Issue 16, Volume 122 Thursday, February 18, 2016
What’s your personality type? And does it matter? page 5
Page NEWS Page #2 •• SECTION OPINIONS
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Dr. Maurice O’Sullivan
Professor of English
Jonathan Swift. And we can reflect on the crises that mark so much of Irish history from the Norman Invasion to the Troubles in Northern Ireland, crises largely created by England’s determined but futile nine hundred year colonial effort to force the Irish to become more British. That effort included regular invasions and campaigns to remove families from their farms, destabilize their economy, obliterate their native language and religion, and, finally, destroy their crops. England’s greatest achievement in the Emerald Isle, ironically, was to create an Irish Diaspora with emigrants and their children spreading throughout the world. Today, that tiny island at the Western edge of Europe is home to about 6 million people, while over 80 million worldwide can trace their lineage back to it. So, by all means, let’s hold conversations about race. But let’s also celebrate all the diverse cultures that form our community and our country.
ber knows, we have a pretty long term with lots of other days not identified with specific groups or traditions. How can it make sense to address the issue of cultural insensitivity with an act of cultural insensitivity? Some see St. Patrick’s Day simply as a day of parades and parties. And there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, over 34.5 million Americans cheerfully claim Irish descent, a remarkably diverse population that ranges from Tom Brady and Barack Obama to Mariah Carey and Muhammed Ali (whose mother’s family originally came from County Clare). But many of us also see March 17, a day named in honor of a former slave, as a day of remembering and reflecting. We can remember Ireland back in the fifth century as the first nation on earth to ban slavery—it took the U.S. 1,400 more years and a Civil War to catch up—and as the home to a remarkable cultural tradition from James Joyce and U2 to Sinead O’Connor and
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On Monday, Feb. 1, the Sacramento Kings cancelled a Chinese New Year promotion it had planned to honor one of its region’s largest communities—18.3 percent of the city’s population identify themselves as Asian—after one of the team’s players complained that it was insensitive to pass out purple Year of the Monkey t-shirts on the first day of Black History Month. I thought about that decision when I received a notice about the 11th Annual Summit on Transforming Learning, “Advancing Racial Justice: Rollins & Beyond”. The summit, advertised by the Center for Leadership and Community Engagement, will begin with a debate on free speech on the evening of March 17 and then host a full day of programs on the 18th. Racial justice certainly matters. And it matters both nationally and locally. There are clearly periods in our college’s and nation’s history that we will all change once time travel becomes possible. It should not, for example, have taken Rollins almost eighty years to admit our first African-American students or another seven years to appoint our first African-American faculty member (Alzo Reddick). As we address all the issues of diversity and pluralism, we also need to remember that we should judge people and institutions as much by how they respond to mistakes and failures as the mistakes and failures themselves. The fact that there may be more to do—in some cases much more—does not negate what has been done. Over the past four decades, I have been proud of Rollins’ commitment to recruiting a diverse faculty and student body and to recognizing that we live in an increasingly multi-cultural society. No student from the 60s could have imagined either the heterogeneity of today’s student body or celebrating a Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month. (To be completely honest, I am not sure that Dr. King would be pleased to know that most of our students honor his
memory by taking a day off and going to Disney World. I suspect that he would have preferred that day to turn classes into conversations about the state of the country.) I have also been happy to see Rollins so active in the recent annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival in Eatonville, especially the programs on and off-campus that many of us have participated in. That is only appropriate, of course, because during the 1930s Hurston spent a lot of time at Rollins, visiting classes, producing two plays here, and workshopping with writing students. A woman of fierce integrity, she showed her appreciation to Rollins by dedicating two of her four novels to members of our faculty. Racial justice and black culture certainly matter. But don’t other cultures matter too? If they do, why begin the summit on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, the one day each year devoted to celebrating Irish heritage? As every student and faculty mem-
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Established in 1894 with the following editorial:
Thursday, September 11, 2014 Thursday, February 18, 2016
Page 3 • OPINION
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Addiction in the app store Beware of the newest and most addictive apps on the app store—they threaten to consume all your free time and make you prone to lying in bed for hours. Sianna Boschetti
Staff Writer
Every once in awhile, my mother gets tired of my texting and forces me to use my cellular device for a different purpose. So being the follower I am, I download whatever app my friends are currently addicted to. They play, I try desperately to catch up to their level of progress, and then I feel miserable when the game wakes me up at 2:58 a.m. because my tractor has stopped collecting coins. Some apps are horrible, time-sucking little black holes that act as a spermicide in the creative womb your once-productive brain was. It starts off simple enough—you want to harvest coins, build your zoo, catch them all, slice fruit with your wicked ninja moves, or help that little bird get wherever it thinks it is going—but soon everything takes a turn for the worse. That paper you have due? You will not be writing it. You will be lying in bed for three hours eating Teddy Grahams and buying Frisky Bitz for a bunch of virtual stray cats that occasionally beg for food near your house. Here are the apps that have ruined my life: Disco Zoo: In this game, the player runs a disco-themed zoo, complete with double-point dance parties and rescue mis-
sions to get even more animals that keep you up at night. Yes, the game alerts you when the animals in your exhibit fall asleep and stop earning you coins. This happens around every 30 minutes. I did not realize turning off notifications was an option for the first three weeks I had it. However, zero out of 10 would recommend this app. Expert Opinion: How do you feel about the addictive qualities of this game? “Even if [my animals] fall asleep, the worst thing that would happen is that they would stop making money and if capitalism ended I wouldn’t be that upset.” – Ly Malespina ‘18 Goat Evolution: I have lain in bed playing this ridiculous (yet somehow awesome) game for three hours. The player runs a screwed-up goat farm where small goats are combined with other small goats to create larger goats, which starts a cycle of goat-mashing, ethically-iffy mutations. You use the coins they generate to buy power-ups and upgrades, such as a tractor that collects coins while you are away. And then it bothers you in class, late at night, or whenever you have to socialize. Expert Opinion: What’s your favorite feature in the game? “The goats.” – Catherine Kleindienst ‘17 Neko Atsume: This game has no plot, but it is still my fa-
vorite app currently installed on my phone. It is simple: put the cat food out, let the cats come in, watch them play for some indeterminate amount of time, and let them love you forever. My virtual cats give me virtual love and that is all I need in this world, right? Expert Opinion: How do you feel about Neko Atsume? “In a bleak existence with little to look forward to, the words ‘meow loading’ paired with the small, chiming noise when I log into Neko Atsume remind me that not all hope is lost. Even if I fail out of college or willingly get hit by a car so that I don’t have to pay off student loans, I will still be worthy of the company from 49 virtual cats. That is, as long as I can afford Ritzy Bits.” – Tierney Torchin ‘16 iFunny: iFunny provides endless funny pictures available in a single swipe. It is a one-way ticket to a memetic hellhole from which you may never return. If you see it on Imgur today, it will be on iFunny two days from now. For every eight posts, there is a moderately humorous image that will make you internally pronounce “LOL.” Expert Opinion: How do you feel about the app? “iFunny is to Tumblr as Hillary Clinton is to Bernie Sanders. #feelthebern2k16” – Lea Harvey ‘17
Illustration by Tara Gallagher
The Oxford comma debate It turns out the Oxford comma is not as optional and irrelevant as you might think. The debated punctuation sign is a necessary but often ignored symbol that must be used for clarity. Kate Stefanski
Writer
With Oxford comma: My heroes The Oxford comma, also are my parents, Superman, and known as the serial comma, is Wonder Woman. the final comma in a list, follow- Without Oxford comma: My heing the second to last item, and roes are my parents, Superman immediately preceding the word and Wonder Woman. ‘and,’ or the word ‘or.’ The complete history of the When you remove the OxOxford comma remains unclear, ford comma, the meaning of although a few things are known. the sentence changes from the We know that the concept and subject having four heroes (both naming occurred at the Oxford of my parents, Superman, and University Press; however, the Wonder Woman) to the subject’s actual creator remains unknown. parents being Superman and According to the Oxford English Wonder Woman, who also serve Dictionary, the term was first as the subject’s heroes. used in Peter H. Sutcliffe’s 1978 book, The Oxford University Press: With Oxford Comma: We invitAn informal history. Sutcliffe attri- ed the hippos, Buddha, and Popbutes the Oxeye. ford comma to Without OxF. H. Collins, ford Comma: who died in We invited In reality, it 1910. the hippos, is natural to According Buddah and to many peoPopeye. pause before the ple, nobody cares about the In this conjunction when Oxford comma. instance, we we are speaking. People usually go from inthink that the The syntax of the viting hipOxford compos, Buddha, written sentence ma is optionand Popeye al, something to inviting should reflect that you can two hippos that. either throw in named Budor omit. They dha and Popare all wrong; eye. nothing could be further from the truth. As a writing consultant, it In reality, it is natural to is difficult to comprehend why pause before a conjunction when anyone would not use the Oxwe are speaking. The syntax of ford comma. And it becomes the written sentence should re- even more frustrating when I flect that. add these commas to students’ Besides the fact that punc- papers every consultation. tuation should match its spoken Plus, there are terrible arcounterpart, the Oxford comma guments online against the use helps avoid confusing sentenc- of the Oxford comma. The best es. Sometimes I look them up in I could find were “commas are my free time and giggle at how ugly”, “commas are overused”, ridiculous some of them can be. and “commas are really just a Here are some examples of how squiggly line”. omitting the Oxford comma can Really, what does it take to have unintended consequences: just use it?
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The opinions on this page do not necessarily reflect those of The Sandspur, its staff or Rollins College.
Page Page #2 NEWS 4 •• SECTION FEATURES
Thursday, September 11, 2014 Thursday, February 18, 2016
UCF Professor gives talk on politics in Turkey Cameron Ochse
Writer
On Feb. 11, Dr. Hakan Özoğlu from the University of Central Florida came to Rollins to give a brief explanation of the Turkish government and its increasing levels of instability. In 2011, Dr. Özoğlu published a book entitled From Caliphate to Secular State. Turkey is considered to be one of the only successful democracies so far in the Middle East, but a closer look reveals that there are problems constantly brewing within the government. Dr. Özoğlu began with a
brief history lesson on the Ottoman Empire and its dissolution into modern-day Turkey. He mentioned that the Ottoman Empire was the longest lasting Islamic Empire in history that showed the intermingling of religion and state. Turkey currently incorporates secularism within their government, which is the separation of religion from state, similar to the lack of Biblical laws in the U.S. Constitution because not everyone in the United States practices Christianity. Since the Young Turk Revolution in 1908, Turkey made strides in becoming a democracy. However, about every 15 years
or so, according to Dr. Özoğlu, a military coup is often staged, and the entire previous government is wiped out to make way for some sort of reform. In 1928, secularism was implemented in Turkey as the nation made steps to become more westernized. For example, headscarves for women were banned, and the Latin alphabet replaced the Arabic alphabet, meaning new translations of the Quran were no longer in its originally intended language. Dr. Özoğlu claimed that he briefly considered walking on stage, saying, “Is Turkey’s democracy and secularism in danger? Yes”, and then simply exit-
ing.
Luckily, he opted instead to humor us with some more information. After giving a brief historical background on Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, he began to discuss the current Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Dr. Özoğlu claimed that the main reason secularism and democracy are being threatened in Turkey is because the president is bolstering his power and moving towards a more authoritarian government style. Erdoğan has been increasing the influence of Islamic law in the Turkish government. Different political parties that might oppose his party’s ideas and morals
are immediately shut down and the leaders are often jailed. When one student asked whether or not Turkey can even be called a democracy, Dr. Özoğlu replied, “Yes, because everyone can vote.” The talk lasted a little more than an hour and covered a wide variety of topics. However, Özoğlu’s final impression is clear: Turkey’s government is approaching a shift in power that threatens the current secular, democratic status of the nation. Dr. Özoğlu is unsure of whether another military coup is underway, but remains confident that big changes coming up for the Turkish government.
Dr. Chong discusses life influences Assistant Professor of Political Science chats about his upbringing and time spent in Thailand. Michael Kuhlman
Photo by Judy Watson Tracy
Writer
Growing up in Los Angeles, in a self-described “very dogmatic religion that didn’t encourage critical thinking… and didn’t encourage open inquiry,” Dr. Dan Chong first found his desire to teach while attending college. In his own words, “college completely changed my outlook on life”. To him, the college classroom was the first place where he was able to see and question his own biases. He learned to challenge his previously-held assumptions and dreams; his younger self wanted to be “either a short stop for the Dodgers, a pastor, or a missionary”, but today, he remains in the classroom. After college, he found himself spending a year abroad in Thailand, working in a refugee camp. Among more than 20,000 refugees, he saw victims of human rights abuses and war, which made him want to dedicate his life to helping others. He discovered the many sides of humanity, from fourteen-year-olds who had never seen the outside of a refugee
camp, to soldiers who would breach the walls in attempts to rape the women inside. It was an eye-opening experience, one that the future professor would bring into the next phase of his life. After his year in Thailand, he worked in a variety of positions, ranging from administrative work to being a director of advertising. During this time, he even had the opportunity to work in a mental hospital, alongside patients with severe personality disorders. This later influenced his emphasis on having empathy for each individual. Even there, Dr. Chong found his worldview changed through speaking with patients on a day-to-day basis. In his late 20’s, Mr. Chong transitioned into Dr. Chong, after the decision was made to pursue a Ph.D. in International Relations. Devoted to this idea of critical thinking, he went on become a professor, eventually finding himself at Rollins in his current position as Assistant Professor of Political Science. When asked if he had any advice for the average 20-yearold, Professor Chong stressed the importance of exploration, both
of self and the world. He gave this advice; “Justify what you believe. Reinforce and strengthen your beliefs. [Teaching] is not so much about new content and facts, so much as it is about trying to encourage [students] in a new way of thinking. Question what you believe, empathize with what other people believe, and depending on your position, act on your beliefs.” His advice to students: Seek your own fulfillment. Be a little egotistical. Find out what you want to do, and do it. Challenge your basic assumptions. Question why you do what you do. Do all this with empathy in the forefront of your mind. Dr. Chong’s favorite classes to teach are field study courses. He claims he is able to see the effects of travel on his students, and feels that these field studies pack a plethora of content in a short few weeks. Professor Chong explained that he can see perspectives actively changing and previously-strong beliefs overturned during the studies. Dr. Chong hopes to change his students’ lives in the same way that his time at college transformed his own.
Page 5 • FEATURES
Thursday, February 18, 2016
ESFJ
ENTJ
ISTJ INFJ
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INTP ISFJ ISFP
ESTJ
INFP
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ENFJ
ENFP
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INTJ
Testing the worth of personality inventories Sianna Boschetti
Staff Writer
Rollins uses several asssesment tools and personality inventories to help students recognize their leadership skills. These include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Gallup’s StrengthsQuest, and True Colors. Over the summer, all incoming freshmen were required to read StrengthsQuest: Discover and Develop Your Strengths in Academics, Career, and Beyond. The freshman’s reactions to this assignment were mixed. “I did take the StrengthsQuest test, and I felt that the information wasn’t accurate because it was mostly a regurgitation of what we input into the survey...The pros of this kind of test is that can build the self-esteem of the participants who don’t know their talents already, and the cons are that it
doesn’t add any new information,” said Lizzie Berry, ‘19. Fiona Campbell, ‘19, said, “I didn’t enjoy [the StrengthsQuest book] at all. It wasn’t so much a book as it was a guide to their test. Clearly written by a group of researchers passionate about their work, but they weren’t very good storytellers. All of their anecdotes seemed forced and not well incorporated. It was redundant and not much more insightful than the test itself...For myself and many of my peers, I don’t think the test was particularly life changing. It was fun to see what my results were, but I already intuitively knew how to define myself. I think a con could be that someone could be hyper-focused on defining his or herself on just this one test, but I don’t see any other serious repercussions from a test that only gives you positive results.” Gallup’s StrengthsQuest
gives a person their top five “themes”, or areas of aptitude. According to the StrengthsQuest website, over 13 million people have taken the test. It is a popular choice for colleges, with the company reporting that over 600 North American universities use the system, and over 2 million people have taken the assessment for academic reasons. Another assessment tool that Rollins often uses is the Meyers-Brigg Type Indicator, which assigns letters that indicate personalities. There are sixteen sets of these letters, each a combination of E/I, N/S, T/F, and P/J. Each letter stands for a different trait, with two of the most important being I, representing introversion, and E, representing extraversion. According to the Meyers-Briggs Website, the purpose of the personality inventory is to make psychological types appli-
cable to people’s daily lives. Jeremy Diorgio, Assistant Director of the Center for Leadership & Community Engagement, commented on why Rollins uses the personality tests. “While I cannot speak for them all, I can speak to those offered from the Center for Leadership and Community Engagement. Currently, we offer workshops and training based on Gallup’s StrengthsQuest, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and True Colors. Many colleges and universities across the country utilize these personality tests as way for people to better understand themselves, others, and how to work effectively as a team member,” he said. “I think as individuals we are invested in these tests because want to learn more about ourselves and what makes our brains tick as well as our triggers! These tests are based on scientific research and grounded in data. They provide insight into who we are as individuals and a better understanding of our leadership capacities as well as ways to reduce conflict when interacting with others.” But do students think these personality tests actually work? “I think that it’s a fun idea and interesting for self-reflection; however, it’s not reliable,” says Alice Habib ’18, a psychology major. “Many government positions and business still use
these tests to screen for a certain type of person as an employee. Unfortunately, it does not take into consideration that the environment affects personality immensely and can cause people to act differently in different situations, so there is no point in such excessive screening.” Emily Richards ’18, a psychology major, also notes the downside of these tests. “They can provide knowledge about your personality type and predict behaviors for future situations, but they also label people to a specific personality category, and they don’t consider the person’s experiences.” Habib believes that our connection with these style of tests is born almost out of habit. “We’re invested in these tests as a society because we’ve used them for so long, even though modern research has shown they aren’t the best judgement of personality,” she says. “Once something catches on in modern society, it’s hard for psychologists to tell people that this suddenly never worked. It’s like how Freud’s theories have been disproven for decades, but it’s still iconic in modern society as what psychology is.” Despite the prevalence of personality assessments at Rollins, most students seem to be unsure of the real-life and educational applications that they provide.
Page 6 • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Rollins hosts Bach Festival Ken Cowan, head of the organ program at Houston’s Shepherd School of Music, performed for the 81st annual Bach Festival. Esteban Meneses
Copy Editor
After informal events earlier in the week, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park opened its 81st annual Bach Festival on Friday evening with a recital by Canadian virtuoso Ken Cowan on Knowles Memorial Chapel’s treasured organ, a resonant pipe behemoth controlled by a four-manual keyboard console. Though it underwent renovations in the early 2000s, all of its original pipes were still heard by the audience during last week’s concert. The head of the organ program at Houston’s Shepherd School of Music, Cowan is an accomplished performer. His polished skill and quality of expres-
sion allow him to utilize with apparent ease the multitudinous timbres and colors of that great instrument. Cowan opened the program with J. S. Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C. In the serene minor-key adagio he used a reedy, nasal tone, spread across different registers and diverse tone colors and contrasted by the low drones of the pedals. The carefully crafted buildup to the climax of the fugue was an impressive moment, matched by the haunting crescendo of the triple-meter closing section of the Prelude and Fugue in A Minor after intermission. Cowan handled Bach’s melodic overlaps with precision, masterfully building enveloping tapestries of sound.
Toward the end of Mozart’s Fantasia in F minor, Cowan showed admirable footwork, following the melodic variations. Each employed its own tonal quality and was bookended by the hefty chords of the main theme. The Soul of the Lake, an imaginative musical portrait by early 20th-century German composer Sigfrid Karg-Elert, described by Cowan as “picturesque,” conjured a feeling of unrest and foreboding. The organist superimposed notes of different timbral qualities to create eerie dissonances and rich sonorities. Equally exciting was Étude Hèroïque, by contemporary composer Rachel Laurin. Cowan’s technical prowess shone in a riveting pedal solo, as he held
onto his seat with both hands to let his footwork dazzle. The cherished pipes resonated from the back of the chapel. Toward the end, a shy whistle-like tune over a cynical twonote pedal accompaniment was rudely cut off by the loud cluster chords of the main theme. Flurries of descending chromatic lines ran furiously on the pedals, bringing the piece to a majestic close—a stunning episode of organ wizardry. Following a Liszt selection constructed on a bass line from a Bach theme and the scherzo from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cowan closed the program with a lofty rendition of Wagner’s Prelude to Die Meistersinger. The ambitious, large-scale design of Wag-
ner’s music drama was captured by the various resources at the organist’s disposal. This was especially the case in the encore, “Ride of the Valkyries” from the same composer’s Die Walküre. Cowan played high woodwind trills in the upper register while he pedaled the main brass theme. By tackling the piece’s simultaneous melodic lines, he captured with impressive dexterity the orchestration of the original piece in this very colorful arrangement. Cowan returns on Feb. 19 and 20 for “Concertos by Candlelight”, the next offering of the annual Bach Festival, which also features the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and the Bach Festival Society Orchestra and Youth Choir.
Deaver featured at Winter With the Writers Dr. Deaver read from his new work, ‘Forty Martyrs,’ at the recent Winter With the Writers event. One of the festival’s interns reflects on her experience. Lindsay Granduke
Writer
The second installment of this Winter with the Writers season was widely attended and served as a celebration of Rollins professor and writer-in-residence Philip F. Deaver’s new work, Forty Martyrs. I had the rare opportunity to not only sit next to Deaver for his autograph signing, but also to watch as the immense crowd that nearly filled Bush to capacity slowly dwindled, leaving an empty and eerily quiet space behind. It was a stark contrast to the sweet sounds of laughter and applause that filled the room earlier in the evening, following readings from Forty Martyrs given by Deaver’s colleagues and friends: English Professor Dr. Jill Jones; Ryan Favata, one of Deaver’s former students and van den Berg Scholarship winner; award-winning poet and author Brian Turner; and Ryan Rivas, founder of Orlando-based publishing company Burrow Press and a longtime admirer of Deaver’s work. As he signed perhaps the thirtieth copy of Forty Martyrs that evening, Deaver flexed his hand and said with a quiet laugh, “My wrist is giving out.”
And not only that, his pen had called it quits, too. Panic, of course, set in, but thankfully it did not last. Pens were passed, and the signatures continued. Those still waiting in line—nearly all of them fans, colleagues, and former students—were very patient and sweet, and did as instructed, keeping their words of congratulations short, but remaining genuine in their praise. Though my task as Deaver’s intern for the evening involved getting everyone’s names, spelling them correctly, and passing them along with each new copy that slid across the table, he really did not need me there. To my surprise, he knew almost everyone in the line by name. If that does not tell you how much of an impact Deaver has made on this community, then maybe this will: in just under an hour, he signed over 70 copies of his novels, and not just the copies of Forty Martyrs that were available for sale in the Bush lobby. The book’s predecessor, Silent Retreats, was the crowd’s next favorite choice (it won Deaver the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction in 1986). His other books, including his collection of poems, How Men Pray, and The Rollins Book of Verse, which features his poem “Classic
Projection VI: Robins Above,” also popped up throughout the night until finally—sadly—the last book was signed. The pen he borrowed from me was finally clicked closed, and Deaver was whisked away to his next gathering where he could rest his aching wrist. The reading in Bush was not the only highlight of the evening. Earlier that day at 4 p.m., Deaver attended a Master Class in the SunTrust Auditorium, given by his good friend, Brian Turner. There, the five interns—Spencer Riggi, Carter Richard, Luis Guerrero, Nia Morgan and myself— were able to work one-on-one with a master author. Topics varied from poetry to short fiction, and involved some very handson exercises, including 2-minute writing prompts that those in the audience were encouraged to participate in, and a human sculpture demonstration that moved bodies and chairs to help convey a sense of scene. While Deaver’s stories take place in Tuscola, Illinois, a town far, far away from Winter Park, there is something about them that is masterfully binding and universal. Whether you are from a small town or not, Forty Martyrs will convey to you the struggles of life in a beautiful, haunting
way that changes you forever. Standing alone in Bush afterwards, taking time to collect my things, was of course a bittersweet moment. The buzz of excitement had faded. Another week of Winter with the Writers was gone in an instant. Those brief moments will still linger, like everything that Deaver does, ghosting around in my brain every time I think of the books he signed or the pen of mine he
used. It was a wonderful, once in a lifetime experience, and I cannot wait for next week, when Chase Twichell, the Irving Bacheller Chair in Creative Writing and author of seven novels, including her poetry collection Horses Where the Answers Should Have Been, will be joining us. Stop by on Thursday, Feb. 18 for a Master Class at 4 p.m. and a reading at 7:30 p.m..
Page 7 • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Thursday, February 18, 2016
‘Vagina Monologues’ coming to Rollins
‘Deadpool’ perfect mix of action, comedy While the main villain is slightly lackluster, the film makes up for it with its disregard for the fourth wall and mature sense of humor. Nicolas Nagaoka
Columnist
BAM! BOOM! SWEAR WORDS! SEX! UNICORNS! All these words covey the nature of this fantastic romp of a film. Deadpool, directed by Tim Miller and starring Ryan Reynolds, Ed Skeirn, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, and Stefan Kapicic, tells the tale of the infamous anti-hero with a twisted sense of humor. Deadpool, a.k.a. Wade Wilson, is an ex-mercenary who is put through an experimental treatment to cure his terminal cancer. Unfortunately, it turns out that the treatment was done in order to activate Wade Wilson’s hidden mutant potential through horrific torture. Now, Wade Wilson (under the guise of Deadpool) gets revenge on those who have wronged him through over-the-top violence and more scrotum innuendos than you can count. Right off the bat, Deadpool hits you hard with its outrageous violence and humor. Deadpool’s signature disregard for the “fourth wall” is here in full force, as well as his not-so-subtle sexual remarks. Ryan Reynolds nails the role of Wade Wilson, completely encompassing the character that many comic book fans fell in love with. He is nonsensical, insane, and cruel, but compassionate to those who are
worth it. His friend Weasel (T.J. Miller) is also perfect, serving as the laid-back best friend who will tell Wade what he needs to hear. Suprisingly, the romance in this film was stronger than its central revenge plot. The relationship between Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and Wade is one of the best comic book-to-film relationships I have ever seen. It is clear to the audience how much Vanessa and Wade care for each other, but they never lose their cynical-yet-goofy ways of looking at the world. That being said, the main villain Ajax (Ed Skeirn) is absolutely bland. Ajax is a cut-andpaste villain. It seems like the film is well aware of the fact that Ajax is so generic and lazy—he spends most of his screen time simply spewing exposition. Luckily, Deadpool’s unique style and personality was kept—after all, the hero is, by far, the most important character to nail in any comic book movie. I was initially worried about the great amount of CGI in this film, but it perfectly fit the style of Deadpool by adding to its eccentric nature. In comic book films, CGI can easily make the movie look too sleek and generic, but in Deadpool it is used to improve and show details that cannot be displayed solely by real props and people. The editing was fast and smooth, never leaving the audience with too much time to relax—exactly how
a Deadpool film should play out. I love Deadpool. He is my favorite comic book character of all time, and it was incredible to see that they treated the source material with respect and love. I feel that my appreciation for the character has made me harsher on the film than most might be. The lack of a good villain and the uneven execution of jokes are noteworthy flaws, but this flick is just so much fun that I can forgive them easily. This is one of the greatest Marvel films of all time, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to just have fun (with sex, drugs, and violence, and a little class sprinkled on top). In the previous review and on reviews going forward, I will be adding a rating system. To me, rating systems are strange and arbitrary because everyone sees a film differently. My 8/10 is not your 8/10. That being said, I think a rating system will help give a little context as to where I stand on the film. For perspective, a film that is a 10/10 is one that I believe has effort, love, creativity, and most importantly inspires filmmakers to rethink how they see film. A film that is 9/10 or 8/10 is one that I consider very worthwhile; it left a good impact on me. A film that is a 6/10 or 5/10 is average or above average. A film that is below a 4 is mediocre or worse. With all of that said, Deadpool earns: 8/10
The feminist play will include monologues performed by women from all parts of the Rollins community. Ariana Simpson
come to understand their own embodiment of individuality. This kind of rawness and The collective voices of wom- vulnerability alongside vitality en excitedly scream in your face and regained self-worth showand seductively whisper in your cases the greatness and realism of ear. There is solidarity and famil- how The Vagina Monologues transiarity in narratives of their expe- lates aspects of the female experiences that proudly showcase rience into aural, visual, poetics life and oddly comfort audienc- and art. es. These are The Vagina Mono“The Vagina Monologues is a logues. classic feminist play, and it’s a Written by American play- tradition for Voices for Women wright, performer, feminist, and to put on a performance every activist Eve year. The cast Ensler, The is so talented Vagina Monoand investlogues is an epied in their This kind of rawsodic play that monologues The New York even if ness and vulnera- that Times lauded you aren’t on its release particularly bility...showcases as “probably in the greatness and interested the most imfeminism or portant piece the play itself, realism of how of political it’s worth at‘The Vagina Mono- tending just theater of the last decade”. to see the logues’ translates As an episodic work they’ve aspects of the feplay, The Vagiput into perna Monologues forming their male experiences consists of an monologues,” array of differstated Sianna into aural, visual, ent stories told Boschetti ‘18, poetics and art. by different co-director of women as well the play. as subsequent Some of performances the monoby groups of logues include actresses. “My Angry Vagina,” “The Little At the core of the collective Coochie Snorcher That Could,” monologues are the various ag- and “Reclaiming Cunt”. gregates of the female experience: The Rollins production of birth, orgasm, masturbation, The Vagina Monologues will, aplove, menstruation, sex, rape, propriately, include performancand genital mutilation. No mat- es from Rollins women of differter how triggering or inherently ent backgrounds, ideas, majors, stigmatized conversations on and more. these topics are for women, EnsThe event, sponsored by the ler exclaimed ‘screw it’ and wrote Lucy Cross Center for Women about them. The Vagina Mono- and Their Allies, will take place logues showcases the power of is the Cornell Fine Arts Museum narrative and of being a woman. (CFAM) on Friday, Feb. 19 and In the play, the vagina is utilized Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. as an apparatus of empowerBe sure to grab yourself a ment, and in the different stories seat and lend an ear to the stories the audience and the speaker of these women.
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Page 8 • SPORTS
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Men’s Basketball suffered a close loss The Rollins Men’s Basketball team experienced an unfortunate defeat against Florida Tech University last Saturday. Rachel Perry
Photographer
On Feb. 13, the Rollins Men’s Basketball team played Florida Tech in a Senior Day match that was entralling up until the final second. Many of the spectators en-
joyed snacks and socializing while the players were warming up. Later, the senior players were presented along with their families to onlookers and fans. The first half of the game was a struggle for Rollins, with the team scoring only a few points. The half time show fea-
tured a performance by the Rollins Dance Team and a ping-pong competition sponsored by Yogurt Land. Rollins caught up quickly in the second half, but the team just managed to slip behind in the final minute, with a final score of 72 to 75.
Photos by Rachel Perry