Happy Fall, Avenging Angels
in this issue
NEWS
Hurricane Florence Recovery Women’s Undergraduate Research Conference Taste of Research
A&E
Alamo Movie Theatre SPARKcon BugFest State Fair OPINIONS Is Sierra Burgess a Loser? Progress Is Slow, Vote Anway
Women Warriors: Illa Jones By Rachel Crawford, Staff Writer
The Common Experience theme this year is “Women Warriors,” an exploration of strong women who fight to pursue their goals. In conjunctio, The Herald’s “Women Warriors” series highlights the extraordinary women in the Meredith College community who are changing the world. Alumna Illa Jones graduated from Meredith with her B.S. in Nutrition in 2016, and she stayed at Meredith to pursue her Master’s, which she received this year. Now, she is beginning a dietetic internship through Sodexo, which she will continue until May 2019. After completing this internship, she plans to become a registered dietitian and start to build her career in corporate wellness—she envisions herself working as a dietitian for employees of a large company. “I’ve always loved nutrition,” said Jones in an interview. When asked what nutrition means to her, she said, “I just love how it can encompass every aspect of my life. Food is art, celebration, science, vital for living and healing, history. I feel like there’s always more to learn and I love it.” When asked what motivates her, Jones responded, “Health!” Health means more than just diet to Jones: “I strive to work on my mental, physical and emotional health.” Emotional health for Jones involves maintaining a balance between work life and the aspects of personal life that bring her joy, like her hobbies and her relationships with her boyfriend and friends. Speaking to the importance of
THE M E R E D I T H
HERALD
@meredithherald @meredith_herald #harktheherald October 10, 2018
Silent Sam, Vocal Students
By Huma Hashmi, Staff Writer and Sarah Kiser, Editor-in-Chief The controversy over Silent Sam, a Confederate statue that is located on the UNC-Chapel Hill University campus continues even after the statue was taken down by anti-racist protestors on Aug. 20. It is still considered by some to be a symbol of division and hate. However, to others, protesting against it is disrespectful the legacy of the UNC students who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. On Sept. 8, about 100 antiracist protesters gathered to have a canned food drive and “Nazis Suck Potluck,” to celebrate the ousting of the statue while neo-confederates honored the base where Silent Sam used to be. Events quickly escalated after police confiscated the canned food and tackled, pushed, and choked counter-protesters. They also threw a smoke bomb at students and ultimately brutally arrested eight demonstrators. One woman who was arrested, a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) undergraduate student, spoke with The Herald’s Micah Clark, but wished to talk about her experiences anonymously. She stated that the event was a relaxed occasion despite the presence of neo-confederate, anti-racist protesters, and police
in the same vicinity. Ten minutes into the event, the neo-confederate were given a police escort. Tensions were dying down until a police grabbed a student who was leaving, unprovoked, starting chaos. Other students told the officer to let him go and started following the officer. The first grabbed student was taken to Graham Memorial building on campus. Following that, she stated the police charged at the crowd, and chaos ensued. She, herself was grabbed in a chokehold, thrown to the ground multiple times, restrained, held down, and handcuffed. She was then carried to Graham Memorial as well. Counterprotesters were being thrown to the ground by police, isolated and addressed several times in a derogatory manner with several expletives. The anonymous woman was held down and told: “Get on the ground, don’t fucking move.” A cop grabbed the back of her neck when she asked why someone was crying and isolated each of the arrestees, and said, “Shut the fuck up.” She also stated that there were “higher up officials” at the hall trying to organize charges before the arrested were taken away in a van to jail . She heard a police officer
ask another officer “What should we charge her with?” Campus officials present said “Hold on a minute. We need to figure out what’s going on, who arrested who, and who’s being charged with what.” Police were brought in from across the state to guard McCorkle Place. According to the Durham Herald Sun, police officers from Durham, Chapel Hill, and Greensboro came. The woman expressed that “over-policing is just another symptom of institutional racism at the school.” As a student and anti-racist protester, she stated that students “categorically do not want the statue [Silent Sam] on campus.” On Sep.11, at monthly Community Policing Advisory Committee, over 75 participants took part to give a voice to their complaints. One such participant, UNC graduate student Samee Siddiqui said it seemed like the police waited until they escorted the neo-confederate supporters out of the area before any arrests were made. “The first arrests weren’t made until they left,” Siddiqui said. “It’s like [the police] wanted to give payback to the kids who were not respecting them.”
being “well-rounded,” Jones said, “It’s important to have a hobby or creative outlet. For me that’s fashion, videography and photography.” She also recently traveled to Mexico City and highly recommends readers to visit there: “Highlights would be the Folklorico (a show of Mexican history through dance) and eating at Pujol (a restaurant highlighted in an episode of Chef ’s Table).” She recommends for travelers to learn some Spanish before visiting, keep to safe areas of the city and “be wary of street food.” Activities like travel and photography have special meaning for Jones. “I love that [travel] gives me perspective on my life. It makes me less stressed knowing that other people live a different way than me and that they’re happy,” Jones said. “I can get very wrapped up in my own life and forget that there is a whole world out there with different values. When I travel I adopt some of those values.” Jones’ awareness of the world around her is sharpened through travel, and she makes sure to maintain that awareness by capturing moments in her life through photography: “It’s so easy to go through life without recording it and then [have] nothing to look back to. Photography can help with that.” During her time as an undergrad, Jones found inspiration from mentors inside and outside
the gates of the college. “Dr. McMillen was definitely very supportive in my life while at Meredith and encouraged every career change I made. She always tried her best to connect me with other people who I could help or give me concrete advice to get to where I want to be.” In general, the community at Meredith is what she valued most from her time here, and she still maintains relationships with her close-knit group of friends from Meredith. She also valued her time in an off-campus job at PF Chang’s because she had the opportunity to work alongside people with different perspectives from outside the college world. “I really encourage having a job outside of school because it gives great perspective that there’s life after college,” Jones stated. For any student interested in pursuing an internship, Jones urges, “Don’t think that you can’t! And do everything you can do get in! They told me 500 people apply for 24 spots and I immediately thought I wouldn’t make it. Which I’m sure a lot of students feel like when they hear about jobs that they want or other internships that are very competitive.” To get her internship at Sodexo, Jones says she did everything she could—“I drove to their open house in DC to meet the directors, I emailed the 3
different directors every week for 6 months so they would remember me, I found other Sodexo dietitians to write me letters of recommendations. Anything to network and make sure they knew who I was when they saw my application.” Jones added, “I also made sure that my vision matched theirs. I think this is important for other people to know when they are trying to go to grad school or even for jobs.” Jones encouraged students to focus on their skills and work experience instead of obsessing over grades, which may ultimately be of much less importance than real-world experience.
Now, Jones is looking forward to “finally working”—though she feels burned out from a long academic career, she is excited to begin work in her field. Her Meredith community is proud to see her continue her hard work in the field of nutrition and excited to see where her efforts take her.
News
Aftermath of Hurricane Florence Along Coastal NC
Women’s Undergraduate Research Conference Comes to Meredith
Four weeks after Hurricane Florence made landfall along North Carolina’s coast, central and eastern parts of the state are still feeling the devastating impacts. The first impacts of Florence were felt long before the hurricane made landfall along the NC coast. Rapidly rising seawater levels created dangerous flooding situations in cities along the coast and some further inland. After battering much of the eastern coast with high-speed winds and torrential rainfall, the storm slowly moved further inland, giving way to the extreme and deadly flooding of multiple rivers across North and South Carolina. The rising river levels completely covered multiple roads and highways, including Interstate 40 (I-40), which leads directly to the coast. Thousands of coastal and eastern North Carolina residents who were mandatorily evacuated before the storm were not able to return home until the water receded and the roads were deemed safe to travel. Hurricane Florence left a path of devastation across the Carolinas and parts of Virginia. Across the three states, CNN reports an approximate $45 billion in property damage as a result of the storm, $28.5 billion in flood losses and $18.5 billion in uninsured flood losses. According to The Weather Channel, the Florence death toll reached 41 people across North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. As a result of the standing water left behind by the storm, giant mosquitoes called gallinippers, who have a painful bite, have swarmed areas of the Carolinas, according to Southern Living magazine. Governor Roy Cooper has ordered $4 million worth of funding to help with the mosquito problem along coastal and eastern counties of North Carolina as of Sept. 26. University of North Carolina
Looking for exposure to recent research done on campus? Not sure where to start? Then the Women’s Undergraduate Research Conference is the perfect event to attend. The WURC is a studentled annual Meredith event where female students from all Cooperating Raleigh Colleges (CRCs) have an opportunity to showcase their research to the public. The WURC is a part of a WURC week that goes from Oct. 8 to 13 and consists of events to introduce and prepare students for research. This year, the conference is on Oct. 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and will have opportunities for students to present poster and oral presentations. Admission is free. Attendants will find themselves exposed to the processes and types of research that are done on campus. The ability to present at this event is open to all CRC undergraduate students from any discipline. Jane Kelley, a Meredith
By Hannah Flood, Staff Writer
Taste of Research
Wilmington (UNCW) student Lori Little has been home in Raleigh since Sept. 10, after being sent home by the school due to the impending landfall and devastation of Florence. Little shared her experience: “Students had only one day to evacuate from the time they received the email. While it wasn’t a problem for me to evacuate since my family lives in NC, a lot of students who were not from North Carolina had to scramble to find a way home. UNCW did collaborate with University of North Carolina Asheville to house UNCW students that didn’t have any other options for safe shelter.” Students were told that the UNCW campus sustained severe damage as a result of the storm. Multiple buildings, including all residence halls, have some amount of water damage. Sinkholes have appeared on campus, and many trees are broken. Having been out of school for almost a month, making up missed classes has been a major concern for students. Little stated, “So far UNCW has cancelled our fall break, removed our Reading Days and replaced them with regular class days and revised the start and end times for most classes. Generally speaking, [this] add[s] five minutes to all course sections.” UNCW students returned to campus and resumed classes on Oct. 8. Meredith College hosted a food and supply drive from Sept. 21 to Oct. 2, collecting supplies for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Supplies and monetary donations were also accepted by the Daisy Trade to benefit members of Meredith’s campus that were affected by the storm. Donations can also be made to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund by texting FLORENCE to 20222 or filling out a web form on Governor Roy Cooper’s website.
By By Kathleen Daly, Staff Writer
Interested in learning about recent undergraduate research projects while eating free food? Then Taste of Research is the perfect event to attend. Taste of Research is a yearly Meredith event at which students showcase their research to the public. As the title implies, there will be refreshments to eat while students present their research. This year, the event was originally planned for Wednesday, Sep. 12. However, due to weather conditions, Taste of Research was postponed. The makeup date is Saturday, Oct. 13, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The event will take place on the ground floor of the
Carlyle Campbell Library. Admission is free, so anyone interested should come down to the library to learn about new research and support the researching Meredith Angels!
By By Huma Hashmi, Staff Writer
College senior, is grateful for the opportunity to present at the WURC. Her research examines how cultural values in the Hispanic community affect the use of mental health services, researched by interviewing Spanish-speaking Meredith College students and their parents. The evening before, on Friday, Oct. 12, come to the Research Slam or the Lab Crawl! This is an opportunity to immerse oneself in the research process. From 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., the Lab Crawl research presenters will be giving tours of their lab spaces--where the magic happens. This is a hands-on experience for students to see how a research workspace functions. There will be a passport system to visit all of the crawls to make sure nothing is missed. At the Research Slam event, presenters will be giving five-minute pitches for potential projects from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Ledford 101. For more information, contact research@meredith.edu. Support fellow Meredith Angels!
Bill Cosby Sentenced, Supporters Citing Racist Trial and Unfair Sentencing By Micah Clark, Staff Writer Bill Cosby, famed comedian and TV actor, was convicted of the drugging and aggravated assault of Andrea Constand on Tuesday, Sept. 25. The actor was sentenced to three to ten years in prison with no bail. Only after three years will Cosby be available for possible parole. His defense team has said they plan to appeal the conviction, which includes Cosby being placed on a sex offender registry and the ordered payment of $25,000 in court fees and the cost of the prosecution. This case has lead to an uproar of protest and approval across the nation, including Cosby spokesperson Andrew Wyatt comparing Cosby’s conviction to the persecution of Christ and the historical lynching of black men for alleged rapes in America’s past. The trial centered around only one of Cosby’s victims, Andrea Constand, whose rape was the only of dozens to have occured within the statute of limitations. Cosby
was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault in April of this year and had since been awaiting sentencing on house arrest and bail. Legal speculators and journalists wondered just how long, if any, a jail sentence he would face. In the end Cosby was sentenced to a minimum of three years with possible parole at the end of his sentence minimum. Even if he were to be granted parole, Mr. Cosby would be permanently placed on the sexual offender list, be required to attend monthly counseling meetings, and would have to notify the members of his community of his offender status. This all is a small reward for the dozens of women who came forward against the beloved actor. For the complete story, visit meredithherald.wordpress.com
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Arts & Entertainment
New Cinema Offers Intense Movie Viewing Experience By Abigail Ojeda, Staff Writer
Bringing an exciting nightlife option to Raleigh, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s unique take on the cinematic experience is making movie geeks everywhere starry-eyed. Based out of Austin, Texas, Alamo Drafthouse is a movie theater that offers a full bar, restaurant and movie library, with the option to grab food and drinks before, during or after the movie. According to The News and Observer, the Alamo location on New Bern Avenue is the 31st location for this national chain. However, despite the chain label, they’re dedicated to going local. Alamo Drafthouse holds events on a regular basis and offers drinks from local breweries, like Raleigh Brewing Company’s classic beer “Hell Yes Ma’am”. Describing themselves on their website as “the best film, food and drink all in one seat,” Alamo Drafthouse is not only perfecting the dinner theater ensemble, but is also seeking to respect cinematic tradition. Partnering with enterprises
like NEON, a recently recognized film distributor, and the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), a film preservation nonprofit, Alamo also sponsors a film festival, a moviefocused publication and a merch printing shop. These affiliations further distinguish the company from standard chain movie theaters by building up niche cinematic communities. Most interestingly, Alamo Drafthouse adheres to a strict code of conduct that primarily focuses on taking the standard motto “no talking or texting during the movie” to an absolute zero-tolerance policy. Alamo’s self-proclaimed PSA declares, “We have one simple rule. If you talk or text during a movie, we will kick you out.” To prove their follow-through and establish their brand, Alamo took an angry phone message left by an evicted customer and posted the minute-long rant on YouTube. The customer rages, “I didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed to text in your little crappy-a** theater.”
The Beginner’s Guide to the State Fair
Alamo Drafthouse is so dedicated to the cinematic experience that they don’t allow persons under 18 unaccompanied by an adult into any movie and generally don’t allow infants or small children into the movies at all. Some of these decisions might be influenced by the prominently placed bar and pricey food options that Alamo offers, which are either not legal or not affordable to certain age groups. In their attention to detail, they refuse to play advertisements before movies. Instead, they play a reel of “custom pre-show.” This footage is typically based around specific movies. For instance, before showing Incredibles 2, the pre-show recapped the entire first movie to refresh the memories of audience members. Upon first arriving to Alamo Drafthouse, visitors are struck by a mural painted across the front of the large brick establishment, with lights and outdoor seating inviting customers immediately into the experience. On one side of the bar, everything from geeky movie
By Caroline Garrett, A & E Editor and Mimi Mays, Associate Editor
Try fried candy or the Krispy Kreme burger. Or go with a friend and share both. Can Day will be on Thursday, Oct. 18. Bring five cans to donate to Food Lion’s Hunger Relief Day in lieu of purchasing a ticket. Don’t pay $20 for parking! The State Fair is offering free parking at the corner of Reedy Creek and Edwards Mill off of Wade Ave., and is providing a free shuttle to and from the parking lot and the fairgrounds. Carpool with friends for further convenience—and to conserve gas! Even though the fairgrounds are five minutes away from Meredith College, you’ll probably hit traffic, especially if you’re going on a weekend or in the evenings after classes, so make sure to allow extra time for driving. Show your CamCard on
Find Your SPARK By Olivia Slack
From Oct. 18 to 21, Raleigh will once again host the 12th annual SPARKcon, the Triangle area’s festival of creativity which proudly uses the slogan “we’re here, we’re weird, it’s awesome.” The festival takes place in downtown Raleigh on and around Fayetteville St. and is free for anyone to attend. SPARKcon was originally scheduled for mid-September, but had to be rescheduled due to Hurricane Florence making landfall that same weekend. One event, the swearSPARK Spectacular, will happen at 6 p.m. on Oct. 13 at Imurj. Described as featuring, among other events, an “NCAA-style bracket of 64 curse words” that attendees vote
Friday, Oct. 12 to get a discounted ticket—just $6. Planning to ride a lot of rides? Ride tickets purchased onsite are $1 each, and some rides can require up to 10 tickets each. Buy an advance unlimited ride wristband for $25 a day and ride as much as you like! (https://www.etix.com/ ticket/p/6014728/1-day-unlimited-ridewristband-raleigh-2018-north-carolina-state-fair). Note, you should probably hit the rides before the food. Bring cash, as many vendors won’t take credit or debit cards. If you forget, there are ATMs on site, but they do charge a fee! If you don’t want to go to the Fair but still want to see the fireworks, they are visible from the front of the Oaks or from behind the SMB. With the large influx of people, cell phone service on some plans may be slow or non-existent.
Set a place and time to meet your group if you plan to split up. The State Fair’s not for everyone, but no one should turn away out of fear of dietary restrictions! There are ample options for vegetarians, and even some for vegans! Much Mediterranean-style food is vegan, especially goodies from Raleigh’s Neomonde Bakery: their vegan baklava, their falafel, many of their sides and their tzatziki sauce. Other classic vegan fair offerings include fried bananas, roasted nuts, corn (without butter) and lemonade, and when in doubt, just ask! The State Fair also allows people to bring in their own food in small bags (no glass containers or alcohol). Visit https://www.wral.com/nc-state-fair-2018-money-savingtips/17895365/ for more information about free parking, discounts, passes and other ways to save money at the fair.
on, this event is, needless to say, not recommended for kids. During the main weekend of SPARKcon, there is a myriad of featured events scheduled. The festival, which was founded in 2006, seeks to celebrate creativity and artistry of all kinds. Different groups of artistic innovation are organized into “SPARKS,” such as artSPARK, circusSPARK, filmSPARK, geekSPARK, danceSPARK and many more. These events are scattered all around Fayetteville St., and musicSPARK has musicians playing around the clock on three different stages throughout the weekend. Other events include dancing workshops in Market
Plaza put on by danceSPARK and dance performances by the Raleigh Rockers once a day. Other highlights include the Wear What You Are fashion show on Friday night between Hargett St. and Fayetteville St. and circusSPARK’s fire showcase at City Plaza on Saturday night. This huge explosion of art and creativity doesn’t organize itself, though. According to Brandon Cordrey, the director of SPARKcon’s production company, Visual Art Exchange, SPARKcon faced several funding and scheduling challenges this year. However, SPARKcon’s organizers were determined to host the event and keep their tradition of celebrating
souvenirs to vintage music records are set up in gift-shop format. Most impressively, a “Video Vortex” stands, incorporated with the merch. The Vortex offers, according to The News and Observer, “a library of 75,000 titles with foreign films, documentaries and super-weird experimental films.” With selections ranging from VHS tapes to Blu-Ray DVDs, visitors can check out up to two movies each day for free in a library-style exchange. The 11 theaters within the Alamo Drafthouse boast comfy leather seats and wide aisles for a pristine movie viewing experience, although waiters constantly coming and going throughout the movie can create a bit of a distraction. The employees themselves are great movie conversationalists because Alamo prefers that all of their employees be cinema nerds. Despite the expensive food, the intense atmosphere of fun and excitement that Alamo Drafthouse offers is enough to turn the average Raleigh moviegoer into a cinema geek themselves.
Crawl on Over to BugFest By Olivia Slack, Staff Writer
On Saturday, Oct. 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the plaza outside the NC Museum of Natural Sciences will come alive with insects and arthropods of all kinds. The museum’s annual BugFest event this year “will spotlight crayfish and other crustaceans,” but of course numerous other bug species will be making an appearance as well. BugFest was originally scheduled to take place on Sep. 15, but was postponed due to Hurricane Florence. This event, featuring over 100 exhibits, is “the largest one-day bug-centric event in the country,” according to the Museum of Natural Sciences’ website and is free to all visitors. A myriad of activities will be offered at the event, including chances to taste everything from arthropod-filled lollipops to fried bugs at the Cafe Insecta, watch roach races, and enjoy all the NC Museum of Natural Sciences has to offer. Take the opportunity to visit BugFest on Oct. 20 and learn some cool new facts about creepy crawlies, just in time for Halloween!
creativity in Raleigh. Cordrey says that “what [SPARKcon’s organizers] mostly want people to take away from this weekend is that the Triangle’s creative community is resilient.” For a taste of this resilience and to experience a “spark” of Raleigh’s creativity, drop by SPARKcon this Oct. 18 to 21 in downtown Raleigh. Visit their website at www. sparkcon.com for more information.
Opinion
Sierra Burgess is a Loser… Who Never Sees the Consequences for Her Actions By Emma Fry, Staff Writer If you fell in love with Netflix’s rom-com remake of Jenny Han’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, you probably thought you’d give Netflix’s newest original, Sierra Burgess is a Loser, a try. If you’re like me, you were immediately drawn in by the signature 80s vibe and beautiful cinematography that Netflix seems to have deemed its signature “rom-com” look. You also might have thought, like me, that Sierra Burgess appeared to be a very relatable character, one whose struggles are ones with which many girls in high school and beyond are able to connect. No matter what size, shape or skin color you are, you might have immediately identified with her struggles of feeling inadequate in the wake of her famous parents, the beautiful girls in her school and those in the media. As Sierra shows us from the very beginning of the movie, self-motivation and self-
confidence are hard to maintain in sincerity. As the movie progresses, we find that instead of simply having insecurities and later overcoming them in the familiar protagonist story arc, she does horrible things to others and uses her insecurities to justify her actions. For example, she catfishes Jamey, hacks Veronica’s instagram and even ditches her best friend for a party. Now, don’t get me wrong, we all went into this movie knowing there’d be catfishing, but I began the movie imagining a revelation on Sierra’s part. I thought she would shockingly realize that what she does to Jamey is terrible and wrong, and that just because she didn’t think he would like the “real her,” she has no right to go on deceiving him. But this moment never comes. Sure, you could argue that she feels bad about what she did to her friends and that the song
Progress is Slow, Vote Anyway By Micah Clark, Cartoonist As the November elections move ever closer, there’s a rising buzz about the future of our nation’s political scene. The stakes are higher than ever with many long-term political figures facing expulsion from their minimally contested positions. Most of all, people are wondering which generation of Americans is going to make the greatest impact at the polls. Spoiler: it’s not millennials. Millennials are the least engaged voters of any other generation and for a fair reason. We were raised in a period in American history where the economy crashed, several natural disasters marred our nation with little national aid and war has been persisting for nearly 75% of our lifespans, according to a study cited by The Washington Post. With the baby boomer generation constantly belittling us while holding most of the political power in this nation, it’s no wonder why so few millennials feel engaged or valued by the nation’s two-party system. For many of us, the 2016 presidential election was our very first experience in high-stakes politics. Despite very personal and pressing issues being on the line, only 49% of millennial voters turned out for the 2016 election cycle despite having the eligible voter numbers, similar to boomers, according to a 2016 article from NPR. These statistics should galvanize new voters, including those in Generation Z, and empower them to take their voting power seriously. Social media was taken by storm over why or why not to vote and which candidate is most progressive, but when did
making the choice to vote become a contest of which politician can be the most morally righteous? With modern political discussions centered around who is least offensive, millennials are typically left with dissatisfaction with both parties, often leading them to abandon voting all together. The hard truth is that this outcome is exactly what regressive politicians want. By not casting our ballots, we are not speaking up, which leads politicians to see our generation as disengaged and disinterested. When we do not vote, we are showing that we don’t care what happens to our generation or anyone else affected by policy. Not voting creates the selffulfilling prophecy of the apathetic millennial voter. By doing nothing, we only prove right those who belittle our generation. To me, not voting when you have the privilege to is the same as condemning the safety and liberties of those who cannot. It doesn’t matter how much sociopolitical theory you pad your actions with, those around you will always see someone who chose to do nothing when many others’ safety was at stake. For example, the briefly existent “Muslim Ban,” enacted immediately after President Trump’s inauguration, sent a chill of anxiety across the nation, fulfilling many campaign promises. We cannot deny that the Trump administration has wreaked havoc upon our society. The current administration began to tighten immigration further by separating families at the border, often detaining children for extended
she sends to Veronica is sort of an apology, but she never actually sits down with them and apologizes for her actions. Honestly, I would have loved to see Sierra play her song for Veronica in person, since apologies over text are kind of like breaking up over text… they come off as the easy way out of a confrontation with someone. I would say though, that even though she feels bad, Sierra never seems to internalize this feeling of regret and there are never any true consequences for her actions. She gets an A in her English class at the end of the movie and a teacher recommendation, even though she had ignored the given assignment and turned it in late, so we all know an A would probably never happen in real life. Even her relationship with Jamey never faces true conflict as he resolves the issue by arriving at Sierra’s door with flowers to take her to homecoming, even after
everything she does to him. For me, this normally sweet moment had me scratching my head in confusion. I definitely wouldn’t have reacted the way that Jamey did if I had just been fooled into believing someone was another person, even more so had I simply known that she had lied on such a big and emotional level. I’m not sure if most people would be able to forgive that kind of behavior so easily. Though I think you might agree that even though this movie has an amazing soundtrack and is admittedly quite adorable at times, it is seriously flawed in how it displays the repercussions of lying to someone. Subtly glorifying the idea of catfishing was probably something that had us all scratching our heads, because, at least in my opinion, that is something we can all agree is not so sweet if you’re on the receiving end of the text message.
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periods of time. Each time I think of the people who chose not to vote because they didn’t like their options, I think of the children who, when reunited with their families (a truly rare occurrence), exhibited attachment trauma and barely recognized many of their family members. News stories act as morbid weekly reminders as we see reports of sexual violence and of denial of healthcare that has led to at least one child’s death. And to think, many of our peers took their own personal moral high ground because “voting isn’t revolutionary.” I’ve got news for the non-voters: it is. Voting allows generations to begin to try and change the political landscape in succession with each election. If we don’t try and vote-in progressive candidates, our society will not progress. If we allow the same regressive narratives to take over the political scene, it will only prove that doing nothing changes nothing. Many say we should not vote because it doesn’t matter, instead focusing on community organizing
STAFF
and restoration of public works. They talk about feeding the homeless and creating a safe and unified community through appreciation of diversity and bonding over adversity. My response is, why can’t we do both? What’s stopping a person with the resources to vote from also starting a community food garden? Why not vote and revive unions to ensure fair worker rights? What’s stopping the fusion of two very good concepts to create a nation that works together from the roots up to the highest leaf on the tree? Nothing. So please, from one millennial to a community of young voters, rush the polls this November to make real, impactful change. Vote to change the world not just for yourselves, but for the support and solidarity of all people within our nation’s borders. Lastly, remember how your silence and inaction impacts your world. Your voice is heard even when you don’t make a sound. “Fools multiply when wise men are silent.” – Nelson Mandela
Sarah Kiser, Editor-in-Chief. Mimi Mays, Associate Editor. Abby Ojeda, News Editor. Caroline Garrett, A&E Editor. Rebecca Dowdy, Opinon Editor. Micah Clark, Cartoonist. Cro Owens, Social Media Coordinator. Nikki Wertz, Layout Designer. Staff Writers: Carolina Brust, Rachel Crawford, Kathleen Daly, Hannah Flood, Emma Fry, Huma Hashmi, Molly Perry, Olivia Slack.