The Bridge September 2018 by thelcbridge

From L&C To FBI

There are many types of students that L&C serves every year, and many graduate and move on to do great things.

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Ivanka Trump enters The Ahlmeyer Atrium located in the Trimpe building on LC’s Godfrey campus. Photo by Krystie Morrison

LC’s Welding Technology Coordinator, Travis Jumper, instructs Ivanka Trump on how to use the new welding system. Photo by Krystie Morrison

Ivanka Trump learning to use the new welding system at Lewis and Clark Community College. Photo by Krystie Morrison

First Daughter Visits Lewis and Clark By Alex Gent While Lewis and Clark Community College is no stranger to visitors and events, L&C received a particularly famous guest August 8 – Ivanka Trump, First Daughter and Presidential Adviser. Trump visited the campus for a tour of the Weber Workforce Center. The Weber building is a 16,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that houses some of the most modern welding equipment. “This is the first time in history that we have had more job vacancies than unemployed workers,” Trump said. At the time of the visit, no classes had been held in the building, but Lewis and Clark opened the Weber Workforce Center this fall to meet the demands of the growing workforce, as well as solve the national and local problem of the shortage of welders in an abundant job market. After Trump’s short tour of the center, during which she was accompanied by Illinois Representative Rodney Davis, President of L&C Dale Chapman, L&C Welding Technology Coordinator Travis Jumper, L&C Welding Instructor John Zumwalt, Miller Electric Executive Steve Hidden, as well as current and former Lewis and Clark students, she was escorted to the Trimpe Technology Center for a roundtable discussion. The roundtable discussion was an “invitation only” event. The crowd of approximately 250

guests included Riverbend residents, community leaders like Godfrey Mayor Michael McCormick, and business owners of local operations and from as far away as Taylorville, Rep. Davis’s hometown. The roundtable discussion consisted of 10 participants: Trump, Chapman, Davis, Chief Human Resources Officer for Boeing Heidi Capozzi,Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery Manager Jerry Knoyle, CEO of Cope Plastics Jane Salle and Brad Schaive of Laborers Local 447. Also in attendance were students and graduates of Lewis and Clark including current Student Trustee and nursing student Robyn Scott, Process Operations Technology graduate Bobbie McCormick, and Welding Program graduate Charlie Umphrey. Discussion topics varied from past personal experiences that lead to the current situations of the speakers, as well as the needs of local and statewide industrial leaders (specifically the need for skilled and qualified workers), the booming economic climate, and ever-growing job market. “I’m excited to discuss workforce development issues with Ivanka Trump, who is leading this issue for the White House, 13th District employers and students, and Lewis and Clark Community College,” Davis said. “Congress and the administration continue to work with businesses to improve workforce training opportunities to fill the jobs being created by our growing economy.”

Where There is a Trump, There are Trump Protesters By Ashtyn Britt

Lewis and Clark Community College received guest visits from Ivanka Trump and Rodney Davis Aug. 8. The pair held a roundtable to congratulate the college on the new Weber building and to speak of training programs, as well as for Davis to show visibility for his current campaign for the midterm re-election against Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, which will be held Nov. 6, 2018. Naturally, as the word of Ivanka Trump’s visit spread through the

community, a protest was also held by locals who opposed the Trump administration and Davis on the same morning as the roundtable. Protests have become common at Trump events even before the 2016 election took place. Local Robyne O’Mara came to the college that morning to protest both Davis and Trump. She gathered with other protesters outside of the north entrance to Lewis and Clark College. “Many people in our area have been

Coupled with the jobs created by the growing economy, the mass exodus of Baby Boomers from the workforce has brought the nation to a somewhat unprecedented era. Trump said the recently formed National Council for the American Worker would be responsible for helping students make smarter decisions about career options, while reconciling existing programs and providing greater accountability. Trump shared information about reforming Pell Grant requirements in an effort to make them more readily available, especially to students of vocational programs. Trump said they are currently only available to students pursuing a Bachelor’s degree. Her visit to the Riverbend area was the second in nearly a month. She was here with her father to visit the Granite City Steel facility in late July. Trump’s L&C visit was part of her nationwide tour aimed at spotlighting the Strengthening Career and Technical Education Act, which was signed by the president on August 1. The Bill is intended to raise funding for vocational education and intends to empower community leaders, increase transparency as well as limit federal government involvement. The Weber Workforce Center was made possible by a nearly $3.25 million gift from the estate of local resident Ed Weber and contributions from local industry, like HWRT Oil Co. and Cope Plastics, Inc.

Security Heavy During Trump Visit

Protestor Robyne O’Mara

terribly disappointed in our congressional representative Rodney Davis,” O’Mara said. “He ran as a moderate but has voted with President Trump 98 percent of the time. He ran saying he would protect our healthcare and yet he voted to See Page 4A

When President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump held a roundtable discussion with U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, a few select panelists and a group of roughly 250 guests were in attendance. Protestors also came to campus for the event. Lewis and Clark Community College campus security was on high alert and made sure to keep on top of the task at hand. “I am unaware of the exact number, but I do not believe there were more than a dozen protesters at a single time,” Director of Campus Safety Brad Raish said. “The college recognizes that events such as Ivanka Trump’s visit may draw protesters who wish to have their voices heard,” Raish said. “In

these situations, the college will provide designated protest areas based on the location of the event and in the interest of public safety.” The majority of the protesters gathered on the public sidewalk near the north entrance. A few utilized the pre-designated protest areas on campus. “At no point did the protesters pose a security risk,” Raish said. “Everyone was very polite and complied with any Campus Safety request.” Security was heavy on campus that day, but Braish could not specify the number of secret service agents involved. “Unfortunately, we do not release information such as See Page 2A

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Staff List Editor-in-Chief Ashtynn Britt, abritt@lc.edu Associate Editor Brennen Larson, blarson@lc.edu Layout Editor Keon Hearn, krhearn@lc.edu Web Editor & Photographer Krystie Morrison, kemorrison@lc.edu Ad Manager Makayla McGuire, malmcguire@lc.edu Lead Reporter Alex Gent, agent@lc.edu Graphic Designer Jason Wallace, jpwallace@lc.edu

From Lewis and Clark to the FBI By Ashtyn Britt There are many types of students that Lewis and Clark Community College serves every year, and many graduate and move on to do great things. L&C offers many opportunities for young adults and is proud of the success rate as a result from those opportunities. This past June allowed multiple high school juniors and seniors to participate in the Future Agents in Training (FAIT) Academy. The academy was facilitated by Springfield’s Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, more commonly known as the FBI.

“The academy was an extremely valuable learning opportunity for the students, I hope we can continue the academy in the future,” said L&C Criminal Justice Coordinator Jessica Noble.

Showing promise for future students in similar programs, every student, all 22 who attended the FAIT course, completed the program and received a certificate.

To learn more about L&C’s Criminal Justice program, visit www.lc.edu/program/ criminaljustice.

“Our FAIT Academy allowed high school students an opportunity to get a comprehensive look into today’s FBI,” said FBI Officer Brad Ware. “Students were provided with several presentations on topics including terrorism, cyber-crime, public corruption, evidence response, SWAT, and the day-to-day operations from typical FBI Special Agents and Professional Staff.” The course, which was free for the students attending, informed those in attendance of the FBI’s mission as well as creating awareness to the many different careers associated with the FBI. Students were provided with not only information, but also the benefit of more hands-on training, which included how to gather evidence, how to solve cases and also how to interview witnesses and potential suspects.

Lewis and Clark Community College teamed up with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to host Future Agents In Training (FAIT) Academy June 20-21. More than 20 students from area high schools got the opportunity to learn about the work done by the FBI. Photo from L&C Flickr

Writer Lucas Gardner, ljgardner@lc.edu Writer & Illustrator Destiny Buck, dlbuck@lc.edu Illustrator & Cartoonist Jake Goheen, jgoheen@lc.edu Adviser Louise Jett, ljett@lc.edu

Dr, Dale Chapman, president Lewis and Clark Community College, speaks to a crowd during the grand opening of the St. Louis Confluence Fab Lab at Lewis and Clark’s N.O. Nelson campus in Edwardsville, Illinois, on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015. Photo from L&C Flickr

Dr. Dale Chapman Serving as New Fundraising Chair for SIDUW By Ashtyn Britt

Lewis and Clark Community College President Dale Chapman was recently named the new campaign chair of the Southwest Illinois Division of United Way of Greater St. Louis. Chapman is positive about the possibilities of his new role.

and Clark Community College’s president, the college has made many strides, including an Increase in enrollment with an more than 15,000 students annually.

Chapman has also helped bring new buildings to campus, like The McPike Math and Science Complex, “It is very rewarding to see people throughout our Olin Science Building, Templin Nursing Building, communities – individuals, corporations, trade George C. Terry River Bend Arena. associations – work shoulder-to-shoulder toward the He also oversaw the renovation of historic N.O. goal of helping our neighbors in need,” Chapman said. Nelson Campus in Edwardsville and Trimpe “United Way and its member agencies provide social Advanced Technology Center. support services to many Lewis and Clark students and their families, creating an economic support net Chapman is also the treasurer of the Mannie Jackson that enables our students to graduate and achieve a Center for the Humanities Foundation, as well as the sustainable, improved quality of life.” executive director of the Lewis and Clark College Foundation. Before becoming the beloved president of Lewis and Clark, Chapman also worked with Jefferson United Way’s Southwest Illinois Division serves many Community College, Kentucky Council on Higher in the local counties, with the mission of collecting Education, University of Kentucky and Finlandia and using donations to create positive differences in University. the community over many counties in the local area. More can be found out about SIDUW at https://bit. Over the past 30 years of Chapman’s tenure as Lewis ly/2ohNmPA. Safety from 1A numbers or specific agencies that secured the event,” he said. “There were multiple agencies with both uniformed and plain clothed officers present. The Campus Safety department has always

worked well with other agencies to provide the necessary public safety during large events.”

Security officers ride around in security cars 24/7 for every day of the week, including during breaks, to make sure Braish and his everyone on campus is employees are dedicated safe. to campus safety. Campus security can be For more information reached by dialing “0” on security at L&C, visit from any phone in the www.lc.edu/security. school’s hallways.

To learn more about Campus Safety, visit lc.edu/security

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Warm Soda’s Fizzy First Art Show!

By Ashtyn Britt

Warm Soda Magazine hosted its very first art show over the summer in June at Alton’s Old Bakery Beer Co, each work of art participating in a contest for the best in show. The event went off without a hitch, and had been a smash hit with the local public!

a place for donations to be made to the company, as well as a silent auction where Warm Soda partnered with other local Alton businesses such as It’s Raining Zen and Score! Records, which is not unexpected since the goal of Warm Soda is to cover and support There’d been a rush fellow local businesses of excitement and in the Riverbend Area. appreciation filling the air each day as the The participants were employees of Warm also treated to free Soda advertised musical performances products for sale, and by Joey Ciaramitaro served everyone who and Jones Allison until stopped by the art later on in the night, show a friendly smile. when all winners were Warm Soda Magazine announced. One of the also offered everyone Co-Founders of Warm in attendance the Soda Magazine, Shelby chance to submit an Clayton, then had anonymous vote for everyone gather around their personal favorite before announcing the to be revealed at the end winners of the art show of the three-day-event, and silent auction. creating an extra layer of mystery for the artists “Sacred Heart” by and attendees alike. artist Cyrhen Sohngs won best in show, There had also been “Boyfriend” by artist

Attendees soak in the art and the company at Warm Soda’s first art show this summer. Emma Hagerty won crowd favorite, and honorable mentions were granted to artists Audrey Parcell for “Peaches & Patches”, Maddie Aunger for “Housekey”, Anna Dixon for “I’ve Been

Terribly Distracted”, and Spencer Addison Hughes for “Stop Calling it a Revival.”

Soda supporting local businesses and artists, it can be well assumed more positive things are to come from Warm Based on the support Soda Magazine! With of everyone who any hope, there will be attended the art show the promise of more along with Warm successful art shows in

the future! Warm Soda Magazine is reachable on the Warm Soda Magazin facebook page, Instagram page, Twitter page, as well as www. warmsodamag.com for content, merchandise, and future events.

American Welding Society’s Saint Louis Section lead by L&C By Ashtyn Britt

linois College as well as Lewis and Clark. He is now a teacher rather than an apprentice for Ironworkers Local 392, where many learn important skills that eventually lead to gainful employment.

The Welding program at Lewis and Clark Community College has recently completed building the new Weber Workforce Center to help advance the program, but it also has other accomplishments to celebrate. Jumper became a Lewis and Clark faculty member in early 2012 to help create the welding program here, as Welding Faculty Member Robert Lee and Assistant a way for potential students to have more career opProfessor Travis Jumper now serve as chair and vice tions. Since its start, the program has only grown and chair of the American Welding Society’s Saint Louis allowed more students to benefit and gain a meaningsection. The American Welding Society’s Saint Louis ful education. section is one of many organizations dedicated to gaining members and unifying welders everywhere. As the economy continues to further improve, the need for welders rises. Students of the welding proLee has been a welder for a long time, all starting when gram benefit by learning from skilled instructors like Travis Jumper, assistant professor and coordinator he started the apprentice program with Ironworkers Lee and Jumper. of Lewis and Clark Community College’s Welding Local 392. Eventually, he earned an Associate in Approgram, received the 2015 Howard E. Adkins Memorial Instructor of the Year Award from the plied Science in Welding Technology as an ironworker. To learn more about the Welding program at Lewis and Clark, visit www.lc.edu/program/welding or callSt. Louis section of the American Welding Society (AWS) in December 2015. Photo from L&C Flickr Lee is also an assistant professor for Southwestern Il- ing (618) 468-4931.

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Collaboration with L&C to Save Local Greenhouse From Washing Away ALEXANDER GENT agent@lc.edu Gent

A volunteer from Senior Services Plus discovered a runoff and erosion problem that threatened to damage a greenhouse on site and was inspired to donate more of his time to recruit local help and find a solution to the problem.

“SSP is doing important work for our community, despite a sharp decrease of funding to support meals on wheels,” Thom Rhanor said. “I saw an opportunity to contribute my specialized knowledge about soils, and to leverage my employer, Monsanto, and the people I know from Lewis and Clark

Community College to The solution proposed address the problem.” in the application involves a system of Thom Rhanor is a stormwater controls research associate at SSP with a native at Monsanto as well plant rain garden to as the spouse of simultaneously help Allison Rhanor, an alleviate or reduce environmental educator water runoff, and at The National Great erosion issues while also Rivers Research Center, reducing detrimental and together with the effects to a nearby help of Scott Moss, stream that feeds into Restoration Ecology the west fork of Wood Coordinator here River Creek. at Lewis and Clark and SSP Executive Illinois American Director Jonathan Water awarded a grant Becker, they applied of $3,500, Monsanto for funding through funded a second a grant provided by greenhouse, and Moss Illinois American Water will coordinate with which is designed to SSP to ensure the improve water quality control feature ties into on a watershed scale and supports the new while also including building expansion. the community and “If every project going multiorganizational forward attempted to partnerships. address stormwater

concerns on site with simple, sustainable goals, we would have few flooding issues in urban areas.” Moss said about SSP’s choice to seek out a collaborative solution. With a goal of completion sometime in the fall, a storm retention structure will be built with the help of Lewis and Clark Students. Volunteers will include but will not be limited to students within the Restoration Ecology Program, and Moss would like to extend the invitation to all Lewis and Clark students who are interested in donating their time. Any students interested can contact Mr. Moss by email at jkmoss@lc.edu.

The grant-funded project, which will create a system of urban stormwater controls at Senior Services Plus to help mitigate surface water runoff and erosion issues, is a multi-organizational collaborative effort. Key players, pictured from left to right, are L&C Restoration Ecology Coordinator Scott Moss, Monsanto Research Associate Thom Rhanor, NGRREC Environmental Educator Allison Rhanor and SSP Executive Director Jonathan Becker. Photo from L&C Flickr

Lewis and Clark students enjoy their first week back to school. Photos by Krystie Morrison

Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Back!

ALEXANDER GENT

Back festivities, Student agent@lc.edu Activities hosted a “Welcome back, your “luncheon” from 11 dreams were your ticket a.m.-1 p.m. in the out. Welcome back, to Fountain Courtyard. that same old place that This is the eighth or you laughed about.” - ninth year that Student Activities has hosted Welcome Back Kotter. this event, according Another fall semester is to Jarred Hennings, the underway here at Lewis Coordinator of Student and Clark Community Activities. College and on Wednesday, Aug. 22, as This year attendants a part of the Welcome were offered hot dogs, Protest from 1A disband the Affordable Care Act which provided good healthcare at a reasonable cost to many people, some for the first time. Davis said he believed in repeal and replace, but proposed changes put people with preexisting conditions at risk and eliminate the requirement for ‘essential care.’ He and fellow members of the GOP have made good healthcare costly and difficult to obtain.”

with Trump either. “Ivanka Trump is a woman born into wealth and privilege who played at running a company her father bought for her,” O’Mara said. “Her products are manufactured in China where the workers make pennies a day. She has no qualifications as an advisor to the President of the United States. She has no idea what typical American families need.

hamburgers, potato chips, soda, and a ticket redeemable for a treat from the icecream truck that was on hand. Fortunately, the weather was impeccable with a nearly cloudless day and a high temperature 81 degrees.On hand for the entertainment were Nathan Sickmeier, Anthony Nanney, and Ashley Haynes,

is simply a failed Representative,” she said. “He puts a rubber stamp on whatever President Trump wants. Rep. Davis has no idea what his constituents want or need. Despite repeated requests, he refuses to hold town halls. Constituents deserve the opportunity to tell our elected representative how his decisions affect and hurt people he represents. He refuses to hold town hall O’Mara feels that meetings because he Davis has failed her doesn’t want to hear and his constituents. what we need and want. He cares only for O’Mara isn’t happy “Rodney Davis special interest groups

while others could only spare a few minutes to refuel while passing between classes. “Welcome Back Week ranks number two on my list of favorite student activities,” There was a large commented returning turnout of students sophomore Zach and faculty, although Sievers. somewhat intermittent, as some students “The food was gathered with friends awesome, and I think on the lawn to enjoy the that it is really great free food and music, members of the local band “Crossed The Line”, who often perform at the popular local restaurant “Fast Eddie’s Bon Air”.

who provide about 95 percent of his campaign financing.” O’Mara said she knows who is getting her vote. “Fortunately, we have Betsy Dirksen Londrigan running against him in November,” she said. “She has been holding town hall meetings throughout our district asking people what they want and from a congressional representative. What they and their families need from our government. How they feel about our nation and the world.

that student activities can host so many wonderful events for us,” remarked a grateful Katie Malone. Anyone interested in dates of upcoming student activities, or donating their time at future events can obtain a calendar and any other pertinent information from Jarred Hennings by emailing him at jhenning@lc.edu.

She cares, why doesn’t sides of the aisle who Rep. Davis?” work together in the best interests of our O’Mara said voters nation and the world.” would be better served if “big money” is O’Mara also thinks removed from politics. unions could help a struggling middle class. “Citizens United needs to be overturned,” she “Unions are chiefly said. “Corporations responsible for the are not people and middle class,” she money is not speech. said. “Before unions, it This legislation allows was basically the rich our Representatives and the poor. Unions and Senators to be ensured a living wage bought. They work and income equality, for the people who access to health care, fund them, not their a five-day workweek. constituents We need They ended child labor. an administration that They spearheaded the puts country over party fight for the Family and and people from both Medical Leave Act.”

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Got Talent? Join the LC Pride Talent Show! By Ashtyn Britt As the school year starts again, so does recruitment for school clubs. One of these clubs on Lewis and Clark Community College’s campus is LC Pride, which was created to be a safe space for potential LGBTQ+ students looking for a place to belong. LC Pride has held multiple successful events over the last year and strives to continue to do so this coming school year in an effort to create a welcoming presence for incoming students. To start off the new school year, LC Pride is currently running a talent show open to the entire student body. “The LC Pride Talent Show is a talent show fundraiser for the LGBTQ+ Organization on campus, LC Pride, and an undetermined cause,” said LC Pride President Natalie Hogle. “Right now, 40 percent will go to LC Pride, 40

percent will go to an undetermined cause, and 20 percent will go to the two winners – Judges Choice and Peoples Choice” Those who want to audition for the show can contact Hogle at nhogle@lc.edu. Auditions will be held on Oct. 22 in Hatheway Hall on the L&C’s Godfrey campus from noon to 3 p.m. The auditions and show will both be held in Hatheway Hall. The show is Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. Right now, we have two judges,” Hogle said. “The L&C Student Trustee Robynn Scott and the LC Pride Adviser Professor Steven Higgins. We are still in the works of finding a third judge.” There will be a cash prize for the winner. They will get a percentage of the funds raised from the show, Hogle said. “The mission of LC Pride is to provide a safe space and community for LGBTQ+ people and

create a sense of unity between members, as stated in the Official LC Pride Constitution,” Hogle said. She welcomes people to join the club. “We are a very open, accepting group of people and are very welcoming to new members,” Hogle said. “We would love to have them!” Even students who are not out of the closet yet are welcome to join. “We, as a club and a safe space, are welcoming to all members,” Hogle said. “We do have a privacy clause that we cannot ‘out’ anyone in the club. Also, we do not require closeted students to be in photographs that will potentially be posted on any social media affiliated with LC Pride.” Students interested in joining LC Pride can email Hogle at nhogle@ lc.edu or Vice President Cassandra Shipley at cshipley@lc.edu. “After they email us, we will continue the process from there,” Hogle said.

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Orange Is the New Black 6: To The Max

BY ASHTYN BRITT

abritt@lc.edu

After leaving off season five of Orange Is the New Black we see our favorite group of prisoners being separated to different unknown locations after completing the prison riot. We find out immediately this season, that most of our favorite characters have now entered Maximum Security with the most dangerous criminals and more violent guards. We’re introduced to plenty of new and interesting characters, plot twists you’d never expect, smart commentary on real-life social issues, and two wonderful new villains. I suggest if you want to avoid any spoilers, you leave this article now and start binge watching season six on Netflix! I promise you won’t regret it. Even now, I won’t give away all the plotlines, so you can still be surprised and enjoy parts of the show. Now, on with catching up with a cou-

ple of our favorite faces to see in prison: Piper and Alex had been separated at the beginning of the season, mostly focussing on Piper wondering where her fiance is. She doesn’t seem to care about anything going on around her, asking anyone and everyone possible if they have any idea where Alex may be. When she is told by Red that “the tall one” is dead during the investigation, referring to Piscatella, Piper assumes she means Alex and then proceeds to blame Red to the investigators for the riot and what happened to Piscatella. A few episodes later, when Alex returns, it’s revealed that she had been sent to a real hospital to get surgery on her shoulder twice after Piscatella broke it last season. Piper and Alex then begin to plan and live their lives together in prison, with some brief interruptions from new character “Badison” trying to hook Alex into one of the prison

gangs, as well as torturing Piper for fun. It is through primarily Alex and Piper’s story we discover the war between C block and D block of the prison, the two people in charge of each block being rival prison drug lords. These are no regular drug lords, though. They are old sisters, Barbara and Carol, who have each wanted the other dead for over thirty years now. They’re both serving life terms for murdering their youngest sister Debbie when she was a little girl. They also both have a long-standing vendetta against Freida, who helped pit the girls against one another in prison when they were young while exposing how they got their contraband items into the prison to the warden, which is how Freida was downgraded to the Litchfield Minimum Security Prison we all know and love. Now that Freida is back, Barb and especially Carol want their pound of flesh.

Detroit Become Human DESTINY BUCK dlbuck@lc.edu

Detroit: Become Human is a video game that takes place in Detroit, MI of 2038. In this game, you play as three main characters: Connor, Kara and Markus. “Remember, this is not just a story. This is our future,” is a quote from the very first character you meet, the hostess of your menu screen. An Android named Chloe. In the game, it is completely up to you how the story ends. Even just one “wrong” move can trigger severe punishment. Detroit: Become Human is about a world where Androids are a real concept, however, with heavy downsides. Unemployment rates are more than 35 percent in the United States of America, as Androids have taken most jobs. Androids have a variety of models and uses, just like real technology today. There is Kara’s model, an AX400. She is designed to clean your house, take care of your kids, help them with homework. She’s basically a maid you never have to pay after pur-

chasing her. Kara leaves her home with a little girl named Alice, whom she became a mother to and it’s up to you to make sure Alice and Kara make it out alive. Connor’s model is RK800, he is a prototype detective Android, and is put on a case at the Detroit Police Department with Lieutenant Hank Anderson. Markus is an RK200, part of a secret prototype series for autonomous Androids. He was gifted to his owner, Carl Manfred, by the very creator of Androids himself. As mentioned before, the game is completely up to you how the story goes. And, it lives

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When you can’t decide whether or not to do a prequel or a sequel, you get a movie like this. It’s not bad for what it is, and it is definitely entertaining, but I would wait to rent it from redbox before rushing to the closest movie theater to watch this particular film. The ABBA music is done well, the setting is still beautiful, and the characters are fun, but it doesn’t offer much more than what we already knew from the first movie about any of our favorite characters. The flashbacks of Donna in 1979, now played by Lily James, we see the origin story of how Donna meets all of Sophie’s potential fathers, finds her way to kalokairi, and how she finds a new kind of love as she becomes Sophie’s mother. While the story is enjoyable, the acting itself isn’t necessarily spot on. Lily James made a huge risk in attempting to fill Meryl Streep’s shoes, and while to say she fell flat would be an extreme, she definitely had room for improvement. The story also doesn’t at all fit the one told in the original movie. In the second song of Mamma Mia which is titled “Honey, Honey.” Sophie reads from her mother’s diary and tells

how Donna first met Sam who took her to kalokairi, then Bill, and then Harry. In this movie, Donna meets Harry in Paris, then Bill takes her to Kalokairi, and she meets Sam on the island. Now, only a real stickler would point this out, but I am indeed a stickler for details like this. (Harry never even stepped foot on Kalokairi in this movie!) There also isn’t any real major antagonist in this movie, so there’s nothing serious to overcome and not much character development from anybody. However, while we do still see a cameo from the late Donna’s ghost played by Meryl Streep, we do get a few new big stars who come to sing into our hearts with this movie. Of course, we

have Cher as Donna’s mother, singing one of the most beautiful covers of “Fernando” I’ve ever heard. We also have Andy Garcia playing the previously mentioned Fernando that Cher serenades to. We even get a cameo from Jonathan Goldsmith, aka The Most Interesting Man In the World! We get to see how the characters deal with life now that Donna has passed away, and enjoy their enjoyment at Sophie’s discovering that she herself is now pregnant as she reopens her mother’s hotel on Kalokairi. The music is still great, the theme is still fun, and it is definitely worth a watch for renting from Redbox or your local library! Just not for twelve dollars plus gas.

up to it. The average movie script has about 100-200 pages of script. Whereas Detroit: Become Human has over 2,000, close to 3,000 pages of script. I personally love Detroit: Become Human because of this factor, your choices actually matter, and a lot of the scenes are time based. Characters will react if you’re just spinning in circles for no apparent reason, and the choices you make impact the worlds news as well. The barebone of what happens (without giving too many spoilers) is Markus starts the Android Revolution. You decide whether or not it’s peaceful protest or a determined war. The game itself has many endings, as well as a lot of deaths from the main characters. Connor having the highest death count of 26 altogether. I definitely recommend at least watching someone play Detroit: Become Human because of its cost, which is really the only thing I dislike about the game, is the price. The game is a PS4 Exclusive and priced at $60 at most video game retailers. Graphic by Destiny Buck

Here We Go Again! A Review of Mamma Mia 2 BY ASHTYN BRITT

Time for Reflection on This New Book! BY ASHTYN BRITT abritt@lc.edu

Welcome back to the Twisted Tales series once again! This time we follow Reflection: A Twisted Tale by Elizabeth Lim, which shows what would happen if Mulan had to travel to the underworld to save Li Shang. Instead of being attacked and injured by Shan Yu, the head of the Huns, it is Li Shang who is injured and appears to be lying on his early deathbed. When Mulan sees the ghost of Li Shang’s father, he assigns his guardian spirit to help her venture to the Diyu, the Underworld, and try to convince King Yama to allow her to rescue Shang before sunrise. The large and strong lion guardian spirit, Shishi, helps her navigate her way through the different and dangerous levels of Diyu in hopes of finding Shang or else risk staying in the Underworld forever! This book provides a look into Chinese mythology and culture that I hadn’t ever been aware of before and

found very interesting. The new characters introduced are splendidly entertaining, and the adventure is as exciting as the original movie. The book definitely has a different tone and pace than the others in this series, which makes sense because it’s written by a different author than the other books in the series. While it takes a moment to adjust to the changes caused by a new author, these aren’t bad changes, only different. The story itself is wonderful, and I highly recommend if you wish to return to Mulan’s courageous story, you order a copy of Reflec-

tion through the library or on Amazon.com! The next book in this series, Part of Your World: A Twisted Tale by Liz Braswell will explore an alternate ending of The Little Mermaid if Ursula had won, and Ariel hadn’t stopped Eric’s wedding to “Vanessa,” taking place five years later where Ariel returns to the land of humans in hopes of saving the missing King Triton, and possibly even seeing Eric again. Part of Your World: A Twisted Tale will be available September fourth, and can be ordered on Amazon as well.

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Spyro the Dragon - Reignited DESTINY BUCK dlbuck@lc.edu

Many new students that are coming to L&C were born in 2000, but those born before then would probably remember the PlayStation game, Spyro the Dragon. Back when the Crash Bandicoot remaster came out, many were speculating “When is Spyro coming?” because for Insomniac, it had always been Crash and Spyro. For the longest time, we thought it wasn’t going to happen, and as of April 5, 2018, Spyro the Dragon: Reignited was announced! All three games, Spyro the Dragon, Spyro: Ripto’s Rage (or Gateway to Glimmer if you’re a European player), and Spyro the Year of

the Dragon will be released Nov. 13, 2018. The game is going to be released on PS4, Xbox One and there are rumors of a Switch release (though no official news thus far). For a limited time after the game has been released, you can purchase it with a PS4. The games are HD remakes of the original 3D platformers that released on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, and based on leaked footage and photos, the remake has a cartoony style that reminds us of our childhood. In Spyro the Dragon, you play as the little purple dragon named Spyro who has to travel through five magical worlds and rescue the dragons encased in crystal by the evil Gnasty Gnorc. In

Spyro: Ripto’s Rage, Spyro is in dire need of a vacation, and through some accidental mishaps with a portal, ended up in a place called Glimmer, and from there you learn there is an evil mastermind who seriously hates dragons and you collect Talismans and Orbs throughout the game. In Spyro: Year of the Dragon, the dragon eggs were stolen! And have to you travel to the Lost Worlds where they were taken to and collect all of the eggs to bring them home where they belong. These games are great if you love 3D platformers or if you just love the adorable purple dragon! The game is on Pre-Sale until it’s release date of Nov. 13.

Once Upon a Dream, or Nightmare? BY ASHTYN BRITT abritt@lc.edu

Having reviewed two of the other Twisted Tales on our favorite Disney classics, it was only right I continued to do so. This time, we have Once Upon a Dream: A Twisted Tale by Liz Braswell. We follow a version of Sleeping Beauty, where Maleficent wasn’t successfully defeated by Prince Phillip’s sword as shown in the Disney movie. It also has quite a change when Prince Phillip lays his kiss on

Princess Aurora, only to quickly fall into the deathlike-sleep himself! We see how Maleficent tied her lifeforce to the curse on Aurora so many years ago, and how she used her power to set up a dream world for Aurora and the entire kingdom as they slept, giving them new memories, and having Maleficent as the ruler of the land. Aurora can tell that something seems amiss, although she can’t figure out why, and in the meantime simply goes about

the castle believing herself as Maleficent’s adopted daughter. It isn’t until she witnesses Maleficent killing one of the subjects to keep her lifeforce alive that Aurora realizes how evil Maleficent is. Once she escapes the palace of thorns, she stumbles upon Phillip, and he helps her regain part of her memory from her real life. As they venture together to search for a way out of this nightmarish land and destroy Maleficent once and for all, we also get a deeper view-

ing into Aurora’s mind and more details about who she is in an entirely new way. For those who weren’t satisfied with Sleeping Beauty’s portrayal of this Disney princess, I beg of you to please read this book as quickly as you can! There are a lot of angles this story explores that most people hadn’t previously thought of during their first watching of Sleeping Beauty. This book is available through the library, and on Amazon for less than five dollars!

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Campus News

Bicentennial Blooms is a season-long birthday celebration for the U.S.’s 21st state – and this year’s theme for the L&C Monticello Sculpture Gardens’ 5th annual curated summer garden show. Photos by Krystie Morrison

Asking for a Gamer: PC or Console? Q: I’m a new gamer, and was wondering about your opinion on if I should get a PC or a console for gaming? Y’know, asking for a gamer.

Read More on 4A

NAME: Blazer HOMETOWN: Godfrey, IL BREED: Newfoundland D.O.B.: 2018

Q: Why did you decide to attend L&C? L&C is my legacy. After searching my bloodline, I discovered an ancestor traveled with Lewis and Clark on their expedition. Q: How would you describe your personality? I’m friendly, brave and fiercely loyal. Q: Do you participate in any clubs/ organizations/activities? I’m a natural athlete, but am also looking forward to sniffing out all the different clubs and organizations to get a sense of where I might fit in. Q: What are your hobbies? Rolling in the grass, chasing my tail, eating treats, meeting new people. Q: Awards/honors you’ve received? I was Vale-dog-torian of my obedience school class. Q: How did you choose your major/ program at L&C? I haven’t yet, but when I do, I’ll know to follow my instincts. Q: What are your educational goals? I want to explore as many areas of study as I can. Q: What is one interesting thing most people don’t know about you? Sometimes, I like to eat my own homework. Q: Anything else you’d like to add? I think you’re never too old to learn new tricks.

Photo by Krystie Morrison

Lewis and Clark Honors Tim Rooney with Dedication By Ashtyn Britt

Tim Rooney, a beloved coach of L&C’s soccer teams since 1986, was recently honored by the school by holding a dedication for the Tim Rooney Stadium. The decision to rename the field was made in early December of 2017 by the Lewis and Clark board of trustees. The trustees agreed to rename

the field in Rooney’s honor in a unanimous decision. “Tim Rooney’s legacy has already been cemented as a world class coach and champion,” said Vice President of Student Engagement Sean Hill in a press release. “His integrity is shown through his interaction with students—even after they graduate or

transfer. We are proud to have this stadium serve as a continuing reminder of Coach Rooney’s accomplishments and contributions to this community and the sport of soccer.” Rooney has had a long and meaningful career as a coach. He coached both women and men’s teams over the years since starting in 1986 and

retired at the end of Lewis and Clark’s previous season. He was succeeded by Ryan Hodge, who is coaching the men’s soccer team this season. Rooney has returned to coach women’s soccer at L&C. During Rooney’s time as a coach, he has lead students from both men’s and women’s teams to

more than 800 wins. He is one of the most successful women’s soccer coaches. He has lead multiple teams to the NJCAA National Championships. Rooney has also been honored as NJCAA Men’s District Coach of the Year in 2015, NJCAA Women’s Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2008, and NJCAA Women’s Region 24 Coach of the

Year in 2015, and entered the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 2009 and the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2010. The renaming ceremony for the Tim Rooney Stadium was attended by friends, family and former athletes who were coached by Rooney and took place between two soccer games.

Love sports and would like to write about it? Then contact Louise Jett by email at ljett@lc.edu.

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Queer Dating Stories #1: What it Means to be Queer BY ASHTYN BRITT abritt@lc.edu

*Coming to terms with one’s sexuality is at times a long and exhausting process. It took me many years to completely accept myself, and try to venture into the dating world. Over time, I have ended up collecting stories and lessons learned from my dating life, which I will now be sharing every month for roughly the next year. All names will be changed to protect the privacy of everyone mentioned, as they deserve anonymity and respect- no matter how bad the stories may have ended. Instead of telling these stories in chronological order, I will be telling them by order of importance of their moral.* This is the story of Benjamin, who I originally met as Beatrice. I met Beatrice through a group of friends, and found this person utterly stunning at first sight. My heart pounded and I felt lighter than I had for a time. I used to waste time pining away for people who didn’t want to be with me, and blaming myself for things that were out of my control. So I had thought perhaps Beatrice would be a nice attempt for trying to start a relationship in a more realistic way. Don’t get immediately attached, or fantasize about things unless I knew for a fact they were actually possible. I wanted to get to know Beatrice as a person. We were more often surrounded by our friends, which limited my ability to see if Beatrice would be the kind of person I’d want to seriously pursue. However, I definitely did enjoy the company and could sense my crush growing. When my friends discovered how I felt, they were supportive and encouraged me to see if it was worth a shot. However, things started to change when Beatrice revealed they had some real confusion over their gender identity. While I had no problem with them being a trans person whether non binary or a transman, I wondered if the fact I still found “Bee” attractive meant I wasn’t as gay as I originally thought. I knew for a fact I wasn’t bisexual, having wasted years before trying to date men to convince myself I liked them until I finally accepted that I only wanted to like men because I thought it’d

be an easier life to have, and easier for others to accept me. The truth was at the end of the day, I liked women. So why did I still like Bee? It was then a friend of mine introduced me to the Kinsey Scale. The Kinsey Scale goes from zero to six, showing how gay or straight or in between a person can be, instead of a specifically set box. Over the course of a few weeks of thought and personal insight, I learned to accept I can love women and nonbinary people. However, I still didn’t have any desire for men. Transmen or Cismen make no difference, a man is a man. At the time, Bee still identified as nonbinary, so I had decided to slowly try to pursue something with Bee. However, Bee had eyes set on my close friend at that time, Lisa. Lisa had also liked Bee back, but withheld her feelings to spare me. While it did hurt a lot, and Lisa and Bee hadn’t worked out anyway, it was a clear sign Bee simply wasn’t interested. It also didn’t help that Bee occasionally lashed out at me, at times that were random and uncalled for, and soon enough any feelings I had for Bee were gone. From what I understand, they’d been having some complications of their own, so it was best to not get in their way as it was. It also wasn’t long after than, Benjamin officially came out as a transman, and I had completely moved on with my life. I did however look more into the complexities of sexual fluidity and the Kinsey Scale, and educated myself further. During this time, I felt even more proud and sure of my orientation as a lesbian. I am not ashamed to admit my love of women, but also the very real possibility to love people who fall into a more complicated category of gender. I personally put myself as a 5.5/6 on the Kinsey Scale, and that’s okay. While Benjamin and I no longer speak and never had anything close to a romance, I do still respect and appreciate him. He’s a smart man, who was funny and had far better taste than most of our peers. I also remember him being quite a gentleman, and can still appreciate that about him. I hope his transition comes as easily as possible, and that he finds happiness in his life. I doubt I shall see him again, but

wherever he may be, I hope that he is well and continues to do well in his life. I also privately thank him for helping me to learn more about myself, and my capabilities to love other people. I am telling you this because it’s important to keep in mind that nobody can tell you what it means to be queer. That is only something you can figure out for yourself, and remember to keep being accepting of yourself. Keep your mind and heart open, and in times of doubt for what you identify as, you can look to the Kinsey Scale or inside yourself for more understanding. Understanding, especially of ourselves, is the key to happiness.

Asking for a Gamer: PC or Console? BY LUCAS GARDNER ljgarnder@lc.edu

Q: I’m a new gamer, and was wondering about your opinion on if I should get a PC or a console for gaming? Y’know, asking for a gamer.

Ahh yes, the age-old question amongst the gaming community, PC or console? Well, I’ll do my best to answer that question from personal experience. But first, ask yourself, “What do I want in a gaming system? Do I want to have top of the line frame rate, or graphics?” Maybe it’s not about that at all. Perhaps you just want to become a part of a specific community that is only on a PC platform. Ultimately, the choice is yours! I was a console gamer for the majority of my life, much like many of us gamers. When I got my first job, I wasn’t looking online for the hottest new PC build to blow all my paychecks on. I was spending

my money on a new PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games. Granted PC gaming wasn’t that popular at the time (at least to my knowledge), and everyone was buying capture cards. Does anybody else remember capture cards? Like I was saying, I was primarily buying console games. I’ve since moved on from buying console games, and now I’m buying games on steam and looking at OBS or Twitch for recording and streaming instead of capture cards. The PC community has increased greatly over the past few years, and now streaming is more popular among not only gamers but for everyone. I’ve seen streams

about everything from everyday life to people streaming art and much more. Most of these people use a PC for these kinds of things, but I digress. Personally, I like using a PC much more than a console. You have a variety of things you can do with a PC that you can’t do on a console. For example, you can do what’s called “modding” which is easier on a PC than on PlayStation or Xbox. What is modding? Modding basically allows you to download content that isn’t in the original game released by the company. The modding community all See Page 5B

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Top Ten Movies/Specials to Watch This Halloween

BY ASHTYN BRITT abritt@lc.edu

I don’t care if it’s over a month early, I am super excited for Halloween! I love everything about it. The ghoulish decorations, the gorgeous costumes, the funky-faced jack o’ lanterns, the sweet treats, the spooky tricks, and of course all the great movies and specials to put us in the Halloween Spirit! While I’m no Elvira and I don’t have my own movie macabre, I definitely have built a lot of opinions of spooky films for kids and adults. I have decided to create my own list of movies to get everyone in the spirit this Halloween, for those of you who are also excited for the best holiday of the year! The first five movies/specials will be specifically aimed for either family-friendly or for those who get nightmares too easily. The last five will be for the adults and people who love a good scare. 1. Disney’s Halloween Treat (1982) This can be found on YouTube, and is quite a delight! This special features all spooky and Halloween-related Halloween shorts from our favorite Disney characters, and the darker scenes from familiar Disney films. For those who are huge Disney fans, this would be my first recommendation since Disney hasn’t made another episode since the sequel “A Disney Halloween” in 1983. 2. Hocus Pocus (1993) It’ll be more than easy to catch this movie on TV if you don’t own it already, following the story of how Max Dennison accidentally releases the three witchy Sanderson Sisters in Salem Massachusetts after three hundred years. Now Max, with the help of his sister, love interest, and the infamous cat Thackary Binx, have to lay the witches back to rest or else they’ll devour the life source of all the children in Salem! This is a classic Halloween movie that all ages can enjoy, and is definitely one that I still love a lot personally. 3. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) While this is technically a Christmas movie, the whole point of Halloween is you get to disguise yourself as someone different, so why shouldn’t this movie get to disguise itself as a Halloween movie? This story follows the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, Jack Skellington, who finds himself bored after hundreds of years until he finds Christmas Town and decides to try to take over Christmas for himself. Filled with fun musical numbers, fantastic stop-motion animation, and plenty of Halloween and Christmas fun, this is great to watch either by yourself or with your younger family members to all enjoy together! This is also a movie easy to find on TV at this most wonderful time of year. 4. Teen Witch (1989) This is a quirky and fun 80’s

movie that while production value leaves something to be desired, makes up for in sweetness. Giving a role to the much beloved Zelda Rubinstein, who plays the witch Madame Serena Alcott in this movie, and befriends our protagonist. Louise is a fifteenyear-old girl who wishes to become beautiful and popular and also win the heart of her crush. With Madame Serena’s help, she casts spells to get what she wants and soon finds herself having unexpected results of getting everything she thought she wanted. This film is a Halloween-like twist on the story of being true to one’s self, and is definitely worth a watch this year! 5. Halloweentown (1998) This is a throwback for 90’s and early 2000’s kids alike, as we watch Marnie Piper follow her grandmother Aggie to Halloweentown, a place where all real monsters live. Except, these monsters live no differently than other people, and are very peaceful! It is also here that Marnie discovers she is from a family of witches, and Aggie offers to help her learn how to use her power. However, the mayor, Kalabar, has other plans to try to make the citizens of Halloweentown join him to take over the mortal realm. This is not only an adorable film, it also subconsciously teaches children about living equal to people who are different than ourselves and that politicians don’t always have our best interest at heart. This is a great film to watch whether you’re a young child or a grownup who can see the subtleties you were blind to at a younger age! 6. Halloween (1978) To start off with our more adult films, it only makes sense to shine a light on the movie with the same namesake on this wonderful holiday! This is the story of Michael Myers, who kills his entire family as a child on Halloween and is locked in a mental institution for fifteen years before escaping again on Halloween to finish the job of killing his sister, who’d only been an infant fifteen years before, as well as slaughtering anyone who gets in his way. Michael’s psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis, attempts to track down Michael’s long-lost sister in time before Michael can hurt anyone else. Definitely not for kids, this is a classic scary movie that will absolutely put you in the Halloween mindset! 7. The Omen (1976) For the religious adults out there, this one may be a bit too close to home for horror. My personal favorite movie, The Omen, is the story of a man who discovers his adopted son may be the AntiChrist as prophesied in the Book of Revelations from the Bible. This skeptic slowly comes to be a believer as he struggles to consider what he may have to do- murder a five-year-old boy he’s raised as his own. This movie takes the evil child trope to a whole new level and has a fascinating plot to go

alongside a terrifying concept. This is definitely the first horror movie I recommend this Halloween season! 8. Elvira: Mistress of Darkness (1988) There was no way I would mention Elvira earlier and then not include her movie on this list! While this is more of a comedy than the other scarier movies, it is most certainly not for a child’s eyes. This horror icon, who spent the 1980’s tearing apart the worst of B-rated Horror Movies had to offer, was finally able to star in her own! (For those who don’t know, she also had a series in 2011 and again in 2014. The one from 2014 is on Hulu.) In this film, Elvira quits her cable job and decides to open a show in Las Vegas, but needs her recently deceased aunt’s money to make it happen. So, Elvira travels to Massachusetts, where she leaves everyone shocked by her sexy gothic clothing and sarcastic unladylike attitude. It also doesn’t help that Elvira’s uncle, a warlock, is looking for Morgana’s spell book to kill Elvira and take over the world! This so-bad-it’s-good horror comedy should be watched not only for the strong female protagonist but also to honor the horror icon herself! 9. Scream (1996) How would you like to take a step back in time before caller ID? This scary movie is not only smart but also funny and gives fabulous meta-jokes about scary movies. We engross ourselves into the life of Sidney Prescott, a teenage girl who has become the target of a masked killer one year after her mother’s passing. Using her sharp wit, she has to debunk the mystery of who the killer is, or risk ending up the end of another scary movie. While the sequels and spin-off TV series of Scream are all great, nothing can ever really beat the original with this franchise! 10. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) While this isn’t my favorite horror film, it’s hard to deny it’s made a long-lasting impact on horror movies and Halloween as a whole. This is definitely a movie that gets me too shaken to go to bed, but that’s why a lot of people love it! A Nightmare on Elm Street follows Nancy, a young girl whose friends somehow mysteriously are murdered in violent ways while they sleep. Little does she know it’s at the knife-finger hands of Freddy Krueger, a vengeful spirit who attacks the teenagers in their dreams. Now, Nancy must figure out how to stay awake long enough to be able to fight back before Freddy makes them all reach a violent end. There you have it, folks! Ten movies and specials that can make you wonder what goes bump in the night while you eat another package of candy corn. Make sure to stay tight and enjoy yourselves this Halloween, I know I sure will!

alone, and Rodney Davis showed me his character to be disrespectful and uncaring. Entering the round table, I’ll admit I had a few questions for him should I have been lucky enough to get the chance to ask him anything. (Neutral questions, such as “What specific causes are you working soon to advocate for on behalf of Illinois in Washington?” Or “Do you have any plans to fight for more benefits for schools that include training programs?”) I saw him give an interview with another news team, (I suspect Fox news based on the fact the man who was interviewing him looked an awful lot like Patrick Clark.) and thought that meant perhaps he’d be open to answering some of my questions, so I made sure by press badge around my neck was visible and waited on the sidelines closeby for the interview to finish before I ask anything. Rodney Davis then saw me, most likely specifically my press badge, and then all but bolted away from me. I had tried to follow at first, to which he sped up away to greet other people attending the round table as guests. While I had thought for sure he had seen me, I told myself that it was possible I was wrong and to simply hope for a better time later on in the day. Once the roundtable had concluded, multiple people gathered at the velvet rope line in hopes

I had my hand out like everyone else clearly to just receive a handshake, so he really has no excuse to think I was going to hold him right at the velvet line until he answered all my questions. He just obviously thinks poorly of anyone he doesn’t know for an absolute fact is from Fox. Even if that “anyone” includes a local voter attending the school he’s supposed to be praising. What a jerk! What especially disgusted me about his personal behavior is the fact that I literally work for the press that is a part of the school he’s supposed to be congratulating on the new Weber building. I am a part of this wonderful campus, who accepted him as a host for his event. In my opinion, Rodney Davis being rude to me is also being rude to the Bridge, him being rude to the Bridge is him being rude to L&C. That I have a huge problem with, no matter what I’m wearing. He didn’t have to give me a single word for any sort of interview, that’s his choice but he should have been polite and shook my hand. That’s the first lesson in how to get votes 101! I could’ve written in this opinion piece about him being a perhaps kinder man than originally thought, or maybe he’s more open minded than he’s given credit for, and instead he’s proved everyone against him right. He bit (or rather avoided) a hand that could’ve used their platform to support him.

Rodney Davis: Both His Policies and His Manners Suck BY ASHTYN BRITT abritt@lc.edu

I am not particularly fond of anyone with the last name Trump, but as a Libertarian, I am used to keeping my political beliefs to myself and doing my best to stay open-minded. So when asked to be a part of the press covering the Ivanka Trump and Rodney Davis round table here at Lewis and Clark Community College, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I didn’t have a chance to meet Ivanka Trump personally, or even be close enough to her to do so, so I won’t speak on what I do not know. I don’t agree with her politics, and I do not agree with her father or how he has acted during his presidency, but I can’t speak on how she treats other people at a personal level. For all I know, she could be a very nice woman who simply has a few different political views than I do. Robyn Scott, our current Student Trustee, who was also a panelist at the round table with Ivanka Trump and got to briefly speak with her personally was willing to answer a few questions about her experience with the First Daughter. When I asked her what she thought of Ivanka, she said, “I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Ivanka was so genuine and humble. She is well-versed on disparities that exist in

our country’s workforce development and seems to understand the value of investing in government training initiatives and career education programs.” Robyn was asked to be a part of the panel, and she enthusiastically accepted. “Funding from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), coupled with my position as Student Trustee for L&C’s Student Government Association has fostered my success in the nursing program while providing many opportunities to represent the student voice,” Robyn said. “I was honored when Dr. Chapman asked me to participate in the Weber Workforce Center roundtable discussion with Ivanka Trump and U.S. Congressman Rodney Davis.” Robyn’s favorite part of the event was sharing her perspective as a student. “It was truly an honor to take part in this uniquely wonderful experience by providing a student perspective on some of the obstacles that so many American workers face,” Robyn said. “A personal highlight was when Mrs. Trump invited my son, Jacob, up on stage so that Representative Davis could take our picture.” Now, on with my personal experience with Rodney Davis. I have been raised to judge people by their character rather than their politics

of shaking either Davis or Trump’s hand before they left campus for the day, naturally I gathered at the front as well so I wouldn’t be stuck behind anybody. I had four civilians to my right, and three civilians to my left before the exit door. Rodney Davis then proceeded to shake hands in this exact order: Hand shake, hand shake, hand shake, hand shake, skipped me without even bothering to look at me, hand shake, hand shake, hand shake, and then left. I know now I wasn’t imagining what happened earlier that day, considering he very rudely snubbed me for no reason. It was then I remembered that I was wearing my badge in plain sight around my neck, and it clicked why he decided to be rude. To a degree, I can understand why he wouldn’t want to speak with me and avoid an attempt at an interview if he doesn’t want to give one. However, intentionally disregarding my existence while shaking every single other person’s hand on either side of me is just in poor taste. I didn’t wear anything suggesting propaganda for either the left or right wings, I wasn’t dressed unprofessionally, and more than that I am a person. I am more than whatever badge I wear around my neck, and it’s telling his obvious distaste of the press (except for maybe Fox News). I had no cameras near me,

I suppose it makes sense why he wouldn’t care though, since he doesn’t care enough about the people he’s supposed to be representing. He refused to hold town halls where people can voice their concerns they’d like brought up in congress, even when repeatedly begged by the people of Illinois, makes excuses to dodge answering anyone’s questions about his policies, kisses the butt of the president even if it’s entirely against what the people of Illinois want/need, and apparently also acts like a petty child against anyone he doesn’t know for a fact thinks exactly the same way he does. I am still shocked that I was treated in a friendlier manner by the secret service than by a politician who’s supposed to be working his butt off to get as many votes as possible. So, since he’s made himself clear that he doesn’t care about common people, or even about doing the basics of getting votes from the common people, I recommend you vote for Betsy Dirksen Londrigan this November instead. Not only does Betsy hold town halls to hear from the people she’d be representing their concerns and needs for their community, she’s spent many years of her life volunteering for different causes and is a founding member of Women Rising. I’ve also heard she’s actually a respectful person.

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Spot The Difference

Graphic by Keon Hearn

Sudoku

Hatheway Hall Hustle

Puzzle 1 (Easy, difficulty rating 0.35)

5 9

2 2 8

6 9 7

9 2 1

80 by 20 orthogonal maze 8

3 6

9 4

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Generated by by http://www.opensky.ca/sudoku on Thu Aug 9 12:43:42 2018 GMT. Enjoy! Graphic Keon Hearn

Freshman Freakout Start

Finish

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Conflict Of Color Graphic by Jake Goheen

Gamer From 2B work on ideas and format it so you can add it to your game. On a console, you can’t easily decide one day, “Oh I want to change the textures of this game to a more HD version,” because that style of mod may not be compatible with the console, but on a PC you can. Perhaps you want to add some non-legitimate downloadable content such as changing the colors of certain outfits for your character or you want characters to play different roles than they do in the original story. On a console that freedom is greatly restricted and not really “allowed”. It’s still possible on PlayStation and Xbox but limited greatly. Another big thing PC has over console is frame rate and processing power. What is the frame rate? It’s best described as frames in which the game transitions from screen to screen. All consoles are locked at 60 frames per second or FPS. PCs, however, don’t have this restriction. Therefore, often game cameras feel and look much smoother in transition. What is processing power? Well, it’s basically the way the system processes microprocesses. The more processing power the better. A minor point but worth mentioning is RAM or random access memory which allows for the system to store more information and has a large influence on performance. Overall why do I think that PC is better than console? You have much more you can do with a PC when it comes to modding. If something breaks you can spend less money fixing it (depending on what tier of computer you have.) If a console breaks you can’t just by a part you have to buy a whole new system or ship it off and have it restored or fixed. You can upgrade a computer by only buying one piece at a time. With a console, you have to wait for years at a time for something new. With a PC you would have better processing power, ram and often framerate. Ultimately it’s the best gaming experience! Thank you, dear readers, this has been “Asking for a Gamer.” If you have a “Gamer,” you’d like to ask a question for, please email me! You are able to submit your questions to my email at ljgarnder@lc.edu!

By Alex Gent

What did you think of Ivanka Trump’s visit to campus?

Alexandra Kodros

industry.” Major: Special Education; Hometown: Godfrey, IL “I thought it was important because there is not much focus on the trade.”

Randy Sherwin

Major: Human Services; Hometown: Patterson, IL “I was not here, but I was excited to hear of her visit. I like the Trumps.”

Jada Lawson

Major: Criminal Justice; Hometown:Carrollton, IL “It was a little unexpected, but very cool.”

Ethan Farley

Associate in Arts; Hometown:Jerseyville, IL “I thought it was cool she decided to visit a community college. I think she is hot.”

Hannah Bishop

Major: Broadcasting; Hometown: Jerseyville,IL “I think it’s great she brought attention to our school.”

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Lesbians Aren’t Going to Find the Right Guy BY ASHTYN BRITT abritt@lc.edu

“Oh don’t worry, you just need to find the right guy,” my ex-friend, whom I shall refer to as R, said with a smile as he sat across from me. I sat patiently and waited for him to laugh, thinking surely he must be joking, but it never came. He simply kept smiling at me as if his words weren’t as bad as a slap to the face. This may have been one of my first personal experiences of homophobia when I told my friend that I’m gay, and it was not a pleasant experience. I don’t even remember how I responded, because I felt rage fill every bit of my body. I couldn’t even see clearly for a few moments. When I confided this information to another friend of mine, I shall call her C, she had revealed to me that behind my back a close coworker had said the same thing. Considering this coworker had been supportive of who I am to my face, I found this to be incredibly hurtful. C had also told me her own mother also thought that I wasn’t really gay, and also needed to find a new boyfriend to get over this “phase”. I tried to play it off as if these words didn’t sting, and kept my rage internalized. However, clearly, eventually I would be too overwhelmed with anger and feel the need to speak out. As I entered college, I faced a few more instances with specifically boys whom after trying to pursue me, I would have to reject them and explain it wasn’t anything negative about them, but that I’m gay. Somehow, these boys would try to argue with me as if they could change my mind on who I’m attracted to. It infuriated me more and more every time, but I kept quiet again and simply moved on. The trend I noticed so far was that if a boy was found out to be gay, he’d be treated harshly and harassed. If a girl is found out to be gay however, everyone thinks she just needs to find the right guy to change her mind. This is even worse if the lesbian in question is feminine, like I am. I could write another entire article about how being feminine doesn’t make me any less gay and that I shouldn’t have to cut off my hair and wear flannel to make anyone believe that I’m gay. I had even been accused by a gay man of not actually being a lesbian, because at the time I hadn’t yet had a solid relationship with a woman. It was as if, even after I explained, he didn’t care that I came from a small area with a very small group of LGBTQ+ people and almost all of whom I had no romantic interest in or who had no romantic interest in me. I had also later found out that a man I had befriended, who knew

well that I was gay, was very homophobic. Well, he was homophobic against gay men. Now, while I believe any homophobia is wrong, I was very confused about why me being a girl made it any different. Then, my now ex-friend R’s words echoed in my head. “Oh don’t worry, you just need to find the right guy.” Once again, I’ve been completely discredited as a gay person, just because I happen to be a gay woman. But what specifically has finally made me lose my patience was a day in downtown Saint Louis with my then-partner. We ended up taking a wrong bus and ending up on the opposite end of town from our destination, where then I had two men approach me. I don’t like to sound conceited, but my partner had pointed out later that it was clear these men were speaking to me since I was the one with long blonde curly hair and a pretty dress on, whereas my partner was a bit more masculine in presentation. When the first man approached me, he tried to offer me a ride. When I told him that I wasn’t interested, he again tried to persuade me he could change that, and insisted on giving me a ride. My beloved made a point of taking my hand tight and leading me away from the man quickly, and to this day I am so grateful for that. When we found another bus stop to wait at, another man walked up right to me, despite the fact I was holding my partner’s hand, and asked for my name. I froze, still rather shaken from the man who’d tried to convince me to leave in his car. “This is my girlfriend.” My partner said, making clear that they weren’t going to back down. Then, to both our shock and disgust, he asked for us both to go back to his apartment with him and called us both beautiful. After assertively denying such a rude request, we asked to be left alone. Then, he still asked for my phone number. I could see beside me that my beloved’s fist was starting to ball up and I had a strong gut feeling that another wrong move, and this gentleman might be leaving with a black eye. So, I made clear one more time that I was not interested and wanted to be left alone. By some miracle, he had finally gotten the hint and started to walk away. I couldn’t make up the next part of what happened if I’d wanted to. The previous man took no more than about 4 steps away from us when my partner and I heard a car skid and watched as a car braked hard in Saint Louis traffic. I had been sure that I was about to witness a car accident, and that maybe someone ran into the road, but to my shock nobody had gotten hurt. Instead, a man rolled down his window, and looked right at us. “All (insert horrible gay slur here) are going to Hell!

You need to both repent and obey God!” He screamed hatefully at us before then speeding away. I had seen and heard of such things on television and movies, but this was different. The feeling I had in my stomach was different, and it somehow hurt more. The man who asked for my number, who saw what happened, then came back and told us to not pay him any mind and just be who we are. I resisted snapping at this man, since what he’d done hadn’t been any better than what the man in the car had done. Both of them had invalidated us, they’d just done so in different ways. Instead I kept my mouth shut, checked on if my beloved was alright, and then we finally caught our bus. I pretended to be okay with it, and that I didn’t need comforting, and patiently waited until I was alone to really think about what happened. First, I felt pain at all the hatred and ignorance. Then, I got angry. Not like I had before, though. I’d finally found myself completely fed up, and decided the first chance I got, I was going to publicly talk about this. I know there will probably be more than one person thinking I’m some triggered SJW looking for attention and trying to be a faithful cause to left-wing politics, but that honestly isn’t true. I’m proud to be in the center on the political spectrum, and I didn’t get “triggered” after one instance. I kept quiet and did my best over the course of more than a year tolerating hateful words that I shouldn’t have been tolerating in the first place. This isn’t one instance, it’s many that have finally built up enough for me to speak out because I’ve had enough. The reason these words sting, the reason they hurt, and the reason I will not let it go is because you’re not only saying “You just need to find the right guy.” You’re also saying, “You don’t have a clue who you are, but I do.” You are showing a complete lack of respect and common decency towards me. Whether you’re willing to admit it or not, you’re suggesting that you know me better than I know myself. You’re suggesting you know my desires better than I do. You’re suggesting you know how I’m able to love and feel, even though I am the one feeling those feelings. So no, lesbians don’t need to find the right guy. They need to find the right girl, and you honestly need to check yourself. Gay women are gay, and for the love of all that is good left in this world, at least have the decency to accept that and keep your homophobic opinions to yourselves. If someone tells you, “Actually, I’m a lesbian.” Respond by saying, “Oh, cool. So, did you catch the Cardinals’ game on TV?” It is literally that easy, folks.

Chemotherapy: Cure or Conspiracy?

BY ASHTYN BRITT abritt@lc.edu

There has been a shocking rise lately in the world of conspiracy theorists to be far more mistrusting in modern medicine, believing vaccines to cause autism, fluoride water causes bone cancer, and even that chemotherapy is used to actually cause earlier deaths for cancer patients. Usually, I ignore most conspiracy theories but seeing this particular theory hit a little too close to home for me to be silent. My mother died of breast cancer when I was seven years old, and I remember from a young age how her treatments helped her. While she did still suffer the usual side effects of chemotherapy and my mother did eventually pass, she had lived nine months longer than expected due to her chemotherapy treatments and mastectomies. A close family friend has had cancer more than a few times, and chemotherapy treatments have helped her manage to live thirty years longer than if she’d decided to not have chemotherapy at all. The idea that the treatment simply won’t work is a strong statement on its own, but to claim it will actually kill cancer patients far more quickly than cancer to somehow benefit doctors is just Alex-Jones-Raging-Over-Frogs-Level-Ridiculous. Did everyone forget about Lance Armstrong? Hugh Jackman? Cheryl Crow? Robert De Niro? Mr. T? Kathy Bates? Rod Stewart? Michael C. Hall? Sharon Osborne? Judy Blume? (Seriously though, the list could go on and on.) Rather than going on untreating-screw-the-government-feelings alone, I actually did some research into why anyone would believe such a wild claim. While there are plenty of “Alternative Medicine” commercial sights trying to sell people their products who came up in my research, I dug a little deeper. The source seemed to come originally from Dr. Hardin B. Jones, claiming that chemotherapy doesn’t work 97% of the time and that oncologists only prescribe it because they could gain up to $4,000 per treatment. He instead pushes for alternative medicine methods, which is the same line of thinking used by scam artists who try to take advantage of the uninformed that a few herbs will solve all their ailments. Dr. Jones also made a point of only emphasizing on the drawbacks of chemotherapy, and excluding any positive statistics related to it. The other primary issue with Dr. Jones’s study is that his statements of chemotherapy were based on an uncredible paper called “A Report on Cancer” and from work published by The Trans-

“While it may not be a cure by any means and does have its flaws, it is a method of treatment that has helped prolong and even save the lives of many cancer patients.” actions of the New York Academy of Sciences in 1956. This material is more than 60 years out of date! Dr. Jones himself had actually passed away in 1978, meaning every discovery and advancement in medicine since then would’ve made his entire life’s work forty years out of date! For the medical field, this is not a small amount of time. That’d be like listening to a doctor from 1949 telling the world that Polio would surely cause the end of the human race! Some other examples of the advancement in the medical field since Dr. Jones’s death include MRI machines, the ability to identify and treat HIV/ AIDS, vaccines for hepatitis, and in vitro fertilization. Even for his time, Dr. Jones had flawed studies leading him to such a vicious conclusion, with very limited population for the so-called experiments that took place in the 1920s and 1930s. None of these studies also had controlled trials of any kind, seeing as they were hard to come by during those decades. There is also the common confusion with primary chemotherapy, cisplatin chemotherapy, and adjuvant chemotherapy, which are not the same. For instance, when a survey was taken by 118 doctors who were experts in lung cancer and asked if they had lung cancer, would they take cisplatin chemotherapy, 66% had responded no. However, this was an old survey about a specific new type of chemotherapy in 1975 and proved to be ineffective and potentially harmful containing cis-platinum. Later on, in 1997, the same survey was taken by another set of doctors, which responded with 64.5% saying that yes they would take chemotherapy, because it’s the more commonly now used primary chemotherapy, which has been a huge breakthrough with cancer treatment. Does that mean chemotherapy isn’t flawed? Of course not. It has been long known that chemotherapy has strong side effects such as hair loss, nausea, fatigue, and more. Chemotherapy has also been known to attack healthy cells alongside cancerous cells, since it’s unable to tell the difference, and may not be the best course for every

cancer patient based on the specific type of cancer they have and at what stage, but chemotherapy has more than proven its usefulness. Such as the fact that roughly 65% of cancer patients from the last year are still continuing to live, due to the help of various treatments. (Notice I said still live, not that they are completely cured. See https://bit.ly/2EjbrLJ for further information.) What the real conspiracy here is blindly wide spreading health misinformation and fear of the unknown. While it is important to dig deeper at times, the miracle of modern medicine should not be treated as simply a government scam. Vaccines have been known to help prevent, reduce, and at times even completely solve health epidemics and continue to help people to this day. Vaccines do not kill people or make them autistic, or any other such nonsense. The same goes for chemotherapy. While it may not be a cure by any means and does have its flaws, it is a method of treatment that has helped prolong and even save the lives of many cancer patients. Be more careful, and do deeper research than cherry-picked statistics and long-outed information formed like a modern spooky story. What can, and should be done, instead of spreading misinformation on social media and starting fights over the internet is to first educate yourself with credible sources (NOT commercial websites and memes!) about the serious nature of cancer and the different treatment options. The next step would be to make donations to your local cancer center so research may further progress to find an actual cure for cancer. Donations may also be made to the Cancer Research Institute which can be found at https://bit.ly/2BeA9As as well as over the phone at 1-800-99-cancer (available from Monday through Friday, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. ET.) or through the mail at Cancer Research Institute, Web Donation 29 Broadway, 4th Floor New York, NY 10006-3111.

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Top 10 Romcom Kisses BY ASHTYN BRITT abritt@lc.edu

There are a few things we can depend on happening in this life. A few include death, taxes, and kisses in romantic comedies. As a sap myself, it’s one of the few positives from watching said movies. They’re predictable and upbeat, and it’s nice to be able to depend on the plots in these movies. I will admit there are problems with romantic comedies as well, but perhaps those will be discussed another day. For now, I will remain positive, and focus on my top ten favorite movie kisses in romantic comedies. Spoiler alert! These kisses usually are included at the end of movies, so this will spoil the endings. Proceed with caution! 10. My Best Friend’s Wedding This movie is closer to an anti-romantic-comedy. This features the story of two friends who agree to marry at twenty-eight years old if they don’t find someone else, except for one of them does find someone else- leading the other to decide she has to break the couple up to steal her best friend back for herself. Unlike the usual romcom trope, Julia Roberts as our main character doesn’t get the guy! However, the bigger message of the movie, that you don’t need a love interest to have a fulfilling life, is a valuable lesson. That didn’t stop at least one movie kiss from happening between Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney, which is what helps her begin to come to that realization. Not every meaningful kiss has to lead to a marriage with 2.5 kids and a picket fence! 9. Something Borrowed This movie is one you either love or hate, being about a woman named Rachel who ends up having an affair with her selfish best friend’s fiance, Dex. When the two fall in love, the movie brings up the question of her ethics throughout the movie. Eventually, after she ends the affair and decided to move on. For other reasons, the friend and Dex do break up, and he reunites with Rachel. They have a few major kisses through the movie, the most important one being at the beginning which starts the affair. The reason I included this particular movie is because it brings up some serious thoughts about when people act on their “What if” thoughts, and who it could hurt in the process. 8. 10 Things I Hate About You Based on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, this is a story that still holds up today. The story focuses on Patrick Verona, who is paid by fellow classmate Joey Donner to woo radical feminist Kat Stratford, so that Joey may pursue her younger sister Bianca. This is because of the girl’s father’s rule, stating Bianca would only be allowed to date when her older sister did. However, things start to go awry when Patrick starts to like Kat for who she really is! Eventually, when the truth comes out, it takes serious effort and some time for Patrick to woo Kat back, confessing he knew how badly he messed up and confessed to her being his dream girl. She decides to forgive him and give their relationship a do-over, and the two share a very loving kiss that we’d been waiting for the whole movie. Kat is far from a weak lovestruck

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female character as is the usual trope in romcoms, and is to this day one of my favorite movies. 7. Grease This kiss takes place at the beginning of Grease, rather than the end. This may be one of the most famous romantic comedies of all time, not to mention one of the catchiest musicals! Grease tells the story of Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson, two teens who share a deep summer romance and suspect they’ll never see one another again. Fate intervenes, however, and they end up attending the same school together. However, to avoid being seen as a weak lovesick boy, Danny acts like a “cool” jerk to Sandy, which she does not take well to. However, before they reunite, these two lovers share a very sweet kiss, thinking it may be their goodbye. However, as Danny reassured his love, it wasn’t the endit was only the beginning. 6. When Harry Met Sally Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal bring up an age-old question- can men and women ever be just friends? We know well the answer in real life is, of course, they can! However, in this movie, these particular friends spent ten years building their relationship into a more meaningful and intimate one. When the two take the plunge and end up ending all contact for a while, Harry decides he can’t let Sally get away, and the two share a loving kiss on New Year’s Eve solidifying their relationship as so much more than just a friendship. This may be a movie from 1989, but in some ways, it still continues to hold up and bring a smile to anyone’s face today. 5. That Old Feeling This is completely my personal opinion, but Bette Midler as Lilly Leanord is a gift to this earth. That Old Feeling is a movie about a girl named Molly, played by Paula Marshall. Molly’s divorced parents, both remarried, fall back in love and run away together after reuniting at Molly’s wedding. Now, it is up to Molly, along with the help of a paparazzi who is not her new husband, to track her parents down and bring them home where they belong. Bette Midler and Dan de Mora as Molly’s mother and father provide amazing acting skills and a fabulous sense of humor. They also give plenty of great romantic scenes and a lot of enchanting movie kisses. If you’re looking for a truly amazing romantic comedy, start with this diamond in the rough! 4. The Princess Bride This is not only a romantic comedy but also a fantasy adventure that has been a treat for audiences for over thirty years now. This follows the story of lovers Buttercup and Wesley, as well as their adventure to not only find their way back to one another- but to also bring down the awful Prince Humperdinck, with plenty of witty and fun sidekicks at their side. (Especially the fencing master with a vendetta, Inigo Montoya!) I promise you this will be one movie you won’t be bored for a single minute! Whether you’re into sword fighting, intellectual mind games, or even the most romantic kisses between Wesley and Buttercup. These kisses aren’t just a part of the plot, they drive the plot! 3. Never Been Kissed One of this movie’s biggest plot points revolve around the concept of grand

romantic comedy movie kisses, and it shows this concept very well! This movie stars Drew Barrymore as Josie Geller, who goes undercover as a journalist to do an article showing parents how their teenagers really live. Things start to get out of hand when Josie develops feelings for English teacher Sam Coulson, and her editor wants her to try to seduce him to expose him- while Sam thinks Josie is a teenager. While Sam and Josie grow close, the two never cross any serious boundaries He is however still hurt when she reveals to everyone who she really is, and she writes her article to reveal her own teenaged experience compared to that of her second time around, revealing she’d never really been kissed. Well, not like in the movies anyway. She also confesses her feelings for Sam and asks him to meet her in the middle of a baseball field and give her a real kiss to hopefully start over. While he may show up a tad late, he does show up and give her one of the most memorable movie kisses I’ve ever seen in my entire life. 2. But I’m a Cheerleader This is the story of a girl named Megan, a Christian cheerleader with a boyfriend who considers herself a normal teenage girl. Her family, however, infers based on a few of her odd behaviors, her fantasizing about cheerleaders when kissing her boyfriend, being vegetarian, and having only female posters in her locker, that she may be a lesbian. Her friends and family then send her to a conversion therapy camp to try to turn her straight, where she meets another girl named Graham whom she has a connection to. Throughout the movie, the girls fall in love and escape the camp to run away together. The ending kiss solidifying their acceptance of who they are was not only sweet but an amazing display of representation. 1. Sex and the City the Movie For those who haven’t watched the show, this shows the main characters Carrie and Big deciding after ten years of being on and off to get married. However, after Carrie is left at the altar, she cuts Big off despite his desperate pleas for the next year in hopes of reconciliation. It is only after months of healing and serious consideration that Carrie decides to forgive him and the two share a loving kiss and deciding to get married at the courthouse. The build-up through the series and the movie for this relationship was enough to snag the first place, but what makes it specifically stick out is the movie really focuses on whether you can -or should- forgive a lover when they truly hurt you. Most people would immediately say no, and not for bad reasons. However, for some couples, it’s a personal decision that can only be made for them and their situation. Carrie forgave Big because she felt that was the right thing for her to do, and it would’ve been just as fine to not forgive him if that’s what she felt was right as well. It wasn’t a conclusion she came to in a few days or even weeks. It took her a whole year of processing and thinking it through. The ability to choose and be confident in your ability to make that choice is admirable, and I appreciate the way the movie approached it.

friend Leah as she goes through her senior year and how she keeps a wall up against being hurt by the world around her. It is a riveting tale as we hear Leah commenting on society’s view of bisexuality, fat shaming, and racism and her experiences with each. It also provides a non-perverted view of two women falling in love and is more than everything we could ever want for a sequel. (Including updated information on Simon and Bram’s love story!) 3. Love & War by Melissa de la Cruz This sequel in the story of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton was everything I didn’t know I needed. Melissa de la Cruz creates the magic once more as it explores the early years of Eli-

and a somber tone, this book touches on various relatable issues people have through life and was very insightful to read! 5. Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini This book is the original material that the play and now hit musical was based off, exploring the story of self-proclaimed loser Jeremy Heere who takes a very special pill. This pill contains a Super Quantum Intel Unit