The Anchor- October, 21, 2019 by The Anchor

Volume 93/Issue vii

THE

October 21st, 2019

ANCHOR

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Film producer Christine Vachon is on her way to RIC Sophia Guerrier A&E Editor Have you ever wanted to pick the brain of a movie maker? You now have the opportunity to do so if you’re available on Oct. 24. Acclaimed film producer Christine Vachon will be visiting Rhode Island College this Thursday, speaking at the Gaige Hall Auditorium at 4p.m. Vachon is recognized for producing significant films in independent cinema and is considered a pioneer of new queer cinema, a movement specified for queer-themed films. One of her most notable films, “Poison”, is a Todd Haynes directed film that claimed the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1991. Among Vachon’s filmography are “Far from Heaven” which had been nominated for four Acaded-

my Awards and “Boys Don’t Cry”, a biographical film about a transgender man. Hilary Swank, who starred in the film, ultimately won an Oscar for “Best Actress” for her performance in this role. The Ocean State Film Society, RIC’s student film club, is actively presenting Vachon’s films in a six-week long series, which has led up to her arrival this Thursday. The series complements RIC professor Roz Sibielski’s course “Queer Cinema”. Vachon’s visit was made possible through the support of the RIC Foundation and the Committee on College Lectures, as well as a concerted effort from the Film Studies department. “Christine Vachon is among that small handful of wellknown producers currently working in the U.S. film industry is a testament to just how influential the films that she has produced have been

both on U.S. cinema and on U.S. culture, but in the case of Vachon's films, it is less because of box office and more because of how artistically innovative and socially relevant the majority of those films have been,” said Sibielski, “The fact that she works entirely outside of the Hollywood studio system and has still managed to produce a large number of films that have had a deep impact both culturally and cinematically is an indication of just how significant a figure she is in contemporary U.S. cinema.” Vachon also founded independent production company, Killer Films, that has produced numerous pivotal independent films including 2014 release “Still Alice” and 2015’s “Carol”, both receiving Academy Award recognitions with “Still Alice” winning “Best Actress”. Killer Films also executive produced HBO miniseries

Graphics Courtesy of The National “Mildred Pierce” which Vachon was Emmy nominated for “Outstanding Miniseries or Movie” and the series itself hoisted five Emmys. “She's likely the single-most important figure for contemporary queer cinema, but she's also extraordinary because she's involved in film preservation and restoration. This is an incredible opportunity to meet a mon-

umental yet totally down-toearth superstar of cinema,” said Vincent Bohlinger, director of RIC Film Studies. On Wednesday, Oct. 23, there will be a screening of two Vachon directed films titled “A Man in Your Room” and “The Way of the Wicked” in preparation for her visit the following day. They will be presented in Horace Mann 193 at 6pm.

Women’s Tennis blows by competition for third straight championship Jake Elmslie Sports Editor On Wednesday, a mighty gale blew in. However, not even the mighty gusts could delay what has become inevitable in the Little Eastern Conference-- The Rhode Island College women’s tennis team claiming their third straight championship. Riding on the strength of a Little East best 9-0 conference record, the Anchorwomen entered the post season tournament as the number one seed. With that, RIC was at home Thursday when they defeated the Bridgewater State University Bears 5-0 in the tournament semi-finals. That victory allowed them to move onto the conference championship,

where they mirrored their semi-final success in a 5-0 championship sealing victory over the University of Massachusetts Boston Beacons. The Anchorwomen got off to a dominant start, hurrying to a commanding 3-0 in the doubles portion of the competition. Junior Grace Zangari playing out of the 3rd singles spot extended the RIC lead to 4-0, winning the first two sets of her match 6-0 and 6-1 respectively. The match and the championship was then decided when junior Victoria Vittori, playing out of the 5th singles spot clinched the conference for the Anchorwomen with her victory. However, the match sealing victory could Raskob won her match at of just as easily of gone to virtually the same time as fellow junior Hailey Raskob. Vittori and thusly it fell to

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RIC coach Adam Spring to determine who would get championship win-

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“Tennis Championship” Continued on page 15

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What’s Inside News

Opinions

RICovery on Substance Abuse Prevention

College stuents are changing, when will fafsa?

Fort Worth Shooting Sparks outrage Turkey Invades Syria

New Instruments for chemistry department

Celebrating genocide? 12 shades of blue

A&E

Sports

Leakycon Boston

RIC Swimming

Strange days

Anchorwomen Tennis

11 weeks of pure heroine: Team

YouTube’s crackdown

Editorial Board EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Samantha Scetta | editorinchief@anchorweb.org

MANAGING EDITOR Lucille DiNaro | managing@anchorweb.org

BUSINESS MANAGER Janelle Gomez | business@anchorweb.org

ART DIRECTOR Thomas Crudale | artdirector@anchorweb.org

NEWS EDITOR Abigail Nilsson | news@anchorweb.org

ASST. NEWS EDITOR Sean Richer | asst_news@anchorweb.org

A&E EDITOR Sophia Guerrier | lifestyles@anchorweb.org

OPINIONS EDITOR Alison Macbeth | opinions@anchorweb.org

ASST. OPINIONS EDITOR Alexis Rapoza | asst_opinions@anchorweb.org

SPORTS EDITOR Jake Elmslie | sports@anchorweb.org

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Joseph A. Griswold | asst_sports@anchorweb.org

PHOTO EDITOR Mark Medeiros | photo@anchorweb.org

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SENIOR LAYOUT EDITOR Ralston Najarro | layout@anchorweb.org

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SENIOR COPY EDITOR Alana Perez | copy@anchorweb.org

ASST. COPY EDITOR Brynn Terry | asst_copy@anchorweb.org

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Alison Darmetko Jake DeBlois Kennedy Ryan Grace Kimmell Kyra Garabedian Gregory Williams Sh-ron Almeida Tayler Green

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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.

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News RICovery voices concern for student safety

Fort Worth shooting sparks civil rights outrage National News

Abigail Nilsson News Editor

Campus Feature Story

Sean Richer Asst. News Editor Photo courtesy of Abigail Nilsson On occasion, used needles and empty nips can be found scattered around Rhode Island College campus. President of RICovery, Jessica Zurawel, said that she is terrified for these students and she wants them to know that there are resources on campus that students can utilize. October marks substance abuse prevention month and RICovery is available to help. This organization is comprised of people who have encountered substance abuse in one way or another. Some of the members are students in Chemical Dependency and Addiction Studies (CDAS), a program in the Psychology Department. Other members are in recovery, active users, or have family members with an addiction. This club is available to anyone who is looking for help or support. All members adhere to the code of anonymity, meaning what you see, who you see and what you hear there stays within that group.

There has been some negative feedback among faculty members at RIC that RICovery is promoting drug use. Zurawel said this is not what the group is doing. They do offer clean needles and fentanyl test strips for those who are actively using, so they can be safer about it. “I think the opioid crisis is so bad because of fentanyl,” said Zurawel “and I am terrified for students.” Zurawel wants students to know that they are not alone. RICovery works with the Preventing Overdose and Naloxone Intervention program (PONI) to bring narcan training sessions to RIC twice a year. There is now narcan available in all of the dorms in case of an overdose emergency. This group meets bi-weekly during free period and holds a round table group discussion. For more information about this group contact Jessica at ricoveryorg@so.ric.edu.

Graphics Courtesy of The New York Times

Formal charges have been made against Aaron Dean, the former police officer who shot and killed a 28 year old, African American Fort Worth resident, Atatania Jefferson. The shooting occurred Saturday Oct. 12th, and has sparked a great amount of controversy in the community, particularly regarding race. Aaron Dean resigned from his position last Monday. Soon after the investigation began, prosecutors announced that he would be charged for murder. The police chief of Fort Worth, Ed Kraus issued a statement during a press release saying, “Nobody looked at that video and said there was any doubt that the officer acted inappropriately.” The video in question was retrieved from Dean’s body camera and shows him shouting at Jefferson to put her hands up before immediately shooting her through the window. A neighbor had called the police earlier about a possible disturbance nearby, but it is unclear why Dean was at the Jefferson residence. Atatania Jefferson was home with her nephew playing video games at the time of the incident. In the aftermath of the shooting a city council meeting was called, seeing the council hall filled to capacity, with hundreds of others outside. "You mentioned that we need to provide Tay's nephew with anything he needs,” one woman said. "He needs his aunt alive. He needs to not have witnessed her murder. He needs the city he lives in to be equitable and just and safe from poorly trained, scared, racist police officers." Kraus assured the public that the department would undertake reform in light of the tragedy. Mayor Betsy Price then announced that a third party panel will monitor the force in the near future, and the formation of a civilian oversight committee is also being explored.

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928 |

News Turkey invades Syria after U.S. withdrawal International News Sean Richer Asst. News Editor Last Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence went to Istanbul to speak with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to help negotiate a ceasefire between Turkish forces and Kurdish rebels in northern Syria. The day after the meeting, however, Turkish forces seemed to continue skirmishing on the Syrian border. The invasion began on Oct. 9th, three days after President Trump announced a full withdrawal from the region. The purpose of this assault, according to the Turkish government, is to expel the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the region along with their Kurdish allies, whom Turkey has long perceived as a threat. Great controversy has arisen after this attack due to past

American interests in the area. The Kurdish people populate much of northern Syria and Iraq, as well as eastern Turkey. They possess their own language and culture and largely govern themselves under a government that is not currently recognized by the United Nations. Over the years, the Kurds have clamored for an independent state to call their own, and allied

themselves with the United States, against Al Qaeda and later ISIL for that purpose. The aforementioned ceasefire was meant to last 120 hours, while Kurdish forces would be given the chance to evacuate several towns in the disputed region. Despite these efforts, the current casualty rate numbers more than 70 civilians in Syria and 20 in Turkey. Response by

Graphic Courtesy of The Herald Magazine the international communi- ment. “Don’t be a tough ty on this conflict has been guy,” one of his letters read. divided. French President The Turkish President reEmmanuel Macron stated sponded by saying that his on Oct. 17th that the whole statement was, “not in harmatter was, “Madness” and, mony with political and “This is not a ceasefire, it's diplomatic niceties.” Many a demand of capitulation for criticisms have also been the Kurds.” The U.S. has levied against the presisince imposed several sanc- dent for leaving the Kurdtions on Turkey. However, ish forces in the first place, some have called for harsh- stating that it is a blow to er consequences for the American credibility. No Turkish Republic, including word has been given on the expulsion from NATO. further American intervenPresident Trump has been tion in the region, seeming in correspondence with leaving the Kurdish people Erdogan since the engage- to face this conflict alone.

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News New instruments for the next generation of student chemists Campus News: Clarke Science Samantha Scetta Editor in Chief Just as a tennis player needs their racquet, a chemist needs their laboratory instruments. Student chemists included, of course. Analytical instruments are invaluable to scientific research, and the ability to identify unknown molecules and compounds in a substance is the backbone of chemical research. As of this past September, Clarke science is now home to four modern pieces of instrumentation to aid students in their chemistry classes and research pursuits, all being upgrades from the previous instruments used. The new equipment includes a state of the art benchtop nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer, a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer system, a UVVis spectrophotometer and an infrared spectrometer. If you are not familiar with chemical equipment, then the above sentence probably doesn’t make much sense. However, everyone can relate to the feeling of getting an upgrade. These upgrades are particularly important to any scientific field, all of which are constantly changing and advancing. Professor Elaine Magyar, an organic chemist who has been teaching at Rhode Island College since 1978 has been able to experience the evolution of analytical equipment throughout her career.

“The new instrumentation will provide RIC chemistry students with more powerful yet faster ways to analyze the compounds they synthesize, extract, or obtain from environmental sources,” she said. “It will also provide experience that will greatly benefit them when they apply for and obtain jobs in industrial or academic labs or continue to graduate school.” Professor Magyar explained that, since the creation of the chemistry major in the 1970s, students have been able to use instruments that they may not have had the opportunity to use at a large university. RIC has been a leader in providing students with these types of one-on-one interactions with analytical equipment. The funding for the instruments came entirely from a generous grant made by the Champlin Foundation, which also covered some of the cost of the renovations made to the teaching labs in Clarke science. The ren-

Advanced Organic Chemistry 425 students work to analyze a carbon NMR on the The Magritek Spinsolve 80 NMR spectrometer. Students have the ability to identify hydrogen, carbon, and fluorine spectra in a known or unknown substance to determine its content, purity and molecular structure. RIC is one of the first colleges in the entire country to own an 80 MHz benchtop spectrometer. ovations include a temperature-controlled instrument room that is twice as big as the previous one, a lab for physical and analytical chemistry, and instrumental analysis, as well as an analytical research lab shared by professors Knowlton and Lamantagne. Students can efficiently per-

form experiments that were perhaps not even possible a decade ago, thanks to the microprocessors that have replaced mechanical control of the instruments and the substantial advancements in computerized technology. Telephones are clearly not the only pieces of tech-

Student points at carbon NMR spectrum. Photos courtesy of Samantha Scetta

nology that have gotten smaller and more powerful over the past few decades. “The big differences are that our modern instruments do much more and take up less space to do it because of advances in technology and computers,” Professor Magyar explained. “All of these advances combine to provide more data and enable scientists to study more and more complex problems in chemistry, geology, medicine, environmental chemistry, materials science and biology.” Students of years to come will have the opportunity to perform all-level experiments with these instruments, and beginner (and advanced) chemistry students will be able to use them as learning tools as they build the foundational blocks of a scientific education at Rhode Island College.

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928 | 5

Rhode Island College Police Log October 11, 2019 01:55 a.m. - Medical Emergency. Location: New Dorm (6th Ave) 11:45 a.m. - Keep the peace. Location: Roberts Hall (College Rd. W.) 03:30 p.m. - Motor vehicle accident, property damage only. Location: L-Lot (6th Ave) October 12, 2019 07:25 a.m. - Burglar Alarm. Location: TV Studio. 03:58 p.m. - Fire Alarm. Location: New Dorm (6th Ave) 05:10 p.m. - Maintenance Problems. Location: New Dorm (6th Ave) 08:30 p.m. - Fire Alarm. Location: Roberts Hall (College Rd. W.) October 13, 2019 01:35 a.m. - Assist citizen. Location: Webber Dorm (Dorm Mall) 01:05 a.m. - Property damage, all types. Location: L-Lot 08:58 p.m. - Suspicious activity. Location: Roberts Hall (College Rd. W.) October 14, 2019 06:49 p.m. - Vehicle maintenance/ refueling. Location: West campus. 07:26 p.m. - Fire Alarm. Location: New Dorm (6th Ave) 08:20 p.m. - Maintenance problems. Location: L-Lot (6th Ave) October 15, 2019 12:15 a.m. - Short post. Location: L-Lot (6th Ave) 04:13 a.m. - Fire Alarm. Location: Fogerty Life Science (Library Rd.) 08:00 a.m. - Burglar alarm. Location: Roberts Hall (College Rd. W.) 09:30 a.m. - Keep the peace. Location: Roberts Hall (College Rd. W.) 10:43 a.m. - Parking violation, parking ticket issued. Location: K-Lot (Student Union Loop) 02:09 p.m. - Found/ lost property. Location: B-Lot (1st Ave) 05:00 p.m. - Check welfare of party. Location: Willard Residence Hall (6th Ave) 07:30 p.m. - Maintenance problems. Location: New Dorm (6th Ave) 08:07 p.m. - Damage to school property. Location: Browne Residence Hall (6th Ave) October 16, 2019 02:43 p.m. - Found/lost property. Location: RICPD 04:00 p.m. - Short post. Location: L-Lot (6th Ave) 06:16 p.m. Assist citizen. Location: L-Lot (6th Ave) 09:12 p.m. - Medical emergency. Location: Library (Library Rd.) October 17, 2019 03:51 a.m. - Blue light phone activated. Location: Webber Residence Hall (Dorm Mall) 07:58 a.m. - Parking complaint, parking ticket issued. Location: K-Lot (Student Union Loop) 10:10 a.m. - Police information. Location: RIC PD. 02:39 p.m. - Motor vehicle accident, property damage only. Location: C-Lot (Library Rd.) 03:20 p.m. - Drug offense (All). Location: Browne Residence Hall (Dorm Mall) October 18, 2019 06:06 a.m. - Escort/transport. Location: Library (Library Rd.)

| Rhode Island Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Opinions College students are changing, when will FAFSA adapt? Alexis Rapoza Asst. Opinions Editor For most of us, it is hard to imagine a time when most college students did not work at least part-time on top of their academic course load. In fact, according to a 2015 study released by Georgetown University, over the past 25 years, the number of college students simultaneously employed while in school has leaped to over 70%. As the price of tuition and books increases that number does as well. In 2018, the average price of tuition, room, board and books at a public institution clocks in at about $19,000 a year, which is $3,000 more than the average annual salary of a student working full time at the federal minimum wage. While the federal minimum wage has been resting comfortably at $7.25 an hour since 2009, tuition rises an average of 8% a year. So how do students

cover the gap between their earned wages and the cost of tuition? The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) is usually the first responder for financial aid. FAFSA is a free application students fill out annually to determine individual eligibility for federal aid. In order to receive any sort of federal aid, students must be a high school graduate, a U.S. citizen, maintain satisfactory academic performance and not be convicted of possessing or selling drugs. Sounds simple right? It’s not.

leaving the responsibility to the student. Financially independent students should not be penalized and restricted access to federal grants solely based on their parents’ income. Higher education, as an institution, is inherently elitist. For decades, the prospect of education after high school has been only for the rich and high achieving. Unfortunately, we live in a society in which, getting a well-paying job is nearly impossible without a According to FASFA, there In other words, FASFA degree. FASFA and scholarare two classifications of stu- will make assumptions on ship programs have allowed dents: independent or depen- your family’s willingness higher education to, thankfuldent students. In order to ob- and ability to pay out of ly, became more accessible; tain independent status, the pocket for tuition based on tuition continues to climb, student must either be above your combined incomes. however. Because of this, the 24 years old, married, have a Not only is this unrealis- word “student” has slowly bechild, be a veteran, emanci- tic, it's also forcing students come synonymous with “waitpated, a ward of the state or and families to take out ress,” “sales associate” and homeless. If you don’t fall large sums of money in the “fast-food worker.” So, while into any of these categories form of federal and private what it means to be a student you are automatically deter- loans in order to just cover changes, FASFA needs to as mined “dependent”. What the basic necessities. Be- well. Financial aid needs to this means is that FASFA cause of the increase in the be more available to students will use your parent’s in- cost of living, families are who need it in order to comcome, as well as yours, to struggling. Less than 30% bat the United States’ $1.56 determine your Estimated of families are able to cover trillion in student loan debt. Family Contribution (EFC). students’ college expenses

Celebrating Genocide? Kyra Garabedian Anchor Staff Kyra is an Art Education major from Coventry, RI. (Class of 2021) As we return to our Monday classes this week, we can’t help but admit how nice it was to start last week with a holiday. The Fall semester contains a couple of Monday holidays observed by Rhode Island College (RIC) that are widely accepted as federal holidays such as Labor Day and Veterans Day. However, last week we observed Columbus Day, a holiday not widely accepted by everyone in the United States. To many Americans, Columbus Day is just another day off. We know who Columbus is and were probably taught the rhyme about him sailing the ocean in 1492, discovering America. What most of us don’t know are the true atroc-

ities committed by Columbus and how much this can upset some Americans today. According to the Providence Journal, protests against Columbus Day have been occurring since 1992. Many citizens of the United States who identify as Native American believe it’s wrong to celebrate Christopher Columbus for destroying the lives of their ancestors. Many Native American advocates now refer to Columbus Day as Indegionous People’s Day to take the emphasis off Columbus and commemorate Native Americans who lost their lives. The Christopher Columbus statue in Providence, located at the corner of Elmwood and Reservoir was vandalized to make a statement of the upset in celebrating this Federal Holiday. The statue was coated in red paint from head to toe, appearing to look like

blood. It was also accompanied by a plaque stating “Stop celebrating genocide.” This act has drawn attention to the debate over whether Columbus day should be celebrated in the United States. It has certainly prompted me to reflect on my own opinions about the holiday, as I likely wouldn’t have without the news of this visual protest. The United States 2018 Census reports that one percent of Rhode Island’s total population (10,573 people) identify as Native American. In my opinion, not even the smallest percentage of people should feel upset about the celebration of a Federal holiday. The observance of Columbus Day celebrates the voyage of Christopher Columbus to America as he discovered the land for the first time. However, this land was already discovered and occupied by it’s natives. To Native Amer-

Graphic Courtesy of NBC News icans, Columbus Day is a reminder of when their ancestors were either slaughtered or forced to conform to Christianity at the hands of Christopher Columbus. Not every college in Rhode Island chooses to observe Columbus Day. Perhaps

this is in an attempt to respect the opinions of those who find the celebration of this holiday to be repugnant. I’m not saying I believe RIC should not observe Columbus Day; however, I do think the administration should consider the perspectives of all students.

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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State Surveillance and Rebellion Government surveillance and public reaction consume our attention and generate enormous anxiety today. To highlight this grave phenomenon, the Department of History is presenting a forum, State Surveillance and Rebellion, during the Free Period on Wednesday, October 30, in spacious Room 200, Gaige Hall from 12 to 1:50. Our panel members will be looking at this problem through the lenses of authoritarian societies of the near past and of a large-scale armed uprising that broke out in Revolutionary Mexico. We will be hearing from four Department of History specialists: - David Espinosa, The 1920s Cristero War. - Karl Benziger, 1956 and Upheaval in Hungary. - Pete Brown, The Spy System in Moscow State University. - Joanne Schneider, The East German Stasi and Its Victims. Every member of the RIC Community and their friends are cordially invited to attend, hear our speakers, and to participate in a lively question and answer session on this timely and vexing topic.

Rhode Island Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Opinions

Graphic Courtesy of Los Angeles Times

12 shades of blue Abigail Nilsson News Editor The 12 Democratic presidential candidates arrived in the Ohio arena looking for blood, particularly President Trump’s and Senator Warren’s. The Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday was nothing more than unresolved bickering among candidates. There were no questions regarding climate change, immigration, or LGBTQ rights in Tuesday’s debate. There were, however, questions relating to Trump’s impeachment, gun control, age and Ellen Degeneres. It is clear that Sen. Elizabeth Warren is the most popular candidate at the moment. She was taking fire from everyone at the debate and she remained cool, calm and consistent with her unrealistic plans. Her plan to cover healthcare and childcare costs shows how Warren wants to take from the rich and give to the middle class. Fading behind Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden was tongue tied most of the debate and faded into the background until his last exchange with Warren where he basically

said, “you wouldn’t be here lady if it wasn’t for me.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar was passionate about women’s health and had it out for Warren. She would fire snarky remarks at her in regards to how Warren will fund her healthcare plans. Looking good for a man who just had a heart attack, Bernie Sanders was rocking shoulder pads which seemed to protect him from the relentless attacks. His health still remains a concern among voters as he seemed to get winded after his answers. Bernie Sanders had a clear presence on stage, and was feisty, authentic and passionate. The vegan on the stage, Sen. Cory Booker is happy go lucky and had his head in the clouds when it came to the debate questions he was asked. He was playing the role of a unifying hippie rather than a presidential candidate. Mayor Pete Buttigieg definitely did his homework when it came to Warren, but was short tempered with remarks that he was not so prepared with and responded with childish eye rolls rather than clear answers. Clearly buying his way on to the stage, billionaire Tom

Steyer won some brownie points for bringing up climate change as part of his agenda. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard may have looked like Rogue from X-Men but she did not have any superhuman qualities to her in the debate. She was very robotic, and answered the questions in the debate by restating the question as if it were an answer. Making a statement on mandatory buyback of guns, Beto O’Rourke reminded viewers that he still wants to confiscate guns. Sen. Kamala Harris was a little too focused on getting Trump off Twitter than her own presence on the stage at the debate. Far below the front runners, Julian Castro and Andrew Yang were the most unmemorable candidates on stage and kept getting lost in the mix. At times it seemed like Anderson Cooper even forgot about him. With Trump in a vulnerable position and the Democratic Party in disarray, the American people can look forward to the next debate on Nov. 20th.

Opinions

YouTube’s concerning crackdown on hate speech Alison Macbeth Opinions Editor A few weeks ago, my professor lectured on propaganda and rhetoric, specifically analyzing the techniques Adolf Hitler employed as he rose to power. My professor, who has taught this class for several years, pulled up her trusty powerpoint with links to YouTube videos of Hitler’s speeches. However, she soon found out that the videos were blocked. In a recent attempt to crack down on hate speech, YouTube has deleted videos promoting Nazism - and with that historical footage of Hitler. YouTube’s actions have concerning implications. On June 5, 2019, YouTube posted on the official blog about the new rules under the heading “Our ongoing work to tackle hate.” Upon first glance, YouTube’s efforts appear applaudable. “This work has focused on four pillars: removing violative content, raising up authoritative content, reducing the spread of borderline content and rewarding trusted creators.” YouTube later boasts of partnering with lawyers and civil society to limit the spread of extremist content.

For years, YouTube has been a platform for people to share silly videos, artists to promote their work and for scholars to seek information. It is good that YouTube is aware of how its services can promulgate hatred as well as misinformation. In fact, since it is a free and the content is based on users uploading videos, YouTube has high risk for misleading videos. However, YouTube’s movements to monitor hate speech has concerning implications. First of all, YouTube is defining hate speech. As a for-profit corporation, YouTube is single-handedly deciding what information is allowed and what is not allowed. While they may refer to legal council and civil society as their guidelines, this hardly negates the fact that a private corporation has a large influence on monitoring information, data and knowledge. Political officials and judges that determine what is hate speech in our government are elected or approved of in some sort of democratic manner. With YouTube, money is the principle driver. Secondly, with undefined terms for their regulatory actions, YouTube can deter-

Graphic Courtesy of Caitlyn Tiodor mine what is and what is not published on the platform. Where will this stop? What if YouTube were to decide that they did not like a certain political view or news clip that someone uploaded. The government cannot technically determine what YouTube has to display since it is a private corporation. In the worst possible scenario, YouTube could become a propaganda machine for other corporations that fund it through advertisements. The freedom of ideas and the space to dissent is vital in a democratic marketplace of ideas. YouTube has operated as an open platform for years and Americans have come to depend on it. Now, it might be time to

reconsider where you’ll get your next historical video. Thirdly, YouTube’s choice to take down historically valuable videos impacts education. Yes, Hitler’s actions and words are despicable. No one should be watching them to gain inspiration. However, as soon as Hitler is silenced on a public platform like YouTube the less ability the public has to compare Hitler’s words to other totalitarian leaning individuals (maybe Trump?). It is vital for the average person and scholar to have access to videos recounting historical events so that we can learn from the past instead of repeating it. Ultimately, the answer to this issue is not for You-

Tube to stop monitoring their platform - itis larger than that. We have reached a point in our evolution of media to ask the question: How much should a private corporation that is relied on by the public as a source of information be monitored by the government? This will be the question in the future years with Facebook (remember Cambridge Analytica) and Twitter. YouTube’s initiative to work against misinformation and hate is good; however, it is essential for YouTube to look at the repercussions and implications of their actions as an open platform where creativity and access to information are supposed to thrive.

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Leakycon Boston: A Magical Harry Potter Convention Alexis Rapoza Asst. Opinions Editor

When most people think of fan conventions they think of Comic Con. Since its inaugural convention in 1970, Comic Con has grown massively; its San Diego convention boasting an attendance of over 135,000 attendees just this year. Because of Comic Con’s incredible success smaller conventions have developed to target franchises with huge fanbases. Of these smaller conventions Leakycon is one of the most popular and well attended. Leakycon is a three-day extravaganza dedicated to J.K. Rowling’s wizarding franchises, hosted twice a year, in some of the biggest cities across the United States. This year Leakycon returned to Boston and Dallas to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Produced by Mischief Management, a company that hosts a wide variety of fan conventions including BroadwayCon and Con of Thrones, Leakycon is no small affair. Although Leakycon is technically not affiliated with J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros, both events hosted popular Wizarding World actors such as, Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy, and Dan Folger, who plays Jacob Kowalski in the Fantastic Beasts films. My initial impression of Leakycon Boston was that many Harry Potter fans take the phrase “go big or go home”

literally. Within the first five minutes of the convention, I ran into an Albus Dumbledore lookalike and three different Luna Lovegoods. I found myself wishing I had lugged my Gryffindor robes all the way to Boston, but lucky for me there was an entire marketplace of vendors selling all the Harry Potter merchandise I could hope for. Over twenty vendors were set up in the marketplace selling everything from Alex and Ani jewelry to handmade magic wands. I had the pleasure of watching a wizard named E d Bareiss, owne r

of Connecticut based Orchard Works, present a young convention goer with a one-of-a-kind magic wand. It was a scene right out of the Harry Potter films. While Leakycon is marketed as an event for witches, wizards, and muggles of all ages it was abundantly clear that the majority of attendees were old enough to have graduated from Hogwarts already. Beer was sold on the convention floor as well as at Leakycon’s Saturday night “Esther Earl Ball” which went well past it’s scheduled end time of 11:30 pm. The convention also featured three full days of panels and meetups featuring Mischief Management staff and Wizarding World actors. The panels took deep dives into the Wizarding World discussing things like rape

culture in the Wizarding World, minority representation in the series and questioning logistics like how Hagrid the half-giant used the toilet. Leakycon also hosted performances by two of the most popular Wizard Rock bands “Tonks and the Aurors” and “Harry and The Potters” both of which I unfortunately missed. Leakycon Boston was a jam packed Potter filled weekend and I often struggled to decide which panels or shows I wanted to attend. Although Leakycon was significantly smaller than conventions like Comic Con, it targets a large audience of fans who might feel underrepresented at other conventions. Harry Potter has been around for over twenty years but its legacy lives on and events like Leakycon will only continue to solidify the impact Harry Potter has had on this generation and generations to come.

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Strange Days: The Ouija Board (Part I: Origins) Gregory Williams Anchor Staff Here at Strange Days everyday day is Halloween, but when the mother of all Holidays (our favorite, naturally) is less than two weeks away I find it only appropriate to discuss some of the subjects that are either associated with or that have a tendency to surface around this time of year. The Ouija Board, also known as a talking or spirit board is a combination of the French word oui for “yes” and the German ja for “no”. However, the true origin of the name comes from Elijah Bond’s

(one of the original investors of the board) sister-inlaw, Helen Peters, whom he dubbed a “strong medium.” Elijah was recruited along with three other business men by Charles Kennard of Baltimore, Maryland in 1890. The Spiritualism movement was taking off in America (the Civil War sparked interest in spirit communication, too) and it had already long taken root in Europe. Kennard saw an opportunity in this and wanted to capitalize on it. During a séance with their talking board, they asked it what they should call; the name “Ouija” came up. When asked what that meant, the board answered, “Good luck.” As ominous as this is, Peters acknowledged that she had been wearing a locket that day containing a picture of a woman with the name “Ouija” above her head. So goes the story the founders told. It is worth noting that Peters admired the popular women’s right activists Ouida and that “Ouija” could have just been a misreading of that.

Graphic Courtesy of the Smithsonian Magazine Prior to this, the Associated Press ran an article in the 1880’s about these new talking boards appearing in Ohio so we know that they had already existed. Around this time, Kennard had been living and working in Chestertown, Maryland and enlisted his co-worker E.C.

Reiche, a cabinet maker and coffin maker, to make a few. Suffice it to say, the board sold well in Chestertown. Reiche later claimed that he came up with the idea and Kennard took it from him to start his own business. The exact origins of the first talking board are shrouded

in mystery but we know that devices for speaking with the dead dates back to ancient times (more on that later). I personally like to subscribe to the notion that more often than not these things come about from a conglomeration of people and events. Tune in next Monday for Part II.

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11 Weeks of Pure Heroine: Team Sophia Guerrier A&E Editor “Team” is the energetic and uplifting third single from “Pure Heroine,” maintaining the themes of royalty and materialism. Themes, we certainly haven’t heard before on the past five songs (sarcasm). In an interview with Billboard Magazine, Lorde said, “No one comes to New Zealand, no one knows anything about New Zealand, and here I am, trying to grow up and become a person.” As much as Lorde seems to admire and love where she hails from, there is still a continuation of insecure feelings regarding her newfound status as a celebrity and her place of origin. We first get this feeling on Royals when she says, “No postcode envy” and now we receive it at the start of the chorus, “We live in cities you’ll never see on screen.” But this time Lorde releases these feelings and takes pride of her unknown suburban town in the next line, “Not very pretty, but we sure know how to run things.” There has been speculation that “but we sure know how to run things” is a stab at Miley Cyrus’s “We Can’t Stop,”

which features the lines “We run things, things don’t run we;” not a stretch considering the song was released months before “Pure Heroine” and also Lorde’s tendency of denouncing superficialism, in modern pop music is prevalent throughout the LP. The song has a dreamy atmosphere to it, as the opening lines relate back to kingship and authority when she says, “The hounds will stay in chains, look upon your greatness and she’ll send the call out.” Assuming Lorde is the “she” sending the call out, as a queen, the allegory of a royal party unfolds as the song progresses. “Call all the ladies out, they’re in their finery, A hundred jewels on throats, A hundred jewels between teeth” which is the introduction to this party, almost like bringing us back to “Ribs,” where Lorde depicts a glorification of boasting wealth through material items like jewelry and grills. “Dancin’ around the lies we tell, dancin’ around big eyes as well” are three common elements that are found within parties: dancing, lying and dilation of pupils, “big eyes”, caused by drugs. This allegory is a play on society’s yearn to feel important through possessions and the

“Dancin’ around the lies we tell, dancin’ around big eyes as well”

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approval of others. Flaunting jewelry, doing drugs and even lying about a lifestyle is a prevailing subject in pop music, not to mention the same behavior that celebrities and social media tries to sell to their consumers. Lorde then recognizes and challenges the integrity of this behavior when she sings, “And everyone’s competing for a love they won’t receive, cause what this palace wants is release;” she also indicates that it’s all a facade and out

of all things, people just want to be themselves. Another indication of Lorde’s exhaustion of superficialness is the line, “I’m kind of over gettin told to throw my hands up in the air … I’m kind of older than I was when I reveled without a care.” Lorde’s mentioning of throwing hands up in the air again relates back to pop music’s emphasis on partying and the “throw your hands up” lyrics that are repeated often in songs. She’s “over” acting

the same as everyone else and matured to realize that it isn’t as fun or genuine as it seemed to be at first, especially when she was younger. The repeated line “We’re on each other’s team” can be presumed to be reassurance of preserving individual character and being confident when pressures of societal norms tell us otherwise. With a message like that I’m on Lorde’s team, what about you? Next week, “Glory and Gore” will be examined.

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Anchorwomen find their sea legs Tayler Green Anchor Staff The Rhode Island College Women’s Swim Team kicked off their season this Saturday, at an Invitational hosted by Roger Williams University. Swimming side by side with each of the teams they will later compete with,

throughout the bulk of their season. With nine colleges and universities present, the deck was populated with dozens of swimmers getting ready to start their seasons. “Invitationals are used as a learning tool for the upcoming season,” Swim Coach Barry Fontaine explained. “They help us to gage where we are, and to get

times for the season.” With only three girls swimming throughout the day, the Anchorwomen still managed to keep pace with their opponents. Freshman Hillevi Esquilin led the charge, managing two automatic qualifying times for the New Englands Championship competition at the end of the season, with Freshman Abby Dion

close behind her with one qualifying time. Freshman Reegan Camire placed first in her heat in the 200 yard freestyle, placing 21st overall in that event for women. With only freshman on the roster this season, Coach says there will be a learning curve, but he had no ill words about his girls or their ability. At the end of

the meet, the Anchorwomen held ninth place at the invitational, but it is not a loss. “Though we are small, the team is right where they should be,” Coach Fontaine elaborated. The Anchorwomen swim next on Friday, October 25 at 5:00 pm in a Pentathlon Event at the University of Saint Joseph.

“Tennis championship,” Continued from cover ning nod on the box score. This came against a backdrop of jubilant pleading from players and coaches alike to allow the two teammates share the honor. For her efforts throughout the playoffs freshmen Jenna Lisi was named the Little East Women’s Tennis Championship Most Outstanding Player “I’m honored coming in I thought maybe I’d be lucky to come in at maybe the 5th spot in singles but to be able to do what I’ve done have been amazing, even going back to when I visited the team last year these girls inspire me to elevate myself and always be better.” Coach Spring who continues to grow his legacy as the winningest coach in program history gushed about his team post match “I’ve never won three college championships in a row in my life so I’m not really sure how to feel… but like our last two teams this group played their best tennis when it mattered most.” As conference champions RIC qualifies for the NCAA Division III women’s tennis championship to be hosted in Kalamazoo Michigan from May 20th-22nd. Photo by Jake R. Elmslie; Pictured from left to right Coach Adam Spring & President Frank Sanchez

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Congratulations to the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tennis Team for winning the tennis championship. Featured photos are from matches played on Friday Oct. 18th, and Sunday Oct. 20th.

Photos by Mark Medeiros

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