The Signal: Fall '19 No. 3

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Breaking news, blogs and more at TCNJSignal.net. Vol. LI, No. 3

Serving The College of New Jersey community since 1885

September 11, 2019

Author goes beyond summer reading By Leigha Stuiso Social Media Editor Author and activist Darnell Moore came to Kendall Hall on Sept. 4 to speak about his life story and recent book, “No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black And Free in America,” for this year’s Community Learning Day at the College. His book was selected for the incoming class of 2023 to read over the summer as a part of the College’s Cultural and Intellectual Community Council theme, #ClimateMatters: Listening, Reflecting and Acting. “There’s a lot of (Educational Opportunity Fund) kids and people of all races here, so it’s important for everyone to feel like they’re welcome,” said Shannon Retkwa, a freshman elementary education and English dual major. Moore came in with a positive spirit and was able to joke around, even after the 20-hour flight he took the previous night from India to New Jersey, his home state. In the packed auditorium, Moore spoke to students, staff and faculty about his life and how he came to terms with himself while owning his identity as a gay black man, which ultimately led to him writing his memoir. “Thank you all for showing up with minds open and hearts open,” Moore said as he addressed the crowd.

Jennifer Sommers / Photo Editor

Moore discusses his life and inspiration for his memoir. He had three lessons he believed everyone should live by to become better people. He described these lessons as radical love, truth and windows. Radical love was about practicing genuine love — the type that he had growing up with his own family packed

inside of his small home. “No one in this family is to be disregarded … the home was packed because disposability was not an option,” Moore said about his family’s living situations. The second lesson was truth, but Moore emphasized the fact that not everything

people are taught is right, just or truthful. He pointed out that individuals are told ideas about gender, race and sexuality that may not be necessarily true. People may have strong opinions and act as if their ideas are factual, but they are not always being truthful or just. Moore then emphasized the third lesson, windows, to stress the importance of looking outward and beyond oneself. “We need windows as much as we need mirrors,” he said. All of the messages pertained to the theme of being accepting and open to the differences people have, which is a path that leads to understanding both others and oneself. Moore experienced bullying while he was growing up, including a time when a group of boys assaulted him and doused him in gasoline in an attempt to light him on fire. Moore’s presentation above him posed the question, “why do we attempt to destroy that which we don’t understand?” He described differences between individuals as being sources of magic — something that should not be discarded or treated like poison. He insisted that they should be showcased because everyone would just be the same if no one was different. “I would never want to be anyone other than myself — all of myself,” Moore said. “Every aspect of my identity adds value to the world.”

Professor highlights marginalized groups in film College redefines

Amtzis sheds light on culture rarely seen in movies.

By Garrett Cecere Editor-in-Chief

In a sweltering high school classroom

INDEX:

Nation & World / page 4

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Olivia Buote / Staff Photographer

during the summer of 1987, Alan Amtzis approached his students with the hope of educating them. However, it was a quiet student who ended up teaching him a Editorial / page 5

Dave Chappelle Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable See A&E page 12

valuable lesson. Amtzis, who stood up in front of his class of Latino, Caribbean and AfricanAmerican students, was the only white person in the room. “I was teaching a uniquely, uniformly white curriculum,” Amtzis said. “A novel, a play, a short story, a few poems and 150 vocabulary words.” On the class’ third day, one student, a 17-year-old Jamaican immigrant, who never spoke or raised his hand, walked up to Amtzis’ desk and asked him a question that he would never forget. “(He) gave what I call the ‘12-word challenge,’” Amtzis said. “He said very simply, ‘do you think we might read something more relevant to our lives?’” Without waiting for a response, the student walked out of the room. That day not only inspired Amtzis to search for stories that illustrated the experience of growing up black, Latino or Caribbean, but also set the foundation for his workshop that he led in the Education Building Room 113 as part of the College’s Community Learning Day on Sept. 4.

health, well-being By Camille Furst Managing Editor

The College hosted an interactive stress workshop for students in Education Building Room 109 on Sept. 4 with hopes to alleviate anxiety students are most likely to have in the beginning of the year. Associate professor of public health Carolina Borges, who hosted the workshop, began by posing one question for the audience. “Why did you wake up this morning?” she asked. “This is a question I always ask my students.” Borges believes that each student should have a reason for waking up, whether it be a morning workout or a productive start to the day. “Some people say, ‘oh, I can’t wait for the weekend,’” she said. “We are a product of our environment.” By surrounding themselves with positive aspects, people won’t waste five days of their week, according to Borges.

see CINEMA page 9

Opinions / page 7

Features / page 9

see COPE page 2

Arts & Entertainment / page 12

Sports / page 16

Lion’s Plate Homemade granola makes for fall snack

Women’s Soccer Team wins three straight shutouts

See Features page 11

See Sports page 16


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