FEBRUARY 2022 // REPORTER.RIT.EDU
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EDITOR IN CHIEF Marilyn Wolbert PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Karina Le ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Jay Schading COPY EDITOR Mimi Lee NEWS EDITOR Alex Schneider TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Tommy Delp CULTURE EDITOR Tomas Rodrigo Mendez FEATURES EDITOR Erin Brache WELLNESS EDITOR Rylan Vanacore VIEWS EDITOR Patrick McCullough WRITERS Erin Brache, Tommy Delp, Emi Knape, Karina Le, Patrick McCullough, Taylor Moe, Alex Schneider, River Starliper, Rylan Vanacore, Marilyn Wolbert
ART ART DIRECTOR Rachel Kogut ONLINE ART MANAGER Quamae Newsome SENIOR DESIGNER Gabriella Licona DESIGNERS Grace Bukowski, Kris Dinh, Julia Jones, K. Kelly, Rachel Kogut, Gabriella Licona, Amanda Macey, Sneha Yalgi, Joy Zeng ILLUSTRATORS Alice Benavides, TingYu Chang, Leah Chirico, Jess Edwards, Kelly Jin, Forrest Laffely, Emma McCarthy, Kaiya Moultrie, Emily O’Shea, J Rose Parker, Maggie Wehler
EDITOR’S NOTE
REPORTER
T
he threat of irreversible climate change is terrifying. The politicizing and monetizing of the climate crisis has deadlocked us in a weird battle that shouldn’t even be questioned. Hundreds of gigatons of glaciers are melting a year, biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate, soil degradation, rising sea levels, pollution and loss of habitat are plaguing our home. I cannot stress enough, the impact we have on the planet and how every choice we and our governments make reflect in the health of it. Each day we push off our commitment to protecting the climate and it seems as though our governments do as well. When the only outcome of the UN COP26 Climate Summit is for “calls on governments to return next year with tougher pledges,” instead of actionable outcomes for the coming year, you have to start rethinking strategy. We only have a decade left before the boundary is crossed, and we are no longer able to reverse the damage done to the earth. Time is of the essence. There is this thought process that the individual cannot do anything to affect the overall crisis. While it is true that governments and big businesses have the largest holds on this issue, each individual has their own hold as well. How can we expect governments and businesses, who are focused solely on the monetary values of climate change – to do anything, if we don’t urge them to do so? Fixing the crisis starts with you. It starts with the people pushing change and urging others to take action as well. This can be as simple as changing your eating habits, noting where the things you buy come from or volunteering for habitat or ocean clean up. It could even just be spreading the word, working with others to lobby big businesses, make the issue known to those who chose to ignore it. Doing anything is doing something.
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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. “I always circumcise my bananas.” - P.M. The opinions expressed in Reporter do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. Reporter is not responsible for materials presented in advertising areas. Copyright © 2022 Reporter Magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without prior written permission.
February 3
I N
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NEWS 6
T E C H
REDLINING IN ROCHESTER
A history of a harmful, unfair and now outlawed practice in the Rochester area
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@REPORTERMAG 4 February
UNPACKING THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL
Examing the bipartisan infrastructure bill and what problems its money could solve
C U LT U R E 10
CULTURAL AWARENESS
12
AYL: FEBRUARY CROSSWORD
The complex relationship the U.S. has with cultural awareness
Try your hand at our February 2022 Crossword!
cover photography by Ted Kinsman and sourced by Diana Spencer cover & TOC photo-collage & design by Rachel Kogut
F E A T U R E S 14
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TRUE CRIME, TRUE DAMAGE
Examining the ethical conversation surrounding one of America’s favorite genres
PLATFORM FIGHTERS ENTER THE RING!
Shedding light on the platform fighter genre and its growing community
THE LEGACY OF RIT PHOTOGRAPHY
A closer look at the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences
W E L L N E S S 22
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ABSENT ATHLETICS
Reasons why RIT may not offer certain club or varsity sports
VEGANISM: WHAT THE HELL?
Why people are going vegan, and why you should too
V I E W S 27
29
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THE ART OF CONVERSATION
Dealing with the maze that is communication
WORD ON THE STREET
What was your worst breakup and why?
RINGS
RIT’s only digital confessional. Text or call (585) 672-4840
NATIONAL DAY ON WRITING WINNER
Our National Day on Writing Poetry winner
R E P O RT E R . R I T. E D U February 5
Redlining in Rochester by Alex Schneider | photography by Diana Spencer | design by Amanda Macey
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ochester is home to the most segregated school district border in the country, according to a 2020 EdBuild study. The city has been plagued by historical redlining and segregation, the effects of which can still be seen today. Although our city has a rich history rooted in technology, photography and abolitionism, there exists a dark side to it that is often overlooked; and it’s not far from where we live. Knowing and understanding the history of Rochester’s segregation is key to solving the contemporary issues that it faces. Problems such as gerrymandering — congressional district redrawing that often segregates — gentrification, food insecurity and poverty are all linked to the city’s history as much as its art and music.
WHAT IS REDLINING? Redlining is a discriminatory practice that “[denies] mortgages to people ... The practice — once backed by the U.S. government — started in the 1930s and took place across the country,” according to CBS News and often creates segregated neighborhoods.
“The deed says no person of color can live there, enforceable until 1968,” Wiegand stated. Redlining in Rochester rose to relevance in the 1930s, when a map was drawn by the federal Home Owners’ Loan Corporation to determine which areas would receive government insurance for home mortgage refinancing. The areas that obtained funding all had clauses in their property deeds that explicitly banned black people from owning the land. Shane Wiegand, Rochester historian and fourth-grade teacher in Henrietta who coleads the Anti-Racist Curriculum Project, explained the racial motivations that went into the drawing. “Redlining has created a total disinvestment in homes across the city right whereas, in the suburbs, billions of federal dollars help build [the community] and invest in it,” he said.
Wiegand superimposed the 1934 redlining map with a modern map of Rochester. Zones with a black population of 10 percent or over — like the 7th Ward — were labeled ‘hazardous.’ Today, many of Rochester’s communities exist where they do because of prior redlining efforts. By the 1950s, 80% of Rochester’s people of color lived in the third and seventh wards. Sections of the city were designated as “racial covenants” for people of a specific color. “The deed says no person of color can live there, enforceable until 1968,” Wiegand stated. Former RIT Presidents Royal Farnum and John Wegman both held properties that they willingly incorporated the clause into. Judge Reuben Davis, a 19th Ward resident, recalled the primary effects of redlining efforts in relation to Rochester’s suburbs. “To my knowledge, there were very few persons of color living in the towns,” he said. Towns like Henrietta, Pittsford, Irondequoit, Webster, Gates and Greece were all mostly white-only neighborhoods at one point. According to a 2017 study by the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency, a child from Pittsford has a higher life expectancy than one from downtown Rochester. The difference stems from issues like food insecurity, poor air quality, as well as residents being unable to afford fixing outdated housing that was built with hazardous materials like asbestos.
“Friday Night at the Pythodd” (1959) by Paul J. Hoeffler
6 News
REDLINING AND EDUCATION The attitude permeated many areas of the city’s culture and leaked into the local educational system. Rochester’s white majority schools, segregated through the aforementioned redlining, annually held minstrel shows — live entertainment characterized by racist caricatures. Parents even had their children perform in blackface. Black schools, on the other hand, faced funding issues due to redlining. The effects of it are still seen in the modern educational structure of Rochester city schools. “When you look at the [Rochester] city school district, behavioral issues, the need for mental health professionals in schools; because of things like lead poisoning, the dramatic increase in poverty, all the different factors that are going on there,” Wiegand mentioned. However, there is a reason why these problems have manifested. “School funding is based on property taxes,” Wiegand explained. “City property taxes are significantly lower because redlining has created a total disinvestment in homes across the city right whereas, in the suburbs, billions of federal dollars help build it and invest in it.” Black people pursuing higher education in Rochester also faced issues in enrollment in certain programs, especially in the medical field. The Voice, Rochester’s predominant blackowned newspaper at the time, tackled the issue. They reported on a case of George Whipple, the founder of the University of Rochester, who specifically defended and admitted to the practice of denying people of color admission to the university.
A historical Clarissa Street in Rochester, N.Y.
Edwin Robinson, the first black graduate of the University of Rochester’s Medical Center, was denied an internship at the Strong Memorial Hospital. The hospital had segregated maternity wards that were legally mandated.
A LOCAL IMPACT Redlining in Rochester not only created a split in the city’s neighborhoods but also led to the destruction of one of the city’s most vibrant communities, Clarissa Street. According to the Corn Hill Neighbors Association, Clarissa Street was the commercial hub of the Third Ward. A church local to the neighborhood was “a center for the Underground Railroad, for Frederick Douglass’s abolitionist newspaper, The North Star, and for the women’s suffrage movement,” as noted on the association’s website. Clarissa Street was once known as Rochester’s Broadway. The association also states that “Clarissa Street became famous for jazz and for clubs such as the Pythodd Club, the Elk’s Club and Dan’s Restaurant and Grill.”
The street was mainly destroyed by two factors, the first being the 1964 ‘Rochester Race Riots.’ The riot, over police brutality among other issues of the time, destroyed much of the street and even included a helicopter crash that killed three people. Clarissa Street was then slated to be a part of the city’s Urban Renewal Program. The Inner Loop was built, cutting the street in half and separating it from the main street. The neighborhood exists today as a shell of its former self.
PAINFUL, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN Rochester’s history includes dark undertones that serve as a reminder of how people can be mistreated. Artificially separated communities compounded distrust between them and destroyed subcultures that thrived in the city.
The exterior of the Pythodd, one of six popular jazz clubs in 1950s Rochester, N.Y.
“City property taxes are signif icantly lower because redlining has created a total disinvestment in homes across the city right whereas, in the suburbs, billions of federal dollars help build it and invest in it.”
News 7
WHAT’S IN IT? According to the fact sheet released by the White House briefing room, this new spending includes: $110 billion towards repairing roads, bridges and other large projects. The bill also includes the Safe Streets and Roads for All program to support projects to reduce traffic fatalities. $89.9 billion in guaranteed funding for public transportation programs over the next five years. This includes $39 billion in new investments to upgrade America’s transit infrastructure. $66 billion to upgrade and maintain the country’s railroad systems. More than $65 billion towards investments in clean energy transmission and increasing the resilience of America’s power grid. This money will also fund programs to develop and deploy new clean-energy technologies. $65 billion towards expanding broadband service across the country to ensure every American has access to reliable internet, especially in rural communities.
UNPACKING
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he Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), previously known as the INVEST in America Act and more commonly, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021. The $1.2 trillion bill addresses federal aid programs for highways, transit, research and rail programs, among other things. Included alongside those programs is around $550 billion in new spending that will be put towards infrastructure development over the next decade. While proponents of the bill maintain that these changes will be paid for by new revenue and repurposed, unspent funding, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the legislation will cost a net $256 billion over the course of ten years.
$55 billion towards expanding access to clean drinking water, including pushes to eliminate lead service pipes and efforts to improve the water infrastructure in Tribal Nations and disadvantaged communities. Over $50 billion to proof American infrastructure against climate change and cyber attacks. This includes funding to weatherize American infrastructure, and money for cybersecurity development. $21 billion to clean up Superfund and brownfield sites, land that has been tainted with pollutants, toxic wastes and other environmental contaminants. $17 billion into port infrastructure and an additional $25 billion for airports to address maintenance backlogs and reduce emissions through the adoption of low-carbon technologies. $7.5 billion to build a nationwide network of electric vehicle chargers along highway corridors and within communities. This money will contribute towards the bill’s stated goal of accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles. The White House has also published stateby-state breakdowns of where the money is going. Though the exact numbers are subject to change based on updated data for each fiscal year, New York is currently poised to receive billions of dollars in funding.
INFRASTRUCTURAL CONCERNS The bipartisan infrastructure bill is the U.S.’s largest long-term infrastructure investment project in nearly a century, and the data indicates that it has been a long time coming. The American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) is the country’s oldest national civil engineering organization. The organization publishes a comprehensive assessment of America’s infrastructure every four years, grading it on a scale of A to F. According to the ASCE, America’s infrastructure has struggled to get out of the D’s — designating infrastructure that is largely below standard and exhibiting significant deterioration — since the report’s inception in 1998. 2021 was a breakthrough year since, for the first time in two decades, American infrastructure scored above a D. According to the report’s executive summary, America has made incremental progress towards restoring the nation’s infrastructure, but a lot of work remains. Aviation, drinking water, energy, inland waterways and ports all scored higher in 2021 than they had four years ago, while just one category — bridges — has gone down. Amanda Bao is an associate professor and program director in RIT’s Civil Engineering Technology program. Prior to working at RIT, she worked as a structural engineer and has been involved in engineering education research since 2011.
“ There are upwards of 30 million people who rely on the waters of the Great Lakes. That means the water has to be clean, and it has to be available in the quantities that support the population.” 8 Tech
INFRASTRUCTURE $$$$$$$$$$$$ BILL
by Patrick McCullough | photography by Diana Spencer | illustration and design by Julia Jones
“The current design code requires a typical bridge to stand for 75 years,” Bao explained. “We have a lot of bridges that were built a hundred years ago, so [our infrastructure is] already being pushed to its limit.” Coastal states like New York have a particularly tough time with infrastructure, especially in the winter. Saltwater and salted roads accelerate corrosion, which can cause infrastructure to rust and deteriorate faster. There are ways to design around these failings, and a new infrastructure package could lead to the adoption of these new technologies. Composite materials could resist corrosion better than conventional steel, but the new material hasn’t entirely surpassed traditional construction methods. Recycled materials are also making their way into the field of civil engineering, with materials like ground glass being used to replace sand in concrete.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS Billions of dollars in the infrastructure bill have been earmarked to reinforce American communities against climate change. The Great Lakes region is a prime example of the consequences of these changing conditions.
Ann Howard is a professor in RIT’s Department of Science, Technology and Society in the College of Liberal Arts. “Warmer winters and less precipitation in the winter time mean that the levels of the Great Lakes themselves will fluctuate more,” Howard said. “There’s also the issue of storms and storm surges, particularly on the southern shore of Lake Ontario.” Shoreline cities and towns in the Great Lakes region expect heavy spending to mitigate the impacts of the changing environment. According to the Associated Press, officials believe the estimated cost will approach $2 billion. “There are upwards of 30 million people who rely on the waters of the Great Lakes. That means the water has to be clean, and it has to be available in the quantities that support the population,” Howard explained. A large amount of money from the IIJA is being put into climate change mitigation and water supply reinforcement, but only time will tell how impactful the spending will be. The bulk of the funding is going directly to states, so localities will have to rely on their relationship with state governments to get that money to where it is needed most.
“We have a lot of bridges that were built a hundred years ago, so [our infrastructure is] already being pushed to its limit.”
Tech 9
CULTURAL AWARENESS By Rylan Vanacore | Illustration by TingYu Chang | Design by Gabriella Licona
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ultural awareness is someone’s understanding of the difference between themselves and people from different countries or cultural backgrounds. In the age of technology, where a vast amount of information is at our fingertips, we are connected more than ever. With all the accessibility that we have to one another, it is more common to interact with different cultures outside of our own. In order to better understand one another, it is vital that we educate ourselves on other cultures.
10 Culture
THE U.S.’S RELATIONSHIP WITH CULTURE The U.S. is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse countries in the world. In 2020, the United States Census documented that 54 percent of the population identified as white non-Hispanic. This is nearly a 10 percent drop from 2010, when the number was 61 percent. The U.S. is becoming more and more diverse. This is especially prevalent at RIT, which has an estimated amount of nearly 2,000 international students.
With all the different cultures in the United States, you would expect the citizens to be more culturally aware. This is not the case most of the time. Many people in the U.S. are unaware of what happens outside of their country. A study conducted by The Washington Post in 2016, showed that most people in the U.S. pay little attention to areas like Africa or Central Asia. Nickesia Gordon, an associate professor at RIT’s School of Communication, weighed in on why some people in the U.S. don’t feel the need to pay attention to other countries.
“It may be difficult for people who live in smaller towns to get [cultural] exposure for a variety of reasons,” Gordon said. “So it’s not necessarily a lack of motivation, but a lack of opportunity.”
LINGUISTICS Language is the cornerstone of every culture, it’s how we interact with one another. Despite being a multicultural country, the U.S. falls behind when it comes to bilingualism in our population. A 2018 survey, it showed that only 20 percent of our population is bilingual. Elisabetta D’Amanda, the principal lecturer at RIT’s Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, has had a lot of experience with languages in other countries and the U.S. “I come from Europe, and everyone speaks multiple languages,” D’Amanda said. “In [the United States], it’s kind of not important.” There is less of an emphasis on learning multiple languages than there is in European countries, such as Italy which boasts around 34 spoken languages and related dialects, due to the significant amount of immigration within the country. While a majority of people within the U.S. speak English as their primary language, there are areas where Spanish is primarily spoken. “In Miami, I speak Spanish, I don’t “I think from a cultural perspective, there speak English. In Los Angeles, I speak a isn’t really an incentive for some people to lot of Spanish because it’s just there,” D’Amanda want to learn about the rest of the world,” Gorexplained. don said. Language is an important skill to have, speakMany people put the U.S. on a pedestal. A ing multiple ones can open many doors for peosurvey conducted by the Pew Research Cenple. It’s broader than people think, and many ter shows that in 2017, 85 percent of the U.S. career fields benefit from being multilingual. population believes that Being fluent in multiple the U.S. is one of the best “I think from a cultural per- languages makes you countries in the world or more marketable and spective, there isn’t really opens more job opporis superior to other countries. This mindset gives an incentive for some people tunities. people the incentive to not “I can go and interto want to learn about the care about other countries view people on their rest of the world.” other than their own. research in their lanThere is also the issue guage,” D’Amanda said. that some people are unable to learn about dif“If you are in science, you can do that. If you’re ferent cultures due to lack of exposure. in engineering, you can do that.”
Language is what connects us to different cultures, we are able to learn more from people if we are able to communicate with them to better understand how they live.
THE FUTURE: WHY WE SHOULD CARE There is so much that our world has to offer outside of the U.S. We should be eager to enrich ourselves in all that other cultures have to offer. In 2021, there was a rise in reported hate crimes within the U.S. A lot of the reason for this was from ignorance and misconceptions placed on people of color. It is difficult to understand one another if we aren’t culturally aware. Cultural ignorance can lead to hatred and bigotry because it makes it easier to justify hatred when there is a lack of cultural awareness. “I think learning about other countries is an opportunity to grow or intercultural communication competence,” Gordon said. “It creates an opportunity for us to be more empathetic towards people and to think of them as human. It humanizes our interactions with other folks.” When we open ourselves to other cultures we begin to care more and empathize with others. When we have a better understanding of different cultures, we feel more inclined to help and care about people. This understanding leads us to appreciate one another more, be less hateful and more open. Learning about other countries also helps us understand the issues that they face. For example, countries like Yemen and Somalia are currently facing some of the worst hunger crises seen throughout history. Instead of ignoring what’s going on in these countries, we can educate ourselves on how to help make a difference for the people living there. Our generation has been more open to educating ourselves when it comes to cultural awareness. With technology, we have an opportunity to immerse ourselves in every part of the world. “[Learning about other cultures and languages] is not a priority, traditionally; that doesn’t mean it’s not changing because our young generation is changing it,” D’Amanda said. “It creates an opportunity for us to be more empathetic towards people and to think of them as human.”
“It creates an opportunity for us to be more empathetic towards people and to think of them as human.”
Culture 11
AYL: February Crossword
LOVE AND SEXUALITY by Erin Brache | illustration by Emma McCarthy | design by Kris Dinh
ACROSS 1. Hit single by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion 4.Television channel with shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Dancing With
19. One of the main characters of “Star
The Stars”
Trek: The Next Generation” Deanna
7. “Here It Goes Again” rock band
21. Fake nails material
11. Second letter of the Greek alphabet
23. Popular video game console’s
12. Renting a single room rather than a whole apartment, abbr.
online service abbr. 25. The red emotion in Pixar’s “Inside Out”
13. Rope used as a lasso
26. Hostile waterfowl
15. “Sail the seven... “
27. Restless and impatient
16. Japanese carp
28. Right on most maps
17. Conditional statement in coding 18. Feeling of anxiety often portrayed
30. Country that shares an island with the Dominican Republic
in teenagers
31. Wrench with a hexagonal head
20. Across the span of an entire country
32. End
22. Sexual pretending abbr.
34. Young kangaroo in the “Winnie the Pooh” franchise
24. Villain in “The Lion King”
38. Rigid canvas used to augment power on a boat
25. Polymer extracted from seaweed 29. Kugimiya, Japanese anime voice actress with over 300 credited roles 30. A medical condition that develops while in the hospital, abbr. 33. The gender identity of Sam Smith and Demi Lovato
41. Short 42. Man-made canyon noise 50. Oboe e.g. 54. Academy Award
35. 1999 film “She’s ___ That”
58. Legal terminology for overdue money
36. Most prestigious title for video games, abbr.
59. Homosexual
37. Spanish sun or abbr. of one of RIT’s
63. Female sexual organ
dorms
64. “___ you gonna eat that?”
38. Tower used to store grains
65. Not doing anything
39. Letter after R 40. French bathroom
66. Actor Baskin who played Mr. Ditkovich in “Spider-Man 2” and
43. Female Skywalker from “Star
62. Lightweight
DOWN 1. Believe 2. What would be on a new article of clothing 3. Someone walking 4. Ponder 5. Male friend 6. Circular money
44. City on the Nile River 45. Mad scientist in Blizzard video game “Overwatch”, or Catherine O’Hara’s character on “Schitt’s Creek” 48. “Baby Driver” director Wright 50. Shake hand 51. Sex involving the mouth 52. Multi-person sex party
8. Furnace used for pottery
53. Plan implemented by colleges and businesses to ensure everyone is treated as equals, abbr.
“Spider-Man 3”
9. Korean pottery or Spanish tape
55. Combining form to mean killing
Wars” franchise
67. Tear
10. Scam vacation website that shut
56. 2021 Netflix animated film “____
44. A French soul
68. Lion zodiac
down during the Covid-19 pandemic
the Alligator Boy”
11. Men’s youth org.
57. Popular bread choice
13. Lithuanian money
60. “Midsommar” and “Hereditary” director Aster
46. Scarface’s drug of choice 47. Your body after a workout 49. A child’s favorite question to ask
7. Chocolate sandwich cookie
14. Burning
61. Informal agreement
Answers Down: 1. WEEN 2. ATAG 3. PASSERBY 4. ASK 5. BRO 6. COINS 7. OREO 8. KILN 9. GASA 10. OTEL 11. BSA 13. LITAI 14. AFIRE 19. TROI 21. ACRYLIC 23. PSN 28. EASTERN 30. HAITI 31. ALLEN 32. CLOSE 34. ROO 38. STAYSAIL 41. LOW 42. ECHO 44. ASWAN 45. MOIRA 48. EDGAR 50. WAVE 51. ORAL 52. ORGY 53. DEIA 55. CIDE 56. ARLO 57. RYE 60. ARI 61. YEP Across: 1.WAP 4. ABC 7. OKGO 11. BETA 12. SRO 13.LARIAT 15. SEAS 16. KOI 17. IFELSE 18. ANGST 20. NATIONAL 22. ERP 24. SCAR 25. AGAROSE 29. RIE 30. HAC 33. NONBINARY 35. ALL 36. GOTY 37. SOL 38.SILO 39. ESS 40. TOILETTES 43. REY 44. AME 46. COCAINE 47. SORE 49. WHY 50. WOODWIND 54. OSCAR 58. ARREAR 59. GAY 62. AIRY 63. VAGINA 64. ARE 65. IDLE 66. ELYA 67. RIP 68. LEO
12 Culture
M O R E
STORIES
REPORTER.RIT.EDU
O N L I NO EN L I N E
E M I R E C G A E U M A TR D E U R T by River Starliper | illustration by Forrest Laffely | design by Grace Bukowski
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rime sells. Throughout television history, shows like “Criminal Minds,” “NCIS” and “Law and Order” have fascinated, horrified and entertained audiences with dramatized stories of crime and punishment. But these shows are stories; pieces of fiction. What happens when these dramatized narratives of gruesome murder involve real crimes that impacted real people? True crime is one of the most popular podcast genres in the U.S., with shows like “Crime Junkie,” “My Favorite Murder” and “Serial” dominating charts and drawing in millions of listeners worldwide. Some may question the morality of true crime’s popularity — or even its very existence — due to the very real harm that can be done when people’s lives are used for entertainment value.
TRUTH HURTS The 2015 Netflix docuseries “Making a Murderer” received wild popularity and became a monumental success — but the victims and families whose cases were featured did not consent to the show’s production. As entertainment journalist and media critic Alison Foreman points out in her deep dive of all things true crime, facts cannot be copyrighted; regardless of whether or not somebody wants their story to be told, they are powerless to stop it. “You can morally and ethically ‘own’ a story by nature of having lived it,” Foreman explained. “But that is not accounted for in any sort of legal action that someone might take if they decided that they wanted to tell your story against your wishes.” Even if a tragic story is legally able to be told, and all parties involved give their consent, should it be? Gary Craig, an investigative journalist for Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle, has been involved with several true crime documentaries and has had to grapple with the ethics of telling these stories.
14 Features
Although given an offer to work on a project regarding the 2012 murders of four firefighters in Webster, Craig turned down the opportunity due the the show’s themed subject matter of holiday-season crime. “The idea of this premise of what crimes people commit during the holidays, I was turned off by it,” Craig explained. “But apparently there’s a market for it.” Some shows, such as “My Favorite Murder,” have been criticized for the humorous and seemingly flippant attitude with which they approach sensitive subject matter. “I’ve done stories on stupid criminals doing stupid stuff ... but that’s very different from a homicide where you have family and others who are truly aching because of it,” Craig said.
“You can morally and ethically ‘own’ a story by nature of having lived it.” Ethics, in this case, can become subjective. It makes it difficult to discern without having all of the information. “I think abusing that privilege is ... very apparent, the question is, is it always apparent to the viewer unless they’re doing their homework? ” Foreman explained. The harm caused by America’s true crime obsession goes beyond just a question of ethics: irresponsible production and consumption of true crime has led to interference in active cases. A petition to free Steven Avery — the titular murderer of “Making a Murderer” — made it all the way to the White House, as an example. Additionally, some have taken the true crime “boom” as an opportunity to profit off of these violent crimes, with guided tours, a themed cruise and even T-shirts adorned with the faces of famous murderers. In the midst of this frenzy, who is responsi-
ble for curating content?
The Infuencers and the Infuenced True crime is a genre which blurs the lines between real life and TV — and those blurred lines are where we can open up a dialogue of how true crime can remain both ethical and entertaining. “It’s this conversation we know we need to have about what is content, what is journalism and what’s the difference between the two ... I think true crime makes us have that conversation in a very specific way,” Foreman explained. But whose responsibility is it to curate content on the basis of morality? Do viewers even have the power to change the types of content that are produced, or is this something that is entirely in the hands of production companies? Foreman explained, “I tend to think, okay, that’s something where we have to turn to the streaming services ... because I think they have a better chance at tangibly impacting what ends up on screen.” In the absence of concrete guidelines and regulations for media companies, though, that scrutiny falls to the consumer. “I think it’s ethically in all of our purview to think about what [media] we’re consuming, whether it’s true crime or not,” she said. It is a lot to ask that fans of true crime conduct extensive research on every story they encounter, and a lot to ask of showrunners to include every minute detail into a 45-minute episode. Perhaps the best way to ensure that false narratives don’t persist lies not with one or the other, is through compromise. “I think media that is victim sensitive without getting away from the basic tenets of journalism is important,” Craig explained. True crime is not going anywhere any time soon, and neither is the damage associated with it — but it doesn’t have to descend even further into questionable morality either.
By assuming shared accountability, of the networks and production companies to respect the stories they profit off of, and of the viewers to consume critically, the future of true crime can be bright.
“The best thing I think true crime fans can do is ... keep asking the question, ‘Is this good for me? Is this good for the people it impacted?’” Foreman suggested. “And I think the more the listener and the viewer starts to demand that, the more we can expect that from big entertainment-producing companies.”
“It’s this conversation we know we need to have about what is content, what is journalism, and what’s the difference between the two.”
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ave you ever played a “Doom” clone? You know, a game where you use guns and other assorted weapons from the perspective of the main character, collecting items and fighting off bad guys? While modern gamers might use the term first-person shooter to describe such a well-known and well-worn genre, for the first five-or-so years of its existence, it was inextricably linked to the breakout game that defined its earliest days, 1993’s “Doom.” A video game genre’s journey from a singular hit to widespread relevancy is an interesting and unique one, no better defined than by one of today’s up-andcoming genres, the platform fighter.
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by Alice Benavi
TRIAL BY SMASH
Let’s start by defining what a platform fighter is. Basically, remove the boxed-in arena found in traditional fighting games and replace it with a stage made up of varied platforms and obstacles. They are further established by their unique approach to combos and lack of traditional health and damage mechanics. Hailey “Teridax” Mott, a fourth year Game Design and Development student who plays “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” (SSBU) competitively and is also the vice president of RIT Smash Club, summarizes these distinctions. “In my opinion, a platform fighter is just a fighting game with more expressive movement,” she said.
The genre was popularized by 1999’s “Super Smash Bros.,” (SSB) which pitted iconic Nintendo characters, such as Mario and Link, against each other. The game was an immediate hit and would go on to sell almost three million copies in the U.S. alone. “[SSB] was the first game in the genre. It literally invented it,” Mott said. “There was nothing like it before, and most things afterwards took after it.” For the next decade or so, just as with “Doom” before it, games in this style would be referred to as “Smash” clones. This description was considered fair enough by many though, as sequels to SB’s such as “Super Smash Bros. Melee” (SSBM) and “Super Smash Bros. Brawl,” would continue to define the small and niche
game type. SSBM, in particular, would be credited with creating the genre’s intense competitive scene.
A DEVELOPING SCENE
Due to the complex movement options and various timing skills associated with platform fighters, the genre’s competitive scene would go on to be a big part of its success. Even if a majority of gamers continue to play platform fighters for fun at college parties and family events, people like Jake “SaucySus69” Leonardi, another competitive SSBU player and RIT Smash Club’s president, enjoy the more challenging aspects of the experience. “There’s a lot of creativity involved in how you can play these games, and there’s a lot of ways that you can do things in a platform fighter with how the mechanics work,” he said. It is in this form that platform fighters have a surprisingly large presence on campus, with RIT Esports having a team for both SSBM and SSBU. Along with those official teams, RIT Smash Club holds some of the biggest tournaments in Rochester with numerous non-RIT attendees. “Smash Club is basically a second family to anyone who likes ‘Smash’ in general,” Leonardi said. “We’re open to anyone and everyone at all skill levels, but we are competitively-focused.” Just because the games are great doesn’t mean the scene is without its issues though. Nintendo, as the developer of all of the genre’s biggest hits, doesn’t always play well with its competitive fanbase. While the company has dabbled in its own tournament-style events in the past, it has mainly used them as marketing tools for its brand and upcoming products.
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On the fan-run side, the company has actively disputed and blocked certain competitive tournaments.
“There’s a lot of creativity involved in how you can play these games, and there’s a lot of ways that you can do things in a platform fighter with how the mechanics work.” In an overwhelmingly-panned move by the community and beyond, Nintendo had a 2020 tournament cancelled for using a modified version of SSBM that allowed online play for the older game. The only reason the mod was being used? A global pandemic that required the tournament be held online.
FIERY GROWTH
As the genre has grown bigger though, it has been able to stretch from its Nintendo roots into something akin to the beginning of a golden era. Just in the last decade, games such as “Brawlhalla” and “Rivals of Aether” have scratched the hardcore competitive itch of players and welcomed the platform fighter community into the development process. And games such as “PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale” and “Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl” have offered licensed rosters that could make even SSB blush. Even better, these new entries into the genre work to increase its overall awareness, which in turn, leads to more new games.
me Video Ga Fighting
“Every time we get a new game, it will get played by a lot of existing fans,” Mott said. “But we always see a bunch of new people who’ve maybe never picked up a game before too.” Nintendo is even starting to seem like it may finally understand the special spark of its long-babied creation. In Nov. 2021, the company announced a partnership with well-known Esports brand, Panda Global, for an officially-licensed championship circuit for both SSBM and SSBU. And on the horizon, even more new experiences are waiting to be explored. This year, “MultiVersus” will offer a freeto-play experience utilizing the Warner Bros. library of characters, and “Fraymakers” will bring exciting indie game fighters into the genre with an unprecedented level of gameplay customization. With all of this excitement, it is easy to get swallowed whole by the thought of how much money and creative capital is being shoveled into the modern platform fighter landscape. Long-lasting genres aren’t built on trend chasers or a wealth of “content” though. They’re built off of a dedicated fanbase that supports these unique creations through their passion and drive. On the community that platform fighters have cultured, Leonardi said, “Everyone’s a little bit of a degenerate, but nothing is ever super personal. Everyone is there just to have a good time and do the thing that they love.”
Esports
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THE LEGACY OF RIT PHOTOGRAPHY by Taylor Moe | photography by Travis LaCoss | design by Joy Zeng
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he adaptability of RIT’s photography program has not gone unnoticed by students and faculty. Starting with a small, locally recognized photography program and growing into the sixth best photography program in the country, RIT has been able to follow the pace of photographic development and provide its students with a plethora of resources designed to help them succeed in their field of choosing.
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PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF ROCHESTER Rochester has been a home to many historical photographic locations, the George Eastman Museum and Kodak Tower being a few. As the founder of Eastman Kodak, George Eastman has created a legacy that has influenced Rochester into a photographic way of life. After planting its roots in Rochester in 1888, Kodak became one of the most well-known camera companies in the world with the invention of the portable film camera. Photograph-worthy moments were dubbed ‘Kodak moments’ in the 20th century, as Kodak continued to grow in popularity. However, in the 90s, the movement towards digital cameras began and Kodak lost its momentum. Kodak had been ahead of all other camera companies in 1976, when they invented the world’s first digital camera. They patented it, but did not make any move to use the technology in any way. As time continued, technology was improving rapidly and digital cameras were beginning to show up everywhere. Eastman had continued to reject the change to digital photography, costing Kodak over one and a half billion dollars in revenue. This decision ultimately caused Kodak to declare bankruptcy and sell a portion of their patents to companies such as Apple and Google in 2012.
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Since then, Kodak has stopped producing cameras and now only produces film, as well as providing people with ways to print photos. Even with his reluctance to convert to a digital lifestyle, Eastman accomplished many incredible tasks during his lifetime, influencing the creation of the George Eastman Museum in 1949 shortly after his passing. The museum occupies Eastman’s former mansion, and is known as the world’s oldest photography museum.
PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF RIT RIT has spent the past 91 years working to create the best photography program for their students, and they will continue to do so in the future. With the help of Kodak at the early stages of their photography program, RIT was able to build a foundation for what is now known as the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences (SPAS). SPAS, previously known as the School of Photography, was founded in 1930 in downtown Rochester. RIT had been put under pressure from the surrounding photographic companies, such as Kodak, to provide a photography program. To give the program a nudge, Kodak lent two of its employees: Frederick F. Brehm and C.B. Neblette, to RIT as part-time professors. They were the only two professors for the entire photography program, which consisted of 24 students during its second year. Several years later, the school developed two separate programs, giving students two choices of study for the first time. These two programs were Photographic Technology and Professional Photography.
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Then, in 1959, Photographic Illustration was added prior to RIT’s move in 1968 from the downtown campus to the current campus location. At the same time, the Photographic Technology program was renamed as Photographic Science and Instrumentation. Professor Emeritus Jean-Guy Naud, RIT alumni and former NTID professor, shared his observations during the campus switch. “The big difference moving from the old campus to the new campus was size. It was so much bigger, more rooms, more labs, more of everything, but they didn’t have more faculty,” said Naud. As a temporary solution, RIT hired the top four graduates of SPAS from the previous year, one of whom was Naud. “They were in a panic mode and finally they resolved that they would hire four of our best graduates ... for one year and that will give us a year to finally get more faculty on campus,” said Naud. Over the span of the next 50 years, SPAS collected and developed many important resources for the program. They gained renowned photographers as lecturers and professors, which began to attract students from across the country. Additionally, as they accumulated different types of photography programs, SPAS continued to increase in size and recognition. Currently the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences offers six different photographic programs, providing students with state of the art facilities and equipment to get hands-on experience in their field of study.
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“The faculty are just really excited about helping students to find their own path forward, rather than create a rigid standardized photographic education.” DIVERSITY IN FACULTY AND TEACHING The SPAS faculty is contrived of a diverse group of people, based on various backgrounds and knowledge of the staff. With the wide range of photography programs offered, positions needed to be filled with experienced candidates, and SPAS has been able to employ many well-known photographers to fill that need. SPAS Professor Gregory Halpern is an associate member at Magnum Photos and recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2014. “No matter what kind of photography you are interested in, we have experts in that kind of photography,” Halpern said. One of the many photographic programs offered at RIT is photographic sciences, which is a unique course that elaborates on two topics: the science of photography and photography of the sciences. Christye Sisson, a professor who was recently promoted to the position of SPAS director, shares her experience in photographic sciences. “My background is in ophthalmic photography, which is a subset of medical imaging of specifically the eye,” Sisson said. “That’s an entire field dedicated towards imagers who are trained to create images in support of diagnosis and interpretation and treatment of eye disease.”
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In addition to past experience, professors often continue working on projects during their time at RIT. Visiting Associate Professor Margaret LeJeune finds it fulfilling to work on several activities at a time. LeJeune shares her mindset and motivation for staying simultaneously submerged in various projects. “Sometimes things just come your way that are really inspiring, or your curiosity takes you in one direction, and I feel like forcing myself to work on one project at a time just isn’t the right fit for me,” LeJeune said. One example of her photographic work is an ongoing project called “Growing Light,” which she has been working on for seven years. “I’ve been looking at bioluminescent organisms and using those organisms as indicator species,” said LeJeune. “I’m really thinking about how we can look at issues of the climate crisis and changes to species ... issues with habitat loss, species loss and changes to our oceans.” Associate Professor Joshua Meltzer also works on various projects outside of RIT. Meltzer explained his current project, which he is working on with another assistant professor, Jenn Poggi. “Part of it is looking at the history of how the community became so segregated and how that plays out in public education,” Meltzer said. “We’ve been following a couple of students who are now seniors, for about five years ... we’ll probably work on that another two years.” These projects can ultimately become teaching points in class and possibly lead to opportunities for students to gain experience in the field. “[It is] a big plus to have the students be able to see what we’re working on, sometimes even collaborate together,” Meltzer explained. “There’s a number of opportunities where students have worked alongside faculty on some of their projects.”
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Having such a diverse group of faculty members with numerous backgrounds exposes students to various perspectives and paths, giving them a better understanding of what their future might hold.
HIGH TECH FACILITIES Two attractive features of the SPAS program are the facilities and equipment that are at the students’ disposal. The majority of SPAS resources are located in Frank E. Gannett Hall, which is packed full of anything a student may need for photography. “We have the best equipment and facilities of any photo school,” said Halpern. “It’s like being a kid in a candy shop.” The fourth floor of Gannett Hall contains 28 studios for filming and photography, a studio specific equipment cage and two Kodak sponsored computer labs. The state of the art studios and equipment on the fourth floor are available to SPAS students as soon as they begin classes. Additionally, the two Kodak computer labs are used on a regular basis as classrooms, allowing for a more hands-on learning environment. The third floor is similarly stocked with resources and, with the help of a $3.5 million donation from Alumni Chance Wright in 2018, has undergone renovations to improve its facilities. The entire layout and structure of the floor is being redone to create a more open atmosphere and increase the size of the equipment cage. The furniture and equipment provided will also be updated to bring students the best experience possible in the labs and darkrooms. These renovations for the third floor are predicted to be completed by the beginning of 2022.
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“That’s been a huge upgrade because now our facilities match what we do in our curriculum, which is wonderful,” said Sisson. RIT’s photography facilities have given students the opportunity to learn with high-tech equipment, ultimately contributing to their success.
UNIQUE SPREAD OF PHOTOGRAPHY PROGRAMS A unique aspect of SPAS is the number of different photographic studies that students can major in. These include advertising photography, fine art photography, photographic and imaging arts, photographic sciences, photojournalism and visual arts. “The diversity of experience that you can get here is unmatched. I don’t know of any other place where you can study photography on so many different levels,” Sisson said. SPAS gives freedom to its students by allowing them to take classes from different photography programs, rather than forcing them to stay on one designated path. With the help of SPAS faculty, this mindset is being utilized on a larger scale. “We are all very actively breaking down these silos of ‘this is advertising photography, and this is fine art photography, and they all have to stay separate,’” Meltzer said. “There’s a lot of opportunity to kind of modernize the way that photography education is thought of.” By providing students access to various types of photography classes, they are able to learn about each field of photography and gain different skills from them. “I tell my students that they should be doing a little bit of everything,” Halpern explained. “A
“There’s a lot of opportunity to kind of modernize the way that photography education is thought of.” little bit of advertising to learn about lighting, a little bit of photojournalism ... [helps] find your own personal voice.” In addition to getting a broad view of photography, the wide range of studies provides students with a deeper focus into specific types of photography. Once they find their calling, students are able to go more in depth in the topic they are most passionate about, and get exposure to that specific field. “That specificity, by the time people graduate, is what makes them so successful because they take such a deep dive into that aspect of photography,” Sisson said. Every aspect of SPAS programs is designed to meet the needs of the students and influence a successful learning experience. “We invite students to come in with ideas and curiosity and the courses are designed to allow for a lot of flexibility and freedom of study,” LeJeune said. “The faculty are just really excited about helping students to find their own path forward, rather than create a rigid standardized photographic education.”
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RIT field hockey club plays against University of Rochester’s in a home game, winning 6-1, on Sept. 19, 2021.
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here are so many ways to get involved with sports in college, such as varsity, club and intramural teams. RIT has 22 men’s and women’s varsity-level teams, as well as a handful of other club sports. On the other hand though, while there are a wide variety of sports and athletic activities represented at RIT, there are many popular ones that are not even offered as a wellness class.
COLLEGIATE VERSUS CLUB Club sports are a great way to get involved without having to play at the super-competitive level that varsity teams play at with strict practice schedules. For most varsity sports, there is a club equivalent; such as having both club volleyball in addition to having a varsity level team. But what about the club sports that do not have a varsity team? With field hockey being a predominantly female-heavy sport, most colleges only have varsity women’s teams. RIT, however, has a co-ed club team that can be joined by anyone. Kevin LeBlevec — a professor with RIT’s French Department and technology specialist for modern languages — coaches the club field hockey team at RIT. 22 Wellness
“It’s much more social, so you can’t ask as much of them,” LeBlevec said, “It’s fun and friendly and practices are only 1-2 times a week, based on turf availability.” LeBlevec talked about having hour-long practices or less because varsity would need that space for extra practices — leaving them to look for alternative spaces or schedule extra practices. Although club sports teams play competitively with other schools, varsity takes priority of these spaces, regardless of the club team’s schedule.
“It’s much more social, so you
can’t ask as much of them ... It’s fun and friendly and practices are only 1-2 times a week, based on turf availability.
RIT’s case at least — is the club advisor; they are mainly there to help direct and organize practices. “I advise but I don’t make decisions,” LeBlevec stated. Although RIT’s club field hockey team has won three State Championships within LeBlevec’s time here, it is unlikely that there will be a varsity team due to NCAA regulations. However, some students seem to prefer club sports due to the flexibility of practices and the social, yet competitive aspect. For example, according to LeBlevec, some students even come from the ice hockey teams as a way to stay engaged in the sport during the off-season.
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“E-board has done a really good job about scheduling extra practices, so we’ve been able to make things work. [But] it’s hard to get a successful program when there’s limited turf time,” LeBlevec said. Another difference between club and varsity is the fact that the team is predominantly run by an executive board. The coach — in
CrossFit RSG members partner up and begin the workout of the day (WOD) with rowing machines on Dec. 11, 2021.
CROSSFIT: WHERE IS IT? While some sports and athletic activities are offered as either a club, varsity team or wellness course, there are some that aren’t available at all. CrossFit, for example, is a popular style of high-intensity interval training workout that incorporates bodyweight movement through gymnastics, weightlifting and other various cardio exercises.
“There are many gyms who do very similar to what we do, they just can’t call it CrossFit because they don’t pay for the name.” Joshua Johnson, general manager of the Rochester Sports Garden, and Sarah Johnson, a CrossFit trainer, have helped train and teach CrossFit for the past five years. Although the Rochester Sports Garden has been around since 1955, “CrossFit” was only added a couple of years ago. Furthermore, the affiliation process consists of an application with an essay and an annual cost of $3,000 simply to use the name. Therefore, in order for colleges to offer CrossFit as a club or class, an annual affiliate fee would have to be paid; most likely one of the reasons RIT may not offer the program. Additionally, controversy about the safety of CrossFit could be another leading factor in the lack of CrossFit programs in colleges. “Some schools might not have it because of the bad rep,” Mosley said. “It’s associated with people doing stupid things like lifting heavy weights as quickly as possible.” Therefore, RIT, amongst other colleges, may be reluctant due to the substantial application process. Not mentioning the the expensive affiliate fee and the aforementioned safety concerns.
TRIATH-GONE. On the other hand, the Triathlon Club used to have a presence at RIT, but is now combined with the Running Club as the Running and Multisport Club; presumably combining two similar clubs for more members. Laura Beth Lincoln, an RIT alum and triathlete talked about the sport and why there may be a lack of interest amongst college students. “It’s a fairly new sport ... 2000 was its first appearance in the Olympics,” Lincoln began. “If you think about how old someone is when they see that, it may be past the entry age of the Olympic pipeline.”
Essentially, with triathlons’ recent addition to the Olympics, many college students may not have had the exposure to it at a young enough age to express a greater interest in it; though this has increased within the past couple of years.
RIT hockey club players pose after the playoff victory against Niagara University on Oct. 23, 2021. Furthermore, another difficulty with having a college team would be the availability to equipment, such as bicycles. “The biggest hurdle is the bicycle,” Lincoln said.
ABSENT ATHLETICS In addition to Crossfit and Triathlons, there are many other athletic activities that RIT doesn’t offer; popularly: football, squash, rifle/pistol, water polo and synchronized swimming. Along with club sports, they do not offer varsity level for activities such as gymnastics, golf, archery and rugby. The lack of some club sports may be due to lack of interest/participation or lack of resources and facilities, while some club sports might not meet the NCAA requirements. However, this isn’t to say that these sports will never be present on campus. In order to start a club team, students just need 10 members and a faculty member. Studentshave the power to start any team they would like. Regardless, representation of these sports would provide students another opportunity to socialize with people of similar interests and get involved in physical activity to help them relieve college stress.
CrossFit RSG athlete Stephanie Coco performs a clean and jerk as a part of the WOD on Dec. 11, 2021.
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VEGANISM:
What the Hell? by Marilyn Wolbert | Photography by Nithil Harris Manimaran and Grace Bukowski | design by Grace Bukowski
Photographs taken at Mockingbird Farm Animal Sanctuary in Byron, NY. Mockingbird aims to rescue and provide a safe haven to factory farmed, neglected or abused animals. If you would like to learn more about the farm, visit www.mockingbirdfarmny.com.
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here is a stigma around the concept of a vegan lifestyle, most being misconceptions learned from others in order to continue to support the animal farming industry. If we were to attempt to look past these misconceptions, we could see an endless amount of positive correlations between being vegan and our health, environment and the lives of animals.
SAVE THE PLANET Interestingly enough, both the largest proponent of climate change and the least spoken about is animal agriculture. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), animal agriculture contributes to 18 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. This total is more than all modes of transportation combined. Animal agriculture is also responsible for 80-90 percent of U.S. water consumption. A prime example of this is the fact that just one pound of beef requires 2,500 gallons of water to produce, while one gallon of milk requires 1,000 gallons of water. Along with emissions and water consumption, animal agriculture takes up 59 percent of the Earth’s ice-free land and is the leading cause of global deforestation and habitat destruction. The overwhelming land use is due to both grazing (26 percent) and crops grown to feed livestock (33 percent). One of the most controversial crops aforementioned is soya, which most of the deforested Amazon Rainforest land goes to. A common misconception is that plantbased individuals consume the majority of soya being produced; however, 77 percent of all soya production is used for livestock feed, whereas a measly 7 percent is used solely for human consumption.
This overbearing land use causes huge impacts on the Earth’s biodiversity. At this point, 1-2 We cannot discuss veganism without also disacres of rainforest are cleared every second and cussing the argument that brings this issue to about 137 plant and animal species are lost every the forefront of the media: the cruelty associatday due to this destruction. ed with animal and factory farming. Claire Hamlett, a Freelance Writer and Staff Imani Stone, a fourth year Biomedical SciWriter for Surge, spoke about some other effects ences major at RIT, discussed the prospect of on biodiversity. cruelty. “Predators are persecuted because they might “I don’t think animal suffering is necessary prey on livestock,” she stated. “Wolves and for me to have a meal at dinner,” she said. “A coyotes and all sorts [of animals] are routinely lot of the suffering is very needless.” killed.” The biggest proprietor of this cruelty is the However, most of the biodiversity loss is difactory farming industry, which constitutes rectly related to habitat loss or the degradation most, if not all, of the animal products sold in of soil due to depletion. Some sources even say commercial grocery stores. that we are currently in one of the largest mass In these farms, animals are given very little extinctions in human history. space. Sows who are birthing are confined to Studies have also shown that we may very cages the size of their own bodies; when they well see fishless oceans by the year 2048. This give birth they are unable to turn around to is due to overfishing, the bycatching associated greet their babies, which are taken from them with it, as well as the pollution of our oceans due within weeks. primarily to detritus from the fishing industry. All of these processes contribute an unfathomable amount of waste as well. Morgan Apperson, a graduate student in Environmental Science at RIT, spoke on some of these statistics. “It’s estimated that an average of 10 billion land animals are slaughtered for food each year,” Apperson stated. “From that, in just the U.S., it is estimated that 1.2 to 1.3 trillion tons of waste are excreted annually.” This waste pollutes our fresh water sourcDairy cows are artificially inseminated on es, nearby communities and produces up to 20 a rolling basis. Just like humans, in order to times more waste than humans. This does not produce milk, the cow must be pregnant. Yes even begin to span the waste created from the — this means that as soon as a cow is able, it fishing industry as well. Studies have shown is rendered continuously pregnant until it can that for every one pound of fish caught, up to 5 no longer bear, at which point it is slaughtered pounds of unintended species are caught as bykill. Forty-six percent of the Pacific Garbage Patch is comprised solely of fishing nets and enough fishing line is thrown every day to wrap around the world 500 times — to give you an idea.
SAVE THE ANIMALS
“It’s estimated that an average of 10 billion land animals are slaughtered for food each year.”
Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the US.
77%
Soya Production
Agriculture is responsible for 80-90% of US water consumption.
1-2 acres of rainforest are cleared every second.
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for meat. When a female cow then gives birth, her calf is taken from her immediately and she is ‘plugged in’ to a machine that continuously pulls from her utters. “Is an animal’s entire life of suffering in these awful conditions, worth a snack?” she questioned. The conditions these animals are forced to live in for their entire lives is unspeakable; however, it’s not just factory farming at fault here. “We tend to think of [factory farming] as being the worst case for animal abuse in animal agriculture, but it’s not exclusive,” Hamlett stated. An example of this was when an organic dairy farm in the U.K. was exposed by the Animal Justice Project through hours of footage. In the footage, you can see workers beating calves with alkaline pipes, slapping and punching as well as insulting them. The calves were also held in small pens which were removed during public open houses to keep up appearances. “As soon as people leave, they put the pens back in place, and the calves are individually separated from each other and their mothers,” Hamlett said. These examples are just a small fragment of the insane happenings within the animal agriculture industry. For example, in most cases, animals are only stunned before being hung upside down by their legs in slaughterhouses, where their throats are cut. “Earthlings,” a documentary detailing the heavy role animals play in our lives, shows footage of cows and other livestock fully alive and sentient for minutes after their throats are cut, left to bleed out fully awake. Farm animals are also branded, tagged while birds are debeaked. During backups in slaughterhouses, pigs and other animals are shot by the farmer for ‘taking up needed space.’ “It seems like an endless list of abuses,” Hamlett said. “Docking their tails, dehorning cows, castration, all of those sorts of things.”
SAVE YOURSELF We talked about the environment, we talked about the animals ... but what about you? There is a ton of benefits from switching to a whole food plant-based diet, with a plethora of studies that compare this diet to one including meat and dairy. Some of these studies have shown that persons who have switched to a plant-based diet decrease their possibility of hypertension by 63 percent and hyperthyroidism by 10 percent. Studies have also shown a decrease in LDL cholesterol, total body mass index, decrease in heart disease and the possibility of death due to heart disease. Dr. Emily Riddle, assistant professor at SUNY Oneonta and a registered dietician, spoke about some of these improvements seen in her own clients. “Those health benefits are very real, so I would say most people would benefit in reality from moving more plant-based whole foods,” Riddle said. There have even been correlations between a decrease in cancer rates for those who follow a vegan diet. In fact, a whole food vegan diet has shown positive correlations in reducing the risk of all cancers by about 15 percent. Other diseases can be linked back to deforestation and our increased proximity to animals, tending to put ourselves in high risk situations constantly. “With increased deforestation, it leads to wild animals and humans interacting, which can lead to disease transmission,” Stone said. Not to mention, almost all of the documented pandemics have been zoonotic in nature, or relating to diseases passed between animals and humans. It makes you wonder where we would be now without this easily removable roadblock. A common misconception is the idea that vegans are fragile, weak and lack protein. According to the Academy of Nutrition and
We could see fishless oceans by 2048.
Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution 26 Wellness
2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef, 1,000 gallons for one gallon of milk
Dietetics, vegans and vegetarians usually exceed recommended protein intakes when their caloric intake is adequate. There are also numerous amounts of professional vegan athletes who disprove the ‘weak’ claims, with documentaries detailing the surprising differences between vegan athletes and those who consume animal products.
“I think we underestimate how much power our dollar has … our purchases [as consumers] dictate the type of future we are going to have.” It is also important to note that while some meat and dairy products may supply some nutritional benefits, there are very few in respect to the nutritional drawbacks of these products. Whereas plant-based diets have been proven to be healthy and nutritionally adequate for all stages of life.
SAVE THIS INFORMATION This information covers only a portion of the benefits of switching to a vegan lifestyle. This way of eating and choice of living is constantly misrepresented and under-researched by those who turn the thought of it away. The important takeaway is that switching to a plant-based diet is the single most important step you could take to individually improve the environment, the lives of animals as well as your own health. “I think we underestimate how much power our dollar has ... our purchases [as consumers] dictate the type of future we are going to have,” Apperson stated. This being said, it does not have to be a dichotomy. Taking small steps every day is better than doing nothing, and in fact, will lead you to make sustainable changes that could last a lifetime. In order to take a step towards improvement, start with cutting back but not cutting out. It will make the process much more enjoyable. “You really need to find ways to make sustainable changes, even if they’re small,” Riddle said.
]_({^]_({]_({^]_({]_({ by Karina Le illustration by Leah Chirico design by K. Kelly
The Art of Conversation R
elationships are built on communication. From our connections with our friends, family and even our classmates — communicating with someone can make a bond or break it. It can be anxiety inducing, it can be heart-throbbing but in the end, it is between you and that person. How do you talk to someone who is so fundamentally different from you — not just different in political views or in a generational gap? How can you begin to understand someone, and have that person understand you in turn? This is where the importance of effective communication comes in. The goal of effective communication is not to pull a ‘got ya’ on your weird uncle during a political debate at dinner, nor is it to manipulate someone into agreeing with you. For someone who truly struggles to communicate with their loved ones, this is for the people who want to bridge that gap.
THE FIRST STEP Sometimes, the hardest step to having a difficult conversation is the first one: actually starting the conversation. As people, we tend to avoid conflict for a variety of reasons. There are an abundance of ‘how-to’ articles on the internet that illustrate conversations as a step-by-step process. Obscure websites on the web will tell the reader to “listen up” or “choose the right time to talk,” but in real life, where inciting conflict can lead to severe consequences, running down a list of talking points is easier said than done. Communication is a skill that requires constant practice. A cornerstone of good communication is asking yourself essential questions. What is the goal of the conversation and what assumptions — if any — are being made? Setting out to completely flip a person’s opinion is unrealistic. If the conversation begins with a mindset that one side must be wrong and one side must be right, the conversation will begin to deteriorate. This is why knowing the purpose for a conversation is so important. Take the example of someone living in a family with different political views. Sometimes you, as the child, feel very strongly about
a topic while at the same time, your parents may feel as strongly, but not the same as you do. You are tasked to balance your beliefs with your family, and at times this can cause great duress. This highlights an important question in communication: what kind of relationship do you want to have?
TAKING TWO TO TANGO In the end, the most important part of communication is that it is not a one-way street. The famous quote “blood is thicker than water” is never quoted fully. The full quote, “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,” really means that the relationships and bonds you choose are so much stronger than that of obligation. “You are not responsible for your parents’ feelings,” Hala Shamsi, a social worker with WellNest, wrote. In the same way some conversations can be bogged down by an inability to see the other side, sometimes people take it upon themselves to be responsible for ‘correcting’ their loved ones when they believe they are in the wrong. A person can choose their relationships, but love is not an obligation if they do not love you back — or love you in the way you want and need to be loved. It goes back to the idea that,
“You are not responsible for your parents’ feelings.”
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“We live in a culture based on avoidance and blame, which makes it easier to blame others, or avoid conflict.” for as much hurt as a loved one may cause you, it is ultimately up to you in how you want to pursue that relationship. For people who want to continue to pursue their relationships, one vital technique is needed: active listening.
ACTIVE LISTENING One of the highest barriers to effective communication is a hyper-fixation on the individual experience. People can get stuck looking at a situation from one perspective, and one perspective only. This is only natural, since American culture tends to emphasize the individual experience. “We live in a culture based on avoidance and blame, which makes it easier to blame others, or avoid conflict,” Elaine Montilla, a speaker and writer on culture and accountability, wrote. Building meaningful connections with people requires people to reach out and understand how the other person feels. “Listening is an active process,” Ohlin wrote. If you have diametrically opposed values to a person, it can be extremely difficult to listen to them without immediately preparing the next argument. The practice of ‘fishing for responses’ gets in the way of a meaningful interaction, since both sides of the conversation are too busy looking for an opportunity to interrupt to actually engage with what the other person is saying. It is paradoxical in the way to reach out to others, you constantly have to ask yourself why you want to reach out. What do you want to fulfill by communicating with a person, or by doing the opposite and refusing to engage? It is a journey that is so individualistic that even
when someone writes an entire piece about communication, there is no answer to be found. The most important thing is to keep an end goal in your communication. Why do you want to establish boundaries with this person? Why are these boundaries important? What is at risk if those boundaries are broken?
healthy
GOALS IN COMMUNICATION “A goal properly set is halfway reached,” Leon Ho, the CEO of Lifehack, wrote. Oftentimes, conflict is ignited during serious conversations because there is a lack of clarity to what the person wants to be done. Conversations themselves are often reactionary and are very rarely planned as it has been encouraged through this piece. However, there are results in putting these techniques to practice. A 2014 study with the International Journal of Listening reported the effectiveness of active listening between strangers. They found that participants who received active listening from their conversation partner reported feeling more understood than those who had more superficial conversation. More research indicates the human need to feel connected is a fundamental part of our nature as a social species. This extends to how we evolved as a species in order to communicate with each other — to express not just our needs and wants, but our wishes and our feelings to each other as well. In a world with almost 8 billion lives, it is vital to keep communicating.
uh oh...
unhealthy
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W . O. T . S .
compiled by Erin Brache photography by JamieLynn Gallagher design by Gabriella Licona
WORD ON THE STREET What was your worst breakup and why? “I found out that she was a psychopath who was in love with someone else and had a shrine of him in his closet. Like keeping pencils that he touched, pictures of him, she was very open about it. She showed other people.”
Anonymous
“It just didn’t work out due to long distance. I’m not into astrology but people that are into astrology, they’re doing this whole, like, “Sagittarius season.” We’ve had no contact for three years and then he hit me up. I’m like, ‘I’m not your rebound.”
Amber Snyder third year Marketing major
“She kind of just stopped talking to me.”
Colin Kirk first year Packaging Science major
“She was lying about her sexual history for nine months ... limitations of friends which eventually led to family ... she didn’t know how to fill her own gas ... she was deathly afraid of bathtubs ... she was afraid of highways ... at the end of the relationship she went a little bit crazy and visited my house while my parents were there.” Opinions expressed are solely of
Anonymous
the students and do not reflect the views of REPORTER. Views 29
RINGS
complied by Patrick McCullough illustration by Kaiya Moultrie design by Amanda Macey
RIT’s only digital confessional | Text or call (585) 672-4840
“Don’t buy drugs off Amazon.” Thursday, November 18, 2021, 9:53pm
“I aspire to one day have the same level of boldness as the person who advertised their AO3 that solely contains a fanfic of Disney’s Onward.” Monday, November 8, 2021, 8:59pm
“If life’s a party then I’m the piñata .” Saturday, November 6, 2021, 7:25am
“Thank god alcoholism runs in my family and not gingivitis.” Monday, November 15, 2021, 5:33pm
“What’s a type of bagel and also what you deser ve? Everything.” Monday, November 8, 2021, 10:01pm
DISCLAIMER: All calls and texts may be subject to editing and truncation. Statements do not reflect the view of REPORTER. 30 Views
National day on writing winner
Poetry
by Carter Nesbitt | illustration & design by Sneha Yalgi
Green Boots By Carter Nesbitt
I am amid the frozen souls the calm inhabitants of the ice, like an ancient fossil preserved in coal I have lost my way seeking paradise. I fear I will be forgotten, thoughts begin to deallocate from my mind as the storm I was caught in buries me, beneath this earth I am intertwined. With my belongings I am left behind, a crystalline structure stamped on my skin as the frost begins to creep within. I hope my tragedy encourages vacationers to tread lightly ahead the limestone alcove. I will be used as a landmark for generations just past the peak from Balcony Station I rest on the wall between two nations.
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