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SPORTS

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A&E

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OPINION

21 New athletic director ready to fill big shoes

Dancers audition for campus dance teams

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Secret Society calls for Greek Life conversation

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RANKS EMORY

AGAIN The Independent Student-Run Newspaper of Emory University Since 1919

VOL. 97 ISSUE 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 | NEWS

9 | OPINION

18 | EMORY LIFE

does love win at emory?

our opinion: laptops away?

atwood: the classrooms of

secret society demands greek

the future

life conversations

senior year: let’s buck-et up ain’t no college far enough professor spotlight: deborah lipstadt

burritos on the go: chipotle

what does it mean to be educated?

to deliver to emory

it’s your campus: it’s your quad

emory ranks no.

college” for

21 “best

2nd

what has america done to help?

year

22 | SPORTS

a transformed marbl looms

don’t ignore the world

over emory

around you

the consequences of smoking

13 | A&E

just got higher

‘mistress

michael vienna’s second second act nfl preview

america’

on fire

police report a whirl into the world of emory

a new emory dining

dance auditions

experience

sense8 connects sci-fi, human

what you missed in college football

experience

EDITORIAL BOARD DUSTIN SLADE | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RUPSHA BASU EXECUTIVE EDITOR

KARISHMA MEHROTRA EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Copy Chief Benazir Wehelie

Emory Life Editor Hayley Silverstein

News Editor Annie McGrew

Arts & Entertainment Editor Samuel Budnyk

Opinion Editor Erik Alexander Sports Editors Jacob Durst

Photo Editor Hagar Elsayed Senior Digital Editor Tarrek Shaban

Digital Editors Brandon Fuhr Morgan Roberts

ZAK HUDAK MANAGING EDITOR Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor Julia Munslow

Special Sections Editor Jenna Kingsley

Asst. Photo Editor Loli Lucaciu

Asst. Copy Chief Shalvi Shah

Asst. Digital Editor Leila Yavari Associate Editors Lydia O’Neal Ryan Smith

STEPHEN FOWLER EXECUTIVE DIGITAL EDITOR business and advertising

ALLEN HSIN | BUSINESS MANAGER BEN MOORE | SALES MANAGER BRYCE ROBERTSON | BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Assistant Sales Manager: Brittany Fales Design Mangers: Dami Kim, Alyssa Polskensky Sales Associates: Ifrah Khan, David Schupper, Celeste Leonard, Junior Hailu, Chris Diglio Office Assistant: Justine Schoenbart Business / Advertising Office Number (404) 727-6178

3

09.09.15

NEWS

ANNIE MCGREW | EDITOR

Does love win at Emory?

Same-sex Supreme Court decision sparks debate about employee benefits Namrata Verghese | Contributing Writer namrata.susan.verghese@emory,edu

W

ith the passage of the historic June 26 Supreme Court marriage equality ruling, which declared same-sex marriage a constitutional right across the United States, some employers are now rethinking the employment benefits previously afforded to same-sex domestic partners (SSDPs). The term SSDP applies to same-sex couples in committed, mutually responsible relationships, and, prior to the Supreme Court ruling, SSDPs were legally unable to marry in many states.

Typically, employment benefits such as dental and vision plans, medical, life, accident and disability insurance and retirement plan options are offered to married couples. However, many employers, including Emory University, extended these benefits to SSDPs previously because they lacked the option to legally wed in many states, and hence they were deprived of these benefits enjoyed by married heterosexual couples.

These employers now argue that, since the recent ruling means same-sex couples can access employment benefits through marriage, the original rationale for domestic partner benefits is no longer valid. The city of Decatur, for example, recently made the decision to eliminate its benefits policy for same-sex domestic couples, who previously could not marry due to Georgia’s constitutional ban.

Even before the Supreme Court ruling, some employers such as IBM, Delta Airlines and Verizon, had rescindedthese benefits in states that had legalized same-sex marriages. With same-sex unions now legal across the nation, other employers may also be moving in this direction.

Emory University, recently crowned the most LGBTQ-friendly campus in Georgia by a study from eCollegeFinder, has been offering SSDPs the same employment benefits as legally married heterosexual couples. However, like many other Georgia-based institutions including Coca-Cola

and Home Depot, Emory’s policy on this matter may also be subject to change.

In an email to the Wheel, Emory Vice President of Human Resources Peter Barnes wrote, “In light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriage, Emory University is reviewing its current policy.”

Barnes chose not to comment further.

Changes would likely include either eliminating Emory’s same-sex domestic partner benefits, and, thus requiring same-sex partners to marry in order to receive benefits, or extending current SSDP benefits to heterosexual, unmarried partners as well. Since, as School of Law professor Tim Holbrook points out, Emory cannot keep the benefits limited to just same-sex couples, or the University risks a disc r i m i n at ion suit on behalf of heterosexual couples.

Holbrook believes that eliminating the same-sex domestic partner benefits policy would be a step backwards for Emory.

Holbrook, who helped introduce far-reaching changes to Emory’s policies for same-sex couples in 2011 in the process of securing domestic partner benefits for his partner (now husband), suggests revisions in Emory’s policies.

In an email to the Wheel, he wrote that rather than dropping the benefits policy, the better option would be to expand the domestic partner benefits to include partners regardless of their sex.

“There likely are many people who are opposed to the institution of marriage for a host of reasons,” Holbrook wrote. “Emory could consider expanding the definition of domestic

partner benefits in this way to accommodate such couples.”

Holbrook thinks that this change would be both practical and progressive. Most employers currently contemplating changing their benefits policies, including Emory, offer spousal benefits to same-sex domestic partners but not to unmarried, cohabiting heterosexual couples.

While he acknowledges there may be some additional financial costs to the University, Holbrook wrote, “I think studying what alternative family arrangements are out there that could deserve University support would be preferable to eliminating domestic partner benefits immediately.”

E m o r y Pride Publicity Representative and College sophomore Katya Miranda e c h o e d H o l b r o o k ’s sentiments.

She wrote in an email to the Wheel that she believes it is intrusive of Emory to force domestic partners, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, to marry in order to keep their benefits.

“My main opinion on this issue is that they shouldn’t be forcing domestic partners to marry to get benefits just because they can do so legally,” she elaborates. “They should make the program more uniform without invading the privacy of domestic partners.”

According to a June 2015 Wall Street Journal article, employers already offering benefits to both groups are more likely to continue them.

The city of Atlanta, for example, which offers the benefits to both same-sex and straight domestic partners, will retain them for all the employees who currently use them.

“We have to remember that there are families that still don’t fall within the ‘married’ paradigm” ­— Tim Holbrook

However, Holbrook was not optimistic when asked about the possibility of the University approving the sort of policy changes he suggests.

“I bet … that Emory does not do so and instead eliminates [the benefits],” he wrote. “We have to remember that there are families that still don’t fall within the ‘married’ paradigm.”

Not all LGBTQ faculty and students at Emory agree with Holbrook. Interim Director of the Office of LGBT Life Danielle Steele disagrees with the notion that Emory should change its policy in reaction to the marriage equality ruling, although she is also unaware of any impending change.

“When the Supreme Court originally repealed parts of the Defense of Marriage Act, Emory began recognizing same-sex marriages performed in states where they were legal even though Georgia did not recognize them,” Steele wrote in an email to the Wheel. “Thus, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality again in June of this year, Emory had to do very little to nothing to continue to recognize these relationships.”

Similarly, Emory Pride Vice President of Internal Affairs and College junior Duy Nguyen wrote in an email to the Wheel that he does not see anything problematic about the proposed dropping of SSDP benefits.

Rather, he views it as “very bureaucratic.” He also indicated that he finds Decatur’s move in dropping the previous policy practical, considering it did so to integrate same-sex couples into the main program, which provides benefits to married couples.

“I don’t really see how this will negatively affect same-sex domestic partners either in Decatur in general or at Emory, since they will still be able to receive benefits once they are legally married like opposite sex couples,” Nguyen concluded.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY OLIVIA SHULER

NEWS

09.09.15

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Atwood:

The classrooms of the future Rubén Díaz Vásquez | Contributing Writer ruben.diaz.vasquez@emory.edu

Af ter nearly t wo years of construction , the newly renovated and expanded At wood Chemistr y Center building will of ficially open at the end of this month .

H

owever, it’s already being used for class, according to Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Chemistry and Biology David Lynn.

The new building is filled with technology-equipped classrooms and learning spaces as well as a new campus Highland Bakery coffee location.

The renovation reflects changes in learning, particularly in the sciences, shifting from lecture-style classes to classroom instruction that is more focused on collaboration and creative problem solving and that seeks engagement from a variety of learners, according to Lynn.

Renovations to the building were largely made possible through funding from the discovery of Emtriva, an anti-HIV drug developed at Emory.

On the other hand, the reforms to the educational curriculum were largely funded by a 1.2 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

In total, more than $52 million in funds was spent during the entire project, according to Lynn.

Though the construction is recent, discussion about renovations emerged since 2006, inspired by the idea that traditional lecture-style teaching might be somewhat outdated, Lynn said.

Today, the atrium spans the existing Atwood space and the new construction, and, in the words of Lynn, reflects the “existing building, which has corners, and the new building, which has all curves, so it’s kind of the dynamics of the new reflected against the sort of the stasis of the old.”

Upon entering the new building, there is an immediate array of movable tables, whiteboards and wheeled

chairs that allow students to not only work independently, but also collaborate with other students.

This means “ideas can be transported from table to table,” Lynn said.

Moving past the main area, the classrooms are not designed in the form of the traditional lecture halls with a white board at the front of the room and stadium style seating.

Rather, they are filled with round tables dispersed throughout the room.

These new classrooms, while accommodating fewer students, allow for more discussion amongst the class.

“Rather than having lecture halls, we have table seating that gives the opportunity not only to be organized as a whole class but for students to share ideas and learn from each other,” Lynn explained. “It’s much like what happens in a research lab.”

In the past, Lynn said, learning at Emory revolved around the absorption of information through lecturestyle dissemination.

However, since information is largely available through Internet access — made possible by using an iPhone or laptop — the educational experience can shift focus to learning how to creatively and actively use the information available, according to Lynn.

“Our education, internationally, is moving toward that because the opportunities [now] are different [from those in the past], so absolutely I think Emory is leading the way,” Lynn said.

Tracy McGill, senior lecturer in the chemistry department, is one of the professors taking advantage of the new classroom layout. McGill wrote in an email to the Wheel that when students are no longer seated in one direction,

at a single desk and towards a single instructor, “there is an educationalopportunity that is truly explosive.”

“It is no longer about a single professor supposedly “imparting knowledge” to students who know nothing,” she said. “Every student comes to the classroom with the ability to contribute something valuable — the layout of the room facilitates the contribution that a student can make to the educational process. Every student becomes accountable for the education of the entire community of learners in the room.”

McGill elaborated that some of the activities that the room facilitates include online simulations about isotopes and photoelectric effect, and activities that ask students to determine the mass of a substance inside a box of unknown volume She also added that, “in the atomic room [the new chemistry room] we do not define what an isotope is. Google or the textbook can do that for you – you do not need a faculty member for that. Instead, we apply the knowledge of isotopes to the interpretation of a mass spectrum, which is more challenging.”

Doug Mulford, senior lecturer and director of undergraduate studies in the chemistry department, also wrote to the Wheel sharing a recent experience he had with his class: “In class last week my students used pennies for models for electrons to investigate how [Robert A.] Millikan determined the charge of an electron over 100 years ago. The logic that Millikan used has always been very difficult for students to understand but they seemed to do much better with the hands-on activity.”

It’s not only the students who

will journey in this move toward a more interactive education, but also professors.

“I’m both excited and terrified this semester,” Mulford “I’m having to re-learn how to teach, but I would say already … the level of engagement amongst the broader audience is better.”

The expansion and renovation of the building, however, did not just focus on changes to the inside.

The outside quad, in between the old part of the building and the new part, is a bright green area surrounded along the perimeter by chairs and tables to allow students to study or talk with one another.

The quad was built in such a way to invite students of diverse interests to study, talk and engage in the community of scholarship, according to Lynn.

He also added that the small stage toward the middle of the quad is meant to allow organizations or students involved in theater and other arts to perform and use the space to exercise their talents and creativity.

Possible events to take place on

the quad include everything from science class poster displays, the Atlanta Science Festival theater venues, dance classes and talks on World AIDS Day. Lynn emphasized that the area strives to honor the arts and sciences at the root of the college experience.

College senior Ben Burton, who had his first class this past week, believes that the changes in the building will increase “the likelihood that people will want to learn more and go out and meet people.”

“I feel like it will bring people closer together,” he said.

For McGill, the change, with all its effort and experimentation, is promisingly rewarding. She said that being involved in this changing approach to learning is pushing her to think in different ways about how she will teach.

“It’s really very humbling,” she said. “You kind of have to teach from the perspective of: What is the learning goal for the student and how can you help them achieve that goal themselves?”

PHOTO BY JASON OH | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

NEWS

09.09.15

5

Burritos on the go:

Chipotle to deliver to Emory

Lindsey Sheppard | Contributing

E

lindsey.ann.sheppard@emory.edu

mory students will no longer need to make the trek down to Emory Village to enjoy their favorite burrito or guacamole from Chipotle. Customers located on or near Emory’s campus will soon be able to receive a customized order from Chipotle at their door simply by using their smartphones.

Through a partnership with Tapingo, an online and mobile food delivery application, Chipotle plans to deliver to 40 college campuses this fall, according to a recent Chipotle Investor Relations press release. Emory University is among the four Georgia schools that Tapingo will service, including Georgia Institute of Technology (Tech), the University of Georgia and Georgia State University.

Chipotle plans to deliver through Tapingo to more than 100 campuses by spring 2016.

“As college students make their way back to school for another year, Chipotle Mexican Grill … is making it easier for students to find the food they love, allowing more time for study and less to search for burritos,” the press release states.

Those wishing to order from Chipotle through Tapingo must download the free app onto a mobile device. They will then be prompted to select whether they would like their order to be delivered or ready for pickup, choose the venue and customize their order.

Tapingo will send Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) updates via text to the customer during the delivery process, according to Tapingo Public Relations Manager Leanne Reis.

“The beauty of Tapingo is that it’s a free app in the iTunes App Store and on Google Play,” Reis said. “Anyone can download the app and use it, so if you are located near one of our Chipotle partners, you can be a Tapingo-er — whether or not you’re a student.”

Customers will receive their orders from Tapingo Couriers, a community of students who deliver for Tapingo.

“These [couriers] are students who not only enjoy the added benefit of a job that works around their schedule but are also familiar with the campus,” Reis said.

Tapingo actively recruits current students to be Tapingo Couriers. They must meet Tapingo’s quality standards, submit an application, complete an interview and pass a background check, according to Reis.

Chipotle’s partnership with Tapingo will expand its existing delivery service, which currently consists of partnerships with two

additional delivery services, Postmates and OrderUp. Postmates has been delivering for the Chipotle in Writer Emory Village for about three months, according to Emory Village Chipotle manager Jamie Ortes.

However, Emory students can also expect lower delivery prices with Tapingo compared to competitor delivery services, according to Reis.

While Chipotle Customer Service Consultants declined to comment on any financial reasons for partnering with Tapingo, Reis said Tapingo’s delivery fee ranges from $2.99 to $4.99.

Those using the Tapingo Club feature, which includes discounts and exclusive offers, pay only $2.99 for delivery. The cost of a Chipotle burrito delivery through Postmates includes a 9% service fee along with a variable delivery fee.

Multiple Postmates customers have taken to the Internet to complain about Postmates’ long waiting times as well as their high delivery and service fees.

An April 23 Business Insider article documented an $8 Chipotle burrito delivered in New York City by Postmates for an additional $20 in delivery and service fees.

Goizueta Business School senior Andre Ainbinder used Postmates to deliver Chipotle in the past and said that their fees are too high for him to use the service again.

“I can mentally get around $3 [in delivery and service fees],” he said. “Once you get near $5, that’s almost another burrito.”

College sophomore Madeline DeShazer said she would be willing to pay a few extra dollars for Chipotle to be delivered to her location.

“I am a huge Chipotle lover, and I go to Chipotle as often as I can,” she said. “However, being busy and living on the opposite side of campus without a car, I don’t go that often. This will benefit me a lot, especially if I’m studying at home, feeling too lazy to walk around campus and still want the delicious satisfaction of my favorite food.”

Instead of making the trip to Emory Village, students can expect to wait an average of 25 minutes between order placement

and receipt, according to a Sept. 1 Business Wire article.

Other students, while still excited about Chipotle’s new delivery services, say they might opt to walk to Emory Village anyway.

“Chipotle is a staple in my diet — whether that is a good thing or not — and now that I can have access to it at any time is great,” B-School junior Ben Moore, who is also the business manager of The Emory Wheel, said. “That being said, I never minded the walk down to Chipotle. It didn’t take long, and sometimes when I was working I need[ed] a good hour away to clear my head and rejuvenate myself.”

B-School junior Aaron Levy also said he is looking forward to delivery options from Chipotle; however, he said that existing rules on campus might cause him to forego this new convenience.

“My only concern is that since the library doesn’t allow us to bring Chipotle in, it pretty much means I’m still going to have to take a break from my work to eat,” Levy said. “So I might as well make the walk down to the Village.”

The exact date that Tapingo will be delivering Chipotle has not yet been disclosed. The general managers of Chipotle in both Emory Village and Toco Hills said they have not received information yet regarding Tapingo’s delivery services but expect the word to spread as the service is implemented.

As Tapingo plans to continue its growth, Emory students are among a small group of Chipotle customers that will be able to enjoy a Chipotle delivery.

“Our goal is to provide Tapingo services to all students across the U.S.,” Reis said. “We hope to expand this list to include all campuses.”

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY OLIVIA SHULER / PHOTO BY BENAZIR WEHELIE | COPY CHIEF

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6

Emory ranks No. 21 “Best College” for 2nd year

Anwesha Guha | Staff Writer anwesha.guha@emory,edu

Emory has maintained its No. 21 spot for the second consecutive year in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 “Best Colleges” ranking, which was released this morning. This year’s ranking remains consistent with the ranking in 2015, the first time Emory fell out of its top 20 spot since 1994.

U.S. News & World Report assessed colleges using categories such as retention, faculty resources, selectivity and graduation rate performance, according to their website.

Regardless, Claire Sterk, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, commended Emory’s leadership in research, discovery and innovation internationally, according to a Sept. 9

University press release.

“We consistently rank high in a variety of national surveys that convey aspects of our identity, from the strength of our academic programs, to the quality of faculty teaching and research, to the value of an Emory undergraduate experience for students,” Sterk said.

Emory persists as No. 18 among national universities to offer “best value” education, which is based on academic quality and amount of need-based financial aid given to students, according to the press release.

The press release also noted the economic

diversity in Emory’s undergraduate community, with 21 percent of its undergraduates receiving need-based Pell Grants and 15 percent of its undergraduates as international students, according to the U.S. News & World Report.

The Princeton Review and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance also cite Emory as being a best value among private universities.

In addition, Emory’s Goizueta Business School maintains its rank at No. 15. Its rank is determined separately from Emory’s undergraduate college and is based on a peer survey of deans and senior faculty, accord-

“I think Emory’s ranking influenced me a lot before coming here...”

— Trieste Francis

ing to the press release. Overall, Emory has been cited as one of the top research universities (Leiden Ranking) and as having one of the best college libraries (Princeton Review).

Similar to responses last year, students have expressed no change of opinion of Emory.

“I think Emory’s ranking influenced me a lot before coming here, but then I got here and met good teachers,” College sophomore Trieste Francis said. “That made me decide what rank Emory is. Ultimately, I picked Emory not because of a list.”

In a September 2014 Wheel article, Nancy Seideman, associate vice president of communications, and some students, expressed their hope that Emory would re-emerge as a top 20 college after last fall’s ranking update.

A transformed MARBL looms over Emory Lauren Balotin | Contributing Writer lauren.paige.balotin@emory.edu

The Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL), currently undergoing renovations to create more spacious and efficient facilities, is now open to the public.

Construction is set to finish in October and changes will include full-length glass windows as well as balconies that overlook Emory’s campus. . MARBL will also release 150,000 print titles as well as 1,300 collections for display.

A high demand from both students and faculty for the growth of MARBL spaces and services initially sparked these adjustments.

Now, following months of planning and subsequent construction that began in May of 2014, the extensions to the current MARBL collections are almost completed and available for the public to view throughout September, which will act as a preview period before MARBL officially opens in October.

The new MARBL will include areas geared towards classroom instruction as well as a reading room, vistas that overlook the Emory campus and the Atlanta skyline and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant tables with adjustable heights in order to meet the needs of various students.

It will also be much more spacious — the reading room which previously could only accommodate 9 researchers will now have the ability to house “16 researchers in a secured, climate-controlled environment where both patrons and materials can co-exist comfortably,” according to MARBL Administrative Services and Program Coordinator Christeene Alcosiba. Alcosiba has had a multi-faceted role in making decisions concerning the floor plans, PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY OLIVIA SHULER

coordinating the staff, organizing communication related to the project and making visitors feel welcome and comfortable as they adjust to the new spaces.

In addition, the renovations will feature the latest digital and technological resources for research from technology-enabled meeting spaces to document cameras and video-conferencing software. MARBL will continue to maintain a close connection to the books themselves in their physical formats, according to MARBL

“[MARBL is] a spectacularly beautiful space where one can conduct groundbreaking research and ... access the latest audiovisual teaching materials...”

— Rosemary Magee Director Rosemary Magee.

The additions, which will be located on the 10th level of Woodruff Library, will showcase born-digital texts, or texts that originated on digital devices, as well as print resources throughout poetic, literary and historical departments, and include works from the likes of Alice Walker, a well-known author, and Flannery O’Connor, a notable 20th century novelist and essayist. The mate-

rials will focus on African American and Southern studies, modern politics, literature, Irish poetry and Emory University archives.

MARBL has been accumulating these resources over time but now intends to make them more accessible and boost their importance throughout the Emory community.

“It’s a spectacularly beautiful space where one can conduct groundbreaking research and still have the opportunity to view rare materials and access the latest audiovisual teaching materials. It’s a place where you can see firsthand resources such as Walt Whitman’s ‘Leaves of Grass,’ ” Magee said.

Exhibitions of Flannery O’Connor’s work, alongside displays of Alice Walker and other distinguished writers, will include drafts and manuscripts of her novels and essays, journals from her time as a college student and over 600 letters used by O’Connor to correspond with her mother while away from home. The displays will focus on the ways in which the experiences and growth of individuals caused them to develop into successful writers.

Alcosiba believes that “the new MARBL will appeal to anyone who visits by virtue of its beautiful open space” while still encouraging a rigorous work ethic as it highlights “both the astounding range of materials at MARBL, but also the work that has come from them — the diverse and delightful publications, interactions, events, and collaborations that are possible.”

College sophomore Katherine Dautrich said she visited MARBL a few times previously but that she now feels that the space is “much more conducive to learning and studying.”

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The consequences of

smoking just got higher Emily Sullivan | Staff Writer A recent change in legislation orders that any person charged with possession of less than one ounce of marijuana will be subject to arrest as of July 1, 2015, according to an email from Emory’s Assistant Vice President of Community Suzanne Onorato to all students on Sept. 4.

This was not a decision associated with Emory University, according to the email. Rather, the decision stemmed from DeKalb County and State of Georgia legislation.

Marijuana violations of less than one ounce were previously processed through DeKalb County Recorder’s Court. The Georgia General Assembly’s recent actions dismantled the Court, requiring that marijuana violations be processed through the state court and accompanied by an arrest or warrant.

This change attempts to cut out the middleman — the DeKalb County Recorder’s Court, said a DeKalb County Narcotics Unit official who requested to remain anonymous.

emily.sullivan@emory,edu

“Before July 1, possession of less than one ounce of marijuana was a misdemeanor,” the official explained. “I can still physically give someone a citation for possession, except now I have to write that the ticket is going to the state court,” the official said.

An arrest is not always definite under the amended legislation and disciplinary outcome of such a marijuana violation is conditional.

Students and community members who are charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana will only be at risk for an arrest warrant, but this “depends on a complexity of things,” Onorato said.

Regardless of how violators of marijuana law

are handled, Onorato said, marijuana is illegal in Georgia.

Onorato reported that she expects students to interpret the amended statute in a multitude of ways, opening the potential for both education and conversation.

She also said that she hopes for Emory’s campus life to maintain a virtually unscathed condition, specifying that Emory’s conduct policy will not change and will maintain a divide between itself and the law. Additionally, she said, the conduct policy will serve to act as more educational than punitive.

“I do not want to see any Emory student arrested,” she said.

“I think that in general it’s going to be bad.

The stakes are higher, so if somebody does get caught, they will get in trouble.”

— Mark Kravitz

POLICE REPORT The police report is a selection of police - related incidences that have directly af fected the Emor y community in the prior week .

Compiled by Brandon Fuhr | Digital Editor brandon.spencer.fuhr@emory,edu

On Sept. 5 at 3:25 a.m., Emory Police Department (EPD) responded to a call regarding an intoxicated individual in front of Cox Hall. When officers met with the individual, he said that he consumed two bottles of vodka. The individual was combative during interactions with officers and was cited for public intoxication

and transported to Emory University Hospital by American Medical Response (AMR). Campus Life was notified.

On Sept. 6 at 3:55 a.m., EPD responded to a call regarding an underage individual under the influence of alcohol at 22 Eagle Row.

Emory Emergency Medical Services (EEMS) and AMR arrived at the Black Student Alliance (BSA) house. When officers and EMTs met with the individual, he appeared unconscious and did not know all of his birth information. After further interaction with EMTs, the individual signed a patient release and was not transported to the

College sophomore Adam Scharf said that the way these violations are handled “should be steadfast and consistent rather than based on an individual arresting officer.” With anything conditional, “a lot of ambiguity [develops] in the mix, [especially considering that] penalties for marijuana use are de-escalating nationwide,” he said.

College junior Mark Kravitz claimed that this change could create a public safety issue.

“I think that in general it’s going to be bad,” Kravitz said. “The stakes are higher, so if somebody does get caught, they will get in trouble.

That’s bad and looks bad for a university.”

Kravitz said that he predicts students will become fearful of feeling targeted by the violation process.

“It raises the stakes for lower amounts of possession, which are characteristic of Emory students,” he said. “It’s almost that less violations are going to get reported, and that’s not safe.”

hospital. Campus Life was notified.

On Sept. 6 at 10:06 a.m., EPD received a call from an individual claiming that he received a call telling him that he had won a $500,000 prize and that he was supposed to pick it up at Emory.

The individual, who lives in the state of Washington, told police that he thought it was a scam. The case has been turned over to an investigator.

On Sept. 6 at 7 p.m., EPD responded to a call regarding a theft in the Dooley’s Depot parking lot. An individual called the police claiming that when he came out of the Depot, the

left rear window of his vehicle was shattered and his backpack was missing. The backpack contained a MacBook valued at $2,000.

The case has been turned over to an investigator.

On Sept. 7 at 4:03 a.m., EPD responded to a call regarding an intoxicated individual at Starvine Parking Deck. A male student was unconscious and appeared to be disoriented and unsteady on his feet when he regained consciousness. He said he had consumed four or five beers.

The individual refused to be treated

by EEMS.

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09.09.15

A new Emory dining experience Lauren Balotin | Contributing Writer lauren.paige.balotin@emory.edu

T

his fall, Emory’s new food service provider, Bon Appétit, introduced dining venues and more fresh, locally sourced ingredients to Emory, but some students lament the increase in prices.

Last year, after committees on both the Atlanta and Oxford campuses spent more than a year sorting through vendors, Emory chose Bon Appétit to replace incumbent Sodexo.

Throughout the summer, Senior Director of Dining David Furhman and Bon Appétit planned dining adjustments across Emory’s campus in anticipation of the new school year.

Furhman believes that the dining services are “generally working very well” and is “pleased with the way Bon Appétit has adapted to the needs of [the Emory] community and the culture of [its] campus.”

The DUC Among the changes that were instituted at the start of the year are more vegan and global options at Dobbs Market of the Dobbs University Center (DUC) and a wider selection at Eagle Convenience and Subs, including products from the Cox Hall Bridge Farmers Market each week.

“People generally say [the DUC] is better now [due to its inclusion of more] local fruits and vegetables,” College sophomore Asher Ades said.

College freshman Kiraney Zhang agreed, noting that the “fresh vegetables and Italian gelato at the farmers market are great” and that she’s “excited that some of the market’s items are now available [at Eagle Convenience and Subs].”

Cox Hall In Cox Hall, more goods are now cooked on site and made from scratch, such as the pizza dough at Beltline Pizza, soups at ITP (Inside the Perimeter) and baked goods at the Green Bean. There are also more diversified menus at Cox, which now includes graband-go express meals as well as ramen noodle bowls, according to Furhman.

“Student response has been overwhelmingly positive,” Furhman wrote in an email to the Wheel. It’s easy to see and taste the improvement in quality, and students have certainly seen and tasted that first hand.”

Cafes Bon Appétit added new venues to purchase coffee on campus.

The additions include a second Highland Bakery in the newly expanded and renovated Atwood Chemistry Building as well as a Kaldi’s Coffee, which serves only 100 percent fair trade and locally roasted coffee in addition to an array of sandwiches, soups, salads and baked goods.

However, some students have expressed concern about the DUC’s replacement of Dunkin’ Donuts with Kaldi’s.

College senior Natalie Levine, for example, acknowledges that Kaldi’s provides healthier food options but that the prices are much too high for the portion sizes.

An 8-ounce Kaldi’s hot chocolate, for instance, costs $3.05, whereas an 8-ounce Dunkin’ Donuts hot chocolate was priced at $1.92.

Likewise, an average of the prices for hot foods from Kaldi’s is approximately $5.96, which is significantly more expensive than that of Dunkin’ Donuts, which is only about $2.70.

“I think that some people definitely like it, but I’m not a huge fan of it,” College junior Neha Bansal said. “I think that it’s slightly overpriced, and it takes a long time.

We PHOTOS

BY JASON OH (LEFT) AND MELISSA DEFRANK (RIGHT) | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

[students] need quick and cheap [food] to get to class.”

Farmers Market The Tuesday Cox Hall Bridge Farmers Market will accept Dooley Dollars this year. In anticipation of more frequent usage of Dooley Dollars, Emory now allows students to add Dooley Dollars to their meal plans throughout the school year, given that they add at least $75. This adjustment will broaden the scope of the five percent discount and tax free privileges associated with each Dooley Dollar transaction, except at food trucks and the Farmers Market, according to Furhman.

“It’s really convenient to get everything from the farmers market when you can use Dooley Dollars,” Zhang said.

Others Furthermore, Bhojanic, which serves Indian tapas, will join the food truck rotation between the Woodruff Physical Education Center, Clairmont Campus and the Freshman Quad from 7 to 11 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each week, and Dooley’s Den at the Depot, previously known as Zaya, will feature an updated menu from previous years.

“They have to-go meals [in Dooley’s Den at the Depot], and many other places on campus now, which I really like,” Ades said.

College sophomore Evan Morgenstern believes that overall, students are significantly more satisfied with dining options this year and Emory made the right vendor selection given the higher quality, more locally-sourced food.

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09.09.15

OPINION Laptops Away?

Mandatory technology bans in classrooms may affect some students’ abilities to effectively learn.

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houlders slump behind a row of open MacBooks. Students’ eyes dart up and down above the Apple logo on their metallic covers. It’s a question with which professors all across campus are grappling. Should they let us use our laptops in class? This seemingly insignificant policy dilemma can have a profound effect on the classroom environment.

The case for both sides is relatively obvious. On the one hand, the temptation for distraction is high when students are allowed to use electronics in class. On the other hand, many students find a handy learning portal in their laptop sidekicks. At the end of the day, every student and every professor has his or her own preference and every classroom environment has its own parameters. We understand a professor’s inclination to completely ban laptop usage in class, but we hope that he or she provides enough wiggle room for students who are legitimately superior learners with their laptops.

Granted, the scientific studies regarding the subject do overwhelmingly lean to the side of pen-and-paper note taking. Cornell University found in 2003 that students performed better on post-lecture quizzes when they put their laptops to the side. Princeton University and University of California, Los Angeles found that imperfect note taking with a pencil actually induced more synthesis, while zombie typing led to transcription without thinking. And we understand that much of an undergraduate education should not be about memorizing facts, but rather about learning how to learn. Sometimes,

ERIK ALEXANDER | EDITOR

Staff Editorial

students ought to trust that their professors who don’t – or do – allow laptops in class have their students’ intellectual development in mind.

But scientific study does not always encapsulate the variation in human experience, and Emory students often understand their learning styles well enough to know whether they learn better with or without their digital assistants. As a middle ground, the determined classroom policy does not have to be one way or the other.

The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) found that laptops can be an effective tool for learning if the faculty prepares for laptop usage rather than simply allowing it. More professors on campus are simply asking that all laptop users sit at the front of the classroom or off to the side. Some permit laptop usage on certain days, perhaps those that are lecture-based, and ban them on others, such as discussion-led sessions. Others don’t allow laptops but permit their usage for students with disabilities, and for those who make a compelling case for their machines and pledge to focus on classroom material.

While we see the students who open up their laptops and are sucked into a browsing marathon, we also need to acknowledge the spectrum of learning styles on this campus.

Emory professors could get the best of both worlds by simply providing some circumstantial leeway for those students itching to use their machines for actual learning purposes. Likewise, Emory students could benefit from giving their professors’ varying teaching styles a chance.

No institution has completely untangled the dynamic between learning and technology. In Emory’s attempts to figure it out, we need to provide academic environments that allow all students to learn at their highest potential but not at the expense of the overall classroom atmosphere.

Secret Society Demands Greek Life Conversation Written by Ducemus Secret Society

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ithout a doubt, Emory takes considerable pride in its Greek Life system. With close to 2,500 members, Greeks comprise over a third of the undergraduate student body. This strong and vibrant community allows students to grow, develop and become leaders on campus. In fact, some of Emory’s most prominent student-led initiatives, from Wonderful Wednesday to TableTalk and the Symposium, stem from Greek student initiatives.

And while the University proudly expresses this to the greater public, recent interactions between Greek chapters and the administration have not been reflective of the respectful partnership that both parties should work to achieve. As many Greek leaders can attest to, conversations at almost every level have been comprised of opposing views on the future of Greek Life. In light of recent incidents, and what many students consider a rapidly transforming Greek system, we are writing to articulate a number of issues facing our Greek community that have spanned across all councils. Our goal is not to dismiss student opinion or to criticize the administration but to ask for action on behalf of the students and

the administration to promote respectful discussion between the two groups that can lead to tangible changes in our Greek community.

The Greek community is not perfect.

Incidents of hazing, sexual assault and racial and socioeconomic divides are often visible. These issues are unacceptable, and they must improve. So while much progress has been made over the past several decades, clearly more needs to be done from both parties regarding these important topics. In this sensitive time of change, one would hope a relationship of trust and support between students and administration would form to address these issues. The solutions should stem from within the organizations and be supported by the administration, rather than forced on the community. For example, increased and more intense daily walkthroughs of Greek housing creates a feeling of mistrust between students and the administration. By their nature, walkthroughs have created the perception that Greeks are being monitored under the highest level of scrutiny and make them uncomfortable in their own homes.

Additionally, the recent application for themed housing has understandably led Greeks to feel as though there is a diminishing space for them on campus. While we are excited for the opportunity to see continued change on the Row, we believe the process should include a thorough

Ducemus is a secret society composed of five seniors. The group will be partnering with the Office of Campus Life to form a Greek Life Task Force in the coming weeks. According to Ducemus, the Task Force will help create conversations and solutions to the current questions that face Greek Life. According to Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Ajay Nair, the group will play an important role in the formation of the Greek Life Task Force. The Emory Wheel could not confirm the identity of those who wrote the editorial but Nair, Assistant Vice President of Development, Alumni Relations, and Parent & Family Programs Bridget Riordan and Assistant Vice President for Community Suzanne Onorato all confirmed that the author or authors of the editorial are members of Ducemus and currently seniors at Emory.

and thoughtful conversation.

Along with conversations regarding housing, we hope to examine the current tactics used during investigations of Greek organizations.

Specifically, students have raised concerns about the definition and treatment of hazing on campus. We would like to address the sourcing of allegations, how they are investigated and resulting sanctions.

A handful of chapters have been removed from campus over the past few years. Unfortunately, removal from campus does not stop or correct these systemic issues, but rather it allows these issues to persist over time without being properly addressed.

The members of Ducemus, a society charged with promoting tradition and vision in the life of the Emory community, would like to introduce a platform on which to address these issues.

The Greek Life Task Force, supported

by Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Ajay Nair and the Assistant Vice President of Community Suzanne

Onorato, will provide the framework for productive conversation leading to tangible change. The Task Force will be comprised of a diverse mix of student leaders from every facet of the Emory community, both Greek and non-Greek, based on merit and passion for the betterment of the community around them. Concerned students can continue to follow the progress and developments of this Task Force through a series of editorials.

Despite the challenges ahead, Ducemus is incredibly excited to help create a new vision for the future of Emory Greek Life. This sentiment is shared between students, alumni and administration.

University President James W. Wagner has expressed optimism about the future of Greek Life at Emory. Like Ducemus, he views Emory’s Greek Life students as an integral part of the greater Emory community and believes a safe framework of learning and respect will be instrumental in the community’s development. With careful collaboration and a clearly defined vision, we can make Emory’s Greek Life a model for universities nationwide.

OPINION

09.09.15

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what does it mean to be educated?

Elena Margarella | College Freshman

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Tampa, Florida | elena.margarella@emory.edu

t Convocation for the Class of 2019, University President James W. Wagner told us baby Eagles that the questions we will encounter in life are just as important, if not more important, than the answers that we find. Serendipity delivered one such question to me on the first day of my “Foundations of American Democracy” course.

The professor, Nicholas Starr, addressed the room: “What is an educated person?”

Nobody answered him. I have been obsessing over what the answer could be ever since. A dictionary definition doesn’t satisfy me. In a world where more than seven billion people live and roam, a dictionary definition tries to blanket the array of human experience and tuck it in at night, obscuring diversity. I want to stay awake, listening to different stories.

This isn’t an article about politics or social issues or solving problems of humanity. This is an article about a question, the one posed by my professor. Let’s see if we can answer it together … or if it’s even answerable.

“The people to talk to about [this question] are the human beings that we have in our intellectual history,” continued Starr. He gives an example: the philosopher Plato and his parable of the cave. The parable tells “a tale of our soul and its education.” Whoever stays in the cave is kept from experiencing the rest of the world. The parable teaches us that the purpose of education is to pull us further out of the cave.

My professor described how we can exit the cave: “First, we reflect on what our opinions are and test them and see if they are valid.”

Ok, Professor Starr, I see what you’re saying. Education calls for selfawareness — awareness both of what we hold to be true and our willingness to test our belief in those truths.

We can’t be close-minded. How else

would we learn anything?

My roommate was shaken when I asked her what she thought it means to be an educated person. After serious contemplation, she said, “An educated person is someone who knows that they still don’t know everything,” something akin to a statement made

by Socrates in Plato’s “Apology.”

Let’s connect her response to Starr’s. There seems to be this parallel between the two that education isn’t a destination. Education isn’t a glass that you fill with knowledge then stop and walk away once it’s full. Education is an unending journey — having a degree or two (or three) doesn’t exempt a person from further education.

You might be reading this and thinking, “Duh, Elena … Education is always happening. We learn from experiences, and thus education is a constant force. We knew that before reading this article.”

Well, since education is always happening, is everyone then considered an educated person?

“For me, an education has less to do with degrees and more to do with one’s ability to engage with different people and different cultures and different perspectives,” said Professor of English G. Michael Gordon-Smith.

“An educated person is someone who is empathetically cosmopolitan.”

His statement seems like an anthem for what Emory strives to be — a place where diversity of thought and culture is not only accepted but celebrated. Students flock to our Decatur home from numerous nooks and crannies across the globe in order to work alongside others who actively engage in and mutually respect the pursuit of knowledge.

Lecturer in Fiction April Ayers Lawson’s answer to our central question goes, “Someone who learns to love seeking wisdom, knowledge and understanding is, to me, someone who is educated.”

Think about that: “…learns to love

seeking…”

In that string of words, I feel like I’ve found another piece to this puzzle. As students, we should question the truths we hold, actively pursue knowledge and embrace diversity, but we should also…

Ready? …enjoy it.

Learn to love the search, the feeling of inquiry. Learn to love discovery and confusion and innovation. Seek it out, whatever it is.

This idea of active learning appears as a common denominator among the responses I received. If you’re not actively learning, you’re not an educated person. You’re merely existing.

Originally I had thought my conclusion would be that education is relative, that it’s different for each individual. Now, I realize that edu-

cation is largely a universal concept.

Looking for answers to my question only raised more questions. I discovered the thrill of the pursuit.

Perhaps I was wrong when I said this article wasn’t about politics or social issues or solving problems of humanity because education, in its universality, touches on all those realms.

Perhaps President Wagner should have included that it’s also important how and why we question and how and why we answer.

We need to understand the implications behind our thoughts and actions in order to perpetuate the process of education.

Perhaps my question will never be truly answered, as I remain open to individual experiences and perceptions. But I can live with that, because I’m an educated person. Are you?

Anna Mayrand | Illustrator

OPINION

09.09.15

11

Millions of Syrians have been displaced since the civil war broke out in 2011. Those who have fled the country seek refuge in countries across the globe.

What has America done to help?

Chappaqua, New York benjamin.perlmutter@emory.edu

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mages of a drowned three-year-old Syrian boy — Aylan Kurdi — washed up on Mediterranean shores rippled across global media last week, throwing the long-neglected international refugee crisis into the spotlight. In the wake of the jarring image of the boy lying face down in the surf, pictures and videos of other refugees streaming across Europe have dominated headlines.

While the American media has finally taken up the plight of Syrian refugees, the United States government has yet to do the same.

The world is in its worst refugee crisis since the end of World War II, with more than 19 million international refugees having fled their home countries. More than four million of these refugees are from war-ravaged Syria, making it the largest current contributor to the global refugee population.

The international response to the refugees streaming from Syria has been mixed. Many of Syria’s neighbors have taken on a tremendous number of the refugees.

Over half of those fleeing Syria have relocated to Turkey.

Lebanon has taken more than 1.2 million refugees, a great burden for a country with a population of just over four million. And last week, Germany announced that it will be accepting 800,000 refugees this year.

The United States has yet to step up as these other countries have. The government has only accepted 1,500 Syrian refugees since the start of civil war in 2011. The Obama administration announced in August that it would take 8,000 refugees in the next year, but this is far short of enough. The International Rescue Committee, an Atlanta based nonprofit organization, has called on the United States to increase the number of Syrian refu-

Erik Alexander | Opinion Editor

gees it takes in the next year to 65,000. Oxfam America and a group of 14 Democratic Senators have called for similar numbers.

The United States has by far the greatest capacity to take in refugees of any country in the world. The Office of Refugee Resettlement at the Department of Health and Human Services orchestrates a vast infrastructure for assimilating refugees run by partnerships with nonprofit-government partnerships. Since 1975, the United States has resettled more than three million refugees — more than any other country in the world — taking in 70,000 in 2013 and 2014.

Yet the United States government has resettled so few Syrian refugees because of concerns that the refugees may be connected to terrorist organizations. Under current policies, refugees are carefully vetted, a process often taking up to 18 months.

In May, Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, head of the Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives, said this in reference to Syrian refugees: “We have no way … to know who these people are, and so I think bringing them in is a serious mistake.”

Kentucky Senator and Presidential candidate Rand Paul was similarly skeptical that Syrian refugees may have terrorist connections in an interview last Thursday with BuzzFeed. Paul noted, “We do have to be careful with this, and we should have a warm and welcoming heart, but we also just can’t accept the whole world to come here.”

While terrorism is certainly a real concern, such claims reek of Islamophobia. There is no reason to assume that these refugees, driven from their homes by war, often at the hands of terrorists, are terrorists

themselves. Justifying the denial of refugee status in the United States to these displaced Syrians on the remote, totally hypothetical possibility that they may have terrorist connections is a denial of the compassion for displaced people that this country was founded upon.

Since the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock fleeing religious persecution in Europe, the United States has provided refuge for the world’s oppressed and displaced.

After World War II, the United States took in more than 650,000 European refugees. We also took in many refugees from countries involved in wars and revolutions since World War II, including many from Cuba, Korea and Iran. These refugee groups have assimilated into American society, becoming some of the most successful ethnic groups in this country.

The United States should afford Syrians the same opportunity.

In the past week, glimmers of hope emerged that the United States will accept more Syrian refugees. President Obama praised Germany’s decision to step up to the moral plate and take refugees in. And now that the media is paying attention to the crisis, the American public may react with compassion. Then again, in this age of nativism and “all lives matter,” such a public response seems less than likely.

But there remains hope: When Donald Trump was asked if the United States should help Europe by accepting some refugees, he responded, “possibly, yes.”

If the man who considers Mexican Americans “criminals, drug dealers and rapists” is decent enough to acknowledge that we should take in more Syrian refugees, hopefully more sensible politicians can reach the same conclusion.

09.09.15

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OPINION Don’t ignore the world around you Jessica Cherner | College Senior Bethesda, Maryland jchern4@emory.edu

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realize I’m stating the obvious when I say that immigration is an issue that affects the entire world, but in light of recent events in the European Union’s border countries, we need to know why it’s such an important issue. In the United States, people from South American countries enter via Mexico. These immigrants are coming to our country mostly for economic purposes; they take jobs that Americans don’t typically want in order to make a living. It may seem very nickel and dime to simplify it that much, but if you Stephen Ryan / IFRC | Flickr apply this same scenario to a place like Europe, a continent that borders countries. many more countries than the Technically they are choosUnited States does, the immi- ing to leave, but their only other gration issue becomes a much option is to stay in the counbigger problem. try that their family has always Migrants from destitute known with the risk of a violent and war-torn countries like death. So, do they really have a Syria, Bangladesh, Myanmar choice? and Tunisia are following the Terrorist groups like the Mexican example by find- Islamic State, Boko Haram and ing better lives for themselves Al Qaeda come and go, but phein highly-developed, peace- nomena such as religious wars ful neighboring countries. and power struggles between However, there are two massive groups occupying the same terdifferences between the immi- ritory have been going on since gration problem in the United the beginning of civilization.

States and that in Europe. But it’s a problem now more The first is that migrants are than ever because now, in comflooding into Europe in mas- parison to hundreds of years sive numbers, and second, these ago when opposing sides killed migrants aren’t just leaving their each other with arrows and axes countries. They are fleeing. before the advent of gunpowder, The issue that our world is they are killing each other with having right now is that these bombs, guns and chemicals. civil wars in the Middle East Violent groups today are the and Northern Africa are creat- real deal because they live in ing a massive displacement of a modern world with modern people who cannot physically weaponry. They seem to be survive if they stay in their home taking responsibility for nearly

every attack on anything relating to the Western Hemisphere and have managed to inspire terror in entire countries. It’s largescale terrorism that’s affecting the entire world.

People are so scared to remain in their home countries that they are willing to risk their lives for the prospect of relocating to Europe. It’s absolutely devastating to these refugees’ families and their home countries, and as long as these wars drag on, there will be no end to this massive humanitarian catastrophe.

It’s only going to escalate.

World Policy Institute, a think tank, has realized the dire need to defeat these groups that instill fear and wreak havoc in countries that used to be peaceful, intellectual and productive. They have acknowledged the urgency to end this crisis in their Counterterrorism Project, but the situation is too large and too intense for a simple solution.

A simple solution doesn’t really

apply to the question of how to deal with all of the war in the world. To start, there must be more global understanding of what’s actually happening in countries around the world.

Then we can reach a solution.

Many of us think that because we are so physically removed from these conflicts, they don’t really affect us. That’s absolutely wrong. These conflicts pertain to us and our privileged lives more than we can fully comprehend. Establishing a plan of action is going to be difficult, no doubt, but if we don’t come up with one, we and future generations will be paying for it forever.

We don’t realize this on our walk from the lodge to the DUC or during our morning workout, but we do when we look at the federal budget of $3.8 trillion, which our tax dollars contribute toward. A massive portion of this budget is appropriated to the military, but since that designated amount is never enough,

the government has to borrow. So a second problem arises: federal deficit, which forces the U.S. government to issue treasury bonds.

Consider the Iraq War for a moment. If that war didn’t happen, where would the trillions of dollars we spent on it go towards?

Something better. The point is that what’s happening in Europe affects us, maybe not in an obvious way that we can see or feel, but it does affect us.

Do we want more countries falling off the map because the governments of these war-torn countries can’t afford to repair the damages?

Do we want people fleeing the only lives they know out of fear of being bombed? Just look at Somalia, a country where wealthy people used to honeymoon because it was so beautiful and romantic.

Google Somalia and you’ll see buildings missing half their façade, burned trees, bullet holes in windows. Somalia can thank its ongoing, decades-long civil war for all of that devastation.

This same mess is happening right now in more countries than we can count on one hand.

It needs to end, because another 500 people shouldn’t drown in the Mediterranean and another 71 shouldn’t suffocate in the back of an 18-wheeler while attempting to seek refuge.

It is up to us to educate ourselves about these issues, to use the privilege of our prestigious education to find a solution to it.

If we don’t, it will never end. The Middle East will look exactly like Somalia, and who knows what Europe might end up looking like.

09.09.15

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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4 out of 4 stars

irector/writer/the idol of every selfidentified “indie” guy Noah Baumbach has been a man on a mission. It seems that this year he’s set out to document and explore the world of millennials.

His first film this year, the disappointing “While We’re Young,” set out to document the world through the eyes of the cynical Generation X. In short, it was Baumbach himself grappling with the idea, and it came off as an indecisive middle-aged man fumbling — which wasn’t to the film’s benefit.

But his second, “Mistress America,” seems to both understand and accept the millennial way of life through the eyes of those living it. It’s a film with craft, a clear focus and clearer ideas. So, what caused such a sea change?

We can directly attribute that to the film’s co-writer and star Greta Gerwig.

“Mistress America,” a writing collaboration between Baumbach and Gerwig, is the story of young Tracy Fishko (Lola Kirke), a writing student in her first semester at college. Her mother (Kathryn Erbe) is getting married to a man whose daughter Brooke (Gerwig) lives in Manhattan. A phone call leads to the two girls meeting up, and the adventure begins in classic screwball tradition, featuring no shortage of the classic Hollywood fast-paced speech, comedy based in relationships and characters crisscrossing from room to room.

The immense quality of this film

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SAMUEL R. BUDNYK | EDITOR JULIA MUNSLOW | ASST. EDITOR

‘Mistress America’ An effortless meditation on the joys of youth

is attributed to Gerwig, who has managed to inject a deep humanity and likeability into Baumbach’s film that shines through.

Gerwig has given him a star who, even in her worst moments, projects a warmth and humor that makes any film with her eminently enjoyable. More than that, she has given him a writing partner who counterbalances and overloads his worst tendencies.

She’s traditionally funny, able to write clever gags and double entendres and actually seems to like her characters.

“It’s a film with craft, a clear focus and clearer ideas.”

“Mistress America” is a film about a writer and the craft of creating characters, both for our fiction and our lives, and it’s an incredibly literary one.

The feeling of “Mistress America” is like that of reading a wonderful book, one recommended by a good friend.

Of course, a good script is nothing without an ability to bring it to life, and the craft is all there.

As with any film that is inherently literary and writing based, it relies on performance.

Fortunately, every actor is up to that task. Gerwig is almost supernaturally capable of inhabiting her capital C character, a woman who is seemingly held together by scotch tape. She’s every

wonderful person you’ve found out is barely keeping By Brandon Wagner | Staff Writer bhwagne@emory.edu it together, and she’s the beating drum driving this indie flick forward.

A lesser actress could have brought this whole thing to a halt; it’s her credit that keeps the film fresh.

But without a grounding presence, Gerwig’s performance could easily spiral off into twee.

That’s why Kirke is here.

Kirke’s Tracy is definitely the thankless role of what ends up being a two-hander film, so it becomes all the more impressive how deeply she fleshes out her role.

Tracy has to be our eyes in a new world, yet still maintains enough personality to make her moments with Gerwig’s Brooke and with her own story work.

Where both of them especially excel are in the screwball scenes. It is particularly shown off in a long scene set inside a Connecticut mansion that involves cuckoldry, a pregnant woman who won’t leave and a wonderful bit of pitching about a restaurant that feels truly and deeply authentic.

The best thing about “Mistress America” — more than the writing, more than the acting, more than the direction — is that all of the preceding comes together so effortlessly.

It’s a film where not a seam shows, like it managed to pluck all of this life from the ether somewhere.

It’s a creative team at their CONTINUE READING ONLINE AT height doing the work they’re WWW.EMORYWHEEL.COM inspired to do.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

September 2, 2015

A&E

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09.09.15

A whirl into the world of

Emory’s Dance Auditions

By Rachel Rosin Contributing Writer rachel.rosin@emory.edu

During the first week of classes at Emory, dancers could be spotted rehearsing for auditions throughout campus.

Walking to the Woodruff P.E. Center (WoodPEC), you would have seen girls running through an AHANA Dance combination on the carpet outside of the WoodPEC dance studio, or you might have seen a group of friends rehearsing for hip-hop group Adrenaline while you were running on the track.

Even if you were heading toward the Goizueta Business School, you might have seen a dancer practicing pirouettes for an Emory Dance Company (EDC) callback.

There is richness in the dance community at Emory, with diversity in the levels and styles of dancers. Currently, there are over 15 student-run dance groups,

annual performance at the featuring dancers of Burlington Road Building. all experiences from When everyone auditioning those who have no dance experience to those who have arrived at the WoodPEC studio, we were each given a number to years of formal training. pin onto our clothes. Once the In the student-run dance auditions began, about 75 of us sat groups, students perform, create, on the marley floor of the studio collaborate, compete and practice and awaited instructions. dances that range in style from Nine student choreographers, contemporary jazz and bhangra to as well as AHANA faculty breakdancing. coordinator and Emory dance As a first year, walking into instructor Tara Shepard Myers, an audition room filled with demonstrated 30-second snippets unfamiliar faces can be, to say of their pieces. After viewing parts the least, intimidating. Despite of each of the pieces, we prepared my own nerves and uncertainty, I to sign up for the dances for which decided to audition for AHANA. we wanted to audition.

AHANA — which stands Two members of the AHANA for African, Hispanic, Asian, executive board taught a short Native American, and all other combination to “Lean On” by artists collective — allows Major Lazer. The girls leading the choreographers to see their combination, College sophomores pieces come to life by auditioning dancers for each of their respective Emily Sullivan and Catherine Messina, pieces. The were friendly, group gives the “Although it was approachable choreographers and expressed space to uncomfortable their rehearse and to audition willingness enables them to go over to see their for a piece the dance as production come together choreographed many times as needed before in a semi-

5, 6, 7, 8...

by a friend, it made the entire audition process easier.”

A&E we continued on.

After waiting outside, AHANA called us in by our numbers to perform the short combination twice for the choreographers.

While I’ve auditioned for two other dance groups, I’ve never auditioned for my peers. Although it was uncomfortable to audition for a piece choreographed by a friend, it made the entire audition process easier. Asking another student what dance count to kick your right leg up on is much less nerve-wracking than asking the same of a professional choreographer.

College freshman Anya Shikhman, who auditioned for AHANA, said she did not necessarily feel that auditioning for students rather than for older, professional teachers relieved any pressure. “[Auditioning for students can be] just as intimidating,” Shikhman said. “They are students, just like us, but they are [still] judging us.”

Many other auditions were held this week for dancers, for both studentrun dance groups and for EDC. College freshman Sylvie Moscovitz auditioned for EDC and E-Motion, Emory’s official dance

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team. Moscovitz explained that while both the auditions for EDC and E-Motion were judged by professional choreographers including three Emory faculty, that E-Motion’s audition was less stressful.

“It was definitely scary being a freshman at both auditions,” Moscovitz said.

“But it felt more happy and relaxed at E-Motion because it was pretty much [only] freshmen auditioning. All of the upperclassmen had [separate] auditions.”

Shikhman, while also anxious, had a different perspective.

“For me, even though I’ve had a lot of dance competition experience and been to a bunch of auditions, it was still intimidating,” Shikhman said. “[It wasn’t] even because I was a freshman, but more because it was the idea and label of it [as] being an official ‘audition.’”

College freshman Jacob Robbins, who auditioned for EDC and has been trained in a range of different dance styles since sixth grade, echoed Shikhman’s sentiments.

“Auditioning for EDC was both nervewracking and exciting,” Robbins said. “I was thrilled to have the opportunity to join a dance company again. While it was pretty similar to auditions I’ve done before, with being given a number and stuff like that, I was intimidated because I’ve never done EDC before and didn’t know what it was going to be like.”

College junior and Adrenaline member Ruchi Ahuja compared auditioning as a first year to auditioning as a junior. “[As a freshman], it was more intimidating because I didn’t come to college with much dance experience,” Ahuja said. “Also, when you go to an

audition, you know it’s going to be [with some] people who already have established relationships with those on the team … you don’t want that to affect the audition process, but [at] some level, it does.”

However, Ahuja’s previous experiences have given her an increased level of confidence today.

“I feel more confident now,” she said.

“It’s different when the people you are auditioning for already know how you move.

They have seen you dance before, so there’s not as much pressure, and it makes things easier.”

Just like almost all new experiences at Emory, auditioning for a dance group as a freshman can be equally as uncomfortable and challenging.

The most difficult part of auditioning for AHANA was simply the uncertainty of it all: it was about being fairly new to the audition process as a whole, while also being new to the school.

However, the excitement, pleasure and fun that seems to come with being a part of dance at Emory makes all of the doubts that come with such new challenges worth it.

Emily Sullivan ‘18 (LEFT PAGE) | Kavelle Gosine ‘18 (BOTTOM LEFT ) James La Russa ‘16 (CENTER) | Sean Chew ‘17 (BOTTOM RIGHT) PHOTOS BY JULIA MUNSLOW | ASST. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

September 2, 2015

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SENSE8 Connects Sci-Fi, Human Experience

With original hits like “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black,” Netflix has proved itself capable of producing quality storytelling. “Sense8,” an ambitious series created by siblings Lana and Andy Wachowski (the minds behind “The Matrix”) and writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski (“Thor”), is undoubtedly the latest show to prove this trend.

“Sense8” follows a diverse ensemble of eight strangers scattered across the globe: there’s a young, idealistic Chicago cop named Will (Brian J. Smith), a transgender woman named Nomi (Jamie Clayton) who lives in San Francisco and was once a prolific hacker, an optimistic bus driver and Jean-Claude Van Damme enthusiast from Nairobi named Capheus (Aml Ameen) and a brilliant South Korean businesswoman who moonlights as a merciless kick boxer named Sun (Doona Bae).

There’s also a closeted gay actor named

Lito (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) who stars in cheesy Mexican action films, a fiercely loyal but explosive German safe-cracker named Wolfgang (Max Riemelt) who comes from a violent family, a talented Indian chemist named Kala (Tina Desai) who doubts her engagement to her boss’s charming son and finally, a talented Icelandic D.J. named Riley (Tuppence Middleton) who has fallen in with a bad crowd in London.

By Rashika Verma Staff Writer rashika.verma@emory.edu

Instead of opening the series with any hints about the show’s premise, the first episode jumps into the middle of things by beginning with a woman in a white shift dress lying on a dirty mattress in the middle of an abandoned building.

Suddenly, there are two men at her side — but are they real or products of a druginduced dream?

The mysterious scene soon leaves the dungy building and flits across the world.

We see eight strangers in eight different cities, all of whom are stopped by a vision

of the same woman in white. However, beyond the ambiguous psychic connection, the strangers seem to have nothing in common.

The audience is left in the dark as well, slowly unraveling the truth behind the strangers’ connections.

While this makes for a couple of slowpaced episodes, the foundation sets the stage for the story ahead.

As the story moves forward, the connection between the eight strangers (called “sensates”) begins to reveal itself in random moments. Riley’s music at a London club wakes Will from his sleep, a German rainstorm has Kala convinced that there will be rain in cloudless Mumbai and Capheus finds himself at an LGBTQ Pride Parade in California while leaving work one night.

The opening episodes are filled with snapshots of each sensate, giving a brief look into his or her life before transitioning to that of another halfway around the world. Without a reliable source to explain their newfound PHOTOS COURTESY OF NETFLIX

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connection, the so-called “cluster” of sensates are left to stumble through their connection, discovering bits of information at a time and piecing it together to see the bigger picture.

As the series progresses, the show’s tagline, “I Am Also A We,” becomes more and more apparent as the sensates begin to interact with one another, learn more about the marvels of their connection and the danger lying in the shadows.

The creators of “Sense8” have accomplished what few others have been able to do. The show proudly proclaims its inclusivity, from its racially and sexually diverse cast to the authentic backdrops that can only come with placing each character in his or her respective home country.

It’s a production sprawling across the globe.

Fitting, as the sensates unique backgrounds reflect the diverse world in which we live.

The creators also take “Sense8” to places that most science-fiction writers avoid —

09.09.2015

confronting issues such as inequality, politics, religion and sexuality. The result is a creation that is both entertaining and thoughtprovoking.

But the real standouts are the actors themselves. They each bring a unique flair to their roles. Jamie Clayton is also transgender like her character Nomi, and navigates her troubled relationship with her deeply prejudiced mother. Doona Bae, who

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plays Sun, brings a gravitas to her role as a businesswoman in an intensely patriarchal society as she struggles to balance her duties as a daughter and sister and her desire to be her own person.

And Max Riemelt brings both a softness and ferocious outrage as Wolfgang as he attempts to navigate his violent family relationships while trying to protect the ones he loves.

The same can be said for each of the other five actors that comprise the cluster and the supporting cast.

They each bring an aspect of humanity to the series, but there is also a thread of sameness throughout: the idea that although we may come from a variety of places and look different, we experience many of the same things.

“Sense8” is a show that’s bound to become a new favorite, and with a second season already under production, the best time to catch up is now.

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EMORY LIFE

HAYLEY SILVERSTEIN | EDITOR

Senior Year: Let’s Buck-et Up

By Fuad Haddad | Contributing Writer fuad.haddad@emory.edu

The clock’s ticking. We’ve got two semesters left in our undergraduate college careers, and there’s still so much we haven’t taken advantage of. Before we graduate and move on to become real adults with real careers, here is a list of 10 things that chronicle some of the many Emory-specific activities that any true Emory student has to do before he or she crosses that stage in May. 10. Swim in the Medical School Fountain You look at it every day on your walk to Clifton for your Biology class. The water looks crystal clear, cascading down the steps. You think to yourself: “I could probably take some awesome “Friends” themed pictures for my Instagram in there.” Yeah, you could, if you go ahead and hop right in.

8. Go to Maggie’s For the 21-plus crowd, there’s no place better to spend money on overpriced alcohol than Emory’s favorite dive bar, nearby Maggie’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill. Since 1994 when an Emory student became a bartender and invited his friends, Maggie’s has grown into an Emory staple. Located conveniently just far enough away from campus to require an Uber, check it out for a one of a kind experience you’ll hopefully remember.

9. Trick-or-Treating at the Lullwater House This Halloween, make your way down to President J. Wag’s gingerbread castle in Lullwater for good treats.

It’s probably one of the only opportunities you’ll have to see inside the house. All the money spent building the place apparently didn’t leave room in the budget for streetlamps, so expect a spooky walk.

Don’t worry — the a cappella groups singing at his house will guide your way.

7. Make a Mandala The Tibetan Buddhist monks studying here start a mandala at the beginning of Tibet Week and extinguish the creation during the final ceremony to show nothing is permanent (just like your college career). A separate mandala is created to encourage student participation. Now is your final chance to learn about your fellow students’ traditions and gain insight into a part of Tibetan Buddhist culture.

6. Write Dooley Poetry Students may come and students may go — out of class, if Dooley allows it. The only way to win this skeleton’s heart is to write him some sweet, tender poetry. If you have not experienced the joy that is dropping the mic and swaggering out of your White Hall 201 class, put on your Shakespeare hat and fire your limericks away before it’s too late. He generally hangs out for a bit afterwards so you can finally get your photo taken with him.

5. Be on a First-Name Basis With Pasta John “Pasta John” resides in his humble abode at Cox Dining Hall. Apart from cooking delicious pasta dishes, he has spent over 15 years working at Emory and always offers a smile, advice or good food. He built such a great reputation among students that he was asked to man his own restaurant in Cox in fall 2014.

4. Visit Oxford During Spirit Week There is no better time to explore Emory’s original home in Oxford, Ga., than during Spirit Week. The Student Activities Committee (SAC) showcases a full week of fun activities, such as a field and spirit day, culminating into their spring concert. In previous years, SAC has invited artists such as T-Pain and Big Sean. It’s not that far away, guys, and you’re not truly getting the Emory experience until you’ve visited both campuses.

3. Attend Diwali Harder to get into than any frat party and with lines longer than Superman at Six Flags, Diwali — hosted by the Indian Cultural Exchange (ICE) — is one of the most coveted events of the year. The “Festival of Lights” earns its title through dance entertainment, ethnic food and an awesome venue, meriting ICE the program of the year.

2. Sleep Over at Woodruff Library Who hasn’t spent a long night at club libs?

Whether it is upcoming tests or a weekend with friends, why not spend a full night with all your bedding and blankets at Woodruff? Study lounges could become pillow forts. That weirdly quiet Matheson Reading Room could become a hide-and-seek battleground. Give a new, positive meaning to the conventional term, “all-nighter” — this one could finally be on your own terms.

1. Leave a Legacy For many of us, whether we like it or not, in nine months’ time we will be crossing that stage. Whether it may be the knowledge you gained, the fruits of your extracurricular activities, the hearts of friends you have touched or even some items on this bucket list, we challenge the senior class to leave a unique legacy so that we may walk away from this university proud to hail the gold and blue.

PHOTOS FROM TOP TO BOTTOM COURTESY OF: LUYAO ZOU, ERIN BAKER, JULIA MUNSLOW, ERIN BAKER AND JASON OH

EMORY LIFE

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Ain’t No College Far Enough

By Chris Henry and Becky Lebeaux | Contributing Writers henryc3@union.edu rebecca.lebeaux@emory.edu

Becky Lebeaux is a College sophomore at Emory and Chris Henry is a College sophomore at Union College in New York. They have been dating for almost two years.

L

ong distance relationships are often synonymous with nasty break ups, frequent jealousy and horrible heartbreak. It can’t be all that bad though, right?

For some, long distance relationships end up like the stigma says: with two people left disappointed and hurt.

However, others still continue to try to stick it out, which seems somewhat counterintuitive. As someone in a long distance relationship, I ask myself sometimes: “Is it worth it?”

Before I convince you not to attempt having a long distance relationship, I should say that long distance gets a bad reputation. In my opinion, a long distance relationship can be rewarding due to its complexity. In the process, you learn not only more about the other individual in the relationship, but yourself as well.

If you’ve found yourself in the predicament of considering a long distance relationship if the dynamic changes, then you must make sure you and the person you’re dating know what you’re getting yourselves into. If before leaving all you say is, “We’ll Skype every moment we have!”, chances are (drum roll please…) it’s probably not going to work out. The issue is, the two people involved need to have a certain set of expectations.

This is one of the best pieces of advice I can give: Let’s say Person A expects chocolates delivered every week, and Person B wants to talk maybe every other week for only two minutes. You don’t have to be an expert to realize that this relationship probably won’t work. Hyperbole aside, it’s important to discuss expectations throughout the year, including making plans to visit each other or setting times in which you’re able to talk.

It doesn’t hurt to discuss where things might go in the future as well, not that you necessarily have to have the names picked out for your two fraternal twins Jack and Jill or whether you’ll go to your mother-in-law’s for the holidays. Make expectations based off of economic realism and physical location. If money is an issue, then it is more likely than not that inperson visits may be scarce.

Can you live without your love scratching your back for six months?

Once you’ve established grounds for what to expect throughout the time apart, you’re probably packing up and heading out. Goodbyes are always difficult, but don’t let them get you down. Try and make the time apart fulfilling and worthwhile to the best of your abilities.

First and foremost, more isn’t always better. You

shouldn’t dedicate all your time on Skype. Devoting too much time to your love may prevent participation in the community at Emory, lack of completion of assigned work or the ability to maintain your health. A relationship is not worth failing out of college or gaining the Freshmen 15.

Positive communication

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY LEILA YAVARI

is necessary. Come up with different ways of enriching your experience apart, either through letters or other personal mementos. For instance, you can both start writing in a journal. Then, each time you see one another, you switch journals.

The sharing of information is intimate and alleviates the pain of being apart while also

promoting reflection and healthy coping methods. Doing so also greatly improves the time you spend together, and makes it worthwhile if you have the opportunity to see each other.

Though you may question it occasionally, like myself, if it’s meant to be, you realize only a moment later that, of course it is worth it.

EMORY LIFE

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Professor Spotlight: Deborah Lipstadt

By Caroline Ciric | Contributing Writer caroline.ciric@emory.edu

Caroline Ciric: When studying 20th century history of Judaism in Europe, topics such as World War II and the Holocaust are inevitable.

But even within those themes, there are endless topics to research. Why did you choose to do your research on topics like Eichmann’s trial and Holocaust denial?

Deborah Lipstadt: In the beginning of History on Trial, I talk about how I got to holocaust denial. It was not something I was particularly interested in. I was asked to work on that by some very prominent professors who thought it would be an important topic to work on. I thought it would it would be a momentary thing, you know, I would write a book on it and finish it, but it obviously took up a very big part of my career and my life. So it was, as we might call it, really, a serendipitous kind of thing, a by chance

event. When I first heard about it, the Holocaust denial, I thought it was ludicrous, you know, that’s really dumb. But if these professors hadn’t asked me to do it, I would never have done it. I have a lot of respect for them and if they said this was important, I said, ‘OK, I’ll do it.’ Write a book on it and I’ll be done with it.

But obviously it took me much longer to write the book than I thought because it’s such a distasteful topic.

Deniers don’t think it happened but they think it should of happened, because they thought the Jews were worthy of being destroyed. I finished the book and then I got sued and I started writing another book on the topic and started becoming one of the “experts” on the topic.

CC: Why did you think Holocaust denial was “dumb”?

DL: Well, I guess it’s not dumb, that’s the wrong word. But I guess it was the equivalent of Flat Earth theory. Would you go write a book on Flat Earth theory? Yeah, you might go to those who believe Flat Earth theory and why do they believe it, but you know, if you were an earth scientist or a geologist or a geographer, would you want to spend your life believing the earth is flat? No, you would just think they were living under a rock.

CC: After you published your book Denying the Holocaust you were sued, the case became one of the biggest lawsuits of the 21st century in your field of study.

COURTESY OF ANN BORDEN

Were you expecting such a big reaction?

DL: I was not expecting it to have the ripples it had at all. I was completely surprised by that. Sometimes I expect certain things based on certain things I’ve written about but I wasn’t expecting this. A lawsuit that was the last thing I was expecting.

CC: How did you interpret such large-scale reactions?

DL: I don’t think [Irving] was just reacting, he was a flaming anti-Semite and a Holocaust denier, but what I was surprised about was that he was going after me because others had written far worse about him. So why was he picking on me? I think it’s because I’m a woman, I’m an American, I’m an identifying Jew and he didn’t think I would fight back. He’s a real misogynist. So, I guess he thought he was home free.

CC: Were you confident at all going into the trial?

DL: Once we were going into the trial, I was pretty confident. We had done such good research, but it took us a long time to get to that point.

When we first began, I thought: what were we going to do?

CC: How does your prominence in your field of work influence your style of teaching?

DL: I try very hard to not make it affect what I’m teaching or what I’m researching. I still would’ve said the things I’m saying anyway, I still believe the same things I would believe in anyway. But what it’s done is it’s given me a voice — no, a hearing, not a voice.

It’s given me a hearing amongst certain people and certain circles where I otherwise wouldn’t have had

a hearing. And that’s important. That gives you a certain responsibility to use it properly.

CC: Why do you think it is important that we study history and why should students take their history classes seriously?

DL: I hope they do take history seriously. I think people don’t know history. Henry Ford said “history is bunk.” But it’s not bunk — it’s important and it shapes our worldview. It shouldn’t determine our worldview, but if we’re talking about the Iran agreement now, you want to know the history of the country. When you talk about immigration, with all the things — with Donald Trump and what he’s brought to the agenda — you want to know: What’s the history? What’s the status? What has happened before? What have we tried before? History is important. It gives you context for understanding.

CC: On the other hand, what do you believe the value and importance of history is, especially in today’s world? How do you hope your teaching will help emphasize this importance?

DL: I hope it’s good and I hope it’s exciting and I hope it gets [students] thinking. I hope it challenges them.

I don’t want to say: ‘Oh, I’m better than that one.’ I just try to make them understand that history is a story of what happened. What can we draw from that story? How can we understand that story, and how does looking at that story shape what we learn, what we see and the decisions we should make? It shouldn’t determine the decisions we make, you have to be careful, it should be one of the elects of input.

EMORY LIFE

09.09.2015

By Hannah Conway | Contributing Writer

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It’s your campus.

It’s your quad.

hannah.conway@emory.edu

his past Sunday, members of the Emory community gathered on the grass for “It’s Your Quad,” an event aimed at redefining the Quad as a communal and social space. With an attempt to bring to life the archetypal quad that frequents college brochures and movies, groups of students lounged on the grass without an agenda or need to be somewhere else.

While the Quad is supposed to serve as an aesthetically definitive and central part of campus where students can relax and socialize, too often its sole purpose has been a walkway rather than a destination. Mindful of this, College juniors Noam Kantor, Tino Mira, Malik Stevenson and Andrew Shifren organized a Facebook event welcoming members of the Emory community to meet new people, initiate a game or even fall asleep.

“The idea is that the Quad is a place that oftentimes we just walk through,”

Kantor said. “So our goal was to bring out as many people as physically possible to bring activation energy to the quad culture.”

Although the Facebook event anticipated that 540 people would attend, there was an estimated attendance of 100 people. The event lasted over three hours and approximately 50 people were in attendance at one time.

“As an Emory student, to go somewhere, there needs to be a really strong incentive,” College sophomore Derek Liu said, who was not in attendance.

The lower than predicted turnout could be, in part, because of the location.

While the Quad is the face of Emory, some students spoke about its inconvenient position on campus.

“It’s not really a central part of campus if you think about where the dorms are,” College sophomore Alex Bedenbaugh said.

Others echoed similar sentiments.

“If it was in Lullwater, we probably would have been there,” College sophomore Charley Mann added.

“The Quad isn’t close to anyone’s dorm.”

For those that were in attendance, the image of the Quad shifted from an empty grass field to a landscape with fun and frolics for those in attendance.

The afternoon was equipped with popsicles and upbeat music, essentially reviving the laid-back spirit of summer on campus. While some students relaxed on the blankets and accomplished reading for classes, others participated in games of frisbee and soccer.

“We normally don’t think of the Quad as a place to have fun, because it’s surrounded by so many academic buildings,” College junior Ali Punjani said.

It’s Your Quad motivated Emory students to socialize for the pure sake

of socializing.

When asked about whether or not there would be another event of this sort, both Kantor and Mira responded affirmatively.

“The thing that attracted me to help out was that it came from a very selfless and authentic place, because we didn’t get anything [material] out of it,” Mira said.

Ultimately, while the turnout for “It’s Your Quad” was lower than anticipated, the event showcased the capacity of Emory students to enjoy each other’s company and experience the Quad in a way that has long been a quintessential symbol of the collegiate experience.

“Considering that 500 people responded on Facebook, I think that more people could have come,” Kantor said. “Obviously a Facebook response doesn’t mean very much, but I think that what it means is that there is a lot of potential. So as a first try it was good, and I’m happy about it.”

PHOTO BY JULIA MUNSLOW | ASST. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

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SPORTS

JACOB DURST | EDITOR

Michael Vienna’s Second Act

New athletic director looks to fill big shoes with big ambitions

By Ryan Smith | Associate Editor ryan.smith@emory.edu Back in the day, a young, 22-year-old Michael Vienna, still working on a master’s degree in sports management at Kent State University, was asked about his career goals. His response was near clairvoyant: “I want to be the director of athletics at a large, Division III university.”

Over three decades later, Vienna, now a grizzled veteran of the Division III ranks, has fulfilled his dream. Vienna was named Emory’s Director of Athletics on May 19 and began duties in August, succeeding the remarkably successful Tim Downes.

This is not a small pair of shoes to fill.

Under Downes, the Eagles finished in the top 10 of the Division III Director’s Cup standings, which measures across-the-board athletic success, in seven of eight years. In the 2014-15 season alone, Emory earned a national championship in women’s swimming and diving and runner-up honors in volleyball and women’s tennis.

Vienna spoke reverentially of the work Downes has done, but he’s no stranger to athletic success himself.

He joins Emory after an impressively long term as athletic director at Division III Salisbury University, where he assumed head duties in 1993 and oversaw a whopping 17 national championships.

He recalls his tenure there with nothing but fondness.

“I think I shocked some people who knew me very well,” he chuckled. “Salisbury was a great place. I love Salisbury University. It was an incredible place for me and my family.”

That he left Salisbury, where the Sea Gulls experienced unprecedented success under his watch, is a testament to his confidence in both himself and the Emory program.

He speaks of Emory warmly and with familiarity, rattling off statistics and figures about the Eagles’ athletic department with such ease that it’s difficult to believe he’s only been in office for a month.

“I haven’t even met everyone in here yet,” he tells me, gesturing outside the large, glass walls of his

It’s a new hurdle, a guard against complacency office.

His enthusiasm for the department he oversees and one of the most difficult jobs in the nation. and the Emory’s campus is infecFor all of Emory’s natural benefits — a large endowment and a tious — when Vienna claims recruit-friendly location, among that Emory is one of the premier universities in the nation, others — few schools in any it’s hard not to believe him. division of competition hold themselves to as stringent aca“Emory has shown that demic and athletic standards. outstanding academics and “I took this job because I athletics don’t have to be wanted a challenge,” Vienmutually exclusive,” he na said. “The challenge is said. to maintain [Emory’s athIn this moment, he letic success] but also to sounds eerily similar to exceed it.” his predecessor.

This is the main He’s yet to decide reason he was on his first shortdrawn to Atlanterm projects, but ta, why he left a he knows his finish job that seemed line. tailor-made for Three decades him to take on after he swore to a new set of become the head challenges. Viof an athletic deenna has boundpartment like the less respect for one he runs now, the Division III Vienna mentioned another one of his model of athletics, citing the fact that goals. athletics can serve “We want to be as a building block known as the single for young studentbest athletics program in the country,” he tells athletes rather than a stream of revenue. me.

“I had my experiences There’s no qualifier in at Division I schools as his words, no “best in Dia young man,” he said. “It vision III,” no “best comwas too much on the busibination of academics and ness side for my liking.” athletics” — simply the best.

Now, after his 22-year stint As I exit his office, Vienna, at Salisbury, he has the air of a a man with a habit of turning rejuvenated man. Emory, in his his goals into reality, immedimind, is the pinnacle of the Diately gets to work.

PHOTO BY JULIA MUNSLOW | vision III model that he adores.

ASST. A&E EDITOR

SPORTS

09.09.2015

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NFL Preview:

Troyetsky’s Picks

By Adam Troyetsky | Staff Writer adam.troyetsky@emory.edu With Labor Day in the rearview window, the future (outside of school of course) holds one thing and one thing only — the return of football. After a brief hiatus last year, I’ll be continuing my NFL pick’em column this year. To all those reading my articles, I would love your feedback or thoughts, as I am unfortunately no expert but merely a huge football enthusiast with strong opinions. Each week, I’ll pick out a few match-ups, two of which will always be the Sunday night game and the Monday night game, as these are the most interesting and usually the most competitive games. Without further ado, let’s begin.

Miami Dolphins at Washington Redskins The Miami Dolphins had an interesting off-season — they lost a lot and also gained a lot. Signing defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, tight end Jordan Cameron and wide receiver Kenny Stills were massive transactions that overshadowed the loss (or retirement) of tight end Charles Clay, wide receiver Mike Wallace and cornerback Cortland Finnegan.

On paper, it seems as if Miami was ready for a new set of faces. One could argue that Stills-Wallace and Cameron-Clay are mirror images of one another. For Washington, despite a ‘good’ off-season highlighted with small, but necessary, moves including adding four expected starters to their defense, the big question stills remains: Will quarterback Robert Griffin III finally show up to the party? With Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill improving each season, I think Miami favored by 3.5 is an understatement; expect a big win for the Dolphins.

Miami 31, Washington 17

Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons After climbing to the top of the NFC South in 2010 and 2012, the Falcons completely collapsed in 2013 and only slightly improved in 2014. Atlanta made some noise this off-season drafting defensive end Vic Beasley and signing linebacker Justin Durant, two core pieces that will hopefully give some strength to a weak defense. However, questions still remain for the Falcons, including the future of their running game.

The Falcons released running backs Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rodgers, leaving the starting job to 2014 fourth-round pick Devonta Freeman. The Eagles “cannonballed into a pool this off-season,” swapping out quarterback Nick Foles with

Sam Bradford as well as adding linebacker Kiko Alonso, running back Demarco Murray and wide receiver Miles Austin. Since starting with the Eagles, Head Coach Chip Kelly has been known for his aggressive style of coaching. Despite losing running back LeSean McCoy, look for the Eagles to open up strong in Atlanta.

Philadelphia 28, Atlanta 14

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys For Cowboys fans around the globe, defensive end Greg Hardy’s suspension can’t end soon enough. Hardy’s signing represents a huge complement to draft picks defensive end Randy Gregory and cornerback Byron Jones in a defense that’s struggled the past two seasons to contain opponents’ passing games. Offensively, the Cowboys will attempt to replace Demarco Murray’s performance with the likes of running backs Darren McFadden and Jo-

seph Randle, depending on who wins out the starting position. Based on the most recent updates from the Cowboys training camp, it looks like the two will split touches, but Randle will be given the first attempt — a smart move judging by McFadden’s declining performance since his one 1,000-yard rushing season back in 2010.

The Giants head into 2015 with a huge question mark regarding pro-bowl defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. While the nightmare that was a July fourth freak accident — in which he lost a finger in a fireworks accident — continues to haunt the Giants, they did go ahead and sign veteran running back Shane Vereen and defensive end Shaun Ellis.

Questions remain about the impact that firstround draft pick offensive tackle Ereck Flowers can make in helping to solidify an offensive line that has been shoddy to say the least. Over the past two seasons, the Giants have allowed 67 sacks. In true Giants and Cowboys fashion, expect a high-scoring and close match-up.

New York 31, Dallas 34

09.09.2015

Stephen Fowler (Executive Digital Editor) – He always acts as though he’s thinking things over a lot, but at this point, we’re not sure if he’s just trying to distract us from the fact that he doesn’t know anything. We don’t really know why he’s running. His Republican Presidential Candidate: Scott Walker.

Rupsha Basu (Executive Editor) – She always goes on and on about how things aren’t really radical enough. She’s always willing to take things an extra step further away from the middle. Her Republican Presidential Candidate: Ted Cruz.

Zak Hudak (Managing Editor) – He’s more of good-looking sidekick than an actual candidate. He likes to think he’s made it to the big time, but at best, he’s cut out for maybe a VP nod, but more likely a role in the Cabinet. His Republican Presidential Candidate: Marco Rubio.

Dustin Slade (Editor-in-Chief) – Now comes time for the villain of our story. He just likes to yell, and doesn’t particularly care what he yells about. He always feels like he’s under attack and will react accordingly. He may seem like he’s in charge for now, but he’s going to fall off a cliff come spring.

His Republican Presidential Candidate: Donald Trump.

Jacob Durst (Sports Editor) – He’s the protagonist of this little novel, and he also has the best chance of winning in the end. He’s taking it easy now, but come time for the primaries, he’ll turn things on and give Trump some trouble. His Republican Presidential Candidate: Jeb Bush.

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Ryan Smith (Associate Editor) – He seems like he’s running every single year. People have been talking about him for a while because of it. He ‘s still running despite the fact his window closed a while ago. His Republican Presidential Candidate: Chris Christie.

NFL

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NFL Storylines to Watch: The Wheel’s Staff Makes Their Picks

JAC

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Pittsburgh @ New England Green Bay @ Chicago Kansas City @ Houston Cleveland @ New York Indianapolis @ Buffalo Miami @ Washington Carolina @ Jacksonville Seattle @ St. Louis New Orleans @ Arizona Detroit @ San Diego Tennessee @ Tampa Bay Cincinatti @ Oakland Baltimore @ Denver New York Giants @ Dallas Philadelphia @ Atlanta Minnesota @ San Francisco

Upcoming Games M SOCCER

W SOCCER

W TENNIS

M&W XC

VOLLEYBALL

Bob Allen Nissan Classic, Sept. 11

Washington & Lee Tournament, Sept. 12

Elon College Tournament, Sept. 11

Furman Classic, Sept. 12

Emory Classic Tournament,

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On Fire Your On Fire correspondent has voted no confidence for Dustin Slade for editor-in-chief.

After spending hours responding to fan mail, your On Fire correspondent has had a restful Labor Day weekend and is ready to give the people what they want: unadulterated and uncensored sports commentary. Here we go.

Rap-a-letes In the past, the athlete-turned-rapper pipeline has lacked talent, flow, good marketing and pretty much everything requisite for a successful rap career. Most athletes who have tried their hands at busting rhymes tend to be former or current NBA players and the occasional professional wrestler, most of whom are so irrelevant that they might as well have embarked on a career in churning butter. I’ll spare you the details, but if you want a taste of what I’m talking about, go listen to B-Ball’s Best Kept Secret, an album full of rapping NBA players, including Shaquille O’Neal, Jason Kidd and Chris Mills (whoever that is).

A few that make the highlight reel for worst athlete rappers ever include Kobe Bryant’s unspeakably bad and self-congratulatory “K.O.B.E.” that leads me to believe Kobe should leave rapping about Kobe to Lil Wayne; Floyd Mayweather’s “Yep,” which demonstrates his ability to count to 10 and not much else; John Cena’s appalling display of machismo set to a weak beat in “My Time Is Now” and Tony Parker’s “Balance Toi,” in which he raps in French dressed like a Pitbull look-alike and towers over everyone in a nightclub.

These days it’s not particularly difficult to launch a rap career so long as you have a few clever lines about strippers and codeine. But these athletes should probably have stuck to what they do best and stayed as far away from a microphone as possible. I will admit, however, that they provide ample entertainment and hearty laughs if you have an hour to kill.

Name Their Political Look-a-like 1. Richard Nixon and Roger Goodell: From Watergate to Deflategate, these two have more in common than first meets the eye, including scandal and morally dubious leadership skills.

2. Sepp Blatter and Antonin Scalia: Try naming two other people who are more unctuous, have worse public images and could be better spokespeople for Rogaine.

Blast From the Past For all those who weren’t sentient for the 1994 U.S. figure skating championships, you may not remember the most outrageous and by far the best catfight of all time: the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding controversy.

3. Adam Silver and James Carville: In addition to being skinny and bald, Rough-around-the-edges Harding was embroiled in a widely publicized these two share J.D.’s and past service to Democratic members of Congress. attack on princess-next-door Kerrigan that involved ex-husbands, injured knees, shattered Olympic dreams and a whole lot of press. There’s not much to say about this since it speaks for itself. As for me, I’m still processing that this incident happened in reality and not in a scene from “Black Swan.” It’s sad that this level of betrayal, pettiness and greed hasn’t reared its ugly head in the glamorous and grueling world of figure skating since then. Let’s all keep Kerrigan and Harding in our prayers and usher in the next generation of catty Olympic hopefuls.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

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What You Missed in College Football

By Andrew Burnside | Contributing Writer andrew.burnside@emory.edu Jim Harbaugh’s First Game at Michigan Jim Harbaugh, one of the most fiery, upbeat and hyped coaches we’ve seen in a long time, finally made his University of Michigan coaching debut against the University of Utah last Thursday.

Harbaugh’s return to Michigan has been one of the most discussed news stories over the course of this past off-season. Some people believe that he will soon become the best coach in college football again — like he arguably was at Stanford University a few years ago — while other people think he’s just a jerk. Either way it’s hard to deny he is a great coach.

Michigan fans love that Harbaugh has returned to his alma mater and believe that he is the key to leading Michigan football back to elite status. However, it looks like Michigan fans will have to wait a little bit longer, as the Wolverines lost to the Utes in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicates. Even after Harbaugh called the Utes “cupcakes” in a press conference leading up to the game, they still struggled and looked like nothing close to an elite football team.

It’s almost impossible to win when your quarterback throws three interceptions (one was a pick six), and that’s a lesson Harbaugh revisited this week. At the end of the day Harbaugh’s return to Michigan and college football as a whole was extremely underwhelming.

a 59-0 thrashing of Wisconsin, which won Ohio State a playoff bid. He then led them all the way to win the national championship.

While there were a lot of question marks leading into the season, the choice was clear Monday night when

Barrett has two more years left and wouldn’t get drafted very high without more playing time, leading him to come back and start after Jones leaves.

Regardless of the controversy, Ohio State is the heavy favorite to repeat as national champions this year.

Northwestern Wildcats Over No. 21 Stanford Cardinals Stanford was supposed to be a sleeper in the PAC-12 Conference this year; however, those hopes are probably gone after a loss to unranked Northwestern University. Stanford came up with almost no offense in a 16-6 loss to the Wildcats.

Texas A&M Aggies over No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils A rough week for the PAC-12 continued with the Texas A&M Aggies cruising to an easy victory over Arizona State 38-17. Texas A&M has a history of upsetting a team week one, getting the Aggies faithful excited and then completely crashing later in the season (just look at last season’s week one win over the University of South Carolina and then their struggles over the course of the season). Either way, this was a big blow for the PAC-12 and a huge win for Texas A&M. Top Five Teams After Week One

Quarterback Decisions: Ohio State Buckeyes The reigning national champion, The Ohio State University, faced an unprecedented decision at PHOTO BY TOMMY GILLIGAN ­­– USA TODAY SPORTS quarterback this year.

One of their quarterbacks, sophomore J.T Barrett, was up for Heisman candidacy last year, after Jones came out to start against Virginia Tech. I betaking over for now wide receiver Braxton Miller, lieve that this was done mostly because Jones is the which ended early with an untimely ankle injury. older player and is bound to leave Ohio State after Junior quarterback Cardale Jones’ first game was this year, whether or not he plays.

Despite only finishing the first week, and a lot can change throughout the season, here are my top five teams after week one.

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1. Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0, 0-0) Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0, 0-0) Baylor Bears (1-0, 0-0) TCU Horned Frogs (1-0, 0-0) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0, 0-0)