The Anchor - October 1 2018

Volume 92/Issue 4

THE

Rhode Island College

Established 1928

October 1st, 2018

ANCHOR

Keeping the community cohesive A message from the Anchor’s Executive Board

W

Photo courtesy of Julio Berroa

ithin the past two weeks there has been two incidents of hatred defiling the walls of Rhode Island College in the form of posters.

These two incidents focused on attacking two groups of people: those who identify with the LGBTQ+ community, and those that are not U.S. born citizens.

Although the posters were aimed at these two groups, their effects are seen and felt by individuals that do not identify with either. These messages of hatred can be felt universally, as an attack against personal identity is something we can all relate to.

Posters, photos, graffiti, tweets, text messages, hand

written notes, Facebook statuses, Snapchat stories and word of mouth are but a few ways hatred against other individuals can be spewed.

Use these mediums to your advantage and instead spread knowledge, spread ideas, spread new ways of thinking to your community. You have a world of connectivity at your fingertips.

Why not share a message of positivity to grab the attention of your campus community?

In the time following the discovery of these posters, the RIC Community has exhibited an overwhelming outpour of support and solidarity. Many of you have shown through your actions that words of animosity will

never penetrate the walls of our united community.

Those who spread messages of hatred will fail to entice more hatred--they will only inspire strength.

The Anchor will not be publishing copies of the posters that were found on campus nor the names of the groups they were branded by. We do not wish to give free advertising to individuals that chose to post these images and invalidate the humanity of others. We only ask that you remain aware that these attitudes unfortunately do exist during a generation that can, at times, feel so liberated.

Keep in mind that any flyers/posters containing

hate should be taken down and delivered to the Unity Center, located on the lower floor of Donovan Dining Center.

Beginning today, the Unity Center will extend its hours until 9 p.m. These hours will continue over the next two weeks.

Also, note that any direct incidents of hate or discrimination against you or someone you know can be reported to the Title IX Office at (401)456-8387.

The Anchor is an organization with its doors always open, and we want to hear your thoughts, your trials and tribulations and any incidents you feel the student body should be aware of.

Contact information for The Anchor executive board is listed below: Samantha Scetta: editorinchief@anchorweb. org Jessica Gauthier: managing@anchorweb.org Lucille DiNaro: business@anchorweb.org Samantha Malley: artdirector@anchorweb.org.

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Organizational Information Editorial Board EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Samantha Scetta | editorinchief@anchorweb.org

MANAGING EDITOR

Jessica Gauthier | managing@anchorweb.org

BUSINESS MANAGER

Lucille DiNaro | business@anchorweb.org

ART DIRECTOR

Samantha Malley | artsdirector@anchorweb.org

NEWS EDITOR

Tim Caplan | news@anchorweb.org

ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Erica Clark | asst_news@anchorweb.org

A&L EDITOR

Alec Ematrudo | lifestyles@anchorweb.org

ASST. A&L EDITOR

Jonathan Weaver | asst_lifestyles@anchorweb.org

OPINIONS EDITOR

Catherine Enos | opinions@anchorweb.org

ASST. OPINIONS EDITOR

Lauren Enos| asst_opinions@anchorweb.org

SPORTS EDITOR

Jake Elmslie | sports@anchorweb.org

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

NOW HIRING | asst_sports@anchorweb.org

PHOTO EDITOR

Brittany Donahue | photo@anchorweb.org

ASST. PHOTO EDITOR

Thomas Crudale | asst_photo@anchorweb.org

GRAPHICS EDITOR

Wiley Sadowski | graphics@anchorweb.org

ASST. GRAPHICS EDITOR

NOW HIRING | asst_graphics@anchorweb.org

SENIOR COPY EDITOR

Charlotte Abotsi | senior_copy@anchorweb.org

ASST. COPY EDITOR

Ariella Jeter | copy@anchorweb.org

Staff Aaron Isaac Mike Dwyer Derek Sharlock Enrique Castaneda-Pineda Alison Macbeth Joshua Magnone Kristy Sittinger Thomas Yakey Jr. Jake Deblois

Contact Us: Advertising (401)456-8544 ads@anchorweb.org

Editor-in-Chief

(401)456-8790 editorinchief@anchorweb.org

Angela DaSilva | copy@anchorweb.org SENIOR LAYOUT EDITOR

Jessamy LeBeau | layout@anchorweb.org

ASST. LAYOUT EDITOR

NOW HIRING | layout@anchorweb.org

ADS MANAGER

Lily Gallo | ads@anchorweb.org

TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR Victor Martelle | technology@anchorweb.org ASST. TECH DIRECTOR

NOW HIRING | asst_tech@anchorweb.org

ONLINE MEDIA MANAGER Marisa Lenardson | web@anchorweb.org CIRCULATION MANAGER Janelle Gomez | circulation@anchorweb.org

Professional Advisor Jim Hummel The Hummel Report

Faculty Advisor Michael Michaud mmichaud@ric.edu

The Anchor is student-run and published weekly during the academic year. Editorial decisions for The Anchor are made by a majority vote of its student editorial board. No form of censorship will be imposed by the college. Any material found to be unsuitable or unacceptable in the board’s opinion will not be published. The views expressed in The Anchor, unless otherwise noted, are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Anchor or of Rhode Island College’s faculty, administration or student body. The Anchor is not funded by and is independent from Rhode Island College. The first copy is free. Each additional copy is $2.25. Newspaper racks on the Rhode Island College campus are the property of The Anchor Newspaper. Only The Anchor Newspaper publication will be permitted on these racks. Any other publication or advertisement that is placed on the racks will be given one (1) warning for violating this policy. After two (2) violations, the business/publication will be billed at the rate of a full page advertisement.

Copyright © 2016 The Anchor. All rights reserved.

Legalities:

News Dr. Blasey Ford’s testimony marks historic and contentious moment in American politics Tim Caplan and Erica Clark News Editor and Assistant News Editor Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford were questioned before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Sept.

27, and testified under oath for more than eight hours.

This hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee illustrated an intense contrast between the GOP’s willingness to advance Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination as soon as Friday and the Democrats’ determination to suggest a thorough FBI investigation of the allegations.

Ford’s accusation went like this: during a high school suburban house party at an unidentified location in Maryland at an unspecified time, Ford testified that Brett Kavanaugh attacked her. Ford said she was pushed into a bedroom where Kavanaugh “began running his hands over my body and grinding into me.”

Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee she feared Kavanaugh would rape her as the nation watched.

Alongside his friend Mark Judge, she proclaimed that

an intoxicated Kavanaugh “groped me and tried to take off my clothes.”

She claimed to have not told anyone, including her parents, because she didn’t want to reveal that she was at a party with beer and no guardians.

Until July 2018, Ford said that she had never revealed Kavanaugh as her attacker outside of therapy, which was told in specific detail for the first time at a couples counseling session in May 2012.

Ford expressed that this has “haunted me episodically as an adult,” and that the specific details were not revealed until her husband questioned why she wanted a second front door on their remodeled house.

Upon learning that Kavanaugh’s name was on the short list of candidates for a U.S Supreme Court appointment, Ford stated that she felt a responsibility to share what had happened.

“I felt it was my duty to tell that someone on the president’s short list attacked me,” she said.

Photo courtesy of vanityfair.com

When asked about Kavanaugh’s claims of Ford mistaking him for someone else during the summer of 1982, Ford replied, “Absolutely not.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa repeated his assertion that Kavanaugh had been through six different background checks administered by the FBI with no hint of sexual assault allegations coming into view. Grassley claimed that he has no authority to force the FBI to investigate the allegations and believes it was easy to “identify all the alleged witnesses and conduct our own investigations.”

Grassley stated that he believes the Democrats’ claims of the FBI investigation into the accusations are an “obstruction.”

Democrats also pushed Grassley to subpoena Mark Judge, Kavanaugh’s friend who Ford says was in the room with him when she was assaulted.

Grassley also expressed his remorse for not immediately being notified of the letter that was received

by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Grassley stated, “These investigations could have been done in a way that Dr. Ford suggested.”

Feinstein did not share Ford’s claim when she received her letter detailing the allegation in early July of this year. Ford requested that Feinstein keep the letter confidential.

The Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee hired Rachel Mitchell, a sex crimes prosecutor and a chief of the Maricopa County (AZ) Attorney’s Office in the Special Victims Division to take their place during the testimony and ask questions in their absence.

Kavanaugh stated to

members of the committee “You may defeat me in the final vote, but you’ll never get me to quit, never.”

Kavanaugh, who was visibly upset and frustrated, told the committee, “You have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy.” He said of this hearing overall that, “The consequences will extend long past my nomination; the consequences will be with us for decades.”

A final vote for Kavanaugh was scheduled for Sept. 28, but a request for an FBI investigation by both Republican and Democrat senators will most likely delay the vote for one week.

“I felt it was my duty to tell that someone on the president’s short list attacked me”

~ Dr. Blasey Ford

Photo courtesy of Elle

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928 |

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News

RIC union professors make their voices heard at Postsecondary Education Council meeting

Tim Caplan News Editor

The Council on Postsecondary Education held a meeting at Rhode Island College on Wednesday, Sept. 26 and were greeted by a group of faculty and staff members at RIC who are part of the union Local 1819 requesting higher wages. These members wore blue shirts that read “RIC AFT” and held up signs displaying phrases like “respect RIC faculty.” These demonstrators also sported maroon pins on their shirts that said “respect RIC.” RIC professors have gone without a contract for more than 90 days so far.

Photo courtesy of AFT

The Anchor caught up with union president Quenby Hughes, who claims that the previous contract negations were not settled upon until more than two years after the original contract had expired, and that faculty members were not paid retroactively once it was agreed upon. President Hughes said that “it’s really important that we get a contract because there is a possibility that we would not actually see a raise in the next few years.”

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, RIC professors are paid on average 17 percent less than their peers at similar institutions, including those professors who work at the University of Rhode Island (URI). The main contention of RIC AFT Local 1819 is that they want the Rhode Island Promise funds being allocated to the Community College of Rhode Island

Photo courtesy of Britt Donahue (CCRI) as well as URI to also be given to RIC. President Hughes emphasized the fact that RIC students are, in general, local people who contribute massively to the economy of Providence and Rhode Island. She claimed that enrollment at RIC was down this year and that she believed “it is directly at-

tributable to the fact that RI Promise was not extended to RIC students.”

Hughes made it clear that the last thing that she wanted to do was “put the financial burden on the backs of the students,” and claimed that she and her union believe that it is the responsibility of the state to make up the difference based on

the impact of RIC in the community. Hughes empathized with those who chose to go to CCRI for free the first two years of college, but clarified that it was this reason exactly which made her want the RI Promise be given to RIC students.

At this point in time, RIC professors still do not have a contract.

Decay of the underground city

Aaron Isaac Anchor Staff

Rhode Islanders would not be surprised to hear bridges and roads need to be repaired. A 24/7 Wall Street report last month ranked Rhode Island last in infrastructure quality. This is obvious when someone looks at the roads and the bridges, but we can’t all see the water pipes underground.

On August 28, a sewer line collapsed on Cedar Swamp Road in Warwick spilling 300,000 gallons of sewage into Buckeye Brook. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) closed shellfishing in the upper Narragansett Bay and closed Conimicut Beach. The Warwick Sewer Authority (WSA) has since replaced the section of the

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pipe that collapsed and the DEM has since opened up most of the upper Narragansett Bay to shellfishing again.

The executive director of the WSA Janine BurkeWells said it was lucky the pipe broke when it did and not while it was raining or during a storm. She was alerted to the problem when two residents who found their basements flooded with sewage.

Warwick has around 300 miles of pipes which are made of different materials and many were built in the 1960s. The pipe that broke was laid in 1978 and made out of concrete which made it vulnerable to corrosion and eventually caused it to collapse. The WSA replaced the broken pipe with a

polyvinyl chloride, plastic, pipes. Scott C. Goodinson, the Superintendent of WSA, says those old concrete pipes are what concerns the WSA most because they are still vulnerable to corrosion.

The Warwick pipes are not the only system vulnerable to corrosion and Rhode Island is not the only state that has a pipe problem.

“This is an issue nationwide,” Goodinson said to The Anchor. “You’ve got water and wastewater pipes under the ground, some of them are 50 to 80 years old.”

Many communities in the United States face the same problems concerning their pipes. Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires communities to inspect their

Photo courtesy of Wikkicommons pipes towns and cities are on the hook to buy the necessary equipment. Financially stressed communities find it difficult to meet these mandates from the EPA. This is further aggravated by the invisibility of the underground pipes. Pipes are not seen above ground and as a result, there is not a lot of pressure on the government to invest greater resources into the problem.

“There’s an underground city that no one pays attention to,” Goodinson pro-

claimed.

As time goes on, the threat of old pipes leaking or collapsing remains. The WSA is working on evaluating those older pipes in Warwick, but many towns and cities are “in need of desperate repairs,” Goodinson stated.

Burke-Wells and many experts of the wastewater industry could not be reached for comment because they have left for the annual national wastewater convention in New Orleans.

| Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

News

A politically driven presentation on “Resisting ICE and the Deportation Crisis”

Tim Caplan News Editor

On Tuesday, September 25 Professor Jeremy Benson organized an event titled “Resisting ICE and the Deportation Crisis” on behalf of the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development (FSEHD) Diversity Committee and co-sponsored by Open Books, Open Minds and The Committee for College Lectures. This event brought people to fill every seat in Gaige Hall 200.

A representative from three different leftist organizations founded on the basis of community wellness and support attended and gave lectures concerning their political stances as well as the different activities that their groups participated in.

The three different groups in attendance were “The Alliance to Mobilize our Resistance”(AMOR),

“The Southeast Asian Freedom Network”(SEAFN), and “The Providence Youth Student Movement”(PRYSM).

The weekend before this event happened a flyer was found on the campus of Rhode Island College which was created by the neo-nazi group “Blood and Soil”. “Blood and Soil” was a phrase written across nazi Germany in the 20th century which called for a racialized national identity and an entitlement to land because. The flyer read “Keep America American” and gave instructions on how to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The finding of these posters may have contributed to such a large and supporting crowd in attendance at this event.

“The weekend before this event happened a flyer was found on the campus of Rhode Island College which was created by the neo-nazi group “Blood and Soil”. “Blood and Soil” was a phrase written across nazi Germany in the 20th century which called for a racialized national identity and an entitlement to land because the flyer read “Keep America American” and gave instructions on how to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).”

Photo courtesy of AMOR This situation was addressed briefly during the presentations, but not in much detail.

The representative from AMOR, Arely Diaz, spoke about the different rallies that her organization held.

One of these was called the “Free Lilian Vigil” and was concerned with freeing a Johnston woman named Lilian Calderon from detainment by ICE. She was taken by ICE during a routine meeting in Johnston, while getting her marriage verified to begin the process of becoming a United States citizen.

She was taken to Boston and held at the Suffolk County Corrections facility for months before being released to her family.

AMOR also held a rally to “End Family Separation”.

Diaz stated that AMOR believes “any form of incarceration is family separation.” Diaz also talked about the inspiration for her political group, which

included organizations such as the “Black Panther Party” and the “Young Lords”, a group comprised of mainly Puerto Rican activists that was founded in New York City.

Throughout the lecture, Diaz and the other two representatives (Steven Dy of PRYSM and Linda Heng of SEAFN) spoke about discrimination in America, and each of the three supported the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Diaz proclaimed that, “The U.S government including ICE is a white supremacist organization”. When speaking on politics, Dy also made a statement that gubernatorial candidate and former Mayor of Cranston Alan

Fung was an “agent of white supremacy”.

Contrary to what some may believe, ICE is active in Rhode Island and these groups demonstrated that.

According to AMOR’s website, amorri.org, their hotline is open 24/7, “if you or someone you know is experiencing interpersonal or state-sponsored violence….

AMOR offers immigration legal services, mental health referrals and programming, support in instances of police violence, interpretation and transportation services, and community response and mobilization”.

The AMOR support line can be reached at (401) 675-1414.

Photos courtesy of Jake Deblois

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928 |

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News

These articles are from the November 21, 1958 and February 13, 1959 issues of The Anchor Catherine Enos Opinions Editor

I

n a time before Twitter, where did students air their complaints? The Anchor editorials, apparently.

1958-1959 was the first academic school year at the “new” campus (our current campus), so, one would think “what was there to complain about?”

The answer to this is: everything.

The Anchor editorials of were rife with complaints, regarding everything from noisy freshman to stale donuts.

To send in an editorial, one would have to write their complaints and submit it to The Anchor for publishing, which would take at least a week-talk about delayed gratification!

Today, it might take you less than a minute to type up a rant and tweet it out into the world.

When it comes down to it, people of the past (or people before the invention of the internet) had less of an opportunity to share their thoughts with the world. They had to decide which of their musings were most important and calculate the most articulate way to share it-- maybe this was a good thing.

Or perhaps people haven’t changed and they jumped at any opportunity to have their voice heard-- maybe these editorials can shed light on whether the nature of people has evolved (or not).

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| Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Health & Science A disease of the mind

Samantha Scetta Editor-in-Chief The brain is perhaps one of the most intricate and mysterious of the bodily organs. We use it every millisecond of our lives-When we are sleeping, when we are zoning out and even when we are unconscious, the brain is still at work.

However, the almighty brain is still a mystery to even the sharpest and most intelligent neurologists that work in the field of brain science.

When something goes terribly wrong within our brains, the healing process does not have a definitive ending and beginning as it would with ailments like the stomach flu or a broken arm. Unfortunately, when it comes to a neurological disease like Alzheimer’s, there may not be a way to reverse the changes it makes to the brain at all.

Forgetfulness is a natural part of the aging process,

In the brain of an individual with Alzheimer's, protein fragments (amyloid plaque)

builds up in between the nerve cells of the brain, and forms insoluble plaques.

The accumulation of beta amyloid is detrimental to communication between cells in the brain and is considered a trademark of Alzheimer’s.

As the disease progresses, the “gray matter” of the brain that covers the cerebrum withers up and shrinks more rapidly than what is considered normal.

This damage wreaks havoc on the brain’s functions, and the affected individuals lose the ability to plan, learn new information, recall information and concentrate. Damage to the cerebrum can also affect physical movement which is why individuals in the later stage of Alzheimer’s will have difficulty sitting up or walking on their own.

The hippocampus, the area of the brain that deals with memory, also shrivels

and shrinks which disables the brain’s ability to create new memories. This is why an individual with Alzheimer's might not remember who his or her newborn grandchildren are.

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s-- there are only treatments to delay the progress of brain degradation.

Whereas Alzheimer’s is thought to be mostly genetic and unavoidable; research has shown that there are a variety of lifestyle changes one can make to lessen their chances of being diagnosed: ExerciseRegular physical exercise can reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by up to 50 percent. Exercise is not just necessary for your physical health, it can help stimulate connections in your brain

and increase oxygen that is sent to the brain.

Healthy, balanced dietSometimes referred to as “the diabetes of the mind”, there really is no surprise that cutting down on sugar, processed meats, cheese and white carbohydrates can decrease one’s chance of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Sugar causes a spike in insulin and can cause inflammation in the brain which can lead to Alzheimer's or other memory loss disease over time.

Never stop learningIf you don’t use it, you lose it. This applies to muscles as well as the brain. You should constantly challenge your brain to strengthen memory and ability to focus, and perhaps this will improve brain function and slow down dementia.

Clusterfackt

Mike Dwyer Anchor Staff Nowadays, facts come at you fast. Truth in is jeopardy.

Clusterfackt is an ongoing series that asks readers to question everything. Each week readers will have a chance to win free ad space by identifying the falsehood hiding in plain site. Don't repeat something you read here without doing your research. Good luck!

Female sharks have thicker skin than their male counterparts, humans have more bones as infants, and despite widespread misconceptions camels continue to store water in their bloodstream, not their humps.

Human breast milk contains up to 700 distinct species of bacteria.

A ton of bowling balls and a ton of feathers will fall from a large skyscraper at the same velocity, however, if the experiment could be replicated on the surface

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and part of being a human in general. Tumors/blood clots in the brain, depression, lack of sleep, certain medications, head injuries and alcohol use can impact one’s memory, but are not related to Alzheimer’s Disease.

The term “dementia” is also not the synonymous with Alzheimer’s-- Dementia is an umbrella term for a severe decline in mental ability, Alzheimer’s is a specific disease of the brain.

There are notable differences between being forgetful and having Alzheimer’s-- For example, if you misplace your keys occasionally you are most likely just being forgetful, but if you constantly forget where the supermarket is… that could be a sign of Alzheimer’s.

of the moon astrologers have hypothesized that the bowling balls would indeed hit the ground first.

A cigar-shaped space rock called Oumuamua is not what scientists first thought it was.

There is a hole in space called the Giant Void with a diameter of 1.6 billion light years, and while it is not the only hole in space it is certainly the largest yet discovered.

Another space anomaly known as the Great Attractor is drawing our galaxy towards it at 1.4 million miles per hour.

Body farms are a type of research facility used to study the processes of human decomposition in a variety of settings.

In the year 896 the Catholic church exhumed the remains of Pope Formosus, clad his corpse in papal vestments, and placed the cadaver on trial before

Pope John VII under the accusation that Formosus had not been worthy of the pontificate. At the time, Formosus had been deceased for nearly a year and would have been in the final stages of decomposition in which the body begins to liquify.

If someone wanted to eat an apple a day, everyday, without every repeating the same variety of apple, it would take them more than twenty years to run out of apple options.

Evidence suggests that eating a mangos before ingesting marijuana will strengthen, lengthen and even enhance the euphoric feeling of users.

If placed in water an orange will float, but when peeled the orange will sink.

Before the orange fruit was introduced to the English speaking world the color orange was called geoluhread, meaning

yellow-red.

Bananas are slightly radioactive, share approximately 50 percent of their DNA with humans and are technically classified as a berry.

Strawberries, blackberries and raspberries are actually a part of the rose family.

The fruit salad tree can

grow several varieties of fruit at a time.

The stickers on fruit are edible, as is the glue used to attach them.

In the 18th century pineapples were so expensive that wealthy American colonists would rent them to carry around as a status symbol.

Jean-Paul Laurens, Le Pape Formose et Étienne VII ("Pope Formosus and Stephen VII"), 1870.

| Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Arts&Entertainment

Thomas Yakey Jr. Anchor Staff

Ballroom’s big-hearted aspirations

Rhode Island College Ballroom Dance Club was founded in 1984 and has been active ever since.

In addition to being a place for people to dance and enjoy themselves, the club also has a competitive aspect. Members of the team are allowed to compete in college ballroom dance competitions. These competitions span across Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

RIC has been hosting their own competition at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston for seven years.

For people who aren’t entirely interested in competing, the club also

ing and friendly, and they take the time to get to know you.”

The club really means it when they say they are open to anyone and everyone. “Ballroom is really welcoming, despite it already being a month into the first semester. And it’s just fun,” said freshman Hailey Deltano after her first ever dance lesson.

The club offers lessons from 7-8 p.m. on both Sundays and Tuesdays for people to learn new things and start out in the world of ballroom dancing. Ballroom Dancing is even open to master’s students. Olivia Gould, a master’s student in Social

“Ballroom is something to get me out of my shell.

People, including myself, have gained a lot of confidence by being with other people. I have even gained leadership skills. For lack of better terms, you are forced to interact with someone, and you don’t have to say anything, but it gives you something to do and something to bond over to make friendships form easier. I believe this is a good starting activity for shy people.” ~ Kate Eminger

goes to (and hosts) social dances where students of their own school, and any college, are encouraged to attend with people from other schools to have fun.

This club is open to any and all RIC students for no fee. Sarah Soares, a junior at RIC and new dancer to the club, said, “Ballroom is a fun time and a great group of people. Everyone is very welcom-

Work, said, “We have a sense of community with other schools and because of that I have made many friends. I have even had the chance to dance with people from other schools in competition.”

Being a part of the Ballroom Dance Team and Club allows people to grow as a person while enjoying themselves. Elise Braddock, a senior medical imaging major, put

it into words best when she said, “I have done other styles of dance, but ballroom is good because it forces you to dance with someone else as a unit rather than two individual people.” Being with other people allows you to make friends which makes the college experience easier and more enjoyable.

Kate Eminger, junior early childhood education major, who also happens to be the vice-president also commented, “Ballroom is something to get me out of my shell. People, including myself, have gained a lot of confidence by being with other people. I have even gained leadership skills.

For lack of better terms, you are forced to interact with someone, and you don’t have to say anything, but it gives you something to do and something to bond over to make friendships form easier.

I believe this is a good starting activity for shy people.”

Alumni from the RIC Ballroom Dance Club have even gone on to be instructors at dance studios including Anthony Scalzi, who

was also the founder of the RIC competition.

Ariana Dickie, the current president of the team said, “I am so incredibly proud of the Ballroom community at RIC and that everyone feels welcome. It is such a great feeling that I have had a part in creating that environment. If you’ve ever considered joining us before, or this sounds the slightest bit intriguing to you, please come and give it a try! We will welcome and teach you from the bottom up! You do not need to know anything or bring anyone with you to dance!”

All photos courtesy of the Rhode Island College Ballroom Dance team

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| Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Arts&Entertainment

Enrique Castaneda-Pineda Anchor Staff After the surprise album/ mixtape “Bobby Tarantino 2” that released in March earlier this year, Logic has returned with his Young Sinatra series. His new album, “YSIV” aka “Young Sinatra IV,” is reminiscent of Logic’s older music and beat production, with a larger focus on real instruments like piano and big band instruments.

The album begins with the song “Thank You” where Logic uses the song to thank his audience for sticking with him through all this time and everything he has dealt with to reach the level of stardom that he now has. The final minuteand-a-half splices together several audio clips of voicemails left by fans expressing

The return of Young Sinatra their gratitude to Logic for his music, to which he is grateful for.

After the political statement that was Logic’s previous studio album, this album brings forth the songs that felt were missing. One of the biggest flaws of the “Everybody” album was that most of the songs on the album were statements, that had to be listened to as a whole instead of individually.

Logic makes up for that album with several songs on “YSIV” which have popping, hard hitting instrumentals. Constant hi-hats keeps the album fast-paced, complimenting some of Logic’s fastest verses.

Along with some of Logic’s speedy wordsmithing,

he also creates incredible collaborations, specifically “Wu-Tang Forever.” Logic gets Wu-Tang together for an incredible jazzy beat, poetic explosion of different but familiar flows. Logic brings some of his hardest hitting raps in songs like “ICONIC” and “YSIV” making this album a lot easier to listen to.

As Logic delivers incredibly well constructed verses, with fantastically layered beats, “YSIV” delivers everything that fans have been missing since the studio albums. Returning to his roots and attacking this project with some of his best compositions, “YSIV” has the potential to rival “The Incredible True Story” that was released in 2015.

Album cover, courtesy of hiphop-n-more

Superhero Central: The end is nigh again

Jonathan Weaver Assistant A&E Editor

Alan Moore’s 1986 classic, “Watchmen,” will forever be considered one of the most influential graphic novels to ever shake the comic industry. It totally changed the public’s perspective of what a superhero story could be. Gone were the days of selfless acts and righteous heroism, this was about flawed humans thrust into the mantles of incredible super-powered personas.

They displayed cynicism, nihilism, greed, violence, hate and many other aspects previously foreign to the comic book medium.

The story was born out of the height of the cold war and told the tale of a near omnipotent being named Dr.

Manhattan who could see the future. He could only see up to a certain moment and not beyond it, and the moment was approaching fast. Manhattan believed this to be the end of the world due to the rising tensions of Russia and the U.S., along with the increasing distrust of superheroes due to their recent less-than-stellar endeavors.

Long story short, the crisis is averted towards the end due to the efforts of another superhero, Ozymandias.

Conflict resolved, right?

Not for long. In 2016, DC performed a brand-wide reboot of their continuity titled “Rebirth.” “Rebirth” was interesting, however, due to the fact that while it was a reboot, it merged

multiple past continuities in a way that was important to the over all plot came to the attention of multiple characters such as Batman and the Flash.

“Rebirth” also did something interesting with the end of its first published title; it made reference to the Watchmen, a storyline that was previously entirely separate to the canon of DC comics.

Following the efforts of Ozymandias to save the world in “Watchmen,” Dr. Manhattan vanished. In his efforts to abandon his world, he visited a parallel universe; that of the DC continuity.

“Rebirth” is in fact the destruction of the established timeline at the hands of Dr. Manhattan time travelling through the DC universe and tampering with important events.

Without going much further into spoiler territory, as most of this is covered very early in the arc, Dr. Manhattan believes he sees the end of the DC universe just like he saw the end of the Watchmen universe. He

Watchmen logo, Photo courtesy of Inverse can see every event, up until a single moment.

Determined to understand his fate in the multiverse, as he has become enthralled with the idea of his own purpose and entropy itself, Dr. Manhattan does not want to save the DC universe, so much as understand his own end. All of this made all the more interesting, because he is unsure if the final moment is really the end caused by his own doing, or his own demise at the hand of possibly the most iconic superhero in history.

It should be acknowledged that Alan Moore has nothing

to do with this sequel to his original piece, and this continuation is seen as almost sacrilegious by many longtime fans. Moore’s original is widely regarded as a finite story with a definitive and fitting ending. That being said, this is a major shift for DC who is clearly tired of playing things safe after the fizzled response to the last reboot, “The New 52.”

Who knows, just like the original, maybe this is exactly what the medium needs to re-energize.

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928 |

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| Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Arts&Entertainment

Student art exhibition: “The Forgotten House” Samantha Scetta Editor-in-Chief Support your local artists, and certainly support your fellow student artists. This week from Tuesday to Thursday, artist Louis Morales’ work will be showcased in the Adams Library Reinhardt room. The artist will be speaking about his exhibition on Tuesday Oct. 2nd at 4:30 p.m. and the exhibit will be opened for public viewing on Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Morales’ exhibit is part of diversity week, and he

uses “socially engaged art” to educate individuals about the realities of poverty. The “Forgotten House” installation is a representation of poverty in Guatemala and enlightens us to the fact that poverty is all around us.

In the artist’s words, this provocative multi-media work “is not about sympathy but about consciousness.”

Be sure to check out Louis’s art this week, and keep on supporting your student artists.

Photos courtesy of Louis Morales

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928 |

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Arts&Entertainment “Danganronpa”: storytelling at its finest Hannah Cogswell Anchor Contributor I will admit that I was stumped on what I should do for my first video game review. I was torn between a few already well known games when it finally came to me. I should review a game for a console that barely anyone used!

That console, of course, being the PSP Vita, and the game being “Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc”. Still with me? I stumbled upon this visual novel series a few months back after seeing the anime adaption come up on my recommended feed. After some searching I found a copy for my computer and started it up. It only took me a few minutes to be hooked.

“Danganronpa”, the flagship game made by Spike Chunsoft, is one of the most unique and entertaining games I have ever played.

The gameplay is a mix of visual novel storytelling, a la “Doki Doki Literature Club” and “Ace Attorney” style courtroom scenes. You play as Makoto Naegi, a normal high school student who gets selected by a lottery to attend the prestigious

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Hope’s Peak Academy.

Hope Peak Academy is a school that only accepts the best of the best; the “ultimate” students. These students are the best in specific areas such as, the Ultimate Hacker, the Ultimate Cook, the Ultimate Hall Monitor, etc.

Makoto gets the title of The Ultimate Lucky Student for being picked from the lottery. But as he steps foot into the school building on his first day his world shifts and fades to black. He wakes up in an empty classroom that has metal plates nailed to the windows.

Before long he and the other students present learn that they have been trapped here by a robot teddy bear named Monokuma and the only way to get out is to kill each other and get away with it.

The trail gameplay is new and innovative, letting you choose the level of logic and reaction difficulty. It lets the tension build as you and the other characters find out which among you is the murderer and gives you the tools to prove it. Besides the visual novel and trial gameplay aspects, there is a

freetime mode that allows you to get to know your fellow classmates and even give them gifts to earn their affection and abilities that help you out later in the game.

The characters are unique and fleshed out very well.

They don’t fall back on the stereotypes and tropes you see in most high school based video games. They each have individual and complex personalities that give the game it’s heart. In any story driven game, the way to hold the player’s interest is through the characters and “Danganronpa” does not disappoint.

By the end you will definitely have a favorite.

However, be careful with who you get attached to.

They might not make it to the end. With an engaging story that keeps you hooked the entire way through and characters that you’ll want to cosplay later, “Danganronpa” is definitely a game I recommend to any and all who love a good murder mystery and conspiracy.

I give it 9/10 murderous robot bears.

Photo courtesy of Amazon

| Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Arts&Entertainment

The rise and fall of the Compact Disc Sophia Guerrier Anchor Contributor The Compact Disc over the last decade has seen an overwhelming decrease in sales as the desire for them plummeted along with it.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), consumers went from buying roughly 390 million CDs (albums) in 2008 to roughly eighty million CDs in present day. That is an almost 80 percent sales drop in ten years and an average of 31 million CDs annually going unpurchased.

This past July, Best Buy announced the end of their relationship with CDs as they decided to discontinue the carrying of the product in their stores. Around the same time Target has expressed concerns about the profitability of CDs as they are currently re-negotiating a contract with music suppliers about retailing them; a likely threat to a CD presence at Target in the near future.

The seemingly sudden disappearance of FYE

“CDs grant the physical form of artistry that all music lovers need in order to achieve the full experience of an album.”

(For Your Entertainment) chains in the U.S. is not a surprise as well considering their main product was the retail of physical formats, especially CDs, which are evidently not as successful as they used to be.

Of course there is an undeniable factor serving the overall downfall of the CD. Streaming has become the music industry’s brilliant monster in providing instant access to the majority of music and audio that has been created over the decades and virtually all of what has been released recently.

A simple click of an app and a $10 monthly subscription provides all of a person’s favorite albums along with anticipated releases in the future right at their hands. It’s an obvious bargain compared to paying for a number of CDs individually and even

Photo courtesy of Zurseno a time saver, since one does not have to travel to a local store to buy what they want to hear.

So why should we still buy CDs? Corporations and consumers are rapidly losing interest in them and streaming has proved to be the easier and economically better choice, but CDs plainly offer something streaming cannot––authenticity.

CDs grant the physical form of artistry that all music lovers need in order to achieve the full experience of an album.

The album art, the written credits and the CD itself all represent the immeasurable effort and careful detailing that an artist produces for their fan. Not to mention the occasional gifts that are included in the CD packaging that serves as appreciation from artist to fan and an attempt to enhance the perception of the album.

There is a unique bond created when music is able to be physically interacted with and streaming will never be capable of doing that (at least not yet).

A subscription is very appealing but paying the extra

$10 for each album gives full support to the artist and music industry that a subscription does not serve.

Because of this, streaming has cost the music industry to lose billions of dollars to the point where artists barely make their earnings off listens.

In a sense, the music industry itself is to blame for the harsh downfall of the CD. If CDs were marketed as the favorable physical format instead of vinyl these past years, there would undoubtedly be a resurgence of their presence.

They are more affordable, cheaper to produce and more convenient than vinyl in terms of maintenance and storability, so it is questionable on why the industry has not advocated for their relevance and importance.

The current state of the CD is most likely irreversible and it is devastating to see the slow but sure death of the format. All music lovers can do is continue to buy and preserve these artifacts that symbolize an underappreciated era.

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928 |

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Arts&Entertainment

Marisa Lenardson Online Media Manager

Thursday Oct. 4 Ty Dolla $ign RIC Student Entertainment Committee & Programming Event Board is bringing Ty Dolla $ign to campus. Feat.

Kameron Corvet, $inisters, and Scribe.

The Rec Center $10-$15 // 7 p.m.

Friday Oct. 5 Ladama A Latin alternative band comprised of four women musicians and activists.

Columbus Theatre $15 // 8-11 p.m.

Saturday Oct. 6

Sunday Oct. 7

27th Annual Columbus Day Festival Enjoy the performances, food and retail vendors, the annual parade, games and amusement rides that will line Atwells Avenue.

The Providence Flea: Fall Markets There will be vintage vendors, artisans, makers, food trucks, community nonprofits and live music!

Federal Hill FREE // 10 a.m.

345 South Water Street, Providence FREE // 10-4 p.m.

The Forgotten House The “Forgotten House” is an Wizkid All About Dahlias 7th Annual Columbus Day art installation by RIC student After achieving international For those with a green Parade Louis Morales, about abject recognition following his thumb, learn about Dahlia The annual Columbus Day poverty in Guatemala. It collaboration with Drake on history, botany, and care from Parade will feature marching emphasizes the idea that "One Dance," witness spring to fall, followed by a bands, dozens of floats, and poverty is all around us and Wizkid on his own tour. hands-on workshop. civic groups. we choose to ignore it.

The Strand Ballroom & Roger William Park Botanical Federal Hill Adams Library Reinhardt Theatre Center FREE // 11 a.m.

Room $40 // 9-2 a.m.

FREE // 11-12:30 p.m.

FREE // 10-4 p.m.

Guided Sunset Tours Watch the sunset, see historical sights, and the flora and fauna of Providence during a guided paddle tour.

Providence Kayak $45 // 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular Walk through and see five thousand intricately carved pumpkins featuring scenes of magic, wizards, and fairytales.

Roger Williams Park Zoo $15 // 6-10:30 p.m.

Oktoberfest!

Featuring dozens of brews, The Lady Project Summit autumnal libations, food Marketplace trucks offering traditional Support a showcase of local German favorites and festival women-owned small fare, and a lively backdrop of businesses. spirited Bavarian/American entertainment.

The Arcade FREE // 11-3 p.m.

Bold Point Park $15 // 12-8 p.m.

Author Arnold Weinstein Drag Brunch Brown University professor, Welcome in Autumn this WaterFire Basin Lighting Arnold Weinstein, discusses Enjoy WaterFire’s flickering Columbus Day Weekend with Pride and Prejudice today's information culture bonfires, the fragrant scent of LaDiva Jonz and Jacqueline See Trinity Rep's hilarious and argues that the DiMera as they serve up wood smoke, and the adaptation of the classic Jane humanities show us who we beautiful view it creates along some glitz, glam and fun with Austen novel. are. a side of brunch. Make the river. reservations in advance.

Trinity Repertory Company The Providence Athenaeum WaterPlace Park $25 // 7:30-10 p.m.

FREE // 5-7 p.m.

Massimo FREE // 6:30 p.m.

10-2 p.m.

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| Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Opinions

RIC students deserve faculty who are fairly compensated

Alison Macbeth Anchor staff

Students aren’t the only ones at Rhode Island College who feel in a pinch.

Faculty are speaking out and asking for fair salaries - and they should.

According to a recent independent survey, RIC faculty are, on average, paid 17% less than faculty at peer institutions. That leaves many professors $20,000 short of the national average each year. Comparatively, RIC faculty make one third less than URI professors on average.

Many professors have the same qualifications, and even higher levels of experience, than URI faculty. You might ask, well then why come to RIC and accept lower wages?

In a recent conversation I had with the Faculty Union’s president, Dr. Quenby Hughes, she expressed many professors teach at RIC not because

Ariella Jeter Assistant copy editor

of the money, but because they believe in the college, the population it serves and Rhode Island. Knowing that most students who attend RIC remain Rhode Island residents, faculty see their teaching as an investment into the future of Rhode Island.

Despite their altruism, professors are facing the challenges of a low salary.

Many faculty members have to pick up extra classes in order to make ends meet.

This looks like teaching sixteen credits instead of twelve or picking up classes during the summer. This limits their availability to meet with students and be involved in student clubs.

Likewise, they have limited time and funding to conduct research in their field.

RIC cannot prosper like this.

As the RIC American Federation of Teachers

renegotiates their overdue contract, the Post-Secondary Counsel must stop overlooking RIC. The union’s motto is “Respect RIC” and that is a critical plea because RIC is a vital institution in Rhode Island as well an educational home and workplace to over seven thousand individuals.

I think the largest areas of concern in increasing faculty salaries are the possible repercussions on tuition.

Faculty are concerned too.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is asking for the Post-Secondary Counsel to recognize RIC as a part of the Rhode Island Promise.

Ultimately, increased faculty salaries would be at the expense of the state.

While this comes with other complexities, of course, decision makers must evaluate the merit of local education.

But honestly, what does that saying mean? “The whitest black people they have ever met?” I guess they could be referring to my actual skin color, considering I’m lighter than most “black” people to an extent. My father is pretty dark-skinned, so I know that’s not what they mean when they’re referring to him as well.

Is it because we practice more of our Italian culture than the culture of our skin color? Is it because we’re both college educated, have good jobs and nice cars? Or maybe it could be that I’ve never been good at basketball but am pretty decent on the lacrosse field. Or maybe because my mixed race family still functions as a family and my dad didn’t just have kids and bail.

Don’t get me wrong, we still eat our grits and collard

greens and love some good NOLA jazz just as much as the next southern black family. But what is it with all the other characteristics I previously mentioned that make us seem “white”?

There are many beautiful, educated black men and women out there who have successful careers, drive nice cars and have completely “normal” functioning families. It is 2018, we need to stop creating stereotypes for races. You have no idea how hard it is to fit in because of these stereotypes.

I understand every race and ethnicity has their own culture and set of values that they practice, but don’t turn these values around to make them negative or shameful. So many people, myself included, are sometimes ashamed of what they are due to how society has

Photo courtesy of Britt Donahue It comes down to this.

Our faculty is not a group of money-hungry individuals.

Our faculty ask for fair wages because they value

the education they provide, value this institution, and value the students of RIC.

Stop telling me what color to act

Skin color. It seems to be a ruling factor in the functioning of society. With innocence overflowing my mind as a child, I never took mine or my parents’ skin colors into thought. All I could tell you is that I had an endless love for them, as they had for me.

It wasn’t until first grade when I learned about the civil rights movement that I was able to put together why my parents and I always received weird looks when we went out. From that point on, I knew I had to pick which color I wanted to identify as: black or white.

Fast forward fifteen years and I still have not chosen a color; instead I have decided to identify as what I am, which is both. Oftentimes both family members and strangers refer to my father and I as “the whitest black people they have ever met”.

“Daddy Loves You”, Photo courtesy of Ariella Jeter portrayed them.

Human beings are more than just a color. They deserve equal treatment and the right to exist without the fear of being judged or harmed due to their skin color. Hopefully one day in the future we can break

these racial stereotypes.

This starts with us. Be proud of who you are and do not ever try to put yourself in the molds I tried to put myself in fifteen years ago.

The views expressed in The Anchor, unless otherwise noted, are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Anchor or of Rhode Island College’s faculty, administration or student body.

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Opinions

Mike Dwyer Anchor staff

The contradictions of Talib Kweli

Last week, I was offered a chance to cover the guest speaking event featuring the artist and activist Talib Kweli. I became concerned with certain elements of his life since I last tuned in.

While I was deeply moved by what Kweli had to say that evening in Robert’s Hall, ultimately, I felt like the article I wrote for the event required a follow-up.

This past summer Kweli was publicly accused of sexual harassment by former collaborator Res, a singer from Philadelphia. Kweli responded by accusing her of using the #MeToo movement to slander his name and get out of financial obligations. After a court case between the two was decided in Kweli’s favor, the incident spilled over onto social media with most fans and mainstream outlets giving Kweli the benefit of the doubt.

Kweli’s denials took on a quality that I did not expect from him, focusing on the timing of Res’ claims and questioning why she would

Derek Sherlock Anchor staff

Graphic courtesy of amsterdamnews their influence to silence their accusers. Kweli is an outspoken activist and socially conscious musician, but that does not mean Res’ allegations are untrue.

I decided to look into whether or not there was any evidence of Kweli making misrepresentations regarding equally serious events, and found something from his speech which gave me pause.

During his speech at Rhode Island College, Kweli recounted his time in Ferguson, Missouri and how police threatened his life at gunpoint. However, the version of events he gave during his speech contradicts the version of events he gave to Billboard magazine in 2014.

Furthermore, both of Kweli’s accounts contradict the version of

events provided by another witness present, activist and university professor Rosa Clemente.

Accusations of sexual misconduct can often lead to a stalemate of the truth, however, if Kweli has changed his version of the events in Ferguson what does that say for his credibility when denying Res’ claims of sexual harassment?

Let’s support local businesses, RIC

For those of you that are unaware, when Craig Lee is completed there will be a Dunkin’ Donuts established on the lower level of the building. There’s also a rumor that Subway will be going in what used to be the café in the Student Union once the renovations are completed.

While these two establishments give the student body two alternatives to Donovan food, I feel like there could be better alternatives to them. I am not sure how the meal plans will work once these two open up and I won’t even begin to tackle that possibly complicated deal. I feel that instead of Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway there could be better options that Rhode

16 |

continue to work with him following the incident.

Furthermore, the court document that Kweli provided and continually referred to as evidence of his innocence is only the final page and does not include the judge’s reasoning for dismissing the allegations, which were on the grounds that Res was an independent contractor rather than an employee. Kweli also felt it relevant to point to the fact that it was a “black woman judge” presiding over his case.

In comments given to Pitchfork magazine Res said, “Unfortunately, Talib is unable to give an accurate account of what has happened in this situation. In my opinion he is extremely emotional and it has impaired his memory at times. He is clearly using his platform… to steer attention and support his way.”

Kweli’s rebuttals feel eerily similar to those of other powerful men who have been accused of sexual misconduct and then used

Island College could - and maybe should - bring to campus.

I first have to say that I personally do not want a Subway on this campus based on the actions of their former spokesperson, Jared Fogle. His actions are something that will take a very long time for me to “forget” but I highly doubt that I will ever forget. If RIC is dead-set on bringing a major sandwich chain to campus, they could easily bring D’Angelo Sandwich shop since they are a fairly local sandwich chain. That could be seen as keeping it local.

If RIC wanted to create jobs and better the economy of Rhode Island, they could make it even more local and bring in Geoff’s Sandwich

shop, or my personal favorite, Hudson Street Deli.

Personally, I would rather RIC to bring a smaller, more local business to campus so we can help build Rhode Island’s business infrastructure.

Although, I do understand that it could be difficult for those places to maintain business during the summer with the low amount of students who are on campus during that time.

There really isn’t much that can be done about Dunkin’ Donuts because from what I hear there is already a contract finalized between the school and Dunkin’. If we, the students, were able to vote on what businesses to bring to RIC, I would have made different choices.

Personally, I would rather

Graphic courtesy of Search Engine Land much see a place a bit more variety in their food like a Panera Bread or maybe even a pizza place such as Papa Gino’s.

If we were to bring a more traditional local business, I would have to lean towards a coffee shop like Blue State Coffee or maybe even a Brewed Awakenings Coffee House.

There are many choices we could have gone with if we were given the chance to use our voices to say what we would like on our campus. These are only some ideas of what I would have loved to see on campus, but it might be too late for my voice to be heard on this matter.

The views expressed in The Anchor, unless otherwise noted, are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Anchor or of Rhode Island College’s faculty, administration or student body.

Opinions

Jake Douglas Anchor contributor

Commuting versus dorming

They get the same education and they make up 80% of the student population: commuters. What is it about commuting that separates us (the residential students) from their experience at Rhode Island College? I tend to think it would be extremely frustrating being a commuter because of the traffic.

I personally believe having to wake up early and sit in at least half an hour of traffic every morning would make me go crazy. It is nice to have the convenience of living on campus and having

access to almost everything I need. There are perks of being a commuter and there are perks of of living on campus.

I like living on campus because I was forced (in a way) to learn where all the buildings are. Some commuters don’t even go to the side of campus where the residents are. I know what the quickest route is from Building Three to the dining center-- not all commuters can say that.

Another perk of living on campus is that you do not have to rush around and

Photos courtesy of Nickelodeon

Catherine Enos Opinions editor

plan your day down to the minute. If I have an 8 a.m. class, I don’t have to wake up until at least 7 a.m. If I was a commuter and was unlucky enough to have an 8 a.m. then I would probably have to wake up at 5:30 a.m. at the latest.

Lastly, being on campus all the time means I can make it to most, if not all, of the events. There’s a wide variety of events that happen on campus. Club events, residential hall events and other random things that happen. The best part about going to an event is that I can stay there as late as I want, walk back to my room and pass out. Unfortunately for commuters, if they want to go to an event that lasts a while, they either have to look forward to a drive back home or, if they’re lucky, stay in a friends suite.

On the flip side, commuters have some advantages.

One thing I am jealous of is that commuters can come and go whenever they please. I don’t have a car so I am limited to using RIPTA

Philanthropy or wage-theft?

A few weeks ago, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, announced that he was launching a $2 billion charity fund.

His fund intends to help homeless families-- which is certainly a noble cause. The history of how his company treats workers, however, is not so noble.

An investigative journalist, James Bloodworth, found that workers at Amazon were written up for calling out sick, regardless of whether they had a doctor’s note. He also observed that there were devices that monitored the speed of workers. And perhaps the most

infamous of his findings was how he stumbled across a bottle of urine, presumably from a worker who didn’t want to get written up for missing too much work.

So is $2 billion (from a man worth $150 billion that treats his employees as expendables) really that noble? No, it isn’t. Especially when you take into account what the average warehouse worker makes: $13 an hour (glassdoor.com)-- this barely allows a single person to make enough money to meet basic needs.

According to CNBC, a single person must make at least $20,000-30,000

to meet these basic needs, depending on which state you live in. To make at least $21,000, a warehouse employee must work at least a 40-hour week, which isn’t excessive. But what does this mean for people with non-working dependents?

It means working 40+ hours or working two jobs, and not being able to see your children or family as often.

Amazon has at least 500,000 employees, and a significant amount of them are warehouse employees making $13 an hour. By shorting these employees from living wage, Amazon

or Uber. I also live farther away from most commuters so I can’t go home for a bit and come back. This means I am stuck on campus.

I spoke with a friend of mine who commutes every day. I asked him if he felt like he was missing out on the whole “college” experience by not living on campus. He explained that he still feels close with his classmates and has RIC spirit and feels proud to go to this college. It was pointed out that sometimes the commuters are neglected.

There are some events with flyers that have the words “commuters are

welcome” in tiny font. Regardless of living on campus or commuting, we are all anchormen.

Reich.

This would be the easier way of doing this, the alternative to this would be what happened in Italy under Benito Mussolini or for more contemporary times, what is going on in Syria with the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ). We must continue fighting against a regime that is nationalist and fascist to uphold ideals of equality for all.

Jeff Bezos, Photo courtesy of Slate has probably accrued significantly more than the $2 billion that Jeff Bezos donated to charity. In addition to the measly pay that these workers are making, the deplorable conditions (no bathroom breaks, no days off) are meant to maximize

profits at the expense of the average worker.

Perhaps in addition to the noble work Bezos does outside of his company, he can clean up his act within Amazon and pay his workers a living wage.

The views expressed in The Anchor, unless otherwise noted, are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Anchor or of Rhode Island College’s faculty, administration or student body.

| 17

Sports

Serena Williams and the Women’s Tennis penalty for women’s anger remains dominant through September

Charlotte Abotsi Senior Copy Editor

Republished due to printing complications on September 24th

Jake Elmslie Sports Editor

Photo courtesy of Sporting News The U.S. Open Grand Slam Women’s Final on Saturday, Sept. 8 was slated to be historic.

Serena Williams–who has seen success at the U.S. Open six times–was competing in her second Grand Slam final of this year. She faced 20 year old Naomi Osaka, representing Japan, in Osaka’s first Grand Slam final, whose hero is Serena Williams.

In the first set of the match, Osaka dominated the Arthur Ashe Stadium courts, while Williams struggled.

She lost the first set to Osaka, 2-6. Somewhere during the first set, Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, gestured his hands while watching Williams.

For those unfamiliar with tennis, there is no courtside for tennis players. The umpire of the night, Carlos Ramos, gave Williams a violation for her coach’s gesture, calling it a coach violation. Williams, confused at the allegation, kept playing.

Later, during a water break, she explained to Ramos she was not being coached, and never has been coached while playing. She tried clarifying what she first saw as a misunderstanding and said, “I never cheat to win, I’d rather lose.”

Serena Williams is the most successful tennis athlete in the sport’s modern history.

That isn’t hyperbole, it is fact. She holds 23 Grand Slam Championship Titles, and is known for winning multiple championships a year so often, that the feat has its own name–the “Serena Slam.”

No stranger to the U.S. Open (it was the first major she ever won, at 17, in 1999), she is also no stranger to the frequent discrimination of the male-dominated, white world of tennis.

Tennis as an institution, is elitist in its practice, usually deemed a sport played by those with privilege, power, and access. Serena Williams, a Black woman, disrupts this narrative. Yet, and maybe even because of this, she has faced sexist and racist-based discrimination throughout her entire career.

As the second set of the match began, Williams was obviously bothered. However, she managed to hold her serve, and was close to breaking Osaka’s serve when she lost a point, and reacted in rage, smashing her racket on the court.

This act of aggravation is common in tennis; however, there are written rules against anger. Usually the

fine is a monetary one, but Ramos issued Williams another code violation, docking her a full point and awarding it to Osaka, which altered the score to 4-2.

Williams called Ramos a liar and a thief for stealing the point from her. She said he owed her an apology for falsely accusing her of cheating. For this, Ramos “docked” another full point from Williams, resulting in a 5-3 score in the second set; Osaka in the lead with now two given points.

Novak Djokovic, a male tennis player, has twice gotten into arguments with Ramos, going so far to even call him “crap.” Djokovic has never received a point penalty or code violation for his words. Nick Kyrgios, told Ramos his umping was “f***ing bullsh*t” and received no point penalty.

Andy Murray onced shouted “stupid umpiring” at Ramos, and Rafael Nadal once argued with Ramos and neither of them received a game or point penalty.

Serena Williams called Ramos a liar and she was fined $17,000.

Naomi Osaka won the match. Even if the match had gone smoothly, she was set to win. She is a mighty player who has been surpris-

Rhode Island College Women’s Tennis wrapped up their week on Saturday with a 9-0 shutout of Bridgewater State University. This was not their only stellar performance of the week though, with this match coming off the heels of a similar 9-0 victory over Clark University Thursday.

RIC Women’s Tennis is no stranger to these sorts of performances ether, the

team has been a juggernaut through the first month of the season, wrapping up September with an undefeated 8-0 record.

The Anchorwomen will look to carry this dominance into the second half of the season. RIC students will get another chance to see the team in their next meet when they face off against 0-4 UMass Boston at home, the first serve will be at 3:30pm.

Photo courtesy of Britt Donahue ing spectators since she was 16. She played her idol with the best she had, earning her win. She responded by putting her towel over her head and sobbing.

There was melancholy in the stadium and onscreen.

Williams had already shed her tears, telling the umpire “There are a lot of men out here who have said a lot of things and do not get that punishment. Because I am a woman you are going to take this away from me?

That is not right.”

The crowd booed as the United States Tennis Association officials set up the trophy stage. Then, a special moment in Black womanhood was shared between the two women: Williams hugged Osaka as she cried, smiled and whispered words to her. Williams grabbed

the microphone and told the crowd to stop booing.

She congratulated Osaka, thanked the crowd and did not discuss what happened.

Osaka apologized for winning.

These events revealed an ugly truth: there is a penalty to being Black, female, and angry. Ramos could not handle being spoken to firmly by a woman so he punished her. He issues warnings repeatedly to men who do worse, but yet penalized Williams. Osaka’s dream come true moment was now marred due to a man’s pride.

Having faced a number of unfair calls by the sport in this year alone, Serena Williams is now fined and ridiculed for having the nerve to be angry. This is the price women pay for anger.

Rhode Island 18| Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Sports

Rhode Island College Men’s Soccer does not have a hoot

Jake Elmslie Sports Editor

things began to unravel for the Anchorman. RIC had trouble generating shot opRhode Island College portunities in the first half, Men’s Soccer found themtaking five shots to Keene selves on the wrong end of State’s seven. The second an elite defensive perforhalf however is where they mance Saturday afternoon really began to struggle in in their 3-0 loss against the this regard, taking only three Keene State College Owls. total shots compared to anThis sort of performance is other seven from the Owls. no outlier for Keene State, Much of the second half was the Little East Conference’s played on RIC’s side of the leading defensive team that field and the Little East’s top has only allowed an avergoalkeeper Anthony Pasage of 1.11 goals per game through the first month of the ciuto only needed to make three saves for Keene State season. the entire afternoon.

For nearly the entire first Eventually RIC’s strong half of the game the Anchorplay in front of their own man were able to keep pace goal faded and the Anchorwith the Owls defensively man allowed two more with neither team being goals, one to junior Donable to score. This changed however when with barely a ovan Harris at the 70:27 minute mark and the second minute to go in the first half of the day for Downey at the sophomore forward Connor 73:42 minute mark. Senior Downey was able to score captain Dennis Vazques was on RIC at the 43:48 minute visually frustrated with his mark. This goal came off of team’s performance offenbreakaway from mid-field with Downey outrunning the sively and could be heard lashing out at his fellow Anchorman defense for his Anchorman for what he first goal of the season. viewed as a lack of offball The second half is where

movement.

One category RIC did outperform the Owls in was the penalty department.

Keene State racked up 18 fouls and four yellow cards against RIC’s 12 fouls. The Anchorman however were unable to capitalize on these opportunities.

RIC will fall to 3-4-1 and 1-2 in the Little East as a result of this loss. They have roughly reached the halfway point in the regular season and when asked by The Anchor what his team needs to do over their final nine regular season games to realize his preseason championship aspiration RIC head coach John Mello simply replied “it has to be better, everything has to be better.”

The Anchorman face a quick turnaround being slated to face off against the 2-3-2 Plymouth State University Panthers Monday afternoon with kickoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at RIC.

The new NFL: the national flag league

Joseph Griswold Anchor Staff

The National Football League is known for hard-hitting, intense and aggressive play, or at least, it was. Over the last several years the NFL has more closely resembled flag-football, with many family Thanksgiving games having much harder hits.

The new NFL rule disallowing defensive players to land with most or all of their body weight on a quarterback following a tackle has led to a staggering 33 roughing the passer calls in three weeks. This more than doubles the 16 calls through the first three weeks of the 2017 season. Simply put, the

NFL has gone soft.

Long gone are the dominant defenses in the NFL. There is no longer acceptance for hard hitters, for legends like Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher. Defense no longer wins championships, but enough roughing the passer penalties might.

Caught in the crossfire are players like Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, who has been called in three consecutive weeks for roughing the passer, on what many experts would argue were clean tackles. In a postgame interview following his most recent penalty Matthews gave his thoughts on the NFL, “I think they’re

Tiger Woods back on top

Joshua Percy Anchor Staff

Photo courtesy of Sporting News

This year has been the Year of the Tiger Woods comeback. Woods tied for 6th in the U.S Open, 2nd Place in the PGA Championship and Tiger was named a captain for team USA in the Ryder cup for the first time since 2012. Sunday Sept. 23, marked the first PGA tour victory for Woods since 2013, it had been 1,874 days between Tiger Woods victories. There were 239 PGA tour Events held between his victories,

119 different golfers won PGA tour events and Tiger missed the cut 9 times.

Woods also had 4 back surgeries and a DUI all in between his victories. For golf fans, 2018 has been the year Tiger Woods has risen back to relevancy. His story is one of perseverance story, and for the first time since 2013 Tiger Woods is now favor to win the 2019 Master Tournament.

Photo courtesy of Fox News getting soft, the only thing hard about this league is the fines that they levy down on guys like me who play the games hard.”

In its current state, the NFL is virtually unwatchable. It is not simply the fines that are devastating.

Many of the roughing calls are playing decisive roles in the results of the games.

The teams and players are not the only ones that suffer from the constant barrage of penalties. Consumers at home have to deal with the constant stoppages and delays in the game due to the almost 15 penalties that are called in each game.

Over the next several years there is no guessing as to what rules that NFL

may incorporate. The only certainty is that it will be to the benefit of the offense.

Player safety is obviously important, however, there needs to be an understanding, at the end of the day football is a violent sport. If the NFL continues down the path they are on their ratings will be sacked and feel the full weight of the fans.

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928 |

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Britt Donahue Photo Editor

A letter from a Photo Editor to the Rhode Island College community

L

ast week was difficult for many people. The national dialogue surrounding sexual assault has many of us feeling particularly anxious, angry, or hopeless and the hateful flyers found on campus targeting our immigrant and LGBTQIA+ communities were an attempt by an individual, or small number of individuals to hurt vulnerable people and make us feel unsafe on campus.

I want to remind everyone that the individual(s) in question do not speak for the rest of us.

As a queer student, and member of The Anchor’s editorial staff I wanted to take this opportunity to reach out to everyone and thank you for the love and support I have witnessed and received during my time here at RIC. It took me a long time to understand and accept my sexual identity, and an even longer time to feel safe expressing that identity to others.

Rhode Island College is the first place I have truly felt safe being myself.

Thank you to my classmates and teachers, my colleagues at The Anchor, Dr. Sanchez and every other member of the RIC community.

Our campus is full of amazing, compassionate people providing resources for anyone struggling to feel accepted.

No matter your race, gender(s), sexual identity, religion, nationality- we are all safe and welcome here.

Don’t let anyone make you doubt that.

GET MORE OUT OF YOUR CAREER Start with the advanced degree that’s right for you

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Photos courtesy of Lisa Hoopins and Jeffrey Hamelin

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