Voice Magazine - Scarlet & Black Fall 2017

VOICE MAGAZINE Fall 2017

SCARLET & BLACK

EDITOR’S LETTER A

s I embark on my final journey as the Editor-in-Chief of this magazine I have made it my sole duty to use this platform to spread knowledge and inspire a movement. This magazine aims to bring knowledge, inspire young minds, and enact change. Voice Magazine is breaking the chains of ignorance one shackle at a time.

Scarlet and Black.

A concept surrounding the recently published book Scarlet and Black,

by Marisa J. Fuentes and Deborah Gray White and many other contributors, that acknowledges the two disenfranchised populations that were vital to the success of Rutgers University. As truth comes to light, the desperate need for change becomes more apparent. Our generation has started a hashtag movement, we have brought attention to major events through retweets and hashtags. The black and brown community are powerful. It starts here on our campus with our generation because the work we begin here will not end here.

Scarlet and Black is about our voices being recognized and acknowledged as important and revolutionary. The black and brown people deserve credit for this university and this nation. We have the power to build things up, now we must do that for our own people and for our nation.

This issue is dedicated to progression. Scarlet and Black is a progressive move toward change, because something needs to change. We need to heal the world with love and knowledge and use our words to do so. We need to continue letting our voices be heard and prevent them from being buried and disregarded.

The world needs to heal because right now our black and brown people are bleeding scarlet. Our generation will be the generation to heal the world. We hope this issue inspires a movement of action.

Something has to change.

Joy Taylor Editor-in-Chief

Top: Matthew Gamble, Gloria Gomez, Corena Gonzalez Middle: Ronica Jeannot, Keyshawna Johnson, Adesuwa Onaghinor Bottom: Spencer Rubino-Finn, Martha Ugwu Not pictured: Jabria Baylor, Rebecca Huang, Cynthia Vasquez

contents FEATURES

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LOVE

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CULTURE

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ART & POETRY

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Rutgers Revises Protest Policy Martha Ugwu

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Scarlet and Black

STAY OFF THE SIDEWALK, OR ELSE

The revision to the disruption policy was met with some backlash from several Rutgers students and faculty members, including David Hughes, Vice President of the Rutgers American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers. In the proceedings of the June 15th Board of Governors meeting, they voiced their disappointment with the restrictions of the updated policy and asked that the changes be rescinded as they seemingly limit the freedom of expression on campus, as seen in a video provided by New Brunswick Today.

In addition to his presence at the administrative meeting, Hughes has also penned a letter to the governors expressing concerns about the effects of revised policy. “The BOG enacted these changes without the slightest discussion or consultation inside or beyond the University community. The resultant policy threatens to undermine political, religious, and other forms of speech on campus – and, thereby, to narrow the creativity and plurality of opinion characteristic of Rutgers,” Hughes said in his letter.

Un i v e r s it i e s in the United States have long since been microcosms of the larger social and political movements that affect so many people across the country. One of the purposes of a university is to help students develop their own socio-political at Rutgers during the following months, views while learning to navigate in a world including one in January which protested full of similar or opposing views. A secTrump’s travel ban. ondary education also helps them acquire

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uture protests at Rutgers may take on a different look than they have in previous years, all thanks to the decisions of administrators regarding the university’s disruption policy. However, a big question to consider is: Will protests still be as effective while adhering to these new guidelines? Well, that remains to be seen.

In April, the Rutgers Board of Governors revised the policy on disruptions on university property. First adopted in 1974, the policy provides directions for addressing these situations and outlines the differences between expression and disruption. The policy statement reads, “The right of freedom of expression at Rutgers is protected. However, the University has long recognized that the right of free expression does not include the right to engage in conduct that disrupts the University’s operations or endangers the safety of others.”

The policy then goes on to define disruptive conduct and list examples of this behavior, such as obstructing vehicular, bicycle, pedestrian, and other traffic.

It also extends the authority to declare activities as disruptive to the chancellors of the New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark campuses or any designee, which requires them to notify demonstrators of their violation of the policy and take appropriate action to contain the disruption.

The policy also calls upon members of the Rutgers community with any knowledge of disruptive activity to report it to their respective dean of students.

These changes come after a series of protests at Rutgers which were aimed at critiquing President Trump’s policy plans. One such demonstration happened in the week following the election on the College Avenue campus. According to a report from NJ.com, more than a thousand Rutgers students and staff convened at Voorhees Mall to protest President Trump’s claims to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants. Titled “Sanctuary Campus,” the purpose of the march was to ensure that Rutgers students and staff would receive the proper protection and support against the president’s ambitions. The large size of the demonstration caused the cancellation of several classes and required the closing of some streets as Rutgers police escorted the crowd though the campus. Similar protests took place

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would feel compelled to change the policy. When asked about the necessity of the revisions, Hughes argues that the administration’s refusal to reveal the true reasons for the changes and denial of their potentially negative effects raises some suspicions. “I look at the text and I see that the text is more specific about demonstrations outdoors than it was before, which is where these post-election demonstrations have been taking place, they haven’t been taking place inside classrooms and hallways,” Hughes said. “If the change was not a change, why did they revise the documents at all?” Despite the fact that purpose of the changes still seem ambiguous, their effects on the future of demonstrations and expression at Rutgers will still be felt in the coming years, as they likely won’t be rescinded any time soon. This issue poses an interesting thought: Does Rutgers still claim to embrace its revolutionary spirit or does it value order and compliancy more?

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the critical thinking skills to question the values and actions of authority figures.

The protests against the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War which took place at Kent State University in the 1970s, for example, showed how students dared to challenge the moral justifications for the actions of the President and the military.

Rutgers also a long history of students and faculty advocating against injustices, including the civil rights protests in the 60s and divestment from firms doing business in South Africa in the 80s. These events were able to bring major attention to racial, social, and political issues and encourage positive changes that benefited many people throughout history. To liken these events and similar ones like them to just mere “disruptions” trivializes their meaning and undermines the hard work of students and faculty wanting to create a better world.

With all of that in mind, it’s still unclear why the Board of Governors

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Matthew D. Gamble

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In this case, given the large percentage of Black males incarcerated, which according to American Progress is 1 in 15, there is a continuation of disenfranchisement of people of color in the United States. Despite the passing of the Civil Rights Bill in 1964, the treatment of Black and White Americans still remains unequal. The gap in wealth between Whites and Blacks is by and far still large and is increasing.

While the horrors of police brutality on the Black community remain the focus of events today, however this is not a new phenomenon. For over three centuries, Black Americans have been the target of racially violent attacks including lynching which involved mobs of angry White people beating, humiliating and hanging Black people to death for alleged crimes. Lynching was a common phenomenon in the United States until the 1930s and resulted in the infamous murders of Sam Hose, Mary Turner and Emmett Till.

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he United States is a country that touts itself as a land of freedom with slogans such as “home of the brave, land of the free.” However, this remains far from the truth for people of color. While many would assert that slavery, Jim Crow and lynching were actions of the past, these practices still exist under different names.

Mass incarceration and police brutality still plague the Black community disproportionately more than the White population. This is a striking phenomenon considering that White Americans make up the majority of the American population.

In modern times, the US is still lagging in regards to racial equality and there is evidence. From the Black people who have been unlawfully slain by police such as Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Philando Castile to the 2010 data showing that 40 percent of the incarcerated population consists of Black Americans. The effects of systemic racism are still in place especially in regards to how people of color are not being granted equal rights. Examples such as being shot to death or dying in custody through the actions of police is a contradictory to a fair and speedy trial that the sixth amendment promises.

The effects of mass incarceration have delayed the progress of the Black community. In most states, a felony conviction results in the loss of voting privileges and a harder time gaining employment. The lynching of Laura Nelson, 1911.

Many of these cases were retrospectively proven to be based on fear and racial hatred over actual justice and claimed the lives of many innocent people.

While the practice of lynching had declined after the push for Civil Rights in the 1960s, many parallels from that era can be drawn to police brutality of today. The victims of lynch mobs and police brutality are punished for allegations based on emotion and stereotypes rather than facts or evidence and do not get to live to witness a fair trial in the justice system.

In the cases of Trayvon Martin (2012), Tamir Rice (2014) and Michael Brown (2014), three unarmed Black teenagers were unlawfully shot and killed by police officers. In all these cases, it was found that suspicions of criminal activity were the motivation for police pulling the trigger. Yet very little evidence has been found to justify such extreme behaviors that lead to these three young Black men losing their lives. Generally, it is expected that police incapacitate suspects without having to kill them.

Perhaps, the most heartbreaking was the case of Philando Castile, a Black male professional who was a respected member of his community, shot to death by paranoid police officers. Another was the death of Sandra Bland, a young Black woman who committed suicide due to the psychological trauma of being wrongful-

Scarlet and Black

A question that can be inquired is why are Black people still victims to the brutality of police and mass incarceration in comparison to White people. Statistics show that Black people are 2.5 times more likely to be shot and killed by police officers and that Black people are more likely to receive longer prison sentences than

An ad for a minstrel show portraying racist and stereotyped depictions of African-Americans.

A 2010 statistic showing incarceration rates by race and ethnicity.

Michael Stewart) (1983) and Spike Lee’s film Do The Right Thing (1989).

One of the most publicized incidents of police brutality in the 20th century was the case of Rodney King (1991) where four officers viciously beat an unarmed Black man unconscious. The incident became a media frenzy due to its coverage on national television. The public scrutiny of this incident especially in regards to the acquittal of the officers responsible for beating King resulted in the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. These riots lasted four days and caused much damage, racial conflict and prompted a reassessment of police training and conduct.

their White counterparts. The effort of the War on Drugs disproportionately affected the Black community with Black people more likely to be imprisoned for drug possession. Despite White people making up 37 percent of regular illicit drug users and Black people making up only 14 percent.

There is no doubt that throughout the history of the US, Black people have been stereotyped as irrational and violent with a predisposition towards criminal behavior. This imagery was appropriated into popular media originating from early pro-slavery propaganda, minstrel shows, to the advent of emerging technologies such as film (the infamous case of racist sentimentalism was D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915)), television and popular music.

This negative stereotype has roots in American history and colonialism. In a

culture of Eurocentrism where Whiteness was treated as the human ideal, the concept of Blackness served as its polar opposite. Whiteness meant pure, noble, innocent, gentle, intelligent and godly while Blackness meant dirty, cowardly, perverse, violent, stupid and evil.

While, the enslavement, legal discrimination and segregation of Black people was officially ended in 1863 and 1964 respectively, the 300 years of systemic racism, Eurocentrism and White supremacy has yet to end. If the United States wants to live up to its motto “land of free, home of the brave” then there must be greater effort in ensuring the equal rights of all its citizens. For centuries, people of color have suffered from systemic racism and disenfranchisement which still endures today. It will take knowledge and empathy from everyone to help move the country past the structural hierarchy that holds certain groups back.

Images (in order of appearance): The barefoot corpse of Laura Nelson. May 25, 1911, Okemah, Oklahoma. (Gelatin silver print); Statistics as of June 30, 2010 and December 31, 2010 from Correctional Population in the United States and from U.S. Census Summary File 1. (Graph: Peter Wagner, 2012); Sheet Music Illustration for Ernest Hogan’s (in)famous song “All Coons Look Alike to Me, 1896;

Two protesters holding a #JusticeForPhilando sign.

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ly incarcerated. And finally, Freddie Gray, another young Black male who died in custody after police failed to treat the injuries he received from their aggressive man-handling.

The actions of the police in regards to how people are treated have been extreme historically. One infamous case was the death of Michael Stewart (1983) which involved a Black graffiti artist who suffered lethal injuries from the NYPD. Stewart’s death sparked an outrage in New York City which led to the development of Michael Stewart Justice Committee which sought to combat police brutality and tributes to his death such as Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting Defacement (The Death of

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AN ILLUSION OF EQUALITY

Keyshawna Johnson

passed and the parking lot in front of Deiner Park became full of antsy party goers who wanted in on the fun of Caribbean Day. Then, at the end of the night with 20 minutes left of Caribbean Day, people who were left outside bum rushed the police barricades to enter the park. What occurred at Caribbean Day has many people fearful of the future of Black Rutgers events.

Andrew Reid, last year’s President of WISO, offers his side of the story. Reid admitted that the planning and execution of this past Caribbean day was

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the most stressful time of his presidency.

Rutgers made it difficult for him and his E-board to coordinate the event the way it had been done in the past.

It was presumed that Rutgers was still on edge about Rutgersfest, a largescale concert event that began in the 80’s and occurred at the end of every school year, on Busch campus until 2011. Rutgersfest became out of control, which resulted in a couple of shootings, arrests and the permanent termination of the event. It is believed so many restrictions were put on the 2017 Caribbean Day somewhat because the event was too reminiscent of Rutgersfest.

The 2016 Caribbean Day was the largest crowd WISO ever pulled out, said Reid. Around 2,500-3,000 people came to Busch Campus to celebrate the culture.

There were even a couple of schools that bussed out to Rutgers just for Caribbean Day.

In order to control the event, Rutgers gave WISO a list of restrictions.

The first of those restrictions came with the change of location. The original venue for Caribbean Day was a parking lot near the PRCC on Busch Campus, however, construction on the site forced WISO to find a new location for Caribbean Day. Since WISO was on the market for a new location, RUPD took the opportunity to impose the new restriction. RUPD expressed in order for Caribbean Day to occur, the new location had to be a place where the event could be contained and Deiner park was the best option RUPD had to offer: an enclosed park with only 2 entrances and exits that could be easily monitored.

The next restriction came with the capacity. WISO did not learn of the capacity limit until 2 weeks prior to Caribbean Day, after a lengthy meeting with RUPD. RUPD managed to cut the event’s attendance in less than half by only giving WISO 1,500 wristbands. Even with the capacity of 1,500 people, Reid said the park still looked empty and believed at least

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“YO, CAN YOU GET ME A WRISTBAND?” THE CARIBBEAN DAY FIASCO

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n the wake of the controversy surrounding Caribbean Day 2017, the Black Rutgers student body is seeking answers for the cause of the chaos.

Caribbean Day is an annual event hosted by The West Indian Student Organization, an organization managed by the Paul Robeson Cultural Center. Caribbean Day is a large scale event that celebrates Caribbean culture with music, a fashion show and food that has gained such momentum over the years, that it has become a popular event that brings thousands of young adults from New Jersey and even out-of-state to enjoy good vibes and the company of others.

Anticipation for the event grew throughout the school year and starting one month before the event, WISO began posting a daily countdown on their social media pages.

Then, the unthinkable happened. 10 days before Caribbean Day 2017, WISO announced on their Instagram page that due to the high volume of attendees at the past events, there was now a one guest per Rutgers student limit and they would be wristbanding the morning of the event.

For a week and a half, students scrambled to find a way to get their non-Rutgers friends into the event. The morning of the event, wristbanding was set to begin 9:30 a.m. at Deiner Park. By 8:30 a.m. there were already hundreds of students in line inside of the park. Once WISO arrived with the wristbands, they began to reform the line so that students

were outside of the park, which caused the line to reverse. People who were originally in the front of the line ended up in the back. Once wristbanding began it ended within an hour. WISO was only permitted a certain number of attendees and only gave out 1,500 wristbands. This cap left over 1,000 disappointed students, guests, and alum without wristbands.

Throughout the day, people who did not receive wristbands did everything in their power to attend the event including buying similar wristbands at Staples, photocopying wristbands and swapping wristbands at the event. Once the event began, RUPD was stationed in front of the entrance with barricades and gates, blocking access to the park without a thorough check. People who did not receive entry lingered around the barricades and parking lot in front of the park. Once RUPD caught wind of students forging the wristbands, they began snapping paper wristbands off the wrists of students who just wanted to enjoy Caribbean Day. Hours

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Reid compared the treatment of Black Rutgers events to that of mainstream fraternities and sororities on College Ave and deemed it unfair and biased.

A few years ago a 19-year-old girl died in a frat house on College Ave from alcohol poisoning. Although the fraternity has been denounced from Rutgers University, another fraternity moved into the house and simply took its place.

Every weekend at Rutgers, hundreds of students make their way to Union Street a.k.a. “The Row” to drink and party. The Row is right behind College Ave, where some of the mainstream fraternity and sorority houses are. These houses are constantly throwing dage’s and parties that go out of control quick.

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Although these houses are technically off campus, the frats are still managed by Rutgers offices. Police patrol the area during these wild parties but they rarely get shut down or reprimanded.

This disparity in party culture at RU has led black Rutgers to feel discriminated against.That is why it is so frustrating to the black students at Rutgers who just want to enjoy the few events they do have here at the University.

Earlier in the semester, Rutgers reprimanded a mainstream fraternity, Sigma Chi for breaking conduct laws. Despite this move in the right direction, there are still more than 30 greek organizations on campus with free will while organizations like WISO bite their nails waiting to hear the fate of their limited events.

However, some are still optimistic about the future. Ranelle Tulloch, current president of WISO hopes for a successful Caribbean Day next semester.

“As much as it sucks that Rutgers is trying to take control over events, it happens,” said Tulloch. “Students are only allowed but so much freedom. The larger things explode, the University’s response is to calm it down.”

Ranelle thinks the success of Caribbean Day in the future would be dependent on an open line of communication between the police and University administration but noted that the most important factor would be the student body.

“As a student body, even if we’re not being 100 percent cooperative,” said Tulloch. “Try to take a step out of the situation and see where [Rutgers] is coming from. The student body’s cooperation and fighting with [WISO] to get back privileges when it comes to our events will determine the outcome. It takes a lot to get it back when things go wrong.”

WISO is currently in the pre-planning stages of Caribbean Day. WISO plans to meet with administrators in the coming weeks to discuss the details of Caribbean Day 2018. Tulloch and WISO vowed to work tirelessly to ensure #CD2k18 is a success and Rutgers students are able to attend and are satisfied.

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2,000 more people could have attended the event.

At first, the organization definitely understood where Rutgers was coming from. Caribbean Day had gained such a huge following that the event was spilling throughout Busch Campus with people roaming the buildings. Last year there were a few minor incidents with trash and loitering in the Busch Student Center after Caribbean Day. However, Reid as well as students believed Rutgers was definitely trying to limit the Black Culture.

“Black Rutgers...we’re not troublemakers,” said Reid. “We literally just want to have fun. We throw events, our people show up, have fun then we go home.”

All photography by MonroeKPhotography (monroekphotography.wixsite.com) @monroekphotography

LOVE AND BASKETBALL “I was born to play.”

Jabria Baylor

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With the ball in his hand the minute he stepped foot on the court freshman year at Rutgers, his dream for going D1 came to fruition and he was ready to build this team up from the bottom.

“I choose Rutgers honestly because I wanted to go to a school that wasn’t that established with basketball and try to make them great. I don’t like following people, I like to do my own thing, and start a new wave,” he added.

Even though the team had a heartbreaking record of 15-18 last season, with 22 home games this year, Sanders remains hopeful that this is the year Rutgers will make a comeback.

Sanders understands that there are things they need to work on as a team, but as of pre-season he sees improvements, and with all the home games this year, he knows the fans will keep them motivated. He also believes that practice always

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makes perfect, from afternoon preseason practices all the way to pulling all-nighters at the RAC, admitting to staying up past midnight just to practice shooting, his favorite area to work on.

“I like working late at night so when I’m done I can go straight to sleep.

I call it an overnight shift,” he laughed.

“Working at night like that just makes me feel like I’m doing something good.”

However, being a star athlete is not all Sanders wants to be known for.

With school, basketball and tutoring, Sanders admits that being a student athlete is much more than meets the eye, adding that he barely has time for a social life.

“It really does take a toll on you, the scheduling is crazy, but I’m glad that I am in the position that I am in, so I can’t complain, there’s no reason to because I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

As of the late spring of 2016, Sanders was invited to California for the pre-draft, where young athletes train with different NBA teams to see if they would be a good fit. Halfway into the summer, Rutgers was delighted to see that Sanders had decided to come back to play once more at the RAC, despite the amazing opportunity.

“It was just in my best interest to come back and to get better, also for the team, it is a lot of stuff we can get done, so for me to come back was the best thing, for my personal and team’s sake.”

Sanders concludes with how the game of basketball has changed his life in unimaginable ways. Showing him places that he never would have been before if it wasn’t for basketball, but also teaching him how to be grateful.

“Some people see me and only see the outside, the athlete, but not the person. They don’t know the real me, they don’t see it, they just know I play basketball,” he said. “Nonetheless, basketball has given me a lot of opportunities to open up a lot of doors not just for me but for others, especially when we give back, like going to elementary school’s basketball practice, the feeling, you can’t beat it!”

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he bright lights beaming from the ceiling, the crowd roaring, and sweat dripping down his face. Just one more, one more, is what freshman at the time Corey Sanders said in the back of his mind as he scores 39 points with 11 assists, winning the game in triple overtime against Illinois back in 2015.

“That was best game of my career, nearly 40 points with over 10 assists, you can’t beat it” said Sanders, now a junior at Rutgers University.

At only 20 years old, Corey Sanders has blossomed into a D1 basketball player that has established a huge standing within basketball community. The athlete from Lakeland, Florida reminisces on the beginnings his love for basketball.

“I started playing basketball, when I was 2 years old,” said Sanders.

“And I knew that I was really going to play basketball when I got in trouble for going to the park, when I wasn’t supposed to.”

By age 5, Sanders got involved into summer leagues; but somehow knew he was always a division ahead of his time. As a dual athlete throughout middle school, Sanders cut out football during high school to focus on more basketball.

Soon after, it became the love of his life becoming the only thing that keep him at peace, the only thing that truly makes him happy. It is exciting as well as a massive responsibility, as Sanders explains his role as a D1 athlete is more than just shooting 3 pointers.

“As an athlete, you don’t ask to be a role model,” said Sanders, “but when you do these type of things, when become

this well-known basketball player, you are almost dragged into it. Now that I’m here and I have this opportunity to teach others I try my best to that person they can look up to.”

With 127,000 followers on Instagram alone, Corey is now in the limelight in the basketball world, on the national level.

“I started noticing the amount of people watching me around 8th grade, and throughout the summer of freshmen year,” Sanders recalls. “I started getting highlight videos made and then it just blew up, and I became this big thing. By 10th grade I had already had a few D1 offers, from there everything just started rolling.”

Activism in the Age of Social Justice Gloria Gomez

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rom front-page headlines about Trump and neo-Nazis to op-ed pieces about racists and domestic terrorists, it can often feel as if the world is living in an immutable era of social injustice. However, the preservation and, most importantly, the rise of various social justice movements throughout the past several years have shown that in spite of the hatred that permeates society, love, in all its forms, continues to be an antidote to social division.

The love that buds from hatred is the result of an ever-growing desire to make social activism intersectional. Social justice movements, and its primary organizations, are central to the promotion of intersectionality because they have become the mediums through which silenced populations can vocalize their anxieties and disillusions about current socio-political environments. Many of these silenced populations are composed of individuals who perceive their identity as a pluralized concept that interweaves labels and bridges the gap between multiple social categories.

To practice intersectional activism is to express love because it supports diversity by acknowledging that people are just as complex as their interests and concerns are. To practice intersectional activism is to denounce the belief that some social problems are more important than others. Most of all, it deemphasizes the idea that belonging to certain social categories signifies an exclusive allegiance

to a specific socio-political cause. Instead, it actually advocates for the opposite.

School organizations across campus such as the Black Student Union and the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities are just a few of the communities that not only continue to embrace diversity, but also function as outlets of safety and support.

When asked about the primary goal of the Black Student Union, Vice President Danielle McNeil responded, “To provide a safe haven and feeling of home for minority students, first-generation students, Caribbean students, and not only African-American students.” Interestingly enough, Keywuan Caulk, the Assistant Director for The Center of Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities, had a similar response about the center’s overall aim. Caulk said, “The goal of the center is to be a home, a safe place, a place of advocacy and education, and a community for all things gender, sexuality, and social justice education.”

Although the names of these organizations seem to address contras-

tive issues, the convergence of their goals suggests that they are not, foundationally, that different at all. Even so, the Black Student Union prides themselves in, as Danielle McNeil stated, “Covering a nice amount of topics to avoid being stagnant.”

These topics range from addressing mental health issues, rape culture, or even focusing on youth activists under the age of thirty. The organization’s attempt to be keep conversations about injustice diverse is similar to the method of The Center of Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities because they also choose to cover a wide range of social problems that intersect with gender and sexuality such as stereotypes, discrimination, and differences in power and oppression.

By discussing sensitive topics that afflict many of their members, these two organizations are able to build love from something inherently hateful. Therefore, love continues to be at the center of the activism that these two groups practice.

Asking people to personally define love is quite difficult because love, like identity, is both subjective and a multifaceted emotion. Despite this difficulty, both McNeil and Caulk seem to agree that love is unconditional.

For McNeil, unconditional love is expressed by checking in on members regularly. McNeil said that some members may often feel as if their efforts go unnoticed, so to prevent this feeling she makes her priority to tell them that she sees them and she’s proud of what they’re doing.

On the other hand, when asked

Scarlet and Black identity is “layered.” When asked if he believed that people are not obligated to identify with a specific label to support a cause, Caulk responded, “Allyship is necessary and welcomed.”

He believes that each individual has a gender—or not—a race, an economic status, and an even larger list of social identities that create their person. He also finds that that The Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities is able to communicate and bond with other on-campus organizations so well because, “There is a common desire for liberation, access, and unity.”

This common desire for unity is echoed by McNeil who recalled her experience at the RU Black Lives Matter march

in Newark against Trump. She said, “Seeing allies come out, it was like a reaffirmation that even if we’re racially different, we come together for a common cause. It feels like a hug.”

The Black Student Union has also presented themselves as allies in the past by showing up to rallies organized by other groups on campus. They rallied with undocumented students and refugees last year, and interestingly enough, co-sponsored their opening banquet with the Center for Social

Justice Education and LGBT Communities with Keywuan Caulk as the keynote speaker.

Caulk also made note of the fact that he and other staff members at the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities not only pride themselves on educating students on how to be active participants at rallies, but also in their ability to always show up to these events.

Whether it’s rallying against institutional social injustice or co-sponsoring events for the diverse student body at Rutgers, these two communities have promoted an environment of acceptance and fraternity. Although the Black Student Union and the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities are not the only groups on campus advocating for progressive social change, their organizations still function as major platforms that attempt to bridge the gap between disparate identities and beliefs.

While the leadership journeys of Keywuan Caulk and Danielle McNeil are separate and unique, their forms of activism value love for others above all, and amid a tense societal climate that brims with hate and abuse from all sides of the spectrum, their faith in love seems so right.

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to define love, Caulk said, “Love is the courage to feel from a deep space.” He describes his practice as leading from the heart and educating from compassion.

For Caulk, love and social justice are intersected, but he acknowledges that there are distinctive approaches to practicing social justice. His just happens to believe that love really does conquer all.

There is no doubt about the fact that defining love is difficult, but the act of giving a meaning to something so complex as love is critical to overcoming the structures of hate that make discussions of injustice uncomfortable or unwanted.

Love allows these communities to thrive in an academic environment with distinct racial, religious, cultural, or gender identities. To be an intersectional activist is to be a proponent for love.

Both of these communities strive to incorporate intersectionality in their fight for social justice. McNeil even stressed that the Black Student Union does not limit non-black Rutgers students from joining. McNeil said, “We don’t want people to think that our issues are only black, or only about issues affecting our e-board.”

She also stated that the Black Student Union most recently got critiqued by Felicia McGinty, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at Rutgers, for not catering enough events for nonblack students in response to their annual Unity Day.

“The flyers [for Unity Day] don’t say only for black students. Our name doesn’t mean we are not welcoming of other communities,” McNeil said.

In fact, the Vice President of the Black Student Union last year identified as Asian.

Caulk similarly emphasized that

Love

LOVE IS INTERSECTIONAL

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LOVE Adesuwa Onaghinor I created this project because I felt as though it was extremely pertinent to bring awareness to real bodies, of all colors, sizes, and shapes. This world can sometimes make you feel like you are not good enough but as you can see these models show them otherwise. Stand in awe of your beauty and if you ever feel the need to question your beauty go look in a mirror and see your beautiful reflection.

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She knows that her smile is her best curve. Model Jess Saintel showing us her favorite curve.

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Scarlet and Black

Angels come in all shapes, colors, and sizes.

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Photographer Adesuwa Onaghinor Models Nakia Abram Chanel Bradshaw Whitney Cort Erica Grullon Tatyana Hinds Nazareth Mendez Jelani Price Chyanne Rhodes Jessica Saintel

Spencer Rubino-Finn

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he first Sunday in February is perhaps the most anticipated Sunday all year. People bypass their usual church going habits, disregard their weekly cleaning and forget to take the trash out. The first Sunday in February is Super Bowl Sunday, a day so devoted to one event that the phrase has to preface it, letting everyone know that if it’s not football related it doesn’t matter (even our Lord and Savior gets a day off). However, there is one event on this fateful Sunday that can surpass the sport being played- the performance by one individual during halftime of the game. This halftime performance is perhaps the most watched musical event all year, last year’s Lady Gaga performance scored nearly 117.5 million views for only a 13-minute set (Patten, 2017). With such a large radius of viewers, you would think that no one in their right mind would reject an offer to be in the spotlight at the biggest sporting event in the country.

Bruno Mars, Beyoncé at Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show However, one Shawn Carter recently made news by turning down the National Football League and the show at Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis. You may know Carter better by his stage name, Jay-Z, the hustler turned rapper turned businessman who sits atop hip-hop’s throne as one of its most successful acts. The question is why? Was the event too big of a spectacle, too many fireworks that it takes away from the music itself? Or was Carter’s decision based on the fact that activist Colin Kaepernick has yet to be offered an NFL position, even though his credentials would certainly qualify him. With Carter not commenting

on the situation, the reader must choose his own opinion on why the rapper declined the invite. Too much spectacle or not enough equality?

Jay-Z is not the flashiest celebrity out there, the rapper often chooses to don white tees and jeans or a nice suit rather than the diamond-infused outfits some of his rap counterparts prefer. Carter’s style is laid back, not flamboyant as his occupational title would suggest. An article written in 2011 by a photographer that did a shoot with Carter suggested the same tendencies, stating, “We were expecting him to have an entourage, but surprisingly he showed up alone…He was soft-spoken and a real gentleman, almost on the shy side.” With such a reserved personality maybe the bright lights were the reason behind his rejection of the performance.

Other artists have noted that the event is quite superficial and not about the actual content of the artist. Singer Adele did not wish to perform for these reasons, stating “That show is not about music.” A show

that is so far removed from the music that is supposed to be at the center of it could cause Jay-Z to reject an offer to perform.

The Carter family is no stranger to the Super Bowl and all that if offers.

Jay-Z’s wife, Beyoncé Knowles, was a guest performer at Super Bowl 50, appearing with fellow pop star Bruno Mars. This was Knowles’ second time performing at the event, as she headlined Super Bowl 47 a few years earlier. With such a family history at the event, it is feasible that Carter’s decision to decline the offer was not based around the spectacle that comes with the performance as other artists have previously stated. Jay-Z’s most recent album was titled “4:44”, a record that dealt with issues of varying weight, from fatherhood and marriage to race in America. One track in particular stood out- “The Story of OJ”, a song delving into the problems of being rich and black in America. The song samples a Nina Simone song titled “The Four Women”, a track that discusses four black women and their struggles. With such intense and meaningful content like this, it is not a stretch to suggest that these ideas were on Jay-Z’s mind when he turned the offer down. Carter was also seen rocking a Colin Kaepernick jersey in his most recent

Jay-Z performing in a Colin Kaepernick jersey following the release of his album 4:44.

performance in NYC, a sign of solidarity with the quarterback who was on the field to see Beyoncé perform in 2013. Kaepernick of course is famous (or infamous if you think police brutality is not a race issue) for taking a knee during the playing of the National Anthem before the start of a game. Kaepernick cited police brutality and injustices against minorities as the reasoning for his protest. Kaepernick is currently unemployed, apparently not one team has the need for the services of a quarterback who took a team to within one touchdown of a Super Bowl victory.

By wearing his jersey, Carter sent a message that he agrees with and stand with the player who had the nerve to stand up to a corporation so powerful that it owns a day of the week. By rejecting the halftime offer, Carter is making a Kaepernick-like decision, choosing his morals over furthering his own career.

The NFL has a history of not picking African-American musicians to headline their most watched show all year, perhaps influencing Jay-Z’s decision to say no. Carter was finally in a position of power over the NFL, saying no could have been retribution for all the times black artists were ignored and absent from the big stage. Of the 50 halftime shows in the game’s history, only 16 times has there been a black artist involved, for a staggering rate of 32 percent of the shows. Even further, there have only been four halftime shows in which it was only black artists on stage, an event that occurred a mind-blowing 8 percent of the time. Only four times has there been in show in which a white

artist was not involved. Four times over a span of 50 years in which dozens of black artists have filled the Billboard charts. If the NFL is not listening the charts, then room for other motives can be made. This is all coming from a league in which nearly 70 percent of its athletes are black, yet 0 percent of the owners are non-white/ Asian. These numbers seem to indicate a definite trend in the halftime show, perhaps a trend that Jay-Z wished to highlight with his rejection, an event he knew would certainly get media coverage.

Jay-Z is one of the most wellknown celebrities in the world, so when he rejected an offer to perform at the biggest concert in the country it was bound to make the news. But what was it that influenced his decision? The Super Bowl seems to have everything an artist would want: free publicity and the chance to be watched live by more than 100 million people all across the globe. Maybe the big lights were too much for the laid back rapper from New York, too superficial an event for an artist that talks with such regard on his tracks. Or maybe it was a nod to the racial problem that the NFL has been dealing with ever since Colin Kaepernick took that first fateful kneel. Whatever Carter’s motivation it was enough to make him to pass on an opportunity that some artists work their whole lives for. Perhaps he just did not want to add another problem on top of the 99 he already has on his plate.

But one thing is for sure, Jay-Z won’t let anyone know what to think. It’s up to you to decide.

Culture

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Scarlet and Black

SHAWN 44:4 THOU SHALT NOT PERFORM

Voice Magazine

I

n Western culture, religion is often seen as a thing of the past. But this is not the case for all people, as many living outside of the environment of a firstworld country continue to heavily rely on religious customs and traditions.

The four religions that have left an undeniable imprint on the world are those of Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam. Through the process of European domination over the Western and Eastern hemispheres, these religions expanded from their areas of origin to all throughout the world. The result being millions of people converting to the religions their colonizers brought with them.

On the contrary, these are not the only three religions that were passed down during the colonization era, as our fellow European colonizers were not the only people who found themselves to be strangers on new land. Millions of West Africans were transported from their homelands to find themselves in either the Caribbean and North American or South American settlements, bringing with them their religious methods and rituals.

The most famous, or infamous depending on your viewpoint, is voodoo. A stigma-plagued religion that is often depicted

as something dark, evil, and a danger to any spiritual being.

Yet is this truly all that composes voodoo and the other religions derived from it?

In the Caribbean, the same stigmas encompass the religions of brujería, santería, and the Dominican vudú that differs from the other versions practiced in Haiti and from the West African countries it originated in.

This past October Sociedad Estudiantil Dominicana held a Halloween-themed meeting titled “Brujeria in Latin Culture: The Stigma, Faults, and Truths.” The meeting’s objective was to explain and correct many of the superstitions and misconceptions that are formulated on these religions.

“My experience with brujeria has been a little different,” said one SED member, “so my family dabbles in it but it’s very secretive. Everyone knows it, but no no one talks about it.” Many Latin or Caribbean families will not openly admit to being or having previously been involved with these religions, but it is not uncommon or rare amongst many Caribbean island-dwellers to have been exposed to these religious practices.

The first topic of the night focused on the different ancient legends and

myths that many people residing in the rural areas of the Dominican Republic at one point used to explain what seemed as then outlandish and supernatural occurrences.

To this day, many still use these hypotheses to explain mysterious happenings they may not be completely able to comprehend.

“If something went missing late at night, they say el bacá is responsible for it,” said another member, “Cows, goats, basically if any animals in general suddenly disappear the next day they’ll say it’s because of el bacá. It’s similar to the chupa cabra legend.”

Moving forward we begin to talk about the legend of las ciguapas. “They’re women with thin long hair,” adds in our host, explaining the women in this ancient ghost tale. “There’s something really odd about them, their feet are backwards. They appear to be very innocent, very sweet, and they’re rumored to be in the rural areas of the Dominican Republic. They lure male travelers, and then they disappear.

Since their feet are backwards, you never know exactly where they’re going.”

Soon we all go around the room sharing many of the wise-tales each of us had grown up hearing as children, a cultural component that may be completely foreign to those not having grown up in

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“It was and is mostly used by people in rural areas who needed or still need a middle ground between them and God to help them,” our host comments, “So it wasn’t like anything to do with the devil, but they needed help because they didn’t have access to a lot of resources.

They would pray to these gods to help them.”

Religions such as brujería, santería, and vudú are all based off of natural and Earth-related concepts in order to give better explanations to the world.

This differs from the ecclesiastical customs found in religions such as Catholicism and Islam, which incorporate governmental and ethical concepts.

Caribbean religions are not in fact Euro-influence free, as multiple hypotheses and notions have been assimilated into these belief systems. Specifically, in the topics of witches being mistaken for the same as divine doctors, and the concept that voodoo is another version of satanic worship.

“Anytime you hear someone citing the devil, that’s European ideas being injected into the system. There is no Satan or Devil in West Africa, that’s from the Judeo-Christian-Islamic system,” Bonadie said, continuing to inform us and connecting this idea to the fallacy on witches in traditional West African religions. “In the West African system you really don’t have witches either. That really goes back to Europe during the time after the Black death. The plague wiped out at least a third of the population, or a half of the population in some areas, and during that time the churches gained a lot of power and men started to gain a lot of power as well. Before that women were really the primary healers in many areas, and as men started to gain power they didn’t like having women in the primary places that people went for healing. That’s when they started talking about these women

actually committing evil things, and a lot of these people’s ideas about witches and so on is really based on these men trying to grab all the power.”

They closed the event with an array of YouTube videos depicting multiple religious dance rituals, and it is explained that each person who participates in this custom only begins to dance once they are successfully possessed by the spirit they allow to enter their bodies. We also see how important instrumentation is, with drums cited as the most imperative part of the music as it determines which oration dance is to be performed and indicates which spirit is being summoned.

By the end of the night, I interviewed our host to learn the basis for having such an event. Her words gave me the reason behind the importance of speaking on this subject, but her final statement also resonated with me on a larger level.

“It’s something that is a really big part of our culture that I feel I’d be doing a disservice to the community if I didn’t have a program talking about this,” explains our host. “It’s more than just something negative, some people think that it’s something very negative, but it’s not. People, who were slaves from West Africa, came and to these countries and to this day many still celebrate these religions. Their beliefs are still persisting, regardless of what colonizer came to their country and oppressed their people and regardless of how they tried to destroy not only their bodies but also their spirits.

It’s not something evil, it’s something that should be celebrated. This is a part of our identity, and there are other ways to see the world.”

There are other ways to see the world indeed, and this discussion informed me on a world that was entirely different from the Catholic-Hispanic upbringing I was only ever exposed to.

Culture

Cynthia Vasquez

a non-Latino or -Caribbean household.

From the legend of La Llorona, a native woman who was denied Heaven, and of El Galipote, a man who sold his soul to the devil in turn for eternal life. In time, each of the discussions develop a more educational tone.

“Santería and voodoo are actually exactly the same. Except the thing is that only a few divine doctors made it to the Caribbean during the slave trade. So a lot of things have gotten mixed up,” said Professor Bonadie, a Rutgers University Africana Studies Professor and guest for the night, who gave further insight on the technicality of West African religion and its impacts on the Caribbean religions that have stemmed from it.

“West Africans have two systems: one is the divination system, which you can see in Cuba and in some places in the Dominican Republic. [However,] The main factor with the divination system is that you need at least ten to fifteen years of training, and in an area where this practice is for the most part illegal this becomes an almost impossible task,” Professor Bonadie then further explains the second system.

“The second system is the possessory system, it’s a stronger tradition in the Congolese people. All of the people between the Niger River and the Congo River have these two systems. For the possessory system, you don’t need that much training, all you need to have is an awareness of spiritual possession. That’s why this is the system that tends to survive most in places like Dominican Republic, because you don’t need the same amount of training the divination systems takes.”

You may be wondering why a theology composed of factors that many affiliated with Eurocentric denominations deem as taboo is still at large, but it’s popularity is not within whole Caribbean islands but sections of them.

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Scarlet and Black

BRUJERIA IN LATIN CULTURE

Scarlet and Black

SWIPE BLACK

Joy Taylor

Ronica Jeannot

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hat is so incriminating about the Black Lives Matter movement?

Maybe it is the same idea that has made black people so intimidating since the foundation of this nation. Or maybe it is the lack of inclusivity of a movement because there is no way black people can have a movement targeted to their well-being.

It was sugar coated in the 60s, a civil rights movement, but now the mission is blatantly clear. Black Lives Matter. A phrase, a truth, an ideology, now a movement that has finally commenced although it has been the root of all movements in an effort to gain equality and diminish oppression.

The words have finally formulated on the lips of activists and marginally oppressed groups and the world just can’t seem to handle it.

The first official Black Lives Chapter in the state of New Jersey was right here on Rutgers Campus. Black Lives Matter RU, has a mission right here on campus to enhance the learning environment and adhere to black culture at Rutgers. Tamaj Nicholson, head chairman of BLMRU has many plans for the chapter as his time as a leader. The chapter has begun to revamp a portion of the school’s curriculum, by changing 21st Century Challenges to a more adhesive and inclu-

sive requirement that would be called Cultural Competence. The curriculum would “examine diversity, race, gender, religion, social economic class and more or less evaluate how all these different intersectionality’s intertwine,” Nicholson says.

This year Black Lives Matter RU has specifically tailored their mission to focus on RU due to lack of manpower and capital and felt they could more effectively impact the community here at RU with their resources at Rutgers. Black Lives Matter is currently working on finding a middle ground on the new protest policy at Rutgers. “[The policy] comes off as a vindictive standpoint to quiet activist groups around campus. So our immediate efforts will be to try and find a middle ground between the university and activists and if not, to dismantle these oppressive bylaws of the university,” Nicholson says.

Nicholson’s leadership role comes at a time of need for the BLMRU chapter.

Due to lack of population and presence on campus, Nicholson has brought the organization back to life on campus. With many plans in store, BLMRU is back on campus and ready to spread positivity and progression. “We are all about love. We try our best to bond as much as possible. We are a family,” he says.

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hat many students on college campuses deem to be the primary way of interaction on a romantic level is through hookup culture. Since many universities have a large percentage of their racial demographic to be Caucasian, do minorities have trouble fitting into pre-

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BLACK LIVES MATTER AT RU

ple really looking past the stereotypes that are in embedded in our everyday society? With stereotypes racially driving our world, people of color can be left out of the dating pool without even realizing it.

Voice Magazine asked students on campus their opinion on race and hookup culture at Rutgers. Voice first interviewed a girl of Pakistani/South Asian descent, Savera Hafeez: Voice Magazine: Do you feel that certain minorities, such as yourself, are left out of the dating pool because of their race?

Savera Hafeez: Wait do you mean like people stick to their own race?

Voice Magazine

dominantly white institutions not only in an academic aspect but socially and sexually?

Despite Rutgers being a diverse institution, there is still a race gap.

At Rutgers, eight percent of students are African-American, while a whopping 43 percent are Caucasian (almost half of the university), while the remaining 49 percent are of Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Mixed-Race, Native American, and unknown descent. When picking out a mate, the first thing all people start to notice is physical appearance. With appearance being the first thing people look at, are peo-

I mean that do you think people frequently choose who they date based on race and stereotypes, or do all races get chosen the same?

To a certain point, I feel people choose their own preference, but I think it mostly depends on how attractive they find them.

I mean I don’t date anybody other than Muslims cause I think long term. I feel like people like to stick familiar things so they choose the ones they can relate to the most.

Here is the first implication as to why other races get left out when it comes to dating, Savera states that cultural views narrow down who exactly she gets to pick when choosing a mate. Thus leaving anyone who is not Islamic out of the scope of her dating lens.

When I asked Farah*, our next interviewee, who was also of South Asian

Scarlet and Black being left out of platforms such as Tinder, Clover, or Bumble? It could be that the ignorance has gone on long enough that it becomes normal to leave these people out and allows people to be blind to the problem in total. The contradiction between Savera and Farah explains why people end up being blind to this problem. In the eyes of a college student, you can believe that everyone has their own opportunities to indulge in hookup culture, but outside sources can hinder the view of inclusion and narrow down whom the person actuDo you feel that certain minorities, such ally ends up getting involved with. Aisha

What do you think hookup culture is and do you feel pressure to be a part of it?

Hafeez: I think hookup culture is like anything from a one night stand to like friends with benefits that you just meet up with to kiss. I do not feel pressure to be a part of it because I’m not in it for just a casual thing.

Do you think it is easier for Caucasians to be involved with hookup culture since most colleges are predominately white?

Farah: No, I think in a college setting anyone can be a part of it, because everyone generally mixes at frat parties. Maybe living on campus can cause more pressure since you know these people more personally and hear about it all the time. But also I think lots of people get more wild and thinks its more acceptable in college since a lot of people are doing it, and they just want it too. I guess in a way it is sort like peer pressure.

as yourself, are left out of the dating pool because of their race?

Well people have preferences and sometimes people in certain races aren’t allowed to date. Sometimes people fetishize certain races.

who is of the same background as Savera and Farah serves to be the middleman because she recognizes right away that people have other pressures tying into their choices other than personal preference.

People can pick up on their hesitance to choose people of other backgrounds, and that can lead the Asian race being ignored in total.

Our next interviewee, Sarah*, who is of African-American descent gave insight into these topics as well:

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People of Asian descent generally feel included in hookup culture, but sometimes feel pressure to act upon it because

My last interviewee of South of social norms. Some feel pressure to stay Asian descent, Aisha*, partakes in a pre- away from it because of values they grew dominantly white sorority and answered up with. If our interviewees do not feel these questions to much more detail: left out, why are people of Asian descent What do you think hookup culture is/

What do you think it means to be a part of it?

Sarah: Hookup culture is having sex or fooling around with no strings attached.

Purely for comfort. To be a part of it means you prefer comfort over romance.

Of course, I feel a pressure to be part of it but knowing myself, I enjoy finding comfort in knowing I’m connecting with someone I care about than a stranger.

My next interviewee was Nino, a even though societal norms push you to. man of Peruvian/Mexican descent: *People who wished to remain anonyDo you think it is easier for Caucasians mous. to be involved with hookup culture since most colleges are predominately white?

Nino: It might be easier for Caucasians to get into it because from what I see white people like other white people and if that’s the largest demographic on campus then yeah. But that just means there are more options for them; other races have just as much leeway into the culture.

Do you feel that certain minorities are left out of the dating pool because of their race?

Definitely, some people have bias towards Nino seems to agree with Saveother races, represented as strong-willed ra that people tend to choose races they and uncontrollable on TV and movies. identify with more frequently, which can leave out other ethnicities. This doesn’t oc Sarah explained how people of cur due to outside pressures, but due to a color could be ignored when choosing pressure within oneself to stick with somepartners. She also said that people could thing you are familiar with. This issue be seen as uncontrollable. It is possible this causes people to be close-minded when it shows exactly how people can feel when comes to dating. It also causes the pressure we let societal norms push our choices. to stick with what you know and that presDo you think somebody who is not sure intertwines with societal stereotypes, someone’s preference should get of- which Sarah mentioned in her interview. fended?

It can be decided that people feel the presIt’s difficult to not be offended by a prefer- sure to stick with what they know because ence that singles someone out, however I of stereotypes. think they should always remember their Bryan Rengifo, who is of Columself worth and not let someone’s prefer- bian descent, responded to the question of ence influence their self-confidence. Beau- “Do you think somebody who is not somety is not defined by color. one else’s preference should get offended?” by saying: “I think people have the right

Sarah provides a change of pace to be offended because it’s not something because she actually does feel pressure they did which makes them unattractive.” within hookup culture and agrees that Ultimately, the general consenpeople of color are left out of the scope sus of the minorities I interviewed here at of preference. A statistic shows that Afri- Rutgers mostly agreed that there was some can-American women are the least likely prejudice when it came to dating preferto get married in the United States. Sarah’s ence. But most agreed that offense should answers provide insight on how she feels not be taken as long as you are comfortpeople of color are viewed because of the able with whom you are as a person, and stereotypes that drive preference. to not feel the pressures of hookup culture

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What do you think hookup culture is and do you feel pressure to be a part of it?

Aisha: I think it is peer pressure sometimes because people want to be part of the hoe culture. People always brag about how many people they slept with. And sometimes it’s not even worth it because 1) You get sick, 2) The person you hooked up with wasn’t even that cute, 3) At times you feel embarrassed or judged, 4) Sometimes they leave hickeys you need to cover up.

Culture

descent if she felt left out of the dating pool, she answered: “Nope, no one is left out, everyone is a little wild here.”

Voice Magazine made it a point to interview this type of minority because according to a study, people on Tinder are less likely to choose people of African-American and Asian descent.

We wanted to zero in on how students of those minorities felt about the issue. Despite having the same background, Farah thinks everyone has equal opportunity to engage in hookup culture. While Savera believes that actual culture plays a big role in romantic choices.

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Space Attorney Matt Gamble

Guy Meets Girl Matt Gamble

Scarlet and Black Art & Poetry 40 In Bloom Lizcary Amarante The inspiration for both of these pieces came from the way women's bodies are sexualized.

A woman's body is art and should be appreciated like art. We are shamed for showing off any skin but all the commercial ads are doing is sexualizing women's bodies to sell a product. I created these pieces for them to be admired, the same way you would admire flowers in a garden.

Madre Naturaleza Lizcary Amarante

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Scarlet and Black Art & Poetry 42

BEING BLACK IN THE BLUE Beverley Lewis I joined the force to be a representation for my people I needed to be that light in the darkness I needed to be that ounce of hope for minorities I did it for you, I did it for me I did it for Michael Brown I laid my life down on the line By choice it may seem But my back was against the wall I joined for him, I joined for her I joined because of Rekia Boyd #Blacklivesmatter almost tore me apart My own people didn’t want me and My family behind the blue line turned away from me I almost didn’t make it I fought to survive I fought for Tamir Rice Years went by and it became too hard Bearing the loss of my friend from one of my brothers I couldn’t take it anymore I had to leave I did it for him, I did it for me

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Busayo Oluwagbamila

Scarlet and Black Jabria Baylor What is time? We wait for time but time does not wait for us.

Some of us have too much of it, and some of us not enough.

They say time is not real that it is just an illusion.

Or are we just confined in our own self delusion.

We use clocks, digital, handmade to control it, but aren’t we the ones controlled?

With schedules, and plans, and before you know it, it gets old.

Same old, same old, time after time.

We can’t run away from it, no matter how hard we try.

And looking at time, can it really fly by?

Standstill, stopped frozen in time.

It’s ok, just pause, and release your mind.

In our minds is where time lies, during the day, at night in our sleep, after we say our goodbyes.

Time to get up, and do this, and do that.

And before you know the sky is black.

Again time rules the day, but if we don’t control it, it’ll slip away.

They say a lifetime is short, yet some of have more time than others. So does that separate us from one another.

They say when you’re young, you have your whole life ahead of you.

Time is of the essence, so We share it, waste it, give it all up.

But by the time you are old, you really have to show, for what?

It just comes down to what you do. So is there enough time to find the meaning.

The meaning of time that is. I believe that only in time can you find meaning.

Time is there for us because time can do anything.

Time can heal wounds.

Give us a change of pace, help us sing a new tune. Now take time to enjoy the time allotted.

You can do anything with your time, just as long as you got it.

Busayo Oluwagbamila

Art & Poetry 44

TIME LAPSE

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Scarlet and Black Art & Poetry 46 45 Voice Magazine Busayo Oluwagbamila

Busayo Oluwagbamila

Beverley Lewis I didn’t choose to be like this but I am here Limited because of the color of my skin Turned away because I am a female Having to see people shot because they look like you Ode to the joys of being a black person in America Having to work ten times harder than the next person Being a victim of a single parent household Having friends whose allowance every two weeks is more than what you parent makes in a month Re-wearing the same outfit to school every week because you can’t afford new clothes Ode to the joys of being a black child in America My close friend was gay I had to stop being friends with her He got teased a lot and I didn’t try to stop it He eventually tried to kill himself Ode to the joys of being a black kid trying to fit in Don’t wear a mini skirt because you have a big butt and guys will stare Don’t walk down the street alone at night so many guys are out there Catcallers old enough to be my father and some bold enough to touch me I was scared Ode to the joys of being a woman with hips Falling in love with a man that never loved me Sticking around because that’s what I thought love was I didn’t know what it meant to be loved by a man I guess I just didn’t want to be lonely Ode to the joys of being fatherless Comparing my body to my friends Seeking my confidence from the attention I get from boys Getting no attention from boys Committing emotional suicide Ode to the joys of being an ugly black girl 47 Voice Magazine

Busayo Oluwagbamila

Holding my tongue because my words won’t do nothing Having no strength to fight Keeping a smile on my face to hide the pain Having to stay strong for the people who love me Ode to the joys of being a black woman

Scarlet and Black Art & Poetry 48

ODE TO THE JOYS OF...

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