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Christmas from a Different Country
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Vegan Holidays
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Smithsonian’s Sweet Home Cafe
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Nick Saffan Jason Cruz Kitty Geoghan Pub Board Chair
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Shaylen Vitale Jordan Bennett JB Pitts Lynn Walsh Morgan Eiland Veronica Faison
Alissa Pagano Kait Forsythe Madison Akins Shaylen Vitale Lynn Walsh
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Maeve Coughlin Raisa Bailon Margarita Parris Cat Keve
Kitty Geoghan Kait Forsythe Colette Cacciola Sami Hartman Mitch Robey Christina Pierce
ampersand selection committee Eva Martinez Daniel Crasnow
Jacob Mauser Jamie Pietrasz
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the Food & travel issue opinions Spending Christmas with my Eating Disorder Page 25 Post-Election: Solidarity or Unrest? Page 26
sports Fall Sports Recap Page 28 Women’s Basketball Looks Forward to ASUN Conference Page 29 On the Road Again Page 29 Stetson’s Own Champion Bowler Page 30
Italian Christmas Biscotti Page 4
Feast of the Seven Fishes Page 5
New Year in Norway Page 10
It’s A Southern Holiday, Y’all Page 11
on the cover Christmas from a different country Page 6
Smithsonian’s Sweet Home Cafe Page 12
Vegan Holidays Page 14
analogue presented by WHAT radio and WHNN The Sceret Life of walter Mitty Page 18 Virtual Travel in No Man’s Sky Page 19 Rogue One Page 20 22, A Million Page 21
ampersand presented by touchstone Page 32
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Lynn Walsh News Editor
Italian Christmas Biscotti
It’s safe to say that most families have go-to recipes for the holiday seasons. For those who celebrate Christmas it might be Grandma’s secret sugar cookie recipe, Dad’s Christmas roast or your sister’s carefully baked gingerbread. These foods all conjure up memories of holidays past, and their tastes immediately take you back to exciting Christmas mornings of opening presents and driving around to see the town’s Christmas lights.
have a cured ham shipped to our house that we simply unpack and plop into the oven. This year, however, I decided to change that. My family is deeply Italian: my mother grew up in a large extended family much like Toula’s in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, except, of course, that it was Italian. Most of my great-aunts and uncles came to America from Sicily, or Rome, or Naples, and brought with them their delicious recipes.
So, for this year’s holiday season, I My family, surprisingly enough, doesn’t decided to attempt the most Italian have a holiday recipe. No cookies, or cookie I could think of – biscotti. roast beef, or gingerbread. We normally Biscotti are long, crunchy crescentmake a different meal every year, or shaped cookies that have a satisfying
Ingredients: 1 cup of dried cranberries 3 tablespoons of orange juice ½ cup melted butter ¾ cup sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 eggs 1 orange zested 2 ½ cups flour ¼ teaspoon salt
A finished batch of Biscotti. Photo Credit: Lynn Walsh
crumbly snap when bitten. Traditionally dipped delicately into coffee, these cookies come in various flavors: chocolate, cranberry and almond, to name a few. Since Christmas often invokes in us a sweet, cozy feel, my family’s new Christmas cookie recipe follows suit as an Italian cranberry orange biscotti. The orange zest brightens up and warms the senses, while the cranberry chunks are reminiscent of cozy harvest recipes. They are easy to make, but you will need to set aside at least an hour to prep and bake. Serves 20-24.
Instructions: 1. Place dried cranberries in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Set aside for 10 minutes and then drain thoroughly. 2. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, orange juice, orange zest and butter. Then add in one egg at a time, stirring until combined. 3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. 4. Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing well. 5. Add the cranberries, folding them into the mixture gently with a spatula so that the cranberries will not be crushed. 6. Place bowl into refrigerator for 30 minutes, allowing the mixture to chill. 7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 8. Butter one large cookie sheet as well your hands (so that the mixture will not get stuck to your skin—it’s incredibly sticky!) and pour the batter into the center of the cookie sheet. With your hands, spread the batter until it is roughly one inch thick all the way around, shaping it into a rectangle. 9. Bake for 25 minutes or until the edges begin to lightly brown. 10. Slice the rectangle in half width-wise, and then carefully cut 1 inch logs out of each half, slicing length-wise. 11. Gently turn each half onto its side, with one freshly cut side face-down on the tray. Bake for 20 minutes. 12. Carefully flip each biscotti slice onto its other side and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until very crispy. 13. Allow to cool and then enjoy, perhaps with a steaming cup of coffee!
Feast of the Seven Fishes Shaylen Vitale Staff Writer Cioppino, mussels and fish with wine. No, this is not the menu of an oceanside Italian restaurant. These are the foods on the table of my large Italian family during Christmas Eve. Common holiday foods like roast chicken, turkey or ham, with mashed potatoes and buttery rolls, are not found at the Vitale home on Christmas Eve. That’s the way it has been this way for as long as I can remember – Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without seafood. It’s our version of the “Feast of the Seven Fishes,” a tradition which made its way into America from mainland Italy and is still practiced in various iterations by Italian-American families. Translated from the Italian “Festa dei Sette Pesci,” the feast does not have a specific name in Italy aside from “La Vigilia,” or the vigil. For generations, Southern Italians and Sicilians practiced abstinence from red meat until Christmas Day, substituting seafood instead. Tradition has it that seven fish dishes are included, but where this number originated is unknown. Some ItalianAmerican families include up to nine different meals with seafood, while others may only have a dish or two.
Besides complements of pastas, vegetables and wine, menus are usually comprised of anything that comes out of the ocean, from sardines and cod to anchovies and calamari. Popular options include linguine with clams and anchovy, stuffed calamari in tomato sauce and clams casino, which are served on a half shell with breading and bacon. If you were to walk into my kitchen on Christmas Eve, the first thing you would notice, besides the stereotypical Italian loudness and variety of wine glasses, would be the multiple seafood options. Typically, the first courses would be smoked cod and trout with shrimp cocktail, along with some bruschetta. I always looked forward to the clams and mussels in tomato broth. This past Christmas Eve, my family decided to change things up a bit; we traded the traditional swordfish and crab legs for Cioppino and sea snails. Yes, somehow some of my family members figured sea snails would be a great addition to the dinner table. I beg to differ. Fortunately Cioppino, a tomato-based stew with an assortment of lobster, mussels, scallops, shrimp and any other edible sea creature you want to throw in, took center stage. With a side of freshly baked ciabatta bread, this was one of the highlights of the night for me.
Having seafood as a central component of Christmas Eve is unique to my Italian-American heritage and I would not trade it for any other – though I can understand why some would enjoy this, or see it as plain weird. My aunt is allergic to shellfish so she must abstain from most of the food prepared. One of my cousins hates anything to do with the ocean, food included. Still, my family’s version of the “Feast of the Seven Fishes” is a holiday tradition which helps me understand my identity as an Italian-American long after the holidays are done.
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christm differe
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mas from a ent country
Reporter staff photographer Maeve Coughlin and her family follow a longstanding tradition and sample food from Jamaican culture for their multicultural Christmas feast. Photo Credit: Maeve Coughlin
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Maeve’s Family Eats From Jamaica Maeve Coughlin Photographer Every year my family picks a different country and prepares a Christmas dinner menu based on the cuisine of that country. It is a tradition with no clear origin, but it always provides an opportunity to try something new, so we keep at it. To date, we have sampled from Germany, Mexico, Italy and Iceland. This year, for something a little different, we branched out and decided to try Jamaican Christmas cuisine.
place of the traditional meat course, we ate soy sausages. A real Jamaican Christmas dinner would have had roast pig or curried goat, though our meatless dishes more than made up for that.
spices and then mixed with rum. We added a little champagne to ours to give it some bubble.
For dessert, we made a Jamaican fruitcake, also sometimes called black cake For the main dishes, we ate gungo peas because of its dark color. Usually, dried and rice. Gungo peas, also known as fruit is soaked in rum and then baked pigeon peas, are traditionally served as into the dough, but we only had time part of a Jamaican Christmas dinner to soak our fruit for a few days. Deand we happily stuck with this choice. spite that, the cake still came out with a We also had macaroni salad with pep- strong, rummy flavor. pers and celery, which usually finds its way into the holiday dinner as a side Overall, it was a successful and redish. warding venture into new cuisine. We We stuck as close to an authentic Jamaiall went back for seconds, and I would can Christmas menu as possible, but For an authentic beverage, we served not mind having a Jamaican Christmas one change had to be made. My family the brightly colored sorrel drink. Sorrel again. is not strictly vegetarian, however we drink is made from the dried flowers of choose not to cook meat at home. In the sorrel plant, which are stewed with Photos by Maeve Coughlin.
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Nytt ar i
Norge
New Years in Norway Madison Akins Sports Editor In deviation from how I normally celebrate New Year’s Eve, I counted down to 2017 six hours prior to my family and friends while visiting Norway. The city of Sarpsborg, Norway is located about 1,000 kilometers (621 mi) southeast of Oslo, the country’s capital. Originally founded in 1015 as Borg, the city was burned to the ground by Swedish invaders in 1567, relocated, and then rebuilt again after a mudslide in 1702. Despite all the adversities, Sarpsborg endured and on this past New Year’s Eve, the city celebrated its 1,000th birthday.
Sarpsborg New Year’s concert. Photo Credit: Madison Akins
between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, known as “romjul” in Norwegian. From what I could gather, it is much like how many Americans look at the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas as the “holiday season.” Every few songs the lead vocalist changed out, while the backing band remained. To my surprise, there were both Norwegian and English songs from all different genres. A few locals were Joans Groth, Ida Elisabeth Karlson, and Ingeborg Walther. Ida sang a pretty, if underwhelming, version of Adele’s “When We Were Young,” and the lively Ingeborg’s dancing was more memorable than her song. Stian Joneid sang “Faith” by George Michael along with a few Norwegian songs.
he is most famous. Nicoline sang a traditional Norwegian Christmas song and a few other well done American pop songs. Once we got past the eerie opening of Ulrikke Brandstorp’s cover of a popular Norwegian song titled “Euphoria,” her powerful voice complemented the song quite well. The most famous singer of the night, Øyvind Sauvik, who goes by the stage name Vinni, astounded me. While the crowd loved him and his rap verses, I found them unsuitable for what seemed to be a family event.
As Sveinung Eide Hansen sat at the piano, everyone returned to stage along with the mayor, Sindre Martinsen Evje, and performed the Sarpsborg song, I joined all the people gathered in Tusen år og tusen til, as midnight the town square to enjoy an outdoor came near. My English countdown concert as we waited for 2017. All ages was lost among the crowd’s Norwegian attended, many of them men in suits Two contestants from Norway’s singing countdown, led by the screen next to and ties. In the center of the square was competition show, Stjernekamp – the stage. “Tre, to, en…” a large yet simple Christmas tree, with Knut Anders Sørum, winner, and the lights strung vertically. In Nicoline, runner up – were the A kiss at midnight is not a tradition Norway, trees are the focal standouts of the performances. Sørum in Norway. Instead, a few hugs were point, not the decorations. sang in Norwegian and finished with shared as the fireworks went off. Norwegians value the time a Norwegian opera song for which
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you have to stir constantly. So, if you stop for even just a few seconds, you could ruin the roux. However, if you are scared about ruining your roux or just do not have the time to make it yourself, the easiest option is to buy it pre-made – something that my parents learned after ruining our roux last year. Smarter choice on their part. After the roux is done, we begin chopping bell peppers and celery to give our gumbo flavor and texture. Add all of the prepared shrimp, oysters and claw meat, and voilà , the gumbo is ready.
It's a Southern Holiday, Y'all. Morgan Eiland Staff Writer The traditional holiday dinner usually consists of a roasted turkey or ham (or both), green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce and maybe a few more casseroles. Being from the South and living on the Gulf Coast (specifically Mobile, Alabama) my family does a different type of dinner: seafood only. We make seafood gumbo, grilled and fried oysters. We started the custom a few years ago, after wanting to change things up instead of having a traditional dinner. Two days before Christmas, my dad goes to his favorite seafood shop in Mobile, called Mudbugs. He buys a quart of oysters and about five dozen oysters in the shell, five pounds of shrimp and a pound of crab claw meat and jumbo lump crab meat. The next day, our family prepares the seafood: we clean the shrimp, shuck the oysters
For the grilled and fried oysters, my dad shucks them (while my brother and and pick out the shells from the claw I steal a few raw ones because they are meat. Shucking means to open up the delicious) and then he either coats the shell and remove, in this case, the oyster oysters in an egg and flour mixture and from said shell. Normally a knife is fries them, or puts garlic and butter and involved to pry open the shell, so gloves parmesan cheese to grill them up. The can be a necessary precaution. oysters are delicious anyway they are served: grilled, fried, or raw. On Christmas morning, my parents start making the roux for the gumbo. Roux is the base of the gumbo and takes anywhere from 25-50 minutes to make depending on how dark you Photos by Morgan Eiland. want it. It is very tricky to make because
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The Sweet Home Cafe at the Smithsonian Museum of African American Culture Just before heading to Reagan National for my return flight from our nation’s capital, I made a quick detour to the Smithsonian’s newest hallmark: the Museum of African-American History and Culture. Getting inside is easy enough, but as soon as I reach the lobby, I’m immediately met with huge hordes of people waiting in line for some of the museum’s iconic new exhibits. Instead of joining the crowd, however, I’m heading for the basement. As with most times in my life, I’m here for the food.
The Sweet Home Cafe The lowest floor of the museum boasts a large, cafeteria-style dining area which promises authentic, home-cooked food from a variety of African-American traditions. Four serving stations offer selections from different geographical areas: The North States, the Western Front, the Agricultural South and Creole Louisiana. Since I am a Northerner at heart, I head straight for the first station. After careful consideration, I decide on a meal of turkey grillades with gravy, fried apples, johnny cakes, and an extra treat for dessert - bread pudding with dulce de leche sauce.
True Home-Cooked Goodness Starting with the large stovetop pots in which the food was served, I could tell special effort was put into maintaining the “home-cooked” feel. It paid off the turkey dish tasted like something my mother might have made, if my mother were an AfricanAmerican sharecropper in the 19th century.
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The turkey was served “smothered” with gravy that echoed the Caribbean and African influences advertised at the serving station. Johnny cakes, which I had never heard of prior to this trip, are sweet cornmeal-based pancakes which went perfectly with fried apples. The sweet apple spice perfectly complemented the savory turkey and gravy dish. The very clear highlight of the meal, however, was the bread pudding. As I was being served at the counter, the server commented that the dulce de leche sauce was “to die for,” and offered to add on a little extra. I agreed, and soon found that his recommendation
was well-deserved. When I returned to Pennsylvania for the holidays, I found myself seriously considering making the 2 ½ hour drive into the city just to have more of this bread pudding. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful meal.
Kitty Geoghan Creative Director
“Knowing one’s history and passing it along - with words and with food - is a way of maintaining personal and community identity.”
Enhancing the Museum Experience Although the Sweet Home Cafe is physically separate from most of the museum exhibits, it is very much an extension of the museum itself. In the large cafeteria-style seating area, the walls are adorned with all sorts of memorabilia celebrating AfricanAmerican culture and influence. Quotes about food and culture among the photographs and posters echo the ultimate goal of the Sweet Home Cafe: to allow visitors to experience a culture through the timeless tradition of breaking bread.
The wall just above my table read: “Knowing one’s history and passing it along - with words and with food - is a way of maintaining personal and community identity.” All around me, I saw exactly that. African-American patrons of all ages, from all walks of life, experiencing
their own culture and history in a whole new way. In the final months of President Obama’s final term, such an experience was a privilege for many of the museum’s visitors. But in addition, and perhaps just as importantly, visitors of all other races are able to explore African-American culture for what may be the first time. In a world where African-American cultural identity is often ignored and belittled even today, it is truly a privilege for all Americans to come together and celebrate that identity around a common table.
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Vegan Holidays Three of our staffers here at the Stetson Reporter are vegans JB Pitts, Kait Forsythe, and Alicia Sapirman. Here is a glimpse into how they spent their holidays without meat, fish, fowl, egg or dairy!
Being Vegan on Christmas JB Pitts Staff Writer Being vegan during the holidays is a study in the art of compromise. It’s walking a fine line between upholding your personal beliefs and not forcing them on your family - despite the “you eat like a rabbit” jokes you may have to swallow.
have never felt that I am “missing out” on anything.
But while I have never had much trouble eating this way, I must also acknowledge that it’s not that way for most people - my family included. The meat and dairy industries have long been heavily subsidized by the federal government, normalizing them as a regular and allegedly healthy part of Some people go vegan because they our diets. Wrong or not, the result is disagree with the animal-agricultural that it’s difficult for most people to conindustry’s poor treatment of highly in- ceptualize having a meal without these telligent and emotional animals. Others things – they make up their comfort cite the industry’s overuse of natural re- foods, their go-to recipes, and even the sources like water and land required to mascot of their favorite restaurants. raise cattle. Then there is the potential danger of methane, a chemical emitted So while I’d prefer everyone eat the as a byproduct of degradation of maway I do, I also realize that I’ll only nure. This has 20 times the greenhouse leave myself and everyone around me potential, or possible warming impact frustrated if I’m constantly attacking on the atmosphere, of carbon dioxide. animal consumption. No one wants Many find it just plain strange to eat to spend Christmas that way. Instead, flesh or another animal’s baby food. I want to make my choices seen as a viable, sane alternative to the meat-forWhile all of these factored into my every-meal norm. decision to go vegan, what drives me more than anything is simply that I This was my second meatless Christfeel better eating this way. I have more mas, and while I was still the only energy. I haven’t been sick since going person that could be found eating kale vegan. My moods are more consistent. and tomato soup or coconut cream And because I still love the food I eat cheesecake, this one felt much more and my body feels better for it, too, I progressive than the first. My dad
recalled a conversation he’d had about the benefits of veganism for diabetics, a disease with a long history in my family, and on a separate occasion my grandfather questioned if meat had any real health benefits. My uncle gifted me a book on how to get enough nutrients from a plant-based diet. My mom, world-famous Mac-N-Cheese wizard, cooked a veganized version that even my non-vegan friends promptly devoured as late night leftovers. While our farm animal allies would probably be envious, it’s tough to be an herbivorous human in U.S. society. The holidays always provide a few extra challenges to that lifestyle, from experimenting with new dishes that forsake the traditional turkey and ham (and sometimes admitting that you should never make those dishes again – RIP lentil stuffed mushrooms) to explaining for the 23rd time why you won’t eat strawberry cream pie. This aside, the gathering of our loved ones is a time for celebration, for examining how far we’ve come since the last time we were together. For me, watching my family’s eyes opening to a new way of thinking certainly brought me plenty of joy this Christmas.
Thanksgiving Tofurkey Kait Forsythe Features Editor Much to my family’s distress, I transitioned from vegetarian to vegan a few days before Thanksgiving in 2015. With such short notice, my loved
ones scrambled to prepare dairy-free mashed potatoes and green beans. Grateful though still hungry, I ate those side dishes whilst writing a mental note to prepare for next year’s feast a little better.
A year later, Thanksgiving 2016 came around and it was time for me to prove myself. A year older and only slightly better at seasoning fake meats, I have included the recipe for a Tofurky (a combination of “tofu” and “turkey”) Roast below.
Tofurky Roast Recipe Ingredients: Tofurky Roast, thawed in fridge at least 24 hours 1 medium-large sweet potato 3 carrots 8-10 fingerling potatoes 4 tbsp soy sauce 4 tbsp olive oil 1 small bunch of fresh thyme 1 small bunch of fresh oregano 1 small bunch of fresh rosemary pie plate or roast pan tin foil
Finished Tofurkey Roast. Photo Credit: Kait Forsythe
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Run Tofurky Roast under warm water to cut plastic wrapping with sharp knife. 3. Peel and chop carrots and potatoes into large pieces. Don’t be afraid to cut nice, chunky pieces. These will cook for a long time. 4. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, olive oil, thyme, oregano, and rosemary. Make sure the herbs are chopped finely before mixing into sauce. 5. In pie tin or roast pan, place Tofurky Roast in center and garnish with sweet potatoes, fingerling potatoes and carrots around the outside. 6. Pour half of the soy sauce base onto the Tofurky Roast and vegetables. Save the other half for the second cook. 7. Cover entire roast pan or pie plate with tin foil. 8. Place on middle rack of oven. Cook for 1 hour. Remove tin foil. Pour remaining soy sauce base onto Tofurky Roast and vegetables. 9. Return to oven to cook for 10-15 more minutes.
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Hello Viewers, My name is Samantha Zarek, and I am the founder and executive producer of WHNN: Hatter News Network, Stetson’s very first broadcasting network in 135 years. I am a senior communication and media studies major, and I have professional reporting and producing experience through my internships with WFFT Local Fox 55 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and WESH 2 News NBC Orlando. This is my first “letter from the executive producer,” so I will catch you up on our progress so far. Last semester, we focused mainly on building a team, ordering equipment, and getting comfortable with the components that go into a broadcast production. We spent our team meetings learning broadcasting terms, how to implement them, and then putting them to practice in the field during the following week. We released one to two news packages (stories) per week, as we were getting everyone used to their positions, both on-air and behind the scenes.
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Toward the end of the semester, we received our full equipment order: HD cameras, microphones, studio lighting and backdrop, and more. This semester, our team came back from winter break ready to take on the regular production of a full-show weekly newscast, complete with anchor reads, weather hits, sports highlights, and the WHNN exclusive story of the week. WHNN is in its beginning stages, and I am proud to say that we have a solid team that works each week to make the show better than the week before. We’ve made history here at Stetson, and we cannot wait to see WHNN grow and flourish throughout the years. Be sure to tune in to our WHNN News Hour at 4:00 each Sunday, only on Hatter Network. Stay tuned… Samantha
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to contact the elusive Sean, Walter finds himself forced into a reality that remarkably parallels his old daydreams. The Lynn Walsh audience feels Walter’s panic as News Editor he frantically longboards away from ever-approaching lava, In need of some inspiration to and takes in beautiful images of travel, but don’t have the money Icelandic mountains; we laugh to actually go anywhere? The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, a 2013 as a increasingly-rugged Walter American comedy adventure film is detained at the Yemen border, and feel thrills of excitement as he starring Ben Stiller, may just be leaps from ships and hails sketchy the antidote. airplane rides with drunk pilots. The movie tells the story of a film developer, Walter Mitty, who works in the basement of Life magazine’s New York City tower. While Walter’s coworker – a photojournalist named Sean O’Connell – climbs mountains and braves harsh weather to take the perfect photographs for Life’s covers, timid Mitty remains downstairs, invisible, especially to Cheryl, a girl with whom he is infatuated. Humorously, after each awkward scene between Walter and Cheryl, Walter reimagines the embarrassing moment and dreams that he instead did a dashing feat—such After several amusing attempts as saving a cat from a burning on Walter’s part that fail, and building—that woos Cheryl. These comedic sprinklings break another several cringey moments where Walter imagines Cheryl the sad tone of an otherwise boring, solitary life of developing romantically encouraging him through these adventures, he film. finally finds Sean, returns to Life However, when Life magazine and saves the final magazine announces its production of cover. Avoiding any clichéd one final print cover, Walter pitfalls, this film rejects the “hero discovers that Sean’s gets the girl” plotline, instead quintessential cover ending the film with a jobless photo is missing. Unable
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
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Walter, who must decide whether to continue living in the shadows and pine after a girl who never notices him, or to at last live up to Life’s motto: “To see the world, things dangerous to come…To feel…that is the purpose of life.” The Secret Life of Walter Mitty reminds its audience that it’s never too late to travel and experience life, and gives college students a realistic breath of hope that travel doesn’t become unattainable after study abroad experiences end and youthful energy fades. While, we often cannot travel as much as we dream, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty takes its viewers along for a ride with Ben Stiller’s character, reminding us that even people stuck in monotonous 9 to 5 grinds, stuck working at the bottom of huge corporations, in basements, can find life’s adventurous spark.
wandering through a cyber universe: the thrills of space travel in
Jason Cruz || Editor-In-Chief Your journey through the cosmos begins like a dream. You manifest on an unfamiliar planet, unsure of who or even what you are. A downed starship begs for repair. Scant instructions flash across your visor, telling you about the materials you need to fix it. Walking, running and jetpacking across the landscape, you destroy plants and minerals to gather resources. You stand in awe of enormous blue trees and run from what resembles a cross between a dingo and a raptor as it nips at your heels. A blue bar slowly decreases until you realize that it is -48 degrees Celsius on this strange world. You worry your first night will be your last. Panic drives you ahead until you have gathered all of the iron, carbon, platinum and plutonium you can carry. An eye steadily fixed on your life-support systems as you march back to your wrecked vessel. Perform the fixes. Sit in the warm cockpit. Engage thrusters. Point the ship towards the stars. Activate pulse drive. And as the rushing wind changes to the light of a billion alien stars, only one thought enters your mind: fly. Welcome to the universe of No Man’s Sky. For years, No Man’s Sky enticed video gamers with its unbridled potential. Developer Hello Games, fronted by the passionate if shy Sean Murray, unveiled their project at the end of 2013 to much fanfare. Gamers eagerly awaited delivery on the promise of spacefaring in a way no video game had before. According to Murray, players would be able to explore a virtual universe filled with procedurally generated planets, each home to unique
landforms, biodiversity and remnants of alien life to discover. While many felt the final game did not warrant the years of staggering expectation when released last August, what remains is a sci-fi experience unlike most others. No Man’s Sky fulfills what many games seek to evoke but fail to, namely a real sense of traveling through uncharted worlds. The thrill of the game is the journey. At any point in No Man’s Sky, players can hover their cursors over on-screen markers and find out exactly how long the trip to that point will be based on their current speed. When walking along a planet’s surface, this timer usually reads out as a few minutes. A recharging sprint ability and a jetpack allow you to close the gap while climbing hills, avoiding cliffs and descending valleys on your way to whatever has piqued your attention. These small trips contain all the dangers of walks through a new area without your smartphone’s GPS. You move too high up thinking the destination is just over the next ridge. You take a detour into a cavern overflowing with neon green minerals and glowing plants only to find that its exit has led you several minutes further away from your marker. When you finally arrive, your reward almost never lives up to the effort. It does not matter, because there is a new marker, just a five minute walk away, waiting to be found. Remember that ship you fixed? When you tire of slowly walking, you can fly over a planet. The aerial view lets you find installations and life forms more easily, turns twenty minute treks into two minute flights and speeds travel up. You can also
aim your ship at the sky and seamlessly fly from one planetary surface to another. One of the greatest thrills No Man’s Sky has to offer comes when piloting out of atmosphere, avoiding asteroids and hostile alien ships, seeing a planet looming in the distance and being told your flight there will take hours. Gameplay mechanics mean you never end up taking that long, but I am constantly tempted to take the plunge and float quietly through the vacuum whilst watching the undiscovered celestial body grow larger and larger. Eventually No Man’s Sky opens up to intergalactic travel. Your scantily explained mission is to reach the galaxy’s center, but you could spend all of your time exploring the solar systems within immediate reach and never exhaust your supply. I once opened the game’s galaxy map and floated from star to star to see which had been discovered thus far. Very, very few solar systems had ever been touched by a human player, and the innumerable lights on my screen tell me that very, very few will ever be. The fulfilled promise of No Man’s Sky, an objectively boring game with a bad title, is that you can wander from one end of a planet, or solar system, or galaxy, to another, and never see it all, never discover all of its secrets, and never feel anything but joyful for it. It provides a sense of childlike wonder evoked by the finest travel experiences. It is the virtual intragalactic embodiment of the nonpareil road trip which can only be achieved in dreams.
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Rogue One is a brutal, unique Star Wars story Jason Cruz Editor-in-Chief There is a famous moment in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in which Obi-Wan Kenobi introduces a lightsaber to Luke Skywalker and, in 1977, the world. Kenobi tells Skywalker the laser sword is “not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.” Nearly 40 years later, the clumsy randomness of blaster fire finally takes center stage. Throughout Rogue One, a direct prequel to A New Hope and the first in a planned line of spin-off Star Wars films, blasters and grenades fill the screen. Innumerable civilians and soldiers die as the fascistic Empire attempts to crush the Rebel Alliance and its effort to steal the plans of the Empire’s latest superweapon, the Death Star which looms over the original Star Wars. While the seven main installments in the series have thus far been operatic adventure films in space, Rogue One takes its cues from Hollywood’s depictions of actual warfare. Gripping firefights rage across several different planets, culminating in a space-to-air-to-ground battle assault more reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan than the beloved Hoth battle in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. For fans of war films, this final battle
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alone is worth the price of admission. Driven by an incredible mixture of practical effects and beautiful CGI, the ravages of armed conflict feel far more visceral than the Star Wars galaxy ever has before.
their original appearances. Vader’s unflinching brutality is a special treat for longtime fans after watching him blandly mope his way through the prequel trilogy.
In many ways, director Gareth Edwards brilliantly blends together his film with the original Star Wars Rogue One is a film which knows its until Rogue One feels like it was made galaxy intimately and expects you to as alongside it, not 40 years later. The well. This is a film written and directed look and feel of the environments, by a group of Star Wars fans who have the use of original trilogy characters, an encyclopedic knowledge of the and even clips taken directly from universe and display that in full. Several A New Hope’s production push this cast members reprise their roles, often new movie firmly into the galaxy far, without ever being referred to by name. far away. Seeing the old stomtrooper The film ends on a powerful image which armor (redesigned for 2015’s The Force works wonderfully if you recognize the Awakens) covered in dirt and the character featured, but might fall flat iconic rebel base on Yavin IV ground otherwise. Moments of fan service, such Rogue One firmly in one of the world’s as blue milk and allusions to later events, best known mythologies. recur throughout the movie. Yet Rogue One stands out and on its Luckily for newcomers, the central cast own. There is a record number of introduced in Rogue One do an excellent named Star Wars characters killed job carrying the movie on their own. Jyn on screen. Though they constantly Erso, played by Oscar winner Felicity talk about hope, the circumstance Jones, brings a taciturn sensibility and has almost never looked bleaker. At moral ambiguity usually reserved for times it seems as if the eventually Star Wars’ male leads. Her journey and victorious Rebel Alliance will not relationships with the people around survive this prequel. There are no Jedi, her drive the movie, which feels like a no one learns to use the Force, and tight character drama when the shooting those clumsy blasters churn through stops. soldier after soldier just attempting Rogue One’s villains masterfully to complete a relatively minor task to express the cruelty of the Empire. further the Rebel’s goals. Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic, Despite planet-hopping and the the director of construction on the moon-sized weapon, this is Star Wars Death Star, blends together arrogance, on a small scale. It is a unique entry insatiable ambitions, and a will to in the franchise in many ways, fits murder those who inconvenience him right at home in many ways, and does into someone you truly love to root a terrific job of being a great piece of against. His bosses, a CG resurrection entertainment, justifying the existence of Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing, of spin offs in this universe, and who portrayed the actor in 1977, died should hold fans over until December in 1994) and the indomitable Darth brings Episode VIII. Vader both inspire frights similar to
22, A Million - Bon Iver Lynn Walsh News Editor Bon Iver, an American indie folk band fronted by vocalist and songwriter Justin Vernon, became a group to watch after their 2007 hit “Skinny Love,” a single on Bon Iver’s first album of the same year, For Emma, Forever Ago. A second studio album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, followed in 2011; both records allow Vernon’s falsetto notes to dance along soft acoustic guitar pluckings and his signature distortions and keyboard synths. After five years of impatient and eager waiting, Vernon’s fans were rewarded on Sept. 30, 2016 with Bon Iver’s newest album, 22, A Million. 22, A Million continues Vernon’s experimental distortions, but drags them onto a higher experimental plane. After an initial listen-through, I found myself disappointed. Gone were the folk-like acoustic strums and clean vocal lines I had come to love. In their place, Vernon doubled down on synths, distorted electric guitars, and voice masking with heavily edited sounds that closely resemble the experimental strains of the instruments themselves. I found myself wishing that indie folk hits like “Holocene” and “Skinny Love” could be replicated on this album instead of Bon Iver’s new experimental direction. But as soon as I began my second listen, planning to take notes and write a scathing critical review, I found that hints of Bon Iver’s past albums’ brilliance can still be found buried like hidden treasures within 22, A Million. The album’s second song, “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄,” contains tight drum rolls which sound like feet marching to battle, mirroring the song’s lyrical battle between love and romantic rejection. Quickly becoming a fan-favorite, “33 ‘GOD’” is the perfect jam. Beginning with flickers of synth that jump around anxiously, the song slowly crescendos with Vernon’s augmented voice meeting the drums, climaxing with the obscure lyrics, “I find God and religions, too / staying at the Ace Hotel.”
Perhaps the most experimental song is “____45_____,” which is predominantly a melody of synth horns calling to each other. However, Vernon’s voice comes in clearly and minimally edited halfway through, standing in shocking contrast to the heavily distorted instruments. His voice cuts through the horns, belting out, “I been caught in fire… without knowperhaps singing about the mysteries of heartbreak while making the listener’s heart ache in turn. The album closes with “00000 Million,” which has Vernon’s vocals in the forefront from the get-go, singing about the failures of life. He wrestles with themes, such as the value of education, with lyrics like, “A word about Gnosis [knowledge] / it don’t buy the groceries,” and with the haunting refrain, “Well it harms me it harms me it harms. I’ll let it in.” While by far their most experimental album to date, Bon Iver’s 22, A Million slowly burns its way into the hearts of its listeners, convincing them of its genius. My only remaining concern is over Vernon’s bizarre title choices. With songs like “715 – CR ΣΣ KS” and “22 (OVER S∞∞N),” fans may struggle to discuss and identify these hard-to-type names. Vernon’s voice remains the only overarching connection across his 3 albums. But perhaps that single connection is enough; while not as easily accessible with its unique instrumentation and heavy distortion, Vernon’s familiar voice shines through each song in 22, A Million, leaving him room to explore different avenues of styles while still retaining his signature sound.
Classics Back in Theatres: Singin’ in the Rain In Memory of Debbie Reynolds Lynn Walsh News Editor Nearly everyone has watched, or at least heard of, the 1952 American musical comedy film Singin’ in the Rain. Starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and the late Debbie Reynolds, the film follows Kelly’s character, Don Lockwood, an actor struggling to keep his career afloat as Hollywood transitions away from silent films. After accidentally angering his jealous costar and consequently getting Debbie Reynolds’ character, Kathy Selden, fired, Don joins forces with his best friend Cosmo Brown (O’Connor) and Kathy to save a failing production by transforming it into a musical. This endeavor must be done secretly, however, as Don’s costar Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) desires more fame for herself and becomes increasingly envious of Don’s ever-growing fondness for Kathy. Don, Kathy and Cosmo must dodge Lina’s terrible voice and maniacal plotting to save their careers and create the first musical film in Hollywood. For this classic film’s 65th anniversary, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) teamed up with Fathom Events and Warner Bros. Entertainment to show Singin’ in the Rain in select theatres across the nation. Altamonte Mall’s AMC Theatre was one of these few lucky ones licensed to show the film, on both Sunday, Jan. 15 and Wednesday, Jan. 18. The movie theatre overflowed with eager viewers of all ages: from retirement community outing groups to roving groups of college students to young children swinging their legs from the too-tall movie theatre chairs in anticipation. Before the film began, a page
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appeared in memoriam of Debbie Reynolds, who passed away on Dec. 28, 2016. Singin’ in the Rain jump started Reynolds’ illustrious acting career, and the theatre attendees murmured their shared sadness. TCM’s airing of this musical became a perfect way to remember Reynolds’ multitalented singing, dancing, and acting skills, as well as her energetic outlook on life.
For those who missed the showing of Singin’ in the Rain, never fear! TCM plans to show one classic film every month throughout 2017. Other popular classics to brighten up 2017 are The Godfather (in theaters June 4 and 7), The Princess Bride (Oct. 15 and 18) and Casablanca (Nov. 12 and 15). To view the full schedule, visit cinemark.com/tcm.
Vanguard Robert Armstrong Music podcast showcasing EDM tunes that demonstrate unique sounds and styles. Wednesdays @ 4pm-6pm Jam Sesh! Jad L “In my opinion, it should be called ‘Had to be Jad.’” -Tony, Station Manager Fridays @ 12pm-2pm WHAT Radio Exhibition Dylan Forehand, Noah Reed Dylan Forehand and Noah Reed share lesser-known music artists with each other and discuss elements of the music they find interesting. Fridays @ 2pm-4pm Godspeed Zak Berkel, Georgia Reed General talk and comedy show interspersed with random music including oldies and goldies. Fridays @ 10pm-12am Wisdom of Was Thomas Wasman, Ben Cashman, David Royal Discussing various sports and entertainment topics, along with lots of great music. Mainly NFL news and analysis, and all things cinema, old and new. Thursdays @ 6pm-8pm Tiny Tunes Nora Glover “I was surprised. I mean I expected like small tunes, right? We’re talking WAY SMALLER. -Tony, Station Manager Mondays @8pm-10pm
Practical Psychology Lyndsey Fekete Pretty neat analyses of individuals and their psychological roadblocks. Let’s figure it out! Fridays @ 8pm-10pm Jazz Culture Tyler Olivia Thomas A finely curated mixture of jazz from artists such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Bill Evans, and more talented individuals. Thursdays @ 2pm-4pm Trapping Your Soul with RnB Ayala Edouard Get your weekly fix of Trap, Soul, and RnB while discussing some of the latest controversies with fellow hatters. Wednesdays @ 10am-12pm Kevin Sullivan! Kevin Sullivan “And his number-loving evil twin brother, Sevin Kullivan.” -Tony, Station Manager Wednesdays @10pm-12am
stetsonwhatradio
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An Anonymous Contribution: Spending Christmas with my Eating Disorder When people think of the holiday season, one of the first things that pops into their minds is food. Halloween caramel-covered apples, Thanksgiving turkey dripping with dressing and served with cranberry stuffing, Christmas cookies covered with sprinkles, simmering cups of hot chocolate with marshmallows, and, of course, New Year’s Eve’s obligatory champagne and cheese-and-crackers tray. I have always dreaded this time of year, and I especially do now. For me, this time of year only heightens my already abusive relationship with food. Healthy people take this yearly opportunity to binge on extra cookies and second helpings of Thanksgiving casseroles, and then joke about dieting and exercising to “burn off those extra calories” and “make up for being bad.” But I’m not healthy. And perhaps this relationship we have with food—treating it as “good” or “bad,” and punishing ourselves with half-assed diet schemas and exercise routines–is not so different than what I’ve been doing all year. I long to sit down and be fully present at the dinner table. But my eating disorder (ED)—which I’ve appropriately nicknamed “Ed” for short—always rears his ugly head. He whispers, “Sure, you can have that cookie. But then you need to skip dinner,” and, “Don’t you dare eat that spoonful of stuffing, because that’s the beginning of a slippery slope.” My body dysmorphia heightens. Surrounded by my family’s diet plans and their jokes about having second portions, it is all I can do to not run out of the room sobbing. Because I live in that mentality every single day. My body has been abused. I have felt weak and lightheaded, struggled to walk to class fueled by only 500 calories a day, but convinced myself that I must walk in order to burn off that little 50 calorie apple I ate as “breakfast.”
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When Halloween came around, I finally saw a doctor. This holiday’s swirling vortex of candy made me want to scream; I knew I couldn’t last much longer as I looked in the mirror and saw my body shrinking before my eyes. I worked up the courage to have my mother schedule a doctor’s appointment. The Mayo Clinic doctor I saw took my vitals and then joked, “You have what every woman in America wishes she had: the ability to lose weight.” I’ve never gone back to his office since then. I should have continued seeking help. I should have pushed for a new doctor, demanded for real treatment instead of receiving back-handed jabs from a socalled medical professional. But I didn’t. I clung to Ed even more tightly. As my face became more angular and my ribs began jabbing through, I jealously watched my friends enjoy their Halloween candy without calculating the calories they’d just consumed. I looked on longingly as my sister had two portions of dinner without skipping her next three meals to make up for it. I wanted my life back. I wanted to live. But the fear of losing my false sense of weight control terrified me. That’s what ED does to people—it convinces us that our body dysmorphia is protecting us from the ravages of the holiday season weight gain, when in reality we are wasting away during “the most wonderful time of the year.” Thanksgiving break—against all odds— gifted me with a Christmas miracle. I finally saw a glimpse into the destructive depths of my ED when, as I drove home on I-95, I nibbled on one baby carrot and sobbed, convinced its calories would make me gain too much weight. So I began to do what I do best: research. I followed body positive and eating disorder recovery accounts on Instagram.
I muted the TV’s dieting ads that play all too often around the holiday season. I planned out meals that were healthy and filled with much-needed calories. I began to slowly eat, first consuing 1000 calories a day, then 2000, and finally 3000, so that I could begin my weight restoration process. And so far, it’s working. Thanksgiving was hard, but I forced myself to sit still and finish the “huge” portion of turkey I got for myself (which, in reality, was barely a normal portion, but to my sick mind was massive). I was shocked to find myself laughing at my dad’s terribly punny jokes while eating spoonfuls of green bean casserole. By Christmas, I could eat the gingerbread man I decorated with my family and not feel haunted by it afterward. I even found myself excited for my family’s New Year’s Eve dinner—an event that only a few months ago would have given me an anxiety attack. The holiday season is hard for those in ED recovery. I still have a long way to go—I have at least ten pounds to restore and I have a lot of body image issues to wrestle through. I fight everyday to ignore Ed’s ever-present voice, telling myself that food is fuel and that I cannot punish myself for needing this fuel like everyone else. During this holiday season, I’m reminding myself daily that the holidays are about enjoying good food with family and friends, and that while they may make me gain a few extra pounds, no one looks back on their lives remembering their BMIs at holidays. They instead remember the jokes that Uncle Tim told, or relive the mortifyingly political arguments sparked between ultra-conservative Grandpa Jim and your Bernie Sanders-loving self. So here’s to the 2016 holiday season; though I hope to enjoy next year’s holidays without Ed’s incessant chatter.
Jason Cruz Editor-In-Chief I want to address an incident which recently took place on our Facebook page. My fellow student executives at Hatter Network and I were contacted by a student who contributed an opinion piece. The student asked us to remove her article after she received a string of comments from readers who vehemently disagreed with her argument. The article’s headline, which I wrote, read as “Stop whining about cultural appropriation, Disney fans.” None of the comments or messages contained threats against the author. However, they were of a level of vitriol which the author felt distressed by. As we respect the rights of each of our contributors, we pulled the story down after it had been up for two weeks. The comments appeared the same day as the writer’s removal request. The entire incident was over in a matter of hours. There has been a serious debate of late regarding the role of universities and their institutions as arbiters or limiters of free speech in the United States. While much of this debate has centered on the hosting of guest speakers whose views are deemed hostile by members of the student body, the role of student media has also been called into question. At Hatter Network, we take our responsibility seriously to encourage free expression while ensuring that student concerns can be addressed. Any student, faculty, or staff member may pitch an opinion article to us at any time. We reserve the right to accept or deny any piece, edit those we accept and publish them through the same avenues we publish the work our staff produces. When I decided to accept this particular article, I knew it would be popular with some, unpopular with others and contained arguments people may consider offensive. Overall, I deemed it acceptable for publication.
OPINIONS
A Letter from the Editor: Why We Took An Article Down
Andy Dehnart, our faculty advisor, once told my predecessor that publishing an article meant deciding the information and views represented therein are worth consideration. That has been the standard I apply to articles written by my staff and contributors, regardless of how I personally feel about them. I will continue to do so until I exit this position in the near future. I still believe this article was OK to publish, labelled clearly as the views of the author just as all opinion articles will continue to be labelled. If the author had not asked for its removal, it would still be up. If I could do things differently, I would not have used the headline which I did. By framing the article as an attack or command, I affected readers’ framing of the article. For that I have offered an apology to the author, and I apologize to you, Dear Reader.
It is my personal belief that the best way to respond to articles you strongly disagree with is to clearly spell out your disagreements. Commenting on pieces is one avenue for this, and will remain so at Hatter Network. Comments referring to the content of an article will always be welcome, but comments personally attacking authors or threatening others will not be tolerated. I also encourage you to write a direct rebuttal for Hatter Network to publish. Send your pitch to our Facebook page, or email svitale1@stetson.edu or hatternetwork@gmail.com to begin the process. If you allow us to publish your criticisms alongside the original article, you will be advancing the critical dialogue on an issue which you care about. This way all of us can use our freedom to speak not only to express ourselves, but to try and change the minds of others.
Alicia Sapirman Staff Writer
Solidarity or Unrest? The Path of America Post-Election
Understanding. That is what I, and many of us, wanted post-election. This summer, as the election came nearer, people threw out quips left and right about Trump running for President. This joke translated into reality. Three weeks—at time of writing, three weeks have passed since the Presidential election and I am still at a loss for words. Do I join the movement #notmypresident, or do I submissively put aside my beliefs, and simply trust in the democratic process and our system of checks and balances? In an attempt to overcome my state of shock with the election results, I consulted political science professor Dr. William Nylen. I wanted to understand if this election represented a vast separation from its predecessors. Dr. Nylen explained that “we have never had a candidate that was so openly contemptuous of the political process itself.” Donald Trump certainly appealed to the Americans that felt that their voice was no longer being heard — that their voice did not matter. But as we know, to rebel against a system that appears not to favor a large amount of the people it should represent comes with immense ramifications. So a vote for Trump does not automatically define the individual as a racist, sexist, xenophobic and homophobic bigot; many Americans prioritized the hope of being heard in Washington over discrimination against minority groups.
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Unfortunately, Trump voters then contributed to the normalization of discrimination against minorities. In the week following the election, the Southern Poverty Law Center recorded a wave of hate crimes unseen in the US since 9/11. What we must not do now is attempt to move forward while forgetting those who did not support Trump, especially since many voters did choose Hillary Clinton. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” It is important that we do not step aside and do nothing when discrimination is occurring. The question becomes, what is the best method to prevent this behavior from being further entrenched in our society?
I possessed the misconception that “standing united against hate” would raise awareness and spark change, or, at the least, send the message that discrimination would not be tolerated. I have found that protests must have clear intent such as arguing for a specific policy to be put into place or repealed. Trump’s election has led us into a great unknown; his unclear policy positions have left our nation questioning our direction. This unknown reinforces fears in minorities and their allies. It is unfortunate that we now have a resident that many fear is too irresponsible or malicious to protect our society’s most vulnerable members.
The unknown is where we are. From here, we must all recognize that This is where our civic duty comes into difference of opinion is an important play. When we view systematic errors tenant in the foundation of our in the way our country is being run, country. Having open forums is we are morally obligated to take action. essential to move forward in our new Dr. Nylen explained the benefits of reality. We must respect alternate peaceful protests. He also warned that opinions while not compromising our demonstrations work “if, and only if, individual core values. Whether or not the conduction of the protest does not you think we are destroying America compromise the intent of the protest.” or making it great again—we must find Protests must not become dangerous some source of solidarity. to the general public in order to remain a positive action against the This article was originally written in systematic errors. Otherwise the November 2016. protest becomes unproductive and further polarizes those who would be our allies. Disruptive protest makes Alicia is a first year student majoring this an issue of enemies rather than in philosophy with minors in one of a nation trying to energize a gender studies and the certificate solution to a problem. for community engagement. She It is simply not enough to have a protest.
is a member of the Stetson Bonner Program.
Got an Opinion? We want to hear it! Send editorial pieces to reporterstaff@gmail.com Now accepting submissions for our Politics issue
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On the Road Again Madison Akins || Sports Writer Traveling for an away game can be great. It gives athletes a chance to see other universities while breaking up the monotony of training and competing at home. Long bus rides can host the most meaningful team bonding experiences. Some coaches go out of their way to try to let their athletes see more than their sports arena and hotel rooms, a limitation that is often the case. My teammates on the Indoor Volleyball team and I were able to spend a few hours in New York City before competing in a conference match against NJIT the following day. A few years ago, Stetson’s football players dined with alumni in Chicago the weekend of their game against Valparaiso. Of course, some sports are on the road much more often than others. According to a 2015 study done by the NCAA, a typical student athlete is away from campus at least 1.5 days out of the week, with some sports absent even more: Division I women’s golf and DI softball (2.7 days), DI women’s volleyball and DI baseball (2.6 days), and DI men’s golf and DI women’s soccer (2.3 days). All this time spent away comes at a cost for student athletes.
As an in-season athlete, playing two games a weekend, missing the majority of Thursday afternoon and Friday classes is unavoidable. The 2015 study detailed that DI women’s athletes miss at least 2 classes per week during their season. DI men’s athletes missed between 1.3-2.2 classes per week in season, depending on their sport. Many student athletes understand from the get-go that this is a negative side effect of playing collegiate level sports. An article from the NCAA authored by Greg Johnson describes that missing class comes with the atmosphere. From a panel on how to deal with the absences, Johnson writes, “The most important factor was for student-athletes to stay engaged with the faculty to develop a good working relationship so that the student-athlete maintains academic success without compromising faculty expectations.” I agree with Johnson to the extent that this has mostly been my experience with travel for my sport; but, what can athletes like Huber do if a professor just refuses to work with them?
SPORT
While some might think missing class is a luxury, professors are not mandated to allow student athletes to make up their assignments or time missed. Luckily, Stetson’s small community means that professors are usually willing to work with student athletes. However, a few student athletes here at Stetson have discovered how detrimental traveling can be for their grades. Senior soccer player Jared Huber and his student athlete peers faced strict penalties in their Zombie Apocalypse Junior Seminar last semester. Huber commented, “Unfortunately traveling has put me in tough situations where I have to accept a negative factor on my grades or choose to not help my teammates get a conference win.”
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Within the first week or so of their season, all Stetson student athletes are required to get paperwork signed stating that they have given their professors competition schedules and notified them of the days that they will miss class. Student athletes are also told that it is their responsibility to continue communications regarding missed classes throughout the semester.
Recap of Stetson’s Fall Sports Madison Akins || Sports Writer
Morgan Eiland || Sports Writer
The fall sports’ seasons have come to a close. Many players from our teams received awards from their conferences for outstanding athletic performances, including making All-Conference teams. The All-Conference teams are comprised of the top athletes from all schools in their respective sports.
Soccer
The Stetson Men’s Soccer team made it into the ASUN Conference Tournament where they dropped the first game to Lipscomb University. They completed their season with record of 4-10-2. Despite their record, Paul Ladwig was named ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year in addition to the ASUN All-Conference first team. Luke Ferreira was amed to the second team and Gabriel Diniz was named to the All-Freshmen Team.
Women’s Soccer
The Women’s Soccer team’s season also ended with a loss at the hands of Lipscomb University, but in the ASUN Conference Semifinals with a heartbreaking score of 1-2. The Lady Hatters ended their successful season overall with 9-7-2 as their record. Sarah Collins, Annette Morton and Adrianna Suarez were named to the ASUN Conference AllAcademic Team this year. For post-season honors, Collins was named to the ASUN All-Conference first team. Morton and Emily Poltz were named to the second team. And to round it off, Plotz, Florencia Baldassini and Lindsey Parent were named to the All-Freshmen Team.
TS Indoor Volleyball
The Indoor Volleyball team’s season came to an end when they lost to USC Upstate in their last game of the regular season. The Hatters, despite having a record of 4-25 for the season, competed in some very close matches this year, that unfortunately did not end in their favor. McKenna Foster, a senior outside hitter from Ocala, Fla, was named to the ASUN All-Academic Team as a result of her outstanding academic performance throughout her four years here at Stetson.
Cross Country
The Stetson Cross Country teams both had solid seasons with four seniors competing in the NCAA South Region Championships. The men’s and women’s teams both competed in five invitationals. The highest the women’s team finished this season was at the USC Upstate Eye Opener when they finished fourth place. The men’s highest finish was when they finished fourth at the UNF Invitational. The four seniors who participated in the NCAA South Region Championships were Joe Beery, Clarissa Consol, Brianne Boldrin and Laurie Scott. Beery broke Stetson’s 10k record with a time of 32:59.4. All three women set the three fastest 6k times in Stetson history. Consol is the new 6k record holder with a 22:50.7 time. Boldrin finished second with a time of 22:59.8 and Scott third at 23:02.9. Beery was named ASUN Men’s Cross Country ScholarAthlete of the Year.
Football
Stetson Football ended up with a record of 4-7. Their win against Campbell received national attention, after a blocked field goal led to overtime victory. Donald Payne finished a successful career with his third Pioneer Football League Defensive Player of the Year award. Payne is the seventh player in the league to have earned four first team All-PFL honors. Davion Belk also joined Payne on the All-PFL first team. Jeb Boudreaux and Eric Fogle were named to the second team AllPFL. Patrick Fogarty, Mike Yonker and Kegan Moore received honorable mentions from the league. Gaven DeFilippo and Davion Belk were named to the Academic All-PFL team. These teams now focus on training and strengthening themselves in the off-season to prepare for next year. Stetson Athletics is looking forward to the competitive seasons of winter and spring sports.
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Champion Bowler, Nick Moyer, at Stetson Madison Akins || Sports Editor
Nick Moyer, freshman, owns four championship rings for his successes in bowling throughout his high school career. His love for bowling began at his 14th birthday party and, shortly after, he joined a league with friends. Despite being homeschooled for high school, he competed on Apopka High School’s team. During the course of his career, Moyer has won three consecutive FHSAA State Championships since 2013. Apopka had both men’s and women’s bowling teams, in addition to varsity and junior varsity. A full varsity team typically consists of seven or eight players. The team practiced after school at a local bowling alley, playing three or four normal games then transitioning into other competitions with each other. “I would throw the first ball and then one of my teammates would try to pick up whatever I left,” Moyer explained. This past summer, the team competed at the first ever U.S. High School Bowling National Championship in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Moyer’s second qualifier at the Nationals was a 296, with 300 being a perfect score. United States Bowling Congress awarded Moyer the 11 in a Row award for his 11 strikes in a row during the 2nd game of the qualifying round. By the end of the tournament, he finished 14th overall. Moyer appreciated his coaches during his time in high school. His first two years he was instructed by the wrestling coach John Hauser, and the next two years he had John’s son, Todd, who transitioned over from the women’s team. While they were not extremely versed in the technical aspects of bowling, Moyer praised that “they were the best motivators - enablers, I would say.” When asked about any tips to non-bowlers, Moyer answered, “Always try to have fun, nothing technical, if you try to get too technical it isn’t fun.” Moyer has noticed himself stepping away from bowling recently, but would be interested in starting something here at Stetson if the people and resources become available.
SPRING SPORTS AT STETSON • Men/Women’s Basketball (End season - early March) • Golf (Men/Women) • Tennis (Men/Women) • Lacrosse (Men/Women) • Softball • Lacrosse • Beach Volleyball • Rowing
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Stetson University’s
Gender Studies Program proudly announces
The 2017 Annual Ann Morris Essay and Creative Writing Contest Up to $500 in prizes to be awarded for Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Essays, Research, and Creative Non-fiction Deadline is 12:00 noon on Friday, March 3rd Submit entries to Dr. Diane Everett 221 Davis Hall Winners to be announced at the Annual Gender Studies Banquet on Wednesday, April 12th
Contest Rules: •Entries must in some way address the issues of gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and/or sexuality; •Entrants must be currently registered undergraduate or graduate students; •All entries must be typed, titled, and sealed in an envelope, with the contest name indicated on the front of the envelope; •All entries should include a removable page with the author’s name, campus unit number, telephone number, email address, and Stetson University identification number; •The Stetson University identification number should appear on each page of each entry, but no other identifying information should appear on the entry; •An entry may be solely or jointly authored; •An author may submit up to three entries (jointly-authored entries count as one); •An author must submit three complete copies of each entry; and •A solid draft of a work nearing completion, such as a senior thesis or a senior project paper, may be considered. For more information, contact Dr. Diane Everett at ddeveret@stetson.edu.
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T
PASSPOR
&
around the world with
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Ampersand
by Touchstone
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As I Follow You into the Dark Jamie Pietrasz || Poetry
I’m kerosene and hopeless gleams Restlessly burning serene white To end your painful suffering As you journey into the night; I’m flames looking through glass windows Hoping to light your troubled paths Lingering to cast your shadows Fixing your mistakes of the past; An unexhausted cup of day I’ll be so your life can be lived Fulfilled, yet empty of dark caves That hide all the great things you did; And I’ll be your beacon; your spark; I’ll illuminate your senses; Follow you into the cold darkIf you will provide the footprints.
Der Zugang Kitty Geoghan || Photography
Radiant Empire Acacia Zack || Photography