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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016
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Japanese culture comes to life at Sakura Matsuri BUSHRA HASAN STAFF WRITER
More than 140 students gathered in the multipurpose room in the Busch Student Center to decorate with pink table cloths, Japanese paper lanterns and brightly colored flowers for Sakura Matsuri, a celebration of Japanese culture on March 25. Hosted by the Rutgers Organization of Nippon Students (RONS), a Japanese culture club, the event shares its name with the annual cherry blossom festival in Japan, said Alena Capil, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore and member of RONS. Sakura Matsuri is held in Japan and throughout the United States,
with locations in New York and Washington, D.C. Around late March or April in Japan, cherry blossoms bloom for about a week. People go outside and watch the cherry blossoms in full bloom, said Yayoi Amata, a Rutgers graduate of the Class of 2012 and a member of RONS before graduating. Amata added that she attended the festival once in Japan. In the daytime, people are outside drinking, setting up picnics and playing badminton. She likens the day’s festivities to that of Memorial Day in the U.S. At night, food and game stands where vendors sell “little goods,” SEE CULTURE ON PAGE 4
The Organization of Luso Americans at Rutgers hosted a Carnaval on Friday. The event featured music, martial arts and traditional dances as it highlighted both the Brazilian festival as well as Portuguese culture. MANQI YANG
Carnaval demonstrates aspects of Brazilian, Portuguese celebrations CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ CORRESPONDENT
Sakura Matsuri is an international celebration held near the time cherry blossom trees enter full bloom. The Rutgers Organization of Nippon Students held an event on campus last week. MANQI YANG
For a few hours last week, Rutgers students recreated the vibrant and euphoric streets of Rio de Janeiro during Brazil’s annual festival. More than 100 students attended the “Brazilian Carnaval” held in the Douglass Student Center Thursday night. The event, hosted
by O LAR, The Organization of Luso Americans at Rutgers, offered attendees a glimpse of Brazil’s culture through traditional cuisine, pulsating music, a martial arts performance and the staple of any Brazilian celebration — samba dancers. Since 2008, O LAR has been promoting exposure to the cultural branches of different
SEE CELEBRATIONS ON PAGE 4
STEAM club hosts lecture with Pixar in a Box group
Talk notes changes in activism from social media use
ALLISON BAUTISTA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
CAMILO MONTOYA-GALVEZ CORRESPONDENT
In today’s digital age, activists employ social media to spur political change and topple oppressive regimes online. There are distinct advantages that digital platforms offer social activist groups across the globe, as examined by Lance Bennett, professor of political science, and Ruddick Lawrence, professor of Communication at the University of Washington, in a lecture held in the Alexander S. Archibald Library on the College Avenue campus on March 24. The talk was sponsored by the Social Media and Society Cluster, a faculty group in the School of Communication and Information that studies the effects that digital technology has on social life. “Social media has given real-time capacity for movements to cover
Portuguese-speaking countries such as Portugal, Brazil and Mozambique, and bringing together Rutgers students with heritage from these nations, said Jessica Pinto, president of the organization. “Every country has taken bits and pieces from each other and also from around the world,” the School
Lance Bennett, a professor of political science and communication at the University of Washington, spoke to the Rutgers community about social media’s impact on activism. BRANDON YOUNIE themselves and to publicize their own perspectives on what they are doing,” Bennett said. Digital networks have gained a profound significance in our society by facilitating civic participation
among a majority of people under the age of 40 — a demographic that has little desire to be part of formal organizations, he said. SEE MEDIA ON PAGE 5
Pixar in a Box aims to explain the relevance of school subjects that students see no use in studying. On March 24, the Rutgers STEAM club hosted a live video conference to discuss Pixar in a Box with Tony DeRose, lead of the Research Group at Pixar Animation Studios, and Brit Cruise, a faculty member at Khan Academy. Launched in 2015, Pixar in a Box merges Pixar Animation Studios with Khan Academy to explore how math and science tie into animation. “What we want to do is help middle school and high school kids answer that age old question: When am I ever going to need this stuff?” DeRose said. At first glance, the relevance of school subjects to real-life situations is not always straightforward, he said. Students may lose interest in topics when they cannot personally relate to them or apply them to their interests.
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Pixar in a Box aims to inspire motivation for learning by fusing artistry and imagination with education. Students can become content creators while also mastering topics that they are currently studying in school. “Here is a project where we can expose really authentic connections between class and the real world,” Cruise said. “We’re not talking about made-up problems or puzzles. These are stories we’re telling about how people work, which are also directly connected to academic concepts.” These academic concepts include physics, which helped animate Merida’s fiery curls in “Brave” or the lighting and shadowing with Luxo Jr., the famous opening animation to any Pixar movie, he said. Computer science helps program characters to move a certain way and adds facial expressions, he said, which was particularly innovative in “Toy Story.” While artists contribute to character and scene designs, DeRose SEE GROUP ON PAGE 5