Volume XIX - Issue 9

7 April, 2016

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roxane gay speaks at garrison

By Margarita Moesch ‘19 Staff Writer

O

n Thursday evening, Scripps Presents hosted a conversation between Roxane Gay, essayist, professor, and novelist, and Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, critic and essayist.

Gay is known for her book Bad Feminist, a collection of essays about culture, politics, and feminism. She has published essays, short stories, poetry, and a novel; her upcoming memoir, Hunger, focuses on her experience of living in an “undisciplined” body.

Thursday’s talk, “Bad Feminist: A Conversation With Roxane Gay” touched on many current issues, including body positivity, trigger warnings and safe spaces, and the validity of feminism in an oftenmisogynist culture. Gay is a Haitian woman who grew up--and still lives in--the rural Midwest, and she also discussed the difficulty of having a multifaceted identity in a diverse country that still has difficulty recognizing non-binary identities.

Courtesy of Flickr Her views on the topics of safe spaces and trigger warnings were As part of the new Scripps Presents speaker series, novelist Roxane Gay visited Scripps College on particularly interesting to relate to Mar. 31 to discuss topics relating to her upcoming memoir, Hunger.

the current discussion on campus-safe spaces are a topic that is often discussed in relation to race and racial identity. Trigger warnings, especially on college campuses, are often portrayed as “coddling” students, but are also said to help students suffering from PTSD and the aftermath of other traumatic experiences. Gay expressed the view that while it is important to be respectful of what others have been through, censoring topics such as eating disorders and rape can discourage invaluable discussions that can be the catalyst for personal growth. She says she believes in safe spaces, however, as it is important to have spaces where people are able to share their experiences without fear of having their identities disrespected or repressed.

A moment of the night that drew significant applause was Gay’s proclamation that it is not our responsibility as feminist to explain or justify feminism to anyone. Being a feminist does not come with a job description; we are not required to explain the concept of feminism, or correct people who accuse us of being man-hating bra burners.

Source for quote: Harper Collins

every campus a refuge STRIVES TO BRING

refugee family to scripps

By Maureen Cowhey ‘19 Staff Writer This semester, Scripps students are spearheading an initiative to host a Syrian refugee family under the Every Campus a Refuge (ECAR) organization.

The organization was started by Guilford College, a small liberal arts college in North Carolina, with the mission for privately funded educational institutions to aid in the resettlement of Syrian refugees. While governors can choose to defund or disband resettlement agencies, the ECAR emphasizes that it is crucial for private colleges to provide housing and resources to these families. A Syrian family has recently been resettled on the Guilford campus, the first college to house a family.

While many nations throughout the world have refugees, the Syrian refugee crisis has been ongoing since 2011 due to civil war. According the ECAR website, fewer than 50 percent of Syrians are currently living in their homes. The conflict based on power struggles between different ethnic groups has lead to large numbers of civilian causalities, displacement, destruction and terror in Syria and throughout the Middle East. Many Syrian refugees are placed into camps in Jordan and Turkey,

Inside This Issue:

while others attempt to flee to Europe. The ECAR website states: “Because resettlement is obligatory and costly to the countries of refuge, they have little investment in ensuring the wellbeing of refugees on their journeys to safety and many die in transit. Those who do make it are faced with few employment opportunities, hostility, sparse resettlement accommodations provided by their new countries, and other difficulties of transition.”

The process at Scripps to house a refugee family has not been as simple and quick as the process that Guilford underwent. Students have been working through the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and a resettlement agency to provide the resources and housing necessary to help a family. Noor Hamdy ’18, leader of the project on the Claremont campuses, explained the complicated logistics and the lack of help that Guilford has provided. According to Hamdy, Scripps was the only 5C administration supportive of the initiative; however, it will even be difficult for the Scripps administration to provide housing, food or money due to liability and legal reasons. Hamdy is meeting with the other three Syrian refugee families in the Claremont area to see how their resettlement process was and to provide help if needed.

Page 3 - Student Award Read about the student employee of the year

Hamdy is still hopeful to receive a family on campus or in nearby housing by fall 2016. If the logistics work out, students would help settle the family and provide tutoring, babysitting, help running errands and professional help in finding and securing a job. Hamdy explained that families are only given 90 days in the resettlement period to find jobs and places to live with a very small stipend to live off of. By providing small services and financial assistance, Scripps can help make the resettlement process a lot easier.

In addition to housing a family, Hamdy and others working on the initiative are working to set up a conference in the fall to educate the colleges and the surrounding community on the refugee crisis, the families and the difficulties of the housing process. By bringing in government officials and other community members, she hopes to help make the housing process easier for future refugee families.

Hamdy explained that the initiative is ongoing and always looking for help. For more information on how to get involved, contact Noor Hamdy at nhamdy1630@ scrippscollege.edu or through facebook messenger. As the process is ongoing and changing each week, look for future articles about the progress of the initiative to host a Syrian refugee family at Scripps.

Made a few other changes according to Noor including adding her email and changing her graduation year.

Pages 6-7 - Room Spread Learn about the options for housing next year

1030 Columbia Avenue | Claremont, CA 91711 email: scrippsvoice@gmail.com | Volume XIX | Issue Nine

Page 9 - Fashion Column

Read this week’s column on microbeads in products

2 • News

the scripps voice welcomes

new editor-in-chief H

ello... It’s me. I’ve been wondering if after all this time you’d like to meet...your new Editor-in-Chief!

(Honestly I’d like to take credit for that introduction, but that was all Elena’s idea. Credit where credit is due, always!) It is true, though. I am very happy to announce that I will be your new co-Editor-in-Chief of The Scripps Voice for the next academic year! My name is Rachel, and I am a rising senior from San Diego, Calif. pursuing an English major and Hispanic Studies minor. I am a voracious reader and sporadic poet, and you may have seen me behind the desk at Denison Library; in my life I surround myself with as many written works as I possibly can, and this new position on the newspaper is just a natural extension of that. I also enjoy hiking, long cross-country road trips, and even longer romantic walks on the beach. Right now I’m studying abroad in Madrid for the semester and can’t wait to get back to my (our) beautiful campus. I’ve been on the paper since my sophomore year as a copy editor, so I’m used to telling people what to do and how they should change. Put perhaps more palatably, I’m excited to be able to

apply my perfectionist tendencies and desperate need to correct everything to a wider scope and make this wonderful paper even better. I hope to help nurture and promote a Voice that reflects our incredibly diverse, intelligent, and unique community of students. For college students, and especially those at a women’s college, having a newspaper that represents us all is crucial. We are all shaping and sharing our unique opinions and perspectives, learning from each other as well as the world outside the Claremont bubble, and becoming adults who think for ourselves and are confident in our own voices. I hope I can lead a paper that each and every one of you is proud to call your own.

I can’t wait to produce a newspaper that is a strong voice for everyone on campus, and I am so happy to be working with my friend and co-Editorin-Chief Elena Pinsker to make an amazing Scripps Voice for our senior year. And as I sit here, writing to you all from across the Atlantic Ocean, I can’t help but end this by saying... hello from the other side.

– Rachel Miller-Haughton ‘17

SCRIPPS HOSTS TITLE IX WORKSHOP

By Sasha Rivera ‘19 Staff Writer On March 24, Scripps College hosted a workshop about Title IX activism and how its civil rights approach is used to fight against gender-based violence in educational institutions. In addition, there were discussions about how this differs from and is better than a criminal justice method, as well as the current legislative landscape. The workshop was led by Mahroh Jahangiri and Zoe RidolfiStarr, who are the Deputy Directors of Know Your IX, a national survivor-run, student-driven campaign to end campus sexual violence.

Jahangiri lives and organizes in Washington DC where she is a columnist for Feministing.com. She used to be a junior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and her previous research on immigration detention in Washington, DC and work in Cairo, Egypt has focused on the ways in which American militarization, racism, and sexual violence impact nonwhite communities transnationally. Ridolfi-Starr is the co-founder of Carry That Weight, an organization that merged with Know Your IX last year. Because she is a second-generation queer woman and a survivor of sexual assault, she focuses on the voices of survivors and people with marginalized identities in her work against violence. Ridolfi-Starr says she is committed to creating community-centered solutions to sexual violence that do not rely on the inherently violent and oppressive prisonindustrial complex.

The workshop began with a discussion of gender violence in terms of how it is defined and what type of situations fall under this category; besides sexual assault, things like stalking, dating violence, and online harassment all qualify as gender violence.

“Violence often serves to maintain structural and cultural gender inequalities,” Ridolfi-Starr said. She also described how the term “sexual misconduct” was created by universities to minimize and sanitize language relating to sexual assault.

Next, the presentation moved on to an assortment of statistics about sexual violence and dating violence in various groups. One in five women, one in 20 men, and one in four transgender people experience sexual violence in college. While 43 per cent of college women undergo dating violence, this number is even higher for women of color in both dating and sexual violence, Moreover, people with disabilities are three times more likely to face sexual violence. Gay and bisexual men are ten times more likely to experience sexual violence as well. However, these numbers were based on reported cases; in reality, the amounts are much higher due to the creation of a culture of silence, stigma, and victim blaming. After all, about 95 per cent of college students do not report their sexual assaults.

The presenters asked the audience for reasons why victims might not report; responses included fear of social ramifications, desire to not interact with the abuser ever again, fear of invalidation, stress, and even just being too busy to deal with the process. In addition, undocumented students do not report out of fear of deportation. For students of color, the threat of police brutality can also prevent them from reporting.

Then, they moved onto the main topic, which is the overall explanation of Title IX and its purpose. Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education. It protects all students, staff, and faculty in educational programs that get federal funding. Sexual violence on campus qualifies as gender discrimination because, for example, simply being in the same class as the abuser can be detrimental to victims and keep them from their education. Though the law itself is short, Title IX has been expanded and made more robust so that it can offer a wider variety of protections.

It makes schools protect civil rights and educational access for students. Unfortunately, many religious schools apply for exemption from Title IX requirements.

“Title IX is a pretty all-encompassing legal tool,” RidolfiStarr said. She explained that the law protects you even against assault from people who do attend your school.

It provides you with accommodations in terms of health, education, and housing. Victims can even get no-contact

orders, which are generally good except they also place more burden on survivors and only apply on campus.

“Title IX protects you even before you make an official complaint,” Jahangiri said.

The audience was then asked to discuss a list of questions. The first asked about what’s going on in the campus and community, as well as the biggest challenges in combatting sexual and dating violence at school. The second questions inquired about the intersection of gender violence on campus and the third asked about how this movement connects to other anti-violence efforts like Black Lives Matter.

Audience members brought up the complexities and disorganization that arise with being in a consortium, such as how the policies of the perpetrator’s school are used in sexual assault cases. They also said that there isn’t enough communication between groups like Advocates and the Empower Center, as well as that not enough people file complaints or understand their rights.

One student also brought up that most employees on campus are mandatory reporters so they feel that they cannot confide in authority figures about their situations.

The common campus issues associated with sexual assault and its handling are not enough prevention education, a lack of fair and prompt investigations, not enough transparence, and a lack of campus climate surveys. However, student activists are fighting back by filing Title IX complaints, targeting decision makers at school and in governments, using the power of the media, telling their stories, utilizing artistic activism and symbolism, and engaging in national collaboration.

When asked about advice in creating policy changes, Ridolfi-Starr and Jahangiri discussed the absence of protections due to consortium policies and stated that the first step was to figure out who are the authority figures with decision-making powers in these situations.

They also advised that when protesting, activists should focus on specific and repetitive ideas in order to better spread a cohesive message. They also suggested more coalition between consortium students in the forms of committees and task forces, as well as a push for centralization of Title IX resources for the colleges.

7 April, 2016 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XIX • Issue Nine

Features • 3

The Scripps Voice Staff

Scripps Celebrates Student Employee Achievements during Student Employee Appreciation Week

Editor-in-Chief Elena Pinsker Advisor Sam Haynes Design Editors Monica Acosta Abigail Gilcrest Jenny Lee Copy Editors Rachel Miller-Haughton Ashley Minnis-Lemley Star Schneider Business Manager Lily Comba Webmaster Jocelyn Gardner Columnists & Staff Writers Ali Bush Melanie Biles Natalie Camrud Maureen Cowhey Sophie Fahey Kandace Fung Taylor Galla Jocelyn Gardner Diva Gattani Evelyn Gonzalez Philippa Haven Joelle Leib Margarita Moesch Erin Matheson Sasha Rivera Sophia Rosenthal Sydney Sibelius Talia Speaker Isobel Whitcomb Vloggers Abigail Metsch Caroline Nelson Lily Yang - Director Photographers Tyra Abraham Jessica Eu Suzette Guzman Anita Ho Annalise Ko Jessica Padover Layne Wells Comments and letters can be submitted by emailing scrippsvoice@gmail.com or by visiting our website at www.thescrippsvoice.com. Please review our guidelines online before submitting feedback.

The Scripps Voice is a student forum and is not responsible for the opinions expressed in it.

Photo courtesy of Career Planning & Resources

By Niah Grimes Career Counselor and Student Employment Coordinator

W

ith over 500 student employee positions on-campus each year, Scripps simply can’t operate without the support of students who spend their time outside of the classroom welcoming visitors to campus, supporting faculty research and serving perfectly-brewed coffee. During Student Employee Appreciation week, Scripps celebrates the accomplishments of our student employees and recognizes the importance of the student work experience.

In early February, I sent out a call for Student Employee of the Year nominations to the campus community.

While glowing nominations rolled in from the Scripps Community, I convened a committee of faculty, staff and alumnae to review the nominations and select a group of finalists based on the following criteria, as defined by the National Student Employment Association: 1. Reliability 2. Quality of Work, 3. Initiative, 4. Professionalism, 5. Uniqueness of Contribution 6. Commitment to Inclusivity and Community The committee was impressed by all nominations but found the work of several nominees

particularly compelling.

The Scripps College Student Employee of the Year Finalists are as follows: 1. Daniela Baena Canas ’16: First Generation Intern, Academic Resources and Services 2. Juliana Baena Canas ’16: First Generation Intern, Academic Resources and Services 3. Julia Black ’17: New Student Program Coordinator, SARLO 4. Evelyn Gonzalez ’18: Special Collections Student Assistant, Denison Library Words like amazing, enthusiastic, dependable, flexible, mature, genuine, diligent, and outstanding were strewn among the nominations for these students. Supervisors, faculty and staff members, and peers were impressed by the quality of work these student employees produced and expressed equal appreciation for the characteristics that make these students such special members of their respective offices.

Each finalist exhibits the skills, qualities and characteristics that define great employees, but the committee ultimately selected Jennifer Smith ’16 as the Scripps College Student Employee of the Year. Jennifer was nominated by her supervisor for her work in The Office of Admission as Lead Admission Ambassador. In this role, she serves as the primary

7 April, 2016 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XIX • Issue Nine

liaison between the Ambassadors and the supervising Admission staff members.

Additionally, she performs all Admission Ambassador duties such as leading tours, recruiting and training volunteers, arranging overnight stays, managing social media accounts, and working with admission staff during on-campus events.

Her supervisor, Anna-Marie Wood, says, “Jenny is always a step ahead, leading by being proactive instead of reactive.”

In her nomination, Anna-Marie noted that Jenny has contributed to the office in various ways by creating a manual for future Lead Admission Ambassadors, creating a new process for tracking office tasks, and recreating publications for visiting guests of the college.

Anna-Marie says, “I honestly do not know where this program would be without her.”

Congratulations to Jenny for earning this incredible honor.

While Student Employee Appreciation Week provides a unique opportunity for faculty and staff at Scripps to recognize student employees, it is also my hope that students will recognize their peers and coworkers by helping to shape their experience.

I hope students will also use this time as an opportunity to reflect on their own employment experiences at the college. To all student employees, thank you for the good work that you do and for your commitment to Scripps College.

4 • Features

Why I read the claremont independent

By Isabel Riddick ’19 Staff Writer

L

ast semester, Scripps invited Rhonda Fitzgerald, a diversity and inclusion speaker, to campus for New Student Orientation. She spoke about how to effectively apply sustained dialogue strategies to discussions and to navigate viewpoints that differ from our own. One thing she said stuck with me: “When you disagree, listen harder.”

I assume that Ms. Fitzgerald was primarily addressing students in the audience who may experience culture shock while discussing sensitive liberal topics; for example, LGBT rights or Black Lives Matter. As a black, queer liberal, I am obviously in agreement with such topics. I later realized that Ms. Fitzgerald’s sentiments can also be applied to conservative dialogue; after all, I didn’t come to college just to affirm my liberal views. Therefore, I resolved to read every article that the conservative news platform Claremont Independent publishes.

Of the plethora of student newspapers at the Claremont Colleges, the Independent by far the most controversial. The majority of Independent articles detail conservative students’ perceived struggle against the oppressive nature of liberalism.

In high school, I would have dismissed such sentiments as literary trash and vehemently refuse to read them. However, Ms. Fitzgerald’s speech encouraged me to actively seek out the narratives of these people; people that I would otherwise never associate myself with.

Granted, there is not a single Independent

AND THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING TO THE OTHER SIDE

article that doesn’t annoy me.

In fact, I could pull up any one of their articles at random and write reams upon reams of rebuttal. For example, the Independent’s most recent article “Dear Citizens Climate Lobby: President Chodosh Is Not Obligated to Endorse Your Beliefs On Climate Change” by Teagen Knight is riddled with erroneous facts (“there [is] still political debate on whether or not human-induced climate change exists”), and accusations of CMC “catering to a progressive political agenda”. Why Knight seems to be so vehemently opposed to raising carbon prices is beyond me. However, the message Knight expresses is true; as the President of a school with a wide array of viewpoints and backgrounds, Chodosh is indeed not obligated to endorse any kind of political sentiment. Should he? If I had a say, absolutely; but in the end, he has the right to perform his job at his own discretion.

The backlash Independent staff receive is understandably astronomical. Long-winded, angry counterarguments are not hard to find in their articles’ comment sections. Most of these comments are fairly accurate in their critique.

However, when censure of the Independent’s views extends beyond the newspaper itself, it can become a form of censorship. Editor-in-chief Steven Glick recently described his resignation as a Pomona Writing Center Fellow in his article, “I Resign: The Writing Center’s Mission Is to Teach Writing, Not Ideology”, due to what he felt was harassment for his political views. He describes being told by a professor that his presence keeps the Writing

Center from being a “safe space” and was highly encouraged to reflect on and rectify his views.

If what he says is true, then the Writing Center’s conduct was absolutely unacceptable. As Glick explains, a Writing Center’s job is simply to assist students with their writing skills, nothing more. If Glick pushed his conservative agenda onto Writing Center students, that would be one thing; but, it is inappropriate to tell him that his mere presence makes the Writing Center unsafe. Glick happens to be a very accomplished writer: his personal opinions should not factor into determining his writing ability. Therefore, it is understandable that Glick and other conservative students at the Claremont Colleges would feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of liberals here; this is something I did not consider before I started reading the Independent.

In no way am I suggesting that one must read the Independent in order to keep an open mind, nor do I endorse any of its narratives. I simply support its right to exist and be read, just as I would any other student publication. In fact, reading the Independent has given me invaluable perspective.

Not only does it offer me a chance to reflect on opinions that differ from my own, it also acts to further solidify my views by examining the both the rampant flaws and the rare glimmers of truth found in conservative logic.

TODAY’S PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES:

where they stand ON BIRTH CONTROL

By Philippa Haven ‘17 Staff Writer The upcoming U.S. Presidential election has garnered the attention of millions of Americans due to its drama and rhetoric. There is much at stake, for the incoming president must act as Commander in Chief during a time where terrorism – both homegrown and external – is widespread, bring together people from the far-right and far-left, and possibly even nominate a Supreme Court Justice.

This article will cover just one of many controversial issues over which the next president has much dictation: access to birth control.

Both democratic candidates, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, take the viewpoint most allied with public opinion (Gallup Opinion Poll 2015 http://ropercenter.cornell.edu/public-attitudesbirth-control/): birth control is an essential part of healthcare and family planning is a step towards ensuring gender equality. Both want to increase funding for Planned Parenthood, expand the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to support family planning initiatives, and are against the Hobby Lobby decision that enables employers to refuse to cover birth control in employee health plans.

Sanders has a 100% approval rating on the Planned Parenthood Action Fund scorecard. Beyond voting to support the ACA, he co-sponsored a bill that would protect women from employers who want to block coverage of birth control. Clinton, who also had a 100% approval rating on the Planned Parenthood scorecard when in the Senate, is

endorsed by Planned Parenthood, primarily because she has a long history of sponsoring bills that expand access to birth control and safe abortions. She was an early and vocal supporter of Planned Parenthood, and is famous for the quotation “women’s rights are human’s rights”.

All three remaining Republican candidates, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Donald Trump, staunchly object to mandating that all employers cover birth control for their employees, funding Planned Parenthood, and expanding access to abortions. To prove how much he objected the ACA and Planned Parenthood, Cruz orchestrated the 2013 government shutdown (https://rewire. news/article/2013/09/30/house-gop-threatensshutdown-over-contraception-obamacare/).

On day one of his Presidency, Cruz promises to immediately have his Attorney General investigate Planned Parenthood for fraud (https:// www.tedcruz.org/issues/life -marriage -andfamily/). Kasich, though seemingly moderate in Presidential debates, is one of the most avid pro-life conservatives: as governor of Ohio, he signed 17 women’s health restrictions into law and added a provision in the 2013 Ohio state budget that effectively blocked Planned Parenthood from receiving state funding. Trump has flipped on the issue of abortion several times, however he recently came out with a clarifying statement, saying that women seeking abortions should be subject to “some form of punishment” (http://www.nbcnews. com/politics/2016-election/trump-lewandowskithey-re-destroying-very-good-person-n548036).

He quickly retracted the statement, something the

nominee rarely does, and explained that he meant the doctor performing the abortion is at fault, not the woman.

Access to safe birth control is part of the healthcare of millions of Americans. Furthermore, the majority of Americans see birth control as morally acceptable, despite that fact it is so highly politicized (Gallup Opinion Poll 2015 http:// ropercenter.cornell.edu/public-attitudes-birthcontrol/). This election is pivotal for women’s health rights, for the next president will decide how accessible birth control is for women via whether they continue to fund Planned Parenthood, repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and issue executive orders expanding or constricting abortion access.

What do you think is an important issue the upcoming president will have to address?

Is there any topic where you are unsure of where the candidates stand? Email The Voice: scrippsvoice@gmail.com and we will address it in the next issue.

7 April, 2016 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XIX • Issue Nine

Features • 5

the obesity myth: health at every size

By Isobel Whitcomb ‘17 Environmental Columnist

M

any people are already familiar with the way the mass media perpetuates the social stigma against being fat. Every day we are bombarded with images of often unrealistically thin women and men. We see them on magazine covers as we wait in the check-out lane at grocery stores and posted on social media sites, while similar photos of fat people are flagged as “inappropriate” and taken down. However, most people are not aware of the way science and the medical establishment are complicit in this moral panic. After all, if there is one thing Americans are taught about health from an early age, it’s that being fat is unhealthy. So what happens when we begin to question that key tenet of the medical establishment?

“

This study should cause the scientific and medical establishment as well as the American public to pause and question what we have been taught about our weight and health.

”

In 2013, Doctor Katherine M. Flegal published a scientific review in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association investigating the link between mortality and being overweight and obese, using standard categories of body mass index (BMI). The review compiled all 143 recently published studies that published results on BMI and mortality, and found that while higher grades of obesity (BMI>35) were associated with higher mortality, being overweight or in a lower obese

range (a BMI of 25-35) was actually associated with lower mortality risk overall.

This study is not suggesting that those of us who do not fall into this BMI range panic about our higher risk of mortality. After all, there are many confounding factors that affect correlations between weight and health such as socioeconomic status, dieting tendencies, tendency to weight cycle (commonly called “yo-yo dieting), and mental health. However, this study should cause the scientific and medical establishment as well as the American public to pause and question what we have been taught about our weight and health. The confounding factors I mentioned above were all used in attempts to discredit Flegal’s 2013 review.

But these critics all forgot one problem with their argument- that if confounding factors influenced the results of Flegal’s study, then they also have the potential to influence the effects of studies that do find a higher correlation between weight and health.

The truth is that the association with being overweight or obese and health is shady at best.

Since Flegal’s article was published three years ago, dozens of studies and reviews have reiterated that fact. One such study, published in December of 2015, separated participants into categories of “metabolically healthy” and “metabolically unhealthy” as well as standard BMI categories and looked at the incidence of cardiovascular events over a 10-year period. Over the past few months since it was published, this study was touted by the media as proving that there was no such thing as “fat but fit.” However, when I read the study itself, I found that its results were similar to those of Flegal. It found no difference between the incidence of cardiovascular events in metabolically healthy, “normal weight” and “overweight” individuals, and found that metabolically unhealthy “normal weight” participants were actually more likely to experience a cardiovascular event than metabolically unhealthy “overweight” participants. This study also exhibited some of the assumptions and problems typical of research on weight and health. Unlike Flegal, the

study placed all obese people into one category- a major problem because as Flegal found, there can be big differences between a person with a BMI of 30 and another with a BMI of 40. In addition, unlike Flegal’s study, it only investigated cardiovascular events, rather than all-cause mortality. Such an approach makes it difficult to assess whether socioeconomic status or dieting tendencies associated with certain BMI groups have an effect on overall mortality.

“

Unlike Flegal, the study placed all obese people into one category- a major problem because as Flegal found, there can be big differences between a person with a BMI of 30 and another with a BMI of 40.

”

According to Paul Campos, the author of The Obesity Myth, scientific complicity in the war on obesity is a classic symptom of a moral panic. “As public concern about the damage being done to the fabric of society by the folk devils increases, increasingly intense demands are made on public officials to “do something” about the crisis.” While “it’s good to encourage people of all sizes to be active and avoiding eating disordered behavior (like dieting),” Campos argues that “this isn’t because lifestyle changes will make fat people thin people. They won’t.” The take away message from these reviews is this: there is too little hard medical evidence on weight and health to make any distinctions between categories. This lack of a conclusion is in itself revolutionary. It’s a sign that we need to question how deeply ingrained our assumption is of the link between fatness and health.

scientists discover gene responsible for gray hair

By Erin Matheson ‘18 Science Columnist

G

ray hair historically symbolizes the aging process. Even with the spectrum of hair colors, both natural and artificial, humans all share one common characteristic: we all gray. Eventually, everyone despite his, her or their hair color will eventually hit a point in their life when their hair fades to gray. This idea of graying has been referred to as the 50/50/50 rule of thumb: at age 50, 50% of the population will be 50% gray. It is well known that grayness is significantly linked to one’s genetic code or DNA, so if either your mother or father went gray, you most likely will too. It has not been until just recently that scientists have identified the exact gene loci responsible for hair grayness.

An article recently published in Newsweek summarized the London study that found the gene directly linked to graying. In the study, researchers analyzed the DNA of 6,000 Latin

American people to locate genes that determine different attributes of hair. Kaustabh Adhikari, the lead author of the study, said that a known gene, IFR, responsible for the light hair pigmentation of individuals of European descent, is now linked to graying. The process of graying begins in the follicles of the scalp. At the bottom of every follicle is an area where cells work in conjunction to create and assemble hair. The keratinocyte proteins construct hair and melanocyte proteins create its pigmentation. Hair that has lost the majority of its melanin is gray; hair that has lost all of the pigment is white. The IFR gene regulates the process of melanin release.

Past research before the IFR4 discovery, identified melanin deficiency as the root cause of graying, but it lacked the direct mechanism responsible. In a previous study, melanocyte-tagged transgenic mice and aging human hair follicles were used to demonstrate that hair graying is caused by defective maintenance of melanocyte stem cells.

This overarching idea that melanin is responsible

for hair color has been known for quite some time; however, as it is evident from this study the direct loci responsible still remained unknown. At the time, researchers only knew physiologic aging of melanocyte stems cells caused hair graying through a loss in differentiated melanocytes in the hair matrix. Now, information pertaining to hair graying is known down to the gene loci.

In addition to genetics being a main contributor to graying, it is common knowledge that stress is also a root cause. As a college student who experiences a lot of daily stress, I researched if I will become gray in the near future. Although the onset and progression of hair graying is closely related to chronological age and genetics, stress can hasten depigmentation for individuals that are already genetically predisposed for gray hair. However, there is no scientific evidence demonstrating a direct relationship between stress and graying.

So, as the third round of midterms approach, try to relax and blame your early onset of gray on your genes.

7 April, 2016 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XIX • Issue Nine

8 • Features

film review **********

By Ali Bush ‘19 Film Columnist

W

hiskey Tango Foxtrot -- or in military language, WTF. This film may leave you with that exact question. Set against the backdrop of the Afghanistan War, the film is an adaptation of journalist Kim Barker’s memoir of her experiences as an in the field journalist covering the Afghanistan War. Starring Tina Fey, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) is intended to reveal Fey’s more critically aware and globally responsible side, after her release of Sisters, but it is ultimately a chaotic film that attempts to tackle too many issues. It espouses white feminist ideals and ignores or only slightly touches on the important issues surrounding the Afghanistan War. The film’s plot it hard to explain in a short film review, but it ultimately follows the life and career of Kim Baker, a small time news script writer in New York, turned international war correspondent. Once Kim arrived leaves American and arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan, she discovers that she’ll be living with all other Western news syndicated in a frat-styled house where partying seems to be the constant priority. She meets many other white journalists along the way, and indulges in many subplots along the way, making her new best friend played by Margot Robbie, and eventually falling in love with a British photographer (Martin Freeman). When Kim eventually gets around to doing her job on the war field, she is first pathetically inept, but slowly gets that hang of interviewing soldiers and covering her experiences war, often getting herself in dangerous situations. We see Kim face many obstacles on

Photo courtesy of 2star.

her journey such as having to break up with her boyfriend back home and fight to get her coverage aired on TV. After deciding to stay in Afghanistan for much longer than she anticipated, we see Kim tackle riskier stories that endanger her security.

Kim slowly becomes hooked on the adrenaline rush that comes with covering life-threatening situations. While this is a fascinating subgenre, it seems like the last thing we should care about when missiles are being fired and woman are being oppressed right outside of her front door.

Kim seems to be an extension of Fey’s mastered character of a nerdy workaholic, unable to handle her personal life, but the upside of this film is that the character Kim seems to be much more enlightened than this self-deprecating character we’ve seen Fey play in 30 Rock. We see Kim reach many feminist realizations after she comes to terms with the facts that she is in charge of her body, her relationships, and her career. For me, the film doesn’t really need to teach us about feminism for a white woman in the middle east, when it could be teaching us about the always touchy subjects of women’s roles in the middle east.

Furthermore, this dramedy is entirely too focused on a life of a white woman in the middle east. Although the film tries to touch on different topics that come with war, such as the American

military’s interaction with locals, it ultimately dwells entirely too much on Kim’s personal life. This film simply tries to tackle too many things at once: Kim’s white feminist revelations, women’s roles in the Middle East, the media’s roles in the middle east, and criticism of American military intervention.

These issues grab our attention for a small fraction of the movie, but just as one topic gets interesting, it is left unresolved as we move onto another pressing issue. The film perfectly captures Kim’s experience of being an American woman in a female-repressive society and the complications of a stuck-in-a-rut midlife-crisis comedy, but it seems out of place with a war waging outside. The movie ultimately spends too much time focused on life of one clueless white woman’s chaotic experience in the middle east, when it could have done much more to inform its audience about middle eastern culture and its relations with the US. Even more disappointing was directors Glenn Focarra and Jean Requa’s decision to cast two white men as main Afghan characters. In the wake of the Oscars So White issue, it is appalling that the directors seem to be blind not only to the multitude middle eastern actors who could have ably played these roles, but actors’ of color need for more opportunities in Hollywood. The lack of actors of color and the film’s pseudo-interest in pressing issues in the middle east, prove that this is overall a half-hearted attempt to make a movie about US relations with the Middle East. Even though all the issues this film attempts to tackle are important and potentially riveting, they are only attempts. The movie spends far too much time focused on the life of one clueless white woman’s chaotic experience in the middle east, when it could have done much more to inform its audience about middle eastern culture and its relations with the US.

Photo courtesy of NY Daily News.

Tina Fey performs alongside Margot Robbie, who plays Australian correspondent Tanya Vanderpoel.

Photo courtesy of USA Today.

Tina Fey stars as Kim Barker in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. a dramedy based on the memoir of a war correspondent.

7 April, 2016 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XIX • Issue Nine

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

Features • 9

procrastination

nation

By Taylor Galla ‘18 Opinion Poll Columnist

P

rocrastination is a very adamant problem on college campuses, as is evidenced by the endless population of students in the library until very very late each night. Many of whom, I would argue, are probably working hard on something due in the very near future. Now, I used to see procrastination as a problemsomething that people need to fix by not being lazy and being more disciplined with their work.

However, this week I watched a TED Talk from online blogger Ted Urban in which he discussed his procrastination machine that has carried him through his life to where he is today. He explained that, in fact, everyone procrastinates in one way or another. His system of procrastination included a “Rational Decision Maker,” a “Instant Gratification Monkey” and a “Panic Monster.” The “Rational Decision Maker” always tries to get work done when the time is appropriate and convenient, but the “Instant Gratification Monkey” grabs the wheel and steers the subject towards things that are easy and fun to do- keeping the work from being done. The “Panic Monster” is the key to the whole system- because as deadlines approach and the amount of work needed to accomplish the task remains the same, this monster wakes up and provides the much-needed motivation to get it done. The system, Urban explains, “is not pretty, but it works.”

Now, I would argue that many people in these 5C campuses would relate to this talk as it lays out the pattern very clearly and addresses an unfortunate but very prevalent reality for many people. Procrastination is exactly how he describes it- a system of getting things done. It’s not the easiest system, nor the most efficient, nor the smartest in my opinion. However it’s a system that many people have because due to the mind that they possess, they don’t really have any other options as to what they can do.

However, I wouldn’t argue that there are “procrastinators” and “non-procrastinators”many people procrastinate in different ways at varying levels. There are people who procrastinate on homework they don’t want to do with other productive work- like working on their resume or sending emails for study abroad. There are people who procrastinate by cleaning their room, calling their parents, making a really good smoothie, washing their car or going to work out. These are tasks that yes, aren’t the most pertinent task at hand, but are being constructive in one way or another.

There are also people who procrastinate in ways that seemingly aren’t productive in the same way but I would argue that they are in their own way- you just have to look at them carefully.

Take an example that Tim Urban discusses in his video- going on Google Earth and starting at the lowest point in India and spending 2 hours to get to the highest point - “to get a better sense of India.” Now, this doesn’t seem like a very interesting or beneficial thing to do for one’s career or studies. But, that knowledge acquired in that time will come up later on for something else- whether it’s chit chat with a random person on the subway or an anecdote to share in a job interview. Either way, this time is not wastedi t ’s c o n t r i b u t i n g t o accumulative knowledge and experience that creates a person with a full life.

Procrastinators, in their many forms, are people with active, engaged minds. Tim Urban ends his talk by discussing how that “Panic Monster” works in all situations with a deadline, because he whips into action and gets the task donedelaying the need to become a more diligent worker. However, where the “Instant Gratification Monkey” performs his sneakiest trick is when there is no deadline for something. A business one wants to start, improving one’s relationship, taking care of one’s health or calling their family more often. These things have no deadline in one’s life because they aren’t things that one necessarily has to do; however, they are important and deserve attention. Everyone is procrastinating on something- in the immediate present and in the far future. However, we must keep the far future on our radar and because the “Panic Monster” cannot make those major life moves happen years down the line- we have to start now. Well, maybe not right now- but soon.

Photo courtesy of chengwhich.blogspot.com

microbeads an ocean hazard

By Natalie Camrud ‘17 & Diva Gattani ‘17 Fashion Columnists Have you ever bought an exfoliating face wash with little beads in it or owned a toothpaste with pretty little blue flecks? Did you realize those might actually be tiny pieces of plastic? Have you ever wondered what happens to those little beads when they wash down the drain? The last stop of their journey is usually your own bloodstream and cells, which is the last place one wants plastic to be. These little beads are called microbeads or microplastics, and while they might be great at getting the dead skin off your face, they play an insidious role in the epidemic of plastic waste in our waterways and oceans and plastic toxins affecting our health. Microplastics are less than five millimeters in size, so they slip through filters at wastewater treatment plants and wind up in the ocean. It is estimated that 8 trillion of these little beads get into the ocean every day. Because of their small size, 96 percent of the world’s biodiversity can potentially ingest them. From the stomach they enter the bloodstream and become part of the cells and tissues of these marine organisms, such as clams, mussels, and fish. The ingestion of the physical piece of plastic is not a huge issue, but the toxins that are within that plastic are more frightening. Plastics contain Persistent Organic Pollutants, or POPs. They do not break down in the bodies of the animals who consume them, so if a fish eats some plastic bead with POPs in them and then a human eats that fish, they have just eaten those harmful chemicals. POP’s have been linked to behavior abnormalities and birth defects in wildlife, and developmental, behavioral, neurologic, reproductive, and endocrine health problems in humans. I don’t know about you, but I definitely do NOT want to be eating harmful chemicals.

Luckily, the US will have banned microbeads in personal care products and cosmetics by July 2017 and microbead use in over the counter drug products by July 2019. But in the meantime, be a conscious consumer and look for products that have natural exfoliants, like walnut shells, olive pieces, or coffee grounds. It is also possible (and easy) to make your own, with ingredients like coffee grounds, coconut oil and brown sugar. Voila! A delicious-smelling plastic-free scrub!

If you’re having trouble figuring out which personal care product isn’t entirely toxic, you can download the Beat the Microbead app; it’s free and you can scan products and it will tell you if it has microbeads or not. It’s also important to point out that microplastics can come from larger pieces of plastic that have broken down, so whenever you have the option, choose paper over plastic, or, better yet, bring your own bag. Always recycle your plastic products (rinse them first!), and buy a reusable water bottle. The problem of plastics in our oceans and waterways have reached horrific levels (just google “Pacific Garbage Patch”), so being mindful about our plastic use, from beads to bags to bottles, is better for our environment as well as our health.

Sources: http://www.abc.net.au/environment/ articles/2014/09/10/4084109.htm https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/ persistent-organic-pollutants-global-issue-globalresponse#affect http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/01/usbans-microbeads-personal-care-products

7 April, 2016 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XIX • Issue Nine

10 • Features

white male tears deconstructing the men’s rights movement

By Evelyn Gonzalez ‘18 Feminism Columnist

O

n December 3, 2016, the Leonard Lopate Show conducted an interview with Professor Michael Kimmel, author of several books including “Angry White Men: Masculinity at the End of an Era.” In both the interview and in his book, Kimmel expands upon the idea of angry, white men and the ways in which their anger have been shaped by societal, economic and political moments in history.

Angry white men are not a new concept and have far preceded our current contemporary society. However, one difference that can be seen in Kimmel’s analysis is that he differentiates between the angry, white men of the past compared to the current group in existence. The difference, he insists, is that rather than their anger being directed at economic stressors they are instead filled with a sense of “aggrieved entitlement,” specifically in gendered terms. That is, individuals belonging to this group are characterized by their belief in the explicit oppression and discrimination of men. Kimmel’s idea of the angry white man is particularly applicable to and can easily be illustrated through an examination of the contemporary men’s rights movement, which at its core constructs white men in particular as a disadvantaged group. The men’s rights movement that began in the 70s, then called the men’s liberation movement, did not begin as such and existed as an acknowledgement of male privilege and the maladies of male masculinity. During the 80s and 90s, the men’s liberation movement experienced a rift in their assembly through which the current antifeminist organizations emerged. The group expressed their resentment towards feminist movements, which they specifically targeted as they believed they were responsible for drawing society away from traditional family values and, in effect, was contributing to the

Michael Kimmel and his book, “Angry White Men: Masculinity at the End of an Era.”

feminization of men. One specific example that Kimmel gives during his interview is of Roy Hollander who captures the essence of the angry white man, through his various lawsuits against bars that allow women in for free and women’s studies programs. He believes that feminism provides the fodder for incidents of reverse discrimination against men. He becomes an example of the specific manifestations of men’s misinformed anger towards particular groups, especially women.

Hollander also illustrates how these men have “misdirected their anger at all the wrong targets, those below them.” These men believe themselves to be victims of processes of reverse discrimination and oppression. This feeling arises as a result of their own skewed

Comic courtesy of Lefty Cartoons.

Photos courtesy of The Feminist Wire and Amazon.

perception of the world as a result of growing up secure in their own positionality in the world as privileged and entitled white men.

Since they are in this position of vulnerability as “victims,” which is often viewed as an emasculating position, they have to reaffirm and reassert their own masculinity. Angry white men utilize their anger similarly to how toddlers utilize their tantrums: to transfer blame and responsibility onto someone else.

Hanna Rosin’s article “Even Madder Men” in The New York Times reviews Kimmel’s work and further extrapolates on the trajectory of men’s feelings of helplessness and frustration into anger: “in gendered terms men don’t get sad, they get mad. Their sadness is massaged into anger” (Rosin, 2013). However, the anger and critiques being contributed by men’s rights activists are not always unfounded and sometimes do contribute to important conversations. For example, their commentary on biased child custody laws, health and prisons do begin to look at some of the detrimental aspects of power dynamics infused in current gender relations.

Their intentions and actions are unfortunately misplaced and become problematic in that they contribute to furthering heterosexual, capitalist and patriarchal modes of societal operations. The men’s rights movement could be successful in bringing conversations surrounding important issues that working class, LGBT and men of color face, but instead they focus and waste their energy on continually expressing their misogynistic anger towards feminist groups. Kimmel’s analysis of the angry white men provides an excellent analysis of the mechanisms in place that allow for the current men’s rights movement and speaks widely to the ways in which white men specifically try to assert their own masculinity and how anger is used to target specific groups.

7 April, 2016 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XIX • Issue Nine

Opinions • 11

“I(another SHAVED MY LEGS FOR THIS!” article about college hookup culture)

By Sophia Rosenthal ‘17 Sex Columnist

I

t’s a Thursday night. Or maybe Saturday night.

Possibly even Friday if it’s been a tough week or, you know, a miracle happens. Drinks are flowing, moderately-priced cologne wafts through the evening air, and sticky ping-pong balls bounce across tables that have probably seen more than any item of outdoor furniture should have to.

Across each of the 5C’s, legs are being shaved, eyebrows plucked, and dorm rooms tidied hastily in the hopeful event that someone-who’s-not-aroommate-or-platonic-friend happens to pass through. (You know the drill: make “smart” looking books visible, hide dirty laundry and old stuffed animals in closet, make sure condoms are accessible but not obvious…)

Is it clear where this is going?

“Hookup culture” is an extremely vague and somewhat reductive term that--depending on who you ask--lies somewhere between “meaningless buzzword” and “cornerstone of the modern undergraduate experience.”

At this point, engaging with the phrase “hookup culture” at all makes me feel like, at best, an ancient professor or a frantic journalist at a parenting magazine (Ever tried to explain to a parent what exactly hooking up means? It’s great. Try it. 10/10 would recommend). In all fairness, “hookup culture” is an extremely vague and somewhat reductive term that--depending on who you ask--lies somewhere between “meaningless buzzword” and “cornerstone of the modern undergraduate experience.” With that in mind, how the frack does one even begin to dissect what--if anything--is the real problem with hookup culture?

First of all--let’s assume that “hookup” has the traditional meaning of “anything from a brief makeout session in some corner of Dom’s Lounge, to anything and everything that would make E.L. James blush” (if you’re fortunate enough not to know who that is, E.L. James is the sexually frustrated creature who penned the literary feat that is Fifty Shades of Grey). In the context of a “hookup,” such acts typically occur between people who are not in a monogamous relationship. Take notes there will be a quiz later.

Cause this stuff is hard. So hard.

Ahem--so hookup culture. One could potentially argue that this scary cultural tornado of alcoholfueled promiscuity (that’s the technical definition) has very little to do with sex, and actually has more to do with sexualized media, insecure attachment patterns, fragile masculinity, or misplaced understandings of intimacy and affection. But that gets a bit complicated.

Slightly less difficult to parse, and slightly more arguable, is the fact that it can feel like the only way to have sex in college--especially at

the 5C’s--is through navigating hookup culture.

I suppose it seems obvious--if you’re going to hook up with someone, it’s probably going to happen within the context of the ever-powerful hookup culture, yeah?

But it really isn’t that obvious. Case in point: my mother still encourages me to ask people out on coffee dates (Yes, it’s very cute. Hi, mom. I write about sex. Aren’t you proud?). I’ve had to explain that to accomplish this, I’d have to interact with drunk-object-of-affection at a party, hook up with them, exchange numbers, not drive each other away with awkwardness, hook up a few more times, avoid each other a bit, hook up again, decide we probably like-eachother-like-maybe-yeah-it’s-whatever, then get a meal at a dining hall, then maybe go out for a “real date.” Am I making this seem complicated?

Because it honestly seems this complicated.

More likely what would happen is this: we’d meet at a party (or something like that), hookup (or something like that), and exchange numbers (exactly like that), and then spend the rest of the semester wondering why we’re both avoiding each other. Person #1 is embarrassed because post-intimacy/vulnerability shame and goes all Casper the “I’m gonna be friendly but ghost you” on person #2, person #2 doesn’t want person #1 to think they got “attached” or want something serious, both people think since the other person hasn’t said anything that they’re just not interested, and everyone’s confused and pissed.

Alas, theoretical coffee date never happens.

“It can feel like the only way to have sex in college--especially at the 5C’s--is through navigating hookup culture.”

There’s a very specific narrative that goes along with hooking up, and although it can be confusing, it isn’t necessarily problematic. The problem is that when you want something that extends beyond that narrative, or you try to interact with people in a way that conflicts with that narrative, you can hit a wall. In other words, if there is a problem with hookup culture, it isn’t with the “hookup” part, but the “culture,” part.

Like the concept of virginity, the problem isn’t the narrative itself, it’s when that narrative becomes

the only available option out of what could be a plethora of intimacies (also the title of my erotic memoir, coming soon). The “hookup script,” like most of the scripts we follow in life, exists for a reason. Sometimes we just need to identify what that reason is for us specifically, and what function it plays in our lives.

“Like the concept of virginity, the problem isn’t the narrative itself, it’s when that narrative becomes the only available option out of what could be a plethora of intimacies (also the title of my erotic memoir, coming soon).”

The awesome thing about casual hookups can be that it encourages people to acknowledge their sexuality and go for what they want. (How that manifests is a different story altogether, but the potential is there…) But if you’re stuck acting out an awkward, confusing script that you definitely audition for, you probably aren’t getting what you really want.

So here’s what I propose: try it. Go for what you want. Don’t mess with avoidance and awkwardness and all the things you won’t remember in three years. Be upfront--with yourself. Do you wanna get laid? Cool. Do you wanna get a meal with that cute person you’ve never talked to sober? Cool. Do you wanna fall asleep at 10pm on a Saturday? Cool. Be real with yourself, and then be real in your interactions with other people. If it doesn’t workout, that’s okay. I mean it sucks, but it will be okay eventually. And hey, there’s always next weekend; our leg hair will have grown back by then anyway.

7 April, 2016 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XIX • Issue Nine

12 • Arts & Entertainment

scripps dance concert Photos by Jessica Padover ‘18

: Shreya Basu ‘19 with Kandace Fung CMC ‘19, Staff Writer

THE SCRIPPS VOICE: Where are you from?

SHREYA BASU: I’m from San Jose, California.

TSV: Since coming to college, what have you realized about your family that you miss?

SB: I really miss my mom’s food - I took it for granted. I miss the comfort of home-cooking and home-cooked meals because sometimes you really crave that here, and you just can’t have it.

And I think even if I really tried to make it, it wouldn’t be quite as good as my mom would make it.

TSV: What do you like most about being a Scrippsie?

SB:I feel like I’ve found some friends who are very passionate about all the things they do people who have a wide range of interests. It’s given me more exposure to other things.

TSV: What are you goals for the future?

SB: Goals for the future? Figure out what I’m doing with my life. I know the things I’m passionate about, so finding something where I can my interests and passions into or just expanding my understanding. I really like working with kids and in-person interactions, making connections with individuals, so just helping people.

TSV: What do you like to do in your free time?

SB: Water colors! I really enjoy painting with watercolors.

TSV: Why do you like water colors?

SB: I guess I really like water colors because it’s a stress relief for me. Sometimes I do think things out, but sometimes I just start with something then it becomes something else. And I feel especially for water colors, it’s really fluid using water and you can’t really control very much how it turns it out, but sometimes that’s nice.

TSV: Favorite late-night snack?

SB: At Claremont, I enjoy getting cheese quesadillas at the Hub. It’s very good.

TSV: Any pet peeves?

SB: When people rub their feet on the carpet. It’s so weird, but it bothers me haha TSV: If you can meet anybody from history or in a book or movie, who would it be? Why? SB: I think it’d be really cool to meet the 14th Dalai Lama because he’s fostering good will and spreading compassion so I think it’d be interesting it have a conversation with someone having that positive mindset.

TSV: What is something you would like to improve on or work harder on?

SB: Haha so many things. I guess putting more effort into expanding what I learn in class and making sure I understand the concepts.Making sure I’m not just memorizing things for the sake of memorizing, but actually internalizing the information.

TSV: What is the most difficult obstacle you had to face so far?

SB: Probably being more confident about the things I’m passionate about because you don’t have to be perfect at something,but if you put in your best effort that’s what should matter.

TSV: Use three words or phrases to describe yourself.

SB: Understanding, open to new ideas, and having a lot of emotions or passionate.

TSV: If you could fix one thing in the world, what would it be?

SB: Violence. I guess there’s just a lot of prejudice and negativity and pent up anger that I wish could be eliminated. It’s easier said than done, but trying to fix it so that people have equal opportunities to do things, just creating an environment where people feel happier and safer.

TSV: Is there anything or someone who inspires you?

SB: My mom because I feel, she does not realize, but she’s a very strong woman. She does a lot of small things for me and she always it open to listening to new ideas from me or other people, always expanding her own world view which I appreciate because I feel that usually for older generations it’s harder to be flexible in your ways.

She’s a teacher for fifth graders, and I don’t know, she just puts a lot of effort into everything she does and loves what she does.

TSV: What are one of the values or mottos you try to follow in life?

SB: Always listen to people, to try to understand their perspective.

TSV: If you could be any sea creature, what would you be?

SB: A sea turtle! They live for so long, well I don’t know, I’m not sure if I would want to live for so long, but they just seem so wise. They just seem like wise, old sea turtles.

TSV: If you could do anything and succeed, what would you want to be?

SB: Anything? I lowkey want to be an astronaut.

I think that’d be pretty kickass. Exploring space, it doesn’t get better than that. It’d be really cool to potentially explore other galaxies.

7 April, 2016 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XIX • Issue Nine