The Sandspur Volume 123 Issue 20

Everything Real. Everything Rollins.

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NEIGHBORHOODS

STRUGGLE TO SEEM LEGITIMATE

Thursday, March 30 | Volume 123, Issue 20

ANTI-LIBERAL WALL SURROUNDS

ROLLINS

EDITORS FIGHT FOR CONTROL OF MEDIOCRE NEWSPAPER!

APRIL 1, 2017 VOLUME 123 ISSUE 20

Page Page #2 •• SECTION FEATURES

Established in 1894 with the following editorial:

EXECUTIVE STAFF Lauren Waymire Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Mariano Managing Editor Micah Bradley Production Manager

CONTENT STAFF Amanda Grace Head Copy Editor Minoska Hernandez Morgan McConnell Rebecca Candage Copy Editors Eric Hilton Kalli Joslin Section Editors Christina Fuleihan Ellie Rushing Staff Writers Kalli Joslin Nolan Brewer Web Editors

DESIGN DEPARTMENT Shaayann Khalid Head Designer Victoria Villavicencio Zoe Kim Maliha Qureshi Designers

Thursday, September 11, 2017 2014 Thursday, March 30,

Solutions Summit pinpoints Greek life problems Sianna Boscetti Writer In the wake of the fraternity suspension, the office of Fraternity and Sorority Life held a Solutions Summit to address recent problems and start a conversation on how to improve the Greek community.

The event was held this past Sunday in Bush Science Center, with members from both fraternities and sororities working together to come up with ways the FSL office can help students align their values with the mission of the college.

After an introduction by President Cornwell and the Dean of Student Affairs Meghan Harte Weyant, students were asked to write down what they considered to be the most important issue in Greek life. Students then worked together to rank each problem. Topics ranged from toxic masculinity to apathy at FSL events, but in the end, the top three issues to be discussed

that day included hazing; poor leadership and communication; and violence and sexual assault.

Alyssa Grismer ’18, Non Compis Mentis Recruitment Chair and student facilitator for the Solutions Summit, is hopeful that the summit will help improve issues in the FSL community in the future.

“While the summit wasn’t necessarily geared towards finding definite solutions, we at least gained some perspective on how to move forward in addressing issues that are found in the community,” she said. “Most groups carried productive conversations that led to some great ideas and concerns that will definitely help shape future discussions and actions within the FSL community.”

Students were placed in breakout groups comprised of members from all Greek organizations to brainstorm solutions for the problems they identified in the first session.

“I feel that it was fairly suc-

cessful in that we, the students, were able to voice the concerns we had about our community and our administration, and the community and the administration listened,” said Evan Rogers ’18 of X-Club and Vice President of Programs for the Interfraternity Council, a student facilitator for the event. “I think the discussions today were productive and now the ball is in the faculty and student leadership’s court as to what action to take. I hope we can see lasting improvement in the Greek community.”

A common theme amongst student concerns included a lack of trust, transparency, and communication between FSL faculty and chapters.

Grismer noted the issues raised, saying, “I think there was a general consensus that communication and transparency between the chapters and the FSL office are really the biggest concerns.” She added, “Looking ahead, I think ensuring that everyone is on the same page will

be beneficial to building a unified community that promotes responsibility and authenticity.”

Casey Casteel ’17, House Manager of Lambda Chi, explained what he would like to see as a result of the summit.

“Personally, I would love to see more transparency from the admin staff,” he said. “If we are upfront on what is happening in the Greek organizations and addressing specific issues and incidents that happen, not only will it eliminate harmful rumors that could taint the integrity of organizations but it could also hold these same organizations accountable for any incidents they do commit.”

Students and faculty will continue to meet and collaborate on how to implement the changes proposed today and figure out the potential next steps.

Panhellenic general body meetings, held in Bush 176 every Thursday from 12:30-1:30 pm, are open to the Rollins community.

BUSINESS & FACULTY Greg Golden

General Manager of Student Media

Dr. Bill Boles Faculty Advisor David Neitzel Business Manager Jose Araneta Student Media Graduate Assistant Kennedy Butler Student Media Intern

ADVERTISING

Contact: advertising@thesandspur.org

Alumni shares experiences of life in a cult Author, poet, and cult survivor Charlene Edge visited Rollins to read excerpts from her novel and inform students about the dangers of cults.

Rebecca Candage

Copy Editor

Cover Art Designed By Shaayann Khalid ‘17

Sororities across the Rollins College campus are struggling to deal with the further over inflation of their egos in the wake of the fraternity suspension. As fraternities begin to work towards resuming normal function on campus, sororities have been left reeling at the shift in dynamics in the FSL community.

Stephanie Amber ’19 of Alpha Omega Omega claims that the fraternity suspension has done wonders for her sorority’s image. “Everyone’s talking about the frats and spreading rumors about what happened,” Amber said. “No one even remembers that we were suspended last week!”

Chi Pi Mentis has also ben-

efitted from the suspension, according to president Brittany Tiffany ’18. “I, like, knew that we were the hottest Greek organization on campus,” she said. “I guess what they say is right: girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice, and boys are made of… not those things.”

Despite the publicity the event received, Tiffany believes that the fraternity suspension will actually increase the number of women joining the FSL community next year. “Parents will just be, like, so glad they didn’t have a boy that they’ll let their daughter join whatever sorority they want,” she said.

Completely without prompting, Amber discussed some top-secret details of how the suspension will affect Alpha Omega Omega’s next Bid Day. “We

won’t ignore what happened, because the suspension truly affected the entire FSL community and we want to learn from it as well,” she said. “In honor of the fraternities, our Bid Day theme is going to revolve around the concept of the word ‘yikes.’”

Some sorority women report feeling closer to the FSL community after the fraternity suspension. Heather Ashley ’18 of Kappa Zeta has spent much more time bonding with her friends in other sororities recently. “Before the suspension, it felt like we didn’t have anything in common, but now we can bond just through gossiping endlessly about the boys,” Ashley said. “I guess that in the end, they really are just my sisters from other Panhellenic misters.”

Amber also reports that she

and her sisters are excited for the return of Greek Week. “At first, I felt bad that the boys might not be able to participate this year, because it wouldn’t be the same without them. Now that they’re part of Greek Week again, though, we’re so ready to catch all the hot gossip in between events,” she said. “We can work together, united as sisters from all Panhellenic organizations, to learn what really went down before the suspension.”

Most of the fraternities could not be reached for comment, but Kyle Beefcake ‘17, vice president of Tau Phi Club, responded to the sorority uproar by saying, “In the end, the fraternity suspension will only unite the Greek community. Imagine the parties we’ll throw when we’re all back on campus!”

Page 3 • FEATURES

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Rollins Students compete in certified as Ideas for Good Hosted by the Social Innovation and Voter Friendly Entrepreneurship Hub, The Ideas for Good

Thanks largely in part to the work of on campus organization The Democracy Project, Rollins has received a national delegation as a Voter Friendly Campus.

Jojo Peloquin

Writer

A couple weeks ago, Rollins received a national delegation as a Voter Friendly Campus, a national recognition led by a couple organizations such as Campus Vote Project (CVP) and NASPA. Rollins College participated in making voting more accessible for students by providing information and different necessities. As the past two elections have shown, young people are the key to winning any election, and Rollins proved that by empowering students and keeping them informed about u p c o m ing events, which helped increase the numbers of student polling. Rollins values its students’ participation in democratic elections, and they demonstrated this by creating events to “rally to the polls.”

The Democracy Project is credited for getting Rollins recognized as a Voter Friendly Campus. The Student Coordinator Destiny Reyes explained that they are non-partisan, focusing on “educating the student body on the democratic process.”

Destiny’s role as student coordinator includes planning out different events for students and assisting with the leadership team.

The leadership team, as Destiny says, are the ones that dedicate the most time and work to the students. They created many programs to engage students to make voter registration a priority. The Democracy Project was required to create different plans that motivate students to vote, then write up a final cam-

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pus plan to submit. They took a three-step plan to attain voter engagement: “registration, education, and mobilization.”

Each member of the Democracy Project went through extensive training to ensure they were better equipped to assure student participation. The Democracy Project sought out to include more of their members-the more members they could train, the more assistance they can provide to the students.

One of the major focuses for the group is creating a safe environment for students to discuss different pressing issues.

Some of these discussions are less formal, like News Round Up at Pinehurst and Politics on Tap at Dave’s Boat H o u s e .

Some students find smaller environments more accessible and informative when looking at issues that their peers are concerned about. They also facilitated events like the viewing of presidential and senate debates (to stay local); this also allows students to continue staying current with United States politics.

Rollins College has always been true to its mission statement of shaping its students into global citizens, and part of being a global citizen is staying current with world events and being politically engaged. By default, Rollins College adopts the mission of creating a more politically engaged student body from Rollins College, and with that support, the Democracy Project was able to qualify as a Voter Friendly Campus.

Rollins values its students’ participation in democratic elections

competition had students from a variety of studies present their innovative products and programs for a chance at $1000.

Eric Hilton

Section Editor

The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub held their Ideas for Good Pitch last Thursday in the SunTrust Auditorium.

Students had a chance to share their ideas and compete for a prize of up to $1,000. The event was well-attended by students and faculty interested in the field of social entrepreneurship.

The competition began with an introduction into the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub and the functionality of the event. Each student was given five minutes to present their idea, followed by up to two minutes of questioning from six judges. Students were judged based on their idea’s level of innovation, the feasibility of their idea, and the overall amount of social good that their idea created.

A total of ten students, five of which were Global Links students from Kolkata, India,

pitched their products and organizations. Ideas ranged from a Smart Light traffic light that would reduce accidents and emissions to a new dietary supplement made from saffron and moringa that offers mental benefits. The presentations touched on a wide variety of relevant social and environmental issues such as domestic abuse, food waste, and employment for the mentally disabled.

After nearly 15 minutes of deliberation, the judges announced the winners. Third place and a prize of $500 went to Crummer student Ari Davis EAMBA E-29 for his idea PlantMates, a program that trains mentally disabled individuals in gardening and then employs them to build and maintain small gardens in people’s front lawns.

Second place and another prize of $500 went to CLA student Sunny Toreihi ‘20 for her idea Saffron and Moringa. Saffron and moringa have many health benefits and Toreihi found

that she could combine the two substances to create a powder with multiple food applications that can also serve as a mental health supplement.

First place and a prize of $1000 went to CLA student Nikki Hall-Elser ‘18 for her idea LEET (Liberate, Educate, Empower, Teach). LEET is a microfinance program that seeks to help women who are victims of domestic abuse. Oftentimes, people are trapped in situations of domestic abuse because they are financially dependent on their abuser.

LEET seeks to solve this problem by using education programs and microfinance to help victims of domestic abuse achieve economic independence.

Ideas for Good was an excellent event that showcased the ways Rollins students are using innovative, entrepreneurial means to tackle poignant social and environmental problems. Be on the lookout for the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub’s other upcoming events.

Photo courtesy of Eric Hilton

Page Page #2 NEWS 4 •• SECTION SLANDSPUR

Thursday, September 11, 2014 Thursday, March 30, 2017

Theatre of cruelty: the new neighborhood nightmare The neighborhood system has changed once again, this time to include theatre, English, and chemistry for no discernible reason.

Sianna Boschetti Liberal Snowflake In an unsurprising turn of events, changes have recently been made to the Neighborhoods system. More department-specific requirements will be added to the curriculum, which currently requires students to take classes in the humanities, sciences, social sciences, and arts.

Students will now have to take one Neighborhood class in the theater, English, and chemistry departments in order to provide the illusion of a somewhat more well-rounded liberal arts education.

The proposed English Neighborhood class is called

“Talking Like an Intellectual.” In this class, students will learn to apply the vocabulary words they learned for the SAT in their everyday life, alienating potential friends but impressing potential employers.

Despite the lack of actual writing assignments in the class, some students believe that students will still benefit from it. “I, for one, strongly advocate for the institution of the aforementioned English language course into the Neighborhoods general education system,” said Nathaniel McWordsworth ’18, an English major.

After McWordsworth attempted to turn the conversation to The Great Gatsby for the third

time, I refused to continue with the interview.

A class in the Department of Theatre and Dance will also be required under the new Neighborhoods system. The first option for students looking to fulfill this requirement is a class titled “Making The Whole World Your Stage,” which will be available to the class of 2021 starting in Spring 2018.

The syllabus is broken up into four different sections, including racing to get off the book, projecting in every conversation, discussing high school productions, and Being Extra™.

Stephen Actorson ’20, a theater major, worked as a student consultant for this new class.

“The skills associated with theater are so important, but they can be difficult to master through a single general education class,” Actorson says. “If you’re not really into theater, ‘Making The Whole World Your Stage’ is the perfect way to at least learn how to act like a theater kid even if you can’t act like a theater kid.”

“Using Jokes to Remind People You Know Science,” the third new required Neighborhood class, will officially be under the chemistry department but will feature guest lecturers from the biology, physics, and mathematics departments. The chemistry department, which, according to Dr. Jonathan Punathan has been pushing for a class focus-

ing on chemistry jokes for over a decade, is overjoyed. “Science puns are basically part of all of our lives at this point,” he said.

Leaning in, he whispered, “My ex-wife and I got matching cation and anion tattoos before the divorce.”

He continued, “People think that if you get a science joke, you must really understand a certain topic,” he said. “However, if you just memorize a few jokes to tell at dinner parties, people will still think you know what you’re talking about even if you don’t.

This class will teach students how to seem impressive without being all that impressive at all!”

Cracking down on liberal snowflakes Spurred by recent claims that Rollins has become too liberal, the administration is making some changes in order to refocus students on global citizenship and responsible leadership.

Micah Bradley Bitter Ex-Editor-in-Chief Rollins College, a liberal arts school, has long been an institution that seeks to remove itself from political and social leanings, offering students from whatever political or social affiliation an equal opportunity at education.

However, after many community and student responses that the school has become “too liberal” and “a hotbed for misguided liberal ideology” and “waaaaaaaaaay too politically correct”, the school has decided to enact some new policies that will hopefully challenge all students to think and engage as global citizens.

First, a giant wall (maybe a fence) will be built around campus, to protect students who are paying tuition from having to interact with the general population.

“I think it’s a great idea, I hope we keep it up forever,” said one student, Wally McWallface.

“I hate the idea that I’m here, working hard and paying for

my education, when just anyone could wander on campus and sit down in one of my classes.”

Rollins students have been promised that none of the cost of the wall will be taken from their tuition payments, and alumni have been promised that their donations will also remain untouched.

Instead, the school plans to make the Winter Park community pay for the wall—since they are the reason the campus needs it in the first place. In a recent meeting, it was noted that if Winter Park refused to pay for the wall, the money might be taken out of student and alumni money—but it will mysteriously be reimbursed eventually.

Another major change students might notice in coming weeks is a shift in the health care system on campus. Until now, students have been able to take advantage of the Health and Wellness Center and counseling services. The administration is looking for new ways to charge students for these services, to make sure only those

who deserve it will receive the proper care. If the administra-

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give up—health care can sure be complicated!

New rules regarding women will also be put in place—angering many female students on campus, who have yet to accept the proper patriarchal order of the world.

“I guess if we had a minor focusing on the male gender, instead of just feminism, I would have been more prepared to accept the patriarchy,” said a girl whose name I forgot to ask.

She noted that she will be taking a “History of the Heterosexual Male” class in the fall, and she has already been asked to sit in the hallway and just listen through a propped open door.

Though the administration is still looking at potential policy changes regarding gender, some immediate changes include asking women on their periods to stay in the dormitories (due to their emotional nature). The school is also examining potential ways to split the title of

Some immediate changes include asking women on their periods to stay in the dormitories (due to their emotional nature). tion faces issues passing this particular change past the board of trustees, they will probably just

degrees awarded at Rollins College—an Artium Bacclaureus Male (the degree will be light blue in color) and Artium Bacclaureus Female (light pink) will both be available.

These anticipated changes will hopefully help us to realign ourselves as less politically correct and more thoughtful in our actions as a college. As part of this initiative, The Sandspur has agreed to start publishing ‘fake news’ on a weekly basis.

Hopefully, this will increase not only our readership, but our readers’ faith in us, as reporters.

Without any reason to adhere to the truth, our stories will certainly be more interesting, with better headlines, subheads, and overall content. As we make this transition, our aim is to re-brand as “The Buzzfeed of the South— But Accurate.”

April Fools’! The content on this page is meant to be read as satire and in no way reflects the opinions of The Sandspur, its staff or Rollins College.

Page 5 • SLANDSPUR

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Photos courtesy of Sianna Boschetti

One editor to rule them all

Seniors Micah Bradley and Lauren Waymire are recovering after a grueling four hour battle to decide who was the rightful Editor-in-Chief.

Sianna Boschetti Liberal-er Snowflake ‘The Sandspur’ office was recently ravaged by swordfight between current Editor-in-Chief Lauren Waymire ’17 and Production Manager/ former Editor-in-Chief Micah Bradley ‘17, who were engaged in a battle for supremacy over the paper.

Though the office normally has a relaxed atmosphere, the two ‘Sandspur’ leaders have been passive-aggressively copyediting each other’s work for weeks. Tensions had been building throughout the semester, according to Managing Editor Alexandra Mariano ’17, a neutral party in the affair.

“I knew something was finally gonna go down when Micah talked first at the last staff meeting, totally dissing Lauren’s authority,” Mariano reported, still shaken from the event. “But I never thought it would end like this.”

According to witnesses, both Waymire and Bradley entered the office around 5:00 pm Monday, but while reading through the articles, tensions continued to mount as they disagreed on the font in which articles should be published. An

extremely vocal advocate for Comic Sans, Bradley said, “It’s the best font, not only from an aesthetic perspective but also just because it’s fun.”

Though the font battle had been an ongoing struggle since the two had met, Bradley finally aggressed her successor after an argument over whether to play the soundtrack of ‘Hamilton’ or ‘Moana’ in the office. Waymire refused, arguing, “‘Hamilton’ is Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece! It’s an emotional journey and the only appropriate soundtrack to the work we do here!”

Ready to fight, the journalists grabbed their swords and tore through the fifth floor of the Mills building, thirsty for blood. Waymire gained the upper hand as she knocked Bradley’s sword away, but thanks to her wily spirit, she quickly regained her ground. Bradley took the office’s beloved mascot, the Sandsbear, hostage, demanding Waymire not only play ‘Moana’ for the rest of the night, but also let her sit in the editor chair. Despite several attempts, the Sandsbear could not be reached for comment.

Thanks to even more fancy sword work, Waymire saved the Sandsbear, if only for her

adversary to retreat to safety with a sick triple backflip. “You may have saved the Sandsbear, but President Cornwell still likes me better!” Bradley yelled.

“Nuh-uh!” Waymire said, defending herself from another sharp blow with an old issue of ‘The Sandspur.’

“Uh-huh!” Bradley replied.

“My last interview with him was 1002 words, and yours was only 994!”

After one heck of an awesome swordfight, Bradley and Waymire finally came to an agreement: they would play both soundtracks on shuffle out of their mutual love and respect for Lin-Manuel Miranda, and only this article would be printed in Comic Sans. They also agreed that President Cornwell probably likes beloved writer and overall chill person Sianna Boschetti ’18 best because she’s just really cool and funny and has managed to avvoid causing property damage.

After a series of stuffing transfusions, the Sandsbear is recovering at a steady pace.

The epic battle left many wondering who would clean up the shredded copies of The Sandspur abandoned on the office floor.

April Fools’! The content on this page is meant to be read as satire and in no way reflects the opinions of The Sandspur, its staff or Rollins College.

Page 6 • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Fox Fest broadens musical horizons in the Rollins community WPRK’s annual Fox Fest on Saturday, March 26 featured artists Mag.Lo, Leisure Chief, Margaret Glaspy, and MnDsgn on Mills Lawn.

Cameron Osche

Writer

WPRK held their annual Fox Fest this past Saturday on Mills Lawn. The line up for Fox Fest always focuses on local artists with alternative sounds and genres, and this year it featured Mag.Lo as an opener, Leisure Chief, Margaret Glaspy, and MnDsgn for the closing performance.

Fox Fest started at 4 p.m. and stretched until 10 p.m. Different vendors from local stores like Foxtail Coffee, Charyli, Sam Flax, and WoodRoze provided food, entertainment, and merchandise for onlookers in between performances.

M u s i c Director for WPRK, Karina Andujar ‘17, explained the goal behind Fox Fest: “WPRK puts on Fox Fest every year to promote art, music in the Orlando community. So much of the station is run by a vibrant and strong community both within and outside of Rollins, and so we just want to bring all of that together and celebrate everything that’s going on in this amazing city.

We do that by finding local artists… and also big, national bands too so that way we can really give back to our community that does such a good job of supporting us.”

Fox Fest has managed to embrace the artistic community of Orlando through the artists picked for this year’s event.

Mag.Lo is an experimental artist based in Florida that opened the event, seeking to explore multiple genres like hip-hop, lofi, indie rock, and noise. Following Mag.Lo was Leisure Chief, a

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new-wave band with influence from funk, jazz, hip-hop, and soul, that travels throughout Florida spreading their sound wherever they go.

Margaret Glaspy made her way down to Fox Fest to sing selections from her new album “Emotions and Math,” showing the audience her insightful lyrics and rock-edge. Closing for the night was MnDsgn, or Ringgo Ancheta, from New Jersey, whose experimental beat-making has allowed him to collaborate with Stones Throw. All of these artists have music available on SoundCloud and Bandcamp, should anyone wish to hear more.

Fox Fest helped bring together the Winter Park community in an effort to support and recognize the talent of these artists. One student, Ginna Vick ’17, found this year’s event to be much more engaging than past shows.

“Having it on Mills… [is] really important because it really brings the community together in a large open space… it honestly just feels like people are more willing to hangout and enjoy themselves, while past events have been less noticeable since they were hidden behind the bookstore,” she said.

Fox Fest ended after MnDsgn finished up at 10:00 p.m. As students left Mills Lawn, it was clear that the event was a success that helped pull together the Rollins community, while simultaneously representing artists from all over America.

So much of the station is run by a vibrant and strong community both within and outside of Rollins, and so we just want to bring all of that together and celebrate everything that’s going on in this amazing city.

Photo courtesy of WPRK.

Page 7 • ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Music department shines in ‘Crazy for You’ Tiedtke Concert Hall was home to a musical review of the Broadway show Crazy for You on Friday, March 24.

Rebecca Candage

Copy Editor

On Friday, March 24, members of the Rollins and Winter Park communities took their seats for the opening night of Crazy For You: A Gershwin Musical Revue, directed by Dr. Marisa Arzillo. After the band warmed up, the show began promptly at 7:30 p.m in Rollins’ own Tiedtke Concert Hall.

Instead of performing the entire Broadway show, the music department was given exclusive approval to perform a revue of only the songs. This new take on the 90s musical was refreshing, and brought attention to the wide range of music offered in the show. The song preceding the finale, “The Real American Folksong,” was originally written in 1918. Several compositions debuted in the 1930s. Conducted by Professor Jamey Ray, the band seamlessly transitioned the show from one song to the next.

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This, combined with the acting between scenes, made it easy to forget that the dialogue was ever taken out. The revue stayed true to the original’s promise for comedy, eliciting laughter from the audience several times throughout the show. This made the ballads about heartbreak even more forlorn.

The set was simple; a few black pillars held up a black curtain, mostly covering the band and any cast members waiting for their turn to perform.

The pillars’ gold trim and lights evoked the nighttime class of the 1920s and 30s, while staying simple enough to showcase the performers onstage, twelve in all. Two stools were the only props needed.

The female entertainers almost seemed to become a part of the décor as they danced and sang in sparkling evening dresses, each with her own color, pattern of glitter or rhinestones, pair of gloves, and early-twentieth-century hairdo. The men wore black suits, distinguishing themselves

with a black bowtie or neck tie, some adding a cummerbund.

The dance steps were terrifically executed by everyone in the cast, a tricky task to accomplish. The choreographer, Wendee Engle, Artistic Director and Head Choreographer of the FCA Integrity Dance Program, was a true asset to the show. The singing was also extremely well performed; the entertainers did not need microphones to project

and hit high notes with grace.

“The singing was wonderful,” commented Rene Borr ’18 after the show. Surprisingly, for the song “Slap that Bass,” bassist Pat Gallo came out from behind the curtain to solo and be included in the performance, an enjoyable artistic choice.

While the size of the crowd was modest, their enthusiasm was anything but. The short hour-long length of the revue

did not disappoint the audience—quite the opposite. “It was fantastic and I really enjoyed it,” said Borr. Allison Wilson ’20 agreed, “I thought it was great and I would recommend it to anyone who loves Gershwin or just music in general.” Overall, the performance was absolutely delightful and exhibited the cast and crew’s mastery of the old showbiz advice, ‘leave them wanting more.’

I thought it was great and I would recommend it to anyone who loves Gershwin or just music in general.

Photo courtesy of Jessica Raspolich.

‘Iron Fist’: As bad as everyone says it is?

While Iron Fist is far from Netflix’s strongest Marvel series, its supporting characters make it a promising first season.

Nicholas D’Alessandro

Writer

When I was about ten years old, I started actively reading comic books and, in that time, became very familiar with the Heroes for Hire, a.k.a. Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Very shortly, they became some of my favorites. They were funny and tough, with amazing powers.

The Netflix series Marvel’s The Defenders shows have been a bit of a dream come true for my inner child, even in their less successful moments. I just wanted to make sure that my bias was clearly stated before we get into this.

Danny Rand has returned

home and is seeking to rejoin his company. As his company struggles under the control of the villainous organization The Hand, Danny tries to prove himself, protect his friends, and find his destiny as the Iron Fist. He is confronted by a number of villains, including Madame Gao, Harold Meachum, and Bakuto.

Each and every one of these villains are more fleshed out and entertaining than Danny really gets to be; actually, Danny might be the least exciting character in the series. Not to say that Danny isn’t likable. He’s childish and naïve, which gets irritating. We want him to succeed, but wow, he is so dumb.

Iron Fist is much better than

the critics say it is. Agreed, it is one of the lesser of the Defenders series, but it is certainly better than the second season of Daredevil after the Punisher story was completed. It really is the supporting cast that makes this show work. Colleen Wing is phenomenal. Her arc and growth is completely believable and engaging.

Her combat is always more impressive than Danny’s. Madame Gao is so intimidating simply because of how cruel she is. She delivers all of her words with poise and calm, which makes her even more sinister. Ward Meachum, Danny’s childhood rival, starts as a bland aggravating jerk but evolves into this complex and troubled man. Truly, the entire

Meachum storyline is consistently more engaging than Danny’s.

The creators of this show sought to skip the origin story of Danny and did not spend any time showing him becoming the Iron Fist. They created a bigger problem for themselves, however, as that is exactly what this series is. Danny does not understand his powers, struggles to understand why his parents died, and cries a lot. It is all classic origin story stuff. This is fine, but I wish I had known this going in. I wanted Danny Rand in his green and yellow suit, flying through the air and punching people through walls. I did not get that. That is okay! This is not a martial arts show, though. This

is a show about growth and how our heroes need to let go of their past so they can move on. Meachum, Wing, and Danny are all grappling with that and, in that way, this show is very successful.

It was at the end of the series when I realized why this show did not completely feel like an Iron Fist show. It is because we were missing Luke Cage! Luke and Danny are the perfect pair.

I can’t wait for them to meet in Defenders and, God, I hope that we get a Heroes for Hire show soon. Danny needs that in order for him to be the Iron Fist that we all want him to be.

Give Iron Fist a watch. It is streaming now on Netflix.

Page 8 • SPORTS

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Women’s tennis victory interrupted by storm Photo courtesy of Rollinssports.com

The women’s tennis team fared well in play against Murray State on Wednesday, March 22 until the match was called due to lightning.

Ellie Rushing

Photo courtesy of Dick Carlson/Inertia

Staff Writer

The Rollins Women’s Tennis team battled against Division I school Murray State from Kentucky on Wednesday, March 22. The Tars held a strong lead against the Racers up until the match had to be called due to lightning.

Rollins’ doubles teams swept all three of their matches. Number one slotted partners Fabiana Vitanza ‘18 and Alexandra Borg ’19 showed strength and competence with a win over the Racers’ Schibol and Chang, 8-6. Vitanza and Borg have been working together very well but continue to find comfort in each other as the season goes on. Although the girls are 4—3 this season as partners, their perseverance and dedication to the game will push them forward into the offseason and prepare them even further as returners.

From there, partners Shannon Etten ’17 and Carlye Goldman ‘19 dominated their opponent with an 8-4 win in the second position. Goldman and Etten have been working together in this slot the past seven matches, and they have proven to be a strong duo. They came together after every point and continued to show resilience even if the outcome of the set was clearly not what they wanted.

The doubles sweep was captured by the final pairing of Savanna Fuller ‘19 and Teresa Kaiser ‘19 with a 9-7 victory in the third spot. Kaiser and Fuller have partnered together on 14 out of 16 of their total matches and have

demonstrated great teamwork.

They now move to 9-5 on the season.

Vitanza triumphed her opponent Anja Loncarevic in three sets, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. The promise this matched showed could not be collectively counted due to the weather. Unfortunately, the matches being played by Fuller, in the fourth position, and Kaiser, in the fifth spot, could not be completed.

Rollins continues to gear up in preparation for a long list of SSC rivals, including their next match being hosted by #25 Florida Southern. The Tars will travel to Lakeland, FL on Wednesday, March 29 for a 3:00 match. Until then, keep up with your Women’s Tennis team through Rollinssports.com.

To check out more information about upcoming matches and stats, check out the Rollins Women’s Tennis website by using the QR code below