No. 10 (November 12, 2015)

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A student voice of Saint Louis University since 1919

Vol. XCV No. 10

Trailblazer Laverne Cox comes to SLU Acting and activism intersect for ‘Orange’ star

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Living Jesuit values in a moment of crisis

By PATRICK HYLAND Senior Staff Writer

By CHAD MAXWELL Staff Writer

“Ain’t I a woman?” The words bounced around the walls of the Center for Global Citizenship during a speech given by the Emmynominated actress Laverne Cox last Monday, Nov. 9.

Cox delivered a speech hitting on the idea of intersectionality — the cross sections of identities, normally focused on in discussions of minority groups. She spoke on her own personal story as a black, transgender woman from a working class background in Mobile, Alabama.

The actress, made famous for her role as Sophia Burset in the hit Netflix original “Orange is the New Black,” was the first trans woman of color to hold a leading role in any mainstream show as well as the first to produce her own television show, VH1’s TRANSform Me. Along with her successes in the world of media, Cox’s role as an activist has been incredibly important to the trans community. Her voice has been a large one in improving the way trans* people — especially trans women of color (22 trans women of color have been murdered this year alone) — are seen in America.

Emily Higginbotham / The University News

ADVOCATE: Cox delivers an engaging speech for students, recounting many episodes from her life in which she overcomes social obstacles.

Laverne Cox has used her position of fame to bring to light the stories of other transgender women and to talk about the cross-sections of identities in regards to race as well. Oftentimes, the face of LGBTQ movements has been stereotypically white (Ellen DeGeneres, Harvey Milk, and Caitlyn Jenner), while important people of color, like Sylvia Rivera and Bayard Rustin,

Returning adjunct professor

rises above his past

By PATRICK HYLAND Senior Staff Writer

Just as philosophy is not just the writings and ideas of a bunch of dead white men, professors are not just a bunch of book worms with no real life experience.

Dr. Leamon Bazil is a case in point, having been arrested and convicted of drug possession and distribution while working on his dissertation at SLU back in 2003. Bazil was taken into custody on his way to class in McGannon Hall.

After serving three years in jail, Bazil eventually returned to SLU to complete his Ph.D. in philosophy and is now teaching in the Philosophy Department, offering a course next smester called, “Race, Social Justice, and the African-American Experience.”

Students are likely to find Bazil as easy to talk to and as unassuming as his office. His academic degrees hang not towering over his desk, but

actually at waist level. Three posters, instead, are prominently featured above his higher education degrees: one of the notorious BIG, one of 2Pac and the last of Jimmi Hendrix.

When asked to describe the importance of each, Bazil turned in his chair, stared at Hendrix as if at an old friend, and talked about him as a revolutionary, an openminded avante guard and inspiring musician who played like no one else.

Turning and looking over his other shoulder, Bazil seemed to pay reverence to the Notorious BIG poster, then talking of Biggy Small’s taking on the experience of the average black kid in New York City, painting vivid pictures through words, and, as Bazil described, being nothing short of an existentialist.

Lastly, Bazil confessed that it was 2Pac that really

have often been erased from history.

Cox, during her speech, mentioned that every one of her identities intersect in her life and she cannot remove any one of them from who she is. She talked about her experience growing up in a predominantly black area; where her queer identity at the time and the dysphoria she often felt led to her face bullying and violence from

those she interacted with.

When she left her hometown for art school, she was then exposed to hatred of a racial variety. Her story includes struggles from multiple, difficult angles; but through it all, she stuck to her values and beat the odds to become the icon she is today.

Currently, Laverne Cox is See “Cox” on Page 3

On Nov. 8, at St. Francis Xavier College Church, Saint Louis University President Dr. Fred Pestello shared – with a mostly older crowd gathered in the church’s ballroom – his personal experience of leading SLU through the OccupySLU movement in October 2014. He gave a short note about his background: Pestello hails from Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended a Jesuit university, John Carroll, and then worked for 25 years as a sociology professor, provost, and then senior vice president at the University of Dayton; the next six years were spent as the first lay president of Le Moyne College, a Jesuit College in Syracuse, N.Y. After that, Pestello began his presentation.

Pestello said that his initial questions in time of crisis are first, “what is going on?” and second, “how do I resolve it?” These questions came to mind when Pestello faced what he calls the largest crisis of his career in October of 2014. Pestello mentioned that bias-related incidents, or more accurately, racism, during the spring

of 2014 had left many students dissatisfied, prompting letters to the editor of the University News and to the former president of SLU. After the killing of Michael Brown, a SLU faculty member approached Pestello for permission to host speakers on campus for an event to be held on Oct. 12. Pestello agreed, and about 1,500 people attended. There were many leaders who spoke, but there was a divide between the older speakers and the younger protestors in attendance. The divide manifested itself in protests that started in the Shaw neighborhood of St. Louis, and then approached campus.

At 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 13, Pestello awoke to a phone call from Jim Moran, Vice President of Public Safety.

Moran was predicting that the protestors were heading for SLU’s campus and wanted direction from Pestello as to whether or not they should be allowed in. Pestello deferred to Moran’s judgement, since although protestors could be prevented from entering campus initially, the campus is ultimately too See “Pestello” on Page 3

SLU students join D.C. teach-in Event gives them the tools to catalyze change

By EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM Associate News Editor

On Saturday, Nov. 7, 20 students from Saint Louis University arrived in Washington D.C. to take part in the annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in order to learn more about social justice issues, and then advocate for those issues in front of members of Congress. These students are now bringing the lessons they have learned about social justice and reform to SLU and are making real change at the university, as well as the world.

The Teach-In began in 1996 as a way to remember and protest the deaths of Jesuits who were killed at the University of Central America in San Salvador, El Salvador in 1989. The Salvadoran

soldiers who were responsible for these deaths received their training at the U.S. Army School of the Americas. Since then, the Teach-In has developed from this protest into a weekend meant to educate young people about issues concerning U.S. policy in Central America, immigration reform and environmental protection. This year, there was also a special emphasis on criminal justice reform and the death penalty.

“Advocating is such a tangible way to speak for those who are unable to speak for themselves,” said Abbie Amico, a senior at SLU and one of the research-team leaders.

Amico and the other students who made up the leadership team - Hannah Vestal, Lija Siliunas and Timmy Pazderka - were tasked with

picking the delegation that would be representing SLU at the conference, as well as heading up research teams and helping these teams prepare for their presentations in front of their respective members of Congress.

Following keynote speakers and breakout sessions, Monday’s ‘day of advocacy’ allowed students to meet their respective members of congress or their policy advisers, and bring attention to the bills and acts regarding all of these social issues on which the Teach-In focused.

“We would have a meeting with one or two of their staff members and we would sit down and they would just let us talk. They were so respectful, so genuine,” said Siliunas. She continued, “What they said last year,

and I think what I felt was reinforced this year, was that they appreciate people coming with no other motivations than their convictions.”

Each member of the leadership team was in charge of their own research team and promoted their justice issue.

Amico advocated for foreign policy in Central America, Vestal talked about environment justice, Siliunas spoke on immigration reform and Pazderka presented on criminal justice reform.

These pairings were not random. At least for Amico, Vestal and Siliunas, they had been advocating for these issues since they had participated in last year’s Teach-In, and they were all inspired to See “Teach-In” on Page 3

See “Bazil” on Page 3

Be sure to check out our 2015- 2016 Basketball Season Preview

Courtesy of Hannah Vestal

D.C.: Members of SLU’s delegate pose in front of the White House. Since 2010, our fellow students have taken part in the Teach-In and have advocated for social justice issues by lobbying to members of Congress on Capitol Hill.

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NEWS

November 12, 2015

Ignatian Valor: SLU’s veteran community A look at those among us who answered the call to serve

By TIM WILHELM News Editor

On the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the periphery of the Clock Tower, leaders of SLU’s Student Veterans Association (VSA) distributed yellow ribbons to commemorate Veterans Day and to raise awareness of the university’s student veterans. Dustin Hesskamp, vice president of VSA, said that they gave out 500 ribbons within a few hours. “It seems like everyone’s been supporting us, [are] pretty excited about Veterans Day and showing respect,� he said. Hesskamp, a senior in the School of Business, served in the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2007 and 2012.

The other servicemen that joined Hesskamp at the Clock Tower currently pursue studies in the School of Education, Parks College and the School of Social Work. They are among roughly 150 veterans in undergraduate programs, although, Hesskamp said, “that’s only counting people that are using their benefits, so we probably have quite a few more than that that aren’t using benefits or haven’t self-identified as a veteran per se.� SLU’s veteran students encompass all branches of the U.S. military: Coast Guard, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Army and National Guard. Many receive financial support from the GI Bill and the Yellow Ribbon program - the GI Bill offsets costs not covered by the Yellow Ribbon Program.

The VSA, Hesskamp said, “gives us a chance to meet and get together and address

any issues.� It hopes to solidify its presence with a forthcoming Veterans Commons in Wuller Hall.

Dr. Mona Hicks, Dean of Students and Associate Vice President for Student Development, co-chairs the Student Veterans Success Task Force, which acts as a liaison between SLU’s veterans and administration.

Hicks explained that the goal of the Commons is to “foster a seamless transition from military life to civilian college life.� It will give veterans, active military and dependents access to on- and off-campus resources. “Having a place where you feel connection to other folks is what we’re trying to establish,� said Hicks. “A community within the community.� She says that the community includes 303 servicemen and women and their dependents.

The Task Force, a multidisciplinary committee, of which eight are veterans, spearheads projects including increasing Yellow Ribbon Scholarship recipients to 75; implementing priority registration status for certified military-affiliated students; developing a strategic enrollment vision for 2018 to include a military enrollment between five and ten percent; and naming retired Coast Guard Commander Katherine Weathers, J.D., as the “primary point-of-contact for student veterans and military-affiliated students.â€? “We really started to build some momentum ‌ So it feels like we’re kind of turning a positive cornerâ€? said Hicks.

At a luncheon that day, Retired Army Brigadier General E. Tracy Beckette, Civil-

ian Assistant to the Secretary of the Army for Eastern Missouri and a SLU alumni (B.A. 1969, MBA 1972) presented the Seven Seals ,Award to Dr. Pestello and David Hakanson. The award recognizes “significant individual or organizational achievement, initiative or support that promotes and supports the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve mission.� Beckette said that “[President Pestello] is very supportive of the fact that we have a veterans outreach. And that’s important as we help them transition from their military roles to the civilian side, and as they go through those experiences, they’re going to have a different outlook or value system perhaps, and so it helps them to adjust to college life.�

This spring, Hakanson and other IT staff allowed National Guardsman Mark Ziegler, an Ohio National Guardsman stationed in Kuwait, to watch his daughter, Ashely, receive her degree at precommencement.

Fourth-year Jesuit scholastic Sean Hagerty joined the Army at 22 and was in his senior year at Fordham University when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred. “I joined the army out of a sense of duty,� he said, “and a sense of service to my country.� In 2006, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and stationed at Fort Wainwright in Alaska as part of the 1st Brigade, 21st Infantry Division. Two years later, he was deployed to Diyala province in Iraq, where he served second in command for an infantry company of around 170 soldiers. There, he par-

November Events Calendar Friday, Nov. 13, 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Chaifetz Arena SLU will unveil new logo marks

Alanna Pachl / The University News

Dustin Hesskamp (second from left) and other members of the VSA distributed ribbons at the Clock Tower.

ticipated in patrols several times a week and met with local Iraqi leaders. He served as an officer until 2010.

Hagerty stands out for his status as a Jesuit veteran. “As far as Jesuit life and military life, they have some interesting intersections, while at the same time being very, very different ‌ For me, the military was of course very formative ‌ I enjoyed being a soldier very much. But it’s a different calling to be a Jesuit, and while they’re both good servicemen, it’s a very different lifestyle.â€?

He referenced Ignatius of Loyola’s military origins; indeed, a rogue cannonball dealt a fateful blow to Ignatius’ leg, an injury whose ensuing complications indirectly led to the Jesuits’ formation. “Ignatius, before he entered the Jesuits, was a soldier himself,� he said, “and so when you read some of Ignatius’ work you see some

of that language ‌ of the importance of being a knight.

You see that kind of shift a little bit into the spirituality.�

Hagerty emphasizes the epidemic of veteran suicide, citing a statistic that 22 veterans a day commit suicide, and that since 1999, the U.S. has lost 5,000 soldiers in combat, whereas over 100,000 have committed suicide. “A lot of young veterans get lost in the system, a lot of veterans end up homeless ‌ That’s why I’m involved in the community, because it’s my community as a veteran,â€? he said. “It is a marginalized community in many ways. We don’t have a lot of assets on campus.

The school’s been very good trying to build that with us.

The administration actually has been very kind to us. But we’re still in our infancy ‌ and so we’re trying to make the community more established.�

and Billiken. Those in attendance will receive free merchandise featuring the new logo. All members of the SLU community are welcome to come and enjoy Billikenshaped cookies.

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 6:30 p.m.

Humphrey’s The JAYCEES of St. Louis is hosting a special “JAYCEES Centennial Get Acquainted Night� night for SLU students. A special guest speaker will give an informational presentation on the JAYCEES. Refreshments will be provided.

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NEWS

November 12, 2015

Pestello: Our president’s candid explanation Continued from Page 1

porous to create any sort of secure perimeter. Student protestors arrived on campus with SLU identifications in hand saying, “We are SLU students and these are our guests.” Pestello then asked the crowd in attendance at College Church, “What would you do?” Video footage was then played that showed the initial entry to campus.

With about 24 or so protestors, #OccupySLU began. Pestello came to another crossroad. Now that the student protestors were on campus, and staying, should they be removed?

Pestello again asked those in attendance, “What would you do? How many would have thrown them off campus?” No hands. “How many would have ignored them?”

A few hands. “How many would have engaged them?”

Most raise their hand.

Thanks to social media, and the hashtag OccupySLU being the world’s most used hashtag for a two to three day period; food, water and warm blankets appeared for the student protestors.

Phone calls and emails poured in, with parents wanting the student protestors removed. Pestello confessed that he was haunted with the questions, “What would Jesus do? What would St. Ignatius do? What would Pope Francis do? What are

Continued from Page 1

showed his age, but that also helped convince him that “only the bad can judge me,” linking the taking on of oppression by both 2Pac in song and by Bazil in scholarship.

While Bazil did define the

our values?” Pestello felt that the values were the only thing to guide. The decision was made to pull back, give the student protestors space and attempt to engage them in conversation. Pestello approached the clock tower and asked, “Who is in charge here?” He was initially told that no one was in charge, and then that Christ was in charge. Pestello then asked, “What do you want?” “To occupy the campus space” was the reply. Pestello followed with, “What else?”

The student protestors said that they did not know.

While about 500 students, Jesuits, faculty and staff attended a two hour teach-in at the clock tower, phone calls continued to the President’s Office from powerful, prominent alumni. Pestello admitted that some of the calls were “almost threatening.” While contemplating the University’s next move, Pestello could not help but think of the killings at Kent State when students protested there. Again, he asked the crowd, “What would you do?”

After a Fox 2 news story on the student protestor occupation of campus, 316 phone calls, 187 emails, and 1,464 Facebook posts were directed towards the President’s Office. A webcam was installed in a somewhat successful attempt to quell concerned parents. Eventu-

word philosophy as “the love of wisdom,” philosophy as a spirit means constantly asking, “Why?” Bazil’s goal is to show that philosophy is not just the writing of a bunch of dead white men that may not have any importance to the modern reader, but a spirit that drives critique of any-

The University News archives

ARREST: The University News covered Bazil’s drugrelated arrest in this article from February 2003. It included ccounts from his students. Bazil earned his Ph.D. after serving three years in prison.

TELL-ALL: Pestello stood before an audience at College Church and expanded upon his decisionmaking. ally, the student protestors and Pestello agreed upon 13 points about next steps forward.

Pestello’s secret, as he sees it, was to stop, pause and consider the values at hand – and have a little bit of luck.

After a standing ovation, Pestello fielded questions on progress made since the occupation on campus. Pestello mentioned the hiring of a Special Assistant to the President for Diversity and Community Engagement as well as an increased budget for the African American Studies Program and the establishment of a seminar on

race. Pestello said that, “We got in the situation because we were not talking” and, when asked what advice he would give to the President of the University of Missouri – who recently stepped down amidst protests surrounding race relations – he said that conversation was the only way to get to a place where things can move forward. Pestello also urged people not to draw lines in the sand, but to be genuinely human. Moving forward, Pestello mentioned the importance of allowing Gospel values to guide and teach in future situations.

thing and everything, seeking to always test the validity of any rule. Bazil says he feels sorry when anyone gives up this philosophical spirit.

After all, it is the philosophical spirit, along with a strong sense of faith, which brought him from a jail cell back to the classroom. Bazil confessed that he still does not know what some colleagues think of him, but characterized most reactions as a “mixed lot.”

Growing up in North St. Louis, Bazil attended Catholic schools his entire life, actually attending Catholic elementary school on SLU’s campus in what was formerly St. Francis Elementary School, now Xavier Annex.

He attended high school at Christian Brothers College, and he recalled the drug use of close friends and acquaintances at the age of 14. Neighborhood bullies were after shoes, money, drugs and guns.

When asked about one thing that he would change about SLU, Bazil was not guarded. He would like to see a friendlier atmosphere where, like the philosophical classroom, nothing is off the table for discussion. And how can this be done? CIRCLE, or The Coalition for Interracial Communication, Learning, and Excellence, was one suggestion. Rather than some sort of utopia, CIRCLE seeks to form alliances through experiences, not just through theory and

abstraction, always prompting those involved with this question: “How do you expand your circle?”

Bazil repeated the importance of not laying down when we fall down, of not hiding your talent underground and of not allowing one mistake to be your death sentence.

As imperfect beings, all humans are called to understanding, mercy and the belief that everybody can be redeemed.

Dr. Bazil used the image of a gun, since whenever someone points one at another, there are also three fingers pointed back at the shooter. For him, his current job is his redemption.

Bazil twice quoted poetry, saying that he was well aware that “life is no crystal stair,” as the Langston Hughes poem says, and that he is the “captain of his soul,” according to William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus.”

The angst and panicking that he experienced as a grad student, when his funding expired, now gives way to his conviction to work with what he has been given.

His return to SLU after his jail sentence was because of a nagging feeling of unfinished business, business that must not just be completed in the classroom, but in the community, and in conversation about ethics, race, social justice and the AfricanAmerican experience.

Cox: Finding beauty in transgender identity Continued from Page 1

working on bringing to the public eye the case of one CeCe McDonald. Cox is producing a documentary titled Free CeCe that will focus on this black, transgender woman’s incarceration in a men’s prison following a charge of second degree manslaughter, which happened after an incident where McDonald was violently assaulted due to her

race and gender identity.

Her final message for the audience was that they should not concern themselves with the way society tries to impose itself upon them -- we can all be beautiful people and one should do what makes him or her comfortable and happy.

Cox encouraged the use of the hashtag #TransIsBeautiful, a statement she said is both pro-trans identifying people as well as a way

Teach-In: Team leaders plant seeds of justice Continued from Page 1

Javier Muro Dde Nadal / The University News

that cisgendered people -those that identify with the gender they were assigned at birth -- can praise the ways they might not fit cleanly within the gender binary and live more authentically.

After Cox’s speech, individuals were given the opportunity to meet with the television star. Many people thanked her for what she has done within the LGBTQ community as well as the Black community.

One transgender individual took the chance to tell Laverne Cox how she had helped her by being a role model. To this, Cox simply said, “I’m just a person,” and proceeded to compliment every single person that went to take a picture with her.

Laverne Cox’s newest role will be appearing as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the remake of the cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show.

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continue that work at SLU. “They pushed us to continue it and realize it’s not like a weekend thing, it’s a life thing,” said Vestal. Indeed, Vestal has put this into action by founding the student organization Billikens for Clean Water, which aims to educate SLU students about the water crisis and work to end it. This year, Vestal will host an immersion trip to Honduras as part of her clean water program.

Upon returning to SLU after the Teach-In, Amico organized a three-day fast and vigil in order to connect the memory of those who died in El Salvador back in 1989 with the current injustices that was happening in St. Louis at the time.

Siliuanas was also inspired by the Teach-In to alter the course of her goals in life. After interning with the International Institute of St. Louis, helping with local immigration issues, Siliuanas wants to pursue a career as a lawyer, advocate and activist for immigration reform.

“Once we knew about it, I think all of us just felt a responsibility and a drive to tell people about it and to address it at a systemic level,” said Siliuanas about continuing advocacy after returning from the Teach-In, and returning to D.C. this year as a research-team leader. She continued, “We do service, and there was just one thing I didn’t want to put a band aid on, I just wanted to try and get at the root of things.”

This year, the group advocated for bills like the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015, which should be passed by the end of this year. They advocated against immigration reform bills that did not meet their expectations of change.

“There wasn’t a bill that we thought addressed the needs of immigrants, like providing unaccompanied minors with legal counsel.

That would be great,” said Siliuanas. “But there’s nothing like that, so we just advocated against things like the ‘Secure Our Borders First’ act, which is building a militarized wall with drones along the border.”

The group expects this year’s delegation to initiate change through founding organizations that aim to educate students on these issues.

“I’m positive we’re going to see things happen for the rest of the semester, like people initiating programs,” said Siliuanas. Dan Curtin, a member of SLU’s delegation in D.C. has already organized an event to take place next week. The event will be a presentation and dialogue on just employment and fair wages on campus.

“We just went to a presentation this weekend and they’ve already created an event, I’m so excited,” said Amico, expressing the group’s hope to continue their social justice work.

However, while the group has accomplished some of their goals and still continue to advocate, Vestal shared that there were challenges and emotions during their trip to D.C. which concered the fact that social justice issues are seemingly endless and the always present need to advocate for them.

“I think we were overwhelmed by the fact that there are so many social justice issues and there is only one small group, and I think everyone in that room has done some amazing thingsbut you do feel like you’ve never done enough because there are always people hurting, there are always people suffering,” said Vestal. She cited Oscar Romero acknowledging that, although these issues are immense, their work is still purposeful.

She said, “so I think it’s really important to remember that we are planting seeds and we can’t do it all, but we can do something.”

THE SLU SCOOP All Information Provided by Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Thursday, Nov. 5

10:30 a.m. INFORMATIONAL

Officers responded to the Gonzaga Lot construction area in regards to a report of a couple of males that had entered the construction zone. Two male students were found and detained. The two males stated that they were just exploring, but realized their mistake in doing so. The students were released and told not to enter the site again. Pro Staff was notified of the incident.

Friday, Nov. 6

1:04 p.m. INFORMATIONAL

A faculty member brought to the attention of the Department of Public Safety a post on social media, which is believed to have been made by a Saint Louis University student taking a chemistry class. In the post, the composer, who is unknown, writes that he/she may start “self- harming” themself, due to the difficulty of the class. The reporting faculty member advised she had contacted the chairman of the Chemistry Department, who in turn will notify the Dean of Students.

Captain Walker notified.

12:14 p.m. FIRE ALARM

Public Safety Officers were dispatched to Fusz Food Court for a Fire/Smoke alarm. Upon arrival, the strobes and sirens were active in the Subway restaurant. Subway manager Brian King stated while working the alarm activated.The fire panel read the following, “A2 1 FIRE ALARM DUCT SMOKE DET FD CRT SMKS/PULL.” No signs of smoke or fire were present in the area. Alarm was silenced and reset. St Louis Fire Department was not contacted.

Be a Responsible Billiken STOP. CALL. REPORT. 314-977-3000 witness.slu.edu dps.slu.edu

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November 12, 2015

NEWS

Games

To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

Across 1 6 10 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 23 24 25 27 30 33

Horse hangout Fragrance Mishmash African antelope Pine product Collective Blow away Minute amount Carpet slippers Race unit Water carrier Steadfast

Actress Tilly or Ryan 36 Hospital area 37 Robust 38 Miss. neighbor 39 40 “Good job!”

41 Toast topping 42 43 Daniel, Debbie or Pat 44 Referendum 45 Relatives 46 48 49 Beach, basically 50 Cyst 52 A Doll’s House playwright 55 Noodle concoction?

57 Sixth sense 60 Pomegranate juice syrup 63 65 substances 66 Sea predator

Copyright ©2015 PuzzleJunction.com

Think about writing for

Copyright ©2015 PuzzleJunction.com

67 68 Function 69 Bluish green 70 Down 1 “___ Smile” (1976 hit) 2 3 Wine choice 4 Pal for Pierre 5 Delirium 6 Tender, e.g.

7 Pond organism 8 18-wheeler 9 10 Scalawag

11 Word-of-mouth 12 Computer memory unit 13 Former spouses 19 Vacant 22 Select 24 Conducted 25 Nettles 26 27 Fine-tune 28 Spiritual leader 29 31 Overseas 32 Lists 33 ___ Domo 34 Fill with joy 35 Olympics, e.g.

40 Kind of loser

43 44 47 49 51 52

Master, in Swahili Delivery vehicle

The University News!

Good judgment Gung-ho

assistant Vivacity Auction off Ancient Peruvian Do business Effortless Flower holder Brazilian soccer legend 61 URL part 62 Intense anger 64 Stadium cheer 53 54 55 56 57 58 59

email: managing@unewsonline.com

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November 12, 2015 sports@unewsonline.com Lexie Vasos, Sports Editor Lauren Tondl, Assoc. Sports Editor

For continued multimedia coverage of Billiken sporting events, visit unewsonline.com or follow us on Twitter @TheUNewsSports

Volleyball sweeps two games at home

Saint Louis Athletics

Saint Louis Athletics

By VIVEK GORIJALA Senior Staff Writer

An emphatic 3-0 sweep of George Washington was the highlight of a two-win weekend for Saint Louis University women’s volleyball.

The win against the Colonials, as well as a 3-1 victory against the George Mason Patriots, capped off a return to winning ways for the Billikens, who had previously dropped two of their last three against conference contenders Dayton and Rhode Island.

The Billikens first faced off against George Mason at Chaifetz Pavilion. Senior middle blocker Megan Gilbert led the Billikens to a first set 25-17 win, with four kills on four attacks.

The Billikens also served

well in the first set, with sophomore defensive specialist Mackenzie Long recording three aces and junior outside hitter Danielle Rygelski recording two.

However, the Patriots tied the match at one set apiece with a strong second set victory over the Billikens, 2518.

SLU rebounded after the break with a strong team offensive performance. As a whole, the team posted an attack percentage of .367 and recorded a comfortable 25-19 victory. The Billikens then finished off the match with a 25-13 set-four victory.

Rygelski turned in a strong performance in the fourth set, with six kills on eight attacks for a .750 attack percentage.

CHAMPIONS: Senior setter Meredith Boe, senior middle blocker Megan Gilbert and Rygelski pose with alumnae to celebrate their 20th win of the season versus George Mason.

Rygelski led all players in kills in the match, with 16, while Gilbert was SLU’s most efficient attacker, with a .529 attack percentage from 12 kills on 17 attacks and only three errors. Rygelski’s 16 kills also came with 12 digs for her 13th doubledouble of the season.

SLU followed up the win against the George Mason Patriots with a victory against the George Washington Colonials, 3-0. SLU had already won the reverse fixture in Washington, D.C. 3-2, but this match did not prove as close.

SLU won the first set 2521, with Rygelski leading the Billiken attack with seven kills. The second set was a close back-and-forth affair, but the Billikens won, 28-26.

“

Rygelski once again added seven kills, and then posted another seven k i l l s in the third set to finish the sweep with a 25-20 s e t three victory.

R y gelski’s strong att a cki n g p erformance allowed the Billiken middle blockers to thrive, as Gilbert and junior middle blocker

Rygelski’s strong attacking performance allowed the Billiken middle blockers to thrive, as Gilbert and junior Taylor Paulson both hit .500 or over in the match.

Men’s soccer defeated in double OT on senior night

By LAUREN TONDL Associate Sports Editor

After a four-game winning streak, the Billikens men’s soccer team fell to George Washington 1-0 in double overtime at Hermann Stadium on Saturday night, Nov. 7.

The Bills outshot the Colonials 8-6 and forced the George Washington keeper to make five saves.

Eight different SLU players had one shot on goal apiece, but the Billikens could not find the back of the net in the 100 minutes of play.

After a scoreless first overtime, the Colonials finished the job off a penalty kick within the first minute of the second overtime.

This game was the last at Hermann Stadium for nine seniors: goalie David Andre, forward Vince Cicciarelli, defender Tyler David, defender Julian Gieseke, midfielder David Graydon, forward Faik Hajderovic, defender Marco Heskamp, de-

fender Filip Pavisic and midfielder Francisco Vizcaino.

Andre played the whole game, his first start of the season, and recorded two saves.

Hajderovic and Cicciarelli had one shot each during the course of the game.

SLU fell to 8-6-2 and 4-22 in Atlantic-10 play while George Washington advanced to 10-7-0 and 6-2-0 in the A-10, giving them the regular-season title.

The Bills are still holding a tight defense as they allowed only three shots on goal.

Five of their last eight games were shutouts. They’re tied for the lead in fewest goals allowed and shutouts, and lead the A-10 in conference shutouts this season.

The offense is still going strong as well. Cicciarelli and Pavisic each have five goals on the season. Junior forward Joe Saad leads the team with five assists, and junior midfielder Jair Minors has three goals.

Hajderovic currently sits at the top of the active

NCAA Division I players for total career assists with 25, and Graydon is fourth with 23.

Pavisic leads the A-10 in game-winning goals in conference play with two. Sophomore goalie Sascha Otte is 13th among active NCAA Divison Igoalkeepers with

Taylor Paulson both hit .500 or over in the match. Meanwhile, senior setter Meredith Boe orchestrated the attack with 40 assists over the three matches.

In addition, b o t h Paulson and Rygelski recorded five blocks each in the match.

With the victory, SLU’s women’s volleyball team is

19 career shutouts.

With the conclusion of regular season, the men press on into post-season play. They travel to Fairfax, Virginia this weekend as the third seed in the A-10 Conference tournament. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. against Rhode Island.

“

HANG TIME: Junior outside hitter Danielle Rygelski follows through on a kill against an opposing blocker. They defeated George Mason and George Washington this weekend.

proving itself to be one of the best teams in recent memory. SLU is now 21-8 overall, and 10-3 in the A-10. It is the first time that SLU has posted ten or more Atlantic-10 wins since the 2011 season.

Rygelski was also named Atlantic-10 Player of the Week, her fourth Player of the Week honor of the season.

SLU will close the season against Dayton. While the match will not affect playoff seeding, as Dayton has already clinched first place with a 13-0 conference record and SLU is locked into the second seed, a win for the Billikens could provide valuable momentum going into the following week’s conference championship in Washington, D.C.

Saint Louis vs Rhode Island

Round 1 of 2015 A-10 Tournament Previous Matchups:

2015: 1-1 T (2OT) @ Rhode Island

2009: A-10 tournament, SLU won 3-2 at Rhode Island 2006: A-10 tournament, Rhode Island won 2-0

ATTACK: Senior defender Marco Heskamp carries the ball down the field during his final home game as a Billiken.

2005: A-10 tournament Rhode Island won in PK’s after a 2-2 tie at SLU

Saint Louis Athletics

CHEER

JEER

FEAR

WHO TO CHEER: OKLAHOMA KC THUNDER Oklahoma Kansas City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook completed his 20th career triple-double against the Washington Wizards on Nov. 10. He scored 20 points, got 11 assists, and gathered 11 rebounds in the 121-101 win. This was his fifth consecutive game with at least 20 points and ten assists.

BY LEXIE VASOS, SPORTS EDITOR WHO TO JEER: LAMARCUS JOYNER St. Louis Rams’ defensive back Lamarcus Joyner had a nasty hit on Minnesota Vikings QB Terry Bridgewater in the fourth quarter on a third and one.

Bridgewater went unconscious and suffered a concussion. The Rams lost 2118 and Joyner will pay a minimum fine of $23,152. Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said the hit wasn’t intentional.

WHO TO FEAR: THE CAROLINA PANTHERS The Carolina Panthers improved to 8-0 after beating the Green Bay Packers 29-37. Panther QB Cam Newton was 15-30 for 297 yards, completing three touchdowns with one interception. Their running game contributed 66 yards from 20 carries thanks to running back Jonathon Stewart. They face the Titans (2-6) on Nov. 15.

6

November 12, 2015

SPORTS

This week in sports

Women’s basketball obliterates Harris-Stowe 107-31 in exhibition game

@Lanejohnson65 Feels good to get a big win back in my home state! #FlyEaglesFly

Scores from the week Men’s Soccer Saturday, Nov. 7 St. Bonaventure Billikens

1 0

Women’s Basketball Saturday, Nov. 7 Harris-Stowe Billikens

31 107

Men’s Basketball Tuesday, Nov. 10 Missouri-St. Louis Billikens

44 71

Volleyball Friday, Nov. 6 George Mason Billikens

1 3

Sunday, Nov. 8 George Washington Billikens

0 3

Ryan Quinn / The Universtiy News

DOMINATE: Sophomore guard Jackie Kemph goes in for a layup after beating a HarrisStowe defender to the hoop. After struggling early on, the Billiken offense dominated.

Swimming and Diving Sunday, Nov. 8 Lindenwood-Belleville, Maryville and UMSL Billikens

0 6

Player of the week Denisha Womack Women’s Basketball Ryan Quinn / The University News

GUARD: Senior forward Denisha Womack defends a player under the basket on Saturday at Chaifetz. The Billikens defeated Harris-Stowe 107-31 in their only exhibition game.

Billiken Media Relations

Senior forward Denisha Womack recorded a double-double in the women’s basketball exhibition game against Harris Stowe on Nov. 7. Womack shot 6-7 from the floor and 1-2 from behind the arc. She also had a strong performance at the free throw line, making three of her attempted shots. Womack grabbed ten crucial rebounds for the Billikens, three offensive and seven defensive in her 21 minutes of playing time.

SLU dominated HarrisStowe 107-31. The Billikens have the home opener against Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 14 with a 3 p.m. tipoff time.

Games this week , November 12

Swimming sweeps 6-0

By LAUREN TONDL Associate Sports Editor

SLU men’s and women’s swim team swept the competition at the UMSL Quad Meet last Sunday against L i n d e nw o o d - B e l l e v i l l e , Maryville and UMSL. Of the 26 events, the Bills won 21, almost sweeping the events along with the meet.

The men defeated Lindenwood-Belleville 860-843, Maryville 908-85 and UMSL 837-701.

A standout for the men’s team was sophomore Ryan McCoy. He finished first in three events: the 100-yard butterfly (50.39), the 500yard freestyle (4:43.24), and the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:08.12). Senior Brendan Hulseman also made the top mark in three events: the 400yard medley relay (3:28.41), the 200-yard freestyle relay

(1:26.38), and the 400-yard freestyle relay with McCoy. The women dominated Lindenwood-Belleville 848500, Maryville 851-370 and UMSL 851-455.

Freshman Mattea Wabeke on the women’s side showed her experience by taking home three crowns, the only member of her team to do so this weekend.

Wabeke took the 1000-yard freestyle (11:09.03), the 200yard freestyle relay (1:42.25), and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:12.37).

With an impressive result closer to home, both men and women travel to Evanston, Illinois to compete in the Northwestern TYR Invitational, Nov. 20-22. The swim and dive team will finish their fall semester on Dec. 4 in Charleston, Illinois as they take on Eastern Illinois.

, November 14

, November 15

, November 17

, November 18

percent (16/19) from the foul line. The Billikens also outrebounded their opponent The Saint Louis Univer69-34, recording 21 offensive sity women’s basketball team boards. Smart ball moveprepared for the upcoming ment had 33 assists and just season with an exhibition 11 turnovers. game against Harris-Stowe SLU also played well on Nov. 7. The Billikens got from a defensive standpoint, off to a rocky start, but SLU holding Harris-Stowe to 10.6 still lead 16-6 after the first percent shooting from the quarter. The Bills gained floor. momentum in the second, The Billikens will begin scoring 20 points and shuttheir competitive season on ting out Harris-Stowe. The Nov. 14 against Southeast half ended with a 50-18 lead Missouri State. for the Billikens.

Coach Lisa Stone made SLU continued their an announcement on Nov. 11 domination into the second that she had signed two high half, scoring 57 more points, school stuending the dent-athletes game with to National a score of Letters of SLU continued their 107-31.

Intent for the domination into the Senior 2016-17 seaforward second half, scorson. These Denisha new addiing 57 more points, Womtions include ending the game ack and a 6-foot-2 with a score of 107sophomore inch forward guard Jack31.

Hannah Fraie Kemph zier (Batavia, registered Ill) and double6-foot-2 inch doubles with 16 points and 10 forward Kendra Wilken (Barrebounds, as well as 14 points telso, Ill). Stone commented and 16 assists respectively. on the signees, “Hannah Four more SLU players and Kendra are tremendous scored in the double figuresindividuals on and off the sophomore forward Madcourt. They share our Billiken dison Gits (15), sophomore vision of success and a quest guard Jenny Vliet (13), junior for championships.” center Sadie Stipanovich (12) Frazier’s past includes beand junior forward Olivia ing named Player of the Year Jakubicek (12). Jakubicek by the Daily Herald and the was one rebound short of a Aurora Beacon-News. She avdouble-double, grabbing nine eraged 22.1 points per game boards for the night. After her junior year. struggling on offense, SLU Wilken was named the shot 51.9 percent (41-79) Class 1A-2A Player of the from the floor, including a Year by the Belleville News9-of-25 night from 3-point Democrat by unanimous range. Billikens Vliet (3-5), choice. She also averaged 19.9 Jakubicek (2-3) and Kemph points per game and 11.2 (2-4) inflicted damage from rebounds per game in her behind the arc. junior year.

As a team, SLU shot 84.2

By LEXIE VASOS Sports Editor

FLY: The Billikens placed first in 21 of the 26 events they competed in Sunday at the UMSL Quad Meet on Nov. 8.

Saint Louis Athletics

“

“

Tweet of the week

Men showcase new offense in 71-44 win

Ryan Quinn / The Universtiy News

FOCUS: Sophomore guard Miles Reynolds tries to make his way around a defender an down the court at Tuesday’s exhibition game in Chaifetz Arena. The men beat UMSL 71-44.

By LEXIE VASOS Sports Editor

The Saint Louis University men’s basketball team gave their new offense a test run in an exhibition game on Nov.10 against The University of Missouri-St. Louis.

The Billikens captured an 8-2 lead early in the game before UMSL went on a 10-0 run, giving them the 12-8 advantage. The Billiken offense quickly responded with an 8-0 run and never looked back, leading by 11 at three different occasions in the first half. The half ended with a 30-19 Billiken lead.

The Billikens maintained the double-digit lead in the second half, stretching the lead to 20 points (53-31) after an 8-0 run that included a three-point-play by sophomore guard Miles Reynolds.

The Billikens largest lead of

the night was by 28 points and occurred near the end of regulation. The Billikens defeated UMSL, 71-44.

Senior guard Ash Yacoubou led the Billiken offense with 16 points. He shot 5-of-9 from the field, 2-of-5 from behind the arc, and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Yacoubou also completed a rare fivepoint in the second half.

Sophomore guard Davell Roby and junior guard Mike Crawford had strong performances for the Billikens each scoring nine points. Reynolds, sophomore forward Milik Yarbrough and sophomore center Austin Gillmann recorded in seven points for the night.

Sophomore guard Marcus Bartley was 2-of-4 from behind the 3-point line, contributing six points. The offense handled the ball well and only committed 11 turnovers.

SLU was also a powerhouse at the rim, out-rebounding the Tritons 44-36.

Yarbrough grabbed a gamehigh 10 rebounds.

Junior forward Reggie Agbeko came down with eight (game-high four offensive boards) and Crawford recorded seven.

The Billiken defense overwhelmed the UMSL offense forcing 19 turnovers – nine of which were steals. The Bills defense also held the Tritons to 33.3 percent shooting overall (4-of-19 from beyond the arc).

The Billikens home opener will be against Hartford on Nov. 15 with a 4 p.m. tipoff time.

On Nov. 11, Coach Cruz announced the signing of Zeke Moore. Moore is a 6-foot-6 inch guard who averaged 25.3 points per game his junior year.

UNews

&

Arts Entertainment

November 12, 2015 arts@unewsonline.com Tess Brock, Arts Editor Natalie Riopelle, Assoc. Arts Editor

New STL designers join the fold Doughocracy

Patrick Hyland / The University News Meghan Loftus / The University News

FASHION: The Eckhaus Latta event concluded with a runway show, which highlighted the newest fashion trends.

By MEGHAN LOFTUS Staff Writer

Founded in 2006, St. Louis Fashion Week (STLFW) is the largest opportunity in the Midwest for local and emerging designers to showcase their work and launch their fashion careers. By doing so, the designers create awareness of their existence and, as a result, a potential increase in demand for their work. An abundance of local designers present their line to the St. Louis Fashion Fund panel. The panel is a group made up of buyers, marketing professionals and magazine editors. This panel narrows the group down to the top-five designers who then have models walk the runway for the public. Sponsored by Caleres, the Calares Emerging Designer Award is

a $25,000 cash grant to the designer to get his/her feet on the ground in the industry. The process St. Louis uses is similar to that of “Project Runway.”

This year, the five finalists were: Jordana Warmflash of NOVIS, Julie Haus and Jason Alkire of Haus Alkire, Azede Jean-Pierre of Azede Jean-Pierre, Katherine Polk of Houghton (winner of $25,000 grant) and Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta of Eckhaus Latta. The runway show kicked off STL Fashion Week this year on Nov. 4 in Union Station. The venue was so unique; the ceilings were high, the stonewalls were edgy and the decorations were chic.

Other than the runway show on Wednesday, Nov. 4, the week consisted of stand

still designer displays of garments inspired by artwork and cocktail parties with informational and inspirational speakers within the fashion industry. Special guests to STLFW included Iris Apfel (fashion icon), Tomoko Ogura (Senior Fashion Director of Barneys New York), Lisa Perry (designer) and Paul Dillinger (Vice President of Global Product Innovation and Premium Collection Design at Levi Strauss & Co.).

With St. Louis Fashion Week reaching 10,000 attendees this year, and only going up in numbers, the smaller Midwest cities are proving themselves to the New York based media.

Smaller shows like STLFW can change the lives of emerging designers and help

make their dreams come true.

Encouraging local designers and small boutiques to showcase their work improves St. Louis networking and marketing. The community sees the potential in local individuals, allowing more people to buy and invest in up-and-coming companies or designers.

While other cities, such as Charleston, South Carolina and Miami, are also trying to produce a successful fashion week, St. Louis is the second best city behind New York for fostering young talent in the industry. So the next time you hear of a regional fashion show, think twice before turning down the invitation. St. Louis designers could very well be the next big thing.

The Front Bottoms: Inspiration in live act Four dudes from New Jersey singing songs about getting stoned, girls that broke their hearts, hanging out and various angst that comes from living life.

It doesn’t sound like anything special, right? And yet, seeing them in concert was one of the most magical experiences that one could ever hope for. On this past Wednesday, Nov. 4, the band played to a sold out crowd in support of their third full length album, “Back on Top.” The first band, though I wasn’t at the venue yet, was Elvis Depressedly, and from everyone I talked to, they exceeded expectations.

They certainly didn’t have a shortage of material, having released four full-length albums and three extended play’s in the past four years.

Their lo-fi indie sound is great to simply relax and chill to, and was definitely warmly welcomed by the crowd so that they could save their energy for The Front Bottoms.

The second band on the bill was The Smith Street B a n d , who definitely travele d the furthest out of anyone at the concert. Hailing from Australia, they play a type of raw, alternative punk music.

Similar to bands like Bomb!

The Music Industry and Hard Girls that are punk but pull from many genres, the band put all the passion they

“

possibly could have into their 45-minute set. Singer Will Wagner seemed attached to his guitar and worked magic with his hardened vocals and musicianship. The best part of their set, though, was seeing the positive reaction that the band garnered from the crowd. The mostly full room was very enthusiastic and hooted and hollered after every song. I sure hope that it made the trip halfway around the world worth it.

These two acts were simply leading up to the main event though, and nothing could prepare the crowd

But when the band broke into “Skeleton,” my mind told me no, but my body said yes.

“

By TOM BERGAN Staff Writer

Courtesy of The Front Bottoms

BOTTOMS: The foursome recently jammed the night away at The Ready Room. The band was welcomed by a throng of excited fans who welcomed the group to St. Louis and rocked along to the music at the energy-filled concert.

for what happened when The Front Bottoms took the stage. The temperature in the room suddenly seemed to rise 20 degrees as everyone clustered in as close as possible to the stage. As a germaphobe, I tend to avoid these dense crowds, but when the band broke into “Skeleton,” my mind told me no, but my body said yes. I joined the ranks of the fans jumping up and down fanatically in the front of the crowd, and I screamed along with every word. “There’s no way the crowd can keep this up for the next 80 minutes” I thought, and boy was I wrong. It only kicked up in intensity as the show went on.

Not only do The Front Bottoms sound as good as they do in their recorded music, they up the ante tenfold. In songs such as “Au Revoir,” “Laugh Till I Cry” and “The Beers,” singer Brian Sella poured his heart out into every song and had the crowd wrapped around his finger. During “Au Revoir,” he took an extended pause, taking a sip of water and jokingly asking the crowd what the lyrics were to the second verse. Overenthusiastically, they responded “Adios” and the band then jumped back into the song without missing a step.

Moments like these were plentiful during the show, as the band and crowd slowly morphed into one. During “Historic Cemeteries,” the crowd rapped the outro usually performed by rapper GDP, and then GDP came See “Bottoms” on Page 8

CHEESY: The new pizza joint offers a variety of Italian options for the college student on a budget.

By PATRICK HYLAND Senior Staff Writer

Tucked into the blocks of the great eating and drinking establishments called The Loop, just a short drive from campus, is the newest restaurant in the area, Doughocracy. Think Chipotle, but for pizza. Then think Chipotle for pizza, but better. Doughocracy is a “fast casual” restaurant where you pick a specialty pizza, such as the Classic Margherita or The Smokeshow - featuring smoked mozzarella, tomato sauce, sautéed onion, and sausage. You can also split your pizza, like I did, to taste multiple offerings on a single pie. Those who find menus oppressive can also build their own pizza, limited only by the toppings they see before them in the open-concept restaurant.

As soon as you walk in, a worker greets you with an order card. Simply pick your pie or salad, or walk with your pie (just as you do with your burrito at Chipotle) down the line as multiple workers craft your pizza into the delicious Neapolitan masterpiece it is destined to be. One of the workers may be a fellow SLU student, and applications are still being accepted.

The pizzas served are made with fresh ingredients, and pies and salads can be ordered to go, too. Attractive copper tea pots hold the olive oil used on all pizzas.

Local beer and desserts are also offered, with the Nutella Bomb being one of the most popular items – think pizza dough folded on itself and keeping warm a gooey Nutella filling inside.

Both the Green Mile and the Vegetarian Nightmare, a pair of other specialty pizza offerings, are also fan favorites. The next-generation soda fountain has multiple pop options just a click away, using a touch screen interface to either choose your favorite brand or make your

own unique combination, with sparkling water among the options.

The neon green and black color scheme, true Italianstyle pizza, and trendy design scheme come from the next generation businesses owners who grew up in the hospitality industry. Chicagoland natives will recognize Al’s Beef and possibly Nancy’s Pizza family businesses.

Doughcracy is the brainchild of those owners’ children.

Doughocracy is not just a funny name, it is the philosophy behind the pizza. The dough comes first, it is the only ingredient hand made in house daily. The dough worker is the first station along the food line. Other ingredients are prepped each day, and are all highend. Which brings us to pricing.

There are 3 classes of pies: simple, one topping and specialty. Simple pizzas are just as they sound and cost $5.95, one toppings run for $7.45, and specialty pizzas will be $8.75. Bring your SLU ID and you will save 10% on your bill. Management is also considering accepting Billiken Bucks, too, but details still need to be worked out with the University. I recommend splitting your pie between two specialty pizzas, such as The Smokeshow and the Vegetarian Nightmare.

If you are on a budget, simple pizzas get you about the same amount of food for a little bit more than half the cost, since all pies are 12 inches. You could also visit the restaurant next Wednesday, Nov. 18, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. when it will be giving away free pies in celebration of its Grand Opening. Like Chipotle, delivery is not available, but services like GrubHub can do the work for you, for a price. Doughcracy management hopes to open another location, possibly near SLU’s campus or in South City, in the near future.

Patrick Hyland / The University News

DOUGH: The restaurant, with its modern facade, invites customers to experience its unique pizza experience.

8

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

November 12, 2015

OUT On The

TOWn

Adele returns with ‘Hello’

ArTs ediTOrs’ Picks

Music Josh Turner River City Casino Nov. 13, 8:00 p.m.

Ben Folds The Pageant Nov. 17, 8:00 p.m.

Hollywood Undead The Pageant Nov. 18, 8:00 p.m.

X Ambassadors The Pageant Dec. 1, 8:00 p.m.

Movies Room In theaters Currently Bridge of Spies In theatres Currently Spectre In theaters Currently

The Peanuts Movie In theaters Currently

Suffragette In theaters Currently

Theater Dracula Theatre Guild of Webster Groves Nov. 6-15

Crimes of the Heart University Theatre Nov. 13-14, Nov. 22 Irving Berlin’s White Christmas Fabulous Fox Nov. 17-22 America’s Got Talent Peabody Opera House Nov. 15 Wicked Fabulous Fox Dec. 9-Jan. 3

Courtesy of Vevo

RECORD-SMASHING: The beautifully shot ‘Hello’ video has been viewed more than 300 million times.

By MEGHAN LOFTUS Staff Writer

pletely in the Sepia filter, the “Hello” music video is rather cinematic.

Three years and one child The video is set in an later, Adele is out of her isolated farm in Canada music-career hibernation. and was shot in secret.

“Hello,” the single released And, while I’ve already reon Oct. 23, is a heartfelt balsearched on the Internet lad. With outstanding vowhere I can find that texcals, Adele sings: “Hello from tured coat she’s wearing, the other side / I must have it is not likely because the called a thousand times / To director of the video found tell you I’m sorry for everyit in a couture shop. When thing that I’ve done.” Adele’s Adele is making the call to first album, “19,” was first rewhoever is at the other end leased on Jan. 28, 2008. Her of the line, she’s using a flip second album, “21,” featurphone. A flip phone! Many ing songs like “Rumor Has critics have asked why, and It,” “Rolling in the Deep” they can’t seem to find an and “Turning Tables, was answer. Adele recently rereleased in January of 2011. vealed, “The The aluse of flipbum “21” flop phones focuses This record is all is coherent mainly about how I feel with the on an rest of my as opposed to breakup. work. I can’t On the how someone get my head o t h e r else has made around filmhand, me feel. ing iPhones Adele ex— they’re plained -Adele too real, too “25,” her identifiable upcomwith our eving aleryday lives. Same for cars. bum, to Sirius XM saying, I feel bad filming Toyotas “There is some darkness on and Kias. As soon as you it, just because I like to do film these elements, it’s like dramatic. I’m a bit of a drayou’re shooting whatever ma queen ... This record is all commercial. I find them to about how I feel as opposed be non-narrative elements.” to how someone else has Another way of looking at made me feel. It’s about how it is the whole video is very I made myself feel.” In adaged; therefore, having an dition, Adele tweeted, “I’m iPhone in there would throw making up with myself. Makoff the chic “vintage-ness” of ing up for lost time. Making the film. The Grammy-winup for everything I ever did ning singer spoke about her and never did.” “25” is her latest video, saying that she comeback, her I’ve-still-gotwas very proud of this work it album. While “Hello” may and that she truly felt it was sound like pleading to an her best acting. The music ex, Adele claims it is aimed video for the song broke the at anyone — friends, family, video hosting service Vevo’s even her fans. Adele has also record by achieving over publically apologized for the 27.7 million views within wait, saying: “life happened.” a 24-hour span and broke And to say “Hello” has done the record for shortest time well is an understatement. to attain 100 million Vevo “Hello” had the biggest sales views (surpassing the reweek for a single since Elton cord Miley Cyrus held for John’s Princess Diana Trib“Wrecking Ball”). ute in 1997 — 1.11 million Adele plans on going downloads in one week. In on a world tour starting in addition to the release of the February for “25.” But, until single, Adele filmed a muthen, Adele fans are eagerly sic video. Adele’s dramatic waiting for Nov. 20 to hear music video fits the soulfulthe rest of the album. ness of the song. Shot com-

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Bottoms: Band wows Continued from Page 7

out and killed his part with a cheek-to-cheek smirk on his face the whole time. This surprise was unexpected, and just brought the crowd’s intensity up even a little bit further, which didn’t seem possible.

The show wouldn’t have been nearly as impactful without the energy of the crowd, but the band had this energy matched and were obviously even more integral to making the show as memorable as it was. Everything that took place over the 80 minutes - the stage banter, the crowd surfing, the screaming along of every word and the dancing of the crowd - all simply led up to the final song of the night,

By LOGAN MCNEIL Contributor

NBC’s “The Blacklist” is the show sweeping the bingeNetflix-watchers world. It is action packed, fast, furious and, most importantly, unpredictable. Creator, executive producer and writer Jon Bokenkamp has managed to create a show that is both thrilling and intriguing.

Warning, spoilers follow.

The show begins its first of two complete seasons with FBI’s-most-wanted criminal Raymond Reddington turning himself in on the same day that agent Elizabeth Keen begins her job with the agency. As the plot begins to unfold, this seemingly inexplicable coincidence begins to be explained in tidbits of information that challenge the viewer to try to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

The show is organized into seemingly unrelated episodes, consisting of Reddington providing information to a secret task force Keen is in, led by Director Harold Cooper. The task force uses Reddington’s sensitive information to apprehend criminals that fly under the radar, criminals Reddington claims are the individuals that society should truly fear. These individuals commit crimes ranging from shipping high value materials across the ocean to trying to create a new disease to clear the planet of humans who are destroying

the earth’s natural resources.

All of these seemingly unrelated criminals seem to all be leading to one man, Berlin. Berlin and Reddington share a contentious past that ends how you might guess, gruesomely - but I will let you discover the details for yourself. With Berlin, shall we say, eliminated, in middle of the second season, the show seems to be coming to a short end.

However, we are then introduced to a new group of criminals, the Cabal. The Cabal is comprised of the most powerful criminals in the world, who use their power, prestige and wealth to determine the events of world history. Among the most evil and corrupt individuals in the world, the members of the Cabal just so happen to also be highranking U.S. government officials. With all criminals identified, Reddington and Keen set about beginning a war to bring down the Cabal.

The only weapon that Reddington and Keen seem to possess against the Cabal is a mysterious device known as “the fulcrum.” This perplexing device is said to contain information about the identities of the members of the Cabal and was once the only thing keeping Reddington alive. However, in a series of rather dramatic events, the Cabal decides to call Reddington’s bluff - that

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REO Speedwagon Peabody Opera House Nov. 13, 8:00 p.m.

‘Blacklist’ hits stride in season 3

“Twin Size Mattress.”

Off of their second album, “Talon of the Hawk,” this song was instantly given status as the only way that the band could properly end a show. With lyrics such as “This is for the lions living in the wiry broke down frames of my friends bodies” and “She hopes I’m cursed forever, live on a twin size mattress,” there is simply no way that I can word it that would do justice to the moment that took place during this song. All I can say is that it was five minutes of pure bliss, and that it was one of the most incredible moments of any concerts I have been at. If you don’t yet, you need The Front Bottoms in your life in some form as soon as possible.

Courtesy of NBC

CRIME: James Spader’s performance as Raymond Reddington highlights NBC’s action-packed crime thriller.

he possesses the device - and attempts to eliminate him.

After surviving this literal near death experience, Reddington begins to plan his revenge. At the same time that Reddington was fighting for his life, Keen makes herself the Cabal’s number one enemy by revealing that she possesses the fulcrum and the ability to reveal the information it contains. Unwilling to allow such a dangerous threat to persist, the Cabal carries out an elaborate plot to eliminate Keen, which ends with Keen and Reddington fleeing from the FBI and each landing themself with a place on the FBI’s top-ten most-wanted list. While this is where the main plot ends at the conclusion of season two, there are several secondary plot lines that will entertain all types of viewers.

As Keen is attempting to bring the Cabal to justice, she is also attempting to find out the truth about her past.

After having her memory blocked by a convoluted psychology technique, she only has a scar from a fire and Reddington to uncover details of her life. Now if you aren’t into the thrilling chase scenes and elaborate investigations, don’t fret, “The Blacklist” can still be for you.

Beneath the adventure and old-fashioned shootouts, Keen is also trying to discover the true identify of her husband, Tom Keen.

At one time, Tom was just a simple elementary school teacher, but Agent Keen discovers her husband is far from who she thought he was. Tom is really an undercover agent who claimed allegiance to Berlin, but, in reality, was always working for Reddington. As Agent Keen attempts to uncover both the true identity of her husband and her feelings for him, she is also attempting to bring down the most powerful group of individuals in the world. Only time will tell how things play out.

Overall, I would give “The Blacklist” a 9.5/10 stars. The interweaving plot lines make it truly a wonderful mix of thrill, enjoyment, and romance that are unparalleled, and will leave you wanting more.

‘Mamma Mia!’ dazzles

By NATALIE RIOPELLE Associate Arts Editor

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: when it comes to movies, shows, you name it, I’m a wee bit jaded, and going into “Mamma Mia!” at The Fabulous Fox, my attitude was no different. Actually, you would think I’d know better at this point, since I always seem to be proven wrong. Anyway, I think you know where I’m going with this: “Mamma Mia!” was thoroughly entertaining—like sway-involuntarilyin-your-seat-and-fight-the urge-to-belt-out-“Dancing Queen,” entertaining. Featuring the songs of ‘70s Swedish pop group, ABBA, and written by two of its original members, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, “Mamma Mia!” was engaging from start to end.

“Mamma Mia!’s” storyline is a pretty simple (and, honestly, improbable) one: Sophie Sheridan (Kyra Belle Johnson) is about to get married, and she would really like her dad to attend the wedding—the only problem is: she doesn’t know who he is.

According to the diary of her mother, Donna (Erin Fish), there are three potential papas; but, even Donna has never been sure who really has paternal rights, and she never bothered to tell any of the respective men about the child at all. Well, now Sophie is all grown-up (sort of, she’s twenty) and about to hear

wedding bells, but who will walk her down the aisle in the father’s traditional role?

In true musical form, Sophie takes matters into her own hands and invites all three men to the wedding — writing as her mother, so that when they arrive for the wedding in three months, she can swiftly determine who she has to thank for her bone structure, and they can all live happily ever after.

Yeah, it’s really absurd.

I mean, I’ll buy that Donna never told Sophie who her father is and that Donna herself doesn’t really know. That’s all annoying (and probably immensely frustrating for Sophie), but why is everyone ignoring that Sophie broke all of her mother’s trust into little-itty-bitty pieces by stealing/reading her diary?

And, no one seems all that angry with her for setting those broken trust-pieces on fire by inviting all three potential dads to her wedding? Like, what? And why, if Donna is so disconcerted by her daughter’s early marriage (which we quickly learn, she is), does she wait so dang long to talk about it? And why did all three men even come to the wedding? How are they all financially able to fly to Greece (where Sophie and Donna live) for the wedding? I get that they all had a fabulous “thing” with Donna 20 years ago when she was the lead singer of girl group

Donna and the Dynamos, but wouldn’t at least one of them chicken out? Mostly, I’m mad that Sophie totally gets away with being a compulsive liar—because, come on!

Plot related questions aside, (because apparently no one but me cares and, frankly, plot almost never matters in musicals where the songs are good) “Mamma Mia!” was, as my dad always says, “Very well done.”

ABBA’s incredible songs were sung with energy and accompanied by detailed and clever choreography.

The stars were very well chosen, and I’d like to give special kudos to Laura Michelle Hughes and Sarah Smith, playing former members of Donna and the Dynamos Tanya and Rosie, respectively, for bringing so much vitality and talent to the show—their liveliness really gave the show extra oomph it needed.

So, yes I liked the show— although the plot may be the best, it made my foot tap involuntarily, which is always a good sign. The bottom line is this: If you’re looking for a show with a convincing storyline, “Mamma Mia!” might not be for you. If, instead, you’re looking for a musical that will make you smile with its energy, music and humor, even I can’t deny that with “Mamma Mia!” you can’t go wrong.

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UNews

Opinions Editorials

November 12, 2015 opinion@unewsonline.com Joshua Connelly, Opinion Editor

Editorials are opinion pieces written by the Editorial Board of The University News. The editorials printed in this space represent the opinion of The University News.

Commentaries and Letters to the Editor represent the opinions of the signed authors, but do not necessarily represent the opinions of The University News.

Drug testing welfare recipients not cost-effective, or moral tests.) Exactly one person was caught. The state saved $560 as a result. The next two years brought only two more failed tests, for a grand total of three in five years.

Of all applicants, 23 peo-

ple refused to take the test and were subsequently stripped of their benefits. Even if you include them in the total amount saved, it would still be only $3,500 over five years.

Considering that the state ini-

tially estimated $1.7 million in savings, the issue becomes more apparent. For a program supported mainly by conservatives, it is hardly fiscally conservative.

The Daily Beast found that

on welfare out of more than 16,000 screened. Florida’s program was ruled unconstitutional by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2014 on the grounds that the state officials failed to prove a “substantial need” for all welfare applicants to be tested.

Under its program, only 2.67 percent of those tested were found to have used drugs.

One of the reasons behind the movement to drug test welfare recipients is the myth that “welfare queens” are gaming the system and cheating hardworking Americans out of their tax dollars.

In an August 2013 article entitled “Just How Wrong Is Conventional Wisdom About Government Fraud?” The Atlantic found that welfare fraud was much more common among managers and executives, rather than people who truly needed the money to survive. “[F]raud accounts for less than 2 percent of unemployment insurance payments. It’s seemSophie Lappe / Design Editor ingly impossible to find statistics on “welfare” …

Utah spent $25,000 in 2012 fraud, but the best guess is to catch 12 people out of the that it’s about the same,” au466 tested. WBIR, a TV stathor Eric Schnurer wrote. tion in Knoxville, Tennessee, Why, then, are so many found that in the latter half of elected officials, mainly Re2014, Tennessee only caught publicans, obsessed with the 37 people using drugs while idea of closing the so-called

The University News reserves the right not to publish any letters that are deemed intentionally and/or inappropriately inflammatory, more than the 300-word limit or unsigned by the original author. The following are letters and/or website comments. Because the identities of website posters cannot be verified, all website comments should be treated as anonymous. Actual letters to the editor may be submitted online at unewsonline.com or e-mailed to opinion@unewsonline.com.

Please include your cell phone number.

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Quote of the Week

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But when the band broke into ‘Skeleton,’ my mind told me no, but my body said yes.

Tom Bergen, Staff Writer, Page 7

“welfare loopholes” that allow practically nonexistent abuse?

It is not an easy question to answer, especially with so little data backing up claims of systemic abuse.

Drug testing welfare recipients is not cost effective, and almost no one who is tested fails. It also ties people’s main, if not only, sources of food to

“

On Nov. 9, Wisconsin began requiring drug testing for many welfare recipients, including those collecting unemployment and those participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training program. The requirement for drug testing was included in the budget signed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, in July.

Applicants for welfare programs will be required to fill out a questionnaire about drug use and then may be required to submit to a test based on their responses. If applicants test positive for drug use, they will be referred to a treatment program funded by the state.

Drug testing welfare applicants is not a new process. Such policies either exist or have existed at one point in 14 states, including Florida, Arizona and Oklahoma. The problem with them, even if you ignore the questionable morality of tying a person’s only food source to a drug-free lifestyle, is that they cost the states that implement them more than they save.

Take Arizona’s program, which was enacted in 2009, for example. Between 2009 and 2012, more than 87,000 people went through the state’s welfare program. (Not all were required to take drug

Letters

the ideal of living drug-free.

Wanting people to refrain from abusing illegal drugs is not negative in and of itself, but forcing them to do so in order to afford food is immoral. We must find a better way to investigate potential fraud without putting people’s livelihoods in jeopardy in the process.

UNewsers share their favorite childhood TV shows “My favorite childhood TV show was ‘Arthur.’ My next-door neighbor and I, beginning in kindergarten, had a routine of watching ‘Clifford the Big Red Dog,’ followed by ‘Arthur,’ every day after school. ‘Arthur’ taught people to not bully and to love your family and friends, so what else can you really ask for in a children’s show? My favorite episode is when Arthur’s baby sister is born, and my 5-yearold self always got annoyed with the episodes with the singing, middle-aged, moose guy (I think he was the town troubadour or something?).

In kindergarten, all the other girls in my class had pink

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princess backpacks, but my backpack featured ‘Arthur and the ABCs,’ and it was one of my favorite things I owned.”

— Meredith Hargis “Growing up without cable TV, I was forced to watch public broadcasting, which actually had a lot of good kid’s shows and contributed to my appreciation of things not related to TV. (I’m thinking of the ‘Arthur’ library card song, where Arthur and DW assured me that ‘having fun isn’t hard if you’ve got a library card.’ I still, of course, love libraries.) But my favorite show was ‘Zoboomafoo’; Chris and Martin Kratt and

their lemur puppet enthralled me with their lessons on nature and its animals.”

— Paul Brunkhorst “My favorite show when I was little was ‘Teletubbies.’

Besides their undeniable adorableness, the song at the beginning completely roped me in because it was so catchy.

My favorite part of every episode was when they went inside the dome to eat food, but the vacuum (whose name was Noo Noo, in case anyone forgot) would suck up the toast right when it popped out of the toaster and flew across the room. I will not deny that I laughed with them every

time. Tinkie-Winkie, Dipsy, LaLa and Po definitely made me a more cheerful toddler in the morning, to say the least.”

— Lauren Tondl “When I was little, I used to religiously watch ‘Cyberchase’ and ‘Between the Lions.’ The three kids, Matt, Jackie and Inez, and Digit, the robot bird, were probably the coolest way to learn about problem solving. ‘Between the Lions’ also taught me some seriously important stuff, like how to use the past tense and what a cliffhanger is. I still know the ‘Cliffhanger’ song by heart. Yay, childhood!”

— Natalie Riopelle

“As another child without cable TV, the shows available to me were limited to PBS Kids and Saturday morning cartoons on ABC and FOX. Of those shows, my favorite was ‘Zoom,’ a show created by kids, for kids. The kids would conduct science experiments, play games and perform skits.

I could not get enough of it.

‘Zoom’ usually aired Monday through Thursday, and its absence in the Friday lineup was always a rough start to my weekend. I still have not gotten over the travesty that was ‘The Friday Zone,’ which was apparently an Indiana-specific program. Who knew?”

— Joshua Connelly

THE UNIVERSITY NEWS 2015-16 EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PAUL BRUNKHORST eic@unewsonline.com

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THE EDITORIAL BOARD OF THE UNIVERSITY NEWS RECOGNIZES AVIS MEYER, PH.D., AS THE NEWSPAPER’S FACULTY MENTOR.

“For some reason, at a young age, I watched wildly inappropriate television shows. My parents didn’t monitor the shows I watched, so anything from MTV and VH1 was fair game. Although I spent a good amount of time viewing filth like ‘Flavor of Love’ and ‘The Real World,’ my favorite, by far, was the beloved, Orange County-based reality show, ‘Laguna Beach.’

The love triangle of Lauren Conrad, Kristin Cavallari and Stephen Colletti made for a deep and riveting drama for three seasons. ‘Laguna Beach’ will remain a timeless classic in my eyes.”

— Emily Higginbotham

“Freedom of the press—print, online and broadcast—is a basic right in a democratic society and is valuable in promoting the development of students as socially responsible persons ... The University News is a student voice, not the student voice. The views of The University News are the expressions of the students involved ... If [The University News] can represent a point of view around which discussion may develop, it serves a legitimate and needed purpose.”

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November 12, 2015

OPINION & EDITORIALS

‘White privilege’ cannot be ignored or understated; we must promote dialogue to see ‘lasting change’

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Though the concept of white privilege is not a new one — the origins go back to W. E. B. Du Bois’ idea of a “psychological wage” for white workers, which he explored in his 1935 text “Black Reconstruction in America” — it is still as relevant today as it was 80 years ago. Theodore W. Allen studied and analyzed white privilege for 40 years, beginning in the ‘60s, and Peggy McIntosh helped popularize the term in the late ‘80s.

The basic idea of white privilege, though it is impossible to accurately condense decades of research into a single sentence, is that those with white skin, especially males, are given innumerable societal advantages — not because they have earned them in some way, but because of how light their complexion is. Many white people accept that they are treated inherently better than people of color on a basic societal level, but there are plenty who do not, and tension often arises when people wade more into the gritty details of what white privilege is and what it means to our society.

In May 2014, Time published an article entitled “Why I’ll Never Apologize for My

It is clear that not enough The phrase in question? people understand white “Check your privilege.” privilege, and it is important The problem with “check that we as a society work to your privilege” is not that it change that. The understandlacks value conceptually, but ing that society values people that it is often used antagonisdifferently based on their skin tically, which stifles the potencolor — and their sex, sexual tial for dialogue. orientation and gender idenWhites, males and espetity — is critical if we are gocially white, heterosexual, cising to have a dialogue about gender males, have an enorhow to make positive changes mous advantage over people moving forward. And we must of other races, sexual orienhave that dialogue. It is crititations and gender identities. cal that we Many people do. We canaccept that not solve sysas reality. temic racism That doesn’t overnight, change the The problem with but that does fact, how‘check your privinot give us ever, that lege’ is not that it the excuse to “check your lacks value conignore it, to privilege” is ceptually, but that pretend that no longer it is often used nothing is just an idea wrong. that proantagonistically, W h i l e motes awarewe have this ness of the potential for dianecessary unearned logue. dialogue, it societal adis important vantages of that everywhite people. one rememIt may have ber the importance of letstarted out that way, but it has ting others be heard. There evolved, sadly, into a general is a problematic phrase being ad hominem attack against used to shut down conversapeople who are more privition on one side of the disleged, and that is driving a cussion, and it is something wedge further into this divide. that needs to be addressed When people are attacked before this dialogue can take for who they are and not for place. This phrase began with the ideas they espouse — noble intentions, roughly a which is one of the things we decade ago, as a way of reare all trying to prevent in the minding white people — and first place — they tend to eimen, and heterosexual people ther retaliate or completely and cisgender people — that shut down. Neither of those they have an intrinsic societal responses is helpful to anyone value that places them above involved, but they happen, other classes of people. and they happen often.

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Joshua Connelly

White Male Privilege,” which tative for their race as a whole. was greeted online with much These are only a few of many uproar. The author, an unexamples. dergraduate student at PrincThe response to the coneton University, an Ivy League cept of white privilege is comschool, argued that according parable to that of President to those who promote the Obama’s now infamous “you concept of white privilege, didn’t build that” line, where “nothing [white people] have he talked about how no one accomplished is real.” can be successful without the The author goes on to exhelp of those around us. plain that many of his fam“If you were successful, ily members were directly somebody along the line gave affected by the Holocaust, you some help,” Obama said in sarcastically a 2012 camreferring to paign speech each tragedy in Virginia. that befell “There was a his family as great teacher No one is saying a “privilege.” somewhere that white people He talks in your life. do not work hard about how Somebody to earn their place hard his fahelped to in life. They are ther worked create this saying that white to earn his unbelievable degree from American people have some a top gradusystem that basic societal adate school in we have that vantages because order to get a allowed you of their skin color. good job and to thrive. to provide Somebody for his family invested in for 25 years. roads and But the author misses the enbridges. If you’ve got a busitire point of white privilege as ness—you didn’t build that. a concept.

Somebody else made that No one is saying that white happen.” people do not work hard to Obama could have been earn their overall place in life. clearer in how he said it, but They are saying that white anyone who was truly paypeople have some basic soing attention would have recietal advantages because of alized he was saying that we their skin color. White people as a society work together to can generally feel safe around provide goods, services and law enforcement. They do not support to each other. No one have to explain to their chilcan achieve success solely as a dren why society places less result of his or her own hard value on them because of the work. We rely on each other color of their skin. They are for assistance, and that is a never asked to be a represenpositive, necessary thing.

Therefore, it is important to keep in mind the way people will react to what we say.

We should not tailor everything we say to others because that gets away from the idea of “free speech,” but it is still important to recognize how others view the things we say.

If someone says, “check your privilege,” to another person, what exactly are they expecting the response to be? It’s rarely, if ever, going to be a positive one.

Taking “check your privilege” off the table is not about placing white people’s feelings above the lives of people of color, which is an argument people have made in the past.

It is about harboring the potential for constructive dialogue. Ad hominem attacks, however nobly the ideas behind them may be, do nothing to strengthen the community or promote dialogue.

Buzzwords are quick and to the point, but they are not always the positive things that people want them to be.

Phrases like “check your privilege” are doing more harm than good because they effectively shut down one side of the argument, thus killing the dialogue.

Like it or not, social justice reform cannot and will not come about without the aid of those in power. Therefore, we must listen to all sides of the situation in order to enact lasting change — change we desperately need. That potential for change is worth shelving the buzzwords and allowing the real dialogue to shine through.

Misinformation, fear mongering led to HERO defeat

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Everything’s bigger in Texas. And, apparently, so is the bigotry.

As someone who lived in Houston for most of my life, I am deeply saddened and ashamed by my hometown’s repeal of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO Act, on Nov. 3.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, the HERO Act was a city ordinance designed to combat discrimination in housing, employment and business services by extending legal protection to 15 different classes, including sex, race, sexual orientation, pregnancy, military service and gender identity.

However, the proposition was overwhelmingly rejected by approximately two-thirds of Houston voters.

How did this happen?

How can one of the biggest and most diverse cities in the country — one which has elected its first openly lesbian mayor, Annise Parker, three times — refuse to join 200 other cities around the country by offering basic rights and protections to its citizens?

There are several answers to that question — revealing a few lessons we can take away from this unfortunate turn of events in the Bayou City.

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the opposition the — entirely tion that the HERO Act would somehow protect men who entered w o m e n’s bathrooms and locker rooms with the intent of harassing or harming women.

“It was about protecting our grandmoms, and our mothers and our wives and our sisters and our daughters and daughters,” said

perpetuated false — no-

Patrick, a Republican, after the vote. “I’m glad Houston led tonight to end this constant political-correctness attack ‘No men in womon what we en’s bathrooms,’ know in our ... perpetuated heart and the -- entirely false our gut as -- notion that the Americans is HERO Act would not right.”

Or, as ansomehow protect other oppomen who entered nent so elowomen’s bathquently told rooms ... with the the Washintent of harassington Post, ing or harming “A n y b o d y with a penis, women.

I don’t want them in the ladies’ restroom.” our grandNever mind that nowhere Lt. Gov. Dan in the 36-page document does

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Kyle Smith

The first is that prejudice turnout matters. and intolerance are alive and Although higher than typwell. Many people — admitical mayoral elections, voter tedly, myself included — fell turnout in Houston was much under the impression that more pronounced among after the Supreme Court exgroups that were likely to optended marriage equality to pose the proposition, such as same-sex couples this year, we African-Americans and white were on an easy path to true conservatives. Almost half of LGBT equality. The battle was the voters were over 65, while won; everything else would less than 10% were young eventually work itself out. people.

But, the fight is far from HERO had many notable over. 28 states, including supporters, including HolTexas, do not lywood cehave statelebrities, wide nondispresidential crimination c a n d i d at e s In other news, Ben laws, meanand even ing it is still the White Carson compared perfectly H o u s e . homosexuality to legal to fire How e v e r, bestiality and is someone for in the end, still leading the being gay or they simply GOP polls; meantransgender just couldn’t in many parts compete while, Kim Davis of the counwith the ‘No’ suppoerter Matt try. c a mp a i g n’s Bevin was just In other ability to elected the new news, Ben mobilize votCarson comers. governor of Kenpared homoChristian tucky. sexuality to organizabestiality and tions, many is still leadof which that ing the GOP had sued to polls; meanwhile, Kim Davis put the ordinance up for resupporter Matt Bevin was just peal in the first place, flooded elected the new governor of the airwaves with radio and Kentucky. television ads, urging HousAs these examples iltonians to defeat the measure. lustrate, the battle for equal Even former Astros star Lance rights doesn’t end with sameBerkman appeared in ads as a sex marriage. Supporters of vocal opponent of the propoLGBT rights must continue sition. to support, advocate and — However, it was not the most importantly — vote. nature of the campaign, but It was this last factor that rather its message, that is spelled doom for the ‘Yes’ most disturbing. campaign. Which brings us to Under the banner of “No our second lesson of the day: men in women’s bathrooms,”

the word “bathroom” appear.

Never mind that a 1972 Houston law specifically prohibits entering an oppositesex bathroom with the intent of harming someone.

Never mind that gender identity is just one of the 15 classes mentioned in the ordinance, meaning there is virtually no one in Houston it doesn’t protect.

Our third and final lesson?

Fear trumps facts.

The failure of the HERO Act is a sad testament to the current state of American politics, where misinformation and fear mongering are more powerful motivators than sensible policies. Whether its illegal immigrants, ISIS terrorists or bathroom-dwelling predators, there’s no shortage of boogeymen out there to scare people to the voting booths.

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