September 2017 by Reporter Magazine

REPORTER SEPTEMBER 2017 reporter.rit.edu

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REPORTER EDITOR IN CHIEF Rozie Yeghiazarian PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Bryanne McDonough ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Taylor Derrisaw COPY EDITOR Ramya Shankar NEWS EDITOR Frankie James Albin TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Ryan Black LEISURE EDITOR Grace Blondell FEATURES EDITOR Kristin Grant SPORTS EDITOR Hanna Schewtschenko VIEWS EDITOR Kevin Zampieron WRITERS Kendra C. Murphy, Ryan Black, Bryanne McDonough, Grace Blondell, Samantha Wagner, Kristin Grant, Rozie Yeghiazarian, Liz Peterson

ART ART DIRECTOR Alyssa Minko ONLINE ART DIRECTOR Madeleigh Place DESIGNERS Kendra Murphy, Kevin Zampieron, Karley Allis, Alexis Scott, Zhuoxin Xu, Cassy Smithies ILLUSTRATORS Angela Krieg, Stephanie Chan, Monica Nguyen-Vo, Cassy Smithies, Aria Dines, Henry Trettenbach, Unique Fair, Vanasa Liu, Juho Choi, Cynthia Muniz

PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO EDITOR Joseph Ressler PHOTOGRAPHERS Rebekah Havens,

EDITOR’S NOTE Accessibility is a quintessential component for quality of life. Last year, I recall listening to a provocative conference keynote address by Patricia Moore on the humanity of design in its present state. Sitting in Booth’s Webb Auditorium, the crowd of students was eagerly poked and prodded by her piercing words as Moore shed light on the current weaknesses of the industry — areas of opportunity for us all in the crowd. Our chairs creaked beneath us like the joints of the elderly, for whom design had failed to actively acknowledge. As people age, she explained that there are fewer products available to help them maintain their quality of life. As such, a decent and independent lifestyle is not so accessible to the elderly demographic, contributing to the fast-paced deterioration that accompanies any unaccommodating surrounding. We spend our college years sifting through the viscous layers of academia. Some find themselves listlessly following suit to pre-existing directives. People lose sight of that which may not impact them under the mistaken notion that there may be no more room for improvement, no conceivable alternative. Moore made the argument that, in our society, the elderly are neglected by the focus of the industry, which leaves them to fend for themselves in a world that’s not quite designed for them. They are just one example of a demographic that lacks representation among the decision-makers and moguls contorting the industry to what has been deemed important. Our future selves hold our present selves accountable. Whether we’re talking about design and engineering or any sort of political reform, there is work to be done. Last year, some very specific deficiencies of the current world were made salient to us students, making us less naive for having listened in that auditorium. We walked away with increasingly nuanced mindsets and young ambitions, more mindful of the circumstances and accommodations of others. We walked away excited about the changes we could incite by making a good livelihood more universally accessible.

Ramya Shankar, Lloyd McCullough, Daniel Vasta

BUSINESS BUSINESS MANAGER Zachary Grzelka AD / PR MANAGER Miguel Moran PRODUCTION MANAGER Mitchell Morgan ONLINE SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR Michael Canning WEB MANAGER Efe Ozturkoglu VIDEO EDITOR Francesco D’Amanda

Rozie Yeghiazarian 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.

ADVISOR Rudy Pugliese PRINTING EPi Printing CONTACT 585.475.2212 Online Video Component

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. “Religious wives of our lives – I’d watch that.” – R.Y. 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 © 2016 Reporter Magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of this Magazine may be reproduced without prior written permission.

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TA B L E O F cover and TOC illustration by Angela Krieg| photography reference by Rebekah Havens

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LEVEL UP! RIT CONSTRUCTS NEW MAGIC CENTER Get ready for the newest addition to RIT! A state-of-theart facility to house the MAGIC Center

SHARING SERVICE, SHARED QUESTIONS: LYFT & UBER’S ARRIVAL

LEISURE 10

The possibilities (and questions) are endless during RIT’s first semester with Uber & Lyft

@reportermag 4 September

PLAY: NOT JUST FOR KIDS Everything our local children’s museum has to offer an older audience

10 YEARS OF FIRST FRIDAY The history and future of the downtown tradition dedicated to promoting arts and culture

AT YOUR LEISURE Your future forecast, as dictated by the stars and compiled by Reporter

CONTENTS FE AT URES 16

ROTC: A COMMITMENT LIKE NO OTHER Get an inside look on what it means to be a part of ROTC

EXPLORING RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY What role should spirituality play at a secular university?

LABOR DAY’S STRIKING HISTORY The reason we celebrate the first Monday of September

SPOR T S 24

FIT FALL: ROCHESTER’S RUNNING EVENTS Fun activities to stay fit in the fall

ATTENTION, BOYS AND GIRLS! THE GENDER RATIO Gender imbalance and the culture it creates

WORD ON THE STREET What does RIT spend your tuition money on?

RINGS Text or call (585) 672-4840

reporter.rit.edu September 5

! P U L E V E

RIT C

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E T N E C C M AG I

by Kendra Murphy | photography by Ramya Shankar \ illustration by Stephanie Chan | design by Kendra Murphy

et ready: RIT is leveling up! The newest addition to campus will be revealed in late Fall: a state-of-the-art facility to house the Center for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction and Creativity (MAGIC Center). If you’ve ever been inside of what is fondly known as “the Toilet Bowl,” then you’ve been inside the MAGIC Center’s current space. The new building bills itself as a place for all majors. However, it may seem as though it is mostly for Game Design and Development students. “It’s not in a college. It’s not a degree program. You can’t get a major in magic, although that sounds really cool,” said

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Andy Phelps, director and founder of the MAGIC Center. “It’s a campus-wide thing,” Phelps elaborated. “It’s really centered around digital media in the broad and so part of that is games, part of that is also apps, and film and virtual reality and a bunch of stuff we haven’t thought of yet. ... It’s really just about ‘how do we use technology to tell stories?’” MAGIC itself was actually founded in 2013. “One of the big problems that we have is that all the labs in all the buildings are all consumed with classes,” Phelps laments. “If your project goes beyond a class, where does it go to live? So we wanted a place that was

very specifically a place for people to come and work that was much more free form.” The current MAGIC Center has a computer lab, virtual reality equipment and a 360 degree projector. Smaller talks, showcases and student events — such as Design for Diversity — have been held in the space. Phelps explained why he felt the upgrade to a brand new building is necessary. The current MAGIC Center can only fit about 130 people with zero elbow room for large events. “There’s places on campus you can have a larger gathering but not in a high-tech environment,” Phelps explains. “You know, if we made anything on this campus that was

your co-op, you stay here and work for yourself on your startup.” John Palermo, a fourth year Game Design and Development student, is one such student this summer. He and his team are working on a game Palermo began developing during class his sophomore year. When approving Co-Ups, however, the MAGIC Center doesn’t just look for a “cool idea.” “Part of the submission process was a business plan so what we have now, what our goals are for the summer and stretch goals,” Palermo explained. “Our goal for at the end of the summer is the full game, four level packs and releasing it on Android, iOS and Steam.” Co-Up enables students to learn the business side of their craft in a practical setting. “We’re making games and we’re going to be publishing the game. ... It‘s what we’re doing, not what someone else is telling us to do, like, for a homework assignment,” Palermo said. “We sought this out and now we’re doing it because we want to.” If you’ve ever felt like rolling up your sleeves and stepping away from the textbooks, MAGIC might be for you. “RIT is a place where, first and foremost, if we want to understand something, we build it,” Phelps stated. “And I think the MAGIC center is very much in that image. It’s our culture.” Getting involved with MAGIC yourself may seem a little daunting. “Just go talk to them,” encouraged Palermo. “They’re all really chill people.” When asked if he was pumped for new building, Palermo said enthusiastically, “Yeah, oh my god, yeah.” “People are asking, ‘How can I be a part of MAGIC?’ and I’m like, ‘Well, just show up’” said Phelps.

“It’s not in a college. It’s not a degree program. You can’t get a major in magic, although that sounds really cool,” said Phelps.

4K resolution, we have nowhere to show it.” That’s really the more important reason for the new building — creating a high-tech environment for digital media creation. The new facility will be outfitted with a 7,000 square foot sound stage with green screen and motion capture capabilities, a sound mixing room, a 180-seat movie theater, a color correction room, a virtual reality/augmented reality laboratory, three computer gaming labs, studio space for all fields of animation and a host of state-of-the-art cameras and other amazing equipment — all for student use.

All this will be housed in front of Gannett, replacing the charming little avenue of trees that used to grow there. Although students in Gannett and Booth may be slightly apprehensive about watching a new building go up next door instead of upgrades to their own, having the MAGIC center five steps away is an advantage to them. “We’re so divided into these little majors and these colleges. ... But, well, all the interesting things happen when students over here work with students over here, talking to professors over there, so how does that happen? ... You get all the toys and you put them in the same sand box so that the kids will meet each other, right? Pretty low brow strategy, but it does kinda work.” The modern workforce is becoming more centered on communicating across disciplines and combining medias; design is transforming drastically as the digital world changes the way we experience life. Companies rent the MAGIC Center’s facilities for commercial use and employ students to work as interns for them. The new center, bigger and more advanced, will offer more opportunities for commercial use and thus greater opportunities for students. “If there’s a particular production that comes in, they need extras and techs and grips and this and that,” said Phelps. “Well, we have a whole bunch of people that are studying to be those things. But mostly I’m hoping that students will start building things for themselves and some of those will be successful enough that they become businesses. And then they’ll be employing our students.” MAGIC pays students to do their own projects that they develop and care about, through MAGIC’s program known as “Co-Up.” “Instead of going somewhere else and working on

“People are asking, ‘How can I be a part of MAGIC?’ and I’m like, ‘Well, just show up.’”

News 7

SHARING SERVICE, SHARED QUESTIONS LYFT & UBER’S ARRIVAL by Ryan Black|illustration by Monica Nguyen-Vo|design by Kevin Zampieron Uber and Lyft have revolutionized travel by increasing convenience while decreasing prices. The door to Upstate New York was finally opened for the taxi and cab alternatives this past summer on June 30. However, with the semester having barely started, students have only just started utilizing them. It’s not hard to see why many have long anticipated their arrival. Students like Levi Davis, a fourth-year Film and Animation major, experienced first hand moving to a new

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city (either for school or an internship) and needing to account for basic transportation needs. This past winter break, Davis was a production intern for “The Simpsons” in Burbank, Calif. and the existence of such ridesharing services made it feasible for him to take the position. “I would have had very limited access to transportation during my internship if it weren’t for Lyft,” explained Davis. He noted that while everyone’s situation

may vary, the public transportation system in Los Angeles wasn’t very accessible. Taxis and cabs were available but expensive and not always close by. “I recall different instances of people in my major having an easier time finding a job than a way of getting around in LA (which is saying something),” he half-jested. Several students like Davis already perceive ride-sharing services to have a great amount of utility. Assuming there will be a strong demand for their services, Dean James Winebrake of the College of Liberal Arts — and an expert on Transportation Sciences — wondered about the possible large-scale effects they might have on RIT. “Access to these services might allow students to live further from campus,” he postured; as accounting for transportation isn’t as problematic as it was before. “On the other hand, students may choose to live closer to campus and use the services to access restaurants, food stores and other entertainment off campus, which currently is difficult.” Winebrake also pondered if ultimately RIT’s campus will see some of its demands for

parking alleviated if enough students are able to not need a car on campus. Davis brought up how Uber and Lyft can fill some of the needs that RIT’s bus system does not currently meet. “RIT’s bus system is very convenient for getting around on campus and the near Henrietta area, but it is limited,” he pointed out. “For students like me who might have to spend late nights in the labs (to 3 or 4 in morning), we have to walk all the way home while completely exhausted because the buses can’t run that late.” Overall, to both Davis and Winebrake, the arrival of such ride-sharing services meant an increased level of accessibility and flexibility when getting to and from campus.

Assurances of Service

With students now back on campus for the Fall semester, it remains to be seen if these ride-sharing services will see an increase in demand significant enough to impact both their availability and rates. This past spring, on May 31 — about a month before the service launched on June 29 — Uber held a job fair for prospective drivers in Rochester City Hall. At that point over 4,000 people had started the application process and agreed to a background screening. When asked about how that number compares proportionally to bigger population areas like New York City, Josh Gold, a policy director at Uber, claimed that the service will have enough cars on the road prior to launch. Additionally, he assured that Uber would have a strong enough dispersion of drivers for Rochester’s outlying suburbs as well as the entire state. “That means in Rochester, but also means in Watertown, it means in the Finger Lakes and it means in the North Country,” explained Gold. “And so maybe if you’re in the Finger Lakes for a weekend you

may wait seven to ten minutes for your ride, and you may be downtown you may wait two to three minutes, so there may be a little bit of a difference.”

Questions of Technologies Past

However, as Winebrake alluded to, what’s worth considering in addition to the services themselves are the possible secondary effects Uber and Lyft’s introduction could have — many of which are not quite clear yet. “We will have to wait and see how this plays out in the market,” he noted. Corinna Schlombs, an assistant professor of History in the College of Liberal Arts, stressed that whenever new technologies are introduced (particularly on a societywide scale) there are always unintended consequences. An expert on the history of Information and Communication Technologies, Schlombs teaches “Information Revolution.” In the course, she urges students excited about the opportunities new technologies provide to think critically about the unanswered questions they pose. “We start looking closer and closer and we see that there is lots of anticipation for all of these technologies,” Schlombs said. Being the 49th U.S. state to allow for ride-sharing services, New York has a lot of anticipation

built up for ride-sharing apps. “Some people will always expect technology to solve all of our problems and other people will always kind of be skeptical and see society going down with these.” For the latter, many voice concerns that taxis will become obsolete. There are those also concerned for the drivers; particularly their wages, conditions and treatment. Many students are no stranger to working part-time while in school. Schlombs noted how the flexible hours of being an Uber or Lyft driver could make it a tempting alternative. Still, she mentioned that one has to consider whether the money made for each ride will be worth your time. However, what Schlombs pointed out is that for the most part throughout history, neither side really ends up being completely right in these debates. During the early stages, it is far easier to develop the questions to ask about future technologies than to predict how they will pan out.

“It is far easier to develop the questions to ask about future technologies than to predict how they will pan out.”

Technology 9

The roof of the Toy Halls of Fame.

PLAY: NOT JUST FOR KIDS NOT JUST FOR KIDS

by Bryanne McDonough | photography by Lloyd McCullough | design by Karley Allis

hat if I told you that there was a place where you could let out your inner child? A place that showcases the toys you played with in your youth? A place where you could visit a pirate ship and a castle, an arcade and a butterfly garden? Such a place exists, and it exists right in Rochester. The Strong National Museum of Play is the only museum in the world dedicated to the study of play. “The museum is very interactive and handson,” said Shane Rhinewald, senior director

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of public relations for the museum. “We’re also an American history museum at our core. We are a collecting museum; we have the world’s largest collection of dolls, toys, board games, video games and then through those collections we interpret history.” While it may seem like a museum meant for kids, there is plenty for collegeaged students to enjoy. To get a first-hand experience, I brought a group of friends to the museum to see what it had to offer us.

The Second Floor “[Adults without children] gravitate toward the hands-on, especially the video game and pinball, but want to peruse — especially the second floor,” said Rhinewald. At this suggestion, we decided to start on the second floor. The entire museum tries to incorporate hands-on experiences with related artifacts, but the second floor emphasizes the artifacts. In the National Toy Hall of Fame, you can see what the museum considers to be the best of the best. Ranging from classic toys like swings, to brands like Beanie Babies and Little People, you’re sure to see toys you grew up playing with. This grand room also contains cutting-edge technology. I sat down and had a truly terrible portrait drawn by a large computerized Etch-a-Sketch. The America at Play and Game Time! exhibits examine culture and history through the lens of play. Here, you can read about the origin of classic games and laugh at what your parents would have considered fun. The second floor also encapsulates the history of video games. “We recognize that ... you can’t tell the story about play without looking at how play in the

last three to four decades has changed,” said Rhinewald. “And video games have single-handedly had the biggest impact on the way that people can play and the ways that people can connect.” eGameRevolution walks through the history of video games, from their inception to modern-day consoles. Many of the games in the exhibit are free to play, like classic console games and an LED Lightspace floor. You can also entertain yourself in a classic arcade with the purchase of tokens. There are plenty of rare and unique artifacts, like an Atari game so horrible that it was dumped into a landfill and nearly forgotten about. The second floor is great if you have an interest in games and how they have changed over time. There is a lot of information, but still plenty of interactive exhibits designed for adults and children alike.

The First Floor A common sentiment expressed by my friends and Rhinewald was that you can’t take yourself too seriously on the first floor; that’s no fun anyway! This is where you can let loose and really play like a little kid again. American Comic Book Heroes is a must-see for superhero fans. Interactive exhibits let you pretend to be a superhero while reading about their evolution through the collection. There is even a painting of Captain America by co-creator and Rochester native Joe Simon, made specially for The Strong’s exhibit. Pinball Playfields is another popular exhibit for adults, according to Rhinewald. See original pinball game prototypes, learn how they work and buy tokens to experience classic games for yourself. This exhibit covers 80 years of pinball history and includes recent games as well. My friends and I had a blast, so this is well worth the visit. Reading Adventureland recreates the worlds of your childhood imagination. Become a pirate and explore Adventure Island’s caves and shipwreck or become a detective in Mystery Mansion. Delve into the world of your favorite fairy tales in the Fairy Tale Forest and learn about fantasy in the Wizard’s Workshop. This is where you really need to hand over the reins to your inner adolescent.

Bryanne McDonough plays on an LED Lightspace Floor in eGameRevolution while Nick Bitten looks on.

“SOMETIMES I THINK ADULTS JUST WANT TO BE BIG KIDS WHEN THEY ARE HERE.”

Visiting Typical adult admission is $14.50, but The Strong offers a buy-one-get-one discount for students with valid ID. It can be fun to go as a group or on a date. The Butterfly Garden on the first floor is a popular spot for couples. The enclosed garden contains hundreds of free-flying butterflies. Unfortunately, admittance costs extra. There are also special 21+ events three nights a year called “Happiest Hour,” which allow adults to explore the museum after hours, free of children. There is food and a bar; sometimes the best way to relive that carefree bliss of childhood is to get a little tipsy. The experience of the museum is the same, sans screaming children. Rhinewald says that he always loves to see adults enjoy the activities designed for kids, like making paper crowns in the Fairy Tale Forest instead of going straight to the pinball machines. “Sometimes I think adults just want to be big kids when they are here,” he said.

Visiting

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10 First Friday

Years of

by Grace Blondell illustration by Cassy Smithies design by Alexis Scott

n Sept. 1, First Friday Rochester will celebrate 10 years of striving toward citywide collaboration between local art venues and promoting a healthy arts and culture scene. Since its inception in September 2007, the initiative has been an important tradition for the city, one that RIT has been a critical part of. Most larger cities have some variation of First Fridays in place, often called “art walks,” where galleries, small museums and artists’ studios open their doors to the public on the first Friday evening of each month. The overall goal of these ventures is to attract people to city centers and downtowns with “mass” openings and exhibitions to strengthen art communities. Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo), led by Executive Director and Curator Bleu Cease is behind the initiation and administration of First Friday Rochester. When discussions first began for establishing Rochester’s very own First Friday, Cease found that there was collective support from smaller art venues. At the time, conversations between these venues showed that there was a concern that major media outlets

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These marginalized galleries, cultural organizations and non-profits saw First Friday as a way to “become the media,” promoting both themselves and each other.

(television, newspapers) were not covering their exhibitions well, if at all. These marginalized galleries, cultural organizations and non-profits saw First Friday as a way to “become the media,” promoting both themselves and each other. Cease and the others that helped bring First Friday to Rochester looked to cities with well-established art walks and gallery nights to see what model would work best for the Flower City. They visited neighboring cities, taking bus trips to Syracuse and carpooling to Buffalo to attend gallery nights, but also drew inspiration from the models used in Missoula, Mont., and Asheville, N.C. The model that Cease has found to work best for Rochester is when the venues are in close proximity, mainly in the Neighborhood of the Arts (NOTA) and the East End. Any venue can participate, with Cease preferring to advertise them neutrally so that all different kinds of artists and venues can expose the variety of work they do, mediumwise. However, the event is geared more toward increasing the visibility of smaller institutions, rather than museums that are self-sufficient. Participants are asked to pay a

small fee to be listed in marketing materials and “officially” be a part of First Friday, which is how the cooperative, shared promotional strategy works. First Friday Rochester started very grassroots, with no funding and only four venues open for the first night in September 2007. But one of those first venues was RIT’s very own downtown Gallery r. John Aäsp, gallery director for RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, surmises that Zerbe Sodervick, director of Gallery r up until 2015, was likely immediately convinced to join Cease’s early efforts with the First Friday project. “[Sodervick] was very community-oriented, she liked any kind of outreach; she was an artist herself, so she was already a member of the art community,” Aäsp notes. Today, Cease still stresses the benefits of First Friday participation for Gallery r, especially because of its downtown location; on-campus university galleries sometimes participate, but they don’t generate the same traffic because they are farther removed from the heart of the downtown event. Even after moving from their Park Ave. space to their NOTA location in 2012 and

under the new leadership of Aäsp, Gallery r has continued to participate in First Friday. Aäsp sees value in RIT’s ongoing involvement, for the students, faculty and alumni that show at Gallery r and for the visitors who come to see the exhibitions. “People don’t necessarily go look at art as much in Rochester as we’d like — it’s hard to get foot traffic — and so I think First Friday was an effort to get everyone excited to go see art one night a month and I think it has increased awareness and interest because it focuses everyone’s energy on a particular time,” said Aäsp. Gallery r typically averages between 150 and 200 visitors on a First Friday, depending on the time of year, which increases the artists’ visibility in the broader community. The energy and vibrancy of the city are at full-force on these nights when everyone comes out with the purposes of appreciating art and supporting small local institutions. “It’s good for RIT to have a presence in Rochester’s art community. I think RIT’s always prided itself on being a mixture of science and technology, art and creativity.” Aäsp says. “You can’t really do that unless

you’ve got a space where the arts and creativity are being shown to the public, so what better way to do that than plug into what the community’s already doing?”

“RIT’s always prided itself on being a mixture of science and technology, art and creativity .”

not contributed financially to the project. First Friday sustains itself with donations and from the fees paid by participating venues. While the initiative has been successful in crosspromoting venues thus far, it will need city and county support to grow. If you haven’t had the chance to get downtown for a First Friday, be sure to put that on your bucket list for this year. While RoCo and Cease have no definitive plans for First Friday’s 10th anniversary yet, RoCo, Gallery r and SUNY Brockport’s Visual Studies Workshop have something very special in the works for First Friday in October. Together, the venues will jointly present the Rochester Biennial, an event that was previously organized by the Memorial Art Gallery.

While it would be expected that an initiative that has become such a vital part of Rochester culture would be city or county-funded, Cease notes that this is not the case for First Friday. He believes that because the City of Rochester and Monroe County governments take it for granted that there is so much happening on the first Friday of each month, all initiated by independent businesses and citizens, they have

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AYL AT YOUR LEISURE

by Kevin Zampieron illustration by Aria Dines d esign by Karley Allis

WHAT’S YOUR SIGN? YOUR MONTHLY HOROSCOPE

strology is the ancient and scientifically-reputable study of the universe’s motions and how these motions affect our daily lives. Armed only with a telescope and can-do attitude, Reporter has compiled these horoscopes, tailored specifically for the RIT community.

Virgo (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Uranus and Neptune are in sync with one another, meaning this is a month for balance, both outwards and in. Give your body and your spirit a period of rest. For example, instead of downing two amphetamine pills in the library to power through a 12-hour study session, just swallow one. Balance is about moderation, so try not to black out on weekdays. And at least try to have some healthy greens before ramming a garbage plate down your throat. Libra (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Based on the celestial wobbling of Saturn, decisions will become more difficult to make. This is the prime season for arguments based on where you want to eat. Do you get chicken fingers and french fries at RITZ? Or Brick City? Or Crossroads? Or Gracie’s? The choices are overwhelming! Scorpio (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) We don’t discuss Scorpios in this magazine. They know what they fucking did. Sagittarius (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Mars is bobbing and weaving about. That means that you have become romantically irresistible. Everyone in class tries to talk to you, help you with your homework and just generally is up in your business. When at parties, you’ll find yourself surrounded as if you were a wounded gazelle on the savanna. Some of your potential suitors will simply stare longingly from a distance, reduced to silence by your utter magnetism. Due to an oddity with Venus’s orbit, this will only affect women enrolled in GCCIS classes. 14 Leisure

Capricorn (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Pluto’s vibrating at a frightening intensity. Holy shit, this is not your month. Failure is pretty much a given. Instead of focusing on success, you should focus on loss-reduction. Spend most of your time in bed. Wear a helmet every moment of the day. Waterproof everything you own. You can make it through this month if you’re vigilant. We’re rooting for you! Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Alpha Centauri is floating, but in a special way. This is the time to rediscover your past and reconnect with people you’ve lost touch with. Get in touch with that guy who lived on your floor freshman year — not just because you need a weed hookup. Instead of pointedly staring at your phone when you see your old lab partner on the bus, say hi. Maybe text that special someone you hooked up with at that one party and never spoke to again. On second thought, don’t do that last one.

Taurus (April 20–May 20) Mercury just called. Your soulmate is just around the corner. We literally mean around the corner. The key to your happiness and everlasting fulfillment is physically feet away from you. Really? You’re going to keep reading? You’re going to let them get away so you can read a studentrun magazine you probably found abandoned on a seat in Java’s? Well alright, now they’re gone. Typical Taurus. Gemini (May 21–June 20) Neptune’s bouncing up and down, so take a deep breath — it’s time for you to relax. Don’t think about your upcoming exams and potentially cratering GPA. Don’t think about the bleak job market or the constant battle to stay marketable, as if you were a piece of fruit in a farmer’s market. Don’t think about your dying planet that you feel powerless to save. Maybe you can take a spa day!

Cancer (June 21–July 22) Pisces (Feb. 19–March 20) The astronomical forces that govern our The sun’s going absolutely nuts. That means you need to break out of your comfort lives have combined to cancel themselves out. The order of the cosmos will have no zone. And we’re talking really breaking out of it. We don’t mean “join a new club” or “eat effect on you. This has never happened before. For the first and only month of your a weird vegetable.” We want you to go for life, you are liberated from the ceaseless it. Live in the wilderness for the foreseeable iron grip of the stars. What will you do with future, subsisting off of hardy roots and squirrel meat. If you can’t make it off campus, this precious gift of of freedom? the woods behind Gracie’s should suffice. And Leo (July 23–Aug. 22) if you can’t forage any food, just buy weird You’re tired of small talk and coffee dates. stuff from the Global Village market. You’re done playing games and having people give you the runaround. Jupiter has Aries (March 21–April 19) This lunar cycle means that everyone needs entered its cycle, and that can only mean one thing: you want something real. You want to give you some room. Innocent comments something passionate. Unfortunately, you will begin to irritate you. You find yourself go to RIT so you’re probably just going to get craving raw meat. When the moon reaches tipsy in a sweaty Colony Manor apartment its full strength, your power will reach its and intermittently swipe on Tinder until you dangerous peak. There isn’t much time; to get tired and walk home. save your loved ones, you must bind yourself with silver chains in your basement. If you live in dorms, you’ll have to use the kitchenette. Quickly, while there’s still time!

ROTC:

A COMMITMENT LIKE NO OTHER

by Samantha Wagner | photography by Daniel Vasta and Rebekah Havens |design by Zhuoxin Xu

ost of us have seen students dressed in different military uniforms walking around campus. Some of us might walk by the ROTC offices and classrooms on our way to our classes in Ross or Brown Hall. A few of us may have even witnessed one of the training or field exercises happening around campus. One way or another we have all seen the ROTC program in action and may have some questions about what the program entails.

What Is It? ROTC stands for the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. It is a program installed in both high schools and colleges to train commissioned officers for different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. RIT offers programs in the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy, which are each affiliated with different schools in the surrounding area. “There are 275 programs country-wide in a wide variety of schools, from small colleges all the way up to the large state universities,” explained Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Otero, a professor of Military Science for the Army ROTC at RIT. The size of RIT’s program fluctuates every year. It’s seen small numbers, large numbers and right now it is considered a medium-sized program. After a short period of decline, the program is in the midst of expanding again. “We’re one of the few growing programs out there,” said Otero. “One reason for that is we offer STEM majors.” Offering these majors has increased the amount of scholarships given to the program, allowing it to reach out to more students. With these impressive but work-heavy majors, cadets must carefully balance their lives. 16 Features

you’re the one responsible. You write all the plans for the training you guys are gonna do, and you execute them as well.” Along with being in charge of the plans, Matusz explained how third years can be responsible for leading groups of up to 30 cadets at once, depending on the position. From waking up at dawn to work out to learning how to lead a group of peers, each cadet has a lot on their plate throughout their college years.

What Happens After College

A Day in the Life of a Cadet A typical day ranges for each program, but they all entail many of the same general aspects. There is a physical fitness component, an academic component and a leadership component. “Each week we have generally five days of ROTC,” explained Cadet Samuel Straub, a third year Industrial Design major. As part of the Navy ROTC, he described what his week typically looks like. The cadets have Naval Science twice a week, which gets more intense and in-depth each year of the program. Also, they have one to three sessions of physical training each week, which usually begin around 6 or 6:30 a.m. Otero and Cadet Phylicia Matusz, a fourth year Biomedical Sciences major, outlined an average week for the Army ROTC. Typically, the cadets do physical fitness three times a week, sometimes even four days, starting around 6 a.m. Similar to the other programs, they take different military science classes. On Fridays, the cadets have a leadership lab, where they learn tactics and supervision skills. “Your third year in ROTC is typically your hardest year,” said Matusz. “As a third year,

ROTC does not end after you get your diploma. The point of the program is to train for the armed forces, meaning there is a commitment to the U.S. Military after college. Depending on the program, there are different options and protocols, but each branch does require years of service. “When you graduate, you’re going into the army and we choose where you go to. We pay attention to preference ... and we try to get people into the branch that they want,” explained Otero. For the U.S. Navy, cadets owe at least five years of active duty as a naval officer. For the U.S. Army, there are a few different options. One of the options is four years of active duty and then four years in what’s called the Visual Ready Reserve, which is more of an on-call program. Otero described one of the other options in more detail. “One thing that is unique that we offer is at your third year we ask you if you want to go into Reserves National Guard,” he said. This option entails an eight-year commitment, including your basic training, one weekend a month and then being on call if ever needed. This option allows for the cadets to have a more civilian-like lifestyle and a nonmilitary career during their duty time.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;This becomes a family for a lot of my kids. This becomes their fraternity, sorority, social club, social outlet.â&#x20AC;? 18 Features

How Do They Do It? For such a great commitment, both during school and afterward, there is a lot to take into consideration for joining. From the outside looking in, it sometimes can be unthinkable to why or how someone can take on such a workload on top of their already jam-packed school schedule. The cadets often go through the same thought process as they are taking on this challenge. “The question becomes, ‘Why would anybody wanna do this?’” Otero said. Both the cadre and cadets have very similar answers on what pushes everybody through this type of commitment. One of the big ones — and most known to the general public — is the scholarship money. “We pay for everything,” said Otero, describing the scholarships offered. “We pay for all tuition, we pay for books and fees ... if you have a scholarship from high school we do pay for room and board.” “On top of that, we also pay a stipend every month — $200 in the first year, $300 in the second year, $400 on the third year and $500 on the last year,” he went on to elaborate. The financial benefits are a main factor, but many other important considerations come into play as well. From being a part of something to honoring and serving your country, motivation comes from a wide variety of sources for these cadets. “There are a lot of people in the program who don’t have the scholarship and have to work really hard,” described Straub. “There are quite a few people, especially freshman year, who don’t have scholarships and are still willing to work for it.” Matusz echoed Straub when describing her own experience. “The one thing that got my class through this past year at least was the fact that we were all in it together,” she said. “The team environment is really what helps push through anytime you’re struggling.” The teamwork and collaboration is a common pattern seen throughout the ROTC program. “We have an intrinsic need to belong to something ... whether it be a newspaper magazine, or whether it be a fraternity or whether it be a sports team, we all want to belong to something,” explained Otero. “This becomes a family for a lot of my kids. This becomes their fraternity, sorority, social club, social outlet.”

Straub agreed. “It offers a great support system through college,” he said. “Yeah, it’s going to be really difficult and you have to study and have these requirements, but there’s a great support system. If you’re having trouble, you can ask basically anybody in the battalion and they will help you — or at least they’ll find someone who can.” This idea of having people to count on and something to belong to is often what college-aged students are looking for. “When there’s a chance for a real connection, to be part of a group, and to be part of something, I find that much more than my generation, millennials really go for it,” admitted Otero. “I think that ROTC really provides that for a lot of people ... because with today’s mediated technological environment, I do think that is one challenge millennials have.” Along with the tight-knit family aspect, cadets are often motivated by more personal reasons as well. Another common reason for joining and keeping with the commitment is simply honor of serving the country and serving others. “What I tell people is — come for the money, but stay for the patriotism,” said Otero. “Don’t feel bad that you’re doing it for the money, but stay because you, in the process of doing it, ended up believing in the mission.” Most of the cadets have this mindset already going in. Straub, who did not consider the Navy as an option before his senior year of high school, started to see more and more of what it meant to be a part of the Navy as he dove deeper in his research. “A lot of [the Navy’s] missions are humanitarian aid where we go places where people are in trouble, and we get them the supplies they need or we get them the help they need. I really like being committed to people that way,” explained Straub. “Not only helping people in different countries, but

ROTC at RIT 16 Lomb Memorial Drive Building 10, Room A210

here as well. If I am training to be an officer, it’s my job to lead the enlisted members, and when I’m a leader I have to take care of them, I have to make sure they are doing well. That’s something that I think is very important and I’m glad to do.” Matusz also explained her personal reasons for joining and what helps her continue to push herself through the journey. Coming from a military family, she always knew she would someday be a part of the armed forces one way or another. “I just wanted to continue the legacy ofmy family and serve my country,” she explained. “A lot of times people want to make it, because it is an honor.” However, no matter what program or branch it is, it is important to remember this is by no means an easy thing to do. The hard work and effort put in by these cadets every single day is something to admire. “You definitely need to have a winning mindset,” said Matusz. “That’s part of the reason why most people join the army ... to test themselves [and] challenge themselves, so as long as you’re able to to do that, you’ll be fine.” Otero had similar thoughts. “Frankly, the Army’s not for everybody — and that’s not a matter of superiority or matter of a put down for anybody, it’s just that it’s a very unique career field and there are people out there that are suitable for it and there are people out there that aren’t,” he said. Clearly, deciding to join ROTC is a deeply personal choice. Yes, those 6 a.m. wake-up times are challenging. With that being said, the cadets who do put in the time often find that the program instills them with leadership and life skills that they still carry with them long after it is over. “ROTC provides you with a lot of opportunities,” Matusz explained. And those opportunities go much further than just four or five years during college.

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EXPLORING RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY by Kristin Grant | illustration by Henry Trettenbach |design by Zhuoxin Xu

eligion or science. More often than not, these two worlds are pitted against each other as battling entities. At a technological college, this contrast can sometimes feel even more contentious. Nevertheless, with ten different faith communities represented at the Center for Religious Life (CRL), RIT is undeniably religiously vibrant and diverse. While all faiths have different sets of governing rules, customs and beliefs, the religious groups on campus all share a common goal of promoting conversations about spirituality.

Nora Chernov, a 2017 Political Science graduate, was able to engage in fascinating discussions through her involvement in religious life. A member of Hillel since her first week at RIT and its president for several years afterward, Chernov appreciated the opportunity to meet other students who valued Judaism, but whose upbringing was not necessarily the same as her own. “I think the advantage of Hillel is that it isn’t a group of people with the same experience,” Chernov said. “It’s a group of people who have an experience that gets you in the door, and then those different experiences enrich everything.” Recently, the Interfaith Varsity program was established in order to facilitate conversation between faith groups as well. Along with Chernov, third year Imaging Science major Beth Bogart and several others have been

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working hard to encourage safe spaces for honest dialogues. According to Bogart, these discussions are absolutely necessary. “Definitely after coming to college it was obvious that people grew up in their own little bubbles. No one was talking to each other,” she said. “So that’s why we need a solid basis of ‘oh, this is why we’re all here — it’s to spread love and be kind to each other.’” Although the program is still in its fledgling stages, Bogart is excited for what the next couple of years could hold in store. “We’re still kind of getting the hang of it,” she said. “We’re planning to do some outreach next year and keep the conversation going.” Adeel Ahmed, a first year Microelectronic Engineering PhD student and former vice president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), has also been actively engaged with Interfaith Varsity. Ahmed believed it was of paramount importance that the MSA be represented in these dialogues — in fact, he sees it as the club’s responsibility to promote better understanding about Islam. “We try to welcome people, and have a conversation with them,” Ahmed explained. “We’re very big into reaching out to those who disagree with us and actively hate us.” So far, CRL Muslim Chaplain Rauf Bawany has found the club’s outreach efforts

Alice Nation, chaplain of RIT’s Newman Catholic Community, agreed with Ahmed: conversations about religion must continue, no matter the circumstances. “I think the more we do as a campus community in understanding religious and ethnic backgrounds, the better off our students are going to be,” she said. The easiest way to better understand different faiths? “As I like to say with all communities, get to know them, so it stops being us and them,” suggested Nation. Zach Hanje, RIT’s Cru (a Christian group) chaplain, recommended the CRL as another resource for students who are interested in learning about different religions. “We’ve got all sorts of faith

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successful in clearing up misconceptions about the religion. “Our girls are often told ‘you look repressed in this attire.’ And when they are able to answer and tell them how they feel, people are satisfied,” he said. That being said, some may recall that last year the MSA mural in the residential tunnels was cruelly vandalized. “It was unexpected,” Ahmed said. “But it only takes a certain situation to bring out the worst in people, and the last couple months have been conducive to inhospitable behavior to certain communities.” Overall, Ahmed still feels that RIT is a welcoming place. “For the most part, the campus has been very accepting of us,” he said. “But there are those people out there, and you can’t live in denial.” If anything, last year’s incident only heightened the need for discussion, said Ahmed. “We feel that if we don’t talk about these issues or sensitive topics, the emotions are just going to bottle up and never come out,” he explained. “We want to create a space where people can talk about these issues freely.”

WE DON’T PREPARE STUDENTS TO JUST GET GOOD GRADES. THE BIGGER PICTURE HERE IS TO PREPARE OUR STUDENTS AND INTEGRATE THEM INTO THE WORLD.

traditions represented here,” he said. “All of us together, all of us chaplains, we hope that this is a place where students can be a spiritual resource. Most of us chaplains here you can step in and chat with.” Bawany concurred — the CRL strives to be an open, friendly place. “We talk with each other, we sit with each other, we learn from each other,” he said. “It goes beyond tolerance — it is a level of acceptance of each other, an understanding that we are what we are, and you are what you are.” Ultimately, RIT is in the business of giving students an education. Nation strongly believes that this education should include a fundamental understanding of religious differences. “We don’t prepare students to just get good grades. The bigger picture here is to prepare our students and integrate them into the world,” she said. “Many students are not going to a job where they’ll be working with likeminded people. We have to understand one another’s traditions and background so we can be respectful ... I think it’s the basic curriculum of who we need to be as a community.”

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LABOR DAY’S STRIKING HISTORY

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by Rozie Yeghiazarian illustration by Unique Fair design by Kevin Zampieron

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s we approach this Labor Day, the American public and its unions, what’s left of them, are facing a severe crisis of whether we will not only continue to fight for better wages and better working conditions, but also whether unions will survive in their present form,” explained Bruce Popper, regional vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. He is part of a large, local union that represents around 3,500 healthcare workers in the Rochester region. They were one of the first unions to fight for LGBTQIA+ rights in the workplace, among other critical issues, championing efforts into state legislation. Unions, like Popper’s, have been working together for years to fight for the general welfare.

MAY DAY PARADE! WELL, LABOR DAY, ACTUALLY Though not officially recognized until 1935, workers had been forming unions throughout the 1880s, out of necessity. Employers fought back, often times with governmental support. “There was no such thing as pension, no retirement, no workplace safety,” said Dr. Vincent Serravallo, associate professor of Sociology at RIT. “By 1886, the struggle for the eight-hour day really became a national effort.” On May 1, 1886, police rushed a peaceful demonstration run by organized labor in Chicago and an unknown culprit threw a bomb, killing many in an incident now known as the Haymarket Rebellion. Those who spoke at the rally were charged with inciting a riot and punished with the death penalty, marking the emergence of May Day. The holiday, acknowledged worldwide as International Workers’ Day, remained unrecognized by the United States until the escalation of confrontations forced President Grover Cleveland to establish Labor Day in 1894.

“It is a reminder of the contribution that working people and their organizations, labor unions in particular, have made to the standard of living in the United States,” said Popper. Many of the labor accomplishments of the 20th century set the standards we now take for granted in the workplace, from weekends and workers’ compensation to forty-hour work weeks with overtime. The holiday, celebrated on the first Monday of September, was marked by parades with people holding signs and marching through the streets. “It was more of a political statement,” said Serravallo. “Today, when we watch parades, there are prizes for the best floats and there is a marching band.” A similar trend has been made apparent in Rochester’s labor history, from the death of union martyr Ida Braiman to its being one of the few places in the U.S. to have had a general strike where all workers stopped working, no matter their industry. Popper explained that in 1947, one of the largest unions at the time, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, supported many workers in Rochester’s booming clothing industry and even Xerox production workers worldwide. When the City of Rochester refused to recognize the organizing efforts of its employees, the clothing workers called for a unanimous strike and shut everything in the city down for 24 hours, causing the city to back off. “Rochester has a long history of Labor Day parades,” Popper said. “Then sometime in the post-war era, that stopped.”

HOLIDAY LIFE CYCLES “Like any other holiday, a lot of us forgot the roots and the original significance,” Serravallo said. “It could be anything — the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, even Christmas — in fact many of us feel guilty that we have commercialized all of these holidays and many people will admit that they don’t really know the origins of why these holidays emerged in the first place.” “I think that has to do with the fact that our educational system, in general the public education system, really doesn’t pay much

attention at all to labor history,” Serravallo continued. “It’s usually not the business of education to point out some of these areas of U.S. history that have not been so democratic.” Many, including Popper, once expressed hesitance toward reviving the parade. “My skepticism about the importance was misplaced, it was wrong,” he said. “On the first Labor Day, people gathered along South Clinton Ave., near Washington Square Park, and it was all the different types of workers of all different occupations — professionals, non-professionals, men, women, blacks, whites, Latinos, everybody in one place no matter what their unions were.” “I think the most important feature of Labor Day and its activities, particularly the parade, is it brings a huge diversity in all categories of the workers to one place at one time,” stated Popper. “The theming of those events may be a little different each year depending on the threats to working people.” Though the general populace tends to forget the empowering meaning behind most holidays, both Serravallo and Popper agree on the immediate importance of Labor Day in a time where once-fundamental solutions to old issues on immigrant treatment and healthcare coverage have been flipped upside down.

WORK THE SYSTEM Labor issues continue to be relevant today, especially to students entering the the working world. Labor day represents an occasion for expressed unification and solidarity, a welcoming notion in such politically tumultuous times. Though the limited media coverage of workplacerelated topics makes it difficult to follow, progress is still being made. “My union is very proud of the fact that we were the first union to come out against discrimination against sexual orientation,” said Popper. “We were very strong about getting New York to enact an equal marriage provision in its law.” For Popper, the work has taken on new meanings. “Unions unite, because if you’re not united and you get in a fight with the establishment or the wealthy and powerful, you’re not going to win,” he explained. “So, no matter what your attitudes are about race, gender and people’s lifestyle, workers and unions are forced to unite and to get over their prejudices if they’re to win.”

IT’S USUALLY NOT THE BUSINESS OF EDUCATION TO POINT OUT SOME OF THESE AREAS OF U.S. HISTORY THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SO DEMOCRATIC

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FIT FALL by Liz Peterson | illustration by Vanasa Liu | design by Cassy Smithies

ellness classes are great and we have tons of ways to stay fit on campus. But for those of you looking to venture out into the Rochester area for your exercise needs, we’ve compiled some noteworthy events you should check out.

RUNNING FANATICS

For all of you who enjoy a good run, there will be a variety of running events taking place across the city. If you’re looking to dabble in a new style of racing, look no further. An organization known as Moon Joggers has begun constructing running races you participate in virtually. They present a themed challenge and it’s up to you to see it through. For example, starting on Saturday Sept. 2, there will be an event known as Smile Run (or Walk) 5K and 10K. This will be the organization’s third time hosting the event which is an effort to raise awareness for Suicide Prevention. This year the race is dedicated to Diane E. Chitty who passed away on Sept. 3, 2011. All participants have to do is set a finishing time to complete their 5K or 10K and then dedicate their run/walk to Diane and/or anyone else they prefer to. Moon Joggers will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

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ROCHESTER’S RUNNING EVENTS

As of today, the organization has raised over $300,000 for different charities thanks to these inspiring and creative running events. And if you don’t mind participating in virtual challenges such as the Smile Run (or Walk), Moon Joggers sponsors several other “virtual races” such as Hobbit Day 5K on Friday Sept. 22, Dashing Divas 5K and 10K on Wednesday Sept. 27, Cat Day 5K on Sunday Oct. 29, and Cinderfella — The Bearded Princess 5K & 10K on Wednesday Nov. 1. However, if you are looking for something a little more structured and traditional, don’t worry. There will be a few traditional races you can partake in. Tunnel to Towers 5K Run and Walk is an event that takes place all over the country. The event was created to honor Stephen Siller, a firefighter of the FDNY who lost his life on Sept. 11, 2001. Siller ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers, returning to duty after his shift had already ended to try and help after receiving word of the first plane hitting the towers. The event will take place in Durand Eastman Beach Park starting at 9 a.m. Registration closes on Wednesday Sept. 6. The fee is $25 up until the day of the race when the price increases to $30. You can also sign up to volunteer. On Sunday Sept. 17, the annual Rochester Marathon will be taking place downtown. The Rochester Marathon is a Boston Marathon

qualifier. It is a 26.2-mile race through the historic northern part of the city beginning at 7:30 a.m. There will be free shuttle service from the parking area next to the Frontier Field finish line up to the start line (Maplewood Park). Registration was open throughout the summer, but if you’re just returning to Rochester, you can still register up until Race Day. From Aug. 14 to Sept. 10, you can register for $110. After Sept. 10, the price increases to $120. For people who might see the marathon as a bit of a challenge, there will also be a half marathon on Sunday with a cap of 2,400 participants, the option of a marathon relay, or a simple 5K on Saturday Sept. 16 that will allow participants to run on the Inner Loop. The next event will be for MCC Foundation’s 11th annual 5K Run/Walk for Scholarships on Saturday Oct. 7. Karen Shaw, the alumni and annual giving coordinator shared a little more information about the event. “Every year we get a little bit bigger,” said Shaw. “We started out with maybe twenty people attending. We had over 550 racers last year. We had another 200 people support the event through donations but they didn’t necessarily participate physically in the walk/run.” Last year, MCC Foundation was able to raise around $28,500 for the scholarships. This year, their goal is $30,000. During the tailgate lunch portion after the race, a scholarship drawing takes place and five current MCC students are awarded scholarships.

September

“It’s a family-friendly event,” Shaw said. She mentioned that there would be a family fun run available where families participate in a short walk as well as events such as face-painting, fun carnival-style games, rock climbing, a zumba warm up and a photo booth. All ages are welcome. So if you’re looking for a group activity and to support fellow college students, consider registering for MCC’s event.

HEALTHY FUN

If running isn’t your forté, there are also plenty of other fun events going on that you can check out. A noteworthy event would be the annual Swain Swamp Stomp and Obstacle Course on Sept. 9. The event takes place at the Swain Resort in Swain, N.Y. It features over 16 obstacle courses across the stretch of four miles. This is a perfect event if you’re looking to get down and dirty. There is also the possibility of it becoming an annual tradition as the course is redesigned every year. Until Sept. 8, you can register for a price of $59 per person. On the day of the event, the price goes up to $79. One free drink is included with your registration at the after party, so drag your friends along.

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Eventbrite allows you to see the schedules and details for all sport and fitness events occurring in and around Rochester. However, another great source for looking for healthy events to attend is Facebook, a feature that is gaining more attention. You can see events happening near you and even gauge events that your friends are attending. For additional inquiries about any kind of events going on in Rochester, a great source of information would be the Rochester First website: www.rochesterfirst.com.

September

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Various Times

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2017 SMILE RUN OR WALK 5K AND 10K

SWAIN SWAMP STOMP AND OBSTACLE COURSE

TUNNEL TO TOWERS 5K RUN AND WALK

ROCHESTER MARATHON

MCC’S 5K WALK/RUN FOR SCHOLARSHIPS Sports 25

by Kendra Murphy illustration by Juho Choi design by Kevin Zampieron

o a female student newly admitted to RIT, congratulating family members may have commented, “Well, it sure won’t be hard for you to find a date!” and polished the joke off with a hearty laugh. And you know what RIT women say: “The odds are good but the goods are odd.” The skewed gender ratio is no secret at RIT. In a world where women are quickly and tenaciously surpassing men in higher education, RIT’s gender gap is an odd outlier, an isolated reversal of today’s new status quo. Far from a benign joke, this imbalance creates an adversarial culture between the sexes. The ratio is typically whispered in passing to be somewhere around 40/60 or 30/70. In reality, the total student body of RIT, including undergraduates and graduates, is 65.9 percent male and 34.1 percent female, according to RIT’s own institutional research data. The gender ratio also differs greatly depending on your college; the only colleges that are mostly female are the College of Health Sciences and Technology and the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, which are 76.7 percent and 60.4 percent female respectively. The most maleheavy colleges are the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences,

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College of Applied Science and Technology and Kate Gleason College of Engineering, which are 83.7 percent, 78.0 percent and 75.9 percent male respectively. The colleges that have the most pronounced difference in gender are the colleges that are mostly male. Surprisingly, the majority of RIT’s colleges actually have fairly even gender ratios. Even among these colleges, however, there tends to be a slightly higher percentage of males. Puzzling out exactly why men and women seem to gravitate toward particular fields is a complex question. There is an abundance of science exploring the achievement gaps between men and women in different academic fields. Even in early childhood, boys tend to do better in math and science and girls excel at English and history. Since RIT is a technical school, it’s not very surprising that it is one of the few top schools left with a male majority campus. RIT’s administration is aware of the ratio. They attempt to address the issue and support female students in a variety of ways; various organizations, such as Women in Computing, provide solidarity for women in heavily male fields, and The Center for Women and Gender also serves a resource for all women on campus. On the typical campus in America, uneven gender ratios in women’s favor cause a lack of male suitors on the college dating scene. “Girls’ Night” might get pretty tiresome after a while without someone to flirt with. More troubling, however, is the stark lack of long-term relationships, leaving hooking up as the only option. Women are often pressured into doing more than they’re really comfortable with. Surprisingly, a male-majority campus

generates an almost opposite dating culture. Knowing that they have few options and that the competition is fierce, men quickly spring into their shining armor and try to woo girls into long-term relationships with coffee dates and dinners out. Once, while discussing the gender ratio casually with male friend of mine, he stared at me blankly when I insinuated that it was an issue for women. He scoffed at the notion that the gender ratio could possibly be a problem for his fellow female students — they have their pick, after all. How could that possibly be any kind of disadvantage, compared to his woefully constant lack of romantic options? This misconception has deeper, more insidious roots. A common statement from boys is that they feel having a girlfriend would “be good for them” — basically, fix a lot of their problems for them. It’s a common saying that “boys look for their mothers.” From their very first days, the women in their lives are their caretakers, tending to their every need. The idea of women as a soothing balm to fix a troubled man is retold over and over again in our culture’s mythology. Girls, however, are often warned that “boys are nothing but trouble.” Bringing home a boyfriend warrants a shotgun. Bringing home a girlfriend warrants a family dinner. Men have expectations that women will fulfill their needs; the idea that they could be rejected is often unbelievable. How could she decline performing her very function? Another friend of mine told me he felt sorry for women on campus. So many of his

fellow female students came here to simply work hard and learn, yet everyday they still have to rise above social pressures against their sex. It was something he had never thought about and never has to think about as he pursues his studies here. Incoming ladies, this is what I wished someone had told me when I was a new student. RIT’s gender ratio isn’t a problem because Golisano reeks of man-sweat by late afternoon. It isn’t even a problem because the dating pool is so skewed. It is a problem because it enables the repression of a minority. It enables our campus to function as a patriarchal society.

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

Word on the Street What does RIT spend your tuition on? photography by Lloyd McCullough | illustration and design by Cassy Smithies

Jackie McGraw Game Design and Development Graduate “I hope paying my professors and for resources, especially keeping everything up to date with the latest improvements because we’re a technical school.”

Meghan Marin Advertising Photography 3rd year “Non-reusable silverware. We need to be more sustainable.”

Umesh Sojitra Mechanical Engineering Graduate “It seems they’re building the new MAGIC center and broadening the campus, so that’s always a good thing. Also updates and maintenance for the labs is always a need and I’m sure that costs a lot.”

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Neelay Amin Packaging Science (M.S.) Graduate “RIT really has world class lab equipment for my major, packaging science. We have easily millions of dollars worth of nationally certified equipment for this program, a major that isn’t really available anywhere else.”

Nick Tancredi Game Design and Development Graduate “Hopefully maintaining the labs and working on other housing options and improving the ones we have.”

Angie Krieg Illustration 3rd year “Balloons.”

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

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RINGS

TEXT OR CALL 585. 672.4840

compiled by Kevin Zampiron illustration by Cynthia Muniz design by Kendra Murphy

I am a used napkin with legs. Wednesday May 3, 2017 at 10:38 p.m.

You know the first thing Destler showed Munson was his secret smoking spot on the roof of Eastman. Thursday May 4, 2017 at 10:42 p.m.

“I am a Latverian Prince stuck abroad with no access to my bank accounts. Please post this in Rings so my subjects can know to send aid and also stop revolting.” Sunday May 7, 2017 at 9:33 p.m.

I ate a sexy breakfast sandwich this morning. It said to me, ‘I’m sexy,’ and I said, ‘yes you are.’ Monday May 8, 2017 at 10:49 p.m.

I want a center for colorectal research named after me. Mostly because I like the word, but also because I’m an asshole. Friday May 12, 2017 at 8:44 p.m.

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

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WALK OR BIKE TO CLASS P R I VAT E B E D R O O M S & B AT H R O O M S A VA I L A B L E F U L LY F U R N I S H E D A PA R T M E N T S & T O W N H O M E S

A M E N I T I E S F O R A F I T & H E A LT H Y L I F E S T Y L E A C A D E M I C A L LY- O R I E N T E D E N V I R O N M E N T S

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