Breaking the concert stereotype See

The Runner March 23, 2022 9

Breaking the concert camping stereotype in five days

Kiara and her newly made friends posing with a sign they made to grab Louis Tomlinson’s attention.

Photo by Kiara Zabala/ The Runner

By Kiara Zabala Opinions Writer

Camping out for concerts has a very toxic stigma around it, but after this past weekend I have a new outtake on it. Within these past several days, I discovered some of the kindest souls on the streets of Los Angeles as we all came together to support our favorite artist, Louis Tomlinson. In this day and age, concert-goers no longer arrive an hour before the concert starts, but instead will camp out in tents days before the concert with a hope of getting the very best view of their favorite artist. Whether it be rain or shine, die hard fans are willing to sleep on the streets in front of the venue in order to secure their spot. Although this was an extremely tiring situation and my back is still in pain days later, I would do it over again a thousand times. When I first got my Louis Tomlinson tickets back in late 2019, I had no intention of camping out for days on end. However, I found myself driving up on Thursday night and did not come back into town until late Monday afternoon. Camping out for a concert was certainly not what I expected, but I wouldn’t change the experience for the world. My friend and I first arrived at the venue around 7am on Friday morning. You would think that we were the very first people in line; yet we were numbers 23 and 24. The numbering was fan-made in order to keep the control and spots of people. The numbering was actually quite helpful when situations arose of fans trying to cut their way to be further up in line. Although my friend and I brought various blankets, snacks, and sweaters, we were not prepared for the next several days of sleeping on the streets of L.A. From getting sunburned to having to get an uber to use the restroom in the morning to driving somewhere to use the showers. Camping out for my concert was certainly not to be taken lightly.This was my first time doing anything like this. By the time the first concert rolled around on Saturday night, I was sunburned and sleep deprived. My feet were hurting from standing and I was just ready to give up and head to the back of pit. However, when we finally were let inside the venue, I was number 24 which allowed me to get barricade on that first night. I stood there in awe and then proceeded to cry at the fact of my favorite artist would be standing right there in front of me and might even notice me. And I was correct, he did in fact notice me several times that first night. He even sent a wink my way that I fortunately have on video forever. When the second concert came around, I was number 109 in line which led me to believe that my chances of getting barricade were shot. Yet again, I was able to get barricade where Louis noticed me once more. I was losing my voice and was beginning to get sore but seeing him in the flesh after years of being a fan was worth it all. Black Squirrel Radio wrote an article back in 2019 that read, “Camping culture hasn’t been much of a problem until the last couple of years... In current day, these people flock by the dozens, arriving days before the show is supposed to take place.” Camping for concerts was not always a thing but some bands, such as One Direction and BTS, have such a huge following that they are so passionate about them, it causes camping to occur for longer than average timespans. This is not a bad thing, simply this just shows how truly dedicated some fans can become. Since One Direction was Tomlinson’s old band, a lot of his fans have followed him as he begins the jour ney as a solo artist. LTHQ (Louis Tomlinson Head Quarters) Official wrote an article on February 5, “Louis Tomlinson’s tour stopped in Louis’ namesake city - St. Louis. Fans camped out in the snow before the show and Charlie, Louis’ videographer, was seen filming the tents!” Fans of Tomlinson surely are dedicated, not even a little snow can keep his fans off the streets. Overall, my review on camping? Sleeping outside on the streets of L.A. where a coyote ran past while we were sleeping. Having to wear two hoodies and blankets, yet still shiver. Applying sunscreen in the morning even though you will still get burned by the sun. Worrying that you will pass out because you haven’t yet been able to get your hands on something to drink. Would I do it all over again? Will I be doing this in the future when Tomlinson comes back to California? Of course. Although camping isn’t for everyone, I have never felt more accepted and safer in a crowd of people. We all looked out for one another out there, by doing food runs and taking turns buying cases of water. Sleeping on the concrete was not the most ideal, but waking up to smiling faces as we moved closer to the venue

Photo by Kiara Zabala/ The Runner The crowd waiting on the streets for the concert to start.

Photo by Kiara Zabala/The Runner Fans sitting in chairs together on the street while waiting for the concert to start.

March 23, 2022

The Runner The Haunting Fate of Eleanor Crain

By Jessica Espinoza Social Media Manager

As with most humans, we often all share common experiences, whether those experiences be traumatic or pleasant. Even if we haven’t experienced something, we can all empathize with characters we feel akin to. Such as is the case with the wonderfully well-rounded character of Eleanor Crain in the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House. The mystery miniseries allows the audience to slowly build relationships with the Crain kids as we watch them grow up before our eyes, with Eleanor being one of the youngest. She is often overlooked or dismissed by her family who never listen to her. Her character is not without flaw, though, and can be just as selfish and self-centered as her siblings; however, this characteristic is not her downfall. The feeling of being unheard by those around you is a relatable human experience we have all felt at one point in our lives. Before further analyzing her character, we should summarize her purpose in the series. Eleanor Crain, or as her family affectionately nicknamed her, Nelly, is a tragic character. She is the second youngest of five siblings. In her childhood at Hill House, she is often haunted by “The Bent-Neck Lady,” a gray ghost with a protruded bone sticking out the side of her

Screenshot from The Haunting of Hill House

neck. Eventually, the Crain children lose their mother to the insanity of the house, ultimately moving in with their aunt. In adulthood, we see that she is still struggling with the constant apparitions of “The Bent-Neck Lady”. She describes to Arthur, her eventual husband, that the ghost often appears during her sleep paralysis. During their conversation she points out, “It’s nice to be listened to.” (“The Bent-Neck Lady.”) One morning, during a paralysis, Arthur has an aneurysm and quickly passes away as Nelly lies there, helplessly watching her husband die. “The Bent-Neck Lady” appears for the first time in years, seemingly mocking her. Stricken by grief and depression, she seeks comfort from her family, but they remain too self-absorbed in their issues to listen to Nelly as she is slowly losing her mind. Eventually, she returns to the source of all her trauma, Hill House, where she is convinced by the then insane ghost of her mother to hang herself. As she dies, she returns to all the traumatic scenes of the haunting of “The Bent-Neck Lady” only to realize that it was her all along and this was her destiny. Nelly was a character who was bound for tragedy since the first appearance of “The Bent-Neck Lady”. She was a character who is very relatable as we have all felt unheard by someone in our time of need. The surprising revelation of Nelly’s ghost being her all along is gut-wrenching ly tragic and sickening. To see her character go from a scared little girl to a depressed and unheard adult helped the audience build empathy for her, especially as we see her struggle and eventually give up. However, upon realizing that she was “The BentNeck Lady” all along, the audience realizes that she could not be helped, and her fate was cemented the moment her family moved to Hill House. The most heart-wrenching scene to embody this idea during the series runtime must be during the episode “Two Storms.” During the episode we see the Crain family preoccupied with trying to get the power back on in the house, while the struggling Nelly disappears, causing the family to separate and look for her throughout the house before ultimately getting distracted by their own obstacles. At the end of the episode, Nelly reappears, sobbing in the same spot she had disappeared in. She tells her family, “I was right here, and I was screaming and shouting and none of you could see me. Why can’t you see me? I waved and jumped and screamed and you didn’t even look. None of you even looked.” (“Two Storms”). This quote embodies her character perfectly. In this instance she asks her family, “why couldn’t you see me,” and the answer was they were too preoccupied with their own lives to give her what she needed. No matter how hard she tried to cry for help to those around her, they paid her no attention, except for the audience who saw her, listened to her, but could not help. Instead, we watch the inevitable tragedy run its course. Eleanor Crain’s char acter is a tragic one, and from the start of the series we can see her character is meant to die. Her sole purpose in the story is for her death to be

Photo from Wiki Fandom

used as a stepping stone to urge her siblings to uncover the truth and heal from the trauma of Hill House. Yet, the audience cannot help but feel empathy for her as we follow her from childhood to adulthood, from life to death. The audience sees Nelly’s transformation into a completely different being as she is reunited in death with her parents. They are doomed to rot within the walls of Hill House, together, for eternity.

March 23, 2022 The Runner

Player Spotlight: Jacob Sieder

By David Mendoza Sports Writer

The athlete of the week that we will be honoring is CSU Bakersfield heavyweight wrestler Jacob Sieder who is a senior from Torrance, California. When asked what got him into wrestling, he shared the influence of his dad taking him to wrestling practices and he mentioned that he decided to continue his wrestling career when he began competitively in high school. As the wrestling season is coming towards the end, Sieder is feeling physically healthy with no injuries. He does not have to cut any weight, therefore it helps him focus on his technique. As the Pac-12 Championship is coming up on Sunday March. 6 Sieder

Photo provided by CSUB Jacob Sieder, senior

feels confident in his preparation and with the help of his coaches. He shares that this season has been different for him because it was a last-minute decision to come back to wrestling for the Runners in late December. When asked what made him come back? He shares that he had gone back to his high school in Torrance to help coach the wrestling team and was debating with himself whether he should continue his career or not. He then got a call from Coach Smith asking if he would come back and he agreed because he felt that he would regret not competing again. Although he started this season later than his teammates, he views his overall performance as a good one, feeling that after each match he is improving. One big achievement for himself this season was going up against the wrestler that knocked him out of the Pac-12 last season and beating him. This brings confidence to Sieder as he looks forward to making his mark in the Pac-12 Championship.

CSUB wrestling team bounces back from loss

By David Mendoza Sports Writer

With wrestling coming towards the end of the season, Coach Smith sits down to discuss his views on his team’s performances for the last two tournaments. The Runners traveled to Tempe, Arizona on Mar. 5 to compete in the 2022 Pac-12 Conference Championships and then followed by the NCAA Championships March 17 to March 19. When asked about some of the challenges faced this season, Coach Smith discussed having to deal with many injuries and not having his starting lineup for every tournament or dual, they competed in. He also shared the difficulties of dealing with COVID-19 this season, seeing how the schedule changed where they would compete and having many teams cancel on him. Although he faced these challenges, he applauded his team for being resilient and adapting to everything they have had to face. Now having the bounce back from a tough loss to Oregon State University, Coach Smith says his wrestlers are not dwelling on that tough duel but looking at the mistakes that were made to now correct and show a better version of themselves in Arizona. When asked about his view on his team’s overall performance, it is tough for him to say since they have had to deal with a lot of their wrestlers being out due to injury. However, he has seen improvement as the break has allowed them to come back full strength. He wants to challenge his wrestlers against tough schools like Michigan, Iowa, and others so that when the Conference Championships come around the team will be ready to face any challenge. When asked who he would consider his best wrestler or wrestlers he could not name one but a couple wrestlers that he sees making it to the NCAA championship. He mentioned Chance Rich who competes at 133 pounds and Angelo Martinoni who competes at 141 pounds. They are both national qualifiers from last year. He also mentions Albert Urias and Jacob Sieder. Albert Urias competes at 174 pounds and has beat three wrestlers that are currently ranked. Also, Jacob Sieder competes at heavyweight and has not lost to any wrestler that is ranked outside of the top 22. Coach Smith sees all these wrestlers named above as capable of punching their ticket into the NCAA Championships.

Photo provided by CSUB Luke Smith, head coach

SHARE YOUR VOICE

One of our missions at The Runner is to facilitate dialogue and create community by sharing the diverse voices of our campus. Do you have an opinion or experience you’d like to share with readers?

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

These are short commentaries or responses to content in The Runner. Letters must be less than 300 words and include the name of the writer and contaction information for verification.

CAMPUS VOICES

These longer op-eds allow you to express your viewpoints on important issues in our university, community, and world. Op-eds should be 500-700 words and include supporting facts from credible sources. Send your submissions to runner@csub.edu.