Daisy // Issue 02

DAISY

VOL 1 | ISSUE 02 | Feb. 2016

WHO I AM INSIDE

A 18-YEAR-OLDS GENDER IDENTITY STORY PG 08

$ 3.99

A LETTER FOR YOU

So I have this problem. I’m a big dreamer. When my brain formulates this idea of wanting to do something grand I reach out into the world and do it. That’s how Daisy happened. I took all I knew and all of my faith and I created a magazine. It happened and I am grateful.

Over the past months I have received messages online and in person saying how inspiring Daisy is and I am so glad to hear that. When I hear words of inspiration and praise for something I brought to life it’s one of the best feelings I could ever describe.

With the holidays over it seemed it was a good time to release another magazine and think of ways I can improve Daisy. Content has been slow I know, but as I learn from my mistakes this will only have me creating good content for readers in the future.

I loved all the time spent on Daisy and after contemplation on whether to continue with it or not I’m going to keep developing stories for all of you guys to love and connect too.

In this issue you can find a story of a boy growing up with two fathers, a transgender teen and his personal experience and also a collage of photos that were submitted by readers and

personal ones from contributors to the magazine.

Now that 2016 has begun I’m thinking big and massive changes are happening this year in my life.

This is the year I’m going to college and leaving the house. This is the year of taking huge changes and accepting them. As Daisy grows so do I and the people who help put this together. Thank you for all of your support.

CONTENTS

05 06 08 14

Two Fathers

A boy’s thoughts on having two dads

Candid Moments

A collage of photos of real life moments

Transgender Story

An 18-year-olds experience of being trans

Boy Band

What inspired Dirty Jerry to play music

16 17 18 19

Appropriation

When the lines cross of embracing cultures

Politics

A site called Roust and UK vs. America

Art Appreciation The dripping art movement

Pressing The Issue

Is D.A.R.E. actually bad for students

APPREC IATION DAISY WANTS TO HIGHLIGHT ALL OF THE THANKS WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM ISSUE 01 ON SOCIAL MEDIA

03 | THEDAISYMAGAZINE.COM

DAISY MAGAZINE WEB Watch Changes on thedaisymagazine.com.

A story that highlights gay teens, abusive relationships and recognizing change is good.

PHOTO BY KEELEY MILLER.

Growing up with Two Dads 15-year-old boy’s thoughts on being raised by same-sex parents Written by Mary Claghorn.

A

notification pops up on a cellphone this past June. It affects his family in a huge way. He races down the stairs to his parents in the basement of their cabin in Maine. His two dads are decorating the basement when their son tells them they are finally able to wed legally.

“I remember we were all anticipating [legalizing of gay marriage]. I remember a long time ago when Barack Obama was running for president there were views on it if they supported gay marriage or not,” 15-year-old Henry* said. “Now we don’t have to worry about that anymore because it’s legal to everyone.”

Adopted at 10 months old from a rural village in Guatemala Henry has grown up as a child with same sex parents, he has two fathers. When Henry is asked what is it like to have two dads there is puzzlement because he knows no different.

“It feels normal. All my life I grew up around gay and lesbian couples and it always seemed normal to me so I always find it hard to imagine having straight parents,” Henry said. “I personally prefer having two dads better because they both fulfill each part equally, so they both fulfill the mom and they both fulfill the dad” In America today having same-sex parents is becoming more socially accepted. In 2013 UCLA said 6 million children and adults have same-sex parents.

This means about 2 percent of Americans grew up in a same-sex household. The media today is portraying lifestyles like this for example Modern Family and The Fosters who showcase a Hollywood perspective of children growing up with same-sex parents.

“There are some shows that are authentic, and then there are some shows that are exaggerated,” Henry said. “One of my families favorite TV shows is Modern Family. With Mitch and Cam there are parts of it that are very exaggerated and there are parts of it that can relate to my family.”

Mitch and Cam’s abilities to name off any actor and having a more dramatic family member

are the real side of living with same-sex parents that he can connect to.

Like most children Henry picks up qualities of his parents. His fluid hand motions, his voice and the way he acts he says is in account to his upbringing.

“I have been called gay before because of the way I act. I act the way I do because of the way I was raised.

I was raised to have fluid hand motions because that’s how my parents act sometimes that will create the stereotype I am gay, but I’m not,” Henry said. “When I’m called gay I brush it off because it is okay to be gay because that was the way I was raised and it’s the only thing I have ever really known.”

Past all the stereotypes Henry says he generally receives positive responses when he tells people.

His family and him are able to be open to who they are, and he says it helps with the more open minded generation of today.

“I think we always just kept it under wraps not like it’s a secret but just that we don’t need to tell everybody this because people will find out,” Henry said. “Church is the only thing we really have to keep it under wraps and a secret.”

Henry’s father, Johnson*, is a priest and the recent church he is working at causes him to keep his sexuality under the radar. Every other Sunday Henry goes with his other father, Nicholas* and his sister to the church.

“There at the church it feels like I’m just Johnson’s son. I’m not Johnson and Nicholas son. There everyone thinks Johnson is just a friend of the family and he is not actually my dad’s partner,” Henry said.”It is hard for me and my sister because we don’t really feel connected as we do at our other church.”

Although the 21st century has opened doors to marriage equality for homosexual couples there are still boundaries for them to jump over as well as their children who may be effected by it.

“I think we’re a pretty normal family,” Henry said.

“But every family is different in their own way.

* Names have been changed for personal reasons of the family.

05 | THEDAISYMAGAZINE.COM

Alexandra Bankovich, 16

Clyde, 17

Abby Miner, 17 DAISY MAGAZINE | 06

Evan, 18

Jacob Day, 17

CANDID MOMENTS PHOTOS FEATURED ARE REAL MOMENTS IN PEOPLE’S LIVES FEATURING MOMENTS OF READERS AND DAISY CONTRIBUTORS THAT WERE CAPTURED

Keeley Miller, 17

Ben Bertling, 17

Stephanie Stein,16

Seth Bowman, 18

Sam Leganza, 16 & Meagan Alonso,18

Meredith Gable & Emma McGee, 18

Josh Martin, 19

Tom Simmons, 16

Evan Booth, 18

Jordan Zerme単o, 18

Megan Ledford, 18 & Blaire Trusty, 17

07 | THEDAISYMAGAZINE.COM

WHO I AM INSIDE

A 18-YEAR-OLD’S TRANSGENDER JOURNEY

Every person is born in a body, but that does not mean it is the correct one. Gender identity has become a hot topic over the past few years and as more people come out and accept who they are it will continue to be. Daisy is taking a step toward talking about gender identity, so we sat down with 18-year-old Matt Rich. A girl to boy transition and his thoughts on being a transgender young adult in the world today.

INTERVIEWED & PHOTOGRAPHED BY MARY CLAGHORN.

DAISY MAGAZINE: WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE A BOY? MATT RICH: “Maybe two years ago is when it fully set in. For a few years I was thinking maybe I’m not entirely a girl and then a couple years ago when we started our school’s GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) I started learning more about other genders and then I was like hey that kind of works. That’s when I started asking one of my friends to start calling me Matt, and messing around with pronouns to see what I was most comfortable with.

I then settled for more masculine ones.”

DM: WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER WERE THERE ANY SIGNS OR PERSONAL THINGS THAT MADE YOU FEEL LIKE THIS ISN’T THE RIGHT GENDER OF BEING A GIRL? MR: “Looking back on it yeah there were quite a few things. Like when I was really little I was hardcore against gender stereotypes as a kid. I always felt I found guy stuff more cooler sometimes and dressing like a guy was more comfortable than wearing skirts and things. That’s only looking back on it did I realize that.

I could of probably put two and two together a while ago.”

5 MATT BEFORE TRANSITIONING 6

DM: WHEN AND WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO LIVE OPENLY ABOUT WHO YOU ARE? MR: “I figured I would be more comfortable around my friends. My friends were all really accepting people because I met them all through band and there’s a lot of queer kids in band, so I figured these kids I’ve known for years would be most accepting of it. They were all really cool with it and I realized I felt more comfortable with these people I’ve known calling me Matt and using male pronouns.”

DM: WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME MATT? MR: “It was a couple years ago when I decided on the name. I want to say its been three years since I’ve been called Matt. It just started as an experiment with one of my friends and then everyone was like ‘Hey do you want me to switch?’ and I said yeah. It just kind of stuck.”

DM: HOW DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR NAME? IS THERE A SIGNIFICANCE? MR: “My birth name is Madison and my family tends to call me Mad. I figured it would be easier to get used to because we have a family friend named Matt, and whenever they would say Matt we could never figure out if they were saying Mad or Matt. It was a name that would be easy for me to get used to.”

DAISY MAGAZINE | 10

MATT IN 2010. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO.

DM: WHO WERE YOU BEFORE THE TRANSITION? AND NOW? MR: “Madison was a lot more shy around people. She was really closed off not even comfortable around family and she was really set in religious ways. I was raised a Christian and as a kid I always thought being gay was a bad thing. When I got older and got into high school I realized it wasn’t such a bad thing. When I started going

by Matt I started becoming more comfortable around new people and it’s a lot easier to talk about [gender identity] in general. It’s just a lot easier to be open and not shy and closed off like I used to be.”

DM: WHAT PROCESS OF TRANSITIONING ARE YOU GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW AND PLAN TO DO LATER? MR: “Not really anything right now. It’s more getting people to call me Matt and getting used to male pronouns around me, although I do look feminine most days, other than that it’s not much going on. I do plan at some point to get top surgery. With the hormones or anything I’m not really sure.”

DM: ARE YOU WANTING TO GO SEE A GENDER THERAPIST? MR: “I want to at some point once I move out. I hope to because then with a lot of the sex change surgeries you have to go to a therapist and they have to sign off on it. It’s like going to a therapist for surgery or anxiety but they focus on your gender. Being transgender is technically an identity disorder and if they deem this as a legitimate thing, most of them limit it two years or more of going to this therapist. If they legitimately think this will help your mental state they can sign off on hormones or surgeries.

DM: CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE SITUATION OR THAT DAY WHEN YOU CAME OUT TO YOUR PARENTS? MR: “The day I came out to my mom I was having a couple friends coming over and they were both trans men and I was just like ‘Hey I don’t think that you will but just in case I want you to know they are trans and please use male pronouns. I don’t want you to say anything offensive.’ At that point my mom started asking me about me why I liked dressing like a guy and using guy things. It got to a point where I said ‘I prefer whether you call me your child or your son.’ It just kind of made it harder to talk to her because she said she wasn’t sure if she could do that. Then my dad found out and he was like ‘Why can’t you just be you?’ and my first thought was that is what I’m trying to do.”

5

PROBLEMS IN TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY

6

BATHROOM

NON-DISCRIMINATION LAWS HAVE ALLOWED PEOPLE TO USE A PUBLIC RESTROOM BASED ON THIER GENDER IDENTITY. WHILE OTHER EFFORTS HAVE MADE TRANSGENDERS CHOOSE BATHOROOM BASED ON BILOGICAL GENDER NO MATTER WHAT THE PERSON’S OUT APPEARENCE IS.

STERILIZATION

MANY STATES ONLY RECOGNIZE A FULL SEX CHANGE WHEN THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS ARE CHANGED TO ALLOW THE PERSON TO BE SEEN AS THIER GENDER IDENTITY. SOME TRANS PEOPLE LIKE TO KEEP THIER ORGANS TO PROCREATE. THIS CAN BE SEEN AS FORCEFUL STERILIZATION. HELLO my name is

Julie Todd NAME

IN SOME STATES CHANGING A NAME TO MATCH A PERSON’S GENDER IDENTITY IS EASY, BUT IN OTHER STATES IT IS NOT. A PERSON MAY HAVE TO GO THROUGH A COURT ORDER OR A STATUE AND MAY EVEN HAVE TO POST THE NAME CHANGE IN THIER LOCAL PAPER.

sources used: "Name Change Ruling". The New York Times. October 21, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2015.

"Texas Court Sidelines Houston's Nondiscrimination Ordinance". keranews.org. Associated Press. http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1370&context=wmjowl

11 | THEDAISYMAGAZINE.COM

DM: DO YOU THINK AFTER YOU CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT YOU’LL BE ABLE TO BE 100 PERCENT SURE OF YOUR IDENTITY? MR: “I think it will be a lot easier because I won’t have my parents making it seem like they are taking every opportunity to refer to me as my birth name and birth pronouns. I’m going to be around a lot of people who are going to be able to call me Matt and know me as Matt than being around people who have known me since I was little as Madison. So, it feels it is going to be easier to be around these people than my parents. It is just getting used to everything and have my mind set in to think ‘This is okay this is what I am.’”

DM: HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE YOU CAN’T BE FULLY OPEN ABOUT IT IN A WAY? MR: “Some days it is a lot harder than others but most days I am used to it, even though most times I forget my name is Madison to them. I’ve had people mention me as Madison and I have forgot that they were talking about me. Otherwise it is not that hard. It is just authority figures and older “I DON’T THINK IT IS A PHASE BUT THERE IS people knowing me as STILL THOSE THOUGHTS I GET AND THEY GET Madison.”

AGGRAVATING AFTER A WHILE. IT GETS

DM: DO YOU EVER CONFUSING JUST SITTING THERE THINKING WONDER WHY YOU COULDN’T HAVE BEEN ‘WHAT IF I AM NOT ACTUALLY A BOY?’ OR BORN WITH THE SEX OF A ‘WHAT IF I WAS WRONG ALL THIS TIME AND I BOY? MR: “I have and sometimes AM ACTUALLY A GIRL?’” I do wonder, but then I also -MATT RICH, 18 realize if I had I would have been a totally different person than I am now. I probably would be extremely conservative, extremely closed minded and not as open as I am. Despite the fact I do not particularly like the body I was born in if I wasn’t born like this I would be a totally different person.”

DM: WHY ARE PRONOUNS SO IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO USE CORRECTLY? MR: “Growing up at least once I started realizing I wasn’t a girl it got really hard to see myself as a boy when people were still referring to me as a girl. For trans kids in general using the right pronouns is really Important, because if you want to see yourself for who your are then they need to hear it from other people.

It just kind of helps a validation thing. It makes it feel more realistic if other people are there saying ‘Hey you are this and no matter what you are always going to be this.’ It just helps a lot keeping a healthy mind set.”

DM: AFTER HIGH SCHOOL EVERYONE YOU MEET WILL KNOW YOU AS MATT IS THAT EXCITING TO THINK ABOUT? MR: “Yeah it is, really exciting to think about actually. I spent a week in Philadelphia and being around all the people that knew me as Matt was so nice, because I didn’t have to worry about my name or my pronouns they just knew me all as Matt.”

DM: WHAT HAS BEING TRANS TAUGHT YOU? MR: “It has made me a lot more open minded and more accepting of people in general of their feelings and their identities. I know a couple years ago if a person told me they were agender and preferred they them pronouns I would have been extremely confused and kept messing up. Realizing that I am trans made it easier to accept these people and make it easier to respect their pronouns.”

DAISY MAGAZINE | 12

PHOTOGRAPHED BY MARY CLAGHORN.

DIRTY JERRY INTERVIEWED BY MARY CLAGHORN.

Sarcastic, young and talented describe the four guys who make up the band Dirty Jerry. A band formed together five years ago and still jamming together today.

With Bailey Chapple age 17 on bass and vocals, Justin Blanner age 16 on vocals and guitar, Cam MacLean-Kennedy age 16 on guitar and Simon Gardner age 17 on drums (left to right). The band has grown musically changing their original band name Jet Ride to Dirty Jerry last year. These boys passions connect back to music artists like Jerry Garcia in the Grateful Dead, the inspiration to the new band name. They do not know a lot of what has in store for them musically as a band, but they do know they do it for the sex, drugs and rock and roll.

The members of Dirty Jerry say people do not really know who they are, so here is the chance for a peek into what each member likes. The guys of Dirty Jerry filled out a piece of paper telling what instruments they play, what they would say in their Grammy speech, what they would rename the band, who would replace them in the band and what band they would join.

DAISY MAGAZINE | 14

CHAT WITH DIRTY JERRY Their thoughts on music, inspirations and future plans with music

DAISY MAGAZINE: HOW DID YOU GET YOUR BAND NAME? SIMON GARDNER: We chose adjectives to form the name around Justin’s first idea of using the word Jerry.

BAILEY CHAPPLE: Jerry [Garcia] is the man.

DM: SO WHY DID YOU CHANGE YOUR BAND NAME FROM JET RIDE TO DIRTY JERRY? SG: We had been a band for a really long time, four or five years, we kind of just grew musically together. We were at this point where we all had grown a little bit and changed a little bit.

DM: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A BAND? SG: Five or six years. A lot that went into us being a band because the first year all of us are not as musically talented as we are now. So, we like learned a lot and grew a lot. Us being in a band for five years has helped us learn.

DM: SO WHY ARE YOU GUYS TOGETHER AS A BAND? JUSTIN BLANNER: Because we didn’t know anybody else.

BC: They were together a year before I was in the band.

SG: Then he came last, Mr. Chapster. The first years since he was the last one in the band we had to roast him for a couple years.

BC: Nothings changed since seventh grade.

SG: He had to get some strong skin and stone it up a bit.

DM: WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AS A BAND? CAM MACLEARY-KENNEDY: Just roll with the punches.

BC: Our goal is to play music we don’t have any particular goal we’re trying to strive for, just play music.

DM: INSPIRATIONS YOU HAVE AS MUSICIANS? SG: Zepplin JB: Frank Zappa CM: Jerry Garcia not Seinfeld not Springer BC: Pavement DM: WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOURSELVES IN FIVE YEARS AS ARTISTS? SG: Writing my own music all the time and playing in whatever bands want me in.

JB: I want to major in music so I want to see what I can do, and get myself into a jazz band hopefully.

CM: I want to keep on keepin on.

BC: Selling my soul to the devil but in five years I see myself playing music.

15 | THEDAISYMAGAZINE.COM PHOTOGRAPHED BY KEELEY MILLER.

Appropriation vs. Appreciation

Differing views on cultural appropriation and what it means WRITTEN & PHOTOGRAPHED

BY MEAGAN ALONSO.

C

ultural appropriation, a sociological concept which views the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture as a largely negative phenomenon. Cultural appreciation, learning about another culture with respect and courtesy.

These two definitions have been open for interpretation since the phrases first came to light. Debates over if they truly exist or not are still being made as more and more people are being accused of cultural appropriation.

“When I see girls who are wearing henna without knowing what it is, girls wearing Indian clothes or girls wearing something of a different culture without knowing where it’s from and just wearing it for the beauty or the fashion,” 17-year-oldMasumi Prasad said. “I think that’s cultural appropriation. I feel like it’s not about the culture and more about the fashion and I see it more in a negative tone because they’re not educated about what it is they are wearing or what it is that they’re showing.”

Prasad comes from an Indian background with her mother being from mid region and her father from the southern region of India. She identifies as a mid-region Hindu Indian. India is split up into regions and each region has a differing background and cultural concepts.

“I see people wearing the jewelry or wearing the red dot on their heads. I see teenagers wearing [the red dot] and I’m just like, that’s the sign that you’re married so good job there,” Prasad DAISY MAGAZINE | 16

said. “Fashion [is a big issue] but not even clothes from my culture. I have friends from many other cultures and I see people wearing fashions from their cultures. I just think, I don’t even know where that’s from so do you know where that’s from?”

However, there are critiques of cultural appropriation and its existence. Some people believe it is not an issue but, a spreading of cultures which they believe to be positive. This positive sharing is known as cultural appreciation and its definition is debated as well.

“I personally think cultural appropriation isn’t really a thing,” 16-year-old Jessica Wright said. “I think that if you like something, wear it. I don’t think it’s necessarily offending someone unless you’re trying to offend someone.”

With about 77 percent of Americans being of the white race, all other races are minorities. New cultures are introduced and concepts are adopted.

Fashion, religious and cultural ritual wear is often “taken” by the white population in the United States.

“I’ve [been accused of cultural appropriation] but first of all I’m just wearing what I like to wear,” Wright said. “I’m not trying to discriminate or appropriate my clothing. I wear bindis a lot. I just think they’re so freaking pretty. I’ve looked into them and the meaning but personally I just think it’s so pretty.”

Cultural appropriation is a subject debated. In such a technological era sharing and spreading of ideas is easy to do via social media. With the issue of cultural appropriation or appreciation, the debate still goes on.

POLITICS A British girl gives her thoughts on American laws vs. English laws and a new social media site shows how young potential voters can be more interactive online with politics and news events

LET’S TALK ABOUT AMERICA

Daisy spoke to English 16-year-old Izzy Pratt, a foreign exchange student, and asked for her view on America and England’s differences in society

Daisy Magazine: In America we don’t have gun control, but in the UK you have gun control. What are your thoughts on gun control?

Izzy Pratt: Well from what I see, in America there are a lot more incidents that happen with guns. The Lee Rigby incident where a [British] soilder was shot by two men went global. If someone was to be shot in England it is 10 times bigger than what it would be in America due to everyone is allowed a gun in the United States. I think [gun control] is a good thing.

We don’t really need guns in England. There is no real need to have one. America is a lot bigger there is a lot going on, but in England no one really needs it.

DM: In England you are able to drink at the age of 18 where in America the age is 21. What are your thoughts on that?

IP: We do drink before 18. We are able to have a drink at five under our parents consent, but I personally enjoy it because I can go out with my family and have a glass of wine. It makes you more confident. I think 21 is quite a late stage because you have gone through the late years of teenage life.

Drinking is quite a big step in your life.

DM: The age of consent in the UK is 16 while in America is 18, what are your thoughts on that?

ML: I think 16 is very young but 18 is reasonable because you are mature and you are an adult. When someone is 16 they are still young they are 15 going on 16. I don’t understand why it is so young considering you’re able to drink at 18. It is so confusing because it is such a big step in your life and it doesn’t make sense you are able to drink later but it is not the other way around. I think for a girl they should make it higher because I don’t understand why it is so low, because girls can get [peer pressured] and which can cause teen pregancies.

LET’S TALK ABOUT ROUST

Daisy spoke to co-creator Mark Lefay about his new social media site, Roust, which launched in December

Daisy Magazine: What is Roust?

Mark Lefay: We are the social network for people who want to connect and discuss poltics and social issues. Our big vision for the company is to be the world’s free speech platform.

DM: What are you expecting users to get out of Roust?

ML: We are hoping users feel comfertarble having those conversations. Hoping that people see this is a place to go read about, talk about it, share it. People will be exposed to a lot of different opinions. It will do one of two thing it will bolseter someone’s oppinon or belief on a certain issue or that person is challenged and they might change their mind.

DM: Will there be an app for Roust?

ML: We are going to roll out an IOS app that will coincide with the the release of the official launch of the platform in end of November, begining of December.

DM: Do you think Roust will change how people elect presidents?

ML: We hope it will become a place where people can come together to talk about specific issues and a place to get informed. We definitly hope this is where people will take their conversations to talk in political and civic disscusioons?

DM: For young adults do you think this a way for us to be more engaged for the upcoming election?

ML: Yeah absolutley. What I find interesting about young adults that you tend to find the tools of what work for you and you use them. We believe people will find ways to suit their needs. When Twitter came about they thought about real time communication.

They didn’t invision that their platform will be used to create revolution in countreies as we saw in the Arab Spring. They had an idea for it to be used in one way and it was used in another. This is one thing I’m excited to see happen out there.

JOIN ROUST AND CONNECT TO DAISY. daisymagazine.roust.community

17 | THEDAISYMAGAZINE.COM

Dripping Art Movement Rain becomes a popular inspiration for the modern art form of dripping

WRITTEN BY MOLLY SIMMONS.

R

DAISY MAGAZINE | 18

http://www.trollsentwins.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Hyperrealistic_Oil_Paintings_by_Artist_Mike_Dargas_2014_01.jpg

ain: the tears of angels, earth’s shower, liquid sunshine, the blood of a rainbow- it is a part of nature that has been romanticized for centuries.

Artists, poets, authors and filmmakers have been infatuated with the beauty of the pure element, and have always found some way to represent it in their work. Not only is it visually stimulating, it produces a soothing sound and emits a mollifying aroma.

Rain is a major player in the art world, and perhaps also the most underrated. Nonetheless, its influences are continuing to echo into modern art in an innovative way. Rather than replicating scenes with rain, it is the effect that is gives that is surging through the art world- dripping.

The romantic influence of rain has seeped into the subconscious of modern contemporary artists. It has been remodeled, and redefined to fit the development of 20th and 21st century artistic tastes. One of the earliest painters to utilize the concept of dripping was the world famous Jackson Pollock. He was the first to “The Ecstasy of Gold” by Mike Dargas completely break the boundaries of traditional art and quite literally throw paint on canvas. He did so by dripping and splattering his paint to reveal the motion of the artist’s body and mind.

Pollock exhibits the many possibilities and avenues the concept of dripping art can take. Rather than something purely aesthetic, he creates the idea of movement, in turn leading the viewer into a maze for their eyes to play with.

German artist Mike Dargas takes a more traditional approach to this idea. Dargas makes hyperrealistic portraits of women covered in syrup. They range in size with some reaching over seven feet tall.

It is not just painting that has taken on this new trend. In Cologne, Germany there is an ice cream cone doing the same thing. The massive sculpture sits atop the Neumarkt Galerie, 32 feet above the ground. Designed by Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg in 2001, the cone is dripping down the building, as if it were melting. The ice cream is mesmerizing and truly a sight to behold. The result is a stunning work of public art that dominates the Cologne skyline. It serves as a landmark for the people and a popular tourist attraction.

The drip technique does not need to be just for aesthetic purposes. It can serve as a social commentary. Zane Lewis well known for his dripping paintings and primarily for his piece “Purging Pope” which features Pope Benedict XVI with paint dripping down his mouth, forming a puddle below him. There is something very political here, and the viewer is left to develop their own opinion.

All of these artists take a very different approach to illustrating their political and social opinions, and it all began with rain. A simple and natural element created a trend that is pulsing through modern art.

D.A.R.E.

Issues That Need To Be Pressed According to Jenna Jarosinski WRITTEN BY JENNA JAROSINSKI.

T

he 17 week Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) program aims to provide effective peer refusal, and drug resistance methods while building selfesteem and enhancing social skills.

The drug and violence resistance program, D.A.R.E., preaches the motto “just say no to drugs” but research concerning the effectiveness of the program tells us to “just say no to D.A.R.E.” The program began in 1983 and has since grown to encompass 148 countries and 75 percent of K-12 schools in the United States; making it the largest drug prevention program in the world. In order to accommodate their high demand, the program receives private and federal funding. In fact, the United States government pours anywhere from one to 1.3 billion dollars a year into D.A.R.E. Despite the program’s broad scope, D.A.R.E has been proven to be ineffective in reducing drug use in adolescents. A national study conducted by the US Department of Justice in 2009 concluded that D.A.R.E has small effects on drug use and is significantly less effective in preventing drug use when compared to similar programs.

More concerningly, the study “Assessing the Effects of Schoolbased Drug Education” found that suburban teens who participated in the D.A.R.E program were three to five percent more likely to engage in

substance abuse when compared to suburban teens who have not completed D.A.R.E. This study and multiple like it suggest that D.A.R.E is not only ineffective, but counterproductive.

To further dodge criticism, D.A.R.E makes minor revisions to its program which they label a new curriculum. This way, when studies reach the conclusion that the program is ineffective, D.A.R.E can refute that those studies only applied to the old program. Not only are these changes minute, they do not address the core problem- the fact that D.A.R.E overestimates the percent of adolescents that engage in drug use and normalizes alcohol and tobacco use due to an extensive focus on harder drugs, such as cocaine and heroin.

In 1998, the government acknowledged that D.A.R.E failed to meet its requirements that the program had to be scientifically-proven to be effective in order to receive federal funding. In 2001, D.A.R.E was removed from The Department of Education’s national Registry of Effective Programs that promote safe, disciplined and drug-free schools. These events initiated a series of revisions in the program which caused D.A.R.E to transition to to the new “Keepin’ It R.E.A.L” curriculum in 2009.

The “Keepin’ It R.E.A.L” curriculum encourages students to refuse offers to use substances, explain why you do not want to use the substance, avoid

situations in which substances are used and leave situations in which substances are used. These revisions proved to make the program more effective, however the positive effects were only short term.

A study conducted by Dennis Rosenbaum, PhD that was published in the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency found that any positive effects of D.A.R.E were short term, typically disappearing after one to two years. A 2011 study of all meta-studies of D.A.R.E found “the program to be ineffective in reducing illicit drug use among youths, especially in the long term.”

Thankfully, there are drug resistance methods that have been proven to work, such as the social norms marketing technique.

The social norms marketing technique targets the idea that teens overestimate the percentage of their peers that partake in drug use by providing statistics about what percentage of their counterparts actually partake in drug use.

The United States government needs to ensure that the 1.3 billion dollars that is poured into drug resistance education each year is going to a beneficial program.

19 | THEDAISYMAGAZINE.COM

DAISY MAGAZINE WEB

Read Intertwined on thedaisymagazine.com now. A story that shows how different people’s lives intertwine.

ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL H. PHILLIPS.