Jerk November 2019

November 2019 Vol XVII Issue I Syracuse, New York Your student fee

THE NOVEMBER ISSUE

Jerk could be walkin' down the street, I wouldn't know a thing...

Sorry to this mag.

JM

@jerkmagazine jerkmagazine.net

Sam Berlin EDITOR IN CHIEF

Claire Miller

Vivian Whitney

Lydia Herne

E XECUTIVE EDITOR

MANAGING EDITOR

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

EDITORIAL

DESIGN

SENIOR PRINT EDITOR

Meredith Clark

DESIGNERS

ASST. EDITOR

Emily Kelleher

Li Chi Su

COPY CHIEF FRESHMAN INTERN

Brooke Kato

Zoe Anderson WEB

E XEUTIVE WEB DIRECTOR

Chandler Plante

ASST. WEB EDITOR ASST. WEB EDITOR MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR WEB DESIGNERS

Alexa Dayo

Hayden Ginder

Neha Penmetsa

Tanner Hogan, Dasha Bychkova MULTIMEDIA MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

Eli Schwemler, Aanya Singh, Julia Chou,

Emily Lewis Ashlyn Leen

Adam Howard

ART PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR

Kali Bowden

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Sam Bloom, Emily Lewis,

Ally Walsh ILLUSTRATORS

Jennifer O'Neill-Katz, Katie Mulligan, Dana

Pendergast, Haijingchao Su, Nina Bridges, Lilian Su, Fiona Gaffney PUBLIC REL ATIONS PR DIRECTOR

Tara Gordon

SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR AD DIRECTOR

Alex Rouhandeh

Taylor Connors

CONTRIBUTORS

Berri Wilmore, Lauren Cola, Taylor McCloud, Daasha Palmer-Tveleneva

Patricia Johnson

Melissa Chessher

DEDICATED TO

ADVISER

Through its content, Jerk is dedicated to enhancing insight through communication by providing an informal platform for the freedom of expression. The writing contained within this publication expresses the opinions of the individual writers. The opinions expressed herein are not those of Syracuse University, the Office of Student Activities, the Student Association, or the student body. Additionally, the ideas presented in this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Jerk Editorial Board. Furthermore, Jerk will not be held responsible for the individual opinions expressed within. Submissions, suggestions, and opinions are welcomed and may be printed without contacting the writer. Jerk reserves the right to edit or refuse submissions at the discretion of its editors. Jerk Magazine is published monthly during the Syracuse University academic year. All contents of the publication are copyright 2019 by their respective creators. No content may be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the Jerk Editorial Board.

5

Jerks,

I find little pieces of myself all over this book, from the sociological questions, to the primary colors, to the photo-driven stories, and to that one time we went to the fair and got caught in a monsoon. Made for a great cover though, am I right?

We've all worked so hard to make this book the best it can be, and I cannot thank all of you enough. Thanks for standing by when times got tough and letting me dedicate our "weed-cunt-condom book" to Grandma JJ. Much love,

Sam Berlin

2 - 19

We didn't want to stick to a theme with this issue. We wanted a fresh start, a place to "jerk everyone out of apathy," like our mission statement says. That's how we found ourselves with such an eclectic book this year. Come on a deep dive into the etymology of words with me and Meredith Clark as we explore the words cunt (p. 18) and marijuana (p. 30). Then, take a peak into local Syracuse drag culture in the age of drag race with Berri Wilmore (p. 22). For a breather, settle in for a light read by Vivian Whitney about our favorite escapes: Syracuse flower shops (p. 52).

JERK

I've been doing a lot of breathing lately. I know, crazy! Humans breathing air. How original. But I haven't just been breathing in all of this oxygen, I've been sitting with it.

Remembering that life is large, the world is huge, and there is so much to learn. Maybe this is all an existential crisis or maybe this is just the result of my constant meditation, but either way, I’m taking it all in. I'm grateful that my freshman self found Jerk and that I have this beautiful book to explore the world with. We learned a lot this issue, and we hope you will too.

JERK THIS

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

IN THIS ISSUE SYRACUSE IS BURNING

pg 22

RuPaul’s Drag Race brought drag culture to the mainstream.

Now, local drag scenes are struggling to meet the public’s inflated expectations of femininity. Queens at the Rain Lounge get candid about facing new found criticism.

WEED SPEAK

pg 30

Changing the way we talk about weed could change the way we feel about it too. The term marijuana is racialized, but so is the war on drugs. Is it time to call it cannabis? Or would that be erasing our racist history?

AT ODDS

pg 32

Student gambling is rampant, yet invisible, at Syracuse University. Take a look inside a world where thousands of dollars change hands between bookies and those who risk it all on a game.

7

8

GAWK FASHION

JERK ON THE INTERNET

11

SIGN OF THE TIMES November Horoscopes

12

SEX The Sweet Side of College

16

FRAMED Evelyn Dolan

17

21 PLUS/MINUS The Orange Crate Creamsicle

20

CUNT: IT'S THE NEW BITCH

By Sam Berlin I'M VEGAN AND I HATE VEGANS

By Brooke Kato

CLOSET CASE Stolen Clothing

49

FORM & FUNCITON Recess Boyfriend

50

STRIPPED FADS

SMUT FEATURES 22

SYRACUSE IS BURNING

By Berri Wilmore

28

A GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT

By Chandler Plante

30

WEED SPEAK

By Meredith Clark

NOISE ARTS & CULTURE

32

AT ODDS

By Taylor McCloud

51

OBITCHUARY Friends

34

MY BROTHER TOLD ME I WAS GAY

By Alexa Dayo

52

FLOWERY SPEECH

By Vivian Whitney

58

ROCKY FOUNDATION

By Vivian Whitney

64

AMPLIFIED NONEWFRIENDS.

BITCH OPINIONS 18

48

2 - 19

HIT/BITCH November Events

ALL IS FAIR Fashion Feature

JERK

10

40

JERK THIS

JERK THIS FOB

JERK ON THE INTERNET

NEW MUSIC

MIDTERMS

October 25 King Princess, Rex Orange County, and Cigarettes After Sex are all releasing albums. Sorry, but we won't be participating in anything on this day because we’ll be locked in our rooms listening to SO MUCH new music.

All semester Midterms pretty much take up the entire fall, so get ready to live in Bird, drink a concerning amount of coffee, have an existential crisis, and hate your life.

Remember sylly week? Neither do we.

"QUEER EYE: WE'RE IN JAPAN"

HALLOWEEKEND

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE

November 20 Do your civic duty and maybe actually watch the Primary debates. You’ll probably learn something new about taxes and maybe even start to have faith in our country again. Maybe.

CLAIRO CONCERT November 8 at The Westcott Theatre If you don’t go to Clairo’s concert, do you even go to school here? She’s pretty much the coolest person to ever set foot on the promenade. (Just forget the fact that she's an industry plant.)

THE CRUCIBLE November 8-17 at The Syracuse Stage Keep the witchy vibes rolling into November and learn a little about the Salem witch trials. Honestly, a classy evening at the theater is just what you need after a never-ending Halloweekend where you went out six days in a row.

October 24 - November 2 We can’t wait to drop a ton of money that we didn’t even have in the first place on two weeks’ worth of Halloween costumes that we’ll only wear once!

Turns out there definitely is such a thing as too much Halloween.

BITCH

HIT

November 1 The Fab Five are going international, and we're simply not ready. Grab your tissues and whip out your best french tuck because this season is going to be even better than Antoni's avocado toast.

SYRACUSE HALF-MARATHON

November 10 If you actually enjoy running, exercising, and being in shape then GOOD FOR YOU! But we really don’t need you to rub it in our faces.

FROZEN 2

November 11 Even though spring is supposed to be on the way, the sidewalks in the university neighborhood are still going to be sheets of ice until graduation. No thank you!

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE November 20 Being an informed citizen is great and all, but watching 3 hours of everyone talking about Trump definitely isn’t. We truly would like nothing more than to just move on.

11

SIGN OF THE TIMES:

Maybe we can tell you the future. Or maybe we made these up.

Illustrations by Dani Pendergast

Aries

Taurus

Be wary of making a fool of yourself,

Your romantic life has fallen by the

Listen carefully, Gemini. Go to Sadler

Aries. November is the month of

wayside lately, Taurus. Either you’re

dining hall at 4:00 pm on November

trickery, so look out for situations

being too picky or the pickings are

29th. There will be a man with a top

that make you fall on your face. The

just too slim. Either way, get yourself

hat who will give you a card. The card

Promenade is gonna start getting

out there and spice up your love

says ‘RUN.’ You must choose whether

life with a casual Tinder coffee date.

or not to do it. and you probably will,

Gemini

because Geminis are just soooo go

pumpkin spice lattes!

with the flow, aren’t they?

Cancer Leo Virgo It’s time to tell your friend the one You have a fire within you, Leo. Put Embrace your creativity this month, secret that you’ve been holding

it to the test! Participate in a protest,

back from them. You know, the

fight for our climate, be another

you to see it through. Write the

one that will ruin your friendship

whistleblower to come forward

next great American novel. Start

entirely with no possibility for

against Trump’s illegal doings with

selling your art on Etsy. Just please,

reconciliation? Come on, just spill

Ukraine!

don’t post your shitty rap album to

the beans...pleeeeaaassseee?

government, Leo. We believe in you.

Overthrow

our

entire

Virgo! You have a gift, and we want

Soundcloud. Nobody cares about that.

Libra

Scorpio

Sagittarius

You’re walking a fine line right now,

Happy Scorpio season! This is your

Switch up your skincare routine,

Libra. You love balance, but you

time to shine. Nurture your psychic

Sagittarius; you’re looking greasy!

have none right now. And please, do

abilities.

your

Research the best cleansers and

everyone a favor and start a savings

chakras. Open your third eye. Take

moisturizers for your skin type.

account instead of buying more

a Vinyasa Yoga class at the Barnes

Something tells us you’ve been over-

weed from that one guy in ATO. He’s

Center.

exfoliating.

Capricorn

Aquarius

Pisces

Busy your mind with a puzzle or a board game. You’ve been restless this month, Capricorn.

There’s nothing better than a competitive game of Monopoly or Risk to prove to others just how ambitious and cunning you are.

Be skeptical this month, Aquarius.

Start your day off by binging conspiracy theory videos on Youtube. Finish it by investigating the Illuminati. Something isn’t sitting right with you, and you'll be the one to uncover the secrets of the universe. Or at least one.

You are the best sign of them ALL and SO beautiful and such a good astrologer (the person that wrote these horoscopes is a Pisces).

Meditate.

Align

ripping you off anyway.

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You can’t buy love, but you can buy

JERK

pretty slippery soon...

JERK THIS

NOVEMBER HOROSCOPES

SEX:

THE SWEET SIDE OF COLLEGE Jerk’s candid conversation with a college sugar baby.

Nudes, feet-pics and risky arrangements. words by Sally Rubin illustrations by Katie Mulligan

Sunny Elle, a student at the notoriously prestigious—and even more expensive— Northwestern University, is one of the 2.7 million students currently turning a profit through her side hustle as a sugar baby on Seeking Arrangements, a site where young women offer emotional, and sometimes physical, connections with wealthy older men—sugar daddies— who are willing to pay a pretty penny for their company.

Elle caught up with Jerk to give us her insights into the misconceptions and realities of being a college student living the sweet life.

Jerk Magazine: What made you join Seeking Arrangements?

Sunny Elle: Money! I’m so broke. Also, it’s an easy gas up. That’s it.

JM: And... Sunny Elle?

SE: Elle Woods is my favorite character ever.

JM: What has your experience been like so far?

SE: Pretty okay. Some creepers have made me very uncomfortable. I’ve definitely had a stress

dream about people from the site tracking me down. However, you kind of have all the power as a sugar baby. Saying no or blocking people is easy. I do online arrangements because I haven’t chatted with anyone I think I’d be comfortable meeting up with yet, and so I send pics and stuff, no face necessary, whenever I need money. I paid for party alcohol solely by sending feet pics, which was hilarious.

JM: What are your thoughts on people who think the sugar life is prostitution?

SE: So, if you’re not having sex, it’s definitely not prostitution. However, some sugar daddies will write, “intimacy required for allowance,” literally meaning I’ll only pay you if you hook up, which I mean...is prostitution. Still, go for it if you’re down. If you’re comfortable with that, who the fuck cares—it’s your body! Most daddies genuinely are just lonely weirdos and just actually want someone cute to hang out with. These men want to spoil you and take care of you. It’s their way of getting emotional fulfillment. It really feels like a business, in a weird way. There are creeps and sickos everywhere objectifying me and my body. Might as well make money off of them.

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JERK THIS JERK

2 - 19

JM: The golden question: What kind of money/compensation do you make?

SE: I have two different guys I send pics to right now. One guy pays $10 a pic for sexy pics in undies and stuff. They’re honestly hot pics I’d love to take anyway. Then, this other guy sends me $5 a foot pic, so I’ll send 20 to 30 at a time and get paid that way. I was also sent $250 of VS lingerie. I literally filled a shopping cart, sent the daddy my login info, and he bought it. Shipped it to a P.O. Box for safety.

JM: What’s the weirdest thing a daddy ever asked you?

SE: A guy offered me $500 to do something that... Let’s just say, 'ow.' I said I could do anything else, and he didn’t reply. I felt... ghosted. Sugar daddy kink fetish boys can be fuckboys too, I guess! Leaving me on read.

JM: And last, what would you say to any students looking to get in the sugar game?

SE: Being a sugar baby isn’t easy. It’s not like the glamorous, easy money you may expect.

You gotta work for it and go

through maybe a hundred matches and messages before finding an arrangement that works for you. But persevere, and I promise anyone can find a desperate man willing to jack it to your feet pics so that you can pay for your college alcohol.

That may sound gross, but don’t hate the player, hate the game.

In this economy, you gotta do what you gotta do.

JERK THIS JERK 2 - 19

"Sugar daddy kink fetish boys can be fuckboys too, I guess!"

15

FRAMED:

EVELYN DOLAN VPA JUNIOR

@EVELYNDOLAN_ART

"One word I would use to describe my work is 'challenging.' I always go into a new project trying something I have never done before. For last semester’s final project, I learned how to mess around with clay, how to woodwork, and how to throw and fire ceramics in different ways, and this sculpture is the result.

"The first stage of this sculpture was seeing if I could make a figure out of bowls, because I had never seen it done before. Then, I made a skull-shaped head as an independent project. But when I saw how well the bowls and the head looked together, I knew exactly how to finish the figure. This project was an incredible challenge to see what I’m truly capable of. I still don’t know how it all worked out but, in the end, somehow it didn’t fall apart. It stuck together with my sheer determination and ambition."

To showcase your work in Framed, email jerkmag@gmail.com.

17

21PLUS/MINUS:

JERK THIS

THE ORANGE CRATE CREAMSICLE Alcohol by Volume: 35 percent

Instructions

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2 oz. whipped cream vodka 4 oz. orange soda whipped cream orange slices

JERK

Ingredients

1. Fill a glass with ice.

2. Add whipped cream vodka and orange soda to glass.

3. Stir to combine.

4. Garnish with whipped cream and orange slices.

IT HASN'T BEEN LUCY'S SINCE 2011.

IT'S THE NEW BITCH. Y

ou jokingly say it to your best friend. The c-word. A word so terrible, so raw, so brute with the hard ‘C.’ Not a “see you soon” but a “come quick!” Urgent and piercing on the tongue, followed by a pillow-soft ‘uh’ on the throat. A cutting finish with the curl of the 'n-t' against your gums. The click of offense. Anyone in close earshot makes the necessary pivot to meet eyes with you, the vulgar individual who dared to utter the word.

Cunt. We all know not to say it but aren’t quite sure why.

The first time I heard the word out loud was during my first, and only, Vagina Monologues read. As a freshman, I stood next to my only two friends who forced me to audition the month prior. Scared, I hugged the sheet of paper with my short fact about states where it is illegal to buy a vibrator: Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, and Indiana, in case you were wondering. I walked up to the mic in front of a crowded Hendrick’s Chapel, spoke, and then returned to my spot in the back of the semicircle.

Then, a small girl, maybe 5’3”, strutted up to the mic and began the monologue written by Eve Ensler, the creator of The Vagina Monologues. She roared:

“CUNT. I'VE RECLAIMED IT. CUNT. I REALLY LIKE IT. CUNT, JUST LISTEN TO IT, LISTEN

TO IT... ALWAYS DEPTH, ALWAYS ROUND IN UPPERCASE, CUN, CUN, CUNNING! A JAGGED WICKED ELECTRICAL PULSE.” I shifted in my shoes, uncomfortable. I remember my eyes enlarged as I watched that small-figured girl stand in front of a crowded chapel and exclaim such obscenity.

After that, the word never felt the same in my vocabulary.

Cunt. A reclamation. A word to take back. A challenge I’ve undertaken since that freshman February.

In Great Britain it’s cheeky pub slang.

Scientifically, it means vagina. In ancient Egypt, it was used as a term of respect. But in the United States, the word is so dirty, so foul, that there are laws prohibiting the utterance of the word on broadcast television.

“The word — I’m not going to say the word,” says Roy Gutterman, director of the Tully Center for Free Speech at the Newhouse School, “Is part of George Carlin’s famous seven words you can’t say on broadcasting.”

The issue is not the word cunt. The issue lies in the systemic inequalities set forth by language— by male-dominated power structures. The seven words Gutterman mentioned are part of a standup comedy routine. If you’re curious, the words

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BITCH JERK 2 - 19

The once mysteriously obscene word is now uniting womxn to crush the patriarchy.

words by Sam Berlin illustrations by Haijingchao Su

are shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, say what’s empowering to some women because and tits. Three female-oriented words are what is empowering to one can be the complete included in this list created by a man. Notice cock opposite for another, especially because women is not on the list but cocksucker is, as if the person have different experiences and can be triggered by performing the act is vulgar. What is it about milk the word ‘cunt.’ But I do believe it is empowering glands and areolas that is offensive? And why is for women to choose what they believe is best for cunt more vulgar than dick? them.”

“Patriarchy is a scam—that's why,” says Amy We have to remember that the reclamation Quichiz, a Latinx activist and Syracuse must be intersectional. graduate. “It is not the same thing at all,

“Honor other women. Ask if even if there are more words to offend a it is okay to use that word around them, woman than a man.” and have dialogues on why that word

It’s all about power, about knocking can be inappropriate to some women,” down women to strengthen the egos Quichiz says. of men. That is why the basis of the

It’s not my place to police movement toward reclaiming the who can and cannot use the word cunt. word “cunt” revolves around the idea But what I do propose is a simple rule that my cunt is mine and I should be for this reclamation: if it can be used allowed to do as I please with it. As against you, you are probably cool to Inga Muscio writes in her book, Cunt, reclaim it. If you can use the word to “We women have responsibilities. Here are a few: insult an individual, then probably not. If that’s seizing a vocabulary for ourselves… and taking too confusing and you happen to be a straight, cis this knowledge out into the community.” male, let me make it simple for you. Just don’t say The power does not lie within the word. The it. power of cunt lies in the unity of all women and The word’s history lies in our country’s LGBTQ bodies. systemic patriarchy. When we refuse to allow While the word is empowering for some, it “cunt” to be an insult, then we will have reclaimed isn’t for everyone. According to Quichiz, “I can't it.

“ The word — I'm not going to say the word.”

I'M VEGAN AND I HATE VEGANS The preachy vegan stereotype ruins my veganism. words by Brooke Kato photo by Ally Walsh

E

ver heard that joke about vegans? It goes, “How do you know you’re talking to a vegan?

Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.”

That’s what infuriates me about being vegan, the stereotype. The joke refers to “preachy vegans,” the ones who are always preaching about how their lifestyle is better than yours. They ruin veganism for the rest of us. Every time I tell someone I have a plant-based diet, I’m met with disgust and occasionally anger.

According to a survey of 2,200 Americans conducted by the Morning Consultant, “vegan” is the least appealing term to be applied to food— more than “sugar-free” or “diet”—because people are so put off by the stereotypes of vegans. While I’m just as uncomfortable about meat-eaters as the next vegan, shoving my lifestyle in their faces won’t change their minds.

Some of the most common responses include: “But how do you get your protein?" “I don’t know how you do it! I could never live without meat.”

“But we were born to be carnivores!”

Trust me, I’ve heard it all. People don’t know how to cook for me. They worry about finding a place to go out to eat or wonder why I pursue this kind of lifestyle at all. And I blame the preachy vegans. They make people feel guilty for their consumption of meat, leather goods, or the extra cheese they put on their pasta. They protest on the streets, showing photos and videos of animals being slaughtered and yelling at people who consume animal products. But that’s not a constructive way to change people’s minds. In my humble opinion, you can have your own choices and lifestyle and not turn into a preacher.

Lecturing a non-vegan that greenhouse gas emissions from beef and lamb production are 250 times higher than legumes or a vegan equivalent–according to the Food and Agriculture

Organization of the United Nations or that pork and poultry are 40 times higher, won’t change their mind. The way to change the minds of meat consumers—or at least get them to understand that their habits are harmful to the environment— is for them to try vegan food.

I have friends who insist they must have meat with every meal. Recently, however, I took them to a restaurant with an entirely vegan menu. I insisted they try something they would normally enjoy—like a chicken caesar wrap, except this time, with fried tofu as a substitute. It was something their taste buds were already accustomed to, but with a a twist. Much to their surprise—but none of my own—they liked it and insisted on going back.

Now, they want to try the vegan chicken wings and other items they probably would have never tried before. It’s small steps like these, that can help people see a different way of life as equally valid to their own.

Non-vegans are so infuriated by the way preachy vegans promote their lifestyles that they don’t want to take the time to try vegan food, learn how veganism works, or try to understand the importance of veganism. They see us as a threat to their meat-eating status quo. The loudest voices are the ones heard the most, and in this case, preachy vegans are setting the tone for vegans everywhere.

Forcing someone to hear my veganism war cry is not how change is made. Instead, incorporating more vegan options into menus, like the Impossible Burger, or slowly trying to incorporate a few vegan meals into your recipe book is far more efficient and doesn’t include a condescending lecture.

Take note, preachers.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

2 ½ cups flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 tsp. ground ginger ½ tsp. of salt 1 cup sugar ½ cup brown sugar 2 cups canned pumpkin 1 tsp. vanilla extract ½ cup vegan butter

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat sugar and vegan butter until well blended, then add pumpkin and vanilla extract until smooth. Then, gradually add flour mixture.

Use a tablespoon to scoop the batter onto greased baking sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are crisp. Then cool for a ten minutes and drizzle glaze (if you want it!) before serving.

Quinoa, Kale and Cranberry Stuffed Butternut Squash Ingredients:

Instructions:

2 butternut squash 2 tsp. olive oil ¾ cup quinoa 1 ½ cups vegetable broth 1 bunch of kale 2 garlic cloves 1 tsp. dried oregano ½ tsp. salt ½ tsp. pepper 1 can chickpeas 1 tbsp. orange juice ⅓ cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 425°.

Halve the butternut squash and scoop out the seeds. Put the halves on a baking sheet.

Top with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake 45 minutes until soft and remove from oven.

Set the temperature to 375°.

Place the vegetable broth in a pot and bring to a boil, then add the quinoa. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pot.

Let simmer for 12 minutes until the broth is absorbed into the quinoa, set aside covered pot for 15 minutes, then stir.

In a skillet, heat a teaspoon of olive oil and cook the kale until wilted. Then, add garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant, and add chickpeas, orange juice, cranberries and quinoa and stir together.

Once the squash cools, scoop out enough of the flesh to fit the filling (you can save it for later!). Fill the squash with the quinoa mixture and return the squash to the oven, baking for 10 minutes at 375° until hot.

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Combine 2 cups of powdered sugar, 3 tbsp. of almond milk, 1 tbsp. of vegan butter, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Stir until consistency is thick.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt in a bowl.

JERK

For glaze:

BITCH

Vegan Pumpkin Cookies

21

SYRACUSE IS

BURNING

Local drag culture takes a hit after RuPaul's Drag Race saturates the mainstream. words by Berri Wilmore photos by Sam Berlin

A

cross the street from an old fire station, situated between Kimber’s Auto Repair and a Trac gas station, is the Rain Lounge.

It’s a small cocktail bar located in North Syracuse whose audience is made up of older queer people.

Behind a heavy yellow curtain is a brightly lit changing room, where drag queen Triniti, known off-stage as Anthony Willoghby, 22, stands in front of a large vanity mirror, gluing her eyebrows down.

This is step one of the four-hour getting-ready process that she goes through every Friday as a cast member at the lounge.

On a typical Friday night, host Samantha Vega opens the show and performs a number, followed by a guest performer, and a twenty-minute intermission. After the patrons of the bar have had enough time to smoke a cigarette in the patio area, and order another Sex on the Beach, the girls close the show with one more performance each.

Tonight, Triniti’s first act is a dance to Fergalicious, where she dons a bright orange wig, red latex thigh-high boots, and a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto one piece from Forever 21 that she hand bedazzled. Next up is this week’s special guest, Syracuse University senior, Trevor Miller, stage name Lizagna. She got her start in drag at Syracuse’s 2016 Pride Union drag show, which she won after performing “I Can Hear the Bells,” from the Broadway musical “Hairspray,”

and a grand finale of “Bend and Snap” from “Legally Blonde.”

With the ever-growing popularity in drag, one might assume that drag queens across the country would be excited and appreciative about the progress that the show has made in terms of representation for the community — I certainly assumed so. But as Lizagna explains, the rising popularization of drag is a doubleedged sword. “[RuPaul’s Drag Race] has made drag more accessible. We went from being these, quoteunquote, ‘faggots in the dark’ who did things underground, and now we’re literally accepted in daylight,” Miller says while cutting up an orange for his routine. “At the same time, there’s still a lot of people who are hypercritical of the drag community.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race is a reality show where

25

JERK 2 - 19

after Justin Bieber —an artist she loved when she was younger. As she likes to put it, “At a certain point, I realized I wanted to be him [Justin Bieber], instead of be on top of him.” For Dinnhaupt, drag is appealing because it gives her the opportunity to lip-sync, dance, and express a more masculine side of herself. As accepting as she felt the drag scene on campus is, Dinnhaupt still, ironically, felt the pressure to conform. “A lot of acts just do it at school. People who do it as a career are more intense,” she says. “If you aren’t in it and willing to immerse, and do the make-up and contouring, you aren’t taken as seriously.”

For those, like Triniti, who are fully immersed in drag culture, the gravity of these conformist expectations weigh most heavily on their

SMUT

drag icon, RuPaul, searches for “America’s next drag superstar.” Contestants are judged on their “Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent,” and the winners often go on to seal lucrative brand deals, Netflix specials, and T.V. shows. The show’s fanbase has been steadily growing in size and enthusiasm with every passing season, and with it, so does drag's impact on non-queer culture. The beauty community was revolutionized with makeup practices borrowed from drag, such as full-face contouring, stacking eyelashes, and baking. In pop culture, phrases like “tea,” “snatched,” “slay,” “and I oop,” and “yaaas bitch!” have become part of the public vocabulary, despite the fact that black women and drag queens created and utilized the terms. While Drag Race piqued the interest of a more general audience, it also invited spectators with high expectations of participants in drag.

In the eyes of the mainstream, The Ru Girls set the standard for what makes a good queen. A wig laid to the gods, sculpted cheekbones, and perfectly set brows are seemingly mandatory for queens who want to really break out into the drag scene.

Whose performance is the most sickening? Who can hit a death drop on beat? Whose lace front is the most melted?

Intentional or not, RuPaul unilaterally created a mandatory uniform of what people assume drag should look like.

The problem here is that drag is not ‘one size fits all.’ MK Dinnhaupt, an SU senior, took part in Pride Union’s 2017 drag show after Lizagna encouraged her to do so. Dinnhaupt uses drag as a means of gender expression. Her drag persona is a teenage boy named Otto Boddy, who she modeled

shoulders. “Every day, there’s a new drag queen,” Triniti remarks. “I feel like [RuPaul’s Drag Race] ruined drag culture.” This sentiment is shared by Season 7 Drag Race contestant and mastermind behind “And I oop!,” Jasmine Masters. In a highly controversial 2016 video, Masters attests, “RuPaul’s Drag Race has fucked up drag. Bottom line. Cut and dry.” She continues, “You’ll be watching YouTube and drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race, and you think that’s the only drag that there is. Well I’m sorry, sweetheart, that is not.”

Masters, who has been doing drag for 22 years, complains about the new standards set by the show: “All y’all look the damn same. Y’all all got the same fuckin face.” As it were, everyone seems to be feeling the heat from drag race — from small town queens, to those famous queens who’ve been in the game longer than some of the contestants on Drag Race have been alive. Despite drag having its roots in self-acceptance and gender expression, queens still face the societal pressures of what many assume women should look like.

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Queens like Lizagna are working to challenge those ideals. “The type of comedy that my drag derives from is like these, thick, fat men in wigs who are unafraid to just be unabashedly themselves,” she says, referencing 80’s queen Divine. “I’ve been here since day one to be like: I’m fat, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. And I want to keep that in drag.”

Regardless of the expectations set by RuPaul’s drag race, that spirit of individuality and expression is still alive and well on the Rain

Lounge stage. That Friday night, Triniti gave a breath-taking performance, her bejewelled Hot Cheeto one-piece glistened under the disco balls that hang from the ceiling. While Lizagna, whose performance included dressing as Kim Davis and grapefruiting a cucumber, spiced up the show. If RuPaul killed local drag, these queens are breathing new life back into it, unwilling to let this vibrant culture fall through the cracks of commodification.

A GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT It’s understood that birth control is not a man’s responsibility. Who the fuck decided that?

words by Chandler Plante illustrations by Haijingchao Su

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ometimes it feels like the world’s most fucked up game. That quick race between safety and hookup; between the soulmate you definitely found in the Crate’s backlot and that “Oh shit, we need a condom” moment. Some days the game feels rigged, like your partner is deliberately hoping you won’t mention it. Other nights—those “Do we really need one?” nights— it’s like watching your opponent cheat. To be clear, in both these scenarios, there is a winner and a loser, but for some reason, the same people keep coming out on top.

For many women, family planning has been taught since the first day of that god-awful middle school health class. The daily alarm with the ultrainconspicuous pill emoji that always seems to go off at the worst times. The stress-inducing trips to the pharmacy where the employees cannot seem to stop themselves from asking, “Are you here for your BIRTH CONTROL?” at the top of their lungs every goddamn time. And, of course, the mornings where you realize you failed. You forgot. You were irresponsible. You lost and it’s your fault.

As much as we would like to pretend that everyone is doing their part to promote safe sex, the bottom line is that in traditional heteronormative relationships, we keep placing the ultimate responsibility on women. For men, not using protection is a score, a privilege, and at the very worst, a faint regret that dissolves in a matter of minutes.

According to a study conducted by Bustle Trends Group, 54 percent of women aged 1834 want their partners to be more involved in protecting against pregnancy and STDs. 54

percent. Couple that with only one percent of respondents saying that birth control was their partner’s responsibility. The trend is clear. Men are simply not doing their part.

Some men, like Tyler Glasser, a recent graduate from the University of Arizona, say more male birth control options could be what's needed to take some of the responsibility off women’s shoulders.

“If there was something similar to taking a pill every day for men, I think that I would definitely be on that because I have no interest in having kids right now,” says Glasser.

As idealistic as this idea may seem, there have been efforts to produce a male birth control like the one Glasser describes. An oral contraceptive called DMAU was found to reduce the hormones in charge of sperm production with few major consequences, according to a study conducted by Arthi Thirumalai et. al. The Cut, however, reports that the study was stopped in its early stages after a safety-review board determined that the risks associated with the new drug were too great. You know, because birth control related risks are only acceptable if women are the ones experiencing them.

Even if more male birth control was to be developed, would men actually use it? According

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Control and Prevention, only 65 percent of men regularly use condoms. With so much responsibility placed on women and the increased pleasure that comes with not using a condom, it’s no wonder men don’t consider the more serious consequences of unprotected sex.

Another reason men don't take an active enough role when it comes to birth control can be attributed to a lack of sex education. According to Carolyn Berlin, Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-C), not all practitioners are taught how to have a dialogue about birth control with young patients. “They really don’t teach it,” Berlin says.

“All providers should, but I don’t think they’re all comfortable.”

Max and Zach agree that there’s a lot of confusion surrounding birth control and how it actually works. For instance, both boys agree that their bigger concern is contracting an STD, but since it’s more enjoyable not to use a condom, they tend to trust that their partners are being honest about their sexual health. They also believe that birth control is almost 100 percent effective at preventing pregnancy, despite not being able to recall where they learned that information.

“I’ve never even read about it once. I’ve just believed it… I believe that birth control pills do their job,” says Zach.

Inspiring a real male conscientiousness in regards to family planning takes two things. One, a realization that pregnancy and STDs affect men as well, and two, better education on how to have safer sex. If you’re a man, understand that family planning is your job too. Take responsibility even if your partner won’t, the way women have for years. Ask questions, get tested, and use condoms to reduce the risk of pregnancy and protect yourself against STDs. Let’s start giving a fuck about how we fuck, and maybe we can end the game altogether.

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to Skyler Hall, an ambassador for Syracuse University’s Safe Sex Express, the answer is no. Hall says it has a lot to do with men still not accepting responsibility for family planning. “Men think women should take birth control for them,” she says. “It’s very self-centered. Me, me, me. ‘Take it so I can have raw sex,’ not so you can avoid—we BOTH can avoid—an unwanted pregnancy.”

Glasser also points out that this disparity in responsibility has a lot to do with how we teach women and men about sex. “Growing up, women are taught that they need to be a lot more responsible with their bodies than men are…because society views it as the woman’s responsibility,” Glasser says.

I tell him he sounds woke. He says, “Honestly, I kind of am.”

I ask Glasser if he thinks most men would wear a condom out of genuine concern for things like STDs and unwanted pregnancies…even if they were told they didn’t have to. He laughs and says no. “I would say for most of the male community, that’s more of a free pass. Like, ‘Oh, I’m not responsible if anything happens—she told me not to wear a condom so I’m not going to wear one, and whatever repercussions that brings, it’s on her.’”

This sentiment is furthered

by Syracuse University senior Max, who says he does everything he can to avoid getting his partners pregnant, with his go-to tactic being the pull-out method. His friend Zach agrees that condoms are not his preferred form of birth control. “I honestly do not take a lot of measures. Like, if a girl tells me she’s on birth control, I’m usually comfortable not wearing a condom,” says Zach. I ask him why, and Max chimes in. “Because condoms are uncomfortable as fuck!”

To clarify, this isn’t an uncommon opinion.

Based on a study from the Centers for Disease

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“ It's very self-centered. Me, me, me.

'Take it so I can have raw sex.'”

As more states begin to legalize marijuana, some people are opting to use the word “cannabis” to refer to the drug, but doing so could potentially erase our nation’s racist history with the word “marijuana.” words by Meredith Clark illustrations by Nina Bridges

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t’s a little after 4:20 pm, and the hazy smoke in the dimly-lit basement reaches the ceiling. The poorly-rolled joint makes its way around the circle and back to you. As you attempt, and fail, at blowing rings from your mouth, your friend says, “Hey, man, pass me that cannabis sativa.”

It’s been known as pot, weed, grass, ganga, dope, reefer, and mary jane. But no other word is more commonly used to refer to cannabis as “marijuana.” The word “marijuana,” or “marihuana,” stems from Mexican-Spanish origin. But it wasn’t until the early 19th century that it entered American lexicon. Today, it’s become a buzz word for presidential debates, senate hearings, and federal law enforcement officials. But, it might be possible that our nation’s federal policing of such a widely used—yet tabooed—word is actually rooted in blatant xenophobia and miseducation.

From 1910 to 1920, the United States saw tens of thousands of Mexicans immigrating to the southwest in the wake of the Mexican Civil War, and with them they brought this new term for cannabis, “marijuana.” This influx of immigration created a period of increased anti-Mexican immigrant sentiment among white Americans, most notably by America’s resident xenophobe and the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics at the time, Harry Anslinger. Anslinger’s propaganda inspired films and articles with racist narratives, like those who smoke marijuana are of an “inferior race” and are more likely to engage in sexual promiscuity and violence. His administration inspired anti-marijuana films like Reefer Madness and Devil’s Harvest.

By adopting the Spanish word “marijuana” in his propaganda campaigns rather than using the already widely-used “cannabis,” Anslinger and other prohibition activists of the early to mid-

19th century intentionally created connections between the use of the term “marijuana” in relation to brown and black bodies, to dangerous (and fabricated) side effects of the drug.

Marijuana is now legal for recreational use in 11 states. Medical marijuana is legal in 33 states.

This past summer, New York state legislators voted to decriminalize the possession of marijuana. And according to a 2018 report by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics, the legal marijuana industry is projected to generate $32 billion by 2022. As the number of states that legalize marijuana increases, the debate on the word “marijuana” and its racially-charged etymology becomes more and more prevalent.

By adjusting our language, are we admitting to and reconciling with white America’s xenophobic past (as if it is even in the past), or does switching out “marijuana” for “cannabis” erase our problematic history and the relationships that we have created between drug use and racial profiling? Violet Cavendish—communications coordinator for The Marijuana Policy Project, a non-profit marijuana advocacy organization— agrees with the latter.

“Marijuana prohibition has historically targeted people of color and minorities and disproportionately affected them,” says Cavendish.

“But I think it’s important to acknowledge this and not completely erase the term marijuana, because then doing so erases the history behind it and it’s easier to move on without understanding that policies have been using this word to target minorities.”

Some argue that changing our weed speak to “cannabis” offers up its own set of problems.

Swedish botanist Carl Linneaus was the first to identify “cannabis sativa” in his 1753 classification.

Linneaus was also problematic as he biologically classified humans by their race in his 1767 publication, Systema Naturae.

“He divided humanity into four racial subgroups and ranked them according to which he thought were better than others,” says Emily Dufton, author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America. “So, to assume that ‘cannabis’ is a preferable term because it doesn’t have racial overtones, I think, denies the fact that there’s this Swedish guy who actually has those exact same feelings.”

Others argue that changing our language to “cannabis” isn’t even scientifically correct.

“Cannabis” or “cannabis sativa L.” refers to the entire plant and it consists of different strains.

One strain, hemp, refers to the non-psychoactive variety of the plant. Hemp is used to make commercial and industrial products, like rope, clothing, shoes, food, paper, or natural pain relief remedies. Marijuana refers to the psychoactive strain of cannabis that contains THC. In other words, it’s what gets you high.

Not only is the recent push to use “cannabis” instead of “marijuana” scientifically inaccurate,

it’s also often considered a capitalist ploy by companies that exploit the legal marijuana industry for profit. “The legal cannabis industry is still primarily white men who are gaining the most, financially, from this legal system,” says Dufton.

“So, I have my skepticism, I would say, about really embracing the term ‘cannabis’ as opposed to anything else, because it feels so much like a marketing effort to me.”

Will teens smoking in basements ever refer to a joint as “cannabis sativa?” Probably not. But, it’s important to recognize America’s complex and xenophobic history with the word “marijuana,” and let the communities that have been affected by such policing decide whether or not “marijuana” is a racist term.

AT ODDS

A look inside the silent, adrenaline-filled, underground sports gambling scene at Syracuse University.

words by Taylor McCloud illustration by Jenny Katz

***names have been changed for anonymity***

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hen Clemson University’s Aamir Simms made a layup just before halftime, fans inside Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome let out a collective groan. It was the Orange’s final home basketball game of the season and they had just gone down 25–22. Simms, who was fouled on the play, missed his free throw attempt, and both teams retreated to their locker rooms as the final seconds of the first half ticked off the clock.

Tyler, a senior at SU, slumped into his seat, head in hands. He was disappointed his school was losing on its home court, sure, but for Tyler, there was more than pride on the line — there was money.

Before the game, Tyler bet $40 on the first half under. For Tyler to win his bet, the two teams’ combined score at halftime would have had to be less than 46.5 points. Oddsmakers had set the first half over/under at 46.5 points. Simms’ layup pushed the combined score to 47 and Tyler lost $40. And while that $40 wasn’t the end of his world, it was money blown. Tyler saw no return on investment. He gambled and he lost.

But he doesn’t stand, or slump, alone.

Illegal sports gambling is rampant at SU. Not in the form of classic fantasy sports or daily fantasy sports, but in the most traditional, most Las Vegas form there is. Wagering both cash and online currency, students gamble on sports games and matches using student bookies, off-campus

bookies, online bookies, and even friends who gamble to place their bets. Which part of the games and matches (point spread, moneyline, over/under, etc.) students gamble on varies, but according to Tyler, tens, hundreds, and even thousands of dollars exchange hands and mobile devices every single day — all without being detected.

Michael, also a senior at SU, says he gambles every day of the week. He is the epitome of a student gambler, only he fancies himself more level-headed than the rest. Betting $30 per game, Michael remains conscious of the money he can and cannot spend. “$30 doesn’t sound like a lot, until you lose five bets in a row and $30 turns into $150. That can happen fast. That can happen really fast,” he says.

Michael’s $30 limit is not universal, however.

He’s seen students put more than a thousand dollars on a game. Tyler has, too. But the two guessed there’s help coming from home.

“Money isn’t really a concern for them,” Tyler says. “They have a disposable income in terms of their parents giving them money. So, let’s say they go down a shit ton of money for the week, they still have their parents' money.”

“I see kids bet $1,000. I know they didn’t earn that $1,000 because anyone who’s worked a job and made $1,000 isn’t willing to risk $1,000 on a college basketball game,” Michael says.

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"You put a wager on it, you put some money on it, it automatically makes that game more exciting."

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With different strategies came varied levels of success. In high school, Tyler bought a pair of Air Jordans with the money from a bet he’d won.

When Michael began gambling, he won nine bets He’s never wagered money he didn’t earn, and in a row and could buy an Xbox One, two games, he only bets on games his favorite teams aren’t and a controller with his winnings. At the very least, playing in. Michael has no problem finding the winners end up with cash in their pockets. Losers, energy to root for his favorite teams. It’s the other on the other hand, have to pay their bookie.

Student bookies operate out of fraternity games that need that extra jolt where he can houses, dorm rooms, other schools, and pretty appreciate the thrill that comes with gambling.

“When you flip on a random game like Maryland much anywhere there’s an internet connection. versus Belmont or a hockey game, there’s really no The gambling week begins on Tuesday and ends organic interest,” he says. “You put a wager on it, on Monday. When Monday comes, bookies expect to be paid. But their you put some money on it, clients, mostly students, aren’t it automatically makes that always able to pay up. Some game incredibly exciting.” bookies, Tyler says, are lenient According to both Tyler and will give more time to collect and Michael, this excitement the money. Others won’t. But comes from the fact that regardless of which direction the there’s no winning formula. money is supposed to flow, there Tyler says he makes decisions are stoppages. Clients can’t pay. based on three criteria: Bookies can’t pay. And because team trends, matchups, and sports gambling is illegal, there’s odds set by the Las Vegas no authority to ensure the money Sportsbook. But both he and Michael say sports gambling really is a crapshoot. ends up in the right hands.

“If [a bookie] screws me out of money, who “Streaks in gambling are much like a casino where you have individual odds every time, so are you going to complain to?” says Tyler. There’s getting hot is not a thing,” Michael says. As a result, nothing you can do.” Nothing—except keep quiet.

The sports gambling scene at SU remains gamblers have to use different decision-making underground despite hundreds and thousands strategies.

Last fall, Tyler religiously bet against the Green of dollars moving from student to student — an Bay Packers, an underperforming team that was impressive feat in an age where news spreads often favored because of its quarterback, Aaron faster than wildfire. Keeping this world low key is Rodgers. Meanwhile, Michael allows himself to simple, at least according to Michael. “Kids don’t bet with his heart, but sometimes he fades or bets talk about shit.” against people he believes are terrible betters.

MY BROTHER TOLD ME I WAS GAY I came out to my brother and my best friend in the same night—at Disney World. words by Alexa Dayo photos by Sam Berlin

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he night was fading, and so was our sobriety.

The vodka-cran count was up to four each, and the rest of our family had gone to bed hours ago. But my brother, Hunter, and I were still up, talking, laughing, and drinking too much.

We were on our annual family vacation at Disney World (yes, we’re those people), and we had stayed out until the resort bars had all closed. It was nearing midnight. We wandered around the resort until we found a table and a couple chairs to sit down at. That’s when my brother turned to me and asked, “Alexa, do you like girls?”

My heart dropped. I knew I did, but I wasn’t ready to reveal that—to anyone. I didn’t want to be gay. It wasn’t part of my plan. I was already pretty foggy thanks to the drinks, but that question sobered me up—fast. My heart was pounding in my chest. I just kept replaying Hunter’s words in my mind, over and over again. Sure, I thought girls were pretty, but who doesn’t? I had had one boyfriend in high school, so I figured I was straight enough. But in that moment, I couldn’t stop thinking of her. My best friend, Rachel.

Hunter watched from across the table, waiting for me to reply to the question that he already knew the answer to. But I was set on keeping my secret hidden. “What’d you say?” I said with a quivering voice. Looking back now, my incessant knucklecracking and lip biting might have given it away.

Hunter, of course, saw right through my facade and said, “I want you to know there is nothing wrong with liking them. I do too!” Hunter’s tone was gentle. He was trying to make light of the difficult conversation. Never would I have thought that I would be coming out, let alone that my big brother would do it for me.

The all too familiar feeling of nausea formed in my stomach, and I felt like I was going to pass

out. My mind was all over the place and my body began to tense up. The pressure built first in my throat then moved up to my head and behind my eyes. “I’m so scared,” was all I could get out before I burst into tears. Hunter rushed over to me and enveloped me in his arms. He held me in one of those hugs that means everything without saying anything.

Afterwards we found a 24-hour cafe and got Mickey Mouse pastries—as one does in times of emotional trauma—and sat down for a conversation that would bring even more surprises. It started off as many coming-out talks do: with lots of emotions. I was crying profusely, those big, deep, sobs that come from the very core of your being. Hunter was consoling me as best as he could, going on about how I was the same Alexa.

Nothing had changed, right?

And then, Hunter encouraged my drunk and emotionally-wrecked self to call my best friend and come out…to her. I told him he was crazy, but I still took out my phone and began typing.

I sent one of those “I need to talk to you about something” texts, and my phone immediately lit up. Her face appeared on my screen—she was FaceTiming me. My brother embraced me.

“Whatever happens,” he said, “I got your back,” and he walked away, leaving me to profess my love to a girl.

I saw her in a blurred light, a combination of my tears and tipsiness. Those bright eyes I loved shone through all the fog and made my heart beat a little faster. But once my vision cleared, all I saw was a face of concern. “What’s going on, Alexa?” she asked with concern. I was lost, unable to verbalize the thoughts that were so clear a minute ago. I wanted to blame the call on drunkenness. My confidence was dropping. What if she didn’t feel the same way, and I lost my best friend? I couldn’t

"I have feelings for you that friends

aren't supposed

to have.�

lose her. I tried to say it, to get out those words, but I couldn't. It felt like hours that we were stuck in an endless cycle of me repeating, “I don’t want this to change anything between us,” and Rachel insisting I tell her what was going on. Then, I realized it would hurt just as badly to go on being just friends.

I would to lose the friendship altogether. So I took a deep breath, closed my eyes to avoid seeing her reaction, and I said, “Rachel, I have feelings for you that friends aren’t supposed to have.”

She was quiet for a few seconds, and as I opened my eyes to assess the damage, she replied with a small smile, “I knew it.” I exhaled a sigh of relief. It

could've been worse. The rest of the conversation confirmed what I had only hoped to be true, that she had the same feelings for me.

We spent the rest of the night talking over FaceTime from 3,000 miles away. The longer we talked, the more I felt the heaviness in my throat dissipate and the nausea vanish. Rachel and I ended our conversation just as the first rays of sunlight emerged from the horizon over the most magical place in the world.

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models:

Ife Hey Dudley, Austin Tagnani, Niya Klayman, Nick Della Sala, Aiden Taylor, Caroline Francis

styling:

Aanya Singh, Nick Della Sala A'ngelee Clause Sam Berlin

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makeup: photos:

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All is fair

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CLOSET CASE:

STOLEN CLOTHING photos by Kali Bowden

Kayla King: I’ve only ever stolen earrings.

Nothing else. I’m not entirely sure what it is, but something about paying $30 for two small pieces of plastic that are probably going to fall out anyway just doesn’t seem worth it for me. On top of that, the idea that someone thinks they can make me pay $30, brings out the stubborn side of me. I guess it all started because I was trying to prove some kind of point.

Jeremy Jung: So this one I found from the Fourth of July at this party that I was DJing in Palos Verdes, California. And I had sex with this girl, right? In the movie theater. It was a really nice house.

Right after I fucked, nobody was there, everybody was gone, so I grabbed this. I’m pretty sure I know whose it is but I took it. I don’t know if that’s stealing…

Meredith Clark: I took this Nike windbreaker from the lost and found of my high school.

It immediately stood out to me among the piles of lost Lululemon, American Eagle, and Vineyard Vines items. No one ever wore anything this cool at my school, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

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RECESS BOYFRIEND

Thrifted button-down shirt: There's nothing better than walking down Westcott with a Recess latte on a brisk fall morning, then pillaging Salvation Army for clothes that an impoverished family could’ve used instead.

Fjallraven backpack: I got it before it was trendy, ok?

Tortoiseshell blue-light glasses: To wear when I’m designing my folk-rock band’s t-shirts on Adobe Illustrator and my tender eyes ache from the glare.

The Stranger by Albert Camus: You know, the classic existentialist novel, where absolutely nothing of substance occurs, and yet it’s still 150 pages???

Birks with socks: I like to wear sandals with socks so if I decide to go on an impromptu hike, I can take off my socks, sink my toes into the mud, and really connect with nature.

photos by Kali Bowden

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Utility jacket: Unbranded. Again.

Fuck capitalism.

Baseball hat: Unbranded, because I cannot be associated with corporate America.

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Recess coffee cup: I can’t believe you caught me without my reusable coffee cup!

Don’t tell anyone. It’ll totally ruin my rep.

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FORM & FUNCTION: How to dress like a...

F STRIPPED:

ROM CLUB TO AGENCY FADS: Syracuse University’s Very Own Fashion Agency

Aanya Singh sits at a table in Slocum Café, dressed in a neon green, long-sleeve crop top. The garment is so bright that it reflects a green hue off of the table, directing the attention of anyone in close proximity. Her look of the day acts as a beacon of light for onlookers. After all, she is the President of the Fashion and Design Society at Syracuse University.

Syracuse University’s Fashion and Design Society (FADS) is the all-in-one organization for everything fashion. The student organization mimics the fashion industry by acting as an agency for its members. FADS has nine different committees, ranging from fashion design and modeling to budgeting and marketing. They plan themed fashion shows, conduct photoshoots, and produce content throughout each semester.

According to Singh, the FADS community has over 70 members, excluding their models and designers. But it didn’t start this way.

At its inception in 2011, FADS stood for “Fashion Association of Design Students,” and served to showcase fashion design students work outside of their final senior show. The main event was the annual parents weekend fashion show, which was meant for family members of FADS. At the time, FADS was design student-oriented and lacked the variety of interests the members now have in 2019. After a few years of struggling to organize, the remaining members disbanded FADS. In 2017 Wendy Chan, a fashion design major and member of the graduating class, decided to re-register FADS with the school in an attempt to revive the failed organization. During the fall semester of 2018, Singh, then Vice President, reorganized the structure of FADS. FADS began having weekly meetings, model practices, electing heads of committees, and conducting full video and photoshoots. FADS was finally able to grow, while previous SU fashion organizations fell.

Now that FADS is thriving, the members can be more exclusive, says Singh. Students from any major can join FADS; however, applicants need to

words by Lauren Cola photo by Sam Bloom

have drive, talent, and a strong interest in fashion.

Although FADS replicates a real-world agency with its intense competition, the members try to represent the diversity of its members, which is not always the case in today’s fashion industry.

Students who join FADS go on to work in the

A

D

industry after graduation, bringing with them the importance of diversity, according to Singh.

FADS gives students of all backgrounds a chance to gain hands-on experience in their desired field of fashion before pursuing a career in the industry. For students like Singh, FADS provides a sense of community centered around the one thing they all have in common: style.

Join FADS at their show on December 6 at Skybarn on South Campus.

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OBITCHUARY:

FRIENDS CAUSE OF DEATH: BIGOTRY

We've all indulged in TV shows that we would be mortified to admit we watched, whether they’re cheesy, romantic, or just straight-up bad. They’re our guilty pleasures. But the time has come for us to make like Twitter, and cancel Friends. Sure they had a good run. They filled air-time with jokes, relationship drama, and — oh wait. Transphobia?

If you listen a little closer, underneath the artificially produced laugh track, you’d find fatphobia, rampant sexism, and in-your-face transphobia.

The long-standing joke surrounding Monica, the wired neat-freak of the group, is that she used to be fat in her teens. Monica is portrayed as an overweight, needy slob whose friends and potential love interests never take seriously.

Suddenly, when Monica loses the weight, she becomes organized, approachable, and lovable.

Friends makes a pretty big statement by saying “Hey, here are three skinny, conventionally beautiful female leads. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if one of them used to be fat and miserable?”

We could say that Friends was progressive by introducing a transgender character, Chandler’s dad, to the storyline. But in reality, it was just another opportunity to make fun of a marginalized community. The whole “Chandler’s dad is a drag queen” thing brutally erases the difference between doing drag and being transgender. They could’ve utilized this character as a platform for

words by Daasha Palmer-Tveleneva illustration by Lilian Su exploring different relationships with gender. But no, they just went with jokes about a man in a dress. Not cute.

Think stalking is cool? Friends does. Joey, the ladies man of the group, always provides laughs with his shenanigans and general stupidity. But what’s not so harmless is his complete and utter disrespect for women. Does he get away with it because he is just so boyishly charming? Or is it because the entire environment of Friends condones harassment? Big surprise, it’s the latter.

Ross, Chandler, and Joey’s storylines ware always centered around how to get a woman, fuck her, and then fuck her over.

If this isn’t enough evidence for you to rejoice in the death of Friends, let’s throw more gas on the fire. In the episode entitled, “The One With The Jam,” Phoebe is the object of a stalker’s obsession.

He mistakes Phoebe for her twin sister, Ursula, and instead of calling 911 like you should if you’re being followed and verbally harassed, Phoebe does entirely the opposite. And decides to date him. Because apparently, stalking and harassment are the ultimate form of love in the eyes of Friends.

There comes a point in a show’s legacy where we have to get real. Friends might be mindless entertainment for many, but it shouldn’t be anymore. When all is said and done, one thing is for sure: we don’t want any friends like the ones on Friends.

FLOWERY SPEECH We don't buy flowers any more. What's up with that? They're pretty, and their meanings actually have a long history dating back to antiquity. Let's keep 'em goin' strong. Read on to learn about their history, where to buy them, and what to get.

words by Vivian Whitney photos by Sam Berlin

Ancient Egypt: Egyptians are believed to have decorated their lives with flowers since 2,500 BCE. They would place flowers in vases for different special occasions, like burials or processions, but flower arrangements were also used as table decorations. Certain flowers were thought to symbolize different gods and were left at tombs for this reason.

FLOWER ARRANGING Ancient China: Flower arrangements in China date back to the Han dynasty, around 207 BCE, and were an important part of religious teaching.

Flowers played a big role in Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism and were used to adorn altars.

The peony, China’s former national flower, was considered “the king of flowers” and represented wealth and good fortune.

Ancient Greece and Rome: Greeks and Romans used flowers in wreaths and garlands instead of in vases. The laurel wreaths that were awarded to winners during the Olympics are the most notable example. The laurel wreath symbolizes

power and was a prestigious honor. The Greeks and Romans were die-hard romantics, known for scattering rose petals on the floor for banquets and dinners.

The Byzantine Empire: Around 500 CE, the Byzantine Empire began experimenting with flower arrangements. From this trial run came the classic cone shape for bouquets that’s still popular today. They were also one of the first people to begin using ribbons in their arrangements. They put bouquets in urns and chalices and placed them around their homes.

THROUGH TIME European Middle Ages: Flower arranging first arrived in 1000 CE Europe in churches and monasteries. Monks would keep gardens with lots of medicinal herbs that were used in Christian rituals and ceremonies. These herbs were also used in flower arrangements, due to their healing properties and the assumption that they were somehow connected to God.

THE MEANING BEHIND FLOWER MEANINGS Floriography. I didn’t know what it meant either.

I thought flowers having different meanings was just silly folklore with no truth behind it. But then the word floriography, meaning “the language of flowers,” came into my life. While flowers and plants have symbolized different things ever since Ancient Egypt, floriography gained popularity in England and the United States during the 19th century as a way to send secret messages that couldn’t be said aloud during the 1800s. So, if you wanted to run away with someone, all you had to do was send them some spider flowers, which meant “elope with me.”

Throughout the 1800s, a variety of floral dictionaries were published to help people learn and use floriography. Almost all flowers have multiple meanings, but usually there’s one more widely accepted, which is often related to the appearance or function of the flower. The mimosa flower is used to represent chastity because their leaves close at night or when touched. Victorian people were really thinking hard about flowers.

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Striped Carnation — I cannot be with you We’ve all had that one person who will not get the hint. Or maybe, they got the hint and are still hitting you up constantly. If only it were as easy as throwing a few striped carnations at them.

Viscaria — Will you dance with me?

It was probably more romantic in Victorian times, with ballrooms and all. But imagine, Chad walks up to you on the sticky elevated surface in Sig Chi. He hands you a viscera. You’ve been waiting for him to ask all night, and the two of you grind on each other for a thousand moons.

Begonia — Beware What a versatile message. Wear one in your hair so people know what they’re getting into when they meet you. Leave a bouquet on your enemy’s front porch to keep them on their toes.

Put some in your room to warn that ghost that keeps knocking all your stuff down that you will call a medium.

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Christmas rose — Tranquilize my anxiety How, you ask, is there a flower for this? And yet, we are so thankful it exists. Give it to your roommate who always asks why you’re locked in your room. Hand one to your professor as you walk into class five minutes late with a food.com smoothie. Hell, give one to yourself.

You need it.

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Pink camellia — Longing for you Don’t double text your crush after getting left on read for seven hours. Instead, send them a bouquet of pink camellias to let them know you’re thinking about them all the time, and have already planned your wedding and picked out your kids’ names. Actually, why not just double text them again while you’re at it.

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Yeah, we know a rose means love, or whatever. But what about all those other flowers with names you’ve never even heard? Here are a few flower meanings that we think will be the most useful for you. illustrations by Fiona Gaffney

Whistlestop Florist: This place is far as fuck! We drove through the literal wilderness to get there (and I missed my exit, so it could have definitely been because of that). On Google Maps, this place looks awesome, Insta-worthy even. You’ll be surprised to find that when you go, you’ll immediately transform into a wedding-obsessed, fully bedazzled mother-in-law with that one white mom hair cut. You know the one. The owner, Kimberly Hayes, says she loves flower arranging because she gets to help people make their personal occasions special. Specifically, she says, funerals. She had a bird in a very small, dirty cage in the back, so I guess that checks out (right?).

Mary Jane Dougall Flowers: Look this place up on Google Maps. It’s so cute and run down and right across from a cemetery. We called them to ask if we could come photograph and the man on the phone said, “NO,” and immediately hung up. So perhaps that man and Mary Jane Dougall are mean… But it looks cute enough to make it worth it. Bring a gladioli flower to give them, which means “give me a break.”

Westcott Florist: This is probably the only shop on this list there might be a chance (a very small one) you’ll go to. An ESF-looking man came in while we were there and actually bought a bouquet of flowers (crazy, right?). So, you know it’s the place to get ‘em! The owner, Dino Centra, hates having his picture taken and started working there right out of college, taking over the shop from his dad. His favorite flower is the gerbera daisy!

Coleman Florist: I was supposed to write a story about it last semester. I had driven by it (it’s…also by a cemetery…), and I said, “Wow. That place is cute. I want to write a story about it.” Then I never did. So this year, I said, “Let’s actually write a story about this place.” And this piece came out of that idea! So I called Coleman Florist, and whoever answered said they needed to get their managers permission for us to come photograph.

They never did. So go there, and see it for yourself! It looks cool enough to have inspired this package!

St. Agnes Florist: This place had a sign that said, “If your name is Ed, stop in for a free rose.” Now, I’m guessing they change this sign daily or weekly or whatever. But I’m hoping they just really love people named Ed (I know I do). We couldn’t talk to anyone who worked there when we went because two old people (i.e. *ahem* boomers) were buying a massive flower arrangement for a funeral (classic boomer). It’s…also by a cemetery, which I’m realizing now is for a reason. Funerals.

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ROCKY FOUNDATION The rise and fall of off-campus music venues at Syracuse University and why it's so important.

words by Vivian Whitney | photos by Katie Reahl

T

he soft purple glow of the lights. The pounding bass rattling through your body, shaking from the ground up through your feet and thudding softly in your chest. The muffled vocals blasting through the speakers, drowned out by the blaring guitar and drums.

If you’ve found yourself in an off-campus music venue in the University Neighborhood, you know the feeling. If you’re a regular, maybe you can name them all — Space Camp, Scarier Dome, Big Red, Treehouse, The End, The Ark, The

Hot Box, The Deli… Or maybe you’ve just found yourself watching a random band after stumbling upon a house at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, lured in by the guitar riffs drifting out of the basement windows and across the dewy lawn.

No matter which house venue it is, each one contributes to the complicated, experimental, grimy DIY music scene in the neighborhood.

Despite their fluidity and often short life spans, offcampus music venues play a vital role in creating and maintaining the deeply appreciated music

culture for music students and those who just love music — and it’s these people who keep them alive.

Dan Harris, a junior Bandier student, is heavily involved in the music scene in the neighborhood.

“I had grown up at a house scene, and I always wanted to go to a college house scene, and I heard Syracuse had a good one, which is a huge reason why I came here,” he says.

Just the fact that Harris had heard of the SU neighborhood music scene — and came because of it — speaks to its importance. He started a

solo project, Shallow Alcove, the July before his freshman year. When he got to SU, he met his current bandmate, Griffin Goode, and another friend, and Shallow Alcove became a three-man band. In less than a month on campus, they were already playing their first show at Space Camp — just because the place needed an opening act.

Playing at Space Camp immediately opened the door for Shallow Alcove to explore their identity as a band and play more shows. “It’s a place where you actually find your sound, find

"People should be open to create a space for themselves."

your audience,” Ryan McKeown, a senior studying sound recording technology, says. “It’s a place where people can be themselves and develop their own techniques of music in general.”

McKeown has seen the music venue scene from both sides. He used to play keyboard for the band FLOTUS and also helps run The Ark. He went to his first house show freshman year at Big Red. “We walked up into the attic, and I was like, 'Holy shit, there’s a stage here!'” It was that show, he says, that influenced him to help start The Ark. From his first time at Big Red, he knew he needed to become a part of the community and help expand the house venue scene.

Inspiring younger students is what helps keep the DIY scene thriving. “Every year there are a couple of people who show up to house venues, and they’re like, ‘This is sick. I want to do this,” Harris says. It’s what happened to both him and McKeown, who now help run house music venues.

“I wish I didn’t have such a cheesy word like ‘inspiring’ to say this, but it’s all about inspiring other people to do it, you know?”

Often, when we talk about off-campus music venues and the DIY scene, there’s a certain image people think of here at SU. “Sometimes the music scene can be seen as very exclusive and like, ‘Oh, only the artsy kids who cuff their pants and smoke cigarettes can go,’” Harris says. “But then you’re like, ‘Oh, wait. As long as you’re not a jerk, you’re allowed.”

Daniel Bradley-Villarini, a junior advertising student, isn’t an artsy kid who cuffs his pants.

More into hip hop and R&B, he never expected to be so heavily involved with off-campus music venues here. “I had no expectation of there being a DIY scene, and I had no idea I would be a part of it.” But Bradley-Villarini still found his own space in the scene, from attending a lot of shows his freshman year to helping out at The End. Now, he’s gotten involved with a more hip-hop DJ-type outdoor venue.

“I think house venues have to set the scene,” Harris says, adding that variety within the DIY scene helps expand its impact. “Each house serves a different purpose.” Space Camp existed

Sometimes the music scene can be seen as very exclusive and like Oh, only the artsy kids who cuff their pants and smoke cigarettes can go But then you're like 'Oh, wait. As long as you're not a jerk

"It's dangerous.

It's illegal."

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we opened our doors,” McKeown says. “We’d always hear the mythology of Space Camp, and we based all our stuff off of what Space Camp did.”

There are also simple factors that’re just straight unavoidable when it comes to the end of a house venue. “The biggest influence on the lifetime of venues obviously is the quick turnaround of being in a college town,” McKeown says. Especially with SU’s two-year on-campus living requirement, it’s hard to fully establish a venue in just two years.

“Simply, people move. It’s hard to keep the same house,” Harris says. Often times, things out of venues’ control happen. People come and mess it up. “It’s dangerous. It’s illegal.” Harris remembers an incident where too many people showed up way too drunk, and someone he knew got his jaw broken. “Shit hit the fan when people who didn’t care about the houses started showing up, and they just wanted to get fucked up.”

Regardless, it’s still a lifecycle. “Most people don’t think about what will happen after they leave,” McKeown says. “They just hope that what they did for those two years will influence other people to be like, ‘We want to do this too.’”

Historically, the off-campus music venue scene has ebbed and flowed quite consistently.

Some years, it’s stronger than others. Harris believes the past few years haven’t been as strong since Space Camp ended. “It comes and goes.

You’re not going to be able to project if people are going to be inspired every year.” But now that the people who came to Space Camp their freshman year have have their own houses, the DIY scene has had a powerful resurgence.

“I feel like the torch is being passed,” BradleyVillarini says. “It’s almost like a responsibility. Not a stressful responsibility, but like, ‘Oh, it’s my turn to take over and continue this amazing thing.’”

Maybe The Deli will be the new Space Camp for this year’s freshmen. Perhaps they’ll mourn The Deli the same way the DIY scene still mourns Space Camp now.

The off-campus DIY music scene offers something incredibly invaluable to those who partake in it. It’s a place for an entire community to get together, be themselves, and to play and appreciate music. “People feel more comfortable to be their genuine selves,” Carr says. “I just hope that there are students out there who continue to rock, basically.”

JM

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for the music. They had shows every week, often comprised of touring bands. They didn’t have a bar, and when you went to Space Camp, you were there to listen. The End had shows once or twice a month. The attic was long. If you were in the back, you couldn’t see a thing, and you might not even hear the music over the talking. And Big Red was for partying.

The bar was the centerpiece, and if you were going to Big Red, odds are you wanted to get plastered.

“People should be open to create a space for themselves,” says Allison Carr, one of the students responsible for the renowned Space Camp, explaining that the different scenes hopefully give more people that feeling of inspiration to continue something great. “That’s part of the reason people keep these spaces going—or start their own,” Bradley-Villarini says. “I think it’s people trying to achieve the feeling they felt going to DIY stuff when they were younger.”

This, in turn, leads to the fluid lifespans of off-campus music venues, and inspiration is just one factor in the constantly changing DIY scene.

For Carr, ending Space Camp was something she and her roommates chose to do. “All of us really put a lot of work and a lot of ourselves into that house and into the reputation we were creating for ourselves,” she says. “It’s something we didn’t want to be under anyone else’s control because it’s something we built.” Juniors had even approached Carr and her roommates about living in the house, and keeping Space Camp going. “We wanted to take over Space Camp,” McKeown says, but Carr explained Space Camp had to end with her and her roommates.

Perhaps, though, the fluid life spans of these venues is better for the DIY scene in the long run.

“Us ending Space Camp was giving the opportunity to others to make something of their own,”— and McKeown and Harris were both inspired by Space Camp to start their own venues. “That’s the reason

AMPLIFIED:

NO NEW FRIENDS.

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Active since: 2018 | Members: Elizabeth Stuart, Jackson Siporin, Peter Groppe, Jack Harrington, Scott Greenblatt, Jared Alvarez | Sounds like: Lawrence, Vulfpeck, Nina Simone, Lake Street Dive | Jerks to: Ellen Stone, H.E.R., Emily King, Frank Ocean NONEWFRIENDS. is a band of Syracuse students getting their start in the music scene with their jazzy R&B covers and original music. They spoke with JERK to discuss their formation, influences, and future.

interview by Vivian Whitney | photos by Katie Reahl and Lauren Miller

Jerk Magazine: How did NONEWFRIENDS. come to be?

Jackson Siporin: Freshman year—it was the first few weeks of school—we were all figuring it out, trying to find our friends, trying to find who we like, and we realized that we—me, Elizabeth, Jack, Peter, Scott—were just hanging out all the time and making music and chilling and we made this joke like, “We have no new friends.”

Elizabeth Stuart: That’s not real.

JS: Yes, it is real! When you made up the name, you said, “no new friends.” And we all laughed because we had no new friends. That was the joke.

ES: Okay, yeah, that is the joke. We were in Ernie Davis dining hall, and I remember we were thinking about names, and I was like, “no new friends, because I have no new friends.” And then, we were all laughing like, “Ha ha, that’s actually so true.” And then, we were trying to think of other names, and nothing else was really sticking other than that. So then we were just kind of like, okay. It just kind of stuck.

JS: Now we love it.

JM: How did you guys decide to start a band?

ES: The way I remember it kind of going down was, I met Peter, Jack, and Jackson because we’re all in the same grade and all Setnor students. And we were hanging out, and we just kind of all played for each other, kind of got the vibes out, kind of knew what we all sounded like. And then we had a class where they said The Ark was putting on a show, and Jackson and Peter said, ‘Let’s play a show.

Let’s get a group together.’”

JS: We had been jamming already.

ES: Yeah, we had been jamming already, so we were just like, let’s just do a show. Let’s just make a group and play at this show. So, that’s how it started. Then we made up the name and then we played the show, and it went really well, and we were like, okay.

JS: Yeah, I think at first we didn’t really know if it was going to go anywhere. It was just going to be a one-off show. Because we had been playing together for a little bit, we were just like, let’s play a show but it wasn’t necessarily going to be anything specific.

"It's an amal

JM: Who are your biggest influences?

ES: I think that would be ones like Lake Street Dive.

Like, I don’t know, Moon Child.

JS: Yeah, I would say, as far as from a songwriting perspective—this is going to sound weird—but Anderson .Paak.

ES: Yeah, no no, I feel that. I feel that.

JS: Anderson .Paak to a big degree because of his use of horn melodies with his soul voice, but also a lot of the melodies I’ll write will be on that kind of rappy flow.

JM: How did you guys cultivate your sound?

JS: I think we’re still cultivating it.

JM: How are you cultivating it?

ES: I feel like in the beginning, when we were sharing originals that people had brought in, they

all kind of were different but shared an overarching, similar vibe. So, I feel like there already was a little bit of a vibe. And then, after we played a few shows, I feel like it just kind of cultivated. I feel like we’re still not, you know, fully like we know exactly what our vibe and our sound is, but I think it just kind of happened naturally. And then we all just started writing more and collaborating more, so I feel like it’s just kind of been gradual.

JS: I think Scott, Jack, and Peter do a really good job of listening to each other and always adding their own, I wanna say, vibe. You know, each of you carry your own. Like, Peter’s definitely got that classic rock shit, you [Scott] definitely got your Lawrence folk type, and Jack’s, you know, just…

Jack. No, I mean, Jack’s a god. But I feel like they do a really good job of listening to each other and always adding on. Like, I brought in two originals

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lgamation."

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that I had written prior, but they sound completely different now with the band just because they’re good at adding that sound.

Scott Greenblatt: It’s an amalgamation.

JM: So, what does band life look like for you?

Jack Harrington: Mostly house shows.

SG: I think we established that our priority for the semester was to try to get in the studio and record some stuff, so we consciously decided that we might not be gigging as much this semester, but we already have played a few house shows.

We’ve done some live events outside, like for a philanthropy thing. So, people definitely know to reach out to us at this point, which is kind of cool.

JS: A lot of our shows definitely consist of house parties, house shows, you know, DIY type vibes.

JH: We might actually play Duke.

JM: What’s next? What does the future look like for NONEWFRIENDS.?

ES: Well, we want to release this EP, so that’ll be big.

JH: We don’t know when.

ES: Yeah, we don’t know when it’s going to happen.

JS: Catch a single coming soon though. This semester, maybe.

ES: But two of our members are going abroad next semester, so it’s going to be an interesting semester. I don’t really know what we’re going to do as of now.

JS: Right now, since they’re going abroad, we’re just trying to spend this semester finishing the EP so that we have that before they go away. So, it’s just been a grind as of now. It’s going to be a grind for the rest of the semester. We’re going to try to get it done.

JM

Can we get a vibe check? @jerkmagazine