TABLE OF CONTENTS ¡ Letter From the Editor ¡ Living On Campus
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¡ More Than One Woman? A Man’s Every Wish
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¡ Is Love Really The Same?
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¡ A Player To a Lover?
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¡ Eat Healthy, Play Healthy
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A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR ¥  Dear Reader s, Writing is definitely not an easy task . It takes times and ef for t to produce a well written piece of work . I have come a long way from writing my fir st ethnography paper in September 201 3. Being an individual who is not a fan of writing, I have learned to develop complex sentences from simple ones and transition paragraphs to flow smoothly. I have also learned to analyze my arguments and positions in depth, rather than giving minimal analysis. When assigned to a paper, I took my idea and researched for any possible information I could find on the Internet. Then, I began to interpret and analyze my information. Once this was done, I wrote my paper. Af ter having someone peer review my paper, I checked for any grammatical syntax and for smooth transitions. I also followed the advice of my peer s to improve my writing. For my por tfolio assignment, I decided to hand pick my ethnography for a genre change and my OpEd for a substantial revision. Being a freshman in a new environment, I felt that my topic, living on campus vs. commuting was per fect for my ethnography. I strongly believe that students who live on campus are more socially engaged than students who commute.
A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR ¡ I wa s a b l e to i n te r v i ew s t u d e n t s w h o l i ve i n my r e s i d e n t i a l b u i l d i n g a n d s t u d e n t s w h o t r ave l to U B fo r s c h o o l . T h i s to p i c a l s o r e l a te s to my p e r s o n a l l i ve , b e c a u s e I fe e l t h a t a l l c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s s h o u l d b e a b l e to ex p e r i e n c e b e i n g i n d e p e n d e n t a n d r e s p o n s i b l e fo r t h e m s e l ve s . I c h a n g e d my e t h n o g r a p hy p a p e r to a b r o c h u r e . I n o r d e r to p r o m o te d o r m i n g a n d l i fe o n c a m p u s , I fe l t t h a t a b r o c h u r e wa s t h e b e s t way to a d ve r t i s e t h i s . I a l s o wa n te d to c r e a te a b r o c h u r e to g i ve s o m e s o r t o f b a s i c i n fo r m a t i o n to i n c o m i n g c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s w h o a r e c o n te m p l a t i n g w h e t h e r o r n o t t h ey s h o u l d d o r m . H o w I M e t Yo u r M o t h e r i s o n e o f my f avo r i te te l ev i s i o n s h ow s o f a l l t i m e . H ow eve r, I n eve r l o o ke d a t t h e s h ow f r o m a a n a l y t i c a l p o i n t . B e i n g my f avo r i te s h ow, I t h o u g h t i t wa s a p e r fe c t i d e a a s a b a s e to my O p E d e s s ay. I f u r t h e r a n a l y z e d t h e s h ow a n d d i s c ove r e d m u l t i p l e s te r e o t y p e s . I d e c i d e d to fo c u s my p a p e r o n B a r n ey a n d h ow t h e s h ow r e i n fo r c e s t h e r e fo r m a t i o n o f a “ p l aye r ” t h r o u g h l ove a n d m a r r i a g e . Fo r my s u b s t a n t i a l r ev i s i o n , I c h a n g e d my t h e s i s , b u t ke p t t h e t h e m e o f l ove a n d m a r r i a g e . T h i s t i m e , I fo c u s e d my p a p e r o n Te d a n d h ow t h e r e i s a l way s o n e c h a r a c te r w h o s e a r c h e s fo r l ove , b u t f a i l s to d o s o . B o t h e s s ay s h e l p t h e a u d i e n c e m e m b e r s w h o e n j oy wa t c h i n g r o m a n t i c c o m e d i e s o r t h e s h ow, H o w I M e t Yo u r M o t h e r t h i n k a b o u t t h e s h ow c r i t i c a l l y a n d i n a n ew p o i n t o f v i ew. I t a l s o m ay h e l p c h a n g e t h e i r p e r s p e c t i ve o n B a r n ey a n d b r i n g a n ew l i g h t towa r d s h i s l ove l i fe .
A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Some samples of my informal writing are also included in the web magazine. These are some of the ideas that I’ve had during my writing process. Before writing a full paper, the informal writing pieces help formulate my ideas and how I can further expand on them. I also include what I would like to get across in my paper through my informal writing pieces. Through my pieces of writing, I hope my audience will understand the messages that I attempt to prove and demonstrate. I also hope that my readers will think about the topics I’ve written about in a new way and not that it’s any generic television show or that living on campus is what every college student should do. My informal writing pieces help prove how a small idea can expand to become a well written pieces with great analytical thought. I hope reading my pieces of writing will leave you with something to think about. Thanks, S y d n ey Yu
LIVING ON CAMPUS? N OT S U R E I F YO U WA N T TO D O R M ? H E R E ’ S A L I S T O F A L L T H E REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD!
¡ Aren’t you tired of your parents nagging you? Don’t you want some time away from them? If so, living on campus is the best option for you! With roughly 19, 509 undergraduate students attending UB, there are a wide variety of cultures and ethnicities. This is the perfect opportunity to meet new people. There are also fun residential programs in your building that are designed for students like you. With over 13 residential halls, you can easily find the one that best fits your needs.
WHY SHOULD YOU DORM AT UB? ¡ There are many reasons why one should dorm at UB. First of f, academic buildings are just minutes away from the residential halls. There are also a wide variety of programs and events UB has to of fer. Some include Yoga Night, Late Night Bingo and more. These events are a great way to meet new friends and socialize. Room Layouts Once you have deciding to live on campus, there are a few selections of room arrangements to
choose from. There are single, double, triple or quadrangle rooms. If you do not receive the room you applied for, you are always able to request a room change. Fill out a request form and mail it to the Campus Living Residential Of fice. You are also allowed to choose your roommate. Simply type in his or her person number when filling out the application. If not, we will happily choose a roommate at random.
WHY SHOULD YOU DORM AT UB? ¡ Don’t know what’s going on tonight? Don’t worry! Just ask your residential advisor and they will provide you information on weekly events and programs in your hall. Zero Tolerance Our freshmen and sophomore residential halls have a zero tolerance for any drugs or illegal substances. They are also dry halls, meaning that alcohol is not allowed. However, some buildings located in
the Ellicott Complex and Governor’s Building allow alcohol to be held if the resident is 21 and over
Double Room
Triple Room
RESIDENTIAL HALLS ¡ FRESHMAN: Freshman students are able to live in either North or South campus. On North campus, freshmen are able to choose to live in the Governors or Ellicott complex, along with other freshmen. On South campus, students are able to live in Goodyear or Clement Hall. These rooms are suite style, meaning that two doublerooms share a bathroom. SOPHOMORES: Sophomore students are able to live in any residential hall as freshmen. They also have a chance to live in Greiner Hall; a residential hall for only second year students. It is a suite style, with two double rooms and a joined bathroom. JUNIORS/SENIORS: Junior and senior students are eligible to apply to on-campus apartments. They range in a variety of dif ferent living arrangements. Apartment villages include Hadley, Flint and South Lake village.
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Quadrangle Room
A WISE WORD FROM A STUDENT AT UB ¡ “At UB, everyone is very friendly, so it’s easy to make new friends here. A majority of the people I met were in Goodyear, which is where I currently reside. If you’re rooming with someone you don’t know, you kind of have to become friends with them. I mean, you’re basically living with them. In my classes, I don’t really talk to anyone. I think everyone is too focused on the professor and their work that they don’t have time to make friends or even ask the person next to them their name.” UB Campus Living -Wilson; freshman 106 Red Jacket Buffalo, NY 14261-0054 Phone: 716-645-2171 Email: Ub-living@buffalo.edu
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MORE THAN ONE WOMAN? A MAN’S EVERY WISH In most sit coms, women tend to play the role of a “slut” or a “whore.” Most women are depicted by having a one-night stand with men. Chloe Angyal from Jezebel believes, “Romantic comedies teach us that a woman's life is empty and meaningless without a man, and that any woman who believes she is happy being single is simply lying to herself” (Angyal, I Spent a Year Watching Rom-Coms and This Is the Crap I Learned). However, this is not necessarily true in the sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. There are numerous roles of women that are portrayed in this show. Some of these women include Lily Aldrin, Robin Scherbatsky and more. How I Met Your Mother has a variety of female character roles that make the show interesting and funny. The narrative premise of How I Met Your Mother is a show about a man named Ted Mosby who retells a countless number of stories to his son and daughter about different events that occurred with his friends Lily, Marshall, Robin and Barney. These events eventually lead up to how he met their mother. The show uses 2030 as the premise to justify the flashbacks, but most of the events occur from 2005 to 2012 in New York City. Each episode reveals more clues about the mother and who she is. How I Met Your Mother has helped break the stereotype that there are only one type of women in most romantic comedies.
MORE THAN ONE WOMAN? A MAN’S EVERY WISH ¡ U n l i k e m o s t f e m a l e s , R o b i n i s one of the ver y type different women. Born in Canada, R o b i n ’ s f a t h e r a l w ay s w a n t e d a son. Therefore, he named her R o b i n C h a r l e s S c h e r b a t s k y J r. and treated her like a son he never had. She did not grow up l i k e a ny o t h e r g i r l , p l ay i n g w i t h dolls and drawing pictures. I n s t e a d , s h e j o i n e d a h o c k ey team that her father suggested. Growing up as a “ to m b oy, ” R o b i n i s a m i s o g y n i s t . S h e e n j oy s activities that most men would l i k e , s u c h a s p l ay i n g w i t h g u n s , drinking Scotch and smoking cigars. She also does not have a ny f e m a l e f r i e n d s , e x c e p t L i l y. In season 9 episode 4, Lily questions Robin’s hatred to w a r d s w o m e n . S h e r e p l i e s , “ T h ey ’ r e s o a n n oy i n g . G i r l s a r e a l w ay s w h i n i n g a n d c r y i n g o v e r ever y little thing. U g h ” ( Fr y m a n , T h e B r o k e n Code). Although she is a female, she does not consider herself as a woman. Her outlooks on life are different than Lily’s. While Lily is more focused on becoming a mother and has plans of conceiving a child, Robin is focused on her career as a morning host on
t h e s h o w, C o m e o n , G e t U p N e w Yo r k ! I n s o m e w ay s , s h e h a s a s i m i l a r p e r s o n a l i t y to B a r n ey S t i n s o n . B o t h R o b i n a n d B a r n ey are carefree and easy going. In season 1 episode 14, Robin d e c i d e s to s e e w h a t B a r n ey ’ s life is all about and becomes his “bro” for the night. She “suits up” by wearing a suit, s i m i l a r l y to w h a t B a r n ey n o r m a l l y w e a r s . B o t h h e a d to t h e c i g a r b a r to h a n g o u t a n d h e a d to p l ay B a r n ey ’ s f a v o r i t e game, laser tag af ter wards. A f t e r l a s t t a g , t h ey r e t u r n to t h e b a r a n d b e i n g B a r n ey ’ s w i n g w o m a n , R o b i n a t t e m p t s to h o o k B a r n ey u p w i t h a w o m a n . I n r e t u r n o f t h e f a v o r, B a r n ey makes an ef for t in hooking up R o b i n w i t h a g ay w o m a n . T h i s depicts Robin’s manliness and how she grew up abnormal girl w h e n s h e w a s yo u n g e r.
MORE THAN ONE WOMAN? A MAN’S EVERY WISH
¡ A more common trope in romantic comedies is played by Lily Aldrin. Lily is the wife to Marshall Eriksen and the mother to Marvin Eriksen. In her college years, she met her best friend, Ted Mosby and Marshall, whom she instantly fell in love with. In season 3 episode 5, Lily recalls a flashback of when she met Marshall for the first time. She was having trouble setting up for stereo and knocked on one of her floor mate’s room for help. Marshall opened the door, and they both knew it was love at first sight. Since then, they have been together for nine years. In season 7 episode 23, she gives birth to her son, Marvin Eriksen. Unlike Robin, Lily focuses her priorities on her relationship with Marshall and becoming the best mother to Marvin. In season 8 episode 3, Lily and Marshall are on the search to find a nanny to take care of their son. After much searching, she finds a perfect candidate, Mrs. Buckminster. However, when she sends Marvin off with Mrs. Buckminster, she realizes that she cannot leave her son alone with a stranger. This shows how much Lily loves Marvin. She cannot bear to be without him and does not trust anyone else to take care of him. Like Lily, mothers are
very overprotective of their child and cannot seem to separate from them. They want the best for them, and simply do not trust strangers with their child, because they believe they are the only caregivers for their child. At one point in season 1 episode 22, Lily becomes so focused on her passion for art, she decides to move to San Francisco to pursue her dream and breaks up with her long time lover, Marshall. Nonetheless, in season 2 episode 7 she soon returns from San Francisco, because she cannot stand being so far away from Marshall. Lily realizes that starting a family with Marshall is more important than trying to pursue her dream. This displays how much of a lover Lily is and how vulnerable she can get when she is in love. She was even able to give up her dream, because being apart from her long time lover is far worse.
MORE THAN ONE WOMAN? A MAN’S EVERY WISH ¡ O f c o u r s e t h e r e a r e t h e t y p i c a l w o m e n t h a t e n j oy s l e e p i n g w i t h m e n a n d h av i n g o n e - n i g h t s t a n d s . Fo r ex a m p l e , i n t h e s e r i e s , B a r n ey S t i n s o n i s w e l l k n ow n a s a “ p l aye r ” o r C a s a n ova w h o wa n t s n o t h i n g b u t women. He has commitment i s s u e s a n d wo u l d m u c h r a t h e r e n g a g e i n s ex u a l i n te r c o u r s e t h a n f a l l i n l ove . B a r n ey c r e a te s r i d i c u l o u s s c h e m e s to s e d u c e w o m a n a n d m a n i p u l a te t h e m . H e eve n b e g i n s to d i s g u i s e h i m s e l f a n d m a ke w o m e n fe e l b a d fo r h i m , s o t h a t t h ey would end up sleeping with h i m . T h e s e a n o ny m o u s w o m e n h ave n o s h a m e a n d i n s o m e way s , s i m i l a r to B a r n ey. T h ey m u c h r a t h e r i nvo l ve t h e m s e l ve s i n s ex u a l engagement than become a l ove r. T h i s s h ow s t h e s o c i e t y ’ s v i ew s o n w o m e n t h r o u g h t h e m e d i a . T h ey b e l i t t l e fe m a l e s a n d b e l i eve w o m e n a r e u s e d fo r o n l y
desiring the men. An author f r o m a C B S a r t i c l e w r o te “ T h e C o m m i s s i o n b e l i eve s t h a t m o r e n e e d s to b e d o n e to p r o m o te h e a l t hy b o d y i m a g e s , a c t i ve a n d d i ve r s e fe m a l e c h a r a c te r s , e q u a l a n d h e a l t hy r e l a t i o n s h i p s a n d r o l e s fo r wo m e n a n d g i r l s b o t h o n te l ev i s i o n , o n m ov i e screens and online” (Castillo, Group: Media not showing e n o u g h p o s i t i ve f e m a l e c h a r a c te r s , r e l a t i o n s h i p s ) . M a ny fe m a l e s a r e a l s o o f te n l o o ke d d ow n u p o n a n d a r e n o t a b l e to a t t a i n j o b s e a s i l y d u e to t h e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n u p o n wo m e n . S o c i e t y s o m e h ow b e l i eve s w o m e n a s b e i n g i n fe r i o r to m e n s i m p l y b e c a u s e , m a l e s h ave m o r e p hy s i c a l p ow e r a n d fe m a l e s a r e k n ow n a s t h e c h i l d b e a r e r.
MORE THAN ONE WOMAN? A MAN’S EVERY WISH ¡ Clearly, How I Met Your Mother has helped break the stereotype that there are only one type of women played in romantic comedies. The female characters played in this show all have dif ferent personalities that make them unique. Unlike most characters, Robin plays a career-focused woman, normally not seen in most television shows. Lily centers her life around her love for her child, Mar vin and her husband, Marshall. Then you have the usual female characters that are distinguished by their looks and their involvement with men. This series has created a diversity of women roles played in a single television show and has also proved that are more than one stereotypical female role.
IS LOVE REALLY THE SAME?
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After listening to many songs, I chose to analyze the song, “Same Love” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Feat. Mary Lambert. Macklemore is a recent upcoming artist. He is well known for his song, “Thrift Shop” which has reached number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 2013 and sold over 2.2 million. This song is about someone who is in love with a member of the same sex. Although some states have legalized same-sex marriage, it still is not accepted by everyone. Many may still look or treat others differently because they are gay. I believe the song helps construct an effective way to campaign same sex marriage through the primary feeling of love. The song acts as propaganda to support same sex marriage in reference to the Referendum 74. The lyrics start off with the child admitting that he was gay since the third grade. The mother of the child does not approve and says, “Ben, you’ve loved girls since Pre-K.” This shows the disapproval in the mother’s voice. She has chosen not to accept the fact that her son is gay, and she goes straight into denial. Then, Macklemore uses irony in one line and says, “America the brave still fears what we don’t know.” The United States is known to be the “home of the brave.” If it is seen to be so brave and courageous, why must people become so afraid of same-sex marriage or loving the same gender? America is portrayed as having freedom and the ability to speak up for yourself. However, voices are still silent when it comes to having same-sex marriage becoming legalized. The chorus begins with Mary Lambert singing, “I can’t change, even if I tried. Even if I wanted to.” This means that he can’t change the way he is. No matter how hard he wants to change or become similar to everyone else. He would be more open about it, if our society did not portray being gay as a bad thing. Many religious individuals still do not accept and even look down upon those who support same-sex relationships. I will be discussing how even though the media has become more open about same-sex relationships, society still does not accept it and individuals still fear of “coming out the closet.” I will also discuss the irony in some of the lyrics and the metaphors in relation to the bible.
A PLAYER TO A LOVER? ¡ After watching a handful of my favorite TV shows this past week, I have decided to write my Op-Ed essay on the show, How I Met Your Mother. This show is about a man named Ted who retells a countless number of events to his son and daughter about how he met their mother. The time frame of this show takes place in the year 2030, but often goes back to present day New York City. In this series, Ted is a hopeless romantic, searching for his one and only true love. Every time he dates a new woman, he always believes they are they one, until she breaks his heart or vice versa. He is also scared that he will end up alone, since his friends Barney, Robin, Lily and Marshall are engaged or already married. ¡ The stereotype that I will be focusing on is played in Neil Patrick Harris’s character, Barney Stinson. In our society, most men are portrayed as lustful. They consider themselves as “the ladies man” and that all they need in order to be happy are women. Barney always dresses in suites and has a well paying job at a bank in an unknown position. He also knows how to talk to women and convince them to sleep with him. Barney keeps track of the number of women he slept with and how he picked them up in his infamous book, “The Playbook.” However, I will be going against this stereotype. The idea of women may make men seem happy at first, but it is the idea of love that men find their happiness in. In season 5, Barney and Robin both realize that they have feelings for each other. Barney
seems much happier and more mature once he begins to date Robin. He realizes that Robin is someone whom he actually loves and cares about. I will be discussing a few episodes where Barney seems to be in a happier place when he is in love with Robin.
EAT HEALTHY, PLAY HEALTHY ¡ For my Ad Pitch commercial, I decided to promote healthy living. Each and everyday, the number of obese Americans have increased. Americans have been convinced to eat fast food, such as McDonalds and Burger King, simply because it is convenient, easy and cheap. I wanted to make an advertisement to promote the negative effects of obesity. Instead of eating McDonalds and junk food, one can avoid these types of food to promote a healthier lifestyle. ¡ (Active for Life Public Service Announcement) ¡ This ad promotes an active lifestyle for children. Instead of sitting around and playing computer games, children can play sports to receive their daily exercise and loose weight at the same time. This advertisement lays out the statistics of inactive children and shows what can be done at the end of the video. This statistics of inactive children persuaded me. If I were a mother of a child, I would not want my child to become overweight or obese. This ad also contains a voiceover that explains these statistics and displays charts and graphs of these facts acted out by children. For example, the beginning of the video shows a group of children lying on the floor, in a circle like a circle graph. They are all wearing grey, except for a handful of children wearing yellow. The group of children wearing yellowing displays the 10% of children who receive daily exercise. Another example is a little boy wearing a jacket. During each second of the video, another jacket is piled onto the boy. He is getting bigger, showing that children will become overweight if they do not exercise. In a way, I believe this ad over exaggerates the effects of inactive children, but helps the audience realize what is happening to American children. After watching this ad, I also would like to incorporate some facts that pertain to obesity in my advertisement.
EAT HEALTHY, PLAY HEALTHY ¡ ( Ta r g e t D r e a m i n g G i r l C o m m e r c i a l ) ¡ T h e s e c o n d a d v e r t i s e m e n t i s f o r Ta r g e t . I t i s a s t o p m o t i o n video that displays the dif ferent colors and clothing pieces that Ta r g e t h a s t o o f f e r. T h e v i d e o b e g i n s w i t h a w o m a n s l e e p i n g . I n h e r s l e e p , s h e d r e a m s a b o u t a w o r l d f u l l o f c o l o r. E v e r y t i m e t h e b a c k g r o u n d c h a n g e s c o l o r, h e r o u t f i t s c h a n g e a s w e l l . T h i s d e m o n s t r a t e s t h e v a r i e t y o f c o l o r s Ta r g e t h a s . T h e e n d i n g o f t h e v i d e o shows the woman sleeping on the bed, finishing her dream. Then, Ta r g e t s l o g a n , “ E v e r y c o l o u r y o u c a n d r e a m o f ” a p p e a r s . T h i s b e c o m e s ver y relatable to the dream, as the dream shows all the colors of the r a i n b o w. I l i k e t h e s t o p m o t i o n s t y l e f o r t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t , b e c a u s e there are a numerous amount of pictures that tell a stor y and create a video. The pictures gradually change to show a movement in the v i d e o . I t i s a l s o c r e a t i v e a n d s h o w s t h a t Ta r g e t s t o r e s h a v e t h e materials to become as creative as possible. ¡ I have a few video ideas for the ad that I will create. My first idea is to gather a bunch of pictures that per tain to obesity and fatty foods. I will take these pictures and put them in a fast slideshow to s h o w t h e s i d e e f f e c t s o f o b e s i t y. M y s e c o n d i d e a i s t o m a k e a s t o p motion video of someone getting out of bed, eating junk food and drinking soda. Then, I would add a caption to explain to the audience that this is not the lifestyle they want.