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April 4, 2012
Volume 63 | Issue 18
THE PACE PRESS SERVING PACE UNIVERSITY’S MANHATTAN CAMPUS SINCE 1948
Activists turn to #socialmedia to spread their message Internet pushes various movements forward provoking millions to get involved ERICK MANCEBO Features Intern Activists looking to affect change know that in order to wage a successful campaign, they must harness the power of the Internet. While some have found moderate success, social media has allowed activists to turn their campaigns viral, sending their message to anyone with a Twitter or Facebook. As social media networks have become so ingrained in modern culture, activist organizations have found it easier to create full-fledged grassroots movements with little effort, surprising analysts and social media experts. With the 2010 Haiti Earthquake and 2011 Japan Tsunami, social media analysts saw the power of a mobilized Internet community as donations to the two causes surpassed billions. Other online activists have tried to use the Internet in the same way, hoping to catapult their message. More recently, the February shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin sparked a tremendous online response. George Zimmerman, who allegedly shot Martin and has not yet faced any criminal charges, has been put in the center of an online-driven campaign calling for an investigation of the incident. The “Justice for Trayvon” movement has sparked massive public demonstrations and protests, culminating at last month’s march in NYC. In another example of online activism going viral, the 30 minute Jason Russell narrated “KONY 2012” video managed to garner over 80 million views on YouTube in just three weeks, sealing Invisible Children’s fate as one of the most successful Internet activism campaigns in recent memory. Millions of people helped share the video throughout social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. The sudden success of the campaign for Martin and Invisible Children’s video re-energized the on-going discussion about the power of social media to spread messages and news, but more importantly, brought about questions about new media’s power to truly affect change. The Trayvon Martin campaign seems to be shaping up to be a success. Demonstrators who heard the story were inspired to act in the physical world, rather than simply ‘liking’ a Facebook page or pressing a retweet button. The actions of the demonstrators have managed to affect a real change, with the federal government and officials in Florida, where the shooting took place, both considering launching investigations into the shooting. Freshman Danielle Carella is wary of some social
KONY & MEDIA continued on PAGE 11
YouTube has been an integral part in social media activism. Photo illustration by HILDA ADENIJI | The Pace Press
INSIDE FOLLOW US ONLINE !
NEWS Check out Alternative Spring Break 2012 PAGE 3
FEATURES ARTS P.A.C.E. Board & POP TV Theater Masters give words of wisdom to students sponsor Hunger Games premiere PAGE 9 PAGE 6
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P.A.C.E Board and POP TV hold event for Hunger Games premiere CRAIG HELD Features Editor The University’s Programming and Campus Entertainment (P.A.C.E.) Board in collaboration with the NYC Campus’ television station, POP TV, hosted a screening of The Hunger Games at Regal Battery Park on March 23. The event, which was open to those a part of and outside the community, was the first of its kind at the University. P.A.C.E Board President Eleni Efstratiades said, “The idea of this event was brought to us by our
secretary, Lauren Rogers. She saw that NYU premiered a movie last semester and thought it would be a great idea for us to do an event like that.” P.A.C.E Board went through a list of movies that would appeal to the widest audience at the University before settling on The Hunger Games. Efstratiades said, “She [Rogers] came up with The Hunger Games and we thought it would be a great idea because there was a lot of buzz already.” Initially, the event was to be free for University students but according to Efstratiades, “SDACA would
POP TV treasurer Ivonna Thompson, POP TV executive editor Sam Bassford, Dean of Students Marijo O’Grady, and Freshman class president Mimi Norris attend the screening.
Chinatown Mini High Line turns vacant space into recreational park JULIA YEUNG Staff Writer Chinese artist Xu Bing is working with NYC to bring a mini High Line park to Chinatown to open in 2014. The new addition will be along Forsyth Street at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. The City hopes to have the design completed for the mini High Line by the end of 2012 and for construction to begin in 2013. The opening of the park has been delayed several times and is more than a year behind schedule due to scheduling conflicts with Bing. Bing’s design will include transforming the space from its current bare space into a Chinese-themed garden. His designs are to include a gathering space encircled by bamboo and weeping cherry trees. According to Dnainfo.com, “The plaza also will have a small cafe kiosk, plantings, movable chairs and tables and bicycle parking, according to preliminary drawings,” and will also include, “smooth-sided trash cans to keep away rats and notched railings and rough-edged stone to keep away skateboarders.” Bing also wants to include his signature Square Word Calligraphy which is a type of writing that is similar to code. At first, the calligraphy appears to be written in Chinese characters, but is in English and is written in a square format that resembles Chinese characters. Therefore many people can be drawn into the word’s appearance and meaning. The Square Word Calligraphy will be embedded into the steps leading up to Forsyth Street plaza containing the last two lines of the Li She poem from the Tang Dynasty, “Writings at Helin Temple:” By a bamboo temple I talk with a monk midway Half a day, in my floating life, is thus whiled away. Junior Candy Leung said, “I think it’s a great idea. If the space wasn’t used for anything else, I think it’s really useful to build a little getaway where people can rest during their walks or travels.” The first stage of construction has already been completed in which the sidewalk on Forsyth Street between Canal Street and Division Street has been widened. The widened sidewalk lets the City have enough room to add a staircase and ramp to the mini High Line and still gives green market vendors on Forsyth Street the space to set up. Junior David Lee said, “I really support this; I think it’s a smart move to change a vacant space into something more recreational. This should be done in more areas throughout the city.”
not allow us to [make the event free]. So we decided if we have to charge people at least it will go to a good cause.” After restructuring the event, P.A.C.E Board decided to donate the profits to March of Dimes. With students lining up as early as 1 p.m. for the 6 p.m. showing, it is no surprise that all 400 seats sold out, allowing P.A.C.E Board to donate over $1,000 to the charity. With the success of the event, Efstratiades notes that the spring movie event would become one of the P.A.C.E Board’s legacy events along with the popular Springfest and Live.Love.Laugh.
Students line up for the sold out screening at Regal Battery Park. all photos by CRAIG HELD | The Pace Press
New Queer Studies minor ERICK MANCEBO Features Intern The Women and Gender Studies Department recently announced that Queer Studies will now be offered as a minor at the University. The minor will allow students interested in the subject to take 15 credits from a number of new course offerings. The minor will also allow students to focus extensively on a variety of topics that revolve around human sexuality, unlike the focus of the study at some other schools. According to the Queer Studies’ page on Pace.edu, “The new Queer Studies minor is organized around the insight that sexuality is at the center of the human experience, from the formation of the individual to the organization of diverse societies. Our courses examine the significance of same-sex desire or cross-gender identification throughout history, and across a variety of global cultures.” The focus on general human sexuality is emphasized with course offerings like Historical and Modern Sexual Revolutions (WS 270), Gender and Sexuality, Italian Style (ITA 154T) and Human Sexual Behavior (PSY 234). Senior Elizabeth Hernandez said, “It’s great that there is a recognition that gender and sexuality studies are lacking...There should be an effort to fill in the gaps.” The focus on the sexuality aspect of Queer Studies was off-putting to Hernandez, however. Hernandez said, “It seems like the creation of Queer Studies is more a response to the failing Gender and Sexuality studies than a study of queerness. Existing programs should be improved.” The minor attempts to preemptively temper this complaint, however, offering additional courses like Introduction to Queer Studies (WS 196Q), Queer-Stories (WS 250), The Gay Male Experience (WS 296W) and Queer Cultures (INT 297Q) which makes for a total of 17 available courses. The Women and Gender Studies Department said it will continue to add to the course roster with each passing semester, with the hope being that the program grows in number and scale.
INTERESTED STUDENTS | CONTACT Professor Stephanie Hsu at: shsu@pace.edu or Visit the Women and Gender Studies office in 41 Park Row, Room 1502
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University students lend a helping hand at Alternative Spring Break 2012
Pleasantville and NYC Campuses unite in community service project aimed at combating poverty SHYAM NOOREDEEN Staff Writer As part of this year’s Alternative Spring Break, the Center for Community Action and Research had 15 students from both the NYC and PLV Campuses participate in a community service project. The theme for this year’s project was poverty, with almost all of the activities planned revolving around the theme in some way or another. Sophomore Rachel Robinson said, “The Alternative Spring Break experience allowed me to appreciate what I have and do all that I can to keep what I have. It also allowed me to see that with the compassion that I have for others, I can trigger change.” The following is an itinerary of what students did as part of ASB: Day 1, March 12: Students began their day by checking in at the Hostelling International New York where they resided for the duration of the program. Following check in, PLV Economics Professor Ghassan Karam gave the students a presentation on homelessness and factors that contribute to it. He also presented possible ways to decrease the percentage of individuals currently homeless in NYC. After lunch, students volunteered at Housing Works in
Long Island City, Queens where they either sorted or hung donated clothing. Day 2, March 13: Students traveled to Hunts Point, Bronx to volunteer for a food bank where they repackaged several boxes of items. Thereafter, students traveled to the food bank offices in Lower Manhattan where they were given a presentation on the food bank’s mission, goals and programs. The day concluded with students taking part in a housing simulation where each student was given a scenario where they had to find housing based on their specific situation. Junior Alice Villalta said, “The activity that interests me the most was the housing simulation. Prior to ASB, I thought people who were out on the streets or begging for change in the subway were doing that because they were afraid of going to shelters because of the people who they would share rooms with could abuse them or anything that was life threatening within the shelter system. “Instead, people who are out on the NYC streets are just losing hope each and everyday that housing for a day or even the thought of permanent housing is never going to be possible.” Day 3, March 14: Students traveled to Yonkers to volunteer at the Yonkers Community Action Program. This program facilitates individuals by teaching them how to use the Internet, find jobs, create an e-mail address
and produce a resume. The student volunteers assisted in all of these activities. Students then came to the University where speakers from the organization Picture the Homeless gave a presentation on possible ways of decreasing the number of homeless individuals in NYC. Day 4, March 15: Students volunteered at Yorkville Common Pantry where they participated by checking individuals in, assisting with choosing necessary items or packaging items. Before students headed home, each wrote a letter to a legislative member where they called for action relating to an issue they observed in the duration of ASB. Villalta said, “My ASB experience was nothing I anticipated. I expected to be volunteering at various places each day of the program. Instead, ASB went into depth with the background about what poverty is and what types of people are going through it, which was mind blowing.”
VISIT THE ASB BLOG Dysoncollege.blogs.pace.edu/category/ alternative-spring-break-nyc
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Alternative Spring Break taking a group photo in front of Yorkville Pantry.
Students from Alternative Spring Break preparing cookie dough for baking at Yorkville Pantry.
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Left to right: Gabrielle DeGaetano, Sharon Laviera, Rachel Robinson, Olivia Allen, Shyam Nooredeen, Daniel Bottling, Zarif Alam, Nicholas Mulvihill, Aniqah Montague. Left from front: Martha Rodriguez, Conny Larrain, Caitlin Kelly, Georgette Vaillancourt, Ann Marie Pavia, Alice Villalta & Jocelyn Gao at the Food Bank.
photo #1 by SHYAM NOOREDEEN | The Pace Press
4 Students from Alternative Spring Break packing care packages at the food bank.
all other photos by CCAR
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PIERS conference helps students become more environmentally conscious Presentations on nature and the environment explore environmentalism affairs in today’s society OLIVIA BETETA Arts Intern The Pace Institute for Environmental and Religious Studies (PIERS) held a conference in the University’s Multipurpose Room on March 23 to educate and engage students in environmental affairs. The conference was led by PIERS Director and Philosophy and Environmental Studies Professor Dr. Robert Chapman and Anthropology and Environmental Studies Professor Dr. Judith Pajo. As part of the conference, presentations centered on the theme of “Encountering Nature Through University Culture.” The idea was for presenters to draw connections between environmental studies and other concentrations. Students from all over New York state and one from Massachusetts submitted work to be presented at the conference. PIERS sent out a press release prior to the conference sharing that they “would like you to pause and reflect on how we are disciplined to think about environmental problems and possible solutions in various fields of study, including the natural sciences, the social sciences, the humanities, and in the fields of business, engineering, medicine, law, public policy, and more.” The conference included presentations from both undergraduates and graduate students. The event began with freshman Claudia Chan who presented on Daosim & Deep Ecology and its impact on nature and mankind. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts senior Shelby Giaccanni presented on literature and ethics. Giaccanni
said, “We tend to isolate ourselves within our fields so we need to work together to address the problems facing the world today. Literature has a more emotional response while philosophy is more about truths, moral truth. It’s a good way to reach people, story telling creates an emotional response and ethics expose truths that make people want to change.”
We want to cultivate this culture when people think about these issues, so they become involved in the effort themselves. -Dr. Judith Pajo,
Environmental Studies Professor City College student Enriquee Lanz presented on manufacturing a new hydroscope era: semantics of restoration in the Elwha Waters. Lanz’s presentation dealt with the destroying of dams all around the U.S. and the benefits of that on the ecosystems in the surrounding area. Lanz said, “I think the main point here is to see [that] we as people are not separated from nature. Anything we change will change nature.” University alumna Molly Forman spoke about a short documentary she and her classmates made in Belize over
Tech Expo showcases emerging tech gadgets and vendors IVONNA THOMPSON Managing Editor The University Information Technology Services (ITS) Department held its second annual Tech Expo on March 28. It allowed the University community to view and learn about the latest technology available for educational and personal uses. The event included tabling and presentations from various vendors and faculty members from both the NYC and PLV Campuses. Some of the vendors present were Apple, Blackboard, Research in Motion (RIM), Dell, HP, Verizon, Panasonic, Echo360, Microsoft, Adobe and Cisco. RIM, Apple, Adobe and Microsoft gave presentations on some of their latest programs and products such as the iPad 3, Blackberry Playbook, the Creative Suite 5.5 and Acrobat. Faculty presentations were targeted towards the University community and showed how to utilize technology both on and off campus. Some of the presentations included ePortfolios as part of the Pace Life Cycle, which showed how the electronic portfolio is accessible for all University students who are interested in applying for jobs and internships. PLV Campus Professor Linda Anstendig and other faculty members and students gave the presentation. NYC Campus Professor Dr. Christelle Scharff presented Mobile Technology and Sustainability: Examples at Pace, which discussed how students at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science helped create an environmentally conscious Android app and SMS service apps. The SMS service app called GreenApple is to increase awareness of the environment for New Yorkers. GreenApple offers a wide variety
of alternative ways to live in NYC such as eco-friendly dining, shopping and traveling. NYC Campus Professor Dr. Barry Morris gave a presentation on how to legally show clips in class presentations without having to pay for them. Students had the opportunity to learn how to utilize free clips relevant to their in-class presentations without having to buy an entire video in order to legally show the material to an audience. For mobile devices, the presentation iPads in the classroom: Preliminary Notes on the Pace iPad Pilot Project gave insight on in class iPad use. PLV Professor Dr. Jane Collins talked about her recent creative writing course in which she distributed iPads to her students and required them do their assignments on them. She surveyed her students throughout the course and discussed the results and her own insight of iPad use in her curriculum. Aside from the presentations, there were also raffles and prizes that were given away in which students had the opportunity to register for. Those who pre-registered had the opportunity to win three grand prizes which were an iPad 2 won by PLV student Alisha Hayes, a Samsung 22 inch HD T.V. won by PLV student Cody Panella and a pair of Beats by Dr. Dre headphones won by PLV student James Hoag. Those who did not register prior to the event date also had an opportunity to register at the Tech Expo for other raffles and prizes including a Nikon camera and a HP printer. In the upcoming weeks, ITS will be sending out a survey for feedback on the Tech Expo for comments and suggestions for the following year.
spring break in 2011 about Linda Thornton and her work on shrimp sustainability. Forman said, “[The trip] was interesting because it was a group of communication students…on a shrimp aqua culture [trip]. It’s getting the average person to think about it [sustainability] and why people should get involved with the environmental culture.” By the end of the conference, the interdisciplinary connections were more apparent and after all seven presentations, it was obvious that everyone speaking was very passionate about the environment. Once the presentations were completed, each speaker stood in front of their presentations and answered questions. The audience was left with the feeling that environmentalism has a farther reach than just science. This year’s conference was the first to be organized by Dr. Pajo who is hopeful that the conference will be even greater next year. Dr. Pajo said, “We want to cultivate this culture when people think about these issues, so they become involved in the effort themselves…I think it’s never to late to start thinking about this [the environment]. It is something everyone can relate to so it’s not that difficult to find environmental aspects in their work.” The hope for PIERS is that it will be able to connect students to experts in the environmental field and through that connection create a new generation of environmentally conscious educated individuals.
Waive your way into the Graduate Program PATRICK DEHAHN Staff Writer A newly introduced initiative at the University will allow current students use specific courses in order to waive required classes in the graduate program. The six courses that can be waived however are predominately business, marketing and accounting based. This change will help students save up to $19,000 while working towards a Masters degree. Director of Graduate Admission, Susan Ford said, “[This is a] new reason to seriously consider a graduate study in the Lubin School of Business as a smart move.” Ford stated that if students want to maximize their chance of a waiver in graduate school, they should meet with their academic advisors as early as they can and work with them. Although the waived courses are largely business courses, she says that non-Lubin students who are interested can still participate by using their electives. Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Programs and professor of Management Daniel Baugher is excited about this new decision from the Lubin School as it will help many students interested in a graduate degree. Prof. Baugher explained that the change is the ability to waive the entire foundation core with a grade of a B or better in certain courses. The savings apply to the Masters of Business Administration program while some savings can take place for
the graduate program as well. Every waiver requires two courses and a B or higher grade. Prof. Baugher said, “The waiver for students, it’s a clear deal. Plan your schedule out; take the courses, use up your electives to do this deal.” Students can work towards waiving up to 19 credits but no more. Prof. Baugher said, “Trying for 19 credits may be hard but 12 isn’t.” Specifically for the MBA programs, if students take part in the waiver program, they can do away with the entire foundation course work load of the graduate program. For the other graduate programs, it depends on the program. The plus side is that it is possible to complete a program in 30 credits with maximizing the option of waivers. Prof. Baugher encourages students to try the new initiative, “It’s just a little change, without even thinking about it, you could easily save $9,000 to $12,000. Take the right courses.” All the information on the new waiver change for students is accessible on the graduate program pages of the University website.
VISIT For more information about waiving courses for the Graduate Program, visit: Pace.edu/prospective students/graduate
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OPINION AND EDITORIALS DISCLAIMER: These opinions are expressed by contributors (students, faculty, administration and staff) to The Pace Press. These opinions are solely those of the individual writers and do not reflect the opinions of The Pace Press, the members of The Pace Press staff or Pace University. The Pace Press is not responsible and expressly disclaims all liability for damages of any kind of arising out of use or relevance to any information contained in this section.
to my status as a possible moderator of a second colloquium that would focus on the gray area. So after finding a venue for another colloquium, I asked Dr. Adelia Williams, Professor of French, and Associate Dean of Dyson College to moderate. She has agreed to do so and so she will moderate Colloquium 2: The Gray Area, scheduled to take place in the Student Union on April 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. I look forward to getting suggestions from interested students and faculty about specific topics for discussion or about the procedure to be followed. Dr. Harold Brown, Chair and Professor Philosophy and Religious Studies
ADAM WELLS | CONTRIBUTOR
I am Trayvon Martin A young man was walking to the home of his father’s fiancé, carrying with him some skittles and an icetea he bought from the local store. While walking to the home, a man was watching him, calling the police to indicate that someone suspicious was walking around the neighborhood. The police said to stay in but with the title of leader of the neighborhood watch, he felt it was his duty to follow the boy. Supposedly talking on the phone to his girlfriend, he notices someone following him. He becomes scared, his girlfriend tells him to run and then something occurs and the phone goes dead. Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, [Martin] was 17-years-old. I heard the 911 calls from both Zimmerman and neighbors. I heard the screams from what I deem a young man pleading for his life. I heard the gunshot silencing the voice of the aforementioned young man. I could hear the ignorance dripping from the words of Zimmerman, the man in question. I’ve read the numerous articles written by articulate journalists. I applauded athletes [like] LeBron
James and Dwyane Wade for speaking out the way black athletes used to and I’ve watched peaceful protests, of black and white people across the nation. But each time I see the family photo of Martin, smiling into the camera with joy, I realize once again the burden which I carry. I would like to believe that I will be able to keep my head down, go about my business and the ignorance may subside. I would like to believe that I can act any old way without having a rousing suspicion. I would like to believe that I can walk down the street, wear what I pleased without the usual stereotypes that flow through someone’s mind. I wish I didn’t have to worry about being stopped because of what I look like. But that’s the burden which I carry. Martin fit the description of being “suspicious” and “up to no good,” according to Zimmerman, and he fit it well in Zimmerman’s eyes. From what I know as of March 30, Martin did nothing wrong. But with the death of this young brother, I realize, Martin could have been me or any of my friends or family who fit the description. I should not be surprised this action occurred in this day
in age but I wanted to believe that I could live my life and walk the streets without having some lunatic hunt me down. But that’s the burden which I carry. Justice—that’s what this case deserves. This will by no means fill the void left in the hearts of the family of Martin, but they deserve to see Zimmerman prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This does not mean vengeance. The bounty made by the New Black Panther Party will do nothing for the family and will only stir up more anger. He should be prosecuted and judged by a group of his peers. But even that seems like wishful thinking. With no charges filed for a month after the crime, I’m losing what little hope I had left in the system. My heart wants to believe in the system but my mind knows there is very little justice. This senseless act of violence made me aware once more of the dangers of being a black man in society. I became lax in my approach to society but this case has opened my eyes once more to this fact: I am Trayvon Martin and this is the burden I carry.
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EDITORIAL BOARD Kim Bui Editor-in-Chief Kaitlynn Blyth Associate Editor Ivonna Thompson Managing Editor
Fotini Sachpatzidis News Editor
Colloquium 2: The Gray Area on kissing a student than on “a policy that may prevent other students from being kissed by a professor whom they did not want to make physical contact with.” That’s not a fair question. In some sense, asking me about the value I place on kissing a student is akin to asking me about the value I place on continuing to use drugs. I mentioned the story, which the author of the editorial took the liberty of removing from the context in which I had placed it, because as moderator, I was doing what I could to facilitate moving the discussion in a direction of greater interest to the majority of the students who were present at the colloquium. I succeeded in changing the direction of much of the discussion to that ‘gray area,’ albeit, with considerable damage
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Hilda Adeniji Creative Director
DR. HAROLD BROWN | CONTRIBUTOR
To the editor, I was generally pleased with the editorial “Understanding the Gray Area of Sexual Harassment Between Professors and Students,” that appeared in the Feb. 23 issue of The Pace Press. For example, the editorial was generally well written, with evidence of careful copy editing. As a result I am concerned that my response be well written. A second point of agreement: there should be further discussion of the gray area. However, there are points of disagreement. Most important: misuse of professorial authority is not limited to behavior with sexual connotations. Sometimes professorial behavior amounts to what can best be described as ‘bullying.’ At one point, the author of the editorial asks me if I place more value
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The Pace Press is the student newspaper of Pace University’s New York City Campus. It is managed and operated entirely by members of the student body as it appears above. The Pace Press welcomes guest editorials and letters from students, faculty, administration and staff. The Pace Press reserves the right to not publish any submitted material, both solicited and unsolicited. All submissions must include the author’s full name and contact information. The Pace Press 41 Park Row, Rm. 902 New York, NY 10038 www.pacepress.org editor@pacepress.org
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ARTS
Hunger Games fills appetites of fans and newcomers alike
The young adult series continues to break film records and maintain top spot at the box office CRAIG HELD Features Editor Since the success of the Harry Potter and Twilight series at the box office, studios have been clamoring for the next young adult saga to adapt to film. So it isn’t surprising that The Hunger Games has been hyped for the better part of the year by Lionsgate. Yet, besides the fact that they were all books at some point, there are no similarities to the boy wizard or teen vampires. The Hunger Games, based off Suzanne Collins’ incredibly successful book series of the same name, is a post-apocalyptic tale where children are selected to battle each other to the death while the citizens of Panem—the country where North America once stood—are forced to watch. The movie addresses a wealth of issues like the idea of celebrity and the role of government, which has led to praise from both sides of the political spectrum. Of course, anytime a novel is adapted to film, there is outcry from the loyal fandom to retain every detail, but with this film, it would’ve been impossible. The novel is written in the point of view of Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, so unless director Gary Ross planned a voiceover by Lawrence, something needed to be cut. Yet, for such a detail-rich story, Ross, Collins and Billy Ray, who co-wrote the screenplay, accomplished
quite a bit. The film, however, had its fair share of flaws. The film truncates a lot of the exposition that the book explores in detail. While many wouldn’t care to watch a four hour film geared towards teenagers, the ultimate product suffers. The film, which clearly relies on the relationships it establishes between Katniss and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), the star-crossed lovers fighting for their lives in the actual Hunger Games, as well as the others that Katniss encounters throughout the film are never fully explored. Peeta likes Katniss, but the reciprocity is muddled in trying to move the film along. Unfortunately, the film also breezes past Katniss’ relationship with Cinna, her stylist and main supporter played by Lenny Kravitz, which becomes integral as the books continue. It seems that in an effort to show as many explosions as possible, the human connection to the story needed to suffer. Yet, there were deviations from the story that Ross made excellent use of. By breaking apart from Katniss’ first person point of view, moviegoers are able to see more of the political implications of the games which sets up much of the action of the next two books. Ross also set up the introduction of Gale, played by Liam Hemsworth, as a major player in the later books without forcing a major plot change for him. The flashes to Gale as Katniss in the Hunger Games arena are just
enough for the average viewer to remember him until the sequel. On the bridge side, for such an outlandish story, the cast is perfectly crafted. Lawrence, whose shoulders the trilogy rests on, is strong and subdued as Katniss, the protagonist that places herself in the Hunger Games in lieu of her sister. Katniss is meant to be stoic — hardened from her years as the impoverished breadwinner of her family and Lawrence’s passion gives the viewer something to cheer for. Hutcherson as Katniss’s male companion in the Hunger Games is the perfect mix of charming and slight awkwardness that wins over both the audience and Katniss herself. The two most shocking standouts of the film are by far, Kravitz, who was painfully underused, and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, the drunken former winner of the Hunger Games who is to mentor Katniss and Peeta. Harrelson’s Haymitch is irritating, but lovable and his interactions with Elizabeth Banks’ Effie Trinket, the conservative government representative that oversee Katniss and Peeta pre-games, is funny. The Hunger Games is a great story that definitely deserves the amount of attention it’s getting now. The entire world seems to agree—the movie is still selling out theatres internationally.
Top grossing movies still lacking original storylines
loftcinema.com OLIVIA BETETA Arts Intern Movie remakes seem to be the trend in Hollywood nowadays. This is not only seen in movies, but in all forms of art. Whether it be in movies or music, there is a definite lack of originality. It is a smarter move for the producers of these movies to sponsor something they already know would sell, which is where remakes and rereleases come in. Almost all the movies being released today are based on novels, memoirs or a previously released film or T.V. show. 21 Jump Street, a recently released movie starring Jonah Hill, is based off of a T.V. series from the ’80s starring Johnny Depp. The bigger problem with movies is the lack of fresh material and innovation. Avatar was the biggest blockbuster hit of 2009 and earned multiple Oscar
impawards.com
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nominations. However, as movie goers shuffled out of theaters, they couldn’t help the vague feeling that they had seen the movie somewhere else before. It is probably because the film bears a striking resemblance to the Oscar winning movie Dances with Wolves or the animated movie Fern Gully. In all three movies, the male lead is taken from his industrialized home and placed in a more natural environment. The man begins to embrace his new home and become a member of the community. The man falls in love with a prominent member of his new society and joins her to fight against his former allies to defend his new home. Another similarity can be seen in the current number one movie in the U.S., The Hunger Games. The movie is very reminiscent of the Japanese film Battle Royale. In The Hunger Games, one boy and one girl from every district in
the country are forced to be in a competition where they will battle each other to the death. In Battle Royale, a class of children is picked at random to be transported to an island to fight to the death. There are countless other movies that seem to borrow their plot from preexisting films and some of the biggest offenders are blockbuster hits. There is The Change Up starring Ryan Reynolds which seemed to be modeled after Freaky Friday. The storyline from Big starring Tom Hanks was only slightly changed for 13 Going on 30. The animated films A Bug’s Life and Antz are eerily similar for two different movies. Not to mention Project X seemed oddly similar to Superbad, which was only released a few years prior. Although Hollywood isn’t known for its originality these days, many people are still flocking to theaters to watch movies, whether or not they are original.
April 4, 2012
ARTS
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The Bakery serves up comedy and dark humor Student production highlights performing arts talent in Studio 501
KIM BUI Editor-in-Chief The Bakery, an original student production by senior Brandon Pfeltz, serves up healthy portions of comedy and dark humor. Taking place in the intimate Studio 501, the play opens in a quaint little bakery, Guerdon’s Gay Gourmet, where the audience meets the excited owner Nicholas (Drew Paramore). Having just opened the bakery, Nicholas hires Aaron (Clarke Bliss) to help at his shop. Aaron is as vulgar as he is honest, telling Nicholas that the things he bakes taste awful. With random interjections of humor and stories from Aaron to pass the time, Nicholas is timid but hopeful that his bakery will soon become popular. One of the only customers to come by the bakery is Adley (Howie Schaal). A loud cop with an obsession with Sasquatch, his personality clashes with Aaron. Voicing his customer dissatisfaction to Nicholas, Adley leaves. With some back and forth tension between the two, Aaron storms out of the bakery, ultimately leaving behind his job and Nicholas alone. While Nicholas daydreams about his love interest Kate (Caroline Cummings), we also meet her fiancé Neil (George Robson), who has come to Nicholas to ask him if he is able to store an item for them for safekeeping. The item, a gun, causes tension but Nicholas obliges at the coaxing of Kate. It is not long before Kate finds herself hired by Nicholas, while Aaron and his friend Sam (Chris Lemieux) have their own plans for the bakery. Breaking into the shop at night, the comedic duo go back and forth between jokes and insults before Aaron begins his plan of tainting the dough with rat poison for Nicholas to sell the next day. It is here that Sam stumbles upon the gun from earlier and not before long, Aaron is shot in the leg and the two are panicking to clean up their mess and run. Nicholas and Kate soon discover the aftermath of the break in, but also have the pleasant discovery of finding that the dough now tastes delicious. It is not revealed what the secret ingredient is until later, as customers begin to find interest in his bakery and bread. When the secret ingredient is later revealed, Nicholas must decide whether to continue as a bakery that cannot bake, or a bakery that sells delicious bread that can kill. It is not long until we discover that the tainted bread has poisoned Neil and a window of hope and opportunity opens for Nicholas and Kate. One fake death later, Neil breaks into the bakery, only to find that everyone else has chosen to do the same. Hoping to seek revenge on Nicholas, Neil now plans to sabotage and ruin all who know about his secret death. Robson adds a quirky but crazy essence to Neil before his evil ploy comes to an end and everyone is free. After strokes of bad luck and a mass near death experience, Nicholas and gang then make amends and set out for a better bakery.
Left: Nicholas (Paramore) and Aaron (Bliss) don’t agree; Right: Neil (Robson) catches Adley (Schaal) breaking in.
A majority of the cast of The Bakery.
Paramore’s portrayal of Nicholas made every scenario seem hopeful. Through the good, the bad and the crazy, Nicholas tries to find the silver lining of things. Paramore and Cummings give you that tension of the good guy after the girl next door where you just want him to be given a chance. With an interjection of Ben Fold’s “Bitches Ain’t Shit,” during the play, it’s hard not to find yourself laughing at it all. Written and directed by Pfeltz, the dark humored comedy sold out almost every night. Pfeltz said, “I’m not doing this show as any sort of artistic, metaphor for life or anything. I’m really just doing this show to entertain people. I really just want to make people laugh. I’ll do whatever it takes to make people laugh!... Not anything. Mostly anything.” With humor being a hit or miss, Pfeltz took a chance in the material of his play. “I have a very screwed up sense of humor,” Pfeltz said. “Most things that I laugh at, other people do not laugh at. [Or so] I thought until I made this show and then I was surprised at how many people laugh at exploding kidneys and rape jokes. I usually just have a dark and morbid sense of humor and I think that the best kind of humor is the quick wit, big, bold, brash… the things that I find the funniest are
the things that kind of laugh at the error of human ways and it’s kind of a very misanthropic view of things. “Things that I’ve always laughed at the most, the things that you shouldn’t be laughing at…that’s what I want to do — make the audience see how ridiculous life is and how you can’t take it seriously and [that] everything you can laugh at. That’s the biggest thing I want[ed] the audience to take away, is that there’s nothing you can’t laugh at,” Pfletz said. Having worked with Lemieux and Schaal before, Pfeltz ended up writing the comedic roles of Sam and Adley for them. With an intimate cast, “I’m blessed to [have worked] with these people because they’re all incredible and fantastic,” Pfeltz said. “They give 100 percent dedication to every single thing that they do, so it’s been wonderful to work with them. I felt safe in their hands.” “It was a lively experience,” Bliss said about being in the play. “Brandon is an amazing writer and director. Everyone that worked on it was just perfect; we all had a bunch of fun [in] rehearsals and performances. I would love to do it again.” Bliss and Lemieux share chemistry between their chaotic characters, and as Sam says at some point, “I know what you need, some bro love.”
If they were to be brothers, Bliss would be the terrorizing, foul mouthed, bully big brother with Lemieux as the silly kid brother who tags along. “Aaron is a badass, so [he] definitely brought out the badass that is deep down inside of me,” Bliss said. Being set up in Studio 501, “They’re a company that really gives students the opportunity to put on a work like this,” Pfeltz said. “A lot of other places wouldn’t take the risk in putting on a show this risqué, this crazy, [where] we throw around shit and break things. I’m really grateful 501 gave me that opportunity to do that. And it’s great because we don’t do enough comedy here at Pace, and [we] especially don’t do enough student original pieces so it’s a huge step…I feel like with this show, I really wanted to showcase that we can put on a full fledged, original comedy and I really wanted to showcase these comedic actors and I’m really glad 501 gave me the chance to do that.” With the University becoming more dominant in the area of performing arts, the work of students really showcase their talent and dedication to the field, with The Bakery adding to the pool of student work here at the University.
all photos by George Robson
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ARTS
April 4, 2012
Fanny Wang releases luxury headphones in time for summer HILDA ADENIJI Creative Director As a true New Yorker, it seems that the current must have accessory is headphones. In the past two years, headphones managed to cross their way over from just a music and technology product into the fashion and accessory category. Each new brand presents an emergence of new colors and styles, creating an array of choices for everyone. Despite the immense competition, the Fanny Wang 1000 series comes with a lot of features and specs that helps it more than contend with the bigger brands. These over the ear headphones have remarkable sound quality, even at loud volumes; the audio is still clear and clean. Surprisingly, despite the powerful bass and great volume, the sound on the Wangs is not as loud to bystanders unlike other competitor brands; which makes it great for public transportation in NYC. Additionally, these headphones create no distortion or loss in audio quality to any range of music. A very interesting feature on the Wangs is the duo jack on the cable which allows a second set of headphones to share in on the listening experience without diminishing the sound. Also, the headphones are equipped with a remote and mic designed specifically for Apple products also still works with various Android products. The two hinges on each ear allows the headphones to fold up and fit into its portable felt pouch. Nevertheless, its price is the key feature that sets this brand apart from its main competitors. The Fanny Wang 1000 series are available for $169.95 on their website Fannywang.com with additional colors, series and features also available.
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FEATURES
April 4, 2012
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University holds Master Series on art and the industry Theater veterans lead discussion about what keeps the art of performing alive OLIVIA BETETA Arts Intern Although the University is primarily known for its business program, in recent years the performing arts department has greatly expanded to include The Actor’s Studio and most recently a commercial dance major. Many performing arts majors fear what life will be like outside of the University. In this economy it is difficult to break into such a competitive field. In an attempt to offer students a better understanding of the real world, the performing arts department held a Masters Series in which three leaders in American theater answered questions and spoke about their lives on and off stage. The first master was Gregory Mosher, best known for his work producing and directing such hits as “A Streetcar Named Desire” (starring Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin) and Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge” (starring Liev Scheiber and Scarlett Johansson). Mosher is also the former head of the Lincoln Center Theater and The Goodman Theater. The second master was Amanda Feldman, producer of numerous off Broadway plays including “The Hotel Project,” “Prison Light” and “Lake Water.” Feldman also acted as the general manager of the Lark Play Development Center. The third master was Alexander Fraser, whose most notable work includes the Broadway hit “The Normal Heart,” which went on to win a Tony Award for Best Revival of Play in 2011. Some of his other works include “Irena’s Vow” and “Bombay Dreams.” In addition, Fraser is the Former Executive Director of the Second Stage Theatre in NYC. The event was described as a conversation with leaders in the American theater and they made it just that. As people were ushered into the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, it seemed like students would be forced to listen to yet another lecture in which the speakers would gush about their former work.
The Head of Directing at the University, Cosmin Chivu, took his place on stage where he would act as moderator. As Mosher, Feldman and Fraser made their way to the stage, the room was buzzing with excitement as Chivu directed questions to the speakers. Chivu first asked the speakers how they got started in the theater world. Although the responses varied, Mosher and Fraser had similar starts. Both were out of school looking for a place to work when former professors helped them find jobs. Mosher moved to Chicago were he began working at a local theater and Fraser began work as a casting director.
These people you make connections with and have relationships with are the people who have more vested interest in helping you. -Alexander Fraser, Theatre Producer
Fraser touched again on the topic of warming up to professors and colleagues when he offered what he believed is the best advice he could give someone looking to find a job in the industry. Fraser said, “The most important people in your life are the students around you. It is very important to be friends with those around you, especially the really talented ones. These people [that] you make connections with and have relationships with are the people who have more vested interest in helping you.” As expected, there were numerous questions on the speaker’s previous work, but the crowd really began to listen as talk turned to the current state of theater. All
three seemed in agreement that new work is seldomly found on Broadway or in New York for that matter. It seemed that the “new work,” meaning scripts, seldomly works commercially. Feldman gave hope to the playwrights in the crowd when she discussed her work in non-profit theater, specifically with the Lark Play Development Center. There, and at other non-profits, new work is given a chance to be exposed in an otherwise unaccepting field. Mosher went on to add that it is harder to find new work. He explained that he had not been sent any plays in a long while and those he had received did not meet his standards. The news undoubtedly weighed heavily on some members of the crowd. It led a University student to ask what keeps the three hopeful for the theater that seems, at times, to be diminishing. Feldman was the first to speak on the matter, “The work is good…I’m excited by the work I’m doing…the plays that are coming out are incredible…it’s the work that makes me optimistic.” Fraser followed, claiming that ticket sales are what make him most hopeful. Fraser said, “[what makes me hopeful is] that so many tickets are being sold, some shows are even selling out. Even in this economy people are going to the theater.” The conversation ended with many student questions and countless snippets of advice. Possibly the most important came from Mosher when he described the important role students would have on the theater. Mosher said it would be the next generation of people coming into the theater that would repair it and change it, just as their generation had done and those before them. Mosher said, “It’s [the theater] always breaking and re-fixing itself and that’s not a bad thing. You just have to figure out how to fix it…theater is always a young person’s game, to have a healthy theater we have to turn it over to you [the young people].”
Mike Daisey criticized for controversial Steve Jobs monologue
The actor’s politically incorrect episode centered around the Apple founder considered tasteless by many CRAIG HELD Features Editor Acclaimed author and actor Mike Daisey found himself in hot water when his latest monologue, “The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” was deemed inaccurate and borderline libelous earlier this month by a NPR reporter. Daisey, who is known for his controversial monologues, centered his latest on working conditions at the Foxconn factory in China, one of Apple’s largest manufacturers, as well as the effects of globalization as seen through Apple’s meteoric rise to the top. The monologue, which has been in rotation since September 2010, was used for an episode of NPR’s “This American Life” in January 2012 entitled, “Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory.” Ira Glass, the host and producer of “This American Life,” posted on the show’s blog on March 16 that he was retracting the Daisey episode after Rob Schmitz, China’s correspondent from American Public Media’s “Marketplace,” found inaccuracies in Daisey’s story. When researching the story and talking to the translator that Daisey used in China, Schmitz found discrepancies between Daisey’s monologue and the actual experience of his translator. In the blog post, Glass wrote that Daisey lied to him during the fact-checking process and that he was, “horrified to have let something like this onto public radio.” In a press release that followed shortly after, Daisey’s fabrications were brought to light ranging from the trivial such as the amount of people he spoke to and the number of factories he visited, to those more glaring like his claim of meeting
a group of poisoned assembly line workers. Schmitz, who had covered the poisoning incident in a factory that occurred 1,000 miles away, was immediately tipped off. When Schmitz and Glass spoke to Daisey’s translator, she explained that a story in the monologue, which featured Daisey showing an injured worker an iPad for the first time, never occurred. The release continued to say that Schmitz and Glass confronted Daisey to which he responded, “My mistake, the mistake I truly regret, is that I had it on your show as journalism, and it’s not journalism. It’s theater.” Daisey responded with his own statement on his blog saying that he stood by his work and reiterated the fact that what he does is not journalism. The monologue, which is still being performed around the country, is now presented without the content that was called into question. According to Daisey, it was just six minutes from a two hour show. While Daisey’s gaffe has brought him a wealth of negative press, his ultimate goal was achieved—better conditions for Apple’s Chinese manufacturers. The initial buzz surrounding “Agony/Ecstasy” opened the door for The New York Times to run its own investigation on the Foxconn facility as well as ABC News. The attention forced Apple’s hand into conducting its own investigation with the Fair Labor Association, who found that workers at Foxconn regularly worked over 60 hours, were paid unfairly and weren’t safe in the current environment. Foxconn quickly announced that it was overhauling its policies and would adhere to Chinese labor laws.
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FEATURES
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April 4, 2012
Pornographic site Is Anyone Up? reinvents the art of blackmail ERICK MANCEBO Features Intern Type “IsAnyoneUp.com” into a web browser and hundreds of pornographic images of teenage and young adult boys and girls will immediately flood the computer screen. The images are submitted by the very people whose private photos are now available for worldwide scrutiny, whether they were submitted by a disgruntled former lover, or by a random person who happened to come across the images; the website’s handlers make no distinction between the three. Once the pornographic image is submitted through the website’s anonymous “Submit” form, the website’s owners take a look at the picture and verify the subject’s identity and age by checking his or her Facebook page. If everything checks out, the picture is then prepped to be published as a post on the website. The offending image will be sandwiched between a screen capture of the subject’s Facebook or Twitter profile, sometimes revealing full names, locations, schools, and other publicly available information and a “reaction” picture picked by the site’s owners. The reaction picture is usually offensive: moving .gif files which usually express disgust or amusement. The website is indiscriminately mean. Relishing in the public humiliation of others, the posts often encourage negative comments and harassment. Posting the subject’s Facebook and Twitter profiles is an open invitation from the website for anyone to find the person and message, friend request or otherwise harass them. Incredibly, as offensive and humiliating as the photos might be, some victims of the website choose not to pursue the removal of the pictures. This is especially true in the
case of the many band members who find themselves on the website and see it as an opportunity for free exposure for their band. A Los Angeles Times article titled, “Rockers, fully exposed on Is Anyone Up,” quotes Buddy Dameron, a guitarist from the band Deception of a Ghost and victim of the website, as saying, “I think it can only help….People who haven’t heard of us have seen that. If you were talking about Taylor Swift, then yes, it would be a problem. But for a rock ‘n’ roll band? I don’t see it being an issue.” For the rest who are not as worried about promoting their band’s latest single, however, simply keeping the photos online might not seem like such a great option. Although the website claims to abide by take-down requests from the legitimate subject of an image, many argue that the gesture is not enough. With monthly page views in the millions, one nude picture posted on the website for only a few hours can spread quickly online. Anybody with a computer, cell phone or tablet can access the website and download the image. University senior Noor Fatima doesn’t agree with the website’s ideology. Speaking of the format the website uses, Fatima said, “I mean, it’s immature of the company itself. It’s immature of the people that are involved in it.” When the subject of copyright laws came up, Fatima said, “I feel like you could sue them, like, what right do they have over the picture? They have no right over the picture.” Although many have tried to sue the website and it’s webmasters, none have managed to sustain any court orders against the website. As Forbes explains, this is because “Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act…protects site owners from legal liability for the things that their users post, and because most people don’t
have copyrights on their XXX pics.” In a July 2011 interview with Forbes magazine, the website’s creator, Hunter Moore, said of naked photos, “Everyone is doing it. It’s no secret….I actually post myself now and then to show that I’m not a hypocrite.” That argument did little to soothe Fatima, however, who retorted with, “Not everyone feels comfortable exposing themselves to everyone like that; He [Moore] may feel like that, [but] there’s people that come from different cultures, different backgrounds, different perspectives, different experiences where they don’t feel sexually open to expose themselves like that. If they felt at some point like exposing themselves to like a boyfriend or they felt like that was the one for them or whatever and it just didn’t turn out well, I don’t think that it’s okay for them to…post it online. Absolutely not.” Moore insists, however, that he’s not running the website to ruin lives. Speaking of his promise to take down pictures of professionals who could be harshly affected by the posts, he said to Forbes, “If someone has a real job, like a school teacher or something, I don’t want to ruin their life….There’s a never-ending supply of photos anyway.” While most agree that the website is malicious and going out of their way to ruin the reputations of a lot of young people, others like Internet law expert Eric Goldman strongly advise against taking nude photos in the first place. University senior Shaista Saleem agrees with Goldman to a degree, saying, “To some extent, that is true—If you don’t want to expose yourself [online] like that, then don’t…[take the photo], because once it’s submitted…it’s there forever, and there’s no way of getting it back and deleting it.”
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April 4, 2012
Social media campaigns can be double edged sword continued from PAGE 1 media activism movements because the message sometimes seems lost in translation. Carella said, “The main point of the message sometimes gets misinterpreted, which can lead to confusion regarding what it is exactly that the message pertains to.” Last fall, the Occupy Wall Street movement made its way into public consciousness through a series of well-planned social media maneuvers. Many thought the movement would be a success story for social media activism. The movement however, wasn’t validated until traditional media outlets picked up on the story. The media exposure backfired for the movement because the story the traditional media outlets picked up on wasn’t the movement itself, but the incidents where the police mistreated or harassed protestors unprovoked. With OWS, the sensationalized story of police brutality eclipsed the message the activists were trying to send. Because of that, their message did not stay on the minds of the general public for long and failed to evoke the public response OWS organizers hoped for. As traditional media exposure faded and the fall made way for a mild winter, the OWS movement seemed to lose traction and with the Nov. 15 raid of Zuccotti Park, the movement’s encampment in Lower Manhattan, seemed to be one of the final nails in the movement’s coffin. As the winter melts away into the spring and summer months, the group is again looking
to create a grassroots movement. An “American Spring,” as OWS is dubbing their new efforts —a nod at last year’s so-called Arab Spring— seems unlikely given that the new protests and marches have all been effectively restrained or shut down by the police. The social media outlets that the group uses to mobilize its followers are a double-edged sword as the police also have access to those websites, giving them first-hand information about the group’s movements throughout the city. Because of that, it seems unlikely that the group will be able to shift the focus from their clashes with the police to their central message. With the varying results between OWS, “Justice for Trayvon” and the Invisible Children campaigns, the question of whether activists are able to truly harness the Internet to spread a message and inspire people remains unanswered. Freshman Brianda Agramonte disagreed, and maintained that social media could be a vehicle for creating a real change, if used correctly. Agramonte said, “I one 100 percent believe that social media activism serves as a viable way for someone or [a] group of people to get their message across. But…[a] message is just a message unless until the actions for reform are made; that is the movement.”
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Is social media a viable way for activists to get their message out to a large audience?
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KONY 2012 kind of proves that it works—you paid attention to it only because it popped up in your phone, and in your news feed. -Kathryn Gau, Junior
Social media does because it does reach a lot of people, even though it can have it’s bad effects, but mostly it’s good because it reaches people. -Brianna Vernoia, Freshman
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I don’t think so because there is too much information on Facebook and you—it’s very hard to verify if it’s true or false, and also I think it will distract others.
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April 4, 2012
FEATURES
DOMINATE THE POP CHARTS WITH NEW FORMULA
BOY S D N A B NICOLE MORALES Features Intern The names One Direction and The Wanted have found their ways into the conversations of many seemingly overnight. While some may still be scratching their heads trying to figure out what One Direction means, many are obsessing over which one of the two boy bands is their favorite. The craze isn’t new, but has instead spurred bouts of nostalgia amongst young adults who can relate back to the days of the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync. With One Direction set to appear on “Saturday Night Live” and The Wanted’s performance on “American Idol,” these overnight British sensations make one wonder if the boy band resurgence is here to stay. Though boy bands have come and gone over the years, the concept hasn’t. Their calculated marketing approaches may differ slightly with each generation; however the basic principles will still remain of physical appeal and catchy lyrics. Sophomore Caitlin McNamara said, “I think kids deserve a boy band to love, it’s a rite of passage…but it will never be the same [as in the millennium]. … I was a huge ‘N Sync fan. I was in love with Lance Bass.” The Wanted was assembled through a mass audition in 2009 and found success stateside with their single, “Glad You Came.” Following a cover by the cast of “Glee,” the song reached number three on the U.S. charts, making it
British super groups One Direction and The Wanted remind pop fans of bygone predecessors
the highest charting song by a British boy band. One Direction found its success after placing third in the seventh season of the UK’s “X Factor.” After the show, the band was signed to Simon Cowell’s SYCO records and found reasonable success in Europe. Yet, it wasn’t until the group signed with Columbia Records and embarked on an American promotional tour that they found international success. Their album, Up All Night, debuted at number one on the U.S. charts making One Direction the first UK band to debut at number one on the charts. Though many felt that the days of boy band-induced mania would never return, it seems that it is a part of music culture that reappears every decade. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, New Kids on the Block was unstoppable but was later replaced by millennium boy bands. According to The New York Times article, “Boy Bands are Back, Wholesome or Sexy,” Z100 program director Sharon Dastur said, “Music is always very cyclical…We had the New Kids on the Block time and the ’N Sync-Backstreet Boys time and it’s that time again.” As it’s been some time since the success of ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys, the boy band formula has indeed changed a bit. Unlike their counterparts from the last decade, neither One Direction nor The Wanted dance. With both groups, their entertainment factor heavily relies on their singing. In addition, the formula for a wholesome image is somewhat different from years before. Although One Direction’s lyrics seem innocent enough, The Wanted’s lyrics are comparably more suggestive than those of past boy bands. However, the biggest difference is that both boy band phenomenons are British.
It’s unsurprising as the resurgence of boy bands has been occurring outside of the U.S. for some time now. In Korea and Japan, there has been an obsession with super groups like Big Bang that dominate the Asian charts. Their formulas differ however, where the band members are not teenagers and are usually surrounded by unapologetic personas both on and off stage. They also utilize lots of pre-video teasers and mini-albums or EPs in between full length albums. Although different, the presence of pop boy bands has been prevalent for many years, mostly in Asian countries, but crossing over into English speaking countries as well, where the influences of millennium boy bands has since faded. In this sense it’s possible that these boy bands influenced the idea for record executives to recreate that magic within a more mainstream audience. Conversely, it may also very well be a wave of nostalgia that continues to carry on into each generation. Sophomore Adam Lagosz said, “People are at the age where they feel nostalgic about bands from when they were younger and exposing their own children to them.” Whatever the reason may be, its clear that the latest craze of the British boy bands has any plans on slowing down. If anything, American record executives may soon scout U.S. boy bands to compete with the ongoing craze. Though the times may change, it’s clear that the public’s demand has not. It’s hard to tell how long the life spans of One Direction and The Wanted will be, but while they’re here we might as well get used to it until the next batch of boy bands come around.
Photo Illustration by Damien Morgan | The Pace Press