Claro Volume VI

VOLUME VI

INTERDISCIPLINARY MULTI-MODAL SCHOLARLY

JOURNAL

Inside This Edition: Exploring gay space; coloring colorful Drag Queens; snapping Sexy SelďŹ es; plotting female pleasure; analyzing The Fault in Our Stars; preventing traumatic brain injury; Hamlet meets The Godfather; Romeo meets Lloyd Dobbler; shoes make the woman; schoolhouse confessions; the water behind beer making; a defense of MMORPGs and tiny houses; a criticism of faith-based healing; multiple personalities and the writing process; Inanna and Dumuzi at the grocery store; & move over, Coppola.

Claro

An Interdisciplinary Multi-Modal Scholarly Journal Volume VI 2015

Acknowledgments The Claro Staff Would Like to Thank:

The Contributing Students, whose scholarly pursuits exemplify the best of RRCC’s interdisciplinary achievements and commitment to excellence.

The Contributing Instructors, whose innovative assignments and discerning tastes provide Claro with quality content year after year.

The Comm Lab, whose facilities and tutors allowed many of the presenters in this issue to refine their work for Claro’s conference, REDTalks.

City Image, who periodically consulted with the design team and printed the physical manifestation of Claro.

The RRCC Foundation, whose grant made the initial issue of Claro a reality.

Creators of Clarity Staff

Founder & Editor Stina French Assistant Editor Ashe DeMier Design, Layout & Formatting and Marketing Lead Jennifer Walker

What Is Claro?

Claro is the interdisciplinary scholarly journal of Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, Colorado. Claro houses the exceptional academic work of RRCC’s student body, spanning genres and disciplines to emphasize creative, multi-modal scholarship. Claro also offers expanded content online, featuring student videos, digital stories, audio projects, webpages, and more. Each Spring at RRCC, Claro hosts an associated academic conference: REDTalks. Those who contribute to Claro, as well as those who present their work at the conference, are given a unique undergraduate opportunity to bolster their resumes, gaining firsthand experience in translating academese to a public platform whilst simultaneously serving as an active audience for their peers in other disciplines. In this spirit, Claro’s legacy continues with this, our 6th volume.

Expanded and Multi-Modal Content Online In the following pages, a dagger (†) beside titles symbolizes full or enhanced content available in the online version of the issue at rrcc.edu/claro.

Enhanced content and expansions include complete essays, color versions of images, videos, and more.

Claro Compendium I Service in Action The submissions in this chapter showcase the benefits of community involvement and including service in academic curricula.

A Practical Plan for a Schoolyard Garden cindy smith 3—6

With careful attention to detail, this proposal describes the process for the collaborative creation of an educational garden.

Service-Learning Project: Creation of a Recruitment Flyer for CASA † nick siler, steve jahnke, seth branson, and jeff leitheiser 7— 1 8

These students were tasked with creating a technical document for a real-world client. To meet their client’s needs and reach the widest possible audience, they conducted research and used an editable template that the client can easily adjust over time.

II Erotic Literature and Human Sexuality The pieces in this chapter consider the intersection between psychology and literature.

The Blurred Line between Gay Space and Society nicole callinicos 21—25

The author visited a gay nightclub in Denver to challenge her own stereotypical thinking about such places. What she found prompted reflection on the history of gay spaces, and began a deconstruction of the separation between these spaces and straight spaces.

Storm Sex † natalia amovich 27— 29

This artwork and associated artist’s statement explore the striking similarity between the literary narrative arc and the traditionally conceived sexual-response cycle, with relevant allusions to poems and stories along both plots.

Drag Queens Coloring Book † michaela macasinag 31—37

In an attempt to reflect the colorful nature of Drag Queens, and their unique gender presentation, Macasinag created a Drag-Queen coloring book, which offers artists the same freedom that Drag does: to create their own vivid vision.

To Snap or Not to Snap: Sexy Selfies kara walton 39 -4 1

After deciding to take some erotic photographs of herself, Walton examines the consequences of different celebrities’ nude-picture leaks, and explores the potential pitfalls and benefits of taking sexy selfies.

Free the Vag Anthem †claire snyder and madison smith This rap song and video exposes the problems with heterosexual normative sexual behavior: ignoring female pleasure. To view their video, please visit our website at www.rrcc.edu/claro or go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwrqmbIVUEA.

III Re-imagining the Past This chapter explores re-interpretations of key historic events from unexpected points of view.

The Little Rock Nine kaci johnson 45—51

Little Rock Central High School explains what it was like in the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education, as the brave Little Rock Nine became the faces of the tumultuous de-segregation process.

A Revolutionary Story cory kennedy 53—57

In a library in the small rural town of Granma, in the Sierra Maestra mountains, a librarian who played a key role in the Cuban Revolution leads story time.

A Life Well-Lived james silvester 59 — 61

This piece offers a first-person reflection on Nelson Mandela’s experiences during his 90th birthday celebration in London.

Voices richard aipperspach 63— 65

The Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia, and the torture and murder of its citizens, are detailed in this account given by a school that was turned into a secret prison.

IV Public-Service Announcements This chapter examines the power of public communication and activism.

College Tuition: What’s the Price on Your Future? † marika fama 6 9 — 70

To raise awareness of the high cost of college tuition, Fama created a pathos-heavy PSA.

Water to Beer amanda crosby 7 1 — 74

Colorado loves its beer, but do Coloradans know how much water goes into making the tasty beverage? Crosby explains the strain beer-making can place on a region’s water supply.

Mars athena landy 75—76

In answer to an astrobiology essay question, Landy considers the pros and the cons of colonizing Mars.

Shark Conservation † cara mcdearmont This video urges the public to reconsider practices that endanger sharks, such as eating shark-fin soup. To view this video, please visit our website at www.rrcc.edu/claro or go to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31ZT1Iuj7oU&feature=youtu.be.

Gift from Romania † heidi schmidt The author reflects on her time volunteering in Romania, living a life stripped to its barest essentials, which she counts among the richest gifts she’s ever received. To view this video, please visit our website at www.rrcc.edu/claro or go to https://www.wevideo.com/hub/#media/ci/536446918.

V Creative Reworkings of Shakespeare The Bard gets remixed in a visual artwork, a short story, and an original song.

Tattered Quill† william bubeck 79—82

This artist’s creation points out the similarity between Shakespeare and Hamlet, and his related artist’s statement discusses the likely autobiographical content of Hamlet.

Hamlet, Prince of New York ryan sheldon 83—98

This revision of Hamlet, which places the eponymous character in a mafia-movie scenario in New York City, shows us something’s rotten in the Big Apple.

Romeo’s Song † dan duvarney 99—102

Using perfect Shakespearean iambic pentameter and steeped in music theory, DuVarney has written a song to update Romeo and Juliet for today’s listening audiences.

To listen to the audio, please visit our website at www.rrcc.edu/claro.

VI Multimodal Arguments Multi-part, multi-genre projects that reach beyond the typical research paper format.

Dying on a Prayer † michelle christensen 105—120

Disturbed by the consequences of faith-based healing, this project attempts to convince the public of the dangers of granting legal immunity to those who withhold necessary medical treatment from children.

The MMORPG Effect: A Look at the Positive Effects of Collective Online Gaming † donny davidson 121—137

Davidson defends his time spent playing World of Warcraft as far from wasted, and details the social and educational benefits of playing massive multi-player online games in his well-researched project.

Tiny Frontiers: Pioneers of a New American Dream † talina smith 139 —163

This multi-part project examines all sides of the tiny-house trend—from avid support to skepticism—and leaves readers to decide the issue for themselves.

VII Our Multiple Selves This chapter studies ways we are created and create ourselves.

The Wild, Wild Mind † joshua fern 1 6 7— 1 72

In response to the article by Betty Flowers, “Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge: Roles and the Writing Process,” Fern illustrates the writer’s struggle by getting creative, composing with multiple voices in a purposefully chaotic array of fonts, colors, and layout choices.

Let Me Speak for Myself † sara cassese 173—175

In response to the same article, Cassese portrays her inner writer selves in an enhanced photographic image.

Inanna and Dumuzi benjamin schramm 1 7 7— 1 8 0

This ancient Mesopotamian myth gets a modern remake in the form of a mom losing her child at the grocery store: both stories reveal the pain and the personal growth that can come from separation.

Shoes: A Love Story † jenni foxworth This video traces the author’s personal economics and evolution through her consumption of shoes over the years.

To view the video, visit our website at www.rrcc.edu/claro or go to https://www.wevideo.com/hub/#view/534718507.

VIII Textual Analysis These projects examine the finer literary nuances of a film and a book-turned-film.

Film Journal #5: Sound at it Applies to The Conversation nicholas quinones 183—185

While Coppola deserves accolades for his legendary directorial skills, Quinones touts the true talent behind the success of The Conversation: the sound designer, Walter Murch.

The Fault in Our Stars: A Web-Based Literary Analysis † derek chavez, shira daves, amanda hartnett, amelia jones, ryne mills, faith owen, joe rivich, noah rouzaud, seth scadden, maggie smidt, alex smith, hunter vance, and sara vigil 1 8 7— 1 8 9

Amanda Hardman’s Introduction to Literature class created an interactive website for Golden High School students to study the famous book, The Fault In Our Stars.

To explore their website more fully, please visit our website at www.rrcc.edu/claro or go to http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=304252.

IX Physician Assistant Program In their proposal, Physician-Assistant students discuss the traumatic-brain-injury epidemic and propose a fall-prevention program for the elderly.

Traumatic-Brain-Injury Prevention in the Elderly: A Fall-Risk Program ashley england ann nimesgern erick ireland jake hopkins 193—211

I Service in Action

A Practical Pl an for a School yard Garden by cindy smith “Once the program is well-established, it will provide the school with meals on a more regular basis.”

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or the culmination of the term, I have chosen to combine many of the resources that I have discovered during all of this semester’s research into one big beneficial project. This project could definitely be successful in a real-world application under the right circumstances, but it is a big undertaking and would require a lot of time and elbow grease.

The most dismal part of all of my research this term was to find that there is a wealth of resources available locally, and that they are not adequately utilized simply because people are not aware they are there.

For my project I have planned out the huge undertaking of setting up a model community garden as a blueprint for other communities to work from, and I am going to do it in a schoolyard.

Schoolyard gardens were something that I was trying to stay away from as a topic; I want to educate and benefit whole

families and communities, instead of just children who might not fully comprehend the benefits of the lessons they learn by growing their own food. Pondering the best way to get the message out to the communities has been stressful as I consider the “whys” and “hows” of each idea. Many plans have been shot down or just died on their own, but this one could definitely work with the right group of people, and I believe that I now have that group.

To begin, let me give you some background: I have volunteered all of my adult life.

I love to help, and to “be the change.” I have served on the PTA for my children’s schools, as well as the booster clubs for their sports. I have worked tirelessly to earn money to place playgrounds in lowerincome schools who otherwise would not have been able to obtain new equipment. I even negotiated with playground supply companies to give us Claro

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equipment at their lowest cost, and then worked with local businesses to get them to provide the concrete and power to install the equipment. I have been out there with them digging holes and carrying bags of concrete. I set up a drive at my son’s football homecoming game to provide food and money to players on the opposing team after the floods came through and left eight of them homeless a couple of years ago. I set up and taught after-school enrichment programs at my daughter’s school to teach kids some new skills, and to help them with their homework. I know the value of hard work, and I am

If he felt that was necessary, I would discuss the possibility of using a small part of their very large schoolyard as a garden, as well as the benefits that this garden could bring, considering how much real estate he would be willing to let me use. I would then call in Sean from Micro Farms; a company that grows gardens in people’s yards in order to determine how much space we would actually need in order to grow veggies for the 300 students enrolled in Slater.

Once I have a solid estimate on how much space would be needed, I would discuss again with Mr. Schrant to make sure that we are on the same page.

“I have been out there with them digging holes and carrying bags of concrete.”

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resourceful enough to be able to bring this project to fruition.

I have gained many resources and much insight on how to get big things accomplished; the only thing I need now is the time.

Once approved I would talk with Tommie, the facilities manager, and make sure that she knows what we will be doing and ask her for timelines that work best for her and the school.

Since I have done so much work at this school, I would start the project at Slater Elementary school in Lakewood.The Principal, Andy Schrant, is a great guy who is open to progressive ideas, and always happy to give new things a try especially for the benefit of the children. I would first set up a meeting with him and a district representative.

With an established timeline and space requirements, I would then pay a visit to the managers at both The Home Depot and Lowe’s to see how many of the necessary supplies they would be able to donate to the school.

In the past, I have been able to get each of them to donate up to $500 in supplies, as well as designing the layout for me.

We would need them to supply

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a little bit of money to pay for things that come up. Next, I would have the school select a few of the students who participated to be mentors who could continue to learn, and teach the other students about how to care for the garden once it’s established.

I would have the teachers of the younger classes grow a few herbs in the classroom to give the young ones a concept of things growing, and get them eager to learn and grow.

Now with the garden itself set up, I would embark on the community education portion of the project. I would call in Whole Foods and Natural Grocers to send

A PRACTICAL PLAN FOR A SCHOOLYARD GARDEN

us with fencing supplies as well as concrete for bordering the garden, and watering supplies for upkeep. If gathering all of the supplies costs more than the donated amount, then I would call Paul with Playco Park Builders and ask if he could donate the remainder, as well as supply us with manpower to get the garden set up. If, for any reason, I could not get the supplies paid for, I would attend a PTA meeting and present the needs and have them approve payment for the remainder of the supplies out of their playground budget, as well as have them send out a message to have families come out and help Playco with the installation.

“[N]utritionists [would] hold seminars for parents so they can come and learn about proper nutrition, and to get them excited for the growing garden from which their children will be learning and eating.�

Once we have the garden set up, I would call Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) to come and hold an enrichment class for the kids and show them how to plant the garden. DUG has programs to donate seeds for free as well, keeping the costs minimal if any by this point. I would then ask Micro Farms to come again and teach the kids how to compost and fertilize, and set up watering schedules and routes. For our enrichment classes, we normally charge students between $2 and $5, so if necessary we would have

in their nutritionists to hold seminars for parents so they could come and learn about proper nutrition, and to get them excited for the growing garden from which their children will be learning and eating. I would have them each do a few seminars at varying times on varying days in order to provide maximum accessibility to the families of Slater. Going along with the nutritionists, I would ask Whole Foods as well as Sur La Table if they could do some cooking classes for the Claro

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families to teach them some new skills. These classes would serve several purposes health-wise, but would keep the community engaged and anticipating the garden.

Slater Elementary currently holds a “Colorado Proud Day� each month in their lunch room, where the students are served foods only from Colorado. I have had the opportunity to discuss this with the students and learned that they were excited to have this in the beginning, but that the foods are bland and dry and in general they do not like it anymore. I would like to have Whole Foods or another local business work with the lunch staff to try some recipes and come up with menu plans that would utilize the foods from the garden that the kids would enjoy.

In order to keep the project manageable, I would want to incorporate a once-weekly, or once-every-other-week meal completely from the garden, which would be at no charge to the families, or at a discounted rate with the funds going back into maintenance. Once the program is well-established, it will provide the school with meals on a more regular

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basis. A slow start would be ideal while it is new to get everyone accustomed to the work involved, as well as seeing the benefits. As the garden becomes more productive, any excesses would be given to families in the school who need assistance, and the education should continue. The seminars for nutrition and cooking should still be held at least once per year, but new things like preserving and storing could come into play. I think that community engagement is the biggest key to something like this being successful.

Finally, once the garden is well-established and producing at a good rate, I would call in the local news and have them do a story about the school community and their garden.

The local businesses that have donated and helped could be featured and other communities in the area may hire them to help set up a similar project. As I said, this is a big undertaking, but just think of all the good it could do! I really do think that this could be a successful project and maybe once I am done with school, I can actually make it happen.

Service-Learning Pro ject: Creation of a Recruitment † Flyer for C A S A by nick siler, steve jahnke, seth branson, and jeff leitheiser “There is a tremendous need for child advocates for foster children in...Colorado”

CASA Jefferson and Gilpin County 100 Jefferson County Parkway #1536 Golden, CO 80401 303­271­6535 Phone 303­279­9494 Fax Tiffany Schlag http://www.casajeffcogilpin.com/ info@casajeffcogilpin.com

A National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association.

With state and local members, they support and promote court appointed volunteer advocacy so that every abused and neglected child in the United States can be safe, have a permanent home, and the opportunity to thrive. * Last year, more than 76,000 CASA and guardian volunteers helped more than 251,000 abused and neglected children find safe, permanent homes. * A child with a CASA volunteer is more likely to; find a safe and permanent home, be adopted, and half as likely to re-enter foster care. * 65% of all children in neglect and abuse cases in Jefferson and Gilpin Counties do not have a dedicated volunteer representing them. * In 2014, CASA Jeffco/Gilpin represented in 286 cases. 416 children were helped. Of those helped, 52% were girls, 48% were boys, and 54% of children were 11 years old or younger.

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NICK SILER, STEVE JAHNKE, SETH BRANSON, AND JEFF LEITHEISER

When Brooke turned 21, the first thing on her list of to-dos wasn’t partying, she filled out an application to become a CASA volunteer with CASA of Jefferson and Gilpin Counties. At a young age, Brooke and her sister were placed into Jefferson County’s child welfare system and were adopted when Brooke was 3. Her personal experiences make her passionate about helping other children.

“I know how serious the issues these youth deal with are,” she said. “I am 22 years old, and I still deal with the emotional issues that occurred during my first three years of life.

I want to do this work to improve people’s quality of life,” Brooke said. “My favorite part about volunteering is getting that opportunity.

Even though I had some unfortunate experiences as a young child, my involvement means someone else’s life is slightly easier. I feel like I have a purpose.

I don’t feel like I am wasting my prime years.”

Brooke encourages others who have been in her shoes to consider volunteering for CASA Jeffco/Gilpin.

Every year in Colorado, more than 50,000 reports of child abuse and neglect are filed.

Every year, over 11,000 children enter foster care.

CASA in Jeffco/Gilpin serves the 1st Judicial District, which ranked 5th of 22 Districts in Colorado for the number of abuse and neglect cases file in 2014.

Colorado ranks third in the nation for deaths resulting from child abuse. Colorado’s state funding to battle child abuse ranks among the lowest in the nation.

What Can I Do? Volunteer!

In 2014, there were 251 volunteers in CASA Jeffco/Gilpin Counties of which 25% are between the ages of 21-39.

We are always looking for new volunteers and age doesn't affect a volunteer's ability to make a positive impact in the life of a child.

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Client Interview—CASA

As you can see with the questions we are submitting, we focused our “Document-Specific Questions” to verify their plans, goals, and the overall scope of work they want us to perform.

Although we have a general idea, there should be no question as to what they need after we receive answers to these questions.

The other major section is based on the volunteer experience.

We are trying to get the overall experience of being a CASA volunteer including asking to be able to contact a current volunteer. Recruiting literature is sometimes hard to write if you don’t know all of the specifics, so gathering all of the information we can is important.

Lastly, we will have many other questions that we come up with on the fly based on the subject of our conversation. And that is exactly what this needs to be: a conversation. They will be giving us directions, and we may be able to make them realize things that they did not think of. We look forward to helping CASA reach their goals on this project.

CASA Group Questions Document-Specific Questions 1. What is the scope of your technical writing request?

2. What are your goals for these documents?

SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT: CREATION OF A RECRUITMENT FLYER FOR CASA

When we first started looking into the CASA organization, it was apparent that they did not have enough volunteers and we assumed that we would be writing some sort of recruiting literature as our project subject.

3. Who is the target audience we will be addressing?

4. When will these documents be used? Should they be designed as past tense for training purposes, for present use, or in future tense?

5. What specific information/language do you have that MUST be included in a document of this sort?

6. What is the education level of the audience for which we will be writing?

7. Do you have specific templates that you would prefer we use? If so, please provide them.

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NICK SILER, STEVE JAHNKE, SETH BRANSON, AND JEFF LEITHEISER

8. Do you have specific images that you would like us to include? If so, please provide them.

9. What demographic group would you most like to appeal to and why?

Goals 1. What are the specific goals that CASA Jefferson County would like to accomplish moving forward?

2. Do you have an action plan in writing to achieve the goals of your organization?

Volunteer-Specific Questions 1. Can you walk us through a day in the life of a CASA volunteer so as to better understand exactly what we are writing about?

2. What are the required commitments of a volunteer?

3. When will the next training session be held?

4. Are there specific needs that CASA has in addition to volunteers that we can assist in promoting?

5. How do you feel about appealing to emotions of potential volunteer readers to increase effectiveness?

What approach would you prefer?

6. What steps do you currently take to expand the volunteer cache?

7. What organizations do you partner with?

8. Which types of media have been used in the past that have proved successful, i.e. radio, television, brochures, etc.?

Closing 1. How would you like our group to keep in contact with you as we go through this process?

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CASA Recruitment Document Proposal

The intent of this proposed document is to motivate people to volunteer with CASA for Jefferson and Gilpin Counties as child advocates. To establish the best strategy for motivating people, our team conducted a survey to evaluate individual reactions towards recruiting documents used by similar organizations.

The survey results revealed that there are two distinct groups of people who responded positively to distinctly different document formats. “Group A” preferred a short, direct format while “Group B” preferred a more detailed informational format.

Due to the lack of an overall consensus, our team concludes that the best approach is to accommodate both preferences by producing a double-sided document. The front of the document will provide basic information designed to grab the attention of potential volunteers, while the backside will provide more detail for more serious inquiries.

Background There is a tremendous need for child advocates for foster children in Jefferson and Gilpin Counties of Colorado. While the goal of CASA is to provide every child with an advocate, only 3035% of foster children actually have advocates assigned to their cases by the Judicial Courts. Therefore, the challenge is how to connect with people who would be willing to volunteer yet do not know about CASA or the increasing need for child-advocate representation in cases of neglect and abuse.

CASA has a strong volunteer training program, a web site, and flyers that adequately describe the organization. The CASA technical-writing team project is chartered to research and design a new one-page flyer that can be handed out at charity recruiting fairs and posted on public bulletin boards to increase the number of volunteer inquiries.

SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT: CREATION OF A RECRUITMENT FLYER FOR CASA

Executive Summary

CASA’s current volunteer demographic is mostly female and slanted towards those fifty years of age and older. CASA would like to expand their volunteer cache to include people of all genders and ages twenty-one and up. This project strives to find materials that will appeal to all potential qualified volunteers.

The ENG-131 instructor, Christina French, chartered the CASA technical writing team to create new document(s) to aid CASA on September 16, 2015, and provided a contact within the local CASA organization, Ms. Tiffany Schlag. In our first meeting with Tiffany, we defined the scope of our team’s project to be Claro

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NICK SILER, STEVE JAHNKE, SETH BRANSON, AND JEFF LEITHEISER

the research and creation of a new volunteer-recruitment flyer template for CASA of Jefferson and Gilpin Counties.

The CASA technical-writing team researched various samples of flyers, brochures, and pamphlets from several nonprofit organizations similar to CASA in efforts to compare and contrast what type of recruitment documents are in use, and how they effectively utilize persuasive language to attract new volunteers. The results of the research revealed two distinct formats that together appeal to most people. Those formats include: ● Group A’s format: short, direct message with contact information ● Group B’s format: a longer message outlining specific details of the organization and how one might get involved The team’s research is detailed in the research report delivered to CASA on October 25, 2015. This proposal builds on the results of the team’s research.

Proposed Deliverables Our team will design an editable template for a recruitment flyer that will be visually appealing with general information and images on the front and specific details on the reverse side.

This approach will initially attract the individuals from “Group A” as well as provide the in-depth information desired by “Group B.” The template can then be updated and modified as needed in order to best serve CASA’s recruiting needs.

Document Specifications and Requirements ● The flyer shall not be targeted toward any specific demographic population. o There will initially be one flyer created by this project; therefore, the flyer should appeal to a wide variety of people. ● The flyer shall be one page (8.5” x 11”). ● The flyer shall be designed to be used as a handout and to be posted on public bulletin boards. ● The flyer shall be designed for reproduction in color and black & white. ● The flyer shall only include information and pictures approved by CASA. ● The flyer shall include CASA’s logo and CASA’s color scheme.

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Additional Valuable (but not required) Document Characteristics

● The flyer should be easy to update using Microsoft or open-source tools. ● The flyer text should use 10-point or larger fonts.

Project Timeline ● November 04, 2015: Proposal sent to CASA ● November 11, 2015: Feedback needed from CASA ● November 18, 2015: Progress Report sent to CASA ● November 25, 2015: Feedback needed from CASA ● December 09, 2015: Final submission of the recruiting document to CASA ● December 14, 2015: Feedback needed from CASA Recommended Next Steps Upon your feedback and approval of this proposal, our team will draft a mock version of what we feel would be the most appealing recruitment-brochure template. As we continue this process, we would appreciate any direct feedback you may have.

Our goal is to produce a document that envelops CASA’s vision, a vision that appeals to as many potential volunteers as possible, volunteers that would be the voice of children for Jefferson and Gilpin Counties. We believe in what CASA is doing, and are very excited to be able to serve you in this way.

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SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT: CREATION OF A RECRUITMENT FLYER FOR CASA

● The flyer design should be based on a template so the content sections such as pictures or blocks of text can be easily replaced.

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NICK SILER, STEVE JAHNKE, SETH BRANSON, AND JEFF LEITHEISER

Progress on Development of CASA Recruitment Document Eng131 CASA Document Development Team November 11, 2015 I.

Introduction A. We are reporting on the progress of the development of the CASA recruiting document template that will be utilized at volunteer fairs and posted on bulletin boards.

B. This report covers the individual roles of each person on the CASA technical writing team and their individual contributions to the final deliverable.

II. Development A. Progress 1. The team has come to an agreement for the overall layout and the type of information that will be utilized for the front of the document.

2. The photo has been chosen to act as the main background for the front of the document that will appeal to the widest variety of potential volunteers.

3. The arrangement of information on the front page will display current statistics for the specific number of cases that are in the Jefferson and Gilpin Counties, as well as the percentage of children that are without advocates.

4. An additional “call to action� will be placed at the bottom to further inspire volunteers to step up and make the commitment.

B. Opportunities/recommendations 1. The font and the color of the text need to be determined to maximize visibility, readability and appeal.

2. The layout and graphics of the backside of the document need to be finalized and agreed upon.

3. The detailed information provided on the backside needs to be sorted through, prioritized, and applied to the template.

III. Conclusion A. The team is on track to complete the template for the recruitment brochure in the time specified in the original agreement.

B. The document will be complete and rendered to CASA no later than 9:00 AM MST on December 9, 2015.

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Document-Evaluation Questions The purpose of these questions are to test that readers: Would receive the brochure and become interested in volunteer work.

B)

Would view this particular brochure as a viable document in order to recruit volunteers.

Perceptions: Rate on a scale from one to five. Five is the highest value assignable.

1. The brochure provides adequate information about the need for Child Advocacy.

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2. The brochure is visually appealing.

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3. The brochure is easy to read.

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4. I understand who CASA is and what they do.

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5. The brochure inspires me to volunteer.

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6. I can easily find contact information for CASA. 1

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7. This document appeals to all age groups.

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SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT: CREATION OF A RECRUITMENT FLYER FOR CASA

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NICK SILER, STEVE JAHNKE, SETH BRANSON, AND JEFF LEITHEISER

PowerPoint Explaining the Creation of a Recruitment Flyer for CASA

Service Learning Project: Creation of a Recruitment Flyer for CASA

Thank You for the opportunity From Steve Jahnke Seth Branson Jeff Leitheiser Nicholes Siler

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Afte r our initia l me e ting with CASA, it wa s de cide d tha t we would cre a te a ne w re cruiting flye r for CASA volunte e rs

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We de cide d on a 2-side d re cruiting flye r

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We wa nte d to incorpora te a story from a volunte e r or forme r re cipie nt of CASA re pre se nta tion

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We wa nte d to include fa cts a nd figure s

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We wa nte d to include picture s a nd colors to gra b some one 's a tte ntion

SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECT: CREATION OF A RECRUITMENT FLYER FOR CASA

Project Inception and Scope

Content Research

Template-Based Design Allows Easy Changes ● ●

We decided to use a website that allows easy modification of the document www.canva.com

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PDF file output

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Easy to grant access to anyone, anywhere

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No per-user cost

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Easy to learn

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NICK SILER, STEVE JAHNKE, SETH BRANSON, AND JEFF LEITHEISER

Conclusion Once again thank you for allowing us to work on this project

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We feel this is a good solution based on the research we performed

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This document has the ability to be easily modified to your current needs and requirements

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We will help CASA create an account to edit the current flyer

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If you need anything, please email Seth at Seth.branson@rrcc.edu

II Erotic Literature & Human Sexuality

The Blurred Line between Gay Space and Society by nicole callinicos “My determination to label myself as a straight female in a gay club was absolutely ridiculous.”

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racks is a gay nightclub in downtown Denver.

According to Tracks’s official website, the history of Tracks is as follows: “It all started in 1980 on Fox Street, Tracks opened as an after­-hours bar, serving no alcohol. After that, it became a full service nightclub followed by ones in Washington, DC, Tampa, and NYC, but alas, they’re all gone now. Condos and office buildings stand where we once partied the night away. All that remains is our pride and joy Tracks Denver, and we’re confident it lives up to its predecessors.”

Going to a homosexual nightclub for the first time was intimidating. Intimidating mostly because I had no idea what to expect. I thought it would be packed with up­-in­-your-­face gay flamboyant males, grinding and making out with each other in a non-sanitary way. The club wouldbefilledwithdrag queens with amazing vibrant makeup ruling the dance floor and butch type lesbians looking to score. I

was immaculately wrong. There was no unsanitary making out (at least that I saw), no fabulous drag queens dancing and no butch type lesbians hit on me.

The only thing that resembled the situation that society’s stereotypes had implanted in my brain was the skinny young go­-go boy in a banana hammock shaking his junk on the bar. For the most part, the scene that laid in front of me could have been that of any night scene downtown: dancing, drinks, laughter, hugs, kisses, smiling faces, and everyone generally having a good time. My determination to label myself as a straight female in a gay club was absolutely ridiculous. No one was paying any attention to me or whether I was straight or gay, male or female.

Everyone was accepting of gender identity; males dressed like girls and girls acted and dressed like men. No one was paying any attention to gender whatsoever because in an openly sexual place, you are not your gender.

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NICOLE CA LLINICOS

I had a few drinks and let go of all my ridiculous socially accumulated thoughts of what to expect. Dancing was a blast, I didn’t have to worry about a creepy man swooping in and rubbing his genitals against my butt in a primitive secret language of “hey, want to dance?” Dancing with homosexual males is so fun and entertaining. Unlike straight males, there are no gender roles. If you want to be the dominant lead in a grind session with a homosexual male, they are down.

Going to the bathroom in a gay nightclub was interesting.

There was one bathroom open to everyone. Urinals lined the walls and there were stalls for privacy and pooping. I was mortified when I saw the

of straight people there. One thing about being around so many different people, with so many different sexual orientations, was that there was a lot more respect. Girls were not competing with other girls, like in a normal heterosexual type of environment. These girls were respecting each other and accepting each other. It wasn’t a race of who looks the best, who’s going to get the hottest dude, who’s the skinniest. It’s hard to compete with someone if they’re in the taco league and you yourself are in the hot dog league. No one made assumptions about another’s sexual orientation, and if someone had a question, all that was needed was to ask. Tracks is a place of sexual acceptance. Boys would ask

“One thing about being around so many different people, with so many different sexual orientations was that there was a lot more respect.”

urinals, thinking I would have to endure a sight of multiple penises while waiting for a stall. But once again my mind was way too imaginative, as I only saw the backs of the men peeing in the urinals. I pushed my comfort zone in that bathroom that night, and it was one of the most fun nights I’ve had at any club, gay or straight alike.

A closer observation of the people around me seemed to show that there were a lot 22 |

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other boys before they started dancing with each other to confirm sexual orientation.

This was supposed to be a gay club, but I didn’t see it as gay.

It was a nightclub just like all the others. At the end of it all, it didn’t matter, we were gay and straight and all human.

A lot of the stigmas surrounding homosexuality may originate from the sole fact that it was illegal to be gay in America during most of the 20th century. It was

mination towards the disease brought a lot of shame on the LGBT community. The LGBT community continued to fight for their rights and educate people.

Sitting in what was categorized as a gay club looking at all the straight people around me, I couldn’t help but wonder if straight culture and gay culture are

“The media described these meeting places as full of sin and unclean.”

In a time when being gay was life-­threatening, homosexuals needed a place to be gay in peace. They needed a safe place to meet other homosexuals, and engage in the human instinct of sex.

This is when a lot of gay bars, bathhouses, and gay communities started to pop up. Even though the bars and bathhouses could be raided at any given time, there was a certain sense of freedom.

A freedom to be openly gay and proud in a public area (“Gay Bathhouse”). Just like everything associated with sexual orientation, there was distaste for these gay public spaces. These stigmas really peaked in the 1980’s when AIDS made it to the front lines of our society, and we started labeling gays as the cause of this disease. The media described these meeting places as full of sin and unclean. The discri-

finally morphing into one? I’ve only heard of a couple of gay bars and night clubs. There used to be whole communities of homosexual people and now they are disappearing. Is this because society is finally letting gays blend in? Or is it because gays feel safer in today’s time than in the early 20th century? “The sense of hope, one noted by Gary J. Gates, a demographer at UCLA’s Williams Institute, is that gays no longer need an enclave to be gay (Brown, 2007; Gates, 2007; Leff, 2007); that it no longer takes a specific geographic destination for one to feel safe being out and that being out in public life is no longer restricted to the former traditional spots of New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles or a half­-dozen other major metropolises” (Usher & Morrison). According to the article, “The Demise Of The Claro

THE BLURRED LINE BET W EEN GAY SPACE A ND SO CIET Y

illegal and dangerous; not only could one be arrested but also beaten up and even killed.

Discrimination against the LGBT community has been going on since the beginning of time; thousands of murders and attacks have been recorded.

For example, you may recall the mass genocide in World War II when Hitler sent all gays to concentration camps.

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NICOLE CA LLINICOS

Gay Enclave, Communication Infrastructure Theory, And The Reconstitution Of Gay Public Space,” it seems the answer to the question is homosexuals feel safer in society (Usher & Morrison).

One great tool to help homosexuals feel safe is the internet.

On the internet, gays can have a whole community without anyone knowing. The internet changes the infrastructure from public space to online media space. This could possibly be the reason for the decline in gay public space.

Another aspect to the disappearing gay culture is acceptance. Sexual expression for the LGBT community has always been very limited here in the United States. According to one study by The American Journal of Public Health, lesbians and gay men are at higher risk for stress­-sensitive psychiatric disorders than heterosexual people (Mays & Cochran).

This is because of all the discrimination and unequal rights of sexual expression. In

from the DSM, and finally in 2015, all states legalized gay marriage. With the legalization of gay marriage happening, “being gay” is not a shameful thing anymore. A lot of city attractions have specific nights and events dedicated to the LGBT community. High schools have LGBT clubs and celebration weeks. Over time, gay hangouts have been more and more accepted by society in the western world. Which has also led to a decline in gay public space simply because with acceptance comes unity and these “gay” places aren’t just for gays anymore. Nightclubs, bars, and any public hangout now­a­days are open to anyone of any gender and of any sexual orientation. Even though the United States has been very slow with the evolution of equal rights for the LGBT community, compared to other countries where being gay is taboo and punishable by death, the United States is making great accomplishments in equality for all.

“If you want to be the dominant lead in a grind session with a homosexual male, they are down.”

1969, the Stonewall movement sparked the fight for gay rights decriminalizing crossdressing and homosexuality.

Homosexuality was considered a disease until 1973, when it was officially removed 24 |

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What I experienced at Tracks nightclub changed my view on gay culture and the separation between homosexual and heterosexual. There is a blurry line between gay space and society, and everyday

has put in our heads. Tracks nightclub is and will always be just another nightclub in my book. We can sideline the word gay because it is not “gay,” but instead a place where people of all different genders and sexuality can come together and have a great time without sexual labeling.

“At the end of it all, it didn’t matter, we were gay and straight and all human.”

Works Cited “Gay bathhouse.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia contributors.

Mays,

Vickie M., and Susan D. Cochran. “Mental Health Correlates of Perceived Discrimination Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults in the United States.”

American Journal of Public Health® , Nov. 2001. EBSCOhost.

Web. 7 Dec. 2015. <http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/ full/10.2105/AJPH.91.11.1869>.

THE BLURRED LINE BET W EEN GAY SPACE A ND SO CIET Y

that line gets blurrier. One day hopefully the line will disappear and society will openly accept gays in every way possible. Tracks of course is a gay nightclub, but it does not promote the separation of heterosexual and homosexual.

The only separation is the ridiculous notion that society

“Tracks Denver About.” N.p., 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2015. <http://www.

tracksdenver.com/about/>. Wikipedia contributors.

Usher,

Nicole, and Eleanor Morrison. “The Demise Of The Gay Enclave, Communication Infrastructure Theory, And The Reconstitution Of Gay Public Space.”

Conference Papers International Communication Association (2008): 1­27. Communication & Mass Media.

Complete. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.

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Storm Sex † by natalia aramovich “The sequence of events in which this ‘storm’ of metaphors and images takes place encompasses the ideas of both the Sexual Response Cycle and Plot Structure of a story.”

“As the weather picks up, so do our vital signs in the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle.”

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NATALIA ARAMOVICH

Artist’s Statement: “Storm Sex” The literal and figurative structure of my comic depicts the similarities between the sexual response cycle and the plot structure of a story. The chronology of a storm is the metaphor I chose to illustrate those similarities through a mighty sexual encounter.

(“Sexual Response Cycle,” WebMD)

The sequence of events in which this “storm” of metaphors and images takes place encompasses the ideas of both the sexual response cycle and plot structure of a story.

In the beginning of my graphic (the exposition), it is still sunny outside, and the “excitement” of the sexual response cycle begins with Kate Chopin’s description of Calixta’s flesh being “like a creamy lily the sun invites to contribute its breath and perfume to the underlying life of the world” (“The Storm”).

The arousing invitation of this woman’s body is similar to the calm before the storm; in this case, it is still sunny before the storm, and the following events begin to heighten as they do in the sexual response cycle and plot structure.

The transition from the beginning excitement to the rising action in the plot resembles the line from the poem, “Every 28 |

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(“Plot Structure”, LearnHub)

Day You Play,” in which Pablo Neruda blatantly states, “The rain takes off her clothes.” As the weather picks up, so do our vital signs in the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle. With increased blood flow and muscle tension, the rising action is parallel to the wind that increases in a storm, which Audre Lorde describes perfectly in “Love Poem”: “I knew that when I entered her I was the high winds in her forests hollow.”

As the weather and corresponding sexual activity continue to heighten, the climax and orgasm of this sexual storm erupt as “loves lesser lightning” strikes and that moment is “flaming in desire,” which is depicted by my drawing of lightning striking the forests and catching them on fire (Wilmot 95).

For the falling action and resolution of both the plot and sexual response cycle, I use e.

between my arms” to illustrate post-­orgasm, lying in someone’s arms during the literal resolution of the sexual response cycle. In correspondence with a storm, after all the rain has finished coming down (the falling action) and the sun comes back out, there often times is a “stirringofbirds” and regular activity resumes once again.

STORM SEX

e. cummings’s simile from his poem, “I have found what you are like”: “I have found what you are like the rain.” This resembles the wetness in my storm metaphor that gently puts out the flame of desire as the orgasm finishes and the climax diminishes. The denouement of this storm sex closes with “the coolness of your smile is stirringofbirds

“The arousing invitation of the woman’s body is similar to the calm before the storm.”

Works Cited cummings, e. e. “i have found what you are like.” Lines: 1-2,17-18.

Lorde, Audre. “Love Poem.” Lines: 6-7.

Neruda, Pablo. “Every Day You Play.” Line: 13.

“Plot Structure.” LearnHub. Educomp. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.

“Sexual Response Cycle: Sexual Arousal, Orgasm, and More.”

WebMD. WebMD, 2005. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.

Wilmot, John. “The Imperfect Enjoyment.” The Naughty Bits. Ed.

Jack Murnighan. New York City: Three Rivers, 2001. 95.

Print.

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Drag Queens Coloring Book

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by michaela macasinag “Drag Queens are standing up for the right to play with and tease American views of gender...”

Drag Queens Coloring Book Artist’s Statement I have chosen a visual representation to represent the intricate world of Drag Queens. Drag Queens are typically males who cross dress as a female. They are usually an exaggeration of a female or female role to be of a comical and entertaining character. According to Webster Dictionary, Drag Queen means, “a male homosexual who dresses as a woman especially for comic or theatrical effect.” However, one doesn’t need to be a homosexual to be a drag queen; there are some men who like to dress up and are heterosexual. There are also Drag Kings, which means females dressing in male clothing. Drag Queens represent a world of gender bending and do not restrict the gender direction and opportunity for anyone who would choose to be a drag queen. I hope to explore the different aspects of the power of Drag Queens.

“The media stands as a double agent in embracing and also criticizing Drag Queens through gender orientation and identification.”

As discussed in my Human Sexuality class and the Hock textbook in chapter ten through eleven, gender and sexual orientation have been quite the hot and sizzling controversies in our society. The socializing agents around us can encourage and manipulate the shaming and judgment of Drag Queens. The media stands as a double agent in embracing and also criticizing Drag Queens through gender orientation and identification.

Only in recent times have the stigma of Drag Queens been spotlighted in a good and fun way. We as a society can see a slight shift in the observation and representation of gender identity among people. Even the term “Drag Queen” represents the issue of gender in society. This is also highlighted in an article, “Speaking Like a Queen in RuPaul’s Drag Race: Towards a Claro

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MICHAELA MACASINAG

Speech Code of American Drag Queens,” by Nathaniel Simmons.

Simmons states, “[D]rag queens have culturally unique ways of speaking. In particular…drag queens use nonverbal aesthetics to communicate a coherent drag identity as queen’s blur gender lines and use performance as a space in which to bend the dominant American gender narrative binary.” Drag Queens have not only introduced an artistic outlet but have created an intricate language that is disintegrating the separations of gender identity. The binary oppositions that are so embedded in American culture are slowly being scraped off the plate and the deconstruction of Drag Queens offers a new plate of gender acknowledgement and support.

The Queens have offered a colorful taste of social acceptance of cross-dressing females, males, and even androgynes. Drag is deconstructing the societal structure of gender by deconstructing the genders and erecting a new way of thinking about gender normality. Through the visually exaggerated form these Drag Queens take, they highlight the issue of people who don’t want to be categorized but accepted along a gender spectrum. As indicated in the academic journal article, “When the Girls Are Men: Negotiating Gender and Sexual Dynamics in a Study of “Drag Queens have not only introduced an artistic outlet but have created an intricate language that is disintegrating the separations of gender identity.”

Drag Queens,” authors Taylor and Rupp investigate how the effect of Drag Queens was incorporated into feminist research. It is clear in the following statement that the authors’ investigation broke the social structure: “And in fact many audience members concluded that the labels of ‘gay’ and ‘straight’ (or ‘female’ and ‘male’) just don’t fit…Another gay man thought the show ‘really pushes gender identity and gender role and homophobia issues with straight people. To have that kind of interaction with drag queens.’ Because straight men are supposed to suppress any femininity…” Drag Queens thrive for that, to push the envelope of gender and force the audience to realize the extensive complexity of gender representation and sexuality. It is never just male or female; it goes deeper than appearance, and Drag Queens are a walking symbol of that idea. Beyond their bold makeup and flashy outfits, Drag Queens are standing up for the right to play with and tease American views of gender, to have a society that isn’t binary but offers a full array of scrumptious ways each human being can be.

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DRAG QUEENS COLORING BOOK

I decided to represent these ideas through drawings of Drag Queens on mixed-media paper. Initially the drawing was done for the human sexuality professor Fawn Oates at her request for some Drag-Queen coloring pictures. However, as professor Stina French pointed out, why create more work since I already had a good start on the drawings? I created five drawings in the final product that show a glimpse of the beauties of a Drag Queen. Two of the cards are colored while the rest are just outlined ready to be colored. I decided to color two of them to show how expressive and unique each Drag Queen is, utilizing their bedazzled gowns and fake eyelashes to show a rejection to social normality. The other cards are uncolored to let the colorist choose colors and make use of their creative freedom. To have the freedom to pick a color out and make the drawing custom to you is the same effect that Drag wants to offer everyone, to be able to take their own crayon, pencil, or paintbrush and color their own life. Each card has a saying that empowers the Drag Queen community and encouragement to society. Some of the cards are people in full drag while the others show a drag queen half in drag and half out of drag. These pictures are to show the dynamic and virtuous creatures they are.

Overall, I’m happy to have covered such a topic that excites me for I am constantly watching the television show RuPaul’s Drag Race and going to local drag shows at the Paramount Theater. This project was a truly delectable and satisfying ending to a great class that blended just the right amount of savory sex and luscious literature.

Works Cited “Drag Queen.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d.

Web. 29 Nov. 2015.

Hock, Roger R. P. D. Human Sexuality + Revel Access Card: Books

a La Carte Edition. Prentice Hall, 2015. Print.

Simmons, Nathaniel. “Speaking Like A Queen In Rupaul’s Drag

Race: Towards A Speech Code Of American Drag

Queens.” Sexuality & Culture 18.3 (2014): 630-648.

Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.

Taylor, Verta, and Leila J. Rupp. “When the Girls Are Men:

Negotiating Gender and Sexual Dynamics in a Study of

Drag Queens.” Signs 30.4 (2005): 2115–2139. Web.

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MICHAELA MACASINAG

DRAG QUEENS COLORING BOOK

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MICHAELA MACASINAG

DRAG QUEENS COLORING BOOK

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To Snap or Not to Snap: Sexy Sel f ies by kara walton “There was the risk I would accidentally send [my picture] to the wrong person, or they would distribute it, or worst of all, that they would laugh at me...”

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photo says a thousand words: where you are, what you’re doing, how you feel, who you’re with. But what if your photo says something controversial? What if it says you are in your bedroom, posing sexually, you’re happy about it, and maybe you’re with a photographer who isn’t your partner? The way social media is now, we can send pictures to all of our friends with a quick click, and because of this speed and ease, we can also send the wrong pictures to all of our friends. So where do I come into this, you ask?

Well, my experiential project was to ignore my paranoia, strip down, and take boudoir and nude photos for the first time in my almost 24 years of life. The hardest part of this project for me was and is the sharing portion.

When I was younger, mostly through high school, I had always considered sending sexy pictures to my partners, but I always became too afraid.

There was the risk I would

accidentally send it to the wrong person, or they would distribute it, or worst of all, that they would laugh at me for looking horrible or doing it wrong. Like many teens, I had body-image issues, but mine went as far as becoming body dysmorphia. Even if I did take pictures of myself, it would make me sick to look at them, because at the time I couldn’t stand the sight of my own body.

Even though body dysmorphic disorder was a horrible thing to get through, not taking nude photos when I was younger and dumber may have been something very good for me.

Sex can be scandalous due to its taboo nature within our society. The things we do in the bedroom can ruin our careers and lives if they are leaked at all. For example, a Judge Douglas from Canada was investigated over photos that her husband, King, had sent out. “King allegedly emailed Chapman nude photos of Douglas engaged in sexual bondage. King also apparently posted those same Claro

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photos on an internet site devoted to interracial sex called darkcavern.com” (Dodek, p. 216).

The existence of the photos remained a secret for years; however, once they were discovered, the scandal sent everyone into an uproar. The article that discusses this case stated, “Many commentators have asserted that if the allegations are true Judge Douglas should resign or be removed from office because she would never have been appointed to the bench had the Minister of Justice known of the existence of nude photos” (Dodek, p. 217). Though the Judge is not able to be removed

into a scandal in everyday life.

When many female celebrities had videos and photos leaked, there were mixed reviews. I remember Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian having videos stolen and spread across the internet, and the consensus was that it was just fine to watch those. Yet when Jennifer Lawrence had photos leaked, it was like a revolution was started.

People had long looked at hers and many other women’s photos, but they suddenly stood up and said it was not okay to share someone’s nudes without consent. One article I read discussed these three prolific events stating, “North

“My Human Sexuality and Erotic Literature class helped me open up and become more comfortable with the idea of sharing my naked body with people whom i love.”

strictly on this reasoning, sex is still seen as misconduct to many, which leaves room for her to be dismissed from her position. This case was under investigation seven whole years after the nude photos were distributed, which seems to make it legally unsafe to take photos of this type. The possibility of losing a future job because of any unintended distribution, or even if circumstances change with the recipient, has always been too much of a liability for me.

Even if you take out the possible legal ramifications, society turns nude photos 40 |

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America took so-called slut shaming to a new level when these women were exposed without their consent, yet we show enormous compassion for Jennifer Lawrence” (Teitel).

Where you stand in society’s estimation determines how invasion of privacy is viewed.

For me, this was always something I couldn’t risk since I was already so worried about what everyone thought of me.

My Human Sexuality and Erotic Literature class helped me open up and become more comfortable with the idea of sharing my naked body with people whom I love. A scene in

do something I’d never done, and since it was for a grade, I did what I had to do. Yet, just like Wendy, I found myself enjoying the experience. In the end, I decided that caution was well enough to protect me from the legal and social ramifications of taking both nude and boudoir photos, and I was able to enjoy the awkward yet loving experience.

“The things we do in the bedroom can ruin our careers and lives if they are leaked.”

TO SNAP OR NOT TO SNAP: SEXY SELFIES

Alan Moore’s Lost Girls, chapter twelve, reminded me of how it felt to take these pictures. When Alice forces Wendy to submit to her, forces her to give in to what she has been too shy to do, it made me think of my journey with this project after years of constantly refusing to photograph myself in any sexual light, even after I overcame my body dysmorphia. Then this class came and told me to

Works Cited Dodek, Adam. “Sex On The Internet And Fitness For Judicial

Office: Correspondent’s Report From Canada.” Legal Ethics 13.2 (2010): 215-219. Academic Search Complete.

Web. 4 Dec. 2015.

Moore, Alan, and Melinda Gebbie. “Shaking And Waking.” Lost Girls. Chapter 12. Atlanta: Top Shelf Productions, 2009.

Print.

Teitel, Emma. “Fans And Stalkers, We Click On It All.” Maclean’s

127.36 (2014): 12-13. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5

Dec. 2015.

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III Re-Imagining the Past

The Little Rock Nine by kaci johnson “Though these nine new students had finally gained accessibility to my classrooms and hallways, the hatred continued.”

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ver since 1927, I have stood tall and proud at 1500 Park Street in Little Rock, Arkansas and my name has come to be Little Rock Central High School. In 1957, during my thirtieth birthday, something within my halls and yard changed. During this time, there were 1,800 students that came to me every day to learn. On the fourth of September of 1957, nine more students came to attend classes and get an education within my brick walls.

There was more than enough room for these students but for some reason, no one would let them through my doors. Adults and students alike were shouting at these young men and women, spitting on them, and refusing their entry. There were even men from the National Guard blocking my sidewalks and entrances who had been sent to my yards by the state government fighting against the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. These nine students persisted and came to my building every morning peacefully only to be turned away violently by people who were their peers, protectors, and supposed role models. On September twentieth, the armed men were finally removed, yet the protesters from the community still remained to keep me from meeting my new students. A few days later, on September twenty-third, the police were able to get the nine students through one of my entrances secretly. I was so excited to finally meet these new faces.

“One of the nine had his gym locker peed on; thumb tacks were placed on their chairs; food was thrown at them...”

This excitement did not last, though. When the protesters became aware that Ernest Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karimark, Thelma Mothershed, and Melba Patillo Beals were inside, the riots began, leading to my new Claro

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K ACI JOHNSON

students being escorted out of my hallways as quickly as they had entered. On the morning of September twenty-fifth, there were more armed men outside on my stairs, sidewalks, and grass. These armed men were different than the first group that was stationed here on the fourth. These men were part of the United States army and were sent to my address by President Dwight Eisenhower in order to protect my new nine. On this day, these brave and smart new students were finally successful in the entrance to their better education.

students had very few people to turn to for a smile or for a friend. Each had an armed guard with them all day long while in classes.

There were very few kind faces throughout the original student body. Though these kind students lacked in numbers, they were still there to share their algebra book or lend a hand. These students were also chastised for being kind to the Little Rock Nine and were treated in the same ugly manner. In fear of being treated harshly, some students wore apologetic looks on their faces feeling sorry for the

â&#x20AC;&#x153; I knew these students very well...and though their skin colors differed, they were very much the same.â&#x20AC;?

Though these nine new students had finally gained accessibility to my classrooms and hallways, the hatred continued. The students inside were prepared with an arsenal of insults to be sent in the direction of those who are now known as The Little Rock Nine. One of the nine had his gym locker peed on; thumb tacks were placed on their chairs; food was thrown at them; and they were physically shoved around as well as pushed down the stairs and beaten. I had no idea why any one of these fine students who have been attending classes for years would act so harshly towards others just like them. These nine new 46 |

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targets of violence. This group of children was the largest group that I witnessed; they did not do these new nine any harm, yet they did not help either. That was a very hard year for all of the students for varying reasons, whether it be from fear of change, abuses, or feeling helpless. I was a member of the group that felt helpless; it was hard for me to see these acts of violence and hatred within my walls. Acts that were driven by ignorance and fear of change. The abusive young men and women did not want to share their school with these new students because of the color of their skin. I knew these students very well from the time they spent within

the walls that were built in 1927, and though their skin colors differed, they were very much the same.

Thankfully, Governor Faubus did not succeed with segregation in Arkansas. In the fall of 1959, my doors were officially reopened for any students due to a decision made by the school board. This time, only four of the nine of my courageous group of students returned and this time, each was protected by the local police.

THE LIT TLE RO CK NINE

At the end of the school year in 1958, the governor of the land on which I stand, Orval Faubus, closed my doors indefinitely along with all other high schools in the area for the following year of classes. I was destined to stand alone, no longer hearing laughter or conversations from the bright minds of students, and no longer being able to witness the act of desegregation within the school system. All of the young men and women who once walked my halls were forced to find an education elsewhere.

It has been fifty-eight years since I saw the beginning of segregation of schools here in Little Rock and quite a lot has changed since then. All of my Little Rock Nine eventually returned to see me for their fiftieth reunion and are an inspiration for the students whom I currently house within my walls on the weekdays. Not only am I a school, but I am now a National Park as well. In addition to all of my students, I get to see new people each day who come to learn about my courageous nine and how they have changed all of our lives by choosing to get a better education and attend the classes held within my walls.

Works Consulted “The Little Rock Nine (13886 Hits).” The Little Rock Nine. Web. 14

Oct. 2015.

Margolick, David. “Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan: The

Story behind the Photograph That Shamed America.” The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

“Member of ‘Little Rock Nine’ Describes Painful Segregation Experience.” University of Denver Magazine. 16 Sept. 2010.

Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

PBS NewsHour. “The Little Rock Nine Fifty Years Later.” Online

video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 13 Jan 2014. Web. Oct. 2015.

“Q A: The Youngest of the Little Rock Nine Talks About Her First

Day of School.” Smithsonian. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

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Annotated Bibliography Margolick, David. “Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan: The

Story behind the Photograph That Shamed America.” The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

In the article titled, “Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan: The Story Behind the Photograph that Shamed America,” the author summarizes the events when this memorable photograph was taken as well as the repercussions of the actions taken by the women in the photograph. The focus is on both Elizabeth Eckford, who was one of the nine students selected to attend Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas in 1957, as well as Hazel Bryan, a segregationist student rejecting the integration idea at the time. The author takes us back to what was said during the time when segregation was prevalent and the lives of these two women after the picture was taken. This image was printed in the papers and seen all around the world. Both of these young women received letters and calls from across the country from supporters or angered citizens. Once Hazel’s parents saw her actions, she was removed from Central High School and never actually attended along with Elizabeth. After they had both grown up and become successful women, they were able to reunite at the fortieth anniversary of integration at Central High School and became friends for a time. Many stories were written about them as they worked together in the late twentieth century but they slowly started to fade apart due to Elizabeth’s instincts about Hazel’s intentions. Eventually, Elizabeth thought that Hazel had evasions and discrepancies within her stories of the time of the photograph and did not seem to understand the magnitude of the issue as well as much about black history. The article states that Elizabeth had forgiven Hazel but only under false pretenses because Hazel had not taken full responsibility for her actions in the past. Tensions arose between them within the projects they worked on together and they eventually ceased contact with each other.

This source was incredibly valuable because it explains the lives of the two main women who are in the photo and how they changed over time. The article is littered with quotations from each of the women from interviews and reports and it all seems to be very accurate in accordance with the other articles and interviews I have seen. Also, I did not detect any bias from the author due to the amount of evidence that was used. The story was written around the quotations that were taken from the primary sources, which are the two women in the photograph.

Also, each woman is represented equally and neither in a bad light showing no favor towards one woman’s side or the other or 48 |

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This article was very interesting to read because it is nice to get to see into the lives of people who have molded our history.

The stories told in the article have given me more background to the lives of both the segregationists as well as the AfricanAmerican students. It was helpful to see how both parties treated each other as well as how their opinions have changed over time. It was helpful to have insight into the minds of the people who experienced segregation and integration first hand. I have known about the Little Rock Nine ever since elementary school, but this article, along with others, has helped me think deeper about the topic. It is amazing that the people who took part in these events were just kids, people who were younger than I am now and they made such a difference. It was also interesting to see how the other side, which was the segregationist side, saw things and moved on from the events. Lastly, what I have read has made me think about how far our society has come, but also about how far we could still go in the future.

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on sides of the subject of segregation or racism. This article was simply a timeline of the lives and events after the photograph was taken and what has happened since then. I believe the purpose of the article is to inform readers about the story of these two women who went from being enemies to friends for a time and how much has changed since 1957.

“Member of ‘Little Rock Nine’ Describes Painful Segregation Experience.” University of Denver Magazine. 16 Sept. 2010.

Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

An article published by the University of Denver Magazine summarizes both the events of the time of segregation in Little Rock Arkansas in 1957 as well as a lecture held by one of the Little Rock Nine, Carlotta Walls LaNier, in the Women’s Library at the University. This article mainly summarizes the experiences she had. LaNier explained that 114 African-American students signed up to attend Central High School; 39 were accepted, and only 9 attended. Carlotta explains her time at the school as “painful” as she recounts the way she was treated by students, adults, and guards. She classifies the types of students that attended the school with her as tormentors who spat on them and kicked them; sympathizers who did not say anything but looked as though they were sorry the nine were being treated badly; and lastly, there were the students who chose to stay quiet and ignore what was happening to their classmates. Not only was LaNier tormented at school, but four weeks before she was going to graduate from Central High School, her home was bombed. None of this stopped her though; she was determined to graduate from the school she fought to get into and survive in.

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This was a very useful source since it came from a lecture of Carlotta Walls LaNier who experienced what it was like to be an African-American woman during the 1950’s. She explains her accounts of what happened to her as well as her opinions of the people around her at the time. Another piece that makes this a good source is that it comes from an accredited school, which is where the lecture was held. There were no biases towards anyone, just a woman telling her story of her high-school experience.

Other aspects of the article are factual pieces explaining dates and events as well as actions taken by the United States president.

I think that the goal of this source is to inform other student readers about Carlotta’s experiences as well as her take on the world looking back on her past. It is moving to hear stories about historical events from someone who actually lived it to make it more relatable and real.

This piece from the University of Denver Magazine helped me with the minute details of my writing such as dates as well as names of people involved. Also, I used Carlotta’s explanation of the three types of people she experienced while she was at Central High School. Her words were very helpful in creating what the school building would have seen during that time from all of the different types of students and their viewpoints. Lastly, the story about Carlotta’s home being bombed showed the seriousness of the issue of integration and how much danger these students were in just to gain an education for themselves.

“Q A: The Youngest of the Little Rock Nine Talks About Her First

Day of School.” Smithsonian. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

Another article that I found useful while researching my topic was one published on Smithsonian.com. This article was based around Carlotta Walls and her donation of the dress she wore on the first day of school at Central High School. This article is filled with quotations from interviews with Carlotta about her personal experiences while attending high school in Little Rock Arkansas. Carlotta shares details about the nine AfricanAmerican students who gave up extracurricular activity in order to attend Central High School. She said this did not bother her because she would finally be going to school in her neighborhood and she was quite excited about getting to take part in this event.

She also explains her reaction to the anger and violence of the men, women, and children who rioted outside of the school, barring her from entering. She explains that she got through the year at the school by keeping the mindset that these people were just ignorant and she ignored them. Walls also explains other ways that she avoided problems with other students such as not buying lunch at school but packing one, unlike two of the other

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This was a very useful source for my research. Though the other sources that I chose also included personal accounts and one from Carlotta Walls, this writing dug a little bit deeper into the thoughts and feelings of Carlotta during her time at Central High School. It also expressed ways that she survived and thrived in that environment by the choices she made every day. Because this article was a full interview, it is a very good source to use as it comes directly from a woman who experienced this time in history first hand. Also, the website that published this article belongs to the Smithsonian museum, which is where Carlotta’s dress from the first day of school is now kept. Due to the fact that this is an interview, there is no bias shown by the author at all because they are asking questions about Carlotta’s experiences and she is giving straightforward answers about what she saw and felt at that time. She is even kind to those who were harsh to her in saying that they were just ignorant and that is what was causing the angry words and actions. I think that the purpose of this article is to announce that a piece of history, which is Carlotta’s dress, is being kept and restored but also just as a time to remember what happened in Little Rock in 1957 and the stories of the people who experienced it.

THE LIT TLE RO CK NINE

members of the nine. This allowed her to avoid being pushed and shoved in the line and she thought of it as a “battle ground.”

Lastly, she answers a question about why she decided to return to the school after the year it had been closed. She responded by saying that the diploma could validate all of the torment and hate that she endured while attending the school and she was a very competitive person, which forced her to not give up even though the time in the school was very difficult.

The article digs into what she gave up in order to go to this high school as well as the struggles she faced and the courage to continue on and get her diploma from the institution that did not treat her very well during her time there. She returned to the school even though she would no longer have an armed guard to protect her, and she survived. I needed a lot of detail for my paper in order to write from the perspective of the school building, which would effectively “see” everything that went on inside and outside of itself. The building would be the best thing to ask to find out what happened during the time of segregation at Central High School. All of the information I have gotten through these articles has allowed me to portray this story from the perspective of the building with much more knowledge about all of the personal details.

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A Revolutionary Story by cory kennedy “Our president at the time was an evil man named Batista... all he cared about was money and power.”

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ong bong, bong bong… “Did you hear that?” says my brother Manuel. “Story time!” I proclaim. So we drop our swords and race off toward the library. Manuel always beats me there, but today I was right on his tail. I stumbled in the doorway behind him and we both collapse, crosslegged, on the floor. “Good afternoon boys and girls! Welcome to the Granma library. You all know me, Tia Edith, I’m very excited you all decided to come. This story time will be extra special,” she says, as always. “Today I will tell you about the Cuban revolution,” says Tia Edith. Tia is short and round. She has gray streaks in her hair and kind eyes from which her passion for her story is beaming through her big round glasses. We all love her here in Granma, our small rural town in the Sierra Maestra mountains.

She has been spreading literacy through Cuba since… forever I think. More importantly, she tells us a story here every Sunday.

She begins, “This story takes place right here in Granma!”

“Wooow,” loudly whispers Marcita, who lives right next to the library. “Shhh,” sounds another listener. Tia grins and continues.

“Does anyone want to guess who the main character is?” “Doctor Pedro,” announces Juanito. “Nope,” responds Tia. “Miss Sanchez?” guesses another. “No,” she responds. “YOU!” proclaims Manuel.

“That’s right, Manuelito!” she says. He’s so smart. Her eyes get bigger. “It all started in 1952, when I was a young girl working here in the library. Our president at the time was an evil man named Batista. He wasn’t nice to the people and he did not care about us; all he cared about was money and power. The people of Cuba were getting tired of Batista’s greed but didn’t know what to do about it.” “Why didn’t you get a new president?” asked Solans, a little pale girl from down the street. “I’ll tell you why,” continued Tia. “Batista knew we wanted a new president, so he canceled the elections! After this, the people realized there was no nice way to fix their problem. So a young lawyer named Fidel Castro began to rally the support of the people and collect weapons, and the revolution was born. By the end of 1952, Fidel Claro

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and his brother Raul had about 1200 followers, and they began planning their first mission. The Castro’s knew they would need more power to defeat Batista, so they determined they would attack the Moncado Barracks to get it. It was a bold move because the Barracks had lots of soldiers and weapons and would fight back hard. Well, they did fight back hard, and Fidel and his revolutionaries lost the battle.” “Oh no,” whispered Marcita.

“Condemn me, it does not matter, history will absolve me.”

“Batista was so angry that he threw them all in prison, but before Fidel went to prison, he said ‘Condemn me, it does not matter, history will absolve me.’ That means Fidel knew he was doing the right thing for the people of Cuba. After three long years, Batista released the men from prison and told them, ‘You must go to Mexico and you can never come back here again!’”

“As soon as Fidel and Raul got to Mexico, they defied Batista’s demand and began preparing to return and defeat him. In Mexico, they met a military man named Alberto who trained them to be better fighters. While they regained their strength, Fidel met a young Argentine doctor named Ernesto Guevara. Ernesto joined the group and gained the nickname ‘Che.’ Once they were ready, Fidel purchased an old yacht and prepared to set out for Cuba. Does anyone know what that yacht was named?” “Cuba,” responds one voice. “Not quite,” Tia says. “Does anyone else want to guess?” “Was it Granma?” Manuel asks. “It was!” proclaims Tia, as she continues her story.

“Fidel purchased the old yacht, ‘Granma,’ and 82 revolutionaries set sail for Cuba. It was a horrible journey; the water was rough, and the boat was way too full. The men were very sick and, one even fell overboard!” “Did he die?” asked Solans. “Nope, the men found him in the water.”

They finally arrived two days later. When they landed, they were attacked immediately by Batista’s Air Force. They ran to escape the attack and after three long and hard days, they were attacked again by his army and they suffered a bad defeat. All but 17 of the men were killed; however, the leaders, Fidel, Raul, and Che survived to continue on their mission. By this time, they had made it to the heart of the Sierra Maestra mountains.”

“That’s here!” Marcita announces excitedly. Tia smiles and continues, “Once the country people of this area got word that the 54 |

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“One morning, I was working here in the library, and a beautiful young woman I never saw before came in. I asked her, ‘Can I help you with anything, Ma’am?’ She replied, ‘Maybe you can miss, I’m looking for some information on Revolution.’ ‘Revolution?’ I responded. ‘I don’t believe we have any books on that, I’m sorry.’

As if she already knew that would be my answer, she asked, ‘Well, what do you think about revolution?’ I was nervous, ‘I think, sometimes, it’s necessary,’ I answered in a shaky voice. She smiled and said, ‘Good. I thought I could trust you. My name is Celia. What’s yours?’ ‘Edith,’ I told her. ‘Well Edith, do you think you could do something for me?’ she questioned. ‘Yes. I think so,’ I stammered. She scanned the book shelves for a moment and said, ‘Ahh, this one is perfect.’ As she reached for one of the books, she then took a note from her pocket, placed it inside the book, and handed it to me. ‘Could you keep this book safe for me?’ In a softer voice she continued, ‘Every few days a friend or I will come in here and ask for this book. We will ask only you, and we will ask for the book by title and author. When this happens, I need you to retrieve it for us and then return it to safety once we place a new note inside. Can you do this for me?’ ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘you can trust me.’ She smiled and placed her hand on my arm.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered before turning and disappearing out the door.”

A REVOLU TIONA RY STORY

revolutionaries were here, they became very hopeful and eager to help the men in any way they could. The local people worked hard to help the men communicate, and hide their weapons.

They also gave the revolutionaries supplies and information about the enemy whenever they could. This is where I come into the story….”

“ ‘Every few days, a friend or I will come in here and ask for this book. We will ask only you, and we will ask for the book by title and author.’ ”

“I moved these messages for the revolutionaries throughout 1958. That summer, Batista sent 12,000 men into the mountains to defeat the Revolutionaries for good. Amazingly, however, Fidel and Che, with less than 500 men, defeated them! Can you believe that? Soon the revolutionaries would march victoriously into Havana.” I look around to see faces full of amazement. Tia Edith is smiling contently. “And the rest is history, boys and girls.” She says. “The end.” Everyone cheers.

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Annotated Bibliography of Works Consulted “Cuban

Revolution (Fidel Castro Raul Castro Che Guevara).”

YouTube video, 1:44:56. Posted by “Know Nothing,” March 23, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= f0952Hj4fWw

This video, almost 2 hours long, gave a detailed account of the revolution from start to finish. It gave the best character interpretations for what kind of men Raul Castro and Che Guevarra were, as well as Fidel’s processes of leadership and the character of the revolutionary fighters. Most of all, it offered more qualitative perspectives on the entire event; things that won’t typically be found in an encyclopedia such as what the first meeting between Che and Fidel was like; where they derived many of their convictions; what they voyage on the “Granma” was like; and the atmosphere at the conclusion of the revolution.

Goldstone, Jack A. The Encyclopedia of Political Revolutions.

Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1998.

This encyclopedia provides an overview of the Cuban Revolution, mainly from a political perspective. I drew from it such information as: Fulgencio Batista regime characteristics, the Cuban government’s relationship with the U.S. government, as well as an overview of Fidel Castro’s political and revolutionary timeline. The most valuable information I gleaned from this reading is a political context of pre-revolutionary Cuba.

Leyva, Edith. (2015, October 24). Telephone interview.

Edith Leyva is my wife Solans’ Great Aunt on her Mother’s side.

Edith lives in the Granma province of Cuba. Since the revolution, Edith has been traveling to rural schools throughout Cuba to educate and promote literacy. Once in her travels, shortly after the revolution, she met Fidel Castro and Celia Sanchez as they were touring schools checking up on Fidel’s literacy campaign.

She has been in love with him ever since (although her region of Cuba were always avid supporters of the revolution, socialism, and the Castro regime.) We arranged a phone interview with her, where my wife translated. I asked her about a dozen questions.

Some were factual, but for many of them, I was seeking her social and political perspective on everything to do with the revolution.

The main character of my story, Tia Edith, is very strongly based on Edith Leyva’s experiences and opinions.

Luis, Julio García. Cuban Revolution Reader: A Documentary

History of Key Moments in Fidel Castro’s Revolution.

Ocean Press, 2008.

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This reading provided a deeper analysis into the trials and tribulations Fidel Castro experienced before and during the revolution. It covers his early years, from his privileged upbringing to his first offensive as a revolutionary. The text gives an overview of Fidel’s relationship with some of the other revolutionaries such as his brother Raul Castro, Che Guevarra, and Celia Sanchez. Lastly, it details some of his trials including the purchasing of and sailing on the yacht, “Granma.”

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A Life Wel l-Lived by james silvester “The years imprisoned had changed him, like an old baseball glove that gets outgrown and forgotten in the garage...”

R

ain fell outside the window. This wasn’t out of the norm for a place like London, but Nelson always enjoyed the sound of the drops hitting the windows, as it didn’t happen nearly as much in South Africa.

He awoke, slowly opening his eyes as the room faded from a fuzzy unfocused blur to a clearer picture as his eyes came to adjust. He smiled as he got out of bed. Nelson was now an old man, making it harder for him to get up these days, but today was different; he felt an extra bounce in his step as it was his 90th birthday, and he was in the city for an extravagant event in honor of him that included movie stars and leaders from every corner of the globe.

Nelson walked to his dresser after donning his robe, which hung next to the bed. He sat in a small arm chair and reached for a small mirror atop the dresser. He looked into the mirror, for a moment, not recognizing the man staring back at him. A similar image of a once-radical young man,

ready to fight for the things he believed in. The same man who formed a radical group to fight against the oppressive Afrikaner group, a battle that he ultimately lost when the same party won power after the elections in 1947. However, that man had spent 27 years locked away, thirteen of those years spent in the hot sun, slowly chipping away at limestone with a pickaxe (Nelson Mandela).

The years imprisoned had changed him, like an old baseball glove that gets outgrown and forgotten in the garage. He stared at himself in the mirror, thinking about how he got there, and who got him there.

Men like Walter Sisulu, who got him his first job with the African National Congress, and became an influential person in his life as he started his political career (Mandela, Vol. 1, 136). He smiled, as his mind wandered to that fateful day on the 12th of June, 1964, and he wondered to himself, “How different would the world be had the judge sentenced us to death that day as we had all thought?” (Nelson Mandela).

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Nelson never regretted for a moment giving his famous speech in the courtroom, telling the people he was willing to die for what he believed in. Just the mere thought of apartheid made him cringe, how it forced the black South Africans to live in poverty, and the rules that made it so blacks had to have passes to travel in the white-only parts of town. He thought about how everything at the time was segregated.

He smirked at the thought of the pass, and how he’d burned his in front of the masses (Nelson Mandela).

Nelson leaned back, and sighed. He looked at the extravagant hotel room he was in. It was nothing like the cell he called home on Robben Island for 18 years (Mandela, Vol. 2, 75-78). The cell was eight feet by seven feet and he slept on a straw mat for most of the time (Mandela, Vol. 2, 79-80).

February of 1990, and then his inauguration as president in May of 1994 (Nelson Mandela).

He paused his thoughts for a moment, “90…90 years,” he said aloud, though no one was around to hear him at the moment. “Has it really been that long?” He never thought he’d make it to 90, let alone be here for such an event in London. His memories flooded his head, and his entire life seemed to be flashing by in an instant.

Nelson thought about the little house he was prisoner in, and how the president at the time, FW DeKlerk, saw something in him which led to negotiations. He gave silent thanks to the man who decided to free him. He remembered how he had demanded “equal rights and equal votes” for all and wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. He thought about the struggle between the ANC and the Zooloo Nationalist who

“...he had demanded equal rights and equal votes for all and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Yes,” he thought to himself, “this is a bit more like being the president.”

He chuckled aloud, and began to reminisce about his 5-year presidency, regretting, only for a brief moment, giving his word and following through to step down after one term. It had taken him less than that to go from prisoner to president, thinking about his release in 60 |

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fought each other, and how their struggle almost brought everything to the ground (Nelson Mandela).

Nelson began to think about how he had devoted his life to helping others; even after he was president, he kept fighting to help his people.

He thought about how AIDS stole the only son he had left in 2005 (Nelson Mandela).

“Amazing,” he thought. He was thankful in that moment.

He was a man who had experienced so much. A man who had followed his heart and sacrificed himself, in the face of certain death, to help his fellow man. He was a man who had 27 years of his life stolen from him, a man who could not be broken, mentally, spiritually, or physically. He was a man who had given so much, a man who had given up so much of himself. He was a man who had lived a life bigger than himself, and changed the lives of everyone for the rest of time.

A LIFE W ELL-LI V ED

He wiped away the tear that had formed from the thought of his son. Slowly his sadness gave way to a smile, remembering how he had fought against his son’s killer.

He remembered the awareness and funds he had raised in the fight against AIDS after his presidency. He then began to think of a number, “46664.” It was his old prisoner number, but now it meant something else, something good. It was the name he had given his foundation that was fighting his son’s killer, and it was the number he would see that night on giant banners across the stage at his birthday event (Nelson Mandela).

Works Cited Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk To Freedom: The Early Years. Vol. 1. N.p.:

Hachette Digital, 2010. Print.

Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom: Vol 2 1962-1994. Vol. 2.

N.p.: Hachette Digital, 2010. Print.

Nelson Mandela: The Fight for Freedom. Dir. Stephen Clarke,

Mick Gold, and Stewart Lansley. Perf. Nelson Mandela,

David Dimbleby. BBC, 1995. TV Documentary.

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Voices

by richard aipperspach

“I was meant to be a high school for my community, not a torture center for the paranoid.”

I

was born in Phnom Penh in the early 1960’s when Cambodia was ruled by Prince Norodom Sihanouk. I was a high school, named after Ponhea Yat, a semi-legendary Cambodian king associated with the foundation of Phnom Penh (Chandler 3). I grew up in a quiet neighborhood surrounded by French architecture that included small outdoor cafes on nearly every corner. I was a modern school with wide balconies that overlooked a large courtyard that included spacious classrooms with white ceilings, yellow plastered walls, and white and yellow checkered tiled floors (Tuol). I was nearly six hundred meters from north to south with four concrete buildings each three-stories high. For the next decade, I was home to thousands of young children with hopes and dreams of bettering themselves.

In 1970, I heard chatter that our beloved king had been overthrown, which had fueled a civil war in our beloved country. At this time I was divided into two separate sections and given separate

names. One side of me was called Toul Svay Prey, meaning “Hillock of the Wild Mango,” and the adjoining primary side of me was called Toul Sleng, which meant “Hillock of the Slang Tree” (Chandler 4). I didn’t mind the name change as it was also the name of the surrounding city, it just made things easier. This was a nervous time for our teachers and intellectuals as the new government was cracking down on civil rights in hopes of maintaining control of the country. Our country was being squeezed by the US capitalist-supported Thailand and communist Vietnam. We wanted to stay neutral; we didn’t want any trouble, but as I feared, this was not to be.

Something very peculiar happened in April 1975 as armed Cambodians from the north calling themselves the Khmer Rouge arrived and forcibly removed all my colleagues outside the city. I swear I heard some gunfire as well…

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anymore as my new tenants gave me another new name, S-21, or santebal-21, meaning “Secret Police Facility number 21” (Chandler 3). I thought the new name was ridiculous, but not as ridiculous or atrocious as what my new tenants had in store for my new role in the city. I was once considered a beacon of hope and a place of higher education for my city, and now my new occupants would use my rooms and courtyard as a secret facility for their demented thoughts.

I really don’t want to discuss my existence between 1975 and 1979, but you may learn something, and hopefully history will not repeat itself.

My new tenants used my rooms as a secret prison and torture

photos taken and personal information gathered. All of these people still had no idea where or why they were here. They were led from the photography room to one of my old classrooms where they were chained together, restricted from speaking, starved, and forced to go to the bathroom in an old ammunition can. The guards would await orders from the interrogators, who set up in a room down the hall for individuals to be brought to them. The interrogators stocked my rooms with shackles, handcuffs, whips, and electrical batters which he used to coax the prisoner to say what he wanted them to say. I know these were not true statements, but the pain and suffering was too much for them, and

“I think these young men may have killed some of my friends that day.”

center for their enemies, who they believed were conspiring to overthrow them. They were just young men led by an organization in the north that had serious paranoia. The top organization set extremely strict rules and structured procedures on how the new facility was to be run.

On orders from the top, crews would gather suspected traitors, blindfold them, load them in overcrowded flatbeds, and drop them off at my front door. From there they would be led like cattle to have their 64 |

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ultimately they would say whatever the interrogators wanted them to say so long as the torture stopped. Once the confessions were recorded the people would never be seen again (S21 the Khmer Rouge Killing Machine).

January 7th, 1979 is another day that I will not forget as my occupants executed the remaining prisoners and quickly evacuated from my halls. In their haste to evacuate, they would leave 14 bodies within my facility which created a horrible, lingering stench along

The silence was then broken by two young Vietnam photographers, fresh off their blitzkrieg victory over my previous tenants (Chandler 2). They took photos of me from every angle; I was so ashamed, as this was not

my true self. I was meant to be a high school for my community, not a torture center for the paranoid. My new tenants began to piece together the my history and decided to convert me to a museum. I’m lucky to have survived, but I can’t hide from my past and I’m still haunted by my previous tenants; unfortunately, they secretly continue to visit me.

However, I know that I now have more friends then enemies around me and I hope that I can again be a beacon of hope and prosperity for my country.

VOICES

with bloodstains that would never be removed (Chandler 3). All of the documents that were once neatly stacked and organized in the rooms had been strewn along the balconies and courtyard. After some time it was silent again, which I had not experienced since 1975.

Works Cited Chandler, David P. Voices From S-21 : Terror And History In Pol Pot’s

Secret Prison. Berkeley: University of California Press,

1999. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 31 Oct. 2015.

S21 the Khmer Rouge Killing Machine. Dir. Rithy Pahn. First

Run/Icarus Films, 2002. Film.

“Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.” Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.

Web. 1 Nov. 2015. “Toul Sleng Genocide Museum | Life

part2.com LifePart2com.” 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2015 Work Consulted Ly, Boreth. “Devastated Visions(S): The Khmer Rouge Scopic

Regime In Cambodia.” Art Journal. 62.1 (2003): 66.

Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Oct. 2015.

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IV Public-Service Announcements

College Tuition:

W hat’s the Price of Your Future?

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by marika fama “[My PSA] challenges the audience to think about their current situation and the ethics of tuition.”

For my public-service announcement, I chose to do a print flyer or advertisement. This print flyer is meant to invoke anger and expose the outrageous price of tuition. I want the audience to connect the dots between the rising cost of tuition and the disadvantages of taking out so many loans. This advertisement is meant to be featured as a flyer to hand out to people or placed on bulletin boards in order to reach people and make them think about the problem.

I used an image that I had found on Google images, which brought me to a website called Expert Beacon. On this website, I found the image of a person with the college cap and gown. Then the text was added to grab my audience’s attention and make the connection to their lives with the topic because the picture alone cannot create a larger meaning. By choosing the word “you,” I am speaking directly to the targeted audience, thus making it more Claro

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inclusive. Also, text must include factual evidence in order to make the audience understand the importance of the situation.

It challenges the audience to think about their current situation and the ethics of tuition. When they read the average loans a student will graduate with, it should invoke a sense of injustice.

This ad is then their call to action. The text will then prompt them to go to the website for more information. “it should challenge the reader’s silent compliance regarding taking out student loans.”

The public-service announcement is targeted specifically towards young adults in college or about to attend college. I am limiting my public-service announcement to Colorado residents. This could apply to every state in the United States because rising tuition affects every college student. Since the public-service announcement requires the targeted audience to take the time to read it, I chose to leave this as a flyer so that it could be handed out to students on campus or posted on bulletin boards. In addition, this will cause the ad to become more effective because it will be easily distributed from person to person gaining widespread recognition.

In order to grab the audience’s attention, I employed the use of rhetorical appeals such as ethos, pathos, and logos. I chose the red color, black background, and the picture to boost the effect of pathos. The person in the picture looks pessimistic and gives the appearance of hopelessness. I wanted my audience to feel furious with the fact that most have to take out student loans to successfully put themselves through to graduate. With the text in the image, I wanted to appeal to logos because I stated a fact and it should challenge the reader’s silent compliance regarding taking out student loans. I want to make them realize the large amount of student loans will cause them to spend most of their lives trying to pay them off. Finally, I employed ethos by displaying the organization’s name at the bottom. The website, studentsforchange.org, is supposed to be fueled by an informed organization supported by advocates for positive change. This website provides facts on student loans as well as rising tuition and ethics of tuition and the positive benefits of supporting Obama’s plan for free college for the first two years.

Bibliography Whaling, Jason. “Should You Use Student Loans to Pay for Your

College Education?” ExpertBeacon. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

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Water to Beer by amanda crosby “The complexity and use of resources to create such tasty beverages often goes unnoticed...”

“He was a wise man who invented beer.” – Plato BEER ME! Drinking beer is one of the world’s favorite pastimes. We like to have a cold one, whether it is sitting in the comfy recliner after a long day at work or chugging one down at an 80’s ski theme party. It is an addition to nearly every social gathering and the industry has seen an increase in breweries across the country.

In the United States, annual festivals such as the Great American Beer Festival (Denver, CO), the American Craft Beer Fest (Boston, MA), and the Brewmasters Craft Brew Festival (Galveston, TX) bring hundreds of breweries from across the world and thousands of people together to celebrate beer (Childers).

As with many things in our lives, however, the complexity and use of resources to create such tasty beverages often goes unnoticed. Currently in the United States, there are 4,144 breweries with new breweries adding to the list each month (“US Brewery”). Water is one of the resources that can be considered in limited supply depending on the geographical area of where the beer is brewed and it is an important cost factor depending on availability and disposal. Colorado and the Western United States receive limited rain/snowfall annually while at the same time have seen an increase in population, which has caused more strain on the water supply and increased water prices.

In addition, breweries located in smaller communities have to “Brewers ... are working diligently on reducing their use of water and attempting to develop and implement better practices into their business.”

transport wastewater to larger treatment facilities when their local plant cannot handle the extra load (Gribbons). As breweries continue to pop up across the United States and the world, it is essential to understand our use of resources and establish efficient and sustainable practices.

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WATER TO BEER In order to paint a true picture of how much water we use to get one pint glass of beer, it is important to realize that water consumption goes beyond the actual creation of the beer itself.

To get an accurate water footprint of beer production from beginning to final product, the use must include growth and cultivation of each ingredient that will comprise the beer and water used to actually brew the beer. Beer is comprised of barley, hops, yeast, water, and other components to create a desired flavor–for example, pumpkin and spices will be added to many fall beers (“How Is Beer Made?”). According to The Guardian, it is estimated that 5­6 liters (approximately 1.5 gallons) of water are used to make 1 liter (approximately .25 gallons) of beer just during processing (Kaye). It is estimated that an additional 295 liters (approximately 78 gallons) are added to the footprint due to the production of the barley (malt), hops, yeast, etc. On average, it takes approximately 320 gallons of water from cultivation to sale to produce just 1 gallon of beer (Kaye).

THE BEER PICTURE As operating and water prices have increased, breweries must take a step back to assess where costs can be cut. While the larger footprint is often out of the control of the brewer, they can be conscientious of where they purchase the ingredients for the beer and sometimes can even influence farmer’s sustainable practices during production. MillerCoors in Golden, CO, for example, is working closely with their farmers to develop sustainable production methods including producing barley that requires less water to grow and implementing new farming “it is important to realize that water consumption goes beyond the actual creation of the beer itself.”

practices that reduce overall water consumption (Solomon).

On a smaller scale, New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins has attempted purchasing organic malt to produce an organic beer.

On their website, they highlight the successes and failures of this attempt. Unfortunately, it was too expensive to purchase strictly organic ingredients; however, they have also begun working with their suppliers to get a better understanding of the farming practices and how they can help change the industry to be more sustainable by reducing water consumption and carbon production (“Hops and Barley”).

Breweries do have more control of water consumption and waste with their in­-house production of the beer. They handle the recipes and waste of their products. Depending on the size 72 |

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WATER TO BEER

and ability of the brewery, they either treat before disposal or must transport somewhere else for disposal. MillerCoors is large and has the ability to treat the water within safe parameters to discharge into rivers and streams while using tertiary water reuse systems at their Albany, Eden, and Trenton locations, using recycled water in cooling towers and other areas (“Water Stewardship”). New Belgium Brewing also has the ability to treat the wastewater. They have developed a way to capture a byproduct of the process, methane, to run a 292 kW engine that supplies about 15% of their energy needs (Gribbons).

Unfortunately, small breweries in small communities cannot always afford an in-house treatment. Lagunitas Brewery Co. in Petaluma, CA, has to ship their wastewater to Oakland, CA, because their community wastewater treatment facility is not able to handle the extra load from their waste. Currently, the brewery is spending approximately $1 million annually to ship the wastewater, but is considering the possibility of adding an on­site treatment facility at their location (Gribbons).

Finally, the latest innovation in progress is utilizing the microbes from the wastewater to operate a fuel cell. Oregon State University research group Waste2Watergy has partnered with Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland, OR, to test the microbial fuel cell (Gribbons). The goal with the fuel cell is to be able to reuse the treated water as it goes through the fuel cell. This will provide electricity to the brewery while reducing the amount of water sent out for city treatment.

SUMMARY Beer will always be a hot commodity. This has been proven throughout history and it is continuing to grow in popularity as emphasis is placed on small, local, and sustainable products.

While water consumption for production of beer seems significant, setting aside the out­-of-house use for growing the ingredients, brewers fortunately are working diligently on reducing their use of water and attempting to develop and implement better practices into their business. Large corporations like MillerCoors being on board with sustainable brewing practices is helping set a very important example to other large corporations that sustainable practices are viable on the large scale and not intended solely for the small brewer.

It is also important to note that, as consumers, we play a big role in how we can influence brewing practices as well. Where we purchase and how we support our local breweries and suppliers ultimately determines how these companies adapt to specific demands that can then influence better farming practices.

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Works Consulted Childers, Liz. “These Are the 10 Best American Beer Fests.” Thrillist.

Thrillist Media Group, 24 Jan. 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <https://

www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/ten­best­american­beer-fests­

brewgrass­great­american­beer­fest­and­more­thrillist­nation>.

Gribbons, Keith. “The Growing Challenges of Wastewater Control in

Craft Brewing.” Craft Brewing Business. CBB Media LLC, 6 Sept.

2013. Web. 5 Oct. 2015. <http://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/

equipment­systems/growing­challenges­wastewater-control­

craft­brewing/>.

“Hops and Barley.” Hops and Barley. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.

newbelgium.com/Sustainability/Sourcing/hopsandbarley>.

“How Is Beer Made?” WiseGEEK. Conjecture Corporation. Web. 5 Oct.

2015. <http://www.wisegeek.org/how­is­beer­made.htm>.

Kaye, Leon. “Breweries Across the World Strive to Decrease Beer’s

Water Footprint.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media

Limited, 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 1 Oct. 2015. <http://www.

theguardian.com/sustainable­business/brewing­companies­

water­usage­footprint>.

Plato. “Plato Quotes.” Thinkexist.com. ThinkExist. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

<http://thinkexist.com/quotation/he_was_a_wise_man_who_

invented_beer/149001.html>.

“Quaff the Fresh.” Trademarkia.com. LegalForce, Inc. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.

<http://www.trademarkia.com/quaff­the­fresh­75286058.html>.

Solomon, Justin. “How Much Water Does It Take to Make Beer?” CNBC.

CNBC LLC, 27 Sep. 2010. Web. 7 Oct. 2015. < http://www.cnbc.

com/id/39381417>.

“U.S. Brewery Growth Explodes.” Wisconsin Radio Network. News

Theme on Gensis Framework, 3 Dec. 2015. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

<http://www.wrn.com/2015/12/u­s­brewery-growth­explodes/>.

“Water Stewardship.” Corporate Environmental Responsibility.

MillerCoors LLC. Web. 5 Oct. 2015. <http://www.millercoors.

com/GBGR/Environmental­Stewardship/Water-Stewardship.

aspx>.

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Mars by athena landy “It seems obvious that searching for past habitability on Mars would be more efficient if humans were there to actually analyze the surface and conduct experiments.”

Astrobiology Essay Question: It has been argued that sending humans to Mars is the best way to look for signs of past habitability. Discuss this possibility, the pros and cons, and include information about current plans for manned missions to M ars. Would you go? Why or why not?

It is possible to send humans to Mars, but whether or not it would end well or be successful in its mission is another matter. The NASA Mars Exploration Program has been thinking about the implications of sending humans to Mars, and will continue to do so for the next decade. It is extremely important that equipment and instruments are operated correctly, that the astronauts’ health is in good condition before and after the mission, and that they can return home safely without suffering from intense repercussions from being overexposed to the Martian conditions.

It seems obvious that searching for past habitability on Mars would be more efficient if humans were there to actually analyze the surface and conduct experiments. This could be true, but only if the astronauts could get there, survive, and return in a healthy fashion- which is, quite frankly, easier said than done. Since a manned mission to Mars is most likely going to happen, then it must be planned, thought-through, and examined to be a success.

There are many ways in which the Martian conditions can harm humans. First of all, Mars lacks an ozone layer to protect itself from the sun’s radiation, so just about everything within the mission that a human uses must have enough protection to be shielded from the radiation. Mars also contains “superoxides” because of its high radiation. Superoxides break down organic molecules; although it is inferred that they may not affect humans too much, they still need to be studied extensively before humans are sent to Mars. Besides the radiation, Mars is rather cold and has severe dust storms. If humans were to live there for a time, they would need to be protected from the dust storms and have an efficient and long-lasting source of heat.

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The use of systems that can be powered via solar energy is probably the best way to go as far as an on-mars energy sourcebut it may be wise to incorporate other energy sources as well.

The spacecraft that carries the astronauts would also have to be efficient enough to carry all of the tools, resources, and structures needed to fulfill the mission successfully. I’m sure that scientists have been trying to figure out artificial gravity for decades, but it would be really helpful if we could master it for this mission and for extraterrestrial world habitability. Mars One is a mission that hopes to establish a human colony on Mars by the late 2020’s, and crews are set for departure for a one way mission to Mars by 2026. The Mars One team believes that a return mission is way too complex and not worth the headache, and that although living on Mars is probably going to be difficult, it won’t be as difficult as a return mission would be, and the health repercussions of coming back to Earth would be enormous. The mission calls that the supplies for the humans would be sent to Mars years before the humans are sent.

The Mars One crew consists of people who want to live on Mars and colonize. The Mars one plan has not been entirely built upon existing technology, but they seem to understand that each component must work without failure. There is a very thorough astronaut selection and training system, and so far there have been quite a large amount of applicants.

Would I go? I’m not really sure. It depends on the conditions and success rate, but above all, the motive of the leaders. I most likely would not agree to anything regarding being governed in a specific way unless mutually decided upon. I would not go if the economic or current political systems transferred to Mars. Also, I love Earth.

Although human evil disgusts me, there are still good things here, beautiful places to go, and wonderful things to see. I believe it is our duty to try and fix what we have broken and innovate new and efficient solutions, instead of “running away” to another planet that we might also ruin at some point—unless we learn to evolve in our psychological, social, and political structures.

Works Consulted “Mars One.” <http://www.mars-one.com/> NASA. “Human Exploration”. Mars Exploration Program and Missions. Web accessed 11/1/15 .http://mars.nasa.gov/ programmissions/science/goal4/

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V Creative Reworkings of Shakespeare

Tattered Quill

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by william bubeck “My short revelation is the claim that Hamlet is actually an outlet for Shakespeare’s own emotions...”

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Tattered Quill Artist Statement When I first started this project, I intended for my project to help communicate my emotional connection to some of the work of legendary artist, William Shakespeare.

Specifically, in reference to one of my personal favorites, Hamlet. One of the most key aspects that is overlooked far too commonly in this masterpiece is the subject of Hamlet’s supposed “madness.”

There was always a large problem for me in the claim that the other characters in the play are correct and that Hamlet has merely gone insane.

It feels almost too simple, as

such as chronic depression stemming from unreconciled grief and anger resulting in things like suicidal thoughts and enhanced emotional reactions, both of which are key aspects of Hamlet’s title character.

What struck me to the greatest degree in this last reading during my Introduction to Shakespeare class is the reason behind my new graphic piece, “Tattered Quill.”

My short revelation is the claim that Hamlet is actually an outlet for Shakespeare’s own emotions at the time of writing the play. As pointed

“It is the equivalent of someone who has depressive thoughts posting an egregious amount of happy kitten pictures.”

a kind of cop-out for having a character act strangely, or abnormally in a story. By no means do I claim that there are no examples of madness in Shakespeare’s work, rather that we should not assume complete validity in the antagonist’s and other’s diagnoses of madness. My father, a psychotherapist, has expressed several times to me the importance of understanding the differences between normal human reactions and mental issues, and just writing off those suffering from such problems as merely crazy. We believe that Hamlet is most likely suffering from things 80 |

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out in a 2004 article, “The Death of Hamnet and the Making of Hamlet,” for The New York Review of Books, Stephen Greenblatt (the Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard, and general editor of The Norton Shakespeare) says that the majority of Shakespeare’s work for about four years immediately after the death of his son is, seemingly ironically, some of his cheeriest works of all time, including ones such as Much Ado About Nothing, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and As You Like It. This is a fairly common occurrence for people undergoing a lot of depression,

An artist uses the world around them and their own experiences to influence their work. It is therapeutic; a way to express and deal with emotions that may have not been addressed before. We put ourselves into the piece; our blood, sweat, and tears, both literally and figuratively, help create the piece. We may make a piece and identify with a specific line, part, or character in whatever art form we may use. This is how I feel Shakespeare used Hamlet.

speare on the lower right, staring nose to nose at each other. The faces are a stark blank white, which is the same color as the background, made up of a variety of shapes stacked on top of one another.

The two profiles of the faces are situated on a black quill, created in a similar fashion.

The point of this style is to develop the idea in the viewer’s mind that there is one image to view when there are actually two being created at the same time. The lines from the faces mark lines on the quill and vice versa. Here is an example of the piece with each shape outlined to help visualize the process, and the final piece.

TAT TER ED QUILL

with the large amount of antisadness stimuli or artwork. It is the equivalent of someone who has depressive thoughts posting an egregious amount of happy kitten pictures. Then came the tragedy of Hamlet.

I propose that Hamlet is actually Shakespeare coming to terms with and confronting his own emotional turmoil, which he had attempted to suppress and overcome for a long time. A key example of this is the quotation from the play, “It’s true that all these things “seem” like grief, since a person could use them to fake grief if he wanted to. But I’ve got more real grief inside me than you could ever see on the surface. These clothes are just a hint of it” (1.2.80-34).

The quill, being a quintessential symbol of Shakespeare and literary artists, felt a natural starting point for my work. I decided

My piece depicts two faces, Hamlet on the upper left and ShakeClaro

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to make it old and worn out, as if somebody had been using it fervently and nonstop for a long time. The inkwell came with the pen, and I chose dark red ink to derive the passion of an artist expressing their unreconciled emotions, literally bleeding his craft. The positioning of the quill in the well was derived from the advice of my fellow students, and my own mental justification of the artist being consumed or engulfed by his work. I used several aspects to

Shakespeare,” from Shakespeare Online. The article speaks of the few different versions of Shakespeare’s image that are relatively close to his time, and how they vary in his appearance rather drastically.

I decided to draw on different features from each so that I could develop a fairly strong man, but also one who was strained. The balance that I believe the wonderful article helped me accomplish is keeping such a simple profile decently recognizable as Shakespeare.

“I chose dark red ink to derive the passion of an artist...literally bleeding his craft.”

distinguish the two characters apart, such as Hamlet’s longer hair and shallow chin for his youth, as compared to Shakespeare’s balding head and beard. Both faces actually use the same base structure however, to capture the relation and similarity between the two.

One of the most important processes of the piece was to portray Shakespeare in a way to display him as an everyday man whom more viewers can relate to. A fantastic source of information for this was the article, “Portraits of

Overall, I feel very successful in this project, as I was able to push my comfort zone as a sculptor, and create a piece that encompasses and communicates my thoughts, emotions, and discoveries in a way that is simple, effective, and pleasing to the eye. I have developed a lot of new and fascinating discoveries during the first portion of this class, and can’t wait to find more.

I hope that you enjoy my piece, and that this Artist’s Statement helped you learn and appreciate more about my piece.

References: Greenblatt, Stephen. “The Death of Hamnet and the Making of

Hamlet.” New York Review 21 Oct. 2004: n. pag. Print.

Mabillard, Amanda. Portraits of Shakespeare. Shakespeare Online.

20 Aug. 2000. (3/15/15) <http://www.shakespeare-online.

com/faq/imagesofshakespeare.html >.

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Hamlet, Prince of New York by ryan sheldon “What is this family payin’ for you to go to school in Sicily for?

Ya can’t even figure out what I’m tryina say here. My brother, you Uncle Claudio, did me in while I was sleepin’. He wants to take control of this family, and if you let him, he’s gonna run our empire into the ground.”

“Ey Hamlet. Don Claudio wants to see you.” I looked up from my copy of The Well of Loneliness to see Horace standing in the doorway to my room.

“Yeah? What’s he want?”

“He won’t do his toast without you.”

“A toast? What’s that putz possibly got to celebrate?”

“C’mon, Hamlet. Let’s go.”

Horace was having none of it tonight, and I wasn’t really in the mood to argue. Horace and I walked to the dining room of what was once my father’s prestigious home. Now it’s just a house owned by my uncle.

Everyone was there: Claudio, his new wife and my ma, Pauly the bookie and his son Lucio, and just about everyone else who used to work for my old man.

“How kind of you to join us, Hamlet,” Claudio said with a tone I wasn’t too keen about.

“Now, we’re not just here to celebrate my marriage to the lovely woman beside me, but

also to pay our respects to my late brother. Just before his death, he gave the Norway family one hell of a black eye.

Now ain’t nobody gonna try to sell booze to our customers without thinkin’ twice.” My uncle’s toast went on to talk about how much he missed my pa and how he wished he couldda been a better brother to him before he died. It was all bull. If the new Don really cared so much about his brother, he wouldn’ta hopped into bed with his widow so soon.

His toast ended, and all his guests went about to enjoy the party he set up. Claudio and my ma approached me.

“Hamlet,” started ma, “Why do you still wear that black suit?

You haven’t worn anyting but since your father passed.”

“I don’t forget a death as quickly as some people in this family do.”

“You’re actin’ like a child,” said Claudio. “How you expect to get any respect if you don’t act like a man. I’m sorry your Claro

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pa died. But before him, his pa died, and that man lost his pa too. It’sa part of life, son.”

“I think it’d do you a lotta good to stay home with us,” ma said after a long pause. “Don’t go back to Sicily.”

“A real good friend of mine once told me,” said Claudio, “‘a man who doesn’t spend time with his family isn’t really a man.’ Your ma’s right, kid.

Stay here in New York. Nothin’ good will come outta you going back to Sicily.”

“Yeah. Lemme think about it. I think I’mma just go to bed, I’m not feelin’ too hot. Night, ma. Night, Uncle Claudio.”

Back in my room’s bathroom, I stared hard in the mirror.

I needed a shave bad. So I opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed the razor and some shavin’ cream. When I looked back in the mirror, I didn’t see me.

My pa’s face was lookin back at me.

I stumbled back into the wall.

This wasn’t really happenin’... was it?

“What the hell are you doin’, son?”

“You.. You ain’t real.”

“Watch your mouth when you talk to me. I’m as real as that sorry excuse for a beard.

Ya look terrible, kid.”

“What...What are you doin’ here? Shouldn’t you be, y’know, in heaven or somethin’?”

“Hamlet. You know what our

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family does for a livin’. You know what we do to the men who try to inhibit our cash flow. You think a man like me is goin’ to heaven? But that’s not the point. I’m here to ask what kinda son – a son of the proud Denmark family – would let his father’s killer walk around as the new Don and boff his wife.”

“Whadda ya mean, ‘his father’s killer’?” I still couldn’t believe this was really happenin’ to me. My dad, in the flesh... Not in the flesh, whatever. He was still here.

“What is this family payin’ for you to go to school in Sicily for? Ya can’t even figure out what I’m tryina say here. My brother, your Uncle Claudio, did me in while I was sleepin’.

He wants to take control of this family, and if you let him, he’s gonna run our empire into the ground. You gonna let him get away with that?”

“No. No I ain’t.”

“S’cuse me?”

“No, sir. I ain’t about to let him get away with that.”

“Good. That’s my boy.” And just like that, I was just seein’ me in the mirror again. I don’t care how weird what happened that night might’a been, but I bought it. My Uncle Claudio was a scumbag, I knew it from the start. I just didn’t know he was this bad.

I didn’t sleep too good that night. I kept seein’ my dad’s face every time I tried, he was

“Hey, Hamlet, how you doin’?” Pauly said as he poked his balding head through the doorway.

“I’m fine.”

“You do recognize me, right?” As if I couldn’t pick that ugly mug outta a line up with one eye closed.

“Yeah, you’re that guy who sells fish by the docs, right?”

“Nah, that ain’t me.”

“A buncha words.”

“I mean, what’s the matter?”

“Nothin’, what’s the matter with you?”

“What does the damn book say?” Pauly was getting short with me now. It took a lotta willpower not to crack a smile.

“Ah, yeah. This author is here bad-mouthin’ old guys.

He’s sayin’ that they ain’t no good when it comes to physical work, but they ain’t really got the brains to do anything else.

And what he said about how they look? Oh man. Of course I agree with the guy, but it’s disrespectful to put it in print.

Speakin’ of which, you might wanna try walkin’ backwards for the rest of the day.”

H A MLET, PR INCE OF NEW YOR K

tellin’ me to take care of Uncle Claudio. At some point in the night I went back to my copy of The Well of Loneliness, and I musta lost track of time or somethin’. Cause before I knew it, there was a knock at my door. I responded to it with a half-hearted “Come in.”

“ ‘I’m sorry your pa died. But before him, his pa died, and that man lost his pa too. It’sa part of life, son.’ ”

“Yeah, that’d be a step up,” I said, and looked back down towards my book. “Ey, you got a daughter, right?” I didn’t bother to look up.

“Yeah, I do.”

“You’d better keep that lil’ thing locked up. Don’t want no littler things to take care of.”

Pauly stood there for a good minute. If I didn’t know any better, I woulda said from the look on his face he had some gears turnin’ in his head or somethin’.

“Whatcha readin’?” he asked after a good pause.

Pauly made a face like I just slapped his mother in front of him. “I.. I think I’ll take my leave, then.”

“Please, take it,” and under my breath I added, “wrinkled old dick.”

He turned and walked outta my room with surprising speed for an old guy. I could still hear him just outside my door, sayin’, “If yous are lookin’ for Hamlet, he’s in his room.”

I barely had time to read a sentence when two new people walked in. It had been so long since I’d seen them last that I Claro

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had to do a double-take. It was my pal Giovanni and his twin sister, Rose.

here?”

“Hamlet!” they both yelled out at once, and I got up to greet them.

Now I was starting to get a little annoyed. Giovanni and Rose were bad liars. “C’mon, Rose. Shoot straight with me.

Who asked you to come see me? Or did you really just get a wild hair that told you to come see me.”

“Giovanni! Rose! How are you two doin’?”

“Eh, we can’t complain,” Rose said with a shrug.

“Yeah, but we ain’t at the top of our game, either,” added her brother.

“But you two ain’t down for the count, right?”

“Nah, we’re somewhere in the middle.”

“So Lady Luck’s waist, then?” I said with a smile.

Giovanni laughed and said, “Yeah, somethin’ like that.”

“Of course you are – Lady Luck is basically a girl from the Bronx. Anyway, what brings you two to my visiting hours?”

“Visiting hours?”

“Yeah, here in this prison of mine.” Both of the twins looked confused.

“I guess the whole world’s a prison, when you think about it,” Rose said finally.

“Yeah, one big prison. This damn house being the worst.”

“Well, I don’t think so,” Giovanni added.

“Of course it’s not a prison to you. Nothin’s really good or bad, it’s just what you think about it that makes it that way.

So really, what brings you

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“We’re just here to see you, that’s all.”

“What do you want me to say?” Rose asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.

“The truth, what else? You two are honest people, so when you lie it shows. The new Don and his new wife asked you here, didn’t they?”

Rose looked like the cops just caught her holdin’ the bag.

“What would they do a thing like that for?”

“That’s what I’m asking,” I said. “C’mon, I don’t gotta remind you that we grew up together. Yous are the brother and sister I never had. Don’t make me ask again, Rosie. Be straight with me.”

She whispered something to her brother. I decided right then and there that I’d better be careful around these two.

“Yeah,” said Giovanni, “they asked us to be here.”

“Of course they did,” I said.

“And you know why? I’ll tell ya.

Because for a little while now, I ain’t really been interested in nothin’. Couldn’t tell ya why. I mean, look at you two. Man is a perfect creation, really. Logic, reasoning, mad imagination.

Rose was grinnin’ ear-toear. “If people don’t interest you, you’re gonna be sorely disappointed. We saw a theater company was in town and we were wonderin’ if you wanted to go.”

“What’re they puttin’ on?”

“I dunno,” said Giovanni.

“Some old English play about this guy who goes nuts and kills his family and some other people, I guess.”

“Nah, that stuff’s for the birds. Now go on, get outta here. I’m tired of lookin’ at ya.” The twins looked a little upset at what I had said, but it was true. I mean, I was mad that they would even consider doin’ my uncle a favor after all that this family did for them when my pa was in charge.

They left and I finally returned to my book. Two pages in, I got yet another knock on my door. “For Pete’s sake,” I said to myself, followed by a louder, “Who is it?”

The door swung open slowly and if I weren’t so mad about bein’ bugged all day I woulda fallen outta my chair.

Standin’ in my doorway was that putz Pauly’s daughter,

Ophelia. She was wearin’ one of them dresses that all the girls were wearin’ lately. It was white, ended right above her knee, covered in this fringe stuff and was cut to reveal her shoulders and the top of her chest. Sheesh. Her black hair framed her face perfectly, cut just short enough to fall below her ears but still kinda hug her head. This girl was a knockout.

“What’s goin’ on around this house? It’s almost noon and ain’t nobody got the paper yet,” she said, as she threw it onto my bed table.

H A MLET, PR INCE OF NEW YOR K

Even how we’re shaped, we’re the most unique animals on earth. We’re basically gods, the most beautiful thing imaginable. But that don’t mean squat to me. We could be dirt for all I care. Men don’t interest me, and women don’t really, either. What? What’s so funny?”

“Maybe we just got better things to do,” I said, and made a sad attempt not to oogle her gams.

“What’sa matter with you, Hamlet?”

“I’m tired of bein’ bugged all goddamn mornin’, that’s what.

Whadda ya doin’ here, Dora?”

She looked at me funny but shook it off.

“I’m here to give you some of your things back. You want ‘em, don’t you?”

“I dunno what you’re talkin’ about,” I said. “I never gave you nothin’.”

“Sure ya did. Look at all these letters.” She dropped them on top of the newspaper. “Nice words mean nothin’ comin’ from a mean person.”

“Hah, you’re one to talk about bein’ a good person.” “‘scuse me?”

“What I’m sayin’ is, yeah, Claro

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you’re gorgeous, but that ain’t got nothin’ to do with bein’ good.”

“What could be more good than bein’ beautiful?” Oof, this girl was daft.

“If beauty can make a good girl loose, then bein’ good can make a beautiful girl a virgin, yeah? I used to love you, dollface.”

“I thought so, anyway.” Her voice was shakin’ now.

“Yeah, well you shouldn’t have. Everyone’s all rotted inside, no matter how much we polish ourselves on the outside. I never really loved you.”

“I guess you had me goin’, then.”

“You should go be a nun. I knew of this convent in Sicily.

That way you won’t drop more bad people on this world.

I mean, I try to be a good person, yeah. But I could say that it would have been better if my ma never had me, with all the bad stuff I’ve done. I’ve got so many bad intentions and malice that I dunno how it all fits into this body. Go to that convent. Where’s your old man?”

“At home,” she said. The floodgates were aboutta burst.

“Good. Keep ‘im there. That way he’s only a fool at his own place.”

The first drops were fallin’.

“What’s the matter with you?”

“If you ever get married,

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darlin’, you’re still gonna have a bad reputation. No matter how ‘pure’ you might be. If you do manage to tie one down, make sure he’s a few cards short of the full deck. Anyone with half a brain would know what you’d do to him. Get outta here, huh?”

“Hamlet! God, what’re you changin’ into?” She had the full-on water works now, makin’ it kinda hard to hear what she was sayin’.

“Also, look at your face. All covered in paint and what not.

The man upstairs gives you a face, and you ain’t content with it. You gotta paint all over it. I know. No more marriage. I’ll have none of it. Now, like I said, get the hell outta here. Get to that convent.”

Ophelia left, bawlin’ like a baby. I could hear her as she went down stairs and all the way through the yard.

I muddled through all the junk she threw onto my bed table. Whatta mess. As I was siftin’ through the envelopes, somthin’ caught my eye. It was nothin’ to do with the letters, but what was underneath.

CHIGAGO MAN KILLS BROTHER, KIDNAPS SISTERIN-LAW The newspaper. How is that all too different from what the good Don had done? A great idea came to me while I was standin’ there. I’d read this to my uncle that night over dinner. I’d see how he reacts; if it strikes a chord with him, he’s

I started gettin’ dressed for dinner. I slid on my jacket, and while I did, I thought it would be a good idea to grab my piece. My father’s revolver, the one thing of his that bastard Claudio didn’t take. With full faith in my plan, I made my way down stairs and into my family’s huge dining room.

Before I got there, I bumped into Horace as he walked in the door.

“Horace! Good to see ya.”

“Just as good to see you, friend.”

“Horace, you’re the best person in this house tonight.”

“Oh, Ham-” he started, but I wasn’t gonna let him finish.

“No, I mean it. My father even trusted you enough to make you his consigliere. Now I gotta trust you the same way he did. I need a favor over dinner tonight. I’mma talk about this article I read in the paper. It’s very close to how my father died. So when I do, I need you to keep an eye on my uncle. If he does anythin’ fishy, make a note of it. We’ll talk again after dinner.”

“Y...Yeah, I can do that.”

“You’re a good man, Horace.

And an even better friend.”

I put both my hands on his

shoulders and gave him a small hug. “Now come on, let’s eat.”

As I walked in, I knew that night was gonna be somethin’ else. It wasn’t just my ma and uncle, no, they invited Rose and Giovanni, as well as Pauly and Ophelia. They didn’t know they would be gettin’ dinner and a show.

“Ey, sweetheart, how you doin’?” I said as I pulled up a chair next to Ophelia and gave her a small smooch on the cheek. “You mind if I sit here?”

H A MLET, PR INCE OF NEW YOR K

guilty, and I’d be justified in bumpin’ him off. I was on pins and needles all day, waitin’ for dinner to come around.

Even without my father in the picture, one thing this family did by the book was dinner.

“I’m doin’ okay,” she said, softly. Wouldn’t even bother to look at me. “And no, go for it.”

Finally, Claudio and my ma came in.

“Thank you for joinin’ us tonight,” Claudio began, and Pauly the kiss-ass poured him a glass of wine. “Before we begin, I wanna make a toast to this family. My broker called me, and our stocks are goin’ nowhere but up. Just like this family. We’ve got a brand new casino openin’ up soon.

We’re on the rise, my friends.

Everyone says it’s lonely at the top, but I got my beautiful wife, and I’m surrounded by beautiful friends. Here’s to the Denmark family!”

Yeah, that putz was goin’ up alright. But he didn’t seem to know that the higher you go, the farther you fall. And his fall was a’comin’. As with every family dinner, we made small talk about what we all did that day. Blah blah, I didn’t care Claro

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that my ma had lunch with some dame in town, or that Pauly got a letter from Lucio. I guess his son was in Florence for a while. Big whoop. I was too anxious to get around to what I had to say.

“Hamlet -” “I mean, who would do such a thing? Killin’ your own brother? That’s the lowest of the low.”

“What about you, Hamlet?

Whaddid you do today?” My ma asked, as everyone looked over to me.

“But then to try and take your own sister-in-law? I mean, that’s almost incest.

‘Sister’ is right in her title.”

“Hamlet!”

“ ‘You think a man like me is goin’ to heaven? ’ ”

“Oh, I just read a bit. Saw a shockin’ story in the paper, today.”

“Oh? What might that have been?” Pauly asked. He didn’t know he was shootin’ his new boss in the foot.

“Well, I guess this guy in Chicago killed his own brother.” Claudio choked on his rigatoni, just slightly.

Perfect.

“I don’t think this is a good topic for dinner,” he said with a cough, but I pretended not to hear him.

“The worst part, though, is that afterward, he went on to kidnap his brother’s sister.

Guess he was in love with her or somethin’.” I couldn’t help but look up. Claudio had stopped eatin’ completely, his hand in a death grip around his fork. I got him. He was a rat stuck in a trap.

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“Damn it, Hamlet! That’s enough!” Claudio said, and slammed his fist on the table.

He stood up quickly, buttoned his suit jacket, almost like he was a self-respecting Sicilian or somethin’, and waltzed off.

“Claudio!” Ma called out, and she went after him, but not before givin’ me the “you’re in hot water” look.

“Boss, wait!” Pauly cried, and he, Rose, and Giovanni all went, too. Ophelia just looked at me. She stood up slowly and followed suit. Horace looked at me from across the table.

“So...care to explain to me what that was?”

“You didn’t see that? He wears his guilt like a cheap suit.”

“You don’t mean... Nah, no way. He... He iced your old man?”

“Now you’re on the trolly.”

“But, how did you know?”

“Man, screw my gut. I’m trustin’ yours from now on.”

Pauly re-entered the dining room. “Hamlet. Your mother wants to see you in her room.

Now.” He didn’t look too pleased with how dinner played out. I was, and the rigatoni was fantastic.

“Ma?” I asked, as I pushed open her bedroom door, slowly.

“In here, Hamlet.” I could tell by her voice she was disappointed. “You’ve shown your father a large deal of disrespect.”

“Yeah, tell her I’ll be right up.” I gave Horace a look like I just hit it big at the tracks and left him. On my way to my mother’s room, I passed by my father’s study, which now also belonged to my uncle. The door was cracked and the light was on, so I peeked in.

“You’ve shown my father a large deal of disrespect.”

Claudio had a rosary in his hands, and he was on his knees.

“Of course I ‘member. You’re my ma, even though I wish it weren’t so.”

“Father, I have sinned.

Everything I have has left bloodstains on my hand. My empire, my wife, all of it.

Could I even be truly forgiven, Lord? Since I’m still baskin’ in the glory I got from killin’ my own brother. I pray to you every day, but I still don’t feel like I’m cleansed of my sins.”

He then began doing a Hail Mary prayer. I slowly reached inside of my suit jacket. I couldda done it right then

“You know what? Never mind, I’ll call for someone else,” she said.

H A MLET, PR INCE OF NEW YOR K

I decided I wasn’t about to tell him about seein’ my dad in the mirror. I woulda lost him; he would think I’m off my rocker and wouldn’t help me if I needed him. “Just call it a hunch.”

and there. I even pulled out the gun and rested my thumb on the hammer. But if I killed him while he was prayin’ for forgiveness, he’d get into the kingdom. I didn’t want nothin’ good for that man, even in death. I sighed hard, and I put my revolver back in my pocket and headed to see what my ma wanted.

“Don’t be smart.”

“Don’t be dumb.”

“Hamlet,” she said, with a clenched jaw. “It would do you good to remember who you’re talking to.”

“No, you sit down.” I pushed her shoulder, maybe a little too hard, and forced her to sit in front of her large vanity mirror. “You take a good long look in that glass until you see yourself for what you really are.”

“Hamlet, what are you going to do to me? Oh, help!”

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From the closet behind me, I heard a man’s voice sayin’ somethin’. I couldn’t make out what, though. I didn’t think. I reacted. I pulled the piece from my jacket and fired two shots through the door. “You dirty rat,” I muttered.

“What have you done?” Ma asked, even more panicked than before.

“I dunno. Is it Claudio?”

“Oh, this is terrible!”

“Yeah, almost as terrible as killin’ a man and marryin’ his brother.” I began to make my way to the closet.

“Killin’ a man?”

“Did I stutter, ma?” I pulled open the door and Pauly fell out of the closet. I took a big step back; my shoes were straight outta Sicily. “You were always as dumb as a doorknob.

Now you’re as dead as a doornail. Shame, really. I was hopin’ it was someone worth the bullets.” I turned back to my ma. “What did I say? Look in that mirror. Tell me what you see.” I made my way back over to her. We were both lookin’ into her mirror, but as I blinked, I found my face once again replaced by my father’s.

“Mio Dio,” I whispered to myself. “Pa, you’re comin’ to me again, now? Why? Did I do somethin’ wrong?”

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poor mom. She’s in shock. Talk to her, son. Make sure she’s okay.”

“Ma? Are you alright?”

“Am I alright? You mean are you alright,” she said, starting to cry. “You’re standin’ here, talkin’ to nobody, you’re more tense than you would be if five of the Norway boys were in the room right now. What are you lookin’ at?”

“At him!” I cried out, gesturing towards the mirror.

“Look at him, he’s givin’ me that look, you know the one?

The one he gives me when he’s not too happy.” I turned towards Pop. “Don’t look at me like that!”

“Who are you talking to?”

Ma was almost hysterical now.

“You don’t see him?”

“I just see you and me” “You don’t hear anything?”

“Just you and me!”

“Look! Here in the mirror.

It’s the old man, dressed in his best suit, just like as if he were still alive. Look -” But when I turned back to the mirror, my Pop was gone.

“You’re seein’ things, son.

You’re nuts.”

“Hamlet? What? Are you completely off it?”

“Nuts? Don’t try to pretend like I’m the problem here to try an’ make yourself feel better. You’re the cause of what happened tonight.”

“I’m here to remind you of what I originally asked you to do,” said pa. “But look at your

“Good, maybe you could at least save a piece. Good night,

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“You’re breakin’ my heart!”

“I... I don’t think I could if I wanted to.”

“An’ don’t worry about this lug. I’ll take care of him.” With that, I grabbed a rug from my ma’s room, wrapped it around Pauly, and carried him off. I would’ve dumped his body in a lake somewhere later. That night, I barely slept at all.

I woke up to the ugliest mug standin’ over me the next mornin’.

“Get up, Hamlet. I’ve packed your things, Rose and Giovanni are taking you to Los Angeles,” Claudio said.

“What?” I barely muttered as I still tried to shake off the sleep.

“Yeah, you’re going to stay with some friends of mine.

I’m Godfather to their only daughter, so I trust them. Your car is waiting.”

“Where in Los Angeles?”

“It’s a good neighborhood, Hamlet. You’ll be stayin’ in Bel–Air.” And without another word, he got up and left. I dressed myself quickly in one of my older suits. The jacket needed to be let out a little, but it would do. Rose and Giovanni were already waitin’ for me. I guess they didn’t trust

me, ‘cause they insisted on takin’ a separate car. Fine by me, I didn’t trust them all too good, either. They were good, though.

They helped me load my bags up and at least pretended like everythin’ was fine.

Ten minutes into the drive, I realized that Rose left her purse in my car. We decided to stop for food in Chicago, so I would give it to her then.

But I couldn’t help but notice an envelope stickin’ out of it.

I grabbed it, opened it, and began reading.

H A MLET, PR INCE OF NEW YOR K

Ma. And I’m sorry for what happened to that putz over on the other end of the room, but clearly God had this planned in one way or another. And one more thing, Ma? Don’t breathe a word of this to that fat goon we call the Don.”

Mr. and Mrs. England, The time has come for you to repay your debt to your daughter’s Godfather. I didn’t wanna say this over the phone, my step son would have heard it. But when Hamlet gets to Los Angeles, put a bullet in him.

He’s a mad dog that needs to be put down. Then we will be even.

—Claudio The old fool was tryin’ to get rid of me. Well Denmarks don’t go down without a fight.

I found my notebook in one of my bags and started writing in it. Those two cockroaches in the other car were tryin’ to help Claudio do me in, so I wrote a new letter to the nice England family. When Giovanni and Rose got to Bel–Air, they’d be full of lead instead of me.

The rest of my drive was entirely uneventful. My book was done before we even left New York. We finally stopped Claro

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at a diner in Chicago; it was pretty late in the evening at this point. I grabbed Rose’s purse, with my little edited letter, and made my way inside. I could see Giovanni and Rose through the window, they already had a table. Four men in suits were standin’ outside when I walked up to the door.

“We just ain’t movin’ enough product,” I heard one of them say. That was my cue. “‘Scuse me, gentlemen,” I said as I approached them, thankful that I grabbed my gun before I left. This had a lot of potential to turn ugly fast. “How about a lil business proposal?”

“I don’t think you want our kinda business, bucko.”

“Oh but I do. You said you ain’t movin’ product? What if I could guarantee that a huge clientele was about to open up in New York?”

“Yeah, as if. That’s locked down good.”

“Not for long. If you help me out, I’ll guarantee half of the customers currently buyin’ from the Denmark family will be available to you.”

“F’real? Whadda we gotta do?”

“All I need is a ride to New York. Maybe just a set of wheels, even. Then Don Claudio sleeps with the fishes.”

“You got yourself a deal, chum. Car will be waitn’ for you ‘round back in an hour.

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Key taped to the wheel well.

Got it?”

“Got it,” I said. “Pleasure doin’ business with ya.”

I went in and sat beside Rose and Giovanni. I handed Rose her purse and the Dumb Dora thanked me. She shouldn’t have. The chicken was dry, real dry. I promised myself to never move to Chicago when this was all over with. After payin’ the bill—even for Rose and Giovanni—they made their way to their car. I told ‘em I needed to see a man about a horse and I would be right out. I went to the bathroom and waited. I heard their car leave, and I made my way back into the back seat of my car. I opened the door and asked the driver to wait. Placin’ my foot on the car, I made like I was tyin’ my shoe, but really I was untyin’ it. I pulled out the lace, and sat back down.

“You ready to go, sir?”

“Yeah, just one more thing,” I said, and, holding one end of my shoelace in each hand, wrapped it tight around the driver’s neck. He struggled for a good while, but finally went limp. I didn’t feel too bad for the shmuck. After all, it was only business, nothin’ personal. After tyin’ my shoe, I went around back of the diner and found the car. Them Chicago boys were good for their word.

I drove for about twenty minutes until I found a motel.

There was no way I was drivin’

“Hello?” The voice on the other end of the phone sounded like it had just been pulled outta a solid sleep.

“Horace. It’s me, Hamlet. I’m on my way home. I should be there tomorrow night.”

father and a sister on the same day? I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. Well, I might.

He did lose a brother on the same day I lost a father, after all.” Horace was quiet again.

“I’mma let you get back to bed, Horace. Stay golden, and tell everyone to expect me at my father’s tomorrow night.” I hung up the phone and barely slept. I was much too anxious for what was about ta unfold.

“Hamlet? How...”

H A MLET, PR INCE OF NEW YOR K

all through the night. The first thing I did after checkin’ in and gettin’ to the room was give Horace a call. I knew it was late, but he would understand.

“ ‘I used to love you, dollface.’ ”

“I got a car from some boozeslingers here in Chicago.”

“Now how did you swing that?”

“Let’s leave it at ‘I made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.’”

Horace was quiet for a long while, before finally saying something. “Hamlet.

You should know somethin’.

Ophelia’s dead.”

“What?” I was genuinely surprised. My first thoughts went to that bastard Claudio.

“They found her floatin’ in the pool the same day you left. Looks like she drowned herself. Lucio is back from Florence, too. He’s pretty torn up about everything, really.”

“Yeah, I bet. I know what it’s like to lose a father. But a

Home sweet home. I drove straight through, no stops.

It was still pretty late when I found myself standin’ outside of my father’s house.

I walked inside, suitcase in hand, revolver in my jacket.

Surprisingly, I saw no one in the house. I wandered the ground floor for a few minutes, until I heard voices coming from the garden. I walked out and was met by just about everyone: Claudio, my ma, Horace, and Lucio.

“Hamlet. So glad that you’re here,” said Claudio. I couldn’t believe how naturally lyin’ came to him. I was right about to say a few words about this family. In the wake of loss, we’ll come back stronger than ever. Ain’t nothin’ gonna keep the Denmarks from continuin’ to rise up. We will persevere.

Claro

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We’re bulletproof.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” I muttered to myself.

“Lucio had a good idea for you, Hamlet,” Claudio added after his excuse for a speech.

“You learned a bit of fencing in Sicily, yeah?”

“What of it?”

Lucio appeared with two swords in his hands. “I learned a bit myself. It might be fun to put on a lil show, in celebration of both of our returns.”

“Yeah, I don’t see why not.”

Lucio handed me one; Claudio poured a glass of wine and said that it was mine, for when we finished, and we began. We didn’t get dressed properly or nothin’, we just did it as we were. Lucio came at me like a man possessed, flailin’ his sword about like he didn’t learn nothin’ at all. I did my best to put up a guard, but he nicked me once or twice. I realized that he weren’t usin’ no fencing sword. That was the real deal, and he was ready to kill me. So I did the best I could; I got in close to try and take his sword from him, but when I did, he stuck me real good in my side. I gave him a good elbow and he managed to drop his weapon. I was bleedin’ bad and I hit the dirt, but I got his sword in my hand. I barely had enough time to roll on my back before Lucio was on me, but more importantly, on my sword. We locked eyes for a good while. I looked down and saw that I got him good and 96 |

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deep. His number would be up before mine.

“No, that was for Hamlet!”

Claudio said loudly. I pushed Lucio off of me and saw my ma with my wine in her hand.

Before I knew it, she was choking bad, and she was in the dirt, too. “Well,” Claudio said, “I’m gonna find someone to clean this mess up.” He started walking towards the house. He must notta thought I was still kickin’ or something.

“I don’t think so, you son of a bitch,” I said. Or maybe I thought I said it. Everythin’ sounded like I had earmuffs on. I slowly reached across myself into my jacket. My hand weighed a ton, I was movin’ too slow. I wasn’t gonna get my piece in time. I wasn’t gonna do what my father asked of me.

I wasn’t gonna Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Bang. Bang.

I dunno how it happened. I had it in my hand, I fired off all six shots. I couldn’t tell ya how many hit, but that bastard was down.

“Hamlet!” Horace cried.

Despite feelin’ like I was underwater, I could still recognize that voice. He scooped me up and held my head in his arms.

“I’m not long now, old friend,” I managed to say.

“Me, neither. There’s some wine left that your ma didn’t finish. I’ll be with you, soon, my friend.”

“Don’t you fuckin’ think

the sound of many car doors closing again around the front of the house. “Who’s here?

What’s that?” I asked, after what felt like a lifetime of the words being trapped in my mouth.

“Don’t worry about it. Some of the Norway boys are here for peace talks. You just close your eyes now, Hamlet. The angels above will sing you to sleep.

Goodnight, sweet prince.”

H A MLET, PR INCE OF NEW YOR K

about it, Horace. You gotta do me one last favor. Make sure whoever is still loyal to the Denmark family knows what really happened. I’m not the bad guy here.” I coughed and it felt like I was being stabbed again ten times over. I heard a car pull up in the driveway and the sound of the door slammin’ shut. I heard some guy whose voice I didn’t know say somethin’ muffled to Horace.

My head was deep underwater now, I couldn’t pick out a word that guy said. But I did hear

And I did. I finally slept.

Artist’s Statement I wrote Hamlet into a prohibition-era New York crime family.

In all honesty, it just made sense to put him there. I changed the names of everyone except Hamlet and Ophelia to make them sound more authentic. I also changed all of the dialogue for the same reason.

I adopted the Hemingway style of dialogue, because adding “I said” or “She said” after everything was just really ugly to me.

Also, since Hamlet was originally a play, the story was obviously going to be dialogue-heavy, and the back-to-back dialogue flowed naturally.

I attempted to have the beginning of the story be very speechheavy, with little prose. But as the story progressed, I slowly added more and more prose to show Hamlet inside his own head, and the grip on his sanity starting to slip.

Making the story first-person was a big choice for me. I chose to do so because this way we only get Hamlet’s point of view.

All of the betrayals and plots—such as sending Hamlet to Los Angeles—seem much more out of the blue. The first-person choice also made it much easier to, again, show Hamlet’s descent into madness, shown in the calm and remorseless way he kills his driver in Chicago.

The ghost only appears to Hamlet in the mirror, replacing his own reflection. I did this because I believe Don Hamlet, much like King Hamlet, lives on through his son and it was supposed to Claro

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symbolize that. The same goes for how Hamlet uses his father’s gun in the story. His father is truly acting through his son, and both of these were meant to represent that.

I added the speeches from Claudio about how the family was only going up and nothing was going to touch them to parallel the blind and erroneous faith that the American populous had in the stock market. Much like the stock market, the Denmark family was about to come crashing down while all of the warning signs were ignored.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were some of the most fun to write. I made them twins as a joke on how the two characters are basically interchangeable, at least when you ignore Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (the Stoppard play and film). I also made Rosencrantz a woman because it was easy. Much like Prospero/ Prospera in the film version of The Tempest, it added no real value to the story.

Hamlet is an insomniac in the story to show the activity of his mind that refuses to let him sleep. It also added to Horace’s lines at the end about the angels singing him to sleep. Hamlet’s death, where he says that everything sounds like he’s underwater, was supposed to parallel what Ophelia must have felt like in the last minutes of her own life.

I have small nods here and there to The Godfather. They were truly just unavoidable.

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Romeo’s Song † by dan duvarney Please visit our website at rrcc.edu/claro to listen to Duvarney’s song.

“Romeo should complete some sort of grand gesture [but] boomboxes didn’t happen until about 400 years after his time.”

Love is always a tricky thing.

This I learned from my fair share of love stories—most of them consisting of eighties movies that my parents grew up with and they would re-watch on the couch on weeknights, with their oldest son Danny curled up next to them, taking in the movies as well. Sixteen Candles, Dirty Dancing, Pretty in Pink, The Princess Bride…the list goes on and on and on. Everybody has a favorite that they can watch on the television and never get tired of.

One thing that stuck with me through all these years is the infamous Say Anything boombox scene. This grand romantic gesture is one that has stood the test of time as Lloyd Dobbler stands outside the house of Diane Court, planted firmly on the ground with a boombox high above his head, blaring Peter Gabriel’s classic, “In Your Eyes.” I expected Romeo and Juliet to have something just

as romantic—Romeo—in Act II, Scene ii, also known as the balcony scene—who faces certain death if he is caught in the courtyard of a Capulet, is standing there in the night, shouting his love to a girl he has just met, not caring who hears or if he is caught.

Romantic, right?

Unfortunately, being spoiled by said eighties movies, I envisioned something much more dramatic and extreme.

Romeo should complete some sort of grand gesture, and since boomboxes didn’t happen until about 400 years after his time, I figured the next closest thing would be to sing a song himself. I envisioned him with a guitar, hopping over the walls of Juliet’s courtyard and singing her a song; in iambic pentameter, no less.

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Verse I: The sun, it rises in the East so slow, Hey Juliet, won’t you look out your door?

I climbed your fence so I could sing to you, So that I might just say a little more.

I know not how to tell thee who am I, My name, dear saint, is hateful toward thy, A Montague I am, deep down inside, Call me but love and I’ll be baptized.

Chorus: My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep, the more I give to thee, Dear Juliet, I swear someday we’ll be, A pair of stars they’ll speak in history.

Verse II: Your eyes in heaven, would shine through the sky, That birds would sing and think it were not night.

Two blushing lips, thy gentle sin is this, To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.

Repeat Chorus Bridge: Good night, good night, parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say night till it be ‘morrow.

End Chorus.

For this song, I wanted to incorporate some of the lines that were said in the play—mostly the ones in Act II, Scene ii, so that it would fit smoothly into the play without stealing lines from other parts of the play. Some of the lines I took, and may have adjusted to fit the play, were as follows: “It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” (II, ii, line 4) “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls, For stony limits cannot hold love out” (II, ii, line 66) 100 |

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“My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep. The more I give to thee” (II, ii, line 133) “Her eye in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night.” (II, ii, line 22) “This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” (I, v, line 94) “Good night, good night, parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say night till it be ‘morrow.” (II, ii, line 188)

ROMEO’S SONG

“I know not how to tell thee who I am.

My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself” (II, ii, line 54) “Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized.” (II, ii, line 50)

Every other one of the lines were made up, but still tied together with themes of the play, such as the last two lines in the chorus: “Dear Juliet, I swear someday we’ll be/A pair of stars they’ll speak in history,” which refers to the star-crossed lovers theme present in the play. “Hey Juliet, won’t you look out your door?” is pretty much Romeo calling for Juliet to get her attention.

Chord structure is a big part for me in any song I write. I wanted this song to have a similar feel to that of Death Cab for Cutie’s “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.” While my song is in a different key and uses different chords, it shares a similar picking style and is only half a step up from Death Cab’s tune, so it’s somewhat familiar. I chose their song as an influence not only because it is a favorite of mine to sing, but I also feel like the lyrics can be applied to Romeo and Juliet, because it deals with themes of dying and love. Part of the verse features a transition from F to G

“ I thoroughly enjoyed having to think about the challenges of writing in iambic pentameter...”

(two chords that sound sweet next to each other), but then rises to an A minor and then even higher to a diminished chord—both of which sound ugly and sour, especially next to each other. I chose this because the love of Romeo and Juliet starts out sweet but it starts to decay into a relationship that becomes ugly due to the deaths in the play. The same appears in the chorus— Claro

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although a different progression (G to C to A min to E), the first three of which appear commonly in the key of the song but the E seems out of place and wrong—almost like how out of place the relationship between the two houses is.

The bridge is meant to be sounding dark (E to F is not a natural progression in any key), but also suspenseful—the lines “Good night, good night, parting is such sweet sorrow/That I shall say night till it be ‘morrow” are meant to show that Romeo and Juliet are in suspense for what their relationship might bring.

This is echoed by the underlying chords, G7, up to D7, resolved

by G major when the chorus comes around again. The highest and most obvious notes in the structure here build up (Bb to B) and then finally are resolved by the high C in the chorus, which issues a sense of completion.

“Romeo’s Song” is the first song I’ve ever written for guitar and my fifth one ever. I thoroughly enjoyed having to think about the challenges of writing in iambic pentameter and about what to pull and not pull from the play, along with having to decide what the music structure would need to be. If well-received by the class, I may just end up playing this song at an upcoming open-mic night and see if it’s just as well-received by the public.

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VI Multimodal Arguments

Dying on a Prayer † by michelle christensen “If an individual has a religious exemption and isn’t pursuing medical treatment for a dying child, we may choose to accept that.

This is not okay…”

Dying on a

Prayer H

erbert and Catherine Schaible never imagined they’d find themselves in the courtroom at the Common Pleas Court—again. Having plead no contest in the death of their eight-month-old son, Brandon, the couple mournfully awaited sentencing on charges of Murder of The Third Degree, Endangering the Welfare of Children by a Parent or Guardian, and Conspiracy to Commit Third Degree Murder according to the Report on the Fatality of: Brandon Schaible.

January 14, 2009, began like any other day. Catherine prepared the children’s favorite meal, they laughed, and played games together. Little did they know this day would have a painful and irreversible outcome.

Two-year-old Kent, a usually boisterous toddler, had been sick for over a week and his mood was quite different as of lately. USA Today reports in the article, Prosecutors: Pa. couple prayed, denied care to dying toddler, that Kent’s ordinarily doting parents, Catherine and Herbert, disregarded his cough, congestion, loss of appetite, and moodiness—all of which are serious symptoms of bacterial pneumonia. According to Boston Children’s Hospital’s article, Pneumonia Symptoms and Causes, bacterial pneumonia presents with symptoms of cough, chest pain, vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite, and fatigue, and is easily treatable. However, the Schaible's religious beliefs discouraged them from seeking medical attention. As Kent’s breathing grew shallow, and he struggled then eventually failed to breathe, Catherine and Herbert sought spiritual advisement from their pastor, Nelson Clark, rather than emergency medical treatment from a medical professional.

MaryClaire Dale, columnist for The Associated Press, reports that the Schaibles, third-generation members of the East Philadelphia First Century Gospel Church—a Christian-Science-based institution that touts prayer over modern medicine—awaited the arrival of their beloved pastor. Clark arrived at the Schaible’s home, observed Kent’s lifeless body, contacted a funeral home, but did not seek medical intervention or contact the authorities. Instead they prayed.

Photograph: Blickpixel

members within the faith-healing community live in seclusion and are encouraged to have little to no contact with law enforcement, medical professionals, and non-members. Furthermore, statistics gathered by Josh Levs of CNN suggest thousands of individuals throughout the United States currently have religious and philosophical exemptions. Experts like Seth Asser, M.D. and Rita Swan Ph.D. argue that families affiliated with Chris-

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then eventually failed to breathe, Catherine and Herbert sought spiritual advisement from their pastor, Nelson Clark, rather than emergency medical treatment from a medical professional.

MaryClaire Dale, columnist for The Associated Press, reports that the Schaibles, third-generation members of the East Philadelphia First Century Gospel Church—a Christian-Science-based institution that touts prayer over modern medicine—awaited the arrival of their beloved pastor. Clark arrived at the Schaible’s home, observed Kent’s lifeless body, contacted a funeral home, but did not seek medical intervention or contact the authorities. Instead they prayed.

An Untimely Death Kent Schaible, age 2, pictured above only months before his death from bacterial pneumonia—a medically treatable infection which fill the air sacs in the lungs with pus and other fluids.

Photograph: Taringa!

Raised hearing sermons given by Pastor Clark such as, When Faith Is Tested, which professes, “Any thought, suggestion, or attitude that is against Bible teaching is from the devil. Pure devotion to Christ is a faithful trust on the power of God—to heal our body without medicine...” the Schaibles trusted lessons they learned early in life, and placed Kent’s life in God’s hands. MaryClaire Dale with The Associated Press reports that while the church does not shun members who seek medical attention, it encourages prayer over conventional medicine. Members who have lost a child after denying medical treatment are considered “spiritually lacking” by Pastor Clark.

Following Kent’s avoidable death, Herbert and Catherine were charged with manslaughter and received a sentence of 10-years probation with the stipulation that their six remaining children receive consistent medical care.

Monitored only by probation officers, who are largely untrained in children’s welfare, the Schaible’s proceeded to follow the doctrine of their church rather than the law of the court. MaryClaire Dale, went on to report in her article, Philadelphia Parents Herbert, Catherine Schaible Sentenced in Son’s ‘Prayer Death.’

Only 1,545 days after the death of two-year-old Kent, Catherine and Herbert found themselves in what Prosecutor Joanne Pescatore calls an ‘eerily similar’ situation. After months of a full-body rash, and several days of cold and flu-like symptoms, including runny nose, cough, diarrhea, and trouble swallowing, eight-month-old Brandon Schaible lost his life. Philadelphia columnist, David

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Warner reports that a mere four years after the death of their son, Kent, to bacterial pneumonia, Brandon’s fragile body succumbed to bacterial pneumonia and dehydration as well. On the afternoon of April 18, 2013, Brandon perished after an exhaustive day of labored breathing and refusal to eat.

members within the faith-healing community live in seclusion and are encouraged to have little to no contact with law enforcement, medical professionals, and non-members. Furthermore, statistics gathered by Josh Levs of CNN suggest thousands of individuals throughout the United States currently have religious and philosophical exemptions. Experts like Seth Asser, M.D. and Rita Swan Ph.D. argue that families affiliated with Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witness, and Amish religious practices, do not have the right to make religious martyrs of their young children through the denial of life-sustaining measures simply because they are religiously exempt. Ed McCann, First District Attorney in Philadelphia, is quoted in the Daily Mail posing the gut-wrenching question, “How many kids have to die before it becomes extreme indifference to human life?

Douglas Diekema, M.D., M.P.H, head of ethics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, states, ”It is the parent’s responsibility to provide adequate care and life-sustaining medical treatment for their children.” With religious exemptions across the United States in the thousands, many non-members are ‘My religious beliefs are under the misconception that religious exemption provides that you should pray, aimmunity against prosecution, and not have to use and allows the parent the to withhold medical medicine. But because it freedom care from their child in the is against the law, then name of religion.

Serving as a catalyst for further investigation, Brandon’s untimely death prompted local authorities to pursue an investigation—eventually bringing criminal charges against Herbert and Catherine Schaible.

As they waited to hear their fate, that brisk autumn day in November, Herbert Schaible, the patriarch of the family confessed, “I slipped.

It won’t happen whatever sentence you In the Schaible’s situation, a again. I am extremegive me, I will accept.’ case Prosecutor Joanne Pescaly sorry for what tore calls haunting, yet foreseehappened to my two —CATHERINE SCHAIBLE able, the story is not over. For sons.” Judge Benjathe Schaible’s seven remaining min Lerner stoically condemned the couple, “April of 2013 children, ages 4 – 18, the journey is just wasn’t Brandon’s time to die. You’ve killed beginning; the six minor children were two of your children... Not God. Not your placed in three separate foster homes.

Although the circumstances surrounding church. Not your religious devotion. You.” the removal of the Schaible children and Faith-healing deaths account for only a the subsequent three-and-a-half-year minuscule portion of reported deaths each incarceration of their parents has been year; although these deaths are minimal, tragic, the six minor children are now they are largely avoidable. Shawn Francis thriving as they attend public school and Peters, University of Wisconsin lecturer receive regular medical, dental, and vision and author of When Prayer Fails: Faith check-ups.

Healing, Children, and the Law, provides The children have supervised bi-weekly research that shows the death rate at approximately 12 reported deaths per year. visits with their parents, and frequent visits Peters acknowledges, however, that these with one another according to MaryClaire numbers are likely much greater, as many Dale of the Associated Press.

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HEAL TREAT CUR E =

Fa i t h - bas e d e x e m p t i o n s

172

The number of children reported to have died in a 20-year span because medical care was withheld due to religious beliefs.

Thirty of the 172 children were from Colorado.

Source: NY Times

L e ga l i m m u n i t y

19-3-103

The Colorado Revised Statute that stipulates that parents and legal guardians must provide the minor child with medical treatment equivalent to standard medical care in order to sustain life.

Source: Lexis Nexis

45

The number of states that allow religious beliefs to be used as a defense against prosecution.

Colorado is one of them.

Source: NY Times

25,000

The approximate number of members of the Church of the First Born, a group that believes in withholding medical treatment in lieu of faith-healing. Faith-healing is a practice that consists of prayer and the use of anointing oils rather than traditional medicine.

Source: Denver Post

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow another child to die!

Withholding medical treatment from a child is a crime. To report a case of medical neglect, contact the Colorado Department of Human Services at:

1-844-4-CO-Kids

If you are witnessing a life-threatening emergency, call 9-1-1 immediately.

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MICHELLE CHRISTENSEN A child’s death is one of the most painful events an adult can ever have the misfortune of experiencing. Most individuals avoid pain…they avoid sadness. If given omnipotent power the majority of parents would choose for their child(ren) to live long and healthy lives. Why then would an adult withhold life-saving measures from their child in the name of God? More than 50,000 children die every year in the United States, according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. Included in those 50,000 deaths are the preventable deaths of hundreds of children denied medical attention due to strongly held religious beliefs.

Colorado is currently home to six churches belonging to the Congregation of The Church of the First Born, a religious community with such beliefs.

The Church of the First Born, a ChristianScience religious organization, bases their principles of religious healing on the following passage from the Bible, the Book of James, chapter five: “Is one of you ill? He should send for the elders of the congregation to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer offered in faith will save the sick man, the Lord will raise him from his bed, any sins he may have committed will be forgiven.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and then you will be healed.”

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Colorado chapters of The Church of the First Born exist in Delta, Grand Junction, Palisade, Olathe, Cortez, and Denver. Though the church does not keep official records of members, in a 2001 article Nancy Lofholm of The Denver Post estimated Colorado to have 285 active First Born families; many of which are 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation members.

Marvin Peters, a church elder at The Church of the First Born in Colorado, addressed critics of the churches’ beliefs as he recounted occasions in which faith-based healing was successful.

One incident involved a member of the church who fell off a ladder and cracked open her skull. After prayer and anointing oils, the member recovered.

In other instances, Peters recounts members healed of cancer through prayer and anointing oils. These instances are enough proof to Peters that prayer works.

Discovery News debunks Peters faithbased healing practices and philosophy in their article, “Faith-Healing Parents Arrested for Death of Second Child.”

In their report, researchers from six major medical centers, including Yale and Harvard, spent more than a decade studying the power of prayer—one of the largest studies ever conducted. Their research, “Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in Cardiac Bypass Patients” involved more

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than 2,000 cardiac surgery patients. They divided the group of 2,000 into three groups, the first was prayed for after being told they would be prayed for; the second was prayed for after being told they may or may not be prayed for; the third was not prayed for after being told they may or may not be prayed for. Regardless of whether or not prayer was received, the application or withholding of prayer had no affect on the health, recovery, or death rate of the participants in the study. Researchers were able to conclude that prayer had no medical implication or healing power.

Regardless of the results of STEP, Colorado continues to recognize religious healing as a recognized method of healing; however, according to the Colorado Revised Statute, C.R.S. 19-3103, those practicing religious healing must meet certain specifications. 1) The United States Internal Revenue Service must recognize religious healing care or treatment as deductible from taxable income 2) The treatment is generally recognized by insurers licensed by the state 3) Treatment has a success rate equivalent to that of standard professional medical care.

C.R.S. 19-3-103 further specifies when the state can intervene on behalf of a minor child. Specifically, the court has a right to intervene if a medical professional has determined a child is in a life-threatening or seriously disabling condition, or when the parent, guardian, or legal custodian refuses, interferes, or prohibits medical treatment in accordance with a court order. Furthermore, the statute states that the religious beliefs of the parent must not limit a child’s access to medical care in a life-threatening circumstance. If the responsible adult does limit the child’s access to medical care, pursuant to C.R.S. 19-3-103, the child will be considered neglected.

Similarly, the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Prince v Massachusetts stated, “The right to practice religion freely does not include the liberty to expose the community or child to communicable disease, or the latter to ill health or death… Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical

circumstances, to make martyrs of their children before they have reached the age of full and legal discretion.”

So, when should an adult responsible for a minor child be held accountable in the death of a faith-based fatality? When should an adult be prosecuted? These are the questions prosecutors face time and time again.

When statistics state that 27% of children in faith-healing homes have died from pneumonia, a condition that should medical treatment be received the child would have an otherwise excellent prognosis, the question becomes, “Who is to blame?” Is the death God’s will or is it a failure in parenting?

Colorado has clarified that grey area.

When a responsible adult intentionally withholds life-sustaining medical care from a minor child, in lieu of treatment that is lesser than the accepted standard of professional care, the adult is considered neglectful of their duty.

Travis Drake of Grand Junction died several days after his appendix ruptured. Seven-year-old Angela Sweet of Olathe died after a two-month case of appendicitis went untreated. Kyra Wright died in Cortez at 10-months old—she had viral pneumonia. Keenan Littlefield died at only 10-days old of a bowel obstruction—he too was in Cortez, Colorado. Amanda Bates, 13 years old, died of untreated type-one diabetes and an infected kidney—she lived in Grand Junction. All of these children lived in areas in which medical treatment was accessible, but they were prevented from obtaining the treatment that would have saved their life because of their parents’ religious beliefs.

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Artist’s Statement: Packaging Religion For my completed project, I chose to package my three compositions in a lidded vase that—to me—closely resembled an urn. The reason I chose an urn is simple: Ill children can die when medical treatment is withheld for religious reasons.

My goal for this project is to raise awareness regarding two issues that are generally taboo: religious exemptions and child death. It becomes important to ask the question, “When should governments intervene on behalf of a minor child if medical treatment is being withheld due to religious beliefs?”

As a society, we generally don’t like to tell others how to parent.

We don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. If an individual has a religious exemption and isn’t pursuing medical treatment for a dying child, we may choose to accept that. This is not okay—it is, in fact, illegal.

The audience for my final project includes doctors’ offices, hospitals, state buildings, community centers, and schools. These are target-rich environments where I believe parents, doctors, nurses, lawmakers, children, and other concerned individuals might see the poster, news article, and feature article. I believe this audience, though composed of varying demographics, would understand the messages contained in the three pieces.

When editing the final project and packaging them as one, I sought to make the greatest impact. I felt the urn would capture the audience’s attention and immediately appeal to their pathos.

The audience would hopefully feel sympathetic or, better yet, empathetic toward children when reading the narrative first, a composition in which the Schaible family’s story is detailed. The informative newspaper piece that outlines the STEP research helps establish ethos for the project. Finally, my audience would see the poster with the call to action, and the simple subhead of “Faith-Based Exemptions ≠ Legal Immunity” would be a clear display of logos.

“As a society, we generally don't like to tell others how to parent. ”

When I searched for an urn in thrift stores, I looked for one that would appear childlike. Though I didn’t have any luck, I settled on a rose-colored lidded vase. I hand-painted on it a cross that I felt was symbolic of the beliefs of the faith-healing parents as well as two butterflies. I felt that the butterflies added childcentric imagery to the outside of the urn.

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In total, I used 33 sources for this project. My sources ranged from news sources, to government websites, to church sermons.

I verified credibility, synthesized materials, and composed three pieces that I hope my audiences find to be enlightening and informative.

Annotated Bibliography

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fit into the urn I chose. For a moment, I felt ambitious and thought, “I’ll build a baby coffin!” However, realizing that my neighbors might report me to the police, I chose to stick with the ill-fitting faux urn.

Asser, Seth and Swan, Rita, “Child Fatalities From Religionmotivated Medical Neglect.” Np. Apr. 1998. Web. 10 Sept.

2015. http://www.childrenshealthcare.org/PDF%20Files /Pediatricsarticle.pdf The journal article, “Child Fatalities From Religion-motivated Medical Neglect,” was helpful in providing the US Supreme Court ruling on faith-based healing and medical neglect. Additionally, this article provides clear facts regarding the deaths of children as a result of faith-based healing in the last twenty plus years.

There are several clear tables, including one with the expected outcome had parents in the faith-based religions sought treatment; a table listing diagnoses and outcomes; and a table listing the organizations from which the deceased children originated. The two authors of this source are Dr. Seth Asser and Rita Swan—Swan is the founder of CHILD, an organization which brings attention to faith-based healing, and seeks to change the law regarding exemptions; Asser is a pediatrician and advocate for children’s rights. This source was helpful when writing my informative paper—I synthesized the materials in the tables to create a chart, and referenced the US Supreme Court ruling.

Blickpixel, “Mourning Angel Love Farewell.” Photograph.

Pixabay. 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. https://pixabay. com/en/mourning-angel-love-farewell-548282/ The image is one of an angel… one that I felt could be seen at a cemetery. I used this image in my narrative piece in an effort to not only get attention, but also to play on the audience’s pathos.

“Catherine, Herbert Schaible’s Second Child Dies After Parents Use Prayer, No Medicine.” Huff Post Crime.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 23 April 2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/23/ herbert-catherine-schaible_n_3138001.html Claro

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This news article, “Catherine, Herbert Schaible’s Second Child Dies After Parents Use Prayer, No Medicine,” is one of the articles I used to build my timeline between the deaths of the two brothers—Brandon and Kent. Additionally, this source provided me with the character content about the Schaibles’s reaction. Finally, this article lists a sermon from the church’s website, which I later researched and was able to use to locate additional sermons. This article came from the Associated Press without a listed author, and I was able to corroborate similar facts throughout other media sources. This leads me to believe the majority of the information in this source is credible. I used this source in my narrative to establish the parents’ character.

“Child Welfare & Child Abuse Response.” City and County of Denver, 2015. Web. 2 Nov. 2015 https://www.denvergov. org/content/denvergov/en/denver-human-services/ protection-prevention/child-welfare-child-abuseresponse.html From this source, I obtained the phone number for the Colorado Department of Child Protective Services. This source is a government website and is a credible source that was used for my call-to-action in my persuasive poster.

“Christian parents who refused ‘sinful’ medicine and prayed as their toddler son died are spared prison.” DailyMail.com.

Associated Newspapers Ltd., 3 Feb. 2011. Web. 17 Sept.

2015. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1353071/ Christian-parents-shunned-medicine-prayer-sondied-spared-prison.html This article was used along with many other news articles to obtain a sense of the Schaibles’s character. This particular article has a quotation that I felt said a lot about the Schaibles’s beliefs: “We tried to fight the devil, but in the end the devil won.” The news article also explains that the church does not shun members who seek medical treatment. The source of this article is the Associated Press and has no listed author. Many of the statements can be corroborated in other news articles and various other sources. This was a useful article when writing my narrative feature article, which focused solely on the Schaible’s story.

Dale, MaryClaire, “Herbert Schaible, Catherine Schaible: Sentencing: Faith Healers Face Prison Time For Son’s Death.” Huff Post Crime. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost. com/2014/02/19/herbert-schaible-catherine-schaiblesentencing-faith-healing_n_4813638.html

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The news article, “Herbert Schaible, Catherine Schaible Sentencing: Faith Healers Face Prison Time for Son’s Death,” was a source from which I was able to obtain information about the Pastor’s perspective on the deaths. This article also provides information about both children’s deaths and the symptoms leading up to the death. The author of this article, MaryClaire Dale, has written several other articles on the Schaible family for various other news outlets, which I’d ascertain makes her fairly knowledgeable regarding this story. This article provides additional detail when it came to writing my narrative story on the Schaible family.

Dale, MaryClaire, “Philadelphia Parents Herbert, Catherine Schaible Sentenced in Son’s ‘Prayer Death.’” 6ABC. ABC Inc., 19 Feb. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. http://6abc.com/ archive/9437462/ This news article was an exceptional source when preparing my narrative paper. The content includes the church the Schaible family belonged to, quotations from the judge in the case, quotations from the pastor regarding future treatment or advisement from the church, quotations from the DA that led the case against the Schaibles, as well as a videotape of Catherine Schaible. The article also describes the treatment and care that the Schaible children are currently receiving. This article was written by author MaryClaire Dale, author of several other articles on the Schaible family; due to the extent she has written on the Schaible family, I’d consider her to be a credible source.

This article was incredibly useful when writing my narrative paper, particularly in establishing pathos, both regarding the mother’s character as well as the Judge and District Attorney’s strong emotions regarding the case.

“Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect” Child Welfare Information Gateway. Children’s Bureau. Jun. 2014. Web. 10 Sept. 2015. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/define.pdf This source is a list of State Statutes regarding child abuse and neglect from the Children’s Bureau. This was an invaluable source that provides statutes from all fifty states as well as definitions regarding abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, etc. I was able to compare the data in this rather large document to see where Colorado stood regarding religious exemptions and laws regarding whether or not neglect applied. This source is highly credible, as the statutes are laws provided by each state and the document was obtained from a government website. This source was most useful in my informative piece to establish ethos in the document.

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Diekema, Douglas S., “Parental Decision Making.” Ethics in Medicine. University of Washington School of Medicine.

University of Washington, 14 March 2014. Web. 14 Sept. 2015. https://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/ parent.html This source, an article from the Ethics in Medicine website, provides information regarding who has the authority to make medical decisions for minor children. While this source states that it’s the parent’s responsibility and authority to make medical decisions for their children, it also states that these decisions should be in the best interest of their children. The site further states that decisions not in the best interest should be challenged. The author of this website, Douglas Diekema, is a Pediatrician and Director of Children’s Bioethics in Seattle, Washington. I determined that he is credible because of his involvement in pediatrics and ethics.

This source was useful in my narrative to establish logos.

“Faith-healing parents charged with MURDER after second child died in their home from pneumonia without getting medical help while they were on probation over death of first son.” DailyMail.com. Associated Newspapers Ltd., 22 May 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2015. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2329305/ Faith-healing-parents-charged-MURDER-secondchild-died-home-pneumonia-getting-medical-helpprobation-death-son.html This news article provides several great quotations, in particular a quotation by First Assistant DA, Ed McCann, that pleads, “How many kids have to die before it becomes extreme indifference to human life?” Additionally, this source provided me with the book, When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children and the Law, written

by Shawn Francis Peters, which I later used in my paper. The author of this Daily Mail article is unknown; however, the details in the story are similar to many of the details in other stories and various other sources. Therefore, I determined the source was credible. This source was useful in corroborating details, and for great quotations to use in my narrative.

Glauser, Wendy, “United States still too lenient on ‘faith healing’ parents, says children’s rights advocates.” US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.

National Center for Biotechnology Information, 9 Aug. 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pmc/articles/PMC3153535/

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This journal article, written by Wendy Glauser, has a considerable amount of valuable content. This content includes symptoms that often precede a slow death of a child, as well as reasons why individuals often don’t report other individuals with medical exemptions. Furthermore, the article provides one view that the faith-healing community often has regarding children’s deaths.

Author Wendy Glauser is an established writer, researcher, and editor; she uses several sources in her article and interviews several credible individuals, which establishes her ethos. I used content from this article for both my narrative as well as my persuasive.

Herrara, C.D., “Disputes between State and Religion over Medical Treatment for Minors.” Journal of Church & State. J. M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University, 2005. Web. 14 Sept. 2015. http://jcs. oxfordjournals.org/content/47/4/823.extract This journal article was one of the first articles I found regarding my topic. While I didn’t use a great deal of information from the article, it does provide information that catapulted my research, including the religions that practice faith-based healing. This source was incredibly reliable, and cites 28 different sources.

Janofsky, Michael, “Colorado Children’s Deaths Rekindle Debate on Religion.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 21 Feb. 2001. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. http://www.nytimes. com/2001/02/21/health/21MEDI.html This news piece, written by Michael Janofsky, lists the states that allow religious exemptions and the states that do not.

Additionally, this article provides Colorado-specific law that was useful as I prepared my informative article. Furthermore, the article lists one of Colorado’s church elder’s perspectives on faith healing—this was new insight that I had not seen in previous articles. The author of this article has an established news-writing career, and has written for several major news outlets. The information in this article was valuable for both my persuasive and informative piece when it came to establishing ethos and logos.

Kent Schaible. Photograph. Taringa!, 22 Sept. 2013. Web. 14 Sept.

2015. http://www.taringa.net/posts/cienciaeducacion/17174286/Curacion-por-fe-La-infinitaestupidez-humana.html This photograph of Kent Schaible was instrumental in establishing pathos with my audience in my narrative feature article. The highest-resolution image was obtained from Taringa!; however, Claro

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this image was available through various sources, which makes this image a reliable photograph of Kent Schaible.

Levs, Josh, “The unvaccinated, by the numbers.” CNN. Cable News Network, 4 Feb. 2015. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.http://www.cnn. com/2015/02/03/health/the-unvaccinated/ The statistics provided in Lev’s article were valuable when it came to citing how many individual children claim religious exemptions each year. Additionally, this article outlines what other exemptions individuals may obtain. This piece also cites what states provide religious exemptions; however, I found this diagram to be inaccurate when compared to government data. Josh Levs is a broadcast journalist and Yale graduate; however, I found that I had to fact check information to make sure that his information was credible. The only information I found useful was the amount of children who claim religious exemptions each year.

Lofholm, Nancy, “Prayed-over girl died of untreated diabetes.”

Denverpost.com. The Denver Post. 8 Feb. 2001. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. http://extras.denverpost.com/news/news0208f. htm This article shares content specific to Colorado regarding faithhealing children’s deaths and their causes. Additionally, the article provides the specific passage members of the First Born rely on to support their beliefs in faith healing v. traditional medical practices. This article also provides the approximate number of families in Colorado that participate in this specific church. Lofholm has been in journalism since 1968, writing for the Denver Post, NY Times, and other large news outlets; she establishes her ethos through the use of sources and extensive experience. I found her and the article to be credible. This article was useful in providing both ethos and pathos in my informative and persuasive pieces.

Peters, Shawn Francis, When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children, and the Law. New York: Oxford University Press, PDF e-book.

This book is an interesting collaboration of true accounts of children who did not receive the medical attention they needed to survive. These stories are intertwined with case law and information that establishes the author’s ethos on the topic.

Additionally, several resources, including children’s advocacy networks, are provided and quoted. The author establishes pathos, logos, and ethos in this book and cited sources throughout, which establishes his ethos. This source was useful in obtaining information about a number of children who die every year of faith-healing-related incidents, as well as understanding the magnitude and weight of the situation.

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This page on the website provides a brief description of what pneumonia in children looks like. Furthermore, it explains how pneumonia affects the body. This article is provided by the Boston Children’s Hospital as an informational piece, and I believe it to be non-biased and credible. This piece was particularly useful when reflecting on how Brandon and Kent Schaible died.

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“Pneumonia in Children.” Boston Children’s Hospital. Boston Children’s Hospital, nd. Web. 19 Sept. 2015. http://www. childrenshospital.org/conditions-and-treatments/ conditions/p/pneumonia/overview

“Pneumonia Symptoms & Causes.” Boston Children’s Hospital.

Boston Children’s Hospital, nd. Web. 19 Sept. 2015. http://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions-andtreatments/conditions/pneumonia/symptoms-andcauses This page on the website provides a brief description of both the symptoms and causes of pneumonia in children. Specifically, it explains that bacterial pneumonia, the condition both Brandon and Kent died from, has symptoms of coughing, pain in the chest, vomiting or diarrhea, fatigue, and decreased appetite.

This article is provided by the Boston Children’s Hospital as an informational piece, and I believe it to be non-biased and credible. This piece was particularly useful when reflecting on how Brandon and Kent Schaible died.

“Prosecutors: Pa. couple prayed, denied care to dying toddler.”

USA Today. USA Today, 29 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-1008-toddler-death_N.htm This news article provides several of Kent’s symptoms as well as information about the number of kids who die each year from faith-based healing practices. Furthermore, the article provides additional quotations from the judge in Kent’s case that helped to establish the pathos in my narrative. This news article in USA Today does not list an author; however, many of the details listed in this piece are corroborated in other news articles. I used this article when corroborating details and establishing the Schaibles’s character.

Radford, Benjamin, “Faith-Healing Parents Arrested for Death of Second Child.” DNews. Discovery Communications, LLC. 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2015 http://news.discovery. com/human/psycholog y/faith-healing-parentsarrested-over-death-of-second-child-130424.htm Claro

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This article provides a study that disproves the church’s theory that prayer heals. The STEP study shows that prayer does not alter the outcome of a medical condition; rather, prayer has no beneficial effect at all. Benjamin Radford, an investigative journalist with over 20 books and various columns and articles worldwide, wrote the article. The information from the study was collected by various credible researchers including Mayo Clinic, Harvard, and four other major research facilities. This information was invaluable in my informative paper when showing both sides of the argument.

“Report on the Fatality of: Brandon Schaible.” Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. Office of Children, Youth, and Families, Southwest Region, 5 June, 2014. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.http://www.dhs.state.pa.us/cs/groups/ webcontent/documents/document/c_123853.pdf This law-enforcement report on Brandon Schaible’s death provides very specific information surrounding Brandon’s death that helped corroborate news articles and establish credibility for those articles. Furthermore, this report provides information about the charges the Schaible parents faced, and what happened to the remaining children. This report came directly from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, a government agency, which is unbiased in reporting the facts of the case. This information was useful in developing my narrative story about the Schaible family, and understanding the specific circumstances surrounding the Schaible case.

Rogers, Catherine, et al., “Long-Term Effects of the Death of a Child on Parents’ Adjustment in Midlife.” NCBI. National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. 17 Mar. 2010.

Web. 11 Oct. 2015. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC2841012/ This website provides specific numbers of children’s deaths each year, and how those deaths affect parents of deceased children.

The content I used from this site was the total number of children that die each year. Additionally, I looked at the specific reactions a parent could have after the death of a child. This information was obtained from a credible government agency that had no bias. I used this information to establish ethos in my informative paper.

Swan, Rita, “Deaths and Injuries of Pennsylvania Children Deprived of Medical Care on Religious Grounds.”

Children’s Healthcare Is a Legal Duty. Children’s Healthcare Is a Legal Duty, nd. Web. 15 Sept. 2015. http://childrens h e a l t h c a r e .o r g /w p - c o nt e nt /upl o a d s /2 013 /04 / PAdeaths5.pdf

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The information in this article was helpful as a comparative platform to look at the deaths of both Kent and Brandon Schaible.

The information is somewhat limited; however, it does provide an overview of each child’s surrounding circumstances, illness, and outcome. This informational piece was put together by Rita Swan, founder of CHILD—Children’s Healthcare Is a Legal Duty—, a children’s advocate who fights against faith-healing practices. Swan founded her organization after being involved in a faith-healing community and losing her son after forgoing medical treatment in lieu of prayer. She has since established her ethos through substantial work with state legislatures, and in written literature. This piece was a great launching pad for my narrative and prompted me to look for additional information regarding the Schaible boys.

“Title 19. Children’s Code Article 3. Dependency and Neglect Part 1. Definitions.” Colorado Legal Resources. Lexis Nexis. 2015. Web. 10 Oct. 2015 http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/colorado/?app=00075&view=full&interface=1&docinfo=off&searchtype=get&search=C.R.S.+19-3-103 The C.R.S. 19-3-103 provides specific Colorado law regarding children’s dependency and neglect. More specifically, the statute states that the CO court can order treatment in life-threatening or disabling circumstances. This source is credible and has been obtained from LexisNexis, which is a well-known legal source.

This source was useful in establishing law in Colorado about faith-based healing and whether or not it is legal to withhold medical treatment. Further, it established both ethos and logos in both my informative and persuasive papers.

“Treatments for Pneumonia in Children.” Boston Children’s Hospital. Boston Children’s Hospital, nd. Web. 19 Sept. 2015. http://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions-and-treatments/conditions/p/pneumonia/treatments This article provides a brief description of the treatment for pneumonia. Further, it explains how easily pneumonia can be cured if medical treatment should be sought. This article is provided by the Boston Children’s Hospital as an informational piece, and I believe it to be non-biased and credible. This piece was particularly useful when reflecting on how Brandon and Kent Schaible died. I was able to use this knowledge in my narrative piece to establish my ethos and logos.

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Warner, Dave, “Philadelphia faith-healer couple sentenced to prison in son’s death.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters., 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.http://www.reuters.com/ article/2014/02/19/us-usa-crime-faithhealing-idUSBREA1I1XJ20140219 This news article provides both the name of the court that the Schaible parents were prosecuted in as well as what Catherine and Herbert Schaible were found guilty of. Additionally, I was able to obtain the Schaible’s living children’s ages as well as a quotation from Herbert Schaible regarding his remorse. This article, written by Dave Warner, shares similar details as other news stories and sources, which makes me feel that the article is credible. This particular article was helpful in establishing ethos, and adding details to my narrative, such as the court name.

“When Faith is Tested.” First Century Gospel Church.

First Century Gospel Church. 12 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. http://www.fcgchurch.org/Messages/PDFs/ When%20Faith%20is%20Tested.pdf The sermon, “When Faith is Tested,” has two specific paragraphs that provides a glimpse into the mindset of those involved in faith-based healing. The sermon clearly states that should an individual go against the Bible’s teaching, the individual is from the devil. More specifically, this sermon specifies that the body can heal itself without medication. This implies that should an individual obtain medication to heal, they are from the devil or otherwise aligning with Satan. This specific sermon is relevant because it comes directly from the First Century Gospel Church.

This sermon was useful in understanding the church’s mindset and establishing ethos and logos in my narrative.

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The MMORPG Effect: A Look at the Positive Ef fects of Col lective Online Gaming † by donny davidson “I developed skills that have helped me move beyond my escapism and become the successful, thriving individual I am today.”

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Works Cited MMORPGS PROVIDE SOCIAL VALUE Socialization WORD CLOUD A RAID JOURNAL 29th September 2015 30th September 2015 1st October 2015 2nd October 2015 3rd October 2015 4th October 2015 5th October 2015 Author’s Statement THE ROLE OF MMORPGS IN EDUCATION Framework Implications Early Adopters Conclusion FINAL THOUGHTS FROM THE AUTHOR Works Cited BIBLIOGRAPHY

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INTRODUCTION April 12th, 2006 is the day I logged on to my first Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) and started to explore a massive world. I ran from quest to quest, slaying monsters and collecting supplies for the non-player characters (NPC) that needed my help. It seemed that there were hundreds of others doing the same that day. Strangely, I instantly felt like I was a part of a new community, one which I would be a member of for years to come. “MMORPGs reflect characteristics that facilitate the construction of self-identity, trigger an opportunity for self-definition, and enable communication of such definition to others” (Badrinarayanan, Sierra & Martin, 2015).

I had heard the hype of World of Warcraft over the previous two years, but I was reluctant to play. I knew that, with my personality and my past experiences, this game might consume me. I was right. The time I spent on the game was increasingly invasive to all my other responsibilities; I went from playing a couple of hours a day exploring a fascinating and complex world to spending twelve hours a day tweaking and modifying my character to perform the best that was possible.

I found little motivation for personal growth, as the game seemed to satisfy my desire for achievement. I felt no need for socialization outside of the game, as that need was being fulfilled by my guild. However, I honestly believe I was more satisfied and happier than I had been in a long time. I was living in a tiny town that had no opportunities for growth. A place where no social circle existed where I felt comfortable. This game provided a community where I could thrive. I developed lasting friendships, and had a lot of fun. I was an MMORPG escapist—an individual who indulges in the MMORPG environment to avoid real-world problems (Kaczmarek & Drążkowski, 2014).

“My hope is that, after you read this project, you look at gamers through a different lens.”

However, I did develop skills that have helped me move beyond my escapism and become the successful, thriving individual I am today. I didn’t immediately notice the positive attributes I had gained from my gaming experience. It wasn’t until I decided to stop playing that they started to appear: I found that my thirst for achievement rapidly returned when I wasn’t gaming. Most importantly, “the grind” of achievement felt less tedious, and my 122 |

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Being a raid leader meant solving complex problems within the game world. I had to work with 24 other raiders to solve these issues and achieve a shared goal. We spent numerous hours working towards these goals together, and our relationships developed naturally. It’s not that different from working on a team in an academic or business setting today. Therefore, it’s no surprise that these skills I developed would transfer into becoming a business owner, a husband, father, and student.

MMORPGs have exploded in popularity over the years, and I don’t see them going away anytime soon. In fact, we see them being integrated into other areas of society. It’s important as we move forward that you understand both the positive and the negative effects this form of media can have on its players.

Especially since sometime in the future, your child may be playing one in school, your co-worker may be playing one to learn another language, or you may find yourself logging on to escape from the everyday stress of your life.

My hope is that, after you read this project, you look at gamers through a different lens. That you have a better understanding of why they may have made some of the choices they did, and how all that time spent on these types of games may be improving their life in a multitude of ways. Now, I understand that this doesn’t apply to every gamer out there. There are those who are letting their play time interfere with their relationships and other responsibilities. I hope that you’ll also be able to see the difference.

While I could look back and see the years I spent over-indulging in World of Warcraft as wasted time, I don’t. I recognize that, while it did have its set of negative consequences, it helped me develop the skills I needed to succeed. It allowed me to interact and collaborate with an incredibly diverse group of people who I’m happy to call friends still today. But most of all, it allowed me to survive in an environment that I may have not otherwise. It gave me a community to be a part of when I was alone. It gave me my wife and my family.

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focus was laser sharp on wherever my sights were aimed. I found myself in leadership positions, something that never happened before I was a raid leader in World of Warcraft (WoW).

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Works Cited Badrinarayanan, V., Sierra, J., & Martin, K. (2015). “A dual identification framework of online multiplayer video games: The case of massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs).” Journal Of Business Research, 68(5), 1045-1052. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. jbusres.2014.10.006 Kaczmarek, L., & Drążkowski, D. (2014). “MMORPG Escapism Predicts Decreased Well-Being: Examination of Gaming Time, Game Realism Beliefs, and Online Social Support for Offline Problems.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, And Social Networking, 17(5), 298-302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ cyber.2013.0595

MMORPGS PROVIDE SOCIAL VALUE The popularity of online gaming, specifically Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG), has exploded over the last decade. One MMORPG in particular has separated itself from the rest of the crowd, becoming a cultural phenomenon worldwide. That game is World of Warcraft (WoW).

At the height of Warcraft’s popularity, the game boasted over 10 million subscribers. And though the numbers have been slipping over the years, the game still maintains 5.6 million subscribers as of the most recent press release of financial earnings. World of Warcraft remains the number one subscription-based MMORPG in the world (Activision Blizzard, 2015). The aim of this essay is to explore the social value a player might gain from being a part of this far-reaching culture.

Socialization MMORPGs allow millions of players to play simultaneously in the same online world. To get started, a new player must create a character from a set of classes and races as a digital representation of themselves. The character begins as a small member of this world, with a few pre-defined skills and almost no power. However, the development of this character is the player’s primary goal. Over the course of the game, the character will complete thousands of quests on their journey, learn powerful abilities, and obtain increasingly powerful weapons and armor to enhance their skills.

Through the course of their journey, they will encounter powerful enemies that cannot be defeated by a single player.

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Still, the perception exists that these games are “anti-social” and promote social isolation. However, research has shown that online gaming can supplement and even enhance our social lives. MMORPGs provide an environment where collaboration and teamwork are not only encouraged but are crucial to the success of the player. Therefore, the more players work together, the more successful they are in the game. This strengthens the bonds with those with whom you are playing (Cole, 2007). It’s important to note that in-game relationships cannot serve as complete substitutes for real-world support (Kaczmarek, 2014).

Another study found that typical patterns of WoW play appear to enhance [real-life] relationships, not replace them (Schiano et al., 2011).

Research shows that relationships fostered in virtual worlds do have similar levels of depth as those found in the real world.

Gaming, with its various mechanisms for communication, is far from an unsocial, solitary experience (Pace, 2011). In fact, longlasting and meaningful relationships between people who would otherwise not meet often develop in this atmosphere.

WORD CLOUD

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their quest for mutual benefit. Thus, socialization is inherent in the game’s design. This design facilitates the creation of social groups known as guilds. A guild is an organized group of players who regularly play together. Guilds provide a community to make collective needs easier and more fulfilling. Each develops a unique social atmosphere. Furthermore, playing in a guild makes it possible to get in touch with a broad range of people from different ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds (Williams, 2006).

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A RAID JOURNAL 29th September 2015 Having recently been promoted to raid leader within my guild, I decided to keep a journal of the upcoming raid weeks to measure the performance and success of my team. Tonight was my first night and my nerves got the best of me. I never realized the amount of communication required when leading a raid1— calling the shots while so much is happening. I wasn’t prepared when we reached the third boss2 of the raid. I hadn’t done any research about the encounter and had to call for a break. My team was supportive tonight, but I know they’ll start looking for other guilds if my leadership doesn’t improve.

30th September 2015 Tonight was difficult. We had a couple of our team members missing, and we replaced them with random people who had been looking for a group. Unfortunately, neither of them knew the fight strategies, so I had to spend 10 minutes explaining the mechanics of the encounter, then another 30 minutes while they adjusted. That took up almost half of our night. My communication style is improving, and I’m learning to anticipate dangers of the fight and warn my team.

1st October 2015 No raid tonight, so I spent a few hours researching the upcoming fights I think we’ll be working on this week. Daleus, our rogue, has had sub-par performances the last couple of nights so I spent some time looking over rogue Damage-Per-Second (DPS) spreadsheets and comparing them to his damage logs and gear optimization. I found he was stacking the wrong stat and coached him on a few changes. We worked on his rotation3 after the changes, and his numbers were more in line with other rogues at his level. Afterward, I spent some time gathering materials to make consumables for the rest of the week. I want to make sure we finish out my first week raid-leading strong, and that I’m as prepared as I can be.

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raid – A raid is a type of mission in a video game in which a number of people attempt to defeat a boss monster or consecutive series of bosses.

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boss – A boss is the most powerful of enemies in a raid, requiring complex coordination and strategy to defeat, and providing the most valuable rewards.

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rotation – A rotation is the order in which a player casts their spells or uses their abilities in an attempt to maximize their effectiveness in their role.

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2nd October 2015

3rd October 2015 Tonight was great. Everyone was prepared and on time, so we were able to start strong. We were in the zone, and the team remained motivated all night. The best night so far since I took over. I think I’m starting to gain some respect as a leader. Daleus continues to improve; I think with a few gear upgrades he will start leading the pack.

4th October 2015 No raid tonight. I called a meeting for the core of the team to discuss how things are going since I’ve taken over. I think it’s important that they can provide feedback on my performance since I comment on theirs every night. Even though I felt that I was over-communicating in the fights, it seems that they want me to be more vocal. I’ve already modified my UI4 once, but I’m going to have to do it again to make fight timers more noticeable since I can sometimes get tunnel-vision.

5th October 2015 Had a rough time on our final night of the week. One of my core raiders took some feedback personally and left the guild.

Luckily, I had a replacement online and ready to go, but they don’t pull the same numbers he did. Later on, another raider had a disagreement about how I handed out the loot5 from the boss, and I had to stop the raid to explain how my decision was made in fear of her leaving as well. It’s hard to keep everyone motivated and happy sometimes. Regardless, I look forward to next week.

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No raid tonight. Spent time with family.

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UI – A UI (User Interface) is the “dashboard” the player organizes to see their abilities, health, resources, as well as their teams. It can be modified to show important information for boss fights (e.g. Spell timers, upcoming dangers, and other special mechanics of a fight)

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loot – powerful armor and weapons that are awarded to the group after defeating a boss.

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Author’s Statement I decided to use the journal-entry genre because its conventions allowed me to show in short what leadership in an MMO environment can be like. By keeping a daily log of the leader’s “leadership activities,” you can get a sense of the time and commitment required to take on such a position in a game like this. And in reflection, some of the “translatable” skills start to become apparent.

Due to the conventions of a journal-style piece, I was able to convey a personal tone and experience. I was also able to present the information in a linear fashion allowing the reader to follow along with our new raid leader and the challenges he must overcome in his new position. I wanted my audience to connect with him and understand what his experience is like from his perspective. I want my audience to see that “this isn’t just playing a video game"; it’s significantly more than that. The collective MMO experience requires dedication, commitment, communication, organization, team management, and so much more.

My intended audience for this article is those who may not understand the inherent value gained from playing MMORPGS. My intention of this section is to display this experience under a new light and hopefully provide some insight as to what value gamers take away from their time spent in this space. I hope that allowing my audience to view the experience from the raid “we do hope that our exploration shows that MMORPGs can be a useful tool in education.”

leader’s perspective enables them to relate to his challenges, perhaps in recalling challenges they have faced either personally or professionally. I also wanted to show the type of learning that takes place in an MMO. According to John Seely Brown and Douglas Thomas (2004), “Virtual environments are safe platforms for trial and error. The chance of failure is high, but the cost is low, and the lessons learned are immediate.” These conditions are especially significant for the leaders in these games. These leaders can take greater risks and bolder actions with lower costs. Thus, they become accustomed to failure, embarrassment, or other negative emotions that typically hold you back.

Primarily, I wanted to rely on pathos to appeal to my audience.

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I used a lot of sources in the development of this piece, as you will see in the bibliography. But I will say one of the most informative sources used was neither academic nor published in the traditional sense. Rather, this source was a post on a forum named “Taelor’s Raid Leadership Guide.” How serious this topic is taken within the community is adequately demonstrated by this source. I feel that if we are to explore and research this topic effectively, then we all must invest an equal amount of effort.

I’m sure online games are the last place a lot of people will look to find great leaders. But just this year, Cathy Cooper, a writer at Forbes.com, watched her daughter lead a raid and from that experience concluded the following. “[I]t dawned on me, as I listened for more than two hours, that something else very interesting and unexpected was going on; this is clearly a training ground for the modern business leader.” And in 2012, researcher and author John Seely Brown stated in a video interview on bigthink.com that he would rather hire a high-level World of Warcraft player than an MBA from Harvard. Maybe we’re not that far from seeing raiding experience listed on our applicants’ resumes.

THE ROLE OF MMORPGS IN EDUCATION “Studies have shown that motivation is an important factor positively related to learning outcomes. Thus, educators have tried to combine digital games with teaching materials to motivate students participating in learning activities for the past

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the story and sympathize with him as he finds his footing in his leadership role. Additionally, I used logos to provide structure to the story and to present information in a way that they can draw the leadership qualities he possesses from the story, without explicitly defining them.

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two decades” (Pan et al., 2009). The coupling of technological advancements in the areas of graphic design and software development in conjunction with the popularity phenomenon of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) have led the way for progress in the integration of creative play in the field of education. There are now numerous examples of MMORPGs being used in the realm of education. Though we cannot cover them all in this segment, we do hope that our exploration shows that MMORPGs can be a useful tool in education. In fact, they may even be necessary moving forward.

Framework Teachers need to understand and harness the power that exists in online spaces. To effectively exploit the advantages inherent in MMORPGs in the educational process, we must define an educational framework, a conceptual framework, explicit goals, and a teaching methodology. A fitting educational framework for this naturally exists due to the Problem-Based learning models within MMORPGs, which is a learner-centered pedagogy where learning occurs during the problem-solving process (Melissourgos et al., 2015). “Kids know right away when a video game is trying to teach them something” (Kravetz, 2012).

Therefore, our teaching methodologies need to focus on the strengths already inherent in MMORPGs. By building upon these already-existing learning models, we can incorporate new information and skills for players (students) to learn organically Implications There are a variety of elements educators can derive from these types of interactive and creative online play settings.

For example, Curry (2010) finds that three distinct elements can be incorporated into classrooms: “deep bonds of guilds, the workings of groups, and the daily excitement of questing.”

A study at the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece, utilized these three key elements, among others, in their

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Opportunities for growth can be found within MMORPGs for new forms of civic engagement through community involvement, role identification, and resource building (Corry, 2010). Students coming together to build a community replete with vision and missions, identifying their roles and those of others within that community, and working together to achieve goals for the greater good of the community, are skills and responsibilities already explored in most of today’s social studies and civics curriculums.

By melting together these core competencies in a setting that allows creative exploration, students become immersed in the learning process in subtle and very beneficial ways.

Moreover, with cultural shifts of social communication and interconnectedness being primarily online, and adolescence and young adults primarily interfacing through social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram-type platforms, educators would benefit from practicing within relevant teaching models that follow these trends and styles of communication.

Early Adopters The benefits of utilizing creative resources in education is not a new concept altogether. In 1971, the development of The Oregon Trail video game was an exciting new incorporation with the classroom through a computer-game format that taught lessons on the hardships of the pioneers traveling the arduous Oregon Trail. This game continues circulating today in classrooms all across the US. The growth in computerized applications in the learning setting have grown by leaps and bounds, and these continue to expand in new and even more exciting ways.

Ben Bertoli is working on just that. Meet Class Realm—a customizable classroom management system built on roleplaying themes. According to Bertoli’s initial testing, Class Realm motivated students on a consistent basis, students worked harder and participated more, and Class Realm created a sense of community in the classroom.

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game CMX. In this study, it was found that students increased their existing comprehension levels by engaging in the game’s activities (Malliarakis et al., 2015).

Lindsey Tropf, a University of Florida graduate student, launched a Kickstarter last year for her company Immersed Games to develop an online learning game called Tyto Online.

They raised over $50,000 to develop the game that focuses on teaching players (students) science. The game is currently in preproduction.

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M.I.T. and Microsoft have partnered to create The Education Arcade, where they have created the MMO History Game Revolution. The official description of the game is “The MMO takes place in 1775, where residents of Williamsburg, VA teeter on the brink of exploding against British imperialists. Students take on one of seven different societal positions and analyze the positive and negative consequences of participating in the revolt. Every decision they make requires and reflects a deep consideration of the complex interplay between then-current overarching culture, economy, and politics" (Classroom Aid, 2012).

Conclusion Whether we utilize video games in the classroom, or take their inherent teaching methodologies and apply them to our curriculum, it is clear that MMORPGs do have an active role to play in the educational process. We must develop a framework with clearly defined goals and standards to make sure we use this tool appropriately. We also must collect data and track progress to adjust our approach accordingly. Though there are many things to consider on this complex topic, we have seen success from the pioneers in this industry. They have rallied social support and even received funding from their following.

We can all agree that education is the most important thing when it comes to the success of future generations. So let’s support a movement that encourages creativity—an initiative that fosters innovation, but most of all, makes learning a fun and collaborative experience for our future leaders.

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM THE AUTHOR In this project, I wanted to take my audience through the different aspects that highlight what good MMORPGs can bring to our society. I feel that my choice of genres allowed me to remain objective throughout the project and stick with logos as my primary mode of rhetoric. I feel this was the appropriate choice. While I would say my secondary style of discourse would be pathos, I don’t think it is as impactful as logos. Since my primary audience are not members of the gaming community, I don’t believe it would be easy for them to make that emotional connection. I did try to establish this link throughout the project; I just didn’t primarily rely on it to convey my message.

My primary audience I wanted to target is educators. I feel that they are going to have the greatest impact on those who are affected by MMORPGs. They will have students who play them; 132 |

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Secondarily, I relied on pathos in an attempt to connect my readers emotionally to the gaming community. I wanted my audience to, at least briefly, feel like they were a member rather than an observer. I established pathos most effectively in "A Raid Journal" and the accompanying Author’s Statement. I feel this is the most appropriate place since it is related to the leadership aspect of MMORPGs. While most in a hiring position would like us to believe that their primary motivation for hiring an individual is logical, I believe that hiring someone is highly emotional and that your perception of a potential hire significantly affects your decision.

“I want my audience to break down existing stereotypes of gamers.”

I feel that educators and business leaders alike can appreciate the word cloud I included in this project. It was generated from a compilation of the research I found. A word cloud takes a large body of text and picks out the words with the highest occurrence.

It then gives those words a weight, making the most-occurring words a greater size than the rest. I feel that these audiences understand the importance of word occurrence.

I established ethos by posing myself as a member of the community I am writing about throughout the entire project.

I feel that I have established that I have an insight into what is happening within the MMORPG community and have experienced many facets of the MMORPG world. I also feel that relying on logos primarily as my mode of rhetoric has helped establish my credibility as an author.

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they may use them in the future to teach appropriate topics, and they will be educating people who will be in similar positions.

The primary way I focused on persuading them is using logos.

My use of logos is very clear in my editorial piece, "The Role of MMORPGS in Education," which is the genre written specifically for educators. While I relied more on pathetical appeal in my journal piece, I included the author’s statement to provide more research. I felt that this was appropriate since there was no research directly linked to the content of that genre. I established logos in this project by primarily providing research that has been peer-reviewed and appears in academic journals. Nearly all of the research provided is from experts in their respective fields.

I hope that my audience has new insight when interacting with gamers. Specifically, I desire that when they hear someone is Claro

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a gamer, that they apply some of the positive characteristics discussed to their first impression. Lastly, I want my audience to break down existing stereotypes of gamers. This is why I chose to sequence "MMORPGS Provide Social Value" first in this project.

I feel that I must first alter this perception before my audience can accept the ideas discussed in the following genre pieces. As long as we make assumptions about gamers or any other group of people, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to change our opinion or develop new ones.

And I feel that the largest stereotype when it comes to gamers is the social isolation and awkward behavior. By breaking down these constructs early on, it opens up the audience to new ideas to fill those gaps. Hopefully, by seeing that MMORPGS can be used as a tool to cope and overcome social anxiety (Kaczmarek & Drazkowski, 2014; Tan, Yeh, & Chen, 2015; Ho, Lin, & Lee, 2015), my audience can relate to and understand some of the problems many gamers may be facing.

The future of MMORPGs is exciting. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m happy that I got to travel through its brief history with you and that maybe I have answered some questions you may have had. But most importantly, I hope that I left you with unanswered quests that you must explore on your own to complete.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Activision Blizzard (2015). ACTIVISION BLIZZARD ANNOUNCES BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED SECOND QUARTER 2015 FINANCIAL RESULTS. Retrieved from http://files. shareholder.com/downloads/ACTI/3393661557x0x84341 0/390F1F00-D54F-4E63-9E11-0AA7F94993F1/Q2_2015_ ATVI_Earnings_Press_Release.pdf Azzor.com (2015). Guild Management: Intro | www.azzor. com. Retrieved 11 December 2015, from http://www. azzor.com/article/2010/06/world-of-warcraft/guildmanagement-intro Badrinarayanan, V., Sierra, J., & Martin, K. (2015). A dual identification framework of online multiplayer video games: The case of massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs). Journal Of Business Research, 68(5), 1045-1052. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. jbusres.2014.10.006 Brown, J. S. (2012). How World of Warcraft Could Save Your Business and The Economy. The Big Think. Retrieved from http://bigthink.com/videos/how-world-of-warcraft could-save-your-business-and-the-economy-2 134 |

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Classroom Aid. "10 Cases Mmos Are Used For Learning". N.p., 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

Cooper, C. (2015) 7 Ways World Of Warcraft Builds Better Leaders.

Forbes Business. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/ sites/sap/2015/06/24/7-ways-world-of-warcraft-buildsbetter-leaders/ Curry, K. (2010). Warcraft and civic education: MMORPGs as participatory cultures and how teachers can use them to improve civic education. The Social Studies, 101(6), 250-253. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/ docview/897953792?accountid=458 Ho, S., Lin, Y., & Lee, R. (2015). Exploring the Effective Help for Social Anxiety: MMORPGs Delivering Online Help.

IJMS, 7(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijms.v7n2p10 Holt, C. S., Heimberg, R. G., & Hope, D. A. (1992). Situational domains of social phobia. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 6(1), 63-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0887-6185(92)90027-5 Jordan, N. (2014). World of warcraft: A family therapist’s journey into scapegoated culture. The Qualitative Report, 19(31), 1-19. Retrieved 30 October 2015, from http://search. proquest.com/docview/1552716842?accountid=458 Kaczmarek, L., & Drążkowski, D. (2014). MMORPG Escapism Predicts Decreased Well-Being: Examination of Gaming Time, Game Realism Beliefs, and Online Social Support for Offline Problems. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, And Social Networking, 17(5), 298-302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ cyber.2013.0595 Klinger, E., Bouchard, S., Légeron, P., Roy, S., Lauer, F., Chemin, I., & Nugues, P. (2005). Virtual reality therapy versus cognitive behavior therapy for social phobia: a preliminary controlled study. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(1), 76-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2005.8.76

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Brown, J. S. and Thomas, D. (2006). You Play World of Warcraft?

You’re Hired! Wired Magazine: The New World of Games, 14.04. Retrieved from http://archive.wired.com/wired/ archive/14.04/learn.html

Kravetz, R. (2014, Jul 07). Gainesville startup to create an educational MMORPG. University Wire. Retrieved from http://search. proquest.com/docview/1543395899?accountid=458 Claro

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Latif, L. (2015). Gamers get intimate over World of Warcraft.

Theinquirer.net. Retrieved 30 October 2015, from http:// www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/blog-post/1635779/ gamers-initimate-world-warcraft Malliarakis, C., Satratzemi, M., & Xinogalos, S. (2014). CMX: Implementing an MMORPG for learning programming.

346-355. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/ docview/1674172729?accountid=458 Mare, K. (2015). Massive Thought: How MMOs are affecting our social life - MMOGames.com. MMOGames.com. Retrieved 11 December 2015, from http://www.mmogames.com/ gamearticles/massive-thought-mmos-affecting-sociallife/ Melissourgos, A., Paraskeva, F., & Mysirlaki, S. (2015).

MMORPGs in the educational process: Using a CSCL script to assess learning. Paper presented at the 793799. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/ docview/1728409724?accountid=458 Pace, T., Bardzell, S., & Bardzell, J. (2010). The rogue in the lovely black dress. Proceedings Of The 28Th International Conference On Human Factors In Computing Systems CHI ‘10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1753326.1753361 Pan, Zhigeng et al. Transactions On Edutainment III. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2009.

Print.

Reeves, B. and Malone, T. (2007) Leadership in Games and at Work: Implications for the Enterprise of Massively Multiplayer Role-playing Games. Seriosity Report.

Retrieved from http://www.seriosity.com/downloads/ Leadership_In_Games_Seriosity_and_IBM.pdf Roy, S., Klinger, E., Légeron, P., Lauer, F., Chemin, I., & Nugues, P. (2003). Definition of a VR-based protocol to treat social phobia. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 6(4), 411-420. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1089/109493103322278808 Schiano, D., Nardi, B., Debeauvais, T., Ducheneaut, N., & Yee, N. (2011). A new look at World of Warcraft’s social landscape.

Proceedings Of The 6Th International Conference On Foundations Of Digital Games - FDG ‘11. http://dx.doi. org/10.1145/2159365.2159389 Taelor (2014). Taelor’s Raid Leadership Guide. Message posted to http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/10831693887

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Video Games In The Classroom. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.

Williams, D. (2006). From Tree House to Barracks: The Social Life of Guilds in World of Warcraft. Games And Culture, 1(4), 338-361. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1555412006292616 "World Of Warcraft: A Study Aid?" Web. 14 Nov. 2015.

Zhang, F., & Kaufman, D. (2015). The impacts of social interactions in MMORPGs on older adultsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; social capital. Computers In Human Behavior, 51, 495-503. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. chb.2015.05.034

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Tan, W. K., Y. D. Yeh, and S. H. Chen. "The Role Of Social Interaction Element On Intention To Play MMORPG In The Future: From The Perspective Of Leisure Constraint Negotiation Process." Games and Culture (2015): n. pag. Web. 12 Dec. 2015.

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Tiny Frontiers: Pioneers of a New American Dream † by talina smith “People choose to live in these homes for a variety of reasons— to be more financially conservative, to lessen their impact on the environment, or to live a more simple life.”

Introduction For my project, I chose to write about tiny houses and the lifestyle that accompanies them, but specifically about how the choice to live in a tiny dwelling challenges the American dream.

The traditional view of the American dream is approximately 2.5 children living with happily married parents in a large, expansive home, filled with items to entertain or simplify our busy lives—a lifestyle that takes a hefty income to maintain. In contrast, the general definition of a tiny home is a building constructed for residential living that is under one thousand square feet, with possessions carefully chosen and all space maximized. People choose to live in these homes for a variety of reasons—to be more financially conservative, to lessen their impact on the environment, or to live a more simple life. It is a very personal choice, and one that some people view with negativity.

My interest in the tiny-home lifestyle comes from observance of people who have lived in small houses as well as a passion for all things frugal. Over the past few years, I have pared down many of my belongings as I have moved from place to place, and it has had a surprising effect on how I view my possessions. Watching how families live together in Hawaii inspired my boyfriend and I to research how difficult (or not) it would be to try to live in a similar way. We have downsized our living space a couple of times since moving back from the islands, and currently manage to comfortably fit three people in a 500-square-foot apartment.

The contents of this folder will tell a story as it relates to a gentleman on a homeowner’s association board in Fremont, California. On the cover of the file folder, we find a note from Bob, who has been chairing a request from a young couple in Hawaii. Bob has left his co-boardman documentation outlining the couple’s request, and he is asking Sam to review Claro

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the enclosed materials as his decision on the matter is needed.

The documentation begins with the original email to Bob from the couple. They explain their interest in moving into the community with her unusual request—to be able to build a tiny home on the property. In the email, she links to her blog, which not only provides the backstory for her request, it also shows the dedication the couple have to being economically and environmentally responsible. Also enclosed are the educational materials that were provided for the community meeting.

Finally, we have a dispute letter from an existing member of the community, showing her concern for the project.

“Public opinion of tiny homes ranges from the appreciative to utter disgust...”

People have lived in small dwellings for thousands of years, but the size of houses has been growing since the 1970’s. We now live in houses much larger than we actually need, and the driving reason seems to be not just keeping up with our neighbors, but because we feel it is how to express our wealth and be sure we are in the “best” neighborhoods with the “best” schools. Our environment is being wasted so that everyone can see at a glance what our family is worth. There is a movement of people who are trying to buck this trend, but it has not always been received well. Laws surrounding the building and use of tiny homes are, at best, unclear in most states. In other states, they are outlawed outright. Public opinion of tiny homes ranges from the appreciative to utter disgust that anyone would choose to live in such a small place. It is my hope that my project shows the upsides to choosing such a lifestyle while still admitting that the choice is not for everybody.

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Artist’s Statement “Building Our Tiny Life”

I chose to discuss tiny houses for my project as it takes the popular “reduce, reuse, recycle” trend that is so popular with projects like these just one step further. Every change to better our environment (and economic position!) is a step forward, so why not think about a larger step than what most calls to conservation advocate? I wanted to target an audience who had a younger, more flexible mind, those who were already thinking of a larger lifestyle change but maybe didn’t know what that could realistically look like—or maybe those who are still undecided on their path in life, in hopes that the ability to simplify and experience life called to them like it does to me. This prompted me to take a casual tone while writing, and to write with a voice that could be reasonably ageless, but not boring. Because I didn’t want the tone of my piece to sound “friends and family,” I did try to keep my blog free of too many personal details, but I kept enough in to stay personable and be realistic.

TINY FRONTIERS: PIONEERS OF A NEW AMERICAN DREAM

We live in a world where it is difficult to be conscientious and do the right thing when we are handed our conveniences on a plate. For many people, cutting down on their carbon footprint can be done in such small steps as unplugging an electronic appliance when it’s out of use, or biking to work every day. Some people take that a step further and venture into the world of tiny houses, or houses that are under one thousand square feet. It takes dedication, planning, and a willingness to simplify your life to take on a “tiny” lifestyle, but it can be very rewarding as well as a financially sound decision.

“It takes dedication, planning, and a willingness to simplify your life to take on a 'tiny' lifestyle.”

I chose to write an online blog as I feel it is the perfect way to relate a long-term, step-by-step experience like building one’s own house, as well as chronicling the decisions made along the way. It allows readers to easily follow along with a timeline, and keep focus with pictures or links. The conversational tone of a blog keeps the reader’s interest in a way a how-to book simply couldn’t do. While I did attempt to not make the blog too personal, at the same time, I bring forward a real person behind the pictures, someone with hopes and dreams and frustrations.

Also, with the content being located online, this makes it accessible to a wide range of people, allowing the message and information to to be spread to whomever may have interest.

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The largest struggle I feel that I faced while composing this narrative was to keep it from becoming too saturated with information, or too long. On one hand, I really would have liked to show the intense planning that goes into this kind of endeavor, and on how many fronts. A project like this is life-changing, and the decisions made end up being a reality for many years— everything seems very critical and important. The challenge is that without facing the struggles yourself, it is hard to empathize with them and the issues become boring, even tedious. On the same hand, being too brief gives the illusion of being almost cryptic with a subject that can be as complex as building a house, much less a tiny one. While I did try to find a happy medium between the two, I would have been happier if I would have felt more comfortable giving closer updates and more information about the build. This was further complicated with my lack of knowledge about the actual construction project, but I am lucky enough to live with my favorite resource for that topic, as my significant other is quite talented at all things to do with building.

I do have to admit that one of my biggest dreams is to build my own tiny house, and that dream is the inspiration for this piece, as well as those to come. I am using this experience to learn more about how to successfully build my own future, and to possibly assist my significant other in helping others do the same, to build tiny. As my bibliography will show, my sources are many, but the biggest draw comes from the immense amount of thought about how I want to live my life, what kind of life I want to live, and what else I want to do than just be at home. The experience of living small really does push you into the world to see more, do more—and provides more income to do it with.

Works Consulted Blair, Erik. “Hawaii Is the Next Big Wave for Tiny Houses.” Web log post.

Erik Everywhere. N.p., 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 2015.

Blair, Erik. “Tiny Houses in Hawaii - Legal Loopholes Found!” Erik Everywhere. N.p., 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.erikeverywhere.com/tiny-houses-in-hawaii/>.

Cater, Franklyn. “Living Small In The City: With More Singles, Micro Housing Gets Big.” NPR. N.p., 26 Feb. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015

<http://www.npr.org/2015/02/26/389263274/living-small-in the-city-with-more-singles-micro-housing-gets-big>.

Cerf, Allen. “A Cautionary Tale on Tiny Houses.” Tiny House Talk. N.p.,

07 Jan. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. <http://tinyhousetalk.com/cautionary-tale-on-tiny-houses/>.

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Jen, and Dan. “Another Tiny House Story.” Another Tiny House Story. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. http://livinginatinyhouse.blogspot.com/>.

Jenkins, Joseph C. The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure. Grove City, PA: Joseph Jenkins, 2005. Print.

John. “Big Man in a Tiny House - Episode 1.” YouTube. YouTube, 12 Feb.

2015. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

“Less Is More: The Tiny House Movement.” Made by CustomMade. N.p.,

08 Aug. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://www.custommade. com/blog/tiny-house-movement/>.

Levy, Keith. “The Flying Tortoise: Old Style Housetrucks. Still Around

For A Good Time...” The Flying Tortoise, 10 July 2013. Web. 07

Apr. 2015. <http://theflyingtortoise.blogspot.com/2013/07/ old-style-housetrucks-still-around-for.html>.

Malesky, Mallory. “How Are Property Taxes Calculated in California?”

Home Guides. SFGate, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. <http://homeguides.sfgate.com/property-taxes-calculated california-57530.html>.

Mitchell, Ryan. “5 Reasons Why I Am Going Tiny.” The Tiny Life. N.p.,

02 Aug. 2009. Web. 09 Mar. 2015. <http://thetinylife.com/5-reasons-why-i-am-going-tiny/>.

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Janzen, Michael. “Cherokee Cabin Company – Tiny House Plans.” Tiny

House Design. N.p., 12 Aug. 2008. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. <http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/cherokee-cabin-company -tiny-house-plans/>.

Mitchell, Ryan. “Tiny Houses Suck!” The Tiny Life. N.p., 18 Jan. 2010.

Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://thetinylife.com/tiny-houses-suck/>.

Shanahan, Morgan. “31 Tiny House Hacks To Maximize Your Space.”

BuzzFeed. N.p., 03 Sept. 2014. Web. 03 Mar. 2015. <http://www.buzzfeed.com/morganshanahan/tiny-house hacks-to-maximize-your-space#.inoMKOWLr9>.

“Tiny House Trailers - Tiny Home Builders.” Tiny Home Builders. N.p.,

2014. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.

Waldman, Ethan. “The Tiny House Blog - How to Build a Tiny House

on Wheels.” The Tiny House. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2015. <http://www.thetinyhouse.net/blog/>.

“Why Tiny Houses Can Save The Earth Infographic-TinyHouseBuild. com.” TinyHouseBuildcom. N.p., 26 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Mar.

2015. <http://tinyhousebuild.com/tiny-houses-infographic/>

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Sunnyside HOA <sunnysidefremonthoa@gmail.com>

Inquiry about 38239 Fremont Blvd.

3 messages

N and T <hitosanfran@gmail.com> To: sunnysidefremonthoa@gmail.com

Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at 8:23 AM

To Whom it May Concern: My name is Tina Paulson, and I am interested in obtaining further information about the property on 38239 Fremont Blvd. I received this email address from a realtor I had been talking to. I am finding I have a unique situation that I need to relate to your board.

We are interested in the property I referenced above. My significant other and I currently reside in Hawaii and are looking to move back to the mainland so that I can attend nursing school at UCSF. After much research, we feel that Fremont would be a great place to live, and we are especially interested in the Sunnyside community. My challenge, however, is that we plan to live in a tiny dwelling (under 1000 square feet), and the realtor is concerned that your homeowner's association will not approve of our building. I would hate to purchase the property just to find that we will not be able to realize our dream.

Please find attached a brief informational poster about tiny houses. Nick and I would greatly appreciate a decision as promptly as possible so that we can move forward with the purchase of the property.

Thank you!

Tina Paulson 808-212-4732

TinyHouses.png 2119K

Sunnyside HOA <sunnysidefremonthoa@gmail.com> To: N and T <hitosanfran@gmail.com>

Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at 8:33 AM

Hi Tina, My name is Bob Smith. I am a board member on Sunnyside's Homeowners Association. I have reviewed your request and do have some questions. I have very limited experiences with the type of house you're hoping to build, but most of our board is comprised of long-time residents who are resistant to change. Would you mind if I called you briefly to discuss?

Bob Smith Secretary - Sunnyside Homeowners Association

PO Box 2525 Fremont, CA 94555 510-922-0332 (Cell) [Quoted text hidden]

N and T <hitosanfran@gmail.com> To: Sunnyside HOA <sunnysidefremonthoa@gmail.com>

Thu, Apr 30, 2015 at 6:17 AM

Hi Bob, Please call when you have the opportunity - just please remember we are three hours behind here! I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Tina [Quoted text hidden]

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May 4, 2015

P.O. Box 2525 Fremont, CA 94555 To Whom it May Concern: I am writing to take a stance against an item brought up during new business in the community meeting held on Saturday. It was brought to my attention that there is an idea that we should allow tiny houses to be built in our beautiful, exclusive neighborhood.

I am telling you right now, if this happens it is going to be a disaster. I ask that you hear me out, as I have been doing research on this since the meeting.

First of all, the introduction of tiny houses into our area is going to cause our property values to plummet. These so-called “ecological” wonders are nothing more than mobile homes, which already have their own communities with low value. I do not care to live in a neighborhood with eyesore trailers and the people who come with them. Everybody knows those people don’t keep their yards up and allow their possessions and children and excessive pets to spill out all over their property. Any money collected in fees from people who live in a mobile home will likely go right back into making sure they keep their places tidy like the rest of us! And since these people can’t afford “real” housing, when they are unable to afford to live in our neighborhood, they are just going to move out and abandon the property, which is going to add to the decrease of the value of our homes.

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Sunnyside Homeowners Association Board

On that same note, I have concerns about how legal these homes really are. From the information given at the meeting, I understand that these homes are currently not truly considered houses, and that since most people put them on wheels, they would be covered under some kind of auto insurance. If these “homes” are not on the road, and they’re not covered under homeowners insurance, then how do we, as a community, know that they’re insured and legally built? And being that they are little homes, typically built by their owners or some fly-by-night fad company, what happens when they start falling apart? You know that our neighborhood gets intense winds through the valley—who is going to pay for it when chunks of their houses damage our properties? I don’t think it’s proper for my home insurance to cover a loss that is clearly the fault of my neighbor.

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Furthermore, I know that my property tax is based on the value of my home. According to the handout at the meeting, the average tiny home is valued at $23,000. My garage is not valued at that much! Even if these tiny homes are being taxed as houses, how is it fair that these people are paying so much less into the community and are still receiving the same benefits?

Even the nicest tiny homes I could find in my research weren’t worth much on the market. I can’t imagine paying for these new neighbors to have their garbage picked up or street maintained when they should be perfectly capable of paying their fair share.

I, for one, am not in agreement with handing out charity.

In conclusion, I do not agree with this idea to open up some of the land that is for sale to include tiny homes, and I don’t believe any of the neighbors I’ve talked to about it are, either. If I wanted to live in a mobile-home park, I certainly wouldn’t have paid the money I did to live in this beautiful community. I am hoping that you can understand my viewpoint and reconsider the proposal to allow these trailers in the neighborhood. My family enjoys living surrounded by responsible people who can afford to own nice houses and things, and I would like to continue to live my life as it is now. We have been in this neighborhood for over ten years, and we’ve worked hard to make it a beautiful, respectful place to live.

I am aware that I have not always seen eye-to-eye with the decisions made by the committee, but I urge you to set our prior issues aside and review this decision with the open mind that I have brought to the table. For your consideration, I have also enclosed some pictures that show what these houses could look like. I’m sure you can see how it would bring down the quality of our life in this community.

Sincerely,

Margaret A. Busybody

1440 Hemlock Ct. Anytown, CA 90025

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TINY FRONTIERS: PIONEERS OF A NEW AMERICAN DREAM

“And since these people can’t afford 'real' housing, when they are unable to afford to live in our neighborhood, they are just going to move out and abandon the property...”

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TALINA SMITH

Artist’s Statement

I feel my project is unique in terms of intended audience versus final audience. Each of my pieces are written for a specific audience, but each piece is being passed on to, essentially, a third party: the final audience. Doing this gave me an opportunity to try to show many views on the same issue, and also allows my final audience to come to their own conclusion on the contents of the folder. My intention is that the reader gets a spectrum of feelings about the situation at hand—the tiny house couple are gung-ho about their lifestyle, but are not negative about people who live traditionally, while Mrs. Busybody is not a fan and feels that going tiny is somehow irresponsible. Even the meeting handout is biased towards tiny houses as it gives information about how many resources are being wasted by every new “average”-sized home that is built. Although much of my project is built around pathos, I wanted each piece to embody a fair amount of ethos and logos as well—in ensuring that I did so, an informative, persuasive narrative was born. My creation reflects that moving forward on building a tiny home is a very emotional process, but must be taken with a high dose of logic and authority to be successful. A ton of preparation goes into the process of building your dream home—even if it is under one thousand square feet.

TINY FRONTIERS: PIONEERS OF A NEW AMERICAN DREAM

My project is an exploration of how the new trend of living in a tiny home challenges the American dream and the people who are firmly entrenched in that lifestyle. While researching each piece, I found the variety of opinions and options about tiny houses and the people who live in them to be surprising. One thing that I noticed repeatedly is the amazing bias that each side has for their own way of living. People who live in tiny houses have a tendency to look down on those who do not, stating they are wasting resources and energy in building and performing upkeep on their houses, while those who live in traditional dwellings seem to view their downsized counterparts as lesser beings who are unable to maintain a more traditional view of outward success. As a result, it is rather difficult to find an unbiased view of tiny homes.

Genre selection came naturally to me over the course of this project. Emails are the natural way to correspond in business matters, as traditional mail is now far too slow for modern life. This piece was added to the project to give it a sense of cohesiveness, and is the only thing I drafted from scratch rather than revised. I feel the blog was the best way to convey the personal story of my couple who chose to live tiny, and to give insight on why people would make that choice, the challenges Claro

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they face in doing so, and the limitations they encounter. Writing from such a personal point of view also gave me the ability to keep the project as a whole from being dry and lifeless. Thankfully, I was able to revise my infographic in such a way to make it appropriate for a meeting handout. This was one of my favorite pieces, as the genre lent itself perfectly to my purpose and added an interesting highlight to an otherwise boring stack of paper.

I hoped that it would also stimulate the intended audience at the meeting, lending to its persuasive undertones. Finally, I felt the best way for somebody to dissent a formal proposition such as the one given to the meeting would be a dispute letter.

Written correspondences are more formal, and give the writer an opportunity to show that they are more serious than an email can convey. Since the letter writer is looking to be taken seriously, she relayed her issues in a way where that was reflected.

The packaging of my project, tucked in a coffee-stained manila folder, came very naturally once I decided how each piece tied together. My couple’s situation is representational of the plight of many people in our country. These pioneers want to live a better lifestyle; they have found an idea that suits them, but “These pioneers want to live a better lifestyle ...but their dreams are being held up by bureaucratic red tape.”

their dreams are being held up by bureaucratic red tape. The idea that somebody’s hopes and dreams are sitting on some official’s desk in a plain manila folder is real. To many people, it is heartbreaking that their future is no more than paperwork that somebody else views as work. It seemed that while I was doing my research, many governmental officials do not see the legal difficulties of those trying to build tiny dwellings as important or valid, regardless of the impact on the environment or their personal finances, nor how it would affect their community. It even appears that somebody else printed off the paperwork and put it all together for Walt to review—it’s very possible that Bob did little more than set his coffee on it, write a note to Bob, and drop it on his desk. Just another day at the office.

There were an incredible amount of things I would have liked to have done with this project, both to round it out nicely and to bring it together more fully. I had intended to write an informal legal briefing of the California Building Code (which the City of Fremont has adopted in full), but the time required to perform the research I wanted to include ended up being much more work than I was able to handle. Surprisingly, there are almost no sites 162 |

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It was also my intention to include some small details to bring the project slightly more to reality. For example, I wanted to include scratch paper with notes from the phone conversation between the couple and Bob, my HOA representative, as well as a meeting handout with an agenda and other mundane issues that come up with such things. The idea of expanding the blog to include activities during the year plus before the move was attractive, but I decided against this as it would have made the blog far too long for its intended purpose, and would have stolen the thunder from the tiny house aspect of the story.

One of the best revisions I made throughout was to my infographic, but it didn’t come about intentionally. Instead, it happened because I was unable to have the document printed in a quality that was acceptable to the project for the right price with making my image smaller. In cutting the parts that I did, I was able to revise one of the other parts to include the missing information, and remove the parts that did not feel appropriate to the meeting. The end result was cleaner, clearer, and much more visually appealing. Having to fold the infographic to fit into the folder was a difficult decision, but I needed to package the project realistically. In an ideal world, I would have been able to print them smaller and more in the style of a handout, but I was not able to find a way to make that happen in a cost-effective manner.

TINY FRONTIERS: PIONEERS OF A NEW AMERICAN DREAM

anywhere that break down those laws into layman’s terms. The difficulty in finding this kind of information was definitely one of my biggest obstacles throughout the entire project. Opinions are a dime a dozen, but cohesive and reliable information was elusive.

I had seriously considered my project being a celebration of a victory by the tiny house couple, with them getting approval to move onto the land and everybody living happily thereafter, but this posed some creative issues: it felt like I wasn’t trying to explore the biases and was instead simply telling a nice story with a happy ending. A third-party was needed for me to present a blank slate for all of the information to be imprinted on, but I didn’t want that third party to come to an actual decision during the course of the project, as I would like the reader to do that for themselves.

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VII Our Multiple Selves

The Wild, Wild Mind

†

“I am describing my writing process through the interactions of my inner voices [...] showing how they interact, influence, and develop the creation of anything I need to write.”

The Wild, Wild, Mind

THE W ILD, W ILD MIND

by joshua fern

And so having stabbed the dragon and saved the day she enjoyed the rest of her

life in peace and prosperity….

“You can’t start a story at the end!!” yells one of the architects “it would be much better to start here.”

Once upon a time, in a kingdom not so far away….

re a t iv e

“Yes you can” argues the other architect, “Guys he missed a comma before the “and,” while also

!”

capitalizing the “and”…. are you even listening to me?”

s t or y

le

t

th e

c

ou t

a

many an author has done!”

“starting a story at the end is something

…. Are you even listening to m e

wi

th

“No, we can't start it at the very end and spoil the whole thing that's just….”

r e at e

a

go t

to

lif

e

“I guess you’re right, so maybe start it right before she starts her fight with the dragon!’

c

ou ve

w h at s

As she stared into the fearsome, ferocious, frightening eyes of the magnificent,

fl ow

to

y

f u n! !!”

magical, wonderful, “You can't just have a stream of adjectives in your sentences” inserted the

s

es s?

carpenter quietly.” beast that was bearing down on her with its massive, bloody, sharp,

lit tl

e

m

ad n

“You miss spelled bleeding, teeth, and you forgot commas between the components of your list, if you’d just listen to me your paper would be so much better”

“y ou

gu ys

ar e

no

and as she lay there bleading, teath and tongue and the d trie hot breath enveloping her like a sblanket o? I for her eternal k in t… y th on i eall a very slumber. “Bravo, that ardwell thought out and organized u rwas h o y Y l l “ rea sentence, I’m proud of you”

ju ic e

ghastly, gaping maw, she contemplated how she got here…….

“Where the hell did this come from? it doesn’t belong here! this is even more of an

I’ll

Do

ending! we still havent figured out your beginning”

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JOSHUA FERN

“If only you would have thought of such a good sentence and put

M

y

pa p

as le

e

where it's supposed be, now I’m going to have to spend the next

“Listen to me!!”

er

I

20 minutes agonizing over where

“you, know that could also work as an

e ev sentence, it really catches the reader w Ho

p

“Don’t interrupt me! What I’m

saying is of the most absolute….”

r

to put it” opening and draws them

in, creates drama and intrigue” “It’s obviously at than the last bit he

“Are you listening to me?”

the very end of the story though, more so wrote! We definitely can't have our end be

our beginning, stories have a very set path that MUST be followed! Beginning, middle,

ry! le sto o h w or a that f ’s shields, heavy, fit, moist, High, do eep, echoes, sharp, lost, Bread shiver, cold, shiny, glitteriING, golden, w H end! And honestly we only have the semblance of an end anyway”

Maw, darknESS, cAvE, dark, Blue,rumors, talking, spying, overheard, Warm, armory, swords,

But you liked th e last b wrote it I

vast, open, endless, hot, library, information, curious, death, smell, ominous, Supercalifragilistic, loud, noise, frightening, you can’t just have a stream of words for a sentence, even if it can tell a vivid

story on its own” RUN, ESCAPE, CANT, Fight, tiRed, faiL, pain, bloOd, Dying, regret…..

ng!! sentences is bori But making proper story

“Even if it’s not a proper sentence at least there’s the beginning of a proper start to the

story in there. Now we know the story starts at a cave, and we know it’s during a warm

“I went ahead and struck through that sentence because it was absolutely atrocious.”

How dare you strike through my beautiful thoughts!!

time of the year because the opening of the cave is warm….

“That would be the perfect lead to the exciting opening we’ve already established, she could

iny, , cold, sh st, shiver N, sharp, lo , RU es e, ho is loud, no deep, ec , moist, ominous, rk, Warm h, smell,

cAvE, da hot, deat g, , in S s, S en es ht nE dl rk en, en ng, frig Maw, da oOd, Dyi , vast, op , pain, bl G, golden Red, faiL glitteriIN ti t, gh CANT, Fi ESCAPE,

re……..

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“Don’t bother they any of us” “Fine, anyway our

“No”

THE W ILD, W ILD MIND

“…..ugh, can you guys stop fighting, it make it impossible

for us….”

No

won’t listen to

“Why do you guys never side with me? I’m on your side! The side of order and quality papers!”

the beginning of her adventure at the cave mouth after moments”

y , the glimpse we get ahbrief ehe to Heh sten li s y alwa

heroin could recall of her very last

me

“Here’s an idea, why don’t we start out at the actual beginning instead of trying to “All I want is a well written paper that make sense and follows the rules”

shoehorn you dumb idea about a “glimpse of the end” in?”

“No, the Glimpse of the end is whats gonna draw the readers in, make them want to know how our heroin ended up in “just wait your turn

the jaws of this fearsome beast!”

“Isn’t that what you want as well?”

judge, you come in at the end”

“Fine! but then we definitely go in order! From point she’s going into the cave until when she’s being

“No, listen to me now!!!”

A, where eaten alive.”

“oh come on, then you’re skipping all of the small details that the madman provided us in his last spurt of words, we should totally have two stories diverging from each other starting at the point where shes at the cave mouth. One story going forward as she goes into the cave and another that our character is recalling as to what led up to entering the cave but starting from just getting to the cave and working backwards. So that the 2 stories get farther and farther from each other!”

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begin and work our way forward, also that will lengthen our paper quite a bit. This is

on

supposed to be a “short” story”

Dr ag

“well, fine but we’re still starting with her being crushed in the beasts teeth. And I do want some

s

JOSHUA FERN

“No, if you want all of those little details then we need to start at where those details

of the details of her life leading up to the cave expressed through flashbacks, but they can be in detailed in order” “Fine, so we’re looking at something like this?”

on

Dr

As she stared into the fearsome, ferocious, frightening eyes of the magnificent,

ag

magical, wonderful, beast that was bearing down on her with its massive, bloody, sharp, ghastly, gaping maw, and as she lay there bleading, teath and tongue and the horrendous hot breath enveloping her like a blanket for her eternal slumber she contemplated how she got here……. flashback, Maw, darknESS, cAvE, hot, library, information, curious, dark, Warm, moist, deep, echoes, sharp, armory, swords, shields, heavy, fit, lost, shiver, cold, shiny, glitteriING, golden, vast, open, endless, death, smell, ominous, loud, noise, frightening RUN, ESCAPE, CANT, Fight, tiRed, faiL, pain, bloOd, Dying, regret,

“Perfect! Its perfect” “Not really, it kind of sucks. It’s just a mass of words” “but they are in order, and they spell out a story!”

“The Madman writes what he wants when he wants without regard for anyone else.”

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Artist Statement—“The Wild, Wild Mind” THE W ILD, W ILD MIND

Writing is chaotic. It always feels like I’m fighting with myself to write anything, whether it be a quality piece I’m trying really hard on, or just a short personal note where I could care less about proper protocol. A prime example of this chaos is that it has taken me at least ten attempts trying to finish the previous sentence, trying to make it flow well into the following one; now I’ve got a whole new sentence bridging them, chaos incarnate.

My narrative piece is trying to capture the feelings and tone of this chaos I experience while writing a story that relies on visual cues to impart feelings of chaos, and make it relatable to my audience. I am describing my writing process through the interactions of my inner voices or writing selves showing how they interact, influence, and develop the creation of anything I need to write. In my piece I personify each of my writing selves as characters using different colors, varied fonts, mixed tones, various sentence structures, as well as how they use punctuation and where their voices physically appear in my piece.

“The Judge thinks she’s the most important of my writing selves.”

These small distinctions between each of the characters allow them to be easily distinguishable from each other on the page, while also lending a physical representation of their personalities. The characters in my piece will be the Judge who thinks she’s the most important of my writing selves, always trying to be heard, finding the most inopportune moments to pop up and remind me of where I’ve failed or what needs fixing.

She is represented with the color red in a similar manner to how teachers often used red pens to point out my mistakes, using a very common and proper font. Since she’s very orderly and proper; you’ll never see her write over any other text, just around it. The Madman, who is responsible for all of the actual stories and ideas behind my papers, is the drive behind my writing, while the other characters are all about refining him down for public consumption. The Madman writes what he wants when he wants without regard for anyone else. He is represented by multiple different fonts and colors, his only rules being that he can’t write directly over the judge and he will never steal the fonts and colors of his companions. The two Architects each represent different ways to structure my papers: the purple Architect represents my urge and desire to structure my papers in a very standard acceptable way without trying to do anything different making it easier for readers to follow. My blue Architect on the other hand represents my desire to try structuring my paper in an abnormal and interesting way to draw readers in and make them want to Claro

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JOSHUA FERN

read more. They are both represented by their respective colors and have very similar fonts, with the blues being slightly more abnormal than the purples, but both very symmetrical in design.

Their mistakes were not fixed because the only inner voice that cares about punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure is the Judge. Lastly, there is the Carpenter; he’s an unassuming voice that is always helpful in making my sentences make sense and be interesting to read. He isn’t very vocal, and he is a voice of very few words. He is represented by a nice forest green, and his font is somewhat fancy and elegant. These are all of the characters that were featured in my narrative project, as well as what they represent and how they are represented.

My characters are a direct draw from Betty Flowers’s “Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge: Roles and the Writing Process” (1981). I drew direct inspiration from her descriptions of each of the writing selves that she says inhabit our conscious and I made them into my own versions of those voices or characters.

I even gave them personalities and spaces to live in on my page, and different appearances to help differentiate them from each other and give them a stronger sense of identity. One other paper that I felt really helped me with developing my narrative project is the paper I wrote about my writing process. This paper really helped me explore the medium I would be using and gave me a concrete idea of what I wanted to convey and achieve with my narrative piece. Another piece that was a huge influence to me was one that I read from a fellow student a couple of years ago where he was describing how schizophrenia affects the mind. He used a very similar design process as mine, with words and ideas being at odd angles at seemingly random times. Using these materials as a reference has really helped me tune my writing towards the intended audience, and helped me make my paper relatable and understandable by anyone who reads it.

While I feel the concept of my paper is very easy to follow, I think I made it physically too long. Given more time, I would have cut down some of the banter between my inner voices just to streamline the paper and make it more easily consumable. A lot of what I did for my writing is abstracted and isn’t in a very organized manner, which might lead to some confusion, but that is almost part of my paper because I always feel confused when writing papers myself, not sure of where to go or what to say next and I want my readers to experience that. Overall, I feel like I did a very good job of keeping my paper engaging and understandable, or at the very least relatable if it wasn’t always easy to understand.

Work Cited Flowers, Betty S. “Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge: Roles and the

Writing Process.” Language Arts 58.7 (1981): 834-836. Print.

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Let Me Speak for Myself

†

by sara cassese “I really struggle at having faith in myself, especially when writing.”

Artist Statement: “Let Me Speak For Myself” When first contemplating what to do for my narrative composition, I felt completely lost. I did not understand how I was going to show everyone what goes on in my head when I attempt to write. Then, it occurred to me to do exactly that and show what I feel when I write. That is why I decided to do a visual representation creating an image to show my inner conflict.

Originally, I thought about simply finding images that best suited how I felt and how I wanted to portray it. Then I realized, the best way would be to be in the image myself.

After deciding to make the photo myself, the image and form just came to me very easily. I knew I wanted to be facing a mirror and have the four personalities looking back at me. I called up some friends Claro

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SA R A CASSESE

of mine and asked for their help in editing and taking the photo. I was extremely excited to get started because this idea was my own. However, Diane Arbus’s “A Young Brooklyn Family Going for a Sunday Outing, N.Y.C. 1966” greatly impacted the way I viewed my photograph.

I loved how strong the eye contact was between the couple and the audience. I wanted the eye contact between me looking in the mirror at myself

Specifically, the mad­woman and architect battle it out first; then the carpenter and judge always fail to agree. In my photo, I wanted them to be in the reflection of the mirror looking back at me wishing I would pick sides. This leads to the anxiety, making it hard for me to write. I discovered while creating this photo, not only do they argue amongst themselves, but they also fail to let me speak my mind. This is where my title “Let Me Speak For Myself” came from.

“I thought for a long time about my own inner conflict.”

to be just as strong. The real struggle with taking this photo was how many takes it took before I stopped smiling.

The tone I was aiming for is complete and utter anxiety.

That is truly how I feel every time I need to write about anything. Every time a piece of paper is in front of me and I am the one who needs to make something out of it, I always do the same thing. I look down at it and basically clear my mind to help me think. In my narrative composition I was very eager to get this expression down because it is the part that is mostly me and how I feel in its truest form.

Then, after I thought for a long time about my own inner conflict, I realized how, in the beginning, my inner selves always seem to fight each other.

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The Star­ -Man classwork influenced my creative setting as well. I wanted the background in the photo to tell a story just as much. I added the degree in the corner to signify knowledge because it shows how this could be a useless battle. Basically, it says, “I am fighting a battle with myself even though I know I am smart enough to win it.” This was just a little piece for me because I really struggle at having faith in myself, especially when writing. I wanted this project to be different from anything I had ever done before, I wanted it to be unique.

Stepping out of my comfort zone to make something visual and different was an exciting experience that showed me that I can apply that to writing as well. I do not need to be

assignment was. One thing I would love to have done better is to have better costuming and not stick to the cliché of the “Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge” (Flowers, 1981). Overall, however, I would definitely say this is my favorite and most prized assignment of the semester. It was fun to make and showed me a new side of what I can do.

LET ME SPEA K FOR MYSELF

afraid to go all out, even when the message I am trying to get across may be hard to decipher.

I feel that with this assignment my message comes across very clearly showing my inner conflict. I made sure to try and add as much emotion as possible without overdoing it and I feel I succeeded in that.

I also wanted to make sure the image was personal, just as the

Works Cited Arbus, Diane. A Young Brooklyn Family Going For a Sunday

Outing, NYC. 1966. Photograph. The Metropolitan

Museum of Art, New York City.

Fall, Sara. “Star-Man Narrative.” ENG 121. Red Rocks Community

College, Lakewood, CO. 15 Oct 2015. Class Assignment.

Flowers, Betty S. “Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge: Roles

and the Writing Process.” Language Arts 58.7 (1981):

834—836. Print.

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Inanna and Dumuzi by benjamin schramm “I found it fitting to construct a story focusing on Inanna as a mother figure with one of her dearest followers depicted as a child.”

I chose to rewrite the myth of Inanna and Dumuzi. This has been my favorite myth that we have studied so far this semester.

I really appreciate the style that it was written in, and the messages that it contains. For my contemporary rewrite, I chose to turn this Sumerian story into a series of loosely structured poems. In these five sequential poems, I told a tale of a child getting separated from his mother at a grocery store. Instead of the story being told from Inanna’s perspective, the tale is told from the point of view of Dumuzi, her child.

The change in genre was a significant difference from the original reading. I like the loose and vague style of my rewrite.

I feel that I was able to capture a lot of the broad concepts contained in the tale of Inanna and Dumuzi with the sequence of poems I created. Considering Inanna has been known as the Queen of Heaven and the Goddess of Love, I found it fitting to construct a story focusing on Inanna as a mother figure with one of her dearest followers depicted as a child.

I focused on four key elements from the Mesopotamian tale in order to retell it in the way that I did. The first concept was Inanna’s descent into the underworld. In the original myth, Inanna descends to the underworld to witness funeral rites for her sister’s husband. Her actions connotate an abandonment of her people, or her children. In the series of poems, Inanna’s descent is represented by a mother entering a grocery store. Just as the underworld is, a grocery store can be a place of chaos.

The second concept that I drew from was the restraining of Inanna. Her restraint can be seen as her love being cut off from her people. This especially applies to her husband Dumuzi. This is portrayed in my rewrite when the mother figure puts the child down to console a friend. Dumuzi, the child figure, then proceeds to wander away from his mother in order to explore the vast world around him. He goes unnoticed as he wanders about the store on his own.

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BENJA MIN SCHR A M M

The third element I chose to focus on was Inanna’s return from the underworld. When she returns to her throne, she finds her husband Dumuzi sitting on her throne dressed in his full garments. He does not offer himself as a sacrifice, as her other followers have, and is pursued by the gala for his wrongdoings.

I chose to take a different approach to Dumuzi’s actions in my rewrite. Instead of portraying him as someone who has disobeyed his Queen, I depicted Dumuzi as an innocent child, who without his queen present, didn’t know what else to do other than explore and make use of the world he was left in. In this section of the poem, the mother is filled with sadness and anger.

The child hears her cries and is shaken by them.

“Inanna’s descent is represented by a mother entering a grocery store.”

The final concept I wrote about was the love of Inanna. In the myth, Inanna cannot stay mad at Dumuzi. Despite the fact that she focused the eye of death and sent the gala after him, she still loves him a great deal. This holds true in the poems as well. The mother cannot stay angry with her child for long. She realizes that his intentions were pure, and that he did not abandon his mother, but it was she who abandoned him.

The last few lines of the series of poems give the same conclusion as the tale of Inanna and Dumuzi. The last few stanzas read, “Cast light on the new day, only to return to his Queen, with new words to speak, about himself.” I interpreted the end of the myth as Dumuzi having to leave his lover for half of the year in order to fulfill his duties and become whole. This is portrayed by the child going out on the new day. In learning more about himself, the child will become closer to whole. Then, he can return to his mother with the wisdom he has gained.

The tale of Inanna and Dumuzi is a gripping love story with intense symbolism and an enticing plot. I thought long and hard about which myth I was going to rewrite, until we were assigned to read this myth in class. I didn’t really connect with any of the other myths, and couldn’t think of a way to contemporize them. This ancient Mesopotamian story really captured my attention, and formulating an idea for a modern rewrite was easy. Despite the fact that Inanna’s presence as a mother figure is greatly debated, I view the myth we studied as a touching tale of separation of mother goddess from the ones who love and worship her. The realization of her eternal love is what helped me shape my series of poems.

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I. INA NNA A ND DUMUZI

Enter the stronghold of food and fright Endless aisles extend over the eyeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability drowns out visibility of the end of the road.

In hand, I cling to my Queen Sun of the morning Star of the evening the eternal mother.

A face of the past stops her path as looks of sympathy are met for the ones lost when their time has come.

My Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ear solely focused ahead, and not on her fruit on the ground.

We separate paths split.

II. Stuck in obligation, with focus drawn short, her child is lost, unnoticed.

With the all-mother out of sight, responsibility is left to the next in line.

Cans line walls, that extend forever.

Endless colors and shapes follow.

The child A master of his own, experiences the chaos, of the mind.

With no one to guide, he goes unnoticed.

III. Mother not whole lets out a cry that rattles the hearts of all that see.

Captures the child who rules his own.

Scorn and fright enter the heart of youth as integrity is shattered upon the face of her own.

Restrained to never know the flight of the free.

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BENJA MIN SCHR A M M

IV. But not long can the mother deny the true intentions of her own kin.

For it was not of lust, or for deceit, that her child had gone astray.

Of her own neglect, has she caused the need. for insight not her own.

The loss of life is balanced by the actions of those who are next to come.

V. Let the Shepard of the flock, na誰ve and unaware, be granted access to the darkness of the mind, unexplored.

Cast light out on the new day only to return to his Queen with new words to speak about himself.

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VIII Textual Analysis

Film Journal #5:

Sound as it Applies to The Conversation by nicholas quinones “Murch does an impeccable job of using a few mundane elements and fascinating the audience by sparking our curiosity.”

The use of sound design in The Conversation (Coppola, 1974) is as impressive as it is comprehensive. Sound designer Walter Murch does a spectacular job at plying various types of silence, sound, and music in order to build dramatic scenes. His focus on using sound to emphasize various themes throughout the film as well as character development through sound has the touch of a seasoned hand (the ear). Combine this with how the sound, editing, and cinematography work together seamlessly to present the internal and external struggles of Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) and you get a seminal work of sound editing in cinema. That being said, you could go over this film endlessly and find new aspects of sound design to rave about each time.

But, I’d like to focus on just a few (neither of us have all day after all). This includes the use of sound to build a scene, the use of sound for emphasis, and the use of sound for character development. We can go ahead and start at the beginning.

The introductory scene in The Conversation sets the tone and is the focal point for the whole film. It begins with a crowded square filled with people as the audience views the scene from afar. There is the ambient sound of the square and the people, but also a seemingly non-diegetic sound.

Some sort of technological interference or white noise disrupts the natural sound of the busy square leaving the audience to wonder if maybe there is something wrong with the soundtrack. As the scene progresses, we find that Murch has given us context clues establishing that we are on a surveillance mission and that we are listening to a team of surveillance experts spying on the conversation of a young couple in the square.

The oblique use of sound in this scene does an amazing job of drawing the audience in as we try to figure out what this sound is and why this seemingly innocent conversation is important in the first place. Murch does an impeccable job of using a Claro

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few mundane elements and fascinating the audience by sparking our curiosity.

The main character of this film is also a curious fellow.

Harry Caul is a surveillance expert who is a leader in the field and builds his own surveillance equipment. This surveillance equipment is one of the major themes of the film and is emphasized throughout the movie using sound. Well, I guess silence plays just as big a role in bringing the equipment to the fore as the sound does.

In several scenes there is a heavy silence as the equipment is being used on-screen.

This silence brings a hyperawareness to every detail of sound that the equipment is making or recording while

is absolutely paranoid about his own privacy. Music and sound help to give insight into Harry’s character and they let the audience know when he’s lost his damn mind. Harry has his own theme song: a jazz piano piece that seems to move back and forth between an internal song that only Harry can hear and a non-diegetic ditty that is used for continuity when Harry travels from one place to another. When this music is used, we can tell that Harry is thinking or on the job; it’s a sign of comfort for Harry and the audience. At one point Harry finds that his apartment has been “bugged” and his theme music is distorted beyond recognition as he tears his apartment to pieces

“The mixture of silence and fidelity gives a deafening message to the audience...”

being used. The clicks of the reel to reel, the hiss of a tapped phone, or even the sound of a tape recorder rocking back and forth on a bathroom floor as it settles to a stop. The mixture of silence and fidelity gives a deafening message to the audience of the importance of the surveillance equipment to Harry and to the film.

Sound and privacy are of the utmost importance to Harry Caul. He eavesdrops on people for a living, he listens to jazz music, plays the saxophone for fun, and he 184 |

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desperately trying to alleviate his paranoid obsession with privacy. The music gives us insight into his mental state and as he gives up hope of finding the “bug,” the music too calms down into his theme song as he sits on the floor of his destroyed apartment and begins to play an ad-lib saxophone vamp to his own internal/non-diegetic music.

Unlike Harry’s improv saxophone-playing, Walter Murch seemed to know exactly what he was doing when he was creating the sound design

of sound to the themes of the film was unavoidable, making it necessary to emphasize the sound design for proper character development and plot progression. Francis Ford Coppola is a legendary director with a cavalcade of epic films under his belt, but the credit for the outstanding quality of this film should really go to Walter Murchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incredible sound design and editing.

Works Cited Barsam, Richard, and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An

Introduction to Film. 4th ed. New York/London: W.W.

Norton & Co, 2013. 388-430. Print.

The Conversation. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Gene Hackman,

John Cazale Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic

Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr and Robert Duvall.

Paramount, 1974. Film.

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for the film. With a little research, I found that he was also the supervising editor on the film. He basically had free reign in putting together the film postproduction and this would explain a lot. The sound in the film works so well because it seems as if the whole movie was built around the sound design. And, now that I know that Murch was the editor, that just may have been the case. The importance

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The Fault in Our Stars:

A Web —Based Literary Analysis † by derek chavez, shira daves, amanda hartnett, amelia jones, ryne mills, faith owen, joe rivich, noah rouzaud, seth scadden, maggie smidt, alex smith, hunter vance, and sara vigil To explore their website more fully, please visit our website, or go to http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=304252.

Amanda Hardman’s Introduction to Literature class created an interactive website for Golden High School students to study the famous book, The Fault In Our Stars.

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DEREK CH AV EZ ET A L

T HE FAU LT IN OU R S TA R S

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IX Physician Assistant Program

Traumatic-B rain-Injury Prevention in the Elderly: A Fall-Risk Program by ashley england, ann nimesgern, erick ireland and jake hopkins “Individuals who suffer a traumatic brain injury develop permanent disabilities such as psychological issues and neurological deficits that will require treatment the rest of their lives...”

INTRODUCTION It is estimated that 1.7 million individuals in the United States suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) annually (Faul, Wald, & Coronado, 2010). Of these injuries, 1.36 million will result in emergency-department visits, 275,000 will require hospitalization, and 52,000 will ultimately result in death.

Furthermore, TBIs are an involved factor in over thirty percent of accident-related deaths. Faul et al. explain that age groups most likely to sustain a TBI are children ages 0-4, adolescents 15-19, and individuals over the age of 65 (Faul et al., 2010). Many individuals who suffer a TBI develop permanent disabilities such as psychological issues and neurological deficits that will require treatment the rest of their lives (Roozenbeek et al., 2013). The combination of incidence rates and the persistence of disabilities requiring long-term care associated with TBIs have created an epidemic that is exhausting precious healthcare resources around the globe (Roozenbeek et al., 2013).

In March of 2011, Governor Hickenlooper signed the “Jake Snakenberg Youth Sports Concussion Act.” This piece of legislation went into effect in January of 2012. The bill requires coaches of school-sanctioned sports to receive education about concussions, and that if a concussion is suspected, that student athlete is removed from the field of play until they can be cleared by a healthcare professional. These changes are a step in the right direction because they limit the sports-related TBIs in adolescent populations. Additionally, several programs have been implemented to improve the utilization of car seats and Claro

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helmets among infant populations. However, elderly populations have been overlooked and represent a significant portion of TBIs that occur annually.

According to the most recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) data, the majority of TBI in the elderly population (> 65 years old) are due to falls (“Percent distributions,” 2014). Many of these accidents could easily be avoided by increasing awareness, improving confidence, and improving both the balance and fitness level of elderly individuals, thereby lowering their fall risk. The CDC has compiled data from studies related to fallprevention programs and their outcomes (Stevens & Sogolow, 2008). There is overwhelming evidence that combining education with exercise can decrease one’s risk of a fall. A study done in Sydney, Australia saw a 30% reduction in subsequent falls after fall-risk prevention and home modifications in a population that had experienced a previous fall (Cumming et al, 1999). In addition, strength training focusing on balance and coordination, and aerobic exercises that involve changing directions quickly, improve neuromuscular function. It has been shown that a fall-prevention program involving such exercises can reduce falls by approximately 30-40% in participants who complete a program compared to those who do not receive intervention (Barnett et al., 2003).

Our primary intervention for fall prevention is the implementation of an educational and exercise-based pilot program in the city of Meeker, CO. Currently, Meeker does not have such a program or any program addressing strength training and/or fall risk specific to senior citizens. In addition, Meeker is located in a remote area of Colorado with limited access to tertiary medical facilities that would be necessary in the event that an individual was to fall and suffer a TBI. Therefore, reduction of falls and subsequent TBIs within the community are geared toward fall-risk education and strength training. By employing a community-wide multi-modal approach, we can reduce the incidence rate of TBIs, lower annual healthcare cost, and decrease the socioeconomic burden of elderly citizens in rural communities like Meeker, CO.

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CITY DEMOGRAPHICS

Population (2010)*

2,449

Median Resident Age

39.4

Per Capita Income Percentage of Medically Uninsured

$27,463 30.2%

*Based on data provided by City-Data.com There are three grade schools in Meeker: the local elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as a local community center that hosts physical-fitness classes, a pool, and extensive workout equipment. Classes held at the community center range from youth to adult classes and incorporate a large range of activities that include painting, yoga, and many different styles of dance.

However, there are very few classes that are specifically targeted for senior citizens over the age of 65. Â Age Breakdown of Meeker, CO (2010): 26.8% under the age of 18 6.6% from 18 to 24 25.4% from 25 to 44

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Meeker, CO, in Rio Blanco County, is a small, rural, agricultural community that sits at an elevation of 6,239 feet in the northwestern part of Colorado. The most common industries in Meeker, CO, are mining, farming, oil and gas extraction, construction, and manufacturing, which also make up the most common occupations along with transportation occupations.

Meeker is a relatively isolated community on the north side of the White River, which poses a large obstacle for access to quality and timely medical care.

26.7% from 45 to 64 14.5% above the age of 65 In Meeker, almost all of the healthcare access for the community is available through the Pioneers Medical Center, which hosts a level-IV emergency department, family health center, home-health services, and inpatient facilities. Located within the Medical Center is the Walbridge Memorial Convalescent Wing, a local, government-run, skilled nursinghome facility accepting both Medicare and Medicaid programs.

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large percentage of senior citizens in Meeker over the age of 65 living in their homes. These individuals not residing within the Walbridge Wing are forced to rely on community resources for fall prevention and other necessary preventative medical care, further illustrating the lack of senior-citizen-directed care in Meeker.

METHODS FALL-PREVENTION PILOT PROGRAM OVERVIEW A fall-prevention pilot program will be implemented at the Meeker Recreation and Community Center twice a year in the fall and spring. This program will be structured and conducted following the A Matter of Balance fall-prevention program developed by MaineHealthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Partnership for Healthy Aging and Boston University. It was also built on the Stanford educational model. This program consists of weekly workshops that are 2hours long for a period of 8 weeks and focuses on decreasing the fear of falling, increasing physical activity, strength and balance, as well as gaining greater mobility control. During the 3rd workshop and thereafter, a 30-minute time slot will be allocated for exercises. Each workshop will teach participants how to control their fear of falling, set realistic goals for increasing physical activities, find ways to change their environment at home to reduce certain fall-risk factors, and simple exercises to increase strength, balance, and coordination. For making changes to the participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; environment, a home-safety evaluation and action plan will be provided to the participants to help reduce fall-risk hazards in their home and the community.

Also, the program encourages the use of a guest professional healthcare worker to attend one of the workshops to provide additional information and answer any questions.

This program structure is currently being utilized by Boulder County, CO, as well as other states nationwide and has been proven to be a cost-effective way of reducing fall rates in the elderly population during the 6-12 months following completion of the program. A Matter of Balance has also been shown to increase the level of exercise, increase confidence in managing and controlling falls, and increase engagement in daily activities without falling in the elderly population.

According to MaineHealth, 97% of the program participants are more comfortable talking about their fear of falling; 99% of participants plan to continue exercising; 97% feel more

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On a national level, the A Matter of Balance program has received multiple recognitions through Partnership for Healthy Aging and its partners including: 1. Healthy Aging: A Good Investment, Exemplary Programs for Senior Centers and Other Facilities, National Council on the Aging, Fall 2002.

2. The Aging States Project: Promoting Opportunities for Collaboration Between the Public Health and Aging Services Networks, January 2003.

3. National Governorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association, May 2003.

4. Journal of Physical Activity and Aging, October 2004, guest editorial by the assistant secretary, U.S. Administration on Aging.

5. Partnering for Healthy Aging, November 2004, National Council on Aging.

6. Healthcare and Aging Network Award for Quality and Innovation, American Society on Aging, 2006.

7. Aging Innovations and Achievements Award, National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, 2006.

Multiple research articles support the use of the A Matter of Balance as a tool to prevent falls within the elderly population and the effectiveness of the program. These articles include: 1. Batra A, Melchior M, Seff L, Frederick N, Palmer RC. Evaluation of a community-based falls prevention program in South Florida, 2008-2009. Prev Chronic Dis 2012;9:110057. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/ pcd9.110057.

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comfortable increasing their level of physical activity; and 98% of all program participants would recommend the A Matter of Balance program to other members of the community.

2. Ory MG, Smith ML, Wade A, Mounce C, Wilson A, Parrish R. Implementing and disseminating an evidence-based program to prevent falls in older adults, Texas, 2007-2009. Prev Chronic Dis 2010; 7(6):A130.

3. Ullmann G, Williams HG, Plass CF. Dissemination of an Evidence-based Program to Reduce Fear of Falling, South Carolina, 2006-2009. Prev Chronic Dis 2012;9:110093.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd9.110093.

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REQUIRED PROGRAM STAFFING In order to effectively and efficiently conduct the program, A Matter of Balance recruits community volunteers who will be trained to lead and coach elderly participants during the workshops. The following roles are necessary for the program and a full job description and requirements can be found in Addendum A: 1. Volunteer Master Trainer’s (minimum 1) a.

Responsibilities include teaching the workshop curriculum to coaches as well as providing guidance and support to the coaches. Also, they are responsible for evaluating and observing coaches, recruiting coaches and participants, scheduling classes, participating in quarterly conference calls, and measuring program outcomes and reporting results quarterly.

b.

Requires attending a two-day master trainer’s session offered by the MaineHealth’s Partnership for Healthy Aging in order to receive certification. All materials for the program are provided during this training session.

c.

There are currently 500 Master Trainer Sites located in 39 states and the District of Columbia, including Colorado. A list of available site locations and contact information can be found in Addendum B.

d.

Partnership for Healthy Aging and MaineHealth can also send a team of two Lead Trainers to your site of choice and train a group of 11-20 volunteers who are interested in becoming Master Trainers.

1. Volunteer Coaches (minimum 6) a. Working in pairs, they are responsible for leading all program workshops every week. b.

Requires attending 8 hours of coach training provided by the Master Trainer in order to receive certification. Also, 2.5 hours of updated coach training is required annually.

c. All coaches must agree to coach at least two A Matter of Balance workshops within one year of certification.

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1. A Guest Healthcare Professional (minimum 1) Invited to attend one of the workshops to provide information including getting up and down from the floor and a seated position safely, how to get in and out of bed, and going up and down stairs. They will also provide information about assistive devices as well as additional home and community safety precautions to prevent falls.

PROGRAM LOCATION Using a room in the recreation center for approximately 4 months per year would allow plenty of space for the class sizes, exercises, and guest speakers. Â In addition, there would be direct access to weight equipment, a pool for conducting water-aerobic exercises, and it would come at a very low cost.

INCLUSION CRITERIA This program is designed to benefit community-dwelling older adults who have been cleared by their primary care provider to participate in this program and meet one or more of the following criteria: 1. Have concerns about falls 2. Have experienced a fall in the past 3. Restrict daily activities because of concerns and fear of falling 4. Are interested in improving physical strength, balance, and flexibility 5. Are 60 years or older 6. Are ambulatory

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a.

7. Are able to problem solve and think critically 8. Are currently healthy enough to perform exercise and increased physical activity Also, the A Matter of Balance program provides workbooks and materials for individuals who have visual impairments and who speak/read the following languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Chinese.

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EXCLUSION CRITERIA The following populations would not be accepted to participate in the pilot program in order to accurately assess program outcomes and success: 1. Community members 59 years old or younger 2. Anyone who suffers from dementia, Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, memory loss, or any altered mental status 3. Those who are critically ill 4. Those with underlying illnesses that restrict physical activity, movement, and ambulation 5. People confined to bed rest 6. Individuals not cleared by their primary care provider to participate in this program 7. Non-Meeker residence PROGRAM RESOURCES FOR CONTENT The information used for the program materials is compiled from numerous nationally recognized institutions, healthcare professionals, and elderly service groups. Some of which include: 1. National Institute on Aging 2. National Institutes of Health (NIH) SeniorHealth 3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 4. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control 5. American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging 6. UCLA Division of Geriatrics 7. MaineHealth Osteoporosis Work Group 8. MMC Division of Geriatrics - Fall Prevention Work Group 9. MaineHealth Elder Center Services 10. MaineHealth Community Advisory Group 11. Fall Prevention Center of Excellence 12. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans 200 |

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MEASUREMENT OF PROGRAM OUTCOMES

1. Initial survey a. This will be given during the very first workshop. It contains questions regarding participant demographics, fall management, social activity, and exercise levels.

1. Last-class survey and evaluation a. A repeat survey of the questions regarding post-program fall management, social activity, and exercise levels. This will be used to directly compare patient responses after completion of the program. b. An evaluation including questions concerning their comfort in talking about the fear of falling, changes they have made in their environment, participant comfort in increasing activity levels, and the participants’ plans for continuing increased activity levels.

BUDGET Because all of the staff and trainers participating in the program are volunteers and the community center would come at little-to-no cost, the budget for this project includes the following: 1. In order to initially implement the program, a cost of $1,500 per person is required for the Master Trainer program. Once trainers are established, this cost will only be incurred if an additional trainer is ever required.

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The following tools will be utilized throughout the program to assess progression of patient outcomes, see Addendum C:

2. Materials for the program are also provided at low cost: a. Coach handbook: $20.00 b. Participant workbook: $13.00 c. Guest therapist handbook: $6.00 d. DVD set (Fear of Falling and Exercise: It’s Never Too Late): $164.76/set e.

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f.

A Matter of Balance Lay Leader Model CD-ROM for coaches: $2.00

Refreshments and lunches are also options to make participants feel more welcome.

In all, initial first-year costs may total up to $3,500, and subsequent years will cost less than $600 per year.

Multiple foundations throughout the country provide grants for programs that implement traumatic-brain-injury prevention programs. Some of these include Federal Traumatic Brain Injury Program and the Brain Injury Association of America, both of which offer grants to state programs. Applying for these and other federal and state grants would cover the complete costs of implementing a program for TBI prevention in the elderly. In the event that grant or federally funded moneys are not awarded to conduct the pilot program, fundraising can be conducted throughout the community of Meeker, including setting up an account on GoFund.com, garage sales, bake sales, and asking for local-business donations.

PROGRAM DATA ENTRY All Master Trainers will be registered with the Matter of Balance Online Data Entry System. This was developed with support from the US Administration on Aging and the National Council on Aging, and allows Master Trainers to immediately enter, manage, and report on Meekerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s program data, including: 1. Patient demographics 2. Pre and post surveys 3. Session and participant-level attendance 4. Class information 5. Class implementation site and Master Trainer organization data 6. Coach information 7. Master Trainer information

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After the A Matter of Balance fall-prevention program has been implemented and community awareness is increased, we believe it would be of great benefit to additionally institute a routine fitness regimen catered towards fall prevention in the elderly. A systematic review including 54 randomized clinical trials concluded that exercise can prevent falls in older adults (Sherrington et al., 2011). Several community exercise programs currently exist in Meeker at the local community center, but these programs are tailored towards fitness for the general population. By initiating an ongoing year-round exercise program tailored towards improving balance, mobility, and reducing fall risk, a significant portion of the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s older population will benefit. We propose instituting a weekly exercise program focused on fall prevention for the elderly. This program will employ several activities that rotate on a weekly basis such as resistance training, water aerobics, and Tai Chi. Rotating modalities weekly will not only avoid monotony among program participants, it will also permit individuals whose physical limitations prohibit their participation in certain activities to take part in others. By continuing the program throughout the year, participants will elevate and maintain their physical fitness level and routinely engage others in a social setting while simultaneously reducing the risk of falling.

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In conclusion, TBI is a concerning public-health issue affecting all age groups. Although recent laws and programs to prevent TBI occurrence have been implemented for a younger population, the aging community (> 65 years old) still lacks resources to prevent the number one cause of TBI within their age group: falls. The rural community of Meeker, CO, is somewhat isolated from most healthcare resources and could benefit from a fall-prevention program such as A Matter of Balance. A Matter of Balance is a model program currently utilized within the state of Colorado as well as across the U.S. Relying solely on volunteers, this program has a low overhead cost, yet applying for an education grant through the Colorado Brain Injury Program or a federally funded program could cover the initial fees involved in starting this program.

The benefits of fall-risk education, in-home evaluations to identify potential hazards, and an exercise program to increase an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s confidence, strength, balance, and coordination have been proven to significantly reduce the risk of falls and/ or decrease the burden of a fall-related injury. We believe that this multi-modal approach could aid in TBI prevention caused by falling, in addition to decreasing the potential medical costs associated with such injuries in the elderly population of Meeker, Colorado.

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ADDENDUM A The following information was taken from the MaineHealth website.

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ADDENDUM B

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The following information was taken from the MaineHealth website.

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ADDENDUM C The following information was taken from the MaineHealth website.

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Works Cited

“A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls Volunteer

Lay Leader Model.” MaineHealth. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

Barnett, A., Smith, B., Lord, S., Williams, M., & Baumand, A.

(2003). Community-based group exercise improves

balance and reduces falls in at-risk older people: A

randomised controlled trial. Age and Ageing, 32(4), 407-414.

Cumming, R. G., Thomas, M., Szonyi, G., Salkeld, G., O’neill,

E., Westbury, C., & Frampton, G. (1999). Home Visits by

an Occupational Therapist for Assessment and

Modification of Environmental Hazards: A Randomized

Trial of Falls Prevention. Journal of the American

Geriatrics Society, 47(12), 1397-1402.

Faul M, Xu L, Wald MM, Coronado VG. “Traumatic Brain

Injury in the United States: Emergency Department

Visits, Hospitalizations and Deaths 2002–2006.” Atlanta

(GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2010.

Meeker, CO. (2015). City-Data.com. Accessed 10/26/15.

“Percent distributions of TBI-related emergency department

visits by age group and injury mechanism - United States,

2006–2010.” (2014). Center for Disease Control

and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/

traumaticbraininjury/data/dist_ed.html.

Roozenbeek, B., Maas, A., & Menon, D. (2013). “Changing patterns

in the epidemiology of traumatic brain injury.” Nature

Reviews Neurology, (9), 231-236.

Sherrington, C., Tiedemann, A., Fairhall, N., Close, J. C. T., &

Lord, S. R. (2011). “Exercise to prevent falls in older adults:

an updated meta-analysis and best practice

recommendations.” New South Wales Public Health Bulletin, 22(3-4), 78–83. http://doi.org/10.1071/NB10056.

TR AUM ATIC-BR A IN-INJ URY PR EV EN TION IN THE ELDER LY: A FA LL-RISK PRO GR A M

“A Matter of Balance - Fall Prevention Task Force.” Hamilton

County Fall Prevention Task Force. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

Stevens, J. A., Sogolow, E. D. (2008). “Preventing fall: what

works. A CDC compendium of effective community based interventions from around the world.” National

Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Retrieved

from: http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/

images/CDCCompendium_030508-a.pdf.

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Contributing Students: 2 0 1 5

Amanda Crosby Ann Nimesgern Ashley England Athena Landy Benjamin Schramm Cindy Smith Cory Kennedy Dan Duvarney Donny Davidson Erick Ireland Jake Hopkins James Silvester Joshua Fern

Kaci Johnson Kara Walton Marika Fama Michelle Christensen Michaela Macasinag Natalia Amovich Nicole Callinicos Nicholas Quinones Richard Aipperspach Ryan Sheldon Talina Smith William Bubeck

Contributing Instructors: Amanda Hardman Amy Braziller Chelsea Campbell Dayna Jaynstein Fawn Oates Heather Kroger

Lisa Schneider Sandra Sajbel Sara Fall Toni Nicholas Wendy Bird