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CLAMBAKE RAISES $240K TRUMP IS IN TROUBLE
NOVEMBER 8, 2018 VOLUME XXXV ISSUE VIII
New College of Florida's student-run newspaper
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Remembering Professor Glenn Cuomo BY JORDI GONZALEZ During a staff appreciation event last Friday, Nov. 3, New College of Florida President Donal O’Shea made the following remarks: “Glenn had an acute eye for the absurd, and he could talk at length on some oddity or other, or analyzing patterns of behavior that no one but he would notice,” shortly followed by, “Let’s just take a moment of silence to remember him. He was a superb scholar and a gifted teacher.” Having begun his tremendous influence with New College back in 1982, Professor of German Literature and Language Glenn R. Cuomo, impacted the lives of many colleagues and countless students throughout his time here. The school’s community has been left in a profound state of
photo courtesy of New College of Florida
This November would have marked Professor Cuomo's (center) 35th anniversary year teaching at New College.
reflection after the beloved mentor and overall positive presence passed away recently due to an extremely rare form of cancer on Oct. 25. This November would have marked his 35th anniversary year of being with New College.
“I think a lot of people generally recognized how he would go out of his way to sort of do what he could for students,” Professor of Philosophy and Religion Douglas Langston said. “Even when he was essentially dying, the last two or
three months he was still meeting with some individual students about academic issues.” One of those last minute issues was involved with helping a student create a tutorial based off the classic and monumental piece of German literature Goethe’s Elective Affinities. Cuomo’s multifaceted contributions to New College involve a decade of accreditation efforts between 2006 and 2016, serving as chair for the Division of Humanities twice, as well as being the Campus Fulbright Program Advisor from 1995 until his death. He was a driving force in the current statistics New College holds regarding the amount of Fulbright scholars the institution has produced in relation to other schools. The Fulbright U.S. Student continued on p. 3
The internet, propaganda’s new frontier
Social media companies under fire in election meddling investigations Trump advisor Steve Bannon had, BY COLE ZELZNAK
https://doc-0k-18-docs. googleusercontent.com/ docs/securesc/s7jurnmk912se8sp3mgg3hd8llrh0uos/obdpo7fpcdn719 co01n4qb7t57rv346b/1 506448800000/0533393 9401667025082/025783 83506865688437/0B4ze ECbsUTILVjVXY25YUU 52ZUk?e=download
126 million�that’s the approximate number of American Facebook users the social media giant estimated were exposed to advertisements posted on the site by the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Russian marketing firm. 139 million�the total number of Americans who voted in the 2016 presidential election. These figures are just one element of a much larger campaign to disinform the American public in the leadup to the election. Investigative reports and congressional inquiries continue to reveal the depth and scale of both foreign and domestic efforts to manipulate social media for political gains. The Russia-linked advertisements were targeted at swing voters in key states and contained inflammatory political
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in the past, served as the firm’s vice president. Cambridge Analytica uses information purchased from social media companies and other data farms to build “psychographic profiles” of users’ personalities, which are then used to tailor ad content to a specific person or group of people, as well as to predict voting and consumer habits. Before working with the Trump campaign, Cambridge Analytica had offered its services, for free, to the right-wing proponents of the United Kingdom’s (UK) departure from the European Union (EU). photo courtesy of United States Congress “We have somewhere close to four or five-thousand data points This group was promoted by a fake Russian Facebook account. on every adult in the United States,” rhetoric and attempts to stoke campaign hired Cambridge Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander racial resentment. However, Russia Analytica, a London-based firm Nix said at a presentation in 2016. was not the only source of targeted owned by Robert Mercer, a The Computational Propaganda online political advertisements billionaire hedge-fund manager project at the University of Oxford’s during the campaign cycle. and co-owner of the alt-right news In June 2016, the Trump organization Breitbart. One-time continued on p. 3
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“Rogue Twitter employee” deletes Trump’s account BY JACOB WENTZ Whether he’s bashing “Crooked H,” boasting about America’s nuclear superiority or advocating that the National Football League (NFL) should “Fire or suspend!” players who kneel during the national anthem, President Donald Trump has created a strong link between his presidency and his Twitter account. The world experienced a first on Thursday night, when his account was deleted by a rogue Twitter employee. The account was deleted shortly
before 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time and remained down for a total of 11 minutes. During those 11 minutes, any visitors to Trump’s Twitter page would see a message reading: "Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!" In response to the event, Twitter tweeted that it has “implemented safeguards to prevent this from happening again.” The company has not, however, detailed these safeguard and the measures that it plans to take. “We won’t be able to share all details about our internal investigation or updates to our
security measures, but we take this seriously and our teams are on it.” This incident comes after months of public controversy over Twitter’s regulation of Trump’s account. Many wonder why the company does not delete certain Tweets that appear to violate its rules. Twitter’s rules forbid using the platform to make violent threats, including both direct and indirect threats. Twitter warns that accounts that violate that rule may be subject to a temporary or permanent
suspension. Details about the employee who deleted the account are unclear, but Twitter has reported that the company is conducting a full internal review. “Through our investigation we have learned that this was done by a Twitter customer support employee who did this on the employee’s last day.” Information for this article was obtained from twitter.com, washingtonpost.com and nytimes.com
26 reported dead in Texas church shooting BY JACOB WENTZ A gunman opened fire at a Sunday service at a small Baptist church in rural Texas, killing at least 26 people in the state’s deadliest mass shooting. The gunman was identified as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, an Air Force veteran who was later found dead of a gunshot wound in his vehicle. Kelley started firing not long after the 11:00 a.m. Sunday service at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, a tiny town east of San Antonio, Texas. He was armed with a Ruger military-style rifle and was dressed in all black with a ballistic vest strapped to his chest. Within minutes, many of the parishioners inside the small church were either dead or wounded. The
motive of the attack has not yet been disclosed by the authorities. The victims ranged in age from 5 to 72. Among the dead were several children, a pregnant woman and the the 14-year-old daughter of the First Baptist Church’s pastor, Frank Pomeroy. Both Pomeroy and his wife, Sherri Pomeroy, were traveling out of state when the shooting occurred. A church member, Sandy Ward, told media sources that her daughterin-law and three of her grandchildren were shot. Her five-year-old grandson was shot four times and remained in surgery Sunday night. She said she is waiting on more information about her other family members. Freeman Martin, a regional director with the Texas Department of Public Safety, described the shooter in Sunday’s press conference
as a young white male who was dressed in all-black “tactical-type gear.” Martin said the suspect was seen in the gas station across the street from the church at about 11:20 a.m. local time. The suspect left the gas station, crossed the street, exited his vehicle and began firing before he entered the church. According to Martin, as the suspect left the church, a local resident used their own rifle to engage him. The shooter fled the church while the citizen pursued him. After a brief chase, law enforcement officers found the suspect dead of a gunshot wound in his vehicle. Authorities said they don’t know if the wound was selfinflicted or the result of the resident who fired on the suspect.
"My heart is broken," Wilson County Commissioner Albert Gamez Jr. told CNN. "We never think where it can happen, and it does happen. It doesn't matter where you're at. In a small community, real quiet and everything, and look at this." Of the 26 fatalities, 23 were found dead inside the church. Two were found outside and one died later at a hospital. It was the deadliest mass shooting in the state’s history. At least 20 more were wounded. “It’s something we all say does not happen in small communities, although we found out today it does,” Joe Tackitt, sheriff of Wilson County said. Information for this article was obtained from nytimes.com and cnn. com
Deadliest New York City terror attack since 9/11 BY JACOB WENTZ Twenty-nine-year-old Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov drove a rental truck through a pedestrian and bike lane along the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring 11 in the deadliest terror attack on New York City since 9/11. According to the New York Times, the rampage ended when Saipov crashed into a school bus, jumped out of his truck and ran along the highway while waving a pellet gun and a paintball gun. Reports indicate that Saipov, a Uzbekistan native who has been living in New Jersey since 2010, was shouting “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” before he was shot in
the abdomen by an officer. Investigators found handwritten Arabic notes near the truck that suggested allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Joon H. Kim, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York indicates that Saipov is charged with providing material support to ISIS, violence and destruction of motor vehicles. A federal criminal complaint states that Saipov told investigators he was inspired by so-called Islamic State videos, particularly one that shows ISIS leader Abu Bakr alBaghdadi. Reviewed by law enforcements, one of Saipov’s cellphones contained approximately 90 videos, “many
"Nothing is free in college. Everything you are getting is something that you've paid for." © 2017 the Catalyst. All rights reserved. The Catalyst is available online at www.ncfcatalyst.com, facebook.com/NCFcatalyst instagram.com/NCFcatalyst twitter.com/ncfcatalyst The Catalyst is an academic tutorial sponsored by Professor Maria D. Vesperi. It is developed in the New College Publications Lab using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign and printed at Sun Coast Press with funds provided by the New College Student Alliance.
of which appear to be [...] ISISrelated propaganda,” the complaint indicates. The phone also contained around 4,000 images, many of which were reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to be ISIS propaganda. The complaint also states that Saipov conducted a truck attack “to inflict maximum damage against civilians” and that he chose to strike on Halloween “because he believed there would be more civilians on the street for the holiday.” President Donald Trump said that the shooter should be executed. "NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!” the president tweeted
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late Wednesday night. Mayor Bill de Blasio declared the rampage a terrorist attack. “Based on the information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror, and a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians,” de Blasio said at a news conference. “Anyone who wants to come into this country should be very thoroughly vetted as an individual, but the minute you start generalizing it, especially to a whole religion, then unfortunately we’re sending the exact negative message that a lot of our enemies want and the terrorist wants to affirm--that this nation is somehow anti-Muslim. We’ve got to do the exact opposite.”
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LOCAL NEWS
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Bayfront Clambake raises over $240,000 for international and out of state student scholarships BY GIULIA HEYWARD Bikes and bare feet are a common sight at the bay. So when over 300 Sarasota residents arrived to mingle, eat seafood and participate in an auction, it could only mean one thing: the 39th annual New England Clambake had arrived and, with it, upwards of $240,000 fundraised to support numerous scholarships that benefit international and out of state students. “Without our state scholarships, there is no way that I would be able to even attend New College,” thirdyear Maggie Hoffswell, who has been invited to attend the Clambake twice as a student volunteer, said. “It’s always nice to meet people in the Sarasota community who support our college.” A handful of students are invited to attend the Clambake as “student volunteers.” These volunteers, who are mainly international or out of state students who have benefitted from a scholarship from New College, are paired with the table
where their donors are sitting. This year, New College Student Alliance (NCSA) President and third-year Ximena Pedroza and thesis student Caitlyn Ralph both gave speeches at the event. “There is always fantastic food which is nice,” Hoffswell added. Interestingly, the New England Clambake did not offer any clams. The event, hosted by Michael’s on East, served lobster and pulled pork--while caterers walked across the bay with ice cream carts and passed around ice cream sandwiches. Attendants could leave their tables situated underneath massive tents to enjoy an open wine and beer bar or purchase a $10 cocktail. “[Michael’s on East] is one of the premier caters in town,” Van der Molen said. “They are recognized easily.” “We’re still getting gifts and follows up in from [the Clambake],” Van der Molen said. “We had $200,000 built up in donations associated with the Clambake, and at the Clambake we had four Novo
Collegiate scholarships made which is an additional $40,000 on top of it. We should be in excess, at minimum, of $240,000 total between going in advance, Novo Collegiate scholars but that’s not including all of the other things that we need to follow up.” Donations are made from tables at the event sponsored, tickets purchased and donations that the Clambake Committee, composed of Sarasota residents and New College alumni, is able to also raise prior to the event. The Clambake--while always existing to fundraise for New College students--originally took place on Longboat Key. According to Glenn Van der Molen, the Assistant Director of the New College Alumni Association, the event was brought to New College’s campus in order to connect donors with the community. After the Foundation raises the funds, they are then given to the Financial Aid Department who allocates the funds to students. According to Van der Molen, the
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Internet Institute discovered that a significant amount of pro-Trump content was spread by automated social media accounts, or bots. According to the Oxford researchers, Trump’s bots outnumbered Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton’s five to one at the time of the election. These bots did not simply flood the internet with pro-Trump messaging, but were coordinated and actively responded to developments in the campaign by rotating variations of ads and multiplying the ads that received the most attention from social media users. In early January 2017, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence presented a report to the then-President-Elect Trump. The report concluded that Russian Federation President Vladimir V. Putin had directed a widespread online disinformation campaign with the goal of denigrating Hillary Clinton and electing Donald Trump. The public report did not claim that Russia’s interference had a significant outcome on the results of the election. Facebook, Google and Twitter now face an investigation from the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Cambridge Analytica is being questioned by House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
regarding its role in the election. Oxford’s Computational Propaganda project found that social media firms display a general disinterest in regulating how their networks are being used, leaving most of the work to external factcheckers like Snopes.com and the Associated Press. Facebook has provoked criticism for its dismissal of outside political influences in the past, with founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg waving off the threat of fake news and disinformation just after the election. “Personally I think the idea that fake news on Facebook, of which it’s a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea,” Zuckerberg said at a conference in November 2017. Facebook has since tucked its tail between its legs and promised to hire more than 1,000 new employees to manually review political advertisements and to publicly show, on the ads, who has paid for them. Facebook and Twitter have turned over advertisements, fake accounts and financial records to investigators. The goal of future legislation will be to limit the ease with which large networks of bots are able to manufacture consensus by showering dubious content with likes and reposts, making it appear
reputable. “The abuse of our platform to attempt state-sponsored manipulation of elections is a new challenge for us—and one that we are determined to meet,” Twitter’s acting general counsel, Sean Edgett told the Senate subcommittee. Social media companies are businesses. They collect data shared by their users and use that data to make money by selling targeted advertisements. This fact is perhaps the greatest obstacle to effectively regulating the way that political advertisements are handled by Facebook and Twitter. Twitter has been struggling financially in recent years, and so the recent revelation that the company pitched a $1.5 million ad buy to Kremlin-backed media company RT comes as no surprise. Facebook and Twitter should not be passive non-actors, they have a responsibility to limit the abuse of their platforms, even if it means leaving money on the table. A bipartisan bill introduced in October is one of the first legislative attempts to tackle these problems. The Honest Ads Act would require social media companies to disclose the content and purchasers of political ads. “Online political advertising represents an enormous continued on p. 11
photo courtesy of Paola Baez-Perez
The New England Clambake took place on the New College bayfront.
costs spent by New College to host this event are solely covered by the cost of the tickets for people to attend the event. “If you want to be involved, it’s not guaranteed,” Van der Molen said. “But we can try our best. It’s definitely a fun event and we love to have students there but there is a limited amount of student volunteers.” Anyone interested in becoming a student volunteer for the Clambake can contact the Foundation.
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Program allows for recipients to obtain grants in order to travel to participating foreign countries and complete individualized study/ research projects. New College is known for its exceptionally high frequency of student recipients for the award even given the small student body size. “Glenn had a keen sense of what it took to land a Fulbright, especially in Germany, and he pretty much put students on a prescribed path in the application process and held them to it. He devoted great attention to detail and took pride in being thorough in his advising our candidates for Fulbrights,” Professor of Humanities Gordon Michalson wrote in an e-mail interview. Cuomo’s detail orientedness and knack for the evaluation process landed 35 recipients--an average of one for Germany every year he was here--out of the 85 the school has garnered overall since 2001. However, his far reaching efforts didn’t just help the German program. “When our first Chinese Fulbright TA arrived on campus in fall 2008, together with a German TA, Glenn went out of his way to help the two TAs settle in and blend into the local community. We have continued on p. 5
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Trumping Trump: The Manafort Case and its context BY AZIA KEEVER Allegations of collusion between the Trump administration and Russian forces is no longer news, but evidence is. “There is NO COLLUSION!” President Trump said on Twitter the same day Robert Mueller III, head of the Special Counsel’s investigation of Russian interference, sent out indictments against three of Trump’s campaign advisors: foreign policy advisor named George Papadopoulos, campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate and campaign adviser, Rick Gates. Gates and Manafort have been charged with conspiracy against the United States, laundering money, being unregistered agents of a foreign principal, failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts and giving false and misleading FARA, “Foreign Agents Registration Act” statements. FARA states that any member of the U.S. government who conspires with any foreign entities must report those relations to the U.S. government. “Between at least 2006 and 2015, Manafort and Gates acted as unregistered agents of the Government of Ukraine, the Party of
Regions (a Ukrainian political party whose leader Victor Yanukovych was President from 2011 to 2014), Yanukovych, and the Opposition Bloc (a successor to the Party of Regions that formed in 2014 when Yanukovych fled to Russia),” the official indictment for Manafort and Gates said. Tens of millions of dollars of foreign currency were generated by Manafort and Gates as payment for their Ukraine work.They created offshore bank accounts to house this money and used entities that they owned or controlled to evade taxation. More than $75 million flowed through the bank accounts. The indictment asserts more than $18 million was officially laundered by Manafort, while more than $3 million was transferred by Gates. These entities converted the money into liquid assets in the U.S. for their personal affairs. One of such assets was a house Manafort bought and listed for personal use by his daughter and sonin-law. The house was effectively used as an airbnb to generate income. By listing it on tax returns as personal property he was able to evade rental property taxation. Manafort’s involvement with
Ukraine was known during the campaign. According to NPR, "he stepped down after reports emerged about his business relationship with pro-Russian leaders in Ukraine.” Alleged at the time, but now proven to be true. Papadopoulos’ plea statement states he met with Russian officials in an effort to coordinate a meeting for Trump. He made contact with a professor who claimed to have “dirt” on Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails.” Despite this, Papadopoulos is charged with only one count of false statement because he has agreed to cooperate with the investigation. If he does not, Mueller can add new charges. Papadopoulos’ plea suggests many other felonies. Charging Papadopoulos with only one of these crimes forces Papadopoulos to remain in a vulnerable position until he has given Mueller the information he needs. Mueller’s charges against Manafort are sparse as well. Mueller could have charged Manafort with more than he had. Andrew McCarthy, in his article “More Thoughts on the Manafort Indictment” in the National Review, said he was “poohpoohing Mueller’s opening gambit.”
“The indictment does not accuse them of tax-law felonies that the prosecutors would be required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial,” McCarthy wrote in the article. The reason for this can be understood through leverage once again. Jed Handelsman Shugerman, in an article published in Slate, details the importance of Mueller’s lack of charges. “The bottom line: If Mueller starts a trial on all of the potential charges, and then Trump pardons Manafort, Mueller will not be able to hand off the case to state prosecutors,” Shugerman said. This would relieve pressure placed on Manafort and Papadopoulos to cooperate with Mueller, allowing them to remain quiet on any information that may aid Mueller’s investigation. The unsaid charges are a warning, a backup and leverage. What Mr. Mueller is doing with these indictments is strong-arming the Trump administration. While these indictments are not evidence of criminal involvement with Russia, they place the president and his associates in a precarious position. continued on p. 11
Catalonia crisis: What's next for Spain? BY SAMANTHA RAMIREZ The declaration of independence by the Catalan Republic recently was witnessed by the world. It demonstrated that the Catalan government, with the support of its people, could gather and call for their secession. The Spanish government however, had a different opinion over the validity of Catalonia's autonomy and their idea to establish their independence and secede from Spain. In response to the efforts of Catalonia and its ‘illegal’ call for independence, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy imposed direct rule on Catalonia, under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution. Rajoy sacked Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, fired the government of the rebellious Catalonia region, dissolved the regional parliament and ordered new elections. Catalonia's strong local police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, was also taken over by the Spanish Ministry of Interior. The force's popular and respected chief, Josep Lluís Trapero, was also replaced by a low profile deputy, Ferran López. The tension between the two escalated into the biggest political
photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
On Sunday Oct. 29, around 300,000 anti-independence protesters rallied in the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona, according to Barcelona Police.
crisis in decades to hit Spain, which had just emerged from an economic breakdown. Catalonia is a critical part of the economy in Spain, with its economy generating more than one-fifth of Spain’s GDP and foreign investment in Catalonia accounting for more than one-quarter of inward investments to Spain, so this declaration of independence is causing major friction with Spain in its attempt to control Catalonia and any future resistance. High tensions and sentiments however, were felt on both sides. On Sunday, Oct. 29, around 300,000 anti-independence protesters rallied in the capital of Catalonia,
Franco, however, destroyed Catalan separatism with his victory at the Battle of Ebro in 1938 and took control of the region, killing 3,500 people and forcing many more into exile. Catalonia has since struggled to gain independence, with its attempts growing steadily in the 2000s, until the Constitutional Court in Madrid overruled part of the 2006 autonomy statute, stating that there is no legal basis for recognising Catalonia as a nation within Spain. The Spanish court has ordered for the detention and imprisonment of eight regional ministers from Catalonia's dissolved government to be detained without bail, as well as the state prosecutor’s Europe-wide arrest warrant for ousted leader Carles Puigdemont. Catalonia's push for independence from Spain has also caused major backlash and protests from the pro-independence public. Spain's state prosecutor announced he was seeking arrests under charges of rebellion, sedition and the misuse of public funds on Puigdemont and 13 other ex ministers.
Barcelona, according to Barcelona Police. Catalonia pro-independence activists have been calling for mass demonstrations to "defend the republic.” Many anticipate the separatists to organise strikes, boycotts and more mass rallies in response to Madrid's actions.The Catalan government said that of the 43 percent of potential voters who took part in the referendum, 90 percent were in favour of independence. Catalonia was once an independent region of the Iberian Information for this article was Peninsula--modern day Spain and gathered from cnn.com Portugal--with its own language, laws and customs. General Francisco
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The Activist Newsletter photo courtesy of Jasmine Respesss
BY ANYA CONTRERAS-GARCIA This week (11/8 – 11/16), activists have the opportunity to participate in speak-outs, open mics, presentations, panel discussions and interactive workshops! Read on if you want to get involved in the community regarding gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, racial equality, or activist art.
Glenn
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been welcoming a new TA each year ever since. The Chinese Fulbright TA has become such an integral part of the Chinese program that we cannot thank Glenn enough for his initiatives and his support,” Associate Professor of Chinese Language and Culture Jing Zhang wrote in an e-mail interview. Having been a part of the school’s community for so long allowed Cuomo the ability to share his vast knowledge of the in’s and out’s of not only New College, but Sarasota at large with any newcomer to the on campus family of staff. “He was my faculty mentor when I arrived 22 years ago, and was generous with his time and his advice, helping me to learn the ropes at the College and to find my way in Sarasota,” Professor of French Language and Literature Amy Reid wrote in an e-mail interview. “Glenn was my mentor when I first joined New College in 2007. He offered enormous help guiding me through the many New College practices and settling down in Sarasota. When my parents visited here from China for the first time, he and Claudia [Cuomo’s wife] took my family to Selby Garden. My parents still talk about them with a lot of fond memories,” Professor Zhang wrote in an e-mail interview.
Some of the most popular courses developed and taught by Cuomo included “Mann, Kafka, Schnitzler, & Musil and Crisis of Identity in Early 20th Century Central Europe,” “The Theater of Bertolt Brecht,” “Introduction to Film Studies: Weimar Cinema,” and, “The Age of Goethe”. Being most well-versed with the World War II time period, Cuomo was fascinated with the Third Reich in general. “He was pivotal in enabling me to write my thesis, ‘Psychodynamic Perspectives on German National Socialism,’ and contributed more to the enrichment of my academic experience at New College than any other single faculty member,” alum David Miller (‘15), who completed a double Area of Concentration (AOC) in German Language and Literature and Psychology, wrote in an interview via Facebook. “Professor Cuomo's courses (especially his "Mann, Kafka, Schnitzler, & Musil and Crisis of Identity in Early 20th Century Central Europe" course) were far more intellectually stimulating to me than my required psychology courses.” “His ability to engage students in conversation, to have them discover essential characteristics of continued on p. 11
Thurs., Nov. 9, Me Too: Evening of Solidarity for Survivors @ 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Black Crow Coffee Co., 722 2nd St N, St. Pete, FL 33701 This event is a safe space for sexual assault survivors to speak out and heal facilitated by Ashley Sweet, MA, Licensed Mental Health Counselor and the St. Pete Women's Collective. There will be zine making, collaging and writing exercises along with delicious treats provided by Black Crow Coffee Co. This event is ages 18+ and it is intended for women, transwomen and femmes only. For more info, check out the event page on Facebook. Fri., Nov. 10, Coming Out Monologues @ 7 – 9:30 p.m. Four Winds Café, 5800 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243 This open mic style event works to amplify LGBTQ+ voices and provides a platform for connection, validation and affirmation of queer experience. Participation through any medium of expression is welcome, including poetry, spoken word, music and monologue. Individuals can also anonymously submit their monologues to QUEERY Club members before or during the event. Allies are more than welcome to attend and respectfully listen. Food and drinks will be provided by Four Winds Café. For more info, check out the event page on Facebook. Sat., Nov. 11, Theater of the Oppressed @ 12 – 4:30
p.m. Fogartyville Community Center, 525 Kumquat Ct, Rear, Sarasota, FL 34236 In this interactive workshop, participants will learn general principles and tools of Theater of the Oppressed through games and exercises to be used as social intervention tools. No theater background is necessary. Tickets are $10 per person and the workshop is limited to 30 people. Tickets will be available at www. fogartyville.org. For more info, check out the event page on Facebook. Tues., Nov. 14, The Art Museum in the Age of Black Power @ 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. 891 S Tamiami Trl, Sarasota, FL 34236 In her book Mounting Frustration: The Art Museum in the Age of Black Power, Susan E. Cahan investigates how African American artists and museum professionals struggled for access to NYC’s elite museums. Drawing on numerous interviews with artists and analyses of internal museum documents, Cahan gives a detailed and picture of the institutional forces that inhibited racial justice in New York's museums. Cahan is a scholar and curator who has held positions at the MOMA, the New Museum of Contemporary Art and several universities among others. Limited copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing by the author. For more info, check out the event page on Facebook.
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FEATURES
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Respect my existence or expect resistance
Safe HOME at University of South Florida (USF) hosts first Annual Slut Walk BY MICHALA HEAD
“S-L-U-T all we need is unity!” was one of several of the protesters’ chants that echoed around campus as Safe HOME at University of South Florida (USF) hosted the first Annual Slut Walk at the USF’s Tampa campus. Leading into this event, students gathered in the Marshall Student Center (MSC) Amphitheater to paint signs, enjoy sex positive pop music, snack on the candy and cookies provided or chat amongst each other. When the clock struck three, the walk commenced. For the first time, USF-Tampa students and faculty bore witness to protest organized by Safe HOME at USF, against the fact that the university does not currently have a zero tolerance policy in place towards sexual assault. The protest was held on Monday, Oct. 30, as it was centered on commonplace cultural notions associated with how young adults celebrate Halloween, examples being skimpy costumes, alcohol consumption and attending parties. Tragically, these aspects of celebration not only set the stage for sexual assault to take place, but also for sexual assault to be wrongly excused due to what the victim was wearing or whether the victim had drank. The Slut Walk was an effort to call to attention that University of South Florida was not doing enough
to ensure the safety of their students, instead opting to continue to accept the tuition checks of perpetrators. Safe HOME president, Katie Shrum, spoke about what Safe Home is and the effort behind the organization of the Slut Walk. “Safe HOME just became an organization last semester, it was for a sociology course on mobilizing for social change,” Shrum said. “We picked campus safety and worked with the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) to create an LGBTQ+ Living Learning Community (LLC).” Shrum continued, “This semester has been centered on sexual assault, we organized around Halloween given that it is a time when people go out and party, we are seeking to raise awareness and working to institute a zero tolerance policy.” The Me Too movement was founded in 2006 by Tarana Burke to bring attention to the issue of sexual assault in communities of color. “[Me too] was a catchphrase used from survivor to survivor to let folks know that they were not alone and that a movement for radical healing was happening and possible” Burke told Ebony. The hashtag #metoo was recently brought to public attention by actress, Alyssa Milano in light of the copious sexual assault allegations that have recently come out against producer and former film studio
executive, Harvey Weinstein, by women who had worked with him. Shrum discussed how the recent Me Too Movement and the increased dialogue about sexual assault came into play with the Slut Walk. “We started planning [the Slut Walk] in July, and the Me Too Movement came up last week, and we just related,” Shrum said. “Every single organizer of the event could say me too.” Although the Me Too Movement was unrelated to the original planning of Slut Walk, it was incorporated into the description of the event on Facebook due to its pertinence. The event was comfortable and fun, as signified by the candy, costumes and music, but simultaneously powerful and informative. Volunteer Coordinator for Planned Parenthood in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties and New College of Florida alum, Marianny de Leon was present at the event and spoke at the beginning about how to become involved. Following the walk through campus, survivors of sexual assault were given the platform to share their stories. They spoke of having to continue to sit in classes with their attackers, of how deeply unsafe they felt on campus, about how their lives were changed drastically by what happened to them. They brought up the skepticism and obstacles that
they had to face when reporting the assault along with the trauma of the assault itself. These deeply personal accounts truly gave one the sense of the powerlessness felt by victims not only due to the assault, but also by the constant invalidation and lack of regard for their safety that they face afterwards should they pursue justice. Some brought up how the support of their loved ones is helpful through what happened, but a consistent message throughout these testaments was that not enough was being done by the campus administration or the police to punish attackers and protect victims. It is not enough to be horrified in regards to sexual assault, work must be done to spread awareness of how far-reaching this issue truly is and to take action against assailants, in the case of college campuses through zero tolerance policies. Shrum brought up the vision in place for Safe HOME at USF, and future work to combat sexual assault. “We would like to continue working with other campuses and with the community to keep the conversation going. We know that is we work together, we can make change happen,” Shrum said Information gathered from theatlantic.com and theindependent.co.uk
Students gathered in the Marshall Student Center (MSC) Amphitheater to paint signs, enjoy sex positive pop music, snack on the candy and cookies provided or chat amongst each other.
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The Slut Walk was an effort to call to attention that University of South Florida was not doing enough to ensure the safety of their students, instead opting to continue to accept the tuition checks of perpetrators.
The protest was held on Monday, Oct. 30, as it was centered on commonplace cultural notions associated with how young adults celebrate Halloween, examples being skimpy costumes, alcohol consumption and attending parties.
(Left) Students making signs before participating in the SLUT Walk. (Right) Following the walk through campus, survivors of sexual assault were given the platform to share their stories.
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Craigslist and campus’ rides BY TIM MANNING For every clump of Florida beach cruisers, at times lovingly and delightfully decorated with baskets and bells, a quietly spiffy Peugeot, an ostentatious Look or a vintage Schwinn struts around. The secret behind the concentration of fancy frames: Craigslist. In large part through the Facebook group “Craigslist bike classifieds,” Sarasota area bike buying options are disseminated to the student body. While buying a high quality bike typically demands hefty investment, Craigslist--and the Facebook page dedicated to it--enables folks to acquire those bikes on the cheap. Some of the bikes purchased are vintage bikes that require some work to bring to their full potential, while others come nearly new. James Montgomery (‘13) a former Bike Shoppe TA, created the group “Craigslist bike classifieds” to redirect people away from places like Walmart and Goodwill, which often lack selection, affordability and quality, to Craigslist. “I would always send people links to stuff on Craigslist, so instead of just doing that individually, I posted them to the Facebook page; it seemed to streamline the process… and actually, I think every bike that’s
Photo courtesy of Kaelyn Hartley
Third-year Kaelyn Hartley scored a Lemond Reno model (pictured) for $200 on Craiglist. ‘nice’ that I’ve seen on campus has come from Craigslist,” Montgomery said. “I got hooked on Craigslist cause I’d just go on Craigslist all the time, and I’d procrastinate from homework by looking at Craigslist. It’s kind of a hippie kind of way to get a bike. We don’t have swap meets and shit, so this [fills that need]. It also allows you to get way higher quality bikes, so it sort of promotes the pretentious bike culture.” The page itself both links prospective buyers to available bikes and provides information and guidance on buying those bikes.
“I put on the page a lot of the things you should know for buying a bike, like measurements, how to look at the bike--to check the frame for cracks and stuff like that--but beyond that you wanna do some research on the bike, the brand especially… There’s a Kelly Blue Book for bikes. That’s always good so you know you’re not getting completely ripped off. And then ask Bike Shoppe TAs, people who know about bikes, they can come look at it with you, haggle on the price.” Yasmeen Wilson (‘16) bought a bike off Craigslist to replace an old
bike that had been stolen. She got a newer model of the bike she had had, plus add ons, for a bargain price. “My bike is currently a 2015 Giant Escape II, it retails for like $460, I got it for $350. And they included a little pouch, kickstand and bottle cage, which you have to buy when you buy it from a bike shop […] so I got a really good deal,” Wilson said. But for Wilson, the new swanky ride--named Bikerson Tiller--meant more than just expedited and bedecked mobility. It also carried her into the exclusive community of fancy bike owners. “Not gonna lie, as soon as I got it I rode it around in front of all the bike nerds on campus,” Wilson said. “I didn’t have anything to do outside of my room—I should have been in my room, but I was just riding around like ‘I just came out here to stunt on y’all,’ cause it’s a nice ass bike. It’s just a nice bike, so I do feel like I’m part of the upper echelon of non-cruiser riders.” While that upper echelon of bike owners does exist, bikes give more than just status. On top of the convenience, exercise and mobility they offer, they can provide a relationship, at time difficult to continued on p. 11
Op-ed: How Fox News has misshapen itself, politics and the American public BY RYAN PAICE
When Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s first indictments regarding the Russia-Trump campaign scandal were officially announced Monday, Oct. 30, not a single person in the entirety of the United States of America cared about cheeseburger emojis--including the “Fox and Friends” crew. People on both ends of the political spectrum wanted to know what charges were being filed against Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos, and whether or not anything revealed along with the charges implicated other Trump campaign figures, including the president himself. It's because Fox News would rather spend valuable time covering how a cheeseburger emoji had the cheese below the burger instead of on top—like they did when the indictment news broke—than exploring the stories even their audience desires that they have lost all validity as a true source of objective news. They go so far out of their way to cater to Trump’s apparent desires that they have practically become a state-run news
media. When they interview Donald Trump, they begin every question with complements to make sure he knows they aren’t trying to be aggressive. They have avoided covering anything regarding the Russian collusion scandal, immediately sought to justify Trump’s firing of James Comey— despite the President himself having changed the story multiple times— and have focused on conspiracy theories regarding Hillary Clinton long after the election. They have cemented themselves as the king of cable news networks time and time again despite recent turbulence, but have done so by catering to and feeding the worst, most volatile characteristics of not only the worst of right wingers, but of American consumers as a whole. There is no mistake that Fox News’ viewers have been found to be less informed about current events than people who didn’t follow the news at all, according to a 2012 Fairleigh Dickinson University survey. A Punditfact—a partnership between the Tampa Bay Times and Politifact.com—analysis found that
about 60 percent of facts reported by Fox News were false. There is no reason to consume Fox News, other than to try to understand how someone might consider something Trump is doing as positive. There is no real substantial information to be gained that can’t be found elsewhere, in higher quality. Ignoring the lack of informative news, the company has harbored alleged sexual harassers, including Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly. Ailes was the Chairman and CEO of Fox News and the Fox Television Stations Group for 20 years, despite over two dozen women coming forward to accuse him of sexual harassment over the years. Those women revealed a longstanding, deeply ingrained culture of misogyny, smear campaigns and hush money, indicative of the moral foundation Fox News was built upon. They sheltered and paid Bill O’Reilly for years, despite numerous claims of sexual harassment having been revealed—many concluding with settlements. O’Reilly paid
$32 million to longtime Fox News legal analyst Lis Wiehl, who had threatened to sue him for alleged sexual misconduct, according to the New York Times. Within the same month Fox News saw their top personality give $32 million to a coworker for alleged sexual misconduct, they handed O’Reilly a $25-million-a-year contract renewal. They rewarded O’Reilly handsomely despite knowing of his actions, and only fired him when the news regarding his numerous settlements broke to the public. Fox News neither works for or deserves anyone’s viewership. They don’t cover what is important, nor what the people want to know. All they care about is supporting the Republican agenda, no matter the consequences. Information gathered from rollcall. com, slate.com, nymag.com, mintpressnews.com, forbes.com and cnn.com All Op-Eds are the opinion of that reporter alone and do not reflect the political affiliations of the staff or publication.
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White Rabbit Red Rabbit: or ostrich impressions and metafiction BY MIRANDA GALE An audience of exactly 64-we counted--packed tight in a dark room. Two glasses of water and a vial of “poison” on a glass-topped table. One actor, who had never seen the script before it was handed to him onstage by an audience member. And one playwright, thousands of miles away but still present, authoritative and sometimes clairvoyant. Written by Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour and first performed in 2011, “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” has been translated into several languages and performed by well-known actors in front of receptive international audiences. However, due to his refusal to complete mandatory military service, Soleimanpour was initially denied a passport and didn’t see his own play until 2013, when due to a medical exemption, he was able to obtain a passport and see his play in London. Presented by Ringling International Arts Festival (RIAF) and Urbanite Theatre, located in downtown Sarasota, the play includes a diverse cast of actors and is performed by a different one each night, with no repeat performances, no director, no rehearsals and no
Photo courtesy of Urbanite Theatre
Photo courtesy of YourObserver.com
The play was presented by RIAP and Urbanite Theatre.
reading of the script beforehand. When the actor of the night steps on stage, an audience member hands them an envelope which contains the play. In a phone interview, Summer Dawn Wallace, co-artistic director of Urbanite Theatre and performer in one of the RIAF White Rabbit Red Rabbit shows, discussed what she could without spoiling the experience for the uninitiated. “But now I’ve seen several
different actors do the piece and what’s so amazing about it is that every night is different,” Wallace said of the show. “It’s the same script but a different actor.” “There’s always that fear that you’re going to be boring or you’re going to make a mistake,” she said of her experience performing. “Once you get started you realize that the mistakes are just kind of part of it. So it was thrilling and fun and terrifying all at the same time. I don’t know if I ever need to do that again.”
Up for the challenge at Urbanite on Wednesday, Nov. 8, was J. Elijah Cho, who flew from Los Angeles to Tampa for the show. In a phone interview, Cho explained how he heard about the role. “I’m one of those weird actors that doesn’t mind cold readings,” Cho said. “I actually kind of like cold readings.” “Brendan [Ragan, Co-Artistic Director of Urbanite Theatre] said, ‘I have the mother of all cold read opportunities. It’s called White Rabbit Red Rabbit. Don’t look up too much about it,’” Cho said. “And I was like, ‘okay.’” Even for someone who enjoys cold readings, there was still some anxiety. “I didn’t want to let Brendan down or the writer down,” Cho said. “Going in, I thought it was a trust experiment, where I think, ‘okay, I’m trusting Brendan, I’m trusting Nassim,’ and I’m like, ‘okay hopefully they’ll take care of me,’ and then as the time got closer and I was getting ready to go out I was like, ‘oh, this trust works both ways, because they’re kind of trusting me to do the piece justice.’” “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” blurs continued on p. 11
Submission: Andrej Babiš elected Czech Prime Minister while under investigation for fraud
SUBMITTED BY CASSIE MANZ
On Oct. 20 and 21, voters took to the polls to elect Andrej Babiš as the new Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. The election spelled defeat for the country’s longstanding mainstream political parties, a continuation of a growing trend in European politics. The majority of the political parties in the Czech Parliament have said they will oppose a minority government led by Babiš, due to allegations of fraud against him. Babiš, a Slovak billionaire who made his fortune in agribusiness, formed ANO in 2012. The word means “yes” in Czech, but in this case stands for Action of Dissatisfied Citizens. Babiš created the political party amidst a series of corruption scandals involving members of Czech parliament. The party aimed, “ironically enough, to capitalize on Czechs’ rising distaste for wealthy businessmen,” according to an article in Foreign Policy. Babiš himself is a wealthy businessman who has been indicted on charges of fraudulent misuse of European
Union funds. Babiš claims that the charges are untrue and politically motivated. Babiš rose in popularity with promises to restrict immigration and to rid the government of red tape and corruption. He portrayed himself as an outsider and a nonpolitician, according to Foreign Policy. He trumpeted that the country needed a businessman-someone above petty politics--and said he would run the government like a family firm. Despite the public’s dismay, the Czech Republic is in a period of economic growth with robust wage increases and low levels of unemployment. A shift in political dominance Mainstream political parties were shocked when ANO finished second in the 2013 parliamentary elections. ANO joined the ruling coalition government of the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats, two of the main political parties since the end of the communist era. Babiš was named Finance Minister, a position he lost when the investigation into his possible crimes began.
In the recent election the ANO party won 30 percent of the vote. The Social Democrats, who have been the leading party of Czech politics for the past 25 years, scored only 7 percent of the vote. The Christian Democrats, part of the former coalition government, garnered 6 percent. This landslide win by ANO is indicative of a larger trend in European politics in which longstanding mainstream parties in decline compete against “antiestablishment upstarts from all corners of the political spectrum,” according to the New York Times. What Comes Next Babiš now faces the challenge of forming a ruling government in a parliament that is distinctly hostile towards him. Because ANO did not secure a majority in the 200-seat lower chamber--it won 78 seats-forming a minority government would require support from other parties, according to Reuters. Radio Praha reported last week that Babiš had given up hope of forming a coalition government and is now focused on creating a minority government of appointed
“experts” rather than a coalition grouping of parties. This process could take months and endanger the approval of the 2018 budget. However, Babiš has strong support from President Miloš Zeman, who said he would give Babiš a second chance if his first cabinet fails to receive a vote of confidence from the lower house of Parliament. According to Radio Praha, should all else fail, “and his cabinet not win its confidence vote in the lower house, it could continue to govern in resignation mode at least for the remainder of this president’s term in office.” Babiš cannot be appointed prime minister until the newly elected lower chamber opens its session on Nov. 20.
Information for this article was gathered from nytimes.com, politico. eu, foreignpolicy.com, theguardian.com, reuters.com and radio.cz.
CATALYST KRS-One speaks on hip-hop and ingredients for human connection WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst
BY NOAH BASLAW
KRS-One is a prolific EMCee, hip-hop producer and public speaker. Lawrence Parker is his birth name. As a childhood resident of the Bronx in the 70s, Parker was a part of the first moments of hip-hop, and he has made it a point to explicitly talk to audiences about the history and deep ramifications of the culture his generation forged. His articulations allow diverse crowds of people the opportunity to consider both our world’s current limitations and abilities, together. For KRS-One, hip-hop is human glue, forged with love, which these modern times of social discohesion need. In 2014, Parker spoke at a California State, Los Angeles’ (CSULA) Black History Month keynote presentation. He began by asking the audience, “What is hiphop?” Someone replied, “Life!” “Hip-hop is life,” Parker agreed. “When we say the word hiphop, we are talking about, breaking, EMCeeing, graffiti writing, deejaying. These are called the the four core elements of hip-hop. The reason why we do breaking, emceeing, graffiti writing, deejaying is to cause peace, love, unity and safely having fun. This is the reason why we did it originally. We were growing up in the 70s at a time where our self expression was being ignored by the mainstream. “We weren’t in television, we were nowhere in magazines, nowhere in media, nowhere in education, nowhere in even justice and things like medicine. What you see todayhip-hop is everywhere-imagine the complete opposite in 1973, hip-hop is nowhere. “In fact the name hip-hop is like me saying to you today, ‘gobblegah’. They’d say what are you doing?‘gabble gah,’” Parker said. The audience laughed and Parker retorted back, “And the same way you reacted was the same way the mainstream reacted to us when we were spinning on our head [or] hittin’ up the trains. Wait let me slow down, for those who aren’t bilingual,” Parker explained. “We are spraying graffiti with spray cans on the sides of trains, in New York City… We used to go to the train yard and put our names up on the side of the train--then the next day you see you name go by. This was the cultural competition which we called aerosol art, mainstream called it graffiti art. “We never called it that-we called it graffiti writing, bombing, tagging,” Parker explained. He talked later about the
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Songs you should heAR
SCORPIO SEASON EDITION BY AZIA KEEVER
Photo courtesy of Flickr For KRS-One, hip-hop is human glue, forged with love, which these modern times of social discohesion need. importance to speak in slang, which laborer in the 70s. Parker also notes pushes the english language in the the affect urban decay had on his unique individual or community’s community but also recalls how direction. Words shape our the light of hip-hop was brought by perception of reality, Parker claims, those who created something new to and we must take responsibility of give to their community. our own perspective. Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa The audience continued to listen played the breaks of records, but with Parker’s recollection of the first they only used one record player and hip-hop party by Deejay Kool Herc, they did not scratch for the audience which was for his sister, Cindy's to hear when they queued up the birthday. break. Grandmaster Flash was a “On Cindy's birthday, she asked professional electrician and created a Clyde to Deejay her party-Clyde was cross fader out of a mic toggle switch, a graffiti writer. They lived at 1520 which he used to scratch and cut two Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx. There records at the same time, allowing a was a community center there. They continuous drum break. rented it out,” Parker illuminated. But now imagine this, no one on When Clyde realized he was the planet is doing this, I am going going to deejay a party, he changed to give you a minute to meditate on from his tagger name ‘Cool Ass that. There’s this guy, he invents [the Clyde’ to Kool Deejay Herc, short for cross-fader mixer], he is the first, Hercules because he was big. what does he do? He says I am going “What he would do is take to give this freely to all the kids in James Brown records, specifically, the neighborhood so they can have and this other record called ‘Apache’ the skills and become somebody. To by the Amazing Bongo Band--and this day Grandmaster Flash has not he would just play the the breaks of received one patent,” Parker recalled. these records over-and-over-and- “Every cross fader you see on a mixer over again, in this style he called is Grandmaster Flash's’ idea. ‘the merry go-round,’” Parker recalls. “But it was him that said it at He points out Clyde’s Jamaican the beginning, ‘this is what hiporigin carried deejaying styles that hop needs, these little kids running incorporated instrumental breaks around,’ this is what his inspiration and freestyling. was-give it to the community,” Parker Parker also admits he was explained. unable to go the first party because Desperation, Big-Money he was too young and the 25 cent and your soul entrance fee was too steep, though At the early hip-hop parties, he lived across the street at 1600 “dudes would just come out and give Sedgwick Avenue. their soul. That soul got captured by “I could see his building from the contract. When you are selling my window,” Parker mentioned. your art, you are selling your soul… Kool Herc started doing Artists need to sell their art to live the parties every weekend and and eat, so be very careful when you he eventually had to move them sell portions of your soul,” Parker outside, where kids like Lawrence warned. Parker could finally join. “The soul is infinite, you have Parker reminded the audience a lot of soul to give-but the soul about the extreme inability to be has rules. The rule of the soul is: an African American professional whatever the soul touches, touches
College is a tumultuous period of selfdiscovery. The close quarters we are put in with peers forces the self to tirelessly practice an empathy for others that may not have been necessary before this time. In this atmosphere, scorpio season is one of difficult, cyclical selfreflection. “Poetry: How Does It Feel?” by Akua Naru When love is found here, it is wet and, at times, suffocating. It’s what Akua Naru’s song sounds like: melting into more than just another person’s body, but “making love to their existence.” Just remember, you have class in the morning. “Crockpot” by Slothrust In this hotbed of ideas we are constantly revisiting our own identities compared to the presentations of others. When Slothrust says, “My stomach hurts. Does your stomach hurt? Do our stomachs hurt together?” they are exploring this concept of what it means to be a person whose growth is so closely related to the growth of friends. Listen when you’re feeling overwhelmed by socializing. “Thursday Girl” by Mitski Frustrations are bound to arise in this tumultuous period. Sometimes where you are going in your renewal is not where everyone else is. The peer pressure to do everything everyone else is doing is a little too much sometimes. It can feel you couldn’t possibly be in control of your body. “Sinister” by Frankie Cosmos Frankie Cosmos’ soft lulling voice juxtaposed to the content of her song embodies all the soft-spoken signs in this season surprised by the expanse of their motives and desires. Souls are “big and surprisingly dark,” as Cosmos says, and it’s important that we visit those places in ourselves every once in awhile, if only to acquaint ourselves with ourselves. Check the Catalyst’s spotify playlist, found on our website, for the complete scorpio season playlist.
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it. So whatever you sell your soul to make sure you wanna touch it. Make sure you want that a part of your life, not your month, week, or day, but life. Most of us looked at it like this from the early days,” Parker continued later saying. “Value is not based on what you own or what you have… Real value is based on what you can do without.” Two hours is quite a commitment in our fast paced world. KRS-One’s lecture at CSULA was, however, worth each minute. His expressions are contagious and his themes are vast, only a fraction of it was illuminated here. Mainstream society centers around greed, narcissism, contracts and domination, while original core hip-hop wisdom teaches peace, love, unity and safely having fun. There are many aspects of society which alienate ourselves from ourselves and others. The procrustean-or onesize-fits-all- dogma, perpetrated by the societal superstructure, is inherently numbing. This distinction allows most human beings to see the limitations of mainstream society and the vast potential for people progress, which KRS-One speaks on.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst
Red Rabbit, White Rabbit
the author’s poetics is something that he did very well. I was trying to learn that from him actually,” Associate Professor of Russian Amy Reid said. “We are only beginning to realize how much we’ve lost.”
internet propaganda
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 marketplace, and today there is almost no transparency,” Sen. Mark Warner D-Va., a sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. “The Russians realized this, and took advantage in 2016 to spread disinformation and misinformation in an organized effort to divide and distract us.” To prevent your browser activity from being tracked, install one or all of these plug-ins: Ublock Origin, Ghostery, Disconnect.me Information for this article was provided by the New York Times, Fortune, CBS News, the Independent, Fox News, the Guardian, Vox and Wired Magazine.
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the line between actor and spectator, playing with themes of temporality, restriction and obedience. Within the opening page, the writer asserts his metafictive presence over the lone actor and audience, developing a powerful, persuasive voice. At the writer’s request, the audience counts off one by one, starting with the front row. Sixtyfour of us sit in darkened seats, nearly filling the theatre. Then, as one might have anticipated for a play that requested audience participation before it even started, the script calls a particular audience member to aid Cho in his narration. Number three stands up, a dark-haired girl in a green sweater. Onstage, she begins to imitate a rabbit, wrinkling her nose and hopping around. From my front row seat, I admire her ability to thrive when thrust into an unexpected environment. What next? The script demands a bear. Audience member number nine is called to the stage, and this time, it’s me. Yours truly, the reporter.
Onstage, number three and I impersonate the white rabbit and the bear respectively. The story progresses with Cho’s narration and shenanigans escalate until we and Cho are hopping around the stage imitating bears imitating rabbits imitating cheetahs imitating ostriches. This is one humorous moment among many, serving to both lighten and illuminate, as the piece touches on darker themes of restriction and control. The audience and actor fall into traps laid by Soleimanpour, be it tricks of probability or psychology, and find themselves along a decided path by the writer. Here, words on a page have power. “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” reorganizes the often strict divisions between artist and spectator, playing with theatrical form in a way that supports the theme and amuses viewers. At the same time, it closes the space between a onceimmobilized playwright and the world. The work may be about time, obedience, censorship or the power of words, using mixed metaphors to achieve a complicated end.
“At a point [Soleimanpour] refers to the piece as a gun…” Cho said. “Kind of like creating something that you’re not sure what it’s going to do, and to me, I think that to me that’s a very interesting concept because I think that words carry and we’re seeing the impact of free speech right now in the United States and of being open to hearing all sorts of trains of thought and ideologies. If more people were to think of the things they say as a gun I think that maybe there would be more responsibility. “So many people, like politicians, religious figures, artists--their words carry weight and I just wish more people would be like, ‘okay, you’re putting it out there but do you know what people are going to do with it?’ “It’s a weird sort of power that people don’t really take responsibility for--words.” Information for this story was gathered from www.bbc.com and www. urbanitetheatre.com. For $5 student tickets and more information about theatrical opportunities, visit www. urbanitetheatre.com.
Trump
Glenn
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CONT'D
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 These indictments also serve to show the public prevalent falsehoods with Trump’s affiliations that are potentially incriminating. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s appointee and current Attorney General of the U.S., is particularly implicated. When Senator Al Franken asked what Sessions would do if “there was any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign” during Sessions’ confirmation hearing in January, Sessions replied, “I am not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians.” Two months after this statement, the Washington Post published an article stating Sessions
did in fact have communications with the Russians--encounters he did not disclose during his confirmation hearing. Papadopoulos’ plea states, “On or about March 31, 2016, defendant Papadopoulos attended a ‘national security meeting’ in Washington, D.C., with then-candidate Trump and other foreign policy advisors for the campaign. When defendant Papadopoulos introduced himself to the group, he stated, in sum and substance, that he had connections that could help arrange a meeting between then-candidate Trump and President Putin.” Jeff Sessions was there for this session. More information is likely to follow if Mueller continues to work as methodically as he has apparently been.
Mr. Mueller was named to oversee the FBI’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials in May. Previously, he was the head of the FBI from 2001 to 2013, the longestserving director since J. Edgar Hoover. The decision was made by deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein. After Trump formally dismissed James B. Comey from his position as FBI Director six years before Comey’s 10-year term officially should have ended, Rosenstein was under bipartisan pressure to prove the capability of the government to investigate Russian involvement with the 2016 presidential election. Information for this article was gathered from the New York Times, the Intercept, National Review, Slate, NPR and justice.gov.
Bikes
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 describe, but easy to recognize. Harrison Reid (‘17) is a former proud owner of a beautiful orange road bike that was stolen out of second court last year. He bought his bike from a shop in Orlando, not off Craigslist, but during its tenure as an NCF bike, his bike earned him membership in the upper echelon as well. Asked about his relationship
with his bike, he conceded that he had a distinct attachment to it and that losing it had been painful. “It was a special machine that helped me work out a lot of stuff,” Reid recalled. “Whether it was a couple hours spent fixing it up or a ride to Indian Beach for sunset, it was a good bike [...] I don’t know about companionship, but I definitely had
a relationship with it. I named it Giorgio, so I must have attributed some kind of character to the bike.” Over a year out from the robbery that lost him his bike, Reid has yet to replace it.
CATALYST
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst
SALSA²
BY ANYA CONTRERAS-GARCIA
²
The infectious reggaetón, bachata and cumbia beats at Friday night’s Salsa^2 (pronounced “salsa squared”) event brought no shortage of booty-shaking and hip-swaying students to the Four Winds Cafe. This marks the third ever Salsa^2 event--named for its generous supply of both salsa music and salsa dip--organized by New College of Florida’s Latinx Club. Since the first event in fall 2016, Salsa^2 has quickly grown into a campus tradition where students of all backgrounds are invited to celebrate Latinx culture. This semester the event brought something totally unique--a pair of professional salsa dancers to give salsa lessons during the first hour of the event. “We wanted to add something new to Salsa^2 this year,” thirdyear Resident Advisor (RA) Eleni Spanolios, who was part of the event’s planning committee, said in an email interview. “We were thinking of ways to incorporate parts of the community that didn’t know how to salsa, or may have felt intimidated by it, so the idea of having a class before the social sounded perfect. I think it
would be really nice to keep this as a part of the event in the future.” However, the benefits of Salsa^2 go well beyond teaching students how to dance. In the era of Trump, hate crimes against Latinxs have risen by almost 70 percent in major cities like Los Angeles. Intentionally creating spaces to honor Latinx cultures means more than just partying--it means building communities that celebrate diversity despite the current political climate. “Salsa^2 serves as an event for people in the Latinx community to come together and learn and celebrate their culture,” secondyear RA Howard “Andre” Royce, who was also part of the event’s planning committee, said in an email interview. “It gives Latinx students on campus a space to enjoy themselves and connect with one another,” Spanolios said. “I think a lot of students at New miss home. We have such a large population of Latinx students who do so much for this community, they deserve to have a little bit of home brought to them.”
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Latinx Club celebrates culture and community
Salsa and chips decorate the table while salsa music plays from the speakers.
All photos Anya Contreras-Garcia/Catalyst
Students practice salsa steps with their dance partners.
Students dance freely in celebration of Latinx heritage.
Second-year Resident Advisors (RAs) Elizabeth Ramsamooj and Howard "Andre" Royce follow along the salsa instructors' steps.