Over a year after it was announced, one of the recommendations from the Living Our Values Task Force is now coming to fruition: UTD is getting two new minors. Formed in the summer of 2020 after calls from the Black Student Body for reform, the Task Force developed recommendations for administration to address racial equity and justice issues on campus. One of the recommendations was the creation of an African American and African Diaspora Studies department.
In response, the African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADS) and Ethnic Studies minors were created. Anne Gray Fischer, an A&H assistant professor of history, co-drafted the AAADS minor proposal.
“While new classes have been created for the AAADS program, one of the key advancements in the AAADS program is bringing together courses across campus that were already available to students and presenting them in a coherent program of study for students who want to dedicate their coursework to centering Black studies,” she said in an email statement. “The students in the Black Student Body and the staff and faculty in the BFSA (Black Faculty and Staff Alliance) who worked hard to produce their Calls to Action were very clear that the AAADS minor is just a first step to expanding equity across campus.”
ASC CHAMPS
ASC CHAMPS
Crash course: trends in automobile accidents
Anjali Singh spends an hour a day, five days a week, enjoying her commute from Plano to UTD. But after witnessing several recent car crashes along Waterview Parkway, the computer science freshman said that she has become much more vigilant while driving as her commute is starting to feel more dangerous.
of 2021 than in all of 2019. Moreover, a direct comparison of September 2021 to September 2019 reveals nearly 20% more crashes with injuries, despite a comparable number of overall traffic accidents.
UTD Police Lieutenant Jesus Gonzales, who is responsible for investigating motor vehicle accidents on campus, said that Waterview Parkway is one of the busiest streets near campus. The road is used by thousands of UTD commuters a day to enter and exit campus; as a result, it is a prime
DAVID MORRIS | COURTESY
in African American and African Dispora Studies, Ethnic Studies availible in Spring '22
While A&H already offers minors in Asian Studies and Latin American Studies, other universities in the North Texas area like UNT and UTA have also been offering African American Studies for years.
In addition to AAADS, ATEC is
AAADS, the Ethnic Studies minor complements the work of AAADS, ensuring that the University's curricula are serving a hugely diverse student body,” she said.
“This minor, along with AAADS, addresses the student demand for curricula that reflects the diverse knowledges and histories of our students.”
While individual schools have offered courses related to Ethnic Studies prior to this, the minor includes an Introduction to Ethnic Studies course that coheres the disparate courses.
“The formation of the minor also ensures that faculty will stay attentive to the interventions in established fields of knowledge that Ethnic Studies has made in the past 50 years and will deliver these interventions to the students who want to hear more about them,” Banner said. The minor will not be siloed to one school; available coursework will be drawn from four of the University’s seven schools: A&H, ATEC, EPPS and IS.
launching an Ethnic Studies minor. Peter Park, associate professor emeritus of the History of Ideas, initiated the discussion about creating the minor years ago, and Olivia Banner, associate professor of critical media studies, co-authored the proposal. Her research and teaching concern race, disability and gender in relation to digital health.
“The importance of the minor was articulated by the Black Student Body’s letter to President Benson. Although the letter specified the students' desire for
“Prescribed electives for this minor include courses in Arts and Humanities, like arts, literature, history and philosophy; ATEC, like media and technology, including the arts; Interdisciplinary Studies’ American Studies; and EPPS, like sociology, geography and political science, for example,” Banner said. “In conversation with other faculty, the co-architects of this minor presume the formation of the mi-
→ SEE MINORS, PAGE 8
“There are a lot of different types of drivers I have noticed,” she said. “You have people who are very hesitant which makes it unsafe. You have people who don’t really care and they just speed. Then you’re left with a situation where I’m looking 24/7 left and right, back mirror, side mirror to make sure I stay safe.”
Singh’s concern about driving on Richardson roadways is not baseless. While the number of vehicular accidents across the nation decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 due to stay-at-home orders and remote work and school, the total number of fatalities from car accidents shot up 7.2% in 2020 despite the sharp decline of drivers on the road. This trend persists both across Texas and within Richardson; miles driven and total crashes were substantially reduced in 2020, yet the number of fatalities from crashes increased.
Driving behaviors also appear to have changed for the worse during the pandemic. The percentage of those who drive under the influence of drugs and alcohol, drive without a seatbelt or speed on highways and other roads has dramatically increased according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In Richardson, the number of crashes between 2019 and 2021 are fairly consistent, as drivers have gotten back on the road after 2020’s dip in total traffic and accident rates. However, the seriousness of these crashes has increased—Richardson
PD data indicates that there were more fatalities through the first nine months
location for accidents.
“Where I’ve noticed the biggest increase [in accidents] along Waterview is at the stop intersections,” Gonzales said. “There have been a couple along the traffic lights, but it is more common where the stop signs are. And the reason may be that people are in a hurry generally to either leave campus or get on to campus, and when you are in a hurry, you don’t pay much attention to your driving. That’s just human nature.”
Most accidents that occur on the major streets bordering campus, such as Synergy Park Boulevard and Floyd Road, are reported to Richardson police. On the other hand, UTDPD usually responds to on-campus accidents, which average about three per month according to Gonzales. These types of crashes tend to be minor parking incidents and fender benders, which usually occur while drivers are trying to enter or leave parking lots. Gonzales suggested that the increased congestion on campus this year, coupled with students rushing to find parking spots, might explain the increased risk of parking-related crashes.
Singh has adopted strict defensive driving habits as the number of car accident injuries and fatalities does not seem to be decreasing.
“I can’t assume that the person in front of me and the person behind me are good drivers; I have to just drive cautiously as if the person in front of me is an absolute idiot and they don’t know what they are doing. I try to drive with that mindset,” Singh said.
Comets can now report COVID-19 booster status
was received. Comets can submit proof of their booster if they would like, but it is not required.
Comets can submit updates on the new Voluntary COVID-19 Booster Reporting Form. Similar to the original Voluntary Vaccine Reporting Form, it asks for the type of shot (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, etc.) and date the shot
Individuals 18 years or older are eligible for boosters six months after receiving primary Pfizer or Moderna shots or two months after receiving the Johnson & Johnson shot. Those who received Pfizer or Moderna shots must also be living in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions or live or work in high-risk settings to be eligible for a booster at the moment.
Editor-in-Chief Tyler Burkhardt editor@utdmercury.com (972) 883-2294
Managing Editor Ben Nguyen managingeditor @utdmercury.com (972) 883-2287
Copy Editor Sophie Boutouis copyeditor@utdmercury.com
Graphics Editor Alesandra Bell graphics@utdmercury.com
Photo Editor Anna Phengsakmueang photo@utdmercury.com
News Editor Nandika Mansingka news@utdmercury.com
Life & Arts Editor
Lauren Dougherty life@utdmercury.com
Opinion Editor Fatimah Azeem opinioneditor@ utdmercury.com
Outreach Editor Jacky Chao media@utdmercury.com
Web Editor Trevor Tomer web@utdmercury.com
UTDPD Blotter
November 3
•A UTD employee reported stolen AirPods from the NSERL building at 2:28 p.m.
November 3
•At 11:26 a.m. it was discovered that an unknown, unidentified person damaged a UTD Club Car some time between September 1 and November 1 in the Physics building.
November 8
•Officers reported contact with a suspicious person in possession of marijuana at 11:48 p.m. in Phase 7.
November 10
•Officers suspected a possible intentional false fire alarm pull at JSOM at 6:22 p.m.
From The Mercury Archives: Nov. 15, 1995 Hear no gender, read no gender
Richardson, TX 75080-0688
Yes, it’s true. Sexism still exists in this country; we have failed to stamp it out with our Birkenstocks-laden feet.
The concept I’m here to discuss is Gender Neutrality in Language. The concept is a simple one. We should begin to alter our language to reflect the evolution of social graces and the progression of civil rights. Language does influence thought and viceversa. It is a two-way street with no clear median.
I sense the continued presence of a few Doubting Thomases out there. (And I’m not just talking about Clarence.) For men who disagree with my thesis, try this test. Call your girlfriend a “wench” consistently for one week and just see if it influences her thoughts about going to Homecoming with you. Also try to determine if the experiment has influenced your thoughts concerning masturbation. Women can encourage their boyfriends to call them “wench” for a week and see if they can refrain from killing them. Is the connection between thought and language lucid now or what?
The point of all this is that cultural anthropologists agree (I asked two) that language is the single most representative factor in a culture. If this is true, we must use our words carefully, they are very powerful and they influence people. Whereas it is very easy to see how thoughts affect language, it requires a perceptive double-take to see how language affects thought. I’m sure my erudite readership needs no further explanation, but if you do, God loves you anyway.
Some might be inclined to say, “Gordon, are you claiming that the use of ‘she/he’ in lieu of the less cumbersome and simply stated ‘he’ will effect a mass reversal of generations of gender bias? Are you advocating some sort of linguistic social engineering to forcefully adjust peoples’ freely chosen attitudes towards the sexes?”
My answer is a qualified yes. All Limbaugh fans must pay careful attention to context here. Those right of center as well as those to the left of it both need to realize that, in this case, changes will come gradually. Gender relations has always been a touchy area where angels fear to tread, lest they should be stood up some weekend. Patience
is requisite for true change, and militancy will always be a turn-off to the masses. So, to the left I say be patient and don’t ask for too much at once because that makes it all the easier for the other side to say no. Measured progress will always be better than two groups screaming at one another. To the people on the right I say don’t accept simple-minded arguments of “They can apply for the same jobs as me. That’s all the equality they need. Why do they keep making demands?” You are smart enough to figure out that it may alienate and discourage young girls to always hear references to a generic doctor, or any other professional, as “he” or for boys to always hear nurses referred to as “she.”
I must admit I possess no scholarship on such matters. (Posterity can sort it out when I release “On Being a Eunuch and Other Short Stories,” my much anticipated posthumous collection of prose.) But if a simple alteration in my vocabulary makes someone else feel better about themselves, it is worth the change. And if I am correct, my words on the outside will affect my thoughts on the inside and I’ll be a better person for it.
Volleyball team wins ASC Championships
Comets unseat top-seeded Mary Hardin-Baylor for ASC title, advance to second round of NCAA D-III championships for the fourth time
The volleyball team concludes their year with an 18-10 overall record, after winning the program’s recordsetting seventh ASC Title and advancing to the second round in the NCAA D-III championships.
After an injuryladen first half of the season, the Comets battled their way into the second seed for the Conference postseason with an 8-for-10 October. They carried that momentum into the tournament, beating LeTourneau 3-0 and advancing to the finals against top seed Mary Hardin-Baylor, who they unseated 3-1 for the conference title.
“From the beginning of the season we talked about how we must be resilient coming off of a quick turnaround we have never faced, still dealing with covid, a difficult schedule, injuries,
etc.,” said Head Coach Marci Allison.
“We often spoke about being our best in November and that everything we faced prior to that was preparing us for now…after working so hard, there is a sense of relief, pride, and accomplishment.”
Allison attributed the team’s success at the conference championships to hard practice leading up to the tournament and a relaxed confidence once in-match.
“All day Friday they were loose and had a great time together. When we started our semi-final match vs LETU, one of our seniors (Allison Owen) stuff blocked LETU’s best hitter, that set the tone! Our team never looked back. Go -
ing into UMHB, there were expected nerves to start, but once we settled in, they played very smart and took some intelligent risks that paid off.”
Another point Allison emphasized upon the tournament’s conclusion was that the conference title was just the team’s first goal, among many. The ultimate goal, Allision said, is always to continually achieve more for the program – and the NCAA D-III Championships provide that platform.
“We have spoken to this team about leaving their own legacy. In our program it’s not just about winning conference. We have done that. This team just set the record for most ASC [Volleyball] titles, so that’s a start! The conference championship is just a required stepping stone to what we want to do... we’re setting out to do more than 2016, ” Allison said.
The second-round exit from the NCAA tournament wasn’t the season’s conclusion that the Comets were looking for. However, in a post-game interview after UTD‘s 3-1 loss to Emory,
SEE CHAMPIONS, PAGE 8
BEN NGUYEN Managing Editor
The best and worst of esports today
The Smash team claims victory and the Overwatch Team makes playoffs in this week's best of five update!
Collegiate Smash Trophy is claimed yet again
Some connection issues here, some close fights there, but in the end, the UTD Smash team proves once again that they stand on top of the collegiate crew battles smash scene. With the lack of an "official" crew scene from CSL this semester, the Collegiate Smash Brothers league provided a good glimpse at some of the best crew teams in the coutnry, even if the online environment was less than ideal. Next semester has the potential for an in person version of the league, which promises more excitement and chances for the members of the Smash team to shine. Because a disconnect in the grand finals isn't exactly ideal...
Overwatch team qualifies for multiple playoffs
"Ain't gonna happen"? Looks like the Comets did make it happen instead. Though they lost to the overwhelming top team in Redbird Esports, the Comets toppled Northwood Esports, one of the best collegiate teams, in a 2-1 series. With a 9-1 record, they've qualified for the playoffs in the Collegiate Homecoming, and are expected to make a deep run to face off against either Redbird Esports or Northwood Esports in the later stages of the bracket. They've also got playoffs incoming for the NACE StarLeague as well.
VALORANT LANs continue to provide offline play
Another VALORANT LAN was held in conjunction with the VALORANT club at UTD, this time at the Rank 1 Gaming Cafe in Carrollton. While the game doesn't have a team at the university yet, the LAN events continue to attract a competitive crowd to play the game offline and have some sort of an offline competitive experience. With an attendance of about 20 players, there continues to be enough attendance to hold more VALORANT LANs in the future, while sitting in the waiting room for UTD to add a VALORANT team.
Rocket League team falls out at loser's finals
After a close 4-3 opening match against UNLV, the Rocket League team ultimately fell down to loser's after losing to Columbian College and then to UNLV in the loser's finals rematch. Unfortunately, this means that the team has been knocked out of the CRL season before the national playoffs, leaving the team to rest and prepare for the spring season. The Comets this year for Rocket League have been playing excellently, so it's unfortunate that we'll have to wait for another semester before seeing their cars hit the field once again.
Head Coach listing elicits general frustration
The program finally released the job listing to replace Greg Adler ... and it did not go over well in the collegiate space. With an initial listing salary of ~$42,000, and the responsibilities of a director in a coaching position, the listing sparked a conversation about proper compensation online and derision towards the listing. I'm working on a more nuanced piece about this issue, but it is frustrating to see the state of support for the program due to budgetary restrictions and other administrative red tape.
We often spoke about being our best in November and that everything we faced prior to that was preparing us for now…after working so hard, there is a sense of relief, pride, and accomplishment.”
— Marci Allison
TYLER BURKHARDT Editor-in-Chief
When in Rome, find a dictionary
Message of Giorgio Vasta's 'Time on My Hands' lost in novel's excessive wordiness
MARGARET MOORE Mercury StaffRemember your middle school edgelord phase? Imagine that, but in the context of rising political tensions and domestic terrorism in late 1970s Italy, and you’ve got the recipe for a fascinating novel. Recipes can only go so far, however, and the taste in my mouth after reading “Time on My Hands” leaves a lot to be desired.
You don’t necessarily need an indepth familiarity with Italy’s 1978 Red Brigades to understand this story; knowing that it was a highly visible and violent group will give you enough background, along with the book’s explanation. Growing up in an era of political turmoil has made its impact on our 11-year-old narrator, whose group of friends becomes enamored with the idea of the Brigades and performs increasingly disturbing acts to mimic them. We only know him as “Nimbus,” one of the names the young trio adopts to distance themselves from their “civilian” lives.
Perhaps the strongest point of this novel is that contrast between the relatively mundane life of an 11-yearold boy and the incredible violence he takes part in—Vasta masterfully slips in descriptions of strong emotion and brutality between regular observations of the plot. For example: you’ll hear about the horizon being artfully painted by the sunset, but by the way, here’s a boy who tried to rip a man’s face off, and isn’t the music on the radio boring today? It’s an excellent way to get across how normalized violence can become when it is as expected as the weather.
During the novel, the narrator remembers a teacher describing him as “mythopoetic:" word-making, said of one who generates many words. It’s accurate for both Nimbus’ and Vasta’s writing. While not impossible to follow, I will warn readers to keep a dictionary open—and I say that as someone who used to read dictionaries
SEE WORDY, PAGE 8
"Darkest Dungeon 2" improves upon original
Players must manage the health, stress, equipment and relationships of their characers while fighting all manner of gruesome creatures
BEN NGUYEN Managing EditorRuin has found us all once again. The Darkest Dungeon 2 early access release invites players into a world that has already undergone the Lovecraftian apocalypse and demands that they make the journey to save it.
The sequel differs from the original in a few key ways. While it is still a turn-based rogue-lite with a party of four, there is no home base to return to. Instead, the player chooses four characters to travel with at the beginning of the game, and once chosen there is no changing characters, save for replacing one after death. The player than travels through the apocalypse in a stagecoach, managing the stress, health and equipment of the party while battling bandits, cannibals, cultists and other nightmarish creatures. Along the way, the player must manage the Flame, a representation of hope that depletes as they travel through the wasteland and prepare to defeat the final boss (or at least, the boss currently available).
With this gameplay loop, the game itself becomes more rogue-lite in nature. It remains brutally difficult, with frail characters needing constant management to stay alive and sane. The premise of four misfits trying to act like heroes is expanded on much more in this game than the last with the removal of the sim city management. Instead of players splitting their attention between upgrading a base and constantly recruiting different party members, they can focus on managing a single party of characters and their relationships, which creates a more engaging and personal gameplay loop.
Darkest Dungeon 2 also enforces its premise with a new affinity system. When characters interact with each other at key events, they can gain or lose affinity, building positive relationships that give buffs in combat or negative relationships that actively harm the party’s combat ability. For example, if one character is suspicious of another, they’ll prevent them from using healing abilities at key moments or weaken their attacks. If two characters have an inseparable relationship, they’ll randomly heal each other and relieve each other of their stress, opening important
actions for attacking instead of healing.
Being an early access game, the story itself is still barebones. For the main plot, we only know that we are going to remove the “shackles of denial” to begin the salvation of the world. This point is interesting, as generally a lot of Lovecraftian horror media is focused around delaying the inevitable collapse caused by a hand of unseen terrors. But what happens when the collapse has already happened? When the gruesome monsters are seen? So far, this has manifested in a mild desensitization of the horrors since the entire world is composed of them. The unseen dark god isn’t as terrifying when it’s observed.
The story is saved by the character backstories, available to see at shrines of reflection in the wasteland. Each character has a multi-chapter backstory that, upon completion, unlocks new skills, and witnessing the terrible things that each character has done helps reinforce that your party members are not inherently good—they are just a band of misfits trying to take a last stand against the end. The backstories are highly engaging and perfectly narrated, motivating the player
to look for more hero shrines not just to unlock additional permanent combat skills, but to see each character’s horrifying story come to a close.
This narrator from the first game returns with the same voice that produces an excellent performance. Nearly every action you can take is bookended with the narrator intoning the consequences in ominous fashion, adding to the horrifying atmosphere. Everybody should have an old man narrating their life with lines such as “Forward now, into the crumbling chaos of the world!” This in combination with a somber and desperate soundtrack reinforces the bleak atmosphere.
However, if you, like me, are addicted to the “just one more try” mindset that a good rogue-lite inspires, then the early release of Darkest Dungeon 2 will satisfy. Slimming down the game and focusing more on its characters and combat have made the sequel more engaging than the first installment, and the variety of party combinations will keep players coming back for more, ever vying to save the world from the ruin that has already come for us all.
Edgar Wright's latest film is exceptional
Memorable performances, throwback soundtrack keep 'Last Night in Soho' viewers engaged throughout transcendent psychological horror flick
The elegance and mayhem of 1960s London come alive in Edgar Wright's new film “Last Night in Soho” with a versatile cast, unexpected storylines and an immersive soundtrack.
The film follows Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie), a country girl on her way to attend fashion school in London. Upon watching Eloise venture into the city with bright eyes and a naive smile, headphones blasting 60s music, this seems like a classic coming-of-age story. However, this notion is quickly proven false as our heroine realizes her sheltered life has not prepared her for the cruelty of London. Mean classmates and the chaos of the city eventually drive Eloise to move out of her dorm and into a bedsit owned by Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg), a grumpy elderly woman.
The night of her move, Eloise has vivid dreams in which she is transported into her favorite time period, the swinging sixties. Here she lives the life of an aspiring singer called Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). While the shining lights, extravagant fashion and charming talent manager Jack (Matt Smith) serve as Eloise’s escape from reality, she soon realizes that Sandie’s life isn’t as grand as it seems, and dreams can become nightmares.
“Last Night in Soho” was one of my most anticipated movies of the year, so I had high expectations. Edgar Wright is one of my favorite directors, known for campy films such as “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”
and “Baby Driver.” This film was as quirky as his previous films, and I was immersed in its entirety. Wright’s timing was immaculate. Despite being someone who doesn’t get scared easily, I found myself lurching in my seat because of his intense and unpredictable jump scares. The 60s aesthetic is known for its glamour and bright colors, yet under Wright’s careful direction, this setting became ominously terrifying.
Just like “Baby Driver,” this film’s soundtrack was the cherry on top of an already interesting concept. The soundtrack consists of 60s artists such as The Kinks and The Who, along with covers of iconic 60s songs sung by Anya Taylor-Joy herself. Most of these songs have jazzy beats, and the contrast of these upbeat songs with brutal subjects makes you feel like you are Eloise and Sandie, inhabiting an inviting city filled with music, whimsical décor and promises of success but unable to shake a feeling of uneasiness. Wright’s utilization of the music allows the audience to feel the excitement and wonder that ooze out of London in the 60s, but eventually makes cheery, upbeat songs sinister.
Along with great direction, the cast was fantastic. McKenzie is a very likeable protagonist who embodies the sensitivity and sweet disposition of a naive girl while also portraying mania and obsession so intensely that it scared me. This role truly exemplifies the range of her acting, and I’d love to see her in darker roles because she has the makings of a great horror protagonist.
Taylor-Joy is another one of my favor-
ite actresses and her role as Sandie was utterly captivating. She exuded confidence and ambition while mirroring McKenzie’s sensitivity and uncertainty. I was surprised to hear the actress sing in the film, and I was once again impressed by her versatility. Her portrayal of a woman being terrorized by the entertainment business and the men around her was heartbreaking. Her body language, voluminous blonde hair and unique outfits just added to her allure, and it was hard to look away from the screen when she was on it.
Both lead actresses mirrored each other in many scenes to give the impression that Eloise and Sandie were one entity within the dreams, and the camera work was seamless. Some of the scenes were shot practically (produced with little-tono computer-generated effects), and the actresses mimicked each other's body language perfectly. The chemistry between the two was fiercely captivating, despite their characters never directly interacting with one another.
Most viewers might know Matt Smith as the youngest actor to portray one of the U.K.’s most beloved heroes, the Doctor from “Doctor Who.” As a huge Doctor Who fan, I was overjoyed for Smith to portray Jack with the same childish demeanor and cockiness that he acted with in his previous works. I was not expecting the dark turn his character took, or for Smith to portray such a vile man. I loved that I hated him, and his scenes with Taylor-Joy had me on the edge of my seat.
UNIVERSAL PICTURES | COURTESY
Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Jack (Matt Smith) portray a dark romance with intense chemistry.
I haven’t watched many horror movies with unpredictable plot twists. Still, I cannot stand when a movie has excellent exposition, but the conclusion is flat and easily guessable. Wright’s film was not like that, and when I thought I figured everything out he added a big twist that had my jaw on the ground. It was reminiscent of 90s classic slasher films, but not grossly cliche. The contrast between Eloise’s highly ro-
manticized version of the 60s and the human cruelty that transcends time periods makes for a psychological horror that is unlike any movie that I have seen before. It takes very real issues such as sexual harassment and the treatment of women and turns them a nightmarish, thought-provoking film. Wright’s newest film might have earned a place in my list of favorites, and I highly recommend spending a night in Soho.
Red Hook's sequel provides more focused rogue-lite experience in expanded nightmarish world of ruin
The Eugene McDermott Library needs beautification
While the external appearance is set in stone concrete, lighting improvements, wall decor will help the library interior move past the 1970s
I love the library, but it needs a design upgrade.
UTD’s McDermott Library is one of the most popular places to study on campus. For incoming college freshmen, it is one of the highlights of the campus tour. Its four floors hold hundreds of students every week and serve not only as a place to study and do homework but as a space for students to come together. Yet, for all the value that the student body seems to place on the library, there is no other word to describe it than “ugly.” Built in the 1970s, it is a classic example of Brutalist architecture with its thick concrete walls and box-like shape. Walking into the library is akin to walking into a sort of dungeon, primarily due to bad lighting. While it would be ideal to add more windows to the building, it is unreasonable to suggest that the University fundamentally change the building’s structure. Instead, small adjustments to the artificial lighting could improve the environment. The high recess lighting that makes up much of the basement and second floor is neither bright nor close enough to fill the space created by the high ceilings. Simply changing the lighting type to make it closer to where people are working would improve the lighting conditions without having to rewire the whole building. Additionally, warmer lighting could upgrade the current interrogation-like atmosphere. There is also a distinct mustiness that exudes from the stained carpet, and the concrete pillars that line every area of the library are distressingly sullen. Despite the efforts of the janitorial staff, the carpets simply require replacement, so it may be best to just resolve the stains with new carpeting. Implementing a new coat of paint
in a brighter color could allow for a fresher – and friendlier – environment and have a significant impact on the library’s ambiance. Similarly, the checkerboard flooring in the basement and the dull brown tile could be replaced with something more modern and re -
flective of the little light that is available, both lightening the space and making it feel less dated.
The library should also further showcase the student body. Walls and other free spaces could be used to display talents and interests of students
Lights, Camera, Play!
The Demon Slayer game doesn't have exceptional gameplay, but its existance succesfully expanded the franchise for new audiences
“Demon Slayer” is using its success to propel itself into the video game market to make as much profit as they can, and that’s maybe the best choice any anime series has ever made. While the new video game, “Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles,” is not expansive to the franchise or plot, it adds to the franchise’s titles and attracts new fans after the film, “Demon Slayer: The Mugen Train,” made the IP a phenomenal hit. Not only did Aniplex time the release perfectly with the launch of season two of the anime, but they also did it right.
“Demon Slayer” is one of the fastest growing anime franchises in history, celebrated for its animation, art style and fight sequences by critics and fans alike. The original novel dethroned “One Piece” in sales, with its recordbreaking film debuting as the highest grossing anime film of all time and, by some metrics, 2020’s top film world -
wide. This attention eventually led to the multi-platform release of “The Hinokami Chronicles,” designed by video game developer CyberConnect2— famous for its 17 successful “Naruto” games that set the standard for anime arena fighting games. So, what did the game bring to the franchise that it didn’t already have?
“The Hinokami Chronicles” speaks volumes with its success of one million copies sold within the first month, but the game itself isn’t as impressive. It falls prey to the stereotypes of arena brawlers with no standout besides continuing the success of CyberConnect2’s “Naruto Storm” series. While fans can finally live in the lore and ac -
tion praised in the series, most of this is taken up by slow open world sections and cutscenes that fill nearly 4.5 of the game’s eight hours. However, this isn’t a review of the game itself— what stands out is what it did for the property.
The game serves primarily to recap the first season and movie, immersing fans and newcomers alike with a release that coincides with the beginning of the second season. The developers are no strangers to creating series, and as the first game only covers the first season, there will likely be a second game to cover the ongoing second season, possibly coinciding with a second movie. Season one itself wasn’t remarkably successful, being overshadowed by “My Hero Academia” and “Dragon Ball Super,” but the movie fundamentally changed that and led to the game’s own success. The franchise now has a formula, which it should continue to follow to build hype with storytelling, produce a cinematic climax and create an immersive experience.
“The Hinokami Chronicles” would have been moderately successful by itself considering who the developers are, but “Mugen Train” is what pushed the monumental profitability of the game. The movie itself obviously played a key part, considering almost every detail of the game’s end centers around the movie. It can be assumed the game was only this successful because of the extraordinary heights the film reached; however, this isn’t a bad thing. The formula of “Demon Slayer” would only be successful if the source material was worth the hype, and with that in mind, capitalizing on profits could only further contribute to the development of “Demon Slayer” in cinema and video games.
It’s likely this is only the start of “Demon Slayer” in video games. Giving fans an immersive recap in a growing medium by utilizing the film to propel the series to new platforms was the right step for the series, providing a path for newcomers to join this phenomenal franchise. It seems there’s no demon curse on the future of this hit series.
through art or other forms of media, personalizing the library to the population that uses it the most.
UTD students spend hours upon hours in the library, and there is no doubt that it provides a quiet space to be productive. However, it is not un -
reasonable to expect more from one of the central buildings on campus – the place in which countless people gather. Implementing a few simple design changes could drastically improve the space for students without losing that 1970s Texas Instruments charm.
We all have a complicated relationship with jobs—but no other story can capture this complexity in words and visuals like Aminder Dhaliwal’s comic “Dead End Jobs for Ghosts.”
Some days work is the best thing ever; you're being productive and building toward bigger goals. Other days it doesn't seem so worth it, and maybe customers are rude, the work is stressful or it consumes all your time, leaving no room for anything other than rest. If you’ve been looking for a sign to focus more on yourself and your personal relationships rather than slaving away at unsatisfying work, this comic is it.
As the title suggests, “Dead End Jobs for Ghosts” is about what happens after we die, and Dhaliwal envisions it as getting a job in a compassionate satire on the unfairness of capitalism. The story follows two people from different walks of life falling into the same trap, from which they must eventually learn to walk away and move on. This lesson, however, is learned not during their lifetimes, but in their afterlives through the jobs they get as ghosts.
The first perspective and character we are presented with is Priya Joshi, a 16-year-old girl who dies in a car crash during her driving test. Through her process of coming to terms with her death and the fact that she’ll never be able to interact with her family again, we are introduced to a company known as Spectreworks Inc. This company is dedicated to incorporating ghosts into the job market and giving a ghost's earnings to their chosen living recipients.
At first, Priya applies to Spectreworks to ease the pain and feelings of despair associated with her death. She's even excited to become a driver for the company's “self-driving” cars, but eventually that excitement subsides due to how exhausting, thankless and boring it is to work a job just
for money. Through Priya’s storyline, readers see how the job market takes advantage of young people's feelings of helplessness, need for productivity and desire to help their families. To highlight the eventual monotony of a once stimulating job, Dhaliwal sizes and organizes her panels and draws close-ups of objects, people or long-range scenes within those panels. For instance, when Priya searches for and chases the person that caused her car crash, there are a variety of panels that jump off of one another and lead your eyes to different directions. This contrasts with the linear dullness of Priya’s job, where the panels only move your eyes down and sideways.
On the other side of the workforce is an older generation who is loyal and passionate about specific jobs and only really wants recognition in return. However, employers take advantae of that loyalty and passion, as evidenced by the storyline of Philip Smith. He has already been dead for a while when he is presented to us at Spectreworks Inc. Once a factory worker who got fired and died during the automation of the workforce, Smith eventually got his job back from Spectreworks. But things changed after this rehire because he stepped back and realized that before, he was so distracted by the fortune of having a job that he didn't notice how his passion and pride had dissipated and been exploited.
While Dhaliwal's main focus in her comic is on the interpersonal, small ways our toxic relationships with work affect us, she does illustrate how they impact us in larger, systematic ways through small snippets of narrative breaks and compelling illustrations placed on the front and back covers and endpapers. For example, at the front of the book we have a formally dressed ghost typing away on her computer in a graveyard; elsewhere, a line of people's souls float up into the sky with the sentence, “The job market is dead, literally,” printed on top. In the endpapers, there is a scene with a job fair banner hung over a graveyard and
Capitalism, ghosts and much more
Not only did Aniplex time the release perfectly with the launch of season two of the anime, but they also did it right.
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nor may spur all of these schools to develop new, exciting Ethnic Studies courses.”
Students will be able to officially declare their minors starting in the spring 2022 semester. Looking to the future, both Fischer and Banner hope for greater growth in the departments.
“My hope is that students who minor in AAADS find an institutional space on campus to pursue the intellectual questions that drive them, gain the analytical tools to draw connections across structures of oppression and inequity and see themselves
CHAMPIONS
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Allison expressed pride in the team for their season, and emphasized that the team is already looking to the future.
“I think this is the hardest season I’ve seen, ever, in my 18 years. The reason I say that is because coming off of
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for fun. Not even the most expressive nerdy genes will keep you safe from descriptions like “occiput,” instead of, you know, a skull.
When the author’s word choice shines, though, it shines: “On television Rome was an animal.
Viewed from above, the shape of the houses and streets was a stone backbone, a mineral animal. It contained the dead and generated them, or perhaps attracted them. At any rate, only in Rome did people die." What an introduction:
Fans of “The Book Thief,” rejoice!
Like any minimum-wordcount essay due at 11:59 p.m., however, these tangent descriptions can get a little…much.
Particularly when it comes to the weird sex stuff. Especially when it comes to the weird sex stuff. Hey, it’s only at the start of the
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Priya’s soul waiting in line among living people for an interview.
In many ways, “Dead End Jobs for Ghosts” is a cautionary tale to not let work or the idea of labor be the key to enriching your life, lest it become all-consuming. In Philip’s case,
as participants empowered to work in a deep and ongoing genealogy of Black knowledge production and intellectual innovation,” Fischer said in an email statement. “I am profoundly inspired by the [Black Student Body’s] hard work on behalf of equity on campus, and it is so important to credit their labor in the creation of this minor. The students' labor and commitment to intellectual equity and belonging on campus made the AAADS minor possible.”
In a similar vein, many American universities created cluster hire initiatives in the aftermath of summer 2020. These hiring strategies aim to hire faculty in
COVID was hard – playing in the spring, ending in May, and then these student athletes having to turn around with not a lot of time off and start training again was tough. I think that was part of our issue going into the beginning of the season, as we also had some injuries, so I’m proud of the resiliency that
novel, so maybe it’s a gatekeeping measure to ward people off? If so, it’s effective—I nearly swapped books for this review after a full page on the narrator’s love interest getting bitten by a mosquito. Yes, that’s included in the weird sex stuff. Yes, this book does still have something interesting to say about politics and psychology—but you do have to get past the voyeuristic stuff to find it. Freud fans, rejoice?
The back cover, very poignantly, calls this a story about "how people fail again and again to communicate themselves to one another.” At its core, it is, but I worry that the book’s final message gets lost in the proverbial sauce. This worry is strongest with the issue of Vasta’s female characters. Remember the love interest from the mosquito incident? She is the main woman present in the narrative, along with Nimbus’ mother, String.
he participated in the workforce until he dropped; tying his selfworth to his job left him a shell of a person, and even getting recognized for his work didn't mean much to him in the end. Or in Priya’s case, Dhaliwal cautions readers not to let work take away the time you could have spent with your loved
many different disciplines who all share specialties in race, indigeneity, Latinx and other Ethnic Studies and AAADS fields.
they showed and the grit they displayed this season. If you heard the lineup when we were coming out, we have lots of underclassmen who can do things, and still have some extra seasons of eligibility that are up in the air, so we’re just kind of waiting to see what we have and looking to move forward.”
ones. After her family got the check from the money she made at Spectreworks, they weren’t as happy as she had hoped they'd be. This makes her realize that it's her they miss, not what she could do for them.
worth with the dollar amount printed on a paycheck. It’s also a very common mistake but also a big one. It takes a lot to remember, it’s who you are and not what you do that counts.” So go take a break from work—go outside, talk to your friends and family or read a book…perhaps “Dead End Jobs for Ghosts.”
