a student newspaper of the university of tulsa
HOMELESSNESS
april 18, 2016 issue 24 ~ volume 101
PRISON
68.6 percent of homeless individuals were once imprisoned
28,095 in Oklahoma prisons in 2015 Oklahoma has second highest incarceration, highest women’s incarceration rate
Many government housing agencies do not accept those with criminal histories
POVERTY
CRIME
Mental illness and substance abuse are primary causes of homelessness
People who have no place to live return to old places and old habits Many of the crimes for which people are imprisoned are nonviolent drug offenses
Banks require an address to open an account
graphic by Josiah Moser
Okla. criminal offenders face housing struggles Many Oklahoma offenders find themselves homeless, which feeds into a cycle of poverty, crime and incarceration. Apprentice Editor Michaela Flonard reports. After being released from prison, individuals face a myriad of decisions. Housing is one of those decisions. Multiple studies indicate that recently-released individuals who become homeless are more likely to return to prison than those with stable housing. Since 2014, the number of inmates in corrections facilities in the state has increased by nearly 1,200. By the end of 2015, the total number of inmates reached 28,095. In 2014, the US Bureau of Justice Statistics noted Oklahoma had the second highest incarceration rate. In terms of imprisonment of women, the state led the nation. These increasing numbers of inmates are overcrowding prisons, leading to early releases as well as calls for changes to the prison system. But with increasing numbers of inmates comes a growing housing worry. From January 2014 to January 2015, the total homeless population in Oklahoma dropped 9.9 percent, based on research by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. In 2014, according to a 2014 point-in-time survey by the Tulsa City-County Continuum of Care, 12.2 percent of individuals surveyed suggested prison and/or jail time was a major contributor to his/her becoming homeless. Since 2010, this number has stayed relatively constant. Yet 68.6 percent of homeless individuals have been imprisoned at some point. Depending on the charge, convictions can greatly impact an individual’s search for housing after release from prison. Sex offenders, for instance, are restricted to living in certain areas. The Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry Act prohibits sex offenders from residing within two thousand feet of any school or educational institution, property used by an organization whose primary purpose is to work with children, a playground or park operated or supported by a homeowner’s association, or a licensed child care center. Legislators have also criminalized groups of sex offenders living together after police voiced concern over a ministry housing large groups of such individuals. Offenders have difficulty finding places to live that fit within these rules, which increases the chances of them becom-
ing homeless. Dan Straungah, executive director of the Homeless Alliance, said that “in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Norman, there are very few places that are both willing and legally able to house sex offenders...there’s really less than one hundred units in all of Oklahoma City.” “A fair number of sex offenders are unsheltered homeless,” he added. The phrase “unsheltered homeless” describes those staying in places not meant for humans, like streets, abandoned buildings or vehicles. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which offers affordable housing and homelessness programs, excludes lifetime (Level 3) sex offenders and those believed to be currently engaged in illegal drug use or have a pattern of illegal drug use from subsidized housing. Section 8 housing choice voucher programs provide rental assistance to those those with low income. But the state agencies that administer these vouchers for affordable housing can discriminate based on criminal background. This limits the financial assistance available to newly released people. In Oklahoma, the HUD agencies are the Tulsa Housing Authority (THA), Oklahoma City Housing Authority (OCHA) and Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), which serves those in cities and counties without a public housing authority. THA does not provide assistance to those with a recent record or history of violent criminal activity or drug/alcohol abuse. Most decisions are made by a review board on case-by-case basis. According to Matthew Mills, director of public housing at OCHA, the agency uses “convictions to determine criminal activity unless there’s other evidence we have, for example witnesses, video evidence, security reports, etc. to deny housing or evict from housing.” An individual’s conduct, not arrest records, can also factor into decisions, as it may show they are not suitable for tenancy. Denied applicants may appeal the decision. Of the state agencies, only OHFA provided outcomes of application data from 2011 to 2014. More than 25,000 applications were submitted, and 6 percent were denied due to criminal history. Most of these denials were due to violent or drug crimes. This number does not describe the amount of individuals who did not apply to housing agencies due to fear of rejection because of criminal histories.
Legally, landlords can refuse to rent to those with criminal histories. They may do this in the name of safety for the other residents. Federal law prevents other forms of discrimination, such as sex, age and race, but not criminal history. Criminal history, however, may be tied to these other factors. The prison population does not represent the demographics of the state, leading non-whites to be overrepresented in prisons, which translates to housing issues, based on this history, disproportionately affecting people of color. In 2010, whites made up 49 percent of the incarcerated population of the state while making up 69 percent of the total population. Hispanics and blacks are overrepresented in Oklahoma prisons. For instance, blacks, which make up 7 percent of the population, represent 26 percent of the prison population. Hispanics, 7 percent of the population, make up 15 percent of the incarcerated population. Karen White, administrator for intervention/re-entry for Oklahoma DOC, said housing denials further punish former offenders. “Even though you paid your debt to society, you still have that charge,” she said. Lacking an address can lead to a selfperpetuating cycle. Many job applications require both an address and an ID. Without a permanent address, some newly released individuals may find job seeking difficult, further compounded by their criminal record, which then prevents them from finding new housing. Furthermore, banks may require an address to open an account. Some shelters allow those under their roof to use the shelter’s address as their own. Lacking an address can also lead exoffenders back into old hangouts, as their only place of living becomes homes of old friends or relatives. These old companions can increase the risk of offenders returning to their old habits. Straungah sees mental illness and substance abuse as some of the primary causes of homelessness. In 2014, 20.2 percent of those surveyed by Tulsa City-County Continuum of Care identified alcohol or drug abuse as contributing to their situation, while 24.8 percent identified mental health issues. These issues, Straungah added, are one of the primary reasons people go to prison or jail. They also become a perpetuating cycle, as individuals misbehave because of mental illness or substance abuse, which leads to jail, but upon re-entry, they engage in the same behavior, as they do not have adequate treatment or counseling.
The Department of Corrections does work to address housing issues before inmates are released. White said they work with shelters, missions and transitional living places to find housing before re-entry. If the person is part of a tribe or has relatives nearby, case managers may attempt to place the individual there. Yet this variety of options does not mean everyone is accounted for. “It sounds like a lot, but the space is limited. We make every sort of effort to house people,” White noted. But once individuals leave the DOC’s jurisdiction, they are no longer tracked. Oklahoma prison overcrowding has added to the issue, although Straungah hasn’t noticed any severe changes to the homeless demographics he works with. But cap laws, which dictate how many people a prison can hold, may lead to early release of certain individuals. In Oklahoma City, he sees a large number of people in this scenario, as they have been released before case managers have been able to discuss housing solutions. In the case of such releases, White said the case managers make every effort to find living spaces. Because they legally cannot hold these individuals any longer, they might not always have time, but generally, these people get tickets to the nearest homeless shelter. Some, however, “are so glad to get out, they could care less about letting us know” where they will be living, she said. As for potential solutions, Straungah believes residents need to decide if they’d rather pay now or later. “Either you pay for more social workers,” he said, “or you pay with the recidivism rate.” But he realizes that since the state can’t pay enough guards, they would be hard-pressed to pay for more social workers. Changes in the court system would also be favorable, White said. By changing who the court sends to prison, the state could use the saved money to put into programs with a better success rate than prison, especially for nonviolent crimes. “We as a community need to recognize we have issues that even though we don’t know them affects all of us,” she added, “The morality of it should make us very unhappy that we have people suffering that we could help.” This realization, White believes, will create these important changes. “We are a ‘get tough on crime’ state,” White noted, but “hopefully in the future we’ll be a ‘smart on crime’ state.”
18 April 2016
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18 April 2016
News
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Panel discusses raising our SexPectations
SexPectations challenged how students discuss sex in their relationships. Tara Grigson
Student Writer On Wednesday, April 13, Student Affairs and Women’s and Gender Studies hosted an event called, “SexPectations: Healthy Relationships and Sexuality for College Students.” Psychology graduate student Jennifer Steward, M.A., led the discussion, which focused on why we need to be comfortable talking about sex — regardless of whether or not we actually want to have sex. The presentation was compiled by Steward and Dr. Michael McClendon, Psy. D., of the Alexander Health Center. The primary point of the discussion was that the inability to have healthy communication about relationships and sex can lead to violence. Steward suggested not talking about sex can lead to miscommunications which can lead to either intentional or relatively unintentional sexual violence. Audience members were asked where they got most of their information regarding what is and is not a healthy romantic relationship. They generally indicated that this information comes from family (particularly parents), the media and peers. The audience was shown a series of three advertisements to show how the media affects our perceptions of healthy relationships. Two of the three were by Axe and the third was a burger restaurant. The first ad depicted a man washing his body with soap alongside a parallel picture of a woman covering her body in whipped
cream. The copy read, “The cleaner you are, the dirtier you get.” The general consensus in the room was that the ad implied sex is something that can be earned, that partners are objects and that all men want to have sex with women. The copy of the second Axe ad read, “Stop being a friend and start being a man.” Some members of the audience suggested that this ad demonized femininity and reinforced the “friend zone” trope. Steward spoke about the messages we receive about sex — concepts like “spontaneous,” “thrill of the chase,” and “playing hard to get,” each of which are thought to be the fundamental concepts of rape culture. Steward argued that sex and physical relationships should not be spontaneous — partners should talk to each other and come to an agreement about what each one wants. Concepts like “playing hard to get” subtly suggest that “no” does not really mean “no” —that sometimes, “no” means “yes.” She stated, “That’s why we don’t talk about it. Because we keep getting these messages that we don’t have to.” The final slide of the presentation summed up the entire discussion, “wanting to + wanting to = sex.” Mutual consent, which can only come through discussion and questionasking, is the only condition under which it is acceptable for people to have sex. Steward emphasized the importance of discussion for learning. Determining what works and does not work in a person’s relationships enables that person to have better, healthier relationships in the future. Steward said, “If you have a bad relationship...then we want you to learn from that. These things can and will change over time.”
TU delegation attends Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature session The new TU Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature won several awards at the state level. Miranda Dabney
Student Writer
A delegation of seven TU students traveled to Oklahoma City, Okla., on March 31-April 2 to participate in a statewide collegiate competition in the Capitol Building. In TU’s first session back with Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature (OIL) in several years, they managed to win four awards. OIL brought together almost 200 students from 13 universities in a four-part competition over five days in the state’s capitol. The students competed in the two legislative chambers (The Senate and The House of Representatives), a journalism competition and a moot court competition. TU sent three senators: Melanie Cummings, who won Runner-Up for best Freshman Senator, Miranda Dabney, who earned an Honorable Mention for Best Freshman Senator, and Jennifer Waters; four representatives: Lincoln Brown, Shellby Branch, Steve Neal and Anna Shauchuk; and two journalism competitors: Shelby Branch and Dabney, who won 2nd Runner-Up in the journalism competition. The legislative branches met each day from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., introducing, amending and debating legislation written
by the student representatives. Cummings and Waters wrote a piece of legislation on STEM education in Oklahoma high schools which passed in the Senate, but did not make it to the House because of time constraints. Dabney wrote a light-hearted bill changing the official state vegetable from watermelon to corn, but the bill did not make it to the floor because of time restraints. Cummings was nominated for and eventually won the position of Fashion Committee Chair, responsible for holding delegates to the Senate dress code and recognizing those who went above and beyond in their appearance each day. Dabney served as a member of the Sunshine Committee, helping to raise money from the delegates to provide snacks and lunches during the 12hour days at the capitol. Delegation Chair Cummings worked hard to recruit and prepare TU’s delegation on a short timeline. The organization was chartered by the Student Association just two weeks before registration for OIL’s spring session closed. Now that the organization has one session under their belts, they plan to bring a full delegation to the fall session. With two officers graduating, Cummings and Dabney, TU OIL will be looking for up-and-coming leaders on campus with a passion for government involvement to strengthen the organization through its inaugural year and maintain a campus presence for the future.
Sammie Hottel Student Writer
Russian jets fly “dangerously close” to US Navy ship According to US Navy officials, several Russian attack jets flew “dangerously close” to a US Navy destroyer on April 11 and 12. The destroyer, titled the USS Donald Cook, was traveling in international waters when the jets made multiple passes. US European Command officials released video footage of the jets passing at high speeds just a few hundred feet from the destroyer. The first incident occurred around 3 p.m. on Monday while the destroyer was carrying out deck landing drills with a military helicopter from Poland. The jets made “numerous, close-range and low-altitude passes.” The following day, a Russian KA-27 Helix helicopter circled seven times around the ship at 5 p.m., and two unarmed Su-24 jets made 11 close-range and low-altitude passes about 40 minutes later. The jets ignored the repeated safety warnings issued by the USS Donald Cook in both Russian and English.
Earthquake hits Kyushu Island, Japan At least two were killed and forty-five injured in an earthquake that hit Japan on Thursday. Both victims were from the town of Mashiki on the island of Kyushu. One was killed after being pulled from the rubble, and the other was killed in a fire. According to Japan’s Meteorological Agency, the quake struck at 9:26 p.m. at a depth of seven miles. Currently, there is no tsunami risk. Nineteen houses collapsed, and several aftershocks continued on throughout the night. The quake’s epicenter was seventy-four miles northeast of Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai Nuclear Plant, but no nuclear abnormalities have been reported.
Czech Republic to be renamed Czechia Politicians within the Czech Republic announced an official new name for the nation: Czechia. While the Czech Republic will remain the nation’s conventional long-form name, Czechia will become the official short-form name. Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek supported the change because, in his opinion, foreigners often mangle the country’s longer name. He stated, “It is not good if a country does not have clearly defined symbols or if it even does not clearly say what its name is.” Other European states have a similar system of short and long names. For example, Slovakia is officially the Slovak Republic and Germany is officially the Federal Republic of Germany.
Protests after el-Sissi hands islands to Saudi Arabia Thousands of Egyptians gathered in downtown Cairo on Friday to protest President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi’s decision to give away two islands to Saudi Arabia. The protesters chanted slogans from the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, and police eventually had to disperse the crowds with tear gas. Fifty protesters were detained. Protesters chanted phrases such as “The people want the downfall of the regime!” and “We own the land, and you are agents who sold our land.” Both Saudi and Egyptian officials claim that the islands rightfully belong to Saudi Arabia. They are currently under Egyptian control only because Saudi Arabia had asked Cairo to protect them in 1950.
Canadian Prime Minister unveils assisted suicide bill Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced a bill on Thursday to legalize assisted suicide for those with “serious and incurable illness.” In order to prevent medical tourism from those dying in other countries, the law allows physician assisted suicide only for residents and citizens eligible for the national health care system. Under the law, physicians could administer medication for suicide, and family and friends would be permitted to assist patients with their death as well. If the bill passes, Canada will join nations such as Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland, which all allow some form of assisted suicide. In the United States, only Oregon and Vermont permit assisted suicide.
Oliphant hosts diverse native plants Oliphant courtyard provides a look into native plants, but requires a great deal of care. Michaela Flonard
Apprentice Editor
The courtyard in Oliphant hall houses a selection of native plants for the use and enjoyment of TU faculty. Currently, biology professor Glen Collier cares for the courtyard, but his upcoming retirement in May makes its future unclear. In 1974, Pat Blair, professor of biology, used the intersession course to find plants to populate the Oliphant courtyard. He, along with 13 students, collected native plants to transplant into the courtyard. Some of these plants still grow in the garden today, including the devil’s walking stick and the soapberry tree. Blair later noted that not all of the plants should have been included in the garden. Collier said the soapberry tree was a good example of that, as it has grown quite large in comparison to its space. After Blair retired, Collier took over care of the space. Under his care, the courtyard gained a water feature and labels for most of the plants. Matt Reed, a TU alumnus, donated his time and expertise in crafting the water feature.
“It’s a balancing act to get the water flow just right,” Collier said. When correctly done, the courtyard has a waterfall that flows into pools. Having the water feature allows for some aquatic plants, such as lizards tail, but Collier also wanted it because of his interest in fish. Weeds, especially black snakeroot, have presented the most problems over the years. “It’s a nice resource, but it takes someone to be dedicated to it,” Collier said. Otherwise weeds quickly take over. The nature of the courtyard presents another part of the issue. The space is “not totally wild, but it’s not a garden,” according to Collier. Blair, a naturalist, wanted to “bring into town a representative selection of native Oklahoma plants.” This style takes a lot of attention, which the space has not always received. While Collier has been in charge of the courtyard for several years, others have assisted him in caring for it. Over the years, work study students have helped with the space, but their effort has fluctuated. As he will officially retire in May, he hasn’t been as involved in the garden recently. Those with a strong interest in volunteering their time to care for the garden should contact Estelle Levetin, chair of biology, for more information, in Oliphant Hall 328 or at estelle-levetin@utulsa.edu.
photo by Michaela Flonard
The Oliphant courtyard hosts a variety of plants, but will need volunteers for future upkeep.
News
The Collegian: 4
18 April 2016
T U’s Spectacular Seniors We asked the deans of each college to nominate outstanding seniors in their fields. The nominees are profiled below.
Students were asked: What is/are your major(s) and any minors/certificates you have? What clubs/organizations are you involved with both inside and outside TU? What are your plans after graduation? What will you miss the most about TU? What will you miss the least about TU?
Sarah Ringler Major: Major in Accounting, Minor in Finance and a Certificate in Sports Administration Clubs: Women’s Rowing Team, Reading Partners at Sequoyah Elementary School Plans after graduation: I will be working in a financial accounting role at ONEOK in Tulsa, OK. Miss most about TU: I will miss living in such a large community of young people all in one place. I love living in an apartment with my friends in the apartments all around me. It’s never dull and there is always someone to hang out with and something fun to do.
Major: I am majoring in mechanical engineering. Clubs: I am president of Tau Beta Pi and was the captain of the TU women’s soccer team for two years. I am co-founder and past vice president of Make a Difference Engineering. I am also a member of STEM-UP, and throughout my time at TU, I have also been involved with ASME, SHPE, and SWE. Outside of TU, I volunteer each week at The Little Light House, a local preschool for children with disabilities, and have
I also will miss being on the rowing team and competing for the University of Tulsa. Even though I am ready to be done with school for the time being, I also think I will even miss learning and taking different classes. Miss least about TU: I will not miss my 5 a.m. practices on the rowing team followed by a day of class. I think my sleep schedule and coffee consumption will level to a normal amount. I also am very excited to not have homework or studying to do on the weekends. When I leave work I get to leave work.
Major: I am a chemistry and biochemistry major. Clubs: I am president of American Chemical Society, Blue Thumb, and STEM^2. I am also in the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. I am in Mortar Board and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies. Also, I am
for Humanity, Student Finance Association, Mortar Board, Beta Gamma Sigma, Phi Eta Sigma – Honor Societies, Indian Student Association Plans after graduation: Starting full time at Ernst & Young in
the Assurance Department Miss most about TU: Being an Orientation Leader Miss least about TU: The Collegian (Just kidding, you guys are awesome!)
and Reading Partners. I am also a Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar/Member. Plans after graduation: I will graduate in December after studying in Barcelona this upcoming fall. I do not know definitively what I will do after that, but this summer I will be interning with Phillips 66 and hopefully getting a better understanding of where I hope to go next. My goal is to work for an international company, hopefully using Spanish in
some way. Miss most about TU: Most of all, I will miss the people. I have developed close relationships with my professors, many members of TU’s staff have adopted me as their child, and I have made some pretty fantastic friends. These will be hard to leave behind. Miss least about TU: I will not miss being confused for a basketball player...Although it is sometimes night to get credit for three pointers I haven’t made!
Amanda Rightler
Major: Chemistry and Economics majors, Mathematics minor Clubs: Alpha Phi Omega (coed service fraternity), Iota Sigma Pi (Honor Society for Women in Chemistry), Oklahoma Policy Institute Intern, Phi Eta Sigma, Reading Partners Plans after graduation: I am taking a year to travel and work, and then I plan to attend graduate school in environmental economics or chemistry.
Katy Riojas
continued to do so for 3 years. Plans after graduation: After graduation, I plan to attend graduate school at Vanderbilt University to pursue a PhD in mechanical engineering focused on innovative medical device design. Miss most about TU: I will miss all of my fabulous professors and my friends! Miss least about TU: I will least miss the crickets.
Miss most about TU: The beautiful campus, great people, and excellent professor quotes Miss least about TU: The caf, Kep, and the all-nighters
part of the Oklahoma Governor’s Business Review Board. I am also part of a group which speaks to the US Legislature in D.C. on behalf of the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation. I am also a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Bavarian Boxing Association. Plans after graduation: I will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry
at Northwestern, Stanford, MIT, Harvard, or Rice. I haven’t decided yet. Miss most about TU: I will certainly miss all of my extraordinary mentors and incredible friends that I have had over the past four years. Miss least about TU: I have my fingers crossed that the next place I go has reliable internet.
Tyler Carter
Jocelyn Sheffield
Major: I am a triple major studying Management Information Systems, International Business and Spanish Clubs: My current TU-related involvement includes the TU Women’s Softball team, iTU, University Orientation leaders,
Whisenhunt Apprentice Editor
Austin Evans
Anshuman Singh Major: Accounting and Finance Clubs: Orientation Leader, New Student Programs and Services, Beta Alpha Psi – Accounting Organization, EPA - Water Conservation Project (HydroSense), Habitat
by James
Bea Baker
Major: Petroleum Engineering, B.S. Clubs: Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), President, 2015; Presbyterian Leaders & Scholars (PLS), President 2014; UKirk Collegiate Ministry; First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa Plans after graduation: Begin work as a petroleum engineer with an emphasis in production
& operations for Devon Energy Corporation (DVN) at the end of summer 2016 Miss most about TU: Community of students from different backgrounds, nationalities and mindsets challenging one another to be the best at whatever it is we are here at TU to do Miss least about TU: Cramming for exams
Whitney House Major: I am a double major in Political Science and Women’s Studies. Clubs: Student Association President, Kappa Delta Sorority, National Association of Parliamentarians, Pi Sigma Alpha, Lantern Honor Society, and Scroll Honor Society. Plans after graduation: In the
fall, I will be attending The University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder, Colorado. Miss most about TU: I will equally miss all of my friends and the beautiful campus. Miss least about TU: I definitely will not miss the long lines at Chick-fil-A.
Major: Anthropology; Minor: Sociology; Certificate: Visual Communications Clubs: Chi Omega, RUF, Orientation Leader, Global Scholar Plans after graduation: I will leave at the end of May to teach English in Bangkok, Thailand at the Chitralada Palace School. Miss most about TU: I have found a tight knit community at TU that I absolutely love. The people who I have met and done life with these past four years will be
the hardest to leave behind. I know that the relationships I have built are ones that will last, but moving away though exciting is still tough. Miss least about TU: I love so much about TU–seeing friends when walking to class, the learning environment, Springfest, football games, tailgating, midnight Tacos Don runs. The only thing I won’t miss is the stray cat that hangs around our apartment complex.
convictions. Individuals found violating this oath can be charged with a felony. “That’s the real mechanism of enforcement,” Dean said. Under the new system, these requirements could be easily and immediately checked because it would be tied to driver’s licenses. According to Dean, the current system doesn’t allow for such ease and speed of verifying the oath. Dean believes this new system will also reduce the workload of the election board office, especially on the county level. While there will be some challenges, especially with creating and implementing the system, overall he hopes it will
make things easier for officials. Although Dean hopes the ease of online registration will increase numbers, he realizes that “ultimately, civic engagement has to drive voter participation and registration.” “If [people] are willing to wait in line to get the next iPhone or see the next Marvel movie, they need to be willing to wait in line to vote,” he said. The state is looking for ways to make the process easier, but “it takes more of a societal effort to make big inroads” into voter participation, he believes.
Online voter registration planned for future elections
SB 313 may make voter registration easier, but its implementation is unclear. Michaela Flonard
Apprentice Editor
Last year, Senate Bill 313 went into effect, which permits Oklahoma residents to register to vote electronically. Currently, the State Election Board is working to create a system to allow online registration. Senate Bill 313, sponsored by Senator David Holt, permits online registration with a valid state driver’s license or identification card. Voters may, as is current pro-
cedure, submit hard copies of their registration to state or county election boards. Bryan Dean, public information officer with the State Election Board, says the date online registration will be available is currently unknown. “Generally it takes 1 to 3 years from authorization to implementation,” he said, “and we’re hoping to fall into that window.” Although he knows “people would love to see it faster,” Dean says “we want to get it right.” The State Election Board reviewed other states’ models in the creation of the system. There are specific challenges to Oklahoma,
however, as computer systems and other factors vary. Tying the registration in with driver’s license or state identification cards has proven one unique challenge, according to Dean. The Department of Public Safety needs to be involved to coordinate the two systems. Federal laws protect driver’s license information, as well, so this adds to the challenge. Yet requiring some form of state identification may improve security. With the current system, residents must swear an oath that they meet the requirements for voting: 18 years of age or older, United States citizenship and no felony
18 April 2016
Commentary
The Collegian: 5
Confederacy continues to divide Americans
Americans continue to struggle with the history of the Confederacy as they debate over two potential holidays: Confederate Heritage Month and New Birth of Freedom Day. Americans should celebrate the Reconstruction Amendments instead. Michaela Flonard Apprentice Editor Recently, Mississippi declared April Confederate Heritage month. Alternatively, Brian Beutler, senior editor at “The New Republic,” proposed April should feature a day celebrating the defeat of the Confederate States of America (CSA). Neither of those are good holidays. Instead, we should celebrate Reconstruction Amendment Day, in remembrance of our country’s huge step forward in civil rights. Phil Bryant, governor of Mississippi, proclaimed the Confederate Heritage month on the Mississippi Sons of Confederate Veterans website, not the governor’s site. He chose April because it is when the Confederate states began and ended. The month allows “all Americans to reflect upon our nation’s pasts, to gain insight from our mistakes and successes, and to come to a full understanding that the lessons learned yesterday and today will carry us through tomorrow.” His predecessors have made similar proclamations. Bryant’s proclamation came as the legislature went through 19 bills addressing the state flag, which is the only flag to still feature a Confederate battle flag emblem. Because of legislative inaction, the flag will remain the same, which has caused controversy. Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and Texas also celebrate Confederate Heritage, or History, month. Virginia has previously celebrated such a month, but controversy during its last attempt, in 2010, has prevented further celebrations. Last year, Brian Beutler, a senior editor at “The New Republic,” proposed that April 9, the defeat of the Confederacy, should be
celebrated as New Birth of Freedom Day. President Obama’s remarks at the 50th anniversary of the Selma marches prompted this idea. Obama’s challenge to the popular view of American exceptionalism (the idea that America is inherently different from the rest of the world and meant to transform the world) made Beutler believe his proposed holiday would prompt re-evaluations of America’s history. New Birth of Freedom Day would celebrate the Union’s victory and abolition of slavery as “exemplars of American improvement and renewal, even if many Unionists weren’t moral heroes.” He also proposed that the federal government should change names of military bases from Confederate figures and eliminate monuments to the Confederate States of America from its National Registry of Historic Places, and refuse to pay for their upkeep. Beutler’s proposal was not met with great success. Rick Moran, the Chicago editor for PJ News, said the proposal was “insulting and derogatory toward the South.” Moran believed Beutler did not fully understand the South and its history when he made the proposition. Reactions on his and other blogs suggest that many Southerners feel similarly to Moran. These two proposed celebrations divide Americans. For those who take pride in the Confederacy, Heritage Month celebrates their ancestors and the South’s independence. The Sons of Confederate Veterans, one of the more visible supporters of Heritage Month, believe “the preservation of liberty and freedom was the motivating factor in the South’s decision to fight the Second American Revolution.” Implementing Beutler’s idea would further anger those who believe the South’s image has been tarnished, and remove any chance for discussion over the issue of the Confederacy. Others take offense at celebrations of the Confederacy. Several of the proclamations and supporters of the Confederacy do not mention slavery, instead focusing more on states’ rights. Some believe this is revisionist history at work. While some do realize the importance of having regional pride, or ancestral pride, they find that the symbols, like the flag, have been associated with hatred. Getting these people to support a New Birth of Freedom day might be possible. The difference of opinions on the Confederacy traces back to how one interprets the impetus for the CSA and relationships within the CSA. Several interpretations of the CSA exist, usually depending on whether one focuses more on states’ rights or slav-
courtesy Wiki Commons
The Confederate Flag remains a symbol of controversy among Americans of different ideologies.
ery. Personal relationships to the CSA also come into account, as seen in the Sons of Confederate Veterans and others with family ties. These people may have a different view than someone whose family ties trace back to the other side of the line. Consequently, coming to an agreement over what the CSA stood for becomes difficult. With such a divisive issue, promoting either of these holidays results in some group finding offense. The resulting argument can lead to further separation as people become entrenched in their views, unwilling to accommodate facts that differ from their perspective. Instead of arguing over whether the defeat or the heritage of the Confederacy should be favored, which goes back to how one views the CSA, we should create Reconstruction Amendment Day. The Reconstruction Amendments — the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments — outlawed slavery, changed the definition of citizenship, and granted voting to all men, regardless of color. These amendments were not all passed at the same time, and did not all lead to rapid change. For example, women did not receive the right to vote until the Nineteenth amendment, sixty years later. But Americans should celebrate the spirit of these bills. They marked a huge step forward; a country built on slavery outlawed it, and then allowed those new (male) citizens to vote. They followed the spirit of the Constitution in allowing more and more Americans to vote. Celebrating the Reconstruction Amendments would involve discussions on voting as it currently stands. Voter ID-laws across various states have incurred charges of discriminating against certain groups in order
to boost one ideology. Recent research by the University of California, San Diego, shows voter identification laws “have a differentially negative impact on the turnout of Hispanics, Blacks, and mixed-race Americans in primaries and general elections.” These laws skew democracy in favor of the political right, more supported by white Americans. In celebrating this proposed holiday, citizens and legislature would be forced to re-examine how our current system is treating its citizens. Of course, this day could easily turn into a self-congratulatory fest, with people patting themselves on the back. Hopefully, advocates and those affected by these laws could direct our attention to the current problem. Additionally, this day would cause reflection on the relationship between former CSA states and the rest of the US. The popularity of CSA-related materials, whether that be flags or heritage days, shows the South still finds that era vitally important. Instead of ignoring that relationship, Americans should revisit their history, and start a discussion on why it’s still so important to some yet offensive to others. Such a day could be celebrated on the ratification day of the fifteenth amendment: February 3. While this might not be the only solution to our current struggle over the perception of the Confederacy, it would hopefully allow for advocates to prompt discussion on another important topic: current equality and voting rights of Americans. If America wants to continue to be representative of its citizens, this discussion needs to occur more often.
child a family has, a women’s pay drops 7.5 percent. Beyond this, a study conducted in which fictitious resumes were sent out by a Stanford professor found that female applicants with children were offered lowerpaying jobs (and less likely to receive offers at all.) Conversely, men with children are often deemed more responsible by businesses, and thus having children benefits them in terms of promotions and starting wages. None of this addresses the daily extra hour of unpaid work women serve over men. Finally, it’s impossible to judge how much of an effect gender stereotypes have on young women’s occupations of choice. A recent poll shows that 30 percent of of Americans still wholeheartedly believe women should stay home full time to care for children. The effects of this and other applications of traditional gender roles are not measurable, but undoubtedly very real. A study conducted by Cornell economists found that 51 percent of the difference in compensation between men and women is correlated to the fact that female workers are more concentrated in underpaid sectors,
such as nursing and education, where women often serve lower-level roles. Maybe most troubling of all is the information that the average pay drops for a field of work the more women enter it. Over the course of 50 years the pay for workers working in parks or camps lowered 57 percent as the demographic of workers went from primarily male to female. In similar cases, pay dropped 34 percent for designers, 21 percent for housekeepers, and 18 percent for biologists, once women dominated the workforce. Conversely, the field of computer science saw a raise in pay and prestige as workers became primarily male. Perhaps the most obvious observation I could make at this point is that the gender wage gap exists, or that it’s bad. Instead I hope this brings to light the many intricacies that are present in the wage gap, and perhaps explains why some women don’t perceive any gender discrimination at all, while others feel the consequences of a very real prejudice.
Equal Pay Day spotlights gender wage gap
April 12, Equal Pay Day, helps bring to light the many intracacies that surround the gender wage gap. Trenton Gibbons Apprentice Editor April 12 marks Equal Pay Day in America, spotlighting, however temporarily, a topic that has proven itself controversial in both the realm of the general public and studied economists. The gender wage gap, in which men are paid more than women on a national basis, is an issue whose depth has consumed the better part of some researchers’ careers, primarily due to a plethora of technicalities which surround it. These technicalities become difficult to discuss when people possess strong views, especially when members on both sides seem to believe that any conditional statements made regarding the matter cause the wage gap issue to lose its legitimacy. While there’s a lot to clarify about the wage gap, one thing that should remain crystal clear throughout the debate is that the wage gap is not a myth, and certainly not so easily ‘debunked’ as some may argue. One commonly cited figure is the supposed 79 cents women receive per every dollar paid to a man. This figure has risen 2 cents over the past two years, but that’s little cause for celebration; at that rate women won’t reach equal pay for another quarter of a century. In terms of annual earnings this gap in wage comes out to 21 percent, by weekly pay it’s somewhere between 18 percent and 19 percent, by hourly wage it comes down to 16 percent.
None of these statistics take into account differences in education, experience, skill or occupation between the genders. Once these factors are calculated, the wage gap lowers to 4-8 percent. Many opponents of the wage gap theory claim this debunks it, choosing to ignore the 4-8 percent which seems to undoubtedly be the product of gender discrimination. This gender discrimination manifests itself beyond this 4-8 percent, causing men to more quickly be promoted to supervisory status, even within roles stereotypically associated with women, like library directors and nursing positions. The gender wage gap does not affect all women equally. Age plays a major role in widening the gap, as does race. In 2014, black women made 63 percent of what white men earned, while Latina women came in at approximately 54 percent. Women belonging to these ethnic minorities also reportedly have diminished access to workplace rights such as paid sick absence, flexible work schedule and maternity leave. Between parents, the wage gap only widens further. Studies show that with each
courtesy Wiki Commons
The percentage of money that women make compared to men, broken down by age.
The Collegian: 6
Commentary
18 April 2016
Democracy Spring deserves more media attention
Hundreds of protesters were arrested at the US capitol last week. Mainstream media neglected to cover this despite its historical significance. Kayleigh Thesenvitz News Editor The largest political demonstration at the US capitol in all of American history occurred last week. It began with a march. Specifically, 160 people on a 10 day, 140 mile march from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia to the steps of the US Capitol Building. A series of sit-ins occurred Monday, April 11 through April 18. Approximately 3000 protesters took part and roughly 850 people were arrested as of April 15. The stated purpose of the movement: “we will issue a simple demand to Congress: listen to the People and take immediate action to end the corruption of big money in politics and ensure our elections are free, fair, and afford every American an equal voice, regardless of wealth.” US Capitol police stated that this protest is unprecedented. They have never had as many people at the capitol at one time with the intent of risking arrest. The Democracy Spring Protest is literally historic. The goal is to get four bills passed. The Voting Rights Amendment Act restores the protections against voting discrimination that were struck down by the US Supreme Court in its Shelby County v. Holder decision, and makes additional, critical updates to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voter Empowerment Act modernizes voter registration, prevents deceptive practices that keep people from the ballot box and ensures equal access to voting for all US citizens. The Democracy for All Amendment over-
turns the Citizens United Supreme Court decision by allowing Congress to set limits on political spending and differentiate between corporations and natural persons. Finally, the Government by the People and the Fair Elections Now Acts encourage small-dollar contributions from everyday Americans by multiplying small-dollar donations with 6:1 or 9:1 public matching funds which are only available to candidates who refuse to take big money contributions. One of the other demands is for the Senate to confirm a Supreme Court nominee who will protect the voting rights of average Americans and end the corruption of big money in government. Peter Callahan is the Communications Coordinator for the campaign. He expressed the concerns of the participants by saying, “Congress was originally meant to be the people’s house, and the people’s legislature should be a place where veterans and teachers and nurses and anyone else who wants to be able to run for office can.” The view of most participants is that not only are businesses buying the legislation they want by electing who they want to office, but often the people they choose to elect are moneyed businessmen themselves, causing a spiral of capitalism slowly taking over democracy. This isn’t the socialist movement that some might make it out to be, but a defense of democracy as it was before the Citizens United decision. Callahan mentioned an 85-year-old protester who took part in the 140 mile march. Callahan remarked about the blisters on her feat and remembered her saying, “This matters a lot to me, it matters to my children and grandchildren. I’m going to take a stand now because it’s the last chance I’ve got.” Another story from the march was a farmer in Maryland who saw the protestors marching and gave them eight dozen eggs. Callahan said, “we don’t have a healthy functioning democracy right now and until we get that Americans across the political spectrum believe that we should take action on these issues.” Callahan also stated that, “until we fix voting rights and valid access for students, the elderly, low-income Americans, African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans, we are not actually going to have a representative democracy.”
Child reporter inadvertently distracts from murder case
9-year-old Hilde Lysiak shows promise and a sincere love for journalism, but she might benefit from a sense of discretion in her topics, for the time being. Trenton Gibbons Apprentice Editor It’s not often that a reporter gets the chance to break a murder story to the public; it’s especially rare that the reporter is a child under ten years old. Yet that’s exactly what nine-year-old Hilde Lysiak did. Lysiak, despite her young age, is the head of Orange Street News, a family newsletter turned local newspaper in the small town of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. While she does receive some aid from her family members regarding finance and distribution, she conducts all of the interviews, takes the photos and writes every article that run in the publication. Hilde recently came under fire for getting the scoop on a murder in her neighborhood. She arrived hours before any other news outlet, acting upon a tip she received while at the police station. At the scene of the crime she interviewed officers and neighbors alike. There is even news broadcastlike footage of her reporting on the case in front of the victim’s home. The murder itself was that of Ann Wochley, a 75-year-old woman beaten to death with a hammer by her husband, Kenneth. The man was reportedly unconscious in a living room chair, seemingly having attempted suicide through overdose on prescription pills. He is hospitalized, and is currently the only suspect in the murder. Obviously, it’s a tragic case. “Murder on Ninth Street!” the headline reads on Orange Street News, resembling more of a sensationalist piece than any legitimate piece of journalism. Angry YouTube and Facebook comments demand that Hilde play with dolls or host tea parties instead of
reporting on such matters. Hilde has already responded to these comments in a video of her own, saying, “‘I know this makes some of you uncomfortable, and I know some of you just want me to sit down and be quiet because I’m nine. Listen, bud, if you want me to stop covering the news, then you get off your computer and do something about it. There, is that cute enough for you?” While I disagree with the sentiment that Hilde is by default an unfit reporter to take on serious news topics, I can’t help but see some justification for condemning the article. It’s a well enough written article (despite “murderer” being misspelled as “murdered”), that sympathizes with the victim and notes that neighbors “remember her fondly.” Hilde even went so far as to withhold Ann’s name so that friends and family could be notified of the death by official law enforcement personnel before the information was released to the public. Like I said, Hilde makes a sincere effort to cover the murder case, and does so passably. It’s the public perception I worry about. Orange Street News is always going to be, for much of its readership, more about an ‘adorable little girl’ reporting local affairs than the local news itself. This means that in the case of a murder, the video going viral is going to be labeled “Little Girl Reports Murder: WHAT?!,” not “Tragic Violence in Selinsgrove.” It’s not Hilde’s fault that the public perception of her is going to revolve around her age, but it is something that should be taken into account by her father. Hilde’s dad, who worked as a reporter at the New York Daily News, admits he was uncomfortable at the idea of his daughter at a crime scene. Though he was slightly anxious about the risks involved, he’s far more worried about stifling his daughter’s passion for journalism. Personally, I think he fails to see the big picture, or how his daughter’s reporting at the scene of a murder might trivialize to some the death involved. Of course, I still think the angry responses Hilde received were misguided. Like her father, I believe it’s important that her enthusiasm be allowed to prosper, especially in her childhood years. However, a stronger sense of discretion is warranted when you have a local celebrity dealing with such a sensitive topic. It might just be me, but I wouldn’t want a loved one or myself to be the background death of a young reporter’s viral video.
What Callahan said isn’t a phenomena of the campaign, but appears to be relevant to American political discourse today. If you look at the support of both the Sanders and Trump campaigns it is clear that many Americans want a democracy that represents them but do not feel that the current system adequately does so. Despite the differences between the two campaigns, the common thread that unites them is a distaste for the idea that people deciding the policy of our nation be bought and paid for by a few moneyed special interests. This is easily the most significant civil action this century, but it has not received the media attention worthy of how huge this is. “I think this is an historic event, we are starting to see a change in American politics where people are demanding that their politicians be more responsible to them,” Callahan said. “In this moment people are finally waking up to the fact that many of their politicians are bought and paid for and don’t have their best interests in mind.” Aside from the sheer scale, one of the most significant aspects of this protest has been how peaceful it has remained. This is due in large part to the foresight of the organizers in providing peaceful protest training and teaching participants how to peacefully respond to a civil arrest situation. There have been absolutely no violent outbreaks.
Even if you don’t support this movement, you still have to acknowledge that it is on par with all of the significant civil rights movements of US History. The protests have gained traction on social media, but the lack of attention from national news sources suggest that they may not be taken seriously.
courtesy Wiki Commons
The risk of arrest does not faze protesters as they combat political corruption.
US needs to recognize torture is ineffective
CIA director John Brennan’s opinion on torture is what the nation needs in this polarizing election cycle. Nathan Gibbons Student Writer Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director John Brennan has announced that he will not bring back waterboarding amidst a growing spectacle of Republican candidates announcing their support for ‘enhanced interrogation techniques.’ Brennan’s public opinion regarding the CIA’s use of torture has fluctuated, to say the least. He has been an active proponent of torture techniques in the past, defending the CIA when accusatory reports of controversial practices became public knowledge in 2013. Since then he’s claimed a total change of heart; after reading a 6,000 page report detailing the ineffectiveness of torture, Brennan stated that he felt misled by the agency. This made it all the more surprising when he played apologist to the CIA’s use of torture techniques in interrogation, only to revert to his more modern stance that torture should not be utilized by the agency. If this most recent opinion truly is a genuine statement made in good faith, his anti-torture sentiment should bring some peace of mind to those watching the campaign trail. While both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have renounced the use of torture, their Republican opposition has an almost unanimously positive view of it as a way to acquire information from imprisoned terrorists. I say almost unanimously because of the rather cryptic opinion of Ted Cruz, who has developed such a narrow definition of torture that he can claim to be an outspoken critic while supporting waterboarding.
When asked for his opinion on waterboarding, Donald Trump voiced his support, even going so far as to say, “And I would approve more than that. Don’t kid yourself, folks. It works, okay? It works.” Trump has used an aggressive stance on issues of national security to gain popularity, seeing his own ratings improve after denouncing migrant Muslim populations for the Brussels attack. Despite Trump’s promises and ‘facts,’ past uses of torture by the CIA have been poked and prodded by committees to find out how necessary they actually were to furthering the mission. In 2014, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a 525 page portion of a larger investigation into ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ during the war on terror. They concluded that most of the information extracted through torture had already been known, either through prior investigations or the prisoner having already given up the information in the past. The committee’s findings were welcomed by President Obama and other politicians, Republican and Democrat. The president remarked that America is made great through its ability to recognize the faults of its past and move forward. What makes “Make America Great Again” sound so putrid coming out of Trump’s mouth is that he doesn’t recognize which way America should be headed for greatness. Arguably the world’s most powerful state, America has a responsibility to live up to its principles. The nation should push human rights in front of power and lead by example. In an age of controversial drone strikes and the like, President Obama can constantly be heard and seen questioning the nation’s responsibilities and role in the world. The last thing we need is for the next president to be a no-holds-barred commander who is ready to destroy the enemy ‘by any means necessary’. America’s 21st century should be defined by recognition of mistakes and finding the best path forward. Director Brennan’s statement comes at a time when an angry populace and some radical candidates threatened to push the States’ image backwards in the eyes of the world. It displays the resilience and evolution of America’s institutions against its more ‘traditional’ citizens.
Donald Trump has been a particularly strong supporter of torture.
courtesy Wiki Commons
Commentary
18 April 2016
The Collegian: 7
Autism Awareness should be replaced with Acceptance
The CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network estimates 1 in 68 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), occurring across all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. The prevalence of ASD has increased from about 1 in 150 in 2000 to about 1 in 68 children in 2012. Americans with ASD number about 3.5 million, which is close to the estimated number of gay and lesbian Americans. Arguing that people are unaware of gays and
consider it ineffective or unrepresentative. Many autism self-advocates believe this best demonstrates the organization’s views towards the disorder. Ari Ne’eman, president of the Autistics Self-Advocacy Network, said Autism Speaks views “the goal of autism advocacy as a world in which autistic people do not exist. We think we should create a world where autistic people are included and can have a good quality of life.” “Awareness” has often translated into fear
under the influence of Autism Speaks. In 2009, “I am Autism” was released: a video with a voiceover that says “I am Autism...I work faster than pediatric AIDS, cancer and diabetes combined...and if you are happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails.” The video was removed after backlash, although Peter Bell, then executive vice president of Autism Speaks, said there were positive reviews from the autism community. In 2012, the co-founder of the organization, Suzanne Wright, published a piece describing autistic children as missing and detailing their parents’ ever-present fear. Activists took offense to these and other issues within Autism Speaks. While the organization has done its part to increase awareness, some argue it is now instilling fear and attempting to cure or otherwise eliminate autism and neurodiversity. Because autism is a spectrum disorder, with a great diversity in presentation of symptoms, advocates differ on opinions about a “cure.” Curing autism, to some, would mean the elimination of all autism, which, to autistic people and their parents, would eliminate those currently with it, as their autism is essential to their personality. Alison Singer, former chief executive of Autism Speaks and parent to an autistic girl, believes her daughter, who has severe intellectual disabilities and self-injurious behaviors, would like to not “be spending time peeling skin off her arm.” Some organizations and people have moved towards acceptance while still observing Autism Awareness Month. President Obama, in his proclamation April 2, called for “every man, woman, and child, regardless of ability or background, [to be] accepted for who they are.” Apple released a series of videos name-dropping autism acceptance and celebrating the differences of an autistic boy. Even Autism Speaks declared they want to “go beyond simply promoting autism awareness to encouraging friends and collaborators to become partners in movement towards acceptance and appreciation” this year. Their actions this year, however, seem to be a continuation of previous years–fundraising for their organization, the “Light It Up In Blue” campaign, and some PSAs. These words challenge the ideology behind Awareness Month, showing the need to embrace a new title.
continue to be the world’s leaders in denying climate change when the overwhelming scientific consensus points it to being a real, man-made problem) but not so much in social and cultural views. I recognize that people’s opinions on these matters are usually a result of their own experiences, and not being able to see what they’ve seen and truly empathize with them, I can’t usually fault them for coming from a certain direction. But then we get to issues like the confrontation over a man’s dreadlocks at San Francisco State University, captured on a video that went viral a couple weeks ago, and once more I find myself baffled. For those of you who haven’t seen the video, it consists of a black woman accosting a white man with dreadlocks, claiming that he shouldn’t be allowed to wear the hairstyle since it’s not representative of his culture (the implication being that they are representative of “her culture,” whatever that is supposed to mean). The dispute, at least the bit captured on camera, is short, with the man eventually taking himself out of the conversation after being mocked and manhandled by the
woman. Now to me, this seems like a problem that should have an obvious resolution: the man, Cory Goldstein, is in the right for being allowed to wear his hair however he so chooses, while the unidentified woman is in the wrong for attempting to encroach on somebody else’s freedom. Yet somehow this isn’t the unanimous opinion. Legitimate cultural appropriation is a real thing. It is indeed possible for a group to hijack a symbol or practice from another culture and distort or commercialize its meaning, and this should be avoided out of
Egyptians and Rastafari in the Caribbean. For the purposes of my argument and from what most opinions in the media are pointing towards, I will assume that the woman in the video is claiming AfricanAmerican culture, for which dreadlocks only became a popular hairstyle in the late 20th century. Now if this is the case, how can she possibly claim to have a monopoly over the wearing of dreadlocks when it only became a part of her culture in the last 50 odd years? It may be argued that the cultures who
Instead of Autism Awareness Month, April should be considered Autism Acceptance Month. Many autistic self-advocates consider an Acceptance holiday to be a more progressive step. Michaela Flonard Apprentice Editor Many world-famous monuments are undergoing aesthetic changes this month. In support of Autism Awareness Month, monuments and people bask in blue. At the same time, Autism Acceptance Month seeks to promote acceptance of autistic people, a movement started by self-advocates. Autism Speaks remains a driving force of Autism Awareness Month. Their “Light It Up in Blue” campaign has led monuments and people to wear blue on April 2. This provides an easy way for people and organizations to demonstrate their support of autistic people. What support exactly means varies, although it usually involves donations to autism-related groups. Yet Paula Durbin Westby, who describes herself as an autistic disability rights activist, began Autism Acceptance Month in 2011 as a reaction to Autism Awareness Month. She, along with many other autistic people, believes that “awareness” campaigns demonize the disorder and often do not include autistic people. People have accused PSAs for Autism Awareness Month of being fear-mongering, often calling the increasing autism rates a “crisis,” or imply that a diagnosis effectively ends the life of the person and those around them. The lack of autistics in Autism Speaks prevents them from giving their viewpoints on the disorder. Westby’s month celebrates neurodiversity and promotes inclusion. Instead of blue, supporters are encouraged to wear red.
courtesy Wiki Commons
Children and adults march for Autism Awareness Month.
Connotatively, awareness and acceptance differ significantly. Knowing a condition or person exists differs considerably from understanding and embracing an individual. The first highlights the “otherness” of the individual. Most importantly, awareness does not involve action: it does not rally for inclusion in classrooms, fight stigmas or promote the idea that autistics do not need to change. Activists argue acceptance is an action which involves people celebrating and understanding autistics. Because of the high rates of autism spectrum disorder, awareness is not an issue.
lesbians is difficult; the same goes for autism. Instead, the struggle is for acceptance. As rates of autism diagnoses increase, increasing numbers of people will know an autistic person, either as part of the family or as a friend. Autism Speaks’ involvement in Awareness Month has also caused part of the backlash against it. Parents of autistic children, rather than autistic people themselves, dominate the organization, which was originally created by the grandparents of an autistic boy. If a movement to support black Americans was run by whites, many would
“The lack of autistics in Autism Speaks prevents them from giving their viewpoints on the disorder.”
Ease up on calling out “cultural appropriation”
A confrontation at SFSU shows that cultural appropriation should not be used as an argument to limit personal choice. Justin Guglielmetti Student Writer There are some things that I can’t even believe are a debate; the answer just seems so obvious or the arguments so absurd. I find this happens a lot in sports (you mean to tell me that Barry Bonds doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame when many other admitted cheaters and men of questionable character are in with a fraction of his credentials?) and politics (by all means, let’s
A Tulsa native wearing dreadlocks at the Tulsa Roots Music festival.
photo by James Whisenhunt
“How can she possibly claim to have a monopoly over the wearing of dreadlocks when it only became a part of her culture in the last 50 odd years?” the sensitivity and common courtesy that is owed every person. For instance, knowing that most Indian people do not appreciate non-Indians wearing the Bindi — the uniquely Indian forehead accessory with religious significance in Hinduism — the decent response is not to wear them as a fashion statement. But this certainly shouldn’t be foisted on someone against their will, not only because of the importance of maintaining freedom of expression but also because of the fluid nature of cultures, which are constantly evolving and taking on aspects of societies that existed before or concurrently with them. In addition, the reason I used the qualifier “legitimate” above is that cultural appropriation is too often used as a blanket term for every instance in which an element of one culture is borrowed by another, which often happens organically. By taking this definition to its logical conclusion, everything in the culture of the United States would technically be cultural appropriation, since the United States of America didn’t exist until the late 1700s, and the other cultures that our country was born from (English, British, German, various African nations) existed before it. Yet I don’t hear any ardent social justice warriors offering such an absurd opinion. So what are dreadlocks, legitimate or faux-cultural appropriation? Well, that question begins with what culture is supposedly being appropriated by the white guy when he’s wearing them. Dreadlocks have been worn as a fashion statement and a sacred practice by several cultures over the millennia, including by Hindus in India, Israelites,
have worn dreadlocks in the past are those that would not be identified as “white” today, but cultures are not split into “white” and “non-white.” Black people in America today are not more culturally similar to Ancient Egyptians (even that is a blanket term) than they are to their white neighbors. And since those aforementioned non-white cultures are all dissimilar to each other, and the argument trying to be made is that some cultures are allowed to wear dreads while others aren’t, which is in the right? Are the Indians who wear dreadlocks wrong for wearing them for different reasons than the Israelites, who wore them for different reasons than Jamaicans, who wear them for different reasons than the African-Americans? Of course not. In the video, Goldstein brings this up, asking the woman if she is Egyptian, to which her only rebuttal is “are you Egyptian?” as if that actually addresses his argument. She misses the ultimate point in that it doesn’t matter what his culture is, all that matter is that he wants to wear his hair in a particular way. It’s true that the dreadlocks mean something different to him than they do to people of other cultures, but there is nothing that makes his interpretation any less valid. He wears them because he likes the way they look and perhaps because they mean something to him on a personal level. Who is to say they don’t? Besides, even if there is no deeper significance, he is free to do what he wants with his own appearance. If that offends you, too bad. Nobody is under any obligation to make sure their fashion statements don’t offend anybody.
Sports
The Collegian: 8
18 April 2016
NBA Playoffs offer boring first round games
The NBA Playoffs are starting now, but the first round looks to be a cakewalk for the higher seeded teams. Mason Morgan Sports Writer
Every time around this year, the playoffs are beginning for both hockey and basketball, where many fans will be expecting to see the games ramp up and actually mean something. NBA fans might have to wait a little longer. While some of these match-ups might have some excitement to offer, the majority of them that matter are just minor roadblocks for the superior team. The Western Conference, to be specific, contains most of these match-ups. We’ve seen already in just one game from the Golden State–Houston and Oklahoma City–Dallas series that the outcome of these series will be completely one-sided. Houston and Golden State is a rematch
of last year’s Western Conference finals, one that was fairly close in the beginning of the series, but that feels like the distant past now. The Warriors are better than ever this season, recently breaking the all time record for wins in a season (73). The Rockets, on the other hand, have fired their coach and generally show no real interest in playing basketball, especially defense. The score at the end of the first half of Game One was 60-33. Some thought the Oklahoma City–Dallas series might be more intriguing. Dallas was projected to finish near the bottom of the standings at the beginning of the year and found a way to sneak into the playoffs with a couple games to go. It’s a nice story and all, but then they ran into Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant and lost the first game by 38 points. Memphis and San Antonio may be the worst of these matchups. Memphis has had 28 different players play for their team this year, an NBA record. This has occurred because of injuries, trades or whatever other reasons.
They are going against the Spurs who quietly also had one of the greatest seasons ever, only to be trumped by Golden State. I would not be surprised if they rested their starters for this entire series. To be fair, the Eastern Conference does have some interesting match-ups. Toronto– Indiana, Boston–Atlanta and Miami–Charlotte will offer some exciting games, but the
FREAKY FAST! FREAKY
odds of any of those teams actually contending are slim. So I say to the casual NBA fan, just be patient until the second round. This will offer more likely than not two prime matchups with Golden State–LA Clippers and San Antonio–Oklahoma City. This is when the playoffs will really begin.
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Monday
Women’s Golf @ The American Champ.
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
April 18 – 24 Friday
Men’s Tennis @ Softball American vs. Softball Champ. vs. USF Oklahoma Women’s 5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. Tennis @ Outdoor Women’s Women’s American Track @ John Tennis @ Champ. Golf Jacbos American Outdoor @ The Invitational American Champ. Track Champ. @ Kansas Relays Softball @ Oklahoma State 7:00 p.m.
Saturday
Softball vs. USF 2:00 p.m. Outdoor Track @ John Jacbos Invitational
Sunday
Softball vs. USF 2:00 p.m.
18 April 2016
Justin Guglielmetti is…
the
bleacher creature
Farewell Kobe Earlier this year I wrote about the sad demise of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in his final season in the pros. The future Hall of Fame shooting guard, once the face of the Association with his high-flying aerial acrobatics, incredible clutch-shot making ability and personality that was a cross between a mastiff and a killer cyborg, slogged through his farewell season looking like a shell of his former self. Two steps slower than he was in his prime, hampered by bad knees and worse teammates, Kobe selfishly gunned away and missed shot after shot while the Lakers finished with one of the worst records in the league. Going into his final game Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz, I was an expecting an emotional night but not much to speak of in terms of a competitive game. Boy did Kobe prove me wrong. Calling Bryant’s incredible 60 point performance vintage, as so many pundits did in the days that followed, doesn’t do it justice. A 34-year-old Dwyane Wade leading the break, eurostepping and finishing a tough layup over his defender is vintage. Kobe scoring more than the entire Jazz team in the fourth quarter, netting the fifth most points in a game of his career, and hitting the game-winning bucket was something different. It was nothing less than the greatest career send-off in NBA history. Mamba out indeed.
End of the Line for Manziel Maybe it’s because he always struck me as a bit of an a-hole. Maybe I didn’t think his scrambling game, average size and mediocre arm would translate well to the pros. Or maybe I’m just a hater. But whatever the reason, I’ve never exactly been a big fan of Johnny Manziel, so it wasn’t exactly devastating news when it was revealed that he is being accused of causing tens of thousands of dollars of damage to a house he rented in Los Angeles through his hosting of “drug and booze-filled ragers.” Manziel’s career has been on the downturn going all the way back to his very first season in the NFL, when he failed to live up to the hype from his Heisman-awardwinning career at Texas A&M by losing the starting QB job to the immortal Brian Hoyer. Since then, Johnny Football has been embroiled in a continuous cycle of personal and locker room controversy, gotten released by the Cleveland Browns and been dropped as a client by every agent he’s had. In short, things haven’t exactly gone well for him, and part of me wants to lay off in my dislike of the guy. But then I remember that he’s a professional athlete who’s been paid millions of dollars and chosen to abuse his privilege by acting like a child. I’ve had enough of him and I’m sure NFL front offices are feeling the same. Memo to Baseball: Nobody Likes Your Stuffiness Two weeks ago, John Oliver had a segment on his show Last Week Tonight making fun of Yankees’ executive Lonn Trost’s derisive comments about certain people of lesser financial means sitting in the team’s premium seats. In response, he purchased six tickets and sold them to fans for 25 cents under the condition that they dressed “like they had never sat in a premium condition before.” It was a funny bit and fans showed up to the games dressed as Ninja Turtles
Sports
The Collegian: 9
The NHL playoffs are backwards, punish good teams with bad seeding The Stanley Cup Playoffs just started, but after three years of the new format, something needs to change, because the matchups favor popularity over record. Matt Rechtien Sports Editor Every time that a St. Louis sports team makes the playoffs it seems like I’ve got something to complain about. And somehow it’s always because we end up playing a team from Chicago too early in the playoffs. In the fall, I talked about MLB’s problem with playoffs because the three best teams in the regular season knocked each other out in the first round, but today I want to complain about the NHL’s revamped playoff system. The problem I think exists with the playoff format in the NHL is very similar to Major League Baseball’s. A couple of years ago, after they lowered the number of divisions from six to four, the National Hockey League changed the format of the playoffs as well in order to have teams in the same division play each other more often. Their reasoning is fair; with the new format there is a bump in popularity for the first round because you see more rivalries, which adds a lot of intensity to the beginning of the playoffs. However, this means that teams that finish second in their division, regardless of record, will play the third best team in their division, again regardless of their record. So in a very similar situation, the St. Louis Blues who finished as the third-best team in the regular season, are playing the Chicago Blackhawks, who were the fourth-
best team in hockey. While this sets up an exciting series because the Blues and Blackhawks hate each other, it is counter-intuitive to how seeding should work. In the current format with the way the competitive balance lies in the NHL right now, the teams who do well in the regular season are being punished by having to play stronger teams than those who finished with a worse record in the regular season. The NHL isn’t wrong, the first round of the playoffs is more exciting now. This is perhaps perfectly shown with the budding rivalry between the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning who participated in good ‘ol-fashioned hockey brawl on Friday night that left more than one participant bloodied. But part of the allure of hockey is that the playoffs is a whole new season from the regular season, and the game of hockey is perfectly suited to make any playoff
“The game of hockey is perfectly suited to make any playoff match-up exciting.” match-up exciting. The intensity and speed of the game means that it wasn’t uncommon in the old format for an eight-seed “upset” over the one-seed. That’s why their argument for trying to make the playoffs more exciting doesn’t really stand up. The argument could be made that over time the league will become more balanced and the new system will work. The counterpoint exists though and if there is ever one division that is stronger across the board, all the teams in that division will suffer for it because they will have to play themselves
Drillers play home opener, and baseball’s back in Tulsa The Drillers hosted the Corpus Christi Hooks to open up their home season. While they may have been swept, the important thing is that baseball has returned to Tulsa. Matt Rechtien Sports Editor The Drillers opened up the home half of their season this week playing against the Corpus Christi Hooks. Unfortunately they were swept in the three-game series. Their home opener on Thursday saw the Hooks jump out to a 9–0 lead after six before the Drillers rallied for five runs, but fell short and lost 5–10. On Friday night the Drillers jumped out to a 3–0 lead early in the game, but the Hooks rallied for nine runs and took game two, 9–4. In the series finale on Saturday, the Driller jumped out to an early lead on a two-run homer by Alex Verdugo. The Hooks tied it at four in the sixth before taking the lead in the top of the seventh with a solo home run. The Drillers had a chance to take the lead in the eighth, but couldn’t plate any of their runners and lost the game 4–4 to be swept. However, if you’re like me, you probably already have a loyalty to some team in the MLB, so you might not care a whole lot about a rival team’s minor league team or
instead of earning a match-up with a weaker playoff team. That should not be something that happens. While the old format might not have been a whole lot better, it allowed for more “fair” match-ups. The three division winners in each conference got the first three seeds and the remaining five playoff teams were seeded by points in the season, not what division they play in. This format hurt the weaker divisions because if it was a bad division they might only have one team make the playoffs, but that isn’t a problem because the playoffs shouldn’t be used to try and get more teams to be able to play. They should only be used for the best teams in each conference to compete for a Stanley Cup. The National Basketball Association has the best format in my opinion and I think the NHL should follow in their footsteps. In the NBA the eight best teams in each divi-
how they are doing competitively. That’s not the reason I go to the games. I go because I love baseball and watching a game for three hours, eating a hot dog, and — having recently become an adult — drinking a beer are a lot of fun. If you are in Tulsa for the summer and enjoy sports then I would encourage you to watch some Drillers baseball. It’s not professional, but it fills the need to watch live sports and the games are a lot of fun to go to. Since they are part of the Dodgers organization you can see some of their best players come up through Tulsa before going on to the Majors, just like when Matt Holliday played for the Driller while they were still a Rockies organization, before becoming a multi-All-Star player. There’s something that’s just not right when you go a summer and don’t watch live baseball. It’s about as American a tradition as apple pie and taxes. I wrote in our summer issue all the way back in August about what a sports fan can do in Tulsa, and the Drillers and Roughnecks — the USL soccer team with the same ownership as the Drillers — are two of the most exciting teams to watch. They’re in downtown Tulsa, which is a place I don’t get to explore enough and every time I’ve gone to watch a game, I’ve managed to see a little more of Tulsa. Baseball’s back in Tulsa and I’m excited about it.
sion make the playoffs and are seeded by overall record. The division winners make the playoffs but don’t get the top three seeds by default. I believe that their format is the best way to reward teams for playing well throughout the year, and will avoid any and all situations where two of the stronger teams are knocking each other out in the first round of the playoffs. The Blues–Blackhawks match-up could easily have been a Western Conference Finals series, but instead one of them will have to go home after the first week. Something needs to change.
Hurricane Recap Men’s Golf The men’s golf team finished 11th at the Maxwell Tournament after the third round was cancelled on Sunday because of inclement weather. Individually, freshman Jack Knoesel was the best finisher for Tulsa with a 44th place finish. Next up for the men is the American Athletic Conference Championships from May 1–3 in Lecanto, Florida. Women’s Golf After the first day of play in the American Athletic Conference Championships, the women’s golf team sits in ninth place, after shooting a 329 at the par-72 Ocean Course at Hammock Beach and Golf Club. The best finisher for Tulsa was senior Alex Haun who shot a 79 for 15th overall after one day of play. Antonia Von Wnuck (27), Nicole Marquardt (30), Olivia Jackson (37) and Nadia Majidizadeh (41) rounded out the rest of the scorers for the Golden Hurricane. Memphis and East Carolina currently sit tied for first. The second round will be played on Monday, and the final on Tuesday. Men’s Track and Field The No. 13 men’s track and field team had four athletes place in the Bryan Clay Invitational on Saturday. Marc Scott led the Golden Hurricane with a fifth-place finish in the 1,500-meter run. The other placers were Robert Tully (13 in 800-meter), Ellis Coon (30 in 1,500-meter), Bradyon Rennie (46 in 1,500-meter).
Rowing team sweeps the Annual Lawless Cup, wins Varsity 8+ for 10th straight year courtesy cbssports.com
As you may or may not be able to see here the Ninja Turtes decided to take a break fighting crime to watch some baseball.
and sharks, but the lightheartedness actually underlined a systemic problem within baseball: the refusal of certain people in the sport to understand that it’s supposed to be – surprise – fun! Every season brings some new story of a stuffy veteran or front office exec bemoaning a violation of one of baseball’s numerous unwritten rules, whether it’s flipping a bat after a home run or running over the pitcher’s mound on the way back to the dugout, and it’s only a matter of time before it happens again. For a sport that supposedly recognizes that it has a problem appealing to the youth, baseball sure does a great job of making themselves the cranky old men of the sports world. Come on MLB, only old men watch Clint Eastwood movies, not little kids!
The Tulsa women’s rowing team hosted the Annual Lawless Cup this past weekend, beating SMU and University of Central Oklahoma. Matt Rechtien Sports Editor
For the 10th straight year, the Tulsa women’s rowing team took home the Lawless Cup, this year hosting Southern Methodist University and the University of Central Oklahoma in Catoosa on Saturday. The Lawless Cup, which has been going for ten years, was created in honor of TU President Emeritus Dr. Robert Lawless and First Lady Emeritus Marcy Lawless in 2005 to recognize their contributions towards the success of Tulsa’ rowing team. Since the first Cup in 2005, and continuing this year, Tulsa has not only won the Cup, but gone undefeated in every race. Tulsa’s 2nd Varsity 4+ ‘A’ boat started the regatta off strong with a time of 8:31.5 to beat SMU by 25 seconds. TU’s ‘B’ boat fin-
ished the race in third. In the Varsity 4+ race, Betsy Govig, Emalia Seto, Madeline Oleksiak, Annie Martin and Audrey Brown finished with the top time of 8:03.57 which was close to 12 seconds faster than UCO and 46 seconds faster than SMU. Head Coach Kevin Harris talked about the Fours after their races on Saturday morning saying, “We made some changes in the Fours after the Knecht Cup and I thought they looked really good today. We’ve traditionally done well in the Fours, but they will be increasingly important as we move toward the end of the season. It was good to see them put together solid races and earn two wins for the program.” Tulsa’s 2nd and 3rds Varsity 8+ boats finished first and second in their race with times of 7:18.2 and 7:28.8. “The 2nd Varsity 8+ and 3rd Varsity 8+ had exceptional runs today, Harris said. The way the 3V8 pushed the 2V8 shows that as a team we are all pushing to get faster. It was a great result to finish first and second.” In the final race Marcia Vidaurri, Maria Gearing, Hannah Vissers, Lauren Vander-
Hoeven, Ashley Lane, Hanne Emnett, Sam Tober, Emily Farrar and Jennifer Casson finished with a time of 7:06.6, which was six seconds faster than SMU and 14 seconds ahead of UCO. Harris said, “The Varsity 8+ really got pushed by SMU in the first 750 meters, but we stayed poised and executed the race plan, which allowed us to break ahead. They did a wonderful job of finishing out their race today to claims the Lawless Cup.” After the regatta finished Harris talked about the entire day; “I am really pleased with the way we executed the races today. SMU is always tough competition because of the rivalry and we knew UCO, being the No. 2-ranked Division II team in the country, was going to bring their ‘A’ game. Our athletes are coming into their own right now and I am proud of the way things are coming together. We still have a lot of work to do before we race Oklahoma in the Stone Cup and before the American Athletic Conference Championships.” Their next race is the Stone Cup against Oklahoma.
Variety
the Collegian: 10
18 April 2016
With the semester coming to an end, senior editors say goodbye and offer some constructive criticism to the student body and administration at the University of Tulsa
Thanks for everything, you ungrateful bastards
Fraser Kastner Managing Editor As the year comes to a close and I find myself in the Collegian of-
fice for the last time, I find myself filled with a strange kind of calm. I’ve been through the eight stages of grief (anger, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, anger, acceptance and anger) and now I’m filled with a curious kind of empty feeling, like something has been resolved. And yet it has not. I’d like to add yet another sappy goodbye letter to the student body about how formative my time at TU has been, and how grateful I am, but to be honest, I have a serious bone to pick with the TU student body. What the fuck is it with you
people? Why don’t you care about anything? Why do you insist on making this an unreasonably apathetic campus? When Trey Barnett was suspended, no one cared. When that girl got raped by a basketball player and he got away with it, no one cared. None of you care that the price of tuition keeps rising while the president of our university pulls an enormous salary. Does it not disturb your sleep to know that TU would throw you under the bus if it meant they kept getting those sweet sweet alumni donations? Or that you could get suspended for
something someone else did? Or that this university is ranked one of the worst in the nation for free speech? No, none of that stuff bothers you. Why would it? It probably won’t affect you, so all you have to do is keep your head down and get that degree so you can get that sweet cubicle job in some engineering firm. Well, I hope you’re happy with your lives. You’ve certainly sacrificed a lot for them. I just wish that every time we published something about how our system is broken (or rather, designed to serve the school at the
expense of the students) I didn’t already know that most of you wouldn’t bother reading it, or care about it if you did. So thank you, TU student body, for preparing me for the real world, where no one cares and all of your efforts are meaningless. Of course I’m exaggerating, but not by much. I’m grateful for the Collegian, because if I hadn’t met this crowd of rabble rousers I probably would have ended up just as apathetic as you, and what kind of life would that be?
about the president of my old high school. I accepted, thinking “How hard could this be? I have opinions. People should know my opinions.” I swore I’d never write another article. Conor told me I’d be back. I came back. I told myself I’d stop writing the next semester. I just didn’t have the time. Somehow I got conned into editing the Variety section. And I was pretty good at it (I think). Conor started the VOID, and I scarred Fraser for all eternity with plesiosaur erotica. I started non-English articles that died out because no one could edit them. All in all, it was a good time. I studied abroad, and the Variety section carried on without me, and I told myself that for my senior
year I would write the occasional article, but take it easy and not take on an editorial position. Then, the night before the first issue of my last semester at TU, Giselle Willis emailed me to tell me that the Variety editor position was open and asked if I wanted to come back. And I did. I really really did. Despite a lot of rough patches, the Collegian has given my time at TU a sense of purpose that I think a lot of people leave without. Despite the general apathy on campus, about things like Trey Barnett’s suspension or Geoffrey Orsak’s sudden disappearance or Ross Parmley’s illegal gambling or sexual assault on campus, I have to believe that the Collegian has made a difference. Even when
a senior who’s been here for four years asks me what the Collegian is. I mean, as the Variety editor, it’s not like I’m covering anything terribly controversial. I’ve never been asked to retract a story or print an apology (unless you count that one time I implied that Baja Jack’s chicken was less than fresh). But I still like to think that I’ve had a hand in the real purpose of journalism, giving a voice to those who need it. Hopefully with enrollment dropping, the administration will realize that they can’t act with impunity. That they have a responsibility to the students and faculty here to provide a safe, fair learning, working and living environment.
Saying goodbye to the Collegian, and to TU, is bittersweet. I’m incredibly sad that I’ll no longer have a hand in the organizations that actually seem to give a fuck, but I’m so looking forward to see what the next generation of writers and editors and activists will do for this campus and community. So thanks to Conor for getting me involved. Thanks to Giselle and Fraser for actually thinking I’m funny. Thanks to Hannah, Kayleigh, Trent, Michaela, Sam and James for keeping things going, and thanks to the Collegian for offering me a chance to make a difference on campus, no matter how little the student body seems to care.
I have no idea how this lasted so long, see ya nerds
Abigail Labounty Variety Editor My time at the Collegian can most accurately be characterized by me trying to run away and being sucked back in everytime. It all started when then Managing Editor Conor Fellin asked me to write a commentary article
“twenty-one plus” Custom cocktail creations and accompanying critiques presented by TU’s own hobbyist mixologist.
“Knight of Cups” tries desperately to make the life of a rich womanizing playboy appear tragic, but instead is unrelatable. Nathan Gibbons Student Writer
“Knight of Cups” follows a screenwriter on an existential journey. There is no conflict, driving force, or anything to move the plot forward. Those who argue that movies like “Inherent Vice” and “The Big Lebowski” are lacking in plot and motivation would cry out in horror when they saw the way this movie flows. Each chapter of the film focuses on Rick(who isn’t given a last name) and his interactions with different people, with the tarot card title slightly resembling whatever relationship Rick’s involved in at the time. Though the people involved in the scenes vary, the scenes are all suspiciously similar. As Rick speaks to someone, their voices can only be infrequently heard. Instead, a dialogue of other things the two characters have said or thought about one another plays. The cinematography, though beautiful, never thinks to stop to focus. If Rick is walking through a mansion, street, or anywhere,
the camera suddenly begins to pull away and follow other things. When Rick finished talking to his ex wife and looked down the street to a man with a leaf blower, I briefly thought ‘don’t’ before the screen suddenly filled with the images and sounds of leaves blown down the asphalt. There are no actual solid moments in this movie, just flowing images that might take place in the same situation. This film’s greatest asset is its ambition. Terrence Malick, who already created the existential “Tree of Life,” seeks to make a movie without traditional arcs or conflict. The movie wanders as aimlessly as Rick does. Every romance and moment is as fleeting to the viewer as the protagonist.
Sara Douglas Student Writer
courtesy imdb
“Knight of Cups” lacking in drive and packed with pretension Christian Bale existentially wanders through an aquarium.
movie’s greatest weakness is its pretension. Rick’s brother begins softly stabbing himself in the hand with a fork just to ‘feel something.’ Rick and his girlfriend walk through an aquarium like ghosts, staring longingly at the happy people around them. I hate scenes like this. It’s as if our main characters have reached some higher level of understanding that allows them to look at jellyfish with more awe and admiration than your average grade schooler. For two hours runtime, Rick walks lazily with his hands in his pockets and stares at the ground. The film’s received polarizing reviews. Less than half of the Rotten Tomatoes crowd of critics thought the movie was good, while
RumChaiTea 4 oz. hot chai tea 1 oz. spiced black rum 1 oz. cream liqueur Optional: ½ oz. coffee liqueur Add rum and liqueur(s) to freshly brewed chai tea and stir. Serve hot, or pour over ice and serve chilled. Drink this if: A cuppa hot tea is what you need to soothe your nerves before finals week. This
cocktail is truly cozy and warming: it packs a surprising amount of punch provided by the rum but is mellowed by the cream liqueur (I used horchata to give an extra touch of cinnamon). If you like your chai lattes “dirty,” add a tad of coffee liqueur, or espresso if you’d prefer a dose of caffeine over alcohol. This is an ideal drink to sip on while curled up with a good book or movie — give yourself a study break and enjoy this calming libation this week.
“For two hours runtime, Rick walks lazily with his hands in his pockets and stares at the ground.” I’m reminded of “Bad Lieutenant,” which followed a dirty cop as he meaninglessly indulged in drugs and sex and exploited his job without principle. However, that movie has the advantage of concerning itself with sin and salvation, and its characters, unlike Rick, showing some emotion besides melancholy. It’s hard to say if “Knight of Cups” was perhaps too meaningless, or just didn’t reach its potential. Anyone could identify that this
the audience score reflects an even lower opinion held by the general public. This movie is about a man trying to find meaning in his life, but the answer isn’t as simple as other movies would portray it. He doesn’t reach an epiphany through something like quitting his job, traveling the world or finding true love. If you want to see a movie as unique as this, in which purposefulness isn’t imbued in anything on screen, go for it.
photo by Sara Douglas
Variety
18 April 2016
the Collegian: 11
Tulsa Roots Music Bash attracts colorful crowd Despite some performance delays, Tulsa Roots brings an impressive variety of music to Guthrie Green. Hannah Kloppenburg Commentary Editor
“A Touch of Sin” takes an artistic approach to violence in China courtesy imdb
Dahai, soon to begin his rampage.
Big Ideas@TU recently showed “A Touch of Sin,” an episodic film that blends social commentary with scenes of stylized violence. Trenton Gibbons Apprentice Editor The Oklahoma Center for the Humanities recently hosted their annual Big Ideas@TU, choosing this year to screen the Chinese film “A Touch of Sin,” followed by a panel consisting of several TU professors, each from different departments: Thomas Buoye, history department; Jeff Van Hanken, film studies; Mike Troilo, international business; and Helen Huiwen Zhang, Chinese and comparative literature. “A Touch of Sin” is an episodic tale, following four strangers linked by chance encounters, mutual acquaintances and acts of violence. The first of our protagonists, Dahai, is a blue collar worker fed up with the corruption of his village chief and corporate superiors. His efforts to report their misdoings lead him down a path of self-alienation, eventually climaxing in western-style vengeance. The second is an apathetic young man whose first appearance sees the demise of three young bandits, the third a woman whose position as a secretary in a massage parlor makes her the target of fatally lecherous men, and the final a young man whose romance with a brothel worker disillusions his notion of the pleasure trade. All four characters reflect a sense of disenfranchisement concerning China’s supposed prosperity, and an economic flourishing the international community is all too quick to hail as a statistical miracle. The director was inspired to make the film after seeing a recurrence of random crimes in his and other towns. While he never
uses the term exactly, his film portrays this as the product of anomie, in which an individual or group finds themselves at a disconnect from their greater society’s ethical or social standards. Before the film began, each professor posed a different question to the audience, in an effort to make us more attentive to particular details and themes. Professor Troilo asked us to focus on the aspect of globalization’s effect in China, and the resulting homogenization of culture that has occurred in the country. Alienation seems to be the byproduct of globalization, as is a stark cost of human dignity. Some characters are compensated for their loss of life and innocence. Others, as Professor Troilo put it, are made “cogs in a vast product train.” Professor Buoye drew our attention to the generational gap apparent throughout the film, and the
could be articulated in climactic, abrupt shots. Professor Zhang had noted the importance of animals throughout the film, and what they articulate regarding the characters. For Dahai, there is the tiger, who acts as both a gesture of self-staging, a reference to “All Men Are Robbers,” where the character of Panther Hat is tiger and tiger-slayer all in one. For the killer in episode 2, the bull seemed his primary symbol, but Dr. Zhang chose instead to emphasize the role a goose played in the film. As the man becomes accepting of his violent nature, a previously seen goose is executed by the family which owns it. For the massage secretary, there is the snake. The snake represents many but primarily reflects the secretary’s fatal capacity to lash out against attackers. In the final part, the animal is spoken, not seen, as the young man refers to his on-
“Alienation seems to be the by-product of globalization, as is a stark cost of human dignity.” motif of broken bridges that visually reflected this. Where Dahai is a middle-aged man with a sense of closeness and camaraderie for his fellow workers, his younger counterpart is a cold-hearted killer with a homicidal nature more calculated than passionate. Professor Van Hanken, specializing in film studies, noted how the film utilizes non traditional cinematography. The movie is largely lacking in the establishing shots common in Western cinema, instead allowing the viewer to experience the world through the perspective of the protagonists. Professor Buoye claimed that the film used long shots so that the viewer could choose where they looked on the screen. This led to the first disagreement between the panelists, as Dr. Zhang argued that the long shots were used to set up tension so that when violence did occur, it
line handle being “Little Bird.” To elaborate further would spoil the film’s conclusion. Overall, “A Touch of Sin” is greater than the sum of its parts. For its basis in real cases of violence and its strong social critique, it manages to overcome its sometimes lackluster script, which occasionally resorts to happenstance and two-dimensional antagonists. Director Jia Zhangke voiced that his intent in making the film was to “understand and then approach” social issues otherwise considered taboo. This artistic approach, Dr. Zhang said, “cannot be equated to a legal or moral one.” Anyone with an interest in foreign films or a different perspective on China’s so-called prosperity would do well to see this film, despite its storytelling shortcomings.
pieces slowed in tempo. “Naima,” their next piece, slowed the evening down, with a breezy, dreamy melody that made the song’s original intent as a love ballad known. The evening picked back up with “Take Five,” a popular piece with a swinging melody. “Take Five’s” flat, minor key added a somber note to an otherwise moving piece. In a sudden change of mood, “High Time We Did” resembled a sixties’ rock song, with sharp, punctuated notes that flowed together until Kelley’s solo added variety to the mix. Pat Kelley featured in each selection by the guitar ensemble. Kelley also played several pieces independently of the TU group, accompanied only by Duhon and Richardson. These songs originated from his new album, which was mentioned several times during the evening. These songs were interspersed in both the ensemble and big band, adding variety. Both vocalists sang about love and remembrance of a past, or current lover. While both singers had a smokey quality to their vocals, Richardson augmented her work with scat singing, the technique of adding wordless vocals or nonsense sing-
ing. This technique played in well with Kelley’s work, amplifying the rhythm and melody. The big band I, directed by Vernon Howard, played the second half of the evening. The first song, “Minor Occurrence,” announced the mood of the rest of the night. The piercing trumpets brought the audience back from the intermission break, and the fast tempo and loudness kept up through the next few songs. Several pieces featured sudden changes in dynamics, which tricked audiences into believing the band was near done. The multitude of different instruments allowed the band to play with a greater range of dynamics than the first band, seen best in the trumpets and trombones adding higher pitches and a more lively atmosphere to their selections. Near the end of the night, Dohan sang “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” originally a Bob Dylan song, with Kelley’s accompaniment. The song lacked the original harmonica or Dylan’s vocals, but Dohan made it her own, with dolcett vocals occasionally broken by sharp, high peaks. The calmer song brought a change of pace from the loud, rambunctious
Tulsa Roots Music Bash provided an opportunity to relax on the Guthrie Green, listen to some fantastic music, and do some really intense people-watching. This year marked the 3rd annual Tulsa Roots festival, an event which lasted most of last Saturday. Musical acts and other entertainment took to the stage starting at 2:30 in the afternoon and ending around midnight with a late-night show. The event featured two stages: a lawn stage and the Green’s main stage. When apprentice editor James Whisenhunt and I arrived, members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band were setting up on the main stage, and on the lawn stage bellydancers were inviting children to dance with them. We waited about twenty minutes for the band to begin, listening to the vocalists call out “check check check, one two two two two two check check check” as they tested all the microphones. One of the singers was unimpressed with the quality of the mics — “It needs something more. A little more vibranticity or somethin” he said. After ten or fifteen minutes of aimless tuning, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band began their set. I was very impressed by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band — rarely have I encountered music that was so upbeat and infectious. Almost immediately, a crowd of dancers formed on the Green as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band wailed, crooned and bopped their way through a set of classic New Orleans brass. Notable aspects of the performance included an electric tuba, a truly impressive drum solo (and I don’t think this drummer stopped playing a consistent beat for the entire 45-minute set), and a vocalist who took a quick break to play two trumpets at the same time. The synchronicity of the band was incredible. They breezed through complicated changes in tempo and beat as though they were a single, collective musician. If I had to guess based on what I saw of Tulsa Roots, I would say that the Dirty Dozen Brass Band were the stars of the show. However, it seems my experience with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band prob-
ably wasn’t even indicative of the festival as a whole. On the online setlist, the band is listed as “classic New Orleans brass,” while other acts encompass a wide variety of genres. This included Arlene Gould (Israeli urban Afro-Pop), Fishbone (ska-punk-funk-rock fusion), and Count Tutu (funk and world rhythms). Musical acts were interspersed with performances by belly dancers, a youth circus and African drums and dancers. Honestly, the most fun I had during the festival was watching the people who were there. Not that the music wasn’t good enough to hold my attention, because it was. I’ve found in the past that events on the Green attract a pretty colorful crowd, and this event was no exception. It’s almost always a fun and positive environment. It was particularly interesting because during the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s set a lot of people were dancing with varying degrees of skill and enthusiasm. It might have also been that I live on a college campus, so seeing anyone who isn’t between the ages of 18-22 is sort of mind-boggling. Some notable figures: A graceful lady with large sunglasses and a giant afro who was dancing very passionately and handing out scarves and giant flowers for kids to dance with A tiny girl who was dragging an equally tiny dog around on a leash Several visibly drunk adults holding beers and swaying offtempo A man tightly hugging a scaredlooking dog that was wearing a sweater with hearts on it A lady with dreadlocks who was hula-hooping to the music Several little girls doing cartwheels in front of the stage A girl who kissed the lead singer smack on the lips when he invited a few people onstage to dance I had a great time for the hour or so I spent at Tulsa Roots Music Bash. Despite not being familiar with the music, I was entertained and impressed and didn’t find myself bored in the slightest. The atmosphere was great and the music was better, and I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to stay longer. The festival is a great opportunity to pack up a picnic and hang out on the Green with some friends while listening to a diverse range of talented musicians. Based on the experience I had this week, I’d like to go back next year and do just that.
“The Green attract[s] a pretty colorful crowd, and this event was no exception.”
Spring Jazz Concert provides an ensemble of moods Spring Jazz concert combined a mixture of guitar jazz and big band, leading to diverse selections. Michaela Flonard Apprentice Editor Last Thursday, the TU school of music hosted the spring jazz concert. The TU jazz guitar ensemble and big band I played several selections. Pat Kelly, a TU alumnus, featured heavily throughout the works, and singers Olivia Duhon and Sarah Richardson accompanied him and the band in several pieces as well. The change in bands followed a change in mood. The night started off with the jazz guitar ensemble, directed by Jim Bates. With five guitars, one bass and a drum set, the ensemble was noticeably softer than the big band. The difference in volume did not mean the ensemble was not lively or loud. Their first piece, “Shiny Stockings,” began with a bouncy mix of the guitars, accompanied by a heavy cymbal presence. From there, the ensemble’s
The band prepares before the performance.
pieces with which the band started. Dohan also sang “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” with the big band. At times, the band overpowered her vocals, but her presence served to quiet the song. As seen in “Milestones,” double drumming (having two drum sets used), best summarized the big band’s performance — loud, energetic and with an impressive blend of instruments. The passion and excitement of the drummers leaked into the audience as they played both simultaneously and alone, leading to a standing ova-
photo by Michaela Flonard
tion. Throughout their featured part, the drumming ranged from a frantic, seemingly unpredictable solo beat to a more rhythmic combination that built up to the rest of the band’s return to the piece. The combination of the two bands, with Kelley and his vocalists, led to a diverse mixture for TU’s spring Jazz concert. Audience members appreciated the passion evident in multiple solos and the technique of the players. passion evident in multiple solos and the technique of the players.
18 April 2016
The State-Run Media: 12
I was too busy studying to write the following article As my finals doomsday clock approaches midnight, I just have too much on my plate to write an article this week. James Whisenhunt Picked the wrong major
Why did I do this to myself? I knew I had three tests and a paper this week, but I decided to go to
the Collegian meeting anyway. I honestly should have known better than to think the editors wouldn’t guilt trip me into writing this. Now I’m stuck with some article I don’t even remember the topic for. I can’t email the editor at this point; the damn thing’s due in twenty minutes. I’ll just throw something together, I guess.
The thing about politics(?) James Whisenhunt Send help
The thing about politics is that, like, sometimes, people who I don’t like get elected. Frankly I can’t have that. So, I think that
we should all just kind of… talk to me a bit more, and then I can explain why the people I like are the best. Then, they’ll inevitably agree with me and my candidates will be elected! So… let’s do that.
So I saw a movie the other day Pictured: The death of print media. Not pictured: Our glorious, State-Run future.
graphic by Josiah Moser
Print media finally dies, but thankfully we’re prepared
It’s time for a 21-pen salute as print media meets its long-awaited fate. James Whisenhunt Willing to move on
In a “shocking” revelation at last week’s Collegian meeting, Editor-in-Chief Giselle Willis gathered all her courage and announced something she has feared for years: “Print media is dead.” Of course, the State-Run Media has been well aware of this, content to supply more fuel to Willis’ delusions for as long as she may fancy them. However, as print media moves toward its long overdue viking funeral, the question must be asked: How will truth be delivered to the people now?
The answer is simple, modern and efficient: telekinetic news. State-Run Scientists have been working diligently on technology to send the truth directly to your hippocampus. The information will then instantly be consolidated into your long-term memory. This makes arguing with friends, neighbors and enemies a simple, clean process; you already have all the objective, unalienable facts in your brain! This concept instills a strange amount of nostalgia, as this may be the last time that readers will ever have to use their eyes to understand the world around them. The application to be a member of the future of the human race is impressively simple. The technology is ready to be implemented in all who apply, but special priority
will be given to the rich and powerful. Presidential candidates, we really think this would help you out! Simply fill in the form below (don’t forget to add your IQ and blood type!) and mail it to: State-Run Media ATTN: Implantation Dept. 101 24th St. The State 78283 Implantations will occur in phases over the summer, beginning with the rich and powerful. By August, everyone will have a State-Run Mind™. So, this will be the last issue of State-Run Media, at least in its current form. It may be tempting to feel sad about the transition, but the future will be brighter than ever imagined.
Truth Distribution Implant Application Name: State-Issued ID Number: IQ: Blood type: How many pushups can you do? Have you taken the State-Run Loyalty Oath? Y / N Are you a cop? (No lying): Y / N How rich and powerful are you? (Circle one) I own a boat I have a favorite brunch place Bernie Sanders for president What is your preferred implant color? Classic Black State-Run Red Limited Edition Duck Dynasty Camo Cut along the dotted line and mail this application in. Or don’t, we’re not the boss of you.
A State-Run writer saw Terrence Malick’s “Knight of Cups.” He was not impressed. Miles Fisher Average cinema patron So it was Tuesday. I was having a good day, I had a bit of money; I thought, “I’m gonna go down to the old arthouse joint to watch some steamy, sensual, good old fashioned indie film.” I saw “Knight of Cups.” Wowee, what a mistake!! Christian Bale (Batman) plays a disillusioned Hollywood screenwriter who decides to fill the hole in his heart by fucking a lot of chicks. That’s pretty much what the synopsis said. I think, “OK, I can connect to that.” Coulda fooled me!! Supposedly Bale is a screenwriter, but not once do you ever see him actually writing scripts or worrying about said scripts. The most you’ll get is a few shots of paper stacks falling during a good ol’ California quake. So you’ll be thinking throughout the whole movie, “What exactly does this guy do? All I ever see him do is go to giant Hollywood parties and fucking people.” You wouldn’t be wrong. So Bale has an arguably great life, but he’s
We assume that this is Christian Bale.
walking around like one of those animals on the Sarah Mclachlan commercial. It’s pretty ridiculous, also he’s always trespassing? Like, you can’t just usually fuck/talk to people on rooftops or on airport tarmac. Speaking of the sex for one moment, there ain’t even one nip on screen, forget tender interpersonal dialogue afterward. This is not why I come to the arthouse. I get nothing from this. And why is Batman so damaged after all this time? Sure you could say that the main character is a screenwriter who’s trying to bounce back from the death of a brother, but neither of those things specifically play a huge role in the narrative of the film. Dry those tears dude, shit happens! Meanwhile his other brother is living in a concrete block apartment above a Chinese dry cleaners with only a mattress, a wooden chair, a tube television, a tennis ball and a machete. Like, reassess your priorities man, you don’t need to fuck 6 different women during the same movie. That’s not how you’re going to fix your life, sex isn’t everything!! It can’t all be sunshine and roses though; I’ve got to admit, the movie was kind of pretty. The music was nice, too. It reminded me of something I heard on “Planet Earth.”
courtesy Wiki Commons
State-Run Crossword: Graduation angst
Whether you’re graduating this year, or putting off your traumatic birth into the adult world for a few more years, this crossword will force you to write down and acknowledge your anxieties. ACROSS 4. The thing that you will have trouble getting. 5. This, and a degree, is the only thing you have to show for four years at the university. 6. The kind of clothes that you’ll probably have to buy from now on. 12. The thing you are terrified of. 13. The ____ economy is part of the reason that you will never have stable, full-time employment. 14. A common label for you, to emphasize your feelings of superiority and laziness. 15. The kind of despair you feel when you realize that your degree isn’t marketable. 16. The presidential candidate that you say will solve your problems, but you secretly think that they’ll probably just be the same as all the other presidents. 17. The lack of this is the reason that you haven’t actually applied to any jobs yet.
DOWN 1. These will be your roommates for the foreseeable future. 2. The cheap food that you stereotypically loved for the last four years, and will continue to eat, likely causing your eventual death from malnutrition.
3. You’ll wear this while you officially step into the world of adults, mortgages, and loan payments. 7. When applying to a job, your ____ will be coming from Ivy League schools. 8. Even though it might help
you ignore your problems, you’d better not be one of these. 9. The trendy hairstyle that will probably make every picture of you from college look stupid in a few years. 10. You’d better not ring the bell in this plaza if you want to
graduate on time, but spending more time here before moving on to the real world doesn’t sound so bad. 11. A job that really doesn’t sound that bad, at this point.
18 April 2016
the Collegian: 13
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band performs at the Guthrie Green.
The Dirty Dozen’s trumpeteer plays into the microphone.
The crowd moves and sways to the music.
photos by James Whisenhunt
A tuba player leaves the stage to join the crowd.
A Clinical Experience Like No Other The on-campus Lobeck Taylor Family Advocacy Clinic offers student attorneys unparalleled community-driven experiential learning opportunities. Every incoming first-year JD student who holds an undergraduate degree from The University of Tulsa receives an automatic renewable $18,000 scholarship to TU Law. Additional merit-based scholarships are available for students who qualify. Learn more and apply for an application fee waiver at law.utulsa.edu/ales.
3L Cybil Rajan, 2L Bethany Jackson, and 3L Joe Lang, under the direction of Professor Anna Carpenter (standing), Director of the Family Advocacy Clinic, complete a semester project report, A Roadmap for Reform: Addressing the Oklahoma Access to Justice Problems Through a Continuum of Interventions, for their client, the Oklahoma Access to Justice Commission. See the report at law.utulsa.edu/fac.
TU is an EEO/AA institution.
Embrace an Exciting Career! The University of Tulsa Certificate in Paralegal Studies Program can prepare you for a career in the legal field or enhance your current career. TU is the only program in the Tulsa area approved by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Paralegals. An open house will be held at 4:30 April 28 in Zink Hall Room A, 3101 E. 7th St. on the TU campus. Please contact Pam Mitchell, Manager of Legal Programs, at 918-631-2524 or pam-mitchell@utulsa.edu. the university of
Continuing Education Division of Lifelong Learning
Paralegals may not provide legal service directly to the public, except as permitted by law. TU is an EEO/AA institution.
www.utulsa.edu/paralegal-program Paralegal Ad.indd 1
3/17/16 10:52 AM
18 April 2016
The State-Run Media
the
State-Run media Don’t ever talk to me or my successor again.
Sponsored Content: TU awesome, has no problems Sam Chott Stepford Student
In the vein of The New York Times, Forbes, Buzzfeed and The Atlantic, State-Run Media has decided to embrace the cutting edge of journalism and begin running sponsored content. Paying brands work with State-Run writers and editors to create the most relevant, sharable content. Though some see this as a breach of journalistic integrity, we prefer to think of it as a win-win situation; brands get good press, and we get to keep the lights on. Please enjoy the following sponsored content from our first partner, the University of Tulsa. Students at TU continue celebrating their flawless college education, work-life balance, and satisfaction with how the university handles harassment cases. In unrelated news, the State-Run staff just got matching mopeds. “I am… satisfied with the way that this university handles things,” said Sarah Autumn, a freshman in anthropology, who we’re definitely not misquoting. “The food here is definitely… just as good as home.” Every single student, based on a targeted poll with a sample size of one conducted by State-Run staff, has had an entirely positive expe-
graphic by Josiah Moser
Real students on our actual campus, caught in a candid moment.
rience, whether they were asked about the conduct and enthusiasm of the professors, the price of their education, or how much gold jewelry their student newspaper writers wear. “Oh, this is great! I know exactly what I’m going to do when I graduate, and I’m very happy about it,” said Paul Stevens, a political science senior who definitely exists, but don’t look him up because he’s from Canada and isn’t on the American internet. “I
have no anxiety about this whole thing.” One of the things that has students so excited is the new push by the marketing department. Though they’ve begun to run sponsored content, to universal acclaim, the marketing department is also reaching out on social media. Thousands of new followers on Facebook, including students and alumni like “Firstname Lastname,” “NotA SpamBot,” and “FacebookBot Test001,” have posted things
䨀䤀䴀䴀夀
匀䴀䤀吀䠀 A promotional still shows the new white dude protagonist.
graphic by Josiah Moser
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt now recast with more white men
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, notable for its casting diversity, has come under fire for not featuring enough white guys. Sam Chott Daddy’s Boy
Last Friday, the second season of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was released on Netflix. The comedy series focuses on a woman who was imprisoned in a bunker for fifteen years learning how to live on her own, and has a varied cast, with many major characters being female or nonwhite. Naturally, this diversity has a vocal group of white men feeling left out, to the point of demanding “their own show.” Self-proclaimed meninist and Reddit enthusiast Warner Stanley claims to be the first one to have brought up the point. “I was just watching Kimmy Schmidt, because everyone had told me that it was funny,” he said, “but then I realized that it had been five whole minutes since I last saw a charac-
ter with the same skin color and gender as me. It was really troubling for me.” “Where are young white boys going to look for white role models?” he added. His views were echoed by many who watched the show, who began to petition Netflix for a show that was more inclusive of their desire to only see white people. “I don’t see why we need to have so much ‘diversity’ on TV. Why can’t there be like, different shows for different races?” read one comment on the petition’s change.org page. “I thought this was a man’s show since it didn’t have ‘Girls’ in the name,” read another. Netflix has since announced that it would replace The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt in its lineup. A recent press release indicated that we can expect The Unbreakable Jimmy Smith to be released in the coming months. “There’s nothing more important to Netflix than customer satisfaction, and some of our customers have clearly indicated that they want more white dudes,” read the release. “Please stop bothering us about this,” it added.
Rather than following a survivor of an apocalypse cult as she works through fifteen years of trauma, as Kimmy Schmidt did, Jimmy Smith will follow Jimmy Smith, just a normal guy with a lot of problems and a big, wacky family. Leaked scripts indicate that Jimmy Smith will have to deal with his in-laws and nagging from his wife, when all he wants to do is kick back with his buds and enjoy a few brews. “No one’s seen anything like this on TV before,” said a Netflix representative. “Viewers really won’t know what to expect. One episode, Jimmy might have to invite his boss over for dinner, but his kids will make it complicated! In other episodes, his wife might nag him to help clean the house, or he’ll have to help one of his kids with a school play. No matter what’s happening, you can be sure that he’ll use his catchphrase a lot!” “This is exactly what we wanted,” said Stanley. “Finally, a show written, directed and produced by white guys, starring white guys. I think this will bring a whole new perspective to television.”
like “love this university, and also touching things with my human hands,” and “no problems with tulsa, a++, i like to eat food with my face and also teeth.” TU boasts one of the nation’s best petroleum engineering programs, excellent sports teams and now the world’s wealthiest student newspaper editors. Ultimately, there’s very little that can be done to improve the university, besides marketing it more heavily. Even though the additional marketing
costs will lead to a tuition increase of several thousand dollars, it will definitely be worth it to increase the prestige of this fine university. Did you enjoy this sponsored content? If so, please be sure to let us know at garbagefile@tucollegian.org. In the future, we hope to run content sponsored by such fine organizations as Monsanto, Chiquita and the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. Welcome to the future of journalism.
propagandist Dear reader, I am writing this letter, knowing it to be my last as Head Propagandist, and possibly my last act. You see, dear reader, I am planning an escape. Since I was chosen to become Head Propagandist, everything I have done has been for the advancement of the State-Run Media and its central message, on which I am still not entirely clear. And ever since I wrote that letter about winter break, I haven’t been able to leave the confines of the StateRun Media’s walls. I guess the secret organization that runs our publication was none too pleased about me printing information that might paint them in a bad light. As a result, the spring semester has been pretty terrible. The State-Run Media consumes every part of my life. I feel myself slipping away, becoming just a cog in the larger machine of… whatever we do here at the newspaper. I don’t know how much longer I can stand living this way. Thus, I have resolved to make an escape from the office. I know it’s dangerous. I know that I may not make it, but I cannot risk being brought back here. This letter should serve as my final will and testament should I be found out. But don’t worry about the fate of the position of Head Propagandist in my absence. I’ve no doubt that the State-Run Media has a long list of potential successors had my performance ever been unsatisfactory. To the future Head Propagandist I have these words:
prop
First of all, I’m sorry. All your time is basically forfeit to the State-Run Media now. If you’ve yet to come into office, say goodbye to your friends and family now. You probably won’t see them much anymore. Second of all, make sure you keep the office well-stocked with snacks. Since you’ll be spending a lot of time here, you’re gonna want food. I recommend something proteindense but not too heavy. You don’t wanna get sleepy when you’re in the middle of laying out your section. Third and finally, though I’m sure you have been placed in this position against your will, take pride in it. It may have sucked away a year of my life, but it also gave me a lot of joy. I had a sense of purpose as Head Propagandist. And, unlike my predecessor, I refused to use cheap tricks to fill empty space on the page. The year I spent in this office was gruelling, but at the same time I was really happy when I saw my section in the newspaper every week. Maybe a part of me doesn’t even really want to leave… But I know it’s something I have to do, so I trust you to carry on my legacy and uphold the values I set here at the State-Run Media. And with this letter as my final word to the readers, I plan to make my escape. By May I will be far away from this place. I bid all my readers farewell, and to my successor, good luck. Sincerely, Caitlin Woods Head Propagandist