Volume 92/Issue 3
THE
Rhode Island College
Established 1928
ANCHOR
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Talib Kweli: activism acapella
Mike Dwyer Anchor Staff
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Marisa Lenardson Online Media Manager
Professor Emily Danforth, Photo courtesy of Britt Donahue
W
hen we think of movies with gay main characters, we might think of a classic like “Brokeback Mountain” or of a recent hit, “Love, Simon.” However, “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” is not just a “queer film.” It is a movie that represents the universal struggle of feeling like something is wrong with you.
This past Friday, Sapinsley Hall was filled with an audience eager to watch a screening of “The Miseducation of Cameron Post.” Based on the debut novel by Emily Danforth, an English professor at Rhode Island College, the movie won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018 which is the festival’s highest honor. The movie is focused Continued Page 12
ast Thursday, renowned Brooklyn emcee Talib Kweli visited Rhode Island College to speak at the 2018 Freshman Lecture, bringing substance and style to the stage of Roberts Hall. The address served as another reminder of his linguistic abilities, during which Kweli read excerpts from a book he has in progress followed by a question and answer session with students. His salient observations on identity, race, the Internet and American society stirred the audience to moments of emphatic
Nike, North Smithfield and the nature of free speech A discussion
Jake Elmslie Sports Editor
T
he question of when one can or cannot invoke their right to free speech has been debated for centuries in the United States. Can activist groups protest and
September 24, 2018
attempt to shut down appearances by controversial speakers on college campuses? Can Christians refuse their services to same-sex couples on the basis of their own religious convictions? Does a private employer
have the right to fire someone over their political beliefs and how they express them be it in or out of the workplace? Regardless of the discourse surrounding free speech and how it relates to the way in which private
Talib Kweli, Photo courtesy of FACT Magazine applause, while his witty anecdotes on the vanity of Don Lemon, the pettiness of 50 Cent and what he perceives as the dangerous contradictions of Kanye West elicited waves of laughter and contemplation. However, for most of the nearly two hour event the audience of several hundred students and guests sat captivated, the only sign of their existence was the respectful and faint sounds of fingers snapping in agreement. Kweli’s music career spans more than two decades, in which time he has released 8 solo albums, dozens of mix-tapes, collaborated with some of the most high pro-
file names in the industry and in 2011 started his own record label, Javotti Media. In a genre often dominated and defined by materialism, Kweli made a name for himself through his gift of gab, becoming one of the most respected lyricists in hip-hop, infusing his rhymes with a wide range of social issues and personal thoughts, from police... brutality, public policy and systemic racism to love, vanity and fear. Recalling his long career, Kweli said that he felt blessed to have made such a contribution to the “vast canon of black cultural arts.” Continued Page 5
North Smithfield Council Photo courtesy of Providence Journal Continued on page 18
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