The Punishment Issue

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April 2014 Have you been naughty?

BUZZSAW

News & Views

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Buzzsaw  presents...

EDITORS’ COMMENT

The Punishment Issue Punishment is a global phenomenon. Whether it’s a seem-­ ingly harmless time-­out for a child, or years behind bars for someone convicted of a crime, punishment is omnipresent in culture. We experience punishment in our homes, schools and places of employment. Clearly, punishment follows us through all aspects of life, so it’s time we had a chat about it. The Obama administration has taken a particularly punitive attitude towards whistleblowers, raising new questions sur-­ rounding whether we should punish those trying to strengthen our democracy. (Muting the Whistle, pg. 22) Outside the realms of government, punishment can also manifest itself in a religious setting. Fred Phelps, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, devoted his life to trying to convince the LGBT community that God would punish them. In his pass-­ ing, a discussion has erupted over whether he deserves forgive-­ ness. (A Letter to Fred Phelps, pg. 14) On a personal level, punishment can also represent how the choices we make impact the rest of our lives. While tattoos and ERG\ PRGLĂ€FDWLRQV KDYH EHFRPH PRUH SRSXODU WKDQ HYHU WKH\ VWLOO UHVXOW LQ WKH OLPLWDWLRQ RI MRE RSSRUWXQLWLHV LQ PDQ\ Ă€HOGV (Inked Up, Shut Out?, pg. 30) But, despite punishment’s negative connotations, it also holds the potential to help us grow internally. For some, the pain and sweat and self-­punishment of yoga provides an op-­ SRUWXQLW\ IRU XQGHUVWDQGLQJ DQG SHUVRQDO UHĂ HFWLRQ 1DPDVWH All Damn Day, pg. 16) So stay on your best behavior, because in the world of pun-­ ishment it’s better to be seen and not heard.

BUZZSAW 1HZV 9LHZV Upfront Ministry of Cool 3URVH &RQV Sawdust Design Art Website Seesaw

Taylor Barker Meagan McGinnes Timothy Bidon Karen Muller Robert S. Hummel Rachel Maus Chelsea Hartman Evan Spitzer Kanoa Ichihara Kayla Reopelle Kaley Belval Rachael Lewis-­Krisky

Assistant Editors

Adviser Founders

Kellen Beck Jessica Corbett Katelyn Harrop John Jacobson Lizzie Cox Jennifer Jordon Jeff Cohen Abby Bertumen Kelly Burdick Bryan Chambala Sam Costello Thom Denick Cole Louison James Sigman

Buzzsaw is published with support from Generation Progress / Center for American Progress (online at GenProgress.org). Buzzsaw is also funded by the Ithaca College Student Government Association and the Park School of Communications.

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

Our Press is our press. (Binghamton, NY) Buzzsaw uses student-generated art and photography and royalty-free images. Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editorial staff or of Ithaca College. Feedback and contributions should be sent to buzzsawmag@gmail.com. Front cover by Lizzie Cox and Evan Spitzer Back cover by Lizzie Cox Upfront divider, Ministry of Cool, Table of Contents, Prose & Cons divider, and Sawdust divider by Julia Levine Center spread by Christina Lugo

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Write Us Our magazine exists to inspire thoughtful debate and open up the channels through which information is shared. Your comments and feedback are all a part of this process. Reach the editors by email at: buzzsawmag@gmail.com

Table of Contents Seesaw ..........................................................5 Print media is dead, check out multimedia on the web.

News & Views .................................................6 &XUUHQW HYHQWV ORFDO QHZV TXDVL HGXFDWHG RSLQLRQV

Upfront .......................................................13 Selected dis-­education of the month.

N Bews UZZSAW & Views

Ministry.of.Cool ........................................28 Arts, entertainment and other things cooler than us.

Prose & Cons ............................................36 6KRUW ÀFWLRQ SHUVRQDO HVVD\ DQG RWKHU DVVRUWHG OLHV

Sawdust .......................................................41 Threatening the magazine’s credibility since 1856.

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buzzcuts

778 executions reported 80 percent of executions were reported in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia

22 countries recorded executions

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

Execution Statistics for 2013 173 of 193 United Nations member countries were execution free

No executions were reported in Europe or Central Asia 18 states in the U.S. have abolished the death penalty

*all information from Amnesty International

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SACRIFICES FOR JESUS

Seven students describe how their observance of Lent strengthIRW XLIMV WTMVMXYEPMX] XLVSYKL XLI WEGVM½GIW XLI]´ZI QEHI HYVMRK this 40-day period. Photo by: Ithaca College Catholic Community

PUNISHMENT FOR CONVENIENCE

News & Views

UKRAINE: EYES ON THE GROUND

The Ukrainian protests have been all over the news, but little attention is paid to the people who live there and experience the effects of this revolution day to day. See what Kiev’s Maiden Square looks like on the ground through the eyes of Daniela Schmiedlechner.

WHEN THINGS START HEATING UP

4YRMWLQIRX MW E HMJ½GYPX XEWO XS EHQMRMWXIV 2SRI SJ YW PMOI XS HS it, but sometimes, it’s just simply compulsory. Let this informational segment teach you the proper methods of punishment, so you know the steps to take when things start HEATING UP. Photo by: Lisa Marie Wark

A look into the exploitation and oppression of the migrant farm worker, this photo slideshow accompanies the center spread article. Photos for this piece were taken by Christina Lugo at the Rural & Migrant Ministry Alternative Spring Break.

www.buzzsawmag.org/seesaw/

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8LI 7GMIRXM½G 7MHI SJ +13W 8EOMRK E PSSO EX XLI FIRI½XW SJ +13W By Amanda Hutchinson

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

H

aving lived in Ithaca for the better part of three years, I’ve noticed that people here are a lot more into the natural foods scene than people back home in Connecti-­ FXW $ ODUJH SDUW RI LW LV WKH EHQHĂ€W RI having an expansive network of farms at your back door, but even Wegmans has a huge natural food section to ca-­ ter to vegetarian, vegan, gluten-­free, non-­allergenic and other diets. I think Wegmans’s (and Ithaca’s) dedication to making sure people know what’s in their food for medical purposes is wonderful. However, I have to draw the line at GMO labeling because it goes beyond health and safety into the realm of fear mongering and mis-­ information. *HQHWLFDOO\ PRGLĂ€HG RUJDQLVPV RU GMOs, are organisms that have had WKHLU '1$ WZHDNHG LQ VRPH IDVKLRQ Technically speaking, everything alive WRGD\ LV JHQHWLFDOO\ PRGLĂ€HG WKURXJK evolution: Even the most “naturalâ€? of organically grown corn is a lot dif-­ ferent than the grain it came from. However, the term is generally applied to organisms that have had their ge-­ QRPH DUWLĂ€FLDOO\ WDPSHUHG ZLWK VXFK as by removing, adding or duplicating a gene that either already exists in that organism or has been transplant-­ ed from another organism’s genome. Transgenic organisms are all GMOs, but not all GMOs are transgenic. The problem then resides in people LQWHUSUHWLQJ WKH PRGLĂ€FDWLRQ DV PDOL-­ cious tampering that goes against na-­ ture and creates “Frankenfoods,â€? as anti-­GMO activists call foods contain-­ ing GMOs. Part of this begins with the arbitrary designation of “naturalâ€? and to a lesser extent “organic.â€? Lots of things are “naturalâ€? that we don’t eat, like arsenic and bumblebees; simi-­ larly, the word organic just means carbon-­based, so things like formal-­ dehyde and methanol fall under that category. Thus, the terms “naturalâ€? and “organicâ€? are not indicative of the edibility of the item. The throwing around of these ar-­ bitrary terms then evolves into a fear that things that have been genetically WZHDNHG DUH XQĂ€W IRU FRQVXPSWLRQ because they’ve been tinkered with.

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In Nature’s special on GMOs in May 2013, some of the controversial crops were Bt crops, which include corn and cotton. These were developed to con-­ tain a toxin from the bacterium Ba-­ cillus thuringiensis, which wards off bollworms and other insects. While there is a toxin in these crops, it was VSHFLĂ€FDOO\ FKRVHQ WR WDUJHW LQVHFWV not humans; it would be a bit daft to engineer our food to kill us. The ad-­ dition of this compound reduces the amount of pesticides used on the crop, therefore reducing the amount of potentially harmful products we’re consuming. Along these lines comes the de-­ velopment of food that has been im-­ proved upon nutritiously, which further debunks the idea that these foods cannot be eaten or are not as good as their “naturalâ€? relatives. The Nature special discussed several ad-­ YDQFHV LQ JHQHWLF PRGLĂ€FDWLRQ IRU QX-­ trition, such as Golden Rice, a strain of rice packed with beta-­carotene, which can help alleviate vitamin A de-­ Ă€FLHQF\ LQ (DVW $VLD $ JURXS DW WKH Queensland Institute of Technology is working to give bananas not only es-­ sential nutrients but also resistance WR D IXQJDO ZLOW WR Ă€JKW PDOQXWULWLRQ LQ Africa. Furthermore, in 2008, Ameri-­ can researchers presented a potential solution to peanut allergies by turn-­ ing off the genes that code for two of the more allergenic proteins without VDFULĂ€FLQJ WUDGLWLRQDO SHDQXW DSSHDU-­ ance or function. Perhaps it’s my background as a biology minor, but this seems pretty straightforward to me: Scientists are working with what they have to create something better. How is this different than breeding two strains of tomato to get a better fruit? The only difference is the amount of control: Plant breed-­ ing gives general control, while genet-­ LF PRGLĂ€FDWLRQ JLYHV SLQSRLQW FRQWURO So why is there so much fear sur-­ rounding GMOs? It comes down to bad science and worse fact checking. Like the anti-­vaccine movement, one “studyâ€? falls into undiscerning hands DQG OLNH DQ\ JRRG ZLOGĂ€UH ZUHDNV KDY-­ oc quickly and irreparably. Unlike the anti-­vaccine movement, companies

and even governments are now falling victim to the misinformation and the vocal dissent by labeling their foods as non-­GMO. As Discover blogger Keith Kloor points out in his March 5 post “The Right to Be Manipulated,â€? at best this is a scare tactic utilized as a marketing gimmick. It’s like how a label saying “non-­fatâ€? implies that that particular food is somehow good for you and anything else without that label is full of fat and horrible for you. Even SmartBalance, the butter sub-­ stitute, is using the tactic, despite the fact that butter substitute is very ob-­ viously processed and therefore not all that “natural.â€? Part of the distrust of GMOs comes from the distrust of the companies that produce them, namely Monsan-­ to, and I can understand that. Mon-­ santo bans the replanting of seeds grown from their plants under pat-­ ent infringement, and the Supreme Court upheld this in March 2013 with Bowman v. Monsanto Co. Anti-­GMO activists often see this as a way for Monsanto to essentially force farmers to buy from them every year rather than allowing them to buy once and continue to replant. If anything, Mon-­ santo should provide compensation for farmers who replant their seeds considering they’re growing (and sell-­ ing) the company’s product, plus the willingness to launch a lawsuit over something as small as seeds seems a little petty. Regardless of the politics of the companies that produce GMO crops, it is absurd to shoot down the sci-­ ence that produces these crops. Ge-­ QHWLF PRGLĂ€FDWLRQ E\ DQ\ SURFHVV KDV made food crops more fruitful, more resistant to disease and pests, more nutritious and more available to more people in more countries. ____________________________________ Amanda Hutchinson is a junior jour-­ nalism major who just wants you to eat the food guys. Email her at ahut-­ chi1@ithaca.edu.

An Artful Pairing

0SGEP EVX WXYHMS SJJIVW E GSQFMREXMSR SJ TEMRXMRK ERH [MRI

By Taylor Barker

W

hen people walk into Wine and Design in downtown Ithaca during a class, stu-­ dio owner Kylene Kiah wants them to see class attendees having fun. The whole idea behind Wine and Design is to offer a new form of entertain-­ ment to the Ithaca community that al-­

drinks, and has the potential to help other local businesses. “What I did learn in Corning is we help out businesses a lot as well be-­ cause people come here and they go WR HDW DIWHU RU WKH\ JR WR HDW Ă€UVW DQG then come here,â€? Kiah said. “So no-­ body ever comes here and doesn’t eat

Photo by Taylor Barker

or drink, even if it’s just a soda or a slice of pizza.â€? The standard class that is offered at Wine and Design is a two-­hour class from 6 to 8 p.m. most nights of the week. The studio also offers other specialized programs including kids classes; Art Buzz Kids, which are kids camps; date night, which is when two people work on one painting; paint your pet; on wheels events, where the studio and equipment is brought to an alternate location; birthday parties; private parties of 10 or more people; and fundraisers. Located on South Cayuga Street, the studio is brightly lit with walls that are covered in canvas paintings. Subjects of the paintings range from Ă RZHUV IUXLW DQG EHDFKHV WR DEVWUDFW trees, mountains and owls. There is a double easel set up at the front of the room that showcases the completed painting the class is working on for a typical nightly class. The second can-­ vas is the painting in progress that the instructor is working on to teach the

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News & Views

lows people to relax, spend time with friends and simply have fun. Wine and Design is an art studio that com-­ bines wine (if you are of age), food and painting in a two-­hour class that as .LDK VDLG LV IRU DQ ´DYHUDJH -RH Âľ 1R artistic experience or talent is neces-­ sary for someone to attend a class and walk away with a unique piece of art. Wine and Design in Ithaca is Ki-­ ah’s second franchise location, which opened Feb. 15. She decided that she no longer wanted to be doing GHVNZRUN DQG RSHQHG KHU Ă€UVW VWXGLR LQ &RUQLQJ 1 < LQ “What am I going to do artistically, where I can kinda touch everyone... in a weird way?â€? Kiah said. :KHQ VKH RSHQHG KHU Ă€UVW VWXGLR she said she “had no doubtsâ€? about the business. After her success in Corning, Kiah decided to open a loca-­ tion in Ithaca because of the culture, the population and the type of people Ithaca draws to it. She said the stu-­ dio offers an alternative form of enter-­ tainment, instead of just dinner and

class. Three long tables with stools and easels are set up in the studio for the attendees to work at. When class attendees sit down to begin their paintings, they are not looking at a blank canvas. They start with a pencil sketch of the painting to guide them. They are also given EUXVKHV LQ D SXUSOH 0DVRQ MDU Ă€OOHG with water and a paper plate with the paint they will need. Attendees are also provided with black aprons to wear throughout the duration of the class. While attendees are painting they can have their glasses of wine right alongside them, but food is kept out of the way on a wine bottle cork table. Owen Mann is one of the instruc-­ tors at Wine and Design. He is a lo-­ cal artist, and Kiah brought him into the Wine and Design team after she saw some of his work on Facebook. He said he is learning as he teaches more classes, but he said he enjoys “the feedback and the interaction with the people and the wine.â€? On March 18, Mann taught a class of eight women, who painted a winter lake scene. From the beginning of the class until they walked out the door the women were laughing and jok-­ ing. There was constant interaction between Mann and the women as he was giving them pointers and they were asking him questions. Kiah said typically as people progress through the class they come in talking about being stressed, at the halfway point WKH\ DUH WDONLQJ DERXW KRZ GLIĂ€FXOW the painting is, but by the end people walk away proud of what they accom-­ plished. One of the class attendees, Deb Shigley, heard about Wine and De-­ sign from her niece who visited the studio earlier in month. Shigley de-­ cided to attend one of the classes to celebrate her mother’s birthday. When the class was over she said her experience was “great fun,â€? exactly what Kiah hoped all of her attendees think about their experiences. ____________________________________ Taylor Barker is sophomore journal-­ ism major who has found her new fa-­ vorite form of entertainment. Email her at tbarker1@ithaca.edu.

Coast-to-Coast Climate March 1EVGLIVW [MPP [EPO QMPIW XS TVSQSXI GLERKI

By Faith Meckley

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

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n March 1, an uncommon thing happened in Los Ange-­ les; it down poured rain for hours. This area rarely sees much rain in March, and when it does it’s usually not torrential. While most people took cover, about 50 people slogged onward in calf-­ deep and sometimes knee-­deep water. Just hours earlier in beautiful, sun-­ ny weather they had set out on their 3,000 mile journey across the coun-­ WU\ WDNLQJ WKH Ă€UVW RI DERXW PLOOLRQ steps in the direction of Washington, D.C. to raise awareness about climate change. Some of the people there were not walking the whole way; instead, they were there in solidarity of those who were. A group of local students pushed a giant, fake polar bear on a cart, and when the cart could not be pushed through the mud and water anymore, one of the students put the polar bear on his back and pushed onward. This nine-­month, cross-­country walk is called the Great March for Cli-­ mate Action, and it follows in the foot-­ VWHSV RI SDVW LQĂ XHQWLDO PDUFKHV OLNH Gandhi’s Salt March and the March on Washington of 1963. Janen Kendall, 63, a full-­time PDUFKHU IURP 1HZ <RUN &LW\ VDLG she admired the determination of the young people who walked with them that day. “There was this one young [teen-­ age] girl who came up to me ‌ she was just determined that she was go-­ ing to support us the whole distance that night,â€? Kendall said. “If kids are thinking that way and are willing to do that, then there’s real, real hope.â€? With two cases of minor hypother-­ mia that day, Program Director Jim-­ my Betts, 30, said it was the most miserable experience that many of them had ever been through, but the important thing was that they did it together. Betts said the purpose of the march is to give people the opportunity to unite and organize to create the world that we need. “I’d rather not go extinct,â€? he said. “We need to act now.â€?

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Participants are invited to walk as much as they want, whether it be for the whole event or just for a day. There are currently 235 people signed up to walk sections or the whole thing. They UHSUHVHQW VWDWHV DQG Ă€YH RWKHU countries: Canada, Belize, Ecuador, Belgium and Bangladesh. I am one of PDUFKHUV IURP 1HZ <RUN , ZLOO EH-­ JLQ LQ 7DRV 1 0 RQ 0D\ DQG ZDON the remaining 2,000 miles to D.C. Our H[SHFWHG DUULYDO GDWH LV 1RY Kendall, who retired early so she could focus on the environmental PRYHPHQW VDLG DOWKRXJK LW ZDV GLIĂ€-­ cult to just leave her life for so long, the action was needed. “We need to get feet in the street,â€? she said. “I’m doing this because I’m so deeply concerned that we need to do something now.â€? .HQGDOO JUHZ XS RQ D IDUP LQ 9HU-­ mont and said she experienced a turning point when she visited Penn-­ sylvania and witnessed the communi-­ ties affected by hydraulic fracturing. “Frackingâ€? is a process of extracting natural gas, and an Associated Press investigation released in January found that it has caused well water contamination in at least three states. Kendall said a local resident told her that her and her husband couldn’t have their grandchildren visit them anymore because it was no longer safe. “It broke my heart because those people in Pennsylvania were my peo-­ ple; they were farmers, they were small town homeowners,â€? Kendall said. “It was just so horrifying to me that I needed to engage at that point.â€? 1HZ <RUN LV FXUUHQWO\ H[SHULHQF-­ ing an intense, ongoing debate about whether or not to ban fracking within its borders. Like Kendall, I am con-­ cerned that what’s happening in Pennsylvania may become a reality for my home state in the near future. Wilmington, Calif. was chosen as the starting point on March 1 be-­ cause, like communities in Pennsyl-­ vania, it has been negatively affected by pollution and growing industries. Kendall said the city has a large num-­ ber of children with asthma caused by air pollution. The march will travel

through many major cities, including Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, Ohio, Pittsburgh and more, and while passing through marchers will take the opportunity to talk to citizens and RIĂ€FLDOV DERXW FOLPDWH FKDQJH Kendall said that the response from the communities they’ve trav-­ eled through so far have been great and largely supportive. An example of this came when the Climate March tweeted that Jonathan Rothschild, mayor of Tucson, Ariz., declared April 8, the day the march is scheduled to pass through Phoenix, as Climate Ac-­ tion Day. According to Betts, the marchers begin their days before dawn, with breakfast prepared and served by 6 D P DQG WKH\ OHDYH FDPS E\ a.m. at the latest. While the march was traveling through the Mojave Des-­ ert it was important they walked as much as they could before the heat of the afternoon. Sweaty and tired, they complete their daily mileage between 2 and 3 p.m. They work together to cook dinner, which is served at 5:30 p.m. Afterward there is a group meet-­ ing or, if one is scheduled, a presen-­ WDWLRQ WR WKH ORFDO FRPPXQLW\ $ Ă€UH and music concludes the night if they are camping outside — Betts said he OHDUQHG WR SOD\ WKH Ă€GGOH VSHFLĂ€FDOO\ for the march. Everyone is in bed by 9 p.m., getting their much-­needed rest so they can do it all over the next day. Betts said while the marchers pri-­ marily camp outside, they have also stayed the night in several other plac-­ es including churches, a mosque, a gymnasium, a date palm tree farm and the Joshua Tree Retreat Center in Joshua Tree, Calif., which claims to be the oldest retreat center in the Western U.S. Kendall said she loves the com-­ munity that they have established and that her favorite part of life on the march is learning from the other marchers. “We have people from all over the country; you can really share infor-­ mation about what the campaigns are in your state,â€? she said. “Our community is just so wonderful. We have musicians and writers and just

tique, and their small wedding cake VDLG ´+DSS\ %LUWKGD\ .DL 7D\ORU Âľ misspelling Coulson’s name. Coulson was about an hour late for the cere-­ PRQ\ ZKLFK RQO\ ODVWHG Ă€YH PLQXWHV Afterward, the marchers threw them a surprise reception. Coulson and Miller both said the spontaneous, unserious atmosphere of the wedding made it perfect. Miller said she knew how much the march

meant to Coulson and it made for a great backdrop. “I wanted us to get married almost under the backdrop of this momen-­ tous and incredible protest for the planet,â€? Miller said. “What better way to bring into focus your love ‌ and to have it in some small way be a part of a larger canopy of something that just hasn’t been done before in this way?â€? As state coordinator, Coulson was responsible for organizing the suc-­ cessful rally in Wilmington on the Ă€UVW GD\ DQG VKH IRXQG SODFHV IRU the marchers to stay each night in California. Coulson said she will be LQ 3KRHQL[ RQ $SULO IRU WKH $UL]RQD rally, and she and Miller will partici-­ SDWH LQ WKH PDUFK WRJHWKHU IRU WKH Ă€-­ nal three week stretch between Pitts-­ burgh and D.C.

Although I have not yet joined the march, when I spoke to Betts, Kend-­ all, Coulson and Miller, they treated me as though I was already a part of the community. They said things like Âś, ZLVK \RX KDG EHHQ WKHUH¡ DQG Âś)DLWK you would have loved this,’ and they all said they couldn’t wait to meet me. I cannot express how much I am look-­ ing forward to May 25. It takes passionate and determined hearts to make change, and the Great March for Climate Ac-­ tion happens to have a surplus of those. This is a relief to me, because we are in dire need of change if we want to have, in Kendall’s words, a “recognizable and livableâ€? fu-­ ture. Kendall said her partici-­ pation in the march has stirred up inter-­ est and aware-­ ness among her friends and ex-­ tended family. Photo by Steve Martin “[When] the issues that we’re all concerned about start bubbling up at dinner tables in all kinds of households ‌ and there’s that sense that all Americans are tak-­ ing ownership of this, that’s when FRQFUHWH VSHFLĂ€F FKDQJH ZLOO KDSSHQ Âľ she said. The Climate March hopes, and al-­ ready is, stimulating a national con-­ versation that cannot be ignored, one that cannot help but lead to action. ____________________________________ Faith Meckley is a freshman journal-­ ism major who will be investing in a really good pair of sneakers. Email her at fmeckle1@ithaca.edu.

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News & Views

such a talented group of loving, giv-­ ing people, who after a day of 15 to 20 miles of marching still want to make a nutritious meal for everybody.â€? Betts said the marching communi-­ ty is very rare, and that it presents a completely different way of living and human interaction. “I really enjoy getting to know the people, sharing music, sharing the march,â€? Betts said. “Seeing people grow is probably the biggest thing, [the] development that happens even within a few days of being on the march; it’s astonishing.â€? Betts has traveled all over the country to work with sus-­ tainable food sys-­ tems and organiza-­ tions interested in renewable energy, as well as teach martial arts, natu-­ ral medicine and meditation. He said his passion for the environment start-­ ed as a child. “I was probably born an eco-­geek,â€? he said. “My mom tells me that my Ă€UVW ZRUG ZDV ÂśEXW-­ WHUĂ \ ¡ DQG , ZDV DOZD\V LQWHUHVWHG LQ the natural world.â€? Betts is also an ordained minister, which came in handy when two Cli-­ mate March participants decided they wanted to get married in the midst of this historical event. Ki Coulson, the march’s state coor-­ dinator for California, has been with her partner, Taylor Miller for about 10 years, and they have had a domestic partnership since 2012. Miller, 33, proposed to Coulson, 32, last October. ,Q KLV Ă€UVW FHUHPRQ\ DV DQ RUGDLQHG minister, Betts married Coulson and Miller on March 13 at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center, just days after the pair FRQĂ€UPHG ZLWK KLP WKDW WKH\ ZDQWHG to move forward. Miller said she picked out her dress in one 45-­minute visit to a bridal bou-­

Ithaca’s Triathletes 7XVSRK XMIW MR XLI GSQQYRMX] By Jacob Ryan

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

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hree people wait in the chill waters of Cayuga Lake early in a summer morning. The youngest is Zach My-­ ers, a sophomore business major at Ithaca College; the second is Alex Kleinerman, the current co-­director of the Cayuga Lake Tri-­ athlon race; and the third is Adam Peruta, a professor of marketing communications at Ithaca College. The common thread between these three: the title of triathlete. The Cayuga Lake Triathlon is celebrating its 12th anniversary this year. The event’s pri-­ mary competition consists of a 1.5-­kilometer swim, 24.3-­mile bike ride and a 10-­kilometer run in Taughannock Falls State Park, about eight miles north of Ithaca. The triathlon pits approximately 800 to 1,000 athletes against each other every year. According to the Ithaca Triathlon Club’s website: “The Ithaca Triath-­ lon Club was formed in 2003 when a group of local enthusiastic athletes got together and decided to start a club where people of ranging abilities could find camaraderie and people with whom they could run, bike or swim.â€? That same year the club organized its first sprint distance triathlon event. Only a mere 0.63 percent of the U.S. pop-­ ulation can claim to be a triathlete, according to a 2012 study by Sports and Fitness In-­ GXVWU\ $VVRFLDWLRQ <HW PRUH WKDQ SHUFHQW of Ithaca and the surrounding area’s popula-­ tion participate in the Cayuga Lake Triathlon each year. The current race directors are Kleinerman and Shawn Toffolo. The two race directors have only recently replaced former director Jane Miller, who headed the competition for 10 years. The course is beginner friendly, well organized and in an amazing location, according to Kleinerman. She said that the well organized nature of the race, along with the extensive and supportive volunteer staff,

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help make the Cayuga Lake Triathlon a unique and enjoyable experience. In 2009, Kleinerman participated in her first triathlon, which was also the Cayuga Lake Triathlon. “I was really scared when I first started training for my first triathlon in 2009‌ Somebody convinced me to go to one of the club [Ithaca Triathlon Club] meetings I was, and continue to be, blown away by how supportive and how welcoming everybody,â€? she said. “I’ve never been part of a commu-­ nity that is so welcoming and so awesome.â€? The primary concern of senior members was not the ability of new athletes, just by their enthusiasm to participate, according to Kleinerman. Kleinerman was not the only triathlete with a positive impression of Ithaca Triath-­ lon Club members. A local of Ithaca, Myers heard from other athletes about their experi-­ ence with the Cayuga Lake Triathlon and the Ithaca Triathlon Club. After practice in other competitions, such as a half marathon, and plenty of advice from other athletes and club members, Myers finished his first Cayuga Lake Triathlon in 2013 among the top com-­ petitors of his age group. Peruta joined the Ithaca triathlon commu-­ nity earlier than Myers and first participated LQ D WULDWKORQ FRPSHWLWLRQ LQ 3HUXWD said: “It was what’s called a sprint triathlon. So it’s basically the shortest distances that you can do. About a half a mile swim, 15 mile biking, and running a 5-­K.â€? He also said, his greatest challenge in preparing for the com-­ petition was the swimming. In the same year Peruta also participated in his first Cayuga Lake Triathlon. Myers said his motivation for participat-­ ing in his first triathlon came from being a goal-­oriented person and saw a triathlon as a manageable challenge. “I started picking up

swimming and biking, and I just got a rush out of doing all three of those sports [swim-­ ming, biking and running],â€? he said. Peruta said he achieved the motivation to start his triathlon career in 2006. “I was just not happy in the place that I was in my life, and I was looking to make a change,â€? he said. “I put myself out there by trying some-­ thing different.â€? The triathlon lifestyle per-­ petuated itself when Peruta found extreme enjoyment in the sport. Myers found he enjoyed the inherent spirit of competition that came with triathlons and is seeking to conquer a new challenge: an Ironman. The Ironman competition consists of a 2.4-­mile swim, a 112-­mile bike and a 26.2-­mile run (or a marathon). Myers’s first Ironman competition will take place in Lake 3ODFLG 1 < WKLV VXPPHU ´(YHU\RQH KDV their personal reasons, I just mainly want to prove to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to,â€? Myers said about his motiva-­ tion for doing an Ironman. Following his first triathlons Peruta has moved on to compete in what some consider the hardest triathlon competition; the Ultra-­ man. This triathlon consists of a 6.2-­mile swim, a 261.4-­mile bike ride and running 52.4 miles (or two marathons). He has par-­ ticipated in the Ultraman competition four times beginning in 2010. In order to prepare for such a competition, Peruta says he trains upwards of 20 hours a week. For those interested in following the lead of Kleinerman, Myers and Peruta, all three athletes shared similar advice on triathlon competitions: seek advice from other more experienced athletes and “just do itâ€?. __________________________________________ Jacob Ryan is a sophomore history major who is reconsidering his decision to train for an Ultraman. Email him at jryan3@ithaca.

Sewing Towards Sustainability (SREXIH LEXW QEOMRK ER MQTEGX By Alexa Salvato

T

to projects in our community.â€? The Common Threads Project be-­ came one of these 120 this past win-­ ter. “The Common Threads Project is UHFLSLHQW RI D YHU\ VPDOO 1HLJKERUKRRG Mini-­grant last December [provided] to help them get it off the ground,â€? Jewett-­Bennett said. The grant allowed The Common Threads Project to fully develop. Re-­

“knit-­ins,â€? to knit hats together for the cause. “It gives people an opportunity to come together to do their needlecraft, which they love to do,â€? she said. “It’s always very empowering to get togeth-­ er with other people to do those kind of things. And, of course, it’s impor-­ tant to help people keep warm in the winter.â€?

People like to have personal connections to a business that they can really stand behind...This is why its customers were so willing to give back. - Rebecca Billings, Art and Found Employee becca Billings, a recent Ithaca Col-­ lege graduate and an Art and Found employee, explained how small-­scale marketing and advertising played a VLJQLĂ€FDQW UROH LQ WKH SURMHFW¡V VXF-­ FHVV 7KH VWRUH XVHG Ă \HUV LWV )DFH-­ book page and the easel chalkboard outside of the store to promote the project, which called for donated hand-­knit hats. “We told people who regularly came in the store, and people would come LQ HYHU\GD\ WR Ă€QG RXW ZKDW LW ZDV about after seeing the chalkboard,â€? Billings said. According to Billings, this had in-­ credible success. “People were really interested! I was shocked — people would come in with ten hats,â€? she said. “That’s amazing — it’s so nice.â€? Billings believed this has to do with the philosophies of the Art and Found, which has made its name on the Commons as a store devoted to sustainable practices and local, hand-­ made goods. “People like to have personal con-­ nections to a business that they can really stand behind,â€? she said. “This is why its customers were so willing to give back. Jewett-­Bennett noted the project and the store’s positive impact on the community by unifying different individuals. Some groups even held events, which Jewett-­Bennett called

To share these hats with the com-­ munity, they have been distributed in various creative ways. Royale said: “The Free Hat Days were a day in which we distributed large numbers of free hats to people walking on the Commons. These days were selected at random and meant in good fun. We also donated batches of hats to The Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes, Project Sunshine at IC and to the Carolina Food Pantry.â€? This project does not just provide hats to those who need it, but pro-­ motes the Art and Found and its mor-­ als as well. Billings explained that her experience working at the Art and Found has illuminated the need for small, sustainable businesses in ev-­ ery community; it provides a tangible “alternativeâ€? to more common prac-­ tices. “The store gives people access to businesses that promote local activity and sustainable practices,â€? she said. “If we don’t see that, we’re not going to realize that everyone else is not do-­ ing that.â€? ____________________________________ Alexa Salvato is a freshman journal-­ ism major who spends all of her free time knitting. Email her at asalvat1@ ithaca.edu.

11

News & Views

he Common Threads Project, started by the Art and Found owner Olivia Royale, is a proj-­ ect that simultaneously promotes lo-­ cal businesses, encourages sustain-­ ability and unites the greater Ithaca community. As it says on the project’s website, commonhats.com, “The goal is to produce 300 hats that will be distributed at random, and for free, to local residents, students, customers, homeless, and organizations.â€? This has resulted in Free Hat Days, select-­ ed randomly, to distribute the hats in the community. For Royale, the idea of The Com-­ mon Threads Project came naturally. “The idea came from my giving hats away to customers who supported and shopped in our store,â€? she said. “Then I got an email that included DQ DSSOLFDWLRQ IRU WKH 1HLJKERUKRRG Mini-­grant, offered twice a year from Sustainable Tompkins.â€? Sustainable Tompkins is an organi-­ zation in Tompkins County with goals of promoting sustainability in the community. Karen Jewett-­Bennett, the director of operations of Sustain-­ able Tompkins, described it as “a citi-­ zen’s organization whose purpose is to bring together people who are in-­ terested in sustainability in our area — mostly Tompkins County.â€? Living in an environmentally con-­ scious area such as Ithaca, a focus of Sustainable Tompkins is making sure that efforts are not duplicated and those who have the same interests are able to collaborate. By identifying these folks, Jewett-­Bennett said, “we can identify gaps in what’s going onâ€? in the community. When Sustainable Tompkins de-­ cided what environmental activists needed to be more effective in the community, small sums of money to get projects off the ground were often the answers. This led to the develop-­ PHQW RI WKH 1HLJKERUKRRG 0LQL JUDQW program. The grants are available to anyone who lives in the community who wants to promote sustainability. “It has been going on since 2008, and so far we’ve funded more than 120 projects,â€? Jewett-­Bennett said. “There is just over $50,000 given out

Ukraine: Eyes on the Ground )JJIGXW SR XLI TISTPI SR XLI MRWMHI ERH SYXWMHI By Daniela Schmiedlechner

D

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

uring the past few weeks, the crisis in Ukraine has gained international recognition. The whole world now knows of the hard-­ ships the Ukrainian people have been facing and of Russia’s ongoing threats WR 8NUDLQH ,W KDV EHHQ GLIĂ€FXOW WR IXO-­ ly focus on my studies in the United States while my family is currently living in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, VWXFN LQ WKH PLGGOH RI WKLV FRQĂ LFW I am grateful to say my family and

Soviet Union. With every click of my camera, I could sense the growing ap-­ prehensiveness in the air. My visit was in January, days before the situation HVFDODWHG DIWHU <DQXNRY\FK SDVVHG WKH GLFWDWRULDO ODZV RQ -DQ ZKLFK included arresting people for peaceful protesting and prohibiting internet access, among other things. During this time of violence was when I was most worried for my fam-­ ily and friends. Schools closed down and public transporta-­ tion stopped working. CNN report-­ ed that 100 people were killed on Feb. 20 by snipers who, accord-­ ing to The Independent, were Rus-­ sian-­backed. A barricade is built above the Maidan Mezalezhnosti metro station in The disagree-­ downtown Kiev. As a result of the protests, every possible entryway to ment as to who gave the the center was blocked off. order is still Photo by Daniela Schmiedlechner ongoing. My parents friends are still doing well for now, have started to pack their valuables in and I am grateful to have the oppor-­ case they need to be evacuated. They tunity to Skype with them every day. are ready to hop in the car and drive The situation is getting more com-­ to Austria to potentially stay with my plex as news regarding Ukraine’s cri-­ grandparents. At least my family has sis surfaces everyday. According to somewhere else to go. I can’t imagine 57 1HZV LW EHJDQ LQ 1RYHPEHU what it is like for the other victims; when students decided to peacefully the locals who have nowhere else to go protest upon hearing of former presi-­ and only want a bright future for their GHQW 9LNWRU <DQXNRY\FK¡V ODVW PLQXWH lives and for their children’s lives. decision not to sign an agreement to It is also hard for me to see my integrate Ukraine with the European loved ones going through this. Every Union, and instead signing a pact day my mum seems to grow more ZLWK 5XVVLD¡V SUHVLGHQW 9ODGLPLU 3X-­ stressed and anxious. Some of her tin. Everything changed from the mo-­ family members have asked her why ment police were ordered to violently they are still in Ukraine. break up protests. Over a million peo-­ “I can’t just pack my bags and ple ended up protesting at the Maidan leave the house and everything in it,â€? square in Kiev, according to the New she said. “It is much easier said than York Times. done.â€? We have lived in that house for I went back home for winter break over 11 years and have accumulated and managed to visit the campsite so many things such as an abun-­ that people had built downtown. I dance of family photo albums, among ZDONHG WKURXJK VWUHHWV Ă€OOHG ZLWK RWKHU WKLQJV ,W LV GLIĂ€FXOW NQRZLQJ tents and portable heaters from the that they might have to just leave

12

everything behind. Furthermore, my younger brother has cerebral palsy and traveling for hours with him in the car would not be easy. My mother feels that Ukrainians are not being supported enough from the west. People seem to be talking about it a lot more than actually doing some-­ thing about it. President Obama’s ini-­ tial sanctions were, “mocked rather solidly, both from commentators and the actual target of the sanctions,â€? according to ThinkProgress. How-­ ever, it later became clear he was go-­ ing one step at a time, not to esca-­ late the situation. Some people agree to that method while others wish he had acted sooner. If Putin truly will continue to try and invade more of Ukraine, Ukrainians will have to go to war. More bloodshed is not what people want; however, Ukrainians will do what it takes to keep their country from falling under Russia’s grip, once again. I think it is easy for people to sympathize, but perhaps empathy is what is lacking among the interna-­ tional population. Even I, not being with my family, do not fully seem to realize the extent of the situation and how this crisis is affecting millions of people who are caught in between a power struggle among nations and their leaders. Right now, the worst is not knowing how Putin will continue to act, consid-­ ering his recent annexation of Crimea and that on March 28, there were up to 50,000 soldiers at Ukraine’s bor-­ ders. Will he stop there? Will Obama’s VDQFWLRQV EH HQRXJK" 1DWXUDOO\ QR one wants to get involved in a war. However, it seems that diplomacy is not an option for Putin. While even Russian people are protesting against Putin, it is the government of Rus-­ sia that is power hungry and seems to want to rebuild the Soviet Union. We can only hope that history will not repeat itself. ____________________________________ Daniela Schmiedlechner is a senior voice performance major. Email her dschmie1@ithaca.edu.

Upfront

UPFRONT. UPFRONT. UPFRON

13

A Letter to Fred Phelps By Timothy Bidon

D

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

ear Mr. Fred Phelps,

to me. “Honey, you can be saved,â€? she I’m Timothy Bidon and I’m said as she touched my shoulder. The one of those “fagsâ€? that you hate so smile on her face should have made much. If I had passed before you, I’m me feel welcomed, but I already knew sure you would’ve loved the chance to all too well where this was going to picket my funeral. After all, we stand turn. “I was a lesbian for 30 years be-­ at opposite ends of the political spec-­ fore I found God’s healing power,â€? she trum on most things. continued. “I know you think you have When I received news of your death, no choice in the matter right now, but my knee-­jerk reaction was to cele-­ if you believe hard enough God can brate. For years you’ve been feeding change you too. Don’t you want to be hate and misinformation about the forgiven and let into the kingdom?â€? LGBT community. Your church has In that moment, I wish I could have picketed countless funerals, invading been more of a warrior than I was. the private lives of families and caus-­ I wish I could have told her that my ing even more pain to those who have God tells me I should be proud of who experienced loss. You were, by no I am. My God tells me I’m going to be means, a good man. loved regardless, and, that most of all, M r . my God tells Phelps, me I should you were show oth-­ one of the ers respect p e o p l e even in the who made face of dis-­ me ques-­ agreement. tion my Instead, I faith. I cried and ran don’t think away. you’ll ever Locked in u n d e r -­ a bathroom stand the stall sobbing difficulty in downtown of growing Minneapolis, up openly I cursed my gay in a God, I cursed Christian the church e n v i r o n -­ and I cursed m e n t , everyone in y o u ’ l l my faith com-­ never un-­ munity who Photo provided by Timothy Bidon had sent me derstand the confused looks I get when I tell to this place. I wanted nothing to do people I’m gay and a Christian. It’s with the community anymore, espe-­ people like you who make it seem like cially if there were people like that. there’s such a divide between religion You see Mr. Phelps, at that point I and LGBT issues that can never be knew of you, but you were just a dis-­ crossed. tant crazy. In my sheltered liberal I’ve met people like you before. It home, my sheltered liberal high school ZDV EHIRUH P\ Ă€UVW \HDU LQ FROOHJH DQG and my sheltered liberal church I had I was in Minneapolis for the Presby-­ grown to believe that people like you terian General Assembly. I was away were a minority. It wasn’t until I found from home, without my parents and, myself sobbing in a public restroom quite frankly, scared shitless to con-­ that I realized the plague of your hate-­ front the more conservative sects ful thinking spreads much further. of my church. One day, when I was And now, here it was, slapping me walking through the convention hall, across the face. adorned in a rainbow scarf to let ev-­ But, Mr. Phelps, I wasn’t going to let eryone know I was unashamed of my you win. The goal you and others like homosexuality, a woman walked up you have is to make LGBT people like

14

myself feel like they don’t belong; that something needs to change in order IRU DOO RI XV WR Ă€QG DFFHSWDQFH 3HU-­ haps you were hoping that I would cry in that bathroom until I emerged a new straight, Christian, whitebread Republican man. But it didn’t happen, because some-­ where in that bathroom stall I redis-­ covered my faith. I had the realization that I can actually do more to under-­ mine your hateful arguments by par-­ ticipating in my religious circle and showing that I can be perfectly com-­ fortable in my homosexuality and my Christianity, and that by doing so, I am completely undermining every-­ thing you stand for. Mr. Phelps, where you see scrip-­ tures preaching hate, punishment and a God we should live in fear of, I see a scripture that promotes ac-­ ceptance, friendship, understanding and caring for those less fortunate than yourself. Now, I don’t know why you chose to pursue the route you did with your faith, but I’m glad I chose to follow the loving God. It’s this loving God that allows me WR Ă€QG SHDFH ZLWK P\VHOI DQG HYHQ forgiveness in my heart for you. I’m sorry, Mr. Phelps, that so many peo-­ ple are going to celebrate your pass-­ ing, because no one deserves that. It’s my faith that dictates that you will Ă€QG XQGHUVWDQGLQJ DQG IRUJLYHQHVV in your passing. I sincerely hope you Ă€QG WKDW KDSSLQHVV Mr.Phelps, I’m also sorry you held so much hate for your entire life. Surely it’s not a burden that was easy to handle, nor did it give you much of an opportunity to actually stop and enjoy life for what it is. I’m sorry you were never able to change your mode of thinking and actually experience humanity for the diverse, beautiful environment it can create. May you rest in peace, so that the weight of hatred is removed from your shoulders and you can know love and acceptance. They’re beautiful things. Many blessings, Timothy Bidon ____________________________________ Timothy Bidon is a senior journalism major and can be emailed at tbidon1@ ithaca.edu.

Punishment In Schools THE HEADLINES

Elementary School

COMPILED BY JESSICA CORBETT

“School Says Short-Haired Girl, 8, Needs To Start Acting More Feminine� - HUFFINGTON POST

“Tanner Cagle, Idaho Kindergartener, Shut In ‘Closet’ And Forgotten By Teacher� - HUFFINGTON POST

The grandparents of an 8-year-old in Virginia have removed the child from her Christian elementary school after receiving a letter from administrators that said “her dress and behavior need to follow suit with her Godordained identity� or she will no longer be welcome there.

In November 2012, a 5-yearold was locked in a small, dark room for at least an hour by his kindergarten teacher. When he did not come home from Washington Elementary School in Idaho, his parents went to the school and

“ACLU Investigating Fake Prom� - THE ADVOCATE In early 2010, Itawamba County School District in Mississippi chose to cancel the school-sponsored prom rather than allow Constance McMillen, who is a lesbian, to attend the dance in a tuxedo with her female date. A judge ruled in favor of the teen, but refused the American Civil Liberties Union’s demand to

force the district to hold a prom, since parents from the district were organizing a private prom. But McMillen and her date were directed to a “fake prom� at a local country club, which included RQO\ ˉYH RWKHU VWXGHQWV 7KH “fake prom� was chaperoned by the high school’s principal and teachers.

began searching. They found their son, who had urinated himself, still locked in the closet, or tutoring room. His teacher admitted to forgetting about the boy.

Middle & High School

“Strip-Search of Girl Tests Limit of School Policy� - NEW YORK TIMES In 2003, 13-year-old Savana Redding was stripsearched by her school nurse. The eighth-grader was accused by her school’s assistant principal of carrying prescription-strength ibuprofen pills, after another student was found with pills. Redding’s backpack was searched, and she was forced to strip down to her under-

wear. “They asked me to pull out my bra and move it from side to side,� Redding told the New York Times. “They made me open my legs and pull out my underwear.� Six years later, in June of 2009, Redding’s case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in her favor, claiming the search violated her search and seizure rights guaranteed by the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment.

Higher Education In 2005, substitute teacher Scott McConnell was dismissed from Le Moyne College in Syracuse. McConnell, who was pursuing a graduate degree for teaching, submitted an essay in which he advocated for “corporal SXQLVKPHQW ČŁ RU WKH LQËŠLFWLRQ of physical pain as a form of

punishment. He was then dismissed from the Jesuit college because of “mismatch between [his] personal beliefs regarding teaching and learning and the Le Moyne College program goals.� As many as 30 states have outlawed corporal punishment in the past 40 years.

“Hanover College Told Rape Victim That Attempting To Have Her Alleged Rapist Punished Is Harassment� - HUFFINGTON POST A female student at Hanover College in Indiana, Samantha, claimed she faced possible expulsion for reporting that she was physically abused, raped and harassed by her former boyfriend. Hanover College instructed Samantha to go to police. Hanover then

tried to prevent her from living on campus and failed to stop the alleged rapist and his new girlfriend from harassing her. The college’s student misconduct board decided that seeking punishment of the male student was “a type of harassment.�

15

Upfront

“College Expels Student Who Advocated Corporal Punishment� - NEW YORK TIMES

Namaste, All Damn Day

How Yoga Helped Me Discover The Pleasure In Pain By Drew Kellogg

16

fell victim to the gendered expecta-­ tion that, as a man, I should be lift-­ ing weights, not sweating my ass off trying to balance on one foot. Still, I had made a decision to pull my shit together, and going to yoga was a nec-­ essary step on my path, even though it felt like self-­torture. Upon entering Blackbird Studio in Ithaca, my initial concerns about yoga and masculinity weren’t calmed. The studio was spotless, a beautiful SLQH ZRRG ÁRRU VXUURXQGHG E\ ZDOOV

of royal purple and cast iron mirrors. I watched as a few young women, all Cornell students judging by their sweatshirts, entered a door I hadn’t seen, hidden behind a curtain. Tory Jenis, the instructor and owner of the studio, checked me in, offered me a mat and told me to join the others in the hot studio. I pulled back the cur-­ tain, opened the door and was hit by a blast of warm, dense air, similar to ZKHQ \RX OHDYH WKH DLUSRUW RQ WKH ÀUVW day of a warm vacation.

Photo provided by Drew Kellogg

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

I

’ll be upfront: though I’ve been called lazy all of my life, it’s not a title that I resent. From an early age, it was clear that I wasn’t inter-­ ested in many activities, and having to participate in new ones only made me more resistant, especially when it came to exercise. My number one pri-­ ority was, and always has been, com-­ fort rather than excitement. I was the kid who spent summer days watching “I Love the 80s” on VH1 while simul-­ taneously playing Pokemon on my Game Boy and eating Sour Patch Kids until my mouth bled. This never really posed problems for me growing up other than a few angry dentist visits, but it did leave me some-­ what out of place among my friends in high school. Being three-­sport varsity athletes, hard work and exercise were considered to be rewarding activities to them. As an anxious, introverted boy without much coordination or de-­ termination, physical activity was just uncomfortable. That sort of discom-­ fort felt like a punishment, one that I wasn’t going to subject myself to if I wasn’t forced. I’m not unique in my aversion to daily exercise — according to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, less than 5 percent of adults participate in a half hour of physical activity everyday, and only one in three adults gets the recom-­ mended amount of exercise each week. This repugnance for activity and ex-­ HUFLVH ZRXOG KDYH EHHQ ÀQH LI , DOVR didn’t happen to struggle with body image issues. But since I did, it left me in a bind: I was too self-­conscious to be happy in my own body, but too lazy to do anything about it. Worse yet, I struggled with depression and anxiety that I had no physical outlet for. I was stuck in a rut that I’d dug myself. $IWHU \HDUV RI ZHHN ORQJ ÀWQHVV binges that felt forced and unnatural, I felt ready to work through this dis-­ comfort, but unsure how to go about it. My mom recommended yoga. My initial reaction was to write off yoga because my goal was to get bigger, not necessarily to get stronger. I also

World’s Ultimate Competition:

Ironman

but with your forearms bearing most of the weight. Core tightens, thighs engage, eyes gaze forward. For what felt like an eternity, we held here in excruciating pain. My whole body shook violently, shaking loose beads of sweat from my hair. As I was about to give up completely, Jenis advised us to notice sensation, whether good or bad, pain or pleasure, as power. This perspective shift struck a chord with me, and for the rest of the prac-­ tice, I felt a surreal sense of power out of the pain I felt in each pose. I pushed through until we reached our Ă€QDO 6DYDVDQD ZKLFK LV EDVLFDOO\ O\-­ ing on your back and releasing all tension. , VWD\HG LQ 6DYDVDQD IRU DERXW Ă€YH PLQXWHV WKDW IHOW OLNH Ă€YH KRXUV RI the sweetest relief possible after such a grueling test. As my body melted into the warmth of my mat, a quiet sense of strength radiated from me. $IWHU WKH Ă€QDO 1DPDVWH , GURYH EDFN to my hectic college house and crazy life, feeling more at peace than I could HYHU UHPHPEHU $ Ă€UH KDG EHHQ OLW ZLWKLQ PH DQG ,¡YH Ă€QDOO\ IRXQG KRZ to enjoy the burn. ____________________________________ Drew Kellogg is a senior documen-­ tary studies major who believes his Senioritis has brought his laziness to an award winning level. Email him at dkellog1@ithaca.edu.

Dad watched the story of a woman who had lost a leg and gone on to win at Ironman, and was inspired to take on the challenge. I knew he was a tough, driven and determined individual before, but Dad took this on like nothing I’d ever seen. Within two months, he spent six days a week completing six-hour “bricksâ€? of runs and bike rides, or swims and bike rides, it depended on the day. It was all mapped out, researched and thought through. He visited specialists to improve his form, physique and diet. In six months he’d dropped from 208 pounds to a lean 175 pounds. He became a machine, relentlessly pushing himself to achieve this goal, despite any discomfort it caused him. Pain was no obstacle — it was an ally. -R LMW ½VWX -VSRQER EX 0EOI 4PEGMH (EH ½RMWLIH MR LSYVW ERH QMRYXIW ,I [EW LSSOIH EJXIV LMW ½VWX VEGI and continued to work towards racing at the World Championship. In the WTVMRK SJ LI UYEPM½IH ERH MR 3Gtober, we traveled to Kona to watch him compete among the champions he watched on TV six years before. ,I ½RMWLIH MR LSYVW ERH QMRutes, smiling the whole damn time. Watching my Dad utilize this method SJ ½XRIWW EW TYRMWLQIRX XS JVYMXMSR HI½RMXIP] MRWTMVIH QI XS WXEVX XLMROing about the pleasures of pushing oneself to the edge. Although in yoga I am pushing myself in a different way, XLI GSQQSREPMX] EGVSWW ½XRIWW - EQ ½RHMRK MW KIXXMRK SYX SJ ]SYV GSQJSVX zone.

17

Upfront

This new room also had hardwood Ă RRUV DQG SXUSOH ZDOOV EXW QR PLU-­ rors or windows. Lit by only a few yel-­ ORZ ZDOO Ă€[WXUHV WKH VWXGLR IHOW OLNH D temple — as soon as I was inside, I felt the urge to quiet my steps so as not to disturb the others around me. Sitting RQ WKH Ă RRU LQ D ZDUP URRP ZDV OLNH no other exercise I’d ever undergone, and so far it seemed right up my alley. It wasn’t until about six minutes LQWR P\ Ă€UVW \RJD SUDFWLFH WKDW , UH-­ alized this self-­punishment would be far more intense than I’d originally thought. I guess you get to sit and VWUHWFK IRU WKH Ă€UVW Ă€YH PLQXWHV WR make up for the 55 minutes of torture that follow. Jenis is a ruthless master in her practice, taking her students on D MRXUQH\ WR Ă€QG WKHLU LQQHU VWUHQJWK and peace by way of total immersion. What really struck me about this ap-­ proach was how it truly applied to every individual in the class, despite having the potential to alienate new-­ comers like myself. We were intro-­ GXFHG WR EDVLF SRVHV DQG Ă RZV LQ-­ FOXGLQJ 9LQ\DVD WKH Ă RZ IURP KLJK WR low, and then given time to work into these moves. 'HVSLWH KRZ PXFK GLIĂ€FXOW\ , KDG maintaining these poses, they never felt too advanced or unnecessary. These intricate, seemingly uncon-­ QHFWHG SRVHV VWDUWHG WR Ă RZ OLNH ZD-­ ter once practiced with the right dis-­ cipline of breath and motion. Though the workout became more intensive as FODVV ZHQW RQ , EHJDQ WR Ă€QG VRODFH LQ the rhythm and was enjoying it more and more. 7KURXJKRXW WKH Ă RZ -HQLV OHG XV with positivity; in every pose, she stressed the importance of connecting with our inner strength and power, and loving ourselves exactly as we are. Yoga is not a competition or a race; it is a tool for self-­guidance and motiva-­ tion. These are the types of messag-­ es a 22-­year-­old male needs to hear when he’s gasping for breath next to a 75-­year-­old woman. $IWHU Ă€QLVKLQJ RXU ´VWDQGLQJ SUDF-­ ticeâ€? I thought the battle was over, but Jenis took us through one more Vin-­ yasa, then told us to hold in forearm plank. Imagine a push-­up position

On a Sunday morning in 2007, my dad was eating breakfast watching TV, and stumbled upon the Ironman World Championship, taking place in Kona, Hawaii. The Ironman combines a 2.4mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a full marathon to create a 140.6-mile trek. If that weren’t enough, competiXSVW LEZI XS ½RMWL YRHIV LSYVW XS qualify as an Ironman.

The Norm, Not the Exception Regularized animal abuse in the US By Tylor Colby

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

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very day, hundreds of thou-­ sands of animals that we usu-­ ally don’t keep for pets are caged and grossly mistreated by food and medical industries internation-­ ally. As of 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency estimated there were roughly 20,000 factory-­farms in the U.S. This, of course, does not WDNH LQWR DFFRXQW WKH SDVW Ă€YH \HDUV of increases, which in many cases is a more shocking statistic. The number of U.S. cows on factory-­farm dairies, for instance, have nearly doubled to 4.9 million between 1997 and 2007. Conditions for many of these meat packing and dairy industries are often compared to those faced by inmates in federal prisons, both of which are the result of poor regulations and over-­ crowding. Whereas prisons are typi-­ cally thought to have their inmates come to them, however, factory-­farms are actually breeding entire popula-­ tions of animals at their sites in order to sustain the high demand for meat in America. Some people see organic farming as an alternative to the mistreatment as-­ sociated with factory farming. Accord-­ ing to the United States Department of Agriculture: “Organic food is pro-­ duced using sustainable agricultural production practices. Not permitted are most conventional pesticides; fer-­ tilizers made with synthetic ingredi-­ ents, or sewage sludge; bioengineer-­ ing; or ionizing radiation.â€? As for live animal upkeep, the requirements are a bit more vague, stating that organic livestock must be “allowed year-­round access to the outdoors except under VSHFLĂ€F FRQGLWLRQV H J LQFOHPHQW weather),â€? which includes “shade, clean and dry bedding, shelter space for exercise, fresh air, clean drinking water and direct sunlight.â€? Jerry Dell Farm is a roughly 2,000 acre dairy farm located in Freeville that has been operated since 1946 EXW EHFDPH FHUWLĂ€HG RUJDQLF LQ distributing to companies in New York and the neighboring states. Due to QRQ SURĂ€W RUJDQL]DWLRQV OLNH &RUQX-­ copia Institute in Wisconsin, which regulates organic farming practices and works to educate the farming community, organic dairy farming is mostly the same throughout the U.S.: free of chemicals, pesticides and

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hormones for both the cows and the Ă€HOG Jeremy Sherman, who has been operating the farm since 1976, said he has nothing against conventional means of farming, but that he felt that organic farming better suited his agri-­ cultural preferences. “I just didn’t like the conventional VW\OH RI WRWDO FRQĂ€QHPHQW Âľ 6KHUPDQ said. “I like cows outside eating grass ‌ I didn’t really like the direction I was headed in with [conventional] farming, so I went back to the way I grew up.â€? Other groups, like PETA, argue that the term USDA organic says nothing about the welfare of the animals, that it is just a label used to disguise what is essentially still a cruel practice. Kenneth Montville, PETA’s c o l -­ l e g e campaign coordinator, said that the or-­ ganization makes no distinction be-­ tween organic and inorgan-­ ic. “Terms like or-­ ganic, in-­ organic, f r e e -­ r a n g e and cage-­ free really have little-­to -­no meaning when it comes to the industry,â€? Montville said. “These are cooked up terms that are meant to appeal to people that care about the treatment of animals. If 10,000 chickens are kept LQ D GDUN Ă€OWK\ VKHG EXW

Image by Lizzie Cox

they’re kept in a giant kennel rather than individual cages, those chickens are ‘cage-­free.’â€? Regardless of whether or not or-­ JDQLF DQLPDO SURGXFWV DUH D VLJQLĂ€-­ cant alternative, recent awareness of the past few decades of farm animal abuse in general have led some people to take protest. As the largest animal rights activist group in the country, PETA is often criticized for its extreme punishment of food companies as well as consumers. In fact, some people say they are turned off from the issue of animal cruelty altogether due to the methods like abrasive advertising tak-­ en by PETA and other more extreme groups. Some organizations take a com-­ SOHWHO\ GLIIHUHQW WDFWLF LQ Ă€JKWLQJ IRU their cause of humane animal treat-­ ment, in favor of helping farm animals directly. Couple Jenny Brown and Doug Abel, the founders and staff of Woodstock Farm An-­ imal Sanctuary, work with their staff on and off the farm to

that animal testing still plays a crucial UROH LQ VFLHQWLĂ€F GLVFRYHULHV $IWHU DOO 75 out of 98 Nobel Prizes awarded for Physiology or Medicine were directly dependent on Animal Research. Dr. Mary Martin, chief of veterinary and educational services at Cornell Uni-­ versity, said that contrary to popular belief, most researchers conducting tests on animals work to keep their practices as humane and comfortable for the subjects as possible. “Before research can be conducted on animals, researchers proposing the use of animals must do database searches to look for alternatives to the use of animals, or ways to minimize or eliminate any pain or distress,â€? Mar-­ tin said. “Research is highly regulated by the USDA and Public Health Ser-­ vice to ensure animal welfare.â€? Despite efforts to humanize the use of animals from farm to factory and from vendor to laboratory, the discus-­ sion still continues about treatment towards these living creatures, who cannot verbally communicate their level of pain and discomfort to us. The true solution may lie in education on the matter. For those who see or participate in the cycle of cruelty and punishment, the goal should be halt-­ ing the cycle with open-­mindedness instead. ____________________________________ Tylor Colby is a freshman writing major who is staying far away from Old McDonald’s farm. Email him at tcolby1@ithaca.edu.

Upfront

give better conditions to farm ani-­ mals who came from factory farms. The organization provides a home for abused, neglected and abandoned farmed animals that have been re-­ moved from various locations. They also conduct educational tours, giving visitors a chance to meet the animal-­ residents and learn about the group’s cause. Susan Foster, programs director for WFAS, said that she believed that all animals, including farmed animals who are the most abused and least protected in the world, deserve to live a life free from fear and suffering and be able to just be the sensitive, unique individuals they are. “We have no need for meat, dairy or eggs and, in fact, it is very unhealthy for us and for our planet. So we also WHDFK SHRSOH DERXW WKH PDQ\ EHQHĂ€WV of a plant-­based diet,â€?Foster said. While factory farms are the largest factor in worldwide mistreatment of animals, the issue of animal abuse extends beyond the food industry and into animal testing for research pur-­ poses. Today, many are skeptical about the ethics of animal treatment, won-­ GHULQJ ZKHWKHU RU QRW WKH EHQHĂ€WV DUH even worth the efforts. Even within WKH VFLHQWLĂ€F FRPPXQLW\ WKH GHEDWH exists. Dr. Elias Zerhouni, former director of the National Institutes of Health said that animal testing is an outdated idea. “We have moved away from study-­ ing human disease in humans,â€? Zer-­ houni said. “We all drank the Kool-­Aid on that one, me included. The prob-­ lem is that it hasn’t worked, and we can’t keep dancing around the prob-­ lem ‌ we need to focus and adapt new methodologies for use in humans to understand disease biology in hu-­ mans.â€? Cornell University Center for Ani-­ mal Resources and Education is a veterinary service offered by the school that also advises and educates researchers on careful animal test-­ ing. According to the center’s online mission statement, “The mission of CARE is to ensure quality animal care and welfare while serving the Cornell research and teaching community through education and collaboration.â€? Still, many other scientists argue

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BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

A Right to Peaceful Assembly Freedom of Speech is silenced at peaceful protests By Sabrina Dorronsoro

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

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n March 17, 2013, Clare Grady and three other members of the Irish Catholic Worker Community took to a local Ithaca Army recruiting station and practiced their right to peacefully assemble. Clare and her cohorts poured their own blood on the walls, SRVWHUV ZLQGRZV DQG 8 6 Ă DJ LQ D symbolic action against the U.S.’s imminent invasion of Iraq and the inevitable bloodshed this war would cause. These four protestors (who would come to be known as the St. Patrick’s Day Four) then knelt down in prayer, waiting for what they knew would be an arrest. The St. Patrick’s Day Four ultimately ended up being imprisoned after two long and complicated trials. Each member of the Four represented themselves in trial and made a point to stress that what they did was not a crime, but merely a call to action. “We believe that what we did was not only legally acceptable but legally required, for citizens to take responsibility for the war crimes of their government,â€? Grady said. “[We] live in this nation where this war is being waged in our names and unless you make it really clear that it is not being waged in your name then it is being waged in your name.â€? Grady is only one out of thousands of peaceful protestors arrested in the past decade. According to a 2011 report done by Mother Jones, since the inauguration of President Obama there have been well over 3,000 documented arrests. It is noted that this number is most likely an underestimate as the mainstream media does very little to cover these types of arrests. Jack and Felice Cohen-­Coppa head an online publication called the Nuclear Resister. Since 1980, they have worked to document the arrests of peaceful protestors in anti-­ war and anti-­nuclear demonstrations and their publication is cold, hard proof that these arrests are not a new phenomena. “Cops breaking up peaceful protest is not a new phenomena, but long-­

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standing historical fact,â€? Felice said. “Sometimes, such as was the case with the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis in 2008, and the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago, local police get lots of money from the federal government to pay for their repressive tactics and cover any losses from subsequent civil suits over police actions, all in the name of security. In this way, any abuse and illegal arrests by local cops are protected and paid.â€? If all citizens have the right to peacefully assembly then why are so many peaceful assemblies ending in arrests or worse? Ithaca College Professor Patricia Rodriguez argues that there is a trend toward the non-­discussion of particular political decisions and the arrests of these protestors is merely a symptom of this larger problem. Rodriguez recently experienced an encounter with law enforcement in the U.S. during an anti-­drone protest. Rodriguez and a group of protestors had not even set foot on the Air Force base in Syracuse where they intended to protest when they were surrounded E\ ODZ HQIRUFHPHQW RIĂ€FHUV ZKR quickly declared them all under arrest for marching without a license. Rodriguez recalls everyone being FRUQHUHG DQG SROLFH RIĂ€FHUV SUHSDULQJ to load all the protestors into a bus. “Meanwhile, other protestors were being arrested individually, quite forcefully, and put into police cars,â€? Rodriguez said. “It took the arrival of an ACLU lawyer to persuade the police RIĂ€FHUV WR OHW WKRVH ZKR GLG QRW ZDQW to be arrested walk away from the proximities of the base, while others stayed and were arrested.â€? Rodriguez stressed that this type of interference with citizens who are trying to legally and earnestly call attention to issues and policies they do not agree with is becoming harmful to society. “Peaceful protestors are not the ones committing crimes, and a healthy society is constructed in true dialogue, not in violence on the part of any actor,â€? Rodriguez said. “I see the need to have broader and truly transparent consultation and societal

accountability, such that people are not constantly facing obstacles to their participation, but rather that participation is facilitated. What has predominated in the last few decades, particularly, has been corporate LQĂ XHQFH RQ SROLF\ UDWKHU WKDQ popular participation.â€? In the cases of both Rodriguez and *UDG\ HDFK DUUHVW ZDV Ă€OHG XQGHU D VSHFLĂ€F ODZ YLRODWLRQ KRZHYHU the common thread in these two instances seems to be a manipulation RI WKH ODZ E\ ODZ HQIRUFHPHQW RIĂ€FHUV or superiors in order to halt peaceful protests in their tracks. “They didn’t make up any laws to charge us with, there’s some good reason for a trespass charge, we don’t want everyone to be trespassing all over the place, but how it’s used and when it’s used is selective,â€? Grady said. “They always get to pick these laws out when they need to or want to.â€? Peaceful protestors continue to be punished regularly. This is why it is important that these issues continue to be brought into public discourse. “To me, one reason to protest peacefully up to the point of risking or experiencing arrest is to exercise our right to free speech at the margins of legality, so those margins are not reduced or closed off entirely,â€? Coppa Said. “The option is to use our freedoms or lose them.â€? ____________________________________ Sabrina Dorronsoro is a junior journalism major who would get arrested to protect the polar bears — darn they’re adorable! Email her at sdorron1@ithaca.edu.

Camp Cupcake?

A look into the luxury prison systems &] /VMWXIR 1ERW½IPH

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The U.S. imprisons a lot of types of criminal offenders, including non-­violent and drug offenders, and has a sentenc-­ ing system that allows for little leeway in terms of jail time. Moreover, when some of those seven million Americans get re-­ leased, more than four in ten are expected to return to prison within three years, ac-­ cording to the +XIĂ€QJWRQ 3RVW. So, who should care that people who commit crimes are being sent back? Actu-­ ally, anyone who pays taxes should. As it turns out, doing something as mundane as attending school behind bars reduces chances of recidivism by 43 percent, ac-­ cording to the U.S. Department of Educa-­ tion. It can save Americans a lot of money, says NY Gov. Cuomo, who announced an initiative in February to provide college courses to prisoners at 10 out of 58 New York prisons. “Giving men and women in prison the opportunity to earn a college degree costs RXU VWDWH OHVV DQG EHQHĂ€WV RXU VRFLHW\ more,â€? Cuomo said. New York State currently spends $60,000 per year on each prisoner in its system, and past programs show that the $5,000 used to educate each inmate would allow men and women to restart their lives outside of jail instead of return-­ ing. And with fewer prisoners in the cycle of recidivism, residents would see a de-­ crease in tax dollars owed to the state. Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton agreed with the initiative, but said that unless the governor pushes hard enough, there is a low chance the program will pass because of a defecit of $1.7 million. “So there’s actually no money to spend, no matter how much we might support these programs,â€? Lifton said. In the meantime, some maximum-­ security prisons like the nearby Auburn Correctional Facility allow inmates to or-­ ganize visits with organizations who pro-­ vide recreation and therapy to prisoners. Junior Blaize Hall is a member of the lo-­ cal Phoenix Players Theatre Group, which travels to Auburn once a week to practice for a theatre production that will involve six inmates and a group of community members. After experiencing a show her freshman year, she was so moved by the self-­awareness and profound grief ex-­ pressed in the inmates that she knew she had to be involved.

“You go in not knowing what to expect, nervous as to how the guys will receive you, if they’ll like you, if they’ll make me uncomfortable, and you meet the sweet-­ est, most personable guys ever,â€? Hall said. “And these guys are smart — the material they write and bring to class to perform is such high quality.â€? The group, facilitated in part by Judy

Image by Georgie Morley

Levitt, a theatre arts instructor at Ithaca College, has a similar intention to that of Norway’s Halden Fengsel prison, which LV WR KHOS SULVRQHUV QRW RQO\ Ă€QG SXUSRVH but also themselves. Levitt experienced the transformation of many during her time at Auburn and said the therapeutic value is enormous. “They’ve gotten back in touch with their humanity and have found out who they really are,â€? Levitt said. “And they really want to spread the message outside the prison that this is a place with human be-­ ings that can accomplish something and can be valuable to society again.â€? ________________________________________ .ULVWHQ 0DQVĂ€HOG LV D MXQLRU MRXUQDOLVP who thinks luxury prisons sound nicer WKDQ KHU GRUP (PDLO KHU DW NPDQVĂ€ # ithaca.edu.

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Upfront

pen glass windows and soft brick walls line the hallways of Norway’s Halden Fengsel. Bed-­ URRPV DUH ODLG RXW ZLWK Ă DW VFUHHQ 79V mini-­fridges, private showers and toilets, and the smell of baked goods from weekly culinary classes often wafts down the cor-­ ridors. But Halden Fengsel isn’t a trendy, new hotel or high-­class university build-­ ing. It’s actually a prison. In 2010, the King of Norway unveiled one of the country’s largest maximum-­se-­ curity prisons, which holds up to 252 in-­ mates and cost a whopping $280 million to open, according to The Week. To hold one prisoner in Halden, it costs the state around $193,000. Compare that to the state-­by-­state range in the United States of $14,000 to $60,000 per year, and it’s easy to see how such amenities can be af-­ forded. So why do Norwegians want their tax dollars to pay for rapists, murderers and pedophiles to have recreational jog-­ ging trails and a state-­of-­the-­art sound mixing room? Intertwined in Norway’s unique justice system is the fact that no criminal can get more than 21 years as a sentence. And knowing that the majority of prisoners will one day have to immerse themselves back into society, Halden’s governor, Are Høidal, would rather offer therapy than punishment. “If you stay in a box for a few years, then you are not a good person when you come out,â€? Høidal told The Guardian. “It is this building that makes softer people.â€? Arguably, the most important rea-­ son countries like Norway pursue more therapeutic methods within their penal systems is because they see a consistent decrease in recidivism, or the behavior which causes ex-­convicts to return to jail. So if a happy prison equals happy in-­ mates, and in turn eliminates jail violence and decreases recidivism, why don’t any so-­called “luxuryâ€? prisons exist in the U.S.? According to a 2011 study by the Pew Center on the States, the U.S. incarcer-­ ates more people per capita than any oth-­ er nation in the world. In 2012, a total of nearly seven million people (more than the entire population of Norway) were either behind bars or under correctional super-­ vision in the “land of the free.â€? And that isn’t because of higher crime rates.

Muting the Whistle

How punishing whistleblowers undermines American democracy.

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

By Marissa Framarini It was already 26 minutes into the Government Accountability Proj-­ ect’s American Whistleblower Tour stop at Syracuse University on Wednesday, March 27, when Thom-­ as Drake first broke his paralyzed trance from ground to scan the crowd that sat before him. “You can’t understand Snowden without understanding me,” Drake declared, a 56-­year-­old former se-­ nior executive at the National Se-­ curity Agency, in his opening words of the night. “You can’t understand what he has disclosed and exposed that has ignited a global conversa-­ tion debate without understanding my case. In many, many respects, I was Snowden before Snowden. You just didn’t really hear about me.” Drake sat tall and forward — his posture just as firm as his words. It was the kind of cool and hardened demeanor that came directly from years of retaliation, brutality and struggle after exposing the waste, abuse and fraud running ram-­ pant in the NSA back in the mid-­ 2000s. Blowing the whistle on the agency would earn Drake a spot on the United States ever -­growing list of enemies, as well as a 10-­count indictment, which included five charges under the Espionage Act of 1917 — a piece of legislation in-­ tended to be used against spies. If convicted, Drake would have faced up to 35 years in prison. Eventually, on the eve of his fi-­ nal court case, all the charges were dropped. To Drake, though, his story is a part of something much larger than a court hearing — it’s a test on whether the nation’s expanding and increasingly secretive bureaucracy is beyond meaningful accountabil-­ ity. His fight is just one battle in a critical war between whistleblowers and journalists, who continue to push for a more open society, and a government, joined with various pri-­ vate and public organizations, who are far more committed to shroud-­ ing its activities. And it’s something that Drake fears will, like his court case, never fully air to the public.

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-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­-­ For Drake, September 11, 2001 changed everything. The day of the World Trade Center attack marked Drake’s first full day of work as a civilian employee at the NSA — an agency that was, in many ways, becoming obsolete. With the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, the agency no longer had a clear target or mission. As Drake told The New Yorker, “Without the Soviet Union, it didn’t know what to do.” More problematic though was the NSA’s lag-­ ging tech-­ n o l o g y , which failed to keep pace with the changing of times to-­ wards new digital tech-­ nology and resulted in a mountain of data. The 9/11 at-­ tacks would highlight the United States’ fail-­ ing security apparatus, leaving the NSA humili-­ ated and scrambling to correct its “failure,” and meet the new-­ found and increased urgency for ramped up m i l i t a r i z a -­ tion and na-­ tional security, both internationally and domestically. In response, the United States government, in partnership with the NSA, would start to construct the foundations for the “Homeland” — a powerful and bloated national security state, which profits off on-­

going war and thrives in secrecy. But in a day and age of WikiLeaks, secrecy is not something one just stumbles upon — it’s something that is created by strict government oversight and rule. While freedom of information has been an age-­ old battle, the Internet is changing rules, as well as raising the stakes. Lucy Dalglish, the former executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and cur -­ rent dean of the University of Mary-­ land journalism school, said this

Image by Lizzie Cox

resulted in a government crack-­ down over information. “This debate and this problem have been going on forever. The dif-­ ference is that there are far more classified documents than there were before. Classification deci-­ sions are being made too readily,”

to the agency. Drake grew “disillusioned, then indignant,” by the awful truth that his own government was “commit-­ ting high crimes and misdemean-­ ors,” essentially “unchaining itself from the very constitution it had taken an oath to uphold.” Drake started to make his concerns known through sanctioned meth-­ ods, by going to his superiors, filing complaints with the inspector gen-­ eral and even testifying in various courts and in front Congress. However, Drake’s supervisors were not only dismissive to him, but fully complacent in the agency’s illegalities and prepared to fight against anyone who threatened to dismantle and what was being con-­ structed as the basis for today’s multibillion dollar system of nation-­ al security and surveillance. “[There were] extraordinary costs that I paid within the system before I even went to the press. I was se-­ verely retaliated against since the early beginning.” Drake said.“There are enormously vested forces that do not want the status quo dis-­ turbed.” Rather than finding support, Drake was met with retaliation, he said, in the form of verbal abuse, threats, eventual job termination, as well as a string of court trials, house raids and investigations. Furthermore, he was painted out to be a traitor and enemy of the state. Essentially, the NSA criminalized Drake and his disclosure of the NSA’s programs, which in and of themselves, were criminal. Although Drake was eventually cleared of all charges, his reputa-­ tion was already destroyed, being painted as a “traitor” of the United States. “I had no career,” Drake said. “I was indicted before the court de-­ clared so. No other attorney would come to my defense. I had run out of money. I was bankrupt, broken, and blacklisted. Anybody that knew me in terms of my personal life, in-­ cluding family, shunned me.” Jesselyn Radack, a former eth-­

ics attorney at the Department of Justice and now the legal adviser to both Drake and Edward Snowden, faced a similar reprisal when she disclosed in 2002 that there was what she believed to be an ethics violation during the interrogation of John Walker Lindh. Lindh is a United States citizen who joined the Taliban and was captured during the invasion of Afghanistan. Radack said that her decision to go to the media had numerous implications. Radack was referred to the State Bar Association, temporarily side-­ lining her legal career. She was also placed on the “No-­Fly List,” which is essentially created to bar individu-­ als who pose a threat to intelligence reporting from flying into and out of the United States. “I failed to realize that by turning over emails — unclassified emails — over to the media that I have un-­ leashed the full force of the entire executive branch,” Radack said. “And if you think that’s an exag-­ geration, I would have you consider the fact that I was subsequently put under one of the first federal crimi-­ nal leak investigations.” As Radack told it, she has turned “radioactive.” __________________________________ Marissa Framarini is a junior jour-­ nalism and politics major who was dissapointed to find no whistles at the whistleblower’s rally. Email her at mframar1@ithaca.edu.

Upfront

Dalglish said. “[The Government is] classifying way too much and you have got some knee-­jerk reactions to what has been reported, and when people panic, they just sit on records more than they have in the past.” Dalglish feared that this “far left oversight,” which incentivizes clas-­ sification, has and will continue to deprive the public of important crit-­ ical information they need to judge policy and operational systems, and allowing misconduct to go unchal-­ lenged. She said in this classifica-­ tion state, many rely on whistle-­ blowers to come forward with this critical information. The government has taken addi-­ tional measures to ensure a culture of secrecy, however. Now engaged in what some critics are calling a “double-­barreled” assault and war on whistleblowers and journal-­ ism, the Obama administration has overseen more prosecutions of whistleblowers than all other presi-­ dents combined. As the price of se-­ crecy continues to rise, the admin-­ istration continues its chokehold on the press, subjecting journal-­ ists to ramped-­up surveillance and threats. From smear campaigns to high-­profile and costly court cases, the government has set up a system of punishment for those who come forward with unpopular ideas and inconvenient facts. It’s a form of political punishment that Drake knows all too well. In the weeks following the 9/11 attacks and some of his first few moments with the NSA, Drake, a strong and open critic of the pro-­ gram, stood witness to the funda-­ mental development of Trailblazer. This new system stripped the old programs of their unique security features, which aimed to protect the Fourth Amendment rights of Ameri-­ can citizens by “anonymizing” and encrypting data until a warrant was issued. Trailblazer also required billions of extra dollars in funding, but nevertheless, it was the colossal system the NSA was looking for — granting absolute and total power

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The Fruits Their Labor of

A look into the exploitation and oppression of the migrant farmworker

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

By Christina Lugo

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I

Upfront

used to eat apples for their sweetness. 8LIMV žE[PIWW WOMR WQSSXL MR Q] smooth hands Rolling them in my palm as I picked the perfect one from the pile — Avoiding the bruised ones for they were Imperfect. This Veneer, This Illusion is sustained through these glistening apples I am able to feed into the Illusion believe in the false bliss of food appearing in a store, free of struggle, free of consequence. I eat this food with blissful ignorance a consumer a supporter of the hidden system.

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BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

However, convenience comes at a cost. The oppression of the migrant farmworker is one of the most widespread, yet hidden issues present in the United States today. :DONLQJ LQWR D JURFHU\ VWRUH RQH Ă€QGV pristine presentation. Food organized into neat aisles and fruit stacked in perfect pyramids give the illusion that this food did not require struggle or suffering, that it was obtained through ease. This corporate-­created illusion causes many to forget that someone had to pick that fruit and work WKH Ă€HOG LQ RUGHU IRU WKLV IRRG WR be made so conveniently available. A one-­hour drive from Ithaca to Lyons, N.Y., undocumented immigrants, including young children, work the Ă€HOGV SUXQLQJ DSSOH WUHHV DQG SLFNLQJ corn throughout the seasons. It was here that I spent my spring break in a program offered through Rural & Migrant Ministry, an organization dedicated to building leadership, standing with the disenfranchised and working for justice in unjust cultures. Much of the information in this article was obtained through lectures and discussions that took place during the week. There in Lyons, migrant farmworkers work from sunrise to sundown, rain or shine, sleet or snow and are paid less than $4 an hour in many cases. This occurs not only in New York, but throughout the entire country. Workers migrate with the seasons to earn enough of an income to sustain their own basic level of living as well as send money home to their families. Many of them leave home countries because the standard of living is unimaginable and jobs are few and far apart. For many undocumented workers, coming to $PHULFD LV RSSRUWXQLW\ LW LV D FKDQFH WR build a better life for their family. However, due to a capitalistic economy, immigrants coming to the U.S. are subjected to an industry that lacks basic rights and provides no economic stability. The basis of capitalism is maintaining a system that keeps a segment of society unable to grasp at something higher. It is a modernly implemented form of structural poverty. Kirby Edmonds, a fellow at the Dorothy Cotton Institute in Ithaca, addressed these structural forms within our government and society that NHHS VSHFLĂ€F JURXSV F\FOLQJ WKURXJK WKH same patterns. He speaks of poverty “enginesâ€? that are fueled directly by the impoverished people themselves. These engines are designed to feed and clothe the people that exist within it, but provide no opportunity for advancement in society. Walls are created between the people that exist in this cycle and social advancement opportunities, such as the right to living

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wages and participation in a community. class. A worker is payed so little for their Migrant farmworkers have become labor that the same food they help to put victims to the systemic problem that in stores is often priced higher than what is the U.S. agriculture system. The they receive as compensation for actually U.S. has created a commodity out of picking the food. A long time ago, the undocumented immigrants. In a 2007-­ U.S. implemented slavery, free labor, to 2009 survey from the National Center IXOĂ€OO WKH EDFNEUHDNLQJ ZRUN UHTXLUHG WR for Farmworker Health, 72 percent sustain the agriculture system. of all farmworkers are foreign-­born. As part of the New Deal, many Immigrants come to America searching southerners were only willing to submit for better opportunities, emigrating from their votes for the NLRA as long as it did not Haiti, the Caribbean, Mexico and South threaten the Jim Crow Laws, according America. Many come to the U.S. to escape to Professor of Law at Loyola University the conditions of their home countries. Chicago, Juan F. Perea’s research. To Illegally entering the U.S., they work include agriculture and domestic workers, GDQJHURXV ORQJ KRXUV UHDS QR EHQHĂ€WV a predominately black work force, in the and often receive meager pay and remain bill would mean to threaten the political in this state until border patrol picks them economy of the South. “The price of up and deports them. This controls the southern democratic support for New commodity and sustains the cycle, allowing Deal reforms was the exclusion of blacks the U.S. to maintain the illusion that the IURP IHGHUDO EHQHĂ€WV DQG SURWHFWLRQV Âľ country does not want undocumented Perea wrote for the Ohio State Law immigrants. This intention is supported Journal in 2012. Democrats made these through America’s purposeful lack of the “racially-­relevant adjustmentsâ€? to secure proper quantity of work visas to supply southern members in their party, thus the amount of unskilled workers the U.S. denying blacks the basic rights that physically needs to support its economic were then allotted to all other forms of structure. According to Farmworker labor, according to Ira Katznelson, a Justice, an organization dedicated to political scientist and historian. This immigration reform and improving living accommodation to the racism of the age conditions and wages, more than 50 supported our economy’s reliance on to 75 percent of farmworkers on U.S. cheap, dehumanizing labor and allowed farms are undocumented. Deporting all slavery to remain as a legally acceptable unauthorized immigrants would mean the physical decimation of American agriculture, according to Farmworker Justice’s report “No Way to Treat a Guest.â€? Because of the lack of protection and rights an undocumented worker currently has, it is economically viable and logical for farms to employ these workers. Farmworkers are often payed well below the minimum wage, allowing the farmer to reap more SURĂ€W WKURXJK FKHDS ODERU This underpaid labor in turn supports the agriculture system and allows the rest of the country to purchase goods at lower prices. However, this societally desired convenience of “affordabilityâ€? results in the dehumanization and Agriculture is the fourth most dangerous industry in the suffering of farmworkers, thus contributing to [SVPH NYWX EJXIV PSKKMRK ½WLMRK ERH EMVGVEJX TMPSXW EGsystematically keeping the cording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. lower class in the lower Photo by Christina Lugo

suffer from pesticide poisoning each year. ,Q WKH Ă€OP 9LFWRU D \RXQJ ER\ VSHDNV of his skin peeling off his arms from the pesticide exposure. 7KH ODGGHUV XVHG LQ WKH Ă€HOGV DOVR SURYH hazardous to many workers including TiodĂłlfo, a worker I had the chance to speak with during my time in Lyons. TiodĂłlfo is an undocumented migrant worker who became victim to the poor conditions within less than a year of arriving in Lyons, N.Y. While high up in an apple orchard, his ladder slipped out from beneath him, causing him to fall and break his back. He now remains in hiding, hindered by his disability and lacking health care, unsupported by the system that put him in this condition. TiodĂłlfo, like many workers who suffer from injury or illness due to the dangers of the job, lack the means to receive proper medical treatment due to the lack of regulations in agriculture. It is this lack of regulation that feeds directly into the exploitation and oppression of these undocumented workers. Also contributing to this injustice is the lack of child labor laws that exist in agriculture. “It is the only industry where you can be 13-­years-­old and work an LQĂ€QLWH DPRXQW RI KRXUV Âł HYHQ GXULQJ school,â€? Renan Salgado, abolitionist DQG KXPDQ WUDIĂ€FNLQJ VSHFLDOLVW VDLG Because of this, many immigrant children remain uneducated and thus kept in the cycle of poverty with no hope of advancement in society. The Dream Act is working to change this. Although this is still a federal level bill, N.Y. State Senate struck down a state level bill on March 17. This draft would have allowed children of undocumented immigrants to receive college funding from the state, which they are currently denied. Although the children would still need to be accepted on their own merit, this bill would have given immigrant children the hope of actually being able to feasibly afford an education. In 1978, the Fair Labor Standards Act was amended to include farmworkers in the minimum wage law. However, only large-­farm farmworkers were included in this amendment, according to a Student Action Farmworkers’ fact sheet. However, overtime pay is still non-­ existent for farmworkers, although they work an average of 14 hours a day. Many farmworkers are also taxed upon payment and, because of their undocumented VWDWXV WKH\ GR QRW EHQHĂ€W IURP WKHVH taxes. It is through this taxation and the fact that these workers are undocumented that the government is making money off of undocumented workers. This complex problem is systemic

and deep-­rooted throughout the U.S. The proposed solutions surrounding the treatment of farm laborers are as complex and varied as the issue itself. Rural & Migrant Ministry (RMM) is a N.Y.-­based QRQSURĂ€W WKDW ZRUNV WR HPSRZHU WKH youth of undocumented immigrants to Ă€QG WKHLU RZQ YRLFHV WKURXJK SURJUDPV such as its Youth Arts Group and the Youth Economic Group. They also help to foster conversation among the community through programs such as Building Bridges — a 10-­week course that incites deep conversation, creates relationships and builds bridges among workers and within community. RMM is also working to help pass the Farm Workers Fair Labor Practices Act — an omnibus bill that would mean a structured eight-­hour work day with rights to overtime pay, minimum ZDJH IRU FKLOG ZRUNHUV GLVDELOLW\ EHQHĂ€WV and the right to unionize among other EHQHĂ€WV 7KLV ZLOO EH OREELHG IRU RQ 0D\ 5, otherwise coined as Farmwork Albany Day, where workers and advocates alike will join together in hopes of gaining representation and support from Congress. The necessity of food supports the already existing economic structure and sustains the supermarket illusion. America’s monopolization of the agriculture system has created deep-­ rooted, ethically disturbing problems so complicated there cannot be a singular solution. These problems are not limited to American soil. The power of the agribusiness is immense, equal to that of oil and energy, and is the true evil when looking at this issue. The U.S. agriculture system is supported through governmental structures. Having cheap food is what allows minimum wage to be VR ORZ FUHDWLQJ OHVV HFRQRPLF GHĂ€FLW IRU the government. The systems directly feed each other. The success of a society should not be achieved through the deprivation and oppression of another, and as people become aware of this injustice, they can become the voice for those hidden by the agricultural system. ______________________________________ Christina Lugo is a freshman documentary VWXGLHV PDMRU ZKR WDNHV D SHRSOH Ă€UVW approach to grocery shopping. Email her at clugo2@ithaca.edu.

Upfront

form of labor. It is this compromise that directly has an effect on the U.S. economy’s reliance on low-­wage labor today. In 1983 the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, commonly known as MSPA or AWPA was passed to provide labor protections for farmworkers. This act included federally compliant health and safety housing accommodations, disclosure of terms and conditions of employment to each worker at the time of hire, safe transportation, payment to each worker for wages due, as well as provide an itemized statement of earnings and deductions. However, agriculture employers have lobbied over the years to weaken the MSPA by lowering safety requirements for housing and transportation, and claiming that the bill “unfairly singles out agricultureâ€? according to Farmworker Justice. Even today, farms are not required to adhere to laws providing basic rights, such as livable housing accommodations for their workers, unless they are considered a camp. Aditionally, agriculture jobs fall into the fourth most dangerous industry LQ WKH ZRUOG MXVW DIWHU ORJJLQJ Ă€VKLQJ DQG aircraft piloting, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Determined by fatality rates, this statistic is slightly swayed as it does not account for massive amounts of undocumented workers that represent much of farm labor. In 2010 the Cornell Cooperative estimated there were about 80,000 undocumented workers in New York alone, according to Peter Mares, a staff member of Rural Migrant Ministry. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at least one farmworker dies on the job every day while hundreds more are injured. Currently, migrant farm workers are denied health care, despite the fact that they are susceptible to such incredible danger each day. A common agricultural hazard occurs in the form of tree rot in apple orchirds, however, it is generally undetectable to the human eye, as it happens internally in the tree. Because of this, workers may not know they are at risk until they are standing on a branch and it snaps from underneath them. Workers are also exposed to massive amounts of pesticides while in the Ă€HOGV &URSV DUH VSUD\HG LQ TXDQWLWLHV only tolerable for a male of 150 pounds or more, according to “The Harvest,â€? a documentary by U. Roberto Romano. However, women and children often work WKH Ă€HOGV WR DQ HTXDO H[WHQW DV PHQ DQG are being over-­exposed to these harmful pesticides on a daily basis, resulting in many health problems. According to “The Harvest,â€? over 300,000 farmworkers

27 Image by Francesca Toscano

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OL. MINISTRYofCOOL. MI

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

Opening A Window To Support

Petition for self-harm search terms to offer alternatives By Sabina Leybold

T

he freedom and vastness of the Internet provides a place for users all over the world to form communities surrounding their interests and opinions-­-­ and while it would be ideal for those communities to always be forces of good, realistically, the web also offers a space to propagate more problematic attitudes and habits.In particular, the popularity of self-­harm websites has become an alarming trend which has spread through word of mouth and social media.both Pro-­self mutilation and pro-­ana websites encourage self-­harm and

Prevention Hotline upon searching “suicide,” but the Active Minds petition would expand on this goal of getting help for those seeking it. “It’s just making you stop for a second… if you don’t need the help, you just click a button and you can still get to your results. But if you are thinking of harming yourself, it can give you that opportunity to think twice,” Walters said. One of the petition’s goals is to discourage those suffering from mental health issues from visiting sites that could provoke dangerous decisions. Cyndy Scheibe, professor

It’s just making you stop for a second…if you don’t need the help, you just click a button and you can still get to your results. But if you are thinking of harming yourself, it can give you that opportunity to think twice. - Cassie Walters of psychology and media literacy at Ithaca College, sees pro-­self harm and pro-­ana communities as problematic. “They tend to focus on two things: hints and then this reward-­punishment thing…giving you props for eating very very little and losing weight and punishments for anytime you did eat something or, in this case, didn’t cut. , FDQ·W VHH DQ\ EHQHÀW LQ WKDW µ Pro-­self harm websites are attractive to cutters because they often feel misunderstood or judged IRU WKHLU DFWLRQV E\ SHRSOH RIÁLQH $Q online community of people engaging in the same behaviors is an outlet for expression. Unfortunately, it’s a dangerous one. “Any time you’ve got a secret behavior, then the Web is a wonderful place where you can go and nobody knows who you are, and you can be secretive but still tell other people what you’re doing,” Scheibe said. In order to combat the pull towards online communities that are detrimental to recovery efforts, Active Minds aims to promote positive spaces online. “Instead of fueling your disorder or habit, we can help

Ministry of Cool

anorexia respectively, and they often contain discussion boards where users can provide tips for each other about strategies for self-­harm or avoiding eating. Not only do these sites encourage people to develop new injurious habits, but they also cause desensitization to problematic attitudes through overexposure. “It’s frustrating to see people suffer when there’s so many great resources to help them,” Cassie Walters said. Walters is a co-­author of a new petition that could change how people get information about mental health issues, sponsored by Ithaca College’s chapter of Active Minds. The petition asks Google to direct users to free counseling and prevention online resources when they search for terms like “self-­injury,” “pro-­ana” and “how to tie a noose.” A window will appear urging visitors who are struggling with self-­harm issues, eating disorders, or suicidal thoughts to click “tell me more” to be redirected to helpful information, but they can also dismiss the message. Search engines already provide the number for the National Suicide

you get better [by directing you to helpful resources]. It’s a different sense of community, a greater sense of community, a more positive sense of community,” Walters said. The petition doesn’t aim to remove pro-­ self harm and pro-­ana sites from the Internet, but rather advocates for more optimistic sources of support. Jim Root, director of the Mental Health Association in Tompkins County, emphasized that solving underlying mental health concerns is more valuable and effective than censorship. “It’s important that we take a long, honest look at why people are hurting themselves, rather than trying to bind their hands and lock away knives. The only way to eliminate things like this is to eliminate the desire, otherwise our creative minds ZLOO MXVW ÀQG PRUH FUHDWLYH ZD\V WR GR it,” he said. Scheibe agreed that education needs to be a higher priority in mental health promotion. She advocates having safe places for teens, either face-­to-­ face or online, that are monitored by professionals. Peer educators who have recovered from mental illnesses can help the issue of feeling misunderstood and self-­help groups can provide an accepting environment that is more healing-­based than the pro-­harm online communities. Even movies or reality shows that portray the harmful effects of cutting and eating disorders in a compelling way could reduce rates of self-­injury. “Steer people to better alternatives, and let’s start teaching people about all of this,” Scheibe said. Many of those suffering from depression, eating disorders, and other issues don’t seek help because of the stigma surrounding mental illness. Google could provide more visibility for mental health resources to endorse the idea that getting help isn’t a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of strength. As Root says, “There are better solutions, better ways, and EHWWHU GD\V :H FDQ KHOS \RX ÀQG them.” ____________________________________ Sabina Leybold is a a freshman speech-­language pathology major. Email her at sleybold1@ithaca.edu.

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Inked Up, Shut Out? The state of body mod acceptance in the workplace By Karen Muller

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

T

he Stockphoto-­esque ideal of the traditional corporate job candidate is a familiar concept: a clean-­cut individual in a neatly tailored blazer, crisp button-­down shirt and shiny shoes. The image is uncontroversial, homogeneous and easily hirable. However, in recent years an increasing number of people entering the workforce have chosen to permanently (or semi-­ permanently) deviate from that image by turning to tattoos, piercings and RWKHU ERG\ PRGLĂ€FDWLRQV DV D IRUP of self-­expression. As a result, the VLJQLĂ€FDQFH RI ERG\ DUW WR KLULQJ decisions has become a growing issue for both employers and job applicants. According to the results of a 2012 poll by Harris Interactive, 21 percent of adults in the United States have at least one tattoo. The statistics only become steeper when considering the newest generation entering the workforce: according to a 2010 Pew Research study, nearly 40 percent of millennials have a least one tattoo, and out of that group, 30 percent say their tattoo is not hidden by clothing. :KLOH FHUWDLQ Ă€HOGV OLNH DUWV DQG media, have developed reputations for welcoming body art, some statistics indicate that in general, tattoos have actually become more likely to hurt a job applicant’s opportunities. A 2012 survey by the Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania indicated that 61 percent of human resource managers believed a tattoo would hurt a candidate’s chances, up from 57 percent the year before. According to Anthony Golden, an attorney at labor and employment-­focused law Ă€UP )LVKHU 3KLOOLSV LQ most cases employers have the legal right to incorporate ERG\ PRGLĂ€FDWLRQV DV D IDFWRU in their hiring decisions. “In general, an employer may establish policies regarding appearance and grooming that

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include restrictions of tattoos and ERG\ PRGLĂ€FDWLRQV 7KH HPSOR\HU PD\ then make employment decisions, VXFK DV KLULQJ Ă€ULQJ >DQG@ GLVFLSOLQH based on those policies,â€? Golden said. ´7DWWRRV DQG ERG\ PRGLĂ€FDWLRQV LQ and of themselves do not qualify for protected [legal] status. However, if the reason the individual got the WDWWRR RU ERG\ PRGLĂ€FDWLRQ IDOOV under a protected class, such as religion, race, or national origin, then discrimination because of the tattoo RU ERG\ PRGLĂ€FDWLRQ FRXOG JLYH ULVH WR a valid legal complaint.â€? Due to its increasing popularity, more people are pushing for broader piercing and tattoo acceptance in the professional realm. Matthew Goslar, a former administrator of the Alliance of Tattooed or Pierced Professionals (ATOPP) and recent founder RI PRGLĂ€FDWLRQ friendly networking g r o u p

Urbanvisible, believes that the FKDOOHQJHV WKDW PRGLĂ€HG LQGLYLGXDOV face has created a need for a community-­focused approach. After noticing the impact that his own tattoos and piercings had on job opportunities, Goslar was inspired to begin the Urbanvisible project to help advocate for companies that take a friendlier outlook toward visible body PRGLĂ€FDWLRQV LQ WKH KLULQJ SURFHVV “I was often turned away for my perceived image,â€? he said. “I would cover my tattoos and take out my piercings, but would still be given sideways looks or apologized to because of the holes in my ears. I then took to the Internet, looking for some comprehensive list of companies that hired individuals with visible tattoos and piercings. [I] found literally

Image by Alexis Lanza

RQ ¡ )RU PH WKDW ZDV D NH\ GULYHU WR achieving my dream.â€? He continued: “I understand that I create hindrances in my life to be happy in my physical body, but it should also be noted that in corporate business, though outsiders may look negatively on the way I look, my personal experience is that it’s EHQHĂ€WWHG PH LQ HYHU\ VLQJOH ZD\ , FDQ think of. â€? He explained that while he usually expects some initial surprise at his appearance, he sees that reaction as an opportunity to make a memorable impression and defy preconceptions. “When I meet new people with whom I’ve [already] established a relationship with on the phone, who haven’t seen me physically, they’re usually very surprised. I get the phrase ‘you’re not at all what I expected’, which is great,â€? Coburn said. “Their expectations are very low, which actually serves me very well to blow those expectations out of the water.â€? Dr. David Ores, a heavily tattooed General Practitioner who offers laser tattoo removal at his private practice in New York City, believes that much of the stigma attached to hiring visibly PRGLĂ€HG LQGLYLGXDOV LV WKH UHVXOW RI Ă€QDQFLDO IDFWRUV UDWKHU WKDQ FXOWXUDO ones. “Anything that reduces their money, [businesses] won’t do. Anything that increases their money, they will do. They don’t care about cultural aspects — aesthetic, religious, moral, none of that,â€? Ores said. Ores is also the founder of Project )UHVK 6WDUW D FRPPXQLW\ RULHQWHG service that provides removal of incarceration and gang-­related tattoos for no cost. He explained that he began the program as a way to help improve job prospects and prevent a cycle of unemployment and imprisonment. “If I take a tattoo off someone’s face who used to be in a gang or prison, if it gets them a job, then they’re less likely to go back to prison or back to drugs. So each person we can get back to a job [could] save the state about 3 to 4 million dollars. If they go to a job, pay taxes and social security‌ they do all these things that help the

economy,â€? Ores said. While in many cases the tattoos that create obstacles for employment are means of self-­expression without JUHDWHU DIĂ€OLDWLRQ WKH LGHD LV WKH same: an individual’s appearance isn’t indicative of his or her professional ability. While Golden said that he sees no indication that the current laws UHJDUGLQJ PRGLĂ€FDWLRQ DQG WKH KLULQJ process are changing, others believe that the changing role of body art in the workplace is less of a legal issue and more of a cultural one. Coburn shares this mindset, and believes that as time passes, more conservative businesses will need to become more accepting of tattooed applicants in order to maintain a strong talent pool. “The oncoming corporate tattoo revolution‌ basically comes down to just a few things. If you look at the general age ranges of executives who are getting into place in the corporate world‌ when you look at that high of a percentage of an age range that’s being tattooed and more accepting of the tattooed, you’re just naturally going to see it penetrate other markets,â€? Coburn said. “You will see it in much more cutting-­edge companies or companies where they’re looking at expanding the hiring pool, because if you are choosing to effectively eliminate 40 percent of your hiring pool, you might be missing some major talent, simply due to the way an individual chooses to look.â€? ____________________________________ Karen Muller is a senior IMC major who plans to start saving up for a full-­ ERG\ WDWWRR DV VRRQ DV VKH FDQ Ă€QG D job. Email her at kmuller1@ithaca.edu.

Ministry of Cool

nothing aside from suggestions of places that hire military veterans on a regular basis, so I decided that [founding this] was necessary.â€? He explained that while some organizations that appeared to support similar goals already existed, he found that many of the groups were misleading or even undermined the cause that they were created to represent. “There are a lot of places on the internet that supposedly support the idea of diversity in the workplace. 2QH )DFHERRN JURXS VXSSRUWLQJ tattoos in the workplace has over one million followers, but does nothing with their power aside from share pictures, sell shirts and honestly, further stereotypes‌ rather than showing that tattooed people are just that, people. As a tattooed individual you must realize it is your personal responsibility to behave in a professional and caring manner, because you represent a lot more than just yourself. You represent a community struggling to be accepted,â€? Goslar said. Promotional marketer and self-­ described “corporate oddityâ€? Joshua Coburn is used to standing out at WKH RIĂ€FH :LWK HDUOREHV VWUHWFKHG WR several inches in diameter and tattoos decorating roughly 90 percent of his body, including his hands, neck and IDFH FRQFHDOLQJ KLV PRGLĂ€FDWLRQV in the workplace would be virtually impossible. Coburn, who made the leap to his current role after working IRU \HDUV DV D ERG\ PRGLĂ€FDWLRQ artist, isn’t concerned with trying to blend in. Rather, he believes that the challenges and expectations created E\ KLV VLJQLĂ€FDQW ERG\ DUW KDYH GULYHQ him to achieve more professionally than he otherwise would have. “What my appearance did for me, and the way I always leveraged it, was that I could not settle for less,â€? Coburn said. “I couldn’t be lazy, because I had effectively ended my retail sales career, my lower-­level job opportunities, by tattooing my hands, my neck, my face. To a lot of people, that’s a matter of, ‘well, [now] you don’t have anything to fall back

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Hurts So Good Rethinking the taboo of BDSM By Cecilia Morales

T

he world of BDSM is usually talked about in hushed tones. Whips, chains, leather jumpsuits and other staples aren’t quite acceptable in today’s world of “vanilla� sex. BDSM serves as an overlapping abbreviation for bondage and discipline, dominance and

who practiced BDSM were less neurotic and had a higher subjective well-­ being than those in the control group, reporting that those who enjoy a little kink in the bedroom essentially lead healthier and happier lifestyles than those who don’t. BDSM, when practiced appropriately, was also found to alter EORRG Ă RZ LQ WKH EUDLQ DOORZLQJ IRU D

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

It’s a sexual preference like any other. I don’t think the desire itself is unhealthy, as long as people express it in ways that are relatively safe. - Bianca Jarvis, representative for the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reporduction submission, and sadism and masochism. It is often criticized because of its sadomasochist characteristics; the idea of receiving or giving pain for pleasure strikes most as being twisted or psychologically disturbed, creating a social stigma for this unorthodox practice. Yet within this sexual world of punishment and submission, evidence supports that certain BDSM SUDFWLFHV PD\ DFWXDOO\ EH EHQHĂ€FLDO to our health. In a recent study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers at the Tilburg University in the Netherlands asked subjects to complete a series of questionnaires WR UDWH WKHLU OHYHO RI FRQĂ€GHQFH in relationships, discomfort with closeness and need for approval. Of the 902 participants who engage in BDSM, responses suggested that WKHUH ZDV QR VLJQLĂ€FDQW GLIIHUHQFH between their psychological well-­ being compared to those in the control group. In fact, what little difference they found showed that those involved with the BDSM lifestyle had slightly better mental health on average. The study concluded that those

32

similar sensation to a “runner’s high.â€? This is due to the rush of endorphins, a group of hormones secreted within the brain that activate the body’s opiate receptors, creating a high comparable to morphine and heroin. The effects of BDSM, as a result, could potentially be compared to those of yoga or running a mile. Despite so many of these physical DQG SV\FKRORJLFDO EHQHĂ€WV WKH VWLJPD behind BDSM still lingers in the background. The connection between violence and bondage, as promoted by the media, could be the reason why people are still hesitant to go into 50 Shades of Grey mode. Master P, a self-­proclaimed Dominant who has been involved with the BDSM community for over 15 years, agrees that this lifestyle is not fairly represented by the media. “BDSM is a way of life that follows certain rules, where the roles between the top and the bottom are distinguished, where both have to dedicate their life and time to each other and responsibilities are equally allocated to each other,â€? he said. “Unfortunately, the media fails to show this side of the lifestyle. What they bring forward is what the porn industry

represents as BDSM and many times they focus on some sick individuals who do some really crazy stuff out there.â€? The purpose of BDSM has been skewed within pop culture, making the general masses believe that its intention is to hurt other people. Much like homosexuality was once connected to mental illness, the desire to be involved with BDSM is viewed as being perverted and psychologically disturbed. Bianca Jarvis, representative for the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, agrees that BDSM should not be viewed as unhealthy. “It’s a sexual preference like any other,â€? she said. “I don’t think the desire itself is unhealthy, as long as people express it in ways that are relatively safe.â€? BDSM, in fact, is an art solely based on trust. The submissive partner is in a complete state of vulnerability, which allows the dominant to be in total control of how and when the submissive receives pain or pleasure. “I think often with marginalized sexual groups there is a tendency to say that they do this thing that is perceived as deviant because they were abused or something bad happened and it caused them to become this way,â€? Jarvis said. “I think people do it less because of a history of abuse or mental illness and more because it’s fun and sexually pleasurable and it gives them a sense of community.â€? The role of violence within BDSM is ultimately non-­existent. Within pop culture, misogynistic images of women being tied up and abused may scare us away from this secret world, but in reality the practice of BDSM LV Ă€OOHG ZLWK UXOHV DQG JXLGHOLQHV WR ensure that every type of play is safe and consensual. Plus, the fact that getting a little kinky could be used as a stress reliever isn’t so bad at all. _____________________________________ Cecilia Morales is a freshman journalism major who says that sticks and stones may break her bones, but AP Style excites her. E-­mail her at cmorales1@ithaca.edu.

Tales of a 2IXžM\ 0SZIV

By J.J. Abramzz

S

H[ LV IDU IURP FLQHPDWLF )RU VRPH reason, I’ve been cursed with the tendency to have it while watching movies. My sex life has become that of a strange Buzzfeed quiz. What movie or television show would your most recent sexual encounter represent?

Treasure Planet

8LI 6YKVEXW 1SZMI

Type of Encounter: :7) &XGGOLQJ Situation: You talked before you left for school. Six months later, over spring break, he contacts you and you reconnect. He really wants to cuddle and you’re intrigued. So, you sneak out of your house at 3 a.m. as he gets a hotel room, because he lives 25 minutes away. You can’t drive and risk your parents seeing the driveway without your car in the morning; you also don’t want him to be put out by driving you HYHU\ZKHUH 7KLV LV WKH Ă€UVW WLPH \RX¡YH done something like this. Something about this doesn’t feel sexual to you. It’s rebellion at its weirdest. When the car pulls up to your house at 3 a.m.,

you’re armed with an overnight bag DQG WKH VHQVH WKDW \RX Ă€QDOO\ DUH doing something that is beyond your hometown, beyond your former life as a formerly-­overweight high school guy with a loud voice and a backpack full of novels. Getting a hotel room in your hometown freaks you out. He’s a pleasant guy. A hometown Hampton is silent at 3 a.m., but it’s spotless. You’ve never been in a hotel room with a single, large bed before; always, it’s been two double beds to be shared between four platonic people, until tonight. Both of you take turns searching through Direct TV until you (yes, you) decide on “The Rugrats Movie.â€? Lying down leads to cuddling between you two. You don’t have sex, even after two hours. Making out, on the other hand, KDSSHQV D ORW 7KH Ă€UVW NLVV VKDWWHUV what barriers are between you two. Breathing overrides the sound of cartoon babies having adventures, which is a good thing considering that \RX¡UH PDNLQJ RXW WR D PRYLH \RX Ă€UVW watched in elementary school. Six D P FRPHV DQG \RX WZR Ă€QDOO\ JR WR bed. Something about the act of being held is what you care about the most. He takes you home around 8 and you feel like it was impossible, kind of revolutionary. You make plans to someday watch “The Rugrats Movieâ€? with this person for real. You have yet to do this. That’s okay, because you’re more than willing to actually watch the movie with someone new. The Rugrats made you a rebel.

Ministry of Cool

Type of Encounter: Too Lazy to Orgasm Situation: You sip a coffee twice as tall as his because you love sweet, indulgent drinks and he doesn’t care what he gets. He’s cute. You talk about school, traveling, his move to the United States, and the differences between undergrad and grad school. Something about the date seems to go well, until the minutes start to slog by. Every question about LQWHUHVWV VHHPV WR JHW GHĂ HFWHG DV LI he doesn’t have strong opinions about anything. Strong opinions are what make you want to take someone home at the end of the night. You decide that he’s not your type. Not physically (he’s too short and probably a power bottom) and not intellectually, but you go to his house anyway because he says that the bus passes close to it. He puts you on his couch, the type that’s heavy with old make out sessions and nights of eating pizza from the box. His television is a KXJH Ă DWVFUHHQ KH¡V D JUDG VWXGHQW living in an apartment the size of a FRIĂ€Q +H VWDUWV PDNLQJ RXW ZLWK \RX Bodies entangle and your mouths clash together as the Disney logo appears

DW WKH RSHQLQJ RI D Ă€OP Âł KLV FKRLFH “Treasure Planet.â€? He tells you that you may as well stay the night. Before you know it you’re both naked as animated VSDFH SLUDWHV Ă€OO WKH URRP ZLWK VWHHO toned battle cries. You end up getting him off; you realize that you’re nowhere near cumming. You have no idea what the fuck is going on; you don’t even get to be little spoon. Parting with a kiss, you walk down to the Commons and stop at CTB, your phone at 10 percent. One breakfast sandwich and coffee to-­go later, there’s a perfectly timed Green Street TCat stop that takes you back up to Ithaca College. You walk of shame up to your dorm where you feel accomplished despite your lack of orgasm.

33

RAW SAW

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BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

St. Vincent

FROM THE

34

St. Vincent is often known for her slightly skewed and ever changing take on pop, blending catchy songwriting with her crooning vocals and syncopated guitar work, and her latest self-­titled album is certainly keeping with these themes. But while her new release follows these lines, this time there is an unignorable prevalence of sex appeal. Annie Clark is shedding her quirky cuteness for bizzaro-­seduction, and it works marvelously. Despite being sexy, “St. Vincentâ€? keeps from straying into the overtly sexual vibe of Beyonce’s 2013 self-­titled album. Instead, Clark eschews contemporary American sex appeal through the same intellectually snarky voice she has developed for years, but this time with an indelible weirdness. What makes most of the songs on “St. Vincentâ€? so ear-­pleasing is the way the synths and guitars work together so well, neither one overpowering the other. Instead a perfect tension is achieved, between sonic textures of Clark’s spastic fuzz-­guitar and the fullness of the keyboard and distorted synth-­tones. The album also ushers in a groovier side of Clark, which works well with her other elements. It is unclear where Clark’s sudden DIĂ€QLW\ IRU IXQNLQHVV FDPH IURP VRPH PLJKW speculate it lies in her recent collaboration with David Byrne), but it is a refreshing addition. The track, “Digital Witness,â€? is a prime example of this, featuring a horn section and funk beat accentuating some of the most soulful singing yet. Surrounding the main aspects of the song are bended distorted guitar lines and repeated interruptions of Clark uttering the word “yeah.â€? The effect

is uncomfortable, but musically enthralling enough to cancel out any uneasiness. At times, the sexy dance ascetic of this album becomes too heavy-­handed and slightly distracting. In tracks like “Bring Me Your Loves,â€? Clark’s lush synth-­harmonies and vocal effects bring to mind Lady Gaga’s last two albums. Strangely enough, this song is easily one of the best on the record, but mostly because it is such an outlier to the other songs. As for the lyrical content, Clark is at her EHVW \HW FUHDWLQJ D VSHFLĂ€F DWPRVSKHUH WKDW is both mystical and emotionally poignant. As always, her lyrics are full of feeling without sounding stale or overused. In the song, “Regret,â€? Clark matter-­of-­factly sings, “I’m afraid of Heaven because I can’t stand the height/ I’m afraid of you ‘cause I can’t be left behind.â€? Within the context of the song and vocalization, this line glides right by the listener, which seems to be what Clark wanted it to do. In a recent interview with NME about her new album, Clark said, “I set out to make a party record you could play at a funeral.â€? Being that these two spheres are never usually in conversation with one another, it makes sense that the album can put off a feeling of dissonance for the listener. What is so enthralling about this album as a whole, however, is how these dissimilar elements merge so cohesively. Suddenly, the idea of a funeral party doesn’t sound all that odd at all. -­ Tylor Colby

Supermodel Atlas

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found the more I want the less I’ve got.â€? “Nevermindâ€? showcases subtle xylophones that hide behind the hum of the guitar and punchy vocals. If “Supermodelâ€? starts in a lucid dreamland of LPSHUDWLYH WKRXJKWV ´3VHXGRORJLFD )DQWDVWLFDÂľ DQG the tracks that follow shift into the act of waking up with questions. The ‘80s space ballads emerge in “The Truth.â€? “A Beginners Guide to Destroying the Moonâ€? is a rock song that commands all attention. The transient electric energy that pulses through VRQJV OLNH ´1HYHUPLQG Âľ ´%HVW )ULHQGÂľ DQG ´*RDWV and Treesâ€? plays to elements of other great artists: guitar solo sounds like MGMT, Jimi Hendrix, the Artic Monkeys and Jack White; vocals reminiscent of the Strokes and U2; acoustic play like Donovon; DQG FRPSRVLWLRQ WKDW Ă LUWV ZLWK ERWK WKH %HDWOHV and Queen. 7KH PpODQJH RI DOO RI WKHVH LQĂ XHQFHV DQG IHHOLQJV initially sounds cluttered. Although “Supermodelâ€? LV GHĂ€QLWHO\ QRW HDV\ OLVWHQLQJ WKHUH LV DQ HYHU present line connecting it all. The multiple genres are linked by the motif of American consumerism, and the sick chaos infecting our assumptions DERXW KDSSLQHVV )RVWHU WKH 3HRSOH¡V XQLTXH VRXQG and image is, frankly, an amalgamation of songs, which have been written before; that album’s value and individuality stem from the inky and poignant synthesis of these elements of music into new meaning. -­ Gillian Wenzel

“Atlasâ€?, the third LP from New Jersey indie rockers Real Estate, shows the band’s ability to retain their classic sound while adding D VOLJKWO\ PRUH UHĂ€QHG DQG PDWXUH HGJH Overall, the effort has resulted in an album that is much more sophisticated than the last two. ´+DG WR +HDU Âľ WKH Ă€UVW WUDFN JHWV WKH DOEXP off to a strong start. “I had to hear you / Just to feel near you,â€? lead singer Martin Courtney croons, his voice enveloped by a harmonious backdrop of gentle guitar picking, simplistic bass and a steady drumbeat. It seems pretty likely that the song is a product of Courtney’s own experiences maintaining a long-­distance relationship while on the road. Arguably the standout tune of the album, third track “Talking Backwardsâ€? continues ZLWK WKLV WKHPH 7KH VRQJ H[HPSOLĂ€HV 5HDO Estate’s maturation. “And I might as well be talking backwards / Am I making any sense to you?â€? Courtney sings wistfully. The resigned frustration behind the lyrics gives the song a calm, yet unmistakably downhearted feel. The reverb on Courtney’s voice paired with the up-­tempo guitar and drums produce a haunting contrast that makes it hard to resist hitting “repeat.â€? With “Primitive,â€? the lyrics take a more optimistic turn. Courtney seems to rejoice in having found love and a true companion, with lines like “Don’t know where I want

to be / But I’m glad that you’re with me.â€? The chorus’s chord progression produces an almost eerie sound, but the lighthearted guitar and vocals that follow balance the track out, almost as if they are echoing Courtney’s thoughts and calming down his uncertainties. “Horizon,â€? another strong point of the album, continues with this idea, with Courtney almost VHHPLQJ EDIĂ HG DW KDYLQJ PDQDJHG WR Ă€QG UHDO pure love. With lyrics like “In this sprawling landscape / How’d you know just where I’d be,â€? the track is especially remarkable. The instrumentationyis downright groovy at times, with a fast-­paced beat and catchy guitar riffs. While “Atlasâ€? doesn’t encompass a huge evolution of sound for the band, it is certainly WKH PRVW UHĂ€QHG /3 5HDO (VWDWH KDV SXW RXW WR date – probably owing to the fact that it was recorded at alt-­rock band Wilco’s professional studio in Chicago. The album also has a much more optimistic vibe than its two predecessors; while it still carries themes of doubt and uncertainty, it seems to move past the nostalgia of the last two albums and focus more on the present, rather than the past. “Atlasâ€? may notthave the super fast pace and bustling energy to be an instant hity– it’s GHĂ€QLWHO\ D ´JURZHU Âľ %XW DIWHU D IHZ OLVWHQV when each carefully crafted element becomes more apparent – the soft melodies, the complex and creative lyrics – it’s hard not to adore it. -­ Kathyn Paquet

35

Ministry of Cool

,Q )RVWHU WKH 3HRSOH FDPH RXW ZLWK WKHLU debut album, “Torches.â€? Although “Pumped up Kicks,â€? a song about a high school shooter, became the ironic anthem of the summer, the rest of the pessimistic electronic album was not ORVW WR WKH PXVLF FRPPXQLW\ )RVWHU WKH 3HRSOH has followed their upbeat and secretively dark dreamland of “Torchesâ€? with “Supermodel.â€? By layering acoustic and rock elements with world LQVWUXPHQWV DQG HOHFWURQLF VRXQGV )RVWHU WKH People achieves a different kind of recycled sound, deviating from the genre they helped create. The album opens with the fuzzy yet punchy track “Are You What You Want to Be?â€? The electronic crescendo of pulsing beats, bright sounds and harmonizing voices are familiar, yet as the song opens up it is apparent that both song and album are already painting a different picture from “Torches.â€? The “opaque lensâ€? that OHDG VLQJHU DQG ZULWHU 0DUN )RVWHU XVHG WR explain the sound of “Torchesâ€? has been polished IRU WKH FODULW\ RI LQĂ XHQFH WKDW LV SUHVHQW LQ “Supermodel.â€? 7KH DOEXP Ă RZV LQ D ]LJ]DJ VHTXHQFH EHWZHHQ songs that evoke parallels with “Torchesâ€? and tracks that deviate into psychedelic, rock and even acoustic genres surrounded by the foggy GUHDP VWDWH WKDW )RVWHU¡V YRLFH HYRNHV QDWXUDOO\ “Ask Yourselfâ€? has the acoustic soft accusation as it twists the American dream, “You say that dreamers always get what they desire/ But I’ve

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

CONS. PROSE&CONS. PROS

36

I’m progressing We’re regressing Feeling the weight on our hands And our heads Curling up to sleep And pointing to destinations Feeling the navel heat In our outward umbilical cords Taught with memories Taut with expectations

I’m progressing By Gillian Wenzel

Hibernating away From the awake damsel Bright eyes And hands of wit I fumble Into your covered eyes Bright with the jade of gypsies Doors of cathedrals Taped shut with the sign of wetness You know the cold It makes people fall into themselves Or fall into the eyes Of those tied with masking tape Or shackled with cardboard You know we really are free I know we are still tied Chained to the pull of life Spiral out 3RXS XLI ¾SSV Come down a bit for me

Prose & Cons

Get up for me Wake up from your slumber Choose motion Choose transparency Choose Connection Unfurl these blankets Let’s step down the hall Into the psalm that is searching For this very progression Backwards forwards and whole 9:14 2/17/14 GZRW

37

Adoring Thee By Alexis Farabaugh

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

Her hands are soft and delicate, Fatigued, worn out from being a mother of nine And a grandmother of twenty. )EGL ½RKIV HERGIW SZIV XLI FPEGO ERH [LMXI OI]W As methodically as a scientist, As passionate as a child’s feet in the rain. Heaven meets Earth, kissing its forehead, When the sounds of the dancing Escape from the blessing of her skin and the ivory. I watch her play And wonder if romantic love could ever Equal what is shared between her and the Baldwin for church. But they are Sally and Dan Grammy and Pappy —She and her best friend for life. I know it. So I ask, When did you know you loved him? She looks up and smiles softly And replies, When I knew God was listening to the music I played every day.

38

Cold so Hot it Burns

by Christian Cassidy-Amstutz

Prose & Cons

Kids, today we have an important lesson. A lesson reminiscent of grade school, a vocabulary lesson. Apricity. Appreciate the word ½VWX JSV MXW WSYRH LS[ MX pushes your cheeks back and up, how it molds your tongue and lips. The very action of your saying it is like tasting any other fruit, except in this case you’re not actually tasting anything as it’s just a word. Next, appreciate it for what it means, the warmth of the sun on a cold winter’s day. Connect sensation to the empty letters with which I gave you the word. Make it yours. Beyond the silly way your face looks when you say it or your weird pronunciation. Imbue the word with memory until it is as much a reminder of some bundled smile or exasperated relent in the weather as any photograph. Delve into the paradox of the word, how it would not exist without the conjunction of two opposites. Understand the contradiction of its existence and how we still perfectly understand it. Then forget it. Hold onto it like a kiss that can never be shared again. But also, like that kiss, cannot be known to any other. Because honestly, what kind of person actually uses words like apricity? 08 March 2014 Hershey, PA

39

Remembering Olivia

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

by Samantha Brodsky

-´ZI FIIR HIEH JSV I\EGXP] XLVII [IIOW X[S HE]W ½ZI LSYVW ERH QMRYXIW &YX [LS´W GSYRXMRK# - [EW killed crossing the street late at night on a Wednesday, and we all know Wednesdays are the worst days of the week (besides Mondays). They’re like the freezer burn atop your favorite carton of ice cream: unwanted, needed to be scraped away as quickly as possible. It was humid—I remember that—the kind of humid when it feels like you’re walking through molasses, and I had gone to my friend Janice’s to pick up a sweater I’d left there. It was one of those sweaters you could wear in the summertime; light, breezy, a soft material. I wore it to the beach, let it hang slanted across my chest so that one shoulder peeked through, exposed to the skintoasting sunlight. I slept with it under my pillow so that if I needed to sneak outside, shake hands with risk and take adventurous teenage stupidity out for a candlelit dinner, I would have it in my grasp, quick to slip it on over my nest of long, brunette curls, and tip toe to unknown places. It was the color of night, a bold black. Maybe that’s why the man driving that car didn’t see me as I crossed the street. Maybe my sweater blended in too well with the darkness of the hour, making me invisible, hiding me in the shadows. The car that hit me was a lipstick red Jaguar, a F-TYPE V8 S model to be exact. My dad used to always talk about these types of cars; how powerful they were, how smoothly they drove, how “outstanding the levels of dynamic capability” were. The “V8 engine produces 495 horsepower,” and other “holy” necessities like that. ;LIR LI XEPOIH EFSYX GEVW LI GSYPH KS SR JSV LSYVW SR IRH LMW XSRI ¾YGXYEXMRK EW XLSYKL LI [EW XIPPMRK E scary story, using his hands with great enthusiasm to paint the picture of the kind of parts he was discussing. If you got him started about leather seats, you’d be hunched over at the kitchen table, staring at the beige XEFPIGPSXL ½KLXMRK XLI YVKI XS VIWX ]SYV LIEH YTSR XLI WXEMRIH TPEGIQEXW - XLMRO LI [SYPH MQEKMRI WTIIHMRK down the freeway wearing sunglasses with one arm outstretched to the side of him, feeling the air as it VYWLIH XLVSYKL XLI KETW MR FIX[IIR LMW ½RKIVW 0MOI LI [EW 0ISREVHS (M'ETVMS SV WSQIXLMRK E WYTIVWXEV E king of the road. My mom was a note person. That is, she wrote everything down. Like a dog mopping up every last crumb JVSQ XLI OMXGLIR ¾SSV 3R WXMGO] RSXIW RSXIFSSO TEHW GVYQTPIH YT VIGIMTXW WGVETW SJ GSPSVJYP GSRWXVYGXMSR paper. Once, I picked up an old coupon for the local nail salon (the one that always smelled of gasoline or WSQI WSVX SJ ½WL ERH SR XLI FEGO MR RIEX TIRQERWLMT VIEH ±-J ]SY ]IPPIH JSV IMKLX ]IEVW WIZIR QSRXLW and six days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.” It was fun facts like these that captured her interest. My mom lived a rather mundane life, so I think writing snippets down amused her, made her mind churn and ponder, like watching game shows and challenging your intellect. She was a thinker, a collector of rarities. It helped her enjoy the moments of the day where she was submerged into quietness. I’m kind of just there. Just here. Floating around with the wind as though I’m something, someone, yet nothing and no one all the same. I’m not actually alive, yet I’m still living. Somehow. It’s just my thoughts that are still vibrant, still aimlessly wandering, wondering. And I’m seeing, but not actually seeing the things around me. My surroundings grasp my being as though they are keeping me grounded, as though I am still a body to be grasped, to be held. Like I am being kept on a shelf like an old book or one of those Russian dolls that EPP ½X MRWMHI IEGL SXLIV GSQTVMWMRK SRI [SSHIR thing but existing in separate, painted-faced parts. Oh you know, those wooden dolls that are all plump and identical looking, all decreasing in size, one by one placed inside of one another until you are left with a rather large, fat, strange looking woman with a babushka and pink lips. It’s something a step-aunt would give you as a housewarming gift, an item she had acquired from her last trip overseas. You don’t know what else to do with this ugly piece of memorabilia that your crazy relative says is a very valuable possession, so you stick it in the corner of your bookshelf where it collects dust until the next dinner party when you wipe it down with a Kleenex or two. So I’m just as worthless. As I continue to live dead, continue to exist in my nonexistence, I have no choice but to remain as I am. So Mom, you will continue to write notes, to scribble down facts, only now they will all pertain to death like, “More than ten people a year are killed by vending machines.” Dad, you will no longer be MRJEXYEXIH [MXL ½\MRK GEVW -RWXIEH ]SY [MPP KS XS XLI NYRO]EVH EX RMKLX ERH GEYWI HIWXVYGXMSR OMGOMRK HIRXW into doors, slashing tires, shattering windows.

40

Sawdust

WDUST. SAWDUST. SAWDUST

41

Reduce, Reuse, Recharge

Shocking new policy invades local businesses

By Francesca Toscano

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LQ KHUH DQ\PRUH DUH VH[XDOO\ UHSUHVVHG ZRPDQ ZKR OLNH WKH YLEUDWLRQV µ +RZHYHU QRW DOO UHVLGHQWV DUH XQVXSSRUWLYH RI WKH PRYHPHQW PDQ\ DUH FHOHEUDWLQJ WKH GUDPDWLF VKLIW WR D JUHHQHU OLIHVW\OH )RU H[DPSOH *UHHQ6WDU &RRSHUDWLYH HPSOR\HH 6RQQ\ 0RRQEHDP LV WKULOOHG DERXW WKH GHYHORSPHQW ´<HDK , WRWDOO\ GLJ WKLV QHZ V\VWHP µ VKH VDLG ´,W·V DERXW ÀJKWLQJ WKH PDQ DQG WKH SDWULDUFK\ $QG WKH JHQGHU ELQDU\ $QG OHJDOL]LQJ LW 5LJKW QRZ LW·V MXVW UHPHPEHULQJ \RXU SHUFHQW KHPS EDJ DQG QH[W WKLQJ \RX NQRZ WKH HQWLUH ZRUOG ZLOO EH VKDULQJ NDOH FKLSV DQG SDVVLQJ DURXQG D ERQJ µ :KHWKHU RU QRW WKH SXEOLF XQDQLPRXVO\ DJUHHV LQ WKH WHFKQRORJ\ PRUH DQG PRUH VWRUHIURQWV DUH EHLQJ IRUFHG WR LQVWDOO WKH 6KRSSHU6KRFNHU :KHQ DVNHG IRU D ÀQDO FRPPHQW $GDPV VDLG ´,·P GHDG ,·P G\LQJ , FDQ·W µ _______________________________________ Fran Toscano is a senior IMC major who will kill for eco-­friendly policy. Literally. (PDLO KHU DW IWRVFDQ #LWKDFD HGX

Cry Me a River, Build Me a Bridge of Gold

6MGL OMHW ½REPP] EFPI XS SZIVGSQI WSGMIX]´W STVIWWMSRW By Chris Thomas

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

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ÀQG D FXUH DQG KHOS RXU QDWLRQ·V ULFK NLGV OLYH SRRUHU OLYHV (YHU\ FRLQ KHOSV 'ROODUV RI FRXUVH ZRUN HYHQ EHWWHU ,I \RX KDG D FKLOG GLDJQRVHG ZLWK DIÁXHQ]D ZRXOG \RX UHDOO\ ZDQW WKHP WR OLYH D SHUIHFW OLIH" 0DNH VXUH WKH\ GRQ·W KDYH WR &RQWULEXWH WRGD\ DW ULFKNLGVGHVHUYHWRORVHVRPHWLPHV RUJ ____________________________________ Chris Thomas is a sophomore TV-­R major who will gladly take anyone’s PRQH\ WR DOOHYLDWH DIÁXHQ]D symptoms. Email him at cthomas5@ LWKDFD HGX

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BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

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If I Was Your Prison Bitch .YWXMR &MIFIV ½REPP] LIPH EGGSYRXEFPI JSV LMW EGXMSRW

By Jeremy Robson

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Font L et M e D own 3RI KMVP´W XVEKMG XEPI SJ VINIGXMSR LIEVXFVIEO ERH WERW WIVMJ QE]LIQ By Lizzy Rosenberg

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

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ear Diary, Maybe ma was right. Maybe I shoulda stayed home and learned how to milk the goats, become a mid-wife and gotten married to cousin Jimmy-Joe. I really thought I was gonn’ be somebody when I got accepted into the Park School of Communications, for integrated marketing communications. Boy, was I wrong. Hell’s bells, I’ve been rode hard and hung up dry. 0\ Ă€UVW VHPHVWHU ZDV ZRUVH WKDQ D VDFN RI hairy potatoes. The term started out peachy keen. I made lots of artsy friends with big ole’ MacBooks, learned what a “veganâ€? is and pretended to have fun at dem nasty baseball and football houses‌That’s where the kids drink warm beer and boys try to do unholy things to girl’s buttocks’ when they ain’t expectin’ it. Anywho, I know it all sounds like a hoedown, and it totally was‌ until midterms hit. $W Ă€UVW P\ PLGWHUP DVVLJQPHQWV actually seemed easy peasy. I did not have too many tests, since I was taking mostly intro classes. I did have a whopping PowerPoint project in my graphic designing

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class. It was my favorite course, though, so I wasn’t worried. My project was all about the “Queen of the South,â€? as pappy calls her, the PDJQLĂ€FHQW 3DXOD 'HHQ , VSHQW KRXUV straight in the library, and even brought a chamber pot with me so I didn’t have to leave my chair. Finally, that Monday was presentation day and I was tingling with excitement jitters. I knew that my presentation was the best in show, so I volunteered to go Ă€UVW That’s when the weirdest thing happened. I pulled up my PowerPoint on the projector, and everybody suddenly darted out the room, as if Uncle Billy Bob was there and ripped a big one. Even the professor ditched! I was alone in the classroom with a gigantic pixelated display of Paula Deen’s face behind me. What have I done? Does nobody here like Queen Deen? I guess word of my unpopular SUHVHQWDWLRQ VSUHDG OLNH ZLOGĂ€UH 0\ 3DUN professors refuse to engage in face-toface communication and will only Tweet hash-tags at me. Don at Towers no longer

inquires about the status of my mama’s fried chicken, and he throws peppermints at me when I walk through. Even the cashiers at Mac’s didn’t give a classic double take when I asked to purchase a pregnancy test. Thankfully, my professor was too kind, (bless him), and eventually called me into a private meeting. I was just too shocked when he informed me that the Comic Sans I chose to use in my presentation was apparently a very “uncool move,â€? a major “faux-pas.â€? Is that true? It’s just so fun and playful! Welp, I think it’s about time I head back to the farm. Lately I eat my suppers all alone in the bathroom stalls, recycle and compost all by my lonesome, and am even rejected by that darn Ithacat. This shift in my life’s path might be sign, though! It’s time to build a new me, so I think maybe it’s time that I start using a new font. Hrmmm‌. I’ve got it! I’m  switching  to  Papyrus. Regards, Lou-Ann ________________________________________ /L]]\ 5RVHQEHUJ LV D VRSKRPRUH ,0& major who thinks all fonts are created HTXDO (PDLO KHU DW HURVHQE #LWKDFD HGX

High School is the Deepest Circle of Hell

)RKPMWL XIEGLIV MRžMGXW TYRMWLQIRX E PE (ERXI By Rachel Mucha

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you think I care about your bracket by Rachel Maus

March Madness is once again upon us and our Facebook feeds are abuzz with bitching and moaning about schools you don’t actually go to screwing up your bracket. Lest I remind you that school pride is one thing, but wagering real money on other schools’ teams is just absurd. The animosity between people who have dedicated the entire month to this fake competition that means nothing is almost as bad as your Fantasy Football league. Seriously. You take people who are not and will never be on the same team and bet serious cash on their success? Now admittedly, I am the farthest thing from a “sportyâ€? person. I quit playing softball to do theatre, so maybe I’m not the best person to comment on the logistics of this whole thing. But when you blow up my newsfeed lamenting about how “your bracket is fucked thanks to (insert D I school here),â€? I can’t help but roll my eyes. “But Warren Buffett is offering $1 billion for a perfect bracket!â€? Yeah, and no one has EVER won that. Ever. Have you ever met someone with a perfect bracket? The odds are approximately one in 9 quintillion. Quintillion, with a Q. That is 9 followed by 18 zeros. So yeah, your argument is basically, “I’m going to spend x-amount of money on the abysmal, virtually nonexistent chance that the 4th richest man in the world will show up at my doorstep like a Publishers Clearing House rep and make my dreams come true.â€? No, he won’t. Because you are not going to win. Play your bracket and lose your money, but please stop forcing me to hear about your losses for the entirety of my spring semester. And don’t tell me to get off the Internet, because that won’t happen either. Stop putting so much pressure on these poor kids, who are students just like you. Stop freaking out that 19 year olds are not conforming to your arbitrary selection of teams. And let’s be honest, if someone were to hand in a perfect bracket and collect all that dough, it’s not because you’re some basketball predicting protĂŠgĂŠ. You beat the odds with a lucky guess, and everyone will hate you for it. Including me. Especially me.

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Sawdust

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Buzzsaw Asks Why...

48

BUZZSAW: The Punishment Issue

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