December 2020 by Reporter Magazine

2 December

EDITOR IN CHIEF Kasey Mathews PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Tyler English ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Victoria Sebastian COPY EDITOR Mimi Lee NEWS EDITOR Morgan LaMere TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Tommy Delp CULTURE EDITOR Karina Le FEATURES EDITOR Jessica Sides WELLNESS EDITOR Brooke Wolfenbarger VIEWS EDITOR Marilyn Wolbert WRITERS Karina Le, Kasey Mathews, Morgan LaMere, Tommy Delp, Efe Ozturkoglu, Victoria Sebastian, Tyler English, Marilyn Wolbert, Brooke Wolfenbarger

ART DIRECTOR Neil Williamson ONLINE ART MANAGER Sara Calhoun SENIOR DESIGNER Pallavi Singh DESIGNERS Nicholas Bober, Mikaela Barlow, Pallavi Singh, Adrianna Petrus, Neil Williamson, Gabriella Licona, Genna Delvecchio ILLUSTRATORS Meya Goel, Sahana Maheswaran, Jess Edwards, Sara Calhoun, Yoonjung Cho, Quamae Newsome, Maeghan McKenzie, TingYu Chang, Emily O’Shea

EDITOR’S NOTE

REPORTER

how me one person who’s had a good semester. I’ll wait. Fall 2020 was always going to be difficult — we all were well aware of that

when we jumped into it. But many of us didn’t have much of a choice. We could take the semester off, sure, but would it help? Spring 2021 will be much of the same, learning in a COVID-19 environment. Should students take a full year off from school? Is there any guarantee that the pandemic will significantly subside by fall 2021? Many of us can’t afford to take that large of a break. I personally am pursuing an MBA with a dual concentration. It’s taking two years already — I don’t want to delay that any further. At this rate, I need to get out and start my career. So here we are, stuck taking classes in a format we don’t want to take them, taught by professors who don’t want to teach right now, all in an environment that no one has experienced before. It’s a mess from start to finish. RIT’s given us leniency by allowing us to mark two of our classes as pass/fail, avoiding any impact they would have on our GPA. But when you’re suffering equally in all your classes, the pass/fail option only goes so far. Yet, they can’t offer people the pass/fail option for every class they take, as that endangers their academic reputation. Professors are kind and considerate — or, at least, more so now than before. But they can only make so many exceptions before all rules go out the window. Many of us work on campus, take in-person classes and are otherwise required to interact with others on a regular basis. We’re putting our health on the line every day just to get by, and we can’t voluntarily say “no.” Meanwhile, this pandemic shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, now that the

PHOTO EDITOR Diana Spencer PHOTOGRAPHERS Diana Spencer, Madi Watson, Jay Schading, Rachel Kogut, Daniel Sarch

weather is getting colder, many experts are warning that increased activity indoors will only fuel the spread of the virus even more. And we’re already experiencing a nationwide spike in cases, including here on campus. If you’re looking for a point to all this — to this editor’s note that’s supposed to make some big revelation — there isn’t one. I’m suffering, you’re suffering, our

BUSINESS MANAGER Lucy Brown AD / PR MANAGER Ali Johnston

professors and administrators are suffering. We don’t have the capacity to make a point or follow a well-planned argument. We get by day-to-day, take the blows as they come and if we’re lucky give a little back. We’re looking forward to each tiny break we get, whether it’s Winter Break,

SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR Will Nilges ONLINE SERVICES MANAGER Efe Ozturkoglu VIDEO EDITOR Trisha Pickelhaupt PODCAST PRODUCER Maximilian Thoburn PODCAST HOST Wyatt Kinsey ADVISOR Rudy Pugliese PRINTING Sutherland Printing CONTACT +1 (585) 475–2212

the weekend or just a day we decide we can’t take it anymore and skip classes. We’re broken and bruised. We’re defeated. Are we ready for round two?

We’re looking forward to each tiny break we get, whether it’s Winter Break, the weekend or just a day we decide we can’t take it anymore and skip classes. KASEY MATHEWS | EDITOR IN CHIEF Letters to the Editor should be sent to rpteic@rit.edu. No letters will be published unless signed. All letters received become the property of REPORTER.

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Reporter Magazine is published monthly during the academic year by a staff comprised of students at Rochester Institute of Technology. Business, Editorial and Design facilities are located in Room A-730, in the lower level of the Campus Center. Our phone number is +1 (585) 475–2212. The Advertising Department can be reached at +1 (585) 475–2213. “You ever sniff the outside of your shoe and wonder why it smells like yogurt?” -TE The opinions expressed in Reporter do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. Reporter is not responsible for materials presented in advertising areas. Copyright © 2020 Reporter Magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without prior written permission.

December 3

IN T HIS IS SUE 6

NEWS

TECH

COVID-19 AND WINTER

THE FREE SPEECH OBLIGATIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

With winter coming, we have to maintain our health

Social media companies are expected to moderate user content, but to what extent?

CULTURE 10

@ R EP O R T ER M A G 4 December

WHAT WILL YOU CELEBRATE THIS DECEMBER? Tired of commercialized holidays? There’s plenty of meaningful options for celebration

AYL: WORD SEARCH

Search for some holiday items. Find out the meanings in this issue’s Culture piece!

R E P ORTER.R IT.EDU

cover and TOC photo-illustration by Diana Spencer and Neil Williamson

WELLNESS

FEATURES 16

SHARED GOVERNANCE How do students factor into Student Government?

2020: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE MEH An overview of 2020

SECRETS OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS Understanding and unlocking a tool of the mind

CARING FOR YOUR COMPLEXION

Skin care is less complicated than you think

NOT JUST THE WINTER BLUES

Seasonal depression plagues many — how can we cope?

SO MUCH TIME, SO MANY POSSIBILITIES This winter break is abnormally long — how will you spend it?

WORD ON THE STREET What is your ideal cozy winter evening?

RINGS RIT’s only digital confessional. Text or call (585) 672-4840

December 5

COVID-19 AND WINTER by Karina Le photography by Jay Schading and Rachel Kogut design by Nick Bober

ince Jan. 20, 2020, COVID-19 has plagued the United States. We quarantined for about six months before the government began pushing for the reopening of schools, restaurants and the like. Many places like RIT have been trying to deal with stopping the spread by enforcing six feet apart policies, as well as mandatory mask orders. However, the pandemic hasbeen only growing. It’s been found that COVID-19 flourishes under cold and dry places without much sunlight as noted by Nature. With the cold, Rochester winter right around the corner, we will discuss why people get sick during these conditions, and how COVID-19 will interact with the winter conditions. Ultimately, RIT students have to make sure we keep ourselves safe during winter break, and when we come back for the Spring semester.

6 News 6 News

WHY DO PEOPLE GET SICK?

SAFETY MEASURES

Winter, in general, is a season a lot of people feel apprehensive about; winter is a season where illnesses and allergies only rise. Some of the reasons why more people get sick are that we’re inside more and kept in closed spaces for a longer period of time. Jennifer Schneider, Eugene H. Fram Chair in RIT’s Academic Affairs, explained the concept of shared and recycled air. “We don’t have a lot of outside air [in the winter]. This gives more chances for people to share air in a building, and more opportunity for an illness to spread,” Schneider explained. In addition to winter making us share space, viruses themselves live longer. This is because respiratory illnesses, like COVID-19 or the common flu, float in the air longer when humidity is low. There is also the aspect of fomite transmission through surfaces, or particles that can be contaminated by infectious agents. Though with COVID-19, it’s shown that there is less impact in fomite transmission than its respiratory spread. “COVID’s primary mode of transmission is through respiratory spread, which is why masks are so effective,” Wendy Gelbard, associate vice president for Wellness in RIT’s Student Affairs, emphasized. With the winter break being as long as it is this year, it is especially important for us to stay safe for when we come back for the spring semester.

“Frankly, getting through this winter is all about our behavior,” explained Schneider. Since COVID hit the states extremely hard in Mar. 2020, institutions like RIT have been making changes to combat the pandemic. André Hudson, head of the School of Life Sciences, discussed what some of these changes entailed. “What they’ve been doing is two kinds of things: infrastructural changes and behavioral changes,” Hudson explained. Some infrastructural changes you see are the limitations in building capacity. You see it when institutions use glass shields. Behavioral changes are posted all throughout our campus all starting with ‘W’: wear your mask, watch your distance and wash your hands. More than that is the reminder to the populace at large to be conscious of the New Normal we have to live with every day. It has shown that following and abiding by the rules of the New Normal is working. One of the safest places on RIT campus is in the classroom. It’s because of students adhering to these rules that there has been no reported spread in any of RIT’s classroom settings. It’s when we consider spaces outside of these structures that we see a rise in COVID cases. “It’s easy to be complacent with lower numbers like we see on campus,” Hudson said. So we have to maintain the rules we follow on campus back to when we go home for winter break.

News 7

“Frankly, getting through this winter is all about our behavior.” “It’s not only the spread of the virus that worries me ... It’s the loss of everything else in our lives.”

MAINTAINING PRACTICE Schneider equates the maintaining of our health in the midst of a pandemic to a diet. “If I want to lose weight I have to watch what I eat, but there is not enough exercise in the world that would help me if I eat a lot of chocolate,” explained Schneider. But instead of it being an individual choice, it’s like the whole world has to go on a diet advised by all the doctors in the world. Just like a diet, we have complete control over what we do with our bodies. We have to make constant decisions in our lives to maintain this diet until we reach the goal we set out out for ourselves. More than that, we also have to consider how our actions can reflect onto the people around us. “We have tremendous control over our health and community’s well-being. There’s nothing shiny or sparkly to solve this; it’s all on us,” Gelbard said. This also means being conscious of who you hang around as well. Questions like who have you been in contact with, who have they in turn been in contact with and so on.

The pandemic has forced us to be critical about who we have in our bubbles — a small group of people that interacts only with each other to maintain health safety and social interaction. “We are trading and sharing collective behavior. So if you bring someone into your bubble that doesn’t like to follow rules, you are — in turn — changing your behavior,” Schneider said. But more than keeping the number of cases of COVID-19 low, it’s also in trying to decrease the time we have to enforce quarantine and isolation. “It’s not only the spread of the virus that worries me ... It’s the loss of everything else in our lives,” Gelbard noted.

The longer we don’t abide by the new normal, the longer we have to stay under these conditions. So the times we don’t wear our masks, or make allowances for others when they don’t adhere to the rules, the longer our new normal exists. The predicted surge of COVID-19 cases has already started. There’s a lot of uncertainty that has happened this year, both at RIT and beyond. In the end, the impact COVID will have this winter is on us and our choices. “If we can all hang in there, we can do this,” Schneider encouraged.

News 7 News 7

THE FREE SPEECH OBLIGATIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA by Kasey Mathews | illustration by Meya Goel | design by Mikaela Barlow

ecently, many social media companies have come under fire for their failure to censor hate speech. As social media platforms are the forum in which many ideas and discussions occur, many feel there is an obligation of social media companies to moderate the types of content being posted and made available to the public. So what are social media companies doing to combat hate speech and falsities? What will the evolution of this content moderation look like? And who decides what is and isn’t appropriate to post, anyway?

Our modern definitions of protected speech have been shaped by multiple court rulings, such as Jacobellis v. Ohio and National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie. Basically speaking, any speech is considered protected until it falls into one of the following five categories: obscene speech, subversive speech, fighting words, defamation and commercial speech.

SPEAKING HATE

This makes monitoring hate speech difficult. And when gray areas exist, legally speaking, it’s best to lean on the side of protecting that speech. If someone wants to change this, Colon said, “We’re going to need a definition of what hate speech is, and it has to be a definition that’s uniformly accepted.” It should also be noted that the moment hateful speech falls into one of the aforementioned categories, it is no longer protected. But until that hate speech includes fighting words or subversive speech, for example, it is still protected.

While it is almost completely accepted that hate speech should not be condoned, what exactly qualifies as hate speech is very much up for interpretation. The United Nations states that hate speech Hate speech is a sort of gray area at the very is “any kind of communication in speech, Tip: Design your headers as part of the body text! edge of our protected freedoms. First, we must writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses It makes it easier to edit the copy later on. understand what exactly qualifies as protected pejorative or discriminatory language with The above text boxes have all of the right versus unprotected speech according to the reference to a person or a group on the basis settings already formatted for you! These First Amendment of the United States. of who they are, in other words, based on are some of the base settings your design As Bobby Colon, legal counsel for RIT, put their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, should follow. it, “if you look at the United States Constitution colour, descent, gender or other identity and you try to find a definition … for protected factor.” Left-justified paragraphs speech and unprotected speech, you’re never However, even this definition leaves much Optical margin alignment gonna find it.” ***Please delete the pages 1-5 upon submission. in the gray area. What one might interpret Hyphenation OFF The First Amendment protects the right as hate speech could, to another, be just Interestingly, Indent of 0p9 these protections only extend of free speech for any person within the U.S. improper or crude. to people inof public places. According to Colon Drop cap 3 lines Yet, there is no clear definition for where this protection ends.

PROTECTING OUR SPEECH

• • • WHAT • •

8 Technology

ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA?

however, within private realms — whether they be a private residence or business — it is up to the owner to decide the types of speech that they allow. In social media, this can be seen through the terms and conditions of a platform. These terms can — and often do — regulate types of speech, including hate speech, that appear on the platform. So, as Colon pointed out, when the argument is made that social media platforms need to be doing more to regulate hate speech and remove it from their platforms, what is actually being said is that these companies aren’t abiding by their own terms and conditions that already ban such speech.

But the complexity of hate speech is largely the reason so many posts fly under the radar. It takes algorithms of great complexity to moderate this type of content accurately. Due to this, many social media companies employ a manual moderation approach, either independently or to supplement algorithmic moderation. This process can be emotionally taxing, as shown through The Verge’s Feb. 2019 article exploring the trauma that many Facebook moderators undergo.

AN ALGORITHMIC FUTURE

As with everything, COVID-19 has led to a significant change to the status quo. As a large amount of misinformation has come forward in the past year regarding the virus, manual moderation has become largely inefficient. Facebook executive Mark Zuckerberg insists that the future will lie in the hands of artificial intelligence. According to his April

2020 Congressional testimony, he believes that artificial intelligence will one day be able to combat against fake news, hate speech, discrimination and propaganda. However, he failed to specify any sort of expected timeline or framework. If hate speech is ever to officially and legally enter the realm of unprotected speech, we’ll need a combination of a few things. First, we’ll need a clearer, more universal definition of hate speech. Second, technology will need to be able to better adapt and understand the nuances of human speech patterns. Finally, the nation would need to agree that hate speech, no matter its intent, is harmful to public discourse. Only then will social media be able to more effectively combat against it. “Words have impact,” Colon said. “There’s an effect to everything that people say. Some of that impact may be minimal, but some of that impact may be severe.” The regulation of speech is a complex, often divisive prospect. Only through careful consideration can it be done effectively — even online.

DIN Condensed Black is the “main” Reporter typeface. These are some other typefaces from the Din family that we also use throughout our brand.

TYPES OF UNPROTECTED SPEECH

OBSCENE SPEECH

You are welcome to use other typefaces for your titles when applicable to the needs of the article. Anything inappropriate that lacks significant literary or artistic value. Examples include sexual misconduct or public pornography.

DEFAMATION

Significant lies spoken about another person. It should be noted that, when it comes to public figures, the threshold of what constitutes “significant lies” is much higher. Examples include claiming false actions of another or making false accusations.

SUBVERSIVE SPEECH

Speech meant to directly convince someone to commit a crime with the intention of overthrowing or undermining the government. Examples include inciting a riot or planning an assassination of a government official.

FIGHTING WORDS

This, similarly to subversive speech, also deals with direct calls for crime and violence. The difference being that this is not directed toward the government. Examples include actively convincing someone(s) to attack others or planning a violent crime.

COMMERCIAL SPEECH

Any type of communication with the intention to sell a product or service. There are many regulations on this type of speech in particular. Examples include irresponsible marketing to children or providing false information about a product.

Technology 9

WHAT WILL YOU CELEBRATE THIS

Dec 19 by Morgan LaMere | illustration by Sahana Maheswaran | design by Pallavi Singh

ecember is a month primarily known for its religious significance and for its celebrations and festivities in an otherwise frigid time. While perhaps its most popular within the U.S., Christmas is far from the only important event during this time.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah, otherwise known as Chanukah or Festival of Lights, is a Jewish festival that begins on Kislev 25 according to the Hebrew calendar, and December 10 in the Gregorian 10 Culture

this year. The religious affair reaffirms the ideals of Judaism and commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem after its desecration by Greek-Syrian oppressors and subsequent cleansing by Juda after the Maccabee revolt. According to the Talmud, as part of its cleansing, the Menorah, a seven-branched candelabrum was lit using a day’s supply of oil that miraculously lasted for eight days. In commemoration, the yearly festival of Hanukkah was instituted. Peter Stein is the Senior Rabbi of Temple

DECEMBER? B’rith Kodesh, the oldest Reform Jewish Synagogue in the Rochester area. Stein handles everything from Sabbath and holiday worship, to lifelong education and has been planning for this year’s celebrations. “For Hannukah we [normally] do a big dinner every year with worship, music, lots of food and games for the kids and all,” Stein explained. “Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday, so we try to do something every day.” Despite COVID-19, he hopes to conduct in-person gatherings outdoors in a safe environment alongside drive-through events. Hanukkah has a number of traditions, in-

cluding the nightly menorah lighting, the heart of the festival in each household. This entails using the shamash, or attendant, to light the. One flame is lit each night until by the eighth night, all lights are kindled. During the lighting, special blessings are recited such as Hallel, and traditional songs are sung afterward. “Hanukkah is a relatively minor holiday in the grand scheme of things, it tends to get built up because of other holidays,” Stein said. “It’s predominately something done by families involving food and games and is not very religious.” According to Stein, it’s a holiday intended to be flexible to have a good time. Its minor nature comes from its creation after biblical times. Major holidays are the ones rooted in the Hebrew bible, and Hanukkah was created after. Major holidays include Rosh Hashanah, the new year, Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and three pilgrimage festivals.

While the celebration of Hanukkah varies, there are some standard practices including traditional foods fried in oil such as latkes, or potato pancakes, and sufganiyot, or jamfilled donuts. Other customs include playing with dreidels and to a lesser extent, exchanging gifts. At B’rith Kodesh, they commonly celebrate with olive oil tasting and concerts, among others. Because of where it falls, Hanukkah commonly is compared to Christmas. “From the Jewish perspective, it’s to highlight the beauty and importance of Hanukkah, but not characterizing it as Jewish Christmas, it’s a separate kind of holiday,” Stein said. “It’s not really about gift-giving.”

KWANZAA

In response to the commercialism of Christmas and the Watts riots, Dr. Maulana Karenga created the festival of Kwanzaa in

1966 to bring together African Americans as a community. Similar to Hanukkah, it is not an “African” Christmas, but a conglomeration of different harvest celebrations found in African cultures such as those of the Ashanti and the Zulu. The word “kwanza” is a KiSwahili word meaning “first” and was derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanzaa,” or “first fruits.” During the celebration starting December 26 and ending January 1, five common values are central to the week of activities; ingathering, reverence, commemoration, recommitment and celebration. While families celebrate Kwanzaa in their own way, they often include songs and dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry reading and a large traditional feast called Karamu. Kwanzaa also has seven principles called the Nguzo Saba, which are values pulled from African culture focused on building community. Each principle has a candle where one Dec 14

“From the Jewish perspective, it’s to highlight the beauty and importance of Hanukkah, but not characterizing it as Jewish Christmas.” Dec 23

Dec 11

Dec 21

Dec 28 Dec 1

Culture 11

red, three green and one black, are held by the Kinara, the center of the setting representing ancestry. These are placed on a straw mat (Mkeka) alongside an ear of corn (Vibunzi) and the Unity Cup (Kikobmbe cha Umoja). The principles utilize KiSwahili words: unity (umoja), self-determination (kujichagulia), collective work and responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamaa), purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba) and faith (imani). Kwanzaa is frequently celebrated alongside Christmas, with the Kinara being placed alongside the Christmas tree. However, Kwanzaa in many ways is counter to the principles of American consumerism but in some cases has been taken over by it. “In the 1990s, when Hallmark started making Kwanzaa cards, we witnessed how consumerism negatively impacted the holiday,” Akil Parker, a Pan-African scholar and educa-

tor, said. Parker believes that in order to benefit from the niche market, a global “diversity initiative” has served to perpetuate white supremacy. Parker advocates for families making their own Kinaras in the spirit of returning to a more traditional African communalism their ancestors practiced. Despite the back and forth trends in popularity faced by Kwanzaa, many still celebrate it for its original purpose of being a timeless and values-based celebration of heritage. Tonya Abari is a writer and storyteller who despite her initial estrangement from Kwanzaa, began to celebrate it in her own home again for her family. “In celebrating, I understand that my daughter is internalizing Kwanzaa’s overarching principals,” Abari said. “As a result, I can only imagine the contributions she’ll make to her

4th Century BCE

10,200 BCE

First references to Yule, a pagan celebration during the winter solstice.

Earliest believed observance of the winter solstice through Neolithic monuments.

Pre 5th Saturnalia, a Roman Century celebration during the BCE winter solstice is created.

12 Culture

167 BCE

community, and to the world.” While not as old as many celebrations, Kwanzaa is an important Pan-African holiday and an affair celebrated by millions with an important cultural message of what it means to be an African and a human.

WINTER SOLSTICE

The winter solstice, otherwise known as midwinter, marks the shortest day of the year. Traditionally this period marks the middle of winter and has been a significant event in numerous cultures, festivals and rituals since prehistory. Historically, the winter solstice has been important as a way to monitor the progress of the seasons to avoid famine during the harsh winter months. As the climate got colder in temperate regions, the midwinter festival was usually the last feast celebration with the last

200 CE The Mishnah, the oral law (Approximately) in Judaism, was collected and committed to written form. So far known as the Festival of Lights, the celebration becomes known as Hanukkah or, Dedication. The Jewish religion is outlawed by the Syrian king.

164

The Maccabee revolt is successful and the temple purified. Hanukkah is first created.

usually the last feast celebration with the last fresh supply of meat and alcohol that year. In Indian culture, the Makara Sankranti is a festival day in the Hindu calendar marking the beginning of longer days and is in reference to the deity Surya (sun). The occasion known as Ayan Parivartan is a Hindu holy day with customs such as bathing in rivers, giving alms and prayer. In Iran, the solstice is celebrated as “Yalda night,” or “Shabe Chelleh,” and is one of their oldest traditions featuring the family gathering at the home of the eldest, eating, drinking and reciting poetry. In northern Europe, the Germanic and Scandinavian people celebrate a pagan winter holiday known as Yule, one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. While it has many traditions and beliefs associated with it, it is commonly connected with the rebirth of

of the sun. In modern times, it’s also become associated with Wicca, a pagan religion with a high focus on nature worship honoring pre-Christian traditions.

FESTIVUS

One of the most modern holidays of questionable validity, Festivus is a secular celebration on December 23. Similar to other traditions during this time, Festivus was intended as an alternative to the pressures and commercialization of Christmas. The holiday was created by Daniel O’Keefe around 1966 and was shared with his son Dan O’Keefe and popularized by its airing in an episode of Seinfeld “The Strike.” Since it’s airing, many have become interested and celebrate Festivus, seriously or not. Festivus swaps around some of the common Christmas traditions, replacing a tree with an unadorned aluminum pole to contrast holiday

materialism. The “Airing of Grievances” is a time to tell others how they have disappointed you and is followed by a Festivus dinner and the “Feats of Strength” where the head of the household must be pinned by the family. Regardless of what you believe and if you’re religious or not, there is bound to be a themed celebration for you, ranging from week-long celebrations of religion and family to ancient pagan traditions and less serious celebrations just enjoying the festive spirit of the month.

1966 Festivus is celebrat(Approximately) ed for the first time by Daniel O’Keefe.

Hanukkah becomes an important holiday to North American Jews. It 1920’s is observed over eight nights including the menorah lighting and traditional games and celebrations.

1966

Kwanzaa is created by Dr. Maulana Karenga.

2012

1977

Approximately 13 million people celebrate Kwanzaa.

The Seinfeld episode “The Strike” releases and popularized Festivus.

1967-1986 (Approvximate)

Kwanzaa’s first big boom in popularity before leveling out in interest.

Culture 13

L Y A

Holiday Word Search

G F L P U K C I L U K F I O L Y B U O H

V K K C Z W B P V S J J H J B H M M B A

by Karina Le illustration by Jess Edwards design by Adrianna Petrus 14 Culture

Q F A H J A H J A X U L P B S A Y N M L

Z B R L N N O X M R E Z P X N N P F L L

I K A K Z Z J U C N J C P J F U M Z P E

R Y M J B A Y E I J G H N X Y K E S Z L

K EW CWD U R B I L K Y D Q A X F J H B WW Q Y Z P T L I K K A U G Q Z Z I H Q O F D E K A H WO I L T B I P N L K D

P X L R G U T I L Q E N N N S O K F Z I

Z Z M E N O R A H L L Y C W X A U L W J

O T Y I G O K I P N S Y C T F Z B I R L

MGW Y Y B S R Y A X K T K Y U E L R Q J N G J A X D L L E I P X A R P O L A A O P E S T R P R VW I A O O G Q Z W Z B

D G U X Y L I O Z C C Z T C I D C B S H

R J L P J D N I W A Q Z K N V T C A H M

N X E A V R O I H V O L E R U E A P Y Y

HANUKKAH

NGUZO SABA

KARAMU

KWANZAA

YULE

SATURNALIA

FESTIVUS

WICCA

HALLEL

MENORAH

LATKES

A F A N C B V F P N H E S D S Q C O E R

S T Y I Q L B F W B M B H O A F A B P D

For answers refer to page 31.

HELD DIGITALLY THIS SEMESTER THROUGH ZOOM EVERY FRIDAY AT 5:00 P.M. EMAIL rpteic@rit.edu FOR MORE INFORMATION AS WELL AS THE MEETING LINK IF INTERESTED!

Tiles painted by members of Student Government in the Student Government office located in the Campus Center at RIT. Student Government works to better the lives of students at RIT through petitions, fundraising and discussions with upper administration at the university.

SHARED GOVERNANCE

by Tommy Delp | photography by Daniel Sarch | design by Pallavi Singh

ften, we focus on the ‘government’ part of Student Government (SG). And yes, SG is organized similarly to other bodies of government. That being said, what if we looked at what the ‘student’ part of the name emphasizes? What role do students actually play within SG, and what can they do for the rest of us?

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

SG Director of Student Relations Victoria Barbessi, poses for a portrait at work in the Student Government main office on the first floor of the Campus Center. Barbessi is a fourth year Computer Science major. 16 Features

SG’s executive branch is headed by the president and vice president. Both of which are elected by the student body on a shared ticket. Along with those roles, there is also an elected senate. The Senate is made up of students that represent certain groups, mostly colleges, but there are also senators for greek life, graduate students and more. After all of these positions are filled through SG’s Spring election, the president then appoints the rest of the executive branch, also known as the cabinet, which are then ap-

proved by the Senate. Cabinet members often have specific roles in the SG administration, such as managing financial resources or events and outreach. While SG’s main job is to advocate for students, they are not the only group standing between the student body and whatever campus changes we want to see. They make up a smaller part of the university’s shared governance model. Nicole Boulais is the associate vice president of Student Affairs and one of SG’s two administrative advisors. “Student Government is one of the three representative bodies within the shared governance model of the university … All three fall under the umbrella of the University Council,” she said of how SG fits into the greater system. SG along with the other two representative bodies — Academic Senate and Staff Council — have equal say in what policies the university passes. The former is headed by faculty members, and the latter is headed by staff. These three groups each have 11 seats within the University Council, which is headed by President Munson. He has final say on

anything brought to the council. “In almost all cases though, the decision made out of shared governance is the direction the university goes,” Boulais said. The process to get to this point begins with PawPrints, and has to go through SG’s entire legislative process.

“Student Government is one of the three representative bodies within the shared governance model of the university.” THE PAWPRINTS PROCESS If you’re interested in how PawPrints are created and spread, check out Reporter’s “PawPrints: A Step in the Right Direction.” Various petitions, serious or otherwise, are constantly making their way around social media. By the time a petition hits its 200 signature threshold though, the process has only just begun. Victoria Barbessi is a fourth year Computer Science major and SG’s Director of Student Relations. “It is my job to work with committee chairs and the Director of Operations to make sure that every single PawPrints that reaches threshold gets charged and responded to,” Barbessi stated. The process starts with Barbessi bringing the petition to the Senate and discussing it. From there, it is charged to one of SG’s committees or an individual member. Along the way, a student’s petition often goes through more than just SG. Other parts of the university’s shared governance structure can be involved depending on the content of the petition. SG may also partner with the professional body or office that made the university’s current policy on the topic. “We, as Student Government, can’t change policy on our own. We write up guidelines or proposals which are then brought forward to different governing bodies,” Barbessi says of the process. Finally, the response is presented to the Senate, and everyone in SG is given the opportunity to chime in. It is then voted on; if the vote passes, the response is posted. Otherwise, it is

taken back to the drawing board, and the process begins again. Often, the response doesn’t end up being exactly what students hoped for. SG faces the challenge of acknowledging when they’ve hit a wall, while also still making it clear that they’ve done all they can. “It’s not that Student Government isn’t advocating for you. It’s just that sometimes ‘no’ is the honest answer,” Boulais said. Right now, SG members like Barbessi are working to increase the transparency associated with PawPrints petitions. “We want to find a way to answer PawPrints with the entire response. What is the process we went through, and what are the next steps?” Barbessi said. While most people prefer to indirectly interact with SG through PawPrints, there are also plenty of ways to get directly involved, even without holding an official position.

THE STUDENT ELEMENT As with most systems, SG is full of complexities and difficulties that we may not recognize unless we ourselves stand behind the curtain. “We welcome students to come to Senate [meetings]. It’s a good way for them to hear what we’re told. Those things aren’t secret,” Barbessi said. Along with providing greater clarity, coming to an SG meeting may just emphasize to students the amount of work that’s being

done to represent them. All the members of SG have their own lives outside of the student body’s PawPrints petitions. They too struggle with balancing classes and their extracurricular roles. Not only that, but SG is a learning experience for those involved. It’s where many get their first tastes of leadership. This also ends up being the main difference between SG and the other governing bodies involved in the university’s shared governance model. Boulais states, “Organizationally, Student Government is the same as Staff Council or Academic Senate. The difference is that students are students, and it’s often the first time that they’ve been in these kinds of situations.” SG is meant to be a unifying force to get our voices heard, but a system like that often only works if the voices stay informed. Looking for a place to start? “If you want to get to know Student Government, Student Affairs is a great committee [to join],” Barbessi said. “They cover everything under the sun.”

“We, as Student Government, can’t change policy on our own. ”

Zak Azad, the SG first year senator, works at the front desk at the entrance to the Student Government office on November 5, 2020. All Student Government members take turns occupying the front desk to get them used to communicating with other people and ensure the office is always accessible to students. Features 17

2020:

THE GOOD,

by Efe Ozturkoglu illustration by Sara Calhoun design by Neil Williamson

his year started off with a bang when the United States assassinated Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, placing both countries at the brink of war. Since then, the world has experienced the worst pandemic outbreak in recent history, which has overtaken much of our daily lives and conversations. However, much more has occurred this year — both good and bad — that has not received the same level of attention.

1. The murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor has brought racial injustice and police brutality into the political spotlight. Hundreds of protests broke out across the country and many activists called for immediate reform and change within police departments. 2. Massive wildfires engulfed much of California and Australia, burning down countless acres of trees and misplacing many people and animals. Scientists warn wildfires like this will become much more commonplace as climate change is accelerated by irresponsible fossil fuel consumption, according to an article published by NASA. Currently, much of South America is now dealing with wildfire outbreaks. 3. Google’s DeepMind artificial intelligence surpasses human doctors in clinical trials for detecting breast cancer. This breakthrough could eventually lower the amount of time and cost of detecting a variety of diseases through medical diagnostic imaging. 4. Protesters in Hong Kong assembled against rising authoritarianism as the ruling Communist Party of China sought greater control over the former British colony. This occurred as the Chinese government continued to persecute Uyghur Turks in the Xinjiang province, forcing them into concentration camps and coercing them to assimilate into Chinese culture.

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THE BAD,

THE MEH

5. Africa was declared to be free of wild polio by the World Health Organization. However, there are still cases of “vaccine-derived polio” in Africa, which is a variety of poliovirus that originated from the cheaper oral vaccine for polio, according to NPR. The oral vaccine contains a live (but weakened) form of the virus, which was found to spread and mutate through the water supply. This often occurs in areas with low sanitization and a highly unvaccinated population.

6. Former Vice President Joe Biden defeated incumbent President Donald Trump, becoming the 46th president of the United States. Kamala Harris became the first female vice president. 7. The stock market ended its 11-year bull run with a historic crash. The Dow broke the record for the worst single day point-drop multiple times as it fell to its 2016 value, according to The Balance. From March to November, the market regained almost all of its value through volatile trading.

13. Reduced roadway utilization led to a historic drop in fossil fuel usage and carbon dioxide emissions. However, lifestyle changes due to lockdowns caused an increase in plastic consumption, and thus, plastic pollution. 14. A patient was cured of HIV for the second time in history. Adam Castillejo, also known as the “London Patient,” was confirmed to be free of HIV following a bone-marrow transplant for his lymphoma. 15. The United States experienced an extraordinarily active hurricane season, tying 1886 and 1985 for the most continental landfalls within a single season. Earthquakes ravaged Turkey, killing over a hundred people and injuring thousands. Other, smaller natural disasters affected various parts of the world, such as windstorms in Europe, and the Taal Volcano eruption in the Philippines. 16. Cheetah cubs were born for the first time using in vitro fertilization through a surrogate cheetah at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio. The breakthrough could be vital to maintaining the cheetah population, which is nearly endangered with only about 7,500 cheetahs remaining in the wild, according to The Washington Post.

17. Many jobs were converted to at-home jobs, leading to a rise in tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Drive. Some companies such as Facebook, Square and Microsoft announced that they plan to offer more opportunities to work from home after the pandemic is over.

8. SpaceX made history with Dragon, the first private spacecraft to carry humans into space. This achievement has restored American human spaceflight capabilities since the Space Shuttle program was retired in 2011. NASA astronaut Christina Koch set the record for longest time spent in space by a woman at 328 days. 9. The third impeachment trial of a president in US history concluded on Feb. 5, 2020 after the Republican majority in the Senate voted to acquit Donald Trump of the impeachment charges. Mitt Romney became the first senator in U.S. history to vote to convict a president from his own political party.

10. A blog post by FitBit revealed that people have been getting longer, higher quality and more consistent sleep due to the pandemic. Quality sleep is very important for general health; it also helps to improve the immune system, which is especially important during the coronavirus outbreak. 11. A massive explosion rocked the Lebanese city of Beirut, causing hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. The humanitarian crisis left 300,000 people homeless and exacerbated political and economic instability within the country. 12. People found remarkable new ways to socialize in a socially distant way. Applications like Netflix Party and Zoom exploded in popularity. Tiger King and Among Us became popular as people sought ways to entertain themselves and connect with each other.

18. The United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union following years of negotiations. 19. The invasive Asian giant hornet species (a.k.a murder hornets) arrived in the United States. Since these hornets hunt bees, experts are worried that their presence in America could cause disastrous repercussions within the honeybee population, which is already dwindling. Thus, the species has been the target of an eradication campaign.

20. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away at the age of 87. Republican lawmakers rushed to fill the resulting Supreme Court vacancy with Justice Amy Coney Barrett before the 2020 national elections.

Features 19

SECRETS OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS by Victoria Sebastian | photography by Evie Linantud | illustration by Yoonjung Cho | design by Gabriella Licona

o you ever find yourself driving home on autopilot? Have you taken the path multiple times before and don’t think twice about what turns to make? This is the doing of your subconscious mind. Our subconscious mind is constantly working behind the scenes. It’s what keeps us breathing when we sleep. It stores all of our memories, habits, fears and phobias as Chad Chesmark explained. Chad Chesmark is a performer, speaker, hypnotist and author of the novel “How to Predict the Future by Creating it Yourself.” As Chesmark and others agree, we have this powerful tool in our head that many people don’t fully understand or know how to use. It is time that we unlock our subconscious mind and use it to our advantage.

DEFINING THE SUBCONSCIOUS “Our mind is made up of two parts, the conscious and the subconscious,” stated Chesmark. Regina Pally is a physician and physiatrist who founded the Center for Reflective Communities. She also wrote a novel on the topic called “The Reflective Parent: How to Do Less and Relate More with Your Kids.” She added on the subject saying that 99 percent of our brain activity occurs below the level of consciousness. Most of what we say, do and perceive occurs non-consciously. She explained more about the differences between subconsciousness and consciousness. “The subconscious mind operates more on the basis of speed rather than accuracy. It’s automatic,” Pally said. “The conscious mind, by contrast, is slower and much more able to be accurate. It requires effort.”

20 Features 20 Features

“The subconscious mind operates more on the basis of speed rather than accuracy.”

was moving. Or maybe you have a fear of bugs and your subconscious mind alerted you to a potential threat. “This is how the mind works. The mind takes in sensory data and then creates our perceptions that are based on our past experiences,” Pally explained. This process is instant — our mind wants us to be able to respond as quickly as possible to events that occur in our life. In a way, it is like a survival instinct. If our subconscious mind is constantly making incorrect predictions though, we are not getting full advantage of this tool.. Luckily, there are ways to improve accuracy.

For example, when I speak to someone, I don’t think about every word I’m going to say beforehand. It comes out naturally because of my subconscious. However, writing this article I am using conscious thought — I am thinking about what quotes to use and how to best format a sentence. A This is not all the subconscious can do s Pally explained, your subconscious makes though. In a way, it can also predict the future. predictions based on past experiences. However, past experiences will not always apply to the present. If you grew up constantly being bullied for your looks, this will stay in your subconscious mind. When someone goes to compliment you Your subconscious mind is constantly mak- as an adult, your subconscious may say the ing predictions that you may not be aware of. compliment was sarcastic when that wasn’t the “Your mind is trying to make sense of the case. world because you are not always taking in all Therefore, in order to improve the subconinformation. Sometimes it’ll just assume the scious predictions, you must shed these old information based on past events,” Chesmark ways of thinking; it’s like breaking a bad habit. said. “You first initially have to recognize that These assumptions are predictions. Although your unconscious mind can be inaccurate,” they are made often, they are not always the Pally said. “You have to be able to accept that most accurate. and take note of times when your unconscious Say you are sitting in bed and in the corner mind predicted inaccurately.” of your eye you see a bug climbing on the wall. This takes a lot of effort. You have to push Once you look over, you come to find it is just a these automatic subconscious thoughts into black mark. consciousness and critique them. It is not someYou are used to seeing bugs in your room, so thing that will improve overnight. As Chesmark your subconscious mind told you this black dot stated, you have to convince your subconscious mind to change and align with what you want.

TRAINING THE SUBCONSCIOUS

PREDICTIONS

Chesmark suggested hypnosis as a way to make this process slightly easier. He has had people come to him asking for help to lose weight. With hypnosis, he can promote decisions that will change this person’s body. For example, it changes their brains’ programming to reach for healthier foods rather than junk food. This can even apply to those whostruggle with anxiety or depression. I struggled with social anxiety greatly in my earlier life. When I talked with a stranger, my subconscious mindwould predict that this person disliked me because I accidently slurred a word. After years of recognizing these wrong predictions, I was able to improve my subconscious thoughts. I even considered getting hypnotherapy at one point. Now, I no longer struggle with social anxiety to such a great extent. This just further supports that you can train your brain for the better.

MIND AND BODY Your brain is complex, but not magical. It can’t predict things such as the winning lottery numbers, but it can help with your overall safety and well-being. This is why it is important to be aware of the subconscious mind and its accuracy. Not only can it affect your thinking, but it can also affect your actions.

“The brain alters the predictions, that alter our emotions, that alter what action we are going to take,” Pally explained. Let’s go back to the example of the bug on the wall. Say it is actually a bug — one that you are highly allergic to. Your subconscious mind brings attention to it so that you get up and get to safety. The mind is so powerful and hard to understand that sometimes we want to believe it is magic. But we have more control over our subconscious than you think, so work to improve it and use it well.

“The mind takes in sensory data and then creates our perceptions that are based on our past experiences.” Features 21 Features 21

Caring for Your Complexion by Tyler English | photography by Diana Spencer | design by Genna Delvecchio

ost college students understand the importance of living a healthy life. A balanced diet, exercise and proper stress management tools are vital to surviving the college years. One thing often overlooked can be the health and care of one’s skin. The skin is a vital part of the body’s health and a good identifier of when something’s wrong. However, with so many products to choose from, blog posts to read and different doctors recommending different things, how do you start taking care of your skin?

MEDICALLY SPEAKING... Clayton Green M.D., Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Rochester in the dermatology department, offered a professional perspective on skin care for college students. “The fundamental things we talk about with people for skin care would be daily moisturizing and some kind of sun protection,” Green said. In the winter months, going from a cold outside to a warm inside can be hard on the skin. The skin can show signs of wear and take a lot of damage by those sudden changes in temperature.

“The fundamental things we talk about with people for skin care would be daily moisturizing of some kind and sun protection,” 22 Wellness

Ensuring that your skin is getting the nutrients it needs to combat the winter chill is where moisturizer comes in. There are countless options when it comes to a general moisturizer. This is where trial and error begins. Finding what works best for your skin is key to having a healthy skin care routine. Sun protection is also another area of skin care that can be easily overlooked. “We [dermatologists] do tend to see melanomas in younger people,” Green said.

These melanomas are forms of skin cancer that can lead to damage down the line, yet there are actions that can be taken to reduce the risk. Wearing proper sunscreen and skin covering clothes when in the sun are easy ways to support your skin in its fight against the harmful rays.

the right medicines, I have seen progress in my skin. Breakouts happen and some days my skin will be dry. However, through educating myself and reading some stuff online, I have come to understand my skin’s wants and needs.

SOME ADVICE

LET’S GET PERSONAL It can be intimidating to start researching how to take care of your skin with all the information that is out there. One thing to always keep in mind is that you know your skin the best. As Green mentioned, it is important to try different products and see how your skin reacts. If one lotion makes you break out and another makes you skin extra oily, branch out and try different products until you find what you are looking for. Natalie Sebastian, a fourth year Cyber Security Engineering major at George Mason University, has had a personal skin care journey. She first visited a dermatologist as a teeanger when she started to develop acne in middle school and high school. “That is when I started to learn more about making sure my skin isn’t dry and not putting on too much medicated face wash or creams,” Sebastian said. Sebastian began her skin care by trying different things like adjusting her diet, trying different products and seeing how her skin reacted. She was also taking the advice from her dermatologist. In finding what works for her she has been able to create a skin care routine using products that she trusts and would recommend to others. I myself had my own acne journey where I dealt with cystic acne. I struggled to find what would work best for my skin, but once I took the step to speak to a professional and got on

Green’s biggest piece of advice is to wash your hands, moisturize daily and make sure to protect yourself from the sun. Using a gentle soap to clean your face is also smart as they are not aggravating to the skin. “Bar soaps are generally a lot gentler than liquid soaps,” Green said. “Pick a bar soap that you like and a big brand moisturizer from over the counter, after the shower, pat yourself down and moisturize.” This is how Green reccomends that students work in simple yet effective skin care into their daily lives. Sebastian however, uses her skin care as some well deserved personal time. She has a morning and night time routine that helps her start the day and feel confident. “I think [skin care] gives people confidence when they feel proud of how their skin looks,” Sebastian said. Not having to hide behind makeup or feeling embarrassed by how your skin may look is a benefit of practicing effective skin care. We all have different factors at play when it comes to the appearance of our skin. Sebastian found that cutting out sweets and sugary foods helped reduce the acne she experienced. I found that drinking more water and washing my face in the morning works well for me. Green mentioned that people who stop smoking also see improvements in their skin. Needless to say, there are a lot of factors involved and a lot of information to sift through when it comes to skin health. Green recommends visiting the American Academy of Dermatology website for more information, since they cover a variety of skin types, issues and ways to help. Similar to many other health related changes, working on your skin takes time. With me, everything got worse before it got better. With a combination of the medications I was taking, the products I was using and the changes I made to my well-being, my skin eventually cleared up. Your skin is vital to your immune system and your overall health Green said. Making sure it is properly taken care of can be done in simple steps. Start with gentle soaps, a good

quality moisturizer and protecting yourself from sun protection. Most of all, listen to your skin and listen to your body — in the end it knows what’s best.

“I think [skin care] gives people confidence when they feel proud of how their skin looks.”

Wellness 23

by Marilyn Wolbert | illustration by Quamae Newsome | design by Mikaela Barlow

NOT JUST THE WINTER BLUES

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easonal Affective Disorder (SAD), is a depression that changes with the seasons. Beginning and ending around the same time every year, SAD — commonly referred to as seasonal depression — tends to occur from the fall through winter months. So in Rochester, where the climate laughs as we slip on ice ***Please delete the pages 1-5 upon and submission. mourn the sun for most of the year, how does one assess and cope with their seasonal depression?

24 Wellness

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settings formatted for you! These SAD is a type of already Major Depressive Disorder are some of the base settings your design (MDD) and is assumed to be an imbalance should follow. of serotonin in the brain, triggered by a lack of sunlight. The main difference between Left-justified paragraphs these two is that MDD can be experienced at Optical margin alignment any point throughout the year, whereas SAD OFF carries a seasonal Hyphenation pattern. Indent of 0p9 Drop cap of 3 lines

• • • • •

STUDENTS AND DEPRESSION

The symptoms behind this pattern are similar to MDD. Feeling depressed nearly Each year, more college students are every day, lack of energy, sleep problems and diagnosed with seasonal depression and lack of interest in activities you used to enjoy for a location such as Rochester, N.Y., it’s are some of the symptoms experienced by only expected to see an increase in this those with SAD. depression as well. One’s college years are Aharon Sebton, a fourth year Electrical often associated as the most stressful years of Engineering student, described what SAD is life fueled by little sleep, poor diet and lack of like for him. exercise. Not to mention the copious amounts “It feels like your mind and body are of schoolwork and financial instability that matching the outside world. In the winter, most students face. Plus, college isn’t for everything is cold, dark and dead outside. everybody — as controversial as it may seem, That’s how you feel on the inside too,” Sebton to some, the stress and overarching pressure said. of university causes more harm than good A lot of this can be attributed to the fact and can push some to leave college soon after that upstate New York is one of the cloudiest starting. locations in the country, solely just living here Brady Bennett, a shift supervisor at increases your risk of SAD. Rochester has an Starbucks and freelance choreographer, gave average of 200 days per year in overcast and his story with depression. is considered number six on the list of top ten “Basically every semester of school, I was cloudiest U.S. cities. depressed. The summer in between the two When you are in the intense wave of As one could imagine, living in an area that years that I did go to school, I was depressed,” depression, it is difficult to understand experiences such large amounts of overcast he said. that there are ways to ease it and possible weather, students and employees in Rochester It wasn’t until Bennett was out of school solutions in living with this mental illness. face a very difficult uphill battle for nearly and away from the stress it induced that he One option is to add exercise into your nine months out of the year. felt his depression became more manageable. daily routine. Finding a way to get up Amanda Redwine, a Counseling intern “I found Starbucks, and I was doing better and move throughout the day will release working towards her master’s degree in with life and have been feeling better for over endorphins and help you feel better. This Mental Health Counseling, described what a year now,” Bennett said. may be a little unconventional during a triggers her depression. University also brings an onset of new pandemic in winter as you may not be able “I would say loneliness, lackBlack of exercise, that some mayare notsome have other typefaces to gofrom to the gym DIN Condensed is the “main”relationships Reporter typeface. These the Dindaily, or run outside when stress,” Redwine said. things get icy — trying indoor workouts or family that we also use throughoutexperienced our brand.previously. The immense amount Redwine also mentioned that she feels of new emotions and new relationships aid yoga is enough to release these chemicals. the root of this seasonal depression is aother lack typefaces in thefor increased depression of university mentioned using apps like You are welcome to use your titles when applicable to the needs ofBennett the article. of sunlight, exercise and the inability to be students. Headspace, which teach you how to outside. Having all of these barriers to begin with meditate. Practicing mindfulness is another “We live in Chicago! It’s dark for six months and then adding that to the intensely bad way that many with mental illnesses help straight, it’s terrible … it’s cold, it’s windy, it’s weather of Rochester, N.Y., makes it that keep them in check. awful,” she said. much more difficult to cope with depression. Redwine, however, speaks with friends

“Basically every semester of school, I was depressed.”

COPING STRATEGIES FOR SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER

“In the winter, everything is cold, dark and dead outside. That’s how you feel on the inside too.”

With all of this working against those with MDD and SAD, how would one cope? In addition to the stress of academic life and seasonal depression, there is now the factor of being restricted to one’s home — whether that be with roommates or with family. Aside from conflicts that may arise between housemates and/or family members, the struggle of lack of socialization weighs heavily on some. This isolation and feeling of loneliness often fuels depression, coupled with the inability to distract yourself from this depression, it is a recipe for disaster. Sebton emphasized this, stating that the lack of extracurriculars, seems to also have affect the amount of school work given, making things that much more difficult. “It feels like professors have taken advantage of the fact that we are all spending most of our time at home,” Sebton said. “The sheer amount of work I’ve been assigned this semester is crazy.”

who listen to her struggles and help support her through the tough times. Finding a good group of people who will listen to you or offer to participate in activities you know make you feel better is a very positive approach to management. There are plenty of ways to destress, which are different for everyone. Some may paint, write or follow creative pursuits, while others use a more social or athletic approach. Nonetheless, finding healthy coping strategies is crucial to living with MDD or SAD. If you think you are dealing with mental illness, whether it be SAD, MDD, anxiety or any other, reach out. You can contact RIT’s Counseling and Psychological Services over the phone or at RIT’s Counseling and Psychological Services website. Find a friend, a loved one — and know that you are not alone in this battle.

Wellness 25

SO MUCH TIME

by Brooke Wolfenbarger | illustration by Maeghan McKenzie | design by Gabriella Licona

e were all stuck in quarantine for almost six months and then sent back to school where we’ve been grinding 24/7 with no breaks. Now that we have six weeks off of school, what are we supposed to do with all this time off and how do we dodge the rise in cases beginning again? Having so much free time it can be a drag if you don’t know what to do with it. It’s time to pick up that remote, pencil or video game controller and start having fun.

Small businesses are growing in popularity whether you shop on sites like Etsy or you see people creating and showcasing their talents on TikTok. They make it look so easy, but obviously this takes time and effort to get your ideas out there for people to be interested. Even if you don’t want to make something physical, you can be creative in other ways. If you’re into video games, then try to record gameplay or take clips from rounds to put together and upload those to YouTube. You could also play live on Twitch and build a following that way as well. This can allow you to take something that you do already and be creative and share it with other people who share common interests.

HOW MANY MOVIES IS TOO MANY? E C T E G T REA IV We all have hobbies that we enjoy doing whether those are art, writing, sports or building things. What if we could take these hobbies, create something and sell them to people? Well, you can! Having two months off gives you enough time to explore the idea and possibly start your own small business. This could be selling art prints, making jewelry or baking yummy treats. Whatever you choose, the options are truly endless! December is a great time to create gifts for friends and family as the holidays inch closer, while also saving money in the process!

26 Views

Just think about how many movies you could watch during a six-week period. Six weeks is equal to 1,008 hours, which means that you could watch about 504 two-hour movies if you never stopped. Obviously you’re not going to watch that many movies, but the point is you can watch a lot of movies you might not have had time for. One option could be to watch or rewatch the Marvel Cinematic Universe either in order of their release or in my opinion, watching them in

chronological order. With 23 Marvel chronological order. With 23 Marvel movies to watch, you’ll have plenty to consume your time by starting with “Iron Man” and working your way to “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Watching these movies allow you to be engulfed in this universe and connect with all of the characters’ stories. Even if you aren’t a Marvel fan you can still pick your favorite genre, your favorite actor or actress and watch a bunch of their movies. You can have a movie marathon with your friends or family. Spice it up by building a fort in your living room, make a couple bags of popcorn, grab all your favorite snacks and enjoy some movies! Maybe you aren’t a big fan, of movies, so another option is binging some TV shows that you’ve been meaning to watch. You can watch something that has a lot of seasons like “Supernatural,” “Grey’s Anatomy” or “Criminal Minds.” My advice is to find a TV show that you might not have heard of or that seems interesting to you. If you have trouble finding something, it is always okay to rewatch! Rewatching TV series can reopen great memories you have and it can lead you to what the actors are doing now, which give you more ideas of things to watch. I know I will never get tired of rewatching “Teen Wolf”!

SO MANY I S I I B L TIES PO S

KEEPING TRACK OF MEMORIES Something more simple that you can do during your two month break is start a journal. Journaling can be so beneficial to your mental health and it allows you to write down interesting things you did during the day and how you might be feeling. This could be as simple as writing only one sentence that sums up your day or you could write a full page. Journaling is something that I used to do everyday before I went to bed. I fell out of doing this, but when I did it was so beneficial and I want to start back up. Even if you’re just writing one sentence a day you can eventually go back and see what that day was like a year ago, two years ago or even five. It allows you to re-

member the little things even in times that a lot isn’t going on. Journaling is also beneficial for mental health because it allows you to let go of what the day had in store. The good and the bad are released on the page and it can be a good way to cope with everything going on in your head. It allows you to look back over the years to how you’ve dealt with situations. If you want to be a little more creative with it you can try bullet journaling! Bullet journaling is another take on normal journaling. You can use a dot notebook or a lined notebook and you can make it more unique. You can be as simple or as complex as you want, but it is a great way to make the journaling unique

and colorful. Sometimes the best ways to start bullet journaling is looking up inspiration on Pinterest or Google. Six weeks is a long time and there are so many possibilities on how to spend that time. Don’t forget to unwind and relax after this long semester. Use this time to take a nap or sleep in a little longer. Even though we are still in a pandemic, make sure to still get outside and to breathe in some fresh air. Take a walk around your neighborhood, if it’s snowing then go outside and build a snowman. Try to keep your brain active, stay creative, have fun and enjoy your two-month break!

Opinions expressed are solely of the students and do not reflect the views of REPORTER.

Opinions expressed are solely of the students and do not reflect the views of REPORTER.

by Georgia Pressley illustration by TingYu Chang design by Adrianna Petrus

Lee Smith

Individualized Studies, First Year

“I feel like it would be some fuzzy blankets and a nice couch and some hot chocolate. I like hot chocolate when it’s not too hot like it has to be cooled down enough, otherwise, it just burns your tongue. And I would probably just want to watch some TV show that I really enjoy. I’m not huge into movies but I like Broad City, I like Avatar, Legend of Korra, Glee is a good favorite of mine. That’s probably what I would want to do!”

Cecilia Prefontaine American Sign Language-English Interpretation, First Year

“I would probably be at home and we would, we would probably make a fire.probably make a fire. I don’t know, it smells really nice. And we would set up a movie in the living room and probably set up some blankets on the floor and watch a movie. My first choice would be the Harry Potter movies, those are my favorite. So we would start from the first one and go from there. Make some hot chocolate with [marshmallow] fluff and chocolate chips on the bottom so they melt and are all good and chocolatey.” 28 Views

Figo Wang

Visual Media, First Year

“For me, I don’t need much. My ideal cozy night is on a rooftop overlooking the city, probably New York City. And hopefully it’s snowing, maybe it’s around Christmas time. And I’m just chilling probably outside to some music probably a campfire, some friends, a lot of food and that’s about it.”

Aidan Bohan

Computing Security, Fourth Year

“Sitting by a wood-burning stove fire, doing a puzzle, drinking hot chocolate.”

Tara Bryan

Advertising Photography, First Year

“That’s a really hard question. Definitely watching a Christmas movie or something and drinking hot chocolate and staying indoors, you know, with blankets.”

John Danner

Biomedical Engineering, First Year

“Oh! I’d say watching a movie by a fire with ice cream and popcorn.“

Maggie Passamonte Artem Novoselov American Sign Language-English Interpretation, Second Year

Engineering Exploration, First Year

“A Hallmark movie, hot cocoa, cuddles, a candle and that’s the tea.”

“To go skiing and then chill at home and watch a Netflix movie.”

Daniela Carrillo Communication, Fourth Year

“My ideal cozy winter night is cuddling with my boyfriend and watching a movie.”

Emma Woerle

Advertising and Public Relations, Second Year

“Cuddled up on the couch with some friends all wearing like cozy loungewear, drinking hot chocolate, watching Hallmark movies.” Views 29

RINGS

compiled by Marilyn Wolbert | illustration by Emily O’Shea | design by Genna Delvecchio

“Are we gonna kiss in Zoom Breakout Room” Tuesday, October 13, 7:57 a.m.

“Sometimes you just want to be tied up like a piñata and spanked like a ham idk man c'est la vie.” Wednesday, October 14, 11:45

“You can touch my titties today, it's your birthday.” Wednesday, October 21, 3:10 p.m.

“I get performance anxiety when I top.” Wednesday, October 21, 3:17 p.m.

“Skip the ding go right to the dong.” Friday, October 16, 10:06 p.m.

“It's better to catch feelings than COVID.” Wednesday, October 14, 3:38 p.m.

RIt's only digital CONFESSIONAL text or call (585) 672-4840 “I wish it was my birthday” All calls and texts may be subject to editing and truncation. Statements do not reflect views of Reporter.

30 Views

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