KSU Talon | January 2015 by Kennesaw State University Student Media

TALON JANUARY 2015

KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT MAGAZINE

KSU PROFESSOR SAYS MANY OF US ARE A BIT ‘CRAZY’ (INCLUDING HER)

HOMELESSNESS

HAPPENS AT KSU TO O

MUSLIM STUDENTS SHARE THOUGHTS

January 2015 | -1-

CONTENT

4 KSU professor shares about anxiety Tricia Grindel, who teaches communication classes, talks about the prevalance of mental illness from a personal perspective.

ABOUT TALON Talon is the feature magazine of Kennesaw State University. We publish features on anything relating to students, faculty, staff, campus or issues pertaining to them. Graduate students as well as alumni are welcome to report true stories and news.

8 Former Live Nation CEO gives it up to find balance, meaning of life Stopping to think about what students are building while working hard to create a career means finding balance and learning to breathe.

CONTENTS

Professor Tricia Grindel shares her personal story to show students that we’re not alone when we feel ‘crazy.’

Creative Director: Sheherazade Draw

Photo Editor: Brea Boutwell Chief Copy Editor: Imogen Bowdler Assistant Copy Editors: Alex Moore, Emily Webb

Advisers: Ed Bonza, Amie Mowrey Additional contributors to this issue: Writers: Tyra Douyon, Hannah Gleason, Shazad Hamid,

Dasha Jackson, Kaitlyn Lewis, Beth Ward Photographers: Arlene Dicks, Susan Parker

LIVE NATION EXEC QUITS After watching his mom take her last breath, Jason Garner learns to breathe. His advice for students involves understanding what we’re working for.

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief: Ellen Eldridge

PROFESSOR WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

YES!BODY

YES!Body works to create a platform for male and female students to come together and discuss social and gender-related issues in a safe and supportive way.

OWLS ARRIVE ALIVE

This program targets not only the texting and driving dangers students face, but also drinking and distracted.

HOW A DUI DEATH CHANGED ONE STUDENT

Drinking and driving kills.

BRINGING LIFE TO THE WALLS Ryan Benefield graces the walls of the procurement office with inspiring art.

Designers: Nick Cornish-Tomlinson, Eric Liu, Kaci Kimbrough

DISCLAIMER

HOMELESS AT KSU

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.

MUSLIM STUDENTS SHARE PERCEPTIONS

-2- | TALON MAGAZINE

Every year students and the Counseling and Psychological Services Department host an event to raise awareness.

The “Women of Oman: Changing Roles & Transnational Influence” event promoted the empowerment of women in the Islamic world.

18 Homeless happens here at KSU too Annually students get a chance to realize just how close to home homelessness hits for some. Make a difference by getting involved in 2015.

24 Muslim students share thoughts The Women of Oman: Changing Roles & Transnational Influence event promoted the empowerment of women in the Islamic world, specifically in the country of Oman, which has a core value of religious freedom and people can openly practice their faith.

LE T TER FR OM THE EDITOR of Talon, the student feature magazine will be called Sting. That name doesn’t refer as much to the mascot for SPSU as it is a commentary on how media should elicit a reaction from its community. It should sting. At least, that’s how I perceive it from the conversations I’ve engaged in with student media leaders from SPSU. I’ve been thinking a lot since I was elected editor-in-chief about what the student feature magazine on a university campus should be. How do I want to leave my mark and lead other students? Ellen Eldridge, Editor In Chief

This issue marks my second to last issue of Talon, but what’s more interesting is that this is THE second to last issue of Talon in its current form. Because KSU and SPSU are mergeing, student media organizations from both schools merged and Talon decided to join SPSU’s feature magazine, Sting. After the April 2015 issue

We students should think about the world around us and how national news affects us on a local level. Talon, as I see it, was intended as a hyper-local feature publication, taking a deeper look at things affecting KSU students, staff and professors. When I started as a copy editor in fall 2012, we published articles that we would have wanted to read. We sought out interesting students and wrote about what was important

to us. As an editor, I wanted to highlight student entrepreneurs who started their own businesses while studying. We looked at professors like Dr. Howard Shealy, through the eyes of the president of the history honor society, who wrote the article for the August 2014 issue. In this issue, Professor Tricia Grindel shares her personal story of living with anxiety, muslim students share their thoughts and feelings about standing out why dressing humbly and I personally interiewed a former CEO of Live Nation who wrote an inspiring book after losing his mother to cancer. My hope is that each of these feature stories will draw students into their communities at KSU as much as the writing helps us to connect with the world around us. We’re hyper local and many of us are so focused on getting through college that we forget about the stories we’re surrounded by. Enjoy the issue and reach out if you have a story to share in words or pictures. January 2015 | -3-

-4- | TALON MAGAZINE

Anxiety: K S U p r o f es s o r s h a r es h e r ‘ m e n ta l i l l n e s s ’ s t o r y

a KSU professor shares her story of anxiety and lets us all know we’re not alone when we feel a bit crazy. By Alex Moore

While sitting aboard a plane to San Antonio, Texas, ready to take off with luggage packed, the entire flight is suddenly delayed. As passengers look around, annoyed by the circumstances, Patricia Grindel runs downs the walkway, back into the terminal. Dozens of questions perplex the many impatient travelers, the stewardesses and even the captain, as they try to figure out what’s going on with Grindel. Perhaps this sounds like an exaggerated tale from a frustrated airline customer, but for Grindel, Kennesaw State University professor, this was reality. She was the woman singlehandedly holding up the flight. What was her reason for running off the plane? Anxiety. While Grindel recalled the story with good humor, relaying her embarrassment as she smiled, the situation was anything but funny at the time, she said. Anxiety had plagued Grindel since she was a child, when she found herself unable to attend classes.

“I’ve dealt with symptoms,” Grindel said, referring to living life with anxiety. “Obviously it did not really interfere with most aspects of my life, but did prevent me from having some good times, because I avoid crowds, I hate to travel, I hate being outside my comfort zone.” Though she said she enjoyed a normal childhood, Grindel’s anxiety began to surface after a particularly tumultuous series of life events. “When it really came to a head, I guess, was about 20 years ago,” Grindel said. “I had lost a job, I had lost my best friend to A.I.D.S, I was in a relationship that ended which was not my choosing – it was like my whole life was just falling apart.” With her physical state deteriorating, she said she decided to take matters into her own hands and consulted a specialist at the Anxiety Disorders Institute of Atlanta. “I had lost 18 pounds, I looked like I had a January 2015 | -5-

terminal illness,” Grindel said of her state at the time. “I couldn’t even gag food down, it was just horrific.” Leaving the house became a difficult task, though Grindel’s job as a freelance writer allowed for the freedom of choosing when and where she was able to leave. Grindel discovered she was suffering from the manifestation of an anxiety disorder stemming from her childhood, she said. After her doctor prescribed medication, Grindel’s condition improved dramatically. Though it took around a year for her to feel like herself again, she was finally able to regain her life. Finding herself with a job at LifeLink, a company specializing in organ tissue donation, she said things were looking up, until her anxiety began acting up once more. Thankfully, she said, her boss and coworkers empathized, advising, “’It’s no different than if you had high blood pressure—you’d be taking medication to fix it. If you were diabetic, you’d be taking insulin to fix it. This is nothing more than a chemical imbalance and you’re taking medication to fix it.’” As she said she discovered that she wasn’t alone in her workplace anxiety, Grindel admitted several of her colleagues also suffered from a form of mental illness. “We joked around that we were going to get a Prozac salt lick for the conference room,” she quipped. Dispelling the unnecessary stigma

surrounding mental illness is a task Grindel says she takes very seriously. “You don’t have to live that way,” she said, regarding students who may find themselves too afraid to seek assistance. She went on to emphasize the importance of seeking treatment, stating that there should be no shame in doing so. Grindel suggests that both industry and the public are to blame. “I think the mental health field could do a lot to help people understand this is not that much different than a physical illness.” “When someone asks you, ‘oh what’s wrong?’ you don’t say ‘I have a physical illness’ you say ‘I have a cold.’ So, when someone says you have a mental illness, there’s a whole different connotation to that, when really it’s just a different form, Grindel said, adding that she feels more comfortable being open about her anxiety, and that hiding it only perpetuates her discomfort. “I think everybody needs to be in therapy,” Grindel said, suggesting that mental illness is perhaps more prevalent than we may be led to believe. “I think it’s way under-diagnosed, because there is still that stigma. And I think that’s unfortunate.” She recalled one family member’s assertion that therapy was little more than, “a crutch” that would instantly solve one’s issues. On the contrary, Grindel discussed the sheer amount of hard work therapy requires, citing soul-searching, selfexploration and potentially painful reflections

as a necessity for improvement. “In some of my classes we talk about some of these things that are going on, such as these school shootings. We didn’t really have that when I was growing up,” she said. A culture steeped in immediacy may be the key component, Grindel suggests. “Nobody has to wait for anything anymore,” she said, noting that while mental health may not be more prevalent, it can be exacerbated. “Maybe a number of factors have combined to maybe make people who had that predisposition show symptoms more so than they used to.” She said more people need to be willing to speak out, before mentioning the tragedy of actor Robin Williams. The best way to combat the stigma surrounding mental illness is to engage in open and honest discussion, Grindel said. “Still, it’s almost in kind of whispered terms ‘oh, did you hear about Robin Williams?’ like, suicide or depression or alcoholism should all be hush-hush,” she said. “We probably wouldn’t have all these severe cases if people were just willing to talk about. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not anything I did – I can’t help it if I’m missing part of a chemical.” Grindel said she thinks that, like most social and health trends, it’s going to take time for more people to openly accept mental illness. “I think we’re probably on the right track,” Grindel said, mentioning the impact of the health insurance industry. “I think every health insurance policy should have a mental health benefit.”

I think the mental health field could do a lot to help people understand this is not that much different than a physical illness. -6- | TALON MAGAZINE

She noted that mental health issues can sometimes take longer to diagnose than physical illnesses. Grindel said she was less concerned with what specifically caused her anxiety disorder, and instead wanted to focus on living as healthy a life as possible. “Whatever it was, I can’t change it. I can’t go back and make it not be there,” she said. “I’ve had people go, ‘well don’t you want to know?’ what good would it do? It wouldn’t change anything. I just want to focus on where I’m going from here on out, and doing that in the healthiest way possible.” “There are lots of illnesses that people are afraid of because they don’t understand them. And I think ignorance is probably a barrier to this whole idea of mental illness,” Grindel said when asked if she felt pressured to ignore her symptoms.

Yet the professor is adamant she made the correct and healthy choice, despite what some may have initially thought. “I asked my therapist once, ‘am I crazy?’ and she

It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not anything I did – I can’t help it if I’m missing part of a chemical. just chuckled and said, ‘no, usually it’s the healthiest one in the family who goes for therapy’.”

In fact, anxiety is more common than many may believe. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders affect 18.1 percent of the United States adult population, and serve as the most commonly diagnosed form of mental disorder. Professor Grindel’s message is ultimately one of hope, suggesting that mental illness doesn’t define the person; something she hopes more people will come to understand. “I don’t know what the statistics are on teen suicide, but any statistic is not acceptable,” she said. “There’s a better way to live.” For those who may feel concerned or overwhelmed, KSU offers free counseling sessions for all students at the Counseling and Psychological Services Center. If you or someone you know may be suffering from a mental illness, there is no shame in seeking treatment, as Professor Grindel has proven. Putting health before pride isn’t just an option, it’s a necessity. Talk to a friend, colleague or professional – but most importantly, talk to someone.

January 2015 -7Photos by Brea| Boutwell.

Former Live Nation CEO says students should question what they’re building Photos Special

By Ellen Eldridge Jason Garner held his mother’s head in his lap as she took her last breath, and through his tears he thought about how he hadn’t taken a deep breath of his own in 37 years. His mother wasn’t even 60 and she was gone. Garner, the CEO of Live Nation Global Music, thought to himself, “this could be me if I don’t take better care of myself,” he said. He said that he felt like the only way to be loved was to be successful and so he spent his whole life trying to do all the things he thought he needed to do to be successful, with the belief that some of the pressure he felt would dissipate and he’d feel the fruits of that success, Garner said. “I found the harder I worked, the more I succeeded, but I kept working and achieving and there was always a new milestone,” he said. “I don’t think I was horribly aware of it until at one point I got a call from my sister that my mom had been diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer.” -8- | TALON MAGAZINE

That call from his sister, where he learned his mother had cancer, was the first time in his 37year life that Garner stopped working and had to be present, he said. He had made a mad dash up the corporate ladder, trying manically to escape the feelings of insecurity and fears of failure, he said. But the higher Garner said he got on the corporate ladder, the farther he felt he could fall. The fear exhausted him and he said he realized his stress had increased when he expected “power and riches” to help him find peace and stability.

success that were the fruits of a hard life of work?” he questioned, before calling his boss at Live Nation and saying he needed to take a personal journey to “find himself.” After running away to the mountains and studying meditation, Garner said he learned that we don’t have to choose between spiritual awareness and business. “You can have it all,” he said. “You’ve got a dream of having it all, but your intention should be on a certain kind of life.”

“There weren’t a lifetime of moments ahead,” he said about getting the call about his mother. “It was right then and there with me.”

Finding balance as a way of life became Garner’s singular goal, he said, and the results of what he learned in his self-described midlife crisis ended up as a book.

Putting everything on hold, Garner went to be with his sister and mother, but after she was gone, Garner said he questioned everything. He questioned what life was all about and what it meant if one’s life story ended up just being hard work. “Where is that peace and

Garner said he never wanted to write a “gratuitously arrogant book patting himself on the back for his rise from poverty to power.” He calls his book, “And I Breathed: My Journey from a Life of Matter to a Life That Matters,” a raw compilation of stories that poured out of

him over a two-week period. “This is not a polished beginning, middle, and end book written by a public relations specialist,” he said. “It’s honest and real, the true stories of my drive to the top, my innermost doubts and fears once I arrived, my devastation at the loss of my mom, and how I finally learned to breathe.” Garner says he understands that people can’t just meditate on the top of a mountain and expect to call it a day. “We don’t live in the age of the Buddha or Jesus; we live in a time of traffic and iPhones,” he said. “Gas prices are going up and we have to work hard, but, for me, it’s about understanding that there’s more perspective.” If he could go back and offer some advice to himself when he was in college, Garner says he would just give himself a big hug and tell himself to breathe. He would have just asked himself what he was building with all this stress and hard work. “I was working 18 or 19 hours a day with no time to breathe, stretch, meditate or enjoy good food,” he said. “What kind of life are you building with that? Having money makes life so much easier, but we reach a point where all that comes at the expense of our wellbeing. If you’re never going to be happy, healthy or able to breathe then what’s the point of it?” His book isn’t about offering advice, he says,

and he describes himself as an independent, fiery go-getter. “There’s nothing I hated worse than someone who said he had it all figured out,” he said. “I never wanted to be that guy. We have our own journeys. What I do want to do is share what I learned about my life and the beautiful part is where others can connect and draw their own lessons and advice.” What Garner says he really learned is the word balance. A lot of people don’t have a good answer for what work, school and life balance looks like in real life, he said, noting that when he went into the mountains and studied with monks, he saw how he was too heavily dedicated to the business side of life. “I feel as we get to know ourselves, we see and understand other people’s pain and stress and suffering because we get in touch with our own,” he said. “Many of the pains and stresses we feel in life are universal. At the core, most of us don’t feel as loved as we’d like to.” To maintain the sense of peace and balance Garner said he discovered, he does three things daily: he stretches and does yoga, he meditates and he tells his body on a cellular level that he is loved. “All of us want to be flexible and adaptable in life,” he says, and yoga helps him feel that flexibility in his body as well as his mind. He says meditation helps him focus on himself and remind himself that life isn’t just about

the external things. The way he nourishes his body helps him tell his cells they are loved, Garner says. “We can send love to cells through nutrients,” Garner says. “Drinking fresh green juice is an amazing way to tell the body it’s loved after an all-nighter or after partying. We never think about how do we thank the body. If our bosses pressed us all day or our school treated this way, we would quit. Yet we do this to our bodies.”

Garner said that learning nothing was wrong with him was an important lesson. He says the quest for balance can dissolve into one more way individuals beat themselves up or feel they must work hard and succeed. “I grew up in a school system and society that only values how hard you work,” he said. “When we feel out of balance, it’s easy to say ‘I screwed up, it’s my fault.’” But, the key to learning balance and meditation is telling yourself that the process is about loving yourself, not winning. In meditation, it happens that you’ll sit down to meditate and you’ll think about the laundry or kids or schoolwork, Garner says. The only way to fail at meditation is to give up., he says, adding that, for him, spinning out into external thoughts provides an opportunity to say “welcome back Jason, I love you,” he said.

January 2015 | -9-

YESbody!

Says No to Rape Culture and Gender Discrimination By Beth Ward “When I was in college, a male student sexually assaulted five women in my dorm and raped two. When we started coming forward, our dorm mother was directed by the university to lecture us about the realities of being a woman in college. She told us that part of the price for education for women was dealing with sexual assault and rape.” The statement, written small in thin, black pen on an index card signed with the initials, A.N., resonated loudly with the many students who stopped by and read it. It reads like a headline in one of the many daily stories currently circulating on various news outlets about the realities of campus sexual assault, and many colleges’ troubling willingness to simply look the other way. It was just one of many statements strung up alongside underwear on a clothesline in the trees surrounding the campus green this past October. Despite the surrounding noise on campus, students were nearly silent as they wandered from confession to confession, surprised to realize that some of these things could be happening here, on this campus, to people they knew. The index cards, along with cardboard cutouts representing victims of sexual violence, bed sheets decorated with rape and sexual assault statistics and a binder containing statements of support for victims of sexual abuse were all part of a peaceful demonstration called A Voice for Them, organized by Kennesaw State University student group YESbody!. It was a jarring, symbolic representation of an issue that usually exists in silence, in the hushed hallways of dorm rooms, right on the periphery of most students’ daily consciousness. “The demonstration was a response to the Men in Peril conference that took place on campus on Nov. 1,” said Sierra Kihlstadius, co-president of YESbody!. “One of the speakers attending the conference was going to be talking about ‘rape hysteria,’ which promotes the idea that most rape victims are actually women who regret sleeping with someone later and falsely accuse the other person of rape.” YESbody! and many other students outside the organization were -10- | TALON MAGAZINE

not comfortable with this idea being promoted on their campus and Kihlstadius and the group decided to take action. “We didn’t want anyone who opposed the speaker to feel unsafe [for speaking out], so we came up with the idea of ‘anonymous protestors,’” said Kihlstadius, referring to the many person-shaped cardboard cutouts set up on the campus green. “Our goal was never to prevent the conference from happening or to silence anyone. That completely goes against the values of YESbody! We simply wanted to educate the campus about sexual assault and give survivors the chance to share their stories. We wanted people to know that rape culture is real and that we stand by the victims of it.”

Instead of limiting themselves to merely talking about gender issues, they take real, concrete steps to involve students and the larger community in affecting change in regards to issues surrounding race, gender and sexuality. “We wanted to take the conversations we were having and turn them into activism,” says Kihlstadius. “It’s one thing to talk about a problem, and another thing to do something about it.”

“We wanted to take the conversations we were having and turn them into activism. It’s one thing to talk about a problem, and another thing to do something about it.”

YESbody!, the brain child of Kihlstadius and her fellow co-president Carlynne Sharpe, works closely with the gender and women’s studies department and the Gender and Women’s Studies Student Association to create a platform for male and female students to come together and discuss social and genderrelated issues in a safe and supportive way. The group consists of roughly 130 members, including two co-presidents and a secretary/treasurer, that are divided into five committees, all designed to bring attention to specific issues: race, sex/gender, sexuality, body/sex positivity and ableism, or discrimination against those with disabilities. They seek to empower students to share their experiences in a way that encourages dialogue about difficult issues. They aren’t all talk, though. Kihlstadius and Sharpe share a vision of directive, intentional action.

The A Voice for Them demonstration garnered 132 statements from both supporters and survivors of rape and sexual abuse. It provoked tough conversations among friends and forced all the KSU students who stopped by to acknowledge the experience of the survivors, if only for a second.

Male and female students of all nationalities, capabilities and orientations expressed their thoughts and shared their experiences, effectively demonstrating the true mission of YESbody! – support, acceptance and social justice activism for all students. Still, even that that wasn’t the big success for Kihlstadius. “On the first day of the event, someone wrote a statement saying ‘Thank you for speaking out for sexual assault victims like me.’ It was so simple, but it will stick with me forever because it made the importance of A Voice for Them truly sink in.”

January 2015 | -11-

-12- | TALON MAGAZINE

January 2015 | -13-

By Tyra Douyon Photos by Arlene Dicks

Owls Arrive Alive

ight off the steps of Kennesaw Hall, passing students could see flipped cars, ambulances and victims in full disarray during “Owls Arrive Alive” on Oct. 24. Cries of pain, bleeding bodies and counselors consoling students, who were in shock over the misfortune that they saw before them, contributed to the chaos. But after much speculation some misinformed students began to realize that this was no accident. This was Owls Arrive Alive; a simulated car crash site created to spread awareness about drinking and distracted driving. This event was sponsored by Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society and implemented on campus by their president Jeremy Hudak. Previously referred to as Ghost-Out, Owls Arrive Alive (OAA) was the new name chosen

-14- | TALON MAGAZINE

for the program. Hudak said they changed the name to reach a more mature audience. He hoped to target not only the texting and driving dangers students face but also drinking and distracted driving. After being involved in a texting and driving accident in high school and participating in Ghost-Out for many years in Cherokee County schools, Hudak felt the urge to bring the program here to KSU. “He was texting and driving,” Hudak said. “And when you’re in that situation you can’t get the words out to say ‘Hey put your phone away we’re coming off an exit ramp.’ In that split second we rear-ended a car. There was no major damage and we all walked away un-scathed but from that moment forward I

said this is something that we as teenagers need to hear about.” The simulation is made to look as authentic as possible. It is equipped with smashed cars, ambulances, actors and even a helicopter. It also utilizes active police officers, EMT’s, and fire fighters from Cobb and Cherokee County and other healthcare professionals. There are victims, survivors and criminals in this simulation and they are treated exactly as such. They are put in real ambulances, body bags and handcuffs and even their obituaries are read aloud. This was an event that had great impact on many KSU students especially Ariana Thomas. “I was sad and depressed,” Thomas said after watching the simulation. “I didn’t want that to happen to anyone.”

After working with Michael Sanseviro, dean of student success, and the alcohol, tobacco and other drugs coalition, Hudak said he was able to make his plan into something bigger than he had hoped for. OAA partnered with Golden Key, Phi Sigma Phi, the Athletics department, the KSU Wellness center and their annual “OctSOBERfest” and countless other departments on campus to make the event possible. With this collaboration there were more opportunities for audience participation. In the hours before the simulation was revealed students were able to try their fare at drunk goggle walking, small car race track competitions and mock-tails. Pizza, free T-shirts and entertainment aspects such as Scrappy the mascot, the cheerleading team and the dance team were also added to the event. “It’s been a good 8 or 9 months of work,” Hudak said about the planning process. He said he started planning the October event in February and he gives credit to everyone involved, who made the event possible. They also added guest speakers and brothersin-law Eric Krug and Chris Sandy who were both involved in drunk driving accidents, and paid serious consequences. Sandy, pleaded guilty for DUI and served eight and a half years in prison for two counts of vehicular homicide. Krug, now unable to speak or walk on his own, tells his story through the voice of his mother. These two were powerful speakers and got students and faculty thinking about the changes they wanted to make in their lives and what they wanted to see concerning KSU students.

involvement and they are also using their members as volunteers as well. Phi Eta Sigma, the lead organization, has decided to focus more of their community service at the local and university level because of the success of OAA. “Community, yes, it’s very important but we have a lot of needs right here too.” Hudak said about the new direction Phi Eta Sigma is taking. “A lot of times our students needs get overlooked so that’s one thing we’re trying to change.” People always think that accidents are what happen to others. They make up excuses or stories as to why certain people become victims while they, who are doing the same actions, are left unharmed. KSU students need to realize that just like in the simulation, accidents and tragedy can unfold even when they are not the one driving drunk or texting. A simple night out at the movies changed the fictional lives of the students forever. Not only will they have physical scars but mentally and emotionally they will never get over the death of their friends. This simulation might have been fictitious but the stories are realities that people face on a daily basis. In Georgia about three people are involved in fatal car crashes daily [Cobb County Police]. Don’t be the victim. Don’t be the person they place in a cold body bag and a wooden coffin. Continue to be the student studying five hours for a test and walking home in the dark from the library after pulling an all-nighter. Because it’s far better being a living person rather than dying as a statistic.

O AA

“A lot of time in the media they show drunk driving as being a bad thing but distracted driving can have the same consequences. Just looking away for that 4.6 seconds is literally between life and death” Reyshawn Simpkins said about what he learned from his time at the event. “I hope it makes students be more reflective of the fact that split second decisions can have huge lifelong impacts. “ Sanseviro said concerning his optimism about what he hopes students learned. “Crisis is around us every day and we need to take precautions.”

Owls Arrive Alive is a program that is getting increasingly larger every year. Volunteers are always needed to help with the event and actors are also in high demand. More organizations on campus are seeking January 2015 | -15-

O AA -16- | TALON MAGAZINE

“I

would give anything to hear her country accent again,” said Evan Houston, a senior at Kennesaw State University. Once a student athlete at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Miss., Houston reminisced about the bond she shared with her volleyball team. One teammate in particular, Jaclyn Kuzniar, was a bubbly, well-rounded player from Panama City Beach, Fla., that the whole team looked up to. “She never gave up even when the whole team was low. She was a fighter,” Houston said. It was September 2013, on a Saturday night, and the Alcorn State volleyball team had an 11 p.m. curfew issued by their coach. The small-town school had a major football game earlier that night, so after-parties were bound

skull. Because her injuries were so severe, she had to be airlifted to the nearest hospital nearly two hours away. The University of Mississippi Medical Center cared for Kuzniar more than four months while she was in a coma. The once energetic and lively athlete was now helpless and stationary, but still doing what she does best; being a fighter. Kuzniar’s parents were given a choice: to pull the plug and take their daughter off life support, or to let her continue fighting and have another go at life; even though it may never be the same. Choosing life, Kuzniar made it out of the coma, had more than 20 skull surgeries, and has since moved into a nursing home in Jackson, Miss. where she still undergoes intensive physical therapy. The deadly car wreck left her unable to walk, talk, eat, and see out of one eye. “She literally has to take baby steps to relearn all this,” said

that she was her own designated driver for her 21st birthday because her friends wanted to drink that night. “I don’t play around when it comes to my life and others’,” said Houston. Kuzniar isn’t able to acknowledge anyone around her, and for Houston this is disheartening because there’s no reminiscing on their major wins and sore losses. “I’m never going to forget all this. My teammate and sister is not the same,” said Houston. Her hopes through sharing this story is for people to take drinking and driving more serious, and for people to be touched by it the way it touched her. Although students know the dangers of drinking while driving, most still feel like they are the exception. In a poll taken at KSU from a class of 27 students, they were asked if they have ever driven while intoxicated. A

Unhurt, but scarred: STUDENT OPENS UP ABOUT TEAMMATE’S FATAL DRINKING AND DRIVING ACCIDENT By Dasha Jackson to happen in cities nearby. Kuzniar, who had been drinking, decided to sneak out during curfew to drive to a party 20 minutes away in Port Gibson, Miss. along with another teammate. “After a while Coach got word that my teammates snuck out, so she demanded a room check,” said Houston. With two valuable teammates nowhere to be found, their coach immediately called Kuzniar to question the players about their whereabouts. The captain and other teammate apologized profusely to their coach, and promised to rush back to campus right away; both girls intoxicated by this time. “She was a naturally fast driver,” said Houston. On that summer night, Kuzniar wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and lost control over her vehicle, which flipped multiple times. The passenger made it out of the fatal ordeal with minor cuts and bruises, but the star captain suffered from a fractured

Houston. During her April visit to her old teammate in Jackson earlier this year, Houston couldn’t believe this was the same gorgeous, fit captain she once had a strong bond with before. “She was so scarred up and depressed, I couldn’t believe it was her,” Houston said. “I couldn’t help but cry.” Seeing her longtime friend in this positon was too much for Houston to handle, especially since she has once experienced a depressing injury herself; not by drinking and driving, but by her sport. The serious knee injury left Houston on crutches for four months and during that time she was miserable because she couldn’t do for herself; she hasn’t taken walking for granted since. Kuzniar’s story taught her to appreciate everything in life, and ultimately changed her perspective on drinking and driving. “I used to drive tipsy, and it was no big deal. But now I don’t ever risk it,” said Houston. She takes this lesson so serious

whopping 18 students admitted to operating a vehicle after they drank, and 12 of these students divulged that they still engage in this activity. KSU alumnus Trey Patton (pictured left) remembers losing his best friend in a deathly drunk driving accident in 2011. He now persuades his friends to refrain from getting behind the wheel after they drank because they’re making a selfish choice by putting their lives and others in danger. “Often times students think they’re invincible and fail to realize that everything in their lives could change based off one decision,” said the May 2014 graduate. Trey suggests Uber, a nifty alternative to taxis that connects passengers to drivers within minutes. “I’ve relied on Uber a few times,” Trey said. “It allows me to go out and drink, but still be safe at the same time.”

January 2015 | -17-

where students love living

U POINTE KENNESAW

$2.3 MILLION IN AMENITY UPGRADES U CLUB ON FREY

PHASE 2 NOW OPEN SPACES FILLING FAST FOR FALL 2015

U Pointe Kennesaw: 3079 Hidden Forest Court | 770.422.2334 UClub on Frey: 3995 Frey Road | 678.401.4617

-18- | TALON MAGAZINE

A P P LY T O DAY F O R FA L L 2 0 1 5 U POINTE KENNESAW

SAVE $150 WITH ZERO DEPOSIT Great locations to campus + On KSU shuttle route + Townhome floor plans available + Private bedrooms & bathrooms Fully furnished + Leather-style sectional sofa (U Club on Frey) + Hardwood-style floors + Designer interior finishes Resort-style swimming pools with hot tub & sun deck + Fitness centers + Game rooms + Computer centers

U CLUB ON FREY

Fees & amenities are subject to change. Limited time only.

January 2015 | -19-

– BRINGING LIFE TO THE WALLS – By Hannah Gleason

rtistic ambition and savvy business sense guided senior art student Ryan Benefield as he tackled a major mural project for KSU’s Office of Procurement and Contracting in August 2014. “Procurement and contracting” is not a phrase that conjures up the most exciting ideas for most people. Looking to change this image, Debbie Chimeno, a contracting agent with KSU’s Procurement and Contracting Department, decided to liven up the department’s blank walls. Chimeno said she wanted to find the perfect artist to complete the task, so she contacted professors in KSU’s Fine Art Department via email, reaching Robert Sherer, who had also -20- | TALON MAGAZINE

been featured in KSU’s Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum. Benefield formed a close bond with Sherer, after Benefield transferred to KSU from Southern Polytechnic State University. Sherer said the two became “fast friends” after Benefield made a good impression on him. “He would engage me in conversations that were above average intelligence,” Sherer said. “I could tell that he got the bigger picture, and what he didn’t get of the bigger picture he was very much determined to get.” The two keep in close contact, Sherer said, as Sherer taught both Benefield’s aqueous media and advanced painting classes. Benefield also

– Robert Sherer

interned for Sherer through the Art Career Mentoring Service. Having realized Benefield’s talent for and dedication to art, Sherer passed Chimeno’s email along to Benefield. Paintings murals has been a major business focus for Benefield. “Within the past couple weeks, I’ve really been dedicated to getting this mural business that I’m doing going,” Benefield said. “I was working at this restaurant here in Kennesaw, and I told them to take me off the schedule, and since then I’m basing these murals off my income.”

the Office of Procurement and Contracting and go ‘Wow! That is really cool. What is this building? Who did this?’” After speaking to Chimeno, Benefield knew the mural had to incorporate two main ideas: the KSU-SPSU merger and a theme of unity. With these guidelines, Benefield began working on a first draft of the mural. Rendered beautifully in watercolors, Benefield’s draft blew Chimeno away.

Benefield, described by Sherer as “the big man on campus” and “one of the art department’s movers and shakers,” fit the bill for Chimeno’s mural project. After hearing about the assignment, he approached Chimeno for more information.

“He sketched Kennesaw Hall, with portions of the Bagwell College of Education, our stadium, and the College of Architecture and Engineering at SPSU, with the Kennesaw mountains in the background and Sturgis flying between both campuses,” Chimeno said, which to me, was a perfect insight, and exactly what I was looking for to bring unity to both campuses.”

“I asked Ryan to do the “wow feature,” Chimeno said. “I want people to come in to

With Chimeno’s blessing, Benefield began working nights and weekends to paint the

mural on the Office of Procurement and Contracting’s main hallway wall, he said. Benefield took three weeks to complete the piece. Benefield’s hard work and skill created an amazing mural that Chimeno, Sherer and many other figures on KSU’s campus admire. His work not only demonstrates his talent, but also KSU’s talent for preparing students for their future and getting them involved on campus. “It’s great to know that somebody as deserving as [Benefield] got this recognition,” Sherer said. The mural was officially unveiled during the Office of Procurement and Contracting’s re-opening event on Dec. 9. Honored guests from KSU marveled at the improved offices and Benefield’s amazing mural.

– Debbie Chimeno

Mural images by Ryan Benefield

January 2015 | -21-

The Reality Of Homelessness: One Student Shares Her Experience

For many, sleeping bags were their only choices of warmth for the night.

Photos by Brea Boutwell

By Kaitlyn Lewis

or nine years Kennesaw State University has raised awareness for homelessness during the annual Homelessness Awareness Week events, which were held Nov. 3 through Nov.7 last semester. The events are sponsored by KSU’s CARE Center, a service provided by the Counseling and Psychological Services. Dr. Lana Wachniak, one of Homelessness Awareness Week’s founders, stood in the cold, windy weather outside of the Social Sciences Building to participate in the annual sleep out, an event which allows students to experience homelessness for a couple of days. “We want to educate students with all these activities, we want to engage them and we want to inspire them to help,” Wachniak said. Each student who participated in the sleep -22- | TALON MAGAZINE

out was given a scenario as if he or she was actually homeless. The scenarios told students how much money they would make a year, if they had children and if they needed to go to the Moot Court later that night. Homelessness may not always look like you think it should—that was the message faculty and staff tried to convey during Homelessness Awareness Week. Around 25 to 30 homeless students have sought help at the CARE Center, Wachniak said; but she suspects other students in need have yet to come forward and seek help. Not all homeless people live on the streets. Not all homeless people sleep on park benches. Wachniak and her husband, William Wallace, have sponsored a new scholarship for

homeless students at KSU. The first recipient of this scholarship is junior human services major, Angela Carr. Not all homeless people are even aware of their situation. Carr came to the CARE Center during the fall semester of 2014. She heard from one of her friends in the Adult Learner’s Program that the CARE Center was a good place to seek financial help. “I was only living off of my student refunds,” Carr said. “I didn’t have a job. I don’t care how much I tried to get a job on campus, off campus, [there] was nothing working. I mean when I say not Taco Bell, Wendy’s—nothing! Nobody was hiring, or they just didn’t hire me. I don’t know why. So I had to make sure I budgeted the whole time, but it was like it was only gonna last so long.”

At the CARE Center, Carr met Marcy Stidum, the Associate Director of the Counseling and Psychological Services. Stidum serves students in need from the center’s food pantry and assesses students’ financial and food insecurity needs. “So when I came over to the CARE center, I was only coming over, really, to see what they can offer as far as the scholarship,” Carr said, “but I didn’t know what the CARE program really did…And so I was gonna tell her what was going on with all my finances, and so that’s how it all began.” Carr was informed that she was homeless. Carr moved into the Kennesaw area in April 2012 and enrolled at KSU in fall 2012. She started off living in an apartment but could not find a job to pay the rent.

To Carr’s surprise, the general manager replied, “yes” and Carr asked, “Well, why is

Homelessness may not always look like you think it should

All my money was going out, but nothing was coming back in—that was the problem,” Carr said. She was evicted from her apartment and now lives in an extended stay hotel. When the CARE Center told Carr that she was homeless, Carr could not believe it. She even called her hotel’s general manager to get confirmation. “Can you help me with something here,” Carr asked the general manager. “There’s

this argument going back and forth about people staying in extensive stay that they’re homeless…Is that true?”

that?” “Because you don’t have a lease that locks you into an agreement,” the manager said. Carr said she was so focused on school and finishing her degree, that she never thought of her situation as homelessness. Not that she is aware, she said she understands why she is homeless, but that doesn’t bother her. She keeps going.

face, but not all have to face it silently. At the CARE Center, Carr has been able to meet other students in her same situation. She said she met a student who also lives in an extended stay, but she lives with her husband and children. “I don’t have that situation going on, but I have [met] people who have been where I’ve been,” Carr said. “And people think that you want to be there, but it’s not necessarily that you want to be there, it’s like the only thing you really can do right now. So you just have to stay—don’t focus on it.” Carr also sat in a round-table discussion and heard other students share their stories. “Nobody even knew my situation at all because I didn’t even know myself,” Carr said. “I was sitting there totally amazed about what was going on. And I never knew I was gonna be standing up there speaking to people [one day].” Finally, in fall 2014, Carr found a job working as an early childhood substitute teacher. The Homelessness Awareness Scholarship provides Carr with $20,000 to pay her tuition. According to the KSU website, students are paying around $3,000-$4,000 in tuition and fees for the 2014-2015 school year. “You just have to overcome those obstacles and hurtles and have to keep moving,” Carr said.

Homelessness is an obstacle many people

Bringing awareness to the reality of homeless students here at Kennesaw State, they are not invisible.

January 2015 | -23-

Carr started her career in 2003 but dropped out to homeschool her daughter, who was struggling in school. She also has a son who lives with his father.

one the teachers instead of one of the people washing the dishes in the kitchen, and I could have been making a whole lot more money... I didn’t want a job, I wanted a career.”

“Education has always been big in my house,” Carr said.

When Carr goes to the round-table discussions, she shares her story with other students. She enjoys volunteering she continues to visit the CARE Center; she said her cabinets are full.

Her daughter has grown up now, but she continues to encourage her children to pursue careers as she pursues hers. When asked why she decided to return to school five years later as a non-traditional student, Carr said she was “tired of being poor.” When my daughter was in the first grade, I remember having to wash dishes and be a lunch aid and all that stuff because I want to be there with her,” Carr said. “But if I would have had my degree, I still could have been

Carr said the first Homelessness Awareness Week event she attended was last, before she even heard about the CARE Center. “I think it is really good to bring awareness, but I still don’t think that enough people still know about the CARE program,” Carr said. “Let me tell you one thing: I eat good from the CARE Center. You don’t ever have to worry about starving.”

Individuals prepare for a two night stay on campus during the sleep out

KSU Seminar class for freshmen participate in sleep out and explain their surprise-24of homelessness existing among the student body here at KSU. | TALON MAGAZINE

Nadia Atkinson, one of the learning community members shares her story about why she joined the HAW project.

Participants check in for Thursday night’s sleep out.

Getting ready for a chilly Friday night sleep out in their tent.

Dr. Lana Wachniak, one of the founders of Homeless Awareness Week, discusses the reality of homeless students here at Kennesaw State and the importance of the sleep out and events of the week.

Jeff Skinner, another member of the learning community shares his story about a close friend of his who had become homeless.

Thomas Thompson, lead case worker for Salvation Army, spends the night giving out soup and sandwiches to participants of the sleep out.

Students snack on soup and sandwiches for the night from the Salvation Army truck.

Students leave their red handprints in support of homeless students here on campus and other students left pink handprints to honor individual students they knew personally that were homeless

The winner of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Homeless Scholarship (Katlyn has her name and the actual name of the scholarship).

Learning Community members educate students on the reality of homeless students here on our campus.

One of the shelters built by participants in the sleep out made out of January 2015 | -25several found objects.

College is filled with stories. Tell some. ksumedia.com -26- | TALON MAGAZINE

Southern Poly students reacted to the Nov. 2013 announcement that their institution would consolidate with Kennesaw State. Photo by Matt Boggs, Sentinel Photo Editor

January 2015 | -27-

Mainstream Media, Perspectives of Muslims at KSU and the Year of the Arabian Peninsula By Shazad Hamid Photos By Susan Parker

KSU’s focus on the Arab region during 2014 brought a positive message about tolerance and Islam to students with its “Year of the Arabian Peninsula” program. The “Women of Oman: Changing Roles & Transnational Influence” event promoted the empowerment of women in the Islamic world, specifically in the country of Oman, which has a core value of religious freedom and people can openly practice their faith, whether Christianity, Hinduism or Islam. Khoula Al Said, the senior consultant of pediatric gastroenterology at the Royal Hospital in Oman, spoke about health services in Oman and how to improve healthcare in Oman to reduce infant mortality and improve healthcare in general. According to the “Women of Oman” pamphlet, more Omani women pursue a college education than Omani men do. -28- | TALON MAGAZINE

Saada Al Ismaili, Director of the Women’s Sport Department at the Ministry of Sports Affairs in Muscat, Oman, also spoke at the conference. She spoke about encouraging women to participate in sports and Olympic activities within Oman. These women are Muslim, but Al Ismaili wants to encourage women to play sports and be active regardless of their hijab. The Muslim culture in Oman makes some women not want to participate in leadership or authoritative roles in society. However, women like Al Said and Al Ismaili are going around speaking about how women should become leaders in the modern world. Approximately, one-third of Omani women are civil servants, but this is changing each and every day. KSU also had the Year of the Arabian Peninsula’s event, “The Many Faces of the Hijab” where non-Muslim women could try on the hijab for themselves and understand why Muslim women wear the hijab. The hijab

is a headscarf Muslim women wear to cover their hair and head in regards to their religion. Arwa Abdulgader, who earned a degree in political science at KSU, attended the “Women of Oman” conference. Abdulgader said that she’s Muslim and grew up around that religion. She was born and raised in California. She said she made the decision to wear the hijab after much consideration. She wore the hijab on and off throughout her life because she wanted to know how she felt about it before making the commitment, but she finally decided when she was 15 to permanently wear it for religious reasons. She said. “I don’t want to say I was forced upon it. It’s just gaining more knowledge about the religion. In the Quran, it says that you have to make that decision.” Abdulgader also said, “The area in California I was living in had such a large Muslim population. So, the community was very strong there. So, coming down to Georgia it’s a different community.” She said that her non-Muslim friends would be supportive of her scarf because they understand the religious observance. She said that no one would come up to her and say something about her hijab, but she would receive strange looks because of her scarf. Abdulgader is very well-traveled. She has lived in England and Libya. She’s travelled to Egypt and Tunisia as well. When Abdulgader was 18, she was a kindergarten teacher who taught English in an international school. She also attended an international high school in Tripoli, Libya and she lived in the area during the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring is a revolution of protests that spread in the Arab world to promote democracy and human rights in the regions. It also spread through social media to raise awareness about Internet censorship. She said they did not know that the Arab Spring would reach Libya because Gaddafi was the dictator there for about 40 years. When the protests eventually spread to Libya, they experienced food shortages and power outages. Tanks were everywhere, so no one wanted to go outside and protest at first. She stated at one point when they shut down Tripoli, she could not leave Libya because they did not want Libyans to leave. She said she was wearing a scarf and speaking Arabic so anyone with that attire couldn’t leave. They didn’t want information about the protests to be leaked to the world. However, Abdulgader said, “I’m just like waving my

American passport. Hell no, I’m an American.” She stated, “These regimes are very corrupt. They use the religion to advance their political agenda. What’s going on in the Middle East has nothing to do with Islam. It’s like a Libyan thing.” She said the Muslims in Libya and the Muslims in America practice Islam in very different ways. The geopolitical consequences combined with the religion and corruption of government creates a hazardous environment in this region of the world. The government uses religion to enhance their personal and political gains. She said the people lack the knowledge and the news outlets do not show the reality of the situation. Abdulgader said when she came back to the states after the revolution she heard all these conservative American viewpoints which was really jarring, but interesting. She stated that coming to Georgia was a culture shock because of the conservative viewpoints many people had

and the lack of knowledge about international politics. She said, “I remember when I first came here, I didn’t really tell anybody I was from Libya. I was like, oh California. Because I was like, how am I going to explain the whole story- the journey? People would come up to me after class and be like, “Oh my God, how did you learn English?” and I’m just like, “What do you mean? I’m an American too.” The mainstream media is so easily accessible, but unfortunately it doesn’t portray moderate Muslims like Abdulgader. If Americans don’t do the research for themselves and find out what’s actually going on then they will believe whatever information is available to them. If Islamic fundamental groups are all that’s portrayed by the media then it’s no wonder some Americans will have animosity towards a specific group. She said, “If you want to educate yourself, it goes both ways.” January 2015 | -29-

Muslims who come to America should learn and assimilate into the American culture, but that doesn’t mean you have to forget your own culture. Learn about the culture you live in, but also learn about other people’s culture to fully understand everyone’s viewpoints. She said, “If you’re not taking that extra step to do the research then it’s easy for you to get to these generalizations.” Many people may be very intelligent, albeit, they are born into subscribing to a specific political party, news outlet, or religious organization and they see everything through that lens. When Abdulgader spoke about her time in North Africa she said, “Although it was a Muslim-majority country, I was exposed to different cultures and religions and people from all over the world. So, my fashion-sense kind of stayed there.” She was wearing a long mocha dress with the same color scarf. She said, “I do the basic Muslim practices. I do the bare minimum. I feel like people kind of misunderstand the whole image: wearing the scarf, dressing modestly, and it’s not only that. You can do that and not have a strong faith. So, I think this is just half of it, you know? It’s really interesting because, living in Libya, you’ll have people wearing the scarf because the fashion thing. People kind of mix the whole culture practice [with the religious practice].” She also stated that women receive pressure from other girls to wear the hijab. The hijab is meant to be worn for religious purposes not a fashion fad. However, many women in Muslim-majority countries wear a veil or scarf only because it’s the fashion of the country. Ultimately, Abdulgader believes through conferences like the “Women of Oman” at KSU people can come to an -30- | TALON MAGAZINE

understanding of other people’s culture and religion to promote tolerance in American society. Ilham Ramram, KSU Alumna who majored in American Studies and got her masters in American Studies with a transnational concentration, was born in Morocco. She moved to the United States about three years ago and even lived in a dorm on campus with roommates. She said, “For the hijab; it’s religious attire. I’m not wearing it because [of ] my parents. I put it [on] to please God.” She said it’s kind of hard to understand how people view you in America. Perhaps people want to keep their negative thoughts to themselves. She said, “If someone discriminated against me, I wouldn’t take it seriously because I always tell myself I’m proud of myself. And I love the way I am.” She said, “I’m not wearing this because I don’t have nice hair. I’m putting it on for religious purposes. To please God. I don’t want people to judge me based on what they see.” She said she wants people to judge her based on her personality, brains, and what she has to say. Ramram said she made a lot of friend ever since moving here. She said she always explained to her friends why she wears the hijab and they accepted her without any problems. Her roommates on campus would even let her know if they were inviting men over then they would call her to let her know that she would have to put on her hijab back on. Because she can take off her veil when there are just women around. Her roommates would even use separate pots and pans sometimes when they cooked pork because Ramram cannot eat pork due to her religious beliefs.

In Ramram’s Capstone research project she wrote about Muslims in America after the September 11 attacks and how they were perceived after 9/11. She said, “In fact, media, particularly in America, plays really a major role in teaching people or Americans or westerners about Muslims.” Ramram said that unfortunately everything that mainstream media says about Muslims is not always 100 percent true. All over the mainstream media people see information about terrorists, but never really the Muslims who are condemning the actions of the extremists. She said that when she came to America, she noticed that American movies misrepresent all ethnic groups whether they are African American, Native American, and even White. They portray people in a derogatory way or in a stereotypical way. She said Muslims are not the only ones affected by stereotypes, but it’s really anyone who is a minority in America. She said, “This is what the media sells. The media seeks to make money. They are just going to sell the people’s interest or frighten the public. Mostly to frighten the public.” KSU has done a fantastic job in providing people like Ramram with a voice to spread her version of Islam. This is what the message of the “Year of the Arabian Peninsula” at KSU is. Kennesaw State University’s Zuckerman Museum of Art included a photography exhibit that featured the work of two Omani photographers that showcased society in Oman. The ZMA also had many other exhibits in the past which are still available to see today like the LGBTIQ (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersex, questioning) Project which showcased records and

history of the gay civil rights movement in Cobb county, Georgia. Another exhibit was the controversial, “A Walk in the Valley” by Ruth Stanford which was at first removed because of the provocative and racist history it showcased. It showed a dark side to KSU’s history because it contained text from a Georgian woman who justified the lynching of a black man. All of these fascinating exhibits are not only available to all students, but anyone else who is interested can go to the museum and check it out. Sam Richards, jazz guitar major and senior at KSU, is an atheist, although, he stated he did not like the label because of the implications and stereotypes it comes with. Richards feels like people misunderstand the views of atheists and that “beautiful people” exist on both sides of the spectrum. He said, “Be careful of your assumptions of non-religious folk. It’s possible to have peace without religion. Don’t assume that we’re all depressed drunks.”

When Richards began speaking about the different situations going on the Middle East specifically the Syrian children he began to tear up a little bit. He said its unfortunate religion and culture is causing so much destruction in the world. The Quran and Bible both have contradictions. However, Richards proposed a solution to create a Christian and Islamic reformation. The reason for this is because the extremists use the verses from Quran to justify their brutality. However, Muslims should not condemn the extremists and then at the same time support these verses from the Quran. This would be hypocritical. They should love God for the

sake of faith and not because of religious texts. Richards said when he was young he asked a Muslim boy if he believed in God and the boy said yes, but when Richards was Christian it bothered him that the boy wasn’t going to heaven like he was. It lead to him to eventually leave his faith. Richards believes everyone has the right to practice their faith freely as long as it does not hurt anyone else. Ultimately, there are good and bad people within every religion and nobody should generalize a group of individuals without doing the proper research or getting to know the person for themselves.

Richards grew up in a conservative Christian household. His parents are both Baptist, but his brother also considers himself an atheist. Richards said that he “wanted to be a Christian so bad.” But Richards stated that pastors hide things from the members of church. Richard stated that he thinks Muslims on campus seem like nice people. Richards spoke about how he’s never met a Muslim who wasn’t kind to him and he’s had many Muslim friends who are great. Richards said that some of his family members do not like Muslims, but they would never admit that publicly and they would never discuss their views publicly. However, Richards feels that there are 2 types of Christians at his church. One type who have extremely bigoted views and “watch Fox News” and then the other type who may have some negative views on Muslims, but are not as bigoted as the other type. Richards says both types of Christians would never discuss these views out loud. Richards said that he understood why someone would want to wear the hijab, but it doesn’t sit well with him. Not because of the stereotype, but because he doesn’t believe religion should dictate your life. He also stated that he did not believe that all Muslims were like terrorist groups depicted in the media. He said that the west invaded their land and that there was a time when people in Iraq were liberal. Richards works at his church and is a great musician and that’s his main income. He feels that he would be discriminated against by members of church and by his family for not believing in God.

January 2015 | -31-

DON'T MISS TALONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEXT ISSUE If you want to know when the next issue of TALON is on news stands just email eic@ksutalon.com and we will add you to an email list. Visit us online at www.KSUTalon.com

-32- | TALON MAGAZINE