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2018

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on the cover

TAMED BROWS, WILD AT HEART.

AMARA MAJEED

PHOTOGRAPHED BY HANNAH LATHAM

classics.

thoughts.

features.

YOUR FIRST BROW WAX IS FREE Note from the Editor 2 A Brief History of Student Protest *

ONE WAX IS ALL IT TAKES TO FALL IN LOVE. Who’s Who

The Revolution Will Not Be Trivialized

11 13

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Khalid’s El Paso

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Museums of the Moment

The Meal Plan

No Canvas Necessary

One Sheet

The Emo Rap Family Tree

April Horoscopes

“HERstory” Illustrator Momo Le

Showing Up

THE RETURN OF AMARA

DRINKING TO REMEMBER

39 WHAT ARE WE TO DO

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Second, Danya had to come to terms with the fact that she had little awareness of DFSA until it affected her personally. In reality, she’s far from alone in that sense: Most people only have the capacity to care about the issues that directly affect them. Still, nothing makes you feel quite so small like becoming aware of a problem that has plagued others for years. Instead of letting her naiveté discourage her, Danya used her newfound awareness to set about protecting others. Upon realizing her ignorance to the issue, instead of being cowed into inaction, she knew the best way to make up for lost time was to put all of her effort into eradicating DFSA. Amara Majeed, our cover story, faced a similar dilemma. As a 16-year-old, she created the Hijab Project, a controversial initiative intent on encouraging women of all political stripes and backgrounds to wear a hijab for a day. For years, Amara defended the idea, writing books and giving interviews about its merits. Now, though, in a conversation with Sarah Lynch, the young Brown student has admitted that she no longer believes what she once did. “I think in a lot of ways I don’t find it to be useful,” she said. “I don’t think that a white woman that puts on the hijab for a day really knows what it’s like in any capacity to be a Muslim woman …” Instead of sticking with convictions that she no longer believes, Amara recanted, admitting that in her maturation her views had changed.

note from the editor. In two of our feature stories, “The Return of Amara Majeed” and “Drinking to Remember,” both students talk about the importance of learning to move beyond their pasts, a key part of the college experience, though certainly not an easy one. For her part, Danya has two struggles to overcome. First, and more obviously, she has to overcome the trauma of her sexual assault, an experience crippling enough to leave many people permanently scarred. Determined not to become a victim, the George Washington student moved on in the best way she knew how: by creating KnoNap and doing her part to end drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA).

In both stories, the lesson is apparent: You are not your past. No matter the severity or triviality of your old beliefs, the only real mistake you can make is refusing to adopt their corrected versions. Be open-minded, be honest with yourself and always value truth over comfort. As Vonnegut wrote, “A step backward, after making a wrong turn, is a step in the right direction.” So if you feel like you need to turn around, the sooner the better. Thanks,

Mark Stenberg @markstenberg3

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contributors. EDITORIAL

Elise Bortz, New York University Rakshya Devkota, Saint Louis University Andrew Crossan, University of South Carolina Sema’Jay Hall, San Francisco State University Jake Deven, University of Texas El Paso Sarah Marchan, University of Texas San Antonio Sarah Hoenig, Texas A&M University Kayla Lichtman, Middlebury College Onaje McDowelle, University of Texas at Austin Bonnie Wong, University of Southern California Camelia Juarez, Texas State University Kayla Platoff, Maryville University Sam Kasierski, University of North Carolina

FEATURES

Elizabeth Ivanecky, McMaster University Shashank Rao, University of Michigan Sarah Lynch, Marist College PHOTOGRAPHY

Jayne Chen, CUNY Baruch Madeleine Cook, George Washington University Hannah Latham, Rhode Island School of Design Alixandra Parkhurst, Sonoma State University Priscilla Bode, Saddleback College DESIGN + ILLUSTRATION

Sid Ylagan, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design Matthew Many, Middlesex County College

writing internships. Study Breaks is written exclusively by a team of student interns from across the country. These writers work with the editorial team to pitch and submit one piece a week for the website, in addition to writing for the monthly print magazine. Summer internships run from May 28 to September 28, and applications close May 14. If interested, email editorial@studybreaks.com with “Student Writing Internship” in the Subject. Introduce yourself in the body, making sure to include your name, school and major. Please attach at least two samples of your work. Ideal writers are intelligent, funny and talented, though no formal experience is necessary.

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For the full playlist, visit StudyBreaks.com/playlist

is your roommate texting about 4/20?

backdrop. EXPLORING COLLEGES + THEIR CITIES

P H O T O GR A P H Y BY JAY NE C HEN, C UNY B A RU C H WORD S BY EL IS E B ORT Z, NE W YORK UNI V ER S I T Y

Going to school at New York University, you encounter countless worldviews, languages, accents, perspectives — just from attending a single class. Here, you skip college and go straight into living in the largest city in America. For NYU students, the streets of New York are the campus, and you walk beside businessmen, journalists, lawyers and models on your way to the library. If you want to learn more about a painting you saw in class, you can go visit it at the Met. I’ve found the city to offer a different education than anywhere else in the world — a well-rounded, worldly education, one centered around understanding yourself and the person you aspire to be.

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a brief history of student protest BY R A K S H YA DE V KOTA , S A IN T L O UIS UNI V ER S I T Y IL L U S T R AT I ON BY S ID Y L A G A N, MILWAUK EE IN S T I T U T E OF A RT A ND DE S I GN

The Parkland shooting survivors’ activism is just the latest in a long, proud tradition of student protest in the U.S.

lder adults have often underestimated the intelligence and determination of young people, and, time and again, they have been proven wrong. Students have long been spearheading social and political movements that have led to real change, so, in honor of the activism of the Parkland students, as well as in preparation for the national school walkout planned for April 20, here is a short history of student-led protest movements in the U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS PROTESTS: THE FREEDOM RIDES (1961) AND VOTER REGISTRATION (1963-1964)

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was the student arm of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1961, the Congress on Racial Equality organized the Freedom Rides, testing a Supreme Court decision outlawing segregated interstate bus terminals. After the Freedom Riders were repeatedly attacked, SNCC secretary Diane Nash sent 10 students from Nashville to complete the Rides, forcing the Interstate Commerce Commission to put out regulations barring segregated interstate transit terminals. SNCC members were also vital in registering black voters in the South, making SNCC a testament to the power of young people to challenge white supremacy on a national level.

ition dollars as grounds for social action. In response to apartheid, college students across the U.S. organized sit-ins and hunger strikes, demanding that universities halted investment with firms doing business in South Africa. In the end, this effort by students led to billions of dollars being divested, putting significant economic pressure on the apartheid regime. The divestment movement continues today, with this generation’s students putting pressure on universities to halt investment with fossil-fuel companies. BLACK 2015)

LIVES

MATTER

“DIE-IN”

PROTESTS

After police officer Darren Wilson was not indicted for killing unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, protests erupted around the country, including on college campuses. Several student activist groups staged “die-ins” on campus, where students laid motionless on the ground en masse in protest of police brutality and a lack of police accountability. In this way, students extended the conversation about racism and police brutality to predominantly white institutions where the issues may not have been talked about before.

FREE SPEECH MOVEMENT (1964-1965)

EMMA SULKOWICZ’S (2014)

ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT: TINKER VS. DES MOINES (1969)

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PROTESTS (2015)

In the early days of ’60s upheaval, students at UC Berkeley found that the school administration would not allow them to set up information tables distributing civil rights literature. After one student was arrested, the Free Speech Movement was born. Berkeley students organized a sit-in that resulted in 800 students being arrested, in some cases violently. This violence led the administration to lift the ban on political activity — so today, college students can thank the Free Speech Movement for their ability to speak on issues that matter to them on campus.

In 1965, siblings Mary Beth Tinker, 13, and John Tinker, 15, were suspended from school for wearing black armbands as a protest against the Vietnam War. Their case was taken to the Supreme Court, which eventually ruled in 1969 that students have the right to free expression as long as this expression does not disrupt the learning process or school operations. The decision was a huge win for free speech, as it paved the way for later political action by high school students, including the #NeverAgain movement. DIVESTMENT AND ’80S)

FROM

SOUTH

AFRICA

MOVEMENT

(1970S

(2014-

“CARRY

THAT

WEIGHT”

PROTEST

In September 2014, Columbia University senior Emma Sulkowicz began carrying a mattress around with her everywhere she went on campus. The performance art piece, titled “Carry that Weight,” was a protest against Columbia’s mishandling of her rape case. Sulkowicz resolved to carry the mattress for as long as her rapist attended the same school as her — and ended up walking across the stage at graduation with the mattress. Though there was no justice in Sulkowicz’s case, her protest brought to light the struggle of sexual-assault survivors to find justice in the university system and in the justice system.

When the University of Missouri administration did little to address several racist incidents that occurred on campus, students organized to demand a real response, building off of the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement. The protest eventually spread to the football team, who threatened to strike, forcing president Tim Wolfe to step down in disgrace. In this way, students were able to use the tools of direct action and the importance of college sports as vital assets to their cause, and their efforts led to a win for anti-racist activism at Mizzou

In the 1970s and ’80s, students began to see the use of their tuS T U D Y B R E AKS

the will not be trivialized BY ON A JE M C D OW EL L E, UNI V ER S I T Y OF T E X A S AT AU S T IN BY M AT T HE W M A NY, MIDDL E S E X C O UN T Y C OL L E GE

Celebrating the groundbreaking work of the poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron, whose writing changed the world forever.

lmost 70 years ago this month, on April 1, 1949, a young man named Gil Scott-Heron was born in Chicago, Illinois, whose writing and defiant creativity would go on to alter the worlds of music, self-expression and political activism forever. Because of the similarities between his body of work and hip-hop artistry as we know it today, Scott-Heron has often been referred to as the “godfather of hip-hop.” However, for the most part, his style of music and poetry was more concerned with topicality than rhythm or rhyme. In fact, several of his albums were composed primarily of spoken word and free-verse soliloquy. At its core, rap is poetry with added elements, and it was his decision to insert social commentary into music’s easily consumable form that most substantiates the claim that he helped birth modern hip hop. Indeed, many contemporary hip-hop and R&B grails, such as “To Pimp A Butterfly,” “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and “Black Messiah,” can all be considered offshoots of the life and work of Gil-Scott Heron. His work has been noted by the likes of Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West as a source of inspiration. In fact, on Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” Scott-Heron can be heard on the album’s final monologue touching on different facets of American corruption. The bassy voice of Scott-Heron rings through the last few seconds of the project as he repeats, as if in interrogation, “Who will survive in America? Who will survive in America?” It’s a question that still rings true today. As the track comes to a close, slow claps creep in before the sound goes mute. Almost 50 years later and the words of Scott-Heron still resonate as fully as they did on his debut album, “Small Talk at 125th & Lennox.” Scott-Heron released his final studio album, “I’m New Here,” in 2010, which was popularized by indie-pop artist Jamie XX, who remixed the project for his 2011 album, “We’re New Here.” Beyond Jamie and Kanye’s homages, Scott-Heron’s work has been remixed and reproduced countless times across numerous genres both before and after his death, further proof of the depth of his impact on music and the creative processes behind it.

Interestingly enough, the political climate that inspired Scott-Heron, that of the Vietnam War, the War on Drugs and the post-civil rights era, parallels the acrimony of the modern age, which is defined by police brutality, mass incarceration and the Trump White House. Perhaps there is no more fitting time for his anniversary than now? Fortunately for that cause, Scott-Heron’s music has, if nothing else, serious transcending power. Songs like “Winter in America,” “Home is Where The Hatred Is” and “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” still speak poignantly to moments of frustration in the face of oppression. But, instead of just an expression of disconent, his work relayed raw, resonant truths whose purpose was to lead to change. Unfortunately, Scott-Heron battled crack and cocaine addiction all his life, and his substance abuse led him to serve jail time. He also tested HIV positive before the release of his 2010 project. In May 2011, he passed of sickness after returning home from a trip overseas, but it’s likely that his poor health caused some complications to arise from the sickness. When you listen to hip-hop this month though, think of Gil Scott-Heron. It’s because of him and the hardships he endured that the music we enjoy now can be so freely confrontational: not for the sake of attention however, but in the spirit of activism and empowerment.

“Who Will Survive in America” BY GIL S C OT T - HERON

Us living as we do upside-down And the new word to have is revolution People don’t even want to hear the preacher spill or spiel Because God’s whole card has been thoroughly piqued And America is now blood and tears instead of milk and honey The youngsters who were programmed To continue fucking up woke up one night Digging Paul Revere and Nat Turner as the good guys America stripped for bed and we had not all yet closed our eyes The signs of truth were tattooed across our often entered vagina We learned to our amazement, the untold tale of scandal Two long centuries buried in the musty vault Hosed down daily with a gagging perfume America was a bastard The illegitimate daughter of the mother country Whose legs were then spread around the world And a rapist known as freedom, free-DOOM Democracy, liberty, and justice were revolutionary code names That preceded, the bubblin’ bubblin’ bubblin’ bubblin’ bubblin’ In the mother country’s crotch What does Webster say about soul? “All I want is a good home and a wife And a children, and some food to feed them every night” After all is said and done, build a new route to China if they’ll have you WHO WILL SURVIVE IN AMERICA? WHO WILL SURVIVE IN AMERICA? WHO WILL SURVIVE IN AMERICA? WHO WILL SURVIVE IN AMERICA?

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straight-passing As a gay man, passing as straight can be a humbling, invalidating and maddening reality check that can also sometimes feel like a relief. BY A NDRE W C RO S S A N, UNI V ER S I T Y OF S O U T H C A ROL IN A IL L U S T R AT I ON BY S ID Y L A G A N, MILWAUK EE IN S T I T U T E OF A RT A ND DE S I GN

he gay experience includes a number of known hallmarks that differentiate it from that of straight people’s: for one, straight people never have to come out as straight. Where heterosexuality is the norm, gay people come as curveballs who are forced to declare and then explain their presence. However, a regularly occurring phenomenon that’s much more of a curveball to gay people (and that straight people know and talk little about) is “passing” as straight. In a nutshell, straight-passing signifies that, on the surface, a gay person isn’t immediately identifiable as gay in the way people traditionally view gays; as a result, the outside world reads them as straight. Not everyone will pass as straight, and even for the people who do the phenomenon is inconsistent, as it depends heavily on the person identifying them and to what degree they have their finger on the pulse of gay culture. Very often, straight people aren’t hip to the nuances gays use to express their sexuality in their appearance, so they’re much likelier to miss important clues that suggest orientation. For instance, the average person could likely correctly identify Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon as gay, whereas skier Gus Kenworthy’s being gay might present more of a head-scratcher. Rippon fits people’s traditional image of gay men – flamboyant, effeminate, sassy – while Kenworthy, on the other hand, eschews many of those stereotypes. To straight spectators, Rippon represents the classic gay while Kenworthy is gay lite. The unfortunate side-effect of straight-passing is that it calls your queerness into question – within yourself, in front of your community – all because you don’t fall into the narrow caricature that informs the perceptions of those outside your group. To straight people, gays who pass as straight blend right in and have earned their spot at the heteronormative table. They’ve assimilated successfully, and are the most palatable of their kind – that is, not the in-your-face militant gays Ann Coulter warned of who sashay through Mike Pence’s nightmares, but rather the chill, vanilla, bearable, borderline bro-y NPH-types. The gay’s reaction to discovering their ability to straight-pass is often contingent upon their situation in life – whether they’re generally unconcerned with harassment, or they’re closeted for their own protection. If the former, straight-passing is largely an annoyance, as it can take time to feel pride for your

sexuality and being told “You’re not gay enough” is a serious knock. After all the self-exploration and acceptance it can take to come out, having someone question your orientation feels like having something stripped away from you. However, if your situation is less secure, you may be grateful that your safety’s not compromised. A lot of us grew up feeling that way and, for me, there’s absolutely still a sense of relief that comes with straight-passing. I might not be holding onto a secret any longer, but the kid in me who was remains undiscovered, happily. It’s only been recently, in fact, that my personal capacity to straight-pass has come to my attention. In 2018 alone, though, I can count half a dozen times where I was as gay as ever and the straight people around me were none the wiser. At brunch three separate times, just one girlfriend and I, we were brought a single check without being asked. At a party, a former college basketball player began a conversation with me before characterizing our chat as us “just bro-ing out” to his nearby girlfriend (despite me having made it a point to not bro out post-middle school). On New Year’s, someone’s boyfriend felt safe describing anything remotely bad as “gay,” since no apparent gays were in sight. More poetically, I was at a gay bar once last month when one patron had to drunkenly request for clarification – “Are you straight?” – before any sexual conquest was pursued. Several times, too, my definitive straight BFF – the Dorothy to my Tin Man – has had family members ask of me and her, “Why don’t you just date him?” A real “will they or won’t they” situation. The assumption that I’m on the market for women is textbook heteronormativity, and its application here is based on my appearance as a man who, by all standards, should have heterosexual desires: I’m tall, have facial hair, a deep voice and a wardrobe made for leisure for Christ’s sake. But, by trying to assign the label “gay” to anything outside of homosexuality itself, straight people have always missed the mark on what’s “gay” and what’s not. My queerness can’t be deduced from anything except itself, and it lives in harmony with everything “straight” I do. Straight people, it’s time to deactivate your “gay-dar,” time to stop assessing gays based on heteronormative ideals and time to start taking people as they are.

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Khalid’s El Paso

BY JA K E DE V EN, T HE UNI V ER S I T Y OF T E X A S AT EL PA S O BY M AT T HE W M A NY, MIDDL E S E X C O UN T Y C OL L E GE

One year after the release of “American Dream,” Khalid’s influence has changed his adopted hometown.

elebrating its one-year anniversary last month, R&B artist Khalid’s debut album, “American Teen,” which was certified platinum in October 2017, helped make a 17-year-old musician from El Paso into a household name. Later that year he would go on to be named best new artist at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, as well as one of TIME’s most influential teenagers of the

year, alongside Willow and Jaden Smith, Millie Bobby Brown and Christian Pulisic. Even though he failed to take home a Grammy for his debut album, he was nominated for five of the awards and performed during the show. His accomplishments would make the career for most musicians, but the R&B prodigy is just gettting started.

Across the country, Khalid has inspired a devoted fanbase for his honest writing, outspoken activism and effortless charm, but nowhere is he more revered than in his hometown of El Paso, a city that felt like a living, breathing character on the record.

parents were in the armed forces. “He reps El Paso very hard, having only lived in the city for three years prior to blowing up,” says Alexander Bejarano, a member of the El Paso group The Swell Kids. “That says a lot, it shows that he’s really taking the time to shed some light on El Paso.”

The album, and the fact that El Paso’s presence left a discernable stamp on it, has invoked a shift in the music scene of the West Texas town. An air of inspiration has encompassed the city, as a feeling of possibility has swept through the bordertown in a way that many young musicians in the area have never experienced.

The military kid, whose full name is Khalid Robinson, was born in Fort Stewart, Georgia, and came to El Paso in 2015 when his mother was stationed at Fort Bliss. Despite having lived in North Carolina, Kentucky and Germany, Khalid has said that he considers El Paso to be his home. Unlike artists from major metropolitan areas, where promising new musicians pop up every month, Khalid has seen his city give him just as much love back, rallying behind him and his music like a hometown hero.

“As a lyricist, I’ve definitely been inspired by Khalid and how he speaks of El Paso. His success has encouraged local artists to tell their stories and it makes me want to offer my own subjective view of the city,” says Elijah Watson, a native El Pasoan and the news and culture editor for Okayplayer. Prior to March of last year, the city felt creatively dry in many ways. This is not to say, as I should point out, that El Paso lacks talented local music, as there are a number of great bands making the Sun City music scene exciting. In fact, this year’s lineup at Neon Desert, the city’s annual music fest, is loaded with local talent, more so than any year in recent memory. But for El Pasoans looking for the kind of musical energy that you’d find in bigger, more artistic cities, there really hasn’t been anyone to represent our culture-rich corner of Texas, and, therefore, no one to look up to. Prior to Khalid, El Paso had At The Drive In, who later turned into The Mars Volta, a Grammy award-winning experimental rock band, but their heyday was nearly two decades ago. Khalid, though, and his national prominence have brought the bordertown the kind of recognition it has long deserved. As a result, El Pasoans have embraced Khalid and his music with a fierce kind of pride, adopting the child who, like so many others, came to the city because his El Paso natives and musicians The Swell Kids

Watson, who will be playing at this year’s Neon Desert with his band, Divine Kegel, says, “People weren’t thinking of El Paso as this grand music hub, so after Khalid it’s making people think, ‘What else can El Paso produce?’” Whether or not it’s something on the scale of Khalid, artists in El Paso have finally opened their eyes to the possibility of being from an old desert town and still contributing to a culture that, up until now, they have only been able to experience from afar. “The music scene in El Paso has gotten really serious about how they can better themselves. From producing to marketing, there’s definitely a motivational drive in the community that came from Khalid’s success,” says Eddie Vasquez, the second member of The Swell Kids. It’s obvious that Khalid has a deep connection with El Paso, but it’s difficult for anyone not from the Sun City to understand just how deep of an impact he’s made. By heightening the visibility of the city, Khalid has raised the morale of local musicians who were once intimidated by their odds of making it big from such a small town. Says Bejarano, “As kids from El Paso, we see that if that can happen to him, then we can reach our own idea of success. It doesn’t limit us anymore.” “He has made a difference,” says Watson. “It’s rejuvenated us, as a city. And I hope that his success leads to a more serious cultivation of talent in El Paso.”

People weren’t thinking of El Paso as this grand music hub, so after Khalid it’s making people think, ‘What else can El Paso produce?’

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museums of the moment

With their interactive opportunities and picture-perfect moments, popup museums have become more than a trend for millennials. BY K AY L A L I C H T M A N, MIDDL EB URY C OL L E GE

sk yourself, when was the last time you visited a museum? If you can’t remember, maybe it’s because museums are too big and overwhelming to thoroughly explore, or too classical and stuffy for your tastes. Or, consider the fact that major museums distance you from the art by creating a physical barrier between you and the artwork, be it a glass cover, a rope or the security guard glaring at you from the corner of the room. Pop-up museums, an up-and-coming trend, are out to change all that. There are several flavors of pop-up museums. With each type, though, the exhibit is relatively small in scope and the location is less formal than a classical art edifice. Some pop-up museums even allow their viewers to interact with the art, be it by literally jumping into it or by taking and posting pictures with it. The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH) goes further in describing pop-ups as turning exhibit visitors into participants that interact with the exhibit theme by leaving something of themselves there, whether that token is a note or personal possession. The goal, MAH says, is to “bring people together in conversation through stories, art, and objects.” Pop-up museums also tend to be more trendy or quirky than their traditional counterparts. The Museum of Failure, for example, encourages its visitors to embrace failure in a fun, honest display. The recent Los Angeles exhibition featured everything from Coca-Cola’s short lived Diet Coke and coffee mixture, to a confession area where people could write down confessions of their own flops. “Such notes have included voting for Trump, marriage regrets, and majoring in journalism,” reported Forbes. The creator of the exhibit, psychologist Dr. Samuel West, told the magazine, “Based on my original criteria, which was to explore organizational learning from failure and contributing to the discussion of failure, then definitely [it’s a success].” Aside from their personal touch, part of the appeal of these exhibits lies in their ephemerality. Psychology 101 tells us that scarcity sells. In other words, if someone tells you that there are only four sets of headphones left, you’re more likely to buy a pair. The same goes for these museums, which offer only a limited viewing period. The idea that you’re going to see something unique and temporary makes going feel more special. For the younger generation, which is used to a more rapid

pace of life, these types of exhibits are ideal. These museums also uniquely target a younger audience with their social media appeal. San Francisco Chronicle reporter Flora Tsapovsky explored this idea, writing that there are “plenty of social media-savvy, fashionable Millennials who are eager to swing on a swing, crawl into a mirrored cave and climb a unicorn, all striving for that million-likes photo.” Tsapovsky’s article cites Glen Helfand, an art critic and associate professor of visual and critical studies at California College of the Arts, saying, “Social media and digital culture in general have cultivated an attitude for increasingly quick consumption and dissemination of images.” These fun, easy and photogenic museums are a true fit for the so-called selfie generation. Exhibits such as The Color Factory, which features a confetti room and a giant yellow ball pit, are the perfect place to nab the ideal snap or selfie. What better place to take a picture than in front of a background that Tsapovsky describes as a “bold, iridescent playland”? Pop-up museums are a creative way for an audience not only to see art, but to touch it and to contribute to it themselves. Their bright colors and playful exhibits have captured the interest of millennials, who can take the opportunity to capture the perfect selfie and to interact with modern art. The museums offer art that is simply fun, rather than just an experience in front of glass barriers. If you you’re particularly inspired by these museums, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History offers some advice for making your own pop-up museum: Get out there and create! If the idea of a personal touch and a good picture to send to friends has got you hooked, here’s a list of noteworthy popups. • THE COLOR FACTORY, IN SAN FRANCISCO. OPEN MARCH AND APRIL, 2018. • THE MUSEUM OF FAILURE, IN HOLLYWOOD. OPENS MARCH 8, 2018. • MUSEUM OF SELFIES, IN GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA. OPEN APRIL 1 TO MAY 31, 2018. • HAPPY PLACE, IN LOS ANGELES. OPEN APRIL 26 TO MAY 27, 2018. • MUSEUM OF ICE CREAM, IN SAN FRANCISCO, MIAMI AND LOS ANGELES. CURRENTLY SOLD OUT.

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C A N VA S NEC E S S A RY Artist McKenzie Cunningham uses non-representational forms and untraditional vehicles to flesh out her unorthodox artistic vision. BY S A R A H H OENI G, T E X A S A & M UNI V ER S I T Y

cKenzie Cunningham, a native of Prosper, Texas, is a junior art major at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Cunningham uses acrylic paint to make stunning abstract paintings, which document her personal style and intimate parts of her identity. Her works share a number of similarities, namely the colors that she chooses to use: black, white and burnt orange. Though all of her pieces are non-representational and therefore reject sharing a similar subject matter, her use of the same three colors creates a continuity in her art, making her palette a hallmark of her style. Though she loves black and white, the interplay between which she finds to be almost more evocative than what can be achieved using bolder colors, she uses the orange, on the other hand, specifically because she was never fond of it. As a result, the burnt orange lines, a reoccurring trend throughout her pieces, are perhaps the most striking aspect of her art. “I chose a color that I thought was ugly,” she says. “As I was painting with it, I realized how much I liked it. I related that to my insecurities. I had to learn to accept and love that I was an artist.” Beyond her traditional visual arts, Cunningham has also begun delving into fashion and clothing design. Rather than designing clothes, though, the Pepperdine student has toyed with using her clothing into a canvas. She typically paints on denim, meaning jeans and jean jackets, and most of her finished apparel resembles her paintings in their aesthetic. All her work shares her distinct color scheme, and the pants and clothing bear her familiar, non-representational subject matter. The paint manages to make the clothing look both out of place and perfectly normal, challenging viewers’ perceptions of what they can expect from the visual arts. Though the denim may make an unlikely vehicle for her work, her creations question why that is. Why not combine painting and design, much in the same way

“ÉLAN VITAL”

that other mediums collide in collage, theater or music? Though the clothing offers a necessary refrain from her normal work, Cunningham still finds herself focusing most intently on painting, and has recently finished two new series and is working on a third. The paintings in the first two are boundaryless. Both contain shades of black, white and burnt orange, which meld together to create an array of shapes and colors that are also emblematic of Cunningham’s emerging style. Both series capture her personal journey as an artist and portray her evolution through striking, yet impressive works that create a harmonious image. Her first series, “Underlying Evolutions,” represents how her artistic style has matured rapidly over the course of several months. She described the series as messy — full of trial and error — and frequently uses the word “explode.” “You don’t know whether you should touch the paintings or not because you can mess the entire thing up,” she says. “A lot of time you do mess it up, but it ends up being worth it.” “Soul Toxins,” Cunningham’s second series, helped more accurately refine the new direction she was taking. The paintings in the series appear to be more tamed, structured and systematic in their overall form. The pieces are sensible and showcase Cunningham’s becoming familiar with her style, rather than her creating it — a contrast from her previous series. “The series was about controlling my explosive phase. It allowed me to become more organized and find a method to what I was doing,” she says. Cunningham is in the midst of planning an exhibition for later this month, where she will showcase her third series. She also features her art on her website and social media pages under the handle @maclynneart.

“WE ARE ALL SICK”

“DISTANT” “FEAR OF POTENTIAL”

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lthough it may be hard to pinpoint exactly who started emo rap and when, the genre is very much alive now. With their brightly colored hair, face tattoos and eccentric attitudes, this new wave of rappers, by creating an entirely novel subgenre, has changed the music industry. Using punk rock elements and various vocal styles, these musicians rap about the heartaches and hardships they face in life, wearing their hearts on their sleeves. Even though the subgenre is fairly new, emo rap seems to have substantial staying power. To better understand what the genre is and where it came from, we’ve created a family tree detailing the most influential artists in this burgeoning, boundary-pushing new style of rap.

THE

LIL UZI VERT (2014)

Bringing emo rap to the masses, Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert took the music industry by storm with his rapid-fire emotional lyrical delivery (staying true to the name Uzi, a submachine gun) and his punk-rock beats with the release of his mixtape, “Luv is rage,” in 2015. Although his standout hits, “Money Longer” and “You Was Right,” reached the Billboard Hot 100, his album released in 2017, “Luv is rage 2,” carries a darker tone throughout. The tracks vacillate between love and heartache, eventually leading to the ultimate emo rap song, “XO Tour Llif3.” In the track, Uzi spits, “She say I’m insane, yeah wanna blow my brains out, Xanny help the pain, yeah please, xanny make it go away.” If that’s not emo rap, then what is?

EMO FAMILY TREE

TRIPPIE REDD (2015)

In 2015, Trippie Redd, a teenage rapper from Ohio, surfaced on the internet with a few tracks that proved to be clues as to what his musical style would turn out to be: blends of trap rap and punk rock. He gained the public’s attention in 2017 with the release of his album “A Love Letter to You,” a project that Apple Music called “Rap cast from an emo mold that laments the trappings of success.” With a dark and intriguing production, the opening track, “Love Scars,” details his feelings for a lost lover. His vocal style is almost whiny — surprisingly not obnoxiously — as he tells of his hardships. He repeats the phrase “love scars” throughout multiple tracks on the album, making it known that he’s been hurt by romances in the past, and he’s not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve.

LIL SKIES (2017)

Lil Skies, a 19-year-old rapper from Pennsylvania, has just been launched into the music scene. Though he only released his first project, “Alone,” in January 2017, Skies is already making big moves, with emo rap’s very own Lil Uzi Vert as a cosigner. Uzi asked Skies to accompany him on his “A Very Uzi Christmas” holiday tour, a huge opportunity for the young rapper. His two breakout hits, “Red Roses” and “Nowadays,” were released on his project “Life of a Dead Rose” in December 2017 and have since garnered over 28 million views on YouTube. Using dynamic and thought-provoking vocals over emo-centric melodies, Lil Skies is a new voice on the scene that should be watched out for. With his potential, the sky’s the limit.

YUNG LEAN (2013)

Born Jonatan Leandoer Håstad, Swedish rapper Yung Lean is arguably — although mostly unknown — one of the founding fathers of today’s mainstream emo rap scene. In 2012, Yung Lean struck up a friendship with two other musicians, Yung Gud and Yung Sherman. The trio formed a group, deeming themselves “Sad Boys,” in which Lean Gud and Sherman produced and mixed beats, with Lean writing the lyrics and performing the vocals. By 2013, the public finally noticed Lean when the music video for his track, “Ginseng Strip 2002,” went viral. He then released his first full projects, “Unknown Death 2002” and “Lavender.” With his melancholy beats and dark lyrics, many consider Yung Lean to be the epitome of emo rap.

XXXTENTACION (2014)

RAP BY SARAH MARCHAN, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO

Incorporating elements of punk rock, hip-hop and R&B, South Florida rapper XXXTENTACION has been a controversial — to say the least — member of the new wave rap community. Uploading his first track, “Vice City,” to SoundCloud in 2014, XXXTENTACION began to catch the attention of listeners. With his vocal styles ranging from whispering to screaming and beats emulating heavy-metal rock, the explosion that followed the release of his single “Look at Me!” led XXXTENTACION to become a stand-out figure in the music scene. With his seemingly endless legal troubles and death of a close friend, it’s no wonder why he calls his debut album titled “17,” “A collection of nightmares, thoughts, and real-life situations I’ve lived.” In the album, track titles such as “Dead Inside,” “Depression & Obsession” and “F**k Love,” accompanied by melancholic melodies and dark piano ballads, show a clear display of the heartache and mental state that exemplifies the art of emo rap.

LIL XAN (2017)

LIL PEEP (2016)

Although he suffered a tragic death in November 2017 caused by an accidental overdose on Xanax and Fentanyl, Lil Peep was an up-and-coming rapper in the emo rap scene. Many argue that he mashed the two genres together better than any of his predecessors. Pitchfork even dubbed Lil Peep “the future of emo.” Backed by guitar, thrash-metal riffs and electric drums, Peep spoke with brutally honest lyrics on his struggles with substance abuse, depression and suicidal thoughts. His most played song on Spotify, with more than 7 million streams, is “Benz Truck,” a song that perfectly exemplifies the darkness that encapsulates Lil Peep’s contribution to emo rap.

California rapper Diego Leanos, known professionally as Lil Xan, first emerged in the mainstream emo rap scene when his song “Betrayed” landed on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 2017. Rapping of sex, drugs — namely Xanax (as if his stage name wasn’t enough of a clue) — and money in his classic raspy voice over a piano-driven trap beat, Lil Xan has perfected making his pain into music. Singing “Xans gon’ take you/ Xans gon’ betray you,” he tells a cautionary tale about addiction to the anti-anxiety medication. Since he is now promoting an anti-drug narrative, he has said that he plans on changing his stage name to Diego, but is still not certain. Being fairly new to the emo rap scene, Xan only has a few singles out, but his debut album, “Total Xanarchy,” is due to drop April 6.

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Modern Day Momo BY B ONNIE WONG, UNI V ER S I T Y OF S O U T HERN C A L IF ORNI A

A soon-to-be-published illustrator and social media influencer, Monique “Momo” Le has taken to online platforms to discuss representation and gender equality in witty ways that resonate with followers.

t the cross section of art and advocacy, influencer Monique “Momo” Le connects with others in a way that millennials know best: through social media. Her Twitter gained over 10,000 followers after a meme poking fun of herself went viral last year. The image contains two juxtaposed pictures: the first shows her with glasses and minimal makeup, and the second looks like a filtered selfie with dramatic makeup. The meme bears the caption, “Why cheat on me when I can be two different people, do you want 4.5 gpa piano prodigy or a boba tea ABG on that stance life?” (ABG = Asian

Baby Girl, a slang acronym referring to Asian female “gangsters,” and “stance” refers to a high-performance sports car that has been lowered.) The meme has garnered 34.9K retweets and 93.8K likes, presumably because it satirizes two popular stereotypes known to characterize the younger Asian generation. After the meme led to her internet popularity, she has since used both her Twitter and Instagram accounts to post a combination of her photography and selfies, personal artwork, humorous thoughts and two cents on important societal issues.

She is also the illustrator of “Modern HERStory,” a book written by Blair Imani. Part of the Equality for Her nonprofit organization, “Modern HERStory” chronicles the stories of individual women to inspire others and promote gender equality. Through sharing her art on Twitter, Le was scouted by Imani through a tag called the Artist Challenge. Le originally illustrated for Imani and Women’s History month in December 2016. Eventually, one thing led to another and Imani asked Le if she’d be interested in collaborating on a book. “I am a biology major, so after high school I said I needed to drop down the paintbrush, stop drawing and focus on school. I thought that dropping art would be it, and I would be focusing on my academics. But then this opportunity came in crashing, like art was telling me ‘How dare you try to leave me. Just come back in full force.’ It was very sudden.” While biology seemingly rests on the opposite side of the spectrum from art, Le, who’s a sophomore at George Mason University, believes that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. “Art has kind of just been with me since I was a kid. It wasn’t anything I figured out. My mom laid out all these things for me, and I just played around. I can’t really pinpoint a time when art was introduced to me. It was just there ... I did it because I wanted to,” she says. In the future, she envisions herself as an orthodontist giving others the same empowerment she felt after her braces were removed. Her desire to encourage others pervades her work both on and offline. “Before I used to be really conscious of what I posted and if people cared and were annoyed at me ... If you put a front online and people like that front then you have to maintain that, and it doesn’t feel genuine. It’s not you. It feels like you’re dragged along, and I didn’t want that. If I’m unapologetically myself I don’t care if I lose followers or gain followers. I do it for me. I think being online like that has made me unabashedly more confident, more bold.” Le has taken to Twitter to voice her opinions and advocate for Southeast Asian girls and other pressing issues. Female empowerment and diversity are some of the causes she supports. “It’s important to publish a book like ‘Modern HERStory’ because there are many kids from many backgrounds who don’t get the representation that they need in media,” says Le. “I didn’t really see that many heroines or even characters that looked like me besides Mulan. She’s Chinese and I’m Vietnamese, so that was the most representation I could get. It kind of makes you ask if you even belong in this kind of society. Books like these give kids an open door to see there are people just like them. Representation is really important because it inspires them that they can do more.”

“Modern HERStory” is set to release this fall. Le jokes that she’s looking forward to its release more so than turning 21 this year. “I’ve been so excited and I couldn’t wait for the book to come, but I’d be midway through my drawings and remember I’m the one responsible for when the book comes. It kind of unleashes the inner child in me. I’m really impatient and just looking forward to it.” @momo_le @guacamomole www.guacamomole.com

IN S TA GR A M : T WI T T ER : WEB S I T E :

A Moment with Momo ON STUDENT LIFE:

“I’m a full-time student, so there’s not much in my schedule besides school. My school day starts at 7 a.m., since I share rides with my dad. I roll out of bed and right into the car.” ON PASTIMES:

“The time I have in between classes is dedicated to napping, eating or studying. I try to go to taekwondo every other day to stay active.” ON HER WORK:

“On Tuesdays and Thursdays I work on orders from my shop, 3030, then drop them off at the post office the next day. I get home early on Fridays, so that’s when I treat myself to drawing.” ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

“Of course, I manage to squeeze in social media through all of this. I don’t have designated social media time; I just go on when I have the urge to make poor jokes.”

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WHAT’S YOUR MAJOR:

cryptozoology

BY C A MEL I A J UA RE Z, T E X A S S TAT E UNI V ER S I T Y

If, after watching every TV special possible and reading every book available, you still want to know more about how you can catch Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster, then the next logical step for you is a cryptozoology degree from the Institute of Metaphysical Humanistic Science (which, yes, is located in Florida, how did you know?). After all, college is about getting an education that will help you make the world a better place, and everyone would be a lot better off with that blurry Sasquatch behind lock and key.

myths and truths. MYTH: Bigfoot must be lonely, hunting and fending

AVG.SALARY

off Bigfoot-hunters all by himself. TRUTH: Actually, records have found evidence of Bigfoot couples mating, typically March through April, and generally in doggy style. MYTH: Most

self-defense mechanism (tasers, pepper spray, stun guns, etc.) can protect you from Bigfoot. TRUTH: Bigfoot is immune to pepper spray and has even been found to be “ incapable of sneezing.” MYTH: Running from Bigfoot is your best chance of

survival.

TRUTH: You will have a 60 percent chance of

survival by being funny and entertaining Bigfoot. (Remember, avoid Larry the Cable Guy bits or pretending to offer him beef jerky.)

potential jobs. CRYPTOZOOLOGIST

A job that’s honestly harder to find than the Yeti. MONSTER HUNTER

A television show host whose main audience is stoners, stay-at-home parents and elementary students who sleep with night lights.

conversation starters. “It is truly appalling that less than 1 percent of colleges offer cryptozoology. Isn’t college about challenging accepted thought?” “Turns out there’s no Bigfoot, it’s just a lost tribe of Wookies.” “Yes, I reserved my wedding at Lake Loch Ness for a chance to see my two loves at once.”

WILDLIFE PRESERVATIONIST

Someone has to fight for Bigfoot and his land.

key terms. CRYPTOZOOLOGY: Pseudoscience focused on the search for animals that mainstream biology chooses to ignore HOAX: The biggest threat to groundbreaking cryptozoological research EVIDENCE: Non existent and, quite frankly, completely unnecessary in the field

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BY B ONNIE WONG, UNI VER S I T Y OF S O U T HERN C A L IF ORNI A

et’s be real, April is a month that’s full of things that can go awry. For starters, you probably won’t find out your roommate is a notorious prankster until the first day of the new month comes, and by that time it’ll be too late. It’s also the final stretch of the academic school year. You know, the strange interim month where you’re so close yet so far from graduating, or at the very least, summer vacation. Before you spiral into ensuing sadness and complain about your life falling apart as you battle the end-of-semester burnout, try and reclaim some of your earlier goals. You know, the promises you made to call your mom at least once a week and cut the daily frozen pizzas out of your diet? Yeah, those. Now I don’t know if you’re anything like the majority of sane college students, but when given the choice between a $5 burger and fries combo or a $12 salad, most usually opt for the former. Paying ridiculously high prices for watery-tasting lettuce that doesn’t even include avocado or bacon bits? Hard pass. I’ll admit it here first, I’m guilty of dousing a handful of arugula with cups of ranch dressing and topping it off with an entire bag of croutons to make the whole experience of choking down my veggies a bit more bearable. Maybe you also go green with envy whenever you spot students around campus popping kale chips as if their lives depended on it or breezing by with boxed salads during lunchtime. Do they actually find their taste buds tickled by the pleasantries of wet vegetables? Never mind the fact that the rest of us are scarfing down a whole pizza, gorging on a bucket of fried chicken and still asking for dessert while we cry over the prospects of impending exams. Even though you’re four months in to 2018, that doesn’t mean you don’t have time to get back on track. Luckily you can stop trying to justify the 2 a.m. Netflix slash binge-eating habit today and instead grab a spork and get cooking! That is, if tossing a bunch of premade ingredients in a bowl, drizzling dressing on top and giving it a few quick mixes will grant you Gourmet Chef status. Put on a classy dinner party Spotify playlist and freak your healthconscious friends out with this month’s recipe for Red Quinoa and Kale salad. It’s so trendy that it even includes two superfoods in its title, making you a lock for the Dorm Dinner Party Host of the Year award, and its complementary green and red color palette is good for at least 100 likes on Instagram. Plus, if you’ve never had sesame

Salad Days Are Gone

With red quinoa, cilantro and red onion in the mix, you’ll never guess you’re eating healthy when you dive into this veggie collaboration.

dressing before, let me be dramatic for a quick sec and tell you it’s a game changer. Gone are the days of bagged salad and breaking the bank to feel less guilty about your physical deterioration — get your daily dose of essential fiber, antioxidants and leafy greens all in one meal.

Red Quinoa and Kale Salad INGREDIENTS • • • • • • • • • • • •

1 cup red quinoa 1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds 1 clove garlic, minced ½ c. freshly chopped cilantro, divided ¼ c. red wine vinegar ¼ c. sesame oil ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil 2 tsp. Honey Salt Black pepper 1 lb. kale, chopped ¼ c red onion, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

• Cook quinoa according to instructions on package. In a bowl add sesame seeds, garlic, ¼ cup cilantro, red wine vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil and honey. Season with salt and pepper. • In a larger mixing bowl, toss kale and half of the dressing. Massage kale with your hands for 2 minutes. Add onion, remaining ¼ cup of cilantro, quinoa and more dressing to your liking. • Garnish with sesame seeds and serve.

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� “Vagina Monologues” co-director and sorority sister Briana Grogan is part of a new wave of intersectional empowerment. Briana Grogan, a 21-year-old senior and double major at Sonoma State, is a perfect example of what it means to have the world at your fingertips. The Los Angeles native, who recently came out as sexually fluid, is the director of her school’s production of “The Vagina Monologues,” a play written by Eve Ensler in 1996 that explores domestic abuse and sexual violence, as well as a host of gender-related issues, through the monologues of a number of performers. In addition to making the show queer, trans and feminine-inclusive, Grogan also managed to debut the play despite wildfires raging through northern California, near Sonoma State, that interrupted the group’s performances. Grogan is also active in her sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, where she uses her position as new member orientation chair to help her sisters better understand queer, intersectional feminism and develop a wider perspective on what it means to be femme. I had the opportunity to talk to Grogan about her efforts to redefine what it means to be a woman of color and queerness, as well as her plans for the future.

SEMA’JAY HALL: HOW ARE YOU? BRIANA GROGAN: I’m good! Just always sleepy. After LipJam

and “Vagina Monologues” (“VAGMOS”), the lack of sleep is finally catching up to me, and I don’t get much rest over the weekend either because of my second job. SH: WHAT SHOULD WE KNOW ABOUT YOU? BG: Well, I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I’m graduating

with a double major in four years, so I’m definitely very proud of myself for that. I recently came out as fluid in my sexuality, so I’m currently exploring how to best honor not only my blackness but also my queerness. SH: WHAT DOES A WEEK USUALLY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? BG: My weeks are pretty busy. I genuinely do a lot of school-

work during the day Monday through Thursday or on Sunday night. The rest of my time is dedicated to going to class, working both of my jobs, work for my internship and actively showing up for my extracurricular activities. It’s overwhelming at times, but for the most part, I do have downtime with my

partner and my friends. SH: HOW WAS PREP FOR “VAGMOS”? AND HOW WAS YOUR SORORITY IN THAT TIME? BG: Prep for “Vagina Monologues” was interesting this year;

being a co-director is a completely different role from just being a member of the cast. This year, we started off with almost 100 members in the cast and ended with 69, which is still the largest number of people who have ever been involved in the production at Sonoma State. We also changed the venue for the production this year to a different place on campus. So, navigating not only 69 people, but also the technicalities of a new space was definitely a challenge, but I would say it all panned out pretty smoothly.

�

As for my sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, this spring semester has definitely been more of a laid-back experience. I held the position of new member orientation chair last year, so I was in charge of the 42 new initiates and ensuring their transition went smoothly, which became a challenge after the fires occurred. Nevertheless, my sorority has always been an outlet for me where I could just relax. SH: HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF TRANSITIONING INTO POST-GRAD? BG: Well, I added communications as a second major, not

only because of the media aspect that interests me but also because I wanted to be able to have a job right after college. With my English major, I plan to translate that into publishing one of my own books. So, that’s why my logic was that if I get a degree in communications, I’ll be able to work at a PR firm while working on my book. SH: MOST INVESTED BOOK? BG: “Milk & Honey” by Rupi Kaur. Rupi’s book means the ab-

solute world to me. Because of her, I fell back in love with poetry and hope to someday publish a book of my own poems. SH: WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON? BG: Unfortunately, with my hectic schedule, nothing. I typi-

cally don’t sit down just to write, but I would also argue that I’m always writing. Whether that’s jotting down ideas while in class or a phrase I heard from one of my favorite slam poets, I am always thinking about what to write next. Other than that, I am working on finding a job in public relations here in the Bay Area and looking for a place to live.

I’m currently exploring how to best honor not only my blackness but also my queerness. S T U D Y B R E AKS

A Majeed

The Return of

BY S A R A H LY NC H , M A RI S T C OL L E GE P H OT O GR A P H Y BY H A NN A H L AT H A M , RH ODE I S L A ND S C H O OL OF DE S I GN

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The Muslim-American activist who created the Hijab Project has returned to the national spotlight with a new mission: fighting an Obama-era program called CVE.

hree words make up Amara Majeed’s signature mantra. When her friends brood over small matters or when she herself encounters daunting obstacles, she invariably recites this poignant precept: “Chill. Zen. Tawakkul.” The last word comes from the Arabic language, and means trusting in God’s plan – something Majeed has done and strives to do as a young woman of devout faith and unyielding conviction. Islam endures as an immovable facet of Amara Majeed’s identity and daily life. From her birth in Towson, Maryland, as the daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants to her present endeavors at Brown University and beyond, Majeed’s status as a Muslim American and her intrinsic motivations molded a young woman on fire for sweeping change and impassioned advocacy. With a hijab on her head and her heart on her sleeve, Majeed became a zealous champion of Muslim-American activism and an unshakeable mouthpiece for the marginalized. At the ripe age of 16, Majeed assembled the Hijab Project, which encouraged women of any race, color or religion to wear a hijab for a day and document their experiences. Her work caught the eye of major media outlets – she appeared on “Good Morning America” and has been featured by household names, including Marie Claire Magazine, Business Insider and more. She became an author in 2014 with the publication of her book, “The Foreigners.” BBC featured Majeed in its 2015 “100 Women” season, and Seventeen Magazine published an open letter she penned to Donald Trump after his ban on immigration from Muslim countries. As a freshman at Brown, Majeed became inundated with press attention – and then took a conscious break from interviewing for a while. Until now. Today, Majeed is a junior with a rejuvenated agenda and a critical message to share, especially for college students. She’s evolved and matured, abandoned previous projects and pioneered new initiatives. She’s speaking boldly in opposition to the Countering Violent Extremism movement

and conveying her message to college campuses nationwide. She’s a fierce leader. She’s an influential spokesperson. She is President Trump’s worst nightmare. She is Amara Majeed. SARAH LYNCH: SINCE YOUR LAST INTERVIEW AS A FRESHMAN, YOU’VE BECOME HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THE ANTI-COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM MOVEMENT. TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT. WHAT STEPS HAVE YOU SPECIFICALLY TAKEN IN CONTESTING THIS PROGRAM? AMARA MAJEED: Countering Violent Extremism – it’s usually

denotated as CVE – is this program that was created by the Obama administration in 2014. It’s extensively innocuous. It’s couched in lingo like “building community partnerships” and “developing community resilience,” and the lingo used in the program is really this stark contrast from Bush’s War on Terror lexicon. But implementationally, it’s very violent and it works to criminalize Muslims – and specifically Muslim youth – and recently it’s been expanded. The Denver Police Department in particular has received a CVE grant from the Department of Homeland Security, and they’re using it to target not just Muslims but also refugees, Black Lives Matter activists and LGBTQ+ groups, and obviously as someone who has worked on anti-CVE work for a while, this is extremely

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troubling. CVE has also proliferated to college campuses. Last year the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill accepted an $800,000 grant from DHS to propagate CVE at its university, which is extremely ironic considering not too long ago three Muslims were killed in the Chapel Hill area by a white man. For them to adopt this program that’s criminalizing Muslim students is really ludicrous. Basically, I created this letter that provides documentation of opposition to CVE, which I think is incredibly important because now university administrations, if they’re thinking of adopting a CVE program, can look at this document that’s signed by so many student groups and Muslim student associations and students and faculty members from across the nation and say, “Wow, there will be resistance if we implement this program,” and I hope that will stop them from doing it. Also, recently the Brennan Center for Justice – this cutting-edge think-tank that does amazing anti-CVE work, and they’re really one of the groups at the forefront of it – decided to publish our letter as one of their anti-CVE resources, which is a really big deal. Now universities will have a very accessible documentation of people that have opposed the program. At the moment, I’m working with other Muslim students to really

spearhead this, and I’m also working with a Muslim advocacy organization, called MPower Change, which is helping us really promulgate this campaign nationwide. SL: AS A STUDENT ACTIVIST YOURSELF, HOW DO YOU HOPE OTHER COLLEGE STUDENTS WILL RISE UP AND HELP COMBAT THIS PROBLEM? WHAT CAN STUDENTS DO IN THEIR OWN COLLEGE COMMUNITIES TO BRING ATTENTION TO CVE? AM: With this movement, we hope that we can really create

a toolkit for college students to, first and foremost, educate themselves. I think education and eradicating ignorance is probably the first step to any given problem and really educating ourselves not just on a superficial level, but really taking the time to do proper research and talk to people about the given issue. Then I think it’s really important that we show solidarity. That’s one of the main things that should come out of this movement, because it’s expanded to target not just Muslims but black people and LGBTQ+ people and refugees, and this is something that we can all coalesce around. We have to support each other. We have to support each other’s causes, and not just in a performative way. We have to support it sincerely, and not out of a desire to co-opt but genuine

we have to support each other’s causes, and not just in a performative way. we have to support it sincerely.

solidarity and empathy for each other’s struggles. SL: HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO WORK IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS OR GROUPS IN YOUR COMMUNITY TO HELP COMBAT THIS PROBLEM? AM: Over the summer, I worked with Professor Khaled Bey-

doun. He’s a pretty famous, prominent professor that does a lot of work and research on Islamophobia. I was incredibly lucky to get the opportunity to be his research assistant, and specifically we were looking at the ways in which the U.S. government has exploited sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shias to advance the CVE agenda. It was interesting because I got to further delve into the way the government has specifically exploited Sufism to promote this agenda, which is definitely very fascinating to me and very elucidating. I also worked at the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee where I did a lot of CVE mapping – which was kind of like public educational work – and looking at where exactly programs are sprouting in communities. I also attended all of the Senate hearings on CVE and then subsequently wrote statements to these Senate committees. Specifically, I was pushing for more authentic Muslim voices to be a part of these hearings on CVE rather than Muslims who have publicly

denounced Islam and Muslims, and who are actually co-opted by Islamophobes to perpetrate Islamophobic agendas. Another thing I did was I worked with the Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition to do this anti-CVE work. I think it was probably one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had so far because I got to do more grassroots community outreach work, going to local mosques and talking to Muslim youth about why this program is horrible, why we can’t stand for it, why we can’t just sit down and be apologetic Muslims and why we have to stand up for our rights and refused to be surveilled in this horribly dehumanizing way. SL: SO I WANTED TO SWITCH GEARS FOR A SECOND AND TALK ABOUT FEMINISM. YOU’RE A SELF-PROCLAIMED FEMINIST. HAS THE CURRENT FEMINIST MOVEMENT INSPIRED YOU OR INFLUENCED ANY WORK THAT YOU’VE DONE? AM: I think feminism means something different to each

woman, and I really think that we have to, in many ways, liberate ourselves from deeply entrenched notions of white feminism that are existent in the way we, ourselves, conceptualize feminism. As far as feminism for me, as a person who wears the hijab, for example, I don’t necessarily wear it purely for religious purposes. For me, it’s like Algerian women

S T U D Y B R E AKS

during their struggle for independence from the French. They wore the hijab as a symbol of this idea that the French may be able to colonize their land but they could never colonize their minds, and they could never take away their culture and their religious identity. It’s an anti-colonial symbol in that way. Also, Iranian women under Pahlavi – they wore the hijab also as a symbol of resistance and protest to the Western imperialist-backed regime. For me, when I wear the hijab, it’s a conscious effort to remember and it’s emblematic of these incredibly important resistance, anti-colonial, anti-Western-imperialism movements. That’s what it means to me, and oftentimes I feel like the brand of feminism that we have come to understand as feminism is white-washed in a sense and devoid of these incredibly important aspects of women’s struggles that Muslim women and other women of color hold sacred. SL: I WANTED TO TOUCH ON THE HIJAB PROJECT. HOW HAS THAT PROJECT EVOLVED SINCE YOU WERE LAST INTERVIEWED? AM: Over the years, I think it’s safe to say that I have matured

a lot, and with maturity comes a sense of self-awareness and self-criticism. I think that in a lot of ways I’ve come to realize that I don’t agree with the Hijab Project and I don’t really support its initial ambition. I guess it might be kind of weird to say because it’s something that I absolutely believed in when I was younger and it was something I absolutely put all of my heart and soul into. I absolutely think that it’s contributed so much to the person that I am today and for that I am grateful. To be honest, I think in a lot of ways I don’t find it to be useful. I don’t think that a white woman who puts on the hijab for a day really knows what it’s like in any capacity to be a Muslim woman, especially a Muslim woman of color or a black Muslim that wears the hijab on a regular day and faces systematized violence. There are so many ways to learn about Islam and there are so many ways to learn about Muslim women. And the most important way to learn about Muslim women is to talk to Muslim women – to engage with them and, perhaps even more importantly, to read their published works. Read Saba Mahmood, a very famous Muslim feminist. Read Leila Ahmed’s biography. We have to read and learn about Muslim women before, quite frankly, appropriating their form of dress. SL: AS STUDENTS, WE ARE CONSTANTLY LEARNING AND TAKING IN A LOT OF PERSPECTIVES AND IDEAS. WE’RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING UP TO PEOPLE. WHO DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR ROLE MODELS, AND WHO HAS INSPIRED YOU ALONG YOUR JOURNEY? AM:

Someone that’s really inspired me is actually a person

who is very prominent in Islamic history. Her name is Khadijah, and she was actually the prophet Muhammad’s wife. For me, when I think about someone who’s strong and who’s brave and someone that’s, more than anything, resilient and loyal, she is someone that I think of. A lot of times when I feel like I’m at lows in my life, I want to channel her energy. SL: WHAT WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT DO YOU HAVE FOR MUSLIM STUDENTS IN AMERICA RIGHT NOW WHO FEEL ASHAMED WHEN THEY’RE WALKING AROUND SCHOOL WEARING THEIR HIJAB, WHO FEEL UNSAFE ON THE STREETS AT NIGHT OR WHO FEEL MARGINALIZED? WHAT WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT KEEP YOU POSITIVE AND MOTIVATED WHEN YOU FEEL THAT WAY, AND WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH THEM? AM: Be strong and be unapologetic in every aspect of who you

are because the way the system works, it’s made to make us feel ashamed and scared and surveilled and threatened. And if you feel that way, it’s working – the system is working. We really do have to fight this system and we have to fight this administration and we need strong and brave and loyal and resilient people that are at the forefront of this movement for that to happen. One of the things that’s repeated most often in the Islamic tradition – something that’s an important concept to recognize as Muslims – is that the world around us is temporary. We have to root everything that we do in something that is transcendental, which is God. We have to root everything that we do in something that is kind of otherworldly. That concept gives me a sense of strength and it makes me feel like if everything is temporary, then that means that I can get through anything, and everything will pass.

Be strong and be unapologetic in every aspect of who you are because the way the system works, it’s made to make us feel ashamed and scared and surveilled and threatened.

remember drinking to

BY EL I Z A B E T H I VA NE C K Y, M C M A S T ER UNI VER S I T Y P H OT O GR A P H Y BY M A DEL EINE C O OK , GE ORGE WA S HING T ON UNI V ER S I T Y

Inspired by a personal experience, Danya Sherman created KnoNap to help detect and prevent drug-facilitated sexual assault.

t each round of the George Washington (GW) New Venture Competition, the hum of whispers fills the room as the audience waits anxiously to hear from some of the country’s next great leaders. But backstage, George Washington University junior Danya Sherman finds the somber darkness more inviting than the light of the stage. For a moment, she is attacked by self-doubt, her dream for a world free of drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) and sexual violence wavering with her nerves. Without fail though, one small voice brings her back to reality: “You

can do anything in 30 seconds. All it takes is just 30 seconds of bravery.” Living by this mantra, the GW junior has continued to share her vision for a world in which sexual relations are based in consent culture, not rape culture, a vision that her invention, the KnoNap, intends to make a reality. During the summer of 2016, while on an exchange program in Spain, Sherman’s friend drugged and sexually assaulted her. As a result, what should have been an oppor-

tunity to improve her Spanish and enjoy the culture was marred by her experience of sexual violence. She would later discover just how prevalent sexual violence was in study-abroad programs, as students’ lack of familiarity with the culture and reticence to deal with the local authorities makes foreign-exchange students targets for sexual predators. In fact, researchers asked women who participated in a study-abroad program about their sexual experiences. They discovered that a startling 83 percent of them reported an unwanted sexual experience, with 87 percent of the nonconsensual sexual contact being committed by nonstudent local residents. While some universities address the issue of sexual assault while abroad, the issue still remains relatively unknown to most college students. It was only upon her return to the United States that she learned her experience was far more common than she thought. “It was the first time I actually became aware of the issue and it became very personal,” says Sherman. Rather than being defined as a victim of sexual assault though, Sherman realized that not only was she a survivor, but she had the power to combat sexual violence. The inspiration for KnoNap, “the napkin that knows,” came, in large part, from her own personal experience. “I was thinking of ways to seek closure after being sexually assaulted, but also to create a means to empower other individuals, both men and women,” she

says, “to not have to go through the same incidences that I had to go through.” As for the man who sexually assaulted Sherman, she has a message for him: “One day, I pray he sees it and knows that he inspired it and that he couldn’t break me.” The fall semester following her assault, the GW junior enrolled in educator Kathy Korman Frey’s Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership course. The class required Sherman and her classmates to create a business plan and enter it into GW’s New Venture Competition, offering students a realistic, experiential-learning opportunity in entrepreneurship. Frey taught the course through the lens of illuminating the differences for women in business as opposed to their male counterparts. To this day, Frey — a female entrepreneur and founder of the Hot Mommas Project, the world’s largest collection of women’s case studies — remains a mentor for Sherman. One day, Frey presented the findings of an internal report that Hewlett Packard had assembled. According to their research, men apply for a job when they meet only 60 percent of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100 percent of them. “It shows that as a woman, you can go for certain things and that you can push yourself in business,” she says. As a bourgeoning female entrepreneur, she read the numbers as evidence that women need to doubt themselves less and push themselves more.

A culture of consent will replace rape culture. There will be no shame or backlash against women and men who choose courageously to share their stories S T U D Y B R E AKS

Driven by her revelation in Frey’s class and her experience in Spain, Sherman came up with the concept for the KnoNap. By the time the semester ended, she had worked out the details of the product and there was only one thing left to do: present her pitch at GW’s New Venture Competition. Even though Sherman has championed her own story of sexual assault, the decision to own her story and share it with peers, judges and fellow entrepreneurs required more than just 30 seconds of bravery. In one of the competition rounds, a judge asked Sherman why she was the woman to take on the project and bring the idea into fruition. “It came to a point where I said to myself, ‘If I want to create social change in an issue that’s so personal and that there’s so much hope for change, then I have to be open,’” she says. “Every time I share my experience, it is not an easy thing to say. It’s gotten easier with time, but I found having my words scripted takes out any and all of the emotion.” She continues: “The script is for my own mental sanity because that’s important too, but also to make sure that I’m getting across what I want to get across, which is that I don’t consider myself a victim.”

Competition, which awarded her seed funding through the university. Then, this past February, Sherman was named the Best Student Entrepreneur in the United States by the Entrepreneur’s Organization, winning the $10,000 first prize at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA). When Sherman talks about her award-winning invention, she stresses that KnoNap is not a napkin company; it’s a safety company. “We promote self-safety through two modes: KnoNap, the napkin; and partnerships with universities, Title IX offices and police departments to ensure proper education on the issue of DFSA.” The team at KnoNap recognizes that it is not enough to hope that a single product can change the discourse on sexual assault and rape culture; instead, there must be a change of policy and restructuring of culture. Current competitors in the North American market for DFSA detection devices, although impressive, either too obviously appear as detection devices or would be atypical in social settings. One such competitor is Undercover Colors, which, developed by four engineering students from North Carolina State University, is a nail polish used to detect date rape drugs.

She, instead, trades in her identity as a “victim” for her current ones as “champion” and “advocate.” “I identify as a champion against this issue and an advocate for making more individuals aware and educated on sexual assault,” she says. “Advocate especially holds true for my company and myself. I am using KnoNap as an avenue to create social change, and hope that by the end of my tenure with KnoNap, I will have reached that end to empower individuals.”

Critics consider the invention problematic, however, as the detection chemical must come into contact with an individual’s skin and food. Nail polish, as a vehicle for a detection system, requires women to bear the responsibility for their protection, not the institutions themselves. In addition, the product also isolates men who have been or could be sexually assaulted, to some extent, as nail polish is a typically feminine beauty product.

After entering KnoNap into the New Venture Competition at GW, she won first prize in the Pitch George Elevator Pitch

The GW junior’s detection product — a napkin, which is set to launch December of this year — places women in control of keeping themselves safe, though it also requires top-down policy changes to ensure that institutions and businesses offer the product to consumers. “I didn’t want to change consumer behavior or add product into social settings because then it’s not discreet,” says Sherman. “Instead, I wanted to make sure our product could be used anywhere and also by anyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation or race. It doesn’t raise eyebrows if you have a napkin with your drink.” As the KnoNap website says, “You are your first and best line of defense.” KnoNap, the napkin, looks and feels like a regular napkin, but uses color-changing-fabric technology to warn the user of a date-rape drug’s presence. Once the napkin comes into contact with the drink, if the napkin changes color, you know date-rape drugs are present in the liquid. Currently, the napkin can detect 26 of the 40 most commonly used date rape drugs. The KnoNap team aims to, in the long-term, enact policy changes in local, state and even federal law. By partnering with interfraternity and Panhellenic councils, the team hopes to provide a reeducation on sexual violence.

“There is really a gap of education between high school and college,” says Sherman. “In high school, it’s not much of an issue.” Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia require public schools to teach sexual education. “In university, though, you really only learn about drug-facilitated sexual assault when either you’re affected or a friend of yours is affected,” says Sherman. “Most universities that offer bystander awareness and consent trainings, while fantastic, lack the presence of DFSA trainings.” In order to focus on the product, Sherman took the fall semester off to live and work as a fellow at the prestigious Halcyon Incubator in Washington, D.C., where she received expert guidance — from individuals such as Kiki Ramsey, an advocate for female entrepreneurs and founder of Fempreneur University — and participated in pitch sessions and skills-development series. Now, she is currently a Future Founders fellow, which focuses on developing leadership qualities in budding entrepreneurs.

Sherman. “I would never put out a product, as a survivor, that would add to victim blaming. Our mission is to combat DFSA and change the culture of social settings.” Especially in light of the current #MeToo movement, which has helped women and men gather the strength to share their sexual-assault experiences on social media, Sherman is hopeful that in this day and age individuals have the ability to change their social circumstances. “Sexual assault is getting a lot of publicity now, which is both unfortunate and fortunate: unfortunate in that it’s still happening, yet fortunate that with all the media attention, real change can occur so that no one else has to say, ‘Me Too,’” says Sherman. Sherman’s go-to-market, or distribution strategy for the napkins, involves institutions, businesses and individuals. On the institutional level, much like most health centers offer bowls of free condoms for student use, the KnoNap team is aiming to have their napkins accessible and free at university health centers and dorm rooms.

KnoNap, the napkin, looks and feels like a regular napkin, but uses color-changing-fabric technology to warn the user of a date rape drug’s presence.

Sherman also met and connected with actor Ashton Kutcher, who within the last several years has used his fame and resources to fight for an end to human trafficking. She met Kutcher at a Forbes 30 under 30 conference, but struggled to pluck up the courage to speak to him. Then she remembered her mantra. “I pulled out one of my business cards, shaking, walked over to Ashton Kutcher and said, ‘Bravery takes 30 seconds, my name is Danya Sherman,’ and I pitched. I gave him my business card and shook his hand saying, ‘I’d love to be in contact with you, we have a lot of interests that overlap. We have a similar vision for a world we would love to see for our children.’”

In addition to preventing DFSA, Sherman and her team also want to break down rape culture, in which society blames survivors of sexual assault for the assault, thereby normalizing male sexual violence. She understands that while giving women and men ways to protect themselves from sexual assault is a necessary, short-term solution, eradicating sexual violence will require a paradigmatic change in the way society views sexual dynamics. KnoNap team members hope to combat rape culture, especially on college campuses, through trainings and facilitating conversations on embedding a consent culture, one in which individuals respect each other’s personal decisions with regard to intimacy even if the result is not the desired one. “You have every right to retract consent whenever you want,” says

Second, the startup team is working with bars, clubs and restaurants to have their napkins be distributed with every drink. Finally, they will be working directly with individuals, so that they are able to purchase their napkins either online through their client list, as well as through local distributions such as pharmacies and grocery stores. This April, the KnoNap team will participate in a Kickstarter, which will dovetail with Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).

As a survivor of DFSA, Sherman’s greatest inspiration comes from peers who survived sexual assault and share their stories with her. For Sherman, “It’s the stories of individuals saying, ‘I don’t know what to do. Please, what did you do?’ Or the individuals who say, ‘Danya, you are not alone.’ Those are the stories that are most inspiring for me and the ones that keep me going, because I’m not fighting for myself. I’m fighting for the pursuit of justice.” Despite the high prevalence and lack of education regarding DFSA, Sherman is hopeful about the future. She hopes to live in a world where there are no drug-facilitated assaults and no sexual assaults. Sherman reflects, with a smile lighting up her face, “A culture of consent will replace rape culture. There will be no shame or backlash against women and men who choose courageously to share their stories of surviving sexual assault. I know that’s something I had to overcome prior to building KnoNap, the ‘What do I do now’ question. KnoNap is really my ‘what now.’”

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what are we to do?

BY S H A S H A NK R A O, UNI VER S I T Y OF MI C HI G A N P H O T O GR A P H Y BY P RI S C IL L A B ODE, S A DDL EB A C K C OL L E GE

A conversation with Iman Siddiqi, the UC-Irvine student behind the first student-funded refugee scholarship in the country.

mages of the refugee crisis flood every news channel on TV. Between photographs of the corpses of children washed up on Greek shores and videos of little boys covered in dust looking shell-shocked sitting in the back of an ambulance, the common viewer finds it hard to stay the rush of sympathy that begs the rather unwieldy question: What can I do? It is no doubt a difficult question to answer. The refugee crisis sits at the intersection of global and domestic politics — how is a layman to find a point of entry into such a sprawling, challenging problem? For many, the impenetrability is discouraging, but for Iman Siddiqi, a senior majoring in political science and Middle Eastern studies at the University of California—Irvine, perseverance and a commitment to doing her part to help end the refugee crisis led her to establish the first student-funded refugee scholarship in the United States. I spoke with Siddiqi about her hopes for the scholarship, the challenges of crowdsourcing empathy and her plans for the future. SHASHANK RAO: A LOT OF PEOPLE HEAR ABOUT THE REFUGEE CRISIS ON THE NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA. A LOT OF THEM MIGHT ALSO WANT TO DO SOMETHING, BUT DON’T KNOW HOW. HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO TAKE VISIBLE ACTION WITH REGARD TO THIS ISSUE? IMAN SIDDIQI: I was also among those people who were just

seeing what was happening and didn’t know what to do. I thought to myself initially that in order to do something meaningful, I’d have to go to law school and get a degree to establish myself and only then would I be able to make a difference. But I decided my first course of action would be to learn Arabic, because I really wanted to help Syrian refugees. So I enrolled in Arabic my first year and in efforts to learn Arabic outside the classroom, I connected with some Syrian refugees online. I asked them directly what it was I could do to help. They said that they were really looking for higher-education opportunities and for scholarships, because they couldn’t really afford or continue their higher education because they were stuck in camps, areas where the roads weren’t safe or where the schools were sites of attacks. So it was really just hearing it from them that inspired me to do what I did and create a scholarship for refugees. SR: YOU SAID THAT YOU THOUGHT GOING TO LAW SCHOOL WOULD HELP YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE. DO YOU STILL HAVE PLANS TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL? IS: I definitely still plan on going to law school, but I have new

focus in mind now. I want to focus on refugee law and international law in particular. SR: WERE YOU ALWAYS PASSIONATE ABOUT LAW? IS: It’s funny because, growing up, I always wanted to be a doc-

tor. But that dream crashed after I took AP Biology in high school and I realized it wasn’t for me. When I took AP Government in my senior year, I found it was something that came very naturally to me. Even when I was completely focused on studying for calculus, I’d still manage to get the highest grades in government. So I decided that I would pursue a path that I was good at and picked political science when I got to college because I felt that would lead most directly to law school. My father is a lawyer, too, so I guess I had a bit of a family background in it as well. But the real turning point for me was when I took a family trip to Turkey and saw Syrian refugees firsthand. That was a deeply impactful experience for me because I was seeing more than just the images of refugees on screen: I was seeing real people. That’s when I decided to learn Arabic. My focus and interests also changed after that trip. I initially came into college very interested in American history and government, but seeing refugees directly turned me toward having a Middle-Eastern focus, which I then added as a second major to political science. In fact, I’m currently doing research on post-conflict Syrian civil education. SR: HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INTO CONTACT WITH SYRIAN REFUGEES? IS: I did it through a language-exchange application and a pro-

gram called “Paper Airplanes” that allowed you to tutor Syrian refugees in English. I interacted with a broad population of refugees. Some were actually still in Syria and were internally displaced; others were refugees who had fled the country, so there was a variety. But they were all college-aged and they were all hoping to finish their bachelor’s and their master’s. SR: IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU’VE DONE A LOT OF WORK WITH EDUCATION. HAVE YOU ALWAYS HAD A PASSION FOR EDUCATION, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU DEVELOPED BY SPEAKING WITH REFUGEES WHO SAID THAT THEY WANTED ACCESS TO HIGHER-ED OPPORTUNITIES? IS: It’s a little bit of both. When the program was mentioned to

me, it sparked a personal connection because my family is from India originally and the reason my family is in the U.S. today is because my grandfather got a scholarship to Harvard. It’s because of access to higher education that I’m an American today. But even in high school, I was always passionate about education, partic-

I wanted to do something â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and if I wanted to do something quick in order to avoid all the bureaucracy â&#x20AC;&#x201D; I would have to create my own scholarship program.

this throughout the system before we went up to the regents. Then, in January of 2017, I went up to the regents and I told them about this consortium and how there was so much support for creating a scholarships for refugees. They told me how it was a great cause and they wished they could help, but because the UC system is a public institution, they can’t allocate funding for these scholarships. They couldn’t even allocate seats because that could be politicized and affect state funding. That’s when I realized if I wanted to do something — and if I wanted to do something quick in order to avoid all the bureaucracy — I would have to create my own scholarship program. Luckily, during the spring of my third year, I won a scholarship that we have at Irvine, called “The Dalai Lama Endowed Scholarship,” which provides $6,000 funding for any project that you want to pursue. I decided I’d use the money I received to create the scholarship program I wanted to establish. I wanted to use the funding that I got from the Dalai Lama scholarship to hold a fundraising banquet and thought that, through that banquet, I would be able to raise even more money for the scholarship. We ended up holding the banquet this past November. I was so excited about making this scholarship for refugees a reality. I was very disappointed when I realized that the University of California couldn’t help me, but I was excited that I could still make it possible. SR: THAT’S QUITE A STORY! I SUPPOSE YOU’VE COVERED SOME OF THIS ALREADY, BUT WERE THEY ANY OTHER UNIQUE CHALLENGES FACING YOU ON THIS JOURNEY? IS: One of the hardest things was finding a non-profit that would

ularly in education for girls in developing countries. I was part of a campus of “She’s the First,” which is a non-profit that works to provide education opportunities for girls all over the world. So I suppose education was just something I was involved with from the beginning. I wanted to give to others what I received. SR: NOW THAT WE’VE SORT OF ESTABLISHED WHERE YOU’RE COMING FROM, I’M REALLY CURIOUS AS TO THE STORY OF HOW THIS SCHOLARSHIP GOT OFF THE GROUND. IS: (Laughs) It’s a bit of a long story. So, in September 2016, I

heard about “Books, not Bombs,” which is a nationwide campaign in which students call on their universities to join the International Institute of Education - Syria Consortium for Higher Education and Crisis. When universities join the consortium, they agree to create scholarships for refugees, particularly Syrian refugees. Initially I was pushing the University of California to join the consortium, so all of fall quarter of my third year, I worked on this initiative. I’m writing up resolutions and passing resolutions at my campus; I’m calling on the UC to join that consortium; I’m helping students at other UCs also pass resolutions because we’re a total of 10 UC campuses. I wanted to show that there was support for

partner with us. We really wanted to partner with a non-profit for two reasons: one was for transparency’s sake, just so that people knew where their funds were being held. Second, we wanted to make sure that anyone who donated would be able to get a tax deduction. Finding an organization that was willing to do that was difficult initially. I had to speak with several different representatives of different organization, but ultimately we settled with Access California Services (ACS), which is a non-profit that’s near our campus. ACS works to help immigrants and refugees access services, like mental health care services, access jobs, etc. in California. It’s really great we could partner with them because they knew a lot of refugees who were interested in pursuing higher education. So they helped us connect with those students, who actually ended up coming to the banquet, which was really neat because a lot of times, when we’d go to these fundraisers, we don’t really get to meet the people we’re planning to help. It was really cool that the donors got to meet refugee students. SR: YOU SAID SOMETHING INTERESTING WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU FIRST GOT INTERESTED IN DOING SOMETHING FOR REFUGEES. YOU SAID THAT YOU SPOKE DIRECTLY TO THEM AND THAT THEY TOLD YOU WHAT THEY NEEDED WAS ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION. MANY TIMES, HUMANITARIAN AGENCIES DON’T LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE THEY’RE TRYING TO HELP AND ACT LIKE THE MERE FACT OF THEIR PRESENCE WILL NATURALLY

IMPROVE THEIR CONDITIONS. WERE YOU ACTIVELY TRYING TO COUNTER THAT MENTALITY OR DID YOU JUST FALL INTO IT? IS: It was a little bit of both because my family is very involved

with the local Muslim community. Pretty much every weekend, we went to some sort of fundraiser or event to help refugees and to collect funds for basic aid distribution. I did genuinely want to know what the best way to help was. I wanted to ask refugees, “Hey, what are you actually seeing on the ground?” and what they kept saying, over and over again, was that they just wanted to finish school and get their degrees. So I guess it was a combination: I was a little bit cautious because I had already seen the work of so many different organizations, but I also just really wanted to hear it straight from refugees what they needed.

SR: I’D LIKE TO END WITH WHAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH REFUGES. THE MEDIA HAS A LOT OF OPINIONS ABOUT WHO REFUGEES ARE, BUT WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW? IS: A lot of the perceptions people have are because they don’t

know otherwise. It’s easy to hold such perceptions when you haven’t actually met the real person. I would encourage people to go find their local refugee community and meet with them in real life. I say the same thing about Muslims too because, as a Muslim myself, I know the different kinds of perceptions that keep ahold of our community. The way we try to combat that is by inviting people to our mosques and by asking people to get to know us first, so we can hopefully address any misconceptions that they might have. It’s the same thing with refugees: You should meet them, hear their stories, understand why it was that they had to leave their countries and their homes in pursuit of safety. Perhaps then people can develop compassion and look beyond the rhetoric they hear.

FAVORITE SONG

FAVORITE TV SHOW

BEST MEME

DOGS OR CATS

“Praying” by Kesha Anything Katya related from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” MUST-HAVE CLOTHING ITEM

Black skinny jeans WORST CLASS

Anatomy and Physiology #1 INTEREST

Good communication skills WHAT I ATE FOR BREAKFAST

Raisin Bran Crunch with almond milk FAVORITE SCENT

Bleu de Chanel

“Veep” on HBO Dogs

GREATEST STRENGTH

My creative eye

FAVORITE COLOR

Pink

MOST HATED MOVIE VILLAIN

Umbridge from “Harry Potter” BEST SUBJECT IN SCHOOL

Anything with talking or writing is my jam GREATEST SINGER

Lady Gaga

COMFORT FOOD

I HAVE NO...

Time for incompetence

Mac n Cheese

FAVORITE SUPERHERO

IPHONE OR ANDROID

iPhone

Any empowered woman, but definitely Shuri from “Black Panther”

I LOVE…

I AM…

WORST CEREAL

I CAN’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT…

Honest expression Chocolate does not deserve to be in cereal! IF I WERE A CANDY FLAVOR I WOULD BE…:

Cookies n Cream Hershey’s FAVORITE MOVIE

“Easy A”

sarcastic Chapstick

FAVORITE FOOD

Vegetarian hot dogs LAST TIME I GOT A HUG

Like 10 minutes ago

ROBOTS OR ZOMBIES

Zombies

BY K AY L A P L AT OF F, M A RY V IL L E UNI V ER S I T Y

Q & A WI T H A junior at the University of the Incarnate Word, communications major Aaron Chávez is the first gay student body president at his school F OR T HE F UL L IN T ERV IE W G O T O S T UDY B RE A K S. C O M /M A G A Z INE

S T U D Y B R E AKS

The Year of The Summer Job. What Is Your Destiny? BY : S A M K A S IER S K I , UNC - C H A P EL HIL L

AQUARIUS: SUSTAINABILITY

PISCES: TOUR GUIDE AT AN

ARIES: WALL STREET INVEST-

PROJECT MANAGER

Smoking a lot of pot and caring about the Earth worked out for you.

ART MUSEUM

MENT INTERNSHIP

TAL EMERGENCY ROOM

An art degree may spawn creativity, but it sure won’t spawn a high-paying internship.

Congratulations, your passion for hard work will land you 100-hour weeks, a healthy income and an Adderall habit.

Your diagnosis isn’t always right. You still have 10 more years of schooling until you have your M.D.

GEMINI: WRITER FOR A COLLEGE

CANCER: INTERNSHIP WITH A

LEO: SANDWICH ARTIST AT

VIRGO: INSURANCE SALESMAN

MAGAZINE

DIVORCE LAW FIRM

THE LOCAL SANDWICH SHOP

INTERNSHIP

Don’t let your readers’ criticisms drive you insane. A $20 bottle of whiskey is $180 cheaper than a shrink.

50 percent of marriages end in divorce, so you should stay plenty busy for your summer.

Have fun watching “Seinfeld” reruns with your parents at night.

Be wary of health insurance. (Subject to change depending on who is in the White House.)

LIBRA: INTERNSHIP WITH A

SCORPIO: INTERNSHIP WITH A

SAGITTARIUS: BACKPACKING

CAPRICORN: JOIN THE

CRIMINAL LAW FIRM

You help the accused … by filing their paperwork and getting their lawyer a cup of coffee.

LOCAL DISTRICT CONGRESSMAN

THROUGH EUROPE

You think your opinion is always right. The world doesn’t need more politicians like you. Good luck.

Money is overrated. Jobs are overrated. Your future is overrated. Your parents input is overrated. Be free, Willy, be free!

TAURUS: SCRIBE IN A HOSPI-

MARINES

You are the few. You are the proud. You will be pushed to the brink until your body collapses. Hoorah!

TAMED BROWS, WILD AT HEART.

YOUR FIRST BROW WAX IS FREE* ONE WAX IS ALL IT TAKES TO FALL IN LOVE. AUSTIN - THE TRIANGLE | 512 452 4929 4700 W. Guadalupe St., Suite A-10 WAXCENTER.COM I europeanwax

COUPON CODE: BROW18. *Valid at participating European Wax Center locations. Guests must not have received a brow service at any European Wax Center location within one year of redemption to qualify, and must reside within the state where redeemed. Proof of residency may be required. Additional restrictions may apply. European Wax Center locations are independently owned and operated. Offer expires 3/31/18. Â© 2018 EWC Franchise, LLC. All Rights Reserved.