A&E

Will Smith banned from Oscars

By Bella Lee Staff writer

In case you missed it: this year’s Oscars ceremony has been taking over everyone’s minds lately for one reason.

Tensions have been extremely high ever since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on live television during the prestigious ceremony.

Now, Smith is beginning to suffer the consequences of his actions.

He resigned from the Academy shortly after the incident, and a week later the Academy announced that Smith would be banned from all Academy events, including the Oscars, for the next 10 years.

“The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage,” said the Academy’s official statement.

“Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith’s actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards. This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith’s behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted.”

Smith only gave a simple reply in response, saying, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”

The Academy began official disciplinary proceedings on March 30 and originally scheduled a board meeting for April 18 to take any disciplinary actions.

However, in light of Smith’s membership resignation from the Academy on April 1, Academy president David Rubin moved the meeting to April 8.

In the wake of this news, industry insiders and moviegoers still want further punishment for Smith.

There have been calls for his Oscar for Best Actor in “King Richard,” which he won only 20 minutes after his assault on Chris Rock, to be revoked.

In contrast, convicted criminals Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polanski, both expelled from the Oscars following their crimes, still hold on to their multiple Oscars.

The last time the Academy has taken drastic measures to uphold conduct proceedings was in 2017 in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the expulsion of Harvey Weinstein.

If Smith can receive a punishment like this one, convicted criminals such as Weinstein and Polanski should be held in the same regard.

Both of these two have multiple sexual assault allegations against them, many from victims who were said to be abused when they were only teenagers.

However, even though they have been expelled from the Academy, they still maintain their awarded Oscars (Weinstein has been nominated twice and won once; Polanski has five nominations and one win).

It is only the right thing to do to ensure that justice is served correctly.

I can only hope that Smith has learned his lesson.

Contributed photo

Will Smith celebrating his Oscar win shortly after his now-infamous outburst.

Hurst Hot Take: Check out Dominic Fike

By Emma Coppolo A&E editor

After his appearances on the second season of Euphoria, many people have started to realize that Dominic Fike has not received the attention he deserves.

As an avid fan of his, I absolutely agree with this sentiment.

Fike’s music has the exact vibes that I look for. There is always a song of his that perfectly fits the mood you are in.

Honestly, there are very few (if any) songs of his that I can genuinely say I dislike.

There are a few, however, that I happen to like just a bit more than the rest.

His album “What Could Possibly Go Wrong” has countless tracks on it that I put on repeat.

My favorite is probably “Why.” It has a great beat that is perfect to put you in a good mood, especially on a sunny day. The lyrics, though, are the best part.

The song is about a woman that has everything she wants, but Fike is questioning if she is really happy. Right after saying, “But it’s no business of mine how you waste your time,” the beat changes up and keeps getting better.

There’s a little synth riff at the end that brings it to the perfect close.

I have listened to this song an embarrassing amount of times, and it never gets old.

Another great song on the album is “Double Negative (Skeleton Shake).”

It has a sort of dissonance at the beginning that sets the tone for the rest of the song.

My favorite lyric in this song would have to be “if you feel out of place, it’s because you are.”

Fike’s lyrics are always spoton, so picking a favorite is always difficult to do as they all are amazing.

Another hit on the album is “Vampire”.

It opens with the lyrics, “I only showed up to tell you everyone at this party’s a vampire.”

I think this is an interesting commentary on Hollywood culture and artists being used for their notoriety. The tone of the song is exactly what you would want it to be for the content.

I think it is different from other songs on the album in its overall feel, so I like that it breaks everything up a bit.

On his album “Don’t Forget About Me, Demos”, Fike’s song “3 Nights” was a mainstream hit. However, some of the album’s other songs got overshadowed by it.

“Socks” is one of Fike’s slower songs. It has a very chill tempo, and Fike’s voice approach the lyrics beautifully. He is able to convey so much emotion in his lines.

That does not go just for this song, but it is quite apparent in this particular track.

“Babydoll” is a perfect example of Fike’s style. It is a bit rock, a rap, a bit of its own genre.

This song is only a minute and thirty-seven seconds long, which is actually part of the reason I like Dominic Fike.

I feel like sometimes artists make songs longer than they should really be just because it is the average in the industry. Fike makes sure that his songs are only as long as is necessary. This is likely part of the reason I rarely find myself skipping his songs.

Additionally, his lyrics are consistently good. His lyrics and music always blend together seamlessly, and his lyrics are both beautiful and eloquent.

The song that got me into Dominic Fike is “Westcoast Collective.” It was a perfect introduction to his style, so I recommend you start with that as well if you are interested in giving him a chance.

I have over twenty of his songs in my everyday playlist, and I can definitely say they make it better.

Contributed photo

Dominic Fike at the Euphoria Season 2 Premiere.

Review: “Saturday Night” impressive show on any day of the week

Flier for Sondheim’s “Saturday Night.”

Contributed photo

By Annie Markel Staff writer

The theatre program at Mercyhurst is one of many hidden gems here on campus. These astronomically talented humans always show talent, confidence and drive to make each show better than the last. This past production was just their newest addition to their resume of incredible shows.

Hidden away in the Taylor Little Theatre under the library, the show did not let the small venue dull its sparkle. The talent booming from the small space made it seem like the stage of Broadway.

“Saturday Night” is a musical written by Stephen Sondheim, based off the book by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein, “Front Porch in Flatbush.”

The show is based in the Roaring 20’s, when the stock market was up, people were buying everything they could see and everyone was trying to become a millionaire like J.D. Rockefeller.

The show is so light and airy that one almost misses the incredible lessons that lie beneath the musical notes.

Main character, Gene Gorman, played by junior Braden Rosciszewski, is trying any way he can to make money in the stock market.

Gene claims that he isn’t supposed to be poor; he was born to be rich.

In the process of trying to increase his status, he ends up with a mismatched puzzle that he needs to put back together to stay out of jail.

As Gorman is trying to figure all this out, his friends look on and shake their heads.

“To me, and specifically, my character, Saturday Night was about escapism, adulthood/responsibility and authenticity,” Rosciszewski said, “Gene was a very complex character that desired more than he had without even realizing the riches he had in front of him.”

Braden is a Sport Medicine major with a minor in Theatre.

Growing up around the arts with his siblings, theatre was naturally injected into his life.

However, he didn’t fully jump in until the end of high school and even more in university.

“I have been doing theatre for three years now, with my debut being the world premiere production of ‘A Dicken’s of a Carol’ at Mercyhurst.”

Braden loved his character, Gene, saying, “There’s still quite a lot I’d like to work out with this character, but part of the fun of live theatre is that you never get all the answers and are left to wonder what else you could have discovered.”

This was a play that I could watch unfold over hundreds of acts. I never got tired, so I agree with Braden about wanting to know what Gene’s next moves were off the stage.

The boys, Dino, Artie, Ray and Ted, all from the same house in Brooklyn, watch Gene tangle himself in this web of lies and money.

The boys were played by Kirk Morrison, Ben Vacca, Elijah Cowles and Rondale Smith.

However, they get dragged into this mess with their friend by trusting him in his biggest weakness.

By giving him money to invest for them in the stock market, they actually enable Gene’s gambling and lies more.

Junior, Rondale Smith shared his favorite moment from the play, “My favorite scene would have been the club scene with the trumpet player and singer. That was a nice scene and one of my favorite songs.”

The song was jazzy and smooth with Ali Forsythe vocalizing and suave Kirk Morrison on his beloved trumpet.

Smith is a Psychology and Criminal Justice double major, and a very, very busy man here on campus with theatre, football and Mercyhurst Ambassadors to keep him running around campus. His resume would make anyone’s head spin.

Smith explained how he prepared for opening night, “I actually had a lot going on just with football, school and social life, but how I prepared was by praying, reading the Bible and taking time out of my schedule to just breathe. Having a clear mind and taking time to rest and meditate on the word of God helps a lot.”

Junior Kirk Morrison, who played Dino, also told me about his preparation for opening night.

“Some of my preparations were lots of script analysis, accent work and memorization.”

You’ve got to learn those lines somehow.

Morrison is an extremely talented music man.

He is a Music Education major here at Mercyhurst.

Morrison made his theatrical debut in this very production!

I was shocked when he told me. “I have actually never been involved in theatre before this show. I decided to give it a try since I am involved in most other art forms, but not theatre.”

Morrison is such a natural that I was so amazed that this was his first play in his three years here at Mercyhurst.

He was such a natural character up on stage and had the crowd laughing with his antics and small one-liners that were written to be barely noticeable.

When one paid attention, his was definitely one of the funnier characters.

However, there is only one person that brings Gene to his senses in the end, and this is Helen Fogel, played by sophomore Tori St. John-Gilbert.

This hip flapper girl meets Gene as they are both trying to get into a dance club that they both have lost their tickets for.

Gene is instantly in love. Not only is he trying to impress his friends with his status, but now he is wowing his new belle, as well.

As Gene’s problem gets bigger, so does Helen’s dislike for his materialism.

St. John-Gilbert is a native Texan and a sophomore Dance major. She has the most incredible voice and was so astounding in her two-face role of Helen. She started doing theatre in elementary school but had another love that she had to attend to.

“I took a pause from doing a lot of theatre in high school because I started to take dance more seriously. I would do productions growing up here and there in the summers when I could, but I didn’t really do much of anything with my high school theatre department, so it’s been absolutely lovely doing this show.”

Many actors want to find something from their character to connect to.

“There are a lot of aspects of her character that I can relate to, but one is that she is someone who wants a life larger and more extravagant than she has, but she doesn’t quite know how to go about getting it,” said St. John Gilbert.

She has big dreams of being in theatre or in the dance world for a long time after schooling. I don’t think she’ll have any issue; she is so talented!

Overall, this play was incredible. The vocals, music, acting, and costuming were so accurate and mind blowing.

I couldn’t believe we have so much talent on campus in such a small space.

These students work so tirelessly to put on a quality show for people they don’t even know.

If you missed this show, you missed out, but keep your eyes peeled for anything new from the Theatre Department!