented on South Street, beginning at Front Street and ending at Eighth Street. Get out and celebrate spring by taking in the sights of the city with blocks full of people, food, music, vendors, crafts, and drinks.

The festival will begin at 11:00 a.m. and end at 8:00 p.m.

Cherry Blossom Festival For a taste of Japan right here in Philly, you will not want to miss the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival. This exciting week will include multiple events from April 6 to April 14. The main event is “Sakura Sunday” on April 14, which highlights the charm of Japanese sakura— the Japanese word for the cherry blossoms— with crafts, live performances, tea, flower arranging, and more. For anyone who wants to really appreciate the beautiful trees while getting some exercise, the Cherry Blossom 10k and 5k will both take place on April 13.

Spring Art Star Craft Bazaar A great way to celebrate Mother’s Day this year is the Spring Art Star Craft Bazaar. This year, the 16th annual bazaar will be held on May 11 and 12.

Admission to the event is free, and the first 150 attendees each day will receive a free tote. There will be over 120 artists and crafters, and they are still accepting vendor applications. The event will be hosted at The Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on both days. There will be a variety of handmade goods curated by Art Star, as well as music, food, and bars— making it the perfect place to take your mom this Mother’s Day weekend, or to find a great gift for her.

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ST YLE

Get Ready to Rumble at the New Boxing Gym Coming to Philly Street talked to one founder of the cult boxing gym about their arrival in Philadelphia.

Jordan Wachsman On April 5, Rumble—the boxing, strength, and conditioning workout that's taken NYC and LA by storm—is coming to Philadelphia. The gym will open at 1520 Walnut St. in Center City, and its classes might just be worth the hike downtown.

Noah Neiman, Rumble’s spunky and passionate co– founder and founding trainer,

Courtesy of Rumble Boxing.

is ecstatic that, “the fitness scene in Philly is booming.”

He says, “The workout culture of Philly is incredibly strong, and with more and more high end restaurants, stores, and developments erecting across the beautiful city, we wanted to be a part of that growth.”

Rumble’s workout includes high intensity interval training (HIIT) and metabolic con-

ditioning (METCON). Plus, their cited benefits of boxing— “fat burning, increased metabolism, increased muscle tone, increased cardiovascular fitness, improved muscular endurance, improved core stability, improved strength and power, improved hand–eye coordination, and stress relief”—are all things we could probably use as college students. Punch out that

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stress about your next midterm.

The classes start with a warm–up and shadowboxing, followed by about 22 minutes of boxing combos led by the instructor. During this time each person focuses on six punches: the jab, the cross, front and back hooks, and front and back uppercuts—which they perform on their own water– filled punching bag. This is followed by about 22 minutes of strength and conditioning exercises. By the end of the class you’re sure to be drenched and ready for the cool down.

This workout studio’s vibe isn’t that of your typical stuffy gym—you’ll feel more like you’re at a rave thanks to the neon lights and their personal DJ. They promise this ambiance will “make you want to beat up our Aqua training bags like fight night,” whether you’re a beginner or avid boxer.

As for why you should try the workout, Neiman says, “Rumble is just fun.” He cites, “the unique custom curated art that adorns the walls, the custom curated tracks that we play in class, the insanely fun workout, the boxing on the water filled Aqua bags, the custom designed weights and benches we use, [and] the vibes of the space itself,” as reasons for Rumble’s cult following.

Rumble has been a hub for celebrities—its sleek design and

gear, as well as its effective fat– burning fitness classes are sure to make you feel like a star after a workout. Unfortunately, you also have to pay high prices to get the Rumble treatment. Individual classes cost $34 each, plus a $3 rent fee for gloves if you don’t bring your own. If you purchase a package you can get a slightly better deal per class, but the fees definitely make this a big investment.

Neiman emphasizes that the Philly location will stay true to the original NYC feel with some City–of–Brotherly–Love flair. You can expect, “incredible and unique pieces of art, AKA our instagrammable moments… draw[ing] inspiration from The Fresh Prince of BelAir, Danny DeVito from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and, of course, Rocky.” Neiman is elated to announce that a “Seven–foot statue of our business partner and investor Sly Stallone [is] being installed as we speak. He concludes, “To open in Philly and have the backing and blessing of the Rocky is something we are incredibly proud of, and something that we know will authentically resonate with our Philly customer base as well.”

Based on Rumble’s immense success at its other locations, you’re going to want to book your classes now before they fill up.

FILM&TV

Review: Jordan Peele Forces Audiences to Look in the Mirror Jordan Peele’s second feature is no 'Get Out,' but it’s a noble effort all the same.

Samantha Sanders

It’s been said that if you were to meet an exact copy of yourself, you wouldn’t recognize the copy as being you. That’s partly because we can only see our own image in reverse. Whether it be in mirrors or in pre–flipped selfie cameras, the us we recognize isn’t us at all. Instead, the version of ourselves with which we are most familiar is our opposite, our exact converse staring back at us. And this version is the only self that we know.

This idea of the warped self is one of the central themes of Us, the sophomore effort of writer/ director Jordan Peele. Even the plot of Us is a sort of mirrored image, where the past and present are similar, yet eerily different.

The film begins in 1986, with our protagonist, Adelaide, on a family vacation with her sparring parents. Adelaide wanders off into “Shaman Vision Quest” a funhouse with a caricatured and vaguely offensive Native American figure overhead, inviting onlookers to come in, to find themselves. Years later, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) returns to Santa Cruz with her own family. Gone is the scared little girl who disappeared into that cartoonish hall of mirrors, which, incidentally, has now been renamed “Merlin’s Enchanted Forest.” The funhouse where Adelaide got lost on that fateful night is exactly the same, just glossed over, given a new, more politically correct sheen to counteract its insensitive past.

Adelaide has been running from what happened in the funhouse all those years ago, and try as she might to gloss over it, she simply cannot move on. She knows her past is catching up with her. She can feel it. It turns out that all these years, she has, quite literally, been running from

her own shadow— her own tethered doppelgänger named “Red.” Every member of Adelaide’s family has their own, slightly more evil mirror image, who have arrived tonight to finally exact their revenge. It turns out that everyone in the U.S. has one of these doppelgängers. Originally created as part of a government experiment, these people were forced to live a life underground, acting only as a shadow tethered to their above ground counterparts. For every happiness anyone feels, their shadow feels pain. The message here is clear: everything in our country is built on the backs of those who never get to experience it for themselves. Us isn’t just about evil or horror, its about the pervasive culture of greed and privilege and class in America. Our doppelgängers (or the "Tethered") are invisible, yet we are tied to them, whether we know it or not.

Perhaps the most telling line of Peele’s allegory comes in the beginning of the film, soon after Red arrives. When asked who they are, Red strains the following reply: “We’re Americans.”

This underscores the message of Us and one of Peele’s most biting criticisms of America to date— we are the haves and the have– nots, the seen and the invisible, the “us” and the mirrored selves we refer to as “them.” The theme of warped mirrors is everywhere in Us, even beyond the funhouse: with every cracked mirror and repeated movement, with every forced imitation the Tethered perform, we are reminded that they are simply mirrors of those we are used to seeing.

And with all the references to duality and the past, it’s hard not to think about Peele’s own career.

Us is Peele’s second feature, and

while it is something entirely its own, it's also inextricably linked to 2017’s Get Out. Universal acclaim is a rare phenomenon in Hollywood, and earning said acclaim with a horror movie is even rarer. So when Jordan Peele’s genre–bending directorial debut Get Out was released in 2017, the film was heralded as revolutionary.

Importantly, Us is not Get Out. But one must imagine that the success of Get Out was still fresh in Peele’s mind. How does one follow up an unsuspecting masterpiece? There’s something distinctly overeager about Us, as though it's an attempt to eclipse the long shadow cast by its predecessor. Just as Adelaide attempts to outrun her shadow, Peele is

attempting to make something bigger than his first film.

It often feels like Us is answering all the wrong questions. Those it answers explicitly (like the two monologues by Lupita Nyong'o included for backstory) are completely unnecessary, while critical information about how exactly the world Peele has constructed works at all is never even touched upon. So, while Get Out doesn't require a huge suspension of the reality of reason, Us does; which is probably why it feels like such Photo via Universal a departure from Peele’s previous work and like more of the same concept for his sophomore effort.

Peele manages to touch on so simultaneously.

Still, Us is a resounding accom- many different parts of American plishment all on its own. One identity while focusing on only has to applaud Peele for taking one family: he captures us and on such an aggressively involved the U.S. in Us.

• • • • • • • • • FINAL NIGHT • • • • • • • • • TONIGHT|Harrison College House Heyer Sky Lounge, 7 PM

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FILM&TV

Are Are Movie Movie Theaters Theaters Going Going to to Disappear?

Disappear?

Movie theaters are experiencing lower attendance, but that doesn't have to mean they'll go extinct.

Ana Hallman

Jessi Olarsch There’s no question that movie theater attendance has been dropping. Wall Street has even speculated that the advent of streaming services has doomed movie theaters to extinction. But are they really doing that poorly?

Theaters have been making hundreds of millions less in box office takings than they have in previous years. Attendance is the lowest it’s been in two decades.

Theories for why this shift has occurred often cite streaming ser-

vices as the primary cause. Film data researcher Stephen Follows argues that streaming is changing the way that generations experience film: younger generations are more accustomed to Netflix and Amazon than they are to Regal Cinemas or AMC Theatres. Other critics and analysts have attributed the cause to a decline in film quality, noting that high–budget films expected to be big box office hits have received underwhelming turnouts.

To make matters worse, this lower demand has driven ticket prices up, with tickets often selling for as much as $14—a far cry from prices in the early 2000s, when tickets sold for an unthinkable $5 or $6. This spike in price only serves to feed into the cycle of low demand, with higher prices pushing potential customers away.

It all sounds very scary for theaters. They’re making a lot less, selling tickets for a lot more, and they may be losing their appeal to

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generations who have come to expect instant entertainment. But is it really so bad? Are movie theaters going to one day disappear?

Most likely, the answer is no.

Not necessarily. Even while ticket sales have been slumping in the U.S., internationally they’ve actually been doing quite well. It’s unclear why domestic revenue has fallen by 2.7 percent and international revenue has risen by about three percent. Whatever the case may be, the U.S. is proving to be a small piece of the puzzle, with international audiences making up the difference in revenue.

This doesn’t particularly help local theaters, but they’re certainly rallying with some interesting initiatives to encourage potential customers. Across the board, theaters have been implementing recliner seats, 4DX screenings, or a restaurant menu experience in which viewers can order and consume food and (alcoholic) drinks as they watch the film.

Chains like Movie Tavern have successfully combined all of these elements. The $9.50 ticket—for adults looking to see a weekend matinee—and the 40–minute trek out to the nearest location in Flourtown, Pa. is well worth it on a spare Saturday afternoon when you want to lay down in a gigantic recliner seat, watch a movie on the big screen, and order a hamburger and a cocktail for about the same price as a bucket of popcorn and soda at an ordinary theater.

Other, closer theaters have also gotten creative and developed some interesting initiatives. The Cinemark University City Penn 6 offers $5.50 tickets on Tuesdays to attract potential moviegoers.

The Ritz shows classic films every Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Philadelphia Film Center has elevated the film experience through its beautiful venue, cabaret–style seating,

and refreshments and snacks.

Imaginatively, they host a Quizzo & Movie on the first Thursday of every month, followed by a modern classic.

To compete with cheaper and more convenient streaming services—a month of a Netflix or Hulu subscription is cheaper than a single movie ticket, after all—movie theaters have been offering Discount Days and fun attractions to entice customers to spend their money on them.

Consequently, theaters are approximating their early beginnings of the late 1800s, when films were shown alongside optical toys and vaudeville performances in fairground shows. In some of these shows, exhibitors who presented phantom ride films might mimic the content, often acting as train conductors who took tickets, and producing sound effects of grinding wheels and hissing brakes. As Tom Gunning writes, it was a “cinema of attractions” that was entirely exhibitionist in nature.

As films lost their novelty, however, the focus shifted to the narrative of the film, and cinema relocated from the interactive fairground to the voyeuristic theater we know today. Theaters that serve food and drinks and host events like Quizzo aren’t too far from these interactive origins.

They’re slowly returning to their inception, offering what the small screens cannot. They're just going to have to get creative to keep up.

As convenient as our laptop screens are, theaters aren't going anywhere. They provide a completely immersive experience with surround sound, a massive screen, and an enraptured audience around you. Going to the movies is an incredible, timeless experience that a small screen simply cannot capture.

FILM&TV

The Legacy of Agnès Varda

CC BY 2.0 Photo by Twitter Trends 2019

We have lost one of the French New Wave’s most significant–and only female–filmmakers. Here’s how to celebrate her pioneering work.

Zovinar Khrimian On March 29, 2019, the world of cinema lost one of its greats. Agnès Varda, known as the grande dame of the French New Wave, passed away in Paris at 90 years old. Her long career began in the 1950s and amounted to a rich filmography of both narrative and documentary films. At age 89, Varda was nominated for an Academy Award for Faces Places, a feature documentary she created alongside the photographer JR exploring the villages and characters of the French countryside.

Varda’s filmmaking, like many of those working within the French New Wave cinematic movement, sought to achieve a documentary realism that melded fiction and nonfiction. Remarkably, Varda’s distinctive, experimental style emerged before many of the most renowned figures of the French New Wave.

Varda’s presence as a woman in what was an entirely male enterprise both helped and hindered her craft. Her voice was tremendously influential, and her work a platform for the exploration of feminist concerns and social commentary. At the same time, being a woman in such a male–dominated realm made finding producers challenging, despite her renown.

Although the world of filmmaking is slowly diversifying, it remains an egregiously male–dominated space.

Varda’s impressive filmogra-

phy and celebrated character will long be remembered.

Although her pivotal role in women’s cinema should be acknowledged, Varda stands to be a staple in film history and the French New Wave alongside her male peers regardless.

Whether it’s the world of Hollywood films or the film festival circuit, the challenges that Varda faced in the middle of last century are far from alleviated. The statistics are infuriating, but hopefully, they are also motivating. The absence of female voices and surprisingly rigid adherence to the conventional notion of a man at the helm of great artistic undertakings is to the detriment of us all. For those of us who love film and want to see its industry change for the better, elevating the women who have pioneered filmmaking, including entire movements as Varda had, is part of our responsibility.

If you have never had the privilege of experiencing Agnès Varda’s incredible body of work, several of her greatest films are available on popular streaming platforms.

Faces Places (2017)— available on Netflix Faces Places is lauded as a documentary that is simultaneously playful and powerful—a thoroughly charming masterpiece that paints an engaging portrait of rural France and its residents.

For this undertaking, Varda teamed up with the photog-

rapher/muralist JR, whose large–scale murals of the villagers the duo met are incorporated into this innovative documentary that celebrates ordinary people.

Le Bonheur (1965)— available on Amazon Prime With a title that means “happiness,” Le Bonheur is a tale exploring the intersection of love, morality, and, of course, happiness. The central character, François, is a carpenter who lives an uncomplicated life with his

wife and children, but meets a women named Émile with whom he begins an affair, despite remaining deeply in love with his wife. The film involves feminist themes that reflect the social unrest of 1960s France.

Vagabond (1985)—available on Amazon Prime Beginning with the discovery of the frozen body of a young woman, Vagabond traces the life of a transient woman on the road and the people she meets along the way. This journey eventu-

ally results in her death. This film is a perfect example of the traditional narrative and documentary–like realism that characterizes much of Varda’s filmography.

In her death, we can honor the legacy of this important figure of film history, explore and enjoy her 60–year career, and work towards promoting a more equitable industry.

Varda’s experimental work has left its mark on the world of cinema, and may it inspire generations of aspiring female filmmakers to come.

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FILM&TV

The Problem with 'Unplanned' Why this Christian film isn't just bad—it's dangerous.

Calista Lopez

Courtesy of unplanned film.com

"Formerly a Planned Parenthood director, I now work to save lives."

This is the tag line featured on the website of Abby Johnson, a Bryan, Texas native and the subject of the Christian biopic Unplanned, produced by Pure Flix—an entertainment company known for producing Christian films.

Released on March 29, the film follows the true story of Abby Johnson, a Planned Parenthood clinic director turned pro–life activist. Abby (played by Ashley Bratcher)

is a devoted Planned Parenthood volunteer who quickly rises through the ranks of the organization and becomes the appointed director of the Bryan, Texas clinic. But when Abby is asked to assist with an ultrasound–guided abortion, everything changes. She witnesses the 13–week old fetus resisting and fighting the vacuum tube used for abortion procedure, and eventually losing its life at the hands of the abortionist. She is increasingly disturbed as her boss, Cheryl (Robia Scott)—the Texas division head of PP—

emphasizes the importance of abortions to the company's financial success. It is then that Abby realizes the sins she's committing and makes a dramatic transformation. She resigns from Planned Parenthood, finds refuge in the pro– life organization now known as 40 Days for Life, and dedicates her life to exposing abortion for the true evil it is.

Unplanned is a bad movie, with subpar storytelling, low production value, and campy performances.

In this film, we are met with one–dimensional char-

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acters whose identities are based solely on their stances on abortion, and a jarring amount of blood and gore that earned the Christian film an uncharacteristic R–rating.

While these things make for an unenjoyable movie–going experience, they are just symptoms of the real problem with this film.

Unplanned is not the harrowing story of redemption and repentance it markets itself to be. It is a politically– charged piece of propaganda disguising itself with a thin veil of piety and righteousness. The film's goal is to preach to the pro–life choir and convert those who remain undecided on the issue by using the name of God to do it. The danger in that lies in the extremely one–sided portrayal of both pro–life and pro–choice advocates and the use of the Christian religion to validate the film's misrepresentation.

The film portrays patients of Abby's Texas clinic as lost souls who give in to horrible sin and get abortions, instead of being strong, resisting temptation, and carrying their babies to term. Not once do they ever consider the unique and individual situations of these women or the possibility that their lives might be better lived without an infant to care for. The realities of illegal abortion are never mentioned in the film either.

Then we have the portrayals of the leaders of both the pro–

choice and pro–life movements. Cheryl is the power– hungry, Cruella de Vil–esque leader of Texas' Planned Parenthood division that pushes Abby to "sell" as many abortions as possible. While Cheryl is (ironically) the most interesting character in the whole film, her cut–throat, corporate attitude is one that seems highly unrealistic.

Contrarily we have the holier–than–thou members of 40 Days of Life who navigate the rocky terrain with a "kill them with kindness" attitude.

They patiently wait for Abby to inevitably see the error in her ways. The rowdy and, often times, violent protesters that camp outside of the clinics are brushed aside and hardly recognized.

Finally, the amount of misinformation in this film is baffling. Planned Parenthood is portrayed as an abortion factory with quotas to meet and money to make—no matter what the cost. This film mentions nothing about HIV screenings, STD tests, hormone therapies, breast examinations, or sexual education—which are all services offered by Planned Parenthood, often at a free or reduced cost.

The dangers of a movie like Unplanned are clear. But what's even clearer, after viewing the film, is that organizations like Planned Parenthood need to be protected. Instead of paying ten dollars to see this movie, you can go donate to Planned Parenthood.

ARTS

PennYo: The A Cappella Group That Treats You Like a Friend

Photo courtesy of Leina Betzer

The Chinese/Chinese–American a capella group put on a beautiful and resonant spring show.

Jessica Bao The Chinese word for friends, translated phonetically, is pengyo—primed for the pun that Penn’s Chinese a cappella group, PennYo, uses. This spring, with a theme inspired by Friends, PennYo’s show—P E N N Y O, presented in the iconic Friends font—felt even more on brand. The night saw entertaining yet poignant performances that were fun for not only those in audience who have connections to Chinese culture, but also those who might not understand all the words.

Made up of 14 Chinese and Chinese–American students, PennYo puts on a show every semester with a mix of performances in Chinese, English, or a mashup. On March 29 and 30, the show opened with an upbeat duet performed by Jason Li (E ‘20), the music director, and Michael Zhou (E, W ‘20), who performed a cover of Chinese rock band Black Panther’s “Shameful.” The show then returned to a Chinese ballad with “Waiting For You” by Jay Chou.

The song paints an intimate picture of classroom love. PennYo’s rendition—a duet by Sophia Marks (E ‘22) and Harrison Chen (C ‘22)—did the song justice.

Another memorable performance of the night came from Carolynne Liu (C ‘20) and Jennifer Qiu (W ‘20), who covered the song “Eye Nose Lips”

by K–pop singer Taeyang, with other covers by Chinese singer G.E.M. and Korean–Canadian hip–hop artist Tablo mixed in.

“We ended up mashing [the song] up in all three languages, because we wanted it to be multicultural, and also because the music sounds really great to-

gether,” Carolynne, president of PennYo, said. The performance was fresh, retaining the romance of Taeyang and G.E.M., while infusing the hip–hop energy of Tablo’s cover.

The night also saw a solo from Roxanne Zhou (C ‘21), who sang a cover of “Why So Lonely” by K–pop girl group Wonder Girls. With Chinese lyrics that she translated herself, Roxanne had a captivating presence. “Her voice was just insane,” Karthik Macherla (E ‘22), attending his second PennYo show, said.

Other solos came from the three graduating seniors in the group. They had fellow members sobbing in the background.

This is why PennYo shows always feel authentic. They celebrate the integration of Chinese and Western cultures, and then bring the audience in.

For Chinese/Chinese–American students, PennYo's show can not only feel like a splash of home, but also a heartwarming reflection of their cultural experiences at Penn. For those who do not understand Chinese, PennYo remains accessible through their English–Chinese mashups and by presenting Chinese music with a universal passion. After all, that is the power of music—to bring us closer to one another through something beyond words or language.

Throughout the show last weekend, there were often moments when the audience and the performers shared in this unbridled joy for music. “Seeing their faces light up when they sing, when the blend is right and the chord locks and the song just takes off,” Jason said. “That is a special moment for me.” It feels special to the rest of us, too.

Law & Entrepreneurship Lecture with JOHN SCHULTZ Executive Vice President, Chief Legal & Administrative Officer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chair of the Board, H3C Technologies Company, Ltd.

China, Inc.

What It Means for American Innovation and Entrepreneurship Wednesday, April 10 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Faculty Lounge, Penn Law Reception to follow in the Great Hall - all are welcome.

Information: http://www.law.upenn.edu/ile

The Institute for Law and Economics is a joint research center of the Law School, the Wharton School, and the Department of Economics in the School of Arts and Sciences.

This program has been approved for 1.0 substantive law credit hour for Pennsylvania lawyers. CLE credits may be available in other jurisdictions as well. Attendees seeking CLE credit should bring separate payment in the amount of $40.00 ($20.00 public interest/non-profit attorneys) cash or check made payable to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania.

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ARTS

Building Bridges: 'Graffiti & Ornament' Connects Philly's Past and Present Through Art The Woodlands in West Philadelphia presents 'Graffiti & Ornament', an exhibition of site–specific works by artists Roberto Lugo and Leo Tecosky.

Jess Araten

Graffiti & Ornament runs March 31–April 28, 2019.

Emma Boey | Staff Photographer

In an old Philadelphia mansion hangs sculptural glass and neon lights. Graffiti–covered ceramics and large self–portraits recall hidden histories.

Through open windows, visitors overlook an undulating green cemetery: graves from the mid–18th century side by side with the graves from today. The past and the present intermingle, overlapping and intertwined.

The Woodlands in West Philadelphia presents Graffiti & Ornament, an exhibition of site–specific works by artists Roberto Lugo and Leo Tecosky.

Held in the historic Hamilton’s Mansion, not twenty minutes from Penn's campus, Graffiti & Ornament, according to the website, “shed[s] new light on the historic interior

of the Hamilton Mansion at the Woodlands, connecting Philadelphia’s past to its present in unexpected ways.”

Graffiti & Ornament places contemporary sculptural works throughout Hamilton’s Mansion, and provides attendees with a map of the artworks within the space. Rooms are filled with large, graffitied ceramics and multicolored, suspended glass. The objects are not crowded together—each has a special space and relative position to the other art pieces and the broader surroundings of The Woodlands and Hamilton’s Mansion.

Artist Roberto Lugo was born in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. A self–titled “ghetto potter,” as noted on the exhibit's website, Lugo’s work “bears witness to histories that have often been excluded, and as a result, reshapes the narrative of ceramics.” In addition, the site details how Lugo creates space for new identities in relation to traditional ceramics by "insert[ing] his Puerto Rican heritage, and his personal and cultural heroes into the work.

Graffiti often becomes the ornament on his vessels, which depict portraits that range from hip–hop stars the Wu–Tang

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Clan, to poet Gwendolyn Brooks."

For Graffiti & Ornament, the website's introduction continues, Lugo crafted vessels “to memorialize those from his Kensington community, echoing the wooded cemetery that surrounds Hamilton’s Mansion.” As an exhibit sign notes, in a large ceramic piece entitled Do you know how hard it is to get a black man through high school? (2019), Lugo “depicts the fallen youth Michael Brown on one side and the artist on the other.

In their physical similarities, Lugo confronts their different life outcomes.” Opposite the ceramic vessel stands Jarring: What’s Within (2019), a resin sculpture cast from the artist’s body. The pieces, in conversation with one another and with the Mansion and cemetery surroundings, act as a deeply personal response to systemic racial violence, placing art in the context of institutional histories.

Artist Leo Tecosky’s sculptural glass and neon pieces for Graffiti and Ornament, according to the website, “create a multifaceted homage to his grandmother Evelyn Rose Tecosky (1925–2017), a

lifelong Philadelphia resident whose Depression glass collection inspired the artist’s own work in glass.” In Ev (2019), the exhibit plaques note, Tecosky memorializes his grandmother’s name into repeating sculptures, “using neon to reflect the ephemeral mark of graffiti tagging.”

Tecosky’s work is poignant and honest, reflecting The Woodlands’ gravesite surroundings, reminding viewers that each grave marks a loved one lost. As exhibit signs detail, in Nostalgia Styles (2019), Tecosky “recall[s] childhood memories of his grandmother’s glass.” Like Lugo, Tecosky makes personal work, reminders of the importance of history and memory.

The exhibit descriptions highlight glass’ ability to transmit light, drawing the admirer's eye to how Nostalgia Styles “is sited near the mansion’s celebrated bay windows, building a material connection between past and present.” In bridging the then and now, Tecosky permits viewers to celebrate memory.

In showing Lugo’s and Tecosky’s works at Hamilton’s Mansion, Graffiti & Ornament consciously examines Philadelphia’s present relationship to its past. Built and restored in the

late 18th Century, Hamilton’s Mansion, according to the site, “contains one of the preeminent neoclassical interiors in the United States, boasting what were likely the best–finished and most sophisticated internal service spaces created at that time in Philadelphia, and perhaps the country as a whole.” In its day, the website continues, the Mansion “offered a setting for both formal and informal entertainment, the display of art, and high-style day–to–day living.”

Through bringing two contemporary artists “who embrace graffiti and hip–hop culture within their artistic practice” to a historical mansion, Graffiti & Ornament challenges preconceptions of high art.

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