The Slate 10-3-23

‘It’s a human thing:’ MSA quilt reveal

The largest unveiling to date of the Quilt to Cover Us All, an annual project organized by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) at Sippensburg University, was last Friday on the Gilbert Hall lawn.

The quilt’s unveiling was the finale of Diversity Week 2023, which saw an uptick of nearly 400 student participants. There were “1,163 unique students in attendance this fall compared to 779 last year” at the numerous events, according to Manny Ruiz, SU Assistant Vice President for Inclusion and Belonging.

“Ship remains committed to creating an inclusive community for all. As indicated at Friday’s closing event, I challenge all to uphold these values in and out of the classroom. Words matter and we each play a role in impacting someone’s sense of belonging within our campus community,” Ruiz said.

With a total of 164 panels, the quilt was complete with various phrases and symbols representing campus organizations and departments.

The theme for this year’s quilt was “It’s a Human Thing,” representing SU’s mission to create a sense of belonging for all. The event included a reading of Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” by Philicia McArthur, the student government MSA senator, and a dance tribute with dances from Ghana, Nigeria and the Caribbean.

McArthur said that her favorite line from Angelou’s poem is “You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise.”

“Any one from any marginalized community can understand the need to rise against hateful people or unfair circumstances to prove that it is possible. As a Black woman, this poem has a very special place in my heart,” McArthur said.

A Quilt to Cover Us All is an initiative by MSA’s A.C.T. (Ask, Communicate, Teach Tolerance) committee. This event was founded in 2020 and is now in its fourth year.

“It was created in the spirit of unity and cry for justice in our Shippensburg University community,” said SU Director of Communications Megan Silverstrim.

The quilt is an opportunity for all members of the SU community to share their stories and empower others. Many groups use their panel as a way to celebrate commonalities and differences.

Following the introduction of the quilt, campus organizations that submitted a panel were able to speak about and discuss their panel design. At the event, many were eager to talk about not just their panel but their organization as a whole.

The Asian American Pacific Islander Organization (AAPIO) was the first to present its quilt piece. AAPIO member and designer of the panel Elisa Reitman discussed how personal the experience and process of creating the panel were.

“The quilt [panel] was really personal in the aspect of what it meant but also for the process itself for me,” Reitman said.

Shippensburg Housing and Residence Life had eight panels, all of which represented the embracing of differences in the SU community. They made a panel for each residence hall, and another panel for the Residence

Hall Association (RHA). RHA advocates for residence halls so everyone’s needs can be met in a timely manner.

Afterward, organizations such as the African American Association (AfroAm), Women’s Rugby and the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) discussed the quilts they submitted.

NCNW’s panel was complete with a quote by the organization’s founder Mary Bethune, which said, “If we have the courage and tenacity of our forebears, who stood firmly like a rock against the lash of slavery, we shall find a way to do for our day what they did for theirs.” NCNW made clear the importance of service, faith, social justice and education advancement within the organization.

“If you want power, you have to demand it. You can’t expect it. Once you demand your respect and you demand your power, that’s when it comes to you,” Kendrick Horne, Afro-Am treasurer, said.

The Caribbean Student Solidarity Association (CSSA) presented its quilt panel covered in music notes, signifying how important music is to the Hispanic culture.

After several more panel presentations, including noting the creation of by elementary school students, MSA director Diane Jefferson spoke about what the quilt means to MSA and the entire university.

“It really doesn’t matter where you come from. It doesn’t matter what color you are. It doesn’t matter how much money you have. What matters is the respect we have for one another,” Jefferson said.

This statement perfectly encapsulates the theme of this year’s quilt: “It’s a Human Thing.”

Around the world in the MPR

Elizabeth Peters & Connor Niszczak

Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor

On the first night of Diversity Week, campus partners from all areas of Shippensburg University convened in the Ceddia Union Building MPR to “promote cultural awareness, appreciation, and understanding through music, food, crafts, demonstrations, and entertainment from all corners of the globe,” per the Diversity Week flyer.

Members of the SU community from over a dozen countries — including India, Greece, Ireland, South Korea and Germany — shared information about their countries’ culture with attendees.

Representatives from the Asian American Pacific Islander Organization (AAPIO), Peace Corps Prep, study abroad and

the Frederick Douglas Institute also had tables at which students could interact.

“I learned how to play cricket from the India table, jegichagi from the South Korea table and knew more about Germany than I thought,” Jeremy Satyawan-Putra, President of AAPIO, said.

There was also a sampling of different cultural eats available, including empanadas, Swedish meatballs, pierogies and spring rolls.

All Around the World was one of the most visited events of Diversity Week with just under 200 attendees, according to Manny Ruiz, SU’s Assistant Vice President for Inclusion and Belonging.

SGA announces fall 2023 election results

The Student Government Association announced the results of the fall 2023 Senator elections on Sept. 29 via an email to the student body. Voting ran from Sept. 25–29.

Fall elections are meant to elect only the two senators for the incoming first-year students. However, because of a lack of candidates during the spring election, many positions were not filled. These positions were added to last week’s ballot. Only two candidates had submitted petitions in time for their names to be placed on the ballot, but a number of write-in candidates ran successful campaigns.

Lillian Sellers, who currently serves as a class of 2025 senator, won the race for Vice President of External Affairs. She was joined on the ballot by Ella Zinn, who won her race for class of 2026 senator. They will be joined by senior Alli Stull, who ran a write-in campaign for the senator position representing the class of 2024.

Kenton Woods, Jackson Barno, and Ari Stevens ran an impromptu in a joint write-in campaign organized by Greg Shultz. Schultz, who himself ran for the class of 2026 seat, was narrowly defeated by Zinn. Woods will serve as the non-traditional

student senator, Barno as the transfer senator, and Stevens will represent the College of Education and Human Services. Each class is represented by two senator positions. Despite multiple candidates receiving votes, only one winner was announced for the class of 2027. Kenny Tran was announced as the sole winner. Kyle Marzullo, who ran as part of the aforementioned joint campaign and received the second highest number of votes, was not announced as a winner. SGA had not responded to a request for clarification by time of publication.

Brady Young received the largest number of votes for five of the open positions, including class of 2024, exploratory, international, and commuter senators, as well as the vice president of finance. This marks the second election in which Young has won multiple positions with just a handful of write-in votes. In the last election, he had won eight separate positions with only five votes. Young was deemed ineligible for the eight positions last year, but his eligibility this time around is uncertain. Speaking to Slate staff, he said there was an ongoing conversation about his eligibility, and he had tentatively accepted the commuter senator position pending that determination.

Mara Eberle Staff Contributor

Ian Thompson Asst. News Editor

Jayden Pohlman / The Slate Kapri Brown, assistant to the director of Multicultural Student Affairs, speaks to the crowd at the quilt unveiling.

Allyson Ritchey / The Slate

Attendees could receive henna designs, eat a variety of food and talk with representatives of each country or club in the MPR.

Caucasian is not a fancy word for white

Katie Huston Business Director

For the majority of my life, I have struggled with accepting my identity as an Armenian woman. I grew up being told by my father that because we were Caucasian we were white, and I accepted that. When you grow up in rural America, diverse representation is extremely limited. You do not see or hear much about race or ethnicity beyond Black, white or Asian.

I accepted that for a long time. I remember telling people that I was of Middle Eastern descent and then having to defend myself because my skin tone was tan but pale for what many people identified with the term Middle Eastern. I was white — Caucasian meant white, right?

It has become common for white people to use the term Caucasian to describe their race. Caucasian is sometimes even the only category of forms in place of white. I even grew up thinking that Caucasian was just a fancy word for white. I specifically remember telling people when I was a kid that Caucasians were just white people who have descent in the Caucasus region. I was misinformed by my father — I know now that is wrong.

Caucasian typically refers to those who inhabit or descent from the Caucasus region. The countries mainly included in this region are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and parts of Southern Russia.

The term is also rooted in standards of beauty that were held in the 18th century that identified “Circassian beauties” in the Caucasus as the peak of human attractiveness. When the term Caucasian is used synonymously with white, it feeds into a racist narrative that somehow white people are better than others.

Likely the most famous ArmenianAmericans are the Kardashian family.

Perhaps I am just unobservant, but I did not know they were Armenian until a few years ago. I do not blame them for playing into the whiteness narrative; it allowed them access into the spaces they needed to succeed while facing little prejudice based on their heritage.

The Kardashian women are revered for their attractiveness as white women with “ethnically ambiguous” features.

Many times I have been asked, “so like, what are you?” in different variations. Over the years, I have struggled to

accept my ethnicity and see myself beyond being just some white woman with “ethnically ambiguous” features.

Despite knowing the difference between being white and being Caucasian, I and other Americans of Southwest Asian and Northern African (SWANA) descent have to describe their race as “White” on the United States census and other forms. SWANA is sometimes referred to as Middle Eastern or North African (MENA).

The U.S. census is broken into several race and ethnicity categories: Black or African American, White, Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native, Hispanic or Latino, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Not Hispanic or Latino, Two or More Races, or Some Other Race.

On Sept. 21, the United States Census Bureau released data that 3.5 million people were reported as MENA. This MENA population is similar to the data of those reported for American Indian and Alaskan Native (3.7 million).

However, as people filled out the 2020 U.S. Census, they still had to identify themselves as white — underneath in the boxes, they filled out their ethnicity. Many Middle Eastern groups reject this classification and simply check “Some Other Race” on the census and other forms. This leads to underwhelming numbers in government data and leaves this community relatively invisible.

This government classification of being “white” simply does not reflect the experiences that we have had in life.

In middle school through high school, on state tests I had to check off “White (including Middle Eastern origin)” as my race. If Middle Eastern was considered as “white,” would not “including Middle Eastern origin” be understood?

This classification can be traced back to the Naturalization Act of 1790, which only granted citizenship to “free white persons.” In 1909, Armenians had to go to court in order to prove that they were white in order to seek refuge from the Ottoman Empire (Armenian Genocide, 1915).

On Dec. 24, 1909, four Armenians were granted citizenship on account that Western Asians “have become so mixed with Europeans during the past twentyfive centuries that it is impossible to tell whether they are white or [if they] should come under the statutes excluding the inhabitants of that part of the world,” Judge Lowell said in The

Where’s your voice?

•

• The Slate may reject letters for any reason.

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• Letters without a name and title (affiliation to SU) will not be accepted.

• Letters should be sent to The Slate one week prior to the day of publication. Late letters may be accepted but published the next week.

New York Times.

Armenians (and other SWANA) have had to fight in order to identify as white for their survival, to escape the genocide in their country and to be able to ensure their freedoms in America. Being “white-passing” has allowed Armenians to avoid discrimination, yet we still face prejudice from white people and even other minority groups.

During my freshman year at Shippensburg University, I attended an event for a campus organization that was celebrating and uplifting a specific group of minority students. I was there in order to write an article on the event; despite not being a part of the group, I was welcomed and treated kindly.

While covering the event I learned a lot about the differences and similarities in the cultures that made up the group. They also discussed stereotypes that each person had faced on campus.

At the last panel, the situation suddenly became very uncomfortable for me. One of the guest speakers made a joke with the punchline being “all Middle Eastern people are terrorists.”

After three hours of hearing of the stereotypes that these students had endured, I felt like my own struggles and people were simply reduced to one line for a few laughs. Perhaps I didn’t look “Middle Eastern” enough to be picked out of the crowd as someone to not make the joke around. Or perhaps the speaker did not care regardless.

At that moment, I wished that Caucasian was just a fancy word for white. If Caucasian meant white, I would not have felt the joke on a personal level. Perhaps I would have cringed at the poorly placed joke, but I would not have wished that I was not the one writing the article. I would not have felt sick every time I sat down to start the article. I definitely would not have felt immediately ostracized from the otherwise welcoming group — I was just a punchline.

The decisions that were made over a hundred years ago have trickled down into our census, our standardized tests, our forms and our perception of the word Caucasian. We have let white people feel “cool” using a fancy word like Caucasian for too long – we are not the same. We are people of color — we were never white.

Biden be the nominee?

The Slate Speaks: Should

As the GOP continues to battle over who will be its candidate in the race for the White House, the stage is seemingly set for the Democrats. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, despite multiple polls placing their favorability rating in the 30s are likely to be the nominees and run for reelection. After all, it would be quite uncommon for the sitting president not to see a second term. However, just because it is common practice, might not mean that is the best course of action to seek.

Biden is realistically the only choice in 2024 for the Democratic party. Some wish things had gone differently in 2020, such as a (Bernie Sanders victory), but the reality of the situation is that Biden won in 2020, and he proved he could defeat Trump. The two fringe challengers he faces, Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have zero chance of replacing him on the ticket. Williamson has great policies and many have warmed up to her since 2020, but she is very similar to Sanders policy-wise. Kennedy is a crackpot anti-vax conspiracy theorist whose victory would be a nightmare scenario. But I would be surprised if either got 5% of the vote. The economy has been steadily recovering under Biden, and he’s been more progressive on climate and labor than most people expected. There are not many scenarios, besides something with his health, where he is not going to be the nominee. And that

is OK. Most would rather have four more years of Uncle Joe than let Trump tear down our institutions.

The more interesting thing for me is the VP spotKamala Harris just is not it. But unless something crazy happens, Biden-Harris is going to be the ticket.

The Democrats best option is to stick with what they know, rather than try for a new change even if that person could be a stronger challenger for Trump or DeSantis. With indictments left and right and classified documents on his toilets, some have soured on Trump but it is still incredibly likely he will be their nominee. Also being the incumbent just gives Biden the better chance regardless of anything else. It causes stress and anxiety to think that we will most likely see a repeat of the 2020 Trump versus Biden showdown, but the Democrats can use that. As mentioned at the top, the GOP is fractured. You may think that the party will blindly follow Trump once again, but the recent debates have shown that there are more Republican candidates that could split the ballot.

Unity is what can clinch another victory for the Democrats. No one will say that Biden has had a flawless first term in office; no president in history ever has. However, America needs a candidate who, if nothing else, will uphold the democratic processes that make this country what it is. Looking at you Jan. 6.

Photo courtesy of rawpixels.com

Photo courtesy of pexels.com

Ship Life

SU holds panel discussion on disabilities and inclusion

improvements to be made.

Shippensburg University hosted a Disability, Diversity, Ableism and Inclusion panel as a part of Diversity Week last Wednesday featuring Office of Accessibility Resources (OAR) Director

Shelbie D’Annibale and three students from the OAR board.

The board members shared their experiences living with a disability on campus, from fond memories of supportive staff members to disappointing instances of discriminatory institutional choices. Audience members were encouraged to engage and ask questions as well as contribute their own thoughts.

By and large, the panel shed light on issues that are not always easy to see.

Shippensburg University has had incredible growth in accommodations in the past, but there are still

One of the speakers, Lillian Sellers, made the key point that disability awareness is far less helpful than disability advocacy and support. Fighting for proper accommodation access is never an irrelevant cause, as anyone can become disabled at any time.

A unanimously held opinion by the panelists was the wish for more solidarity on campus.

One of the greatest needs from the student body currently is respect for both disabled students and their accommodations, a sentiment that is unfortunately not always upheld.

Alecia Endress, the panel representative for invisible disabilities, spoke on the importance of doing away with the excuse of “not knowing how to talk to someone disabled,” an ableist excuse that clearly indicates dehumanization.

Toni Jones, the third speaker, also included insightful points about the difficulties of facing disrespect from faculty members who refuse to acknowledge the impact of invisible disabilities.

Additional points were made about the frequent misuse and abuse of campus features, such as the kicking of door opening buttons and the unnecessary use of elevators by abled students. These actions actively hurt the lives of disabled students, and can lead to serious issues, such as being unable to exit the building in a timely manner.

The panel closed with an opportunity for questions from the audience, which ranged from humorous inquiries into pet peeves to more serious questions about the experiences of receiving diagnosis. To learn more about the OAR and how it helps students, visit 252 Mowrey Hall.

Journal Entries: October 3

Anna Garman PR Director

Welcome to Journal Entries. I am your author, Anna Garman. With this column I plan on being able to share how I am feeling and what I am thinking, and hopefully someone else can relate. I have kept a journal for many years now, and I always find it therapeutic to write down my thoughts and feelings. So now, I am taking it public. I hope you enjoy and can relate.

As I write this, we are almost through Week 5, and I am just now feeling like I have my footing when it comes to classes and extracurriculars. I do not know why, but the start of this semester felt as if I have not been in college or stepped foot on this campus. Which was very confusing because I am both a junior and am more involved now than I was last semester.

When I say I am involved, I mean it. I have a five-course class load, two jobs, I am the director of fundraising and finance for the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) here on campus, PR

director of The Slate, and I sing in the SU Concert Choir. However, I would not have it any other way. I like being busy because it keeps me occupied and keeps me on a schedule.

Enjoying what I choose to do with my time makes being busy a lot easier. My extracurriculars are fulfilling in different ways. Being a part of PRSSA and The Slate are for experience in my future career field, and Concert Choir is simply because I like to sing, and it has nothing to do with my major. I am able to participate in these extracurriculars and do well in my classes because I schedule out my week. I do this in multiple places because I like to visually see what I have to do. The most helpful for me is using GoodNotes on my iPad and writing out my week, and then I export that page into an image and make it my lock screen. After all of this, by no means do I have my life together, and I try to give myself patience and take it day by day.

Career Center hosts ‘DEI in the Workplace’ panel

Mason Flowers

Asst. Sports Editor

As part of Diversity Week, the Shippensburg University Career Center hosted a “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the Workplace” panel on Thursday afternoon in Orndorff Theatre.

The panel discussed how important DEI is in the modern workplace and what barriers still need to be addressed.

The panelists were Asha Early, resident district manager for Aramark; David Gongora, assistant director of corporate talent acquisition for Hershey Entertainment and Resorts; George Fernandez, CEO of Color & Culture; and Shaun Nahar, associate financial representative at Northwestern Mutual.

The panel was led by Manny Ruiz, assistant vice president for Inclusion and Belonging and Director of Social Equity at Shippensburg University.

The discussion started with the four panelists each saying what DEI and belonging meant to them personally, with Fernandez calling it a “celebration.” This rang true for the other three members, and each discussed how proud they were of their backgrounds.

Another common topic throughout the discussion was the hard conversations that people often have about DEI. Early was passionate about this and mentioned how conversations are both very draining but very necessary, which Ruiz expanded on by saying the conversations are more important than ever.

The panelists then proceeded to discuss the obstacles that still hurt DEI in the workplace, with Gongora mentioning how it seems some ideas can get lost in large organizations. He then advocated for those with ideas about DEI to step up and share it, mentioning how all employees can be leaders regardless of what title or position they have.

There was a short Q&A session to end the panel, with topics ranging from ways to begin discussions about DEI in the workplace, to whether listing certain diversity-based organizations on your resume is a good idea.

Overall, the students attending received great advice from the panelists who, while coming from four unique backgrounds, all expressed the value of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Recipe of the week: Ddalgi Tanghulu

Elizabeth Peters Editor-in-Chief

This week’s recipe is Tanghulu — a tasty snack originating from Northern China. Tanghulu consists of several sugar-coated fruits. The recipe traditionally included a Chinese hawthorn fruit, which tastes similar to a tart apple. However, recent vendors have used various other fruits, such as cherry tomatoes, mandarin oranges, strawberries, blueberries, pineapples, bananas or grapes. Though the sweet and sour snack originated from China, it has garnered more recognition in South Korea.

Ingredients:

Strawberries, grapes, or any firm fruit of your choosing

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

Instructions:

Clean fruit and cut into large chunks. Place fruit onto skewers, keeping them towards the top third of the stick.

In a saucepan, combine sugar and water over low heat until no more grains are visible. Turn up heat and let mixture simmer until golden brown. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Once mixture is ready, dip the skewers in one at a time and coat thoroughly. Quickly dip skewer into ice water and let rest until overlayer is cool. Enjoy immediately.

Allyson Ritchey / The Slate

Anna Garman, your new columnist.

Natalie Nichols Staff Contributor

Photo courtesy of Shippensburg University

Mowrey Hall is the home of the Office of Accessibility Resources.

Elizabeth Peters / The Slate

Photo taken in Cheonan, South Korea while Peters was studying abroad.

Betty Whitecastle dazzles students with drag

at a young age allowed Mitchell to express and define himself differently than other boys.

about her attempts to be on RuPaul’s Drag Race and her love of drag.

Drag queen Betty Whitecastle dazzled the CUB MPR Thursday night when she came to Shippensburg University to perform for the student body.

While this event touched on the history of drag, the true show was learning about Betty and the influence of drag on her life. She performed song parodies to express her love of the art form while also informing the audience about her life and experience in the LGBTQ+ community.

Jeffrey Mitchell is an elementary school art teacher by day and drag queen Betty Whitecastle by night. All his life, Mitchell has leaned more toward the feminine side, and he is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Raised in the small town of Rush City, Minnesota, Mitchell often turned toward feminine figures like Barbie for inspiration. Playing with and making clothes for Barbie dolls

Mitchell has had a lot of experience in the performing arts. He was presented with the opportunity to go on tour and star as Big Bird with Sesame Street Live for three years. After his time with Sesame Street, Mitchell decided to go back to school. He obtained a degree in art education from the Maryland Institute College of Art, moved to Harrisburg and started a full-time job as an elementary school art teacher.

While living in Pennsylvania, Mitchell joined the Harrisburg Gay Men’s Chorus and decided that he would help the group with its fundraising efforts. He decided he would try dressing in drag to raise money, and with this, Betty Whitecastle was born.

Whitecastle is truly an amazing character and comes alive on stage. She continually engages with the audience while singing songs and parodies about her experiences. While at Shippensburg, Whitecastle performed parodies that talked

courtesy of Flickr

Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir released her second album, “Bewitched,” on Sept. 8.

Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir, who goes by the mononym Laufey, enchants her listeners in her sophomore album “Bewitched” with dreamy, modern jazz that makes them feel like they are in a romantic film. Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter Laufey released “Bewitched” on Sept. 8. It is her second album after her debut “Everything I Know About Love.” In her debut album, Laufey is more of a hopeless romantic. Now, in “Bewitched,” she has learned a little more about love and has experienced heartbreak.

Laufey grew up with classical music, as her mother is a classical violinist and her father’s record collection introduced her to jazz. In “Bewitched,” Laufey is leaning more into her classical and jazz roots, and attempting to modernize the two genres for her younger audience. Laufey got her start on TikTok, where she now has 2.9 million followers. In an interview with the Grammys, Laufey said that although she is writing songs that sound like old jazz, the audience can still relate with the modernity of the lyrics.

The album opens with the fairytale-like “Dreamer,” in which Laufey talks about how despite experiencing

heartbreak, she is still a hopeless romantic at her core — “And no boy’s gonna be so smart as to/Try and pierce my porcelain heart/No boy’s going to kill the dreamer in me.”

Laufey talks about the hardships of love in the songs “Second Best,” “California and Me” and “Promise.” These songs describe how Laufey felt she was the second choice in this relationship and how her affection was unrequited.

“Must Be Love,” “While You Were Sleeping” and “Serendipity” paint a picture of a magical rom-com love. She describes falling under love’s spell and how she does not recognize herself. In “Must Be Love,” Laufey sings — “You make a sappy stupid something out of mе/The kind I swore I’d never be/I’m awake inside a dream.”

The penultimate track “Letter To My 13 Year Old Self” is a vulnerable message written by Laufey to her younger self who had trouble fitting in. She apologizes to her, telling her that it will get better — “Keep on going with your silly dream/Life is prettier than it may seem/One day, you’ll bе up on stage/Little girls will scream your namе.”

The record ends with the starry-eyed and cinematic title track. With mystifying music and honey vocals, Laufey describes the tale of falling in love — “You bewitched me/ From the first time that you kissed me.” Laufey talks about someone she has been bewitched by, but little does she know she is also captivating her listeners.

From starting drag as a fundraising effort, Whitecastle became a much larger influence, including being the first drag queen to host Pride at the state capitol building in Pennsylvania.

Whitecastle continues to host events throughout central Pennsylvania. She hosts a monthly happy hour event at the 704 Lounge in Harrisburg. She also hosts an event called “Queens Who Brunch” at 11 a.m. on the second Sunday of every month at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center.

Students who attended the drag show on Thursday had an amazing time learning about drag, Betty Whitecastle, and the impact drag has made on her life. Whitecastle hosts various cabarets and fundraisers throughout the year. To stay up to date on her events, follow Betty at @bettywhitecastle on Instagram.

My new obsession: ‘The Golden Bachelor’

Oh Bachelor Nation, how I have despised you.

I am no opponent of reality TV — I cannot get enough of “The Masked Singer,” for god’s sake — but for years I viewed the “Bachelor” franchise as a permanent member of the lowest tier of reality television franchises, along with “The Real Housewives” and nearly anything else on Bravo.

My entire perspective on the franchise may be changing, and it is all thanks to one man — Gerry Turner, also known as “The Golden Bachelor.”

When this spinoff was announced months ago, I instantly knew that I would have to break my no-Bachelor rule, and I did when the premiere aired on Thursday.

Why they ever produce this show with a bunch of attention-seeking, want-to-be 20-something influencers is beyond me. It is so much more dynamic to watch individuals who, in many cases, have already been married and found love before who are trying to find it again. Turner is 72, and his potential spouses are all between the ages of 60 and 75.

Turner was married to his high school sweetheart for 43 years before she passed away in 2017, and he said in an interview before the premiere that the love he looks for in his 70s is drastically different than what he wanted in

his youth. Turner has been through the highs and lows of a long-term relationship and will hopefully show viewers his attempts to connect more genuinely than the “regular” bachelors do.

Of course, a group of 21 eligible women over 60 is sure to produce a few standouts. Here are some of my rapid-fire first impressions.

Sandra — A granny with a mouth. “I like some of those f-words and s-words.”

Leslie — Showed up in a granny costume with a walker only to throw it all aside and reveal a horrendous dress. She should have kept the walker.

Peggy — “When I first saw you on Good Morning America, I could not breathe for two hours.” I give it two more days until ABC is selling a mug.

Kathy — A Caitlyn Jenner lookalike with genuine crazy eyes. Stay clear.

Faith — I can unequivocally declare that Faith and Gerry are going to walk off into the sunset. He gave her the first impression rose, and she rode in on a motorcycle and sang him a song during their first chat. They are clearly vibing with each other, and she will be receiving the final rose.

I do not think I will ever declare myself a member of Bachelor Nation, but mark me down as a member of team Gerry and Faith (Ferry?).

Kyra McClister Staff Contributor

Grace Harbour / The Slate

Betty Whitecastle performed “It’s An Art Form: Drag History and Performance” at the CUB MPR Thursday night for Shippensburg University’s Diversity Week.

Grace Harbour A&E Editor

Connor Niszczak Managing Editor

Photo

Jazz singer-songwriter

Maria James-Thiaw shows Shippensburg students that ‘Black Hair Matters’

The Ultimate 31-Day Halloween Marathon

Adam Beam Opinion Editor

Every October, one of the quintessential elements of the month is watching spooky movies. Whether you consider yourself a fan of being scared or not, something about watching films with a horror edge just feels right. However, streaming has made the selections plentiful, but narrowing down your watchlist a nightmare. As a selfproclaimed horror fanatic, I feel now is the time for me to aid my fellow students and make your October binges a lot easier:

October 1: The Invisible Man (1933)

October 2: The People Under the Stairs (1991)

October 3: Talk to Me (2023)

October 4: The Faculty (1998)

October 5: Host (2020)

October 6-8: Fear Street Trilogy (2021)

October 9: Fright Night (1985)

October 10: The Houses October Built (2014)

October 11: Hell House LLC (2015)

October 12: Beetlejuice (1988)

October 13-15: Friday the 13th Marathon

October 16: Candyman (1992) and (2021)

October 17: The Haunting (1963)

October 18: Night of the Living Dead (1990)

October 19: Ghostbusters (1984)

October 20: It Came From the Television (2023)

October 21-22: The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993)

October 23: Halloween (1978)

October 24: Halloween (2018)

October 25: Sleepy Hollow (1999)

October 26: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

October 27: Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)

October 28-29: Disney Channel Original Halloween Films

October 30: Lake Mungo (2008)

October 31: Hocus Pocus (1993)

Read the full story at theslateonline.com.

Rosalyn Truax Staff Contributor

“It’s good to be home,” said Maria James-Thiaw as she welcomed Shippensburg students to the “Black Hair Matters” film and discussion on Wednesday, Sept. 27, in the Ceddia Union Building.

As a Shippensburg University alumna, James-Thiaw shared that it was a blessing to be able to bring her work here and make her alma mater proud. Her connection both to Shippensburg and her work was evident in the presentation. As one student told James-Thiaw during the discussion, “You can see the passion you have for women of color.”

Students were lucky to experience that passion in an excerpt of James-Thiaw’s work.

“Hair Story: Reclaiming Our Crown” is a choreopoem she wrote about the importance of protecting and celebrating natural hair. James-Thiaw describes a choreopoem as a staged play of several individual poems interwoven to create a story.

In the case of “Hair Story,” the choreopoem began on a promenade in Africa, where the audience was introduced to the Royal Ancestors, a group of women who act as guides to characters throughout the show. The Royal Ancestors demonstrated the intrinsic importance of hair in African culture. The women were empowered and strong because of their hairstyles.

Then, the story transitioned harshly from celebration to dehumanization. Slave traders stripped the Royal Ancestors of their hair and, thus, their identity. As one character

voiced, the slave traders “tore my culture from my scalp.” The tragedy of this scene was accomplished not only through sadness and grief, but also through anger. The fury of the women as their culture was stolen felt raw and powerful even viewed through a screen.

The show then explored the internalized insecurity of natural hair carried by people of color in the modern world. All based on real stories James-Thiaw uncovered in interviews, the poems explored many different locations and walks of life, traversing both age and gender. She even included a poem that humorously referred to an afro as “the mighty comb-breaker” based on an interview with her young son.

The main storyline of show, however, followed a reporter named Aleyah who was tasked with a story about black hair. Although herself a woman of color, Aleyah did not appreciate the cultural significance of natural hair. Her character represented the deep internalization of hatred for black hair in modern society. As the excerpt came to end, the audience was left to wonder whether Aleyah would hear the guidance of the Royal Ancestors and reclaim the power of black hair.

After the show, James-Thiaw spoke about the Crown Act, which would end hair texture discrimination in workplaces and schools but has yet to be passed by the Pennsylvania legislature. For those who would like to support James-Thiaw’s cause of reclaiming natural hair, she urges students to petition their state representatives to pass the act and ensure that no one’s hair is deemed unprofessional, unacceptable or inappropriate.

Breakfast Monday Word Search

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Listen to some beginning of fall tunes with a playlist handcrafted by The Slate staff.

Breakfast Monday Word Search Answers

In the Dining Word Search in the 9/19/23 edition, we forgot to include Breakfast Monday. Here are 20 Breakfast Mondays to make up for it.

Grace Harbour / The Slate

Maria James-Thiaw introduced “Black Hair Matters” in the CUB Wednesday.

Women’s tennis wears pink in support of Coach Sheila Bush

Women’s tennis head coach Sheila Bush supports her team during its first win of the season in the match against Messiah. After recently being diagnosed with cancer, it was her last match before retiring to start treatment.

Shively Ship Life Editor

It was an emotional day for Raider athletics during the Shippensburg University versus Messiah women’s tennis match Wednesday. Players and spectators suited up in all pink to show support for head coach Sheila Bush as she coached her final game before beginning cancer treatment.

Players showed their support with pink visors, socks and ribbons in their hair and were high-fiving each other and dancing to the hype music while warming up. Even Messiah players decorated their visors and uniforms with pink ribbons and wrapped the sticks of their rackets in bright pink tape.

After the match had been postponed twice, the team seemed energized by the sunshine and breeze on the court. The Raiders delivered powerful serves and put their all onto the court, edging out Messiah and winning 4-3.

“She’s always been a fighter,” sophomore Corinne Markovich said of Bush. “We’ve had a lot of bumps in the road, even last year with having only six girls on the team. Now, especially, she’ll fight even harder.”

Though Bush began coaching women’s tennis for Shippensburg in August 2022, she arrived at Shippensburg after serving an 11-year tenure at Messiah University as the head of women’s and men’s tennis from 20002011.

Bush coached 11 players to a total of 18 All-Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) classifications (11 First Team, seven Second Team), including two-time MAC Player of the Year Jansen Hein (2009, 2010) and 2007 MAC Player of the Year and 2004 MAC Rookie of the Year Jon Stanley. Bush is also a four-time MAC Coach of the Year, earning the honor three times as a men’s coach (2004, 2006, 2007) and once as a women’s coach (2003).

“She’s calm when she needs to be, but when we’re playing on the court, she’s always the one cheering us on,” senior Brighid Cantwell said. “I always enjoy the fun little things she says. There’s never a dull moment with coach.”

Even when Bush has gone through difficult times, she always tries to bring positive energy into practices.

“She made practices enjoyable, even on days when I didn’t really feel like playing tennis that day,” Markovich said. “She was always happy and cracking jokes here and there. If you ask anyone on the team, they’ll always have good memories and jokes with her.”

The team sees itself as a family, so the players are ready to be there for Bush as she begins her treatment.

“I feel like one of the first things she thought about after receiving the news was, ‘how do I tell my girls?’” Markovich said. “I like to think of us as one big family, so if anything happens, big or

small, we’re always there to support one another. Coach always tells us ‘it’s just another thing to overcome as a team.’ And today, especially, we’re going to try to pull out a win for coach,” Markovich said with a smile.

“I feel like Coach has brought us a lot closer than in years past,” Cantwell said.

“She did a great job of making sure that we stuck together, and now I feel that my bond with the team is stronger than ever.”

Upon being asked how it felt to coach her rival team, Bush began to beam. “[Messiah’s] coach was my assistant, so he’s my buddy,” Bush said. “I feel like it’s a friendly match. If he wins, I’m happy for him. No one can lose today.”

Messiah head coach Jon Arosell began coaching with Bush back in 2009, and he reflected on their relationship nearly 15 years later.

“She was instrumental in

helping me with coaching because I was a high school coach before that,” Arosell said. “We had two good years where she got to show me the ropes of what college tennis is all about. She’s just a real inspirational person, a real good Christian, and she showed me how tennis should be played. I was grateful for the opportunity to coach with her.” Bush began to get emotional when reflecting on her favorite memories coaching for Shippensburg women’s tennis.

“When we travel, there’s so much fun on the bus. They sing, they crack jokes, they’re a very fun group,” Bush said. “Each girl does something special. Each one of them brings something to the team because they’re all so unique. They have such team unity. How they support each other — that’s my fondest memory.”

Field hockey earns pair of home wins

Shippensburg University’s field hockey team picked up two home wins this past week, with the No. 2-ranked Raiders beating No. 8 Millersville 1-0 on Tuesday before picking up a nonconference victory over Frostburg State 5-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Tuesday’s contest saw the Raiders getting a hard-fought 1-0 win over Millersville, with the lone goal coming in the second quarter from redshirt freshman Alexa Michielsen, with senior Chloe Prettyman getting the assist. This was Michielsen’s second goal of the season.

The match was even throughout with few scoring chances for both teams, as Millersville only had five shots on goal and the Raiders had four. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Emma Albee earned five saves, picking up her fourth shutout in seven starts.

The Raiders struck first in Saturday’s matchup, with sophomore Agus Garibaldi scoring her sixth goal of the season early in the second quarter. Frostburg State tied it later in the frame, and sophomore Taryn Mayer picked up her fourth goal of the year to make it 2-1 at the half.

The game remained 2-1 entering the fourth quarter, when the Raiders fully took control with three goals in a span of six minutes. Junior Tess Jedeloo scored the first of these, with an assist from sophomore Savannah Silvestre, followed by junior Yasmin De Meyer’s eighth goal of the year. Jedeloo struck again with another goal, her eighth, to make it 5-1. Garibaldi assisted on each of the final two goals.

Shippensburg outshot Frostburg State 28-7 in the game, including 17-4 in the first

half. The Bobcats had just five shots on goal for the entire match, with Albee saving four. The Raiders also had a season-high 13 penalty corners but were only able to convert one into a goal.

Analyzig the fourth quarter, head coach Tara Zollinger said, “Our midfield was able to break through their defense and then find the forwards, and I think the forwards finished really well and connected to make three really beautiful goals at the end.”

Garibaldi finished with one goal on five shots with two assists, while Jedeloo had two goals on eight shots. Speaking on the duo, Zollinger said “They have a great connection on the field. When they have vision of each other and we communicate, they’re really unstoppable.”

This week’s field hockey schedule features two more home games for the Raiders, both against ranked foes. No. 5 West Chester faces Shippensburg at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by a match against No. 6 Mansfield at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Saturday’s match will also honor the 2013 national championship field hockey team. Both games will take place at Robb Sports Complex.

Zollinger said the key to good conference play will be “consistency over our basic skills, the ability to play our gameplan with tons of energy and just our competitive spirit. Our conference is so hard and every single game is a battle, so we have to prepare for those matchups and just get ready for the fight that every single game will be from here on out.”

Shippensburg University’s field hockey team in a team huddle during its home game against Millersville University on Tuesday, which they won

Bryce Arnold/The Slate

The women’s tennis team suited up in pink to support their head coach Sheila Bush after her cancer diagnose in their match against Messiah.

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Mason Flowers Asst. Sports Editor

Left to right: Emma Albee, Alexa Michielsen and Tess Jedeloo. Albee had nine saves this week. Michielsen scored the winning goal against Millersv ille on Wednesday, and Jedeloo scored two goals against Frostburg State on Saturday.

Photos courtesy of SU Sports Information

Hanna Atkinson/The Slate

Bryce Arnold/The Slate

Diversity Week in Review

Photos courtesy of Bryce Arnold, Hanna Atkinson, Grace Harbour, Jayden Pohlman and Allyson Ritchey.