The Bolt March 2019

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March 2019 Volume 19, Issue 6 lightningboltonline.com Sage Hill School 20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657

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Sharing Stories Through Pictures Photojournalist Alison Wright Shares Adventures and Inspiration with Sage Hill Community Polina Mogilevsky and Yuna Baek New York-based photographer and photojournalist Alison Wright visited Sage Hill on Feb. 27 to offer a workshop about her adventures as a photographer.

So far, she has traveled 155 different countries to document human conditions around the world through numerous editorials, non-profit organizations and commercials.

Wright’s work has been published in Time, the New York Times, UNICEF, Forbes, National Geographic and many more. Wright was named the 2013 Traveler of the Year and, as someone who travels with passion and purpose, she continues to travel and take incredible photos through her adventurous days.

Wright received her degree at Syracuse University with an undergraduate major in photojournalism, and further pursued her education in visual anthropology as a graduate at UC Berkeley. The first time Wright has ever heard the word “photojournalism,” she knew that would be the best field for her.

“I was really into photography. I was on the school newspaper and yearbook.

I [also] had this amazing English teacher and he said I can make a living at doing this,” Wright said.

During an active discussion, Wright shared several photos with students and faculty. Wright’s works of photography emphasize human expression and emotions, which fully capture the viewer’s eye.

“Think about your background [and be] clear as to what you want in your picture,” Wright said. “What’s really important is not just the shooting, but it’s editing and your storytelling. It’s what you choose to show.”

Wright has dedicated her life and wellbeing to her photojournalism career, living in remote areas and visiting incredible destinations to document unimaginable stories, sometimes against the better wishes of her family. Her adventurous spirit also placed her health in severe danger.

“I had malaria, typhoid, hepatitis… I was a case study for some strange disease,” Wright said.

Wright also made many strong and powerful friendships in her work.

“The Dalai Lama heard what I was

Polina Mogilevsky | The Bolt

‘What’s really important is not just the shooting, but it’s editing and your story telling. It’s what you choose to show.’

- Alison Wright, photographer doing and contacted me through a secretary to meet. This was before anyone knew who he was, so we had the whole day together,” Wright said. “I ended up developing a friendship with him.”

The National Geographic photographer also uses her platform to advocate and raise awareness for important issues.

She was touring Thailand on an assignment when she came upon Rishata Pier, a place for refugees.

“There were refugees that were living in utter slums that had been brought over by mules from Burma,” Wright said. “They had their passports taken, their money… there’s no recourse for these people. The men are sent out on fishing boats for weeks, for months, working like slaves, living in utter filth, making twenty cents a bag.”

Wright took photos of these conditions and brought the story to National Geographic. The magazine published it, causing the local hotels to clean up the pier.

“I also used money from my fund to

“

Annie Tang | The Bolt

Above, at left: Allison Wright’s book titled “Human Tribe” was on display during Wright’s talk on campus Feb. 27. Above: Wright talks to photography students about her photo book “Human Tribe” and her experiences as a photographer, telling the stories of capturing the perfect moments. build them a little school,” Wright said.

Wright continues to actively share not only her stories, but the stories of others through her incredible photographs of people all around the world. She lives a fascinating life and uses her talent as an outlet to share the stories of communities

We wanted to create an event that would inspire middle school girls.”

- Eliza Feffer

Editorial, Page 2

News, Page 3

Community, Page 4

and bring awareness to issues we may otherwise have never been exposed to.

She is the author of several books, with her latest one being titled “Human Tribe.”

For more information regarding Wright’s journey and works of photography, visit www.alisonwright.com.

” Sports, Page 6

Opinion, Page 8

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The Bolt March 2019 Sage Hill School

Editorial

The Uncertain Future of APs

AP testing. The infamous two weeks in May in which we are busy reviewing a year’s worth of “college level” material to “test out” of certain introductory college courses. The trademark of a high-achieving high school student. But, is AP testing truly so important?

The AP system began in the 1950s as a way to offer college-level courses and exams to high school students.

This program was created as a sort of win-win situation for students to be challenged and earn college credit for their studies. Currently, AP enrollment is at an all time high nationwide and growing annually.

However, rising enrollment rates are due to many students taking AP classes out of fear that they will not look competitive on college applications rather than out of true interest in the classes.

The College Board earns approximately half of its revenue from AP classes alone, and are students’ focus on higher GPAs and rigorous course loads to fuel their business (Atlantic Magazine).

In many cases, students are unable to use their AP credits because colleges only accept certain scores and often advise their students to take the introductory level of a course. The college course typically covers more material than the AP does. Many students who actually use their AP credits report that they would have been better off taking the college department’s version of the course (Atlantic Magazine).

At Sage, all students in AP classes are required to take all of their AP exams, but this requirement is not

Cartoon by Camille Hansen well-liked by many students.

In a survey of over 50 Sage Hill seniors who are in AP classes, less than 20% report wanting to take the AP exam for all of their AP classes.

Over 70% of students share that they would preferably take the AP exams for only some of their AP classes.

Only 10% of surveyed seniors say that they would not take any of their AP exams.

These types of responses regarding AP testing effectively sum up why many believe, both within Sage Hill and the greater world of academica, that there should be some changes to the AP system as a whole.

We offer three possible solutions to the AP testing controversy in our own community: make AP testing for Sage students optional, have Sage Hill pay for all students’ AP testing, or put a limit on APs or eliminating AP classes altogether in exchange for a

wider variety of other challenging and more unique, enriching courses.

The first potential solution, making AP testing optional, is the most feasible short-term solution. Students can choose to take the AP exam for the classes in which they feel most confident or for which they will receive credit from their college of choice. Making AP testing optional will likely increase the average score that Sage Hill students receive by weeding out students who feel no incentive to try on their exams and are only taking the tests because they are mandatory.

The second possible solution, Sage paying for all students’ AP testing, gauges how much the school’s administration values AP testing. At St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, a nearby college preparatory private school in San Juan Capistra-

no, AP testing is factored into their tuition instead of having an additional fee. Long Beach Unified School District pays for AP exams for all of their students; the students pay only $5 per test.

The third possible solution, limiting the number of AP classes a student can take, or entirely eliminating APs from the curriculum, would be a long-term solution to the problems with AP testing and AP classes altogether. Harvard-Westlake, one of the top college-preparatory schools in the country and model for hundreds of other private schools, recently decided to limit the number of AP classes that students are allowed to take, beginning with the class of 2022 (“The Chronicle”, Harvard Westlake). In Washington, eight elite private high schools are completely pulling out of the AP program and are instead developing their own

advanced courses “oriented toward collaborative, experiential, and interdisciplinary learning.” (Insidehighered. com).

At schools like Harvard-Westlake and Sage Hill, we are very fortunate to have educators that are truly passionate about what they are teaching, and may not want to feel restricted to the regimented curriculums set by the College Board. Educators should feel free to teach the facets of their curriculum that truly make them excited, because that is the best way to teach and inspire their own students. By replacing AP classes, there will likely be overlap between a teacher’s curriculum and the College Board curriculum, but educators will have more flexibility to teach material that they believe has the most value and truly sparks the interest of their students. Students will still have the choice to take the AP exam for that specific subject if they choose to do so.

Removing AP classes will eliminate the pressure for students to take classes solely because the class will increase their GPA. Students will be able to take classes because they are genuinely interested in the topic, which will likely make them do better in their classes. This will create a positive feedback loop of engaged and hardworking students and passionate educators, and make school a less stressful and competitive place.

Many schools are making changes to their own AP curriculum, showing that there is some sort of institutional change on the horizon. We hope that Sage Hill follows.

THE BOLT

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he Bolt, published seven times a year, is a student newspaper and serves the public forum at Sage Hill School. Its content - news, editorial, opinion, and feature - is protected by Education Code 48907, the state student rights law and the California Constitution which guarantees all citizens the right of freedom of speech and of the press. The Bolt accepts signed letters to the editor from members of the Sage Hill Community which may be posted as comments to our website, lightningboltonline.com, or addressed to editor-in-chief Hannah Woodworth and put in her mailbox on campus. These letters may not exceed 150 words or they will be edited for inclusion.

Editors-in-Chief Halah Biviji (Storm), Daniel Fishman (Online), Madison Harris-Weiner (Bolt), Sarah Kim (Storm), Hannah Woodworth (Bolt) Editorial Board Lily Button, Miranda deBruyne, Karli Davis, Alexis Kelly, Trevor Klein, Sydney McCord, Cammi Phillips, Alicia Theologides Rodriguez Adviser Kelly Parker

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News

The Bolt March 2019 Sage Hill School

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TEDx: Ideas Worth Sharing How Sage put the ‘ed’ in annual TEDx program

Ian Grimm A magical silence filled the Black Box auditorium on Feb. 15, as the lights dimmed and the first speaker, Luca-White Matthews, took the stage of the 4th annual TEDx Sage Hill.

As he stepped onto the big red carpet dot characterizing the stage, the audience applauded in anticipation of what was looking to be an inspiring night of talks.

A TEDx program, or an independently organized TED event, is a speaker program in which people involved in Technology (T), Entertainment (E), and Design (D) discuss personal experiences and big ideas, giving the audience something to chew on long after they leave the auditorium. TEDx talks are provocative, revelatory, inspiring—an inspiring look into the future, and a critical look at our present.

The TEDx program here at Sage was founded by President Gordon McNeill and alumna Kate Kim ‘16. She had the idea to create a Sage program that would give a stage for innovators and influencers to generate critical discussions while simultaneously allowing community members to consider and contemplate new, interesting ideas.

As Sage’s TEDx has matured over the years, it’s become more and more of a schoolwide cultural event: this year, there were so many attendees that an extra seating area was set up outside the Black Box, so everyone could enjoy the talks.

The prevalence of student and faculty speakers also speaks to a growing integration of TEDx into Sage culture: every year prior only held one student

speaker on the whole docket.

At TEDx Sage 2019, five student and faculty speakers presented at the event, discussing topics as far-reaching as the growing influence of social media on teenagers, or how broader diversity of opportunity creates a diversity of success.

The speaker list this year started off with debater, entrepreneur, and information egalitarian White-Matthews, who discussed his company DebateMeta.

Finding issue with the caste system of U.S. debate teams and how a handful of schools dominated tournament after tournament, White-Matthews created a solution. DebateMeta gives schools with fewer debate resources top-tier debate research reports, so everybody has a level informational playing field and more schools could compete and succeed.

Another Sage student, junior Ashley Sarkesian, talked about an issue near and dear to her, and what appears to be many teenagers these days—social media. The struggles she faced after quitting her social media accounts, followed by her personal liberation, informed her talk, encouraging the audience to take time to disconnect and discover.

In a highly entertaining presentation, senior Tommy Burns rode in on a wave made from a plastic tarp.

Burns talked about finding the right balance in life, and how ancient Daoist philosophy and the tranquil experiences of a modern day surfer. He reminded us all that being alive isn’t just about the future and thinking big: the little things, nature, and happiness are just as important

Ian Grimm | The Bolt

Above: The TEDx team celebrates a great night of speeches. Students manage every aspect of the program, from reaching out to speakers to prop design. Below: Senior Tommy Burns explains the connection between ancient Daoist philosophy and his life as a surfer. to a fulfilled life.

Altogether, TEDx 2019 was an exceptional event that brought the community together through big actions and bigger concepts.

The audience contemplated the personal journey of teacher Derek Carlson through profound faith and ultimate atheism, and spiraled through speaker Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks’ belief in sustainability and ethics even while making a profit.

Sage TEDx 2019 really lived up to the motto of TED: It had Ideas Worth Sharing.

THE CASE FOR CAIS

Visiting committee comes to campus for accreditation Lily Button In the final weeks of January, campus buzzed with the anticipation of inspectors observing classes and dining with students. The term CAIS has come and gone, but what is it and why is Sage Hill a part of it?

The answer is the California Association of Independent Schools – an organization which conducts the accreditation of schools across the state. This evaluation is not only an opportunity to license Sage Hill, it also is a chance to reflect upon and develop the school’s programs and values.

“It allows us to meet and exceed standards that are set, but also puts our

school in context with other independent schools...it’s a resource to learn from,” Head of School Patricia Merz said.

The process began with the submission of a Self Study in December of 2018, which took two years to prepare. Merz first divided faculty members into six different chapters, which met periodically to write designated sections of the report.

In addition, surveys were sent out to the wider community in order obtain accurate representation.

Next, the visiting committee spent three days on campus, analyzing all facets of the structure, mission, and programs at Sage. After meeting with the Board and Administration team, the group observed every teacher and

stopped by after-school athletics and arts programs. They also conversed with chapters, Department Chairs, members of the Sage Center, and student leadership groups.

“We talked about a variety of things with the committee – our roles as student leaders as well as our opinions about Sage. We also spent time discussing ways to improve Sage,” junior and SAME member Angie Yogaratnam said.

The goal of this visit was to receive a seven-year term – the highest ranking.

The final report will be received in June, but faculty and staff members were given a sneak peek of the results.

“It was affirmed by their various conversations and their observations

how Sage is thriving and that people are proud of the community” Merz said.

All requirements were either met or exceeded, an impressive standpoint for a school only 19 years old.

“I’m so proud of everyone and all of the work and thought and time that went into this process,” Merz said.

Feedback from this accreditation period will go into effect in the fall, with planning of new projects and initiatives.

Merz revealed that environmental sustainability will a focus going forward.

The entire accreditation process is in the spirit of self-betterment and reflection. CAIS enables Sage to continue learning and improving the experience for all members of its community.

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The Bolt March 2019 Sage Hill School

GEMfest Courtney Davis and Kate Mlouk

Karli Davis | The Bolt

Keynote speaker Kamie Crawford takes selfies with, and talks to, the middle schools girls after her speech.

Imagine an entire day filled with ear-to-ear smiles, pink decorations, and absolutely no judgement; a day in which middle school girls, their parents, and amazing speakers can lift each other up and learn about how to be the best possible versions of themselves. This day becomes a reality with GEMfest.

On March 2, more than 200 girls and 50 parents came to Sage Hill for a celebration of female empowerment created by the GEMfest Service Learning group.

The group, run by co-presidents and Sage Hill Seniors Karli Davis and Eliza Feffer, worked throughout the entire year to make the event a success.

“We wanted to create an event that would inspire middle school girls. Middle school can be a really challenging time for a lot of people so we felt like girls in 6th-8th grade would be the perfect audience. We want them to go into the next challenges of their lives with confidence,” Feffer said.

To kick off the day, each member in attendance had the opportunity to hear

Kamie Crawford - a multimedia journalist, television host, producer, model, entrepreneur, and former Miss Teen USA speak about her background.

She shared her past and proved to the young girls that confidence and success can come from struggle. Crawford encouraged the audience to unapologetically be themselves 100 percent of the time, saying that happiness comes from within.

The second keynote speaker was Victoria Garrick, a USC volleyball player and mental health advocate. Garrick spoke about her experience with the pressures of being a high level athlete and encouraged the girls to stay true to themselves on social media as well as pursue their passions in life, no matter how they may be received by others.

After the first keynote speaker, the attendees broke off into two panels. The Social Media panel featured influencers Kenzie Piper, Alexa Losey, Lindsey Rem, and a member of Urban Decay Cosmetics’ social media team, Taylor Hiskey.

These inspiring women made it clear that what you see on social media isn’t

Karli Davis | The Bolt

Taylor Hiskey, Kenzie Piper, Lindsey Rempalski, and Alexa Losey pose for a photo after speaking on the Social Media panel.

Courtesy of Torrey Olins

Karli Davis | The Bolt

Ms. Connolly leads the girls in a tree pose during the Yoga workshop.

GEMfest co-presidents Karli Davis and Eliza Feffer take a picture with keynote speaker Kamie Crawford after her speech on the importance of showing the world your true self.

munity

t:

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A DAY OF INSPIRATION & INFORMATION

usually true, and encouraged the girls to find to happiness in the moment.

The Healthy Habits panel was made up of Sadie Radinsky, a teen food blogger, Daisy Renteria, a personal trainer, Kelsey Rose, a former Sage student and doctor, and Aurora Kaye, a psychologist.

They spread the message of the importance of taking care of yourself, and living a balanced lifestyle.

After listening to this advice, the girls got a more interactive experience by attending a workshop of their choice. One workshop was the Confetti Project.

“Their message is that confetti means celebration. So when they ask the girls what they celebrate, they want them to feel grateful and remember the good things in life. It’s also about just having fun and connecting with friends while taking pictures,” Ishani Patel, a member of the GEM team, said.

Another workshop, Intro to Coding, was run by two Sage Hill students, Juniors Miya and Hana Stauss.

“Teaching the girls how to code at GEMfest was truly a magical experience. Witnessing the girls learning to

code while building a community really speaks to how amazing of an experience GEMfest is for middle school girls,” Hana Stauss said.

Overall, the entire year’s worth of hard work, planning, and preparation put in by Sage Hill’s own GEMfest service learning team paid off tremendously, and the event was a huge success.

“The goals for [the day] are to have the event run smoothly and have girls walk away feeling like they learned something about women,” Junior Ezugo Ononye said.

The event far surpassed these goalseven the Sage Hill student volunteers made personal discoveries and commitments to being their best selves.

“I wish we could have had this opportunity to cultivate ourselves when we were coming into Sage,” junior Polina Mogilevsky said.

Not only did each and every girl walk away with at least one very valuable life lesson, but each attendee left GEMfest knowing that they have an entire community of people eager to support them and their future aspirations.

Senior Eliza Feffer moderates the Social Media panel.

Karli Davis | The Bolt

Second keynote speaker Victoria Garrick finishes the day with an important talk on mental health and social media.

Karli Davis | The Bolt

Middle school girls take a group photo with keynote speaker Victoria Garrick after receiving their goodie bags.

Karli Davis | The Bolt

Karli Davis | The Bolt

The middle school girls learn how to code during Hana and Miya Stauss’s Intro to Coding workshop.

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The Bolt March 2019 Sage Hill School

Sports

Courtesey of Dave Siegmund

The varsity boys’ basketball team had a record-breaking season, playing in the CIF-SS Division 5AA Finals on February 23 against Santa Clara. The team lost, 68-52, but still was able to compete in the CIF state tournament.

A CIF Playoffs Season to Remember As the winter season comes to a close, we look back at the record-breaking achievements of our teams.

Karli Davis All of the winter sports teams: girls’ varsity soccer, boys’ varsity soccer, girls’ varsity basketball, and boys’ varsity basketball, made it to CIF playoffs this year after having a successful season.

Boys’ basketball made school history this year winning league and making it to the finals of CIF Southern Section.

They lost the finals to Santa Clara Oxnard 68-52 becoming the runner up in CIF-SS Division 5AA, but the season still was not over for them. The team went on to compete in the CIF State tournament, winning the first round before ultimately falling in the second round.

“Ever since the summer this team has worked hard to not only win the league championship, which we did, but also go far in CIFs,” senior captain Darius ShayanSmith said. “Even though we finished as runner up in the Southern Section CIFs, we have proved

how great this team is by making a run in the state playoffs which has never been done in program history. It’s incredible to see all our commitment and hard work turn into an amazing, record-breaking season that has gained some well-deserved attention.”

Girls’ varsity soccer won the first round of CIF playoffs, 3-0, to Nogales High School. Winning the first round of playoffs hasn’t been accomplished by the team for three years. The team made it to the second round, but lost in overtime to Katella High School 1-0 due to a penalty kick.

“Everyone was so excited because we haven’t won the first CIF game in a while and winning that game 3-0 is a game I’ll never forget,” senior captain Olivia Lowe said. “We were so sad to lose in the second round, but I still feel like this was the best season for us bonding wise.”

Boys’ varsity soccer started their CIF playoffs with a wild card game against St. Anthony and won 4-1.

In the second round of playoffs due to a penalty kick during overtime with a 2-1 score.

“Against a formidable opponent, our team excelled until the final whistle blow,” senior captain Tommy Burns said. “In our possession was the drive and ability to win, which would have lead us to victory if not for a questionable call by the referee to end the game in overtime. This call was careless, and the boys were vocal about it to say the least. Overall swell season.”

After a succesful league season, the girls’ varsity basketball team were excited to take on CIF-SS playoffs in Division 3AA, which is two divisions higher than last year. They unfortunately lost in the first round to El Segundo High School, 44-28.

“The team we played was really physically aggressive but everyone played their heart out,” senior captain Nadia Akbari said. “The basketball team this year was truly my family! It was nice to know that every single game, I knew without a doubt that everyone on that team had my back both on and off the court.”

Opinion Warping the Truth

How modern media is turning ‘news’ into biased opinions

Cartoon by Megan Chan

Trevor Klein The modern media is biased. Former executive editor of The New York Times Jill Abramson in her book, Merchants of Truth, acknowledged that “[The New York] Times’ news pages were unmistakably anti-Trump, as were the [Washington] Post’s.

Some headlines contained raw opinion, as did some of the stories that were labeled as news analysis.”

More than 96 percent of all journalist’s donations to major party candidates during the 2016 presidential election were given to Hillary Clinton, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

This affinity to the Democratic Party was not because of an aversion to Donald Trump.

The media has favored Democrats for years. In 2012, the New York Times reported that every major media outlet donated more to Barack Obama’s campaign than Mitt Romney’s.

Even Rupert Murdoch’s New Corporation, which owns the conservative-leaning outlets Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, contributed 21.4 times more money to Obama than they did to Romney.

In a recent interview with former Navy Seal Mike Ritland, former “60 Minutes” reporter Lara Logan made the case that the media was biased.

Logan made the point that it is unhealthy for the American people to be bombarded by liberal reporters without enough representation of the other side.

She also claimed that many reporters are irresponsible

“propagandists” who often avoid facts. She noted that criticizing the media was “career suicide” for her. In the end, she risked her career by simply being a good journalist and seeking out the truth.

Since Donald Trump announced his candidacy in 2015, the media has attacked him. Trump even believes that the media is the enemy of the people. I disagree with that. The media is a necessary check on government, and it helps preserve liberty. The media prevents government from becoming the enemy of the people.

However, news stories should not be “anti-Trump,” but rather should be presenting facts no matter which political ideology the facts support.

Julia Galef, co-founder of the Center for Applied Rationality, illustrates this point by dividing human mindsets into two distinct categories: soldiers and scouts. Soldiers respond to situations based on primitive reflexes in emotions solely to win battles. On the other hand, scouts observe facts and divide the best possible solutions based on reality.

The modern media is full of “soldiers” who let their emotional ties to their liberal ideology and non-objective reflexes skew their reporting. The media is failing to apply the “scout” mentality and objectively investigate politics. Rather, they have resorted to publishing a series of biased opinion pieces disguised as news stories.

Opinions are a valuable element of healthy journalism, but they should be clearly labeled as opinions.

Mainstream media outlets often publish slanted articles

laced with opinionated inferences that are disguised as facts.

Luckily, the American people have started to catch on. Sixty-six percent of Americans believe that the media has trouble separating facts from opinions, according to the Knight Foundation.

Another form of media bias comes from selective reporting.

Liberal outlets focus on stories that support liberal agendas and hinder conservatives viewpoints rather than covering issues based on relevance. In addition, they often ignore stories that counter their agenda.

The media used to be the symbol of productive political discourse, but they are doing they exact opposite in modern times. They spew out biased stories in near blind support of liberal agendas.

An Axios poll shows the American people have lost trust in the media because of this lack of credibility as seventy-two percent of Americans believe the mainstream media reports new they know to be misleading.

If the liberal media truly wants to seek out the truth they should not be afraid of dissenting opinions. If they present all the facts, then the American people can determine which ideas are right and which are wrong.

It is disrespectful to the American people for journalists to try to pass off opinion-laced articles as news stories.

Their sloppiness is contributing to the dangerous polarization in our society. The media must return to the scout mentality that led to the breaking of stories including Watergate and the Pentagon Papers.

The Bolt March 2019 Sage Hill School

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MADISON’S MOVIE REVIEW Buffalo ‘66 (1998)

Madison Harris-Weiner

Vincent Gallo is known by many names — writer, director, actor, composer, painter, bass player, motorcycle racer and, once, the face of Saint Laurent — but none have stuck with him more steadily than ‘infamous’. The many-faced artist has gained notoriety for his dispute with film critic Roger Ebert over his ill-received film The Brown Bunny and, most recently, for a shockingly blunt political essay in Another Man. But before all contoversy, Gallo was just an independent filmmaker who hit a bullseye with 1998’s Buffalo ’66.

Grainy, unevenly lit and interspersed with patchy collages in art-house fashion, it’s a film that could have missed its mark completely. Luckily, under Gallo’s touch, it finds a perfect balance between bleak cynicism and sardonic humor, falling somewhere between a crime drama and a wonderfully perverse romance.

The film opens with a picture of Billy Brown as a sweet little boy. Seconds later, we see him as a grown man (played by Gallo himself) being released from prison. His life has clearly taken a rotten turn yet there’s a mournful tone to the scene that seems to present him as a victim regardless of his crimes. This is just one of many juxtapositions Gallo sets up, forcing us to make tricky judgements about his characters. Just as we’re ready to sympathize with Billy, he suddenly kidnaps a baby-faced dancer named Layla.

On paper, it’s a horrific crime, but handled by Gallo it’s something else entirely, playing out in a way that never anticipates real danger. Rather, it’s an absurd dilemma which Gallo uses to create a brilliant mix of defeatist drama and deadpan comedy. Billy is annoying and annoyed, sad even, more than any kind of dangerous and he just needs Layla to help him win his parents’ favor. His parents turn out to be devastatingly awful and sitting next to them at the dinner table, in a scene as shattering as it is hilarious, Billy seems almost pleasant in comparison.

Buffalo ’66 is ripe with complexity and conflicts, especially within its characters.

Gallo’s Billy, for example, is hardened and cynical, yet he craves affection just as much as he spurns any signs of it. Likewise, despite the abrasive anger he wears on his sleeve, his outbursts come across as comically childlike, something to laugh at rather than fear. He’s an easy character to hate but through flashbacks, a more broken man than one would

have guessed is revealed and it becomes easy to see that he’s only reacting to a lifetime of being treated like nothing.

Christina Ricci’s Layla, Buffalo’s only remotely friendly character, is the perfect counter to Billy. Not only do they physically contrast each other — him, dark and gruff next to her, angelic and charming — but they also represent opposite worldly outlooks. He meets everything with distrust, his anger resting on a testy switch, while she sees every situation through wide-eyed optimism, remaining calm and sweet during even his most outrageous eruptions.

We never get any background on Layla, any sense as to why on earth she would stick around with Billy. Perhaps she recognizes the helplessness and desperation that he has tried to hide; the fact that he needs her and thus it’s her who has the upper hand.

Regardless of her motives, her patience and kindness hold Billy together.

While undoubtedly a comedy, however slyly so, Gallo’s world is desolate and bleak. There is a painful loneliness, with a muted bluegrey color palette to match, that adds gloom to even the most humorous moments.

It becomes apparent that Billy is chained to a life that slipped through his fingers.

Past regrets and present miseries pull him further from reality and as the film lays off of the offbeat comedy to dial in on deeper conflicts, it’s as though you can see him coming untethered right on the screen.

In the end, it’s Layla, his remarkably forgiving kidnap victim, who pulls him back, who allows him to forget what he lost and see what he has. A surreal final sequence shatters the walls of isolation, ending the film on a note that bursts with the joy of new love and second chances; of something so much better than anything that ‘could have been’.

Buffalo ’66 is a complex film, but subtly so: blink and you’ll miss the juxtapositions that make it tick. It’s fitting that the many-faced auteur would make a film as layered as himself. His genius lies in sneakily turning the contrasting emotions, eclectic tones and mismatched characters into a whole so cohesive that you don’t notice the seams.

From the lonely leftovers of a wronged man, Gallo creates a crime story that is as much a gloomy meditation on isolation as it is a sincerely funny comedy. Yet more than any of that, Buffalo ’66 is a love story. It might contradict everything we know ‘love’ to be but in the end, it’s easy to believe because it perfectly puts the pieces of a broken, and seemingly irreparable, man back together.

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Can We Stop Ovary-acting About Periods?

Cartoon by Camille Hansen

Sydney McCord **Author’s Note: I am aware that not all those who menstruate are women/identify as women. For the purpose of this article, however, and due to my desire to speak mostly out of personal experience, I will be referring to those who mensturate as women throughout this piece.** **Another note: All period puns in this article are completely and 100% intentional** Let me be the first to say that I was hesitant, or better yet, terrified to publish my very last opinion for The Bolt on menstruation. I always want my articles to be thought provoking and interesting, but I wondered if this crossed a line. I wondered if people would look at me differently, think of me different or if they would even read this piece at all.

All of these thoughts and more flooded in and out of my head until I finally realized that this kind of thinking was exactly the reason I wanted to write this article. I was wrapped up in the stigmatization of the very thing that I so desperately want to be destigmatized.

So, these 1091 words are my best attempt at beginning the conversation toward the normalization of periods. Let’s talk about it.

For period-having people and for non period-having people, the monthly cycle of menstruation can be both daunting and confusing. The menstrual period itself occurs at the end of the menstrual cycle (every 24 to 38 days), and typically lasts 4 to 8 days.

Every month, as a woman’s body prepares for a possible pregnancy, the uterus lining thickens and the ovaries release an egg. If that egg fails to be fertilized, the uterus sheds its lining in what amounts to about 6 to 8 teaspoons of blood on average.

According to the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, the average women will have about 450 periods in her lifetime. And, according to research done by the Huffington Post in 2015, this adds to about $18,171 in sanitary products, pain medication, birth control and other necessary products.

In my opinion, the stigmatization of periods occurs

in two ways: economically and culturally. Both have their own negative consequences for women and perpetuate a sense of shame regarding a natural bodily function necessary for life and the recreation of it.

In the United States, the price of sanitary products, such as pads and tampons, are often charged with a sales tax of 6.58 percent. Ten U.S. states have eliminated this “tampon tax”– California not included. In this way, period products are deemed a non-essential, luxury item, rather than a exemptible necessity, such as food or medicine. This tax makes sanitary products a financial burden for homeless women and others in poverty.

Even for those who can afford sanitary products, a negative stigma still exists. Girls in middle and high school around the United States and in our own communities have perfected the “tampon up the sleeve” maneuver, the period bag disguised as a pencil case and have learned to answer the infamous question: “Why are you taking your entire backpack to the bathroom?”

Friends exchanging tampons with each other is carried out like covert drug deals, and the crinkling of pads in a women’s restroom are automatically embarrassing and for some period companies worthy of more “discreet and quiet” packaging. Tampax Radiant Tampons for example, boasts “[their] quietest resealable wrapper for quick and easy discreet tampon disposal.”

Why does it matter if the wrapper makes noise, as most people in a women’s restroom use the same products? Marketing menstrual products this way perpetuates negative period culture and promotes an unwritten “menstrual etiquette” that ensures that girls’ periods are hidden from most of their peers, and from men as well.

The inability to follow this traditional menstrual etiquette leads many girls to miss opportunities and feel shame regarding one of the most natural processes on Earth. According to the most recent Always® Confidence & Puberty Survey, 1 in 5 girls in the United States and 1 in 7 girls in Canada have missed school because of a lack of adequate period protection.

In other countries, these numbers are much more startling, as some girls are forced to drop out of school all together. In addition, according to NBC News, 90 percent use alternative forms of sanitary products such as old cloths, newspapers and even wood shavings.

For example Dasra, a leading philanthropic organization in India, reports that about 50 percent of girls in India have no knowledge of menstruation when they get their first period, and what they are taught thereafter it is often based on cultural normalities and patriarchal ideals. Many families in India believe menstruating women are “polluted,” and as a result they are often forced to sit in corners during school, forbidden to enter places of prayer and are made to live in huts for the duration of their period.

These girls face humiliation and hardships that may drive them to to quit school, give up on dreams and renew a vicious cycle of oppression and inequality of the sexes.

The Academy Award winning short film “Period. End of Sentence,” addresses this issue in a variety of ways, including interviewing several groups of locals in central India’s Hapur district.

When a group of four men were asked, “Have you heard of menstruation?” one answered with, “It’s a kind of illness, right? It mostly affects ladies.” When mothers were asked a similar question, one answered with, “Babies are born because of it, that’s all I know about why it happens.”

India is not an outlier. Countless countries around the world lack the education, infrastructure and necessary products to properly support half of their population’s natural body functions.

A 2018 report commissioned by the United Nations Population Fund surrounding the stigma and misinformation of periods in Africa states that in many communities, the menarche, or first period, signifies a readiness for marriage, even though this event can occur as early as 9 years old. Additionally, the report reads that, “Some studies from Kenya find that schoolgirls engage in transactional sex to pay for menstrual products, particularly for the younger, uneducated, economically dependent girls.”

All around the world, the stigmas surrounding menstruation continue to impede on opportunities and the quality of life countless women and girls. How do we stop this vicious cycle of fear, disgust and false information?

We talk about it. We give it funny nicknames, like Aunt Flo and shark week. We get informed about it. And we fight until the healthy female body is perceived as normal.

Period.