The Fine Print, Summer 2017

VOLUME IX, ISSUE IV

thefineprintmag.org

SUMMER 2017 FREE

COVER ST ORY

g are workin n e m o w Two er the lost b m e m re to r y of North black histo .

Florida p. 27

PLUS:

What's your summer horoscope? p. 22

from the

EDITORIAL DESK

A

couple weeks ago, as the rain was just starting, I tried out the new Publix on University. I had heard from my mechanic that it has the freshest produce—this is, of course, because of it’s closest to the students, she said.

She was right. The produce literally gleamed, and I bought too much.

I couldn’t fit my groceries into my backpack, so I couldn’t ride my bike, so I had to trudge my way home, weigheddown by potatoes and flour (I was making pierogis).

This quickly became more of a hassle than I had anticipated. It’s hard to walk next to a bike when you have groceries hanging off all sides but your front.

Add the heat and humidity and, well, you’ve got a recipe for sweat (and lots of it). I wanted to cry, but all the fluid had already left my body. But I kept going with one goal in mind: Make the pierogis. Get home, start cooking.

The pierogis ended up okay. The pan was too hot, so they were a little too crunchy on the outside and not fully cooked on the inside. The filling-todough ratio was off as well, so instead of one satisfying bite, you either had too much potato or not enough. But no one

else noticed these flaws. What they did notice was how long it took me and that I made food for them.

Before I proceed, yes: You’re absolutely right. I am drawing a metaphor between The Fine Print and traditional Polish food.

The Fine Print is a labor of love.

We’re perfectionists, though it might not always be perfect, and we might not always get it right. What we can promise, though, is that we will always try as hard as we can to get it right.

The Fine Print is also a free labor of love. Free for you and free for us.

Picture us as your mother wearing an apron coated in flour and standing arms akimbo—except, instead of doing the dishes after dinner, all that would make our caffeine-powered hearts happy is if you could donate on our website. We want to keep making this sweet and hearty magazine, but we can't do it without your support.

This issue was produced from lots of late nights and, truthfully, a few tears.

I hope you consume it with the same fervor with which I ate my pierogis. •

Published with support from the Gainesville community. Donate to keep The Fine Print in print at thefineprintmag.org/donate.

Editor-in-Chief

Sarah Senfeld

Senior Editor

Molly Minta

Print Editors

Sirene Dagher Vincent McDonald Ali Sundook

Photo Director

Anne Marie Tamburro

Art Directors

Shannon Nehiley Ingrid Wu

Creative Writing Editor

Helen Stadelmaier

Copy Editors

Anne Marie Tamburro

Web Editors

Molly Minta Sarah Senfeld

Page Designers

Béla Cunningham Molly Minta Sarah Senfeld Anne Marie Tamburro

MISSION STATEMENT .org

VOLUME IX,

Our mission is to serve the Gainesville community by providing an independent outlet for political, social and arts coverage through local, in-depth reporting.

SPRING 2017E FRE

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ISSUE III

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Visit our site for multimedia and more stories.PLUS! Comment on stories, see photos from the printed issue (and more!) IN COLOR. Flip through a digital version of the printed edition and much, much more, all updated throughout the month.

ZAFRAN

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The views of our writers do not necessarily express those of The Fine Print.

IN THIS ISSUE COLUMNS

Cover art by Sabrina Siegel.

Monthly Manifesto, p. 05 Days for Girls makes hygiene kids for women in need.

Simply Science, p. 12 Ever wondered how organic regulations were created?

Opinion, p. 06 Gainesville isn't doing enough for its immigrant communities.

Homestead Instead, p. 14 Tapestries! They're i-loom-inating.

Read up, Chow Down, p. 08 Piper Gi's brings the Philly to Gainesville.

Art & Prose, p. 30 Art by Rachel Hyvonen. Prose by Helen Stadelmaier.

SPOTLIGHTS Taking Down the Boys, p. 17 Women wrestle with a maledominated sport.

Seeing Stars, p. 22 What does your summer horoscope have in store?

Civil Reitz, p. 20 14 buildings on UF's campus are named after prejudiced people.

Special thanks to

Ismael Lopez Neel Batpatla Ashira Morris Sam Schuyler Taylor Harvey Rebecca Tanner Michael Zafran Cheryl Calhoun Steven Sundook

for your amazing donations.

FEATURES A Seedy Operation, p. 24 What about IFAS be without prison labor?

Paradise Lost, p. 27 Two women are trying to revive Paradise Park.

FEATURED STAFFER BĂŠla Cunningham

A Seedy Operation, p. 24

BĂŠla Cunningham is a rising senior in the UF Graphic Design program. She divides her time among falling over at roller derby practice, caring for a hamster that will never love her back and sleeping on the denim couch in her apartment.

Read Up, Chow Down, p. 08 Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 03

PAPERCUTS

Paper Ouch! That hurts, doesn’t it? Paper Cuts are our short, erratic and slightly painful updates on current, local and national events.

See our website for more Paper Cuts at thefineprintmag.org.

Lan d of the Fre e After seven years in prison, two suicide attempts and more than nine months of solitary confinement, on May 17 Chelsea Manning walked out of federal prison a free woman. The story of her incarceration is significant in many ways: Her leak of thousands of classified documents has been called the largest in history, her 35-year sentence was the longest a whistleblower has ever received and she is transgender.

Former President Obama’s commutation of Manning’s sentence mercifully ended her ordeal. But as the world celebrated Manning’s release, many could not help but mourn the countless other trans people who struggle daily in prison.

“While I am trying to feel happiness and hope for Chelsea, I struggled most with frustration, anger and confusion,” wrote Pinky Shear, the partner of Ky Peterson—a black trans man imprisoned for killing his rapist. Shear has been advocating on the behalf of Peterson for the past three years.

“I’m heartbroken that even within the civil rights and organizing communities, racism, classism and greed for glory are deciding who is deserving of help and who gets left to rot,” Shear wrote.

Whistleblowing isn’t an experience most trans people can relate to, but state violence in the form of imprisonment—especially the placement of trans women in men’s facilities—is commonplace. And trans people of color are the primary targets.

41 percent of black respondents and 04 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

21 percent of Latinx respondents in the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey reported that they had once been held in a cell for their gender alone. Despite its tortuous effects, correctional facilities present solitary confinement as necessary to protect trans inmates.

High profile cases involving the incarceration of black trans women include those of CeCe McDonald, Meagan Taylor and Ashley Diamond. All three were placed in men’s facilities. All three faced solitary confinement at least once as a result.

Meanwhile, undocumented trans women suffer similar abuses in immigration detention centers.

“How great it would be if Trans Latina Women who are getting released from immigration detention centers would get the same monetary and community support that Chelsea Manning is getting,” wrote Bamby Salcedo, president of the TransLatin@ Coalition. “Why is it that people can't see that? What would that be called? Please enlight [sic] me!!”

The names and stories go on and on. •

By Vincent McDonald

Bus ted “Independent media is more important than ever!” the New York Times and the Washington Post have incessantly yelped since November, like dogs begging for treats.

Except one of the dogs is owned by the CEO of Amazon. And instead of kibble, it’s actually money it wants you to pour into its

thinly-veiled bowl of propaganda.

Enter Bitch Media, the nonprofit that publishes Bitch Magazine, an independent magazine that publishes feminist analyses of pop culture. Since 2009, Bitch has been reader-supported through a monthly membership program its called the “B-Hive”.

According to Bitch, the “B-Hive” is “quite literally” the reason they’re still kickin’.

In late May, Bustle—a website supposedly for women started by venture capitalist Bryan Goldman, who once said, publicly, “I am a dude. I don’t have a lot of overlapping interests with most women my age. I’m really into history. I’m really into markets and finance” (as if women aren’t also into these things?)—launched an “exclusively inclusive community” also called the “BHive.”

Only readers who are roughly between 18-34 and are willing to answer monthly surveys can participate in Bustle’s “BHive”.

That’s right, this is actually just a way for Bustle to mine its readers for data so it can generate more paid listicles sponsored by LUNA bars.

Bitch rightly called out Bustle for stealing the name in a stinging post on its website.

Then, Bustle showed it’s true stripes and told Bitch it would change the name, but only if Bitch took down the post. This was all communicated via Bustle’s corporate lawyers.

The dogfight hasn’t concluded yet. But there’s an important lesson to learn here: It’s important to look at who funds your media.

Be wary always—especially if it’s a white guy with millions of dollars—lest you find yourself the media’s good boy. •

By Molly Minta

MONTHLY MANIFESTO

Days for

I

Girls

BY RADHA SELVESTER, CHAPTER PRESIDENT

magine you wake up one day to find blood between your thighs. Nobody told you about puberty and what changes to expect, so you think something is terribly wrong. There are no menstrual products at home to prevent the blood from seeping onto your clothes. You know the kids at school will tease you when they see the rust-colored stain on your uniform, so you don't go to school. At twelve, your education is over.

This is the reality for many children around the world but especially for those living in poverty. Even though half of the human population menstruates, school kids in many countries aren't taught about their bodies. Girls scrounge for items to help them like old rags, mattress stuffing, cardboard, leaves, rocks and sometimes even mud or ashes. Many of these items can cause irritation or infection. And none of them protect against leakage, meaning that at some point during the school day, someone is going to notice the stain, making a girl vulnerable to taunting.

At an orphanage in Kiberia, Kenya, in 2008, Celeste Mergens, founder of Days for Girls International, asked a question no one had thought to ask before: “What do the girls do about menstruation?”

The answer, the story goes, was: “Nothing.”

They were lucky, their friends brought them food and water. But they would still miss three to five days of school each month due to a lack of sanitary supplies.

Mergens was moved to take action. Back in America, she gathered the support of friends and together they purchased sanitary napkins for the orphanage. But when Mergens returned two months later, she realized this was not a solution. The latrines were clogged, and the spaces in the chain-link fence were stuffed with used pads. Girls in Kenya were losing valuable “days” sitting on cardboard. With reusable, washable menstrual hygiene items, girls could have these “days” back. Thus, Days for Girls International was born.

It turns out that girls attending school regularly is a solution to many other issues. Girls who miss a week of school every month are likely to drop out before they can graduate.

This leads to early marriage, child bearing and increasing

rates of maternal and infant mortality. Out-of-school girls are more vulnerable to sex trafficking. Many girls wind up with HIV or babies in their early teens due to this exploitation.

Who would have ever thought a “Days for Girls International Hygiene Kit” could have such far-reaching effects?

Nine years later, DFGI is in over 100 countries. There are 1,000 teams and chapters producing kits with over 60,000 volunteers. Over 600,000 women and girls have received kits. Three major centers have been established (with three more emerging) to train people to run micro-enterprises that produce reusable, washable menstrual supplies to sell to support their families. There are currently 200 of these enterprises in the works, and hundreds of people in Alachua

Girls in Kenya were losing valuable “days” sitting on cardboard. With reusable, washable menstrual hygiene items, girls could have these “days” back.

County are working hard to support these endeavors!

The Alachua County Chapter of DFGI was started by Girl Scout Troop 733 in 2013. The chapter has put on 17 sew-athons with 30 to 90 people attending each one. Participants sew, trace, cut, trim, flip, snap, thread, stuff, fold, To iron—each person does what they can g e t in v and many have learned to use sewing olved, contact find machines, rotary cutters and sergers Days for Girls, Alachu because of their connection to Days a County for Girls. Chapter members have on Facebo ok or 352-3 16also given kits to the Helping Hands 6113. You ca n a ls o stop Clinic, UF Mobile Outreach Clinic by their offic and Rural Women’s Health Project e at 1731 NW 6th St., for distribution to local women.

B-3.

With your help, we can make sure that “Every Girl, Everywhere, will have what she needs by 2022.” • Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 05

COLD RECEPTION The city of Gainesville says it supports the undocumented. But what is it actually doing to protect them?

I

BY OLIVER TELUSMA ILLUSTRATION BY INGRID WU

n February 2016, the city commission approved a proclamation to make Gainesville Florida’s first “welcoming city.” This proclamation was celebrated by many as Gainesville’s first step to becoming a sanctuary city, which refers to cities that don’t comply with the federal government’s immigration policies.

Something should alarm you that all is not what it seems. Welcoming America, the organization Gainesville pledged to join, defines a “welcoming city” as one that works to create “inclusive policies or practices” that make it “easier for entrepreneurs to start a business.”

10 months later, after the election of Trump, Gainesville doubled down on its “welcoming city” status by holding a candle-lighting ceremony on the steps of City Hall. But just a few weeks later, commissioner Robert Hutchinson told the Sun: “The county and city will wait for guidance from the Sheriff’s Office before considering becoming an official sanctuary city.”

Since Gainesville became a welcoming city, our public officials have emphasized their commitment to our immigrant communities through one ceremony after another. But are these efforts just an attempt market Gainesville as a progressive oasis? If this city truly is a welcoming, why has it not passed any legislation to actually help the undocumented?

For decades, advocates have effectively organized for sanctuary communities outside the traditional political sphere. The American sanctuary movement began in the 1980s with acts of noncompliance from private citizens and organizations—that is, civil disobedience.

In 1985, Guatemala and El Salvador were embroiled in bloody civil wars, and the governments in both countries were carrying out death squads against civilians. But the Reagan administration financially supported these regimes and blocked any action from the federal government to help those fleeing. In

06 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

OPINION defiance of federal law, churches in the southwest created a grassroots movement to harbor refugees. Law enforcement were tasked with detaining the undocumented, like they are today. But refugees were safe in churches, the one place police would not enter.

Xenophobic policies that have isolated and effectively criminalized minorities are as American as apple pie or baseball. They have been normalized and perpetuated by every facet of our society. Japanese internment camps during World War II and Native American genocide are glossed over in schools as American exploits we should be proud of or the costs of justified wars and colonization. Immigration quotas and travel bans have been part of American foreign and domestic policy for decades, and they represent how we’ve been conditioned to identify who is “American” enough to live here.

Despite the systemic xenophobia throughout our history, the crisis we're currently experiencing is unique. Beginning with Bill Clinton, the monthly averages for deportation have increased and surpassed those for any president going back to 1892.

The Obama administration continued this at an unprecedented level and somehow managed to avoid sustained backlash from the mainstream left. Criticism of these practices became counterculture; the infrastructure necessary to deport mass numbers of people flourished. President Trump, who wishes to grow those xenophobic policies, inherited a well-oiled machine.

The day-to-day hardships of undocumented individuals demands more than just a pathway to citizenship or a candle-lighting ceremony. Many activists who organize for undocumented communities also organize for fair pay, equitable education and accessible housing—Gainesville can’t say it has any of these things for the undocumented. It’s important to take this fight to state and local legislatures across the country, but we must remember that elected officials often fall short of the ideal.

Instead of passing legislation to help immigrant communities, Gainesville has leaned on its law enforcement to resist the federal government. This might make it easier for entrepreneurs to start a business, but it doesn’t make Latino communities—

who are especially targeted—feel safer.

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office is still legally obligated to honor warrants and judicial orders for undocumented individuals. If Gainesville truly wants to be a welcoming city, it needs to do more than trust its law enforcement to resist the

officials alone.

On May 1, 2017, Mayor Lauren Poe and Commissioner Ken Cornell declared the day "Immigrant Rights Day" in Gainesville, seemingly another important milestone for public officials who wanted embrace the image of a welcoming city.

We must acknowledge that change won't come from law enforcement or our government. It has to come from us. federal government.

Relying on law enforcement undermines community security and effectively deprives immigrant communities equitable protection. A 2013 study from PolicyLink, a research and action institute dedicated to social and economic equity for people of color, found that 44 percent of Latinos were less likely to cooperate with police officers if they were a victim of a violent crime. This was primarily out of fear that police would take advantage of the interaction to inquire about their immigration status or the status of people they know. In that same study it was determined that 70 percent of respondents were less likely to contact law enforcement if they were ever the victims of a crime.

We need to show the undocumented that they’re welcome in our community, and we also need to pressure all levels of our government into action. History supports the notion that real change comes from those who organize, not those who occupy the halls of power.

Government, by design, protects and maintains the status quo, so a fundamental shift in our community and our values cannot come from public

But we need to remember: At the end of the day, this was just a rally. It doesn’t address the real concerns of equitable access to education or housing. It doesn’t increase access to public welfare programs. Actions and rallies like these create a powerful narrative, but we need to remember that public officials are limited by their position. We are all responsible for making this community more perfect for the undocumented. We must acknowledge that change won't come from law enforcement or our government. It has to come from us. •

Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 07

COLUMN

Piper Gi's roasted red pepper pasta salad. Photo by Sarah Senfeld.

read up,chow down STORY BY ALI SUNDOOK ART BY MADISYN ALBERRY

T

he restaurant business is though, the old adage goes. It often takes years of planning, preparation, and funds until you serve your first customer, but for long-time Gainesville chefs Jacob Riesch and his sister Shanti Aura, all it took was a craving for a Philly cheesesteak.

Reisch and Aura had something specific in mind, dreamed up from summers spent in Philadelphia as kids. They wanted shaved ribeye with cheese whiz on a freshly baked hoagie. But no such Philly existed in Gainesville.

“The town just didn’t have it,” Jacob said. “So, that’s what started it and we took off from there.”

Last December, Reisch, Aura and her husband Tommy Newman opened Piper Gi’s, a downtown sandwich shop located in a former drive-thru, where they prepare and serve their own Philly cheesesteaks.

The chefs drew from their over 50 years of combined experience at multiple Gainesville restaurants to create a menu stuffed with 16 sandwiches that fulfill any nostalgic, comfort food craving. And don’t worry if the craving strikes at odd

08 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

hours—Piper Gi’s is open till 3 a.m. during the fall and spring semesters, and is located just a block from downtown bars.

In addition to their Philly, Piper Gi’s serves “The Thanksgiving,” a roasted-turkey sandwich with gravy and cranberry chutney. They also have “The Big Sexy,” a meat-lovers fantasy of prime rib, cured bacon, capicola and oven-roasted turkey. And the owners are happy to accommodate vegetarians; tempeh or mushroom caps can be substituted on any sandwich free of charge.

All the sandwiches and sides are made from scratch; Piper Gi’s even cures their own bacon.

“As chefs we’re making the food we wanted to eat, and it turns out the food that we wanted to eat is just really complicated and made from scratch,” Newman said.

Every week they rotate different types of potato and macaroni salad, with flavors like roasted red pepper and oven-roasted barbecue. You’ll also find hearty northeastern sides like poutine fries and cheese curds on the menu.

READ UP, CHOW DOWN

PIPER GI’s 204 SW 2nd Ave. 352-727-7276 pipergis.com

INGREDIENTS • 16 oz roasted red pepper • 1/2 cup toasted almonds • 1/2 cup shredded parm • 2 cups olive oil • 2 cups mayonnaise • 1 lbs of your favorite

ROASTED RED PEPPER PASTA SALAD THE STEPS 1. In large pot, boil water and cook pasta.

Rinse with cold water to stop cooking, put in fridge.

2. In food processor, add drained roasted red peppers, toasted almonds, shredded parmesan. Blend until smooth.

3. Add olive oil until you have a nice pesto consistency, Salt and Pepper to taste.

4. Pour into large bowl, mix in mayo and pasta. Refrigerate for another hour before serving.

pasta • Salt and pepper to taste The only exception to the scratch-made rule is the hoagie for their Philly cheesesteak, which they ship all the way from Amoroso’s Baking Company in Philadelphia to create the most authentic Philly possible.

In the future, Reisch hopes to franchise Piper Gi’s and possibly expand to Key West, where the family once called home. The restaurant’s pastel decor and multi-colored picnic tables are a nod to these origins.

At the end of the day, the restaurant’s namesake is at the heart of everything they do. “Piper” is Aura and Newman’s daughter and Gianna or “Gi” is Reisch’s. The girls are also the reason for the moody titles on their kid’s menu, such as the “I Don’t Care,” a grilled cheese, or the “I Don’t Want That,” three chicken tenders breaded in Captain Crunch.

“Why do we get up and work 13 hours shifts?” Newman said. “Why did we gamble our lives possibly to go broke?

It’s for our kids.”

The first thing you’ll see as you walk up to the order window is a photo of Piper and Gianna in chef hats, bigeyed and smiling.

“Got to leave a legacy for them when they get older,” Reisch said. •

IN SEASON AND FRESH Sweet potato • Peppers • Ocra Eggplant • Lima beans • Cassava Cherry tomatoes • Watermelon • and more!

Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 09

FOR THE RECORD

Showcasing local bands, the next big thing and all your friends.

Natasha Home of Sunmoonstar. Photo by Melissa Gillum.

SUNMOONSTAR THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

NON-LYRICAL DREAMINESS released recorded in

June 30 or July 7 Melbourne, Australia

sounds like

the soundtrack to Earth

inspiration

the Great Barrier Reer

key tracks

Satellites, Bleaching, Giverny

where to get it

Sounds of the

Dawn upcoming shows

July 23 at

GUTFest

yamaha qy70 sequencer

Natasha Home

The Great Barrier Reef, Sunmoonstar’s forthcoming ambient album, assembles musician Natasha Home’s observations from her home in Australia, whether sitting on the shoreline in Sydney or watching the clouds go by from her apartment in Melbourne.

Home said she wanted to combine the fantasy of her own self-invented spaces, with the natural landscape of a real place: the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland in northeastern Australia.

“I hope this music is relaxing and inspires environmental awareness, awareness of the beauty of nature [and] awareness of ourselves in space,” she said.

The 12 sparkling tracks are captivating but also socially conscious. The album is a mental tour of the reef which, due to global warming, is currently threatened by coral bleaching, a process in which coral expel the beneficial algae living in their tissues and turn white.

“There is a very sad song, it's called "Bleaches," Home said. “This song for me is like walking into an empty museum, with nothing but white walls and white plinths.”

Perspective shifts in “Coral Cay,” to explore underwater, between coral polyps and weeds; each tone uncovers a new species. The fourth track on the album, “Satellites,” simulates a view of the reef as visible from outer space. It floats up to the surface

10 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

BY MADDIE NGO

again, Home said, with the final song, If you’d like to “Giverny,” the see your band reviewed in For The Record name of Claude or if you want to be consider Monet’s home, ed to play at ou r where he painted next benefit sh ow, email editors@thefine his famous water printmag.org lilies. and let us know .

Raised by a family of talented and diverse musicians, Home was playing around with microphones by 5 years old. The eponymously mashed noun “Sunmoonstar” was inspired by her mother, an audio engineer, who collected bric-a-brac, candle holders and cosmicallythemed bedsheets.

“She taught me how to multi-track record before I could ride a bike,” Home said.

As a child, Home was fascinated with the technical details of recording and with music, she said, that experiments with space and sound. From watching cartoons and dancing to techno, she grew to love robot concepts and archetypes like Rosie from The Jetson’s.

“The real fascination for me is that I can use this small hand-held device to record my feelings in any environment, much like a diary,” Home said. •

GOODE BYE IS IT THAT BAD?

ORCHESTRAL BLEEP-BLOOP released

Currently unreleased On Goode Bye's

recorded

Toshiba laptop sounds like

An epiphanic

computer having a breakdown Tracey Emin & the

inspiration

disassociation of pain key tracks

okay good, one

after one upcoming shows

Aug. 2,

location TBA

IMPRESSIONIST POP released

May 8, 2017

recorded in sounds like

California

The Beach Boys,

Grizzly Bear inspiration

Debussy, Buffalo

Springfield, Nick Drake key tracks

Turnings,

Escalation, Meanwhile (especially at 1:58) where to get it

Bandcamp

upcoming shows

TBA

Goobe Bye

Two oversized googly eyes float atop the cover of Is It That Bad, the new album by electronic artist Goode Bye. A representation of the album, they stare disinterestedly into space, shedding three globular tears each.

“This album is about the ethics of deferred pain, and unlinking yourself from an emotional experience,” said Goode Bye, who prefers to remain unnamed. “It’s not a boohoo album. It’s constantly breaking down, and that’s how post-traumatic stuff works, but it’s fun.”

Is It That Bad is composed of layered noises, ranging from barking dogs and ceremonial humming to inaudible family dialogue and malfunctioning static. But instead of sprawling into chaos, each of the 11 songs feels deliberate and intensely intimate.

The album was produced entirely on Goode Bye's Toshiba laptop.

“I wanted to explore how ugly computers could sound and really push my laptop,” Goode Bye said. “I wanted to use the ugliness

EDMONSON STRANGE DURATIONS

vocals, guitar, production

keys, vocal, bass, percussion

Robert Edmonson Jack Edmonson Tod Edmonson

vocals, guitar, percussion sax, percussion

Brothers Robert and Jack Edmondson recorded their debut album Strange Durations during two summers in California: days spent reading, visiting the Pacific and playing music.

The resulting 10 songs swell and fade like the ocean.

“I really love melodies that have a sculptural quality, ones that trace a clear, strong shape,” Robert said. “I’m also attracted to the weightless feeling of working without a steady pulse, using percussion more as a voice than a timekeeper.”

Released on vinyl and digital formats from Gainesville label Elestial Sound, Strange Durations features lush, dreamy arrangements of piano, guitar and saxophone. From the groovy guitar noodling and hummed vocals on “Possession” to the piano bench cracking captured on “Newness,” these songs take listeners into a peaceful, safe room of their own invention.

Lyrically, Strange Durations weaves together the mundane and the spiritual. Jack, who wrote the majority of the album, composed “Mobius Strip” one day at home when he couldn’t get the words “and the dishes still need to be done” out of his head. He finished the song in an hour.

BY SAVANNAH HILL of laptops and digital things in general to say something about pain.”

Goode Bye humorously called their writing process cliché. During the two years they worked on the album, they didn’t leave the house or talk to anyone.

“I had to record myself pretending to cry multiple times [on “one after one”], and after having to fake the tears so many times I actually began to really cry, which I felt like was a breaking point and really represented the album,” they said.

Goode Bye has performed Is It That Bad live at the Atlantic, the CMC and the Hardback Cafe, but it has yet to be released.

Accompanying the live performance is a miniature light show featuring desk lamps created by Goode Bye. And their act extends past the album.

Goode Bye’s encyclopedic website is wild and consuming—they’ve written articles on modern poetics and coding, and they have a rant on millennials that every millennial will probably deny is true. • guitar, synthesizer violin

Tristan Whitehall Loren Maldoza

BY TYLER FRANCISCHINE

Other times, it takes a little help from your friends, or your dad. Musician, music arranger and transcriber Tod Edmondson crafted horn and percussion arrangements for the album.

He also encouraged his sons to try new things.

“My dad would just say, ‘Play that differently,’” Jack said. “He helped me figure out things I literally am incapable of thinking of.”

Themes of family dynamics float throughout Strange Durations. Robert said the album was a way for him to make sense of his parents’ changing relationship over time.

“Writing music was a way to express these things that I couldn’t put into words,” he said.

“The moods captured on the album present the hopes, fears and desires I had for our family.”

The brothers each credit the other as a source of continuing inspiration and support.

“Being brothers allows us to take two separate but similar takes on life experiences and bring them to the same place in music,” Robert said. “A sibling will always be the closest there can be to simply being you, and that helps in understanding what you’re trying to say, musically or otherwise.” • Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 11

COLUMN

Certified Fresh

Florida Organic Growers, a Gainesville non-profit, advocates for organic farming and food justice.

I

BY LIANA ZAFRAN ILLUSTRATIONS BY STEVE REYES

n central Florida in 1941, as Florida’s agricultural industry was expanding, the marshes surrounding Lake Apopka were drained to make room for a 20,000 acre conventional farm belt.

40 years later, Lake Apopka became known as Florida’s most polluted lake, according to the Friends of Lake Apopka’s website. Nutrient-rich fertilizers, petroleum-based pesticides and phosphorous-laden water ran into the lake.

Chronic algae blooms resulting and, in 1980, a contamination so severe the lake was designated a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Most of the environmental destruction the lake suffered was due to the explosion of agricultural corporations surrounding the lake.

“There were so few organic farmers, and people were starting to become radically aware that something was wrong,” said Marty Mesh, an organic watermelon farmer and the first director of Florida Organic Growers, or FOG, a non-profit in Gainesville whose mission is to support and promote organic agriculture through educating consumers, farmers, businesses, policymakers and the general public.

Florida is one of the highest crop producers in the United States but only a small percentage of the state’s cultivated land was organic. Organic farming, unlike mass 12 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

SIMPLY SCIENCE agro-farming, is a type of agricultural that does not use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Produce is considered organic if no GMOs; synthetic pesticides or fertilizers; or artificial colors, flavors or preservatives were used. Animals aren’t fed antibiotics or hormones; instead, they eat organic feed and pasture.

In 1985, four years after Lake Apopka was declared a Superfund site, a group of organic farmers gathered in a barn to brainstorm how organic farming could regenerate the polluted land around the lake. These “barn talks” have been mythologized as the beginning of Florida Organic Growers, or FOG. “For us, we were doing direct action by farming in an alternative way, and our protest was against the people who were poisoning our world,” said Mesh.

FOG, and those active in Florida’s organic movement decided that there must be a centralized certification agency to determine what is organic and what is not. Organic certification and labeling provides transparency among crowded

aisles of deceptive advertisements. commercial operations as organic according Despite the industrialization of the food to national standards. system, there had been no consistent According to the USDA, the organic standardization of organic labels in movement’s growth as a multi-million Florida until 1990. dollar industry and integration into the “We had the realization that we could Those active in Florida's probably do this better organic movement decided and cheaper,” he said.

“We were bringing in there must be a centralized inspectors all the way certification agency in order from North Dakota who had never seen a for organic foods to emerge as a watermelon field or a viable option in a mainstream citrus grove.”

After the passage market. of the Organic Food Production Act in 1990, FOG became mainstream is an indicator that consumers involved in developing a legislative are shifting their habits in accordance to blueprint for implementing organic social and environmental justice. national certification standards.

This year is the FOG’s thirtieth “We read every single state’s organic anniversary. To celebrate, they are holding standard and debated about what should an inaugural event this September in be represented,” Mesh said. “It was a Gainesville called the Organic Food and patchwork of different requirements, and Farming Summit. we really tried to create a high standard.”

The summit is a three-day event, Today, through its committed to increasing communication Quality Certification and collaboration between active organic Standards, FOG is farmers, farmers transitioning to organic the largest certifying farming and key governmental agencies. agency on the U.S.’s The event provides valuable tools, eastern seaboard. resources and opportunities for the One of the organic community through workshops, certifications FOG trade shows, round table discussions and offers is the Food training sessions.

Justice Certification, Andi Emrich, the summit which promotes coordinator, emphasized the importance sustainable farm of “a transfer of knowledge between all operations among of those involved in Florida’s organic farmworkers as a community.” necessary component “By bringing together organic of social economic farmers with organic researchers there’s justice. an opportunity to not only inform FOG’s fingerprints farmers on up-and-coming research, but could be found on for farmers to inform future research,” numerous political Emrich said. documents throughout In the FOG office, Mesh has been the state, and they nicknamed “‘the eternal optimist” by began to branch out to many of his co-workers. the rest of the country.

“What are we going to leave the In 2001, FOG was next generation? We should be leaving accredited by the everything better than how we found it, ” USDA, which meant Mesh said. “We still have a long way to go, that the organization but I’m proud of the little part we’ve played could certify farms and in growing the organic movement.” • Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 13

COLUMN

READ IT

EAVE

AND

BY KLARIZZA AGGABAO ILLUSTRATIONS BY SHANNON NEHILEY

T

apestries might be trendy, but weaving dates back to before the written word, when Paleolithic humans were twisting fibers out of plants like hemp and flax. In many ways, weaving’s development traces the course of human history The oldest known textiles, woven baskets found in the Guitarrero Cave in modern-day Peru, date back to 9000 BC. Tapestries are woven using looms, devices that are usually made of wood.

One of the first looms was the horizontal ground loom, a frame which was staked into the ground to keep the vertical, guiding threads taut as the weaver bent over to insert horizontal ones. The backstrap loom, which was tied around the weaver’s back, made the craft portable.

Over time, looms became faster and more cost efficient; with the Industrial Revolution came the creation of mechanized looming. But even as workers began to mass-produce tapestries, hand looming remained a craft.

The loom we’ve shown you below is a simple wooden frame with nails. All you need to make it is a handful of tools, a few colorful rolls of yarn and a free summer’s day. •

MATERIALS

Fo r t h e l o o m • Wooden frame, or a canvas frame from an art supply store. tapestry to be.

For the tapestry • Colorful yarn • Scissors

• 1-inch wire nails • Hammer f ize o The s e will m a r f the the mine deter f your o size str y! tape

• Pencil • Ruler

OPTIONAL • Tapestry needle to navigate the yarn through the vertical threads. You could also use a toothpick or a plastic fork by tying the yarn to one end and weaving with the other.

• A ruler or a piece of cardboard which, by pushing up the thread you’ve already woven through, makes your tapestry tighter.

14 | T H E

F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

HOMESTEAD INSTEAD

MAKING THE LOOM 1. Starting on one side of the frame, about an inch away from a

corner edge, mark 1 cm intervals to space out each nail. Repeat on the parallel side of the frame.

1.

2. At each mark, hammer a nail about a quarter inch deep into the frame. Make sure to leave space between the top of the nail and the frame to thread the yarn around.

MAKING THE TAPESTRY 1. To create the vertical threads that will form the base of your

tapestry, tie a secure knot of cotton yarn around the first nail starting at the top-left end of your loom. Pull the yarn across the loom and loop it around the parallel nail on the other side. Repeat from left to right. This will create a series of vertical lines across your loom. On the last nail, tie the yarn in a secure knot.

2.

A Tip:

Make sure the yarn is taut but not too tight. If your strings are pulled too tight, the tapestry will bow in the middle and may become hard to work with.

2. To create a simple pattern, take a couple arm-length pieces of

colored yarn, tie a knot on the leftmost vertical thread and weave it over and under until you reach the other side. Don’t tug the yarn too tight or the tapestry will bow in the middle. When the string reaches the end of the vertical threads, go over and under in the opposite direction until you want to start a new color.

3. Double check each row to prevent any mishaps. It’s easier to correct mistakes sooner rather than later.

4. When you have finished weaving, lift your vertical threads out

from the nails. This will create loops at the top and bottom of your tapestry. To secure your tapestry, take two adjacent loops at the bottom and tie them together. Repeat with all the bottom loops. If you would like to make it fringy, cut the end of the bottom loops.

You can insert a wooden dowel through the top loops to hang your tapestry.

2.

3.

To make it your own: Play with texture and color, or try different yarn thickness.

Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 15

TAKING DOWN

THE BOYS

The only two women on UF's wrestling team struggle to find a place in the male-dominated sport.

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PHOTOS AND STORY BY MOLLY MINTA ILLUSTRATIONS BY BRITTANY EVANS

t was spring semester in 2015, and Michelle Duong was walking through the drafty halls of Southwest Recreation Center. She was looking for the taekwondo club, which she had practiced for 11 years at home, when she accidentally walked into jiu-jitsu, a sport she’d never tried before.

She decided to stay, the happiest accident of her college career.

The first person she spoke to was Jessica Rodriguez, a sophomore. The two became fast friends and exercise partners, sharing a diary over Google Docs of their progress.

Rodriguez’s main sport was wrestling. She started in high school and, by chance, continued it into college. For the past year she had been the lone girl on UF’s club wrestling team and the first one to stay for more than a year.

Most intercollegiate club teams are separated by gender; the men and women compete on separate teams and at separate tournaments. But club wrestling, a sport heavily dominated by men, lacks the organization to offer a full team to women. So any woman wishing to compete in the sport must practice with the guys.

Rodriguez often had to practice alone. At only five feet tall, she doesn’t have the body type most men can fairly wrestle, even if they wanted to. As she became friends with Duong, she started to try to convince her to come out to the wrestling team.

"I told her, "Hey, we really need girls on the wrestling," Rodriguez said. "She was very reluctant at first—I didn’t push her too much, but I really wanted her."

It took Rodriguez a year to convince Duong to join.

SPOTLIGHT "I would not step into the room without Jessica there, cause I was so scared to walk into that room," Duong said. "I have to meet wrestlers who are tough and scary—I would sit outside and wait for her until she got there."

But wrestling intrigued Duong. It challenged her like taekwondo had, and the wrestling team soon became her home away from home. When Rodriguez left for a study abroad in Honduras, Duong made the decision to keep going to practice.

Duong and Rodriguez aren’t just the first women on UF’s wrestling team; they’re two out of only three women who wrestle at the college level in the entire state of Florida.

"The girls have really changed our perspective on wrestling," said Nick Anthony, the women’s wrestling coach who also competes. “One way or another, we’ll both be involved in women’s wrestling for the rest of our wrestling lives, which is the rest of our lives.” restling seems like a simple sport. There are only two competitors, and the object of the game—control your opponent by knocking them down to the mat or pinning their shoulder blades to the floor—sounds simple enough.

But wrestling is deceptively grueling.

“It’s basically a fight with rules,” said Anthony. “It’s not like other sports—if you lose, you get physically beat up.”

The sport has traditionally been dominated by men. Women weren’t allowed to wrestle in most places until after the passage of Title IX in 1979, and the sport didn’t start to grow until 1994.

In 2004, the sport was added to the Olympics, but women still face barriers from the wrestling establishment, especially if they’re not looking to compete at the varsity level.

Even if a woman is the lone gal on her team, as Rodriguez was for a year, she’s technically not allowed to wrestle with the men at all, according to rules from the National Collegiate Wrestling Association, or NCWA. Most teams defy this rule, because it’s impractical to force a member of your team to practice alone.

"Most wrestling, the reason it's so good is that you can train for a couple

W

weeks, go compete and then you're told right away whether that you're doing is working," said Tim Ironman, UF’s head wrestling coach.

Duong and Rodriguez don't get that feedback; both women have gone months without any competitive matches.

“It’s like being benched when you’re on the soccer field,” Rodriguez said. “If you’re benched all the time, if you’re not playing the games, you’re not going to learn anything. In a way that’s what wrestling kind of felt like, because we couldn’t compete just because we didn’t have anybody to compete against.”

Boys and girls can compete against each other in high school, but boys will often refuse to wrestle girls. In 2011, Joel Nothrop, a high school freshman,

“Some of the guys wouldn’t even go on the mat with me.

They would just give me the forfeit and I would take the win, which is a crappy way of winning." forfeited his first match at the Iowa State tournament, a prestigious wrestling tournament, because he refused to wrestle his female competitor Cassy Herkelman.

In high school, Rodriguez experienced this herself.

“Some of the guys wouldn’t even go on the mat with me,” Rodriguez said.

“They would just give me the forfeit and I would take the win, which is a crappy way of winning.”

The rule separating men and women is also enforced at wrestling tournaments and competitions, where women are often either have to wrestle a competitor who isn’t in their weight class or one they’ve wrestled numerous times before.

The NCWA only offers one official competition for women, and it's the national championship, where their events are thrown in between the men's, depriving them of hype that could help build the sport up more.

And the ratio of men to women at these tournaments is high—about 70 women across each weight class to 300 men.

“My first time walking into a big arena with a whole bunch of guys warming up and wrestling, it felt strange,” Duong said. “It felt like I didn’t belong.”

It’s an alienating feeling that both Rodriguez and Duong have experienced: walking into a room and realizing they’re the only girls around.

“As soon as you start wrestling, all eyes are on you,” Rodriguez said. “What are the girls going to do?”

Jim Guinta, the executive director of the NCWA, wrote in an email that the problem is not enough women transition to into coaching and organizing.

"My biggest issue is that I don't have the bandwidth or the time to put into women's wrestling what it deserves," he said.

Guinta thinks the solution is to create a women’s division within the NCWA, but said he’d rather a woman head up the division than himself or another man.

Guinta has yet to find a woman to do this; he said that life might just catch up with them as they get married and have kids. "[You] don’t see many of them coming back to coach which is a real shame because we need them desperately to build that same cycle of tradition for the women’s programs," Guinta said.

"Frankly, we're not doing enough," he added.

The problem, according to Anthony, isn’t getting women to come out to the sport. The interest is there, he said; the problem is getting women to stay.

"For that lone girl in a room of 15 guys, it’s exponentially harder," Anthony Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 17

SPOTLIGHT said. "Because now she’s picking up heavier people, she’s running with people that are faster and stronger than her, and she’s wrestling people that are heavier and stronger than her, so it’s just more tortuous. I don’t know if I would’ve stuck that out, if I was a girl."

It’s on the coaches to create a welcoming environment, he added.

“Anyone who wants to work hard with us can come to practice quote,” said Ironman.

Duong and Rodriguez are dedicated athletes. Last year, they practiced five days a week in between school and their

jobs. They don't receive scholarships to wrestle, and there's no monetary compensation for winning. They do the sport because they love it.

This past February, only nine months after she stepped into the wrestling room, Duong’s competed in her first competition against someone in her weight class at Nationals.

"I was underweight and all the girls were a good five inches taller than me," she said.

Despite all of the obstacles against her, Duong ended up placing second in the tournament.

“Knowing that I put two hours a day, five days a week, going to practice, like doing all that for a whole entire year just for one match that’s less than seven minutes,” she said, laughing. “Yeah, that’s the feeling.” ucked away in Southwest Rec, the wrestling practice is beginning in Activity Room 2. Black practice

T

18 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

mats are rolled out, and one of the practice circles is immediately occupied by partners, Duong and Trace Thome, who recently graduated. Putting their hands on each other's shoulders, they lean into each other, assuming an image that can be seen on vases dating 5,000 years back to Ancient Greece, when wrestling began.

As they begin to wrestle, Anthony watches, critiquing their movements and offering feedback.

"It's funny," he said. "You two really do have the same wrestling style."

Duong and Trace begin to push and pull at each other as they look for a weakness they can exploit to take the other down.

“There’s this life lesson: No matter how many times somebody can throw you down, you still have to stand back up,” Duong said. “Physically, you have to stand back up—same thing in life." •

Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 19

CIVIL REITZ The namesakes of some of UF's most iconic buildings undermine the school's stated commitment to diversity.

T

BY ANNE MARIE TAMBURRO ILLUSTRATION & MAP BY INGRID WU

he J. Wayne Reitz Union is a pristine and expensive-looking building—it should be, as the building reopened in 2016 after over $70 million in renovations.

Inside, its luxury is even more apparent. Commemorations to UF’s noteworthy and rich alumni, including the building’s namesake, Julius Wayne Reitz, fill its bright corridors. On a wall near the main elevator, Reitz's contributions to the university are lauded.

A quote from Reitz reads, “The union will continue to perform the function as the focal point of many and diverse community activities.”

As home to the offices of Multicultural and Diversity Affairs, the union meets this function.

But contextualize the quote with Reitz’s social and political views, and its irony becomes apparent.

At UF, Reitz’s history of homophobia is no secret. In 1958, the year of UF’s integration, Reitz fired at least 15 faculty members and expelled 50 students in cooperation with the Johns Committee, a state legislative witch hunt targeting the LGBT community.

Reitz is not the sole commemorated figure to boast hateful views. Out of all the named facilities on UF’s campus, 16 of 115— about 14 percent—have namesakes who expressed or acted on views of racism, homophobia, sexism or deliberate environmental neglect, according to The Fine Print’s research.

Stephen C. O'Connell, the namesake of the over $64-million O’Connell Center, has a comparably egregious history of racism. In 1971, he arrested and threatened to expel 66 students advocating for the creation of a black cultural center for conducting a sit-in in Tigert Hall.

UF also honors George A. Smathers and Henry H. Buckman, with Buckman Hall and the George A. Smathers libraries. Buckman authored the Buckman Act, a 1905 law segregating Florida’s colleges by race and gender. Smathers was one of 101 politicians who signed the Southern Manifesto, a document condemning the racial integration of schools following Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

Ben Hill Griffin, the namesake of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, lobbied to develop Florida Gulf Coast University on one of the few 20 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

remaining Florida panther habitats. In 1996, Robert Marston, the namesake of Marston Science Library, participated in a legal battle to prevent women from attending a Virginia military school.

The list goes on.

The case of namesakes relates to a greater issue plaguing campuses nationwide—a lack of institutionalized inclusivity.

While namesakes are not the center of this issue, they contribute to it by representing prejudicial views in the community, said Ibram X. Kendi, a former assistant professor of history at UF and the founding director of Anti-Racist Research and Policy Center at American University.

“To me it’s not a more important issue than diversifying the student body, than diversifying the faculty body, than ensuring that students of color feel safe on campus, than ensuring that we have a diverse staff," he said.

Kendi’s thoughts echo concern over hateful events on UF’s campus. In February, the sign for Walker Hall, which houses the African American Studies department and the Center for Jewish Studies, was uprooted. In April, a man trespassed in Walker Hall and harassed employees. Students have found racial epithets written in campus facilities.

“For those students and nonstudents who know about these 14 historical figures and who have percent prejudicial ideas themselves, of buildings are named after or who are willing to take part in racist acts against people who expressed or students of color, having acted on views of racism, names of buildings of people homophobia, sexism or who engaged in these types of actions or who have these deliberate environmental types of ideas only emboldens neglect. these types of people,” Kendi said.

How should UF address these

SPOTLIGHT namesakes? Kendi said the university must choose between acting out against prejudice or ensuring its lines of funding are secure, as many of these figures contributed to the university financially.

Stephen Noll, master lecturer in UF’s history department, said beyond the question of changing names is the matter of determining which names should be changed.

“I think what we have to do is certainly look at the totality of people’s action and use these things as a teachable moment,” Noll said.

Kendi said UF should be honest about its reasons for keeping building names. It’s not about a teaching moment; that's an excuse, he said. It’s really about money.

“I think the university should be able to say ‘Yes, these people did certain things, but at the same time, they donated money,” Kendi said.

In 2012, Ford Dwyer, a UF law graduate and former UF student senator, proposed a referendum on the fall student ballot to change the Reitz Union’s name.

Dwyer said reading UF’s whitewashed version of Reitz’s history moved him to push for the change. He used his connections with leaders of UF’s multicultural and diversity student organizations and role as leader of the Student Party, one of two campus parties at the time, to advance his mission.

“I just got the feeling that they were lying to people, and that’s what I got so offended by,” Dwyer said. “I wanted to correct the legacy.”

Reitz’s proposed alternative was Virgil Hawkins, who challenged his denial of admission based on race in 1950 and laid the foundation for UF’s racial integration.

But Student Government was not receptive. While the UF Supreme Court initially approved the language in his referendum, which gave students historical context about Reitz and Hawkins, opposition from student government

pushed the court to reconvene. The court stripped the amendment of context, leaving students who were otherwise unaware of Reitz’s and Hawkins’ histories in the dark about why the measure was on the ballot at all.

"At the time a lot of the people in student government were really conservative,” Dwyer said. “They didn’t like the idea of changing the name from who they thought was an

“Some of them harmed people, and the school needs to be honest about that,” Dwyer said.

Dwyer said that UF’s role as the flagship university in the state causes the actions and views of the university community have a larger impact on society.

“How we look at tradition and the reverence that we show toward certain historical figures does matter, and we’re

“Even more important [is] for people to be willing to admit their ideas are racist.“ honorable man in their opinion to a civil rights leader, so that to them was a very radical move.”

Ultimately, the referendum failed when support from the multicultural organizations collapsed after the head of the student government budget committee threatened to defund their organizations, Dwyer said.

Dwyer said that beyond changing names, UF should recognize its history and honor both Virgil Hawkins and those victimized by the Johns Committee.

teaching a whole generation of kids right and wrong,” Dwyer said.

When considering the conflict between protecting its funding and limiting hate on campus, UF must address the greater issue of insufficient inclusivity.

“What to me is most important is for...the University of Florida to provide avenues for discussion and debate,” Kendi said. “But even more important [is] for people to be willing to admit their ideas are racist.” • Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 21

SPOTLIGHT

S EE IN G STARS

MARCH 21 - APRIL 19

APRIL 20 - MAY 20

SELF. Whether or not you’re ready for it, people will be looking to you for guidance in the coming months. This is because you consistently show the world your best self, and they mistake this for self-assuredness.

Find the self-assuredness they see in yourSELF. It’s there, you just have to become aware of how to harness it.

RELATIONSHIP. If you think it’s too good to be true it probably isn’t. Sometimes things are just good. Don’t question it, just let it happen.

SUGGESTION. Buy yourself a new pair of shoes.

SELF. Now is the perfect opportunity to stop eating at the same restaurant six times a week. We get it. You really like the food there. Why mess with a good thing, right?

The answer is simple. If you are what you eat, and you eat the same thing every day, you’ll never really grow as a person.

RELATIONSHIP. With Venus in Taurus beginning in early June, this summer may hold new possibilities for you. Don’t let your fear of change or obsession with the past hold you back from an opportunity.

SUGGESTION. Read a book no one has recommended to you.

JUNE 22 - JULY 22

JULY 23 - AUG. 22

SELF. Though you live for drama and uninhibited emotion, remember: Mindless routine frees up mental space for creative pursuits. The new moon in your sign on June 23rd signifies new beginnings. Resolve to take a little less time deciding what you want at the grocery store.

RELATIONSHIP. Stop hurting your own feelings then complaining that your feelings have been hurt. Not everyone is going to like you, but that isn’t your problem to solve.

SUGGESTION. Start a new project, even if you’re afraid you won’t be able to finish it.

SELF. This summer, all eyes will be on you.

You’re usually comfortable with this, but something will make you uneasy this time.

You can either fight through it or swallow your pride and admit defeat. Figure out which one is easier and do the opposite.

RELATIONSHIP. The Leo new moon is July 23rd, and the day will not pass without significance. You will meet someone who will be part of your life for a long time.

You should probably just learn to like them if at first you don’t. It’s easier for everyone that way.

SUGGESTION. Think really hard before you say that mean-but-true thing you want to say. Then say it anyway.

22 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

BY HELEN STADELMAIER ILLUSTRATIONS BY SABRINA SIEGEL

MAY 21 - JUNE 21 SELF. No matter how many books you read, there will always be things you won’t understand, and this will continue to freak you out. Instead of trying to learn about them so they don’t scare you anymore, think about why these things scare you and what this may have to do with your childhood. It could provide some answers and even internal peace.

RELATIONSHIP. If you’re feeling indecisive about a relationship, try having an actual conversation. Stop spending all your time weighing your options until your head explodes. Mercury is in Gemini this June.

Communicate your conflicts.

SUGGESTION. Have a conversation with someone you always thought had nothing to say. Listen to them prove you wrong.

AUG. 22 - SEPT. 22 SELF. If you’re spending all your time doomsday prepping, you’ll miss out on the fun of the apocalypse. Sure you’ll survive, but you’ll be alone. Get out of that metaphorical bunker and take some time to really live in the moment.

RELATIONSHIP. The summer will be a difficult one for you when it comes to romance. You will probably break your own heart at least twice. It will have to happen if you want to reach a new stage. And you do, since you are the type of person who likes to be two steps ahead.

SUGGESTION. Paint something you’ve never seen and give it to your most deserving friend.

SPOTLIGHT

SEPT. 23 - OCT. 22

OCT. 23 - NOV. 21

SELF. If everyone depends on you, who do you depend on? Are you so independent that you don’t need help? You’re smart enough to know this is a lie. Start asking for more favors.

RELATIONSHIP. This summer you will meet someone truly worth knowing. They will disappoint you anyway. Let them.

SUGGESTION. Tell a waiter to “surprise you.”

SELF. This summer, the breakthrough you’ve wanted will only happen if you admit you’ve been looking at your problem from the wrong angle. Stop struggling and try a new approach.

RELATIONSHIP. This is a summer of letting go for you, because you can only move forward if you tell the past goodbye.

Instead of trying to have a healthy relationship with an unhealthy past, just burn it to the ground.

SUGGESTION. Bake something for a friend then eat the whole thing yourself.

NOV. 22 - DEC. 21 SELF. I know there’s a lot going on and so much you want to do, but you can’t do everything even if you really really want to.

If you say yes to things you feel lukewarm about, you’re going to miss an opportunity or two. Learn to give honest answers when people ask what you want.

RELATIONSHIP. Stability might seem boring, but perhaps another’s stability frees you to be your wildest self Try something different.

SUGGESTION. Start keeping a diary for the 200th time. Try to keep up with it this time.

DEC. 22- JAN. 19 SELF. You’re about to exit a period of confusion and enter one of clarity. You always thought this change would be satisfying, but it almost definitely won’t be. Don’t be disappointed. Instead, recognize that dissatisfaction is just the first step on the road to improvement. Figure out what the next step is—it’s probably much harder.

RELATIONSHIP. You have always felt comfortable being brutally honest with people. But remember: In order to create mutual trust, you have to be vulnerably honest as well.

SUGGESTION. Try to enjoy that one thing you’ve spent so much time being critical of. Your likes and dislikes are as arbitrary and circumstantial as your personality.

JAN. 20 - FEB. 18 SELF. Holding onto guilt is not productive. Your feelings of guilt will subside if you change your behavior because you won’t be the guilty person anymore. When you truly accept responsibility, you will find that you have the power to make a change.

RELATIONSHIP. Stop avoiding the possibility of getting hurt by hurting others.

Sure, nothing lasts forever, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on things so quickly.

SUGGESTION. Lose yourself in a temporary new hobby.

FEB. 19 - MARCH 20 SELF. Self-examination is normally a good thing, but you’ve been staring at your reflection in the pond for way too long. Beware the underlying narcissism of excessive self-deprecation. If you focus more on the world outside yourself, you will be happier with what you see in the mirror.

RELATIONSHIP. T Being honest with people is always tough, but this summer you’ll be in more than one situation where it will be absolutely necessary. Speak your mind or suffer the consequences.

SUGGESTION. Go on a nice daytime excursion with someone you haven’t seen in awhile.

Get in your fun while you can, because Mercury retrograde begins Aug.12.

Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 23

FEATURE

A SEEDY OPERATION

Free labor is the cornerstone of the American prison system. IFAS is but one of the countless entities taking advantage of it.

PHOTO AND STORY BY VINCENT MCDONALD ILLUSTRATION BY INGRID WU

T

hey arrive at 8 a.m. They drive stakes into the dirt, hand-harvest vegetables and mow lawns. They eat packed lunches among the fields at UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences centers, where scientists conduct farming research. But they don’t punch in their time. They don’t receive paychecks. And instead of returning to their homes, they board buses that take them back to their Department of Corrections dormitories.

Through partnerships with the Florida Department of Corrections, at least six IFAS sites— including ones at Jay, Citra, Live Oak, Immokalee and Wimauma—routinely call upon inmates from nearby prisons to do the more tedious, menial tasks associated with agriculture. The practice has become so normalized, directors and farm managers say that without this prison farm worker program, IFAS centers couldn’t function.

leasing” and then in chain gangs. Black people make up about 16 percent of Florida’s population, but 32 percent of the state’s prison population, according to the Florida DOC website.

Inmates’ jobs are assigned as needed either by a farm manager or researcher, and they work under the watch of a correctional officer or guard. In a typical day, a prison worker can do anything from groundskeeping to riding a tractor to collecting data.

“On the vegetable farm, they’re just invaluable particularly because we really don’t have our own in-house labor force,” said Dr. John Dunckelman, operations manager at the Southwest Florida Research & Education Center in Immokalee. SWFREC’s prison farm worker program predates the 13 years Dunckelman has spent at the facility.

Typically, an eight-man crew from the Fort Myers Work Camp comes once a week to help pull weeds and

At least six IFAS sites routinely call upon inmates from nearby prisons.

Free labor is the cornerstone of the American prison system; IFAS is but one of the countless entities taking advantage of it. Since the late 19th century, it’s been Florida’s disproportionately black prison population that has laid the state’s roads, first in the form of “convict 24 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

pick fruit. In exchange, SWFREC pays the Department of Corrections a small salary through an invoice as part of their contract.

“Sometimes one day a week just isn’t enough and we have to ask for additional crews,” Dunckelman said. “But it’s well

worth it, even at $2 a man hour—that’s a steal.”

The inmates themselves do not receive any monetary compensation from either IFAS or the DOC, multiple facility directors said. However, inmates are not required to participate in the farm worker program. If they volunteer, they’re reviewed by an institution’s classification team to determine if they’re qualified.

“The classification team reviews many factors such as sentencing history, crime, current custody classification and medical history,” wrote a representative of the FDOC Office of Communications in an email. “Inmates must be in minimum or community custody and demonstrate sufficient farming skills.”

Because most inmates working at IFAS were found guilty of nonviolent crimes, they reside in low security facilities and don’t need heavy supervision, IFAS employees said.

Prison workers are generally nearing the end of their sentences by the time they can work in IFAS fields.

Dr. Jack Rechcigl, director of the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Wimauma, said the Department of Corrections tries to be selective in the inmates it sends.

“They try to send us not the really bad apples, but the ones that are ready to get out and they feel like will do a good job for us,” he said.

FEATURE At the West Florida Research and Education Center in Jay, Fla., around 8 to 10 inmates come five days a week to help mow acres of grass, clean buildings and assist in faculty projects. The center started with only three inmate workers, the maximum number that could fit in a facility vehicle.

But commandeering three inmates really meant only getting the help of two, because the work of one IFAS employee would be lost while supervising them, said Greg Kimmons, farm manager at WFREC. In 2009, Kimmons struck a deal with the Department of Corrections to expand the prison farmworker program. WFREC would provide inmates with 10 acres of their own land to garden independently, and in exchange, the facility would be allowed to enlist more inmates.

“I was just looking for a way to get free labor,” Kimmons said. “We were kind of the guinea pigs on this deal.”

"I was just looking for a way to get free labor."

The Department of Corrections also saves a great deal of money by using the produce grown by prisoners within their 10 acres, said Dr. C. Wesley Wood, director of WFREC. “The amount ranges anywhere, in dollar value on a wholesale basis, from half a million dollars to a million dollars a year,” he said. “So we feed a lot of prisoners.”

Similarly, at the Suwannee Valley Agricultural Extension Center in Live Oak, inmates have their own space to farm and the ability to take back the yields of research trials. Inmates will plant crops for studies, like sweet potatoes for undergoing treatments to fend off wireworms or carrots for growing in different fertilizers. Once testing is over, they take the results back to the prison kitchen.

Funding woes are a major part of why IFAS centers use inmate labor. At Suwannee Valley, a lack of machinery creates the need for harvesting vegetables by hand, and there aren’t enough employees to complete daily tasks.

“Our center only has five or six full-time staff compared to some of the other centers that could have 15 or 20,” said Benjamin Broughton, farm manager at the Suwannee Valley extension. “Usually there is not enough money to operate OPS (Other Personnel Services) people at all the times you need to operate them.”

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FEATURE

Even larger centers would have difficulty running without inmate labor. Finding people willing to work in the Florida heat and at the pace and intensity farming requires is a problem unto itself, Rechcigl said.

“There’s such a labor shortage out there, and our budgets have been cut over the years, so we wouldn’t even have the funding to hire a full farm crew,” Rechcigl said. “So we’re very dependent on the program.

“To be honest, if I could get twice as many inmates, I would do it,” he added.

IFAS employees say that the collaboration with the Department of Corrections is mutually beneficial, in part because prisoners are able to experience life outside of a cell.

“They don’t get a lot of fresh fruit.

So when they can have a sandwich with a slice of fresh tomato on it, they really enjoy that,” Dunckelman said. “They think that’s the cat’s meow.”

IFAS centers also provide inmates with the opportunity to reduce their sentence. At the Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra, inmates 26 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

with a conviction of one year or less can reduce their current sentence by five days for every 30 days they work at the facility instead of getting paid. Inmates working at Gulf Coast REC also receive credit towards their release.

Many prison workers have had little to no farm experience, so they receive training and eventually leave with new skills.

“These skills better prepare inmates interested in a career in the farming industry upon release,” wrote an FDOC representative.

Kimmons spoke of one inmate, an especially hard worker, who learned a lot from the program.

“I just about cried when he left,” Kimmons said.

However, Kimmons couldn’t provide his name, and the press can’t speak to inmates without going through a stringent clearance process.

According to the 13th Amendment, “involuntary servitude” cannot legally exist in the U.S. — “except as punishment for a crime.” After the Civil War, Jim Crow laws accounted for the void slavery

left behind, effectively continuing it through the targeted criminalization and imprisonment of black Americans.

We’d like to think our current prison system is nothing like the one that emerged directly after slavery. But statements from IFAS employees echo those of captain of a work camp in 1893, made just 16 years after Reconstruction. Captain J.C. Powell wrote a memoir of his 14 years spent witnessing the system firsthand in which he argued for convict leasing.

"There was another [reason], and a potent one, for the employment of convict labor in the turpentine woods,” he wrote. “The work is severe to a degree almost impossible to exaggerate, and it is very difficult to control a sufficient quantity of free labor to properly cultivate any great number of trees."

For all the inmate’s perks that IFAS employees speak of, like freshly sliced tomato, the prison farm worker program was never developed for their benefit. IFAS facilities could choose to function without inmate labor, but they don’t. Prisoners, on the other hand, don’t have a choice. •

FEATURE

PARADISE LOST Paradise Park offered an oasis for black people in a time of segregation.

BY SIRENE DAGHER ILLUSTRATIONS BY SABRINA SIEGEL

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anging in the foyer of Howard Academy in Ocala is a black-and-white photograph of a boat floating in open water. Leaning out the side are six black women in vintage bathing suits, smiling and attempting to feed shallow-swimming fish nearby. In 2005, it caught the eye of photographer Cynthia Wilson-Graham.

The Academy, formerly the site of Ocala’s first black school, is now a community center. Wilson-Graham was at a volunteer meeting when she noticed the photograph, taken at Paradise Park, the once-segregated portion of Silver Springs, a nature preserve 40 miles south of Gainesville and famous for its glass-bottom boat rides.

Paradise Park was open for 20 years, before it was demolished in 1969 after the Civil Rights Act outlawed segregated businesses. Wilson-Graham, an Ocala native, visited Silver Springs as a child, but she didn’t know it was segregated, and she’d never heard of Paradise Park.

“It totally caught me off guard,” Graham said. “That one picture really opened my eyes to the lack of history that’s displayed in Marion County.”

After Wilson-Graham learned of the erased history of the park in 2005, she set to work gathering more information with the idea that she might write a book.

She discovered that her neighbor, most of the older residents in her community, and even her kindergarten school teacher (who she later found posed in a red Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 27

FEATURE bathing suit for a photograph) all had stories about Paradise Park.White space to She had interviewed over 45 individuals before Lu Vickers, a professor at Tallahassee Community College, called her in 2013.

A decade after she encountered the photo, Wilson-Graham published “Remembering Paradise Park: Tourism and Segregation at Silver Springs,” with Vickers in 2015. The book is stocked with interviews and collected photographs taken at the park.

“Remembering Paradise Park” is just the beginning. Wilson-Graham wants the state of Florida to reopen Paradise Park at Silver Springs, and re-establish its cultural importance in the history of North Florida. efore there was Disney World there was Silver Springs—”nature’s underwater fairyland”—one of Florida’s oldest and most popular tourist attractions.

Though the tourists at Silver Springs were white, their boat captains were almost all black; and though most of them grew up on the Silver River, neither they nor their families could enter or tour the park. When black people would accidentally enter the Springs, it was the boat captains who were tasked with asking them to leave.

Convinced by their boat captains and eyeing the untapped economic potential of black tourism, the owners of Silver Springs bought out a competing park on the south side of the Silver River and converted it into Paradise Park in 1949.

Paradise Park was open every day, free of admission. It was segregated, but it was also a safe haven for black families, who could dance, swim and picnic without worrying about antagonization from white people in a hostile era.

Many racial clashes were instigated by incidents on beaches. In 1919, Eugene Williams, a black teenager, was stoned to death after he drifted to the white side of Lake Michigan, sparking race riots in Chicago. An old Paradise Park brochure advertises “Lifeguards will protect

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The photo that inspired the book. Photos courtesy of Cynthia Wilson-Graham.

the children!” in bold.

“It was an oasis away from reality in a sense because once you got out there you were in a different world,” Reginald Lewis, a former lifeguard at Paradise Park, said. “It was all black. Everything there was catered to the individual.”

Paradise Park was a vital force in the black community, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. It was called a “mecca for thousands of holiday celebrants” by Ebony Magazine. It was also featured in the Green Book, a 1936 guide that documented safe businesses for black people traveling in the U.S. Though busloads of tourists arrived at Paradise Park each day, there was only one black hotel in Ocala. The park manager,

is also Vereen’s grandson, and his family hid hundreds of eggs for children to find. Local churches held baptisms in the waters of Silver River. Every Christmas, Santa rode a glass-bottom boat into Paradise Park to hand out paper packages of trinkets and oranges.

“That was the type of place that it was.”

Lewis said. “You became lost in the beauty and the camaraderie, with the people... everything.”

The most popular event was the annual Labor Day Beauty contest. Girls from all over the state vied to be crowned Miss Paradise Park.

Carrier Parker Warren was one of those girls. She was one of three generational beauty queens: Her mother placed at the

“That was the type of place that it was. You became lost in the beauty and the camaraderie, with the people...everything.”

Eddie Vereen, was tasked with finding visitors places to sleep within churches and homes in the local community.

Eddie Vereen was a boat captain at Silver Springs and a well-respected, religious man in the community. He was determined to make Paradise Park just as nice as Silver Springs.

Every Monday after Easter, Lewis, who

first-ever competition.

“Paradise Park for that period in our lives was something that was very positive,” she said. “We should keep it alive and keep it a part of history. I don’t see how you can talk about Silver Springs, and in your next breath, Paradise Park doesn’t come out.”

She hopes to see Paradise Park reopen, with a museum on the premises.

FEATURE

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Reginald Lewis, as a baby, on an advertisement for Paradise Park.

ilson-Graham and Vickers were able to tour the nowovergrown remains of Paradise Park in 2001. Almost nothing from the original park is recognizable, save for some scattered broken bottles, a ladder and concrete benches, the tops barely perceptible through the dirt.

It was a far cry from the images of the 1950s, which depicted women posed beneath big bushes of azaleas, children swimming and eating hamburgers for lunch, and captivated tourists following fish swim beneath glass-bottom boats.

When Paradise Park closed in 1969, Silver Springs was slowly desegregated. But feeling like it wasn’t meant for them, many black tourists stopped going to the springs altogether. And the new generation wasn’t interested in revisiting a place marked by stigma. “[Silver Springs] just didn’t have the same feeling,” Vickers said. “You couldn’t picnic, you couldn’t have your dance.

None of those things over there.”

In 2007, armed with only a couple images and an old brochure, WilsonGraham began lecturing around Ocala.

A year later she met Bruce Mozert, the official photographer of Paradise Park, and she began speaking with the management at Silver Springs about commemorating and reopening the Paradise Park, but nothing materialized.

In 2013, Silver Springs was bought by the state and absorbed into the 4,700 acres of Silver River. Due to recordlow attendance at the park, the previous owners terminated their lease early. The flow of the river is half of what it used to be, and increased nitrate pollution has put

it under environmental threat. The fish population had been decimated.

Every 10 years, the state develops what are called “unit management plans” for its state parks which identify measures implement long-term objectives. These plans also require the state to hold public workshops.

Wilson-Graham, and others in the community, attended those workshops in December 2014, urging the historic importance of Paradise Park. With their help, Craig Littauer, the Park Services Specialist, created a permanent exhibit to honor Paradise Park, which features pictures taken by Mozert and antique video footage.

In honor of the park, Silver Springs

according to the plan, for historic artifacts.

In 2014, Wilson-Graham applied to have a Florida Heritage Marker built to honor the history of Paradise Park. It was built the following year, at the original entrance. It’s the only Florida Heritage Marker honoring black people in Marion County.

Wilson-Graham and Vickers still want to reopen Paradise Park.

Littauer said reopening Paradise Park is a possibility, but he ventured it was still at least

"I feel like I missed high school, middle school. We talked about history and African American history, but nothing on a more positive aspect. That we were leaders as well in the community.” has also renamed the ballroom “Paradise Ballroom,” and ice cream and fudge is sold at “Paradise Treats.”

Littauer said he is also trying to find a way to link archival photos and videos of Paradise Park on the state park website, which still has no mention of Paradise Park.

According to the management plan, Silver Springs plans to build a new trail south of the Silver River “dedicated to the important cultural heritage” of Silver Springs. This will include a “Paradise Park Interpretive Overlook” with displays about Paradise Park.

The former ground of Paradise Park still needs to be properly evaluated as well,

2 to 3 years—and 5 million dollars—away.

Graham would also like to see more Heritage Markers. Inspired by Paradise Park, she is still collecting interviews from older residents in the community and working to preserve black history in Marion County.

“Writing a book was just the start of documenting the history of different businesses or individuals in the community that had significant purposes,” Graham said. “I feel like I missed high school, middle school. We talked about history and African American history, but nothing on a more positive aspect. That we were leaders as well in the community.” • Summer 2017 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 29

ART

Metsästys, RACHEL HYVONEN 2017 Oil on canvas

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PROSE

Water Bottles T

he air gets sticky and you can no longer walk to your bus stop without breaking a sweat. You go to Wal-Mart and buy a new water bottle and fill it up from the fountain there. A few days later, you put the bottle in your backpack and it leaks all over. Your pristine assignment planner is ruined and so is that book you were reading about some poor, white bastard who hates his wife. You’re disappointed about the book, but you probably weren’t going to finish it anyway.

You return to Wal-Mart and buy a new planner and a second water bottle. This one has a lid that promises no leakage whatsoever or your money back. You don’t remember it, but the last one said that too. The girl at the checkout counter is unusually attractive for a Wal-Mart employee. Her name is Ana. AH-nuh. She has purple hair that falls to her shoulders; she wears it half-up,half-down.

You fill up your water bottle the next day . You add some ice because the weather report declared it the hottest day of the year. When you go outside, the moisture in the air condenses all over the sides of the water bottle. You try wiping it off with a napkin, but it disintegrates.

Disappointed, you ball up the napkin in your fist.

You can’t live with this condensation, so you return to Wal-Mart. You buy a water bottle with two layers of insulation so that your water is sure to stay cold and the bottle will not sweat. The bottle also has a secure lid. You have learned from your mistakes.

Ana looks you in the eye at the checkout counter as if she wants to make some comment about your purchase but can’t think of the right thing to say. You think her shyness is charming, so you tell her she has nice hair. She says thanks. You can immediately tell she is bored of this compliment, and you feel ashamed at your lack of originality.

You leave the water bottle sitting on the desk of your first class of the day. When you go back, someone has taken it. It didn’t have a hook so it was inconvenient to carry around. You see Ana as you enter Wal-Mart. You go to the sporting goods section to find a bottle with a hook. Ana looks at the price tag as she’s checking you out. You have spent almost $80 on water bottles this month alone. You start to feel self-conscious but also a bit confident in your financial status. You ask Ana a personal question. Ana answers in the cute, clever way that only a girl with purple hair could. You joke that you will see her next time you need to buy a water bottle.

Next time turns out to be next week.

You start to get frustrated with the lid you have to screw on and off in order to drink. You work up the courage to ask Ana for her number at the checkout. She laughs nervously, looks around to make sure her manager isn’t watching, and hands you her phone to put your number in. She texts you later that night and asks you to coffee.

The barista notices you carrying your water bottle and asks you if you would like your coffee in a personal cup. Sure, why not!

Save a few trees. You hand her the bottle and she examines it. “I don’t think I can pour hot liquid in here,” she says.

Sure enough, on the bottom of the bottle, it says “Not for use with hot beverages.” You make a mental note to return to Wal-Mart and get one that can handle hot and cold drinks. The caffeine gets you wired, and you tap your foot throughout the coffee date, fantasizing about which water bottle you will buy next.

You ask Ana to hang out again as she rings up your heatproof water bottle, along with some other odds and ends. You know, Ana reminds you, they’re all imperfect. You will never find the perfect water bottle,

BY HELEN STADELMAIER and you know that in a place that’s buried behind your heart and above your stomach.

Still, you buy the insulated bottle, and you buy Ana dinner later that night. Ana makes fun of you for keeping your water bottle on the table but you insist that you need to stay hydrated at all times. She gets it, she really does. She has so many makeup bags. She puts everything in them: bobby pins, pens, cards, notepads, photos.

Her house is practically stacked with them or so she claims.

You come to find that Ana’s house is not stacked with make-up bags, but you do notice a few underneath her bathroom sink. You look around her apartment and realize it’s not the apartment of a girl with purple hair. It’s the messy apartment of a person who does not have money to decorate. Ana puts on a documentary about food tourism, and you have no fun at all. You continue to see her.

A few weeks later, the drain in your shower is clogged so you go to Wal-Mart to buy a tool to clean it out. You find a wad of purple hair. You would have thought this was cute when you met her, but now the drainage disturbance becomes grounds for terminating the relationship. When she walks out of your house after you tell her it’s over, you start to strategize how to start shopping at the other Walmart across town.

After Ana leaves that night, you find the plastic bag with the wad of her hair in your trash can and you take out the hair and feel it. It’s soft and a bit spongy.

You also find that she left a t-shirt at your place, but you hold onto it. You decide as you’re falling asleep that you should probably hit the gym the next day. You forget to bring your water bottle, so you buy one out of the vending machine. For three months, you fill and refill this plastic bottle, until it gets worn around the edges and you drop it in the dirt. •

Helen is our creative writing editor, and she has a lot of feelings about bagels.

You can read more about those feelings on her website, whataboutbagels.com.

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Peace Scholarship

Memorial Mile

Winter Solstice Concert

Peace Poetry Contest To learn about these events and Veterans for Peace in Gainesville, visit http://www.vfpgainesville.org/about-us/

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