Fundamental Forces by Union Weekly

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Intro

Issue 76.7

Molly Shannon, Editor-in-Chief editorinchief@lbunion.com

By Molly Shannon

Alfred Pallarca, Managing Editor alfredp.union@gmail.com

Hello, world. It’s your personal female, Molls, here. For those of you who have been staying up-to-date with the Union Weekly like a good little 49er should, you may recall that in last week’s issue, I preached about how social media has the power to potentially change society, change humanity, blah blah blah. Well, guess what? My point was proven within a matter of days—DAYS. And I love to say “I told you so,” so... I TOLD YOU SO. The event I am referring to concerns the notoriously speculated “Dress” (or, more appropriately, #TheDress) and the outrageous debacle it has sparked since it was initially uploaded to the Internet. Basically, some lady posted a photo of a striped dress on Tumblr hoping to receive a quick answer to the question “What colors are this dress?” She and her friends were unable to determine whether the item was ‘white and gold’ or ‘blue and black.’ Simple enough, right? WRONG. This question seemed to provoke the entirety of social media (the post itself is currently at 538,096 notes and counting), and people

Connor O’Brien, Art Director connor.union@gmail.com Trevor Desrosiers, Advertisting Executive advertising@lbunion.com Eduardo Vargas, Distribution Manager distribution@lbunion.com

ART & DESIGN John Calhoun, Illustration Editor johnc.union@gmail.com Michael Tewasart, Assistant to Art Director tewasartm@live.com Truc Nguyen, Web Manager web@lbunion.com

EDITORIAL Jacky Linares, Opinions Editor opinions@lbunion.com Veronica Craft, Community Editor community@lbunion.com

Illustration by Rose Feduk began to debate whether the garment was truly ‘white and gold,’ ‘blue and black,’ or none of the above. Was it a trick of the light? Photoshop magic? Or were we just lying about the colors we saw just to fuck with each other? Lifelong families and friends turned on one another, outraged that they couldn’t see eye to eye on the matter. The Dress even ignited controvery among my own family, friends, and even the Union made of the Dress mess, and the results were relatively shocking (see below).

Yes, social media can be very powerful thing, in regards to how it can bring attention to events that are somewhat out-of-the-ordinary. On the other hand, it can also be brutal. One day we can’t get enough of all the Dress jokes and memes, and the next, they’re tossed into the trash bin. Additionally, it perplexes me that the top trend on February 26, 2015 was #TheDress, since February 26 was also the third anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s death, and February itself is national Black History Month. Why were we so way more important topics to discuss? That being said, I will gracefully move on from this overexposed subject, but I’ll leave you with this: trends change rapidly, so make sure to pay your attention to those that deserve it. #Goodbye, Molls

Joel Martinez, Athletics Editor athletics@lbunion.com Renee Schmiedeberg, Arts Editor arts@lbunion.com Katie Cortez, Entertainment Editor entertainment@lbunion.com Sam Winchester, Music Editor music@lbunion.com Zach Phelps, Lifestyle Editor lifestyle@lbunion.com Elizabeth Nguyen, Literature Editor literature@lbunion.com Alfred Pallarca, Travel Editor alfredp.union@gmail.com Beatriz Villa, Food Editor food@lbunion.com Gumby, Grunion Editor grunion@lbunion.com

COPY & ASSISTANT EDITORS Elliott Gatica, Eric Reid Hamilton, Kaila-Marie Hardaway, Christopher Orozco ADVERTISING INTERNS Joel Kuehn, Jacqueline Simon STAFFERS & CONTRIBUTORS Jonathan Gutierrez, Alan Parkes, Michael Honey, Alex Ramos, Bronson Farr, Juwairiah Syed, Karrie Comfort, Daniel Martinez, Kamille Garcia, Tracy Wash, Camille Hove, Mahogany Moore, Andrew Linde, Camille Hove, Sierra Patheal, Anna Elaine Vidaure, James Allen, Stephanie Perez, Oscar Pineda

Above: “Melissa Joan Art” CONTACT US Long Beach, CA 90815 E-mail: info@lbunion.com

Disclaimer and Publication Information: The Union Weekly is published using ad money and partial funding provided by the Associated Students, Inc. All Editorials are the opinions of their individual authors, not the Union Weekly, ASI nor CSULB. All students are welcome and encouraged to be a part of the Union Weekly staff. All letters to the editor will be considered for publication. However, CSULB students will have precedence. Please include name and major for all submissions. They are subject to editing and will not be returned. Letters may or may not be edited for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and length. The Union Weekly will publish anonymous letters, articles, editorials, and illustration, but must have your name and information attached for our records. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 500 words. The Union Weekly assumes no responsibility, nor is it liable, for

Opinions

The Last Straw Renovating our school website does not help yield quality education By Alex Ramos

Illustration by John Calhoun

You know that saying “the last straw?” The one you use when a person or a thing become too much for you and you give up? Well, our school’s website is “the last straw” for me. Let me start from the beginning. Before this past week, I was the type of person was very open and supportive of anything our administration and student government said or did, no matter what. I think I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. If they said they were working hard to better our education and college experience, I believed it.

Then, the school website’s update happened. I won’t lie; it’s pretty sleek and cool. It has a new layout and videos that play was blown away by it but when I took a step back, I realized how pointless and useless it is to me as a student. I gain nothing from it. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the need to keep the website updated. It makes the school look more inviting and appealing to prospective students and parents. And that’s important, I guess. You know what else is important? Making sure there are enough

seats for students in the USU. Making sure the

to properly instruct students. Making sure students receive quality entertainment that doesn’t include Family Guy and American Dad everyday in the USU TV lounge. Regardless, there are serious issues that need to be addressed but are overlooked. Instead, the administration and student government seem focused on revamping the school’s image. They have had

campaigns, and are renovating building after building in an effort to accomplish this. None of this helps me though. What I want, as well as the rest of the student body, is for real changes to happen—changes that will benefit us and help us succeed. I wanted to believe that the people in charge have our best interests but I guess it ain’t so. The school’s website was the last straw.

A Very Hairy Situation Hollywood racism continues through perpetuation of stereotypes Much discussion has been generated about Guilana Rancic’s recent racist remark on E!’s Fashion Police. Rancic said that Disney starlet Zendaya Coleman looked like she smelled of “patchouli oil or weed” because of her dreadlocks at the Oscars. Rancic has since apologized twice, so everything is okay, right? Not quite. The comment contributed to an ongoing stereotype about people of color. Because of an association to people of color, locs are perceived as “dirty” and “unkempt,” especially when sported by people of color. Compare Rancic’s remarks about Zendaya’s locs to her remarks about white Kylie Jenner’s

By Jonathan Gutierrez

recent venture with locs: Jenner was praised for her trendy and “edgy” style while Zendaya was chastised for it. Both of Rancic’s apologies held several

of INTENT VERSUS IMPACT. For this I applaud her; however, her second apology None of Rancic’s apologies addressed

racism that is engraved in today’s society—a racism that has been founded on many years of oppression and perpetualized hate. I know that several people are reading

apology (via Twitter) said that while she was “sorry,” her remarks were not about race and “they never are.” This response totally discounted any hurt feelings and totally ignored the true harm of her comments. In doing so, Rancic perpetuated negative stereotypes. Her most recent apology fared a little better. The televised response showed Guiliana apologizing once again; however, this time she addressed the IMPORTANT concept

that was perpetuated, which in turn allows a normalization and dehumanization. By

and making something out of nothing.” I urge these people to think about how racism has

her negative comments were racist and

racism has been allowed to breathe its hateful air into people’s lives. Racism is something that has allowed murderers to run free— something that has torn apart families. By not addressing these issues, you contribute to the problem. Speak up.

go unchecked. This vital omission makes her

heartfelt and detailed response from Zendaya, Rancic still chose not to address the deep

Opinions

Oklahoma Is Far From “OK” Revisionist history is a denial of American exceptionalism By Alan Parkes

Illustration by Sam Winchester

A fear looms over conservative lawmakers in Oklahoma. They have joined the ranks of a growing number of state legislatores that dread the implications of history that puts American exceptionalism in the balance. Oklahoma State Representative Dan Fisher, architect of the bill that seeks to cut state funding to AP United States History courses, asserts that the courses emphasize “what is bad about America” while neglecting “American exceptionalism.” Fisher might be right. After all, few historians can evince exceptionalism in American history without highlighting that which was to the contrary, and to a

greater extent. However, it is not the job of the historian to do so. Rather, the realities of American history have left historians with picking up the pieces of colonialism, slavery, and capitalism, only to form an image that is a far cry from exceptional. Fisher concedes a lot when speaking about history in the present tense. He seemingly suggests that it is the duty of history to shape the image of America’s current greatness. While history has a role to play in how the US measures up today, the burden weighs less on the AP Board’s historical curriculum and more on the present. Indeed, Dan Fisher himself should be held responsible for the

American exceptionalism he demands. No legitimate history exam can rewrite the past to include the white savior of Colonial and mid-19th century American who nobly saved Natives and Africans alike, or the justice of laissez-faire economics. Nonetheless, we should not ignore history that is exceptional. Amongst others, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Eugene Debs, and Martin Luther King JR. were exceptional. Of course, they should be judged in the context of their own time. In doing so, history reveals that these radicals and extremists were exceptional for the fact that they countered that which

The history of the United States should not be silenced Recently, a bill in the Oklahoma State Legislature was passed cutting funding for the AP United States History class, on the grounds that it portrayed the US in a negative light. As a history major and a student in general, I see this as an outrage and as an injustice to, both students and the groups that were oppressed throughout the history of the nation. The issue stems from a misunderstanding as to what history is. These legislators confuse

history with mythology. They believe history should be taught as an indisputable “creation story” of our nation. History should not be taught in this through research, analysis and interpretation. parts of their nation’s history. It is then the teacher’s duty to educate their students about these atrocities of systematic violence and

oppression and how they were enacted, thus giving students the skills to recognize these injustices in today’s world. If analysis and criticism is prohibited, it moves away from education and becomes indoctrination. Not educating students of “the bad parts” of history leads to another consequence of oppression, which academics refer to as “silencing.” When an atrocity such as forced Native American relocation, or the lynching of

inhibited exceptionality. Now, teachers, such as those in Oklahoma, who impart the values of critical thought, the use of evidence, and the humility to adapt to new information are exceptional which Fisher and other conservatives wish to rewrite history. Thus, while Fisher ignores his own responsibility to act in accordance with the imagined history he demands, the US will be one step closer to exceptionalism with his loss and the victory of education.

By Michael Honey African Americans is not taught, it is eventually forgotten and no longer legitimized as a fact, an incredibly dangerous pattern not only for education, but for society as a whole. It must be known that injustices have given too much power and are not challenged or questioned. The Oklahoma legislature has taken a dangerous step in this direction.

Community

The Meaning of Freedom AFRS, ASSA, and MSA collaborate on panel discussion during Black History Month By Juwairiah Syed

The panel consisted of: Reginald Vincent, Amethyst Jefferson, Halimatu Bruce, Sister Victoria Caldwell, Dr. Maulana Karenga, discussions â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;connected Black History Month to the hardships...minorities face Victoria Caldwell, Founder of Impress Online Marketing and Founder of Barakah

Working Girls Women and Careers Conference to be held on March 4

Women and Careers Conference Agenda 3:30pm

By Bronson Farr

4:00pm 4:15pm 4:45pm

6:30pm 7:00pm 7:10pm

Take The ‘Work’ Out Of “Workout” By Karrie Comfort

It’s Personal, Not Physical By Daniel Martinez

never

Athletics

Music

Setting the Tempo Take a ride with Whiplash’s rollercoaster of a soundtrack At some point in our lives, we all wanted to be a rock star. I wanted to play every instrument and sing all the songs. I’d listen to every genre and try to decide what my future band should play. Of course, none of this happened, and I only learned to play the piano in middle school at a mediocre level. However, my enthusiasm for music did not stop there; I avidly devoted part of my life to explore the realms of sound in other ways. One of the ways in which I exercise this sort of passion of mine is by paying attention

lately is one that a lot of people have heard of—Whiplash Oscars in various categories, is an incredibly exhilarating, provocative and ardently intense movie that tells the story of a young jazz drummer trying to become a star, at the expense of emotional trauma. To summarize the movie, Andrew Nieman (played by Miles Teller) experiences merciless instructor Terence Fletcher (played by J.K. Simmons). Fletcher is

of Music’s best Jazz ensemble, and his relentless search for perfection causes the young drummer’s soul to crumble. However, wanting to make a name for himself, Andrew ambitiously takes the chance to be better by practising constantly until his hands bleed, not to mention breaking up with his girlfriend in a douchey way. He becomes the ensemble’s core drummer after demonstrating his talent, but Fletcher would not let him have any minute of glory. After several complications and many traumatizing scenes of hateful namecalling, Andrew is done taking Fletcher’s shit and walks away (after of course, being on stage—he deserved it, though). Andrew is approached by a lawyer who is trying to stop Fletcher’s intimidating techniques, and they do so. Time passes by and the ex-drummer stumbles upon his old foe who was performing at a bar that night. They grab a drink and they catch up. Fletcher later invites him to play with a professional band he is

conducting, to which Andrew agrees. When at the jazz festival, Fletcher confesses that he knew what he’d done and that was all a plot to humiliate him in public. To everyone’s surprises, though, instead of giving up and walking away, Andrew came back to perform what would be the best act Terence Fletcher and the world had ever seen in jazz history. ever seen, Whiplash awards and nominations. colorful, and poignant when contrasting it energetic color palette of sounds, ranging from the string section to the brass section, but the drums are usually overlooked and underrated. When you listen to the Whiplash soundtrack with your eyes closed, you can distinguish each instrument if you listen carefully. I focused most of my attention on the drums and bass, quite frankly, even though the brass and woodwinds are the most dominant. Every time a song started I became more and more attached. From “Whiplash,” to the

By Sam Winchester

rhythms and vivid atmosphere caused me to feel everything I was supposed to, and I never once looked away from the screen. This movie gave me anxiety, but it also made me cry—mostly because I get pretty emotional Whiplash proved anything to me, it’s that ambition and determination will take you anywhere you want. And whether sometimes it can be painful and traumatic to achieve greatness, one has got to be determined to go all the way to accomplish such a goal. As an artist, I am mentally and emotionally moved by the message of this movie. Being the competitive and ambitious person that I consider myself to be, this is one of those stories that inspires me to do what I’m good at. Regardless of whether you are in the creative arts, if you like music and enjoy soundtrack. I guarantee it will blow your mind away.

FEATURE

Fundamental Forces Meet our university’s elite maintenance team Intro by Sam Winchester

In the living world, this big machine we call Earth is composed of several machines within machines. Coming down to a smaller picture, we have our countries which each have states, and those states have cities that contain smaller communities. Each

who are often taken for granted, but if we did not have them around, we would be a wreck. These are the employees who have smiled at you when you pass by after you’ve had a long day, and the same people who keep our school from crumbling down.

one has a responsibility. Here at CSULB we are a sort of large community which has avid workers who are all needed to keep the engine going. We have people from each department working hard to make it possible for students to get their classes. There are the people from student government overseeing the student organizations and representing the student

originally intended for themselves, it is often out of necessity that they end up working where they are. Whether they exercise their position temporarily or for a longer term, it’s important that we recognize

they ought to work. From the person who is in charge of technical maintenance, to the custodian at the dormitories on campus, these individuals take care of the conservation of the other bigger parts of our the students who make everything work as it should engine. Without their care, the other components of in a university. But what about the overlooked the machine would need to do twice as much work, components of our community, those who make and it would slow down the motor process. Without our lives easier without us even noticing it? For this week’s feature, we gathered some of pile of metal, deteriorating with time. CSULB’s most underrated employees—those

FEATURE

Letty the Dorm Custodian By Renee Schmiedeberg

Throughout my journey of speaking to a few of the many overlooked CSULB employees, I often felt like I had entered somewhere secret and was seeing and hearing things that few people knew. Suddenly, I was casually passing through doors I had walked by a hundred times before and only ever wondered what was behind it for short moment. I found myself shelves of cleaning products, window blinds, or metal hardware, and looking into open storage closets that had always been a plain gray door with a sign that read “Faculty Only.” I noticed that these places in some way. Why is that? Because of this, crucial employees and jobs go unnoticed. Many on-campus residents will recognize Letty Barba, a custodian at CSULB’s Hillside Residence Hall, who can often be found in the dormitory hallways. She recognizes students who live in the dorms and always greets them, often staying with them to chat. She is small, has auburn hair in a tight braid, and a voice sweet and slight like tart raspberries. One of Letty’s most undeniable characteristics is her kindness, radiating through every interaction with her, no matter how brief. Letty was born in Colima, a small state on the Western coast of Mexico, to a family consisting her mother, father, and seven siblings . Currently her family includes her son and daughter, who just had a baby boy. She excitedly pulled out her phone and

Photos by Alfred Pallarca

grandson, born small but is now healthy and chubby. Almost 30 years ago, Letty came to Long Beach to work and save up money to attend school back in Mexico. Some of her siblings were already in the U.S. when she moved, and a few relocated to after she did. Originally, she meant to work in the U.S. for only a few years but plans changed along the way, and she decided to stay here. Now, she visits Mexico only for vacation and to visit family. “I think it’s good for us,” Letty said, “Because they are helping my family, they are helping my brothers. My kids are born here. I think it’s a good life for my kids too, you know, compared to Mexico. I’m so happy to stay here.” between her hometown and the U.S. saying, “I lived in a small town in Mexico and when you go out of your state, you’ll It was the same for me. When I came out my life completely. Relationships, family, but you have to adapt. I think you are never many cultures here. We try to adapt but we never forget about our traditions, not even my kids.” There are six buildings full of students living on campus in the Hillside Residences that depend upon the work Letty and the rest of the custodians do. When she is not cleaning the dorm facilities, such as the bathrooms, hallways, and common rooms,

she is making food for the students in the cafeteria (most often on weekdays). She doesn’t have much time to spend with her family during the week, so she uses her days together, go to church, or just enjoy being with each other at restaurants or the beach. Letty mentioned that working in the dorms is her favorite part of her job. She has recognized that many of the students who live there are away from their parents kids adapt and learn, especially because she can support her family this way. “I feel like when you have a good communication with the kids, they try to keep everything clean, they help you. It’s good not just for us, but for all custodians. If you communicate well, everyone will try to help you,” she said. Letty has worked at the dorms for a few years and when asked about how she feels when dorm residents graduate, she said that it is exciting to hear about them graduating. “It’s sad to see them graduating, you will miss them, but it is normal for custodians. “We have a lot of kids who come back to see me and tell me what they are doing after graduation.” Years ago, she did not see many MexicanAmerican students, and though happy for all graduating students, she is especially proud when she hears of a Mexican-American student graduating. “I’m so happy when I hear that they are graduating,” she said and laughs a little, “I’m sometimes left feeling like their mom.”

FEATURE

job, however. For starters, not every job “Men and women are disgusting creatures. original place, the night crew grind through the hours with their services. Most of smells, the sights, and the feels.” Another faculty services as a side job while others a hazard site. This leads to a lot of legal assist their family. and personal space, and it doesn’t help when people disregard the signs put up. “If a former student and a Union member as a graduate student in constructional management and six years in facility service pretend you didn’t see it.” The students in the USU are oftentimes another obstacle they respectfully declined to be in the out, too. “If students wish to be helpful, said. “Please understand it’s a temporary special services. accordingly. If there’s anything you can “graveyard shift” and the communication please do so. This includes putting in a amongst each other as chit chat. He conscious of your surroundings.”

Sean the Technical Maintenance Assistant By Joel Martinez

he consistently goes to the gym in a never ending struggle to get stronger. He also construction management to volunteering spends time hanging out at KBeach Radio and enjoys being interviewed. they manage their schedules and their interests. Occasionally, they will cross paths on the job and converse as in any ago when swing shifts were permitted, most of the facility service crew, and any night

Before he was a Technical Maintenance Assistant at the USU, Sean Robinson was a gardener for six years. When he got to CSULB, he sought a new job for income. “I needed money,” Sean said, “and one day while bowling, I learned there was a maintenance job available. I’ve been doing that ever since.” It’s a technical job with a technical

sorts of food was shared amongst everyone and, they had so much food that they needed more people to come to eat it all. A social event at best, anybody who attended alludes, life continues and people moved

This process of repair starts when

extravaganza became a rare occasion.

out cable, a clogged pipe, a hole in a wall, damaged carpeting, or otherwise. At this for the whole unit as opposed to patching everything. While it turns into a lot of “Probably the best part is being able to say

“natural part” of people’s live. It has nothing to do with disputes or issues amongst each other, but each of one them have

their time here.

Frank the Facility Services Lead By Christopher Orozco

the job because of the applications that I patching, priming, and painting walls myself Homsany. Who is he? He is one of few night for a smaller sum of cash rather than paying members of facility services that sanitizes and organizes the University Student someone else to do it for 250 dollars.” There are many tough elements to his

application to this college and his hiring

Entertainment

It’s Morphin’ Time Joseph Kahn gives ’90s kids the reboot they’ve been waiting for and I’m sitting in front of the TV waiting in anticipation. The image of a lightning bolt

spotlight much these days, but these two had prominent roles in the ‘90s and ‘00s.

By Alex Ramos

Overall, I thought it was pretty good. but the plot and dialogue was cheesy and leader of an enemy group asks Zach, the

Fast-forward almost 20 years, the Power Rangers series is still going strong after who knows how many seasons. Although I outgrew it a long time ago, it still holds excitement when I heard somebody had made a gritty, grownup reboot of the Power Rangers. Joseph Kahn are those somebodies. They brought their minds and imaginations together to bring us a new vision for the Power Rangers. It’s okay if you haven’t heard of them. Even though they only have a few Kahn are both good at what they do and it

star power. It stars James Van Der Beek

Kimberly Ann Hart. They may not be in the

completely expected and made me roll my eyes, but what else could I expect?

checking out.

Empire in order to save his own ass. He captures Kimberly and interrogates her on the whereabouts of Tommy since he’s the I think that’s about the gist of it. I know it makes no sense but then again the Power Rangers never have. I want to lie and say I loved it from the get go, but I can’t. Quite frankly, it was hard to sit

I heard that somebody had made a gritty reboot of the Power Rangers. I watched it a second time with the mind set of my six-year-old self, and I LOVED IT. I started to notice the little quirks and idiosyncrasies that made the show great in the ‘90s. I got into the action and even enjoyed the dialogue a lot more. The trick was to suspend my disbelief and watch it as another episode of Power Rangers, except that this one has sex, drugs, and death.

Fifty Shades of Disappointment

By Beatriz Villa

Film version of E.L. James’ famous novel misinterprets BDSM When 50 Shades of Grey hit theaters, thousands of women stood in line anxiously awaiting to see their favorite book come to life before their eyes. I never caught the 50 Shades fever, but when I heard the movie had sold out internationally, I needed to see what all the fuss was about. The problem was that whenever I asked my friends to go with me to go on my own. I went into the theater with an open mind, but after an hour of straight, meaningless dialogue, I became bored and anxiously waited for the credits. What bothered me the most were the main characters, Ana and Christian. Ana let Christian walk all over her, practically at his beck and call. When he called, she was there, dropping all friends and family aside. Throughout the movie, Christian constantly got his own way. He wooed Ana

and made it seem like he was her knight in shining armor. But in reality, he seemed to resemble more of a stalker-creep, preying on a hopelessly naive woman, not unlike the relationship between Bella and Edward in the Twilight saga. Ana was pathetic, and she knew it too. During the second half of the movie, Ana admits to her mother that she was unhappy in her relationship, and this is the point in the movie when I began to greatly dislike Ana’s character. I found her character to be too dismissive, not only with Christian, but with her mother, too. When her mom says she can’t make it to Ana’s graduation, Ana never expresses her disappointment. To me, this was a little

pushover with Christian, but given the short, almost unsubstantial, conversation with her mother, Ana was also used to being mentally abused. Dismissing another’s unkind actions toward her was nothing new to Ana. Instead of feeling sympathy for her, I felt enraged. Why was she authored to be so submissive?

“Instead of feeling sympathy...I felt enraged.”

which, the whole dominate and submissive theme was ridiculous and completely inaccurate. For those of you who don’t know, masochism) is an erotic practice in which partners consensually participate in rough sex, in which one partner dominates over the other. A vast majority of the people who

From what I understood in 50 Shades, Christian was into sexual-sadism, due to the sexual and emotional abuse he went through as a child and adolescent. In some ways, Christian behaved like a sociopath. He was too controlling and obtrusive, and would lash out when things didn’t go his way. His character made it seem that people

Ana was certainly a submissive character, and Christian was a dominant one. However, their relationship wasn’t interesting. It was enough to write about it here, but not enough to put any further interest into the matter or go see the next movie. To be quite honest, my favorite part of the movie was eating my thirst with a carbonated beverage.

Entertainment

A Fond Farewell to Parks and Recreation After seven seasons, NBC’s hit show comes to an end By Andrew Linde

When Parks and Recreation began in 2009 . An article from Variety.com in 2008 announced planned it became detached from the popular series despite being told in the same documentary style. And Ansari was simply part of an ensemble viewers would grow to love. Last week, NBC aired the two-part Parks and Recreation season focused on events in the future, 2017

characters two years in the future. Rather than shy away from that, the writers leaned into the odd premise of setting the seventh season in the near future. Some fans thought it would all fall apart in the middle of season six when Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe left the show. Certainly Jones’ character, Ann Perkins, was crucial to the show as best friend to Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope. Their friendship was unique on network television since it was truly sincere ,and they never plotted to bring each other popularization of the “frenemy” concept. Yet the writers were prepared, introducing a handful of new characters just a few episodes before, including Billy Eichner’s Craig who The ending of Parks and Recreation marks the end of NBC’s modern comedy block.

The show originally aired on Thursday nights, a time that NBC labeled as “Must See TV” and was marked by such comedies as Cheers, Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld, and Will & Grace. In recent years, comedies such as , My Name is Earl, Community, and 30 Rock dominated the two-hour block of programming that the Peacock aired Parks in the Tuesday night slot. Now is the time for a resurgence of television dramas. Or perhaps it’s a sign that appointment TV-watching is a thing of the past. More viewers of entertainment or catch it the next morning on Hulu. Either way, the loss of Parks and Recreation is tough season and fans aren’t left with many hanging questions. What’s next for the employees of the Pawnee Parks Department? Rashida Jones produced a TV show called A to Z that has since been cancelled, Rob Lowe is in a newly greenlit pilot for a show called The Grinder, Adam Scott should have a brilliant movie career but is in Hot Tub Time Machine 2 follow-up to Wet Hot American Summer, and Guardians of the Galaxy, The LEGO Movie, and the upcoming Jurassic World.

Alzheimer’s Awareness on Film An Oscar-winning take on the disease’s impact on families Now that you know who Julianne Moore is, go sit your sexy ass down and watch Still Alice. The Oscar winner is in the world’s top trending, so you’ll need some conversation matter. Directed by Richard Glazer and Wash Westmoreland, Still Alice is based on the novel of the same name by Lisa Genova. The two directors wanted to cause awareness for Still Alice revolves around Dr. Alice Howland, a Linguistics professor at Columbia University. When she becomes lost on her runs around campus, she decides to visit her doctor. It is there that she is told she has early onset Alzheimer’s Disease. She

is only 50 years old. tension that surmounts her family as the disease worsens, her three children, played by Kristen Stewart (yes, she has a stuttering scene!), Kate Bosworth (so sexy), and Hunter Parrish (don’t know him? What’s that in your pocket? A smartphone?) become entangled in their mother’s life. Kristen Stewart’s character holds the most pristine values, as she is the rebellious young actress who moved from their New York home to California. But surprisingly, she is the daughter with the most love for their mother. The other two siblings have

their law and medical careers, but Stewart’s character has her art and her empathy. us to care for our family and how to handle terrible circumstances. Watching Alice slowly degrade from a brilliant professor to a mumbling, drooling drone was hard to watch. But it’s these kinds of movies that make us squirm and help put our own lives into perspective. Her husband, played by Alec Baldwin, is withdrawn and almost cold when his wife’s mind disappears. He has a new job to take it instead of staying with his wife. This

By Camille Hove is when Stewart’s character becomes central It is her love for her mother that brings her back home when no one else in the family can or will help. With the information download of Alzheimer’s now in our laps, we are reminded their point with the touchy subject matter, sad, a little humbled, and inspired to do more and care more about our own lives. Still Alice is not to be missed, or something in your life surely will be.

Arts

Springtime Hues Fashion students share ways to wear color this spring For a second fashion photo shoot in one of the famous hiking trails in the City of Angels, two international students majoring in Fashion Merchandising invaded the mountainous

Each and every clothing store ceaselessly

Wisborn, an aspiring fashion photographer from Sweden, turned her camera on for the sweet-faced Japanese doll, Airi Okano. She

Each year for spring, high-end designers and

Classics are a huge necessity in fashion. From the quintessentialism of the little black dress, the versatility of denim to the breeziness of a plain white tee, classics are two things: tireless and timeless. It is a need for everybody, something we all covet. Despite the necessity

college students are not yet bombarded with assignments and projects, I decided to go for a mini tour. As a style blogger, traveling and appreciating ethereal sceneries are just as important as putting together aesthetically

year calls for a celebration. Spring, the dawn highlighting boldness, color, and print mixing. Besides the “must-have” characteristics of blacks, grays, whites, and everything in between, spring must be heralded through the art of fashion. houses of CSULB (Parkside college) is its proximity to the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden. In other words, the wonderland of our university. After a semester of residing in Parkside, never have I thought of taking a quick glimpse at the so-called tiny paradise. At the beginning of the spring semester, when

By Kamille Garcia By Kamille Garcia Photos by Dino Leonen, Tina Wisborn, and Kamille Garcia

However, with unpredictable trend declines,

how often it has been used before. It is the best and most appropriate design to signify spring, the season of blossoming vines.

step into the garden, I was glad I had my DSLR camera with me. There I found a sanctuary full of relaxing, green hues. It could have been a possible alternative to yoga. The most exhilarating part of my visit was the founding garment ensembles for my blog. Due to the earthy and natural scenery inspiration from the Japanese garden, I have combined earthtoned pieces together. Namely, my sunny yellow tank top, grassy green knee-length skirt, and a pair of a tree trunk brown suede wedges. The bold, solid colors are combined mainly to emphasize the fearless use of colors nonexistent in the grayscale and the colorful vibes that spring conveys.

One common misconception about fashion

the largest art industry. In recent decades, menswear has begun to show more intricate, edgy, and artistic styles. This overlooked fact is proven by a male Fashion Merchandising student in CSULB, Tyler Coony. For spring, he decided to wear a brightly lit, printed purple top that shouts the fun vibe that we celebrate this season. Matching it with the veteran trend, distressed denim, the menswear guru sported a white pair of high-cut Nike Air Force 1, departing from the dullness of black. Overall, he crafted a colorful and bright ensemble that symbolizes the gleeful season. For the month of March, spring styles and fashion are the new black. Although sporting bright colors and prints and generally expressing boldness can be an uncomfortable task, it is good and advantageous to step out of your comfort zone once in a blue-moon. Detaching yourself from the norms—black, white, etc.—will surprisingly enhance your creativity. It will boost your self-esteem and relax your mood through the gleeful aura of spring colors and prints.

Arts

Ahead of the Game Highlights of a prime Video Game Design student

To be truly great at something, you must have a drive and passion for what you are pursuing. Michael Clute is a student at CSULB who the growing industry of video game design. Clute is a student of CSULB’s Fine Arts program and the faculty has given him great direction. “We have a top-notch faculty here. They know a lot of people in the industry and we have access to these great people that really want to help you develop your own voice and style,” said Clute. One key thing in the video game design industry is experience, and Clute is part of a

student organization that works with a non-

students who are interested in learning how to create their own video games and the opportunity to learn those skills. Clute is the character design lead for a project with Fine Arts is not an easy path to take but Clute has some advice for anyone trying to go down that path. “Spend as much time as you can drawing and really focus on the fundamentals and try to break your own mold,” he said.

The drive to be in design starts young and Clute’s early love for video games and comics sparked that interest for drawing and design. “I grew up like any nerd loving The Legend of Zelda and I also remember playing Nintendo, which lead me to wanting to be in video game design”. Drive and passion are the key parts to any successful career. Clute’s fervor for video game design will land him great success in the industry.

Words and Photos by Tracy Wash

A computerized image expresses Clute’s experience in character design and storytelling (banner); one of Clute’s phantasmagorical illustrations breathes life into his imaginations (top left); a painting of a young man showcases the artist’s expertise at various types of 2d art (bottom viewers his imagination (middle hex); a fused skull sculpture exerts Clute’s skill at multiple mediums (top hex); a rendering of an artistically-inclined robot shows Clute’s own artistic-inclinations (bottom right)

Lifestyle

Commuter Culture By Karrie Comfort

Bloodied and Bowed

say that living at home has helped me avoid

a good thing that I’m eavesdropping and not in conversation with her, because my slightly

anyone who commutes is going to have a very

By Mahogany Moore Studies on commuters show that they tend to have multiple roles beyond simply being a student, such as spouse or employee,

surprisingly, I’m even more involved than some dorming students, because I’m able to

whose lives revolve around campus and its commuters are at an advantage (with the they suddenly see their social lives evaporate

unreasonable to say that commuters can’t develop strong relationships and get involved on campus, all while saving a little money in

Personally, I love commuting, and I can all burning with questions and our inquisitive nature brings us to ideas we

To Whom It May Concern By Camille Hove To whom it may concern: Are you mad at me now because I can’t is already long and stressing enough, to be alone than with you or anyone who only

the words in a jar and hold them in place

I didn’t give you what you wanted, but

“They say time will cure all ills. That time will ease the pain of memories.”

are the thoughts we allow ourselves to

your period is not a messy adventure

it being messy then a simple towel to to have it on your lighter days is a good

sometimes become even tighter while on their period, which creates a better

Literature

Poetry Corner Students share their creative writings The Mask Collection

Mask two when I kiss my wife in my bed Mask three when I go out for fun What mask will I wear when I’m dead?

Illustration by Sierra Patheal

By James Allen Of varied colors and composition Unruly, wild, crazed disposition Don’t act that way, put on your mask They’d command. I learned to wear one Always, fearing they would again ask When will this sick behavior be done?

Alzheimer’s By Melissa Vidaure

A Child’s Smile By Anna Elaine Abella

When I was a child I heard voices omnisciently haunting me. I looked toward the darkness that was hambiloc, I noticed that it somewhat sang, and somewhat bellowed.

You’re a father, husband, man This alone should tell you what to do From these masks I have never ran For how to act, they are my cue

As I look at the darkness in front of me, I’m confronted by the Deathsinger’s Gaze. The darkness consumed me and embraced me with endearment.

Without my masks I feel alone and unsound I feel a heavy pressure just pound and pound

I smiled as his warm breath with malicious lips interlaced my innoncence.

Night after night day after day I shed a tear And I hope and I pray, although my hopes seem far away I pray that tomorrow will be the day my grandma will be okay I hope her memory is as good as mine so So one day she can remember her name Her favorite game and forget about all her pain For her family loves her every day I guess I could say She found a cure for her own pain And even though a piece of my heart is missing I still say that I’d rather have her rest in peace Than have her live a life full of agony and grief

A photograph of Santos Marquez, Melissa’s grandmother, who passed Editor’s Note: Alzheimer’s was written by contributing writer Melissa Vidaure when she was younger. This poem was her way of coping with her beloved grandmother’s passing.

Travel

Hiking Gone Wrong A day of exploring nature became a day of wasting money By Stephanie Perez Illustration by John Calhoun

Many college students love to hike, not only to Two weeks ago, I assumed that all hiking trails I wanted to try something new, since I usually go hiking in the Los Angeles County, so I decided to go to a hiking trail called Arroyo Trabuco in Santa Margarita, trip, I entered the location into my GPS miles into the trip, I was directed to take

around the neighborhood or park, then be When I arrived home, I immediately

When I arrived at the destination, it did not say Arroyo Trabuco, but instead

was quite disappointed with the whole

thought maybe the GPS had sent me to the regional park and asked the park ranger

County hiking trip ended up being

He explained to me that the hiking trails in the area are located inside the regional

any hiking trails in the Santa Margarita area

Food

“I noticed pieces of the mix stuck together by something white and string-like ... The thought of what I just ate made my stomach turn.”

A Tangled Web One student’s quest for snack justice On Wednesday, February 11, right around 6pm, I arrived on campus for my 6:30 lecture class. I knew from experience that I was to stay awake during class. I wasn’t hungry enough to get a sandwich. I just wanted a fun snack, so I went to the Beach Hut. Normally, I buy trail mix because it doesn’t seem too unhealthy, so I went with the usual. After I

Once I got to class, I waited to see what the lesson plan was going to be. It turned out the professor wasn’t there, and a substitute the movie started, I began to munch on my trail mix. As I was eating, I noticed pieces of the mix stuck together by a something white and string-like. I looked closer to see what it could be, and I did not like what I found. I got up and went straight to the garbage can to spit out what I was already eating. The thought of what I just ate made my stomach turn—my trail mix was infested with moths I immediately went back to the Beach Hut and asked for the manager and showed to see what was wrong with my snack, but as I told her to look closer she saw the webbing within the trail mix. I pointed a couple of moths out to her that were distinctly in the bag, even though it was hard to tell them apart from the snack itself, and she was just as disgusted as I was. She told me immediately, “let me give you a refund.” She wanted to take the bag to show her boss, but I wanted to keep it. I kept it because I knew I had to do something about this. I didn’t want this situation to be between an employee and her superior. I wanted to get the word out. First, I wondered if I was the only one this has ever happened to on campus. Sweeping the situation under the rug by giving out refunds would definitely be a nice way of keeping many people from knowing about the incident. I wonder if the Beach Hut has had any other infestations in their foods, but I didn’t expect the manager to tell me that this has happened before. Having repeated issues with infested food could definitely be a plausible reason to get other health agencies involved. Perhaps there aren’t enough regulations within the snack business at our school. Second, I did some investigation and

By Oscar Pineda

all the way in New York. After I got in contact with the company, they instructed me to seek more information from the store that sold the contaminated food, so I went on and did more research. Berries Distributing is the company that actually brought the product to the campus. I found out their phone number and the name of the merchant through the manager in charge of the Beach Hut. I contacted the distributor, who shall remain unamed, to talk about the incident. The distributor services are similar to that of a middle man, which is to get products from the producer to the business. shipment to CSULB. At the time, he was unaware of the incident and it wouldn’t have been as shocking if it was not such an issue. I expected at least the person delivering the found in the product he delivers. He was not aware, so I talked to the person to whom it should matter most, the head manager of the convenience shops on campus. I found the head manager’s information on the school website, and I sent him an email notifying him of what had happened to me. He said he could give me a refund. As a college student I have a rough schedule and most of the time that does not leave me with much time to eat. I normally just grab a snack from the little convenient stores scattered around the school. The Beach Hut is normally open a little later than any other place to eat so when I have my night class, that’s my one stop shop for snacks and anything else I need to get through the day. I really did enjoy knowing that there was food available even when most students have already gone home to eat or to the dining halls. I can just go in, get what I want, and get out; however, the night I purchased a bag of trail mix will never have me thinking the same about these shops. When I went back to the Beach Hut, to show them what I found in my snack, I tried to be discreet, because I didn’t want to gross out any of the other students, but now I think I should have spoken up. If something similar has happened to you or a loved one, say something. If there is a way to make sure this doesn’t happen again, I want to make it known. Whether that means more people inspecting the store or doing more research from where these snacks come from, I will try my best to make it happen.

The photos above show Oscar’s trail mix. Webs connect from a banana chip and a moth (top); moth found in the trail mix (bottom left); raisin attached to web (bottom right)

Volume 76 Issue 7

Monday, March 2, 2015

LBUNION.COM

DISCLAIMER: PITBULL WAS THERE WHEN NO ONE ELSE WAS. HE PICKED ME UP WHEN I FELL, CARRIED ME WHEN I GREW WEAK. HE BELIEVED IN ME DURING MY DARKEST TIMES. DALE...DALE... This page is satire/parody and does not represent ASI nor the CSULB campus. Submit articlez to grunion@lbunion.com.

Which Shade of Grey Are You? 1. If a someone came up to you with a whip, what would you do?

6. What is the most sensitive area of your body?

11. You received a lifetime supply of bagels. What do you do with them?

17. Your lover wants to make a sex tape. Who would tape it?

A. B. C. D.

A. James Franco (30 points) B. Stephen Hawking (1 point)

Lick the whip (2 points) Run away (3 points) Call the cops (1 point) Get some D! (0 point)

Left butt cheek (2 points) Between the toes (6 points) Right eyebrow (13 points) The D! (Eggplant)

2. Your kinky sex partner shows up at your parents’ house unannounced. What do you do?

new car for your graduation. How do you thank them?

A. B. C. D.

Throw an eggplant (1 point) Make eggs (3 points) Offer your eggs (6 points) Have some D! (0.5 points)

Buy them an eggplant (-4 points) Put your hair in pigtails (3 points) Drive them to Tijuana (-5 points) Put the car in D! (50 points)

Bathe in them (3 points) Put eggplants in them (4 points) Call your grandpa (-10 points) Spread the D! (Gross!)

12. If you were to lose your virginity again, what would you do differently? A. Go harder (11 points) B. Break binary (35 points) C. Wear a condom (69 points) D. Don’t wear a condom (Herpes) E. Get the D! (21 points)

D. College Beat TV (YES!) E. My D! (Maybe!) 18. What position is your favorite? A. B. C. D.

James Franco (30 points) Fishsticks (-20 points) Uranus (-50 points) Kitten on eggplant (13 points)

19. What is your safe word(s)? 3. You studied English Literature in college. How would you describe your personality?

8. You asked your lover to sign a sex contract, but they refused. How do you react?

A. B. C. D.

13. Your lover invited you to brunch. What would you order? A. Eggplants (100 points)

Erotic (3 points) Exotic (1.7 points) Eggplant (Eat your eggplants!) D Go-getter (20 points)

4. Your lover wants to take you on a helicopter ride to their hometown, but you are afraid of heights. What do you do? A. B. C. D.

Change your name (-2 points) Fergalicious DEF (-4 points) Ride that helicopter! ;) (10 points) Get the D! (Too much D! 0 points)

5. What sex toy would you be? A. B. C. D.

Showerhead (8 points) Eggplant (Eat your veggies!) Electronic toothbrush (15 points) Get some D! (5 points)

Braid their hair (4 points) Listen to Lana Del Rey (-11 points) Lactate stressfully (20 points) Sign the D! (Get tested, will ya?)

9. Your phone vibrates during sex. What do you do? A. Use it as a stimulator (5 points) B. Say “pause and check it” (-12 points) C. Make a sandwhich (1 point) D. Keep getting the D! (10 inches!) 10. Fill in the blanks: I really get _______ when he or she _______.

A. Motorcycle (20 points) C. Homer Simpson (-38 points) D. Eggplant (-40 points)

14. You got caught doing it in the car at a park? What were you doing? 20. What letter tingles your sexy bone? A. Eggplanting (4 points) B. Knitting (20 points) C. Cousin “It” (23 points) D. Getting D! (1 point) E. Riding on that surfbort (Beyoncè) 15. They whispered something into your ear. What was it?

A. happy, smiles (2 points)

A. B. C. D.

Kittens (18 points) Sperm attack (4 points) Giggity giggity! (-11 points) Just D! (16 points)

D. the D, eggplants (6 points)

16. Your lover wants to surprise you. What is the surprise? A. A trip to their playroom (0 points) B. Sunday school (12 points) C. Mozzarella cheese (25 points) D. A D in a box (11 points)

A. D (-20 points) B. The D! (25 points) C. My D (69 points) D. Your D! (How big is it?) E. E for Eggplant! (Eat fresh!) 21. Your partner bends you over and whips you on the A. What do you do? A. Cry (Big girls don’t cry, biatch!) B. Whoopi Goldberg (12 points) C. The D (-35 points) D. Call Ghostbusters (Boo!) E. Eggplant lasagna (Mamma Mia!)

Add up all your points to determine your shadiness!

YOUR SHADE OF GREY IS:

-200 TO 49: SHADE #11 - YOU ARE VERY TALENTED WITH YOUR HANDS, BUT YOUR HEAD TRAUMAS KEEP YOU AWAY FROM REACHING YOUR TRUE SEXUAL POTENTIAL. YOU SHOULD EAT MORE EGGPLANTS. THEY’RE GREAT!

50 TO 249: SHADE #34 - YOU ARE A YOUNG EXPLORER, LIKE DORA. HOWEVER, WHEN IT COMES TO THE D, YOU HAVE LEARNING TO DO. TAKE SOME CLASSES, PERHAPS FROM JAMES FRANCO! LEARN TO LOVE THE D!

250 TO 349: SHADE #43 - BOY, YOU ARE SHADE-E! YOU LIVE LIKE BEYONCÈ AND WOKE UP IN THE KITCHEN SAYING, “HOW THE HELL DID THIS SHIT HAPPEN?” OH BABY! GIVE ME THAT EGGPLANT LASAGNA!

350+ SLIM SHADY - YOUR MILKSHAKE BRINGS ALL THE BAES TO THE YARD. YOU MIGHT BE TOO INTENSE FOR SOME PEOPLE, BUT NOT FOR ME BABE. CALL 562 491 0017. I WILL BE WAITING WITH AN EGGPLANT IN ONE HAND, AND THE D IN THE OTHER.