Eloquentia Perfecta 2015

EloquentiaPerfecta

A n A n t hol o g y of Wor k b y S t ude n t s i n Fa i r f i e l d U n i v e r s i t y ’s C or e Wr i t i ng P r o g ra m Sep tember 2015

Table of Contents Introduction…………………….…………………………………………………………………...……….…2 PERSONAL NARRATIVES: Falling Into Darkness by Kacper Laska………………………………………………………………...….…..3 Boston Stronger by John O’Neill.……………………………………………………………………………...6 My Name by Caoimhe Stafford…………………………………………………...……………………....….11 Conquering Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome: One Essay at a Time by Caroline Thomas……………………………………………………………..………………………………….......….13 Race to the Finish, or Race to be Finished by Isabella Zoella……………………………………..………....22 Realization through the Years by Kevin O’Connor………………………………............…...…………….24

RESEARCH AND ARGUMENT: Go Green or Go Home by Alyssa Abbot……………………………………………………………….…….30 The Effect of Class Size on Learning Environment by Matthew Caine………………………………….….36 Ethics versus Aesthetics: Conforming to the Commercial Ideal of Beauty

by Colleen Green…………………………………………………………………………………................43 Water Preservation by Joe Gigante………………………………………………….……………………..……………………………...53 Is Hip Hop Holding Us Back? by Joe Harding……………………………………………………………….58 The Silent Killer by Kaitlyn Tatulli…………………………………………………………………..………65 The Dark Side of Water: Its Use as a Weapon of Mass Destruction by Michael Vinci…………….….……70

WRITING ABOUT WRITING: The Ethics of Embellishment in Creative Nonfiction by Lauren Cicchetti……………………………….….76 Exploring the Story of Exphrasis by Kristie L’Ecuyer ……………………………………………………....80 Where There is Love There is Complexity and Change by Laura Jachimczyk………………………….…...85 Water Playlist by Kailyn Stephens……………………………………………………………………….…...90 Irish Fairy Folklore in “Midwife to the Fairies by Shelby Meyer……………………………..………...…...97

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Eloquenetia Perfecta: An Anthology of Core Writing September 2015

Since 2013 when the Department of English first produced an anthology of work created by students in Fairfield University’s EN 11 and EN 12 courses it has become a frequent addition to classroom reading for many English professors. The reason for its popularity is that it highlights the writing of students just beginning their journey into collegiate reading, writing and inquiry, and shows the complexity of the topics and issues they are thinking about, discussing and writing about in their English courses.

In his essay “On Literacy” scholar Robert Pattison said that literacy “is something bigger and better than mechanical skill in reading and writing. Literacy is a potent form of consciousness. Once possessed, it makes us productive.” The essays in this collection are an example of Pattison’s definition. They demonstrate achievement in the mechanical skill of writing but also illustrate the complexity of thinking students in EN 11 and 12 develop throughout this full year course of study, thereby allowing them to become productive, not only in their classrooms, but in the University, their chosen fields of study, and, ultimately, the world.

More specifically, the essays in this collection are examples of student achievement in the aims of EN 11 and 12: gaining facility and knowledge of the writing process; practicing inquiry, reflection, critical thinking and argumentation; increasing research skills; connecting traditional forms of literary practice to the newer forms of academic literacy, and integrating the work of EN 11 with the larger notions of reading and writing as intellectual and social action, all of which help the students to develop competencies that are critical to their academic and personal success.

We have divided this collection into three sections: Personal Narrative, Research and Argumentation, and Writing about Writing. The essays in the first section are examples of how students undertake the process of reflecting on their own individual and cultural histories and stories and connecting them to the new discourses of the university. In the second section, the authors develop interesting and novel claims about relevant local and global issues and support these claims through research. And, finally, in the third section, student writers offer textual and literary analyses, and make researched reports and claims on subjects they have chosen.

The title of this anthology Eloquentia Perfecta comes from a long held tradition in Jesuit education, and that is the notion of active student engagement with language in the service of public good and personal development. The Jesuits used the term eloquentia perfecta as the aim of a humanities education: the development of someone who is articulate, informed, civil, sympathetic, and engaged.

We thank the fine student writers, their excellent teachers, the Core Writing Awards and Committee, and all who have supported the creation of this Anthology.

Sincerely, The Core Writing Awards Committee: Professors Jill Bodach, Lindsay Ferrara, Steven Otfinoski and Kristin Rose.

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PERSONAL NARRATIVE Falling Into Darkness By: Kacper Laska Imagine learning in high school that you are legally blind. How would it impact you personally, academically, emotionally? In this personal narrative, the author describes how his diagnosis of Lebers Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) made him appreciate his early encounters with literature, in particular the novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Far from a saccharine account of his powerful encounter with this book, Laska explores how the tangible feeling of reading a book can transform a person’s future encounters with literature, as well as discussing how the use of technology – in Laska’s case, Closed Circuit Television – changes that experience. – Professor Jill Bodach

I

still remember the first fifteen years of my life when I could just sit down pick up a book

and just like that be completely immersed in it. The print was crisp and clear and led me on the most exciting adventures. I really enjoyed reading because it distracted me from anything

that was bothering me and gave me a break from reality for a couple hours.

One day, I was riding my bike down to a friend’s house, dodging cars and unsuspecting pedestrians. As I sped through a red-light, my phone rang and I immediately pulled over into the parking lot of the public library. “Kacper I can’t hang out today, my mother is making me clean,” said the voice of my friend, Alex through the phone. I was now stranded on a Saturday with nothing to do. Standing in front of the library, I recalled what my parents always said “The library is an ocean of knowledge”. The patrons who devote themselves to learning swim in the water, while everyone else drowns in it. That is why I loved the library, not everyone understands the depth and power of it. I wandered through the stacks of the library. Walking though the fiction section I found The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I took it off the shelf to see how many times it had been checked out before. It had been taken out over thirty times and it wasn't a thick book, only 300 pages at most. I grabbed the book, took it to the top floor of the library and found a corner surrounded by the biggest and brightest windows that stretched from floor to the ceiling. It felt like I was standing on a cliff overlooking the town. I found the grandest chair in the library and dragged it up close to the windows. Cradled by the soft leather, I nestled myself deep inside the chair and spread the pages of the beaten book. I flipped to the beginning of part one, but before reading anything my eyes gravitated towards the small handwritten notes in the margins. They were 3

incredibly distracting, tearing my eyes away from the printed words. The pages were covered in what seemed like a cruel joke resembling graffiti on the side of a building. As I read on though, I started to realize how relevant the notes were. Each one was carefully crafted to elaborate on the main character, Charlie’s, story. One after another, the notes created a new layer to the book. These notes supported the story as if Charlie himself took out the book that I was holding and wrote them in years after the experiences printed on the pages.

About mid-way though The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I reached the turning point where Charlie’s friends no longer wanted to see him because he unintentionally insulted his girlfriend. At this point the sun started to set over the tree tops and one by one the library patrons began to leave. I was alone except for another young boy who was studying for the SAT’s behind me. I could hear the 80’s rock roaring from his headphones. The book had come alive for me. I wanted this book to be real; it felt real. The hastily scribbled notes ran parallel to the typed print, merging and becoming one. Charlie wrote the book and Charlie was the one who wrote those notes.

I finished the book in about six hours of continuous reading. The story was running through my head; I got lost in it. I had an amazing day experiencing Charlie’s life. I felt his happiness, his sadness and the feelings that neither of us wanted to feel.

I chose to walk home, pushing my bike beside me. I wanted this walk to last forever. As I walked I was blinded and irritated by the occasional drivers who left their bright lights on. I decided to take the long way home, through the woods. Surrounded by the creepy over hanging trees, only a fraction of the moon light dodged the elaborate spider web of branches. Walking through the woods always brought me pleasure, here I felt immersed and boundless. The woods were the only place I felt my heart beat. I thought about when Charlie and his friends Patrick and Sam drove through the Fort Pitt tunnel. When “Sam told Patrick to drive, and go fast… Sam stood up and the wind turned her dress into ocean waves. When we hit the tunnel all the sound got scooped up into a vacuum…and there it was downtown lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder …

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and in that moment, I swear we were infinite”. That’s how I felt on this walk, infinite. I actually considered the idea of looking for a tunnel, though I realize now how ridiculous that sounds.

For me, These feelings are what reading was about. The spontaneous and exciting stories I could throw myself into were a way for me to escape my mundane life. No one bothered me in my big leather chair. No one knew that I had learned to love reading.

This years ago; time has passed. Since than I began to lose my eyesight and in the span of three months I was declared legally blind. Due to Lebers Hereditary Optic Neuropathy(LHON), my sight suddenly eroded and left me in a thick haze. My passion for reading never left me though.

Every so often, I go back to the same library and pick The Perks of Being a Wallflower. When I pry the stale pages apart, I attempt to read the notes lying behind the haze my eyes superimpose onto the ink. Often I go back to the memories tied to this story however much I am unable to relive them.

I have been stripped of the ability to enjoy literature the way I used to. However this does not stop me. I continue to read using closed circuit television’s (CCTV’s). These systems enable me to enlarge any print I put underneath their cameras. So, throughout the means of modern technology, I read Charlie’s story again and again through the enlarged view of my magnifier. Though I can still enjoy it, it will never be the same as that one lonely Saturday.

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Boston Stronger By: John O’Neill Our final writing assignment in EN11 was to write a profile of a person, place or event. In his compelling essay John manages to combine all three – showing how the people of Boston deal with one of the worst events in the city’s history – the April 2013 Boston Marathon terrorist bombing. The piece’s strength comes from a balanced blend of his subjective and objective reporting of this tragic event from which the people of Boston emerged triumphant and strong.

– Professor Steven Otfinoski

T

he phone line buzzed in the ear of Elaine O’Neill on the afternoon of Monday, April 15th, 2013, telling her that phone lines were down. Her futile attempts to reach her daughter were frantic and repeated. Tears welled as calls were sent out to anybody and

everybody who might know the location of Erin. Meanwhile a group of teens, including myself, sat in shock, having turned around at the train station where our final destination would have been the exact spot Erin was said to be. Facts were sparse, but emotions were not.

The teens, my closest friends and girlfriend at the time, sat on the couch staring in disbelief at the headlines that flew across every news station on the television. The only thing that was certain at the time was that there were explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon and that there were numerous injuries. Efforts to shelter my younger sister, who was six at the time, from the troubling story were done blankly and confusedly. We did not know what we were supposed to think, but we knew that her ears were too young for what we so wanted to hear. We shuffled her around outside as we glanced at our phones reading anything that might explain what had happened in Boston.

Elaine, my mother, still struggled to contact anybody who could get to Erin, my older sister.

After calling the parents of Erin’s roommates and numerous others who might have been in contact with Erin or her friends, my Mom finally get confirmation of their safety. Erin relayed through the jumbled grapevine of phone calls and communications that she and her friends were a few miles from the site of the blast and that they were safe and back on the campus of Northeastern University, where they attended. The sound they heard when the explosion occurred was described

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by Erin as “the sound of a semi-trailer dropping its trailer, or a group of rowdy college students messing around. The sound was muffled but not promising.”

After investigation, the source of the explosions were found to be homemade bombs constructed from pressure cookers. The usually harmless appliances were modified and filled with shrapnel, rigged to explode with incredible force and cause maximum damage. There was even surveillance camera footage of the suspects carrying the backpacks with the bombs tucked inside.

The next step was to identify the faces under the hoods and hats seen in the videos.

In the days that followed, more facts surfaced, and the statistics of deaths and injuries were finalized. The death count held at three, but the number of injured victims climbed over 170.

Injuries ranged from superficial cuts to the gruesome loss of limbs. What was universal across the city was the sense of unity. Living in Boston, Erin witnessed first-hand the good that came out of such a horrible situation. She has said that it was physically visible. “People would smile at one another on the street. Everyone was leaning on each other.” This sense of inner strength was embodied in the quickly founded, and even more quickly funded, One Fund. Blue and yellow sprouted up everywhere (the color scheme of the marathon of that year, also used to color the One Fund’s advertising and merchandise). Rubber wristbands, tee shirts, posters and paintings emblazoned with the two words “Boston Strong” were seen in almost every direction. The number of donations was astronomical, but the dollar signs were nowhere near as strong as the sense of community that spread from northernmost Amesbury to the tip of Cape Cod. The days continued to pass and more information about the case was released and donations continued to pour in. My family and I had planned an overnight trip into Boston long before the first explosion was heard. With the strong showing of immediate and well-executed response from police, fire, and first responders on the day of the attack, there was no safer time to be in Boston.

Our trip continued as planned. Our first night passed normally, we ate in the North End, the best

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place to find Italian food, followed by pastries from Mike’s Pastries, a staple of Boston. The next day, conversely, was interesting to say the least.

Headlines blared the news that the suspected terrorists responsible for the attack the previous Monday have been found hijacking a car in Cambridge, only a town over from Boston.

The city was shut down. Streets were barren. No pedestrians roamed the sidewalks. Citizens of the city and surrounding areas were advised to remain in their homes. The city seemed like a ghost town as we left the hotel. Against the advice of the city, who was telling everyone to stay off of the streets, we quickly packed our things, turned on the radio to listen to the coverage of the story and made our way back to our suburban town south of Boston, well out of the way of the day’s events.

Erin, also in the city spoke of the experience. She told me that “it was like the scene of a zombie movie. People, if any went out at all, shuffled quickly across cross-walks or from their car to their front steps as if there was something threatening that would snatch them up if they stayed out too long.” From where her dorm was on campus, Erin had a prime view of the city streets. She also said “she had never seen the streets empty, ever, until that day.”

The two suspects were chased by police in a stolen vehicle, stopping only to deposit the owner of the vehicle. Now fugitives on the run, they lobbed explosives from the windows of the car at the pursuing officials. Rounds of ammunition were exchanged as the franticness of the chase increased. Bullets whizzed and explosives were detonated in a last-ditch attempt by the suspects to make their escape.

Time passed that day until one resident of Watertown went into his backyard to check on his boat after the lockdown of his town was lifted. He was greeted by the bloodied body of a man under a tarp in his boat. Quick confrontation by the police led to the capture and detainment of the barely living Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger brother of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the other terrorist, now dead.

A city, torn asunder by the terrorist attacks of these two men, was once again triumphant.

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Boston is not a city of docile people. Erin has told me that “Riots happen in Boston when big things happen. Red Sox win, riot. Patriots win, riot. When Tsarnaev was caught there were riots like no other.” Erin was in the heart of the city watching the riots of that night unfold in front of her.

Impromptu parades sprung up across the city in honor of the service men and women that aided in any and all of the events of the past week. While when other riots occurred after sporting events, police are mistreated, conversely in the case of the celebratory riots, they were adored. Erin said, “Instead of ignoring police, everyone cheered for them. Instead of picking fights with cops, everyone took pictures with them and clapped when they passed by.” People dream of being able to go into Boston on the day of the parade after a World Series win to see the Red Sox pass by wielding their rings and banners. But there are few things I wouldn’t have done to be able to walk the streets of that city that night, and revel in its greatness.

A coworker of mine, Mark Fitzpatrick, a lifetime resident of Boston, jumps at the chance to tell you he lived “at every stop on the bus.” He then proceeds to tell whoever will listen how he “was born in Roxbury, raised in Dorchester, and now lives in ‘Southie’ ” (Southie being the nickname for South Boston). The pride of the citizens of Boston is embodied in this one man, ground down by years of work on lobster boats, bar fights, and menthol cigarettes. This gruff man once said, in a crude way, the fashion of any true Bostonian, “What other city would shut itself down, to catch the a** holes that f**cked with them?” This bold statement, does truly speak volumes about the city of Boston.

The story of the Boston Marathon Terrorist Attack may seem like the story of two radical terrorists and their plan of attack on a country they despised; but it is a defining story of the character of the city on which the attack was made. Erin said that Boston was “one city, united in tragedy and brought together in strength.”

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Works Cited "Boston Marathon Terror Attack Fast Facts." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.

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My Name By: Caoimhe Stafford Many students in EN 11 and EN 12 have opportunities to write about themselves, and students tell a variety of tales; a funny anecdote, a personal tragedy, a passion or hobby. Regardless of the topic, writing about one’s own life requires a sense of audience, and making your personal story have some larger meaning to the reader. In “My Name” Caoimhe Stafford does a lovely job telling a very unique story about her unsual name in such a way that the reader can’t help but empathize with the author, while also considering the story behind his or her own name, and the ubiquitous experience of uniqueness. – Professor Lindsay Ferrara

“K

ay-oh-me?” “Uh.. Stafford?”. These are the types of reactions I hear when a teacher or professor sees my name on the first day of classes. Caoimhe is a Gaelic name, pronounced “Qweeva”, meaning beauty and grace. I don’t

think anyone has ever attempted to read it without butchering the pronunciation, unless they have known someone else with a Gaelic name. Most of the time when I correct whoever has attempted it, they just look at me with confusion. Although I can understand why others mispronounce my unique name, I can relate to Esparanza in Cisneros’ passage, “My Name” as she describes how the way in which her name is mispronounced can bother her. She says, “At school they say my name funny as if they syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth”.

My unusual first name is a great foundation for conversation. In most situations, when asked, I’m happy to explain the origin of my name and speak about Ireland, where Caoimhe is actually a very common name. It comes from the same root as the name Kevin, which is why most of my cousins call me ‘Kev’. Sometimes however, I just don’t have time for that conversation- like when I’m grabbing a Starbucks before class, or rushing to pick-up a sandwich from Panera Bread before work. When the cashiers ask for my name, I simply respond telling them it’s ‘Sally’, assuming there can’t be any confusion, misspelling, or mispronunciation.

Unlike Esparazna in the passage “My Name”, I don’t change my name in order to find one that better reflects me, but just to make life simpler. Sometimes though, there is confusion when the customer named Sally uses a debit card with her picture but reads Caoimhe P. Stafford...The “P” printed in-between my first and last name on my debit card stands for Patricia. I was named 11

Patricia after both my Grandmother and Aunt. This name is definitely more common than ‘Caoimhe’ is. However the uniqueness doesn’t end with my first name. My full name is Caoimhe Patricia William Stafford. Now isn’t that even more baffling?! I chose the confirmation name ‘William’ after my Godfather and Uncle, William Gannon, who passed away in December of 2009. The following Spring when I made my conformation, I chose to take his name to reflect the great influence he has had on my life.

Like Cisneros writes of Esparanza in “My Name”, I also have a sister with an unusual name. Her name is Aislíng, pronounced ‘Ash-ling’. As you may have guessed, this name is also one that isn’t pronounced correctly on the first try. Although she no longer has to explain her name at school as she graduated from the Fairfield University School of Nursing, she does have to explain her name at work. When her patients read her name tag, they usually pronounce what is written as “Ace-ling”. Luckily though, just like Esparanza’s sister Magdalena can be called “Nenny” she tells them to call her “Ash.” My nicknames however, “Qweev” “Qweevs” and “Q”, are just as puzzling as my first name.

Unlike Esparanza, I have no desire to baptize myself under a new name. My name is representative of me- it is unusual and needs to be deeply examined to be truly understood. There are explanations and stories attached to each of my names, making them interesting and full of meaning. The importance and sentimentality behind each of these names makes it worth being called “Kay-oh-me” every once in a while.

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Conquering Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome: One Essay at a Time By: Caroline Thomas I found this essay to be one of the strongest I read for this anthology. The author has taken an intensely personal topic and found a way to make it universal so that readers who do not suffer from POTS, or any other medical condition, can relate to it. The author also finds a way to weave her personal narrative into the broader category of a literacy narrative by discussing how her diagnosis affected her understanding and application of the term discourse, a topic discussed heavily in EN 11 courses. Often essays that attempt to meld personal stories with pedagogy on discourse seem forced, but not this one, which is a credit to the author’s strength as a writer and storyteller.

A

s a senior in high school, I had one thing on my mind: getting accepted to my top colleges. The college application process is an arduous one, including the Common App, writing supplements, and of course, the daunting college essay that finally

allows the reader of our application to see us as more than just a name, a GPA, and a list of extracurricular activities. Approaching this essay was difficult for me; I had to figure out what set me apart from every other girl who did well in school, played a couple sports, and was the leader of a club or two. Every high school senior knows that colleges are looking for something unique, something that catches their eye and makes them want to know more. Well I don’t play the harp, I haven’t created my own flourishing business, and I don’t speak seven different languages, so what was I supposed to write about? How was I supposed to use my knowledge of writing and language to convey to my dream colleges that I was a perfect fit for their school? Then it hit me. I’ve gone through something that many other college applicants have not: I’ve suffered from the chronic illness Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome for the last five years of my life.

It was the summer after seventh grade, and I had tickets to my favorite band, the Jonas Brothers, with my best friend, Mary Claire. I was on top of the world. Nothing could affect my ecstatic mood, or so I thought. July 18th had finally arrived, and after months of waiting, I was about to see my future husband, Joe Jonas, perform live at the TD Garden in Boston. Mary Claire and I got to the concert and sang and danced all night to songs that we’d only ever listened to over the radio or in our headphones. I had never been as happy as I was that night. We excitedly discussed 13

our favorite parts of the concert as her mom drove us back from the city, on our way to her house for a sleepover. We couldn’t stop talking about how great Nick’s voice sounded, or how beautiful Joe’s hair looked, so we were up until the wee hours of the morning. When our eyes had grown too heavy and our voices became too hoarse, we finally decided to go to sleep.

Mary Claire fell asleep quickly, but I lied awake for a long time after. Something didn’t feel right. I was nauseous, but that was nothing new, considering I’ve had acid reflux since I was a baby and I had eaten a fair amount of chocolate that night. What struck me as different was the way my chest felt. It seemed as though I couldn’t breathe easily and my heart was racing. Sure, I had a great night, but was my heart still supposed to be beating this fast? I lied there nervously, wondering if I should call my parents to come pick me up, until somehow I finally fell asleep.

The next day, I felt slightly better, but something still seemed off. When I got home from Mary Claire’s house, I told my parents about my strange symptoms. They were worried, like any overprotective parents would be, but I told them not to schedule a doctor’s appointment quite yet.

Maybe it would pass. Maybe it was nothing.

The following weekend I was supposed to take a ride on my friend Taylor’s boat to Provincetown, where we would explore the area, go out to eat, and sleep over on her boat. I had been looking forward to this for a couple of weeks, and wasn’t about to let some strange symptoms take the opportunity away from me. The night before I was supposed to meet Taylor at her boat, I began to feel miserable again while lying in bed. My chest felt heavy; I remember describing this symptom to my mom as it feeling as though I was “sipping air through a straw.” I was unbearably nauseous, and my whole body felt weak and fatigued, as if I’d just run a marathon. I went to sleep (eventually), with the hopes that this would pass, and that I would feel better in the morning. This time I didn’t feel better when I woke up. In fact, I felt worse, so my parents made the executive decision to not allow me to go on Taylor’s boat for the weekend. I was devastated, and confused as to why I kept feeling like this.

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My mom scheduled an appointment for the doctor, and I finally had to accept that something was wrong. We went to my pediatrician and I described my myriad of symptoms to her. She threw out multiple possible answers as to why I was feeling so sick. Perhaps I had developed Lyme disease, mono, or a virus that had been circulating at the time. She ran numerous blood tests and sent me on my way, saying I had nothing to worry about. Despite her attempt at comforting me, I was worried. I may have looked okay, but I sure didn’t feel okay. Why wasn’t she doing more to help me? Did she even believe me? I began researching the possible illnesses that she’d mentioned on my iPhone on the car ride home, but I soon became too nauseous to read anymore, and I tried to put it all out of my head.

The blood tests came back negative, which some people might be thankful for, but I was rather bothered by. All this meant was that I had no answers, no easy fix to what was becoming a major problem in my life. And so began the journey from specialist to specialist that would become all too familiar. I was sent to a cardiologist, who noticed I had a slight case of orthostatic hypotension. In other words, my blood pressure drops a little too much when I stand up. You know that feeling you get when you stand up quickly and you black out for a second or two? Yeah, I feel that just about every time I stand up, even if I do it slowly. I was told to eat a lot of salty snacks, and to drink plenty of water and Gatorade. I was then sent to a gastroenterologist, who was happy to treat my acid reflux and run a multitude of blood tests, which, of course, all came back negative. I also saw a neurologist, who barely spoke any English, so I can’t really tell you much about that appointment. I had to make a couple trips to the emergency room at Children’s Hospital in Boston, as well, when I felt especially awful and was nervous about what might happen. The doctors there, however, weren’t of too much help, insisting that I must be suffering from depression or anxiety, since all of their tests were coming up negative.

I knew it wasn’t all in my head. I had never been an anxious person, and for what reason did I have to be depressed? I was a young girl having a great summer with her friends; I couldn’t have 15

been happier. These insinuations infuriated me. Doctors are supposed to figure out what’s wrong, and then do their best to make you feel better. They aren’t supposed to question your credibility and make you feel like what you’re feeling isn’t real. Not only did these accusations hurt my feelings, they also made me feel helpless. After all, if doctors weren’t going to figure this out, who would?

Overall, the doctors offered me no real solutions, so I learned to manage these symptoms and tried to lead as much of a normal life as possible. I drank as many liquids a day as I could, and I made sure to always keep a salty snack on me. I also tried to always get a good night’s sleep to help with the overwhelming fatigue. I didn’t let it slow me down, and I continued to play soccer, horseback ride, run track, and do well in school. Years went by, and feeling sick became my new normal. Sometimes I had to go home early from school because I was too nauseous, or I had to come out of my soccer game because I simply couldn’t catch my breath. It hadn’t gotten to the point where I was experiencing debilitating symptoms, but it was definitely an annoyance.

During the summer before my junior year of high school, at the age of sixteen, things started to go downhill again. One day, after running some errands with my mom, I realized I felt shaky and weaker than usual. I figured maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten in a while, so I chugged some Gatorade and made myself a sandwich. This feeling didn’t go away, however, and I only got worse with time. I revisited my pediatrician, telling her that I’d been feeling even worse than normal, and she ran some blood tests, like usual. I knew how this would end, however. Blood tests would come back normal and once again I’d be told to better manage my anxiety, that I was causing these physical symptoms myself.

For the most part, I was right. All of the tests came back normal, and my doctor once again became suspicious of the truth behind my symptoms. However, after I informed her that I’d also been having severe headaches and was seeing spots in my vision, she thought it was necessary for me to have an MRI. So on September 25th, 2012, I went in for an MRI, knowing it would be a struggle because of my severe claustrophobia. I could barely last two minutes in there without 16

begging to come out; I couldn’t take feeling sick and claustrophobic at the same time. I told them it wasn’t worth it, that everything would come back normal, and I shouldn’t have to endure this awful test. I cried the whole way home to my parents. I apologized for the doctor’s appointments they had to drive me to. I apologized for the MRI that they still had to pay for, even though I didn’t finish it.

I apologized for the constant state of worry and concern they had to be in, never knowing if I could go out or be left alone without feeling too ill. I apologized for being a burden, because that’s what I constantly felt like. My parents, being the wonderful and compassionate people that they are, insisted that I could never be a burden, that they loved me and only wanted to make me feel better.

That night, I woke up at 4:00 am in a cold sweat. My heart was racing faster than a horse on a racetrack. I felt like I was about to vomit, and I was so lightheaded that I could barely see.

Everything was going black. I screamed for my parents, and they rushed into my room to find me standing and clutching the side of my bed. When I expressed to them how ill I felt, they insisted we make a trip up to the emergency room, just to be safe. I threw up on the car ride there. The emergency room doctors decided I most likely had a stomach virus, and sent me on my way. I laid in bed for a couple of days, not feeling any better, and feeling far too nauseous to even look at food.

I began to lose weight and get weaker and weaker. I was so lightheaded to the point where I could not even walk to the bathroom without assistance from my mom. Getting dressed even became a struggle. Even my doctor was worried at this point, and she decided that I should head to Children’s Hospital in Boston, before I lost any more weight.

I stayed at the hospital for a week, although it felt like ten years to me. These seven days were the most miserable of my entire life. Each day I woke up and had doctors poking and prodding me, taking blood, asking me how I felt, and telling me they had no answers for me. I sat in the hospital bed wishing I were anywhere else, wishing I were anyone else. With my puke bucket close by, and my blood pressure cuff constantly squeezing my arm, I almost started to believe what the doctors were saying to me. Maybe it was all in my head, maybe I was creating these symptoms.

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Throughout these seven days, my mom didn’t leave my side. It was parent’s weekend at my brother’s college in South Carolina, so my dad went to be there for my brother, even though it was supposed to be a family vacation. This is when I started to realize that my illness was taking things away from me. I couldn’t let this happen. I wouldn’t accept the fact that I was anxious, or depressed, or had an eating disorder, because I knew in my heart that it wasn’t true. I knew who I was, and I knew it wasn’t who these doctors were depicting me to be.

I was sent home from the hospital with a medication that was supposed to help my orthostatic hypotension, and began my two-month-couch-potato phase. For all of October and November of 2012, my junior year of high school, I was sitting on my couch, feeling sick. I couldn’t make it to school, I couldn’t make it to the next room without my parents, and I couldn’t even shower without a shower chair. I also think I watched every single episode of “Say Yes to the Dress” ever aired. The dizziness, lightheadedness, migraines, nausea, weakness, fatigue, racing heart, and heavy chest all mixed together became debilitating. I wasn’t able to do any of the activities I loved, such as riding horses, seeing movies with my friends, or apple picking. I had at least two doctors’ appointments a week, which did little good, and the only time I ever left my house was when I asked my parents to take me for a drive by the ocean, because it cheered me up just a bit.

I was missing out on my junior year. I missed my induction to the National Honor Society. I missed my entire varsity soccer season. I missed parties and friends’ birthdays and countless other things. I felt emotionally drained and sometimes even felt as though I was grieving a loss. I came to realize that what I was grieving was the loss of my former, more normal life: the life that I had been used to for so many years. My friends understood and constantly checked up on me to see how I was feeling, for which I am eternally grateful. At least I wasn’t alone. At least I had people supporting me every step of the way during this difficult stage of my life.

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One day, as my dad was driving me around, I realized that things weren’t going to be magically fixed for me. It was a brisk fall day and I insisted that the car windows be open, because my body had trouble regulating temperature. As we drove along the ocean and I saw the families taking walks, the dogs playing catch with their owners, and the lovers holding hands, I decided that I could not let this illness take over my life. I had to stop feeling bad for myself, and had to start doing whatever I could to achieve my goals and make myself happy. No doctor was going to be able to flick a switch and make me feel better, so I had no choice but to make things work. I started to become more active, even though it was difficult. I would go out more often with my parents, and would dress in clothes other than sweatpants for my doctor’s appointments. I still experienced all of the same symptoms, to the same extent, but I wasn’t feeling bad for myself anymore. I was forcing myself to live a normal life, even though I was feeling abnormal. I became so accustomed to the symptoms that I almost didn’t notice them anymore, and even went back to school at the beginning of December. I worked hard for the following few months to make up everything I had missed in all of my classes, and ended up doing really well. I was even voted President of National Honor Society during the spring, which made me feel like all my work had truly paid off. I also became manager for my school’s track team, because even though I was no longer healthy enough to participate, I still wanted to be a part of the team.

At one of my cardiologist appointments in the spring, I finally got what I had waited so long for. After going through what is known as a tilt-table test, I was diagnosed with the chronic illness called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. It is a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, causing a high heart rate, low blood pressure, and a plethora of symptoms. After my doctor spoke these words, everything else he said was irrelevant to me. I finally had a diagnosis! They finally believed me. It was not anxiety. It was POTS, and I could live with that.

However, finding out that POTS was a chronic illness was the most difficult part of my journey thus far. Sure, there is treatment for the symptoms, such as drugs called Midodrine and 19

Florinef to manage blood pressure and heart rate, but there isn’t a cure. There were many days where I couldn’t help but cry, wondering why this had happened to me, wondering why I had to spend every day of the rest of my life feeling dizzy and nauseous and tired. It was in these moments that I reminded myself that having a positive attitude could make all the difference. I viewed this illness as less of a burden, and more of a challenge to overcome, and so far I have overcome it. This is what college admissions people would like to know. They would like to hear that I have faced adversity in my life, although it might not appear so based solely on my high school transcripts, and that I have developed the resilience and courage it takes to overcome this type of adversity. I decided that writing about my every day hardships and experiences with a chronic illness would give the reader of my college essay a better look into who I really am, and what I am capable of.

Being diagnosed with a chronic illness opened up a whole new world of language for me.

The world of chronic illness is, in itself, a discourse. It is impossible to understand the language and everyday experiences of a chronic illness unless you live it every day, you treat patients with chronic illnesses, or you assist a close family member or friend in their struggles with a chronic illness. If I were to go up to some random person on the street, and ask them if they knew what Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome was, chances are they’d look at me like I had ten heads.

They probably wouldn’t understand me when I told them I had orthostatic hypotension, or that I occasionally experience vestibular migraines, or that I take a medication called Midodrine every four hours.

Learning a whole new vocabulary is not the only essential piece of adapting to life with a chronic illness, you must also learn how to live based on what your body is capable of. You must learn your limits, which was especially hard for me. For example, I had to accept the fact that I couldn’t horseback ride for hours anymore, jumping courses and cantering around the ring. I had to learn how to pace myself by riding for only ten to twenty minutes, and never going faster than a trot. I also had to learn how to live in a way that would help me to feel as healthy as possible. I’ve 20

had to cut certain foods out of my diet, I bring a bag of pretzels and a water bottle with me everywhere I go, I set alarms for my medications, and I don’t push myself into doing something that I know will leave me feeling miserable. Learning this new discourse has allowed me to become more confident in speaking and writing about my chronic illness, especially when it came to writing about it in my college essay.

Through language I was able to vividly describe what I’d gone through, and how I’d come up victorious on the other side. My illness has taught me to be honest with my writing. Living with a chronic illness isn’t pretty. There are always going to be days where I break down and need my dad to take me for a car ride along the ocean. There are always going to be days where I have to turn down my friend’s invite because I feel a little too rundown. There are always going to be days where I question if I’m going to be able to live like this for the rest of my life. However, these days only make me stronger, and writing about them makes me realize how few and far between they are now.

Writing and speaking about my chronic illness can help others with illnesses or disabilities, or any hardships, realize that they can handle anything that life throws at them. For example, last year during soccer season, I was the manager and there was an eighth grader on the team who had an illness she dealt with every day. On the day of my graduation, she sent me a text that read “Thank you so much for impacting my life! I only met you this year but you have already taught me so many lessons. You’ve taught me to always try my hardest and to never give up. I know you have an illness and you went to the hospital last year. This really helped me because I have a disease and sometimes it is hard to find strength, but after I met you and you showed me how strong you were and how you made up all of your school assignments and stuff, it just really inspired me, so thank you.” This proved to me that language really can make an impact on someone’s life if used correctly. Writing about my chronic illness has made me more comfortable with it, and more proud of what I’ve accomplished whilst living with it.

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Race to the Finish, or Race to be Finished?

By: Isabella Zoella

We selected Isabella Zeolla’s creative writing response piece as an example of the imaginative and insightful work that can be developed with in class free-writes and assignments. Isabella wrote this piece after reading Junot Diaz’s “How to Date a Brown Girl, White Girl, or Halfie,” and then Professor Rose’s class discussed the dynamic ways in which second person POV can operate in a short story. Isabella uses the the second person POV to strongly convey the experience of dealing with an eating disorder: she puts the reader in the position of the afflicted. Isabella immersed herself in this piece and wrote many drafts where she began to discover a new and powerful voice.

Isabella won the Honorable Mention at the Core Writing Awards 2015 for this piece. – Professor Kristin Rose

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ake a circle with your thumb and index finger. Cut that exact amount, maybe more, and discard. Eat extra slow to distract yourself from the recent casualty.

Day two. Repeat, except double its amount. Divert your thoughts with a book, and don’t look back. You’re not there.

Day three. Ball your fragile fingers into a fist. Deny, dice, discard, and distract. And if anyone stares? You have that stomach thing Kelsey Kelcan was talking about earlier while applying an extra coat of foundation; you know, the one that has you “totally nauseous” and “kills calories overnight.”

And for split second, you actually believe it.

Day four. Abbreviate the mid-day meal with a sudden case of monstrous homework. There’s never a bad time for pre-calculus. Being there makes it a lot harder for you to not be there. And if anyone asks, rebuttal with a disgruntled groan- a battle-cry, even- that expresses the upmost distress and discontent with your professor. Who does he think he is, giving you a quiz, two projects, and three pages of work straight out of the book? Outrageous. You need to skip lunch to play catch-up.

But you can’t escape the infectious aroma, even when surrounded by dusty library books and middle school adolescents who have yet to discover deodorant. You’re weak, you chant, you’re unfocused. Get it together; have you weighed yourself today? Yes. Did you imagine the triple digits? No. Do you want to change or no?

More than anything.

Day five. There's a cup of perfectly plump and purple grapes sealed in, what once was, a sandwich bag. No carbs? Good. Fruit? Good. Twenty? No problem. Kcal weighs in at 0.104. But you know half of that is sugar, and you know sugar is bad for you, and you know you will accidentally drop the plastic pouch. There’s a 22

slight pound in your head, a slight discrepancy, then all surpasses. You try not to cringe as two dozen glistening red spheres hit the dirty, unforgiving pavement, because if you cringe, then you invoke guilt. And if you’re guilty? You’re liable to be there. You cannot be there.

Day six. Emptiness ignites. Ten pairs of eyes scrutinize your skin, burning hotter than the flames within, and all you can do is smile. Are you there? They say. Don’t look back too fast: it blurs. Can you hear me?

Why of course you’re there. How could they ask something so stupid?

Day seven. You wake up and tears scorn your eyes, beckoning the routine robotic in your nature and your heart. Wash, rinse, lather, repeat. Deny, dice, discard, distract.

Deny, deny, deny.

You head straight for the bathroom. Never mind the crusted corners of your eyes, the foul taste that infests your tongue, your ghostly reflection in the mirror, or the strange hair that grows around the underbellies of [what once was] your rosy cheeks. Being under the fluorescent light only serves for one purpose; a verdict of two digits. Done right and you can follow it with a greedy smile that’s as lopsided as your innermost thoughts.

Ninety pounds, even. You sick, masochistic bastard.

And that’s when you collapse.

The weight of the world doesn’t match the one on your shoulders; you have no sense of purpose, no desire, no drive, no light, no creativity, no anger, no passion, no joy, no freedom, no excitement. Where were you on that trip to Atlantis? Who found you dazed and confused that day in English? What did you do birthdays?

How did you sprint that much that day? When did you stop being there? Why did you stop being there? You spent the whole week running and your marathon isn’t near complete. The fact of the matter is, day seven passed 365 days ago, 18 hours, 24 minutes, and 36 seconds in counting. You are suffocating: feeling the pasty substance of guilt augment in the glands of the throat that deplete the urge to cry out for help and you don’t know what you’re doing anymore and you don’t know why you’re doing it anymore but you know you cannot- will not- stop.

Why? Because this is your fate. And one day, you really won’t be there.

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Realization Through the Years By: Kevin O’Connor A common assignment in EN 11 is the literacy narrative, in which students write a personal essay relating their acquisition of some type of literacy. For some students, this is taken literally, and there are narratives about favorite books and learning to read. Other students interpret the term more widely, as did Kevin O’Connor in his piece, “Realization Through the Years,” where he writes eloquently about food allergies and the general savagery of young children at school. Though his topic is serious, Kevin takes a light and often humorous tone, which enhances the reader experience without detracting from the overall emotional impact of the piece. – Professor Lindsay Ferrara

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remember the chilled autumn breeze dancing all around me, and the dark, grey sky

observing all of my new classmates overhead. I wandered into the large, intimidating school and as I did, a strong whiff of cafeteria food flooded my nostrils with a plethora of

odors: lunch meat, vegetables, fries, and all sorts of different foods I had yet to know. As I walked down the color-coordinated hallway to find my class, the smells still persisted. I finally reached my classroom. It was filled with kids and the a very young woman. I proceeded to find my seat next to a pudgy brown haired boy who was munching on a bag of trail mix. His desk was filled to the brim with snacks. I felt as though once he ran out he would look upon me and see a nice crunchy Frito. I tried to change my seat, however each seat was filled.

My eyes scanned the entire room, taking in what I could of my first experience in a real classroom. As I gazed over towards the newly cleaned chalk board, I spotted the very young woman sitting in a big green chair. She proceeded to stand up, and as she did, I examined her from head to toe. Her hair was dirty blonde and flowed down below her shoulders. She had glistening hazel eyes that seemed to smile when they looked upon you, just like my mom. The young teacher suddenly rang a tiny, gold bell in order to get all of the talkative and giddy children’s attention. She announced to the class, “Welcome, boys and girls, to the first grade!” I loved her enthusiasm and her big, white smile that paved a path to her rosy cheeks. To my delight, she exclaimed, “My name is Mrs. Tembeck, and I will be your teacher for the rest of the 24

year.” However, that delight turned into sadness and disappointment when she forced us to practice our spelling and grammar for thirty minutes without talking. As I completed my last word, the school bell echoed through the halls and into Mrs. Tembeck’s room. I was finally free to converse and eat.

My fellow classmates and I walked down to the cafeteria and found an open table by the window. To our delight, we all had an interest in toy cars. We started to fantasize about how when we get older, we’d own tons of really cool cars. We then began to look out of the rectangular window and see all the cars passing by the old, white church and compare our own little toy cars to see if they matched any that passed on the road. I felt as though I already made good friends.

Once everyone got their food from the lunch lady and sat back down, I pulled out my lunchbox with my, what I thought to be, delectable foods. As soon as the top of my lunchbox was opened, the children stared in awe and asked, what seemed to me, millions of questions as to why my food was not like theirs. I explained to them why I had to bring different kinds of food, such as duck, alligator, frogs legs, tofu, and venison. As I listed the foods, their faces turned from awe to disgust.

Jimmy exclaimed, “Ew why would you eat that? That is so gross!”

Tyler also joined in and said, “I can’t believe you would eat those things! That’s nasty!”

Even the shy girl named Jasmine let out a silent, “Ewwy.”

They kept asking why I would ever eat these strange foods and I told them that I have allergies.

This was my downfall. They started to criticize and mock me. Some even moved to a different table, thinking they would “catch” my allergies.

I sauntered back through the dreary halls to my classroom alone, and as I opened the door, I could see Mrs. Tembeck chomping on her green apple with her feet on her desk. As soon as she 25

realized I was in the room, she went back to acting like a “professional” first grade teacher once more. I wandered over to my desk. No other kids were in the room, and I waited for that heart wrenching sound to echo through the halls once more. As the clock struck twelve thirty, my fears awakened. The kids were coming back into the classroom and as each one of my classmates passed, I could see the disgust and malice in their eyes.

It was now story time, and for once I thought I could escape the ridicule and be engulfed by the comforting fantasies of Jack and the Bean Stalk, Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type, and Owl Moon. However, this hopeful wish soon came to an abrupt halt the moment Mrs. Tembeck permitted my classmates to bring snacks onto the story time rug. I tried to stay away from the food infested kids by sitting in the corner, however, my chubby little pal that sat next to my desk decided to sit beside me with, what seemed to be, an entire grocery store full of cheese covered snacks. The moment he opened the bag of Doritos, I knew this story time was not going to end well. About halfway into the story, I could smell the cheesy Doritos and feel their tiny particles going into my mouth and lungs. In an instant, my cheeks blew up like a balloon, my eyes became as red as the slide on the playground, my nose began to drip like the broken faucet in the bathroom, and I started to perspire like I just got back from recess. All of these symptoms were so overwhelming that I didn't know what to do. Suddenly, everything started to get cold. I turned ghost white and began to get light headed. I had no idea what to do. Neither my teacher nor my classmates acknowledged me, and as I suffered in the corner of the story time rug, I thought to myself, “why couldn't I be normal?” Just when I thought I was going to pass out, I felt a hot sensation from my stomach go through my body, up my esophagus and out of my mouth. I could breathe again.

I never stepped into another classroom after that day in first grade. You might be thinking to yourself, “What did he do if he never went to school?” It’s not like one of those stories where I 26

was so traumatized that I never went back to school. I might be strange in having a multitude of allergies, but I’m not that strange. I was simply homeschooled by my protective mother.

I learned so much from my mom; science, math, English, history, and most importantly, all of the foods I was allergic to. I had to memorize every single ingredient and substance that I could not eat. I had to check every single box of cereal, every chip bag, every delectable candy bag, every thirst quenching drink. Many people asked me numerous times what I was actually allergic to, so many times in fact, that I decided to make a game out of it. I would tell them, “Name every food that you can think of, and I will tell you if I can have it or not”. The game began with my acquaintance asking me a question.

“Can you have pizza?”

I responded, “No I can’t”.

In return, he asked another question, “Can you have steak?”

“No”, I said.

“How about a grilled cheese sandwich?”

“Nope”.

“Burgers?”

“Nah” “Milkshake?”

“Not at all” “Ice cream? Lobster? Turkey? Chocolate? Anything?”

“None. What. So. Ever.”

Even though the person asking all of these questions at the end of my little game felt bad for me, I thought it to be funny and quite enjoyable. Yes, I do have a plethora of allergies.

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Allergies so severe that I am allergic to ninety-eight percent of all foods. However, I take pride in my food disability. Who can say that they’re allergic to so many foods that in order to eat at a restaurant, their mom has to go into the kitchen with the chef and help prepare their food? I can, that’s for sure.

Having food allergies has been a difficult challenge that I have had to face all of my life.

One of the main obstacles I had to face, and what might seem strange to some people, was making friends. Due to the amount of allergies I had, I couldn’t go to many parties or social events because of the amount of deadly food that lingered on all of the tables, causing my social skills to be basically nonexistent. Many people do not realize this, but food is one of the biggest social inhibitors in this world. Even more so than alcohol. Wherever you go, whether it be a birthday party, baby shower, housewarming, or just a little social gathering, food will always be there in order to establish a base of sociality among people.

Thus, in order to make friends, I had to go out of my comfort zone and confront other people my own age. It began with joining the travel baseball team in my home town. During this time, I was still homeschooled by my mom and was not very sociable. However, I was determined to make friends. I started to talk and socialize with my teammates, and soon enough I mustered up enough courage to ask Ryan, one of my teammates, to come over for a play date.

Obviously, when he came over, we had to have something to eat. My mom cooked us lunch, and as she brought out my lunch consisting of venison, frogs legs, and whole grain rice pasta, the memory of first grade lunch flashed through my head once more. As my mom put my plate down in front of me, Ryan looked strangely at my food.

He then said, “What is that stuff?”

I replied, “Venison, frogs’ legs, and whole grain rice pasta.”

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I expected Ryan to do the exact same thing as the kids from my first grade class did, but to my astonishment, he said, “That’s awesome! I wish I had that every day. Can I try some?”

After that moment, I didn’t feel ashamed of my allergies. I began to come out of my lonely shell of solitude and insecurities. I started to talk to more and more people, and as I grew older and older, I noticed that I became much more independent, confident, and sociable. It was in that moment when Ryan accepted me for who I was, and not for what I ate. In that moment, I knew I found someone who cared and respected me, and sometimes it only takes one to change a person’s entire outlook and strip away the fear they are bearing. Provided that you do have others to help you overcome that fear, to overcome that sense of loneliness, to overcome that bitter feeling of self-pity. My literacy is not only the knowledge of foods, it is the knowledge of selfworth.

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RESEARCH AND ARGUMENT Go Green or Go Home By: Alyssa Abbot The crafting of a research paper is an assignment that many EN 11 students encounter in their first semester at Fairfield, and Alyssa Abbot was no exception. When selecting a topic, she thought about what topics were not only interesting, but also relevant and important. In her paper, “Go Green or Go Home,” Alyssa weaves expert opinion and facts about energy usage at colleges and Universities in general with research about our own energy goals and accountability right here at Fairfield. At the end of the day, picking a topic that is both interesting and important results in a paper with a lot more impact on the intended audience. – Professor Lindsay Ferrara

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lobally, as more and more students seek a collegiate degree, our finest institutions must meet the demand of those pursuing a higher education. Along with a mass amount of students comes a lot of opportunity to pollute the environment. As each university houses thousands of

students ever year, the school is destined to consume thousands of gallons of water, dispose of hundreds of pounds of garbage, and use a significant amount of electricity daily. Annually, this amount of negative behavior takes a toll on our environment. With all of the money being handed to these prestigious universities, the general public can only hope that these schools are making good use of our money, and are implementing a more-sustainable lifestyle with their millions of dollars. As the idea of global warming has been ingrained in our minds for so long, it is safe to say that the majority of our nation seeks to become more eco-friendly. A more eco-friendly population may result in less extinction, global warming, and deforestation. Becoming more eco-friendly requires the effort of all, especially our higher-education universities that consume more energy than one would like to believe. As our nation seeks to become more sustainable, our finest institutions are pushing the green agenda as well. Whether fairly modern, or more traditional schools, these universities are implementing recycling, serving organic food from local farms (as well as gardens from their own campus), and trying eco-friendly disposal of wastes. Whether small or large, universities across the USA are working endlessly to become a more sustainable and eco-friendly environment.

A colligate student on any given day can most likely be seen carrying a plastic water bottle or clutching onto a disposable cup full of their coffee-fix. According to Boston College’s online portal, the average college student produces 640 pounds of solid waste each year, including 500 disposable cups and 30

320 pounds of paper (BC). Although recycling has increased by 7% over the past few years (BC), college students and the universities at which they attend are held liable to go-green in order to preserve our environment. During this time of need, many global universities are ready and willing to cut down on their annual consumption in the attempt to become more sustainable. Many universities are committed to encouraging their students to break through the negative culture and promote environmentally friendly habits. Through the partnership between these schools and their students, universities across the nation are finally becoming more self-aware of their daily intake in the yearning to become more eco-friendly.

Many are blind as to how many higher-education universities are working towards a much more sustainable school. According to US News, “Colleges are going green to save the planet and some money, too” (Rebecca Kern). These universities not only refine the environment when “going-green”, for they also save a few dollars along the way. This remodeling cannot be implemented without the support of the entire university, including the students and staff. Natural Resources Defense Council reveals that all aspects of collegiate universities are going-green, especially the athletic departments. NRDC reports that college superfans now compost and recycle on game day, ride their bikes to the stadium, and root for their favorite

teams under solar- powered stadium lights, all the while helping save universities hundreds of thousands of dollars in overhead costs (NRDC). These universities are working methodically, engaging students and athletics in becoming eco-friendly, all while saving millions of dollars along the way.

According to Harriet Kingaby, a communications consultant for Futerra Sustainability Communications, these universities must, “Weave sustainability into the curriculum and get students more involved” (Kingaby). None of the environmentally friendly changes of a school can be long-term without the support of the driving-force of the student-body. Kingaby argues that, “Students will be paying more and therefore [will] demand more from their university experience… They will want to know that the education they are receiving is of the highest quality and relevant to the wider world” (Kingaby). According to Kingaby, the key for this issue is using strong student societies, a curriculum with sustainability woven throughout and creating a sense of excitement about sustainability’s place in the wider world (Kingaby). The

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universities that are currently working toward a more sustainable school are implementing the “go-green” idea in everyday life.

These universities that seek to create a more sustainable environment must send out a clear and personal message to the student body. Harriet Kingaby recommends that these schools must implement the common themes of “Understanding, Changing Behaviors, and Engagement” (Kingaby). She highly suggests that these universities use social media as a secret weapon, as social media can serve as an engaging way to interact and communicate with the students. Social media can be fun, and can actually encourage students to be proactive and better the school and environment as a whole. Berry College, located in Mount Berry, Georgia is one of the many institutions that uses social media to create a positive change on campus. On Berry’s online portal, one can easily access the Tips For An Ecofriendly Lifestyle, which consists of insight on how to conserve energy and resources around the house or dorm. On the online webpage, students have access to useful tips about conserving energy with different household appliances and water usage. Berry advises students that “shortening your shower by only two minutes saves five gallons of water from needing to be heated up and used”, and to “turn off the water supply while brushing teeth”. Under Berry College’s Policies, this institution promises to conserve natural resources, encourage renewable alternatives, and purchase renewable, recycled and recyclable materials (Berry College). With the help of social media, students are becoming more engaged and informed of their schools’ goals and policies. As an effective way of communication between universities and their students, social media serves as a useful tool for maintaining an eco-friendly campus.

Our finest institutions of higher learning are some of the best incubators for implementing more sustainable methods in everyday life. Not only are these universities bettering our own environment, but they are also inspiring other universities, creating an environment-friendly domino effect. Numerous collegiate universities have made a pact to go-green, and promote an eco-friendly lifestyle. The most efficient and effective universities are those that implement wholesome living inside and outside of the classroom. Voted the “#1 Greenest College in America” by Popular Mechanics, College of the Atlantic located in Bar Harbor, Maine, practices a very sustainable lifestyle. Brian Clark Howard writes that, “In 2007, COA was the 1 st US College to go carbon neutral... the campus is committed to green building, historic preservation, land conservation, and elimination of toxins… organic food is [served] for breakfast, lunch, and dinner” 32

(Howard). The College of Atlantic is fit for those who seek to make the world a better place. The students are often presented with projects to take a particular situation/issue concerning the environment, and resolve it to the best of their ability. John Anderson, professor of zoology, behavioral ecology, anatomy, and physiology at COA, says “When you do a project with real people, and real organisms, the answer you get really matters… [This] dissolves the boundary between learning and doing” (COA). These environmentally friendly universities challenge their students by integrating an environmentally sustainable lifestyle into the education. The students at COA are academically challenged, while benefitting the environment as a whole.

Our finest institutions are taking the go-green theme beyond the classrooms, residential halls, and various buildings, as these school cafeterias are encompassing an environmentally friendly dining menu.

According to Good Housekeeping, Yale University is amongst the “Top 12 Most Healthy and Sustainable College Cafeterias”. A few years ago, the center’s dining hall became a kitchen for local, organic, and vegetarian food (Good Housekeeping). According to Yale spokesperson Dorie Baker, “How the food is purchased, how it is served, and how waste is managed are all part of a sophisticated and evolving system, and Yale has taken the lead in developing a model for other universities to follow” (Good Housekeeping).

Yale serves fresh produce from a small organic farm in urban New Haven, and promotes community service and education in the community. With this dining service, Yale sets the bar high for others schools to follow.

Multiple universities are mirroring Yale’s dining techniques, as this concept betters the students and environment as a whole. University of Maryland houses a flourishing garden, full of fresh produce that is served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, on the roof of The Diner. UMD utilizes solar panels on the Diner that heats water for the building, and uses biodegradable products for all three meals, and owns a solar trash compactor to handle late-night waste (UMD). These cafeterias are exemplar-dining halls, as they are meeting the needs of both the students and the environment.

Many institutions, such as Fairfield University, believe that mankind must be held accountable for the environment crisis that surrounds us. Fairfield university infuses sustainability throughout it’s departments, programs, and infrastructure. The green movement is growing in Fairfield, CT though “student activism, faculty research, campus infrastructure, organic and local food in the cafeteria, a dedicated sustainability committee, and an array of eco-friendly events held throughout the year” (Fairfield University). Fairfield U’s online portal allows students, faculty, and anyone interested to explore how this 33

Jesuit University is manipulating a more eco-friendly campus. On the online “Energy Dashboard”, viewers can track energy consumption by building and even by apartments in certain residential halls. Fairfield University tracks real-time electrical usage, as well as overall past usage. According to Fairfield’s Climate Action Plan, “the university has set its total emission reduction goals at 20% by 2020 and 85% by 2050 against the baseline year 2005” (Fairfield University). This emission reduction can only be made possible with the help of the student body and faculty/staff. As Fairfield University continually promotes going-green to students and staff, meeting their emission reduction goal by the deadline looks promising.

As time goes on, this generation must be the innovators to make our environment a healthier home for people. The young students at different universities can make a tremendous impact on the environment, while encouraging others of all age groups to contribute to creating positive change. A university’s commitment to becoming more eco-friendly reduces the amount of daily waste dumped in landfills, conserves precious clean water, cuts the amount of energy used, and provides more nutritional food to the students. The going-green partnership between these universities and their students provides the students with a global perspective of how valuable a clean-environment is, and how our negative actions are essentially destroying our clean air, different ecosystems, and the nature that surrounds us. Although our global warming does not solely exist because of bad habits at these universities, all institutions can make a tremendous impact on an eco-friendly environment, and ultimately, our future. With the assistance and commitment to go-green of national universities, the destiny of our environment looks bright.

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Works Cited 

"Campus Sustainability · University of Maryland." Campus Sustainability. University of Maryland.

N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.



"Boston College." Know Your Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.



Kingaby, Harrriet. ""How Can Higher Education Institutions Become More Sustainable?"" The Guardian. Higher Education Network, n.d. Web.



"Tips for an Eco-Friendly Lifestyle." Berry College. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.



Howard, Brian Clark. "12 of the Greenest College Cafeterias." Good Housekeeping. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.



Howard, Brian Clark. "10 Greenest Colleges." Popular Mechanics. Popular Mechanics, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.

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Kern, Rebecca. "10 Eco-Friendly College Campuses." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 10 June 2010. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.



"Fairfield University." - Green. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.

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The Effect of Class Size on Learning Environment By: Matthew Caine The essay has a thesis that not only concretely explains the author’s topic – “Do smaller classrooms really give a more productive learning environment?” – but that also demonstrates the intense inquiry and exploration that the remainder of the paper will reveal. Often students assume that a thesis must be a statement of a fact already understood. This paper’s strength is that its thesis offers a question that the author has yet to answer for himself: “Is there one, most effective classroom size” The author’s use of multiple sources in an attempt to answer these questions also made this paper stand out as a strong example of a research paper. – Professor Jill Bodach

T

here are many controversial topics when it comes to the education system in America and education in general. Over the years, many have argued and stood behind their positions with the motive of bettering the education system to create a brighter, smarter

future for the younger generations. Ever since the No Child Left Behind Act was administered by President Bush in 2001, the focus on primary and secondary education has been increased with efforts to improve the productivity in the classroom. In a nutshell, the act calls for the same standardized test to be distributed state-wide. If a school performs poorly then steps are taken to improve the school (NCLB). A common solution suggested to improve poorly performing schools is to reduce the size of classrooms. The reasoning behind this is that supposedly a smaller classroom gives the teacher the opportunity to give each student more individual attention, hopefully improving test scores, ergo creating a more productive, constructive learning environment (EPERC). The reasoning seems logical, however, this poses the question, “Do smaller classrooms really give a more productive learning environment?” Moreover, is it the large classrooms that are contributing to the poor performances of primary and secondary schools? Or perhaps it’s a combination of sources. Lastly I ask, is there one, most effective classroom size?

Creating small classrooms has been a frequently discussed and debated solution to improving the effectiveness of schools, but states are wary to proceed without definite proof of whether these smaller classrooms really are more effective. This wariness stems from tight budgets.

It costs a lot to reduce the size of classrooms because more teachers, space, and a myriad of other necessities are required (EPERC). In 2000, reducing class size was beginning to gain federal 36

support and a “class-size-reduction” program gave many states funding to hire and train new teachers (EPERC).

Four years prior to this, California enacted a similar reform costing the state over a billion dollars to reduce classroom sizes by ten students in kindergarten through third grade (Jepsen). This created 25,000 new teaching positions in the first two years, some being filled by veteran teachers relocating to wealthier schools, but the majority were occupied by new or not fully certified teachers. As the reform progressed, many studies were done to track the progress of the classrooms to see if students performed better in mathematics and reading, specifically. With the new classroom set up, the studies could not ignore the flux in new teachers. After a few years of data was collected and analyzed, the study concluded that the ten student reduction increased the school’s average math grade by 0.10 and the school’s average reading grade by 0.06 (Jepsen). So far so good, it seemed like the class reduction approach was beginning to work. However, when the classrooms with first year teachers were analyzed, it showed a decrease in average of about 0.10 in math and 0.07 in reading, which is almost an exact decrease from the before increased average (Jepsen). This shows that technically a first year teacher in a classroom of twenty would be less effective than a teacher with at least 2 years of experience [according to the study] with thirty students.

The study did show that a smaller classroom setting, with the correct circumstances can improve a student’s academic achievement; however, how often are the correct circumstances available? In order for the smaller classroom to be effective, we need teachers who know what they are doing. This also makes me wonder, if a new teacher with a small class [generally] has equal or lower class achievement than that of an experienced teacher with a large class, how well are the large classes with new teachers doing? If classrooms only progress positively with experienced teachers, then is it really effective to decrease class size when many of the new teachers teaching the classes will have a negative effect? There have been many other studies with children in grades 37

below fifth, which also concluded that smaller classrooms raise academic achievement, especially in lower income areas, assuming that the teachers remain constant (Jepsen). All indicators point to the teacher.

The data presented in the California study directly points to the conclusion that smaller classrooms sizes do in fact contribute to greater success rates in the classroom for young students.

What they do not outright state, is that larger classrooms are a detriment to the learning process of said students. It may be possible to conclude from this data, like I stated above, that it is not necessarily the large classroom that hurts productivity, but a combination of inexperienced teachers and large numbers of students. However, a study in Tennessee ambitiously indicated that it is in fact large classrooms that are the problem.

Albeit a bit outdated, Tennessee underwent a large project, project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio), which is still considered the most influential class reduction program in recent years (CSSA). In 1985, Project star was commissioned by the state as a large-scale class size reduction operation. It is considered the “gold standard” of class-size experiments because students were selected randomly (Schanzenbach). The results, much like the California study stated earlier, were just as researches had hoped. Focusing on math and reading, standardized test scored improved by 0.15 to 0.20 (or 5 percentile rank points) by reducing class sizes from a range of twenty two to twenty five students down to thirteen to seventeen students (Schanzenbach). The achievement is credited to the teacher’s ability to try new strategies and techniques that they were not able to effectively execute with a large class. Inside the classroom was not the only place that students were noted to improve. After the study, as students grew up and progressed, the small class was said to have positive impacts on life outcomes. Also, the students who were randomly selected to be put into the small classes, did better than their peers who were assigned to normal sized classrooms in categories [later in life] such as, “criminal behavior, teen pregnancy, high school

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graduation, college enrollment and completion, quality of college attended, savings behavior, marriage rates, residential location and homeownership.” (Schanzenbach).

The Tennessee STAR project went out and proved many different theories. Not only does a smaller classroom tend to improve student’s test scores, and overall classroom productivity, but it helps young students create a better basis and foundation to build off of that will ultimately aide them throughout life with social skills as well as academic. Studies have also shown that the most effective age to implement small classrooms are around the K-3 grades, which is why most of the studies I have mentioned focus on students around these ages. This seems reasonably logical, too, because it explains why as students grow older, classroom sizes begin to increase, up the point where in some colleges, there can be lecture halls exceeding hundreds of students. But, in order for students to be able to function well in these large high school and college classroom settings, a small class-size in primary school will help students acquire the social and cognitive skills to achieve.

A large reason the small classroom setting is so successful is that it allows the teacher to achieve. With a successful teacher, more likely than not the students will achieve as well. Like stated in the Education Research Centers Class Size article: To squeeze the most out of their new settings, teachers may need to alter their teaching practices, dropping lecture-style approaches and providing more frequent feedback and interaction. (EPERC)

With a smaller classroom, teachers can make the transition from the lecture style to the cognitive and interactive teaching style. The Educational Research Center is not alone in this style of thinking. Steve Benton states in his article Does Class Size Matter? “Smaller classes were especially well suited for developing students’ creative capacities and oral and written communication skills.” (Benton). This quote seems all too familiar to something that we mentioned in class while talking about Freire’s essay discussing the banking concept versus the problem posing one. "Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating..." (Freire). In order to create productive environments for the children and to utilize the small classroom setting, we must stray from the 39

“banking concept” or lecture-style classes, and head toward a more frequent feedback and creative setting, or the “problem-posing” style.

It seems like common sense that, with smaller classrooms, teachers will have more resources available that can be focused on a few students. But, we would be naïve to believe that smaller classrooms always equate to a better education. Like we discovered in the California study, a small classroom with a lousy teacher does not do any good for a student. Classroom size reduction does seem to be a consistent solution to having a better classroom, but the constant in each experiment, the factor that must remain unchanged if we are to be successful, is the teacher. It all comes back to whether or not a teacher is good at his or her job to determine if students will achieve. The state and federal government can put as much money as they would like to improve infrastructure of schools, give students the best classrooms with the perfect teacher to student ratio, but if those teachers are mediocre at teaching, then students will also consistently achieve poorly.

Granted, there will always be some exceptions of students who are naturally genius or successful, but for the majority, poor classroom environments [academically] no matter the number of students, will be detrimental to students learning process.

The above stated studies are just a few of many different experiments to determine the effectiveness of smaller classroom settings. There is a plethora of conclusive data that points to its usefulness, under the correct circumstances. However, due to the proponents of the contradictory viewpoint, that small classrooms do not directly contribute to student achievement, such as Malcolm Gladwell, we cannot conclude that small classrooms indefinitely contribute to always aiding students. Gladwell uses small class sizes as, “an example of a ‘thing we are convinced is such a big advantage [but] might not be such an advantage at all.’” (Schanzenbach). With small classrooms comes a list of disadvantages alongside the advantages. A large one is cost. Having small classes with many teachers is pricey. Another advantage of a large classroom is that it helps students gain independence. Without the increased individual attention of the teacher that a small 40

classroom grants, students must learn to be more independent and often work with smaller groups, which helps improve social skills (Garrett-Hatfield).

There seems to be so much data that has been gathered to back up the idea that small classrooms improve student productivity; however, it seems that there is no opposite study to oppose this theory. Yes, it has been concluded that in many scenarios, small classrooms do positively impact the younger students, but we do not have any concrete data that tells us what the effect of a large classroom is. There have not been specific studies to prove this, only implied data gathered from the improvements of small classrooms. It has been concluded that if a small classroom increased overall averages, that means it was the large classroom setting that caused this previous lack of achievement, yet there have been no circumstances [in which I have found] where administrators, teachers, and the state work together to improve the learning environment in larger settings. Through my research and data collected, I have discovered that small classrooms can, in fact, increase the productivity, overall grades, and learning that takes place in the classroom. I have also discovered that for this setting to be an effective one, the teachers must be equipped with the proper techniques and ability to teach these students in an effective way. I have found no direct proof that it was the large classroom settings that caused students to not achieve to their fullest potential because it is still possible for students to achieve in these settings, just not necessarily the most productive plan of attack. As for there being one specific classroom size that is suitable, I would say that is up for debate, but it seems that it depends on the age of the student. At various ages, students are at different stages of mental development, and at each stage, a different size is effective. The older a student becomes, the more equipped he or she is to handle a larger classroom setting, which is why in many high schools and colleges there are very large class-sizes.

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Works Cited Benton, Steve. "Does Class Size Matter? | The IDEA Center | Manhattan, KS." Does Class Size Matter? | The IDEA Center | Manhattan, KS. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

CSSA, "Class Size and Student Achievement: Research Review." Class Size and Student Achievement: Research Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

EPERC, Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. "Class Size." - Education Week Research Center. N.p., 1 July 2011. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

Freire, Paulo. The “Banking” Concept of Education (n.d.): n. pag. Web. Garrett-Hatfield, Lori. "The Advantages & Disadvantages of Class Sizes." Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

Jepsen, Chistoper, and Steven Rivkin. "Class Reduction and Student Achievement: The Potential Tradeoff between Teacher Quality and Class Size." Jepsen and Rivkin (n.d.): n. pag. Web. NCLB, "No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) | ESEA." Rss. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore. Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

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Ethics versus Aesthetics: Conforming to the Commercial Ideal of Beauty By: Colleen Green In Colleen Green’s research paper, “Ethics versus Aesthetics: Conforming to the Commercial Ideal of Beauty,” words on the page could never convey the entirety of her exploration of idealized views of women’s’ bodies. The incorporation of an appendix of images enhanced and supported her sophisticated and nuanced look at a very current social issue. Students should consider the use of non-traditional media in research and inquiry papers when that media helps bolster the thesis and allows deeper insights and stronger evidence. – Professor Lindsay Ferrara

“I don't mind making jokes, but I don't want to look like one.” ― Marilyn Monroe1

L

ooks matter. Every day, women are judged based on their appearance. How they look and how they dress significantly impacts their relationships with others, salaries, and job opportunities. Although unfair, women are often sexually objectified. Throughout

history, the image of the “ideal woman” has changed. As technology advances, however, digitally edited images make standards even less realistic. To fit current commercial ideals of beauty, women attempt to alter their bodies through diet, exercise and plastic surgery. Many women claim they engage in diets and exercise to improve their health, however, this is rarely their primary motivator.

Women often feel pressured to fight against the prejudices surrounding “unfavorable” body images by reshaping their bodies to fit the ideal.

In the past one hundred years, the ideal figure for women has changed drastically. Figure one ("Wow Camille, Those Are Some…assets.") is a picture of model Camille Clifford from the early 1900’s. During this time period, the ideal woman was tall 1

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/appearance (October 1st, 2014)

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with a narrow waist, large bust, and large hips. Twenty years later, however, the sought- after figure was much different. Figure two (Bahadur) is an image of Clara Bow, a popular actress/flapper of the 1920’s. Flappers were considered extremely sexy during this time period. Flappers engaged in “rebellious” behavior for the time (such as smoking in public) and wore short hair and short dresses.

Flappers wore more makup than women in the past. They used makeup to make their complexion pale and their cheeks and lips very bright. Unlike women twenty years prior, flappers minimized their breasts and hips instead exposing their ankles or knees. By the 1950’s, the media began releasing a much different appearance. Figure three (Collman) is Marilyn Monroe, one of the greatest icons in history. Monroe and other popular models of this time made hourglass figures the attractive look. Filmmakers/publicists of the 50’s idolized curvy women with long legs. Figures four and five (Abraham) are two newspaper advertisements from the 50’s, encouraging women to gain weight. Advertisements such as these were surprisingly very common. It’s hard to believe that women used to spend money to try to gain weight. Although comical now, women of the 50’s tried several different weight gain “diets” and medications to achieve their desired look. Yet, ten years later the size of models differed completely. Models of the 1960’s brought about the slim ideal we often see today. In the 60’s, women aimed to be extremely tall and slender. Figure six (Jacques) is a photo of Lesley Lawson, also referred to as “Twiggy”, one of the most prominent models and actresses of her time. She was popular for her extremely thin and slightly androgynous appearance.

Nonetheless, the slim models of the 60’s were soon replaced with the athletic models of the 80’s.

The 1980’s introduced the most in-shape models yet.

Models during this time period were recognized for their “hard bodies” and natural makeup. Figure seven (Johnson) is an image of Jane Fonda, a famous actress who also starred in popular aerobic exercise videos. Although models of the 80’s were thin, the 90’s introduced the thinnest models yet. Some say the 1990’s marked the beginning of the “waif” look. A popular model of the 90’s, Kate Moss is depicted in Figure eight (Green). Moss is 44

famous for saying “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”, a quote that held true for many women of the 90’s. Only fifteen years later introduced the standard many women today still strive to achieve: tall with long legs, big breasts, a slim torso and toned bodies. The Victoria's Secret Angels are often recognized as the most popular models of the last ten years. Figure nine (Longeretta) is an example of a model from the 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion show. The models/images from the last ten years encourage women to enhance the size of their breasts and shed fat off their stomach, hips and thighs.

If women can’t achieve the “in-look” naturally, they use diet, exercise and plastic surgery to gain results. In her essay “Stretch Marks”, Anna Quindlen accurately portrays many women’s attitudes towards the gym when she says “I work out for a very simple reason, and it is not because it makes me feel invigorated and refreshed. The people who say that exercise is important because it makes you feel good are the same people who say a mink coat is nice because it makes you feel warm.” (Quindlen, 243). Quindlen’s theory can be proven statistically. It was found that 91% of American women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape (Palmer). It was also noted that only 5% of women naturally possess the body type often portrayed by women in the media today. In addition to diet and exercise, plastic surgery is also on increasing in popularity. Currently, liposuction and breast augmentations are the most in demand procedures. In 2013, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reported that over 12 billion dollars was spent on surgical and non-surgical procedures (“ASAPS”). Technological advances have made these procedures far more accessible to the public. Given the ideal image for women today, these numbers are far from shocking. Women use these procedures, diets and fitness plans to replicate women portrayed in unrealistic images that have been enhanced by extensive photo editing techniques.

Originally used to zap a zit or to brighten a picture, photo editing programs (such as Photoshop) allow photo editors to change images drastically. Images published of models and 45

celebrities today are often unethically manipulated by photo editors. Photoshoping does not only alter images, it also alters our minds. Although most are aware that pictures in magazines are edited to some degree, many are not aware of how severely these images are changed. As technology advances, it allows photo editors to alter images to fit unrealistic, non-human ideals. Figure ten (Bahadur) is an image that was released during Dove’s Evolution Campaign for Real Beauty. It’s hard to believe that it is the same woman in both photos. Figure eleven (“WATCH”) is another example of the power of Photoshop. This photo was released by Global Democracy, a site that allows people to vote on current issues affecting the world. Sally Gifford Piper, the model in the photo, bears no resemblance to the image released after the editing process. Average American women are expected to meet a standard models cannot meet themselves. Photoshop enables editors to manipulate the perception of the public through altered images.

The images released in the media affect how women are treated in the workplace. Women who do not conform to certain beauty standards are affected financially and professionally.

Although most know how competitive the job hiring process is, many do not know how biased it is.

It is significantly more difficult for an unattractive woman to land a job compared to her average looking competition. In 2013, the average call back rate of all CV’s was 30%. Conventionally attractive women were called back 54% of the time. However, unattractive women were called back a mere 7% of the time (Nisen). If hired, women who are considered less attractive can expect to make less money than their attractive female counterparts. One study found that workers with “below average” looks tended to earn about 9% less per hour than “average-looking” employees (Amour). According to George Washington University, overweight people also get paid less. It was found that obese women are paid at a rate of $8,666 a year less compared to normal-weight coworkers. On the contrary, attractive women can expect a boost to their paycheck. A study published by Timothy Judge at the University of Florida found that tall people get paid more. This study found that for every extra inch, a worker can earn about $789 more per year. Hair and 46

makeup can affect women’s paychecks too. According to one study, blondes earn up to 7% higher than women with any other hair color. In addition, a study performed by Procter & Gamble, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston University, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that women who wear makeup earn 30% more than women who go without (Kiisel). Women are aware of how these prejudices affect them. Debra Jalimen, a board certified dermatologist, says many of her patients try to look younger and better because they believe it affects their opportunities for job advancement (Madell). Despite the increase of women in the workforce, they are still judged superficially. Sadly, women today are “lucky” if their paychecks solely reflect their work.

To question the importance of looks is to question ethics versus aesthetics. Ethically, women should not be judged based on their appearance. Unfortunately, women do not have full control over the prejudices surrounding body image. Although Monroe once said “I don’t mind making jokes, but I don’t want to look like one”, women should focus less on trying to conform to these constantly evolving standards. It’s likely that in a few years, Twiggy’s slender look or Marilyn’s curvy figure will be on the cover of Vogue again. In my own experience, I have seen far too many women hate parts about themselves that become popular a few months later. For years, my sister tried to hide her voluptuous figure through baggy clothes and sweat suits. However, recently, Kim Kardashian and Nikki Minaj have reintroduced the idea of a curvy ideal. Rather than reshaping themselves to fit our current standards, women should strive to raise awareness of the heavily edited and frequently changing images in the media. Maybe this way, women can be judged on their merit-- not their pants size.

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Figure 2 Figure 1

Figure 4 Figure 1

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Figure 6

Figure 5

Figure 7

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Figure 10

Figure 9

Figure 11

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Works Cited "Wow Camille, Those Are Some…assets." | The Dreamstress. N.p., Feb.-Mar. 2011.

Web. 10 Oct. 2014.

Bahadur, Nina. "It's Amazing How Much The 'Perfect Body' Has Changed In 100 Years." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Feb. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

Collman, Ashley. "Gentlemen Prefer Body-builders! Pictures Reveal How Marilyn Monroe Kept Her Iconic Figure in Shape with Weights and a Bizarre Diet." Mail Online.

Associated Newspapers, 03 Apr. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

Abraham, Tamara. "'Add 5lb of Solid Flesh in a Week!' The Vintage Ads Promoting Weight GAIN." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 30 Nov. 2011. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.

Jacques, Renee. "9 'Perfect' Female Bodies That Prove There's No Such Thing." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 04 Mar. 2014. Web. 10 Oct. 2014.

Johnson, Lisa. "Celebrity Arms - Diet, Health and Fitness Tips Lisa Johnson Fitness." Diet Health and Fitness Tips Lisa Johnson Fitness. N.p., 17 Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

Green, Hadley. "Throwback Thursday – Fashion of the 1990s."HauteTalkcom. N.p., 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

Longeretta, Emily. "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show: 2013 Angels Revealed."Hollywood Life. N.p., 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2014

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Quindlen, Anna. “Stretch Marks” Rea d ing L ife : A W rite r’s Re ad e r. Inge Fink, Gabrielle Gautreaux. Thomson Wadsworth, 2004, Palmer, Mario. "BYOB - Be Your Own Beautiful - Amplify." Amplify A Project of Advocates for Youth. N.p., 21 May 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

"ASAPS." News Releases. American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 20 Mar. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

Amour, Stephanie. "USATODAY.com - Your Appearance Can Affect Size of Your Paycheck." USATODAY.com Your Appearance Can Affect Size of Your Paycheck. N.p., 20 July 2005. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

Bahadur, Nina. "Dove 'Real Beauty' Campaign Turns 10: How A Brand Tried To Change The Conversation About Female Beauty." The Huffington Post.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

"WATCH: Another Dramatic Timelapse Video Demonstrates The Power Of Photoshop - POP GOES THE WEEK!!" POP GOES THE WEEK. N.p., 15 Nov. 2013. Web.14 Oct. 2014.

Kiisel, Ty. "You Are Judged by Your Appearance." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

Nisen, Max. "Check Out How Much More Often Beautiful Women Get Callbacks For Job

Interviews." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 09 Sept. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

Madell, Robin. "Your Looks And Your Job: Does Appearance Affect Advancement? Career Intelligence." Career Intelligence. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

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Water Preservation By: Joe Gigante In this original argumentative essay, Joe presents the issue of water preservation through a day in the life of an individual the reader can identify with. His essay demonstrates how good writers are most persuasive when they present an issue through one person’s narrative rather than simply through a list of statistics (although Joe uses them to good advantage here too). – Professor Steven Otfinoski

P

lanet Earth, our home, is the only known holder of life in the universe. One of the main contributing factors to supporting life is water, a key to survival. Earth is approximately 70 percent water, totaling about 326 million trillion gallons. However, only a small

fraction of the total water, 2.75%, is freshwater, totaling approximately 10 trillion million gallons of freshwater (howstuffworks.com). Although our supply of water is virtually limitless, we must make a conscious effort to start preserving our water. According to the USEPA, (United States Environmental Protection Agency) the average American uses 120 gallons of water per day. There are 316.1 million people in the United States, that means in the Unites States alone, just 5% of Earth's total population, uses about 37.9 billion gallons of water per day.

I feel that a lot of excess water usage could easily be limited or even eliminated. According to National Geographic, water conservation includes strategies and policies to manage fresh water as a sustainable resource. This can protect the water environment, and meets current and future human demand. Population growth and household size affect how much water is used.

It wouldn't be difficult to start a movement towards conserving our fresh water supply.

Using nearly 120 gallons a day per person in the United States is quite excessive. With a little bit of awareness and positive action, we, as a nation can work together in starting to decrease that number.

In just any ordinary day, an individual can go through gallons and gallons of water. Let’s follow the average day in the life of a single man named Bill.

Bill wakes up at 6:30AM and begins to get ready for work. He goes into the bathroom to shower and start his day. Bathing is where the majority of water usage occurs. Although we must 53

bathe on a regular basis to maintain proper hygiene, we use up a lot of water doing so. The average shower, believe it or not, is twelve to fifteen minutes long. A fifteen minute shower, with a conventional shower head, releases up to 150 gallons of water. This is an extremely high number, and that's only the average. Many people take showers that may last longer than 15 minutes.

Shower water usage spikes during hot weather because we tend to shower more often.

After a long day, people sometimes may choose to come home and relax with a nice warm bath. To many, this seems like a harmless act, however, according to wsscwater.com, a conventional household bath usually takes 50-70 gallons of water to fill.

As Bill gets out of the shower and dries himself off, he realizes the bathroom sink has a leaky faucet, he thinks nothing of it. Do you know that leaky faucet you have in your bathroom?

That annoying 'drip-drop' you hear all day long? It may seem like just an annoyance, but it's a huge waste of water. Leaky faucets can account for up to 14% of your daily indoor use (10 gallons/day) (National Geographic).

Once Bill gets dressed, he has to use the bathroom. Although most new toilets are waterconservative, older toilets could use anywhere between five-to-seven gallons per flush. So going to the bathroom five times a day could use up to about 30 gallons, just by flushing the toilet. Washing your hands after using the bathroom, with the water continuously running, you generally use about two gallons of water.

Bill is almost done getting ready for work, he has to get dressed. After getting dressed, he shaves and brushes his teeth. Shaving generally takes a while, and with the water continuously running using a conventional faucet, about 20 gallons of running tap is used. After shaving, Bill brushes his teeth. It takes the average person about two minutes to sufficiently brush their teeth. In this time, with constant water flow, about 10 gallons of water is used. (wsscwater.com) After a long day of work, Bill finally returns home. He realizes his front lawn and garden are looking unhealthy. He decides to put the sprinkler out for an hour. Using a generic sprinkler 54

for 1 hour, more than 1,000 gallons of water have been used After putting the sprinkler out, Bill begins to cook his dinner. After dinner, with a sink full of dirty dishes. Bill doesn't have a dishwasher, so he washes by hand. When washing dishes by hand, about 30 gallons of water is gone to waste.

It is 7PM and Bill decides to do his laundry. Like toilets, many new models of washing machines are beginning to be more water conservative; however, a lot of people haven't made the switch from old to new yet. Using an older top-loading washing machine, one full load uses about 60 gallons of water.

It is 10PM and Bill is ready for bed, he now brushes his teeth again, using another 10 gallons of water.

In an average day in the life of Bill, doing nothing out of the ordinary, he used approximately 200 gallons of water just for personal use. On top of that, he used 1,000 gallons of water using the sprinkler for an hour.

According to Karrie Lynn Pennington and Thomas V. Cech in their book, Introduction to Water Resources and Environmental Issues, our water supply isn't all clean and usable, a lot of it is contaminated due to pollution, among other things. "In reality, we don't have an unlimited supply of fresh water," meaning that with an increasing amount of water being contaminated we must begin taking steps towards reducing our excess water usage. The movement has to start somewhere, we can't keep digging ourselves into a hole. At some point, we will run out of fresh water unless we start changing our habits.

According to National Geographic, 1994 was the year that federally mandated low-flow showerheads, faucets, and toilets were sold in significant numbers. I feel that beginning a movement towards more water-conservative appliances is definitely the way to go. Conserving our water should be in the best interest of everyone. Having no fresh water would basically be the end of life as we know it, and for our future families, it would be detrimental. So, when you're at the 55

store, look to buy a more water friendly appliance. Even though you won't be making the biggest difference, remember, a movement like this will take time. Step by step, you are helping to move us towards a better environment.

Yes, these water-conserving appliances may be more expensive. Yes, our water supply is trillion millions of gallons. Yes, conserving water may be downright inconvenient. I understand that not everybody wants to take the time out of their day to become more conscious in preserving water. Most people deem it unnecessary. Many people financially don't have the money to buy the new water-friendly home appliances. Many people don't have the money to get a dishwasher or a new front-loading washing machine. It's a lot of work to be active in preserving our water with seemingly no reward that comes of it. However, in life, not everything comes with a reward, sometimes you have to do things out of pride and respect.

If you don’t have the luxury of buying a top of the line appliance, drop down a few notches; go get a cheaper one. However, if you still can't afford a cheaper model, there are still many simple ways to reduce your water use. Try to eliminate baths as a whole, or limit them to an occasional treat, mainly sticking to short showers. The average bath uses 35 to 50 gallons of water, whereas a ten minute shower using low-flow showerhead only uses twenty-five gallons at most. Put a bucket in the shower while you're waiting for the water to warm up, and you can use the water you collect for watering plants or cleaning, this kills a few birds with one stone. Or, while you brush your teeth and shave, you can simply turn the water off between uses. Considering how many minutes the faucet will run if you don’t, you save a lot of water by doing so. You can also install low-water sink faucets. You can save gallons of water each time you use the tap this way. Low-flow faucets use less than half the amount of water. Fixing leaky faucets can go a long way as well; this can save you more than 20 gallons of water per day.

If you have the money to upgrade appliances, do so. First off, get a low-flow toilet.

Flushing the toilet is the biggest water waste in the house. Newer models use about 1/5 the amount 56

of water of the older models. When you consider that the average person flushes five times per day, the gallons can really add up. Switching over from a top loading to a front loading washing machine can save between thirty to forty gallons per load. It would also be very water friendly to switch from hand-washing to using a dishwasher. Although hand washing seems old-fashioned and more conservative than using a dishwasher, you can save about twenty gallons of water, because most of the newer dishwashers use only about ten to twelve gallons per load. (gracelinks.org and wsscwater.com) After a few months, Bill gets a pay raise. He decides to upgrade all of his house appliances as well as make a conscious effort to reduce his water usage. After some research and a few weeks of changing his routine, he finally settles in. Bill goes from using 1,000 gallons of hose water on his lawn, to simply watering his lawn with excess shower and sink water which he has collected throughout the day. He also reduces his total of 200 gallons for personal use to 55 gallons. So, at the end of the day, Bill ends up cutting his water use from 1,200 gallons to 55 gallons.

Bill isn't the only one who can begin to make a conscious effort to decreasing water use. It may take some time and effort plus some financial sacrifice, but in terms of the environment, it is very helpful. It is good to begin a movement towards protecting our planet and keeping it beautiful.

Everyone has to be on board because this isn't a job that can be done alone. Each individual person is the equivalent of one brick. When working together, those bricks form an impenetrable brick wall. It won't be easy, but it can be done.

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Is Hip Hop Holding Us Back?

By: Joe Harding Joe Harding’s piece was selected as an excellent example of an argumentative essay that uses rhetoric, reflection, and research to engage and inform the reader on a controversial topic. Joe wrote this essay towards the end of his EN 11 class and worked through multiple drafts. Joe uses compelling sources to interrogate whether the art form of hip hop is hurting or helping our society.

Professor Elizabeth Hilts encouraged her students to research an issue that interested and engaged them. This essay is articulate, informed and is an excellent example of how to use primary and secondary sources in a persuasive manner and contains a well-researched Works Cited page.

– Professor Kristin Rose

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hen it comes to controversial issues in the black community, specifically the effects of rap music, also known as hip hop, there are two distinct trains of thought. Some argue that rap music is a negative influence on black youth. For

example, Jeffrey Hicks, who is anti-rap, claims that, “Beyond the music, hip-hop culture encompasses street codes of behavior and an overall defiance of social convention. It is this defiance of mainstream life that is at the root of much of the underachievement now plaguing black youth.” (Hicks) On the other hand, supporters of the form, such as George Lipsitz, an American Studies scholar and Professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, maintain that hip hop music is merely a poetic expression of the struggles of inner city life. “It [hip-hop] brings a community into being through performance, and it maps out real and imagined relations between people that speak to the realities of displacement, disillusion, and despair created by the austerity economy of post-industrial capitalism.” My own view is that hiphop culture is detrimental to the progress of the African-American community because the majority of popular rap music negatively influences black youth by endorsing violence, objectifying women, and glorifying illegal drug use.

It is critical to understand, when talking about rap music, how each side defines the form.

Proponents of the genre contend that it is, in fact, an artistic explanation of urban life. These supporters argue that hip hop music is just another art form and in its purest form it represents 58

empowerment, unity, culture, creativity and hope. On the other hand, opponents such as Hicks, a member of the National Advisory Council of the black leadership network Project 21, argue that rap music delivers negative messages and contributes to the moral decline of our youth by encouraging intolerance, insensitivity, and narrow-mindedness.

There are many reasons why supporters of hip hop music argue that rap music is not all bad. As Sebastien Elkouby, founder of Global Awareness Through Hip Hop Culture, a program designed to assist low-performing students with various skills and global awareness through culturally responsive pedagogy, states in The L.A. Times Music Blog post “South L.A.'s Global Awareness Through Hip Hop Culture Program Shuts Down Due to Budget Cuts”, “At its core, hip hop is so much more than mere art and entertainment. Hip hop is the constantly evolving spirit and consciousness of urban youth that keeps recreating itself in a never-ending cycle. It is joy, sorrow, pleasure, pain, victory, defeat, anger, happiness, confusion, clarity, humor, intensity, dream, nightmare, life, death, and everything else in between. It is the spirit that connects the past to the present and lays a path towards the future.” (latimes.com) Although supporters of rap lyrics contend that the messages delivered by the rap artists are being misunderstood, it is my assertion that too many of today’s rap lyrics encourage defiance of acceptable societal norms. Not only do hip hop lyrics often promote the use of violence to settle disputes, they encourage the use of improper English and derogatory terms. These street codes have an adverse effect on black youth when they eventually try to enter the workforce and are ill-prepared to have a successful job interview or lack the skill sets necessary to coexist with others who may have differing points of view. These are expected acceptable behaviors necessary for success in our society and rap music could be a vehicle to deliver these lessons. Though it may be seen primarily as a form of entertainment, rap has the powerful potential to reach and impact a large audience including impressionable teens.

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For example, Ginger L. Jacobson, a University of South Florida graduate student, conducted interviews with adolescent rap fans about hip hop music for her 2009 graduate theses and dissertation Realness and Hoodness: Authenticity in Hip Hop as Discussed by Adolescent Fans. Jacobson suggested that teenage fans make interpretations from what they see and then apply them to their lives. In support of that claim, Jacobson cites Adolescent and Child Health Researcher Enid Gruber, PhD, & clinical psychologist Helaine Thau, PhD., in their article Sexually Related Content on Television and Adolescents of Color: Media Theory, Physiological Development, and Psychological Impact who wrote that “Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the information they are exposed to because they are likely to use it as a basis for decision making without the cognitive ability to consider other decision-making pathways” (Jacobson 3).

As an illustration, in 1994 two Wisconsin youths were charged with murder in a case of rap influencing the killing of a police officer. The teens admitted to the police that they plotted the attack “because of a Tupac Shakur record that talks about killing the police." (latimes.com) The boys were subsequently convicted. Shakur's rap music played a crucial role in justifying firstdegree homicide. As a result of this case and because of her passionate concern about negative effects of rap music, Dr. C. DeLores Tucker, chair of the Washington-based Political Congress of Black Women, encouraged African American lawmakers to convene anti-gangsta rap hearings. In his L.A Times article, " Gangsta Rap: Did Lyrics Inspire Killing of Police?", Chuck Phillips quotes Tucker as saying, “This case confirms what many of us have long been saying: that gangsta rap encourages vulnerable youngsters to commit horrible acts of violence. Gangsta rap may not be the root cause of the violence, but it's dangerous because it encourages young people to try to heal their pain in violent ways." (Chuck Phillips) Tucker waged a national campaign against rap music because of its vulgar lyrics and negative influence. In my opinion, most current rap music is a negative influence on black youth because it emphasizes materialistic thinking and a desire for fast money. With this mindset, many young blacks either join gangs or sell drugs to try to make as 60

much money possible as quickly as possible. This lifestyle is extremely dangerous and often cut short due to the prevalence of black-on-black gun violence in urban communities. Many rappers such as Lil Wayne, who is a member of the Bloods, announce their gang affiliations in their music.

Young, impressionable blacks who idolize popular rappers like Lil Wayne believe that if they join a gang or sell drugs like him then they’ll also become rich. However, Lil Wayne’s success is a rare case as many young black lives are tainted by drug addiction, incarceration, and/or death as a result of their desire to make fast money. The misogynistic themes portrayed in hip hop music videos, similar to the encouragement of violent behavior in rap lyrics, are also contributing not only to the detriment of black youth but also to the mindset of the broader community sometimes even inciting protests.

As an example, the 2006 “Take Back the Music” campaign, at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, was supported by Essence magazine to change the messages promoted by rappers degrading and painting negative images of black women. Student Asha Jennings, who spearheaded the protest, claimed, “We wanted to raise the issue. If you feel that it’s very important to save your sister’s life, why is it not as important how black women, your sisters in larger society, are depicted?” (npr.org) On the other hand, in comments made to Essence magazine in the past, successful and influential rap artist Nelly, whose lyrics sparked the protest, argued that the women routinely depicted in degrading ways in hip hop videos should not be judged. “I respect women, and I'm not a misogynist. I'm an artist. Hip-hop videos are art and entertainment. Videos tell stories; some are violent, some are sexy, some are fun, some are serious. As for how women are shown in the videos, I don't have a problem with it because it is entertainment...No one knows what a particular woman's situation is, what her goals are. Being in that video may help her further those goals. Several women who have been in my videos have gone on to do TV appearances and movies. No one can dictate other people's choices and situations." (cnn.com) Jennings, editor of Essence magazine Michaela Angela Davis, and other Spelman students believed that if the image 61

of black women portrayed as “bitches and hos” continued, then black women would continue to be seen through a negative and degrading point of view in society because these images would stereotype all black females.

In fact, the severe consequence to pay for the misogyny that is in rap music is that it has become within acceptable limits for people to use these examples without hesitation. For example, radio personality Don Imus made an inappropriate slur against the Rutgers women's basketball team. Imus explained his remarks in a statement to NBC's Today, by saying, "I know that that phrase, nappy-headed hos, didn't originate in the white community. That phrase originated in the black community. And I'm not stupid. I may be a white man, but I know that these young women and young black women all through that society are demeaned and disparaged and disrespected by their own black men and that they are called that name. And I know that, and that doesn't give me, obviously, any right to say it, but it doesn't give them any right to say it." Despite of defenders of hip hop music justifying the negative aspects of rap lyrics by arguing that “defaming women is necessary to demonstrate their authenticity and to ensure commercial success” (Adams) and videos by playing the freedom of choice card, the real result of rappers demeaning black women is that people like Don Imus think it is socially acceptable to talk about black women in such a derogatory manner.

Values portrayed in rap music have matriculated not only into the black community, but also into broader society to the point where the lines between which people can or cannot use certain hip hop influenced language or stereotypes have been blurred. Similarly, with regards to the usage of the “N-word”, many blacks believe they are justifiably allowed to use the word as a means of expressing fraternity, however a dilemma has developed in that some members of the white community use this language and feel as though because blacks use it in that manner they can as well. This particular mindset is caused by the hip hop culture making it seem as though usage of this language such as the “N-word” or “Nappy-headed hos”, which originated in the black 62

community, is universally acceptable. This is an unfortunate and inappropriate phenomenon that can’t be allowed to continue. Nevertheless, rap artists continue to argue that it all comes down to freedom of expression and that they are simply expressing their lifestyles and personal stories through their music, however the impact on black youth is alarming.

Analyzing the negative effects of rap music is worthy of a continued conversation because of the significant influence rap music has over today’s black youth. Regardless of the freedom of expression soapbox, the fact that there are documented successful hip hop songs that promote the end to black-on-black gun violence and drug use in the black community speaks to my assertion that these negative examples are unnecessary and only serve to hinder black youth from becoming productive citizens by teaching them how to go against society standards. Because misogynistic and racist language in today’s popular rap music are so commonplace and without censorship, our society, particularly our black children, have become immune to such disgracefulness and therefore hip hop culture continues to exist as a negative influence on black youth.

Works Cited "What Is Hip Hop Culture?" Globalawarenessthroughhiphopculture.com Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

"Taking Back the Music." CBN.com Black History Section. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

Henderson, Errol A. "Black Nationalism and Rap Music." Journal of Black Studies 26.3 (1996): 308-39.

Roach, Ronald. "Decoding Hip-Hop's Cultural Impact." Black Issues in Higher Education 21.5 (2004): 30.

Frosch, Dan. "Colorado Police Link Rise in Violence to Music." The New York Times. The New York Times, 2 Sept. 2007. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.

Hicks, Jeffrey. "How Hip-Hop Destroys the Potential of Black Youth." How Hip-Hop Destroys the Potential of Black Youth. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <https://www.nationalcenter.org/P21NVHicksHipHop90706.html>.

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17, October. "Gangsta Rap: Did Lyrics Inspire Killing of Police?: Pop Music: Two Teens Awaiting Trial in Milwaukee Say Tupac Shakur's Angry Lyrics Influenced Them in the Slaying of an Officer." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 1994. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://articles.latimes.com/1994-10-17/entertainment/ca-51308_1_police-officer>.

Lipsitz, George. Dangerous Crossroads: Popular Music, Postmodernism, and the Poetics of Place.

London: Verso, 1994. Print.

CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/03/hip.hop/>.

Jacobson, Ginger. "Realness and Hoodness: Authenticity in Hip Hop as Discussed by Adolescent Fans" Graduate Theses and Dissertations. (2009). Web. <scholarcommons.usf.edu>.

Adams, T. M. "The Words Have Changed But The Ideology Remains The Same: Misogynistic Lyrics In Rap Music." Journal of Black Studies: 938-57. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

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The Silent Killer By: Kaitlyn Tatulli The second assignment in our EN11 class was to write an argumentative essay on a water issue. Kaitlyn’s essay is unique in its skillful blend of the personal and the public side of the pressing issue of child pool drownings. From its gripping opening to its well-reasoned conclusion, her essay makes a compelling argument for better safety measures to save our children from senseless, watery deaths. It well deserved the honorable mention it received in this year’s Core Writing Awards. – Professor Steven Otfinoski

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he stood on the sides of her feet, swaying with the full-leafed trees, as the sun burned through the cloudless sky. Trickles of sweat bubbled down her burned cheeks. This three-year-old girl’s eyes met the monstrous raised pool, while her mother chatted with her friend as they took another sip

of the transparent, still liquid that was certainly not water. She inched closer and closer to the gray edge, like a reluctant worm crawling out of the earth on a rainy day. Her mother slid open the black screen door and stepped into the coolness—leaving her daughter outside with the enemy. During this time, the little girl mustered up enough courage and jumped in the pool. Without even realizing it, she started to drown. The little girl’s body was still, lying flat at the bottom of the pool.

The seconds ticked by. The seconds turned into minutes and her mother finally came back into the sunlight. She frantically searched the backyard for her daughter, Meaghan. Her friend stood by the pool and let out a sharp scream from the bottom of her throat—she found Meaghan. Her mother, not being able to swim, panicked, and her friend dove into the murderous water. She dragged Meaghan’s body up to the surface, while her mother called 911. Panic ensued: her mother gave Meaghan mouth-to-mouth, the mother’s friend sobbed and screamed for help. Eventually, the perfectly rectangular ambulance pulled up to the curb and the EMTs roared through the heat to get to the little girl. After several tries, by a miracle, they were able to revive her heartbeat.

After this instance, little Meaghan grew, lived a fairly normal life and today, this adventurous, curious girl is my mother. But what if the minutes had passed on when water was swarming into my mother's lungs?

Her mother could have been further distracted—she could have gone to the bathroom, have had another drink, or called her husband. Surely, if her mother had done this, Meaghan’s heart would never have beaten again.

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With young children—even if they have taken swimming lessons before—a casual, happy summer’s day can quickly turn into every parent’s worst nightmare—the drowning or death of his or her child.

Unintentional child drowning is a death defined by the “impairment of respiratory function as a result of immersion in liquid” (World Health Organization 2: 20). Even if you have put your children through swimming lessons, researchers found that “swimming lessons for children younger than four years old” cannot prevent drowning ("Drowning Water Swimming", n pag.). With unintentional child pool drowning being the leading cause of death for U.S. children between the ages one to four and the second leading cause of death for U.S. children between the ages of one to fourteen, measures must be taken by your state’s citizens to stop this reparable problem (NDPA’s Education Committee, n pag.).

Some safety measures to prevent child drowning have been suggested; however, I find most of these proposed methods to be unfeasible. Certain aquatic safety specialists recommend installing subsurface swimming pool alarms that sound when a child enters the pool, leaves the house, or opens the pool gate, terminating the sale of above ground pools and setting legal limits for blood alcohol levels for anyone around water (World Health Organization 2: 20). These theories sound good in writing and may appear appealing upon first look. In fact, one may believe that installing these aquatic rules would prevent child drowning; however, one has to look at the practicality of these policies. Are the majority of families, who are fortunate enough to have in or over the ground pools, going to then spend more money to install alarms in and outside of their homes? Are they going to give up their pools just to keep their children safe from drowning? Or are they going to abstain from drinking just to make sure they don’t have a lapse of supervision? Instead of suggesting methods that most families could not afford or be willing to consistently do, I have come to the conclusion that in order to decrease child-drowning rates in the United States, simple and realistic layers of protective methods need to be taken by parents. Watching their child while he or she swims, keeping a phone nearby, limiting parents' alcohol use while their child swims, building general barriers around the pool and clearing the pool and surrounding area of toys that may tempt the child are all valid and, perhaps more importantly, practical ways to prevent the drowning of their children.

Unlike death by car accident, fires or stabbings, drowning occurs quietly and quickly, especially in the case of young children. Therefore, a designated, responsible and sober adult must supervise children 66

who are swimming at all times. In this era, there are an abundance of distractions—cell phones, computers, music, reading —so it is extremely important that the supervisors give their undivided attention to watching their children swim; furthermore, parents should remain in “touch supervision”—being “close enough to reach the child at all times”—in case the child starts to panic or drown (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n pag.). The National Drowning Protection Alliance (NDPA) suggests to designate a “Water Watcher” whose “job is to watch the water at all times, without engaging in social activities”; moreover, the NDPA says “after fifteen minutes, a new ‘Water Watcher’ should be designated so that supervision stays fresh” (NDPA’s Education Committee, n pag.). I think this concept could be beneficial in the prevention of child drowning when there are a large amount of children swimming in the water—like at a birthday party or play-date.

Further practical methods parents or supervisors could take to protect their children from drowning include keeping their cell phones or a house phone nearby. Although phones can be a distraction to people, including parents, in a time of an emergency phones are crucial in receiving help. In fact, 74 percent of surveyed Americans in 2006 said that mobile phones have been vital in emergencies like drowning (World Health Organization 2: 28). If the supervisor can exhibit self-control and not be diverted by the phone, then this is a helpful layer of drowning prevention. Keeping a phone with you for emergency use is an easy and sensible method to keep children safe from unintentional drowning.

One last step parents can take to protect their children, is limiting their alcohol consumption while their child is by water or swimming. In the case of my mother’s near drowning experience, her mother and her friend, were both impaired by alcohol, which led to lapse in their supervision over Meaghan.

Unfortunately, 70 percent of deaths associated with child drowning involve alcohol use by adults (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n pag.). Although sipping on a cold beer or alcoholic beverage is a good way to relax and beat the heat during the summer, drinking impairs one’s judgment, balance, coordination, and “its effects are heightened by sun exposure and heat” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n pag.). If you are a parent and have a drink while your young child is swimming, you are asking for trouble. Not drinking while supervising your child is an obvious way to decrease the percentage of child pool drownings.

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Changes in parental supervision are not the only ways one can protect their child from drowning.

Practical physical changes around the pool area—building general barriers around the pool and clearing the area of tempting child toys—can act as additional lines of defense to restrict unwanted child access to the pool zone. Building physical barriers that separate the pool from the house, such as a four-sided fence, reduces “a child’s risk of drowning [by] 83 percent” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n pag.).

For adults who cannot afford to put in a metal or wooden fence, there are removable mesh fences, which are inexpensive, non-climbable fences that still control child pool access. Some adults may think that installing a fence around the pool’s parameter is a displeasing sight. However, parents Brianna and Joe Rukavina, whose 13-month-old daughter drowned because they did not have a fence installed, said, “This can happen to anyone, and it only takes a moment. When people say a pool fence is ugly, it is so much uglier to see a child in the hospital” (D’ursa, n pag.). Despite some opinions of the aesthetics of fences, I think installing a barrier—since it can save the life of your child—is priceless.

Another easy and financial cost-free method to protect your child from becoming a drowning victim is to remove the child’s toys—floats, balls, water noodles, and other toys—from the pool area when he or she is not using them. This way, the child will not be tempted, when you are not looking, to venture over to the pool unsupervised to attain or play with the toys and accidentally fall into the pool. Although this safety measure could be viewed as tedious—picking up your child’s toys after her or she has played with them— this action can save his or her life. And let’s face it, if you’re a parent or guardian, you will have to pick up the child’s toys anyway.

From my research I have seen that there is no single, correct solution or device to prevent unintentional child drowning’s from occurring. A protective layer to prevent child drowning must be created so parents can save their children from the dangerous water. Because sadly, “Of all preschoolers who drown, 70 percent are in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning and 75 percent are missing from sight for five minutes or less” (World Health Organization 2: 28). However, when it comes to administrating and installing the suggested protection methods, ultimately, the homeowners must take on the responsibilities that come along with having a pool. In other words, adults must take it upon themselves to prevent child pool-related drownings. Nine children under the age of fourteen unintentionally drown 68

every day in the United States; furthermore, “for every child who drowns, four others are hospitalized for near-drowning, and three suffer brain damage” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n pag.).

Active, distraction-free adult supervision, fences, and the removal of toys all add to the layer of protection that could save your child’s life. If you follow these practical methods, you can greatly decrease the risk of losing your child to this silent killer.

Works Cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention. "Unintentional Drowning: Get the Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. N.p., 15 May 2014. Web. 31 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html>.

"Drowning Water Swimming." UKEssays. N.p., Nov. 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2014. <http://www.ukessays.com/essays/childcare/drowning-water-swimming.php>.

D'ursa, William. "Pool Season's Approach brings call for drowning-prevention measures." Washington Turbine Business News [Washington] 2 Apr. 2013: n. pag. Print.

NDPA’s Education Committee. "Layers of Protection Around Aquatic Environments to Prevent Child Drowning." National Drowning Prevention Alliance. N.p., 25 Mar. 2011. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://ndpa.org/resources/safety-tips/layers-of-protection/>.

World Health Organization. Volume 2: Swimming pools and similar environments. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2009. Print. Vol. 2 of Guidelines for safe recreational water environments. 2 vols.

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The Dark Side of Water: Its Use as a Weapon of Mass Destruction By: Michael Vinci We selected Michael Vinci’s probing and inquisitive piece as an example of a fine argumentative essay that takes an stance on an important political issue. Michael’s writing is articulate, engaged, and scrutinizes all aspects of the issues of water and its use as a weapon of mass destruction by terrorist groups in the Middle East. Michael’s essay is well-researched and contains a variety of sources and a compelling argument. Michael’s essay demonstrates the values of eloquentia perfecta: he is informed, sympathetic and engaged; he is a person who acts in the world with words rather than weapons. – Professor Kristin Rose

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ater is often regarded as a universal healer. It holds the title of most abundant compound in the human body, as well as the first source of life on Earth.

Indeed, most theories of evolution agree that the first living organisms were

wombed in the great abyss that is the sea. Because of its universal importance, lack of water can prove fatal. Moreover, he who controls water would have unfaltering reign over his kingdom. In the Middle East especially, this is the case. In an area once known as the Fertile Crescent for its rich soil and abundant supply of water, terror groups have been dominating civilians by using water as a weapon of mass destruction, turning a once flowering nation into a war zone. Despite much disagreement, aggressive military action seems to be the only solution to eradicate this widespread threat.

Although the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq has recently been employing this authoritative stance on water, similar tactics have been used for up to 4,500 years (Gleick). Specifically in the greater part of the last three decades, water has been a major tool in the conflict in Iraq. For example, in order to curb the actions of the rebel groups opposing his dictatorship, Saddam Hussein, then President of Iraq, drained the southern marshes, effectively cutting off the supply of water to his enemies (Cunningham). These Marshlands of Iraq once covered 20% of the country, but after suffering the heat of the conflict, they are virtually nonexistent (Chulov). The water sources provided by the Marshlands help sustain half a million people, and supply water to an

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additional two million (Chulov). Clearly, these supplies of water are vital to the people, and by wielding them as a weapon, these terrorist organizations are able to maintain control.

Since 2009, the Middle East has been suffering from shrinking water sources, regardless of what terror groups are doing (Chulov). Most of the economy in Iraq is reliant on the water from the many rivers encompassing the area, specifically the Tigris and the Euphrates. The previous destruction that has been forged in the region has prevented the rivers from having ample ground to grow. A sparkle of hope was presented in 2007, however, when it seemed the water supply could have strong footing again (Chulov). Unfortunately, the terror groups coupled with the sandstorms and uncharacteristically high temperatures, squelched the opportunity before it had a chance to breathe. In its place, it left a water crisis unlike any expected. The water of this region provided much more than its liquid hydrogen dioxide sustenance, but rather food via fishing, as well as electricity generated via the rivers (Chulov). This fishing was extremely important to the economy.

For example, many civilians are fish merchants, selling their supply to the people to earn money.

In this way, the rivers acted as sources of food as well as income. It had been reported that the natural crisis in 2007 had limited the amount of fish, and thus the economy shrunk dramatically (Chulov). The additional encroachment by the Islamic State only served to further the issue, driving the people into turmoil.

This is comparable to the corn market of the United States crashing. Corn may not appear to be an economic staple, but the United States is the biggest exporter of corn in the world. (Corn).

Its derivatives and applicable uses drive the American economy forward. If the corn industry stopped production, everything from the meat to textile industry would collapse (Corn). Jobs would be lost, and panic would spread like wildfire. Iraqâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market for water functions in the same manner. Their entire economy is buckling under the pressure from ISIS, and with that pressure, the Islamic Caliphate will take control. Should they advance far enough to hold Baghdad, the entire country of Iraq would be at their disposal. With so much of the world having economic and 71

political interests in the region, and in an area known for housing terrorism, their control has the potential to lead to a world war.

Exactly how the Muslim extremists are taking control is unclear. Erin Cunningham, a writer for the Washington Post, has published an article exploring the cases of water corruption by the hands of ISIS. She reports that in April of 2014, the jihadists cut off the flow of water at the Fallujah Dam of Anbar, a major city with many Shiite provinces. In their attempt to control water, they unleashed floods which ravished 40,000 citizens, completely destroying communities.

Likewise, in September, the extremists annihilated access to the Sudur dam, creating more floods, again cutting off water to their Shiite counterparts, and this time preventing Iraqi police from retaking control (Cunningham). The sheer girth of the displacement an attack like this causes is staggering; to eliminate an entire communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s access to water is to limit their access to life. Her article also references the story of an employee at a water facility in Mosul, one of the biggest and most influential in the region. This employee anonymously commented on the situation, detailing how this facility at one point controlled the flow of water into the cities via a program which has since be halted. He alluded to ISIS and their manipulation of the water in the region (Cunningham).

The effects of this exploitation of water come with both a precedent for action as well as moral implications.

In the 20th Century, the Geneva Conventions were held in order to establish proper wartime behavior for participant countries. That is, what is humane when engaging in battle with other nations (Water as a Weapon of Mass Destruction). Article 54 of the Geneva Convention states the following: It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population such as foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies, and irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying them for their sustenance value to the civilian population or to the adverse Party whatever the motive, whether in order to starve 72

out civilians, to cause them to move away, or for any other motive. (Water as a Weapon of Mass Destruction) Clearly the actions that ISIS are taking are in violation of this treaty. The Islamic State was not established at the time of the ratification of the treaty, and so its political applicability in this situation is debatable. What is non-debatable, however, is the premise that the Geneva Convention is much more than mere laws. It dictates what is humane, and anyone who violates it should be subject to due punishment. At its core, the purpose of the Convention was to prevent civilian genocides. This is what ISIS is doing, and as such, those who ratified the treaty are morally obligated to extinguish the problem.

Kenneth Pollack, an expert in Middle Eastern economies and politics believes that should ISIS continue to cut off these supplies of water, they will be â&#x20AC;&#x153;enormously damagingâ&#x20AC;? to the land of the Fertile Crescent (qtd. in Cunningham). The control the Islamic State has maintained over these water supplies is staggering. The jihadists will enter a region and temporarily take control until the Iraqi police are able to drive them out. Then, the people who fled fearing for their lives are able to return. However, once they do so, the Sunni extremists will cut off their supply to water, and to extension, food and electricity. They will then force the people to pay in order to use it. In this way, they are quite literally becoming a government power within Iraq (Cunningham). This taxation is a major progress for ISIS. Not only are they generating monies, but they are getting the support of the people, however forcibly that may be. In many of these cases, the Iraqi government is telling the people not to respond to the state. Although this may be a solution for the greater good, the people are living without water, and their real government can do nothing about it. In this way, ISIS is creating a problem to which only they hold the solution, and thus is gaining power over the people (Cunningham). This is strikingly similar to methods practiced by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in the past.

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al-Qaeda operated for many years, and was able to spread terror in a multitude of ways.

What people fail to realize is that ISIS is and was an arm for al-Qaeda in Iraq; ISIS is a breathing remnant of the supposed dead terror group. Any American alive in September of 2001 knows of the horror wrought by their hands. As such, their affiliates cannot be underestimated, as they have been for the past months. Indeed, President Obama has gone as far as to refer to them as a “JV Team.” Surely, such terror causing groups have advanced beyond a “junior” designation of any kind. They are very capable of acts of terror. The recent impositions ISIS has been placing on the people of Iraq could abet this spread of terror in the long term. As an extension of al-Qaeda, it is clear that the Islamic State is able to pose similar threats, and accordingly, they should be terminated with equal if not greater vehemence as their predecessor.

At this point in time, ISIS is winning. They already had military potency, and the addition of control over water grants them infrastructure within several Middle Eastern countries; they have essentially established their own government. They have clearly stated that their intentions are to erect a caliphate and destroy any opposition, as well as eliminate all who are not Sunni Muslims.

They have been decapitating Christian children and intentionally displacing Shiite families in the name of their God and a perverted form of a fundamentally peaceful religion. Clearly, something needs to be done.

There is, of course, controversy concerning the best tactic to pursue. The Obama Administration has been subjected to much criticism over the past 6 months for not doing enough the solve the problem. Although the President did institute the air-drone strikes, it is evident that the enemy has adapted. As General Bob Scales attests to in an interview with Jeanine Piro in her video on Fox News, What is the best strategy for US to combat ISIS?, the enemy has hidden themselves among the people, aware that among the civilians, the United States would never dare launch an attack. They are basically using the Iraqis and Syrians as human shields. This drone technology we have been adopting is nowhere near perfect, and as such, it still needs human aid to 74

function properly. General Scales offers a solution to this as well. Citing the Afghan wars of 2001 and 2002 as examples, he believes that specialized military officers should be on the front line of the attack, administering commands and controlling the air strikes in order to provide the most accurate and fatal results in terminating the enemy (Strategy to combat ISIS). The only question remaining is why not pursue the most fatal option?

The Islamic State has made it abundantly clear that their motives are to exterminate all nonSunni non-Muslims in the world. They have a myriad of weapons at their disposal, everything ranging from firearms to government influence. It can be argued, however, that their most immoral and influential weapon is the one that affords them power omnipresent in their territory: water.

They can cut off entire citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; access to water, a resource so vital to life, eliminating it has disastrous implications for the society in question. In the bigger picture, it is via this control of water that they have the potential to increase the breadth of their power tenfold. So far, very little progress has been made in way of eliminating the threat they pose.

Works Cited Chulov, Martin. "Iraq: Water, Water Nowhere." World Policy Journal 26.4 (2009): 33.

Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

"Corn." USDA ERS. N.p., 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

Cunningham, Erin. "For Islamic State, Water Is a Weapon." The Washington PostOct 08 2014. ProQuest. Web. 12 Nov. 2014 .

Gleick, Peter H. "Water and Terrorism." Water Policy 8.6 (2006): 481. Pacific Institute. 14 Aug. 2006. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

"Water as a Weapon of Mass Destruction." The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs 22.2 (2003): 68-9. ProQuest. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

What Is the Best Strategy for US to Combat ISIS? Perf. Jeanine Pirro. Fox News. Fox News, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 75

WRITING ABOUT WRITING The Ethics of Embellishment in Creative Nonfiction By: Lauren Cicchetti When I was reading this essay I was struck by how relevant this topic is. I am always pleased when students tackle issues that are affecting them, their peers and the world right now. In regards to this topic, we have all heard accounts of authors who wrote essays or books they called nonfiction only to later have it be discovered that there was more fiction in the pieces that truth. The author explores this topic by asking insightful questions such as whether the practice of leaving room for error and embellishment in some forms of literature goes against literary ethical standards. The author does not believe this embellishment compromises these standards and provides multiple examples to support her stance on the issue. While I may not agree with all of the author’s points, I applaud the strength of her research and support of her thesis. –Professor Jill Bodach

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hen we think of literature, we tend to classify it into two major zones: fiction and nonfiction. In terms of writing a work of fiction, we know that there are little to no boundaries. The author often uses nothing more than his or her own

creative imagination to bring a story to life. While the messages found in fiction may ring true, the characters or incidents usually originate within the mind of the author. The latter, nonfiction, is the opposite. A writer of nonfiction is instead confined to stick to the facts of the subject of which they are writing. Creative nonfiction is a branch of nonfiction that employs various literary techniques often found in fiction to a story that has an accurate, factual basis. Memoirs, for example, are a popular form of creative nonfiction. When writing a memoir, the author makes a sort of agreement with their audiences to tell their story as accurately and truthfully as they can. However, in such forms of literature there seems to be some room for error and embellishment. Does such a practice go against literary ethical standards? Not necessarily. In creative nonfiction, as long as the author is writing with the genuine intention of telling the truth, literary techniques such as embellishment do not go against ethical standards or diminish the validity of the story.

Among writers, embellishment is an acceptable technique so long as authors use disclaimers to serve as a warning to the readers when unsure of the facts or details. A prime example of this can be found in Lauren Slater’s memoir, Lying. Starting her memoir on a rather unconventional note, the entire first chapter consists of only two words: “I exaggerate” (Slater 3).

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By choosing to open her story with these two words, it does automatically cause the readers to question the credibility of the story before they even begin. However, by using a disclaimer in the beginning of the story, the author cannot be held completely liable for “misleading” her readers.

Disclaimers in nonfiction are tricky; many who read nonfiction expect to receive the whole truth and nothing but the truth. However, an author sometimes has to make room for minor changes, such as changing the name of a person or place to protect the privacy of the parties involved.

Authors can also utilize “cues” throughout the story to emphasize their uncertainty of certain details, such as “I believe” or “as I recall” (Hood). However, significant events that take place in the story must be written truthfully, for not to do so would be considered fabrication and thus make the story a fictional account.

Memory and imagination also play a significant factor in the role of embellishment in a memoir or any form of creative nonfiction. The human memory is very unreliable. Some of us have trouble remembering what happened to us last week, let alone our entire childhood. It is simply improbable for one to recall every single detail of an event or experience that happened to them in the past. Moreover, the truth is often merely a matter of perspective (Hood). Two parties who shared the same experience could remember the situation differently. Neither of them have a false account of what happened, but merely a variation of what actually occurred. Insignificant details are usually forgotten with the passage of time and are “filled in” by the author’s imagination (Hood). Providing that important aspects of the event are not changed, there is a consensus among writers that the usage of one’s imagination to invent minor details to enhance a story is an acceptable technique. Upon reading Slater’s memoir, we learn that although Slater admits to exaggerating, she claims that this is simply how she recalls her past experiences. Towards the end of the first section, Slater states that “epilepsy shoots your memory to hell, so take what I say, or don’t / this I think I recall” (Slater 26). Slater herself is admitting that her illness may obstruct her clarity when trying to write about these events. However, Slater’s vivid accounts of her seizures 77

and the accompanying dreamlike “auras” or mental states are compelling enough to be true. No matter how clearly one claims to recall a past experience, the fallibility of human memory will always weaken one’s credibility when writing nonfiction.

As aforementioned, a nonfiction writer’s duty to their readers is to tell the truth to the best of their ability. Whatever significant facts one can recall must be included in the narrative and checked for accuracy, while minor details can be omitted. However, personal narratives cannot consist of mere factual truths, for that does not make a good story, which is really what creative nonfiction is all about: to tell a true story and to tell it well. In a personal essay or memoir, writers believe that it is acceptable to write about the “emotional truth” of an event. These “emotional truths” refer to the writer’s emotions and insights with regard to a past experience, whether it involved a particular person, place, or conflict (Hood). In Lynn Bloom’s article “Living to Tell the Tale: The Complicated Ethics of Creative Nonfiction,” she references Joan Didion’s On Keeping A Notebook, describing the universal ethical standard of “how it felt to me” among nonfiction writers (278). This “standard” ties directly back to the concept of emotional truths. While one may not be able to remember the facts of a specific situation clearly, one can almost always remember how that particular situation made them feel. When incorporating this concept into nonfiction, one should be able to safely assume that embellishment is bound to occur. In Vivian Gornick’s “Truth in Personal Narrative,” she speaks of the differentiation between her and her mother in reality and the way she depicts them in her memoir Fierce Attachments. She claims that “we ourselves were just a rough draft of the written characters” (Gornick 7). By stating this, she is saying that the depiction she gives of her and her mother in her memoir are not made up characters, but are merely portrayed in this way to emphasize the message of her memoir, which focuses on their “fierce attachment” (Gornick 7). We all express our experiences through our emotions, even in our day-today lives. So often we make claims such as “this is the best day of my life” or “this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me.” Making such claims is embellishment in itself, for we are 78

exaggerating the truth of what happened. While you may say a certain day was the best day of your life, someone else could turn around and say it was the worst. What could make such techniques deemed unethical is that many consider the standards applied to creative nonfiction to be the same as those that apply to journalism. Gornick refutes this standpoint, saying that “Memoirs belong to the category of literature, not of journalism” (Gornick 8). Bloom’s discussion of “the implacable I" simply raises awareness to the author’s right to include their own interpretations in their narrative, even though it may contrast with another’s, if it helps to enhance the message of their story (Bloom 279). So much like the works of Gornick and Slater, many creative nonfiction writers advocate their ability to interpret the facts of the experience as they see them, so long as their intentions are pure and they strive to tell the truth.

Embellishment is rarely used to deceive the reader but rather to either emphasize the author’s message or to make the storytelling more effective. The cardinal rule of creative nonfiction is that the writer must write about factual events, whether it pertains to a historical occurrence or their own lives. Their intent must be to record the factual truth as best as they can and maintain that the significant events within the story are not fabricated. So long as this rule is upheld, the writer does have the creative license to incorporate embellishment into their works.

Works Cited Bloom, Lynn Z. “Living To Tell The Tale: The Complicated Ethics of Creative Nonfiction.”

Creative Nonfiction 65.3 (2003): 276-89. National Council of Teachers of English.

Web. Gornick, Vivian. “Truth in Personal Narrative.” Blackboard.

Hood, David. "The Ethics of Writing Creative Nonfiction." Find Your Creative Muse.

Web. 30 March 2015.

Slater, Lauren. Lying: A Metaphorical Memoir. Blackboard.

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Exploring the Story of Exphrasis By: Kristie L’Ecuyer The research of famous ekphrastic pieces of writing and the creation of student-sponsored ekphrasis is a popular assignment among EN 12 professors. In this essay, the author provides interesting history about the art of ekphrasis, supplies numerous examples, and contributes to the conversation about this intriguing art form. In doing this, the author engages several of Fairfield University’s Core Pathways: Engaging Tradition, Creative and Aesthetic Engagement, and Rhetoric and Reflection. – Professor Jill Bodach

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s a linguistic take on visual artwork, ekphrasis is a rhetorical device that gives poets the power to create their own story. Specifically, ekphrasis takes the form of prose or poetry that expresses a poet’s emotional and intellectual engagement with the piece

of art. Although there are distinct differences between the artwork and its coinciding ekphrastic poem, there is still an inherent analogical relationship between them, despite the particularities of their media. For example, even though poems use words to convey meaning and paintings are made with brush strokes on a canvas, both mediums connote reality, carry a symbolic value, and leave some element of analysis up to the audience’s interpretation. As a result, the verbal reaction reflected in the diction of the poem not only provides astute details of the artistic object, but also shares the poet’s cognitive interpretation of the work (Bilman). By making efforts to embody qualities beyond the physical aspects of the work they were observing, ekphrastic poets are able to create their own reality for inanimate objects and inspire others to think critically.

To gain a better understanding of how ekphrasis allows for differences in literary interpretations of artwork, it is important to compare and contrast the poetic commentary that is inspired by the same piece of artwork. One example is the historically symbolic Vietnam Veterans War Memorial in Washington D.C. that was built in 1982 and chronologically lists the names of more than 58,000 Americans who gave their lives in service, in death or capture, to their country.

Honoring the men and women who served in the controversial Vietnam War, this memorial is a famous artifact that has inspired many poets, such as Yusef Komunyakaa and Jeffrey Harrison, to write ekphrasis. For Komunyakaa, the experience of facing the stone memorial strips him raw. In 80

Facing It, Komunyakaa emphasizes the blurred lines between the existence of his physical reality and his clouded reflection. Specifically, Komunyakaa states, “I turn / this way -- the stone lets me go. / I turn that way -- I'm inside / the Vietnam Veterans Memorial / again, depending on the light / to make a difference” (Hosten). By analyzing this piece of ekphrasis, it is clear that he is commentating on how the emotionally draining experience of visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial caused him to view the shiny, black granite is an open portal to the veterans lost in battle. Another interpretation of the memorial’s significance can be seen in Jeffrey Harrison’s Reflection on the Vietnam War Memorial. In his ekphrastic poem, Harrison uses the metaphor, “Here is, the back porch of the dead /… An underground house, a roof of grass / one version of the underworld,” to compare the Vietnam War Memorial to the underworld (Hosten). The stone wall in itself authenticates the deaths and separates the names from the people they represent; both creating and absorbing the grief associated with the aftermath of war. Compared to Komunyakaa, Harrison focuses less on the physical presence of the memorial’s reflection and concentrates more on the symbolic significance of the names on the wall. Komunyakaa analyzes the memorial by providing his audience with a first-hand account of his thoughts and surroundings when he faced the mesmerizing stone wall. Harrison, on the other hand, narrates his piece of ekphrasis by using literary devices to describe the symbolic memorial from the third person. He views the Vietnam War Memorial as a meeting of the dead and the living; each name like the signature to a death certificate. By analyzing these two perspectives on the same piece of artwork, it is clear that ekphrasis helps poets create their own, unique story from the same muse.

Although ekphrasis’ primary goal is to spark ingenuity, there are a few examples of times when poets were inspired to develop relatively similar pieces of ekphrastic literature on the same artifact. This rare occasion can be seen on Theodate, an online journal sponsored by the Hill-Stead Museum that looks for poetry submissions that are inspired by the artwork they carry in their archives. Specifically, Meryl Natchez and Barbara J. Williams, two Theodate poets, created 81

comparable pieces of ekphrasis regarding Katsushika Hokusai’s painting, "The Great Wave," from Hill-Stead's collection. In For Hokusai, Meryl Natchez references how the unbreakable wave has travelled for two hundred years, swallowing the rowers in its path but never reaching the shore (Natchez). Barbara J. Williams similarly created a haiku called The Great Wave that refers to the springtime wave swallowing surrounding boats and bringing grief to the narrator (Williams).

Although both pieces of ekphrasis reference the wave swallowing everything it encounters, each poet still finds a way to twist this common theme to have their poem to reflect a different purpose.

Overall, ekphrasic poetry allows poets to reflect on their own visual and emotional connections with a piece of artwork. More often than not, ekphrasis creates original poetry as each poet has different personal backgrounds, insights, and experiences that influence their writing in addition to the artwork’s inspiration. For Yusef Komunyakaa and Jeffrey Harrison, ekphrasis allowed them share their divergent perceptions on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial’s unconventional art. The difference in their ekphrasis represents how poets have different methods of understanding, remembering, and internalizing their interaction with the artwork they write about. On the other hand, both Meryl Natchez and Barbara J. Williams were able to create similar pieces of ekphrasis about Hokusai’s “The Great Wave” painting, showing that ekphrasis is not limited to developing vastly different interpretations of the same artwork. Whether the outcome is similar or different to other poets, ekphrasis was developed to give poets the opportunity to freely tell a story with rhetorical vividness that will enhance the original art so it can take on a new life of its own.

____________________________________________________ APPENDIX: "Facing It" Yusef Komunyakaa (1988) My black face fades, 82

hiding inside the black granite.

I said I wouldn't, dammit: No tears.

I'm stone. I'm flesh.

My clouded reflection eyes me like a bird of prey, the profile of night slanted against morning. I turn this way -- the stone lets me go.

I turn that way -- I'm inside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial again, depending on the light to make a difference.

I go down the 58,022 names, half-expecting to find my own in letters like smoke.

I touch the name Andrew Johnson; I see the booby trap's white flash.

Names shimmer on a woman's blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall.

Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's wings cutting across my stare.

The sky. A plane in the sky.

A white vet's image floats closer to me, then his pale eyes look through mine. I'm a window.

He's lost his right arm inside the stone. In the black mirror a woman's trying to erase names: No, she's brushing a boy's hair.

"Reflection on the Vietnam War Memorial" Jeffrey Harrison (1987) Here is, the back porch of the dead.

You can see them milling around in there, screened in by their own names, looking at us in the same vague and serious way we look at them.

An underground house, a roof of grass -one version of the underworld. It's all we know of death, a world like our own (but darker, blurred). inhabited by beings like ourselves.

The location of the name you're looking for can be looked up in a book whose resemblance to a phone book seems to claim some contact can be made 83

through the simple act of finding a name.

As we touch the name the stone absorbs our grief.

It takes us in -- we see ourselves inside it.

And yet we feel it as a wall and realize the dead are all just names now, the separation final.

“For Hokusai” Meryl Natchez (2012) The wave never breaks, for almost 200 years ready to swallow the rowers who never reach home.

Fresh drops splatter our eyes.

“The Great Wave” Barbara J. Williams (2012) The great wave came up In Springtime, swallowing boats— So, too, grief floods me

Works Cited Bilman, Emily. "Modern Ekphrasis." EBSCOhost. Peter Lang. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.

Hosten, Colin. "Ekphrasis." Fairfield University: Blackboard. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.

Natchez, Meryl, "THE DAILY EKPHRASIS." Theodate. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

Williams, Barbara J., "THE DAILY EKPHRASIS." Theodate. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

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Where There is Love There is Complexity and Change By: Lauren Jachimczyk

We selected Lauren Jachimczyk’s piece as an example of stellar literary analysis: it is insightful, articulate, and engaging. Lauren explores the complex and abstract idea of love in the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” and the poem “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” by John Donne. Her essay was written towards the end of EN 12 in Professor Opidee’s class where they were exploring how different forms of literature address love, complexity, and change. Lauren’s literary analysis essay is a great example and model for students when thinking about how to use their primary and secondary sources in a creative manner. – Professor Kristin Rose

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ove is a complex, abstract concept that can take on many forms. “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” by John Donne are bound by the theme of “Love and Hate.” Both texts explore the topic

of love, specifically complexity and change; however, they differ vastly in their attitudes toward it.

Although they express opposing views, they both reach similar conclusions about the nature of complexity and change, and their roles in love.

Hemingway expresses a disillusioned view on love, shown through the story of a man and a woman struggling to make a difficult decision. They sit outside at a train station between Barcelona and Madrid, drinking and talking about the situation they are in with their relationship.

The man brings up a “simple operation…to let the air in” (565). In the 1920s,” letting the air in” was an expression to indicate an abortion (Hibbison). The man and the woman, Jig, have clearly done a lot of traveling together, shown by all of the stickers on their suitcases, and spent a lot of time together. Their relationship has become strained because Jig has gotten pregnant.

Many issues emerge because of the pregnancy and the weakness and superficiality of their relationship arises because of this. These characteristics of their relationship are linked to a major motif this story touches on, which is simplicity. A weak and superficial relationship simultaneous lacks complexity. The man keeps stressing how “perfectly simple” (565) the

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operation is. An abortion is not as simple as he is making it, and Jig seems to be aware of this. She keeps questioning it and at one point, she “look[s] at the ground the table legs rested on” (565). This moment is very significant because it shows the tremendous weight she feels on her shoulders. The ground bears the weight of the table legs on it, just as she bears the weight of the pregnancy and the impending decision she must make. This image stresses the idea that complexity is part of love. If love were as simple as the man makes it, Jig wouldn’t feel this tremendous burden. The man fails to recognize the complexity of both their situation and relationships in general. He is convinced that the abortion will not change their relationship and things will remain as they always have. However, he is naive to the fact that love is a complex idea and whatever decision they make will inevitably impact them greatly.

Change is also explored in this story. The couple has two possible paths to take, symbolized by the opposite sides of the train station. The option to abort the baby and try to maintain the relationship as usual is exemplified by “the hills on the dry side of the valley” (566). This side of the train station is “brown and dry” (564). Their relationship is also dry and stagnant, revealed when Jig points out that all they do is “look at things and try new drinks” (565). This lifestyle is becoming dry to her and things will continue to be dry if the couple carries on in the same manner. The man is not aware of this dryness, as he only seems to desire the abortion so the couple can continue with their relationship as usual. This detail also sheds light on the fact that Jig is more aware of the complexity of love than he is. Love requires tasks such as difficult decisions and compromise, which makes it complex.

The other side of the station, however, is lush and fertile. This symbolizes the other option the couple has, which is to have the baby. The other side has “fields of grain and trees” along the 86

Ebro” (566) and mountains. The vegetation suggests fertility, which is linked to her pregnancy. It also suggests growth, which heavily relates to change. If the couple decides to take this route, they have the potential to undergo a healthy adjustment to their relationship. It is important to note that this change can only be healthy if the man and Jig are on the same page. It is dependent upon his ability to genuinely change, and resist reverting back to his old ways. Growth is a healthy and natural part of love. Not only would the baby grow, but also, their relationship and selves as individuals could develop as well.

Love takes on a deeper form in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning.” This poem describes a relationship that is strong and unwavering. The love between the two people described is stronger than the love of “dull sublunary lovers” (l. 13). Sublunary means terrestrial, or pertaining to the earth, according to Dictionary.com. While other lovers are bound to the earth, the lovers described in the poem are far greater than that. The conflict of the poem is that one of the lovers must leave for an unspecified reason or period of time. However, their relationship isn’t dependent on physicality and they do not cry “tear-floods” (l. 6) when they are not together.

Because of this, their love is deep and profound.

Unlike the man and Jig, this couple has a complex relationship and recognizes the complexity of love. Their relationship is more like “trepidation of the spheres” (l. 11), the movement of the earth in orbit, than earthquakes. Earthquakes may appear to be powerful and worthy of fear, however, the strength of the Earth’s movement around the sun is significantly stronger, yet less noticeable. This also relates to the idea of less complex relationships being “sublunary.” Their love is also compared to “twin compasses” (l.26). Even when apart, they move in synchronization and harmony with the other. Their souls make “no show/To move, but doth, if 87

th’ other do” (l. 27-8). These people are clearly individuals, however, they are also one. Their relationship is strong and complex enough that they are able to make this possible. Their love is “so much refined” (l. 17) that their relationship is vastly different from the simple and superficial relationship the man and Jig share. The man and Jig seem to fit the description of the “dull sublunary lovers” because it appears that physical aspects of the man and Jig’s relationship are a dominating aspect of it. While the lovers in the poem enjoy those things, they don’t revolve their relationship around them. The physicality of the man and Jig’s relationship correlates to the idea of simplicity, or the lack of complexity in their relationship. Like the “dull sublunary lovers,” they are tied down to the tangible things of Earth. Like the earthquakes, their love is physical, rather than the movement of the Earth in orbit. The fact that the lovers described in the poem are not dependent upon physicality demonstrates the complexity of their relationship. The man and Jig seem to fit the description of the “dull sublunary lovers Also unlike the man and Jig, this couple accepts and embraces change, rather than apprehending it. The man and Jig fail to recognize the inevitability of change, as change is part of love. The couple in the poem does not deem separation as a “breach, but an expansion” (l. 23).

Even though one of the lovers must leave, they don’t cry rivers of tears or become sad. They do not allow this separation to hinder their relationship in any way and the distance may even make them stronger. Their relationship doesn't rely on physical aspects, as it does for other “sublunary” lovers.

For these earth-bound lovers, their relationship can’t stand the absence of the physical things that element it (l. 16). For these deep, profound lovers, their love is more mental and spiritual. They are joined by their love and function as two compasses that move in harmony. Further emphasizing the couple’s ability to embrace change, which in this case is separation, is the mention of gold. Gold is 88

one of the most malleable elements, which means that it is pliable and its shape can be easily changed. Malleability is also defined as “having a capacity for adaptive change” by Merriam Webster Dictionary. The separation causes the couple to undergo a change and in response to this, they acclimate. Because of its properties, the mention of gold emphasizes the malleability of their relationship and that their separation is not a breach for them, but an expansion.

“Hills Like White Elephants” and “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” express opposing attitudes toward love. The man and Jig’s relationship is hindered by an unplanned pregnancy. The couple’s situation exposes the simplicity of their relationship and that they fail to fathom the complexity of love. They also struggle to embrace change. The couple in the poem is also facing a situation in which one of them must leave for a while, causing a physical separation. They handle this situation differently than the man and Jig by embracing the change and recognizing that their love is complex enough to withstand anything. Love is a pervasive aspect of life that is dependent upon complexity and change. As the divorce rate escalates in America, people should consider these essential aspects of a healthy relationship, which are complexity and change. While both texts express different scenarios about love, each one makes it clear that change and complexity are critical and unavoidable aspects of love.

Work Cited Hibbison, Eric. "My Favorite Views." My Favorite Views. VCCS Litonline, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2015. <http://vccslitonline.cc.va.us/copy_of_hills/views.htm>

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Water Playlist By: Kailyn Stephens Kailyn’s essay is a deft and detailed analysis of three popular songs that share the common theme of water.

She not only thoughtfully interprets the lyrics, but also shows how the music and musicians enhance and illuminate the words. If the measure of success of a critical essay is to send the reader rushing off to read (or in this case hear) the work critiqued, then Kailyn has succeeded admirably. – Professor Steven Otfinoski

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ater, by scientific definition, is a colorless, transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid that forms the bodies of water on the earth and is the main component of living organisms.

Humans depend on water for life, and because of its importance, it has become an overlying symbol of life in almost every culture. As a result of this, water has weaved

its way into every portion of culture, from water sports to books about water in a factual and a metaphorical sense. As culture has matured throughout the ages, and literature has grown to have an increasingly significant importance to scholars over the last few centuries, thousands of entries about water are found in journals and articles almost anywhere as a result of its growing appearance as a symbol or metaphor. Water is an overlying theme in so many pieces of literature, both prose and poetry, and it is typically used in a symbolic way rather than just the physical compound.

As water has been woven into literature, it has also flowed into the music industry. Many musical pieces today are written, for the most part, about love. Often water can be seen used symbolically alongside the idea of love in many ways. Musicians have acquired the skill to beautifully incorporate this life giving substance into lyric to emphasize the importance of it in the lives of humans. Three songs that use water in particularly interesting approaches through song are “Float” by The Neighbourhood, “Oceans” by Pearl Jam, and “Rainy Day” by Cold Play. Each song uses water to emphasize the meaning of the song they are trying to portray.

Float – The Neighbourhood This mood-driven song enters with high percussion beats and a long, slightly whiny, distant electric guitar sound. The notes are sharp but drawn out, which mixes to produce a very forlorn sound. The beat is relatively fast, as to not allow the cheerless sound to completely saturate the song with sadness. The lyrics, 90

by singer Jesse Rutherford, open with “imagine breathing in/ imagine leaving all your air behind”, which already presents a contradiction. The first line suggests that the listener imagines taking a deep breath in, and the second suggests that the listener “leaves” all air, which could relate to death. Although the song has not brought in the subject of water yet, the opening lines begin to bring about the thought that the song is going to have to do with life or death, with the contradiction the two first lines introduce.

The following few lines begin to affirm the idea that the song has to do with life and how much life is worth. According to the speaker, “life can only mean hardly anything”, giving the idea that life in general is not that important compared to other things in the writer’s opinion. He also feels that he does not fit in with everyone else in life, and he’ll only be “partly settled in” as long as he lives.

This bridge of the song is followed by the hook, which brings in the water metaphor. The verse starts with the speaker moaning, “they show you how to swim/ then throw you in the deep end”, which could be a metaphor for living life. From birth, humans adapt to the ways parents or guardians go about their lives, and then as soon as a child is old enough, they are thrust into the schooling system and aren’t allowed to escape until adulthood when a job can be attained and one can live on their own resources. Once someone is able to do that, they are technically “thrown into the deep end”, meaning they have to complete every life task with their own hands and with minimal help from someone like a parent. The rest of the hook moves to, “I’ve been learning since/ that doesn’t mean I’ll float”, which could be a personal look at the speaker’s life. He has been learning how to live since he was tossed into being on his own, but he still struggles and is not sure how long he will be able to survive.

The use of water in this stanza is helpful for understanding how the singer is feeling with only a few short lines. The idea of floating on water is linked to survival. When one is taught how to swim, they are really being taught several different ways to stay afloat. If one is unable to stay afloat, they sink. The speaker could be struggling with issues in his life that are causing him to believe that he will not able to float for much longer before he drowns under life’s pressures. The water in the hook is also a metaphor for life. The first line, “they show you how to swim” could also be read ‘those who help you in one’s 91

upbringing teach you the fundamentals of living’. As mentioned before, water in the song is being used to represent the singer’s life. The following verse moves on to Rutherford describing how he had a “funny sleep”, but he “did not have a dream [because he doesn’t] believe in them”. These lines bring the listener back to the idea that Rutherford’s life is sad, as the opening tone presented, and he does not seem to have any goals to strive towards anymore. This brings back the idea that he is only going to be stay floating for a short amount of time before he drowns while attempting to live.

Another interpretation that could be taken from this piece is the idea that instead of Rutherford being unable to handle life’s pressures, he could be struggling with trying to live life the way he wants to when compared to the way everyone wants him to live his life. “They” in “they show you how to swim” could refer to society and the societal norms that are thrust upon the youth of the world. Rutherford could be having a hard time “floating” along with the way everyone else in the world around him chooses to live while internally he battles with the constant desire to go his own way. In this case, the water is still a metaphor for life. When replaced with “live”, the lyrics at the end of the chorus become “I’ve been learning since/ but that doesn’t mean I’ll [live]”. The speaker wishes to live life to the fullest the way he wants to live it, but society and peers could disagree or see it as ‘strange’. The song could be his way of saying how he is trying to learn how to be like the rest of the people around him, but he is not completely sure he will be able to survive it or live like they do. He is uncertain as to whether or not he could live the way everyone else does.

Rainy Day – ColdPlay This song, when compared to Float, is far more upbeat. The song opens with a fast paced, happysounding guitar strum with xylophone beats and slight percussion. The music fills the listener with a sense of relaxation and happiness as it opens. The words in the song sound slightly shaky when sung, almost in tune with the xylophone that lingers in the back throughout the piece. The lyrics open directly with water as lead Chris Martin starts with “then there was rain”. Starting off in the middle of a thought as this song does interests the listener as they try to understand what is happening in the song. The lyrics continue with “the 92

sky wore a veil of gold and green; Night is the bride of a lonely day”, which does not add to much understanding of what is happening in the song. Gold and green are colors that could be seen describing a paradise, as they are the color of money, and nighttime is usually the time of day when one goes out to take a break after a long, “lonely day”.

The second verse begins again with “then there was rain”, and moves on to describe how the rain is seemingly affecting the surrounding environment the speaker is talking about. The water causes “foundations [to] crumble”, and the ground “tumbles”, which suggests that the rain is not so much peaceful as it is destructive. However the speaker changes to talking about how “time just floated away” and “we can watch it and stay; and we can listen”. “We” could refer to the speaker and the listener, or it could refer to the speaker and a romantic interest that is no longer a part of the speaker’s life. Taking the latter approach, and looking at the entirety of the first stanza, the speaker seems to be avoiding thinking about a separation between himself and the loved one and is instead trying to keep himself happy. The upbeat sound the music produces adds to this idea.

The song continues onto the chorus in which the speaker seems to ask for the “rainy day [to] come around” and how he wants to “slow it down/ [but] we’re separated now”. It is during this portion of the song that the “rainy day” moves to become a metaphor for the person he is now separated from. He pains over the distance and wants to slow his memories down, but the separation makes it difficult. The chorus ends with the speaker becoming seemingly nostalgic as he remembers how much he loved it when “rainy day” came over to his house. This further pushes the thought that rainy day is a metaphor for someone else.

The chorus also begins with the disappearance of the bright, happy xylophone sound and the addition of a slow, pulling violin melody. The new sound accentuates the nostalgic mood the speaker seems to portray through the lyrics. The listener becomes drawn into the speaker’s story at this point by the change of mood.

The following stanza brings back the xylophone and the violin leaves only to return again as soon as the chorus is repeated. The restoration of the percussion lifts the music from longing to light as the speaker moves away from the idea of missing rainy day to telling a new story. He speaks of a time when he “spent 93

the night with the queen of Spain/ [and his] lonely little heart well it broke again”. This anecdote could be interpreted as the speaker’s attempt to move on from rainy day. He slept with a woman worthy of royalty, but his wish for rainy day caused the “queen of Spain” to be nothing close to the way rainy day made the speaker feel. He then states that “time’s so vicious/ the deeper that the knife goes in/ the more you win”, which is the speaker’s way of conveying that time spent away from rainy day is beyond painful. He is trying so desperately to avoid the hurt, because the more he lets it get to him, the more Rainy Day wins.

The constant change between fun and somber in the song moves the mood around continuously to match how the speaker wants to feel and actually feels. This technique allows the listener to truly understand what the speaker is trying to convey. The water in this song is the rain, which is personified as “Rainy Day”, or the speaker’s romantic interest he recently separated from. Rainy days are usually associated with sadness, as the rain could symbolize tears. In this case, the rain could very well stand for the speaker’s tears, but is more likely just the speaker’s general sadness. As he tells his story, it seems that the “rainy days” come around often, but he wishes “Rainy Day” would come to “the house/ [he] loves it when [Rainy Day] comes over to the house”.

Oceans – Pearl Jam This song is significantly shorter than the previous two songs. It consists of two stanzas, both saturated with water metaphors. The song opens with the lyrics immediately, alongside light guitar strums emphasizing each word. It is slow, but also relatively distant. The speaker’s voice is not too loud or forceful, and the words are spoken one at a time. This sets a soft, thoughtful mood. The listener is at once forced to carefully listen to what the speaker has to say.

The verse begins with the speaker stating “hold on to the thread/ the currents will shift/ guide me towards you”. Here the speaker seems to be calling to a lover whom he is trying to save. The currents could be a metaphor for the ups and downs of their relationship. Currents are defined as a body of water moving in a definite direction. The speaker could be pressing that the “currents”, or problems he and his lover have will eventually go away and pull them back together. The first stanza continues with the speaker calling out to 94

his lover “know something’s left/ and we’re allowed to dream/ of the next time we touch”. This further pushes the thought that the one the speaker seems to be talking to is a lover, as he wants them to remember that they still have something, even if things are not pleasant at the present time, the future coming together will be wonderful once the imperfect moments fade.

The first stanza is followed by a long pause which is first filled with the speaker’s croons in the background matched with the continuous distant guitar strums and light percussion. The speaker’s voice then leaves and the pause consists of closer and slightly more prominent guitar and drum beats. Here the mood continues to be one of melancholy and hope for change with the underlying idea that the speaker can do no more to save his relationship.

The second stanza continues on with the speaker’s pleas to his lover. He seemingly calls to her saying that “[she does not] have to stray/ the oceans away/ waves roll in [his] thoughts”. Here he is truly trying to convince his loved one to stay with him through the tides. He does not want her to leave behind the “oceans”, or everything they have been through together just because of their current problems. Waves are defined as a long body of water curling into an arched form and breaking the shore. The “waves” that roll in his thoughts are the times he wants to remember: the good memories he and his lover shared. Those “waves” still cloud his mind, maybe even so much so that he cannot see how severe the problems in his relationship are.

The second stanza continues with the speaker slowing down slightly as he gives his last desperate attempts to keep his relationship together. He whines softly to his lover to “hold tight the ring…/ the sea will rise…/ please stand by the shore…/ I will be…/ I will be…/ there once more……”. Each one of the lines in this portion of the song, when looking at the written out lyrics, are followed by an ellipses. This adds to the idea that the speaker is dragging on his last attempts to save what he and his partner have for as long as he can. At this point he realizes that he has no chance of preserving the remains, and a very melancholy mood shades the song and the listener is able to feel the pain that the speaker is going through.

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Overall the song has a very depressing tone and the music leaves the listener feeling a little more down than they may have before listening to the brooding voice Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder provides. The water in the song is a metaphor for the relationship the speaker and his companion have, and the different uses of variations of water change the meaning of what the speaker is trying to convey about their relationship.

“Currents” relate to the problems in their bond, while “waves” are the positive memories the speaker reflects on as he slowly drowns in the ocean of sadness that consumes him by the end of the song.

Conclusion These three beautifully worded songs all vary in their uses of water and in how they use the background sound to relate their use of water to mood and tone. Float by the Neighbourhood uses water as a metaphor for life, and the speaker struggles with staying “afloat” in the society he lives in. The music in the song is slightly whiny but also distant and full of echoes, which relates to the mood but also how the speaker may feel in his society. In the song Rainy Day by Coldplay, rain water is used as a metaphor for the speaker’s significant other. The speaker misses “rain” and cannot seem to replace what “rain” meant to the speaker in his life. The sound produced moves from a relaxing and fun xylophone beat to a slow, sad violin sound.

The change in tone follows the speaker’s transition from trying to forget about “rain” and move on in new happiness to remembering all that “rain” meant to him and feeling blue. In Oceans by Pearl Jam, the song is entirely somber and slow, following how the speaker desperately tries to save his nearly dead relationship with his significant other. The “ocean” represents his vast relationship and its various movements, both rough and soothing, are metaphors for the bad and good times he and his partner experienced.

These three musical pieces are representative of hundreds of thousands of songs using water as a metaphor or a symbol for some other meaning the speaker is trying to convey. The melodies used behind the lyrics are used to emphasize these meanings, and it is up to the listener to make the interpretations.

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Irish Fairy Folklore in “Midwife to the Fairies By: Shelby Meyer Writing about a piece of literature can be a daunting assignment for first year students, who often feel unsure of what to say and struggle to clearly articulate their thoughts about a piece of writing. In her analysis of Eilis Ní Dhuibhne’s short story Midwife to the Fairies, Shelby Meyer clearly analyzes the story, offering an interpretation of the story based on, but not identical to, another critique of the story.

Shelby offers ample evidence and is able to build a solid case for her interpretation without wandering off topic. Also of note is how Shelby is able to write her analysis from an educated, assured voice, and the reader clearly picks up on that confidence in her tone. – Professor Lindsay Ferrara

E

ilis Ní Dhuibhne’s short story entitled “Midwife to the Fairies” relates a fictional modern event to ancient folklore regarding the theme of infanticide. The ancient Irish oral tradition of folklore has been passed for many generations among the Irish people and continues to be a

part of their culture even today. One of the prominent themes in these oral folklores is the fairy. The use of the Irish fairy folklore mixed in with a modern story allows the reader to connect them and gain a different perspective on the meaning of that modern story. With the connection of the two tales, the reader can see the power of folklore to continue to exist and influence the minds of modern people. Eilis Ní Dhuibhne’s incorporation of the Irish fairy folklore into this short story allows the reader to interpret the story as a contemporary version of the folklore.

The oral tradition has been a major part of Ireland’s culture and history. Stories were passed from person to person, and along to each generation continuing on to today’s world. These stories strongly influenced the thoughts and views of their people continuing into present day. In Christina Hunt Mahoney’s critical review of Ní Dhuibhne, Mahoney explains “the ancient storytelling tradition is ‘largely responsible for the magical or revelatory tales recent Irish novelists and other prose writers have been telling us”” (qtd. in Fulmer 224). Many Irish writers today have taken these ancient tales and begun to tell them again, continuing on the oral tradition through written form. In addition, the writers connect them into modern day stories, like Ní Dhuibhne does. As mentioned by Mahoney, “artists [would] leave behind linear narrative and ‘blur the historically sacred boundaries between the real and the imagined’” 97

(qtd. in Fulmer 224). The connection of the two stories would make the folklore and real story blend together so that they could not be separated. By doing this, it continues to make the folklore timeless as well as allow them to prevail through modern times.

Fairies became a popular theme for the Irish folklore. It was believed by the Irish that fairies would go to humans to be their midwives to deliver their babies. Therefore, the folklore in italics in “Midwife to the Fairies” is a tale about a midwife delivering a fairy’s baby. However, the modern story that is told between the italic folklore is a story adapted from the news at the time. Jacqueline Fulmer mentions in her article in Eilis Ní Dhuibhne: Perspectives that Ní Dhuibhne admitted she “‘counterpointed’ the tale ‘Midwife’ with ‘a contemporary story in the news in Ireland’, the Joanne Hayes baby case, which she refers to as ‘a story of infanticide which was very common in Ireland’” (Fulmer 236). Ní Dhuibhne uses this news story as her modern piece to connect to the Irish folklore. The connection of the two allows the readers to interpret the news story differently than they would have if they had just read it in the newspaper.

By incorporating the folk story into the modern story, the reader will interpret the two stories differently than they would have if the stories were not connected. With the two stories incorporated together, the reader can interpret the modern story as a version of the old folklore. An example of this is when Mary goes out to her car to follow Sean O’Toole to his home to help his wife. Mary goes out to start her car, yet “lo and behold, it wouldn’t go!” (Dhuibhne 25). So Mary must go with Sean in his car.

This parallels the folklore that is mentioned right afterwards, in which the handywoman “got up behind him on the mare” to go to the man’s house who came to her door (Dhuibhne 25). As one can see, they are very similar. The only thing that differs is that in the old folklore it is a horse that they ride on, rather than in a car, to get to the wife in labor. Another example would be at the end of the story when Mary is threatened by a man who she believes to be Sean (Dhuibhne 29). The man got close to Mary and “pulled out a big huge knife out of his breast pocket and pointed it at [her] stomach” (Dhuibhne 29). Mary is 98

threated by the man not to tell anything to the police about her delivery of their child or else. Again this parallels the folklore part of the story that follows, where the handywoman encounter’s the man who had taken her to deliver his wife’s baby and then has her eye knocked out by him so that she would “never see [him] again as long as [she would] live” (Dhuibhne 30). Here we can see similar outcomes to the story in both versions. The folklore has a more violent ending then the modern one, but both fit the time setting of the stories. With these examples, we can see the similarities of the modern tale to the folklore.

Being so similar, it leads the reader to interpret the two as the same story told in different time settings. Jacqueline Fulmer also discusses in her article that in this short story “what we think of as contemporary, juxtaposed with what we think of as ancient, may lead readers to see beyond the artifice erected around the fairytale in modern times” (Fulmer 239). Ní Dhuibhne’s use of the folklore to counterpoint the modern story gives the reader a chance to consider the fact that the folklore could still be apart of modern times. The reader can then also understand that folklore is still alive in the minds of modern people and continues to be apart of the Irish culture today.

Based upon the idea of folklore being a lasting part of the Irish culture even into modern times, it can create another interpretation of the story for readers as well. This additional interpretation is that Mary can only make sense of this strange birth encounter and the death of an infant by recalling the folklore. The folklore allusions throughout the story can be interpreted as her thoughts, as she parallels her experience with the fairy folklore of her Irish culture. By doing this, Mary then believes that her delivery was of a fairy’s child because she cannot believe that a human would allow a newborn infant to die. She allows the folklore to make sense of her experience. Through this interpretation, the theme that folklore is still alive within the minds of the Irish people is shown. In order to interpret the story this way, the reader must also have interpreted the modern story as a new version of the folklore. By paralleling these two stories, the reader can see into Mary’s thought process behind what happened. Then the reader can interpret the news story the same way Mary does; that the modern story is a newer version of this 99

fairy folklore and that Sean O’Toole’s family were in fact fairies. If the modern story had been read without the folklore allusions, it would have been a more tragic story of a human committing infanticide of their innocent newborn. Therefore the folklore takes away the tragedy of the infanticide when the blame is placed on fairies rather than humans.

“Midwife to the Fairies” ties together Irish fairy folklore with modern times. By relating the oral tradition of fairy folklore to a modern story, the continuity and importance of this part of Ireland’s culture is shown. Even today people still use the folklore as their explanations for things that are not simply explained or even to deny the reality of situations. As we see in this short story, Mary uses the folklore as her own explanation for the infanticide of a child she helped to deliver. She is able to understand her own experience better by viewing her experience as a modern version of this fairy folk tale. Through the connection of the folklore and a modern story, Eilis Ní Dhuibhne allows readers to interpret the modern story as a newer version of the older fairy folklore. By doing so, the reader can also see how the folklore still exists in the Irish culture and in the minds of its people. The folklore still influences their thoughts and opinions in modern times. Ní Dhuibhne proves this to the readers with the use of fairy folklore allusions throughout a contemporary story.

Works Cited Dhuibhne, Eilis Ní. “Midwife to the Fairies.” Midwife to the Fairies. Cork: Attic Press, 2003.

Fulmer, Jacqueline. “Indirection in Eilis Ní Dhuibhne’s Retelling of ‘The Search for the Goat Husband’ and ‘Midwife to the Fairies’.” Eilis Ní Dhuibhne: Perspectives. Ed. Rebecca Pelan. Galway: Arlen House, 2009. 221-241. Print.

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