February 2016 by Reporter Magazine

REPORTER FEBRUARY 2016 reporter.rit.edu

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REPORTER

EDITOR’S NOTE

EDITOR IN CHIEF Alyssa Jackson PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Mandi Moon ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Alex Jones COPY EDITOR Grace Guadagnino NEWS EDITOR Taylor Derrisaw TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Natasha Amadasun LEISURE EDITOR Claire Fleming FEATURES EDITOR Bryanne McDonough SPORTS EDITOR Liz Peterson VIEWS EDITOR Jake Krajewski WRITERS Taylor Derrisaw,

Recently it was made known to the campus that decisions had been made at the administrative level to arm a portion of RIT’s Public Safety on campus in anticipation of a possible dangerous situation. It has been made known that these long guns would not be used in any situation other than one in which there is an armed intruder on campus attempting to harm students and faculty. I’m not going to comment on whether or not I agree with the decision to arm Public Safety and train them in the use of guns because, ultimately, I don’t know that having guns on campus will make RIT’s campus any safer or more dangerous. Situations vary depending on a variety of circumstances and there’s no real way to know if this is the right measure for RIT. We can only trust the administrators and people in charge that they are making a good decision. What upsets me, and I believe many students, was the lack of student opinion involved in the decision process. In a Student Government meeting last semester, President Destler said that no student opinion or students themselves were involved in discussions concerning the decision until after the decision had already been made. When it was asked if students would be involved going forward, he admitted that he hadn’t initially thought of that. While there are going to be efforts to include students on campus now, I have to say the same thing Chris Denninger, director of Public Safety, said in my interview with him (pg. 8): Is there value added at this point? Most of the decisions regarding the policy have already been made, and any further decisions will be based on what is already being practiced in police departments and other college campuses. It seems to me as though RIT is allowing students to be involved now as a last ditch attempt to placate us for being upset that our opinions weren’t considered in the first place. The decision process was hidden from the people who would be most affected or concerned by this policy, the student body. In fact, several months ago I heard rumors of this new decision and asked Chris Denninger about it. He completely denied any such decision being made, but in his interview said that talks of this started well over a year ago. This is not the first example of RIT blatantly disregarding or ignoring student opinion or keeping a majority of the campus in the dark regarding large decisions affecting everyone. The no-smoking policy was effectively decided on until students became upset that they had not been considered. The entire policy had to be redone because of it. The average student pays an arm and a leg to attend this university, and we do so because we love the opportunities that are afforded to us here. RIT should be making more of an effort to include students in decisions that will affect them and generations after them.

Claire Fleming, Alyssa Jackson, Mandi Moon, Bryanne McDonough, Kristen Grant, Nicholaus James Jodlowski, Bailey Gribben

ART ART DIRECTOR Dennae Makel ONLINE ART DIRECTOR Max Yeager CONTRIBUTING DESIGNERS Annie Wong, Caleb Payne, Olivia Konys, Emma Fleming, Lauren Mays, Andrea Carvalho, Jane Rosenthal CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Alyssa Minko, Ryan Kovar, Caleb Payne, Kaitlyn Fitzgerald, Kelsey Skutnick, Max Yeager, Unique Fair, Emily Diehl

PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO EDITOR Kristen McNicholas CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Justin Barrett, Kristen McNicholas, Amiee Jackson

BUSINESS BUSINESS MANAGER Jaclyn Bergin AD / PR MANAGER Danielle Sanderson PRODUCTION MANAGER Ryan Walsh ONLINE SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR Nathan J. Lichtenstein WEB MANAGER Joe Jankowiak VIDEO EDITOR Sara Caruso

ADVISOR Rudy Pugliese PRINTING EPi Printing CONTACT 585.475.2212

Alyssa Jackson Editor in Chief Letters to the Editor should be sent to rpteic@rit.edu. No letters will be printed unless signed. All letters received become the property of REPORTER.

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. “Reporter in a nutshell: never quite right.” -A.J. The opinions expressed in Reporter do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. Reporter is not responsible for materials presented in advertising areas. Reporter takes pride in its membership in the Associated Collegiate Press and American Civil Liberties Union. Copyright © 2014 Reporter Magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of this Magazine may be reproduced without prior written permission.

February 3

TABLE OF cover and TOC illustration by Max Yeager

TECH

NEWS 7

SISTER II SISTER SUMMIT A sneak peak at the event set for February 27

DEAR ONLINE DATING, WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER

LEISURE 10

Tinder is either destroying or helping modern romance

@reportermag 4 February

Q&A WITH RIT PUBLIC SAFETY Public safety’s answers to your questions

VALENTINE’S DAY DESTINATIONS Quick ideas for a foolproof Valentine’s Day in Rochester

AYL Create the perfect love letter

CONTENTS F E AT U R E S 16

PHILANTHRO-CAPITALISM When business and charity mix

GENDER INCLUSIVE RIT An exploration of how the gender spectrum is respected at RIT

PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE The arguments for and against physician-assisted suicide

SPORTS 24

HOMETOWN HERO: ABBY WAMBACH A look at the career of one of Rochesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most famous residents

FANFICTION: A LEGAL BATTLE OF CREATIVITY Fanfiction raises several issues with copyright law

WORD ON THE STREET Which two fictional characters would make the cutest couple?

RINGS Text or Call (585) 672-4840

February 5

the cure for awkward silence 585.672.4840

SISTER II SISTER SUMMIT INSPIRING THE BEST MINDS AT RIT by Taylor Derrisaw | illustration by Kelsey Skutnick | design by Annie Wong

mpowerment, professionalism and confidence are all qualities we hope to possess. There are multiple organizations and people who aim to guide individuals on their path to success. Many of these organizations will come together to provide empowerment to women of all ages in an event taking place later this month. On Feb. 27, the Determined Individuals Victoriously Achieving Success (DIVAS) will be hosting the Sister II Sister Summit in conjunction with other organizations. Candice Baldwin, the Sister II Sister program coordinator, hopes that the summit will provide meaningful information in a safe and understanding environment that is relevant to women of all ages. “I thought it was a great thing that could resonate with the college students here as well as high school students [and] the community,” Baldwin said. The summit will feature a litany of workshops to provide practical experience to women at RIT, as well as a luncheon and Q&A session with Kemba Smith. Smith is a domestic abuse survivor who was arrested for the

intent to distribute cocaine in April of 1995. After spending over six years in prison, she was pardoned by President Bill Clinton. Her college boyfriend was heavily abusive and a cocaine ring leader. Smith’s story is incredibly important, and she now spends her time reaching out to other women to encourage them to avoid negative choices. She also acts as an advocate for women in the criminal justice system. She has received numerous awards, has recently written her memoir called “Poster Child” and will soon have a movie made based on her life. Aside from the luncheon with Smith, DIVAS will be hosting a variety of workshops aimed at improving the mind, body and spirit of the women in attendance. Some of these workshops include financial literacy, confidence and professionalism. Baldwin is currently working to include a workshop on civil engagement and voter registration, which will attempt to disambiguate the voting process. A combination of RIT staff and outside coordinators will be leading the workshops, including representatives from New York Life, a local insurance agency. Workshops on professionalism and confidence will also be led by women who run their own organizations. DIVAS focuses heavily on women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) majors, as women are often the minority in those fields.

“We’re really working to support women in STEM because they find that they’re one of the few women in their particular major,” Baldwin said. “DIVAS gives them the opportunity to join with other women in the same sort of majors to build trust and to build their own skills.” Baldwin hopes that in the future the conference can be lengthened to a full day with the inclusion of more workshops. Students can sign up for either the luncheon or the entire conference through a provided registration link in the next few weeks. With more sponsorships coming in, Baldwin hopes that the event will be free. “It’s a really great time to develop and get to learn yourself as well as network with other people,” Baldwin said. By bringing together a variety of people and organizations, DIVAS will bring empowerment and inspiration to women at RIT, where they can take this knowledge and use it to help them continue to achieve success in their own lives.

“DIVAS gives them the opportunity to join with other women in the same sort of majors to build trust and to build their own skills.” - Candice Baldwin News 7

DEAR ONLINE DATING, WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER...LIKE EVER by Nicholaus James Jodlowski illustration by Kaitlyn Fitzgerald design by Emma Fleming

8 Technology

ove has no boundaries, nor can it be defined as one thing. It was never something that was supposed to be tangible; it is a feeling that has been felt for centuries. Now, all love requires is a right swipe or a click of a button, almost as if there is no meaning left to it. When online dating came into fashion, love started disappearing into the depths of darkness as people began desperately craving affection through a screen of potential mates they have never met. In reality, love can be found anywhere, regardless of whether it is virtual or in person; it all depends on what you believe love is. According to Pew Research Center, 29 percent of people in 2005 thought online dating was a desperate way to find love, but by 2013, only 21 percent thought that same thing. As the years go by, more people subscribe to the idea that love can be found online. Online dating has become more popular in the past few years, due to dating apps such as Tinder and OkCupid, but the question still stands: Can true love be found online? “Love is a warm feeling, an attachment, enthusiasm, devotion, or passion for something or

someone,” said Danica Zielinski, a second year Masters of Secondary and Special Education student. “It’s those little butterflies you get when a person you care about does something nice, or you just did something you love and you have that warm and fuzzy feeling that lingers long after that. It’s seeing your pets run to greet you at the end of a long day and the feeling of warm laundry. It’s making people you care about smile and it’s them cheering you up and being there for you when you need it the most.” Seeing that love is based off feelings and attachment, it seems rather foolish that we as humans would get attached to a person we never met, but that is a key component of online dating. “I think there are pros and cons to technology with love in mind,” said Zielinski “On the one hand, you get to find people you would never meet in your normal day to day life, but also, with some apps, they focus so much on their pictures and how they look with the idea of swiping to the right if you like them. It kills the idea of ‘It matters more on the inside than the outside.’” When it comes to creating a dating app, it all goes back to one key thing that we all look for in a significant other, whether we would like to admit it or not: attraction. Apps such as Tinder are focused on viewing images of another person. The way the app is set up is sort of like a phone game itself. You swipe right on someone you like and swipe left on someone you don’t like. The more you swipe, the more addictive it gets — which makes you wonder: are they treating love as a game rather than as something we all are searching for? Love has always been complex in terms of how it changes throughout the years. In recent years, slang words or phrases such as “bae” and “Netflix and chill” have been thrown into the equation,

The more you swipe, the more addictive it gets. polluting the sweet aspect of love and making it more sexual in nature. “If I invite someone over to watch Netflix, chances are, I’m in my sweatpants and baking cookies,” Zielinski said. “When I invite people over, I expect to watch a movie with them. Now, [with] the whole idea of ‘Netflix and chill,’ people assume that it means something sexual, when in my world it’s the opposite.” How can someone claim that love cannot be found through online dating? Online dating is relatively new in the era of love, but in this world of technology, love was bound to be found in cyberspace, regardless of peoples’ beliefs. Even celebrities such as Hilary Duff, who admitted to using Tinder in her “Sparks” music video, have dabbled a bit in the online dating world, showing that it may not be such a strange way to find love after all. “Love is all different kinds of forms. I have a different love for my family than I do for my friends. There are different kinds of love: family, friends, pets, passion, interests and even yourself. All of these cannot be loved in the same ways,” Zielinski said. Just as there are different varieties of love, there must be different ways to find love. Now, is finding love virtually a bad thing? Not really, because as the world changes with technology, Romeo calls down Juliet from her tower by swiping right and matching with her. Online dating isn’t the ideal or perfect way to find love to many, but to others, it allows them to meet amazing people they would never have met before. Take it from me, a former believer that online dating is never a logical way to find love, who has now been shown that online dating can let you meet some pretty cool people. Love has no boundaries, even in the online world; because in the end, we all are potential Taylor Swift songs.

Technology 9

FEBRUARY

2016

WRITTEN BY

ALYSSA JACKSON by Alyssa Jackson

illlustration by Alyssa Minko design by Olivia Konys

WITH

Q& A

ILLUSTRATED BY A REPORTER INTERVIEW ALYSSA MINKO ON BEHALF OF THE RIT STUDENT BODY.

RIT PUBLIC SAFETY

Reporter broke a story regarding the availability of long guns to a select few of the Public Safety officers in the case of an active shooter or deadly threat on campus. Although President Bill Destler sent out an official statement concerning the change, many RIT students still had questions. Reporter sat down with RITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Director of Public Safety, Chris Denninger, and asked him questions submitted by our readers on Reddit.

IN DECEMBER,

10 Leisure

generally explain what the new policy will entail?

CHRIS DENNINGER: Yeah, you know, that word “policy,” it’s not really a policy. I mean, I don’t think you’re going to see this operational change in any RIT policies. Departmentally is where the policy changes are going to be, with Public Safety. We’ll have policies and procedures outlining what the expectations are of these specially trained officers, and that won’t happen until the new manager is hired. This new manager will have a skills set that our current team doesn’t have at the policy level in law enforcement, where this type of training and skills sets are a part of what they do. We need to tap into that. So, I can’t really share what the policies will look like. I will later. I think once we get the new manager on staff, we will be as transparent as you (Reporter) and/or Student Government (SG) would like. We’ll share information every step along the way. We think that’s the right thing to do because of current feedback.

R: Can you give me a rough timeline of when this discussion started among administrators before it was finally decided upon?

CD: I’ll go back 12 months. I’ll say 12 months ago for research and discussions, options were looked at, both internally and externally. We have an internal group here within our department which consisted of me and my manager, John Zink. He’s the Associate Vice President (AVP) for Global Risk Management. We looked at several options, some of which included “Okay, do we want a police presence on campus? Do we think it’s important to have our officers be police officers and armed? Is it important to continue as is, as civilian employees, without

“

being armed? Or civilian employees or staff being armed?” This last option seemed to be a reasonable approach for augmenting safety and security on campus. You have to remember this is really one of the last puzzle pieces that needed to be looked at and implemented. We have the RIT alert system for communication, we have the Student Behavioral Consultation team — which really looks at students in need to make sure they’re successful — and we have our training, campus-wide training on early intervention, which is required for all faculty and staff. All those puzzle pieces have been in place since Virginia Tech. This one just seemed to make sense and fit within those other capabilities that I mentioned.

R: Now, you mentioned a committee within the department? Other than Public Safety, what other facets of the institution were involved in the committee or in the decision process?

CD: It was an internal committee within the department. I can’t speak for outside of our department. I knew there were other discussions with the administration. I know legal affairs was also a part of our team because legal affairs has work to do relative to what civilians can carry on a college campus. There are laws out there, so if you’ve ever read the Safe Act, which I’m sure you have in New York state, there are certain restrictions in terms of what civilians can use, in terms of what type of firearm. And then externally we worked with local law enforcement, just to run certain ideas, options and concepts by them as well. We can’t just work independently without having all of those partners involved.

R: I know that at the SG meeting concerning

beforehand for security measures. Will there be an effort to involve students on these committees as policies are made now?

CD: Yeah, that will start actually with, from what I’m told and I’m hoping it’s true, having students involved as early on as selecting the new manager. Now, I don’t know from an operational standpoint if there’s value added at this point because we don’t have that new manager on board yet. So, just the internal workings of policy development and procedure development, a lot of policies are already a part of police departments, operations. We’re going to mirror the best practices related to responding to an active shooter. A lot of the training and practices are already in place. I don’t think that’s really going to need faculty, staff and student involvement in the policy development. Where the rubber hits the road is communicating changes for our community without giving away the story on all the nitty gritty.

R: A lot of confusion revolves around what Public Safety officers have now to help in a dangerous situation. I know you can’t carry tasers per New York state law, but do you have other means?

CD: Pepper spray, training, communication skills and handcuffs are all the tools that we have now.

R: Along with the guns, will there be nonlethal rounds that you will have?

CD: No.

KEEP READING

this, it was mentioned that students weren’t necessarily involved in the process

I THINK THAT HELP S COMMUNIT Y MEMBERS KNOWING THAT

An officer is now at a situation where someone’s intoxicated,

An officer is handling a simple noise complaint,

FIREARMS AREN’T GOING TO BE THERE.

“

REPORTER: To start off, can you just

Leisure 11

Q &A (CONTINUED)

WITH

RIT PUBLIC SAFETY

R: So, only bullets? No rubber bullets or anything like that?

CD: That’s correct, yeah. The new manager will have more expertise as to why that is. If I gave you my opinion now, it would really be an uninformed opinion.

R: Are there other non-lethal things that

force or a situation that involves a deadly weapon. So the non-deadly tools or methods that we just talked about, like rubber bullets, when there’s a situation involving deadly force, it would be hard to justify why a non-deadly option was utilized to neutralize a situation where deadly force is being used, right?

may be brought in in the future?

R: One of the things that a lot of students

CD: Remember, this objective is really

are concerned about is when exactly these guns will be used. Something that keeps getting brought up is the Colony 2004 incident, in which a large party was thrown and Monroe County

providing an armed response to contain an active shooter situation or a situation that entails deadly

Sheriffs arrived in riot gear to stop the party. Obviously Public Safety wasn’t involved, but students are wondering if incidents like that warrant an armed response.

CD: No. The window is very tight and very small for when a firearm would be deployed. So, God forbid, if a situation like that were to happen during the assessment, the original, initial assessment, there will be key factors and questions and information that we’re going to be looking for. When something this devastating happens, the phone call volume is huge. We have to pull apart what’s happening, who’s involved, what type of force is being used. As that’s assessed, that window is going to be very small. I’ve heard those questions as well, regarding, will they be deployed for non-emergencies? Absolutely not. The window is very, very small.

R: Along those lines, what will meet the criteria that will warrant the use of a gun?

WHAT WE RE ALLY

(

LOOK FOR IS THAT

THIRD PA RT Y, OBJECTIVE WITNESS, WHO DIDN’T KNOW

)

THE OFFICER OR THE PERSON,

-CHRIS DENNINGER ON ‘THE PROCESS IF AN OFFICER ABUSES THEIR POWER IN ANY FACET’

12 Leisure

CD: I just mentioned it. Deadly physical force will have to be reported and verified, where a deadly weapon is being used against others.

R: Say, hypothetically, someone wanders onto campus and they have a gun but they haven’t used it. Would firearms be used against him?

CD: That’s difficult to answer. Hypotheticals will be used in training, so we’re not there yet. We will get that type of training at the Public Safety training center, and that’s where hypotheticals are turned into practical training. That type of training is “Okay, here’s the situation. This is the corporate response, this is what New York says you can do as civilian staff at RIT relative to a response.” There are probably an unlimited number of hypotheticals that we could probably talk about all day. I’d rather not, at this point. I’d rather have the hiring done, the training done, the weapons purchased, policy developed, procedures developed. I think that’s a very fair question, I’m just not there yet relative to be able to provide all the answers.

R: Only a select number of officers will have access to these guns, but will all officers be trained, just in case a situation arises?

CD: Yes, here’s why: let’s say there’s a situation where the gun is separated from the officer for whatever reason. In order to safely handle that firearm, officers would have to be trained in the safe handling. And I mean safe handling, I don’t mean pick it up and start using it. I mean safe handling for proper storage.

R: What percentage of officers will be trained, and how many guns per trained officer will there be?

CD: I’ll say a third of the staff will be trained. We need two officers per shift around the clock, 24/7, 365 days. So that roughly entails that a third of the department, once we have our new staff hired. The nice thing about this new addition, we’re going to bolster our current staffing levels as well.

R: You’ve mentioned you will be hiring a specialist. What kind of qualifications are you looking for in that person?

CD: We’re looking for a person who has policy level experience in law enforcement. Policy level means they were a decision maker in their prior employer. If they were a lieutenant, maybe a lieutenant or higher, that was in a decision making role, that would be great. Also, someone who has experience in specialized emergency response team training. We need someone

that has experience developing a team, controlling the team, training team members. We need that skills set here on campus. I’d like [this person] to be brought on this fiscal year, but we haven’t cemented our search committee yet. So, once we know who the search committee members will be, then we can move forward. R: Do you have hopes of implementing the new person and all of the changes by next school year?

CD: That’s the goal. I mean it’s an aggressive goal, but I think it’s important to have that goal. To have a stake in the ground for when fall semester starts. But, I can only keep people apprised as time moves on.

R: Will you have, in the training, anything focusing on the diversity of the campus?

CD: Yeah, we get that training now through the diversity office and Center for Professional Development (CPD), but I know how important that is for our community, largely because of what’s happened in the United States over the last several years with firearms and police departments. The answer is yes, but I think what’s really, really important [is that] firearms are not going to be used in the day to day operations of the department. You’re not going to see sidearms. That’s important because a sidearm is not going to every possible situation on campus. Secondly, we talked about the window being tight in terms of when a long gun would be deployed. I think that helps with community members knowing that “An officer is now at a situation where someone’s intoxicated,” or “an officer is handling a simple noise complaint,” firearms aren’t going to be there. No matter what the gender or nationality or look the person is, that concern shouldn’t be there. I know it will be initially, but I think once you get the word out in this article and as we move forward with this initiative, I’m hoping to dispel all those fears.

R: In general, is there a process for an officer if they abuse their power in any type of facet?

CD: We have services within the organization. One’s inspectional services, and the other manager handles complaints, also known as professional standards. We have a professional standards manager, depending on the nature of the complaint, who will issue an investigation. Either that officer’s shift supervisor or one of our investigators will investigate the complaint. Once that complaint is done, that manager makes a recommendation to me. “Chris,

here is the information that supported the complaint, here is the information that refuted the complaint.” They’ll weigh that up and they’ll make a recommendation to me as to whether the complaint is sustained, exonerated or not sustained. Not sustained means we have information that both supports and refutes the complaint and at this point it’s impossible to tell whether we can sustain it. But we have a lot of tools. Technology is out there, there are witnesses. What we really look for is that third party, objective witness, who didn’t know the officer or the person, who happened to be a bystander in that situation in which the complaint generated from, who can really provide “Here’s what I heard,” or “Here’s what I saw.” That third party, independent witness is important. Let’s say a complaint is sustained, so an officer went beyond the expectations of the job. RIT has a progressive discipline process. If the complaint was sustained, we would go to [Human Resources (HR)] and say “This happened, it’s been sustained, here’s what I’m going to do as the director of Public Safety. What are your thoughts? How does this fit with RIT’s framework for discipline?” Then we move ahead and provide that remedial response. It isn’t just discipline, if someone made a mistake and they had the training, we’ll remediate and retrain that person. That’s just not for our officers, that’s why RIT has standards. That’s applicable to any staff member at RIT.

R: Let’s say someone saw a situation or was a part of a situation that they weren’t very comfortable with and they don’t feel comfortable coming to Public Safety. Are there other offices?

CD: Absolutely. There’s the HR office, the Ombuds office, there’s an ethics hotline. I know it’s a third party that monitors the ethics hotline. If it’s a supervisory matter, I know that that particular complaint will be assigned to that department head, if it’s a supervisory or operational matter. If it is an ethics issue, I know HR will investigate. I also know Dr. Destler would like to know firsthand if there are complaints against my staff; he’s openly mentioned that.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION REGARDING THE UPCOMING CHANGES TO PUBLIC SAFETY, PLEASE VISIT THE FAQ COMPILED BY RIT UNIVERSITY NEWS. Leisure 13

VALENTINE’S DAY

DESTINATIONS

by Claire Fleming | photography by Kristen McNicholas | design by Lauren Mays

t’s that time of year again. Love is in the air, and in Rochester, so is the heavy snowfall. Feb. 14 is Valentine’s Day, and if you are looking to celebrate with your loved one, have no fear! Despite the belowfreezing temperatures in Rochester, there are still ways for you to take your favorite person out for a good time — even on a college student’s budget. Let’s face it, Valentine’s Day can be difficult for couples in college. On top of normal schoolwork, the pressure is on to wow your loved one with something special, whether it be a gift, dinner or fun activity. Luckily, Rochester houses plenty of Valentine’s Day destinations that will warm your heart even in the middle of February. Here are some ideas for Valentine’s Day dates if you are low on cash or if you just need some inspiration.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO: Rochester has many historic attractions, one of them being the Strong National Museum of Play. The Museum of Play is fun for all ages. Whether you are interested in reverting to childhood playtime, reliving your childhood or just love arcade games,

14 Leisure

the Museum of Play will have something that sparks your interest. With your student ID, admission is two-for-one, which is perfect for a day devoted to pairs. For two students, admission is $14. Once you are inside, you can explore a child-sized pirate ship, mail room and even a tiny Wegmans. On top of that you can purchase tickets to the butterfly room ($4 each) and spend quality time together surrounded by fragrant plants and over 800 butterflies. You can even put your partner to the true test of sportsmanship and challenge each other to arcade games in the upstairs part of the museum.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO EAT: There is no doubt that there are quite a few great places to eat in Rochester, but if you want a cozy Valentine’s Day date, Simply Crepes has you set for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Located on Schoen Place in Pittsford, Simply Crepes features both savory and sweet crepes, but their menu also includes fresh juice, coffee, salads and desserts. The crepes are of good size and easy to share, but also so good you could eat one as big as your head. The ambiance of the restaurant is perfect for a romantic evening. The whole

building is made of wood, which sets a homey mood. As you walk into the main dining area, it is lit up with many crystal chandeliers hanging from the elevated ceiling, and the fireplace lights and warms the room. The feeling of the whole place is intimate and perfect for a date.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO STAY CLOSE TO CAMPUS: Something that is really fun to do on campus that just takes some trust and hand-holding is ice skating at Ritter Arena. The arena is open for public skate in the evening on Saturday and the afternoon on Sunday. For $5 you can rent skates and spend as much time as you like on the ice together. After you cool down on the rink, a warm place to go on campus is Java Wally’s in Wallace Library. There are comfy couches, warm coffee and hot chocolate to sip as you warm yourselves up. You can spend as much or as little time just talking and spending quality time together. Whatever you do this Valentine’s Day, make it fun for both of you! Remember, even in the middle of winter, you can always warm each others’ hearts.

AYL Create the perfect love letter by Caleb Payne

To craft a custom love letter for that special someone, you’ll need 10-15 minutes, a pencil and a recipient of your affection – e.g. girlfriend, boyfriend, SO, ﬁancé, partner, bae, squeeze or just a crush. For each numbered space above, there is a corresponding question. Simply write in the word or words that match your answer.

What’s the ﬁrst letter of your recipient’s ﬁrst name?

A » Honey B » Tasty C » Pumpkin D » Sexy E » Sweet F » Love G » Princess H » Little I » Cutie

S » Angel T » Tiny U » Skinny V » Syrup W » Panda X » Cocoa Y » Monkey Z » Hot

What’s the last letter of your recipient’s last name?

A » Mufﬁn B » Cake C » Face D » Pie E » Love F » Pants G » Pot H » Bunny I » Bun

J » Sweaty K » Baby L » Ugly M » Hair N » Bouncy O » Loopy P » Sweetie Q » Chubby R » Sugar

J » Lips K » Butt L » Bunch M » Eyes N » Kitten O » Feet P » Hands Q » Rabbit R » Dog

S » Cheeks T » Angel U » Heart V » Sauce W » Boy X » Girl Y » Ears Z » Love

What kind of restaurant will you visit for your Valentine’s Day dinner?

Italian » Dozens of Mexican » Several Gracie’s » Zero

Burger Joint » Countless Indian » Hardly any Mediterranean » A few

What is your recipient’s eye color?

Hazel » Nights Brown » Days Red / Violet » Years

05 06

Ask a friend for an adjective and insert their response. What’s the last digit of your cell phone number?

1 » Dreams 4 » Face 7 » Cooking

Blue » Months Green » Moons Amber » Weeks

2 » Spirit 3 » Eyes 5 » Humor 6 » Strength 8 » Tumblr 9 » Portfolio 0 » Personality

What type of Pokémon energy has gotten you furthest in life?

Fire » Worked up Metal » Gassy Water » Moist Fairy » Weird inside Lightning » Excited Fighting » Crazy Psychic » Dizzy Dragon » Sweaty Grass » Sleepless Colorless » Nervous Darkness » Vaguely disconcerted

When were you born?

Before 1990 » Hear 1990 to 1993 » Feel 1994 » Experience

1995 » Stare into 1996 » Sing to After ‘96 » Tweet at

And how many hours of active labor did your poor mother endure while giving birth to you?

Less than 2 » Body 2 to 6 » Chest 6 to 10 » Buttocks

10 to 14 » Mouth 14 to 18 » Thighs More than 18 » Abs

Which “Friends” friend is the worst friend of them all?

Rachel » Love Monica » Happiness Phoebe » Joy

What is, in your recipient’s humble opinion, the best episode of “Star Wars” as of February 2016?

Ep. I » Hearts Ep. II » Head

12 13

Ep. III » Love Ep. VI » Pets Ep. IV » Future Ep. VII » Skin Ep. V » Children

Ask a friend for a verb (root form) and insert their response. Eminem’s on the phone; he wants a decision now :

Plain. » Strength Peanut? » Beauty

Joey » Sexy time Chandler » Netflix Ross » Knowledge

Plain! » Light

With which “Pulp Fiction” couple do you and your recipient most identify?

Mia & Marcellus » Suns Vincent & Jules » Stallions Yolanda & “Ringo” » Diamonds Vincent & Mia » Stars Butch & Fabienne » Pancakes Winston Wolf & Raquel » Rocketships Lance & Jody » Moons Jimmie & Bonnie » Sunsets Zed & Maynard & The Gimp » Samurai Brett & Tasty Burger » Volcanoes

Has your recipient been a bad, bad boy?

No » Completely

Yes » Forever

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PHILANTHROCAPITALISM WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT TO SAVE THE WORLD? by Mandi Moon | illustration by Ryan Kovar | design by Annie Wong

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“T

he man who dies rich, dies disgraced,” said Andrew Carnegie from atop his throne of steel mills and lean manufacturing. Many modern billionaires seem to take this philosophy to heart. On Dec. 1, 2015, Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Facebook, announced via an open letter to his newborn daughter that he would be selling 99 percent of his Facebook shares — which, according to the New Yorker, amounts to a net worth of about $45 billion — and using the proceeds to form a limited liability company (LLC) called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. This initiative, according to Zuckerberg, is about “advancing human potential and promoting equality.” The media has used the terms “philanthrocapitalism” and, less often, “venture capitalism” in order to describe undertakings such as this one that utilize this blending of business — since the initiative is indeed a business, not a nonprofit entity — and philanthropic purposes.

LLCs vs. Non-Profit Organizations Not all of us have attended business school, and therefore may not be entirely clear on what actually differentiates an LLC from a non-profit organization. Some of the differences get technical, complicated and can even vary in individual cases. In general, the basic differences have to do with the way the different organizations are funded, the ways they are or aren’t taxed, benefits that stakeholders and funders do or don’t receive, the permitted uses of profits, government regulation and documentation requirements. Non-profits are primarily funded by grants, which can be given by either the federal, state or local government, corporations, other non-profit organizations or wealthy individuals. They are tax-exempt and usually aim to make improvements in the world that we live in or provide essential services that may not necessarily result in monetary benefit to the financiers. Examples of such organizations range from the American Cancer Society to National

Public Radio. In addition, for-profit companies often have non-profit branches, such as McDonald Corporation’s Ronald McDonald House Charities. Although the nomenclature is misleading, non-profits can indeed make money; the difference lies in that they are not allowed to use that money in order to benefit private parties. They also must keep extensive documents on how their funding and profits are used and are frequently required to spend their profit (money they made that exceeded their expenses) within the confines of the same fiscal year. LLCs, unlike non-profits, are taxable and usually aim to make money for those involved. They are subject to far fewer formalities than both corporations and nonprofit organizations and are not required to use their funding or profits in any specified or regulated manner. It is perfectly within the rights of an LLC to benefit whomever the management would like with its profits, including private parties. “By using an LLC instead of a traditional foundation, we receive no tax benefit

They have complete discretion in deciding how to use their funds in order to “benefit humanity.”

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from transferring our shares to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, but we gain flexibility to execute our mission more effectively,” wrote Zuckerberg in his letter. By choosing to form an LLC rather than a non-profit organization, Zuckerberg has allowed himself far more freedom and discretion in the way he and his wife run the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and to what use they put their funds and the capital they might raise. They are not subject to the usual regulations of non-profits, but in turn they must pay taxes on any monetary returns they receive through the initiative.

in either the Oxford or Merriam-Webster Dictionaries. According to The Economist, three conditions have to be met in order for philanthrocapitalism to be successful as a movement: philanthropists need to become “social entrepreneurs” with something in which to invest; the creation of a philanthropic infrastructure, including some equivalent to the stock market; and philanthropic investors need to be able to

How is it that we have built a society in which the only forces who are able to do anything about issues such as poverty, hunger, illness, poor education and violence are those with billions of dollars to their name? John Cassidy of the New Yorker writes that the first part of Zuckerberg’s statement may be less than 100 percent truthful, however: “Whenever the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative issues grants to nonprofit organizations, it will almost certainly do so by donating some of its Facebook stock, and that will generate tax credits for Zuckerberg and Chan equal to the market value of the stock at that time.”

The Concept of Philanthrocapitalism This blending of business and philanthropy has come to be known as “philanthrocapitalism.” Defining this word is more complicated than it probably should be. Economists and business journalists have defined it as a way of going about philanthropy or charity “which mirrors the way that business is done in the for-profit capitalist world,” according to Philanthrocapitalism.net.” At time of writing, there is not a universally agreed-upon definition and the word does not yet appear

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quantify the impact their investment is having in order to maximize their “social return.” Although it is the most contemporary and possibly the most obvious example of philanthrocapitalism, Zuckerberg’s LLC is by no means the only examples of what happens when billionaires have philanthrocapitalistic tendencies. Bill and Melinda Gates, George Soros and Michael Bloomberg have also been given the label of “philanthrocapitalist”: the Gates for their distribution of vaccines and healthcare, Soros for his contributions to civil rights organizations and Bloomberg for his advocacy for gun law reform.

Societal Implications of Philanthrocapitalism Perhaps one of the distinguishing characteristics of philanthrocapitalists who use LLCs to further their ideals is that they have complete discretion in deciding how to use their funds in order to “benefit

humanity.” They are not accountable to any sort of government or regulation authority, or even a board of directors. There are some that claim this makes the very practice of philanthrocapitalism anti-Democratic; who are these billionaires sitting high above to decide which issues deserve their attention? “For the first time in modern history, it has become the conventional wisdom that private business — the most politically influential, undertaxed and underregulated sector among those groups that dispose of real power and wealth in the world, as well as the least democratically accountable — should be entrusted with the welfare and fate of the powerless and the hungry,” said journalist David Rieff in his Nation article titled “Philanthrocapitalism: A SelfLove Story.” That is not to say that charity work done by individuals is inherently evil; for a long time, the mega-rich have been benefactors of education and scientific advancement. Carnegie was deeply involved in building more than 3,000 public libraries and founded several charitable organizations. John D. Rockefeller helped develop vaccines for devastating diseases such as yellow fever and helped jumpstart the field of biomedical research. Zuckerberg himself has given millions of dollars to hospitals and public school systems. Because of this, there are those who view philanthrocapitalism as game-changing in a more positive light than Rieff. In discussing Zuckerberg’s new initiative, Felix Salmon of Fusion wrote in a blog post that “He doesn’t want to create something which just keeps on doing the same thing for hundreds of years. He wants to spend billions of dollars today (or at least within his lifetime) on something transformational, which could help transform the lives of billions of future inhabitants of the planet for the better.” The post was linked directly to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Facebook page. Salmon likens philanthropy to a risky business venture; yes, some efforts will fail, but some will be spectacularly successful.

“We are now living through the second golden age of American philanthropy. What Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were to the early twentieth century, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are to the early twenty-first century,” wrote Rob Reich of the Boston Review. He also stated that independent philanthrocapitalists, unlike governments and non-profit entities, are not subject to the opinions of the masses or governing boards, which allows them to pay more attention to issues that may not be as prominent in the public eye but are still important.

Internet.org: The Superrich and “Philanthropy” For an example of how philanthrocapitalism can backfire, let’s go back to Zuckerberg and his efforts to improve the planet: according to him, one of the most efficient ways to do this is to give everyone access to the internet. In Zuckerberg’s letter, he implies that access to the internet can help make up for a lack of education, health care, financial services and job search opportunities. He says that if we give internet to those who are currently unable to access it, we will be able to “lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.” In theory, this is all well and good. In practice, however, a trend of individuals deciding on how to dole out internet access may be a bit more sinister than it first appears, especially to those in favor of the preservation of net neutrality. According to Bloomberg Business, at the end of December 2015, Facebook — and by extension, Zuckerberg — experienced backlash when critics took issue with its efforts to provide free internet to India, known as Internet.org, because it only

allowed access to certain (read: Facebookapproved) websites. According to Facebook, the reason they only offered a few websites was so that participants would see the value in the internet and be able to experience all its benefits. However, Vindu Goel wrote in the New York Times that “contrary to its altruistic claims, the project is simply a way to get them onto Facebook and to sign up for paid plans from Reliance [the main internet provider in the area].” Although the Internet.org initiative is not directly connected to the Chan Zuckerberg initiative, it gives a glimpse into what happens when we put the power of societal advancement in the hands of the few, the powerful, the superrich. We need to ask ourselves whether we as a society are comfortable with letting the very few with access to riches and resources that we couldn’t even imagine who are accountable to no one but themselves — the philanthrocapitalists — deciding which parts of our lives are important enough to warrant development. However, there may be an even deeper issue: how is it that we have built a society

in which the only forces who are able to do anything about issues such as poverty, hunger, illness, poor education and violence are those with billions of dollars to their name? If our governments are powerless to stop the gross injustices that occur around the world today and an individual takes those issues on to his or her own shoulders, who are we to criticize them? This issue is by no means black and white, but somewhere in between. In order to ensure that we are doing all we can to benefit those who need it, we need to ask if we are willing to sacrifice some things along the way. We need to discover the best way to help without hurting.

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GENDER INC by Bryanne McDonough | illustration by Ayssa Minko | design by Jane Rosenthal

“To those who keep asking, I have no gender, no sexuality and no fucks to give,” tweeted musician Shamir Bailey. To many, the thought of life without gender is as foreign as the idea of life without a body: unthinkable or even impossible. But for some, like Bailey, it is just the reality of life. As awareness of genderneutrality becomes more common, RIT is working diligently on becoming a place where every person feels comfortable. There are many names and variations of gender-neutrality, including agender and non-binary gender. A gender-neutral person often chooses which pronoun they prefer, while some have no preference. Genderneutral pronouns range from they, them and their to xe, xem and xyr. Tyler Ford shared their unique selfdiscovery story with the Guardian. Raised as a girl, and then having transitioned to a man Ford realized that they did not feel at home with either gender. “On my first day off the hormones, I shaved just one of my legs. To me, this symbolized my confusion and made a statement about the current state of my gender-identity: in flux,” Ford shared. From dating to bathrooms to housing, life as a non-gendered person in a world made for binary genders can be incredibly frustrating. RIT is trying to make that world a little better, however, there are many obstacles to making this a reality. All of RIT’s upperclassmen housing options are gender-inclusive, meaning that people of any gender can share apartments or suites together. The struggle comes

with the residence halls, most of which have shared bathrooms. The second floor of Ellingson is currently the only genderinclusive floor in the residence halls. This is possible because of the suite style of Ellingson dorms; three dorm rooms share a bathroom with one toilet and one shower. The reason other residence halls cannot have gender-neutral floors is because of their shared bathrooms — a floor will have one female bathroom, one male bathroom and often, but not always, a unisex handicap bathroom. New York state has complicated laws that prevent these floors from becoming gender-inclusive. “RIT, like most universities, has been rapidly rolling out changes to policies and procedures in order to offer our students an environment that is comfortable and safe and to ensure that we are in compliance with the law,” said Carla DiLella, executive director of Housing Operations and Global Initiatives. RIT’s progress toward genderinclusiveness isn’t limited to housing, either. Communications sent from RIT either include no reference to name or gender or use the preferred name. Students can change their preferred name and gender at the Registrar’s Office and get a new student ID to match. University employees are now trained to avoid using a legal name if a preferred name is available. It may not seem like much, but it makes a big difference to those who experience gender dysphoria. RIT still faces challenges when it comes to becoming completely gender-inclusive; many of these issues come from existing

TO THOSE WHO KEEP ASKING, I HAVE NO GENDER, NO SEXUALITY AND NO FUCKS TO GIVE. 20 Features

STUDENTS CAN CHANGE THEIR PREFERRED NAME AND GENDER AT THE REGISTRAR’S OFFICE. infrastructure built in the ‘60s. For example, there are two locker rooms in the Student Life Center (SLC). A gender-neutral person would have to choose either the men’s or women’s restroom or change in a bathroom across the SLC in order to access the pool. According to DiLella, RIT has had genderinclusive housing for roughly 25 years in the on-campus apartments. The Ellingson option began only recently; there was only one interested person the first year genderinclusive housing was available to freshmen students in Ellingson. However, in the years since, interest has grown. RIT is one of only a few universities that offer gender-inclusive, or co-ed, housing options for freshmen. When students fill out their Housing contract, they can mark whether or not they are interested in gender-inclusive housing on a drop-down menu for specialized floors. They can then be matched with a roommate who has also chosen that option. DiLella pointed to RIT’s benchmark universities — schools that RIT compares itself to — as a way to measure how progressive RIT is compared to its peers. There are 21 schools on the list; only three

CLUSIVE RIT of these schools − Case Western Reserve University, Northeastern University and State University of New York at Buffalo – have clear information about the availability of gender-neutral housing for all students, including freshmen. Another nine of these mention availability of gender-neutral housing to upperclassmen, with varying degrees of effort required to obtain said housing. Pace University, for example, requires potential mixed-gendered roommates to fill out packets and attend meetings before they are granted an apartment, room or suite. This leaves nine benchmark schools that have very little information about the availability of gender-neutral rooms. This means that for non-gendered or transitioning individuals, they must reach out to different administrators, explaining their situation each time, until they can have alternate housing arranged. This process can often be degrading and time-consuming. Pre-arranged, gender-neutral housing eases this process and allows individuals to avoid uncomfortable questions about their private life. Comparing RIT to its peers reveals that RIT has competitive gender-neutral housing policies, and DiLella says that there are more gender-inclusive options to come. Ford expressed the difficulties of being a gender-neutral person to the Guardian: “Going out at night often requires swapping that yellow, vinyl skirt for black skinny jeans. I know what happens to people who look like me on public transport, or while walking home at night.” At RIT, however, non-gendered individuals can focus on their school work, comforted by the fact that the university is continuing to work on policies to become more genderinclusive. “There are still changes to come,” said DiLella. “Housing Operations follows the evolution of university policy changes.”

RIT HAS HAD GENDER-INCLUSIVE HOUSING FOR ROUGHLY 25 YEARS. Features 21

physician-assisted

suicide

“My question is: Who has the right to tell me that I don’t deserve this choice? That I deserve to suffer for weeks or months in tremendous amounts of physical and emotional pain?” Brittany Maynard questioned in a commentary for CNN.

O by Bryanne McDonough photography by Justin Barret illustration by Emily Diehl design by Olivia konys

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n Nov. 1, 2014, Maynard died surrounded by loved ones with her dignity intact. Diagnosed with brain cancer at 29-years-old, Maynard moved to Oregon — one of the few states that has legalized physician-assisted suicide — from California and became an advocate for the non-profit organization Compassion & Choices. Facing a short future fraught with morphine-resistant pain, personality changes and verbal, cognitive and/or motor loss, Maynard chose to end her life on her own terms with medication prescribed by a physician for that purpose. Physician-assisted suicide has only been legalized in five states: Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Montana and California. In each of these states (aside from Montana which approved it through the court system), physician-assisted suicide was legalized by legislative vote. California is the most recent of these states to legalize the heavily controversial practice. Already, there are those in the state fighting against the law, although the most recent petition to put it on the state’s ballot for a vote, led by California’s Catholic bishops, failed to gain enough signatures. There are many different reasons why a patient may consider assisted suicide. Oregon, which has allowed physicianassisted suicide since October of 1997, has had ample time to collect the data. In fact, Oregon’s public health department lists the top five reasons patients choose to end their lives early: loss of autonomy (91.5 percent), decreased ability to engage in enjoyable activities (88.7 percent), loss of dignity (79.3 percent), loss of bodily control (50.1 percent) and becoming a burden on others (40 percent). In order for a patient to be considered eligible for physician-assisted suicide, they must be mentally competent and have a terminal illness with a prognosis to live less

than six months. The exact laws vary from state to state. California, for example, requires that the patient meet with their physician privately, so as to avoid coercion by family members. Physician-assisted suicide may result in less of a financial burden on a terminal patient’s family, as well; a handful of pills can be significantly less expensive than six months of aggressive treatment. In addition, some health insurance policies in states where it is legalized will cover assisted suicide but not long-term end-of-life care. However, there is another side to this as well: opponents to the legalization of assisted suicide fear that this could become standard if the movement is successful, leading to a disproportionate amount of poor people having no choice but to ask doctors to help them end their lives. Another argument is that all life has value, and that doctors should not be allowed to facilitate the death of their patients. “I’m not going to push the old or the weak out of this world. I think that could be the unintended consequence of this legislation,” said California Senator Ted Gaines while the California Senate debate, in an article in The New York Times. According to Death with Dignity, an organization that advocates for physicianassisted suicide, half of the states in which assisted suicide is still illegal have pending legislation on the matter. A Gallop poll from last May revealed that 68 percent of Americans now support physician-assisted suicide, up 10 percentage points from 2014. Previous legislation has failed in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey, although by thin margins. Massachusetts shot down a Death with Dignity initiative on the November 2012 ballot by a majority of only 51 percent. New York is one of the many states considering legalizing assisted suicide. On Jan. 12, supporters and opponents gathered in Albany to argue their cases with lawmakers.

“She loved life,” said Clifton Park, New York resident Kate Connery, referring to her 29-year-old daughter who died of pancreatic and liver cancer, according to Canandaigua’s Daily Messenger. “But she said people should have the choice. She didn’t want people to have to go through what she was going through without a choice.” An attorney from Washington State, Margaret Dore, argued against the bill. “This is a recipe for elder abuse,” Dore stated, claiming that no amount of safeguards could make the bill safe enough. While the bill has supporters in both the New York Assembly and Senate, it has yet to be decided whether the bill will get a vote this year. Like any age-old political argument, the two sides are asking very different questions. On one hand, is it right to intentionally assist in taking a life? On the

other, is it justifiable to take away a choice that could end one’s suffering? As legislatures grapple with these questions, the ultimate answer rests in the hearts of the American people. In June 1997, the United States Supreme Court ruled that state laws banning assisted suicide did not violate the Constitution, but left the ultimate choice to the individual states. Maynard lived and died happily with her choice. “I will die upstairs in my bedroom with my husband, mother, stepfather and best friend by my side and pass peacefully. I can’t imagine trying to rob anyone else of that choice,” she wrote in her opinion piece for CNN.

“She didn’t want people to have to go through what she was going through without a choice.”

Top 5 reasons patients choose to end their lives early:

88.7%

DECREASED ABILITY TO ENGAGE IN ENJOYABLE ACTIVITIES

91.5%

LOSS OF AUTONOMY

79.3% LOSS OF DIGNITY

50.1%

LOSS OF BODILY CONTROL

Do you have an opinion on physicianassisted suicide? Write a letter to your local representative and keep an eye on the ballot box, or send us a Letter to the Editor at rpteic@rit.edu.

40%

BECOMING A BURDEN ON OTHERS

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HOMETOWN HERO

ABBY WAMBACH by Kristin Grant | illustration by Caleb Payne | design by Lauren Mays

solitary figure stands in an empty locker room, quietly packing away medals and trophies. Without turning to face the camera, she says two simple words in a confident, unemotional voice: “Forget me.” That solitary figure is none other than Abby Wambach — two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion and the lead international goal scorer in the world. As she continues to wrap up all the mementos from her illustrious career, Wambach explains that only when she is finally forgotten, “is the day we will succeed,” — for on that fateful day, women’s soccer will have soared above and beyond any preconceived heights. This scene is from a Gatorade commercial. Perhaps the script holds no truth and serves no purpose other than to sell a sweet

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sports drink; nevertheless, Wambach and her teammates have undeniably helped pave the way for a new generation of great female soccer players to dazzle us. Her journey started right here in Rochester, only a handful of miles away from our campus, in the suburb of Pittsford. The youngest of seven siblings, Wambach was full of energy from day one. “When I first met Abby, I was in college and working for the Wambach Farms Market,” said Wambach’s future coach Kathy Boughton. “She was three years old and an absolute terror!” After graduation, Boughton became the basketball and soccer coach at Our Lady of Mercy High School, where, as it would happen, Wambach’s older sisters were in attendance. That is when she first caught a glimpse of the player Abby would become. “When she was five or six, Abby would

come out during the halftimes of her sisters’ games and just rain shot after shot after shot,” said Boughton. “And I used to say to her mother, ‘Too bad I won’t be here when Abby goes through.’” But what was supposed to be Boughton’s temporary job after college turned into a successful 15-year career as the athletic director and coach at Mercy. “I really didn’t think I was going to stay that long,” explained Boughton, “But lo and behold, thank God I did. It’s very rare you get someone like her, and I am just so thankful that I got to be the one to coach her ... She was such a talented athlete. I’m telling you, she could have played Division I basketball as well. I remember telling a local reporter here, ‘She will be an Olympian.’” Wambach’s high school career was not always success piled on success. By her senior year her team had battled its way to

the New York State Soccer Championship, only to be defeated in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss against Massapequa High School. As the star member of the team, Wambach was crushed by the devastating loss. But instead of letting regret consume her, she made the cognizant choice to turn it around. “That day was a trigger that has helped Abby strive for other championships,” remarked Boughton. “She always goes back to that, and how much it hurt her. She never wants to feel that way again. The one thing that helps her succeed is to think of that defeat.” Along with the necessary technical skills, “Abby also had confidence and was really resilient,” said Head Coach Becky Burleigh of the Florida Gators. “She had great team skills, in her ability to lead ... Abby didn’t have to become ‘the one.’ But she did anyway.” Indeed, doing the unexpected was one of the hallmarks of Wambach’s college career. After being courted by soccer powerhouses such as University of North Carolina, University of Portland and University of Virginia, Wambach stunned everyone by choosing University of Florida. “We were a very young program at the time, only three years into it. No one expected her to go here, so that is probably why she went,” said Burleigh, laughing. That was simply what Wambach did: rise to challenges others would shrink from. But after making the National Team in 2001, it seemed like those challenges threatened to overwhelm her. “There were a lot of questions that she wasn’t fit enough, not committed enough, to be part of the National Team,” explained Burleigh. Then, in a sickening twist of déjà vu in her senior year, the Florida Gators made it all the way to the Final Four only to lose to Santa Clara in overtime. Once again, it was Wambach’s resilience that helped her overcome that defeat. From that moment onward, “Abby knew what her path would be, and she was obviously fully committed at that point,” said Burleigh.

Year after year, Wambach led the National Team to new heights — third place in the 2003 World Cup, a Gold Medal in 2004 Olympics, another third place finish in the 2007 World Cup, then second place in 2011, yet another Gold Medal in the 2012 Olympics and finally, at long last, first place at the 2015 World Cup. During that time Wambach accumulated 159 international goals — the most ever scored and in record time. Now her remarkable career, filled with its fair share of dramatic highs and lows, has ended. Last month, Wambach announced her retirement from the world of soccer. For some of us, a National Team without Abby Wambach is almost inconceivable. After 14 years on the squad, we have grown accustomed to her phenomenal headers, clutch goals and constant guidance on the field. But this is not the last we will see of Abby Wambach, assures Boughton. “Her body told her it was time to retire, but now she is traveling across the country, meeting with CEOs and corporations, fighting for gender equality when it comes to pay. She’s got a whole another life ahead of her” she said. And for that, Abby, we have two words for you: thank you.

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the students and do not reflect the views of Reporter

Fan Fiction: A Legal Battle of Creativity

by Bailey Gribben | illustration by Unique Fair | design by Emma Fleming Every major television, book and web comic series has a strong and devoted fanbase that eats, sleeps and breathes the series and the characters in it. However, many of these fans can run into legal troubles just because they want to channel their inner creativity to further connect to their beloved characters. Fanfiction includes stories created by fans which feature characters and themes from a popular literary and/or television series. Some of the most popular series for fanfiction authors include “Harry Potter,” “Twilight” and “Steven Universe.” Ever since the first published piece of fanfiction was featured in the late 1960s in a “Star Trek” fan magazine (“fanzine”) called “Spockanalia,” fans and the original series authors have debated its legality. Although fans feel that they have ideas for what their favorite characters should do and what new adventures they should go on, these fancreated stories should not be published and claimed to be original work. The fact is, these “new” stories are still ripping off the same copyrighted characters, settings and ideas and violate the original content’s copyright protection. As the amount of fanfiction being created grew larger, the demand from fans to more easily publish and access other fanfiction led to the creation of fanfiction websites. This made it easy for fans to present their works to each other and to read and review the works of other fans. Due to the popularity of fanfiction, the original content creators began to take note of the fact that their published works were being altered by others and published with the fan’s name on it rather than the content creator’s. The legality of fanfiction falls under copyright law and in the U.S. is classified as a “derivative work.” A derivative work is defined in copyright law as “an expressive creation that includes major copyrightprotected elements of an original, previously created first work. The derivative work becomes a second, separate work independent in form from the first.” Legally classifying fanfiction as a derivative work grants fans who write fanfiction the right to do so, as long as their work abides by the copyright laws of the original work and does not breach the doctrine of fair use (allows authors to use verbatim quotes from a work without the need for permission). The issue with this classification is that most fans writing fanfiction do not know how to follow the terms of a derivative work and end up getting sued by the content creators. Original content creators have always been divided on the idea of fanfiction. Some have even exercised their right as the content owner to sue fanfiction writers for

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Original content creators have always been divided on the idea of fanfiction

copyright infringement on the basis that the fanfiction does not follow fair use. A notable court case which made it up to the United States District Court was between a Swedish fanfiction writer whose work featured a 76-yearold version of Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger’s novel “The Catcher In The Rye.” The result of this case prevented the fanfiction from being published in the United States due to the fact that it is a direct parody of the original work. Another fanfiction court case, which had a completely opposite ruling, was between Suntrust and the Houghton Mifflin Company. It addressed the potential copyright infringement in Alice Randall’s “The Wind Done Gone,” which is a fanfiction based on the literary classic “Gone With the Wind.” The judge in this case ruled that Randall’s fanfiction did not breach any copyright laws; she found it to be a transformative piece because it “provided social benefit by shedding light on an earlier work, and in the process, creating a new one.” This case verified to both content creators as well as fanfiction writers that even reimagined work made by fans can have a substantial social benefit. Contrary to authors who go so far as to sue their fans for writing stories, some authors actually appreciate and encourage fans to recreate their work and even offer to “canonize,” or validate, the fans’ creations. One content creator who supports the fanfiction genre actually wrote fanfiction herself before she began creating her own original content. When she was 15, Rebecca Sugar, who later created the show “Steven Universe,” wrote “Invader Zim” fanfiction stories. Similar to Sugar, the author of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy, E.L. James, began writing the first book after seeing the “Twilight” movie and reading the novels. James got so absorbed into the “Twilight” series that she decided to write her own books to act as a sequel to the series, which eventually led to “Fifty Shades.” Another notable author who supports fanfiction is J.K. Rowling, who has said that she is “very flattered by the fact there is such great interest in her “Harry Potter” series and that people take the time to write their own stories.” However, she is also on the side of the authors who are hesitant to support fanfiction. She also said that her concern with fanfiction “would be to make sure that it remains a non-commercial activity to ensure fans are not exploited and it is not being published in the strict sense of traditional print publishing.” Many content creators are supportive of fans taking the time to express their love for the content and enjoy seeing how their fans are able to reimagine their work. There is still the legal side of copyrighted content that fans always need to keep in mind when creating new fanfictions. Fanfiction allows people to channel their inner creative mind and use their love for a series to create new connections to a creator’s content by making characters that reflect their own attributes. It needs to exist in order to maintain a creative and imaginative society that can work together and combine the ideas of others with their own, so long as they abide by the copyright protection laws or get permission from the original content creators to use their characters and/or stories.

WOTS WOTS photography by Amiee Jackson | design by Andrea Carvalho and Dennae Makel

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Fred Martins

Chris Mumpton

Becky Michalski

Extended student 3D Science

Fifth year Game Design

Third year Mechanical Engineering

“Finn and Princess Bubblegum (“Adventure Time”)”

“Kickass and Katniss (“Kickass” and “The Hunger Games”)”

“Either Percy Jackson and Anabeth Chase (“Percy Jackson”) or Lily Aldrin and Marshall Eriksen (“How I Met Your Mother”)”

Kim DeJohn

Victor Trejo

Srunaja Goteti

Fourth year Film & Animation

Second year Master’s student Computer Science

PHD student Sustainability

“Link and Midna (“Legend of Zelda”)”

“Han Solo and Princess Leia (“Star Wars”)”

“Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse (Disney classics)”

WHICH WHICH TWO TWO FICTIONAL FICTIONAL CHARACTERS CHARACTERS WOULD WOULD MAKE MAKE THE THE CUTEST CUTEST COUPLE? COUPLE? The opinions expressed are solely those of the students and do not reflect the views of Reporter

Saurabh Chatterjee

Austin Hayes

Ben Zenker

First year Grad student Computer Science

Third year Mechanical Engineering

Fourth year Motion Picture Science

“Any Disney princess and Barney Stinson (“How I Met Your Mother”)”

“Pocahontas (“Pocahontas”) and Shaggy (“Scooby Doo”)”

“Woody (“Toy Story”) and Rapunzel (“Tangled”)”

Stephen Pasek

Binit Shah

Sabharesh Hariharan

Third year Mechanical Engineering

Graduate student Computer Science

First year Master’s student Telecommunications Engineering

“Percy and Anabeth (“Percy Jackson”)”

“Mary Jane & Spiderman (Marvel Comics)”

“Batman and Wonder Woman (DC Comics)”

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9:44 a.m. 12/8/15 [Text]

RINGS

compiled by Jake Krajewski | design & illustration by Caleb Payne

1:23 p.m. 12/11/15 [Text]

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#UnpublishedRings 6:06 p.m. 12/24/15 [Text]

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the students and do not reflect the views of Reporter

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