The Rutgers Review - April/May 2015

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G I R L V S . F R AT // 3 0 U N D E R 3 0 // S C U L P T I N G R E B E LL I O N // S O L I D LY B L I T Z E D

Out of the Locker page 9

Stereotyping Girls page 10

Bad Girl’s Club page 13

Safe Space page 16

Campaigning 101 page 20

The Mind of an Officer page 26

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CULTURE 6

Forbes Thirty Under 30

8

Make Them Wear Cameras

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Gay Athletes: Struggle Beyond the Field

11

The Glorification of the Tomboy

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT page 6

12

Transparent Lens

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A Feminist’s Nightmare: Sexist Programming

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The Art of Resistance

FEATURE 16

Issues

MUSIC

page 30

28

To Pimp the Butterfly

30

DIY Debt

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Queering Hearing

32

Girl is not a Genre

POTPOURRI 34

The Pursuit by Student Debt

36

Home

37

Student Debt Sucks

38

Application for Police Chief

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Girls vs Frat

page 37

April | May 2015

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FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

FIHA ABDULRAHMAN is a first year student with an amaz-

ing fashion sense and even more amazing wits. Sassy and spirited, Fiha will tell you how it is while being the sweetest person around. Her love for frozen yoghurt is immeasurable, only second to her love for a well-groomed man bun. Fiha is studying a variety of heavy science material and will one day be a doctor that will save all of our lives. Thanks in advance, Fiha!

BORIS KLIMUSHKIN is our treasurer, resident button down

shirt wearer, and bringer of smiles to The Rutgers Review.

With his infectiously positive attitude and his quirky sense of humor, Boris manages to get even the cool kids laughing.

He wants all the readers to know that he loves Arizona Iced Tea. Almost as much as he loves Britney Spears anyway.

SHAWN STEPHENSON is graduating with a degree in eco-

nomics and a minor in heartbreaking. Other than being an avid rower for the Rutgers crew team, he is a Yu-Gi-Oh card master and can eat an entire chicken in one sitting. Shawn’s talents are nameless and endless, and he is a great friend to all who encounter him.

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THE RUTGERS REVIEW

PRESIDENT EDITOR IN CHIEF ART DIRECTOR DESIGN DIRECTOR

Rachel A. Lisner Sarah Beth Kaye Emily Dalton Ryan Davis

ART PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Jonathan Gulo CONTRIBUTORS Stephanie Dimiskovski CULTURE CULTURE EDITOR Fiha Abdulrahman COPY EDITOR Sam Shopp CONTRIBUTORS Alex Arbeitel, John Capangpangan, Michael Shwartz, Shawn Stephenson ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT A&E EDITOR Olympia Christofinis CONTRIBUTORS John D’Amico, Karen Ruiz FEATURE CONTRIBUTORS Haresh Kapadia, Daniel Levin

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his time we decided to try something different.

The Rutgers Review is all about something different: different ideas, different opinions, different emotions, different from the mainstream, different from your mother’s friends, different from your hometown.

This time, our whole issue focuses on fighting for something different. On fighting for change.

We want police that serve and protect instead of strike fear in our hearts. We want social equality for all people regardless of their sexual preferences or gender identity. We want an education that doesn’t leave us crippled in debt. We want something different.

Which is why we are trying something different. This issue is 40 pages chock full about our feelings and our fights, our proposed solutions, and our demands for change. Join us in working towards something different.

This is my last issue as Editor in Chief, and my last week at Rutgers. I could not have been luckier than to work with all of these great contributors, and to see all of you readers like our work. I hope you all enjoy, and learn a lot, from this issue. I sure did.

MUSIC MUSIC EDITOR Tyler Springsteen COPY EDITOR Ian Barbour CONTRIBUTORS Staff POTPOURRI POTPOURRI EDITOR Michelle Chen COPY EDITOR Laura Curry CONTRIBUTORS Julia Terranova , Fil Wojcik STAFF VICE PRESIDENT Ryan Davis TREASURER Boris Klimushkin ONLINE EDITOR Erica Szkola MARKETING DIRECTOR Michelle Chen ADVISOR

Lauren Feldman

PRINTER

RFM Printing

FRONT & BACK COVER

Stephanie Dimiskovski

Thank you,

April | May 2015

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THIRTY

30 UNDER

BY JOHN CAPANGPANGAN

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THE RUTGERS REVIEW

CULTURE

I RECENTLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND AN ELITE SOCIAL GATHERING OF THE WORLD’S UP-AND-COMING DO-ERS, MAKERS, AND LEADERS. Don’t ask me how I got the invite

– the important thing is that I did get the invite. At this event several people were named Forbes 30 under 30 and I had the utmost pleasure speaking to these inspiring people, and listening to how they found their encouragement, pursued their dreams, and got through college.

Shoulders back, accompanied with a genuine smile and a firm handshake, I dove into the sea of swooping dresses and tailored tuxedos on a mission to find out how these people got through college, where they found their passions, and what factors aided them or obstructed their path to financial stability and liberation from student loans.

The results: a subtle trend of “scholarship and grant aided education”. Many of these entrepreneurs had the means and capacity to attend schools which they could either afford or were assisted by the institutions to attend. Unfortunately, that would not answer most of the student population’s woes in post secondary education debt. (Kudos to you guys that are attending university on scholarship, rock on). One CEO of a startup social enterprise I conversed with stated that, “students now have a harder time financing their college education since the cost of education has inflated over time, to a dramatic difference when I was in school.”

Well, we all knew that.

What about some ways of trying to save our wallets and our parents bank accounts from being as dry as the Sah? The consensus was steady part-time employment and a rigid discipline for expenditures. A number of people I spoke to urged the importance of work during this critical time in our lives. Forms of employment like working at the student bookstore or the dining hall fed these young entrepreneurs during their collegiate careers. They said that these jobs build character and show the value of your hard earned money. Although they might be menial jobs like stocking shelves or having desk duty, it also gives you tons of time to reflect on how you’re going to rule the world some day. And

I DOVE INTO THE SEA OF SWOOPING DRESSES AND TAILORED TUXEDOS ON A MISSION TO FIND OUT HOW THESE PEOPLE GOT THROUGH COLLEGE, WHERE THEY FOUND THEIR PASSIONS, AND WHAT FACTORS AIDED THEM OR OBSTRUCTED THEIR PATH TO FINANCIAL STABILITY AND LIBERATION FROM STUDENT LOANS.

that’s how these people spent their time; washing dishes and thinking about their future ventures in the restaurant business or fixing computers while thinking about the next big app.

They also stressed that unpaid work that turns into paid work through time and experience was a tremendous source of paying of their student debt. These opportunities such as internships that turn into jobs could grant you security after graduation.

That internship and experience could land you into a paid position next summer or employment out of graduations, hooray you’ve done it!

You’re making money, but what to do with it? SAVE IT. These blossoming CEOs understood the importance of monetary discipline and the value of their money. They didn’t have the same resources as we do right now but they suggested taking a reasonable around of your monthly wage and putting it into a safe and secure account. I personally use an account tracking app on my smartphone which helps me budget my monthly expenses and allows me stay on track for saving up money long-term for a large purchase. “It's all down to your own self discipline, you’re an adult and you’re going to make some mistakes, but make sure you don’t make mistakes with your money”, as told by a newly minted app developer from “the valley”. Some even suggested to invest your money, but that’s another topic for another day.

There you have it, some work and some discipline paired with a degree from Rutgers and a passion for what you do, you can go forth and claim the world as yours, knowing that you’re on your way to liberating yourself from the cold soulless hands of that sweet, sweet loan service, Sallie Mae.

April | May 2015

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MAKE THEM WEAR CAMERAS

CULTURE

BY MICHAEL SHWARTZ

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THE RUTGERS REVIEW

problem of police brutality in America, we should look badge and gun pushes your ego at police culture in America through the roof, to the point and understand that it sucks. where other fellow human It sucks so much that thugs beings are treated as target who don’t seem to be qualipractice. Sometimes a cop fied end up receiving guns and thinks it’s totally acceptable badges. Why would you just to shoot an unarmed civilian give someone a gun and not because he won’t be effectively layout the held accountable. Go implications for using IF WE ARE TO SOLVE THE figure! Someone who unnecessary deadly knows he’s not held force? Sounds like a PROBLEM OF POLICE accountable for his big crock of heedBRUTALITY IN AMERICA, WE lessness to me. Body actions tends to abuse his power. It almost cameras can be used SHOULD LOOK AT POLICE sounds like common as effective tools to sense. Here’s how eliminate police bruCULTURE IN AMERICA AND you hold the police tality. If we study each accountable for their UNDERSTAND THAT IT SUCKS. case on its own merits, actions. Make them a determination can wear body cameras. It works. Americans have passionately be made as to whether or not It turns out when people can voiced their outrage. Pro- the officer had the authorsee what’s happening, the testers around the country ity to take the action that he story is less ambiguous and including the Rutgers campus took. This would be a step in eyewitness testimonies con- have taken to the streets, lying the right direction towards taining dramatic discrepancies in them at times to express solving the problem of police lose relevancy when we have their distrust and discontent brutality in America. If notha video that everyone can see with American police forces. ing changes, then America will as many times as we want. By the way, this latest Walter continue in its subjugation of Sounds like a rational solu- Scott case may actually be a this chronic plague, known as tion to me. But then again, I’m turning point. The context of dying unarmed civilians. not too sure the word “ratio- that situation utterly proves nal” is part of a police thug’s the argument I just made. But vocabulary. more importantly, maybe soon A study in California had the protesters’ voices might police officers wear portable actually be heard and won’t and visible video cameras. simply be treated as backThe treatment group wore ground noise to a Quentin body cameras; the control Tarantino movie. group did not. All incidents If we are to solve the LET’S FACE IT, SOME COPS ARE THUGS. Sometimes wearing a

of force being used and interaction with the public were recorded. When officers knew they were being watched, they were more likely to comply with rules. In the wake of the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner in NYC, and Tamir Rice in Cleveland,

CULTURE

GAY ATHLETES:

STRUGGLE BEYOND THE FIELD

BY SHAWN STEPHENSON ATHLETICS PLAY AN IMMENSE ROLE IN OUR CULTURE . We pack stadiums, encourage par-

ticipation, and view athletes and their pursuits with the utmost respect. Our culture promotes acceptance towards the LGBT community and encourages open discussion involving sexuality. Yet there is immense pressure on athletes making it difficult to come out. Why do Athletes fear coming out to the public, yet have no problem coming out to their team? The team dynamic makes it easier on athletes and creates a more accepting atmosphere, a notion that our society should attempt to mimic.

The number of athletes coming out has been higher than ever. As reported by Diversity Inc in 2014, 24% of high school athletes report as having come out towards their team. However this number significantly decreases among collegiate athletes with an estimated 2%-4%.

Why does this number drop? Could it be that athletes fear coming out towards their team?

As a matter of fact no, college athletes report having great experiences amongst their team when they come out. Michael Sam, current free agent in the NFL, says that his team was accepting of his lifestyle, and their relationship remained the same.

In the realm of athletics teams function towards one purpose and that is to win.

There is no room for

discrimination. Being a member of a team forces you to accept the traits and characteristics of your teammates. This setting promotes teammates of gay athletes to be more accepting than any other member of society, save for immediate family.

How do we become more accepting? I’d like to imagine Rutgers as the pinnacle of acceptance and LGBT awareness, but we are only a small speck on the map. Maybe acceptance comes less from treating athletes as special cases, and more as normal people. The reason there is a semblance of equality of treatment amongst the team is because the team focuses more on performance which comes at the sacrifice of having to work together. This helps explain why teammates are so accepting when one of their own comes out. Partly they are forced to, but also they feel comfortable around the athlete coming out. Speaking from experience, when you spend countless hours, day in day out training, practicing, and competing with the same group of people you become incredibly close to them. Yes I can point out personal quips about my team that I don’t agree with but at the end of the day they don’t matter to me because I know what they are capable of regardless of their personal choices.

In my opinion, if someone’s actions have no negative effect on someone else, who am I to judge them negatively. We as a culture should be more accepting and more open towards gay athletes, on this larger scale because there is a clear discrepancy in how comfortable they feel inside the locker room as opposed to outside.

MICHAEL SAM, CURRENT FREE AGENT IN THE NFL, SAYS THAT HIS TEAM WAS ACCEPTING OF HIS LIFESTYLE, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP REMAINED THE SAME. April | May 2015

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CULTURE

GLORIFICATION OF THE TOMBOY

BY ALEX ARBEITEL

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CULTURE

IN FIRST GRADE , my best friend told me not to wear dresses any girl looks at herself and says, yes, not only do I love anymore. She told me that I was too old for that, that dresses my rainbow glitter heels and short pink skirts, but also I were babyish and I needed to wear pants like her. At the would describe myself as an air-headed Valley girl with a time I didn’t understand what the difference between wear- passion for fashion. Further confusing for girls is the media’s ing dresses and pants even was, why it mattered that we wear obsession with celebrities and models made-up to optimum the same thing, and why that same thing had to be pants. I Barbie-doll status who seem exactly like the girly girls they’re did concede, though, finding that I was more comfortable taught to avoid. Once they are old enough to enough to wearing pants and not being ostracized than wearing dresses recognize that they don’t fit the mold of these pop culture and feeling out of place. It took me until high school to real- idols, it’s around that same time when it’s no longer socially ize that the choice I made back in elementary school wasn’t acceptable for girls to act the way they’ve always been taught permanent, that I was allowed to alternate between the two is not only allowed, but encouraged. They’re told to wash options or even go full-on 90s and wear off their mud stains or no man (shout out both at the same time (thank goodness I WHEN WE COUPLE to heteronormativity!) will ever love them never did that, but that’s not the point). because, after all, that’s the end goal in life.

There aren’t rigid dichotomies set in place THE CHOICE BETWEEN My youngest sister, Hannah, is 11, and regarding what is acceptable to wear or I know that she’s at a confusing point in TOMBOY AND like, even though back then I could defiher life where she’s not quite sure who she nitely feel the pressure to place myself into should be or who she wants to be and how GIRLY GIRL WITH a labeled box. Luckily for our purposes much those two overlap. She says that a THE UNAVOIDABLE these categories have names: tomboy and tomboy is “someone who likes sports and girly girl. is tough” and a girly girl is “someone who SEXISM PRESENT IN wears Unlike boys who are taught right off the dresses and is wimpy.” Her friends bat that they have to be pumped up on OUR SOCIETY, YOUNG define her as a tomboy because she wears testosterone and entirely masculine, there jeans and one of my dad’s old sweaters GIRLS ARE GIVEN is a brief grace period for young girls to every day (that’s her new thing because choose how they would like to act for pera bunch of people complimented her the AN ULTIMATUM: ACT first time she wore one of his sweaters), haps the rest of their lives. Tomboys are shuffled to soccer games and get stuck in but she doesn’t like sports so she breaks “LIKE A BOY” AND trees, don’t get picked last in gym class and even her own basic definition. Hannah BE PRAISED OR ACT told me that one time she wore boots win arm wrestling contests. Girly girls are driven to ballet classes, and collect stuffed the tiniest baby heel on them and “LIKE A GIRL” AND BE with animals, play jump rope during recess and her friends mocked her asking if she had smear their mothers’ red lipsticks all over turned into a girly girl overnight. She, JUDGED. their faces. There is no picking and chooslike every other young girl, deserves the ing: check one box and automatically select all. chance to experiment and decide for herself what clothes To some extent it would be easier if it were a cut-and- she feels most comfortable in, what activities bring her hapdry decision with no external influences. When we couple piness, what she wants to portray herself as, outside of the the choice between tomboy and girly girl with the unavoid- confines of any particular stereotype. And if she finds that able sexism present in our society, young girls are given an a label, whether tomboy or girly girl or otherwise, suits her, ultimatum: act “like a boy” and be praised or act “like a then I want her to be allowed to try it on for size and to be girl” and be judged. The pervading stereotype of girly girls unafraid to dispose of it when it doesn’t fit anymore. as vapid, manicured gossips doesn’t help young girls who are genuinely searching for their identities; I can’t imagine

April | May 2015

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

that focuses on the day-to-day lives of Maura and her three children. We also get appearances from Maura’s exwife Shelly, played by Judith Light in a very entertaining performance.

Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development) stars as Maura Pfefferman, a transgender woman who one day decides to contact her three adult children, somewhat of the blue. It turns out that Maura intends to come out to them. But… she backs out of her plan to come out to her children. However, her children eventually end up finding out. The first to do so is Sarah (Amy Landecker). Although she is initially surprised and confused, she soon becomes very accepting and supportive of her father’s lifestyle. Josh (Jay Duplass), on the other hand, doesn’t take the news so well. He isn’t very accepting and doesn’t know how to deal with it.

I’ve watched the first 8 out of the 10 episodes currently available. My favorite of the bunch was episode 6 “The Wilderness,” which features each of Maura’s three children trying to come to terms with what they’ve recently learned about their father.

This episode is cleverly written and witty. For instance, at one point in the episode, Maura’s other daughter Ali (Gaby Hoffmann) attempts to educate herself by taking a Gender Studies course with her friend Syd (Carrie Brownstein). They find themselves unimpressed with the course and so spend most of the class making fun of the lecturer while trying to avoid getting caught.

It also stands out because of one particular very emotional scene towards the end which showcases an example of the prejudice that Maura has to deal with throughout the series. In fact, several of the episodes that I watched featured scenes like this, which showcase the struggles that come with being transgender in a society that isn’t very understanding of them.

The idea for the series was actually based on Soloway’s own experiences with her own father coming out as transgender. This reflects itself in the way the character is portrayed. Soloway definitely seems to have a pretty accurate understanding of the experience of being a transgender person is like.

The plotlines which revolve around Maura’s experiences living as a transgender woman were definitely the high points of the series for me. It’s not something that’s ever really been done on an American TV series before and creates for some very interesting drama and conflict. I actually wish that the series focused more on that aspect and less on the plotlines revolving around Maura’s children. But overall, the show is very well-made and one that I’d recommend people check out.

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THE RUTGERS REVIEW

Not only is Transparent the first successful Amazon original series, but it is also the first U.S. series with a transgender protagonist.

TRANSPARENT LENS

TRANSPARENT IS ESSENTIALLY A COMEDY-DRAMA SERIES

BY JOHN D’AMICO

A FEMINIST’S NIGHTMARE:

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SEXIST PROGRAMMING

BY KAREN RUIZ I think it's safe to say the majority of us do not watch TV as a means of educating ourselves, but rather to relish in the sinful pleasures of watching shit television into the wee early morning hours until our eyes finally give out.

TV shows currently on air portray women as susceptible to melodrama and objectify them, perpetuating gender stereotypes. This isn’t new, but what is striking is the way women unwittingly participate in this sexist culture.

E!’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians

This reality TV-show remains to be one of the most counter-progressive TV series. I’m sure we can all agree the Kardashians receive an excess amount of media coverage than they actually deserve. As a feminist, I won’t say it is fair to criticize their personal lives and career choices; however, I will say that it is shows like this one where women exploit their personal lives and give value to superficial commodities. Feminists have been fighting to prove that women are more substantial than their beauty, bodies, and maternal roles. The ‘millennial’ woman is regarded as revolutionary for rising up against preconceived gender norms. Now women are being divided into two groups; the ones challenging traditions, and those who fight sexism by embracing sexual agency. Besides the impact it has on women, it also allows men to hold women to these standards of what the millennial women should appear to be: beautiful, voluptuous, and dumb?

VH1’s Love & Hip Hop

Perhaps we couldn’t easily predict that the Kardashians would have this effect on a large population, but nothing screams SEXIST like another reality TV show that chronicles the lives of bickering women dating hip hop artists. These women are put together and become privy to each others’ hearsay. Common themes found include: gossip, sex, betrayal, and slutshaming. It is important to reiterate that these women are, once again, ordinary women famous for nothing more than being involved with famous men and their occasional appearances in music videos. So when women fangirl over these reality stars, thousands of feminists’ hearts break worldwide. Women are historically known for their interests in guilty pleasures such as soap operas or ‘chick flicks’. But where do we draw the line between chick flicks and sexist TV programming?

Bravo’s The Real Housewives

I think this one speaks for itself. Rich housewives. Living off of their husbands’ fortune.. Enough said.

Just to clarify, I do not believe that women who watch these television shows should be shamed and scrutinized. I believe that women need to be able to identify the flaws within these programs and the effect it has on our population. Television producers do not aim to create morally and politically correct programming, but rather sensationalist programming. So there’s something to munch on next time you’re watching the latest episode of Bad Girl’s Club. If these TV series continue to air and gain such a large fanbase, I hope it is at least through a satirical lens.

April | May 2015

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

THE ART OF RESISTANCE

BY OLYMPIA CHRISTOFINIS

IT HAS BEEN WELL OVER A YEAR SINCE THE ERUPTION

of violence submerged parts of the Ukraine into war between Ukrainian anti-government protesters and police and military men. The majority of the protests took place in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Maidan for short), located in the central square of Kiev. The battle between the two groups only exacerbated towards the end of January 2014, before pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country.

Yet it was amidst the rubbles of destruction and chaos that Ukrainian art-activists found inspiration. Ukrainian artists have been at the forefront of rebellion and protest during the civil uprisings. Zhanna Kadyrova creates a monumental

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THE RUTGERS REVIEW

sculpture cut out from the brick wall of an abandoned factory, suggestive of the shape of the Crimea.

Another fellow Ukrainian artist, Volodymyr Kuznetsov, painted a mural during the summer of 2013 that foreshadowed the tumult and social unrest with the mural Koliyivshchyna: The Last Judgment. The museum Mystetskyi Arsenal commissioned Volodymyr Kuznetsov to paint the mural on its wall for an exhibition celebrating the 1025th anniversary of the baptism of the predecessor of the Russian state, Kyivan Rus. According to Art News, the title Koliyvshchna refers to a violent 18th century peasant revolt. The mural delineated revolutionary masses, lead by a member of Pussy Riot wearing a red balaclava and a figure of Christ taken from Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment. In front of the mass is a red, fiery cauldron of hell into which were church leaders, police chiefs, and a black limousine driving former President Viktor Yanukovych, among many others.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The mural was, of course, denounced as “immoral” and was ordered by museum heads to be painted over.

Well-known Kiev painter Vasilii Tsagolov continued in the same vein of his contemporary by depicting the augmenting social tensions in the Ukraine. The painter has been working on a monumental series of paintings called, “The Ghosts of Revolution” portraying battles between police and protesters. These works were exhibited one month before the violent uprisings surged in January 2014.

Another artist, Mykola Ridnyi, responds to police brutality differently from his contemporaries. He displays a row of jaggedly sculpted, granite police boots.

Not all Ukrainian art-activism was involved in the public sphere. Some artworks were gallery-bound.

Artist Mykyta Shalenyi exhibition of “Where is Your Brother?” displayed a series of photographs referring to the plenitude of kidnappings and torture that plagued many Ukrainian’s lives. One photograph reworked Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, by replacing the doctor and his students with images of masked members of the Special Forces.

Art-activism is multifaceted and takes on many different forms and styles, one of which is performance art. A group called Civil Sector of Maidan organized a performance called, The Kingdom of Darkness Is Surrendered. Protesters formed a line confronting

the police force, holding up mirrors as shields, forcing the police to stare at their reflections.

The borders that once separated art and activism have increasingly blurred and, dare I say, nonexistent. The differences between protest and art, activism and performance are no longer stark. As Anti-Russian Ukrainian protesters demanded institutional change, they had done so through creative and novel approaches. The intersection of art and activism can no longer be denied as Ukrainian artists have already demonstrated.

April | May 2015

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FEATURE

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN REPRESENTATION AND REPRESENTATIVENESS

BY DANIEL LEVIN

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S

FEATURE

I T ’ S B E E N N E A R LY T W O F U L L S E M E S T E R S S I N C E

my arrival at Rutgers, and I’ve come to acutely recognize the disparity in both representation and representativeness within classroom settings and the Rutgers community at large. As a Women’s & Gender Studies major, I anticipated the presence of like-minded radical individuals in my classes, the hammer-and-sickle Berkeley transplants talking about anti-homonationalism, settler colonialism, prison abolition, and other things some of our favorite activists are rallying about.

Instead, to my unfortunate astonishment, I found the Tumblr community of cishetero white feminists concentrated inside of one room. For two semesters, I’ve listened to the ways white feminists, including some professors, speak of their experiences as though they are mutual to all persons of the same gender identity. I’ve listened to white women take up space, and dare to call our classroom a “safe space” while they speak of their experiences as suburban, white middle-class women, as though they are mutual to all persons of the same gender identity.

The same white feminist discourse resonated each class: perpetuation, objectification, sexualization, pro-choice (but not pro-reproductive justice), and 77-cent wage gaps.

Here are my rebuttals: if there are trans/gender nonconforming persons in the room, why are you speaking on behalf of their lived experiences? If there are queer folks in the room, in general, why are you speaking on behalf of their lived experiences? If there are persons of color in the room, why are you speaking on behalf of their lived experiences? Is taking up space part-andparcel to white feminism, so much so that what should be “inclusion” ironically becomes “exclusion?”

There's more to safe spaces than the articulation of a space as "safe." As such, pushing forth the notion that a space is safe does not necessarily preclude it from creating an environment that still renders persons unsafe. The efficacy of this has to come from a mutual understanding that safety has to also be seen in terms of comfort; if the majority of a space is taken up by persons whom that particular safety is not applicable for, then it's not a safe space because it still focuses around some sort of exclusionary practice, one that purports to accept (and even invite) individuals of multidimensional identities but somehow falls short in its follow-through. I contend here that a space offers more than a shorthand rule of tolerance, that it inculcates a process that becomes emblematic of an immediate milieu’s semblance, and thus, engages the ideality rather than the reality of a space.

Inclusive spaces assume all persons (and thus

participants) within the space to be morally just; there are seldom precursory regulations implemented into these spaces by virtue of their inclusivity—undoubtedly, there’s a presupposition of morality that hinges on the space’s expectation rather than its contingency to the individual.

So how do we efficiently develop a safe space? In short, we can’t. However, we must constantly work towards the facilitation of a safe space, such that we collectively educate both others and ourselves on the needs of the setting in its temporal moment. We must understand that spaces are constantly changing, and in fact, aren’t stagnant nor consistent with their perceptions on safety. We must assume responsibility in re-articulating the space to best fit the persons within it, and this is, of course, intrinsic to the reality of a space.

But the conversation cannot end here. Moreover, these conversations have to transcend theory into a methodology, one that necessitates a very particular praxis birthed and extending from criticism. These intent practices combat our current ideas of space and spatial consumption with a pragmatic acknowledgement that spaces are in constant development of safety, which by extension de-hierarchizes any one individual from speaking on behalf of others’ safety by calling a space “safe.”

The reformation of spatial consumption thereby exhibits persons constituting space(s) in lieu of space(s) constituting persons. For persons outside of minority groups, whether that be racial, sexual, gender, religious, etc. minorities, understand your position within a space, and how much space you may be taking up—notice whom you’re speaking for and thus silencing, notice how long you’re speaking for, and with what confidence and how these two factors function concomitantly as derivatives of your dominant position within that space. For persons outside of minority groups, make room for other folks to take up space.

WHAT CAN I DO AT RUTGERS?

While no space can inherently be deemed “safe” due to the the fluctuations of a space and the people who inhabit it, many steps can be taken to make your space as safe as possible. The dedicated staff and interns at Rutgers’ Center for Social Justice Education and LGBTQ Communities hold a plethora of workshops and trainings geared toward helping to engender safer and more welcoming spaces, such as the Safe(R) Space Training Program.

April | May 2015

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FEATURE

BY OLYMPIA CHRISTOFINIS AND SAM SHOPP

The sad truth is that, according to The Washington Post, about $1.3 trillion is the total amount of student debt in the USA. THE AVERAGE TUITION AT A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY HAS MORE THAN TRIPLED OVER THE PAST THIRTY YEARS . Student debt

has accumulated in exceedingly high proportions inhibiting our ability to afford the increasing price tag of higher education.

Well if you have loans to pay off don’t worry, you’re not alone. According to The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), you’re part of the roughly 64% of Rutgers students who will graduate with some amount of debt. The average debt of 2013 graduates amounted to $24,284. The total cost of attendance for in state, during 2012-13, cost roughly $28,798. Numbers aside, the average debt a student graduated with was just under one year of in-state tuition.

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Real talk though: let’s figure out strategies for man- that pays the loan, or a collection agency, or your old aging the onerous hike on Student Debt Mountain. buddy: the Department of Education.

As you’re more than likely already aware of, there are Do I really have to pay my loans back? loans galore! It’s like stepping into a Costco and suddenly you’re bombarded with everything. Televisions. Blu-rays. Well, kiddo, I don’t make the rules and I can’t tell what Salmon. Crabs. Lobster. Cakes. Bagels. Hummus. Lolli- to do. You could join the radical student debt strike by pops. OJ. Celery. Vacuums. Well, there are enough loans refusing to pay back your loans, or you could pay back to make head your spin just as fast and submerge you your loans. Let’s say you chose the latter. There are just as into a state of eternal financial anxiety. Have no fear! many payment plan options as there are loans – enough We took the liberty of deconstructing the loans you may to make the room break out into a surrealist, Bolshoi have to keep your debt under control. ballet performance. You have the following options: “accelerated” which means higher monthly payments First, let’s figure out what each loan actually means. (over $125); “standard” means paying $125/month over the course of ten years; “graduated” is paying half of You may have a combination of federal and private the standard plan per month, thus elongating the debt loans, or just one of the two. The most prevalent type payment period; “extended” means more repayment will of federal loans is the Direct loan, previously known take more than ten years, which also means paying more as Stafford loans. If your Direct loan is subsidized, it interest in the long run; “income contingent” means that means Uncle Sam is paying for the interest while you’re your repayment plan is modified as your income is reasat university or during the six month post-graduation sessed each year; and finally, “consolidation” which is grace period (aka deferment). Perkins loans fall under when you may lower your monthly payments by combinthe subsidized category. If the loan is unsubsidized, it ing different types of loans into one in order to extend means that, unlike the subsidized loan, you are respon- the repayment period. sible for paying for the interest either during your time Whatever you do, don’t panic! If you’re unable at university or afterwards. to make your monthly payments post-grad, always remember that you have options. You can temporarily Well that’s all dandy, but who is holding on to postpone payments by declaring forbearance or through your loans? deferments.

Just remember that at the end of day, you can figure If you have federal loans, guess what! The likelihood is out how to manage your loans. Speak to a financial advithat your loans are no longer with the original lender sor about which plan might work best for you. It’s not all because they have been sold on the secondary market! doom and gloom.

But should you have private loans, they’re more than likely with the same dude who lent you the mullah.

Perkins loans, now he’s a bit of sly, shy bloke – you may have to pay back either Rutgers (or whichever other university from which you transferred) or the servicer, the dude who’s been hired to collect your hard-earned mullah. If your federal loans are in default, meaning you haven’t been coughing up the exorbitant amount of cash, your loans may be cradled by a guarantee agency, which is state or private insurance company

April | May 2015

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FEATURE

PRESSURE HERE IS A VERY VERY QUICK OVERVIEW about raise to minimum wage or check out Rules for how to run a direct action campaign. It can Radicals by Saul Alinsky. Remember, all of this be applied to any cause or issue, and is gener- can be achieved non-violently. ally used for larger social problems. For more Let’s walk through this chart together. To information on direct action campaigns, look accomplish your goal, you will first need to find at current examples such as the campaign to the target and figure out who else has power to

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get what you want. Next, you should alert the target of your problem and that you plan on working to fix it. Find some peers who support your campaign and ask them to join you. This is where the escalation chart comes in handy. Looking at the chart you can see two sections: pressure and time. Your goal as the campaign manager is to achieve a balance between how much power you are demonstrating with how many people you have involved.This is accomplished through applying pressure by doing actions. Each action should be an event, such as a letter writing campaign, sit-in, or demonstration, that tells the target what your ask is, and shows how much power you have to obtain the ask. The actions should start small, like a letter delivery or some phone calls to the target, but they should always escalate into something bigger. By following the projected line on the escalation chart, your campaign should combine small amounts of power with a few people in the beginning. By the end of the campaign you should have a large amount of people involved with your cause and the target should be aware of all of your power as a collective unit. Keep escalating until the target makes the changes you want, and your campaign achieves its goal.

The Rutgers Review sat down with David Bedford, a member of the Students for Shared Governance Coalition, and asked him a few questions about the work of this student-run political organization.

RR: Could you tell us a little bit about your organization and what you all have accomplished?

DB : Students for Shared Governance Coalition was started as an effort to unite groups on campus that have a very critical view of the administration. We all believe that the administration here at Rutgers does not work to represent the students in terms of the cost of tuition and making education more accessible. In the fall of 2014, SSG rose out of the ‘Where RU Barchi?’ campaign. Back then, President Barchi, our University President, was still deeply involved with his fundraising goal of reaching 1 million dollars and was not on campus. When a student organization reached out to Barchi for a meeting he said [something along the lines of] “I do not meet with students. That is not my job.” We started the ‘Where RU Barchi?’ campaign to poke fun at the fact that our President was making no effort to represent us. You know, all this talk about shared governance and they’re giving us nothing.

CAMPAIGNING TERMS

BY SARAH BETH KAYE AND HARESH KAPADIA

Action - an event or situation a campaign creates to spread awareness, recruit people, and tell the target what the campaign wants Ask - a specific statement saying what the campaign wants ex. 15 dollar an hour minimum wage Escalate - steady increasing pressure through the use of actions, recruitment, and media awareness Escalation Chart - a convenient chart that helps plot the actions of your campaign

Letter delivery - an action where a group of people go to the target and give a letter with the ask on it Power - control and choice over a situation Pressure - a steady and uncomfortable reminder to your target about your campaign goals Target - a specific person who has the power to get you what you want

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RR: Can you explain what shared governance is?

DB : Shared governance is the simple idea that implies that governance is shared with all bodies. So the main bodies here at the University are the faculty, the staff, students, and the administration. However, the faculty, staff, and students have virtually no representation on the Board of Governers (BOG). [Students] have one representative but they have no voting power and are only allowed in certain portions of hte meeting.

RR: What has SSC done so far?

Whenever our President has a town hall go and ask him questions. Don’t give him [easy ones], give him ones that will really reveal what he thinks of the administration. When the BOG meets, apply to testify. They do not have students coming to them regularly which is one of the reasons they are so out of touch. I’d say beyond that, what any person can do is to reach out to thier representative. Figure out what district you live in, [or contact Rutgers congressmen]. Rutgers is in congressional district 6, and our representative is Frank Pallone.

Frank Pallone is especially progressive and willing to talk to students. Just talking to them is not the end solution but it does go a long way. I’d recommend that you reach out to your congressmen to and try to talk to them on the phone, send them a letter, maybe set up a meeting and let them know your personal story.

DB: We did a couple things: we made a giant where’s waldo cut out with Barchi’s face on it and we took it around in public. We took it tot the bed races and got people to take pictures of it. We have a great picture of The Scarlet Knight with it. We also wrote op-ed’s on the RR: Is there anything you think our readers should lack of transparency at the University, and we worked know? with the faculty and staff on their contract campaign to help mobilize hundreds of people out to protest for DB : I’dl like to just drop some info. One is that in 2011, greater representation and their working conditions. One the amount of student debt in the US surpassed 1 trilof my favorite actions was when we held a funeral on lion dollars and is currently above 1.2 trillion dollars. halloween in which we had two coffins that said ‘RIP According to the U.S department of labor, the cost fair contracts’ and ‘RIP affordable tuition’. We carried of tuition in 1978, after being adjusted for inflation, these coffins to Old Queens where Barchi’s office is and increased by 1120%. A lot of the members of the BOG we had a funeral ceremony. This semester however we were in school before 1978 and so they likely paid less focused less on challenging Barchi’s absence and more than 1/10 of what we pay now. President Barchi went particularly on the issue of student debt. Right now what to George Mason University and his tuition in 1968 was we’re working on is mobilizing people out to the tuition something like 2100 dollars. So when older people tell us hearing on April 23rd. Our goal is to have at least 20 ‘you’re not trying hard enough, you’re not working hard students to testify, and at least twice as many out there to enough, get a job to pay for school, that’s what i did,” support. It is the one opportunity a year for the BOG to that may be what they did, but that is absolutely not an actually speak to students, or rather listen to students. The option anymore. Rutgers room and board, tuition, etc past two years that I went there was no back and forth, is approaching $30,000. Imagine how easy it would be no questions answered, they sat listened and moved on to to work a summer job to pay tuition if the overall cost the next person and at the very end they thanked us for was only 3, 000. But it’s just completely impossible today. coming. But we, SSG, think that that’s bullshit, and we are working to actively challenge them. We’re trying to get a lot of people, we are having each of our members ask a question and we’re going to stand until that question is answered. We intend to have a farewell action at the end of the semester...and then we will be organizing people out to the June and July BOG meeting.

EDITOR’S NOTE

RR: What can our readers do right now to work on lowering tuition?

DB : What I would recommend is to go to every opportunity that you have to speak to those who have power.

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Next year, SSG is working towards a tuition freeze, and want to change the system to make college permanently affordable for all students.

OTE

orking e, and ystem nently s.

FEATURE

POLICE BRUTALITY ORGANIZATION : Creating Our Own Leaders (COOL)

ORGANIZATION : People’s Organization for Progress

This organization has a location in New Brunswick and aims to help communities in NJ that lack positive leadership. Among the topics they address are police brutality and corrupt government systems. They aim to improve local communities by empowering individuals to take leadership to create a positive change in our society.

The organization may be based in Newark, but it involves protests that happen across New Jersey. The history of police shootings in New Brunswick make it a prime location for the organization’s protests against police brutality. This organization aims to empower individuals to bring unity and justice to their communities.

FIRST STEP : Visit njcool.org and register to become a member to keep up with the organization’s events and volunteer

FIRST STEP : Visit njpop.org and become a member to be informed of every meeting/event that they plan.

opportunities.

LGBTQ ISSUES ORGANIZATION : Rutgers University Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities

This community on campus strives to raise awareness about issues affecting the LGBT community. They aim to keep students informed of programs that they may participate in to further the LGBT cause.

ORGANIZATION : Pride Center of New Jersey

The organization is located close to College Avenue. Its mission is to provide a safe haven for the LGBTIQ community while fostering its empowerment and encouraging its acceptance in society.

FIRST STEP : Bookmark socialjustice.rutgers.edu to keep up with

FIRST STEP : They’re always looking for volunteers. Get involved by filling out a volunteer form at pridecenter.org to find out how you

the on-campus events.

can help.

STUDENT DEBT ORGANIZATION : Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA)

ORGANIZATION : Rutgers Office of Financial Aid

RUSA aims to address the concerns of the student body to the Rutgers administration. The organization encourages students to share with them any issues that they may have with Rutgers, so that they can be brought to the attention of the University.

Located on College Avenue, this office is the place to go to address any issues with college bills. In addition, it is the best place to get advice on how to manage your student debt in the way that works best for you.

FIRST STEP : Attend a meeting to find out how you can join the assembly and represent a large community of students dealing with student debt.

FIRST STEP : Visit the office to find out what options exist for students looking to make their college debt more manageable.

GENDER EQUALITY ORGANIZATION : Rutgers University Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL)

ORGANIZATION : We Organize Against Harassment (W.O.A.H.)

This Rutgers community strives to facilitate a world without any form of gender discrimination. It seeks to empower women to become leaders in the fight for equality.

This Rutgers organization seeks to end all forms of gender violence, with an emphasis on sexual harassment. It seeks to inform individuals of ways that they can take a stand against violence and make the world a safer place for everyone.

FIRST STEP : Bookmark www.cwgl.rutgers.edu to keep up with the on-campus events.

FIRST STEP : Attend one of their meetings. They are held on Tuesdays at 9pm at the Women's Center (3rd Floor) of the

Douglass Campus Center.

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FEATURE

BY FIHA ABDULRAHMAN

In the face of gender equality we have come a long way from the time of our grandparents and parents. Women have gone from being considered solely as domestic to competitive and highly motivated members of society.

GENDER EQUALITY IS ON THE RISE BUT NOT FULLY REACHED .

No matter how far we’ve gone, women still do not have equal representation throughout the government, pay, and occupational rights. There are still hurdles to be leaped in order to be seen as equal with the other gender. But to do so women must see eye to eye with each other. Unifying under one cause and removing labels between women is the first step. No longer should the over encompassing view of who a woman is be a single ethnicity, height, or skin color. Every woman fits under the definition and therefore receive the same representation. Gender equality does not come about if within each gender not everyone is equal. That is why it’s time to take out your stepping stool or chair and assume your position as a part of the greater good, gender equality.

Rutgers is the best place to start. Not only is the amount of

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people always expanding but so is the information. The first step is to try and become informed about not only the present but also the past of women’s history. Opening up a history book is not the most fun thing but that is why there are classes like The Douglass Residential College’s Knowledge and Power class or the Women, Culture, and Society class. Here you remove the preconceived notions of society and see the world for what it truly is. These classes bring upon enlightenment for the students which is useful in some of the darkest times. Every little piece of information is as valuable as the last. Like my principal used to say every morning, the more you know, the more you are in control. Some of the courses fulfill the 21st Century Challenge Core requirements (fate, I think not).

After you become filled to the brim with as much knowledge as you can, join a club. But not any old fabulous club, because Rutgers is filled with every type of club you can ever imagine. Join a cultural or ethnically exposed club with fun food and diverse individuals (you know, like the Rutgers Review). This way you can apply the knowledge you know and learn from people instead of from a textbook. Here you can gain an empathetic perspective towards different types of women. This is one of the biggest steps toward unity. Misunderstandings and stereotypes cause people to stay away from others and therefore causing a rift between individuals.

Assuming that stereotypes are a form of truth is also detrimental to moving forward. By exposing yourself to people first hand can help remove this unconscious standard that people accept. Elimination of this is essential to your path to becoming equal. To Sabahat Amjad, the Muslim Student Association’s Sisterhood Social Head, one of the most important aspects of reaching gender equality is, “sticking together. Sticking together as sisters, as girls in general, builds up a lot of strength, within your female community but also as a group. That is something that is really vital.” In this organization, they emphasize creating bonds between Muslim sisters and forming an environment where everyone feels appreciated. Every

meeting brings about activities to break barriers between people and talks to inform about and discuss aspects of life and events. They provide, within their club, an inclusion and equality between all of the members, which they implemented with others. In this way they create a stronger and more unified image to remove any stereotypes or oppression placed upon them. Learning from these types of clubs can help further your endeavors and help you form a concrete network.

After you have made connections and have gone to many (fun) parties, the real work starts. Here is where you can work with organizations to form a unity against inequality. Once you and your sisterhood of women have become connected, this is where you tackle the real problems. In the Rutgers community and everywhere something can be done. You do not have to accept inequality as a norm, in reality it is a social norm which can be changed. Walking alone can become safer, opportunities can actually become equally distributed, and wages are not dependent of the person. I hope you the best in your endeavors and much success.

April | May 2015

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FEATURE

BY TYLER SPRINGSTEEN AND IAN BARBOUR

Police brutality is a common injustice in American media . At Rutgers, protests around the #BlackLivesMatter movement raised awareness about the issue to the Rutgers community.

A SEEMINGLY STRAIGHT FORWARD ISSUE , such as abuse of power,

can be looked at through a new lense to explain how the officers try to justify brutality.

Police brutality is not always the product of an officer unjustly restricting freedoms to the general public, but could result from the rationalization in relation to self protection. An article on PoliceChief categorizes the reasons to how situations of police brutality originate, but seem logical in an officer’s mind. The important reasons amongst the multitude, list as follows: Victim of Circumstance: An officer may believe that their misconduct derived from a lack of circumstantial choice. This could come from pressure of various types, which is why the shooting of Michael Brown was controversial; there was debate as to the manner in which Brown moved toward Wilson after the officer heard about a robbery he committed.

Higher Cause: This is related to the idea that the ends justify the means—if acting beyond the rules means apprehending someone

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PEOPLE WANT POLICE BRUTALITY TO END, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. THE PROBLEM IS THAT OUR SOCIETY IS CAUGHT IN A VICIOUS CIRCLE OF ABUSE AND RESPONSE; AN OFFICER WILL EXCEED THEIR JURISDICTION, AND UNREST WILL ENSUE.

who was sought after, then the action was just.

This form of rationalization could be troubling because it glorifies breaking the rules and even acting viciously to achieve some form of greater good.

Blame the Victim: This rationalization simply means that the officer felt the victim incited the vicious behavior. This is another controversial category, because either the victim actually disrespected an officer way beyond their rights, or the officer was unjust.

Dehumanization: An officer coping with the harsh nature of his or her actions may use dehumanizing vocabulary in an attempt to decrease a victims worth in their eyes. This category is often overlooked, but universally problematic—not only does it frame poorly and disassociates people from their own kind, but it diminishes an officers guilt and potentially creates an air of sanctimoniousness.

With the sacrifice these officers take, certain rationales seem understandable. That is not to say it is okay for an officer to be unjust. An officer in action is always on edge and unaware of what may happen when a suspect is encountered. Rationalizations listed above usually occur in accordance to victim/suspect encouragement, though of course there exists inherently vicious officers who manage to sneak through the filter.

People want police brutality to end, plain and simple.

The problem is that our society is caught in a vicious circle of abuse and response; an officer will exceed their jurisdiction, and unrest will ensue. The unrest will crescendo in violence until a solution is reached, creating a temporary calm or further protest. The aggressive nature of the protesters cause police to further their barriers, resulting in continued mistrust. The mistrust eventually leads to another instance of brutality, and the cycle ensues. We can see this repetition in places such as Ferguson, New York, Baltimore, and now Philly. “Time itself

is a circle,” as Nietzsche once said. To realize the repeating problem and work toward a mutually acceptable solution is to break the circle. Both sides wish for mutual understanding; the protesters wish to perpetuate the existence of a racial divide in living condition and in relation to suspect treatment while the police wish to accurately depict to the public the everyday dangers of the job and their skepticism surrounding judgement in relation to suspect behavior.

In my humble opinion, if one side can genuinely realize the other’s plight, then the other side will comply as well and a foundation for understanding can be formed. But is there a way to ease the tension? Is there any method to reach resolve?

A way to prevent instances of police brutality is to simply be respectful. If the victim proves they are a rationally communicative human being, the tension that the officer has may subside. Compliance isn’t submission—think about it this way: the recent cases of police brutality are controversial because the victim does just enough to keep the controversy sustained. If the victim is compliant and an instance of police brutality does occur, there is no other way to frame the case then against the officer. Respect breeds respect, and even if it doesn’t, the respectful will draw generous gazes.

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spoke so closely to the current state of racial of an old vinyl record and crackles into the tensions in America that he used it as the first line of To Pimp a Butterfly: Boris Gardiner capstone of the album. 2pac even gives what singing “Every nigger is a star”, with the hard sounds eerily like a prophecy and a modern ‘r’ and all. The soulful 1970s sample then stops response to the recent events in Ferguson and and the bottom falls out into the manic jazz New York: “I think that niggas is tired of grabproduction of experimental electronic artist bin' shit out the stores and next time it’s a riot Flying Lotus. The following tracks (“For Free? there’s gonna be, like, uh, bloodshed for real. I (Interlude)”, a trumpet-peppered spoken word don’t think America know that. I think Ameripoem, the funky powerhouse “King Kunta”, can think we was just playing and it’s gonna and the dozen other passionate, delicately be some more playing but it ain’t gonna be no pieced-together songs that follow) are a tour playing. It’s gonna be murder, you know what through black culture in every form, putting I’m saying, it’s gonna be like Nat Turner, 1831, on display the magnificence and strength of up in this muthafucka.” black people in America through their art, their An inspired Kendrick Lamar then tries (in music, and their heroes. vain) to get his opinion from the man (angel) As a man who came literally “straight outta about another poem— a metaphor, actually. compton” into a radically different world of Kendrick describes in allegorical language the gross material wealth, importance, and a capac- struggle of the butterfly, loved by a world that ity to influence the youth through his music, spits on and detests the caterpillar, and he uses Kendrick Lamar makes TPAB a reflection of the metaphor to explain the way he sees the that journey. Throughout the album, he drops oppression of black people, institutionalized by lines of a poem one at a time (each line high- their cocoon, and the capitalist bastardization lighting the theme of the following song) until of black art and talent of those lucky enough he can finally recite the full poem on the very to escape and “turn into butterflies”. last track of the album. Like a true generaKendrick sees himself as one of the buttertional philosopher, Kendrick rigorously works flies who came from the same oppression as through his personal experiences in each line to the caterpillar, and and he believes if the butbring the listener through his thought process terfly can understand the evils of its oppression and arrive at the conclusion that under the root then it can come back home and teach what it of all his struggles against depression and sys- knows to the people who are still struggling. If tematic oppression, the solution can only come he does that, then maybe the butterfly can save from unity amongst his brothers and sisters in the caterpillar and together they can end the the black community: viciousness of their situation.

The album is a reflection of Just because you wore a different gang color than mine’s Kendrick Lamar’s emergence Doesn’t mean I can’t respect you as a black man. into a new world of wealth and Forgetting all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets, fame, while his heart stayed If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killing us. behind with the friends and But I don’t know, I’m no mortal man, maybe I’m just another Nigga family still living in Compton.

This album is solution to that separation, and To Pimp a ButAfter this full reading on the last song “Mortal terfly, in that light, must be Kendrick’s way of Man”, he drops jaws by taking it upon himself coming back home. to interview 2pac. Kendrick drew audio from an obscure interview recording with 2pac, and the words of 2pac resonated so strongly and A NEEDLE DROPS INTO THE GROOVE

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BY SAM SHOPP

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DIY DEBT

BY LAURA CURRY

ACCORDING TO THE INSTITUTE FOR COLLEGE ACCESS AND SUCCESS’ WEBSITE , the proportion

of graduates with debt in 2013 at Rutgers New Brunswick was 64%. To be honest, I thought it would be a bit higher than this. In this 64%, the average debt of graduates was $25,252. That is a lot of money, and I’ll also be responsible for paying off an amount in this range when I graduate in 2016.

The shock value of this might have worn off to a lot of us, because it’s so common to be in debt once graduating. It seems that we go to college because we think it is the only way to get somewhere in life. Although we have our doubts along the way, we never actually choose a different path. We complain and worry about the cost of our educaWE COMPLAIN AND tion, and wonder if it’s all a waste, but we WORRY ABOUT stick with it anyway THE COST OF OUR because we feel as if it’s our only option.

EDUCATION, AND The ones who deviate from this path are WONDER IF IT’S brave. For people like ALL A WASTE, BUT this, student debt is not worth the four years of WE STICK WITH IT undergraduate studANYWAY BECAUSE ies. For example, a few months ago, during an WE FEEL AS IF IT’S interview, I discovered that the musician Matt

OUR ONLY OPTION.

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Smith of Hodera, dropped out of William Patterson to pursue a career in music. He chose to chase his dreams, and he has been much happier since making his decision. He has fully adopted the DIY mindset, which is based on self-sufficiency and completing tasks without the help of a paid expert. He books his own shows and tours, finds studios to record his music—or he records in his house, makes his own album art, and is responsible for promoting his music.

I’m not saying to do something drastic and drop out of college immediately, but I do think we can learn from the DIY mindset. We have to remind ourselves that we are responsible for our lives, and it’s up to us to take charge of them. If we are not satisfied with something, we have to take the initiative and change it. Many of us will deal with student debt, and being self-sufficient can help us stay motivated to pay it all off.

And now, I offer some songs to help you on your journey to acceptance (of thousands of dollars of student debt). Maybe they’ll boost your mood and make you realize that student debt—or money in general—should not control your life.

Walk the Moon’s “Spend Your $$$” Barenaked Ladies “If I Had a $1,000,000” Ed Sheeran’s “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s “Make the Money” The Mowgli’s “I’m Good” Pink Floyd’s “Money” Twenty One Pilots “Tear In My Heart” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’”

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MUSIC

QUEERING HEARING

BY MICHELLE CHEN

Music and being a musician is often times as much about your performance as it is about your music. The importance of staging and special effects might be misplaced, but it has cultivated a multi-million dollar industry and isn’t going anywhere any time soon. These are not the only performative aspects of the music industry, but rather an artist’s entire image is oftentimes a performance (see: Daft Punk). AS A MUSICIAN, HAVING A PERSONA I feel the need to clarify here: I is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s gen- am not trying to trivialize the imporerally a smart move. The music tance of allies to this movement. It industry is foremost an industry, is not only important but also crutherefore a persona that is recogniz- cial for a movement to have allies. able is marketable to the industry. To A movement cannot succeed until be sellable, it’s important that your it has gained not only the recognipersona is trendy. Here is where tion of, but also the acceptance of things get problematic. In order to the masses. I am, instead, trying cultivate a persona, you co-opt an to point out the recurring pattern identity that you don’t belong to, of straight ally voices being heard especially if that identity happens over the voices of those who actually to be oppressed. identify as LGBTQ. These straight There has been surge in the past ally voices are important. Their supfew years of popular artists writing port is important, but what is more LGBTQ themed songs. Fortunately, important is getting LGBTQ voices tides have turned and in this age, heard over all the noise? Don’t just holding anti-LGBTQ sentiments write a song about accepting youris widely seen as bigotry. However, self for who you are. Don’t just shoot LGBTQ rights are unarguably a a “NOH8” ad campaign. Instead, trendy news topic. They have been support an LGBTQ artist who has for a few years now, and it’s not only something to say. Ask them what bad PR to be anti-LGBTQ – it’s they need. Perhaps, collaborate with also good PR to be a vocal ally and them or take them on tour. Give advocate. Frankly, as someone who them the space and time to narrate identifies as queer, the prominence their experiences. Listen to those of straight artists being lauded for experiences. advertising LGBTQ rights in their music makes me uncomfortable.

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RACHEL A. LISNER

GIRL IS NOT A

GENRE

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COMPARATIVE THINKING IS QUITE NATURAL.

Looking for similarities, the human brain engages in chunking: condensing multiple information pieces into one synthesized concept. We chunk in the name of mental efficiency, but humans are not coin sorters at the bank that you schlep your change jar to for some extra weed money. We aren’t flawlessly mechanical. So, we each make associations differently while still able to see all of the hashtag relatable things out there. When we just don’t see it, like in some silly optical illusion (or if a dress is blue or gold) we admit it, telling our friends, “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

However, incredible offense is taken to overgeneralization. We cringe when your token problematic friend brought as your +1 speaks too generally about Black musical artists, because it is clear the basis is drawn upon race! We scold them accordingly. Comparisons are invalid when they have nothing to do with the subject matter at all.

Herein lies an emerging problem in music: the archetype of the indie female musician. Granted, we have a couple. We can see her alone on stage with an echoing acoustic guitar. We can swap it out for an electric and make her a little more badass. We can picture her fun, bouncing up and down wearing some foolish pantsuit and singing lyrics over synth sounds.

She is pretty, carefree, and probably white.

Though your Social Justice Warrior senses are now tingling, social psychology has a super cute answer for why we stereotype; again, in the name of mental efficiency.

WHEN GIRL BECOMES A GENRE, A WOMAN SITTING AT A PIANO IS COMPARED TO REGINA SPEKTOR OR ADELE. REGINA SPEKTOR IS COMPARED TO FIONA APPLE OR TORI AMOS. IN HER EARLY DAYS, TORI AMOS WAS COMPARED TO KATE BUSH. WHAT MORE DO THESE ARTISTS HAVE IN COMMON OTHER THAN THEIR WOMANHOOD?

But as Socially Aware Beings, it is a damaging behavior which goes against otherwise-held ideals.

When Girl becomes a genre, a woman sitting at a piano is compared to Regina Spektor or Adele. Regina Spektor is compared to Fiona Apple or Tori Amos.

In her early days, Tori Amos was compared to Kate Bush. What more do these artists have in common other than their womanhood? The phenomenon of making Girl a genre is largely a consequence of The Male Default. The moment womanhood is called into play, we change the narrative to one that is feminine.

Why do we allow ourselves to have such uneducated, lazy attributions for a talent so artful as music? We must recognize how easy it is to comply with to the misogyny of making Girl a genre, and take strides to call folks out in the same way we would someone making a racist or homophobic remark.

I am not the best Social Justice Warrior, but I am a pretty enthusiastic Social Psychology Cop. Here, Social Justice Warrior and Social Psychology Cop are one and the same. When we install feminist ideals like a nice Sims Expansion Pack, we are move toward a world that does not restrict female artists to being female artists.

April | May 2015

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POTPOURRI

BY IAN BARBOUR

Oh, the impressionable youth! How easily are they inspired by the resolutions of feel-good movies to the point of delirium. Even I, the preacher of realism, have pushed any worry of my accumulating student debt to the back of my mind, because I feel as if it will be resolved with the ease of a protagonist’s resolution.

UNFORTUNATELY, as our parents have told us once before, movies are movies, and the simplicity of fictional closure

is not applicable to real life. I am here to debunk the resolves of two movies that have propagated either false, or extremely unlikely methods in which I, and other Rutgers students, believe will solve their debt issues.

BOILER ROOM:

Aside from Ben Affleck at his absolute worst, Boiler Room is not only an awful movie, but awfully displays an awful way of dealing with debt…breaking the law!

Beginning with a college dropout’s ease of obtaining money, the film glorifies dirty means to “success” through unlicensed gambling and cold-calling. Although it obviously won’t inspire people to become con-artists, it perpetuates the idea that money can be obtained on a whim and that people don’t really need to make an effort to do so. Aside from the short broker training moments, the money sort of just exists and never really seems to pose a problem. Between this film and The Wolf of Wall Street, I lost count of the number of people who believe that the key to their success is to simply walk into a firm as a young and eager broker.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS:

When I thought of films about living in debt, this film instantly came up because its sentimentality overshadows the tangibility of its resolve. It is unfortunate as the film has many compelling moments. After impressing a manager from Dean Witter Reynolds by solving a Rubik’s cube, Will Smith’s broke character miraculously learns the in-and-outs of being a broker. After watching him go from zero to working class hero in a movie’s duration, you’ll believe any financial feat is possible—to this day, I still believe that with a minuscule amount of relevant job experience and a lack of internship experience, that I will still find a job with my English/Poli-Sci combo just by letting everything fall into place. Oh how I kid myself sometimes.

Though the resolves are based in fiction, there are bright spots that can be derived from the constants between these two polar opposite films. Brace yourself here—it’s about to get very corny: there is a general display of work ethic. Throughout both films, though motives are questionable, or improbable, sentiment-based occurrences run rampant, as each character works for what he/she wants. Take it or leave it, but sift through the improbable content that most people see as inspiration and you can find the message to which it is supposed to be adhered. Of course it will take awhile to resolve debt issues, but with ethical and strategic financial planning, a path can be set.

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POTPOURRI

April | May 2015

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POTPOURRI

HOME

BY FIL WOJCIK

there is no hope here: a festering cesspool of judgment. one false move & I am set on fire until the secrets come oozing out like thick slime, coagulated regret. oh, this place is totally fucked anger so intense, passionate fury erupting from your eyeballs, steam escaping every pore, smoldering loathing enveloping the senses, blinding you mad: having a gay son was not in your plan. you spent months trying to sweat me out, a task so bitter in taste, I was the salt stains on winter boots, the ache of snapped heartstrings, I was a violin that couldn't stop coughing.

I watched each part of you smoke away, each dust cloud laced with insult I could read the "fuck you" from the tips of your eyelashes but it would take an avalanche to scrape me off: defeat is not in my vocabulary 36

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POTPOURRI

STUDENT DEBT SUCKS

BY TYLER SPRINGSTEEN S o you just graduated, and it’s T ime for you to start paying off these deadly loans that make you scream.

U sually, you could just go into your room and yell into a pillow until the D oom that is before you just disappears, but things like this won’t just go away.

E veryday that you don’t have a job, the debt will build up N ever stopping. So to look and find some sort of positive in this situation, you T ry and convince yourself that it was worth it to spend all this money on college.

D ifferent from when you started college, the debt now nearing $35,000 has E ncouraged you to take the job that will pay more right now, B ut the sad part is you really don’t want that job. You just need an income T o stop yourself from the constant drowning sensation of debt.

S eriously contemplating your life, you can’t believe its been four years and U nfortunately your college days are over.

C alling your mom and complaining about the debt is getting old now, and your K illed hopes and dreams have become secondary to paying this: your debt.

Seriously, why are we okay with this?

April | May 2015

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POTPOURRI

In the events following the Ferguson shooting, some Ferguson police officers believed that they were deserving of a promotion. Boris Klimuskin had the pleasure of interviewing one of them for a high ranking position. say is your greatest weakness? Honestly, I’m expecting quite a few from you at this point.

OFFICER : Nope! Zero weaknesses!

BORIS KLIMUSKIN : So tell me about

BK : Okay. Then why have you decided to leave your current position?

yourself, including why you think you’d be a good candidate for Missouri Chief of Police.

resign.

OFFICER : Well, I was born at a very

BK : Yes, your file states that you were

young age, and I’ve always had a killer instinct.

fired due to misuse of deadly force.

And for being an idiot.

BK : I’m not sure if we’re looking for

OFFICER : Wait, my file never states the

someone with such an instinct, but regardless, please tell me your greatest strengths.

second part!

OFFICER : Actually, I was forced to

BK : I can see why… So, where do you

see yourself in five years?

OFFICER : After I get this job, I guess I’ll stick to it, so being Chief of Police obviously!

BK : Really? Because I see you being in jail. Anyway, how have your co-workers described you?

OFFICER : Recently, every time I walk

OFFICER : I always do what I believe is right, even if there’s no ground for the said belief !

BK : But what if your belief is not in accordance to the law? Would you still go with it?

BK : No it doesn’t, but I find you very annoying, so that part was from me.

BK : Riiiight… anyways, we all have

some weaknesses. What would you

BK : I see… well, I’m sorry to tell you this but I can tell you right now that your skills certainly do not match our qualifications. But we’ll keep your resume on file, which in the business world means we’ll just throw it out.

OFFICER : See, this is exactly why I

should be Chief of Police, so I can make my own rules.

OFFICER : Oh… okay. Thank you for your time then.

BK : Moving on, how do you work in a group setting? As in, how are your teamwork skills?

BK : You’re welcome. Oh! And one more thing!

OFFICER : Of course! If I believe that

something is right, then it has to be right, right?

into the station, everyone has been raising both their hands and asking me not to shoot them.

OFFICER : I’m good at getting large

amounts of people together, if that’s what you mean. But when that happens, they usually hate me for some reason.

OFFICER : Yes? Have you reconsidered already?

BK : Please send the next person in on your way out.

BY BORIS KLIMUSKIN 38

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POTPOURRI

BY JULIA TERRANOVA

ASK EVERYONE YOU KNOW “WHERE’S THE PARTY AT?”

Try to ask nonchalantly. How do you pronounce “∆”?

Act like you understand what they’re saying —“Chi Psi? Deke? Kappa Sig?” You might at this point want to invest in a Greek alphabet manual. Figure out what time the party starts.

Get ready for the party with your friends. Don’t wear anything you like too much because it will probably end up covered in a mixture of bodily fluids and alcohol. Your sophomore friend informs you that you should have a dedicated pair of “frat shoes” because “they’re going to get ruined.” Some great pieces of advice you get are, “Don’t wear a white shirt, dudes will spill their drinks on you so they can see your tits,” and “Wow! You look great! But maybe less cleavage, you don’t want to get groped.”

Some guys in your building that you’ve never spoken to before will approach you acting really super nice! “Hey, Julia, right? Where are you going tonight?

Do you think I could come with you?” Uh, why not? you might think, but just as you’re going to say it, your sophomore friend pulls you away, “Sorry, Chris!

We’re taking John out tonight!” Later in the night, you will begin to understand what “ratio” is—a system where frats only let guys into parties if they have a certain number of girls with them. For this night, the first “going out” night of the semester (appropriately dubbed “freshman night”) the ratio was 8:1. You might ask yourself, Wait! What about my feminist beliefs?! Your sophomore friend will inform you that

you have to turn off your feminism if you want to go out in college.

Take a couple of shots to get “loose,” then walk to the party. Being counted like cattle as you’re walking in to make sure you have ratio might feel demeaning at first, but the alcohol muffles the horrified gasps of Ms. Anthony and Ms. Stanton you hear in your head.

Don’t be alarmed when a brother looks you up and down lasciviously as you walk in and says, “Yeah, I’d fuck that.” It’s all part of the fun, probably.

Go to the basement. Get a cup of mysterious swill.

Dance with your friends, have some fun. Uh oh! Is that a grown man grinding on your ass? Why, yes it is!

Extricate yourself from the awkward situation. Dance with some other friends. Uh oh, is that the same man, trying to feel you up? Why, of course it is. Your sophomore friend will tell you not to worry and remove you from the situation. Later in the night, you will see her dancing with that same man, his hand perilously close to her breast. You’re pretty sure there are two people fucking against the wall. As you walk out of the party, someone spills their drink all over the back of your legs. The night wouldn’t be complete without an ass slap on the way out. You get back to your room, and it looks like you just trekked through the Amazon in a party dress.

Shower, lay down, get the spins, try not to throw up, throw up, wonder where the bruises came from, and mentally prepare yourself for next weekend.

April | May 2015

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