talon
Letter from the Editor
letter from the editor Editorial Board Editor in Chief Rachel Burel Creative Director Steven Welch Managing Editor Ashley Frew Photo Editor Ellen Eldridge Copy Editor Kayla Rowe Staff Members Staff writers Michael Foster Roderic Graham Design Assistant Andrea Dowis Advertising sales Marketing Manager Amie Mowrey Advertising Manager Alek Searcy Advertising Representative Ruth Lauture 1 | Talon Magazine
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elcome everybody to the new semester here at Kennesaw State University! This year is all about changes, especially for Talon. As the new Editor in Chief, I myself am definitely experiencing change. With a new office, new staff, and new responsibilities, I can’t help but realize how quickly life evolves. What we thought was important last year is only just a memory now. It feels like just yesterday I was a freshman living in the Village Suites trying to figure out where exactly life was going to take me. Now, I’m beginning to get more and more excited about the changes that are ahead for myself, Talon, and Kennesaw State University. For this issue we wanted to provide an outlook on what it’s like to be a college student; the crazy parts, the secretive parts, and the obvious parts. Read all about how to balance the secret life of being a stripper while trying to succeed in college; laugh along with our new series, Drunk Diaries, and see the changes amongst the campus, and get excited for the new adventures ahead for all of us! In the next Issue of Talon, we want to celebrate Kennesaw State University’s 50th Anniversary. So be prepared to take it old school and go way back to the very beginning of it all! If you have a story you want to tell or photos you want to show, message us through Talon’s Facebook page! Welcome back everybody!
-Rachel Burel
Disclaimer
All comments and opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of Talon Magazine staff, its advisers or KSU and do not reflect the views of the faculty, staff, student body, KSU Student Media or the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
03 Class ‘17 On the Cover
Memories of KSU
As we go through our collegiate experience, we all create memories that will last a lifetime.
page 3
Confessions of a Stripper
College is expensive, read about one student’s interesting career choice to make the bank.
page 5
Defeating the Freshmen 15
Don’t let the threat of weight gain put a damper on your first year.
page 7
10
C
TA B L E O F
ONTENTS
Plus these exciting stories: Welcome to Your Beginning page 11
Goodbye Mommy, Hello College page 13
Drunk Diaries page 15
Don’t Let the Media Think For You page 17 September 2013 | 2
Pause. Rewind. Play. By: Ashley Frew
A
s we approach KSU’s 50th anniversary as well as my victory lap, I couldn’t help but reflect on the reasons why I chose KSU in the first place. With the buildings popping up every year, a football program in the making, and continuous studying, it’s easy to get lost in your own world and become frustrated with the changes. However, when you stop to think and understand what you’ve been a part of, there may be a rush of excitement. When I began attending KSU, The Commons didn’t exist. There was a small cafeteria where the bookstore is located and the food was nothing to talk about. Prillaman Hall didn’t exist and the nursing building was the dinky building that is now the Mathematics & Statistics building. The amazing Science building didn’t exist and our science classes were located in the run-down Clendenin building. I could keep going, but I think you get the idea. KSU has evolved to a remarkable university that has become a school to talk about. For instance, Rachel Smith, KSU sophomore, said she came to this university because it has a really good nursing program. I believe this university is attaining more hard-working students because of the exceptional programs it’s created.
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Memories of KSU So, why would anyone choose to come to a school where everything is constantly changing? As a creature of habit, I had a hard time answering this at first. However, you’re part of a great history at work and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you can accept that the persistence of change is something magical. For instance, can you imagine, years from now, being able to tell someone that you were attending KSU when they made the decision to add a football program or that you were at the very first game? There is already so much work going into making your degree that much more reputable, but to actually be there through all of the changes has been, for lack of a less cliché term, life-changing. This constant change may even help some of us evolve more once we get to “the real world.” For me, I’ve found that the changes have helped pull me out of my habitforming shell. I began to accept the changes and even joined this magazine, which was something I never even thought of doing before coming to KSU. Now, I feel that I’m more open to new ideas and exciting adventures. Another great thing about being a part of this university is that it’s close to home for many of us. Griff Montgomery, a Communication major, said, “I wanted to come to KSU because it was relatively close to home.” While some may view this as a negative aspect of a university, I believe it has enabled students to find ways to connect. For instance, I made many friends my freshman year because we could relate to participating in certain activities growing up around Atlanta. And while some think that we shouldn’t be so close to home because it causes us to not move forward, I think that it helped me not go absolutely crazy or flunk-out my freshman year. I was far enough from home to make new friends, but close enough to go back home for a reality check. Overall, I think the changes of Kennesaw State University have allowed its students to grow and overcome life’s barriers. The university’s growth over 50 years is something to be admired and I can’t wait to have a diploma from such a reputable school. Be sure to watch out for the 50th anniversary events that will be taking place around campus!
KSU Established 1963
eptember2013 2013 ||44 SSeptember
sex, drugs, and midterms
The confessions of a stripper
P
ulling into the gravel parking lot, my night has begun. Before the music starts, before the drinks pour, and before the money arrives, my night has started and I’ve already come too far to turn back for the night. Convinced I actually need the money this time I sigh, grab my bag, and walk into the club. Greeting the doorman and bartenders, who are busy stocking the multiple bars that line walls, I head back to the locker room. It’s almost comforting to see how the decades of operation have left the back room tattered and worn. With porn hanging on the walls and in the urinals, I’m reminded that even a homophobic man would feel comfortable in the locker room. Passing the shower headed to my locker to get ready, I contemplate how much money I will make tonight. If a few of my regulars show up I should be able to pull a few VIP’s that should land me a few hundred dollars. Enough to pay the bills, but then it hits me - I’m going to have to work another two days this week to keep my job this month. I grab my armbands (required for strippers by the state) and wander the back room. I check my stomach, working out relentlessly has given my stomach the “sculpted out of marble” look, but my arms are starting to suffer. As more dancers arrive I’m switching between curls and pullups trying to tone the slight bounce my arms are showing when not flexed. I chit chat with my fellow purveyors of flesh and sin; it’s all light hearted as we’re passing around muffins loaded down with marijuana infused butter. It soon gets to the point where we’re all just sitting and waiting for eight o’clock to come so we can finally start making money. The DJ calls my stage name and I walk out onto an empty stage, practice time. Nobody arrives at a strip club right when it opens, thus I have the stage all to myself and only the employees to entertain. The night continues like this with small groups of girls and boys coming in, the dancers greeting their regulars and taking shots of various liquors and other drinks. It’s midnight and my first regular steps through the door. I toss my cigarette and walk towards him giving him a hug and asking how his life has been since I last saw him. He tells me it’s been well and asks if I need a drink. I don’t argue. I need a drink, there’s only three hours left and I’ve only made two hundred dollars on what should be a five hundred dollar night. He tells me if I impress him on stage he’ll buy me
5 | Talon Magazine
for an hour VIP. Game on, scoring a one hour VIP means four hundred dollars in my pocket and my night is made. I wait and sip my gin and tonic. The DJ calls my name. I’ve got one chance. I step on stage with two other dancers, usually my three song competition but I’m only out to impress my regular this round. Sliding and pole work are his favorite kind of dancing to watch. Going heel-to-toe draws a few people up from their chairs to the stage and tip us as we rotate with the songs. The stage set ends and I step off stage, still glistening with sweat, and he walks up to me. He slips a fifty dollar bill in my armband and tells me to meet him in the VIP room. We grab a bottle of champagne and step into the private room. We spend the next hour and fifteen minutes talking (most strippers in the VIP are going to do their best to give you what you want, whether it’s emulating sex acts or just conversing with you. This regular of mine just wanted to talk). After our time is up It’s late enough to leave without paying extra. Counting my money, I ignore the urge to just run out of the club and quit. Six hundred and thirty four dollars. Ten percent goes to the club. Twenty dollars for house fees. Six to my manager. Five to security, and I’m left with five hundred and sixty on the night. I pack my stripper clothes into my trunk then head home. It’s three in the morning by the time I get back, dignity shattered for the night and little bits of cocaine still sitting in my nose from some questionable activities earlier in the night. I grab a beer from my refrigerator, put on a movie, and start my homework for my anthropology class. Class starts at 9:30 and I decide I can sleep either during class or after. The lifestyle of a stripper is stressful in and of itself. Adding school to the mix is even more so. Between lap dances and midterms one barely has time to breathe; much less find time to sleep. Though it is stressful, at least for this dancer, it is worth being quasi financially stable. Sure, we get to have fun, but at the same time I’m also struggling to pass my exams or finish a project just like every other student. This is what our current job market has given this generation of students, those of us that want to work for a degree without a mountain of debt waiting for us after graduation. Not that I’m putting down other working students that hold down honest jobs and make it, we just try to have a little fun at the same time. These are supposedly the best years of our lives; our one chance in life to go a little crazy, and if I happen to go a little wild I’d have to agree with the late great Hunter S. Thompson who said “If you’re going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you’re going to be locked up.”
September 2013 | 6
Defeat the
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or the 5-foot-10-inch, 135-pound student, with a ridiculously fast metabolism; the idea of an unlimited supply of food seems like a dream come true. But what about the student who eats a hamburger and gains 10 pounds? When you transition fromhigh school to college you have to adjust to a new environment, new people, new teachers and even new food. However, just because you have to adjust to a new life does not mean you have to adjust your pants size. That’s right; I’m talking about the infamous Freshman 15. When you start college, some main concerns are staying away from difficult teachers, finding a roommate, picking a major or developing a new relationship. Typically, students do not stop and think about what to eat, especially since a home-cooked meal will now become a simple delicacy. Remember mom is not there to make sure you have the proper dosage of foods that contain the essential vitamins to make it through the day. The typical college student’s diet may consist of Ramen noodles, cafeteria food and other unhealthy snacks that are easily accessible. Students can go an entire semester eating unhealthy food, without realizing they are slowly packing on the pounds. So, how do you beat the dreaded freshman 15? Well, for starters, Kennesaw State has one of the best college dining halls in the country. In fact, in 2011, KSU ranked among the top 25 schools for best food. Also, KSU grows 20 percent of its produce, smokes its own meat, make its own bread and has vegan and vegetarian options for food. Still not impressed? KSU has even gone the extra mile to colonize bees to produce honey and plans to produce organic dairy products. You may even have an experience like senior Sports Management major, Jamal Palmer who said, “One day I walked into the commons and noticed all of the plants being harvested.” Another way to ensure that you maintain a healthy physique is not to overindulge in the food. It is tempting to sample everything The Commons has to offer (especially the Asian cuisines). And the soda machines may look cool, but let’s try some water or juice with your meal. Although KSU is making notable efforts to increase healthier eating habits by students, ideally, some of the food is still high in sodium and contains a lot of calories. Count your calories!
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Freshman 15
By: Roderic Graham
Becoming more active is also a way to defeat the Freshman 15. In high school you were probably involved in various sports or extracurricular activities that forced you to be active. In college you are probably significantly less active unless, of course, involved in sports. There isn’t anyone to tell you not to sit around your dorm and eat the entire carton of Ben and Jerry’s you just bought an hour ago (guilty!), so it is up to you to make healthier decisions. Luckily, KSU also provides a Wellness Center where you may even seek the help of a personal trainer. Many freshman college students gain weight due to the stress that comes with adjusting to a new environment. Many people use food as a coping mechanism to escape from life’s daily problems. Instead of using food, try becoming more social. Remember all of those clubs you joined in high school (mainly for thousands of yearbook photos), well KSU is no different. You might not get the yearbook pictures, but you will gain new friendships and access to other organizations that will help you become more social. If life gets too hard, put down the fork and spoon and talk to a counselor that can also be provided by KSU. The more social you are, the better the chance of staying away from the Freshman 15. “I kept down the weight by monitoring everything I ate,” says junior Communication student, Parris McGee. “The fear of running into my high school friends, fat and out of shape, was my motivation to keep off the pounds,” says McGee. Remember when your mom looked at her high school yearbook photos and said, “I remember when I was that size.” Well it was probably 20 years and a few pregnancies ago, so, she has a few excuses for the weight gain. However, you don’t! College is here to help us transition from being dependent to independent. Stay active, make healthy decisions, and become the social butterfly you were meant to be. Follow those rules and the Freshman 15 will be a thing of the past!
September 2013 | 8
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9 | Talon Magazine
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Welcome TO
YOURbeginning As the road to graduation is about to begin, take a second to hear from students who have worked to make the most of their college experience.
What are you most looking forward to at KSU?
“Independence!” “College life!”
By Ellen Eldridge
What do you wish you knew starting out your freshman year? “I wish I knew the importance of finding a mentor; after you find a proper mentor make sure the connection is there for proper success. -Manny Berry, senior criminal justice major
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“I wish I had met the friends who introduced me to the Kennesaw Pride Alliance earlier.� -Heiko Pinero, President of Kennesaw Pride Alliance
September 2013 | 12
GOODBYE MOMMY
HELLO COLLEGE
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By Steven Welch or most of us, college is a rite of passage. It means we’ve made that giant leap from our teenage years into adulthood, and with that leap comes new responsibilities. We’ve got to start taking care of ourselves, as the days of having our parents right behind us are now long gone. College is full of new things to experience, which is what makes this part of our lives one of the most fun for us all to live. We can all remember wanting independence from our parents all through our adolescent years. They didn’t understand us, and didn’t seem to be fair when it came to how we lived our lives. Well congratulations, now it’s time to make your own rules; how long to stay out for, when to go to class, and which drive thru offers the best hangover food at 3 o’clock in the morning. There won’t be anyone waiting when you get home asking you “do you know what time it is?” It’s a wonderful feeling, but one that you should not let go to your head. While you’re independent now, there’s still always a time in which you will have to be responsible; that’s part of being an adult after all. Kennesaw’s location means most of you will not be all that far from your parents, and therefore you may be tempted to pop in from time to time and eat their food, do laundry, or complain about how class is going, maybe hoping they’ll have sympathy for you (or an open wallet). Don’t fall into the habit of spending all your weekends at home; it ruins everything you’ve worked hard for. It’s time to cut that chord completely, your dorm or apartment has a kitchen where you can cook whatever food you eat that doesn’t come in a grease filled bag, and washing your own clothes really isn’t all that hard. Save trips home for holidays and birthdays, it makes growing independent so much easier. It also usually means more presents, because let’s face it, distance makes the heart grow fonder (I’m all about being independent and doing things on your own, but Christmas is the one time I’m willing to make an exception). So let your last steps out of your parent’s house be your first steps into a new life; one where you decide what to do, how to live, and who to be. There are times it might seem hard, just don’t give up on yourself. You don’t need your parents there to guide you when things go wrong, all you need is your will to succeed and you’ll be okay, I promise. It’s time to put on your big kid pants and show adulthood that you’re ready to kick its ass. We only get one chance to live our lives, there’s no going back. College is about learning, and this is one lesson you don’t want to miss out on. These four years go by in a flash, and trust me when I say you’ll be thankful you did it on your own terms when you walk across the stage and get that degree.
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“We’ve got to start taking care of ourselves, as the days of having our parents right behind us are now long gone.”
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Di ar ies drunk
By Rachel Burel
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Another school year, another term, and another time to pass around the drinks. It’s time to toast the fall semester. Everybody raise your glasses, cans, cups, and koozies to the departure of our summer and the arrival of our classes. Get ready to pass around the shots and prepare yourself the alcoholic way; see if you can keep up. (Warning: If you are a light weight, you may not want to attempt this without a babysitter or nearby trashcan). To begin this night, let’s first acknowledge the seniors finishing up their year. More power to you my dears; you have made it to the end and survived all the finals, midterms, and all-nighters. You have watched this campus change for the better, as well as the worse. Unfortunately, you won’t get to see a football game or swim in the new pools… but you’re graduating and
for that, we drink. Next, I would like to make several toasts to the weeks that are about to become blurs, the nights where we won’t experience sleep, and to the caffeine that will keep us all alive. That’s three shots total my darlings. All the alcoholics, please stand up, all the light-weights, you might want to sit down. I would like to make a shout out to our new freshmen. If I could give you one word of advice to you, I would say get out of your room. Don’t lock yourself up; put your hands in the air and enjoy the ride you’re about to begin. Keep your priorities straight though, or else the ride could get a little bumpy. Always put work and studies first, but in your spare time try to have fun. Don’t get too crazy now, that’s how you make friends with the toilet. Bear in mind though, you only
live once, might as well have fun doing it. To all of you babies on the campus, I raise my glass for the memories you’re about to make and the nights you might forget. For a night-cap, I want to toast all of the students at KSU. To the hearts that will be broken or fixed, to the friendships that grow together or apart, the text books that we memorize or never open at all. I raise my glass to the ramen noodles and late night Waffle House visits. All of the memories that we are about to create and to all the nights where we stay up late being young. A toast to you my dears, let’s make this year one that’s hard to forget. So you raise your choice of poison and get those light weights to a toilet before they blow chunks all over your room. It’s time to make this a semester we’ll never forget.
September 2013 | 16
Don’t let the media think for you One student explores how inaccuracies reported by the media have influenced and divided a nation.
by Michael Foster
T
he Trayvon Martin that angry citizens protested and marched for and the Trayvon Martin that was shot and killed on Feb. 26, 2012 were two drastically different people, and still serve as drastically different symbols. It would be smart for us to know the difference, but the reactionary outrage that came from the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial was proof that Americans are losing their ability to think as individuals, and rather are letting sensationalist, corporate media put their pants on in the morning. When the story hit the news, we were told a heartbreaking and infuriating tale: A 17-year old boy, carrying nothing but a bag of Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea, was profiled, shot and killed by a half-white, half Hispanic, wannabe neighborhood cop. On the surface, those details illustrate a picture of racism and neglect, and those fires were fueled by the not guilty verdict. Many have displayed outrage since, namely African Americans who maintain that young, African American males are predisposed, within our culture, to being viewed as criminals or threats to the equilibrium of society. Those who endorse such ideas have plenty of facts to justify them, but the Trayvon Martin incident should have enabled an awareness of a much more significant problem. Unfortunately, the media chose to block the debate. If what George Zimmerman did to Trayvon Martin was an epidemic, rather than an unusual isolated incident, we’d have a problem. But, that’s not the case. What is an epidemic is violence that isn’t happening between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin, but rather between Trayvon Martin and, well, Trayvon Martin. According to a March 22 report by Dan Keating in The Washington Post, 151 of every 166 gun victims in America is an African American. A huge majority of these incidents are black-on-black. No, this doesn’t mean a person’s race makes them genetically more likely to attack someone. What those statistics do suggest is that the instability that exists within urban culture and poor families correlates with violence. But, because the majority of families living in poverty are African American, which is a real class and race issue, the media is afraid to touch the subject. When black-on-black crime happens, it usually grazes a few seconds of local news, and then the names are quickly forgotten. It’s frequent, unfortunate, and often times the victims are angelic, innocent kids. The Trayvon Martin the national media showed you also appeared to be an angelic, innocent kid, but that’s only because the media had to have it that way for the story to sell. When a non-African American shoots an African American, those in the media perk up in their chairs at the sound of coin.
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The image with Martin wearing the hoodie, which has become a symbol of discrimination, was old. Martin had grown up much since that photo, but he didn’t display much maturity as a person. If you ever took a chance to read his social media posts, which were pulled by a few smaller media outlets, you would have gotten a sense of how shitty of a kid he was. He bragged about being late for class, made sexual suggestions toward his teachers, and seemed to be a big fan of the hashtag #thickdickthursday. By the way, the Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea that Martin carried in his hand the night he was killed were not intended to serve as a latenight snack. The two are actually ingredients in an over-the-counter cough syrup cocktail, popular with teenagers, called Lean. If you think that’s too much of an assumption, Martin constantly inquired with his friends about making the high-inducing drink on his Twitter account. Okay, so none of this justifies what happened. Fair. But, here’s where Martin’s true character is relevant. The Trayvon Martin that Zimmerman saw and was suspicious of was not the undeniably innocent kid that the media wanted you to think he was. On a larger scale, there are too many negative images and practices within our poorer culture that enable fear. Kids are listening to rap that glorifies pussy, drugs, and violence. They’re killing each other over the ‘shoe game’, sharing photos of illegally obtained cash and for some reason having a lot of trouble wearing their pants around their waist. But, again, these cultural flaws are never brought up in mainstream media because it’s too touchy of a subject. It’s too much of a risk to bring up these obviously debilitating features that are being accepted in society. There’s a line between cultural expression and being idiotic, and many of these teens cross that line. This isn’t about race. We’re past that. We know that people are not genetically inferior to others based on their skin color. That’s absurd. But, we have some serious problems with a negative and dangerous culture that is being enabled while the media turns its head. When I’m around people who choose to speak in street lingo and sag their pants to the ground, I put up my guard. It’s not because of their skin color. It’s because they look threatening, and their image correlates well with real numbers in terms of violence. I mean, seriously. I go to school with thousands of African Americans, and none of them threaten me. Why? These kids are just like me. They have self respect and ambition. Black, white, brown, purple or green, if you are choosing to be the kid Trayvon Martin was, you are only enabling a very negative and honestly threatening stereotype. If we knew any better, we would have used the national attention of the Martin case to teach our kids to have self respect, ambition, respect for their superiors, and a standard when it comes to their image. Instead, we let the media have its way, and we all look ridiculous for it.
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