2017 04 18

INSIDE THIS EDITION: HARVARD PROFESSOR SHARES HIS RESEARCH ON POLICE BRUTALITY AT ANNUAL TIAA LECTURE

THE 49ER FOOTBALL TEAM GEARS UP FOR THE SPRING GAME ON SATURDAY

PG. 5

NINERTIMES.COM

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

PG. 7

OPINION EDITOR CASEY ALDRIDGE CHALLENGES THE CLASSIFICATION OF ‘CHRIST-FIGURES’ IN AMERICAN FILM PG. 10

VOL. 29, ISSUE 26

Cover photo by Alexandria Sands

Hunter Heilman editor@ninertimes.com

MANAGING EDITOR

Jasmine Taylor

Alexandria Sands

Trevor Wilt

Kathleen Cook

managing@ninertimes.com

sports@ninertimes.com

Jeffrey Kopp

news@ninertimes.com

sports@ninertimes.com

Hailey Turpin

ae@ninertimes.com

lifestyle@ninertimes.com

Diane Gromelski

Casey Aldridge

copy@ninertimes.com

Pooja Pasupula photo@ninertimes.com

Carmen Westra

community@ninertimes.com

opinion@ninertimes.com

VIDEO PRODUCER

Chris McKinnis video@ninertimes.com

LAYOUT EDITOR

Kathryn Whitesides layout@ninertimes.com

ADDITIONAL STAFF

Salina Dickie, Mia Shelton, Angie Baquedano, Daniel Head, Stephanie Trefzger

David Mendez

Isa Knapp, Denzel Davis, Zach Timmons, Eddie Angelbello, Tyler Trudeau, Emma West, Brianna Sumpter

Linnea Stoops

MARKETING STAFF Blake Strickland, Brandon Freer, Anna Hughes, Ryan Scott

NINER TIMES • RADIO FREE CHARLOTTE SANSKRIT LITERARY-ARTS MAGAZINE MEDIA MARKETING • TECHNICAL

MEGAN SMITH OFFICE MANAGER: DANNY HUFFMAN

www.ninertimes.com/app 2

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

NINERTIMES

Levine Hall provides a prestigious space for UNC Charlotte’s most prized students Levine Residence Hall named in honor of Leon and Sandra Levine ALEXANDRIA SANDS NEWS EDITOR

Leon Levine thanks UNC Charlotte at Levine Hall dedication. Photo by Alexandria Sands

Levine Scholar Esteban Mendieta speaks on living in Levine Hall. Photo by Alexandria Sands

NINERTIMES.COM

Driving through the main entrance of UNC Charlotte, students, staff, faculty and visitors are welcomed by the University’s most prestigious building, the Leon and Sandra Levine Residence Hall, which holds over 400 of the University’s most accomplished and capable students- members of the Levine Scholars Program and the Honors College.

Opened in 2016, Levine Hall is the first residence hall at UNC Charlotte that contains an academic wing, which includes administrative offices for the Honors College and Levine Scholars Program along with student work-study areas, faculty work stations, private one-on-one spaces and adjacent seminar spaces that can be combined for large functions. The building also holds the Levine Scholars Richardson Suite, dedicated to Mike and Kelli Richardson, which will be used to house visiting faculty or lecturers.

“We definitely have a stronger sense of community because we all live across the hall from each other and we get to live with the upperclassmen and the lowerclassmen,” sophomore Levine Scholar Sydney Welch said.

On April 13, Levine Hall was formally dedicated to Leon and Sandra Levine, who have donated over $18 million to the Levine Scholars Program through their foundation. The Levine’s worked with the University to create the program in Fall 2009. Since then, approximately 20 scholars have been chosen each year based on their scholarship, leadership and civic engagement during high school.

“I just would like to thank [Leon and Sandra Levine] so much for

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

the opportunities that I’ve had in my life that I wouldn’t be able to do without them and the life changing experience of being on this campus as a Levine Scholar,” sophomore Levine Scholar Esteban Mendieta said.

“When it comes to engaging in the community, our students could not ask for better role models than Sandra and Leon Levine,” Chancellor Philip L. Dubois said.

Levine Scholars receive a four-year scholarship that includes full tuition, room, board, a grant to execute a service project of their design and four summers of experiences, which includes a backpacking trip, two internships and study abroad. The total value of the four-year package is estimated at $105,000 for in-state students and $155,000 for out-ofstate students, according to the Levine Scholars Program website.

“Being a Levine Scholar means that we are challenged and we are to challenge others around us,” Welch said.

The Levine Scholars are required to live in the building for their first two years and are encouraged to stay as juniors and seniors.

The construction for the facility began in May 2015.

North Carolina General Assembly Representative William Brawley, a UNC Charlotte alum, advocated for the bill that approved the building of Levine Hall.

“It was a privilege to run the bill that made this possible ... But I will tell you, it was easier than it would have been had UNCC not had one thing going for it. You were able to get broad support because you deserve it,” Brawley said.

3

A GREENER NINER NATION

Litter accumulated over the past year picked up by student, faculty and staff volunteers during annual Campus Cleanup ALEXANDRIA SANDS NEWS EDITOR

Students drop their collected trash off at Belk Plaza station. Photo by Alexandria Sands

One hundred and five pounds of trash were collected in Belk Plaza on April 12 as volunteers dropped off bags filled with litter that they had picked up throughout campus.

The Campus Cleanup event is a UNC Charlotte tradition that occurs during Earth Month.

Over 60 students, faculty and staff volunteered for extra credit, community service hours or just to help beautify the campus.

Two stations were set up, one in Belk Plaza and the other

by Motorsports Lab, where volunteers could get their plastic gloves and trash grabbers. Groups were sent out with one bag for trash and another for recycling.

Main focuses on campus included Hechenbleikner Lake and the surrounding area, which has seen an increase in litter due to the construction done across the street at Levine Hall.

“This place is pretty nice but you’re always going to find something, so I wasn’t surprised [that there was litter],” said Senior Gualberto Portela Da Rosa, one of the students who picked up the

most trash in the area surrounding Memorial Hall. “Hopefully more people will come out and do this, not just for the extra credit that the teachers are giving, just because they want to do it. If you got some free time, come out here and pull your weight.”

A lot of what was picked up included cigarettes and small scraps, according to University Sustainability Coordinator Tyler Systma.

“If you see trash on the ground, just pick it up because it’s easily accessible to just to reach out and pick it up,” said freshman Alexes McNeill, who volunteered in the wooded area between the Student Union and Oak Hall.

Volunteers received free T-shirts, food and drinks.

Campus Cleanup is part of a series of events held during Earth Month, hosted by University Sustainability, which is part of the Facilities Management Department in the Division for Business Affairs.

Events include Earth Day Festival on April 19 and others that you can find at www.facilities.uncc.edu/ sustainability.

“IF YOU SEE TRASH ON THE GROUND, JUST PICK IT UP.” FRESHMAN ALEXES MCNEILL

Two girls use trash grabbers to pick up litter on campus. Photo by Alexandria Sands

4

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

NINERTIMES

Harvard researcher presents ‘The Economics of Race’

Dr. Roland Fryer shares his research on incentives, racial differences in police brutality SABA SOLAIMANIZADEH STAFF WRITER

On April 12, Harvard University researcher Dr. Roland Fryer joined the UNC Charlotte community in the Student Union to present the sixth annual Teacher’s Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) Lecture, titled the “Economics of Race,” as a part of the Bank of America Civic Series.

Fryer’s research focuses on highly speculated social issues in modern America, such as crime, discrimination and poverty, utilizing economic approaches to examine these effects.

Susan McCarter, professor in the School of Social Work and opener of the speaker series, explained Fryer’s research as unique in that it “combines economic theory, empirical designs and social issues,” later making inferences to research for future policies.

Fryer began the lecture by mentioning a few key concepts in relation to the role of incentives (and adversely, retribution) in creating and implementing policies. He explained that his first research project, for which he was given a $20,000 research budget, was used to buy pizza or give money to public school kids in the Bronx in order to do well in school.

“You have to be really sophisticated with the way you design [incentive structure],” Fryer said. “When you gave the kids incentive to do well in school, math scores went up but reading scores went down. Incentives may sound okay now, but in 2007 this was highly controversial.”

Fryer tied in the concept of racial differences in police brutality, a longterm research endeavor that he’s been working on.

In order to carry out the experiment, Fryer embedded himself in the police departments by receiving police training in order to understand police culture, build trust and obtain the data needed for research.

NINERTIMES.COM

“It’s eye-opening to understand a little bit of what happens on the other side of the equation,” he said.

The statistics of the study found that with 5.5 million instances with non-lethal use of force, there is a 54 percent difference in odds ratio for blacks. Fryer also noted that when perfectly compliant, there’s still a 25 percent difference in odds ratio between races with lower level uses of force.

However, when observing the data for the 1,317 officer-involved shootings, Fryer found that there wasn’t a substantial racial difference in the odds ratio. He predicted that this may have to do with the fact that it’s a life-altering decision to set off a weapon as an officer, as officerinvolved shootings have many more investigations and the stakes are much higher.

“There is a distinct difference between racism relative to higher stakes and lower stakes,” he explained. “People can behave strategically and respond to incentives.”

Fryer gathered this data from cities across the country, but mentioned that many police departments weren’t willing to be transparent with their data. Some don’t have the data in a format where it would be feasible to analyze --the data from Houston even needed to be hand-coded. Some just don’t have coherent data, some are more unwilling or untrustworthy.

“They don’t want a sloppy journalist taking the data and painting it in a certain way,” he said, adding that this was understandable.

He said that it’s difficult to isolate race as a factor and take into account gender, sexuality and other factors when doing research.

“It’s hard to know how race permeates other factors, with race under the umbrella of being a social construct,” Fryer said.

POLICE BLOTTER APRIL 8 - 12 ACCIDENT APRIL 8

• PVA Lot 19, vehicle one and vehicle two collided with each other while backing out of parking spaces. No injuries reported.

ALCOHOL VIOLATION APRIL 8

• Laurel Hall, officers issued a state citation in reference to underage drinking.

APRIL 9

• Lot Six, officers issued a state citation in reference to underage drinking.

LARCENY APRIL 9

• Student Union, victim reported his laptop, which was left unsecured in a public area, was stolen.

APRIL 12

• Friday Building, officers took a report of a stolen paper towel holder.

MOLEST FIRE EQUIPMENT APRIL 8

• Lynch Hall, officers responded in reference to activated fire alarm. No fire was present. Witness stated that the alarm pull was activated and the individual who pulled it left the scene.

• Wallis Hall, officers responded in reference to an activated fire alarm. No fire was present. Subject was questioned and admitted to pulling the fire alarm.

For more information on Mecklenburg County arrests, visit arrestinquiryweb.co.mecklenburg.nc.us

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

5

Stacey Myers from Department of Recreational Services named Student Employee of the Year Student employees honored at luncheon

Student Employee of the Year Stacey Myers (second to the right) with coworkers.

Photo by Alexandria Sands

ALEXANDRIA SANDS NEWS EDITOR

UNC Charlotte student employees were honored on April 12 at the Student Employment Recognition Luncheon in the Harris Alumni Center.

The purpose of the event is to recognize student employees who have gone above and beyond in their work and to give departments a chance to nominate a student for employee of the year.

Stacey Myers was the winner of Employee of the Year. Since starting at the Department of Recreational Services as a freshman in 2013, Myers has taken on several positions including intramural official, group fitness instructor, personal trainer, fitness program supervisor and group fitness intern.

Myers, an exercise science major, helps condition the women’s soccer team with a cycling class, has represented the Department of Kinesiology in the Student Quiz Bowl and conducted warm ups at the annual 49er Gold Rush 5k Run/ Walk. She also volunteers for Time 2 Change, a free program designed to lead students who are considered obese to a healthier lifestyle.

Myers has also created more opportunities for students with disabilities in Recreational Services. Myers has also created

6

more opportunities for students with disabilities in Recreational Services. Myers assisted one particular student, who has a visual impairment and a service dog, in his effort to lead a group fitness class and participate in the UNCCharlotte Demo Team.

“Knowing that we are appreciated as employees, especially at the Department of Recreational Services where we became a family and just knowing that my family has my back and I’m making them proud, means so much,” Myers said.

Students who were also nominated include: • Sydney Hillman - College of Arts and Architecture • Jesudamilare Ibitoye Multicultural Academic Services • Kaitlyn Kubacki Undergraduate Admissions • Maria Mazariegos - CCI Business Partners Program • Max Moallen - Student Union • Michael Proctor - Cone University Center • Jacob Shaw - International Programs • Nathan Sherrill - Student Activity Center and Venue Management • Zachery Slocum - Belk College APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

NINERTIMES

THE

SPRING RUSH Football practice is in full swing with the Spring Game on Saturday

Photo by Chris Crews

KATHLEEN COOK SPORTS EDITOR

Spring practices have been going on since mid-March and are being topped off by the Spring Game this Saturday, April 22. The game allows players the opportunity to gear up and show the fan base what they have been working on over the offseason.

From new coaches, a tough schedule and faces to watch for, here’s some of the things you need to know about the 49ers’ upcoming season.

New faces

Along with a new recruiting class, the program will welcome two new coaches to the team.

After the conclusion of the 2016 season, coaches Dean Hood and Joe Tereshinski both resigned. With the vacancies, there were switches among the coaching positions that left the offensive line and running backs without a coach.

Greg Adkins will join the 49ers as the offensive line coach. Brad Lambert and Adkins first met in

NINERTIMES.COM

West Virginia when the two worked for Marshall. In total, he has 25 years of coaching experience, including 11 years in the SEC, 12 bowl appearances and four NCAA Championship appearances.

Keith Henry will be supervising the running backs this season.

Henry and Lambert got to know each other while they were coaching at Wake Forest. Prior to coming to the Niners, Henry was an assistant coach for three years at his alma mater Catawba College.

Schedule

In their first season with bowl eligibility, the 49ers were two games away from qualifying for the postseason after going 4-8 and collecting three wins within the conference portion of their schedule.

The lineup for the 2017 season won’t be a cake walk for the 49ers, featuring six teams that appeared in a bowl game last season.

The schedule also marks the first time in the FBS that the 49ers will

play the final game of the season at home when they host Lane Kiffin and FAU on Nov. 25.

Who to watch

Hasaan Klugh has put in work during the offseason to return in the fall stronger and faster to solidify his role as a dual threat QB. In the running game, freshmen Robert Washington and Ben Lemay showed last season that they could step up and replace the legs of Kalif Phillips, who recorded seven games with 100+ all purpose yards.

Washington broke out last year in the contest against Eastern Michigan, recording 120 rushing yards. The freshman ended the season second on the team in rushing, averaging 40 yards a game.

Lemay offers another option for the 49ers after finishing last season fourth in the rushing statistic behind Klugh.

The duo of T.L. Ford, II and Workpeh Kofa will return to the field this fall. The two were second and

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

third, respectively, on the receiving stat line behind senior Austin Duke.

Kofa led the team in receiving touchdowns with five last season while Ford II had four to his name.

On the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers return many playmakers.

Linebacker Karrington King will look to eclipse a mark set by Larry Ogunjobi for career tackles. King was second on the team last season in tackles with 73.

Two players, Ben DeLuca and Tyriq Harris, were named to the Conference USA All-Freshmen team after the 2016 season. DeLuca went on to be named a Pro Football Focus Freshman All-American.

DeLuca set a single season record for true freshmen after recording 68 tackles on the season. He also led the team in solo tackles last season with 51.

Harris was third on the team with 6.0 QB hurries and was tied for second after having 2.0 sacks. Harris had six games where he had five or more tackles.

7

WANTED:

MID-WEEK & BULLPEN PITCHERS TREVOR WILT SPORTS EDITOR

The Charlotte 49ers have hit a bump on the diamond as of late and it is almost directly correlated with the bump that is 60 feet, 6 inches away from home plate.

After jumping out to a hot start in the midst of the hardest schedule in program history, the bullpen and mid-week games have been the Achilles heel for head coach Loren Hibbs and the rest of the Niners over the last 10 or so games, struggling to hold leads after solid starts during weekend games and also struggling to only use a few bullpen guys to get the job done during the week.

Charlotte’s starting pitching has held their own this season, as Colton Laws holds the third best ERA (Earned Run Average) in Conference USA among starters with a 1.16 through eight starts, including 48 strikeouts. Zach Flanagan and Josh Maciejewski have also done their due diligence on the mound as the Saturday and Sunday starters, as Flanagan holds a 3.24 ERA through 41.2 innings and Maciejewski has a 4.38 ERA through 49.1 innings.

At the beginning of the season, the 49ers’ bullpen was being led by a strong duo of Matt Brooks and Jonah Patten, two arms that were added to Charlotte’s bullpen over the offseason. Shohn Doty, Charlotte’s new pitching coach, and Hibbs went to these two newcomers early and often, which helped lead to Charlotte’s brilliant 9-2 start.

Brooks did not allow a run in his first 11 innings of work, striking out almost two batters every inning, while Patten displayed his strong arm and deceptive slider through his first three innings without giving up a run.

Looking like they had two pieces

8

Assistant coach/pitching coach Shohn Doty making a pitching change.

Photo by Chris Crews

out of the bullpen that they were going to go to a lot this season, Charlotte still hunted for other guys to build around the two hardthrowing right-handed pitchers, while also searching for guys to start during mid-week games. The Niners saw their seven-game win streak come to an end earlier in the season when they traveled to North Carolina A&T on March 7, losing 5-6 against the Aggies. Charlotte used four pitchers that night in the midweek match-up, which is actually the lowest amount of pitchers used in a mid-week game all season for the Niners. That game was the day that people started to wonder if the Niners could be taken seriously, just after they knocked off No.6-ranked NC State and almost beat No.4ranked South Carolina.

Charlotte has just won two out of their eight mid-week games, using just over eight pitchers per game, which means that each pitcher is roughly getting through just one inning of work. A mid-week

starter has been so hard to find that Hibbs has gone to Brooks and Patten in two of those starts, as Brooks threw 4.0 innings of one-hit baseball, including a career-high eight strikeouts in his lone start.

In Patten’s only start of the season, the junior went 3.1 innings, giving up only one hit and striking out three batters. Charlotte lost both of those games. Although both pitchers had the two best mid-week starts of the season for Charlotte, their outings were cut short because of pitch counts, wanting to keep them available for the weekend games to help out the struggling bullpen.

Charlotte has used seven different starters in those eight mid-week games, just searching for one arm that can provide some assurance with the ball in his hands for maybe five or six innings of work to give Charlotte a chance down the stretch.

With 12 guys who have all come out of the bullpen this season, seven of those pitchers allow opposing hitters to hit over .300 against them.

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

Sophomore Drew Morrison leads the team in that category, as hitters are only batting .176 against the lefthanded pitcher, which is actually .03 lower than batters facing Charlotte’s best pitcher, Laws. As a team, the 49ers are allowing four free bases per game with hit batters and walks, with most of those walks and hit by pitches being allowed out of the bullpen. Although there are games where the pitchers used cannot be perfect, Charlotte’s pitching staff is backed by the best defense in C-USA (.982 fielding percentage) and also one of the top offenses, that is batting .288 as a team, while also bringing in on average 6.24 runs per game, which allows for plenty of wiggle for the Charlotte pitchers to make a couple mistakes a game; but not a handful. For example, on April 7 against Florida Atlantic University, Charlotte scored the first nine runs of the game, holding a 9-0 lead heading into the seventh inning. After Laws exited the ball game with 92 pitches, the 49ers’ bullpen gave up three runs in the seventh, two in the eighth and four in the ninth. Charlotte would lose 13-10 in 13 innings, salvaging a great opportunity to win a C-USA series against the third best team in the conference.

There have been too many weekend starts that have been thrown away and also too many mid-week games that have slipped out of the fingertips of the Niners, and with their defense and offense clicking on almost all cylinders, it’s time for the mid-week starters and bullpen to pick up their game if the 49ers have any chance of making a regional or going far into the C-USA tournament in Biloxi, Mississippi.

NINERTIMES

NINERTIMES.COM

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

9

HEROES THAT DIE An archetype that American society at once both resists at every turn, and professes to believe

CASEY ALDRIDGE OPINION EDITOR

This editorial may contain spoilers for readers who have yet to see “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” and Marvel’s “Logan.” It also contains potential spoilers for readers unfamiliar with “Schindler’s List,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and Marvel’s “The Avengers.”

Our class on the problems of Holocaust representation in art and memory was critically analyzing the films of “Schindler’s List” and “Life is Beautiful.” Our discussion eventually turned—as it seems all film criticism must—to the Christ-figure in contemporary and specifically American media.

The story and figure of Christ undoubtedly features prominently in the literature of the West: Alistair McGrath has written extensively on Christian imagery and archetypes in C.S. Lewis’s “Chronicles of Narnia,” and much has been made of the parallels to Christ in The Matrix, John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” and “Star Wars.”

I think, however, that the immediate equation of any character who sacrifices of their own self as a “Christ-figure” is too simple, too lazy.

Our class discussion on Holocaust representation overwhelmingly agreed on the fact that strong Christian themes in “Schindler’s

List” and “Life is Beautiful” are thematically disingenuous—even dangerous—when we consider that in the 1930s and 1940s the Church all too often made peace with Nazism at the expense of Europe’s Jewish communities. But our class also came to the conclusion that Oskar Schindler, at least, is less a “Christ-figure” than he is a Christian saint. The innocent victim—the proper “Christ-figure”— of “Schindler’s List” is not Schindler, but rather the little Jewish girl in the red coat in Kraków Ghetto, whose death seems to “convert” Schindler.

Schindler sacrifices his fortune

to save hundreds of lives, but his sacrifice is more akin to a Christian saint, convert, or martyr than to Christ himself. Why is the distinction important? Because a quick reduction of all heroes and heroines in American cinema to “Christ-figures” ignores the elephant in the room: America’s preferred hero, more often than not, comes closer to a Nietzschean übermensch (meaning “Superman”) than it does to Christ.

The progressive Christian magazine “Sojourners” published an article last week by Adam Erickson, who argued that “while many Christians demonize Nietzsche with

Christian Bale as Batman in Warner Bros.’ 2005 Batman Begins. Photo via Tribune News Service

10

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

NINERTIMES

their words, they actually agree with him with their actions.” Erickson suggested that Nietzsche understood but consciously rejected Christ; on the contrary, according to Erickson, “while [today’s Christians] profess Christ, they actually believe in Dionysus; they actually believe in a god who justifies their violence rather than leads them in the way of forgive.”

Hollywood undeniably makes use of Christ-figures regularly. And yet the Christ-figure, who was crucified and killed by the state without glory or honor, is in direct tension with the quintessentially American fascination with indestructible, unstoppable supermen. Part of this is cultural, and part of it is economic.

Take Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” for example. At its conclusion, Batman pilots his Batplane into the sunset, carrying with him a nuclear bomb that was set to destroy Gotham City.

At first, we are led to assume that Batman has become a Christ-figure, giving his own life so that others in Gotham may continue to live, even if corruption and vice has dominated Gotham at every turn. But Nolan can’t kill off his hero; instead, Alfred the Butler sees Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne wining-and-dining on vacation with Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman.

It’s a nice ending, but the emotional impact of Batman’s sacrifice is considerably dulled. A remarkably similar scenario occurs in Marvel’s first “Avengers” film, when Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man intercepts a nuclear missile headed for New York City. Taking it to a portal in the heavens, Captain America warns him he’s taking “a one-way trip.” But on what ought to surely be a fatal fall from the sky, the Hulk catches him, breaking his fall. Iron Man nevertheless lands hard, and for a solemn moment we are led to think he is dead. However, Iron Man wakes up at the sound of the Hulk’s roar, frantically asking: “What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me.”

Iron Man’s willingness to sacrifice himself is not interrupted by this chain of events, and yet the impact of his heroism is trivialized by them. We are spared the image of

NINERTIMES.COM

Iron Man’s broken, Christ-like body, and instead given a hero who has somehow survived all and remained intact. Death cannot touch him, and moments later he’s asking his comrades about shawerma.

There’s an economic impetus for this new kind of hero. Specifically, refusing to kill Iron Man off allows Iron Man to continue to function at the center of future “Avengers” films.

Iron Man is popular, and so Marvel has millions of dollars invested in his endurance. But there is also a cultural parallel to be made. The spirit of American capitalism is the spirit of empire—it asserts that the exceptional will always come out on top. This hero endorses capitalist meritocracy at home and U.S. military interventionism abroad by suggesting, like Nietzsche, that the strong should pursue their own interests, rather than the interests of the weak.

The Roman empire two thousand years ago and the American empire of the last century both believe in Dionysus, according to Erickson’s article in “Sojourners.”

And that preference manifests in the way Rome and America think about heroism as mighty and impenetrable. That is the hero of empire is exactly the opposite of the hero of Christianity (at least at its foundation), which emphasizes meekness, forgiveness and resurrection that only comes after an inglorious death.

Christ-figures exist in American media, but perhaps not as dominantly as some would suggest.

And, where Christ-figures do exist, they often undermine the basic assumptions of American imperialism and exceptionalism.

On the other hand, across from “Avengers” or “The Dark Knight Rises,” is another superhero film: “Logan.”

Like with Schindler, it is hard to make the case that Logan is a reimagined Jesus of Nazareth. Like with Schindler, we’re closer if we think of Wolverine as a Christian martyr, convert or saint. His general disposition is not one of charity or love; rather, he comes to sacrifice himself out of love only after he has been converted by the love of another: his daughter. In perhaps

our most stark distinction between “Logan” and the other films, our hero dies fighting for others.

Our hero dies.

There won’t be another Wolverine film, at least not with Hugh Jackman. His story ends with his death. That’s not really remarkable; all of our stories end with our death.

But that’s exactly why “Logan” carries an emotional and spiritual weight that the other two films lack.

Meanwhile, John McDowell has argued that in the “Star Wars” saga there are several Christ-figures, rather than one messiah-figure rising above the rest of the cast.

But the original films still seem dominated more often than not by supermen (Jedi) with super abilities (the Force), detached from the masses living under the Empire. Though he wrote it to reject American imperialism in Vietnam, George Lucas’ Star Wars stories ironically told a narrative that had both Christian and AmericanNietzschean themes.

The most recent installment of the Star Wars saga, “Rogue One,” does something quite different.

“Rogue One” gives us a glimpse at the heroics of a small band of rebels (even terrorists, one might say) who give their lives one-by-one to get the Death Star plans into the hands of the Rebel Alliance. I remember watching “Rogue One” in theaters and noting the reactions of the children around me, who could not understand why Jyn and Cassian and nearly every other character in “Rogue One” ends up dying. The “Rogue One” crew ends up successful in bring “hope” to the rebel cause, but it is a hope they’ll never see, and hope that costs them their lives in painful, unglorified moments of death. And it is no coincidence that the anti-imperialist political content of “Star Wars” is stronger in “Rogue One” than it ever was in the original saga, precisely because it lets go of Nietzsche’s invincible übermensch and opts for the heroes who die.

The American hero of “The Dark Knight Rises” or “The Avengers” is one of empire. It denies or disregards death, as opposed to the Christfigure who only emerges victorious in myth after fully entering into death. Batman and Iron Man, in

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

their invincibility, ultimately uphold death’s power, and in doing so justify the power of empire. Only through embracing death are the heroes of “Logan” and “Rogue One” able to conquer fear, death, and empire.

Right now we have a President who professes a faith in Christ while acting as a Pontius Pilate, dropping the “mother of all bombs” in Afghanistan, striking Syria and threatening North Korea. Trump’s insistence on military might rests on the assumptions that heroism looks like force, and that the possession of power automatically justifies the use of force. But when we see the Christ of the right-wing acting like Superman, we can assume it’s not Christ, but rather an American trope masquerading as Christ.

The Christ-figure is that of a hero who died to set others free, or so the story goes. The Christfigure doesn’t deny or evade death, but rather goes into it and comes out of it. The atheist and Marxist literary critic Terry Eagleton, in his book on “Hope without Optimism,” wrote: “The singer Sinead O’Connor once remarked in the course of a television interview that she found the resurrection so much more joyful than the crucifixion, as though, like choosing a color scarf, one could plump for the one or the other option depending on one’s temperament.

It is the quintessence of optimism.

She did not see that the resurrection is hopeful precisely because what it redeems is the agony and desolation of the cross.”

Christians just finished celebrating Easter, the holiday marking Jesus’s resurrection. But the idea of resurrection, which embraces death to overcome death, is not unique to Christianity.

Resurrection has existed in human philosophies and religions in any number of contexts, and though it has not always been put to use for subversive means, it has implications and prospects for rejecting the narratives of empires and of people in power.

Like Eagleton, we don’t need to be Christian to understand that this hero-myth is much richer and than the flat hero-myth of America, where supermen always save the day and never die.

11

Photo by Meg Whalen and Danny Tulledge

LIFE’S IMITATION OF ART: ‘LA BOHÈME’

UNC Charlotte’s preview performance leaves the audience wanting more STEPHANIE TREFZGER ASST. A&E EDITOR

Hickory Ridge High School might be one of the saddest places I have ever been. It doesn’t have nearly enough windows to suit its size, it’s labyrinthine parking lot is nearly impossible to navigate and the inside is dull and lifeless.

What the school does have, however, is friendly people and an enthusiastic arts program. This may be why it was such a perfect place to put on a preview of UNC Charlotte’s production of “La Bohème.”

“La Bohème,” which means “bohemian” in French, is an Italian opera that reflects life in early 19th century Paris, where a lot of prospective artists were poor, but happy. The characters in Puccini’s story do not let their surroundings dictate their happiness, thus creating an unlikely parallel to the school.

Usually when I go to review an event, I go to

12

pick up my ticket and sit down to watch whatever it is that is being performed in front of me. This time it was a little different; it was a little more hands-on than originally expected. On the day of the preview, April 7, my day started at 8 a.m. when the cast, production designer, director and I made our way to Robinson to load the opera’s set into the waiting cars. Like a game of Tetris, we stacked trees, benches, chairs, a small fireplace and a shopping cart, along with various other miscellaneous objects on top of one another, just hoping that everything would fit. After a lot of pushing and prodding, it did. Arriving at Hickory Ridge was less complicated, but interesting nevertheless. We unloaded the set and made our way to the auditorium.

I was of little use during the set-up process, so I watched the others do it. Accompanied by APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

the sound of laughter and chatter, the set came together, and the seemingly random objects found their rightful places. The noise died down. Soon after, the school’s theater and chorus students filed into the auditorium, somehow chatting about both everything and nothing all at once. My favorite conversation was that between two girls who fiercely debated which variety of Cheetos was best. The lights turned down, and with them, their voices.

I was worried about how the students would react to the first act, to the opera in general. After all, high schoolers can be mean, and opera isn’t necessarily this generation’s first love.

The many voices were replaced by only a single booming one, which was accompanied by a small orchestra on the side of the stage, conducted by set producer Austin Philemon. This is Tyrez

NINERTIMES

Dabbs, who played artist Marcello.

He is quickly joined by Hunter Aldridge, who plays artist Rodolfo, followed by the musician Schaunard (Joe McGovern), and the philosopher Colline (James Matens), until they are all together in an old attic. They are poor, causing them to argue over whose work to burn for warmth, but they are happy. It was Christmas Eve, so they all decided to go to a café. Fortunately for Rodolfo, he has not finished writing his poem yet, and promises to meet his friends when he is done; the others leave.

A neighbor, Mimi (Cecily Bednarek) knocks on Rodolfo’s door, asking him to light her candle. Mysteriously - or not so mysteriously - Rodolfo’s candle goes out, too. Mimi accidentally drops her key, and when the two search for it in the dark, they touch each one another’s hands. They fall in love.

At this point, the house lights once again lit up the space, and the cast moved quickly to move the set in preparation of the next act. I watched, and as I watched, I again listened to the students around me talk. To my absolute delight, they loved it, and my worries were assuaged. They discussed the plot and laughed about the parts they thought were funny. One girl told her friend that this was her first introduction to opera and how much she liked it. They spoke of the actor’s voices, and how they wished that their voices could do the same. I grinned to myself, wishing the same.

They were particularly enthralled by the voice of Bednarek, whose performance was impossible to ignore.

The lights go down. Act two.

Rodolfo happily brings Mimi to the café to introduce her to his friends. There they run into Musetta (Amaranth Weiss), Marcello’s former lover. She makes her grand entrance while hanging on the arm of a wealthy older man named Alcindoro, played by David Cruz.

Musetta, only in it for the money, is clearly uninterested in the old man’s affections, thus working on attracting Marcello’s attention instead. Finally, she gets rid of Alcindoro and falls back into Marcello’s arms. When it is discovered that none of them has the money to pay for their meal, Musetta tells their waiter to charge everything to Alcindoro’s account.

With the sight of a group of soldiers

NINERTIMES.COM

marching past the cafe’s windows, the friends quickly depart. Alcindoro returns to the table only to find a bill.

Again, the lights turned on, the frantic scramblings of the cast to prepare for the next act ensued and the students again started talking amongst themselves. They were completely engaged in the plot, and they were more enthusiastic than before. This had something to do with the hilarity of Musetta, and the brilliant execution by Weiss, which had the perfect reactions from her surrounding cast. Because this was just a preview of the full opera, and there was a time constraint, the story skipped the third act entirely and moved on to the fourth.

The final act starts just as the opening act: Marcello and Rodolfo are trying to work, but without any success. This time it is because they are both preoccupied with the fact that Mimi and Rodolfo no longer see each other. Colline and Schaunard come in with some food, but it is only a meager meal of bread and herring.

They improvise a meal, pretend to be at a ball and even fight a mock duel with a tennis racket and baguette.

Then Musetta bursts into the telling them that Mimi is very ill but does not dare to come in. The actors and the music stop abruptly.

It took a minute for the audience to realize that the opera had been cut short and that this was the ending they were left with. A boy to the right of me somewhere was the first to realize and let everyone know by shouting “DUDE” at the people on stage. After some outcry, the students accepted that they wouldn’t see the end of the story that day, and they began to shuffle out of the auditorium and back to their regular school day. As they left, I could hear them mimic the operatic voices of the actors. When they left, we accepted our fate and began to take apart the set, once again playing a game of Tetris with the props.

The stage seemed empty and sad without the set, and I was reminded that we were in an underfunded school that served meager lunches. I thought of the phrase, “Art imitates life,” which is usually incorporated in a meme of some kind and chuckled to myself. It is true after all.

Performances will take place April 21 at 7:30 p.m. and April 23 at 4:30 p.m. at UNC Charlotte Center City.

66 Drive-__ window

ACROSS 1 Drop a line from the dock, say 5 Normandy battle town 9 Massage targets 14 Together, musically 15 Chips __!: cookies 16 Formal-sounding will?

17 Friends of man’s best friend 19 Columbus craft 20 For each one 21 Diving lake bird 22 Knight’s title 24 Sport involving some rolling on the grass 28 QB-to-receiver sixpointer 30 Rent-a-car giant 31 Landed 32 TV show shown before 34 Banned bug spray 37 Forgetting the unpleasant parts 41 “Good” cholesterol

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

initials 42 Wishes 43 Sitting on 44 List of computer options 45 “Movin’ right along ... “ 47 Tidy sum that doesn’t sound like much 52 Overhead trains 53 Steak order 54 Contemporary radio station named for its former “easy listening” playlist 56 Leaves out 58 Highway segment for slower traffic ... and, literally, what 17-, 24-, 37and 47-Across each has 61 Used up 62 “So THAT’S what you mean” 63 Physics particle 64 Bacon work 65 Lysol target

DOWN 1 Craze 2 Knot-tying words 3 Drug test placebo 4 Beatles’ second film 5 File-renaming command, at times 6 “Supernatural” network 7 Oscar winner Sophia 8 Kvetching cries 9 Nile snake 10 Flu symptoms 11 Asian capital 12 “Tiny Dancer” singer John 13 Much street talk 18 Many Rembrandts 22 Squirrel away 23 Loafed 25 Exposes 26 Reproductive cell 27 Cellar reds and whites 29 Gobbled down 32 Tear to pieces 33 New Year’s __ 34 “Duh ... figure it out!”

35 Slobber 36 Printing goofs 38 Newscaster Huntley 39 Broadway award 40 Possibly will 44 Medit. volcano 45 Song before the game 46 Vladivostok veto 47 Narrative writing 48 Boat launching aids 49 Great Lakes natives 50 Beethoven dedicatee 51 Algeria neighbor 55 London apartment 57 Muddy pen 58 Fix, as a fight 59 Neither here __ there 60 Down Under bir

13

THINK BEFORE YOU BUY Tips for cleaning out your wardrobe and saving a few bucks DELFINA EROCHENKO STAFF WRITER

Everywhere we go, we are exposed to advertisements. It’s almost unavoidable, we see them on TV and online, we hear them on the radio or while streaming music, and even people are sometimes living, walking ads with brand names on their shirts. We recognize hundreds of companies just by looking at their logos, and can even remember their slogans.

As you have likely guessed, companies want us to pay attention to their ads and recognize their logos because we are potential buyers. College students are usually a target consumer base for multiple companies because our age group usually has no family to support and is more likely to make unnecessary purchases.

Buying things isn’t a problem. It’s fun to unwind after a stressful day and shop for something we are interested in, but the problem begins to develop when we don’t limit our purchases, and we lose count of how much we are buying. We live in a time in which we can purchase things instantly, sometimes without even putting too much thought into it.

Today, we have so much more clothing in our closet than our grandparents. Constant sales and discounts are very tempting, and we often end up making purchases that we were likely better off without. Say you go to the mall for a new pair of shoes, but while you are there you see a shirt that is on sale; you don’t put much thought into it and buy the shirt.

Would you have bought it if it was full-priced?

If the answer is no, then you were probably better off not buying the shirt. Many of us have been in this same situation. We plan on buying only one thing, but soon end up with more than we planned, and we spend more money than we should.

The point here is, as college students, most of us have incomes that realistically don’t have much room for many of our expenses. Of course, this doesn’t mean that spending money on fun things is bad, it simply means that many of us would be better off reducing our budget for things such as clothes or eating out excessively.

If you look at many ads from fashion or beauty companies, you’ll notice a pattern. Many companies promote their products by using

14

keywords such as “new” or “essential.” We may not notice it, but many ads operate on the knowledge that we tend to associate new things as being better than what we currently own. The word “essential” pops up very often in advertising aimed at women.

Think of many commercials advertising their “Spring Essentials,” which are likely clothes or beauty products. Essential means something that is absolutely necessary, do we really think that some new spring themed nail polishes are absolutely necessary in our lives? Of course, many of us answer no, but we don’t realize that we are subconsciously paying attention to these messages and acting on them.

However, when we act on them excessively, we begin to lose control of the things we are buying.

Is it likely that you’ll find numerous items of clothes that you rarely use in your closet? Or maybe you have many items piling up in your apartment that you bought without much thought, but you never use? If asked about our level of consumerism, most of us would answer that we don’t think we place very high, but this is because we often don’t realize just how much we are buying.

Many of us operate on the idea that things

bring us joy–and they can! But when we start associating our joy only with material things, this can be worrying; we start to think that if we want more joy we need more things, which means we need to spend more money. This is money that we could be saving, or money that we could use on an experience.

Maybe if during one week, we avoided buying things we don’t need, we could use the money for a trip, or for going to a concert. The point is to make memories instead of accumulating clothes, shoes, decorations or other material things.

This doesn’t mean that you must stop buying these things altogether, but that instead you should ask yourself if first, it will bring you happiness, and second, if you will use it.

Shopping is fun! But it isn’t fun to have a closet that is jam-packed with clothes–many of which you may use once or never use, or to look around your room and see it cluttered with your previous purchases.

You don’t need to get rid of all your possessions or drastically alter the way you spend, but next time you’re shopping, put a lot of thought into what you buy and why you buy it. Do you need it?

The answer is up to you.

Photo courtesy of Pexel

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

NINERTIMES

STARBUCKS SECRET MENU: OREO FRAPUCCINO BRIANNA SUMPTER STAFF WRITER

What´s creamy and chocolatey and covered in whip cream? The answer is the Starbucks Oreo Frappuccino! This frappuccino is the perfect drink if you are looking for something sweet in the spring or summer. This is one of the most simple items on the Starbucks secret menu, and it is very easy to order. When you go to starbucks you just ask for a Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino, and ask for it blended with white mocha sauce instead of the regular chocolate mocha sauce. That is literally all there is to it. If you are into whip cream, you can top it off with whip cream and mocha sauce, or caramel sauce. Whatever is on top is simply your preference. The size you order is what is going to base how much white chocolate you get in your drink. If you get a tall, you will get 3 pumps of white chocolate, 4 with a grande and 5 with a tall unless you request extra or less white chocolate.

You do not have to order java chips to put in the frappuccino to make it an oreo frappuccino, because it already comes with them in it. A traditional Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino comes with java chips and mocha sauce, hence the term double chocolate chip.

This drink is so convenient because all you have to do is change one step,

versus the other drinks on the secret menu that can be a little complicated.

Overall, I think if you like chocolate, you will be a fan of this frapuccino.

Personally, I feel like the Oreo Frappuccino was not bad, but it could have been better. When I was drinking the drink, I feel like I had a hard time tasting the java chips. I got a tall size, which comes with 2 scoops of java chips. In the future if I get this drink again, I know to ask for extra java chips if I am going to get a tall. Also, this was one of the first times that I have gotten a drink that had white mocha in it so I was not sure what to expect. In my opinion, I feel like the white mocha slightly took away some of the chocolate taste and turned it into vanilla. Overall the drink was not bad, but I was not too crazy about it. If you are going to try this drink and you are a fan of chocolate I recommend that you order extra java chips in your drink to balance out the amount of white chocolate that is put in it. Lastly, I recommend putting mocha sauce on top to give it that extra chocolate on the top. For more drinks from the Starbucks secret menu make sure you check out their website http://starbuckssecretmenu.net/.

BRIANNA SUMPTER STAFF WRITER

“My biggest concern regarding finals is my Spanish final. This final is one of my biggest concerns because it is involving a different language so I need to prepare extra for this one. In order to study and prepare for my Spanish final, I am going to turn the subtitles on in Spanish on Netflix so I can Netflix and study at the same time. I am not too worried about my other finals because most of them are written papers instead of actual tests, but I am still going to study.”

- Tobi Kalejaiye

NINERTIMES.COM

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

15

16

APR. 18 - APR. 24, 2017

NINERTIMES